Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial: Soil sampling for dietary remains

Recovering dietary and parasitological data from skeletonized burials is often overlooked or attempted without sufficient consideration of preservation possibilities, quality sampling areas or the confounding influences of post-interment processes. A case study of a skeletonized Anasazi burial is presented to demonstrate three important points. First, that macrobotanical remains can be preserved in addition to the more durable pollen and parasite eggs. Second, that the sacrum can act as a structural container for the contents of the lower digestive tract upon decomposition of the body, thereby providing a productive sampling area. Finally, that reliable interpretation of any biological remains from skeletonized burials depends upon the analysis of several control samples. Since awareness of probable data sources plays a central role in what is actually collected and analysed, it is important to alert archaeologists to the possibilities of colon content analysis from skeletonized burials.     

Rehabilitating feminist politics and political theatre: Hélène Cixous's La Ville parjure ou le réveil des Erinyes at the Théâtre du Soleil

Hélène Cixous's 1994 play La Ville parjure ou le réveil des Erinyes , first produced at Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil , insists on both theatre and feminism as valuable political practices in the face of the AIDS pandemic. Disguised in the trappings of Greek tragedy, the play reframes the scandal over the French government's complicity in the distribution of blood contaminated with HIV. As the mother of two young plague victims openly exhorts the audience to take part in righting social wrong, the Furies wreak havoc on the on-stage regime that ignores its citizens suffering. Ultimately the emphasis is not on peaceful resolution but on the critical need for action on social issues. The maternal heroine and strong women figures in this elaborate production insist on the impossibility of divorcing aesthetic considerations of theatre from its responsibility to create public awareness.     

Miners,Masculinity and the ‘Bataille du Charbon’ in France 1944–1948

In 1944, the French provisional government, backed by the Parti communiste français and the Confédération générale du travail, undertook an aggressive propaganda campaign to persuade miners to embark upon a ‘battle for coal’ which raised their efforts in extracting coal to that of a national endeavour. At the same time, miners had great hopes that nationalisation of the coal industry, under discussion at this time, would bring significant improvement to their working lives. In identifying the ways in which publicists posited miners as an ideal of working-class manhood, this article will argue that ‘la bataille du charbon’ marks a crucial moment in the celebration of working-class masculinity and that the ‘statut des mineurs’ which was passed in 1946 as a part of nationalisation enshrined many of the existing gender assumptions about mining life. What does an incorporation of gender to an analysis of the treatment of miners in the years 1944–1948 add to our understandings of the various economic, political and social dynamics around ‘la bataille du charbon’? How do these insights inform our perceptions of French coalfield societies in the mid-twentieth century?     

Shoddy heap: a material history between waste and manufacture

This essay uses a present-day mountain of textile waste known as ‘shoddy’ as an entry point into the history and ramifications of the development of wool recycling technology in West Yorkshire, England. It is argued that this entity, produced since the early nineteenth century by means of the collection, shredding, and re-spinning of old and discarded wool rags, emerged as both technological innovation and raw material. Its history, defined in part by its precarious position at the nexus of waste and manufacture, is that of a reconfiguration of technology with simultaneously ethical, political, and environmental dimensions.     

Petztorme Women: Responding to Change in Lihir,Papua New Guinea

The goldmining project on Lihir Island in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, has brought dramatic socio‐economic changes. In this matrilineal society, while women's economic contributions were substantial, their political status was not. Women's participation in decision‐making about the mine has been restricted, mainly because men have excluded them. The mining company established a women's section that has supported the development of women's organizations and a range of economic development projects. The women's organizations provide the context for new political roles for women but have experienced many setbacks that are common in such groups across Papua New Guinea. Through the Lihir experience in the first five years of the mine, this paper examines the tensions and divided loyalties that constrain women's organizations and often lead to the failure of income‐generating women's projects in Papua New Guinea.