Archaeological Amerindian and Eskimo cranioskeletal size variation along coastal western North America: relation to climate,the reconstructed diet high in marine animal foods,and demographic stress

A quantitative bioenvironmental study of cranioskeletal size has been made of a latitude-ordered sequence of 14 series of adult skeleton sets (N=305): the archaeological remains of aboriginal maritime peoples inhabiting the west coast of North America between southern California and the Arctic. Of eight osteometric parameters of cranioskeletal size developed, the most important are partial skeleton volume (PSK) and cranial capacity (CC); and the principal bone-affecting environmental factors are the northerly climate (CLIM2c), the reconstructed diet deficient in calcium and overabundant in animal foods and vitamin D (DIET3c), and demographic stress (DSg). Prior research has demonstrated that cranioskeletal size increases with geographical latitude and decreases under dietary calcioprivation and unphysiologically high birth rates. Upon linear multifactorial statistical analysis our main finding, limited to the Amerindian subsequence (n=11 series) from the Santa Barbara Channel, the San Francisco Bay Region and the Northwest Coast, is that PSK and CC vary in direct proportion to CLIM2c, and inversely with DIET3c and DSg. Controlling for the latter two osteoantitrophic factors, coastal Amerindian female PSK rises by 9% between 34 and 54°N latitude, CC by 5%; and the male incremental rates are somewhat higher, 13 and 10%, respectively. This newly discovered climate-dependent race cline, an example of Bergmann's Rule, is interpreted as factual evidence of a mid-Wisconsin or earlier arrival date for the first Palaeoindians. Cranioskeletal size of the very small (n=3 series) Western Eskimo subsequence approximates the northernmost values of the coastal Amerindian distribution. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The preservationist paradox: modernism, environmentalism and the politics of spatial division

According to Bruno Latour, the imposition of crude classificatory schemes onto complex entities has two main effects: firstly, the classifications lead social actors to sift the world into the schemes' simple categories; secondly, underlying relations subvert the schemes' functioning, resulting in the production of transgressive 'hybrids'. Thus, classification and relation interact and this interaction shapes both the practice of classification and the world that is classified. In this paper, we examine the interaction between a scheme of spatial classification and the spaces that are enrolled within the scheme. We show that a division between urban and rural areas was put in place in post-war England in order to protect a 'vulnerable' rural nature from urban advance. However, as soon as it was imposed, this division was transgressed by complex socio-economic processes. We assess the response to this transgression by considering the activities of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), an environmental group that played some considerable part in constructing the urban–rural divide in the first place. We show that the CPRE has responded to the 'paradox of preservationism' by placing urban–rural divisions in the context of 'ecological' relationships. We illustrate this 'ecologization' of the modernist divide using the example of housing and we argue that the CPRE's ecological approach illustrates how a new alignment between 'urban' and 'rural' may herald a new and more sophisticated form of spatial classification.     

Stylistic variability of stemmed obsidian tools (mata’a), frequency seriation,and the scale of social interaction on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, has been the focus of much research and speculation, particularly with reference to the island’s hundreds of giant, enigmatic statues and the set of conditions that supported their construction and transportation. In this paper, we analyze an abundant class of lithic artifacts, mata’a, to study of patterns of cultural transmission with implications for the evolution of groups, competition, and scale of socio-political organization among this island population. While these kinds of studies often draw upon assemblages of decorated ceramics, here we show how analysis of variability unconstrained by performance allows us to measure aspects of inheritance related to the manufacture of these artifacts. In the case of mata’a from Rapa Nui, we demonstrate that it is possible to reach falsifiable conclusions about the evolutionary dynamics that shaped the remarkable archaeological record on Rapa Nui.     

SONIC GEOGRAPHY, PLACE AND RACE IN THE FORMATION OF LOCAL IDENTITY: LIVERPOOL AND SCOUSERS

The concept of identity has attracted significant academic attention. This article unpacks what constitutes the Scouse identity, how it is constructed and its different dimensions, with particular reference to place, phonology and race . Its novelty lies in developing the underused concept of "sonic geography" to examine the extent to which sound, for example a distinctive accent and/or dialect, affects the construction of local identity. Empirically this is conducted through a detailed analysis of the Scouse, or Liverpudlian, identity. The article also deploys the concept of "sonic exclusion" to examine the role a distinguishing vernacular plays in shaping local identity and the extent to which it determines "who is in" and "who is out" as a Scouser. The conclusion is that an effective understanding of a Scouser is not only spatial – someone born in Liverpool – because the sonoric landscape of spoken Scouse, and thereby Scouse identity, extends beyond the contemporary political and geographic boundaries of the City of Liverpool.     

From Clusters to Platform Policies in Regional Development

This short briefing paper addresses the next stage in the evolution of regional development policy. It is clear that the cluster idea has held sway in this field for some 20 years. By now, practitioners and academics are widely sceptical of policy capabilities to create let alone build clusters. Recessionary times make this more difficult. Moreover, where some recent success can be seen, it is associated with command economies such as China where normal market and democratic barriers to large public investments in such measures are absent. Nevertheless, clusters exist in many places and there is evidence, displayed in this paper, that in some regions they have mutated into multi-cluster platforms. Now, as regions seek to rebalance, platform policies are evolving and being implemented. This paper shows how this is in part a response to “Grand Challenges” and the emergence of “challenge-driven” innovation.     

Integrating Archaeological Theory and Predictive Modeling: a Live Report from the Scene

Archaeological predictive modeling has been used successfully for over 20 years as a decision-making tool in cultural resources management. Its appreciation in academic circles however has been mixed because of its perceived theoretical poverty. In this paper, we discuss the issue of integrating current archaeological theoretical approaches and predictive modeling. We suggest a methodology for doing so based on cognitive archaeology, middle range theory, and paleoeconomic modeling. We also discuss the problems associated with testing predictive models.