Morphometric distinction between bilobate phytoliths from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Panicum miliaceum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Setaria italica</Emphasis> leaves

The development of identification criteria for crop plants based on phytoliths is of high relevance for archaeology, palaeoecology and plant systematics. While identification criteria are available for major food crops, these are mostly based on phytoliths from inflorescences, while other plant parts remain undetected. This paper focuses on bilobate phytoliths from leaves of Panicum miliaceum L. (common millet) and Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet), two taxa that co-occur in regions of Asia and Europe since prehistory and regularly occur at archaeological sites in Eurasia. Leaves of the investigated taxa were systematically sampled to explore the variation of short cells and to collect 27 morphometric variables of bilobate phytoliths with newly developed open-source software. The data was analysed by discriminant analysis, analysis of variance and multiple comparison tests. The resulting morphometric data from five populations per species enables a distinction between the bilobate phytoliths of P. miliaceum and S. italica. Observed differences between populations within species affect only few parameters. This possibility to classify populations of bilobate phytoliths from P. miliaceum and S. italica leaves offers a new method for the detection and identification of these taxa in archaeology, amongst others.     

The Gender of Militancy: Notes on the Possibilities of a Different History of Political Action

Departing from some texts that examine women's participation in clandestine organisations in Brazil and Argentina during the 1960s and 1970s, the author discusses possibilities of a different approach towards the historiography of political action, particularly focusing on left-wing parties. Oral history contributes towards recovering subjectivity, a dimension little explored in political historiography. This dimension is usually confined to a private sphere that appears as radically severed from the public sphere. The articulation of these two spaces as well as tensions, conflicts and complementarities between masculine and feminine roles take the history of women away from the ghetto, allowing this new perspective to analyse political action in a complex way     

Starch grain characterization of Prosopis chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz and P. flexuosa DC,and the analysis of their archaeological remains in Andean South America

The fruit (pods) of Prosopis (Fabaceae) are frequently recovered from pre-Hispanic Argentinian archaeological sites, suggesting that this genus was of importance in ancient economies in this region. Yet it is only recently that archaeobotanists have begun to carry out systematic research into this genus. Therefore many questions remain to be addressed concerning the food value of Prosopis fruit, and its potential contribution. This paper examines starch from the pods of two species, Prosopis flexuosa and Prosopis chilensis, for the purposes of describing and classifying their morphological features and biometrical parameters. Pods of both species were gathered from two extremes (northern and southern) of the Hualfín Valley, Catamarca, Argentina. Starch abundance is estimated and compared with that of Zea mays, an economically important plant with high concentrations of starch. This paper reveals that Prosopis pods contain very low amounts of starch compared to starch-rich edible species. Despite this, the recovery of Prosopis starch grains can be successfully used to assess archaeological tool uses. Prosopis starch grains were found to be highly variable in shape. Grain size ranged between 10 and 20 μm. Granule irregularity and the high birefringence under polarized light are two of the most important diagnostic features. No significant statistical differences were found in the structure (morphology, size and hilum) of the starch of the same species from both localities. Finally, the implications for the role of this plant in past societies are discussed.     

Sasanian glass from Veh Ardašīr: new evidences by ICP-MS analysis

Forty-seven glass fragments excavated at Veh Ardašīr, in central Iraq, were analysed by ICP-MS, determining 38 chemical elements; the samples represented finished objects as well as waste and raw glass. The obtained data point to the use of sodic plant ash for the production of glass in the entire Sasanian period (third–seventh century AD), strengthening previous results from another set of fragments from the same site. Magnesium and phosphorus contents give further evidence of the possible use of different kinds of plant ash, while trace element levels and some element correlations suggest the recourse to different silica sources. As a whole, the obtained results allow one to recognize three main glass compositions, related to the use of different silica sources combined with different kinds of plant ash. The occurrence of waste and raw glass in all groups of composition confirms that at least glass working took place in Veh Ardašīr.     

