The Production of Thin‐Walled Jointless Gold Beads from the Maykop Culture Megalithic Tomb of the Early Bronze Age at Tsarskaya in the North Caucasus: Results of Analytical and Experimental Research

This study, the first of this kind, reconstructs the technical chaîne operatoire of thin‐walled jointless gold bead production in the Maykop culture on the basis of trace‐wear analysis, experimental research and comparative analysis, using gold beads from the Early Bronze Age dolmen (c. 3200–2900 bc ) in kurgan 2 at Tsarskaya (discovered in 1898). The results of the study demonstrate that such beads were produced from a perforated disc‐shaped blank by pressure (with intermittent annealing) within a hemispherical depression in a shaping block (presumably made from stone or bone) and subsequent abrasive treatment of the surface. Most probably, this technique was a regional expression of Near Eastern jewellery traditions that emerged within the urbanized centres of Upper Mesopotamia in the early fourth millennium bc and spread out, through the Caucasus, into the southern boundaries of the Eurasian steppe.     

Pottery technology in the Tang dynasty (ninth century ad): archaeometric analyses of a Gongyi sherd found at Siraf,Iran

In 1969–70, a single Tang dynasty blue‐spotted Gongyi sherd was found at Siraf, Iran, the main trading port on the Persian Gulf in the early Islamic period. This is the only known example of Chinese blue‐and‐white ware, whether low‐ or high‐fired, found in the Middle East from such an early date. The sherd provides direct archaeological evidence for the Indian Ocean trade between China and the Middle East in the ninth century ad . The body paste, clear glaze and blue glaze or pigment were analysed by thin‐section petrography, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM‐EDX) and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF). The technological analysis reveals the different steps of the chaîne opératoire: clay mixing, slip and glaze application, and decoration with the cobalt blue glaze before high‐temperature firing. These steps are characteristic of Tang stoneware production at Gongyi in Henan province, China. The use of cobalt blue pigment as part of a simple spotted decoration scheme on the Gongyi sherd, and its find context within the Middle East, provides evidence for the complex interplay and influence occurring between Chinese and Middle East ceramic industries at this time. Closely comparable examples of contemporary low‐fired earthenware ceramics with cobalt blue decoration on a white tin glaze manufactured within the Middle East also occur within the same assemblage from Siraf.     

New Insights into the Calcium Flux Used in Ancient Longquan and Yue Kilns Based on Strontium Isotopic Compositions

The glazes of seven types of greenware produced in the Yue and Longquan kilns between the Tang dynasty and the Ming dynasty (ad 618–1644) were studied for their strontium isotopic compositions and bulk chemical compositions. The aim was to identify the raw materials used as the calcium fluxes in the glaze recipes and whether the raw materials changed over time, particularly before and after the Southern Song dynasty (ad 1127–1279). From this work, botanic ash has been identified as the raw material used as the calcium flux in all the seven glaze types studied, and some related ceramic historical issues are also discussed.     

Europe,the rise of Asia and the future of the transatlantic relationship

This article examines how, in a global strategic context presided by the rise of Asia and the US rebalance towards that region, Europeans are contributing to transatlantic burden‐sharing—whether individually or through the EU/NATO. As Asian powers reach westward and the US shifts its strategic priorities eastward, classical geostrategic delimitations become gradually tenuous. Particularly important are the ‘middle spaces’ of the Indian Ocean, central Asia and the Arctic, in that they constitute the main avenues of communication between the Asia–Pacific and the European neighbourhood. The article seeks to understand how evolving geostrategic dynamics in Europe, the ‘middle spaces’ and the Asia–Pacific relate to each other, and how they might impinge on discussions on transatlantic burden‐sharing. It is argued that the ability of Europeans to contribute to a more equitable transatlantic burden‐sharing revolves around two main tenets. First, by engaging in the ‘middle spaces’, Europe's key powers and institutions are helping to underpin a balance of power in these regions. Second, by stepping up their diplomatic and economic role in the Asia–Pacific, strengthening their security ties to (US) regional allies and maintaining an EU‐wide arms embargo on China, Europeans are broadly complementing US efforts in that key region. There are a number of factors that stand in the way of a meaningful European engagement in the ‘middle spaces’ and the Asia–Pacific, including divergent security priorities among Europeans, the impact of budgetary austerity on European defence capabilities and a tendency to confine foreign policy to the immediate neighbourhood. The article discusses the implications of those obstacles and outlines some ways in which they might be overcome.     

