A Sensory Update to the C<Emphasis Type="Italic">haîne Opératoire</Emphasis> in Order to Study Skill: Perceptive Categories for Copper-Compositions in Archaeometallurgy

This paper introduces the methodology of perceptive categories through which an empirical analysis of skill is achievable, taking European Bronze Age metalworking as a case study. Based on scientific data provided by the material sciences, in this case compositional and metallographic analyses of Late Copper Age and Early Bronze Age axes, the thresholds to categorise and interpret these data, and organise them in a chaîne opératoire, are centred on the human senses—and thus on metalworking as a craft. This is a pragmatic approach that appreciates scientific measurements of metal objects as essential empirical evidence whilst recognising that a considerable share of these archaeometric data are inapt or too detailed for an understanding of skill. This empirical approach towards skill is relevant to our knowledge of the role of crafts and materials in the past. After all, skill is a fundamental asset for the production of material culture, and a distinct human-material relationship characterised by an intimate form of material engagement.     

Multi‐analytical Studies of Archaeological Chinese Earthen Plasters: The Inner Wall of the Longhu Hall (Yuzhen Palace,Ancient Building Complex,Wudang Mountains,China)

The Yuzhen Palace is one of the nine palaces in the Ancient Building Complex built by order of the Yongle Emperor during the Ming dynasty. The buildings were built with dressed black bricks. As a result of the planned national South–North Water Diversion project, the water level in the Danjiangkou Reservoir that surrounds the Yuzhen Palace was expected to rise by approximately 15 m. To avoid submersion of the site, three gates were elevated by 15 m in 2013 and other buildings dismantled, for later reconstruction. The characterization of the construction materials has therefore become of primary importance. Here, we present results on the plasters of the Longhu Hall. The analysis of materials involved a multi‐analytical approach combining optical and electron microscopy with X‐ray and vibrational spectromicroscopies and thermogravimetry. The results indicated the use of two earthen plaster layers and a whitewash finish coating applied over a thin preparatory intermediate layer to improve the adherence of the finish coating to the earthen plaster. Ramie and straw fibres identified in the earthen plasters were added to reduce shrinkage and cracking during drying. The raw materials used and the application technique pointed to a well‐established construction industry using traditional earthen building materials together with lime technology.     

Electrical Resistivity Tomography with Angular Separation for Characterization of Burial Mounds in Southern China

The study aims at providing the spatial distribution and potential structure of the burial mounds at the Sifangling site, Hepu Han Tombs, in southern China. We implemented an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique to obtain high‐resolution imaging of archaeological targets, considering the challenging environment and the depth of the burials. Three ERT profiles were tested above a small ancient mound previously detected by exhaustive archaeological drillings, following which 18 ERT profiles with angular separation were performed on the largest mound at the test site, without any a priori archaeological evidence below the surface. Then, a series of two‐dimensional (2D) profiles were combined as a ‘pseudo‐3D’ volume, which allowed a detailed characterization of the burial mound, and iso‐resistivity surfaces were also calculated to emphasize the location and spatial extent of the target. The results gave an effective identification of the funeral chamber and its structural details, and allowed detailed pre‐excavation planning.     

Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt: criticisms on the development of a German messianic

A discussion of the influence of Martin Buber is not easily limited to the philosophical anthropology he espoused. Nor is the political thinking of Hannah Arendt easily removed from criticism of the philosophies (and -phers) that informed her. Both Buber and Arendt attacked the beastly shoulders of a misapplied messianism as it emerged in modern Germany. Hegel, Heidegger, Marx and to some degree Nietzsche would affect this misplacement, and Arendt and Buber for their part would enter into a shared critique that is often neglected, despite promising attempts in a comparative direction made by Ellis, Engel and Riker. In this essay, I make the case that the contributions of Buber and Arendt – their shared assessments of the viability of the public realm, the need for common responsibility and the recurrent decision to engage with otherness in practical terms – point to an innovative critique of the forcible abstraction of a more traditional messianic made by German views of history. In the midst of the crises identified as correlates of a misapplied messianic, the hope as Buber and Arendt see it lies in the capacity for reflective and courageous identification and education between human individuals as they live towards one another.     

Using historically informed archaeology: Seventeenth and eighteenth century Hueda/European interaction on the coast of Bénin

The period of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and European colonies is relatively well documented compared with the historic records of many regions of precolonial Africa. However, this documentation necessarily presents a perspective distilled through European eyes. This paper suggests a methodology influenced byAnnales history for critically analyzing documentary sources in conjunction with a critical interpretation of archaeological remains. Archaeological evidence from recent excavations at the site of Savi, capital of the Hueda kingdom, is contrasted with documentary evidence, facilitating an interpretation of motivations guiding Hueda interaction with European traders and structuring their spatial relationship.     

Environmental Health Policy in Ukraine After the Chernobyl Accident

The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine produced severe environmental health problems. This paper reports on the environmental health conditions in Ukraine after the accident and the health policy approaches employed to respond to the environmental conditions and health problems. Crisis conditions and a period of rapid change in Ukraine contributed to the difficulties of developing and implementing policy to address serious environmental health problems. Despite these difficulties, Ukraine is taking effective action. The paper describes the primary environmental health problem areas and the efforts taken to solve them. The effect of intense public fear of radiation on policymaking is described. The paper discusses the ability of public fear to distort health policy towards certain problems, leaving problems of greater importance with fewer resources.