Pierre-Antoine Antonelle and representative democracy in the French Revolution

This article examines the political thought of Pierre-Antoine Antonelle, a prominent democrat during the French Revolution. In pamphlets and newspaper articles between 1795 and 1799 he put forth an elaborate theory of ‘representative democracy’ which was a novel and radical vision of political reform and republican international order. His political and economic plan for a democratic future was focused on conceptualizing a realistic transition path to a genuinely republican society. In the wake of historians who pointed out the existence and importance of the idea of ‘representative democracy’ during the Directory, this article delves into the content of this idea by placing it in the context of Antonelle and his fellow travellers’ political struggle to consolidate the Republic while avoiding both anarchy and aristocracy.     

The Kapthurin Formation revisited

This contribution reports on the results obtained from the 1980–7 research in the Kapthurin Formation (Baringo, Kenya) which aimed at the refinement of the chronology, stratigraphy and environmental evidence in order to establish a framework for the interpretation of the prehistoric sites. In 1966 a Late Acheulean industry with prepared-core technique and blade component, dated betweenca 0.82/0.64 myr and 0.23 myr had been described in the area concerned. All the sites belong to the middle Kapthurin formation which is situated in the Bruhnes normal polarity chron and has a lower limit of 0.58 myr. The upper limit of 0.23 myr could not be confirmed. The fauna is consistent with the available dating evidence. The sites are situated in a flat savanna landscape which was built up by a braided river system under slightly more humid conditions than the present climate. On some of the sites artifacts were found in association with palaeosoils. Although the interpretation of such assemblages must consider the impact of natural turbation processes, the palaeosoils provide exceptional conditions for comparing sites from the same phase of landscape stabilization. The present archaeological evidence suggests a sequence of Late Acheulean and Post-Acheulean (Sangoan?, Middle Stone Age) assemblages rather than the presence of one single industry as described previously. The relation between these assemblages and the two mandibles ofHomo sp. (aff.erectus) BK67 and BK8518 (found in 1966 and 1982) emphasizes the need for more research in the area.     

馆藏唐代“红地团窠对鸟纹锦”的保护修复

甘肃省博物馆藏唐代"红地团窠对鸟纹锦",存在残缺、污染、糟朽等严重病害,急需进行保护修复。本工作在采用测色仪、便携式荧光光谱仪、数码相机、掌上便携式显微镜scalar等专业仪器对该纺织品文物进行无损分析检测。依据检测结果和纺织品保存现状制定了科学的保护修复方案,继而采用支撑法,选用风格相近的背衬面料进行缝合加固,并对修复难点等问题进行研究分析。修复后的织锦纹理清晰,丝线稳固,色泽协调,整体牢固度提高,达到了理想的保护修复效果。此成果对今后同类文物的保护修复具有借鉴意义。     

北京昌平沙河镇出土蜻蜓眼玻璃珠的科学分析与研究

为探讨北京昌平沙河镇墓葬出土的三枚蜻蜓眼玻璃珠的质地和来源,利用X射线衍射分析（XRD）、激光拉曼光谱分析（LRS）、便携式能量色散X射线荧光分析（PXRF）三种无损分析方法,对玻璃珠基体和眼珠分别进行了结构和化学组成的无损伤测试。结果表明,这三枚蜻蜓眼珠的基质为玻璃态物质,其化学成分表明该玻璃属于钠钙硅酸盐（Na₂OCaOSiO₂）系统;Cu和Co是主要的着色元素。考虑到三枚珠子采用的钴料成分为高铁低锰的进口钴料,同时通过与国内外相似珠子的对比,推测这三枚蜻蜓眼玻璃珠是外国进口物的可能性较高。蜻蜓眼玻璃珠所在墓葬群虽为清代,但根据初步的分析研究可推断,墓主通过收藏或其他途径获得并将其作为随葬品。     

Ectopic paragonimiasis from 400-year-old female mummy of Korea

Of the parasite eggs discovered in ancient samples from Korean archaeological sites, Paragonimus spp. are of particular importance in that they are regarded as one of the most insidious trematode infection sources. Although their infection prevalence decreased rapidly in the early 20th century, archaeoparasitological studies on the species are still required, as historical knowledge of paragonimiasis remains far from comprehensive. Fortunately, we recently were given a chance to examine a medieval Korean mummy in a good state of preservation. Using morphological techniques, we discovered evidence of ectopic paragonimiasis in the sample from the 17th-century female. When the ITS 2 gene was extracted, amplified and sequenced from Paragonimus eggs, it showed 100% homology to the sequences of modern Paragonimus westermani reported from Korea and Japan, forming a cluster distinct from South Asian P. westermani. Our report is the first-ever analysis of ancient Paragonimus DNA from any archaeological field in the world. The ectopic paragonimiasis diagnosis made in this study, especially involving the liver sample, also is the first of its kind in archaeoparasitology.     

HISTORY,INSTITUTIONS, AND CITIES: A VIEW FROM THE AMERICAS*

ABSTRACT Every nation, formally or informally, defines and establishes the lines of political and fiscal authority among its national, regional, and local governments. Historically, centralized governments tend to restrict the power and autonomy of provincial and local governments. In this paper, we exploit the quasi‐experimental distribution of political institutions in the Americas caused by variation in European colonial experience to examine the impact of institutions on urban and local development, specifically on the degree of urban primacy, the size distribution of cities, the number and density of local government units, and the fragmentation of metropolitan areas. We argue that centralization of political power at the national level, as experienced in many countries in Latin America, contributes to urban primacy and a size distribution of cities favoring large cities. Additionally, even in more politically decentralized countries such as Canada and the U.S., variance in political centralization at the provincial (state) level over local governments led to significant divergences in urban primacy, the distribution of city sizes, as well as the form, number, and density of local governments. While we cannot rule out the importance of other factors, our findings suggest that political centralization affects spatial economic development.     

Class,Citizenship and Regeneration: Glasgow and the Commonwealth Games 2014

Abstract: Through a focus on “consumer‐citizenship” this paper foregrounds the class practices inherent in urban regeneration. Using Glasgow's 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWGs) as an illustrative example of regeneration, it seeks to highlight the market‐led processes that underpin state interventions. The paper demonstrates how these processes are implemented to transform “problem people, and problem places” ( Damer 1989 , From Moorepark to “Wine Alley”) into sites of “active” consumption and “responsible” citizenship. Yet, access to this “consumer citizenship” is stratified. In doing so, we synthesise conceptual insights from the Marxist‐influenced gentrification literature and the Foucauldian‐inspired housing renewal literature. We forward this to initiate further academic debate and empirical enquiry on the specific issue of mega sporting events.