The politics of wetlandscape: fishery heritage and natural conservation in Hong Kong

The north‐western part of Hong Kong is a marsh with traditional freshwater fish farming; however, this brackish area has been agriculturally diversified to include cultivation of red rice, reeds, shrimp and fish, and has only largely concentrated on freshwater fish farming starting from the 1960s. By looking into the geographical and social changes that have taken place in the brackish area, I will explain how the coastal landscape was changed in the 1910s through the introduction of large‐scale rice production in Tin Shui Wai which has turned into a high‐density residential new town, and the wetland conservation of Mai Po marshes. This article aims at understanding the meanings of intangible as well as agricultural/fishery heritage and the local politics among indigenous communities, conservation groups, the government and developers in post‐handover Hong Kong society. Inland freshwater pond cultivation was actually a major industry in the 1970s since it supplied most of the freshwater fish for the local market. Nowadays, the industry is shrinking because of lack of manpower and high operation costs compared to the mainland. With various kinds of social, economic and physical pressures, the local communities which are located at the buffer areas of the wetland in Mai Po are actually facing the tremendous dangers of losing those fishponds; most importantly, the fishponds have been serving not only as mitigation zone and source of a traditional local food but also as a major food supplier for migratory birds, adding to the conservation value of the Mai Po marshes and Inner Deep Bay in Hong Kong at large.     

‘All mucked up’: sharing stories of Yolŋu–Macassan cultural heritage at Bawaka,north-east Arnhem Land

From the eighteenth-century Macassan traders from the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi made regular visits to northern Australia, where with the help of Yol?u, Indigenous Australians living in north-east Arnhem Land, they collected trepang (sea cucumber) for trade. Along with sharing language, technology and culture, the Macassans and Yol?u involved built relationships that are celebrated today in Yol?u art, songs and stories. While the trepang trade had officially stopped by 1906, resonances of this complex relationship continued and still continue today. This paper shares a number of stories told by one particular Yol?u family about this heritage and reflects on the ways in which for Yol?u, the tangible heritage (artefacts), intangible heritage (stories) and the land itself are locked in a symbiotic relationship where each depends on the others to define their existence. Looking after, or protecting this heritage, is therefore about attending to place, and the nature, storytellers, objects and stories contained within it.     

Tooth Wear Related to Marine Foraging,Agro‐Pastoralism and the Formative Transition on the Northern Chilean Coast

Occlusal surface wear scores were examined in a sample of 200 Formative period (1500 bc–ad 500) skeletons from the lower Azapa Valley in northwest Chile. Wear rate and plane (angle) were additionally evaluated using a subsample of paired first and second mandibular molars. The Formative period represents the transition from marine foraging to agro‐pastoral dependence in the region, and differences in oral pathology indicate that diet varied by site location (coast vs valley interior) but not by archaeological phase (early vs late). We predicted that occlusal wear would demonstrate similar patterns, resulting from differences in food consistency, and therefore hypothesised that in coastal groups consuming greater quantities of foraged foods, occlusal surfaces should wear faster and exhibit flat molar wear, whereas among valley interior groups consuming greater quantities of agro‐pastoral products, these should wear slower but exhibit more angled molar wear. Heavier posterior tooth wear was identified among coastal residents, but rate and angle of molar occlusal attrition did not differ significantly by location. Heavier overall wear and a steeper molar wear plane were identified during the early phase indicating that food consistency varied somewhat over the course of the Formative period. Overall, the results indicate that, although limited differences in tooth wear exist by site location, wear varied more over time likely reflecting a gradual transition from foraging to agro‐pastoral dependence in the lower Azapa Valley. Although oral health indicators point to differences in dietary investment by location, maintenance of a mixed subsistence economy likely sustained a comparative consistency of foodstuffs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bioarchaeological Investigation of Possible Gunshot Wounds in 18th Century Human Skeletons from Korea

Notwithstanding the relative abundance of bioarchaeological evidence of pre‐20th century gunshot wounds discovered at European and American archaeological sites, similar findings in East Asian countries have been very rare. In this study, we report evidence of possible gunshot wounds sustained by two individuals buried in Joseon tombs of Korea. The shapes of the trauma seemed to indicate low‐velocity projectiles, most likely musket balls. To our knowledge, this is the first bioarchaeological report specifically concerning possible gunshot‐wound evidence in East Asian skeletons recovered from archaeological fields. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of Computed Tomography and Three‐Dimensional Virtual Reconstruction for the Examination of a 16th Century Mummified Dog from a North German Peat Bog

The corpse of a well‐preserved dog was recovered from a peat bog in the region of Burlage, Germany, in 1953. The dog, which dates to the 16th century, retained extensive soft tissue and fur on the postcranial body, although the head is skeletonised. Computed tomography was used to determine the extent of the preservation of the soft tissue, to determine sex and age and to attempt to identify trauma, pathology and potential cause of death. The analysis of the CT data indicated that the dog was an immature or adolescent male. Substantial soft tissue was preserved, including some internal organs. The entire skeleton was present, with the exception of the mandible and parts of the paws; all of the bones were flattened and some were distorted because of demineralisation in the peat. Partial disarticulation of the vertebral column was postmortem, although there was no further evidence of trauma or pathology on the skeleton or soft tissue. The cause of death could not be conclusively determined. To the knowledge of the authors, this dog represents the only known example of a complete historical nonhuman bog body with preserved soft tissue. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Case of the Execution of Swedish Soldiers at the Market Square in Cracow (17th c.)

