Prediction Models for Age‐at‐Death Estimates for Calves,Using Unfused Epiphyses and Diaphyses

For cattle (Bos taurus), age estimations using dental criteria before the eruption of the first molar (3–8 months) have large error margins. This hampers archaeozoological investigation into perinatal mortality or the putative slaughtering of very young calves for milk exploitation. Previous ageing methods for subjuveniles have focused on the length of unfused bones, but it is rarely possible to use them because they are restricted to foetuses and because of the fragmentation of bones. This paper presents new age prediction models based on length, breadth and depth of post cranial bones produced from a dataset of modern calves (n = 27). This reference collection was compiled from material of known age at death, sex and breed from collections in Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland. Linear regression models were constructed using the modern data for age prediction, and these models were then successfully tested and assessed using a Middle Neolithic assemblage of complete calves' skeletons from Bourguignon‐Lès‐Morey, France. From the assessment, the astragalus and metapodials were determined to be the most reliable bones, and the femur was the worst. Measurements of the epiphyseal and distal elements and depth measurements were the most reliable. For ages before 12 months, these models can provide ±1 month age estimates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“The Roman Giant”: Overgrowth Syndrome in Skeletal Remains from the Imperial Age

A very tall skeleton was found during archaeological excavations in the territory of Fidenae, an administrative centre of the Roman territorial organization, situated along the Via Salaria about 7 km north of Rome (Italy). The individual was a young male, dated back to the Imperial Age (3^rd century AD), presenting a very tall but normally proportioned stature, estimated around 202 cm. The long bones showed incomplete epiphyseal union; therefore, the stature would probably have been taller, if he had lived longer. In this work, the metric data are compared with those from the Roman Imperial Age population, and differential diagnosis is discussed. The skeletal evidence is characteristic of a form of gigantism, a rare growth disease that may be linked to different syndromes. The most common etiology is associated with a dysfunction of the pituitary gland, which causes overproduction of the growth hormone (hGH) during childhood. This endocrine disorder stimulates cartilaginous activity at the growth plate, delaying epiphyseal fusion and resulting in increased bone length. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representation and Recursion in the Archaeological Record

Living humans are unique among the animal kingdom with respect to their ability to externalize mental representations outside the brain through a variety of media and in a recursive or creative manner (i.e., generating a potentially infinite array of combinations). Earlier humans evolved two specialized organs—the hand and the vocal tract—as primary instruments for externalizing artificial or semantic representations. These organs and the externalized representations may have co-evolved with the Homo brain. The archaeological record yields examples of simple representations by 1.6 mya. More complex, hierarchical, and recursive forms are evident by roughly 0.25 mya. Complex and highly recursive representations in a wide range of media (including representations of representations in the form of visual art) emerge after 0.1 mya among anatomically modern humans.     

Comment sortir du ‘terrorisme’? La violence politique et les conditions de sa disparition en France et en République Fédérale d'Allemagne en comparaison 1970–années 1990

Research on political violence and terrorism is usually focused on the origins and the dynamics of violence. This article attempts to overcome the neglect of ways of leaving terrorism. One important hypothesis of this article is that terrorism should be understood as a strategy of communication. How did states and societies face the ‘communicative challenge’ posed by terrorism? This question will be applied to the cases of left-wing terrorism in 1970s and 1980s West Germany and France. In the 1970s, in West Germany, a political dialogue with the left-wing group RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion) seemed to be impossible, whereas in France violent groups engaged with the wider public through public communication. By this way an escalation of violence could be avoided, but in the 1980s French terrorist groups such as Action Directe modelled themselves on the West German RAF: as a consequence, any communication with the state or society was interrupted. At the same time, in West Germany, the question of whether a dialogue with the RAF should be started was at the core of public discussion. Some stated that it would be the only possibility to make them give up, while others rejected any idea of communicating with terrorists. The West German and French cases show us that the communicational situation, especially the degree of integration of the concerned left-wing groups in public discourse, had an important impact on the outcome of violence.     

