Ethnoarchaeological analysis of Arctic fish processing: chemical characterization of soils on Nelson Island,Alaska

Activity area analysis of archaeological soils using multi-element characterizations can illuminate how subsistence operations are organized and how subsistence behavior has changed over time, and is increasingly common at archaeological sites. However, in many regions it is impossible to examine the elemental signatures in known anthropogenic soil samples in order to compare them with unknown archaeological samples. This ethnoarchaeological study examines the chemical composition of the soils at known fish processing areas in the contemporary community of Tununak on Nelson Island, western Alaska. Using a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (Q-ICP-MS), the concentrations of the following elements in the soil extract were recorded in parts per million (ppm): aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), and zinc (Zn). Fish processing area features are elevated in various elements, including sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese, and Ba/Sr, Ba/Ca, and Sr/Ca are also useful in distinguishing between fish processing areas and offsite areas.     

Introducing δSr analysis in archaeology: a demonstration of the utility of strontium isotope fractionation in paleodietary studies

Isotopic methods are widely used in archaeology to investigate paleodiet. Here, we present a new method to identify trophic level in archaeological human populations and to investigate paleodiet. We demonstrate that strontium isotope compositions (reported as δ^88/86Sr) vary in a mass-dependent manner with increasing trophic level and can elucidate paleodiet in archaeological human populations. We present new mass-dependent strontium isotope data from tooth enamel and bone from individuals buried during the Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 1000–1300) in the large cemeteries of Chiribaya Alta, Chiribaya Baja, San Gerónimo, and El Yaral in the Ilo and Moquegua Valleys of southern Peru. We compare these data to radiogenic strontium isotope data (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and light stable isotope data (δ¹⁵N_col and δ¹³C_col) from the same individuals to investigate geologic variability in strontium sources as well as marine food consumption among the Chiribaya. Our results demonstrate the utility of measurements of strontium isotope fractionation as a new tool for archaeological investigation of paleodiet. Importantly, this new technique can be used to generate paleodietary (δ^88/86Sr) and paleomobility (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) data from the same specimen, minimizing destructive analyses of invaluable archaeological material, and provides a new way to examine paleodiet through hydroxyapatite, which is particularly important when collagen is poorly preserved.     

Soil chemical signatures of a historic sod house: activity area analysis of an arctic semisubterranean structure on Nelson Island,Alaska

On Nelson Island in western Alaska, some Yup’ik inhabitants built and inhabited semisubterranean houses until the early 1960s. This affords a unique opportunity to examine known activity areas of ethnoarchaeological soils using multielement chemical characterization of soils. These data can then be compared to archaeological investigations, allowing a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the activities performed in the past. Here, we present elemental concentration data from soil extracts, generated with a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, of the following elements in the soil extract recorded in parts per billion: sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), lead (Pb), and uranium (U). When compared to an offsite area, the sod house samples were enriched in phosphorus and magnesium, and specific areas within the sod house exhibited different signatures related to different activities, including the incorporation of wood ash and waste into the soil.     

A Fisk patent metallic burial case from Western Missouri: an interdisciplinary and comprehensive effort to reconstruct the history of an early settler of Lexington,Missouri

In 2006 a cast-iron coffin was discovered in an unmarked burial plot in Lexington, Missouri. A multifaceted investigation was conducted to provide historical documentation and possible identification of the individual. The coffin is an early Fisk Patent Metallic Burial Case. Osteological analyses indicate that the skeletal remains belong to a 20 to 30 year old white female who consistently ate an omnivorous diet with significant amounts of C4 plants or seafood. Rib morphology and her burial garments suggest she frequently wore restrictive clothing. No gross skeletal pathological lesions or trauma were observed except for a patch of reactive bone and an atypical pattern of bone remodeling on the visceral surface of the sixth rib. Subsequent bacterial DNA analysis of the ribs and sternum indicate the presence of tuberculosis infection. Although not conclusive, multiple lines of evidence are consistent with the skeletal remains representing Elizabeth (Triplett) Stewart who died in 1854 of pulmonary tuberculosis. This multidisciplinary research significantly contributes to the local history of Lexington, Missouri and provides a likely identification of the deceased individual for the Stewart Family.     

