Dendrochemical analysis of a tree-ring growth anomaly associated with the Late Bronze Age eruption of Thera

The most marked tree-ring growth anomaly in the Aegean dendrochronological record over the last 9000 years occurs in the mid 17th century BC, and has been speculatively correlated with the impact of the Late Bronze Age eruption of Thera (Santorini). If such a connection could be proved it would be of major interdisciplinary significance. It would open up the possibility of a precise date for a key archaeological, geological and environmental marker horizon, and offer a direct tie between tree-ring and ice-core records some 3600 years ago. A volcanic explanation for the anomaly is highly plausible, yet, in the absence of a scientifically proven causal connection, the value of the proposed correlation is limited. In order to test the hypothesis, dendrochemical analysis via Synchrotron Radiation Scanning X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (SXFM), Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was carried out on growth-ring series from four trees displaying the anomaly. Increases of sulfur, calcium, and rare earth elements following the onset of altered growth, plus concentration spikes of zinc and hafnium in the first affected growth-ring provide promising new evidence in support of a volcanic causal factor. Although a volcanic association is implied, the new data are not sufficient to prove a link to the exact eruption source.     

Meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry

Identifying spatial and temporal variation in animal exploitation patterns is essential for building our understanding of the transition from hunting to stock-keeping. Quantitative analysis of the published records of over 400,000 animal bones recovered from 114 archaeological sites from SW Asia and SE Europe from c12 ka to c7.5 ka cal BP (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) demonstrates significant spatiotemporal variability in faunal exploitation patterns. Sites in the Euphrates region show adoption of domestic taxa by c10.5 ka cal BP, although on average these taxa contribute less than 10% to total assemblage size. This rises to a median of about 40% by c9.5 ka cal BP, and then to about 45% of total NISP by c8.5 ka cal BP. By c10.5 ka in the Tigris and Zagros region domesticates contribute less than 5% to faunal assemblages, but then rise to a median of about 20% by c9.5 ka and 40% by c8.4 ka cal BP. In contrast, Levantine sites have low numbers of domestic taxa (<1%) until c8.8 ka cal BP, when the proportion dramatically increases to a median of about 35%. This apparent delayed-adoption pattern also holds true for the southern Levant, which shows, on average, low levels (<1%) of domestic taxa until 8.8 ka cal BP, at which point domesticates contribute a median of about 10% to assemblages. In the northern parts of SW Asia, the mid- to late-10th millennium cal BP is pivotal, as proportions of domestic taxa show a dramatic increase in frequency during this time, and the ‘package’ of domestic sheep, goat, cattle and pig becomes more firmly established. This sets the trend for sites of the 9th millennium and the appearance of Neolithic communities in SE Europe from the 8th millennium cal BP onwards, from which point domestic animals are ubiquitous in faunal assemblages.     

“Hugon come erindwards”: Finnegans Wake and Ireland’s Huguenots

This paper analyses the rich variety of allusions to the Huguenots in Finnegans Wake, and considers the reasons for Joyce’s interest in this group of Protestant émigrés. Joyce makes several references to the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre, the apotheosis of Huguenot persecution at the hands of the French Catholics, and he draws analogy between their experience and that of other groups of heretics and dissenters. Joyce celebrates the social, commercial, and cultural impact made by the migrants and their descendants, which was disproportionately great for the size of the diaspora. I argue that there are several reasons for Joyce’s engagement with the Huguenots. Their story of sectarian persecution, dispossession, and exile recalls the Irish Catholic experience, but it offers balance to the narrative of Catholic victimhood in depicting a Protestant group that suffered comparable oppression. Most importantly, the remarkable success with which the Huguenots integrated into Irish society offers a positive model for the plurality that Joyce espoused throughout his writing career, culminating in his final work.     

Warwick: report on the excavation of an early 17th‐century English shipwreck in Castle Harbour,Bermuda

Warwick, a colonial merchantman owned and operated by Sir Robert Rich, Second Earl of Warwick, sank in Castle Harbour, Bermuda, in1619. Between 2010 and 2012, Warwick's hull remains and associated artefacts were excavated and recorded. Built early in the 17th century, Warwick’s structure revealed a traditional shipbuilding style. Covered with two layers of planking and a layer of sheathing, the ship was purpose‐built for extended transatlantic voyages. Not exceeding 200 tons, Warwick was an average‐size vessel with sufficient burthen to bring supplies and passengers to the colonies and return with tobacco.     

Some Oxfordshire Seasonal Festivals: With Notes on Morris-Dancing in Oxfordshire

PUEBLO INDIAN RELIGION. By ELSIE CLEWS PARSONS. University of Chicago Press in U.S.A., Camb. Univ. Press in U.K. Two vols., pp. xviii+ 1275 ; 26 plates, 3 text figures and 2 maps. 35s. Reviewed by J. H. H.

ANTHROPOLOGY AND RELIGION. By PETER H. BUCK. Yale University Press, 1939. 96 pp. Price $1.50. Reviewed by E. O. James.     

Wildfire risk,salience, and housing development in the wildland–urban interface

As wildfires increase in both severity and frequency, understanding the role of risk saliency on human behaviors in the face of fire risks becomes paramount. While research has shown that homebuyers capitalize wildfire risk following a fire, studies of the role that risk saliency plays on residential development is limited. This paper aims to fill this gap by studying the link between wildfire risk saliency and the rate of residential development in wildfire-prone areas, by treating recent wildfires as conditionally exogenous shocks to saliency. Using geospatial data on residential development in Colorado, we show that saliency shocks due to wildfire lead to statistically significant reductions in the rate of new development in wildfire risk zones that last upwards of 5 years, a result that is robust to a number of alternative explanations. We explore the policy implications of these findings, noting that education on fire risks may curtail some but not all of the development in these high wildfire-risk areas due to the rapid growth of development in these regions.