Marriage by exception: Marriage dispensations and ecclesiastical policies in nineteenth‐century Rome

A set of documents discovered by chance in the Ecclesiastical Archive in Rome, presenting the preliminary steps that set in motion petitions for marriage dispensations in the mid‐nineteenth century, throws light on the systems of marriage formation among the rural poor. These procedures also illustrate how church laws were understood and employed by ecclesiastical functionaries and by the faithful. For less skilled artisans and unskilled workers, second marriage with the brother or sister of a deceased spouse was customary, and made it possible to renew ties between the original couple's families that would otherwise have dissolved. This required a special dispensation, however, and the procedures required to obtain this illustrate the cultural and political stance of the Catholic Church, and in particular that of the ecclesiastical institutions in Rome in the nineteenth century, which conferred an ambiguous but decisive role on premarital sexual relations, while willingness to make exceptions to the law appears as a means of governance.     

Effectiveness of Phosphocitrate as Salt Crystallization Inhibitor in Porous Materials: Case Study of the Roman Mosaic of Orpheus and the Beasts (Perugia,Italy)

Salt crystallization in porous materials constitutes one of the major causes of decay of buildings/archaeological sites in a wide range of environments. Desalination is among the most common methodologies of conservative treatment for salt decay. However, classic desalination techniques might be not suitable for long-term conservation. During the past decade interest has been an increasing towards crystallization inhibitors as a new means of controlling crystallization damage. This study deals with the first in-field application of an environment-friendly inhibitor system— phosphocitrate (PC). In particular, the case study of the Roman mosaic of Orpheus and the Beasts in Perugia (Italy) is presented. The inhibitor is completely soluble in water or alcohol, non-toxic, and easy to apply, thus enabling its use in accordance with the volatile organic compounds emission control and safety during the conservation works. Relevant samples from control and treated mosaic areas were collected and analyzed comparatively by means of Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry to study the potential of the inhibitor system in preventing/controlling salt damage in such archaeological site.     

Frugality and Luxury: Morality,Market, and Consumption in Late Imperial China

This article contributes to a wider critique of the use of European capitalist, patterns of industrialization in studies of the economic history of modern China—patterns commonly assumed to be universally valid. This sort of analytical framework denies not only the value of alternative economic models, but also that of Chinese independent economic thought. In this context, the present article argues that most of the intellectual changes of seventeenth-century Europe that led to the formulation of liberal capitalism—resistance to government intervention, support for luxury consumption as well as a new understanding of the market and of the relationship between private interests and morality—had taken place in China more than a century earlier. The background against which the two processes emerged, however, varied significantly, leading to distinctive ramifications. Unprecedented population growth and a widening gap between hinterland and coastal economies led Chinese officials and intellectuals to discard ideas of free market and focus instead on solutions for increasing production, maximizing the circulation of resources, and fighting poverty. It was not, therefore, a lack of a “scientific” understanding of the economy that led China to turn away from European-style laissez fare, but rather an evaluation of the Empire’s circumstances, raising questions on whether the European model is indeed universally applicable regardless of local conditions.     

Single carcass of Mammuthus primigenius with lithic artifacts in the Upper Pleistocene of northern Italy

This paper presents the find of a Mammuthus primigenius carcass and associated Mousterian implements from the Last Glacial site of Asolo, in north-eastern Italy. We review the exploitation of proboscidean carcasses at Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites of Africa, Europe and the Levant, including evidence of elephant killing, and summarize recent research on hafting and use of Mousterian points as spearheads already before the end of the Middle Pleistocene. The bones and implements from Asolo are described in detail; we provide information on other Italian sites with mammoth remains and on the Mousterian record of the north-eastern quadrant of the peninsula. A possible impact fracture has been detected on a Levallois point from Asolo; its interpretation is based on comparisons to similar scars found on spear points of verified function from archaeological sites of later age, and on experimental material. We conclude that the evidence of Asolo is consistent with information from a number of Western European sites supporting a picture of Neanderthals as capable hunters of large game, such as woolly mammoth.