Modern Road Archaeology: Identification and Classification Proposal

Roads built throughout Europe from the eighteenth century onwards and adapted to motor vehicles serve as an important testimony of the history of engineering. However, very few attempts have been made to identify in a systematic manner the archaeological heritage associated with these infrastructures. This article aims to establish a series of chronological milestones marking the turning points in the design of these infrastructures and to define a typological classification of the elements forming part of road heritage. Finally, on applying the established conceptual framework to the Spanish case, a more specific definition of the main archaeological traces that may still be found today is provided.     

Experiencing nature and children’s conceptualizations of the natural world

This paper examines young children’s concepts of nature, paying attention to the role played by types of daily experiences with nature on 832 children’s constructions of the natural world. We observed the roles of three types of experiences, as determined by the children’s place of residence (urban, rural mountain range, and rural agricultural) in Spain. Participants wrote what they thought about when hearing the word ‘nature’. Content analysis revealed a conceptual structure formed with four underlying and interconnected themes: (1) natural and non-natural elements, (2) the human–nature relationship, (3) emotional experience of nature, and (4) actions in natural settings. The type of daily experiences with nature (i.e. urban, rural mountain range, and rural agricultural) accounted for variability in children’s concept of nature. These results reinforce the importance of considering the role played by personal and situational characteristics in shaping children’s constructions of the natural world.     

Finding the Past in the Landscape: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sambaqui</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kaizuka</Emphasis> Amid Appropriation and Construction of Identities (Brazil and Japan)

In a comparative analysis, it is possible to discuss how sambaqui and kaizuka appear as objects of scientific investigation and also as part of the social imaginary and the cultural landscape. Archaeology, in its trajectory as a scientific field, is influenced or even directed by the different moments of construction of a national identity and discourse. While in Brazil there is a clear cut between the past and the building of a nation, situating sambaqui in the realm of the other, in Japan, the continuum from a past beyond records encompasses and situate the kaizuka within the social imaginary as part of the national narrative.     

‘Fighters without guns’: humanitarianism and military action in the aftermath of the Second World War

Abstract

This paper makes a contribution to the debate about the interplay between military action and humanitarian aid. It takes on the case study of post-World War Two Europe and in particular the activity carried out by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), which offers a useful key for highlighting the entanglements between relief and reconstruction projects. It is from this perspective that the interaction between humanitarianism and military undertakings also acquires a special meaning, which recalls both the development of the international aid regime and the post-war history of Western countries. The matter will be addressed from two points of view. First to be analysed is the set of agreements stipulated by UNRRA and military authorities, for the zones under Allied administration after the liberation, but also with respect to specific areas of intervention, like the Displaced Persons Operations. The terms of the official agreements allow the delineation of the tasks actually assigned to the agency by the United Nations and the role of control and protection reserved for military organizations. Based on the formal agreements, it is already possible to reconstruct a vision of relief understood as the result of the inextricably linked action of military and humanitarian actors. Next, the interplay between different interpretations of activities to help civilians affected by the war will be examined. This section will focus on the personnel deployed by UNRRA, on their origins, and on duties they are called on to fulfil. People with extensive experience in the welfare sector were a substantial part of the personnel, but a significant number of UNRRA employees came from military ranks. This essay, therefore, has a twofold objective. It analyses the normative and institutional frame that shaped relief work in Liberated Europe. At the same time, it aims to uncover competition and cooperation between military and humanitarian actors in the field. The aim is to highlight how the co-construction of the aid operations between military and civilian personnel that occurred during the second post-war period followed a series of complex, nonlinear paths that conditioned the development of the humanitarian regime from within.     

