The changing pattern of urban fertility in Eastern Australia 1966-1976

This paper uses unpublished data from official sources to analyze variations in urban marital and overall fertility in Eastern Australia between 1966-71 and between 1971-76. It further attempts to assess the relevance of the convergence thesis to changing fertility patterns and to evaluate the utility of an ecologic analysis of interurban fertility differences. The data indicate that urban fertility levels declined dramatically in 1966-76 and interurban differentials were substantially reduced. By 1976, the 2-child family norm had been widely adopted throughout Australia, regardless of region, community size, or sociocultural composition. Examination of marital fertility trends suggests that, although different areas had different elasticities of response to cyclical fertility movements in the 1960s, the magnitude of these differences was insufficient to do more than slow the pace of the decline while increasing the pace of interarea differential convergence. Declines in both proportions married and marital fertility after 1971 were reflected in declining overall fertility in all urban areas in Eastern Australia. During this period, however, divergence replaced the convergence evident in the 1960s. The present high level of uniformity in both marital and overall fertility rates throughout the study area about mean levels means that the regionally variable effects of future cyclical changes in fertility levels may be difficult to identify. As a result, detailed analyses at the individual/behavioral level that focus specifically on attitudes, values, and family size preferences may be more appropriate for understanding of post-transitional demographic change than studies based on spatial analyses at the local level.     

Growing up in a tourist destination: negotiating space,identity and belonging

There is little research on children’s experiences of growing up in a popular tourist destination, where place and space are contested with visitors, migrants and temporary residents. Existing literature on young people’s experiences of their socio-spatial surroundings has focused predominantly on the rural/urban dichotomy, often neglecting to explore how identity and belonging are negotiated in complex community contexts such as tourist destinations. This paper reports on recent research that suggests that young people’s experiences of growing up in such an environment are nuanced and diverse, with their rich narratives disrupting socially constructed distinctions between the rural and the urban, merging experiences from both worlds.     

Illegible ethnicity and the invention of Scots-Irish narratives on the stages of Belfast and Appalachia

Theatrical stages have long been home to performances of identity, creating and sustaining legible visions of various peoples and groups for their audiences. Indeed, in the nineteenth century, the playwright/actor Dion Boucicault popularised the “stage Irishman” for Irish and American audiences alike, thus contributing to the invention of “Irish-America”. This paper examines a similar attempt in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries to query the definition of a distinct group of Irish-Americans: the Scots-Irish. Productions from Belfast, Northern Ireland, as well as from the southern Appalachian Mountains, demonstrate how the illegibility of the Scots-Irish – in other words, their status as a non-recognisable, incoherent segment of the white population in the USA – allows for narratives about this group to be highly malleable. Contemporary productions of the Scots-Irish story demonstrate the ways in which ethnic identities emerge as constructions of past and present, memory and history, and politics and culture.     

Recycled Blessings: An Investigative Case Study of a Rewrapped Egyptian Votive Mummy Using Novel and Established 3D Imaging Techniques

This case study was the first of its kind, where neutron computed tomography (CT) was applied to a wrapped mummified animal. Conventional X‐ray CT was also used to allow for meaningful comparison, and complementary data for a comprehensive investigation. Previous applications of both techniques are limited to metallic objects, such as bronze Buddhas. The mummy used in this study (IA.2402) is dated between the Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 bce ) to Late Period (664–332 bce ) according to the wrapping style, and was originally believed to contain a complete skeleton of a feline. However, precise date and provenance were unknown. Our results prove the presence of only partial juvenile feline remains, and provide a date range for artefact creation (900–804 bce ± 30) and alteration (367–204 bce ± 30). Therefore, this study implements an established imaging technique (neutron CT) in a novel way, while preserving and conserving the intrinsic value of the artefact through non‐destructive investigation.     

Indigenous Research and Archaeology: Transformative Practices in/with/for the Ngarrindjeri Community

The relationships between Indigenous peoples and archaeologists in Australia have consisted of conflict, consultation and collaboration. The literature looks at very little the roles and challenges met by Indigenous archaeologists and the issues that arise as a result of working between two different knowledge systems. This paper therefore will discuss the question of how archaeologists could modify their practice for better answering the Indigenous communities and treats this particular question by presenting my own work among the Ngarrindjeri nation of southeast South Australia. By the means of a lived experiment of conducting research with/in/for my community, I will consider the effect of the personal identity related to community stories while also examining how the knowledge of the interior can be at the same time complex but very significant for the development of archaeology.

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Resumé Par le passé, les rapports entre les aborigènes et les archéologues en Australie se sont avérés conflictuels, consultatifs et collaboratifs. Même si les aborigènes ont été impliqués dans la recherche archéologique, les chercheurs non-aborigènes ont été à l’avant plan dans le développement de méthodes et de techniques concernant la discipline archéologique à défaut d’avoir des aborigènes formés à cette discipline. Cet article se veut une contribution au développement actuel de recherche sur les méthodologies employées en archéologie par l’intermédiaire d’une discussion sur l’expérience d’un étudiant Ngarrindjeri récemment gradué en archéologie et qui travaille avec les communautés. Même si le cas présenté ici utilise la question hautement contentieuse et politique du rapatriement, l’objectif de cet article est de refléter les pratiques adoptées qui amènent à la transformation significative des procédures pour les archéologues Ngarrindjeri qui travaillent dans/avec/pour leur communauté afin de soutenir les efforts de protection de notre patrimoine culturel.

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Resumen Las relaciones entre los pueblos indígenas y los arqueólogos en Australia han sido de conflicto, consulta y colaboración. La bibliografía sobre el tema no tiene muy en cuenta los roles y los desafíos con los que se enfrentan los arqueólogos indígenas y las cuestiones que surgen como resultado de trabajar entre dos sistemas diferentes de conocimiento. Este artículo, en consecuencia, discutirá la cuestión de la manera en que los arqueólogos podrían modificar sus prácticas para dar una mejor respuesta a las comunidades indígenas; el artículo trata esta cuestión particular al presentar mi propio trabajo entre la nación Ngarrindjeri al sudeste del sur de Australia. Por la experiencia vivida al conducir una investigación en/con mi comunidad, consideraré el efecto de la identidad en relación a las historias de la comunidad a la vez que examinaré de que forma en conocimiento interior puede ser a la vez complejo pero muy significativo para el desarrollo de la arqueología.

     

Alveolar bone status of some pre-seventeenth century inhabitants of Taumako,Solomon Islands

The alveolar bone condition of 34 pre-seventeenth century Solomon Island Polynesians aged 20–35 years was investigated from dental remains. The distance between the cementoenamel junction and the alveolar crest (CEJ-AC distance) was measured for six index teeth. The mean CEJ-AC measurements for each tooth, which ranged from 3.9 to 7.9 mm, greatly exceeded the distance of 2 mm frequently cited as representative of teeth supported by healthy bone. Many pathological bony defects were seen, suggestive of episodes of acute periodontitis with remissions to a quiescent phase.