Tuberculosis on the north coast of Peru: skeletal and molecular paleopathology of late pre-Hispanic and postcontact mycobacterial disease

This paper examines skeletal and ancient DNA evidence in the study of suspected tuberculosis infection in the late pre-Hispanic and Colonial-era Lambayeque Valley Complex, north coast Peru (A.D. 900–1750). We integrate information on macroscopic lesion characteristics and distribution, radiographic and CT scan imagery, and analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex rpoB and IS6110 ancient DNA (aDNA) sequences. Destructive lesions were observed in the vertebral bodies of three precontact indigenous adult males, one colonial adolescent female, and in the cranium of a Colonial-period subadult. Assessment of lesion morphology and distribution led us to consider multiple diseases, but tuberculosis represents the most likely diagnostic option in all individuals. DNA was poorly preserved in all samples, but an IS6110 sequence was amplified in one precontact individual consistent with macroscopic diagnosis. These findings expand the geographic and temporal extent of tuberculosis to the late pre-Hispanic and Colonial north coast of Peru to highlight potential synergisms between diet, settlement patterns, and the evolution of Andean tuberculosis before and after European conquest. Moreover, this study helps focus several key questions in Andean tuberculosis research, including possible reassessment of the presence of the IS6110 sequence in the pre-Columbian Americas. Methodological considerations include differential diagnosis – especially with incomplete skeletons – and limitations of aDNA studies underscoring an approach integrating macroscopic, radiographic, and molecular lines of evidence in the paleopathological investigation of one of humankind’s most devastating and destabilizing diseases.     

What’s the point? Retouched bladelet variability in the Protoaurignacian. Results from Fumane,Isturitz, and Les Cottés

The Protoaurignacian is considered a cultural proxy for one of the first expansions of anatomically modern humans across Europe. The stabilization of bladelet industries that characterizes this techno-complex is therefore often used as supporting evidence for the break from previous stone knapping traditions and also for the increase of human mobility through wider territories. Despite the cultural importance that bladelets have gained, a careful inter-regional comparison, stressing similarities and differences, has not yet been attempted. Moreover, the use of traditional typologies has blurred the morpho-metrical variability that characterizes lamellar tools. Here, a study has been carried out on retouched bladelets from three pivotal sites: Fumane (northeast Italy), Isturitz (southwest France), and Les Cottés (northern France). By using morphological, dimensional, and retouching attributes, and by evaluating the statistical significance of the main differences, the first detailed analysis of the variability of retouched bladelets within the Protoaurignacian has been documented. The results indicate that the features that best discriminate the bladelet assemblages are the presence and the relative variability of bladelets with convergent retouch, although a reassessment of existing studies and new methodological approaches are required to test the latter hypothesis. Throughout this paper, we demonstrate the merits of using a unified classification of retouched bladelets for comparing behavior in between groups distant in space. We hope that this paper will be a new incentive to develop unified taxonomies for the study of Early Upper Paleolithic lithics in Western Eurasia.     

When populists meet technocrats. The Italian innovation in government formation

This article provides an analysis of how the 4 March Italian electoral results have affected the formation of the government. Numerically there existed four possible governing coalitions: Five Star Movement (M.5.S.) plus Centre-Right; M.5.S. plus Democratic Party; Centre-Right plus Democratic Party; M.5.S. plus League. Once the resigning secretary of the Democratic Party decided that his party had to go and remain in the opposition and the M.5.S. declared that they would not enter any coalition that included Silvio Berlusconi, politically only one coalition remained feasible. After a long process of negotiations revealing that their platforms could converge, Di Maio’s M.5.S. and Salvini’s League reached an agreement, identified the head of the government, drafted a list of Ministers. The president of the republic constitutionally legitimate refusal to appoint one of those ministers because of his anti-Euro and anti-European stances seemed to wreck the agreement. Also, in order to avoid a non-partisan government and, probably, snap elections, the M.5.S. and the League downgraded the controversial minister and proceed to the formation of the government led by neophyte law professor Giuseppe Conte. In the first week of June an unprecedented government duly received the confidence of the Italian parliament.