Palaeochannels of the Balkh river (northern Afghanistan) and human occupation since the Bronze Age period

In 2002, the unexpected discovery of Hellenistic architectural blocks, buried in 8 m of alluvium, found displaced in a former bed of the river of Balkh, brought about a programme of surveys and excavations under the aegis of the French Archaeological Mission in Bactria. The geoarchaeological side of the programme focused on the drawing of a regional geomorphological map then on the identification, mapping and dating of the palaeochannels of the river of Balkh. We established the chronology of several fluvial channel generations by association with archaeological settlements of different eras (Bronze Age, Bactro-Achaemenid period, Kushan period, Islamic period) and with optically stimulated luminescence dating carried out on alluvium deposits. The present riverbed leading up to Aqcha was formed during the Islamic period. We suspect the primary agent of this change in the river channel to, be tectonic activity and the activation of a blind fault crossing the floodplain. We identified a northern Bactro-Achaemenid aqueduct, currently located in the desert area separating the plain of Balkh from the Amu Darya.     

Of ghosts and other spectres: the Cold War's ending and the question of the next ‘hegemonic’ conflict

Our intent in this article is to try to determine if the manner of the Cold War's ending can suggest anything useful to those of us who ponder whether the twenty-first century will be able to break from the dismal cyclical pattern of all previous centuries, and become the first span of decades to exorcise the evil spirit of great power war. Our task is to employ cyclical constructs in such a manner as to cast doubt upon the ‘cyclical determinism’ of the power transition pessimists.     

Research and Monitoring on Conservation State and Preservation Conditions in Unsaturated Archaeological Deposits of a Medieval Farm Mound in Troms and a Late Stone Age Midden in Finnmark,Northern Norway

This paper presents archaeological observations and results of palaeoecological and geo-chemical analyses of archaeological deposits from two rural sites in northernmost Norway. These are combined with climate data and the first period of continuous monitoring of soil temperature, moisture, and redox potential in sections. This data constitutes the basic research material for evaluations of conservation state and preservation conditions. The data has been collected in collaboration with the partners of a cross-disciplinary project: ‘Archaeological Deposits in a Changing Climate. In situ Preservation of Farm Mounds in Northern Norway’ funded by the Norwegian Council for Research (http://www.niku.no/en/archaeology/environmental_monitoring/archaeological_deposits_in_a_changing_climate_in_situ_preservation_of_farm_mounds/). This is an important Norwegian research initiative on monitoring of rural archaeological deposits, and the results have consequences for heritage management of a large number of sites from all periods. Palaeoecological analyses and redox measurements have revealed ongoing decay that might not otherwise have been detected. Decay studies indicate that both site types may be at risk with the predicted climate change. Some mitigating acts are suggested.     

Thèses de sociologie et romans à thèse

Are the rhetorical markers in sociological discourse specific and of a «scientific» nature? To tackle this delicate question, let us start by drawing up the generic characteristics of sociological texts. Let us compare these characteristics with those of a literary genre: the French «roman à thèse» from the beginning of the XX^th century. This old-fashioned and decried literature will serve as a driving bolt in order to demonstrate that a formalism sometimes asserted as scientific, does not guarantee scientific character, but just conformity to editorial requirement. To conclude, if the difference between sociological these and novel is not embedded in the text itself then, what eventually make its «scientific nature»? May be just the fragile conditions of its production and reception: debate and criticism of the sources if effectively implemented. But is this always the case?     

Plague immunodetection in remains of religious exhumed from burial sites in central France

The skeletons of four Benedictine nuns and two priests were exhumed from two burial sites in central France. The corpses were dated to the 16th– 18th centuries (archaeological dating).     

Insights into early Holocene hunter-gatherer mobility on the Peruvian Southern Coast from mollusk gathering seasonality

Quebrada de los Burros (QLB) is an early Archaic coastal archaeological site in southern Peru (∼18.1°S) and the most extensively studied in the area for this period. It was occupied from 10 to 6.5 ka by fishermen also practicing hunting and mollusk gathering. Shell growth lines in 116 individuals of the surf clam Mesodesma donacium were studied to determine the month of their death (±2 months). Our results show that, for the whole occupation period, mollusk gathering was a seasonal activity mainly practiced during austral spring and summer. A change occurred between the early and the middle Holocene: the mollusk gathering season in the middle Holocene occurred ∼3 months earlier in the year than in the older levels. This behavior change could have a cultural origin, rather than dictated by the environment for it is associated with changes in the lithic industry. QLB occupants also hunted herbivores in the nearby lomas ecosystems. These plant communities only grow during the fog season from June to December, suggesting that the site was occupied during this season. A comparison of the span of the mollusk gathering season and the lomas season suggests that, at least during the early Holocene, QLB was occupied all the year round. A permanent freshwater source and the proximity of the sea, the lomas, and raw lithic materials, provided ideal conditions for a permanent occupation. This result reveals a strategy based on a seasonal alternation between marine and terrestrial resources exploitation.