The Dynamics and Evolution of Local Industries—The Case of Linköping,Sweden

This article aims to analyse how innovative, individual actions influence the evolution of local industries according to three stages. When discussing the evolution of industries or economies, the concept of path dependency is often a central element. Its vague nature makes it however difficult to be used as an interpretative lens when studying the evolution of local industries. In order to limit the broad concept, several aspects have been identified for discussion; all are explicitly linked to path dependency in economic geography literature and all are acknowledged to be of significance for stimulating the evolution of local industries. Based on a review of the evolutionary economic theory literature, the following three stages have been identified: first, the entering of new knowledge which may, or may not, be the starting point for a new local industry; second, the formation of the new local industry; third, the anchoring process of the new local industry. All three stages are intertwined and include the question how the new emerging industry and the existing local structures relate to each other. The three stages will be illustrated through the discussion of the evolution of the IT industry in Linköping, Sweden.     

Expanding ecomorphological methods: geometric morphometric analysis of Cervidae post-crania

This study presents ecomorphological methods for reconstructing paleohabitats using three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses of Cervidae (deer and relatives) post-cranial elements. Cervids are often the most abundant taxon in Eurasian Plio-Pleistocene sites, yet their post-cranial remains are rarely utilized in paleoecological reconstructions. Cervids are found in a wide variety of habitats, and thus their ecomorphology spans an appropriate range to serve as a proxy for paleohabitat. Four morphological features are examined in this study; the calcaneus as a whole (n = 122), the medial margin of the patellar surface of the femur (n = 133), the lateral margin of the tibial plateau (n = 136), and the plantar margin of the third phalanx (n = 62). These features were chosen because they represent various aspects of cervid locomotion important for power generation, stability, and substrate interaction. For each feature, canonical variates analyses with cross-validations were used to assess how well landmark configurations distinguish among specimens from different habitat types. Cross-validations returned correct reclassifications rates ranging from 38.9% to 66.3% in a four-habitat system, with resubstitution rates of 55.4% to 79.1% correct. Most habitat groups were found to be significantly different at p < 0.0001 using permutations tests. Variation in these ecomorphological adaptations are explored via visualizations depicting “open” and “closed” habitat types, and hypotheses are presented for cervid functional morphology.     

Age‐Related Cortical Bone Maintenance and Loss in an Imperial Roman Population

This article explores age‐ and sex‐related patterns of cortical bone loss, assessed by radiogrammetry of the second metacarpal, from a skeletal sample excavated from the Imperial Roman port city of Velia (1st and 2nd century ad ), to contribute to our understanding of health and disease during the Imperial period. Patterns of age‐ and sex‐related bone loss and health at Velia are also compared with other historical samples and to modern clinical data. It was hypothesised that patterns of age‐ and sex‐related bone loss in this well‐represented Roman sample (n = 71) would mirror those reported in modern populations. Differences in the quantity of cortical bone between three age groups (18–29, 30–49 and 50+ years) are significant in both men and women; however, the pattern of bone loss differs between the sexes. Women show a gradual decline in bone quantity beginning in middle age, whereas men only lose bone in old age. However, there are no significant sex differences at any age group in the metacarpal cortical index. These findings suggest the hypothesis should be refuted because significant sex differences, particularly in old age, are an expected hallmark of bone loss in Western populations today. The possible biocultural and gender‐related factors that may have contributed to the observed patterns of bone maintenance and loss at Velia are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Middle Ages Houses of Gien (France) from the Inside: Geoarchaeology and Archaeobotany of 9th–11th c. Floors

ABSTRACT

At Gien (France), indoor floors from early Middle Ages occupation (8th–10th c. AD) are very well preserved, providing a new reference for archaeological investigation in northern France. This site is located on an outcrop, 20 m above the Loire valley, where a 15th c. castle stands now. The medieval occupation combines high-status houses with crafting and agricultural areas. They constitute a new urban nucleus, which grew 2?km east from an ancient Roman settlement. During the rescue excavation, four buildings of different status were sampled and studied using an integrated approach, combining stratigraphy, micromorphology, chemical, macro-remain and phytolith analyses. Micromorphological investigations helped to identify 74 built floors, from 0.5 to 150?mm thick, made with transformed local clay or imported silty earth. Mineral floors were covered by vegetal ones, consisting of crop processing refuse. These litters include an abundance of phytoliths and some seeds, both produced by cultivated cereals, which were processed in situ, such as Triticum durum, Secale cereale and Hordeum vulgare. The refuse above the mineral and vegetal floors were trampled. They were produced not only by domestic activities, such as cooking and eating, but also by metallurgic activities and animal husbandry. The investigation of a contemporary pit indicated that, despite the large amount of refuse, floors were well maintained and regularly rebuilt. The spatial distribution of waste indicated that a single space could be dedicated to several activities, which were not necessarily separated by new floors. Moreover, the total absence of bioturbation allowed the study of a stage of dark earth formation, by comparing it to the contemporaneous mechanical disturbance of a part of the strata which occurred when building new floors. All these results give new evidence of the richness and the complexity of the early Middle Ages town, in addition to help identifying the activities which could take place in early castral areas.     

BREAKING THE COGNITIVE DIMENSION OF LOCAL PATH DEPENDENCE: AN ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSPECTIVE

Few attempts have been made to consider the role of individual activities in path dependence. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how local entrepreneurial activities can lead to a break in the cognitive local path. The theoretical framework rests on the literature on path dependence, but focuses mainly on cognitive frames as carriers of path‐dependent behaviour. A qualitative case study has been used to analyse the formation and breaking of a local cognitive path through individual activities. Four main conclusions can be drawn. First, cognitive paradigms explain why the degree of adaptability differs between locations. Second, external shocks are translated to local change through individual activities. Third, acknowledging cognitive barriers to individual behaviour, the important role of outsiders is highlighted for breaking the cognitive path. Fourth, the long durability of cognitive paradigms and the importance of outsiders suggest the emergence of a parallel, alternative cognitive path.