Early Holocene palaeoseasonality inferred from the stable isotope composition of Unio shells from Çatalhöyük,Turkey

Seasonal δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O data are presented from 14 Unio sub-fossil shells unearthed at the archaeological site of Çatalhöyük in central Turkey, spanning the occupation period ca. 9150–8000 cal years BP. The shells likely lived in the small lakes/wetlands around the site before being gathered and taken to Çatalhöyük. Wet-dry seasonal cycles are clearly apparent in the δ¹⁸O_shell profiles with low winter values reflecting winter precipitation and high δ¹⁸O in the summer resulting from evaporation. The most striking trend in the δ¹⁸O data is the drop in maximum summer δ¹⁸O ca. 8300 years BP, which we infer as indicating lower summer evaporation and hence a reduction in seasonality. Previous palaeoclimate records from the area have suggested cooler and more arid conditions, with reduced precipitation, around this time. While the drop in summer δ¹⁸O values could be due to reduced summer temperatures reducing summer evaporation, but there was little change in winter δ¹⁸O, perhaps suggesting winter growth cessation or reduced influence of winter climate change on δ¹⁸O. This shift in seasonal climate could be linked to solar-forced climate change beginning ca. 8600 years BP, and enhanced by the regional expression of the 8·2k event. Changing water balance over the occupation period is likely an important contributory factor behind observed cultural changes at Çatalhöyük in the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic period. Our results might be considered to support the fission-fusion farming hypothesis as we provide additional evidence for wet winter/early spring conditions during the Early Holocene which likely caused flooding of the Çar?amba Fan. The changing water balance after ca. 8300 years BP (i.e. reduced seasonality and potentially reduced local summer evaporation) is also coincidental with the proposed end of this farming system due to multi-decadal drought.     

Ageing in remote and cyclone‐prone communities: geography,policy, and disaster relief

Focusing on the experience of independent‐living older adults, this study explored how those in regional Australian coastal communities have coped with repeated natural disasters. Using an exploratory, mixed‐method, and phenomenological approach, an array of non‐probability snowballing techniques was used to seek participation from residents aged 65 years or more, and from emergency services officers, disaster managers, and community health care providers located in regional communities affected by Cyclone Larry (2006) and Cyclone Yasi (2011). The research found that post‐disaster political decisions have had a negative long‐term impact on local economies, causing outmigration by those seeking employment, and resulting in many elderly residents facing a future without family support. As government policies encourage ageing‐in‐place by providing subsidised in situ care, increasingly older adults are remaining in exposed vulnerable locations, reliant on authorities for their survival both day‐to‐day and during an emergency. Findings also uncovered inconsistent disaster management policies between neighbouring local government councils and an unrealistic reliance on in situ care organisations by disaster managers during preparation and recovery stages of a natural hazard. These results highlight the need for those charged with emergency management to reassess both the future natural hazard adaptive capacities of ageing regional communities and policy responses to such challenges.     

Contestability of Australian Federal Elections

Using data on federal elections for both the Upper and Lower Houses in Australia and the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), we explore whether the contestability/concentration varies across elections. Our results show significant movements in contestability over time. The results also imply a smaller degree of concentration than we would expect to find in a two-party system. To the extent that the Upper House (Senate) – until the 2004 election – is not controlled by the executive, this implies a greater level of political competition, and choice for voters, than that associated with two-party systems.     

The informer, the lover and the gift giver: female collaborators in Pau 1940-1946

In July 1940 the Armistice Commission sent a German delegationto Pau in south-western France. The delegation included AndréMüller, a Nazi who also worked for the German SecurityPolice. Müller's twenty-nine letters to a female collaborator,alongside the testimonies of those who knew the two friends,provide an unusual opportunity to recapture a sense of day-to-dayrelations between the occupied and occupiers. The Nazi officer'sletters reveal his reflections on the war, his hopes and, aboveall, his material needs. The cycle of epistolary exchange thatlinked the two friends entailed a unidirectional flow of giftsfrom the female collaborator to Müller. The letters, goodsand services they exchanged raise important questions aboutthe location of power, indebtedness and gratitude in Franco-Germanpartnerships; they also provide an opportunity to test assumptionsabout the inequality of such relationships in occupied France.The court testimonies in Pau also offer rare insights into femaleinvolvement in collaborationist movements, which were primarilya male sphere of activity and influence.     

A bioarchaeological approach to the Iron Age in Switzerland: stable isotope analyses (δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C, δ<Superscript>15</Superscript>N, δ<Superscript>34</Superscript>S) of human remains

In Switzerland, a large number of Iron Age burial sites were found in the last century. Changes in living conditions and socio-cultural behavior may have occurred over time and space and could be reflected in the dietary habits, social stratigraphy within populations and migration patterns. This study attempts to shed light on these aspects with the application of stable isotope analyses. Human remains from 11 different burial sites (n?=?164) in the area of today’s Swiss Plateau and Swiss Alpine regions were investigated. Temporal and geographical variations as well as sex and age-related dietary differences were analyzed through isotopic studies (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S). In total, the data of 129 individuals could be evaluated. Highly significant differences between the burial sites were found, with higher δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in the Alpine regions. Cultural and/or climatic changes as well as the different geological conditions might have led to distinct patterns of crop cultivation and animal husbandry and consequently to significantly different dietary habits in the Plateau and the Alpine regions. The data indicate a higher intake of millet and animal protein including early dairy production in the southern regions, probably influenced by the Mediterranean world. Cultural exchange between geographical regions might have been facilitated by migration during the Iron Age as suggested by the δ³⁴S.     

Do Lawyers Get More Votes?

ABSTRACT

In many western democracies, law has been the dominant occupational background of politicians. This raises the question whether lawyers get more votes when they run for election compared to non-lawyers. To our knowledge, this question has not been examined empirically over an extended period of time. Our study aims to fill this lacuna. We collected longitudinal data about the careers of all candidates in Canadian federal elections from 1921 to 2015. Our dataset is composed of about 32,000 observations including the occupation and electoral performance of every candidate who ran for office. Our analysis shows that lawyers do get more votes but that their personal electoral boost is very small.     

‘Like two pieces of the sky’: Seeing North Korea through accounts of the famine (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

North Korea is renowned for its inaccessibility, with anthropologists and others compelled to work beyond its borders. Presented in this article are select findings from ethnographic research carried out in 2006 among refugee survivors of the North Korean famine living in South Korea. The ethnographic material shows how refugees’ accounts of their plight are shaped by the political conditions of North Korea.     

Web3 and the entrepreneurial imaginary of the 2022 Lisbon Web Summit

This article discusses the entrepreneurial imaginary and the role of Web3 in the narratives of industry actors at the 2022 Lisbon Web Summit. This imaginary does not address the qualitative aspects of current crises but rather their potential for regenerating capital flows in the spirit of never letting a good crisis go to waste. The article argues that the wealth-tech nexus is symptomatic of the broader process of financialization of the economy and, in particular, of the growing role of private investment in the form of Venture Capital (VC), particularly illustrated by ‘unicorns’. While capital allocation in the digital economy, both from private and public sources, currently exceeds its realization, this entrepreneurial imaginary builds expectations towards Web3 and effectively drives the valuation process and investors’ returns, regardless of its future implementation.