When things were ‘closing-in’ and ‘rolling up’: the imaginative geography of Elizabeth Bowen’s Anglo-Irish war novel The Last September

This paper examines the imaginative geography of Elizabeth Bowen’s 1929 novel The Last September. Drawing on Said’s analysis of imaginative geographies as registers of territorial identity, I consider the ways in which Bowen’s text maps Anglo-Irish territorial identity in early twentieth-century Ireland. Reading the text as an authoritative, albeit subjective, record of Anglo-Irish experience in Ireland, I identify four interconnected spaces which constitute the imaginative geography of the novel: the open, empty and isolated country; a wider landscape of resistance and control; a distant but necessary England; and an historical landscape of colonial decline. In conclusion, I outline how the concept of imaginative geographies provides a useful lens through which the often fragmented and conflicted nature of territorial identities, both during and after the colonial period, can be explored.     

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Konig, David Thomas, ed. Devising Liberty: Preserving and Creating Freedom in the New American Republic Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press 383 pages, $45.00. ISBN 0-8047-2536-5 Publication Date: October 1995

Campbell, Colin and Bert A. Rockman, eds. The Clinton Presidency: First Appraisals Chatham, NJ: Chatham House 408 pp., $30.00 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 1-56643-013-5 cloth ISBN 1-56643-014-3 paper Publication Date: 1995

Drew, Elizabeth Showdown: The Struggle Between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House New York: Simon &; Schuster 398 pp., $25.00, ISBN 0-684-81518-4 Publication Date: April 1996

Walden, Gregory S. On Best Behavior: The Clinton Administration and Ethics in Government Indianapolis: Hudson Institute 637 pp., $19.95 paper ISBN 1-55813-056-X paper Publication Date: January 1996

Campagna, Anthony S. Economic Policy in the Carter Administration Westport, CT: Greenwood 216 pp., $59.95, ISBN 0-313-?.9568-9 Publication Date: October 1995

Tarr, G. Alan, ed. Constitutional Politics in the States: Contemporary Controversies and Historical Patterns Westport, CT: Greenwood 223 pp., $59.95, ISBN 0-313-28523-3 Publication Date: April 1996

Pinello, Daniel R. The Impact of Judicial-Selection Method on State Supreme Court Policy: Innovation, Reaction, and Atrophy Westport, CT: Greenwood 248 pp., $59.95. ISBN 0-313-29243-4 Publication Date: October 1995

Franklin, John Hope and Genna Rae McNeil, eds. African Americans and the Living Constitution Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press 364 pp., $45.00 cloth, $14.95 paper ISBN 1-56098-472-4 cloth ISBN 1-56098-471-6 paper Publication Date: June 1995

Schwartz, Bernard The Unpublished Opinions of the Rehnquist Court New York: Oxford University Press 492 pp., $45.00, ISBN 0-19-509332-1 Publication Date: 1996

Greenawalt, Kent Fighting Words: Individuals, Communities, and Liberties of Speech Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 189 pp., $24.95, ISBN 0-691-03638-1 Publication Date: May 1995

Kramnick, Isaac and R. Laurence Moore The Godless Constitution: The Case against Religious Correctness New York: W.W. Norton 191 pp., $22.00, ISBN 0-393-03961-7 Publication Date: January 1996

Rozell, Mark J. and Clyde Wilcox Second Coming: The New Christian Right in Virginia Politics Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 285 pp., $32.95, ISBN 0-8018-5297-8 Publication Date: April 1996

Gove, Samuel K. and James D. Nowlan Illinois Politics and Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press 290 pp. $45.00 cloth. $20.00 paper ISBN 0-8032-2120-7 cloth ISBN 0-8032-7014-3 paper Publication Date: June 1996

Finegold, Kenneth Experts and Politicians: Reform Challenges to Machine Politics in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 264 pp., $39.50. ISBN 0-691-03734-5 Publication Date: March 1995

Shafer, Byron E. and William J. M. Claggett The Two Majorities: The Issue Context of Modern American Politics Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 227 pp., $45.00 cloth, $14.95 paper ISBN 0-8018-5018-5 cloth ISBN 0-8018-5019-3 paper Publication date: August 1995

Ansolabehere, Stephen and Shanto Iyengar Going Negative: How Political Advertisements Shrink and Polarize the Electorate New York: Free Press 243 pp., $24.00, ISBN 0-684-82284-9 Publication Date: January 1996

Stein, Robert M. and Kenneth N. Bickers Perpetuating the Pork Barrel: Policy Subsystems and American Democracy New York: Cambridge University Press 232 pp., $49.95. ISBN 0-521-48298-4 Publication Date: December 1995

