Donkey Domestication

Donkeys are one of the least studied large domestic animals, even though they are economically important in many regions of the world. They are predominantly used as transport animals. Consequently, they are not kept in large numbers and this limits the number of archaeological specimens available for study. The donkey’s closest relative is the African wild ass, and genetic studies and zooarchaeological analyses of early donkeys indicate domestication of two genetically separate groups of wild asses in Africa. Maternal relationships revealed by mitochondrial DNA show that one group of donkeys was derived from the Nubian wild ass and that one was derived from an unknown ancestor distinct from the Somali wild ass.     

A Study of African Wild Ass Behavior Provides Insights into Conservation Issues, Domestication Processes and Archaeological Interpretation

African wild asses (Equus africanus) were the wild ancestors of the donkey and are now critically endangered. Ethological and middle range research on Somali wild asses (E. a. somaliensis) at the Saint Louis Zoo provides insights into social behavior in captive setting and domestication processes. We observed a group of three young female Somali wild asses to develop an ethogram of social behavior in the first phase of a longer-term study of social, sexual, and maternal/infant behavior. The most unexpected finding was the frequency and extent of aggressive interactions, yet they also displayed a preference for close proximity. As the first quantitative study of the social behavior of wild asses, these results provide insights into domestication processes, suggesting that in captivity African wild asses are behaviorally plastic. These findings regarding the behavior of captive wild asses further the goals of both archaeology and conservation biology.     

Reflections on the Pedagogy of Archaeological Field Schools within Indigenous Community Archaeology Programmes in Australia

In this paper we investigate the pedagogy of archaeological field schools. Specifically, we explore the combination of tertiary level field schools and Indigenous community (or community-based) archaeology. Using a detailed case study of a rock art field school in Arnhem Land, Australia, we explore the processes and outcomes of combining archaeological field training with the ideas and methods of community archaeology. We discuss the relationship and unique challenges faced by such community archaeology field schools, particularly that of balancing the priorities of competing stakeholders. Our discussion illustrates the complexities of training students to work in an environment where cultural belief systems are still strongly linked to sites and landscapes. While the challenges are numerous, the outcomes, particularly for students, provide an unparalleled educational experience, one that cannot be obtained in any other learning format.     

Using foraminifera to distinguish between natural and cultural shell deposits in coastal eastern Australia

Foraminifera are single cell protozoa that are ubiquitous in marine environments. Although the hard casings, or tests, of foraminifera are routinely studied in the earth sciences, they have been little studied by archaeologists, despite their potential to contribute to understandings of coastal site formation processes and palaeoenvironments. In this study techniques and methods of foraminiferal analysis are developed and applied to the problem of distinguishing between natural and cultural marine shell deposits, using the Mort Creek Site Complex, central Queensland, Australia, as a case study. Results allow separation of natural and cultural deposits based on foraminiferal density. Natural deposits were found to have >1000 foraminifera per 100 g of sediment, while cultural deposits exhibited <50 foraminifera per 100 g of sediment. Results allow us to better understand site formation processes at the Mort Creek Site Complex and highlight the potential of foraminiferal analyses in the interpretation of terrestrial marine deposits.     

Public Sector Relocation Policies in the UK and Ireland1

Public sector relocation from capital cities to reduce costs and ameliorate regional disparities has been a high profile but little researched government policy. The paper outlines the reasons for the growth of interest in public sector relocation in Europe, and then compares UK and Irish relocation policies. It argues there appears to be a good case for public sector relocation, but there is less agreement on the precise means whereby dispersal should be achieved. The paper highlights successful aspects of public sector relocation policies in the UK and Ireland and indicates areas for further research. Successful public sector dispersal depends on a willingness on the part of government to take a long-term view, and historical evidence suggests it is difficult to move senior posts from the capital.     

Intergovernmental managerialism: Appropriating the universities

A number of recent writings from federalist scholars have been critical of the coordinate approach to Australian federalism adopted by Commonwealth and state authorities since the Special Premiers’ Conference of 1990. The likely outcome of a coordinate rather than concurrent stance, they suggest, is dominance by one government in a policy sphere and the attenuation of many of the positive and creative elements offered by a federal structure. This article involves a case study of higher education which supports the concerns of the federalists. It is argued that since the introduction of a coordinate framework in 1987–88, buttressed by managerialist principles, the Commonwealth has succeeded in gaining almost complete control over a policy arena that was previously shared with the states. One consequence of this outcome has been a deterioration in the quality of policy formulation and implementation.     

Defining maritime boundaries: 'the murky hand of history's oversight' in the Gulf of Maine

In this paper, an unresolved boundary dispute in the Gulf of Maine, between the United States and Canada, in an area known as the Grey Zone is examined. In the context of a juridically weak framework of principles for determining international maritime boundaries, the case of a small fishing community caught between conflicting national interests and a lucrative fishing zone being claimed by both countries is examined. Left unresolved with the 1984 International Court of Justice decision defining the 'Hague Line', this dispute is made more problematic because of ambiguous objectives and conflicting agendas between national governments, between state and community levels and within the community itself.     

Cattle Before Crops: The Beginnings of Food Production in Africa

In many areas of the world, current theories for agricultural origins emphasize yield as a major concern during intensification. In Africa, however, the need for scheduled consumption shaped the development of food production. African cattle were domesticated during the tenth millennium BP by delayed-return Saharan hunter-gatherers in unstable, marginal environments where predictable access to resources was a more significant problem than absolute abundance. Pastoralism spread patchily across the continent according to regional variations in the relative predictability of herding versus hunting and gathering. Domestication of African plants was late (after 4000 BP) because of the high mobility of herders, and risk associated with cultivation in arid environments. Renewed attention to predictability may contribute to understanding the circumstances that led to domestication in other regions of the world.