Confirmation of the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex‐specific DNA in three archaeological specimens

This journal published the first reported identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) DNA in ancient human remains but concerns were raised about the article two years after publication. These were based on methodology which, in the field of ancient DNA, was still developing. Here we present a re‐examination of the 1993 research conducted on three specimens which exhibited palaeopathologies indicative of tuberculosis. The specimens were: an ulna from pre‐European‐contact Borneo, a spine from Byzantine Turkey, and a lumbar‐sacral spine from 17th century Scotland. There was insufficient material to permit re‐examination of all of the original samples. The earlier results were confirmed in two independent laboratories using different methodologies. MTB DNA complex‐specific DNA amplicons were obtained, and sequenced in both laboratories, in a re‐analysis of samples which supported the earlier findings. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rare animals at a Mississippian chiefly compound: the Irene Mound site (9CH1), Georgia,USA

ABSTRACT

The Irene Mound site (9CH1) was a Middle and Late Mississippian site (ca. AD 1150–1450) situated on a bluff overlooking the lower Savannah River, Georgia (USA), a few kilometers upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. The 2.4 ha site consisted of a sequence of superimposed layers referred to as temple mounds, as well as a burial mound, a rotunda, a few residences, and other structures. It is interpreted as the residence of a chiefly lineage. The presence of animals rare or absent in other precolonial coastal assemblages distinguishes the Irene assemblage from others along the coast. Some of the animals exhibit atypical, even dangerous, behavior, others have elaborate feathers or fine fur, and many are notable coastal fishers. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) specimens in the assemblage are dominated by portions from the body. Irene may provide a zooarchaeological standard for assessing evidence of site functions and status in other coastal assemblages.     

“Skilled,Cheap, and Desperate”1: Non‐tenure‐track Faculty and the Delusion of Meritocracy

Over the past 25 or so years, geographers have produced sophisticated critical tools to examine systems like patriarchy, racism, and heteronormativity. However, they have not used those critical tools to examine the problem of institutional hierarchy in the academy. There are many kinds of institutional hierarchy, but the paper focuses on one particular structure: the difference between tenure‐track and non‐tenure‐track faculty. I call for much greater critical reflection on the existence and experience of non‐tenure‐track faculty in geography. I argue that it is essential to undermine the structures and assumed wisdom of the hierarchy, for the sake of non‐tenure‐track faculty, the discipline, and the academy as a whole. Destabilizing the structures requires multiple strategies. I argue that one key strategy is for non‐tenure‐track faculty to tell their stories, to offer their critical perspective from the lower rungs of the hierarchy. The last part of the paper is an autobiographical account designed to give a better idea of how one such story might look.