Mucciaroni, Gary Reversals of Fortune: Public Policy and Private Interests Washington, DC: Brookings Institution 225 pp., $34.95 cloth. $14.95 paper ISBN 0-8157-5876-6 cloth ISBN 0-8157-5875-8 paper Publication Date: January 1995

Ottosen, Gary K. and Douglas N. Thompson Reducing Unemployment: A Case for Government Deregulation Westport, CT: Praeger 171 pp., $49.95, ISBN 0-275-95360-2 Publication Date: January 1996

Handler, Joel F. Down from Bureaucracy: The Ambiguity of Privatization and Empowerment Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 269 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-691-04461-9 Publication Date: May 1996

Yandle, Bruce, ed. Land Rights: The 1990s' Property Rights Rebellion Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 333 pp., $57.50 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8028-2 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8029-0 paper Publication Date: June 1995

Jacobsohn, Gary Jeffrey and Susan Dunn, eds. Diversity and Citizenship: Rediscovering American Nationhood Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 156 pp., $49.50 cloth, $18.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8091-6 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8092-4 paper Publication Date: February 1996

Bennett, Vivienne The Politics of Water: Urban Protest, Gender, and Power in Monterrey, Mexico Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press 232 pp., ISBN 0-8229-3908-8 Publication Date: December 1995

Morris, Stephen D. Political Reformism in Mexico: An Overview of Contemporary Mexican Politics Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner 261 pp., $49.95 cloth, $19.95 paper ISBN 1-55587-572-6 cloth ISBN 1-55587-594-7 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Roy, Olivier Afghanistan: From Holy War to Civil War Princeton, NJ: The Darwin Press 141 pp., $24.95, ISBN-0-87850-076-6 Publication Date: December 1995

Waltz, Susan E. Human Rights and Reform: Changing the Face of North African Politics Berkeley, CA: University of California Press 281 pp., $45.00 cloth, $16.00 paper ISBN 0-520-20003-9 cloth ISBN 0-520-20254-6 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Cordesman, Anthony H. and Abraham R. Wagner The Lessons of Modern War, Vol. 4: The Gulf War Boulder, CO: Westview 1022 pp., $98.00 cloth. $23.95 paper ISBN 0-8133-8601-2 cloth ISBN 0-8133-8602-0 paper Publication Date: April 1996

Righter, Rosemary Utopia Lost: The United Nations and World Order New York: Twentieth Century Fund 420 pp. $29.95, ISBN 0-87078-358-0 Publication Date: December 1995

Winslow, Anne, ed. Women, Politics, and the United Nations Westport, CT: Greenwood 213 pp., $59.95, ISBN 0-313-29522-0 Publication Date: 1995

Weiss, Thomas G. and Leon Gordenker, eds. NGOs, the UN, and Global Governance Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner 250 pp., $45.00 cloth, $18.95 paper ISBN 1-55587-613-7 cloth ISBN 1-55587-626-9 paper Publication Date: January 1996

Kolodziej, Edward A. and Roger E. Kanet, eds. Coping with Conflict after the Cold War Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 407 pp., $49.95. ISBN 0-8018-5106-8 Publication Date: April 1996

Sanderson, Stephen K., ed. Civilizations and World Systems: Studying World-Historical Change Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press 324 pp., $46.00 cloth, $24.95 paper ISBN 0-7619-91042 cloth ISBN 0-7619-91050 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Held, David Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press 324 pp., $49.50 cloth, $16.95 paper ISBN 0-8047-2686-8 cloth ISBN 0-8047-2687-6 cloth Publication Date: March 1996

Schneider, Barry R. and Lawrence E. Grinter Battlefield of the Future: Twenty-First Century Warfare Issues Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air War College 279 pp., CIP 95-36229 paper Publication Date: 1995

Roepke, Wilhelm The Moral Foundations of Civil Society New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction 235 pp., $21.95 paper ISBN 1-56000-852-0 paper Publication Date: 1995

Hekman, Susan J. Moral Voices, Moral Selves: Carol Gilligan and Feminist Moral Theory University Park, PA: Penn State Press 188 pp., $40.00 cloth. $16.95 paper ISBN 0-271-01483-0 cloth ISBN 0-271-01484-9 paper Publication Date: July 1995

Anderson, Walter Truett, ed. The Truth About the Truth: De-confusing and Re-constructing the Postmodern World New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons 260 pp., $13.95 paper ISBN 0-87477-801-8 paper Publication Date: September 1995

