Emwadea microcarpa gen. et sp. nov.—anatomically preserved araucarian seed cones from the Winton Formation (late Albian), western Queensland,Australia

Dettmann, M.E., Clifford, H.T., Peters, M., June 2012. Emwadea microcarpa gen. et sp. nov.—anatomically preserved araucarian seed cones from the Winton Formation (late Albian), western Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa, 217–237. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new genus and species, Emwadea microcarpa Dettmann, Clifford & Peters, is established for ovulate/seed cones with helically arranged cone scales bearing a centrally positioned, inverted ovule from the basal Winton Formation (late Albian), Eromanga Basin, Queensland. The cones are small, prolate ellipsoidal (9.5–14 mm vertical axis, 6.3–8.7 mm transverse axis) with wedge-shaped cone scales bearing winged seeds attached adaxially to the scale only by tissues surrounding the vasculature entering the ovule. Ovuliferous tissue that is free from the cone scale extends distally from the chalaza; the seeds' lateral wings are derived from the integument. Foliage attached to the cones is spirally arranged, imbricate and with spreading and incurved bifacial blades with acute tips; stomata are arranged in longitudinal files and are confined to the adaxial surface. The cone organization testifies to placement within the Araucariaceae, and is morphologically more similar to Wollemia and Agathis than to Araucaria.

Mary Dettmann [mary.dettmann@qm.qld.gov.au] and Trevor Clifford, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Q 4101, Australia; Mark Peters, PO Box 366 Gumeracha, SA 5233, Australia. Received 31.3.2011; revised 23.8.2011; accepted 5.9.2011.

     

Using Multibeam Echo‐Sounder Data to Identify Shipwreck Sites: archaeological assessment of the Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey data

This paper describes Phase 1 of the project ‘Archaeological Applications of the Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey (JIBS) Data’, analysing bathymetric and backscatter data derived from multibeam surveys off the north coast of Ireland. In particular, the usability of the data for shipwreck detection, identification and site characterization is explored. In Phase 1, the data was screened for anomalous sea‐bed features, which were subsequently described, catalogued and categorized according to their archaeological potential and cross‐referenced against existing records. A planned second phase of this project will examine each anomaly in greater detail together with the local and regional hydrodynamic conditions. © 2010 The Authors     

New specimens of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri (Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia

Nguyen, J.M.T., Boles, W.E., Worthy, T.H., Hand, S.J. & Archer, M., 2014. New specimens of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri (Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia. Alcheringa 38, 000–000. ISSN 0311–5518.

Logrunners (Orthonychidae) are a family of ground-dwelling passerines that are endemic to the Australo-Papuan region. These peculiar birds are part of an ancient Australo-Papuan radiation that diverged basally in the oscine tree. Here we describe eight fossil tarsometatarsi of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri, and a distal tibiotarsus tentatively assigned to this species from sites in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia. The new fossil material ranges in age from late Oligocene to early late Miocene, and extends the temporal range of the Orthonychidae into the late Oligocene; this is the geologically oldest record of the family. These specimens also include the oldest Cenozoic passerine fossils from Australia that can be confidently referred to an extant family. The distinctive features of the tarsometatarsus and tibiotarsus of extant logrunners, which are probably related to their unusual method of foraging, are also present in O. kaldowinyeri. Assuming that O. kaldowinyeri had vegetation requirements similar to those of extant logrunners, its presence in various Riversleigh sites provides clues about the palaeoenvironment of these sites.

Jacqueline M.T. Nguyen [jacqueline.nguyen@unsw.edu.au] (author for correspondence), Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Walter E. Boles [walter.boles@austmus.gov.au], Ornithology Section, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Trevor H. Worthy [trevor.worthy@flinders.edu.au], School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. Received 19.9.2013; revised 11.10.2013; accepted 25.10.2013

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F4F6219A-22A3-4F6B-8AEE-2957A227C0E0     

Theft and Gender in Late Medieval Bologna

This article aims to challenge the prevalent presentation and analysis of gender in studies of theft in the Middle Ages. Female thieving is usually differentiated from men's – by motivation and mode, by venue and value – and these differences are related either to women's physical inferiority or to their nurturing roles (thieving to support the domestic economy) or to inequalities of access to such elements as weapons (for robbery) or tools (for burglary). When studying theft, historians have focused on male thieving as the norm, and they have tended to differentiate thieving according to gender: women mainly commit petty theft, often for immediate consumption, and do not steal on the highways, in gangs or with weapons and violence. Men, on the other hand, operate in groups: their motivation is more diverse and they use a more varied repertoire of modus operandi, which includes highway robbery. To re‐examine these characterisations, I have taken data from three twenty‐year periods from the criminal court of the city of Bologna in northern Italy (one of the most complete series of judicial records for the period). These yield a total of over 700 prosecutions and over 1,300 accused. The focus of the analysis is on elements of differentiation, such as the numbers of individual and gang thefts, the nature of goods stolen, the use of violence, et cetera. These show that, while there was some differentiation between male and female thieving, this was mainly quantitative, and that qualitatively there were more shared features of behaviour. What are often seen to be the distinguishing features of male thieving – robbery, violence, gangs, professionals – turn out to be a small, untypical group. What is often seen to be the distinguishing features of female thieving – petty theft for immediate consumption – turns out to be equally or more true of male theft.     

Archives and care: Caring archival research practices in geography

Archival research has been long recognized as a key method in geography, and such research continues to appeal to scholars excavating historical influences on contemporary places. At the same time, geographical literature on care is growing rapidly. However, while geographers have often implemented care into their archival research and practice, these literatures have remained largely distinct from each other. In this paper, I bring archives and care into closer conversation. Drawing on existing geographical literature on care and on archival methods, work in archival studies, and my own research and ethnographic experiences in archives, I show how the socio-material practices of geographers in the archives help generate spaces of care, where ethical caring practices exist, and caring relationships flourish. I demonstrate how archival work in geography and beyond includes relationships of care between archivists, researchers, and archival records. I share some examples and strategies that geographers and other researchers can—and do—follow in maintaining, continuing, and repairing archival relationships, even in times of precarity and uncertainty.