Ancient Solomon Islands mtDNA: assessing Holocene settlement and the impact of European contact

Archaeologists, linguists and geneticists generally agree that Near Oceania was subject to two major pulses of human dispersal: a Pleistocene occupation around 40,000 BP and a Late-Holocene migration at 3500 BP commonly associated with the Austronesian expansion out of Taiwan. The latter led to the development of the Lapita cultural complex in the Bismarck Archipelago which resulted in the settlement of Remote Oceania and there are a variety of competing models (express train, slow boat, entangled bank, etc.) used to explain this. Recent genetic studies have focused on this issue, but none of them have taken into consideration the bias possibly introduced by 19th-century historically reported population decline caused by European contact.     

Bridging Top Down and Bottom Up: Modelling Community Preferences for a Dispersed Rural Settlement Pattern

This paper explores the scope to bridge top-down and bottom-up perspectives on spatial planning by drawing on EU-funded action research in relation to rural settlement planning in Northern Ireland. The empirical work is located within a review of planning theory that exposes a long running tension between the technocratic stances of government planners and the aspirations of engaged citizens. It demonstrates the operation of a large group planning methodology that delivers community preference with environmental responsibility as a participatory input into planning policy formulation. Transferable insights into the dynamics of spatial planning are identified.     

ENHANCING SPATIAL REPRESENTATION IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COVERAGE LOCATION MODELING*

ABSTRACT An important goal in many planning contexts is maximizing primary and secondary (or backup) coverage while locating a specified number of service facilities. In general, we are interested in providing the greatest level of coverage to demand that is continuously distributed across space. A critical issue is how to represent continuous demand in coverage analysis, reducing or eliminating error and uncertainty. This paper evaluates representation issues in primary and secondary coverage location modeling. To overcome representational limitations, enhancements for spatial coverage abstraction are introduced and incorporated in a mathematical optimization model. In addition to model improvements, this paper introduces a new and novel error assessment approach arising due to the existence of multiple objectives. Surveillance sensor siting in an urban area is utilized to assess enhanced modeling capabilities.     

Rock surface luminescence dating of prehistoric rock art from central Iberia

Rock art paintings are notoriously difficult to date numerically. Recently, luminescence dating has been shown to provide reliable rock surface burial ages in various archaeological settings. Here we use the cross-cutting relationship between a fallen rock and two paintings of the Iberian Levantine (older) and Schematic (younger) styles to constrain the age of the paintings by dating the rockfall event using rock surface luminescence dating. Infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals as a function of depth into the buried face of the talus border indicate that the IRSL signal measured at 50°C (IR₅₀) was sufficiently reset to a depth of about 1.6 mm prior to burial. An uncorrected IR₅₀ age of 1.6 ± 0.2 ka was calculated for the rockfall event by dividing the surface equivalent dose (D_e) by the total dose rate. This age was corrected using both conventional and field-to-laboratory saturation approaches to yield indistinguishable ages of 2.7 ± 0.5 and 2.9 ± 0.3 ka, respectively. Since the panel with Schematic art was first available to the artist after the rockfall, we conclude the Schematic rock art at Villar del Humo is younger than ~2.9 ka. The Levantine rock art was painted on a panel constrained by the talus boulder before detachment, and so it is likely to be older than ~2.9 ka.     

An Insular Reliquary from Melhus: The Significance of Insular Ecclesiastical Material in Early Viking-Age Norway

THIS PAPER presents and discusses a unique insular reliquary shrine discovered in an early 9th-century woman’s grave at Melhus, central Norway, over a century ago. In addition to a detailed re-evaluation of the shrine and its use in its original ecclesiastical context, the paper also proposes an alternative interpretation as to how the local pagan population may have conceptualised this Christian object after it arrived in Norse hands. While most of the insular ecclesiastical items in Scandinavia were broken up and transformed into personal ornaments, the Melhus shrine was kept complete, suggesting it was considered to be of special value. It is argued here that this status should be seen in association with the shrine’s involvement in local narratives and ritual aspects connected with the earliest voyages across the North Sea. The woman with whom the reliquary was buried may have played a central role in these rituals.     

Leo Fouché and history at Wits University, 1934–1942

Leo Fouché, the first Professor of History at Pretoria University, was the surprise choice to replace W.M. Macmillan, the first Professor of History at Wits University, following his resignation in 1933. Fouché served at Wits from 1934 to 1942, departing to take up the post of chairman of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. His tenure at both Pretoria and Wits was assessed negatively in the official histories of the two universities. In Ad Destinatum: Gedenkboek van die Universiteit van Pretoria 1910–1960, A.N. Pelzer ignored Fouché’s major contribution in building up history at Pretoria and focussed instead on his failure to serve the Afrikaans movement. In Wits: The Early Years, B.K. Murray represented the conservative Fouché as a major disappointment, both as a researcher and as a teacher, following his productive and progressive-minded predecessor. In this article, an attempt is made to present a more detailed and rounded assessment of his tenure at Wits. While he published little, and his syllabus changes, with their narrow focus on white South African history, did not outlast him, his tenure was generally a positive one for the Department of History. Student numbers grew substantially, an additional staff post was secured, and postgraduate research was actively promoted. Three of his postgraduate students went on to distinguished academic careers in history.     

Spatial Filtering for Identifying a Shortest Path Around Obstacles

The shortest path between two locations is crucial for location modeling, spatial analysis, and wayfinding in complex environments. When no transportation system or network exists, continuous space movement adds substantial complexity to identifying a best path as there are increased travel options as well as barriers inhibiting potential movement. To derive the shortest path, various methods have been developed. Recent work has attempted to exploit spatial knowledge and geographic information system functionality, representing significant advantages over existing methods. However, a high density of obstacles increases computational complexity making real‐time solution difficult in some situations. This article presents a spatial filtering method to enhance Euclidean shortest path derivation in complex environments. The new approach offers substantial computational improvement while still guaranteeing an optimal path is found. Application results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach and its comparative superiority.