New Indices for the Existing City-Centers Streets Network Reliability and Availability Assessment in Earthquake Emergency

During earthquake emergencies in existing city-centers, streets network permits inhabitants to reach safe areas, and rescuers to access damaged zones and help population. However, the network can suffer from blocks due to debris of collapsed or heavily damaged buildings. Understanding urban fabric modifications and classifying elements vulnerability are fundamental steps while dealing with risk-assessment and risk-reduction strategies. This article offers a first quick approach for assessing seismic vulnerability of paths network by considering interferences with building heritage damages. Quick data about existing urban fabric (e.g., buildings typology; streets and buildings geometries) are combined for developing new vulnerability indices for streets network. The earthquake macroseismic intensity is introduced for evaluating probable street blockages and summarizing the overall rating of risks in critical network locations, thus intensity that is not included in other current quick methods for streets-building interference is here taken into account. Risk-reduction strategies based on the proposed indices could minimize the interventions on architectural heritage, maximizing the safety of evacuees. These new indices could be combined with traditional assessment of buildings vulnerability, and evaluations on pedestrians’ and vehicles evacuation flows, for evaluating management strategies.     

Multi-technique characterization of dyes in ancient Kaitag textiles from Caucasus

Kaitag textiles, named after the Kaitag district of Southwest Daghestan, Russia, where it is being manufactured, are a unique embroidered textile art form. They were used by families on special occasions such as the birth, marriage or death of one of their members and were thus passed down from generation to generation as family heirlooms. Today, only a few hundred of these precious antique specimens can still be found, and surviving examples are mostly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In this article, an extensive work for the scientific analysis of Kaitag textiles is presented as the logical continuance and updating of the investigations performed by thin layer chromatography almost two decades ago. A multi-technique approach involving the combined use of micro-invasive and nondestructive techniques suitable for in situ analyses was used, aiming to identify the colourants of Kaitag textiles and the inks employed for the underlying drawing. Analyses were performed by high-performance liquid chromatography, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, as well as visible reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence. In addition, infrared reflectography and ultraviolet fluorescence were employed to visualise underlying drawings and possible restorations. Corrosion phenomena observed in brown- and black-dyed areas were also investigated.     

New evidence for jute (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Corchorus capsularis</Emphasis> L.) in the Indus civilization

In this paper, we report the results of an analysis of a preserved structure of jute on a ceramic artifact from the site of Harappa that is dated to 2200–1900 (cal.) BC (Fig. 1). Jute cloth has not previously been identified at this early date in the Indus civilization. Since fiber remains are rare in prehistoric South Asia, we briefly review the evidence for seed and fiber remains used in textile production in this region.     

Do Spatial Interdependencies Matter in Italian Regional Specialization?

This article summarizes and evaluates the effects of spatial interdependencies in Italian regional specialization over the period 1995–2006. First, we perform an exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), and then we estimate a spatial panel data model built according to the new economic geography theory. ESDA reveals positive spatial interdependence overall and detects hot spots in the north and cold spots in the south for all sectors, but agriculture shows the reverse. Similarly, an econometric investigation furnishes evidence of the presence of spillover effects, implying that the determinants of the specialization of a region influence its neighbors' specialization. Este artículo resume y evalúa los efectos de las interdependencias espaciales en la especialización regional italiana durante el período 1995–2006. En primer lugar, se realiza un análisis exploratorio de datos espaciales (Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis‐ESDA), y luego se estima un modelo de datos de panel espacial construido de acuerdo a la teoría de la nueva geografía económica (New Economic Geography‐NEG). ESDA revela la interdependencia espacial positiva global en los datos y detecta zonas de concentración de incidencia alta (hot spots) en los el norte y zonas concentración de incidencia baja o nula (cold spots) en el sur para todos los sectores económicos excepto el caso de la agricultura. Del mismo modo el estudio realiza un análisis econométrico que demuestra la presencia de efectos de desbordamiento espacial (spillovers), lo cual implica que los factores determinantes de la especialización de una región influyen en la especialización de sus vecinos. 本文对1995‐2006年间意大利区域专业化的空间依赖性效果进行了总结和评价。首先进行了探索性空间数据分析（ESDA）,然后对根据新经济地理理论构建的一种空间面板数据模型进行了评价。ESDA揭示了全局的正向空间相互依赖性及北部热点区和南部冷点区的分布特征,但农业的分布特征却相反。同样地,一项计量经济调查提供了溢出效应存在的证据,同时表明了区域专业化的决定因素影响其邻近区域的专业化。