Trapped in clichés: masculinity,films and tourism in Iceland

When the Icelandic television series ‘Trapped’ was aired it instantly garnered worldwide attention. The main character, a rugged Icelandic man, is presented as being one with the harsh cold landscape. This article demonstrates how visual materials, like ‘Trapped,’ have become extremely important in the presentation of Iceland to the outside world, as well as working to present Iceland as a tourism destination. Furthermore, we evidence how ‘Trapped’ identifies with the Nordic noir genre. Our analysis shows that the series ‘Trapped’ and recent Icelandic films rest on the strong and entrenched association of Icelandicness with maleness, while also reflecting on existing stereotypes about Iceland and the Icelandic people as being exotic, both of which have become reanimated through the tourism industry. Thus, visual material such as ‘Trapped’ constitutes a part of, and becomes in and of itself symbolic of recurrent masculinity in Iceland. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of framing the ‘official’ production of locations as tourism destinations by both state and commercial industries in relation to other cultural productions that often also engage with mobile historical stereotyping and commercial attempts at nation branding.     

Expanding Informal Education in Maritime Archaeology

This paper examines the work of the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology (HWTMA) in developing informal education approaches and initiatives. It introduces the aims and ethos of the HWTMA which focuses on embedding education and learning into all aspects of its work, before exploring ways in which its fieldwork and research programme are utilised to help deliver a range of educational opportunities to a diverse range of groups and individuals. There is a review of the possibilities for skill development through practical involvement which is illustrated with case study examples, followed by discussion of broader approaches, including publications, talks and exhibits. This review underpins discussion of a recent project ‘Maritime Archaeology Access and Learning Workshops’ which aimed to ‘educate the educators’, and has demonstrated the potential for this approach to make a significant contribution to increasing the profile of maritime archaeology within informal learning frameworks. The paper concludes by reviewing the experience of these regionally-based initiatives in relation to the expansion of maritime archaeology within the UK and suggests ways that lessons learned could be drawn upon in the development of emerging national approaches.

Intellectual Property Issues in Archaeological Publication: Some Questions to Consider

For the past 4 years, in concert with a growing number of colleagues, we have been examining intellectual property issues within archaeology and the larger realm of cultural heritage. This topic is garnering increased attention as archaeologists, descendent communities, and other stakeholders grapple with difficult questions about the uses and abuses of cultural knowledge and research data. Our work seeks to identify the issues, examine the circumstances under which they arise, and disseminate policies and practices that lead to a better understanding of what is at stake and how to approach a resolution. Here we are commenting on what questions might be considered in a situation in which photographs portraying tribal members or cultural sites taken during the course of a project conducted on tribal land in the United States are to be printed as part of a public site report or other publication. Thinking through these issues beforehand can result in positive resolution and also promote increased awareness of and sensitivity to actual or potential intellectual property issues related to archaeological practice.     

Inhabiting a risky earth: The Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 and its impacts (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland in 2010 caused havoc to global air traffic. This article examines that event by looking at theories of risk and culture. We demonstrate the fragility of today's mobilities, which depend on unpredictable nature as well as complex technological systems. A new type of risk was revealed by the eruption, which has since become a feature of cultural risk portfolios in contemporary society.     

Investigating Dietary Variation With Burial Ritual in Iron Age Hampshire: An Isotopic Comparison of Suddern Farm Cemetery and Danebury Hillfort Pit Burials

The formal Iron Age cemetery at Suddern Farm, located near Danebury hillfort, provides a unique opportunity to investigate whether differences in burial tradition and ritual behaviour seen at the two sites are linked to access to food resources during life. We measured the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of 40 humans from Suddern Farm and compared this information to previously published faunal data from the site and human isotopic data from Danebury. Despite substantial variation in the faunal isotope signatures, the adult humans have notably homogeneous isotopic results, which are very similar to those at Danebury. This indicates that they had similar access to dietary resources, and supports other evidence for the interdependence of sites with regard to their farming practices. Any social practices that define groups within Hampshire Iron Age society at these sites do not seem to have had any detectable influence on diet.     

New techniques for the recovery of small amounts of mature enamel proteins

Currently there are no non-destructive techniques to obtain protein from the dental enamel, the most mineralized tissue in mammals and most resistant to diagenesis, which provides a window to the developing period by means of incremental markings containing proteins. To recover protein, dissolution of powdered enamel is required. Here we tested whether samples obtained by micro-etching of the enamel surface were adequate for protein analysis by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry and identification in protein databases. The micro-etch techniques were effective in generating adequate samples for mass spectrometry (from 3 to 13.4 μm superficial enamel), being also highly conservative, since they rendered masses of enamel ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 mg. Using these techniques the separation of proteins by SDS-PAGE was not necessary, and the whole procedure was easier. Results showed successful identification of specific enamel proteins after whole crown superficial etching with 11% EDTA in the case of immature porcine samples, and with 10% HCl in the case of mature human enamel. X- and Y-isoforms of amelogenin, ameloblastin, and enamelin peptides were identified. The new techniques described here allowed the successful recovery of enamel proteins, opening new avenues for the use of enamel protein information in fossil/archeological material, where sometimes little protein is left.     

Reviews

Bente Magnus: Krosshaugfunnet. Et fors?k på kronologisk og stilhistorisk plassering i 5. årh. (The Krosshaug find. An attempt at a chronological and stylistic placing within the 5th century). Stavanger Museums Skrifter 9. Stavanger 1975. 159 Pages, 68 Figs. English summary.