Mineralogical and Chemical Characterization of Roman Slag from the Archaeological Site of Castra (Ajdovščina,Slovenia)

This study deals with the mineralogical and chemical characterization of archaeometallurgical material from the Roman archaeological site of Castra (Ajdov??ina, western Slovenia). Samples were initially analysed via optical microscopy and X‐ray powder diffraction, with the composition of individual phases then determined using scanning electron microscopy coupled with electron‐dispersive spectroscopy, and Raman microspectroscopy. Chemical investigation was carried out by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy to measure the major element content. The results showed that the slag originated from iron smithing operations, with calcium‐rich olivines, as well as wuestite and leucite, the most abundant phases. The investigated slags were also found to be characterized by significantly high lime levels, which probably promoted the formation of the calcium‐rich olivines.     

Investigation of Organic Materials From the ‘Royal’ Burials of Xiongnu (Noin‐Ula,Mongolia) by Srxrf and XAFS Methods

The burials of famous Xiongnu people are a unique source of information about Xiongnu culture, due to the variety of organic findings. SRXRF analysis of hair, clay, bones, teeth and woollen cloth was carried out. An anomalously high copper content was observed in all hair samples, whereas the levels of copper in bone and clay were low. To define the hair morphology and the elemental distribution in the hair cross‐section, high‐resolution X‐ray computed tomography (HRXCT) and energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used. The X‐ray absorption fine‐structure method (XAFS) was applied to determine the local copper environment. The majority of the copper species in the hair and enamel samples are present as Cu²⁺ cations in a distorted octahedral (4 + 2) coordination, surrounded by light ligands (oxygen/nitrogen). A similar distorted octahedral coordination is typical for both inorganic mixed oxide/hydroxide Cu nanosystems and metal–organic Cu complexes (with oxygen/nitrogen).     

The ‘She-Land,’ social consequences of the sexualized construction of landscape in North Patagonia

This article voices a perspective founded in gender geography and regional history, through the study of the symbolic constitution of core and peripheral areas inside Chile and Argentina. This analysis focuses upon the Patagonian territory and aims to reveal the use of female stereotyped metaphors as the basis for territorial subalternity. At this point, revision of Patagonian history shows that this construction of landscape is related to territorial integration, and could have been seen as gender ideology because of the metaphors involved in the State's arguments. This idea is illustrated with an ongoing nationalist discourse established in Patagonia since the 1930s, which operates as a permanent patriarchal reference and allows the projection of gender metaphors in land. It also takes the particular experience of Patagonian women to question the recognition of the problem behind the construction of landscape and the geographical and historical patriarchal order. As a result of this process, the possibility to argue against the subordination of the region emerges from highlighting feminine metaphors of land and feminine praxis, which nowadays confront both the landscape's official interpretation and an unequal access to resources.     

Feminist cartography and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality: Emotional responses to three thematic maps

Thematic maps facilitate spatial understanding of patterns and exceptions. Cognitive ability, spatial cognition, and emotional state are related, yet there is little research about map readers’ emotions. Feminist critiques of cartography recognize emotion and affect as legitimate experiences on par with quantitative ways of knowing. We conducted an online survey to measure users’ affective states before and after engaging with three thematic map types. The maps showed data from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to achieve gender equality, on the proportion of girls and women aged 15 to 49 who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting. Participants viewed a choropleth, a cartogram, and a repeating icon tile map; completed map-related tasks; rated certain map qualities; rated their affective states before and after engaging with the maps; and answered open-ended questions. The maps piqued curiosity and evoked emotions for most users, while some users perceived the thematic maps as clinical or neutral despite the sensitive topic. After viewing the maps, female participants who were affected expressed deeper engagement in their open-ended comments than males. Traditionally, cartography construes the human experience as male experience and denies or trivializes women's experiences. Our findings corroborate feminist critiques of this disembodiment and entrenched rational rhetoric of maps.