Maritime Durées: Long-Term Structures in a Coastal Landscape

The interaction between humans and the maritime coastal landscape must be one of the central theoretical questions for maritime archaeology. How should an academic discipline, which is defined by its studies in a certain physical milieu, avoid the trap of environmental determinism and still be able to argue for the special influence of the maritime factor? And how should this long-term relation to the sea be interpreted and described? In this article, based mainly on material from the central Swedish Baltic Sea coast, three examples of long-term structures regarding the relationship between people and the sea are discussed. The structures, here called “maritime durees”, which almost all coastal habitants in the analyzed area seem to have had in common are linked to: exploitation of marine resources, communication over water and the mental presence of the sea. In conclusion the actual meaning of these long-term structures for everyday life and for cultural and social change are discussed in comparison to more short term structures: the changing historical circumstances and possibilities for people to choose different strategies.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE AMPHORAE,STONE BALLAST AND STOWAGE MATERIALS OF THE SHIPS FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF PISA–SAN ROSSORE,ITALY: INFERENCES ON THEIR PROVENANCE AND POSSIBLE TRADING ROUTES*

In December 1998, during excavation for the construction of a new building near San Rossore railway station in Pisa, the remains of ancient ships were discovered. These findings have been dated (radiocarbon) to between the end of the 10th century bc and the fifth century ad ( Belluomini et al. 2002 ). Several transport amphorae belonging to the Hellenistic ship, samples of rocks (stone ballast) belonging to ships B, D and the Hellenistic ship, and stowage materials belonging only to ship B have been analysed. The mineralogical and petrographic data of the investigated samples provided information on the possible provenance of the raw materials utilized in the manufacture of the ceramic amphorae, as well as on the provenance of the rock materials found in the ships as ballast and stowage. The compositional data (obtained through XRD, XRF, OM and EPMA) and their statistical analyses suggest that the provenance of the Dressel amphorae belonging to the Hellenistic ship was the Middle Tyrrhenian coast of Italy, and more precisely the area between Tarquinia and Naples, according to the numerous kilns and wine production sites found in this area. The provenance of the volcanic rocks was from southern Tuscany, northern Latium and possibly the Pontine Islands, whereas the intrusive rock possibly comes from the Calabrian–Tyrrhenian coast and/or the Peloritani area. The impure limestones and the dolostone come from southern Tuscany and the Latium coast; the semi‐metamorphic rocks could come from the coast of southern Tuscany, the Tuscan Archipelago or possibly also from the Ligurian coast; only the sample of mylonitized granitoid possibly comes from either the Calabria–Peloritani arc or the Tuscan Archipelago. The stowage materials, consisting of lapilli and scoria of a pyroclastic nature, are sourced from the Neapolitan area. These data might shed some light on the centres of production of the amphorae and of the trading routes followed by the ships, according to the ports of call.     

THE TREASURE OF GUARRAZAR: TRACING THE GOLD SUPPLIES IN THE VISIGOTHIC IBERIAN PENINSULA*

The treasure of Guarrazar, found in the 19th century in Spain, is the most important illustration of the high level of Visigothic jewellery in the Iberian Peninsula. The votive crowns and crosses of this treasure are an arrangement of pierced gold in a Byzantine–Germanic style, decorated with emeralds, garnets, sapphires and other materials. In order to establish the provenance of the gold, we analysed a group of 46 minute samples from the most important pieces kept in Spain for major and trace elements. The combination of PIXE and PIGE with an external 3 MeV proton µ‐beam was used to analyse the samples. Considering the gold sources cited by Pliny the Elder and the composition of contemporary Visigothic coins, we suggest the exploitation of south Iberian mines. Using the same set‐up, we complemented these results with the analysis of 11 emeralds inlaid in items from the Guarrazar jewellery that is kept in France. We suggest the use of European sources unknown to the Romans for these gemstones.