Carver, Terrell and Paul Thomas, eds. Rational Choice Marxism University Park, PA: Penn State Press 338 pp., $45.00 cloth $16.95 paper ISBN 0-271-01463-6 cloth ISBN 0-271-01464-4 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Lodge, Milton and Kathleen M. McGraw, eds. Political Judgment: Structure and Process Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press 313 pp., $39.50, ISBN 0-472-10541-8 Publication Date: June 1995

Simon, Thomas W. Democracy and Social Injustice: Law, Politics, and Philosophy Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 341 pp., $69.50 cloth, $24.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-7937-3 cloth ISBN 0-8476-7938-1 paper Publication Date: 1995

Miller, William L., ed. Alternatives to Freedom: Arguments and Opinions New York: Longman 230 pp., ISBN 0-582-25130-3 Publication Date: December 1995

Fowler, Michael Ross and Julie Marie Bunck Law, Power, and the Sovereign State: The Evolution and Application of the Concept of Sovereignty University Park, PA: Penn State Press 200 pp., $28.50 cloth. $13.95 paper ISBN 0-271-01470-9 cloth ISBN 0-271-01471-7 paper Publication Date: December 1995

Graham, John D. and Jonathan Baert Wiener, eds. Risk vs. Risk: Tradeoffs in Protecting Health and the Environment Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 337 pp., $39.95. ISBN 0-674-77304-7 Publication Date: November 1995

Wise, M. Norton, ed. The Values of Precision Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 372 pp., $49.50, ISBN 0-691-03759-0 Publication Date: April 1995

Ball, Terence Reappraising Political Theory: Revisionist Studies in the History of Political Thought New York: Oxford University Press 310 pp., ISBN 0-19-827995-7 paper Publication Date: 1995

Levine, David R Wealth and Freedom: An Introduction to Political Economy New York: Cambridge University Press 191 pp., $49.95 cloth, $15.95 paper ISBN 0-521-44314-8 cloth ISBN 0-521-44791-7 paper Publication Date: August 1995

Grasso, Kenneth L., Gerard V. Bradley, and Robert P. Hunt, eds. Catholicism, Liberalism, and Communitarianism: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the Moral Foundations of Democracy Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 271 pp., $64.50 cloth, $26.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-7995-0 cloth ISBN 0-8476-7994-2 paper Publication Date: September 1995

Ryan, Alan John Dewey and the High Tide of American Liberalism New York: Norton 414 pp., $30.00. ISBN 0-393-03773-8 Publication Date: July 1995

Meier, Heinrich; trans. J. Harvey Lomax Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue Chicago: University of Chicago Press 136 pp. $19.95, ISBN 0-226-51889-2 Publication Date: November 1995

McAllister, Ted V. Revolt against Modernity: Leo Strauss, Eric Voegelin, and the Search for a Postliberal Order Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas 323 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-7006-0740-4 Publication Date: January 1996

Sorenson, Leonard R. Madison on the “General Welfare” of America: His Consistent Constitutional Vision Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 198 pp., $58.50 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8065-7 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8064-9 paper Publication Date: August 1995

Katz, Ellis and G. Alan Tarr, eds. Federalism and Rights Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 208 pp., $57.50 cloth, $29.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8089-4 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8090-8 paper Publication Date: February 1996

Duerst-Lahti, Georgia and Rita Mae Kelly, eds. Gender Power, Leadership, and Governance Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press 305 pp., $47.50 cloth, $17.95 paper ISBN 0-472-09610 cloth ISBN 0-472-06610 paper Publication Date: February 1996

Wintz, Cary D., ed. African American Political Thought, 1890-1930: Washington, Du Bois, Garvey, and Randolph Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe 344 pp., $59.95 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 1-56324-178-1 cloth ISBN 1-56324-179-X paper Publication Date: February 1996

Cossolotto, Matthew The Almanac of European Politics 1995 Washington, DC: CQ Press 321 pp., $49.95 cloth, $29.95 paper ISBN 0-87187-914-X cloth ISBN 0-87187-913-1 paper Publication Date: June 1995

Parrish, Thomas The Cold War Encyclopedia New York: Henry Holt 490 pp., $60.00, ISBN 0-8050-2778-5 Publication Date: January 1996

Comfort, Nicholas, ed. Brewer's Politics: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Revised ed. London: Cassell 693 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-304-34659-4 Publication Date: April 1996

Merry, Robert W. Taking on the World: Joseph and Stewart Alsop, Guardians of the American Century New York: Viking 644 pp., $34.95. ISBN 0-670-83868-3 Publication Date: February 1996