Agriculture and exploitation of wild plants at Chalcolithic (4th to 3rd millennium cal BC) sites in Sardinia (Italy)

This paper present the results of archaeobotanical analysis carried out at two open-air sites dated to the first phase of the Copper Age, “Chalcolithic” (4th to 3rd millennium cal BC) in Sardinia. The sediment was systematically floated, a total of 3142 l was sampled and 4014 charred plant remains were identified. Chalcolithic agriculture in Sardinia was primarily based on the cultivation of Hordeum vulgare, H. vulgare var. nudum and Triticum aestivum/durum. Possible cultivated legumes of Vicia/Lathyrus, Vicia/Pisum and cf. Pisum sativum were identified. Linum sp. was also present, which may have been cultivated and exploited in Sardinia by the Chalcolithic community. The diet of the Chalcolithic community was complemented by the consumption of edible fruits such as Ficus carica, Sambucus sp. and Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris. Typical Mediterranean shrubs such as Pistacia lentiscus, Juniperus sp., Cistus sp., Malva sp. and Thymelaea hirsuta were also found.     

The reshaping of Ibero-American cultural diplomacy in the beginning of the XXI century: the declining of the Spanish historical hegemony?

ABSTRACT

Francoist cultural policy in Latin America – itself based on Hispanist philosophy – and the Spanish activity in the Organization of Ibero-American States (1949) promoted the emergence of Ibero-American cultural diplomacy. The return of democracy to Spain in 1978 turned these projects into more horizontal instruments of cultural cooperation. After a process of institutionalization that led to the creation of SEGIB and the establishment of the Ibero-American Cultural Letter in 2006, this multilateral diplomatic system was called into question due to its economic asymmetries and its ideological basis. However, the relative influence of this process in reformulating the system and in creating a shared identitarian discourse within Ibero-America has never been properly weighted, nor has the importance of each actor within this process. This article analyses the multilateral Ibero-American cultural diplomacy in order to understand its recent transformations in terms of the importance of both national power and symbolic hegemony.     

Introduction: cultural policies in Ibero-America at the beginning of the XXI century

ABSTRACT

This editorial introduction presents the aims and contents of a special issue devoted to cultural policies in Ibero-America. The issue provides a wide-ranging overview about the subject. In addition to papers focused on the development of cultural policy in specific countries, it also includes articles analyzing particular cultural policies in a transnational perspective, paying attention to their multiple programmatic transferences. It also includes articles centred on the development of cultural diplomacy and institutional networks within this area. In this way, it intends to highlight the commonalities among countries and the relations between them, so offering a new and deeper vision of the development of cultural policies in the Ibero American region. In this introduction we offer some theoretical keys for analyzing this development, in particular the notion of family of nations proposed by Castle (1993) and we evaluate its applicability to the case and beyond.     

Angiosperm association from the Río Turbio Formation (Eocene–?Oligocene) Santa Cruz,Argentina: revision of Hünicken’s (1955) fossil leaves collection

Vento, B. &; Prámparo, M. B., January 2018. Angiosperm association from the Río Turbio Formation (Eocene–?Oligocene), Santa Cruz, Argentina: Revision of Hünicken’s (1955 Hünicken, M., 1955. Depósitos neocretácicos y terciarios del extremo S.S.W. de Santa Cruz: Cuenca Carbonífera de Río Turbio. Revista del Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales 4, 1–161. (in Spanish) [Google Scholar]) fossil leaves collection, Alcheringa 42, 125–153. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Río Turbio Formation (Eocene–?Oligocene) is of particular paleobotanical interest owing to its combination of high fossil plant diversity associated with the coexistence of warm-temperate and cool-temperate components. As the first suite of fossils related to a documented stratigraphic section, Hünicken’s fossil plant collection is one of the most important from the Paleogene of South America. A total of 34 angiosperm species from the collection were reviewed and taxonomically updated, with Nothofagus as the dominant genus. The taxa identified indicate a warm and humid climate with the development of some elements of a cool-temperate climate marked by a transitional climate change to cooler conditions. The comparison of angiosperms from different paleofloras from the southernmost of South America confirms that the assemblage of Río Turbio Formation was similar to that of the Río Pichileufú area, both from Patagonia, Argentina.

Bárbara Vento [bvento@mendoza-conicet.gov.ar] Mercedes B. Prámparo [mprampar@mendoza-conicet.gov.ar] Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA) CCT-CONICET, Mendoza, Adrián Ruiz Leal s/n, Casilla Correo 131, C5500, Mendoza, Argentina.     

Monitoring façade soiling as a maintenance strategy for the sensitive built heritage

The color patterns generally found on the façades of architecturally sensitive buildings have an adverse impact on their aesthetics, to the detriment of their identity and potential economic value. A quantitative and qualitative study was conducted of the perception of aesthetic decay in the limestone on a heritage building. The study assessed building aesthetics between two façade cleaning operations, conducted in 1984–1986 and 2006–2008. Based on the calculation of the final or total soiling index, by means of in situ lightness measurement and three architectural design variables, the color distribution of the façades was quantified in 2006 and a model was developed to monitor façade soiling over time. The proposed model, a tool for planning preventive façade maintenance on architecturally sensitive buildings, advocates for sustainable cleaning operations. Its premise that periodic cleaning should only be conducted in areas where the limestone is affected by aesthetic decay redounds to minimised intervention and lower building management costs.     

The cultural paradiplomacy of Barcelona since the 1980s: understanding transformations in local cultural paradiplomacy

This article seeks to explain the conditions for the emergence and institutionalization of the cultural paradiplomacy of the city of Barcelona and its local effects. The recognition of the city as an active participant on the international stage is based on its evolution from an industrial to a service economy. Against this backdrop, Barcelona’s city council, in common with many other city authorities operating in the world’s metropolises during the 1980s, initiated its own cultural paradiplomacy as a strategy for attracting capital and promoting local development. This policy became established as part of a new multilevel system of governance. This article analyzes the causes of the institutionalization of this activity from an intergovernmental perspective. It concludes that in the context of economic globalization, the emergence of cities’ cultural paradiplomacy is strongly related to the restructuring of the State and its external administration and to the intensification of the ‘cultural branding’ of cities as a tool for global competition.     

World Heritage and the Local Community: The Case of Atapuerca (Burgos,Spain)

As social constructions, heritage properties require the participation of all their stakeholders, especially in the case of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) World Heritage Site is used as a test case for assessing the fulfilment of the local community’s development expectations, perceptions, and values. This paper is the first formal attempt to ascertain the opinions of residents in the surrounding villages — Ibeas de Juarros and Atapuerca — regarding the initiatives taken by the authorities, and the changes produced, since the site was included in the World Heritage List. The results show that many improvements can be made with the aim of democratizing the decision-making process, ensuring the involvement of the local community and improving their quality of life, in order to fulfil the spirit and recommendations of UNESCO.