The Pantheon of Feminist Culture: Women’s Movements and the Organization of Memory

The collective memory of feminist movements, like that of nation-states, is comprised of ‘invented traditions’ and embodied in ‘lieu de mémoire’ (sites of memory). This essay considers national and international examples of collective memory, including International Women’s Day, showing how celebrations of historical events and commemorations of the past were used to cement group cohesion and define boundaries of inclusion and exclusion. The essay proposes a typology of collective memory and examines the implications of the attenuation of memory in contemporary society.     

Was it the deer or the fox?

Herbivores, as taphonomic agents, can modify and consume bones and antlers for no nutritive purpose. This unusual behavior is due to a nutritional dysfunction (osteophagia) that allows them to supplement a lack of minerals in their diet through ingestion of minerals contained in bones. When chewing, herbivores change skeletal element morphology and produce a characteristic forked shape. At an incipient stage of modification, herbivore chewing may mimic that of carnivores. In this paper, we provide diagnostic criteria to distinguish bone modification made by herbivores from that produced by other taphonomic agents, mainly carnivores.     

A DNA test for sex identification in cattle confirms osteometric results

It is of vital importance to be able to sex identify cattle remains to understand the strategies and importance of cattle husbandry in an ancient society. This is usually done from osteoarchaeological assemblages and often relies on measurements of metapodials. The breadth measurement of the distal trochlea is considered an easy way to identify the sex. Bones from males appears to be easily distinguishable from female counterparts, although it has been complicated to find an external control for the morphological results. Here we investigate the reliability of these particular morphometrics for sex identifying cattle bones with molecular genetics. We use a sex discriminating single nucleotide polymorphism in the ZFXY gene and we apply it to DNA from the bones. To keep the fragment size short and suitable for ancient DNA we base the test on a SNP. The test confirms the osteological sex identification in all cases were DNA could be retrieved. This molecular method can also be used when no fragments suitable for osteological sex identification can be found or when the measurements are non-conclusive.     

Executives, Legislatures, and Decentralization

This article considers the role of executives and legislatures in authoring decentralizing legislation to study the type of decentralization each sought to achieve. I find that differences across branches are more significant than differences across political parties. The executive played a significant role in the process of decentralization emphasizing administrative forms of decentralization. Congressional efforts to write laws, on the contrary, focused on the political aspects. Thus, the involvement of both branches in policymaking contributed to the multidimensional form and high degree of decentralization in Colombia.     

Multitemporal analysis for preservation of obsidian sources from Melka Kunture (Ethiopia): integration of fieldwork activities,digital aerial photogrammetry and multispectral stereo-IKONOS II analysis

An integrated analysis of recent satellite imageries and dated aerial photos demonstrated to be a good investigation tool (Gallo et al., 2009) for the identification of new sites and for the assessment of landscape changes of wide archaeological areas in Ethiopia.     

Giving women a voice on decision-making about water: barriers and opportunities in Laikipia,Kenya

In more than 75% of households around the world in which water needs are fulfilled by retrieving water, women are typically tasked with this critical responsibility. This is true in Kenya, and the challenges women in rural areas of the country face are compounded by a lack of reasonable access to safe water by 56.5% of rural households. More than 25% of the population must travel at least 30?minutes to collect water, and 70% of all diseases in the country are water-borne (Kameri-Mbote and Kariuki 2015). Given their role as the primary household decision-maker about water, women have an astute understanding of water availability, access, quality and household use, and women’s perspectives would enhance decision-making in groups that address water resource management. However, women have historically been marginalized from participation in such processes for numerous reasons related to lack of empowerment, leadership, and voice, and the practicalities of the demands on her time that prevent her from having discretionary time to devote to civic processes. In this study, we interviewed 153 women living in three different watersheds in the Laikipia region of central Kenya about their views on water resource management, and interest in participation in water resource user associations (WRUAs) as members and leaders. Our results are consistent with prior research in that marginalization of women from WRUA participation is steeped in entrenched normative beliefs and behaviors about women’s roles and her domestic responsibilities, a lack of money to participate, and a lack of time given her other responsibilities.