FightingFit? Diet,Disease, and Disability in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914–18

In spite of considerable period propaganda to the otherwise, the average member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was far from a northern superman. Some, in fact, were quite the opposite. A close analysis of enlistment records indicates that majority of Canada’s would-be warriors not only were — as one might expect — of average height and build, but also that many suffered from a wide variety of health concerns ranging from poor eyesight and dentition through to serious musculoskeletal, neurological, and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, evidence suggests that many recruits were poorly nourished. Indeed, despite the very real horrors and dangers that the Great War presented, the enlistment and discharge weights of CEF members suggests that joining the military was actually good for many Canadian males. This analysis is based on summary statistical examination of the medical and attestation papers of over 20,000 servicemen and a close textual analysis of the full file for a smaller number of men.     

Sasanian glass from Veh Ardašīr investigated by strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis

A collection of 31 glass fragments, dated to the 3rd to 7th century AD and excavated in Veh Ardašīr, (modern Iraq), were analysed for their Sr and Nd isotopic compositions with the aim of deepening our knowledge on glass circulating within central Mesopotamia during Sasanian times and to highlight the merits of isotope ratios for the definition of the production scenery. Based on the elemental composition of the samples, two groups related to the exploitation of different plant ashes were previously distinguished, and also a change in the silica source in the course of the 4th century AD emerged. The determination of isotopic distributions of Sr and Nd offers a deeper insight. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratio, together with the Sr elemental concentration, confirms this use of different plant ashes, and permits one to distinguish distinct glass batches, although the isotopic Sr signature does not allow us to highlight evidences of different provenances for the samples of different composition. Moreover, the ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope ratio suggests the use of sands belonging to a common geological area, and also allows the identification of a set of samples that were possibly produced exploiting a further different sand source. As a whole, Sr and Nd isotope ratio values for the samples considered, i.e. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70833 to 0.70916 and ?Nd = −8.69 to −4.98, differ from the published isotopic data on middle Eastern glass samples and can therefore define a characteristic Sr–Nd signature for plant-ash Sasanian glass excavated in Veh Ardašīr.