Age estimation by tooth/pulp ratio in canines by peri-apical X-rays: reliability in age determination of Spanish and Italian medieval skeletal remains

Estimation of age at death is an unavoidable step in the process of human identification, both in forensic practice and in the anthropological and palaeopathological study of skeletal remains. In several cases, in which medical or demographic records are completely lacking, a reliable estimation of the age at death becomes very important. Skeletal remains from archaeological contexts suffer from several biasing factors such as post-mortem changes, taphonomy and various burial practices depending on age, sex and social status of the deceased persons.     

Monitoring of Shipwreck Sites

A three-year research project, The Monitoring of Shipwreck Sites (MoSS), was initiated in 2001 as a partnership between several European countries: Finland (project leader), Germany, Holland, United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden. The aim was to establish a suitable programme for the monitoring, safeguarding and visualizing of shipwreck sites, based on the investigation of three wrecks located in the Baltic and North Seas. Phase I involved the monitoring process, with the investigation of physical, chemical and biological factors that will help to identify potential threats to buried and exposed archaeological material. Phases II and III considered safeguarding and visualizing of shipwreck sites.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

New data on relevant ancient Egyptian wooden artifacts: Identification of wooden species and study of the state of conservation with multidisciplinary analyses

Wood species identification and characterization of its weathering processes are crucial steps in the scientific approach of conservation of wooden cultural heritage. Many precious wooden objects of ancient Egypt are largely present in museums, nevertheless relatively little information is available concerning the nature of timber used and on their status of conservation. To address this gap, the wooden species of three relevant archaeological wood objects (statue, box, and coffin) arising from different Egyptian archaeological sites dated from the Old Kingdom (2,686–2,181 BC) to New Kingdom (1,550–1,069 BC) were deeply studied. Five hardwood and softwood species were identified belonging to Tamarix mannifera, T. gennessarensis, Ficus sycomorus, Vachellia nilotica, and Cedrus sp. Such data confirmed the recurrence of Vachellia and Tamarix among the most common timbers found in ancient Egypt. Scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform spectroscopy, and synchrotron x-ray radiation diffraction were conducted to evaluate the archaeological wood deterioration. The formation of microcracks, biological degradation patterns (fungal colonization), or chemical characterization (accumulation of salts on and in-between wooden cells) were detected. SEM micrographs showed the presence of fungal hyphae and conidial spores on the wooden cells. Significant changes in the chemical wood composition and decrease in the crystallinity index were detected.     

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Survey with Commercial-Grade Instruments: A Case Study from the Eastern Ḫabur Archaeological Survey,Iraq

Low-altitude photography in archaeology is now common practice at the scale of excavations; however, landscape-scale applications are a relatively new endeavor with promising analytical potential. From 2014–2016, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a mounted camera was used to document sites recorded as part of the Eastern ?abur Archaeological Survey (E?AS), an archaeological reconnaissance project in western Dohuk Province, Iraqi Kurdistan. The E?AS team documented over 70 archaeological sites with the UAV, from single-phase artifact scatters, to archaeological remains with standing architecture, to tells that cover more than 30 hectares. Representative examples from this survey are presented here to outline the project workflow and primary output data layers, including digital orthomosaics and digital elevation models. The quality and utility of results are then assessed in relationship to available satellite-based data. Methods for analysis and interpretation are then considered to demonstrate applications in landscape archaeology. An A) orthomosaic and B) shaded relief model with surface collection area (in red) of site EHAS-C045 created from photographs taken from a UAV.     

Society as a Code: Bentham and the Fabric of Order

The essay argues that Jeremy Bentham played a major role in the transitional process between the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries leading to the ‘discovery' or ‘invention of society' as an order, i.e., as an autonomous object of knowledge. By comparing Bentham's discourse with those developed by select protagonists of that transition, particularly Ferguson, Sieyès, and Mirabeau, it is shown how society emerges as the logical and historical space of a set of relationships that affects both the rationalisation and the practice of government. In contrast with Michel Foucault's interpretation of Bentham's role in the genealogy of neoliberalism, recently developed by Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, this paper suggests that ‘the new governmental reason’ rose from within the discourse of law. Consequently, the problem of ‘constitution’ was not left behind by the epistemological change of the eighteenth century, as they argue. Rather, the scientific and political understanding of society as a code became the base for an innovative conception of both law and politics.     

El rito bautismal y las imágenes pintadas en la iglesia de Curahuara de Carangas

In the baptistery of the church of Santiago de Curahuara de Carangas, built at the end of the 16th century, a complex mural painting program was executed in the last quarter of the 18th century. The present text intends to establish the links between the scenes painted and the rite of baptism. We do not see a direct or evident relationship in a didactical or performative sense. The images are there to be potentially activated during the liturgical ceremony in order to reveal the efficacy of the sacrament. We have the advantage of working with a set of images that remain in their original location. Therefore, this essay proposes a potential relationship among gesture, words and paintings, as they could have been related in the 18th century. In the analysis, we put into dialogue the resonances intended by the Church and the reception by the indigenous community.     

In Memoriam

July 21, 1923 - September 13, 2008     

A non-invasive study of Roman Age mosaic glass tesserae by means of Raman spectroscopy

Ancient mosaic tesserae are a range of materials of very varied and complex nature, including pottery, stone and glass. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the analysis of all these kinds of materials. In the particular case of glasses, this technique can be used both for a study of surface weathering and for the characterization of bulk structure, but it has not yet been extensively used for the characterization of mosaic glass tesserae. We carried out Raman analyses on a set of Roman and Late Antiquity period mosaic glass samples, which allowed a good characterization of both the glass matrix and the crystalline inclusions. All the samples show the typical Raman signatures of soda-lime-silicate glasses. Several crystalline phases were also identified, being relics of raw materials used during the glass manufacturing process, such as quartz and feldspars, or linked to the glass color/opacification, such as bindheimite and cuprite. The analyses also led to the identification in some blue, turquoise and green tesserae of calcium antimonate, whose Raman signature has only recently been recognized in the scientific literature on mosaic glasses. Some emphasis is given to the analysis of red lead-containing tesserae, colored with Cu⁺ ions or even Cu⁰ (or Au⁰) metal nanoparticles. Samples with peculiar compositions, as well as “modern” (and restoration) samples, could quite easily be distinguished from the ancient ones by their Raman spectra.     

Lepromatous leprosy in an early mediaeval cemetery in Central Italy (Morrione, Campochiaro, Molise, 6th–8th century AD)

The aim of this study is to investigate and discuss the cases of leprosy diagnosed on two skeletal individuals from an early mediaeval necropolis at Morrione (Campochiaro, Molise, Central Italy), dated to the 6th–8th century AD. At present only two inhumation areas have been found in Campochiaro: one at Morrione and the other at Vicenne. Since no signs of a stable settlement or built-up area have been found, it seems the cemeteries can be attributed to a semi-nomadic Lombard-Avar group. This site may have represented a military outpost to control the area against Byzantine invasions. The skeletons of a female (40–46 years) and a male (50–55 years), from tombs 68 and 108, revealed several bony changes indicative of leprosy with clear rhino-maxillary syndrome in both specimens. There is a scarcity of information in the osteoarchaeological literature of leprosy in ancient Italy. The significance of these cases is that they add to an understanding of the history of the disease in Italy and to the data set necessary to understand the epidemiological dynamics in the Mediterranean basin during the ancient period.