Prehistoric dental modification in West Africa – early evidence from Karkarichinkat Nord,Mali

This paper reports the earliest securely dated evidence for intentional dental modification in West Africa. Human remains representing 11 individuals were recovered from the sites of Karkarichikat Nord (KN05) and Karkarichinkat Sud (KS05) in the lower Tilemsi Valley of eastern Mali. The modified anterior maxillary dentitions of four individuals were recovered from KN05. The dental modification involved the removal of the mesial and distal angles of the incisor, as well as the mesial angles of the canines. The modifications did not result from task‐specific wear or trauma, but appear instead to have been produced for aesthetic purposes. All of the filed teeth belonged to probable females, suggesting the possibility of sex‐specific cultural modification. Radiocarbon dates from the site indicate that the remains pertain to the Late Stone Age (ca. 4500–4200 BP). Dental modification has not previously been reported from this region of West Africa and our findings indicate that the practice was more widespread during prehistory. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Limb bones asymmetry and stress in medieval and recent populations of Central Europe

Monitoring the degree of asymmetry in different parts of the human body can contribute to population studies, as it may be connected indirectly with the social structure, living conditions, and also with biomechanical stress affecting the person. Analysis of asymmetry may also assess preferential use of the right or left of the body during specific activities. This study is based on the measurements of bones of the upper and lower limbs of skeletons derived from the remarkable medieval cemeteries of Mikulčice‐Kostelisko (78 male, 132 female) and Prušánky (66 male, 69 female) (9th–12th centuries AD), and a series of skeletons representing a recent population from Bohemia (143 male, 157 female). The objective was to assess directional asymmetry (DA), fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and antisymmetry (AS) of the dimensions of the evaluated bones, and to use these data to compare the characteristics of the medieval and recent populations. DA was recorded in most dimensions. In the upper limb, the humerus exhibited the greatest expression of asymmetry, and, with the exception of the clavicle, DA was always more pronounced on the right side. Conversely, DA was less prevalent in the lower limb bones. It was more pronounced on the transverse, sagittal and circumferential dimensions of the diaphyses and epiphyses than on the length, and in most cases it was on the left side. The FA values were very low, and almost negligible in relation to the size. Nevertheless, FA was markedly more frequent on the lower than on the upper limb. In contrast to the medieval population, the recent population had higher FA and DA values. Thus, we propose that people from this medieval population were subjected to lower developmental stress than the recent sample. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The application of structured‐light illumination microscopy to hydrocarbon‐bearing fluid inclusions

Structured‐light illumination (SLI)‐based microscopy offers geologists a new perspective for screening of hydrocarbon‐bearing (HCFI) and small aqueous fluid inclusion (AFI) assemblages. This optical‐sectioning technique provides rapid, confocal‐like imaging, using relatively simple and inexpensive instrumentation. The 3D fluorescent images of HCFI planes and large single HCFIs permit the visualization of the relationships between HCFI assemblages, examination of HCFI morphology, and volume estimates of the fluorescent components within HCFIs. By the use of normal white light illumination, SLI image capture, and varying acquisition time it is also possible to image AFI because of the random movements of vapour bubbles within the inclusions. This allows the near‐simultaneous visualization of hydrocarbon and AFI which is of significant importance for the study of sedimentary basins and petroleum reservoirs. SLI is a unique and accessible 3D petrographic tool, with practical advantages over conventional epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy.     

Minting in Vandal North Africa: coins of the Vandal period in the Coin Cabinet of Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum

This paper offers a re‐examination of some problems regarding the coinage of Vandal North Africa. The coinage of this barbarian successor state is one of the first non‐imperial coinages in the Mediterranean world of the fifth and sixth centuries. Based on the fine collection in the Coin Cabinet of Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, this article questions the chronology of the various issues and monetary relations between the denominations under the Vandal kings, especially after the reign of Gunthamund (484–96). The Vandals needed and created a solid financial system. In terms of political, administrative and economic structures they tried to integrate their realm into the changing world of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.     

Late third‐millennium elite burials in Bahrain

Studies of old aerial photographs of the Bahrain burial mound fields have revealed that a small number of both Early Type (c. 2200–2050 BC) and Late Type (c. 2050–1750 BC) mounds are encircled by an outer ring wall, apparently marking out the mound as belonging to an elite. Four of these mounds have been excavated, and the results are presented. The geological differences between the Early Type and the Late Type mound landscapes are discussed.     

Locational Equilibria in Weberian Agglomeration

A simple Weberian agglomeration is developed and then extended as an innovative fixed‐charged, colocation model over a large set of locational possibilities. The model is applied to cases in which external economies (EE) arise due to colocation alone and also cases in which EE arise due to city size. Solutions to the model are interpreted in the context of contemporary equilibrium analysis, which allows Weberian agglomeration to be interpreted in a more general way than in previous analyses. Within that context, the Nash points and Pareto efficient points in the location patterns derived in the model are shown to rarely coincide. The applications consider agglomeration from two perspectives: one is the colocation behavior of producers as the agents of agglomeration and the other is the interaction between government and those agents in the interest of agglomeration policy. Extending the analysis to games, potential Pareto efficiency and Hicks optimality are considered with respect to side payments between producers and with respect to appropriate government incentives toward agglomeration.