Creating a more complete image of our past requires cooperation among many branches of science. A joint effort by archaeologists, anthropologists and historians allowed us to establish the origin and cause of death of four individuals found in a layer dating to the early modern period ina medieval burial ground in the Market Square in Cracow. In the course of interdisciplinary analyses, it was found that the skeletons were the remains of four males aged between 30 and 50, who probably were soldiers of a Swedish garrison occupying Cracow in the mid‐17th century. The finding was confirmed by archaeological evidence parts of protective codpieces (Lat.suspensus) and burial stratigraphy typical of this period) and specific changes in the skeletons attributable to warfare. At the same time, characteristic traumatic lesions of the cervical vertebrae and traces of binding of the upper and lower limbs indicate that the soldiers had been condemned to death by beheading. Historical sources confirm that Swedish soldiers were executed in Cracow's Market Square in 1657. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Avian Remains from Khonkho Wankane,an Urban and Ceremonial Center in the Southern Lake Titicaca Altiplano

The urban and ceremonial center Khonkho Wankane flourished in the southern Lake Titicaca Altiplano region during the Late Formative prior to the rise of Tiwanaku as a dominant urban center. This site yielded an avifaunal number of identified specimens (NISP) = 631, with a minimum of 26 taxa represented among 539 skeletal elements or fragments. A total of 92 egg shell fragments also were recovered. The avifauna inhabited two major ecological zones: Lake Titicaca, its margins/wetlands and other water margins; and the dry Altiplano grassland (or puna). Lake/wetland taxa include Phoenicopterus chilensis (Chilean flamingo), Nycticorax nycticorax (night heron) and multiple taxa in the Order Anseriformes (ducks, geese, etc.) including Chloephaga melanoptera (Andean goose), Anas georgica (yellow‐billed pintail), A. flavirostris (speckled teal) and Oxyura jamaicensis (Andean ruddyduck). Also present are Fulica ardesiaca (Andean coot), Gallinago andina (puna snipe), Himantopus mexicanus (black‐necked stilt) and Charadrius alticola (puna plover). Puna taxa include Nothoprocta cf. ornata (ornate tinamou), Nothura cf. darwinii (Darwin's nothura), Metropelia sp. (ground doves), Athene cunicularia (burrowing owl), and multiple Passeriformes (songbirds, etc.). Taxa with a cosmopolitan distribution include Falco cf. femoralis (aplomado falcon) and Tyto alba (barn owl). Taphonomic analysis indicates that the avifauna were used in ceremonial contexts, including multiple Falco cf. femoralis burials, and for dietary and possibly tool‐making purposes. Other sources of introduction into the site deposits likely include natural mortality of taxa directly inhabiting the site area. These findings are compared to the avifauna recovered from the Formative site of Chiripa along the Lake Titicaca margin, which included a much higher proportion of lake bird fauna. At Khonkho Wankane, the importance of wetland avifauna may have been enhanced by the alteration of the local environment to include qochas, or artificial reservoirs/ponds, and continued despite reliance upon multiple domesticated plant and mammal species. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Problematizing silences in intangible heritage: unsettling historical records of women in protests

Abstract

This paper addresses questions of women’s visibility in constructed histories, as well as levels of recognition concerning their participation in politics through historical narratives. In particular, historical narratives representing women in protest in the context of waterfront heritage zones associated with the shipbuilding industry are examined, based on examples of two public art projects: Strong Women of the Clydeside: Protests and Suffragettes from Govan’s Hidden Histories led by the artist t s Beall in the Govan area of Glasgow, Scotland and Shipyard is a Woman by Arteria Association and Metropolitanka in Gdansk, Poland.     

STRUCTURAL CONTROL ALGORITHMS IN EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT DESIGN

The dynamic finite element equations of a two-dimensional structure made of axial-flexural frame elements with tendon-driven actuators have been derived. A critical review of classical optimal control theory is made with respect to its application to the control of structure under seismic excitations. Seven control algorithms, including two newly proposed algorithms, have been described, investigated and discussed. The need of an optimal observer, Kalman filter, is discussed. The validity of separation theorem applicable to the optimal stochastic control of structure for earthquake resistance is shown. How the control system perform under the circumstances of actuator saturation is also shown. Several numerical examples are worked out to demonstrate and compare the efficiency and limitations of those control algorithms.