Trace element discriminants between Egyptian and Mesopotamian Late Bronze Age glasses

The origins of Late Bronze Age glass artefacts found throughout the Mediterranean and Near and Middle East remain controversial. Previous analyses of major and minor elements in both Egyptian and Mesopotamian glasses have proven equivocal, revealing no significant compositional differences between glasses from these two regions. Here we present new Laser ablation-ICPMS analyses of 32 trace elements in 54 samples of both Egyptian and Mesopotamian blue and colourless glasses. Our results show that there are consistent differences between these two suites, which are not related to the colorant and clearly indicate the use of different raw materials and/or manufacturing processes. Compositional variations are related to geological controls, hence this method holds promise for the development of a minimally destructive technique for discriminating between archaeological glasses of different provenance, which will be essential in the interpretation of ancient trade patterns and contacts.     

Local recipes or distant commodities? Lead isotope and chemical compositional analysis of glaze paints from the Salinas pueblos,New Mexico

For nearly four hundred years, Pueblo potters in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico produced technologically innovative glaze-decorated bowls and exchanged them widely among different villages. While potential sources of lead ores used to make glaze paints are found throughout the Rio Grande Valley region, researchers have only recently begun to identify which ore sources potters exploited and to understand the social and economic factors underlying patterns of ore resource use. In this paper we use stable lead isotope and electron microprobe analysis of glaze paints on Rio Grande Glaze Ware made at two Salinas pueblos to identify ore sources and glaze recipes used by their potters. Despite some isotopic overlap of ore sources, the lead isotope data point to regular exploitation of ores from the Socorro area of the southern Rio Grande. Salinas potters apparently used other sources as well, and likely mixed ores from different sources. We also identify four local glaze recipes that appear to incorporate multiple ore sources, suggesting that Salinas potters obtained raw ores rather than finished glaze paints.     

White Men in Quarantine: Disease,Race, Commerce and Mobility in the Pacific, 1872

In July 1872, the steamship Hero underwent quarantine at Sydney’s North Head after a case of smallpox was diagnosed. This article brings together the histories of quarantine, white subjectivity and Pacific mobility through an analysis of the Loganiana newspaper produced by the passengers of the Hero during their confinement. The Loganiana provides a unique insight into the formation of white identities through discussions of race, commerce, science and inter-colonial politics. The case provides an important perspective on a transformative period in Australia’s border history, and also illuminates the tensions accompanying the transition from an older imperial order to political autonomy in the nineteenth-century Pacific.     

Impact of the Ryan White CARE Act on the Availability of HIV/AIDS Services

This article assesses the extent to which the availability of HIV/AIDS services in the Baltimore and Oakland eligible metropolitan areas (EMAs) increased after receipt of funding under Title I of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. Survey data on the availability of HIV/AIDS services in each EMA were collected from samples of organizations at two points in time: 1 year before (1991) and 1 year after (1993) the Oakland and Baltimore EMAs received their first installments of CARE Act Title I funds. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the data were performed to assess changes in the availability of HIV/AIDS services. The results showed that after CARE Act Title I funding became available, the availability of ambulatory medical and social support services in the Baltimore and Oakland EMAs increased. However, the way service availability increased varied significantly, reflecting differing opportunities and constraints present in each community. In Baltimore, the increase in the availability of HIV/AIDS services was due largely to the creation of new organizations that used Title I funds to provide services (system expansion). In Oakland, relatively few new organizations were created, but existing organizations added new HIV/AIDS services (service line expansion). Our data also indicated that in both EMAs the majority of HIV/AIDS organizations receiving Title I funds expanded the capacity of their existing services to meet growing demand.