Physical study of the Cucuteni pottery technology

Most of our knowledge concerning the Cucuteni pottery is based on traditional archaeological methods (typology, style and context analysis) and only a few interdisciplinary studies have been published. As there is a strong interest in revealing the basic pottery technology used by the Cucuteni communities we have investigated a significant number of pottery samples from 22 archaeological sites located in Eastern Romania by several physical analysis techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD) and by magnetic measurements, including a first-order reversal curve (FORC) diagram study on the samples showing a hysteretic behavior. The main results presented in this study are discussed and compared with actual knowledge on the ancient Cucuteni pottery.     

Dietary patterns during the late prehistoric/historic period in Cikobia island (Fiji): insights from stable isotopes and dental pathologies

The dietary patterns of eight adults and one child interred in the Korotuku burial mound (Cikobia, northern Fiji), dated from the late prehistoric/historic period (around AD 1850), have been investigated using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures and dental and oral pathologies. Bone collagen isotopic compositions showed that (1) males and females had similar diets in terms of terrestrial C₃ resources and marine fish components and proportions; (2) the proportion of marine fish comprised around 25% of the protein fraction of the diet, and the proportion of vegetal food was high; and (3) one canid that was also studied had a different diet, probably rich in shellfish. Oral and dental examinations of the humans evidenced (1) a low level of dental macrowear, (2) a high rate of carious lesions—interproximal and cervical—of about 15%, and (3) a low amount of abscessing, as well as the presence of alveolar bone recession and calculus in most of the adults. This evidence suggests a diet relying mainly on vegetal food with very limited shellfish consumption. When viewed in the light of ethnohistoric information, this pattern suggests a particular sociocultural behaviour, including food selection, since the analyses of the canid remains indicate that more diversified food resources were available than those consumed by the humans. Overall observations suggest that the deceased in the Korotuku burial mound might be members of an elite living on the island, thus pointing to possible social stratification in the late prehistoric/historic Cikobia community.     

The adult North and the young South: Reflections on the civilizing mission of children's rights

The civilization of the children of the "savages" in the colonial world was seen as a crucial issue from early on was an inherent part of the colonization project in Africa, America and Oceania in the 19th century. The idea of civilizing "the savages," today's South, through children has continued in the post-colonial era with the development of mass-schooling systems and various child-focused development projects. This has led to an export of internationally defined standards for a "good childhood" through various foreign funded development programs in South. While many NGOs, legitimizing their work on the basis of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), are genuinely working for an improvement of children's conditions, they have also taken on the role as a second guardian in order to cultivate "proper" children and parents who can live up to the supposedly universal ideals of a "good childhood." The article adopts a critical view on the child rights movement by shedding light on the crucial role, which NGOs play as civilizing institutions in the South. The article specifically draws attention to the double-sided patronization of children and parents, and "infantilization" of nations in South, which implicitly lies beneath CRC and the child rights movement.     

Harvesting molluscs in the Eneolithic: a study of freshwater bivalve accumulations from the tell settlements of Borduşani-Popină and Hârşova (Romania, 5th millennium BC)

Freshwater bivalve shells are frequently identified in faunal assemblages from Neo-Eneolithic tell settlements along the Danube River valley in South-East Romania (5th millennium BC). Up until now, significant accumulations of freshwater bivalve shells have been identified only in household refuse areas of the settlements, where they form consistent shell layers. The origin and formation of such shell accumulations and, more generally, the role of bivalves in the animal economy of the prehistoric populations that inhabited the settlements, are poorly understood. Two freshwater bivalve shell accumulations were studied in household refuse areas of Eneolithic tell settlements, one at Bordu?ani-Popin? and the other at Hâr?ova tell. The occurrence of similar accumulations in the two settlements indicates generalized practices between the two communities. This first study of such accumulations addresses the relationship between bivalves and other animal species used in alimentation by the two Eneolithic communities, as well as the relationships between these communities, their environment, and the evolution of the settlements. Bivalves were harvested in the close vicinity of the settlements and large quantities were obtained only towards the end of the summer season. During this season there is an inverse relationship between high water levels in the river and the availability of bivalves for harvesting. Bivalves played an important role in the alimentation of the prehistoric populations – at Hâr?ova tell their contribution to alimentation in terms of energetic yield surpasses that of fish, at least for the short period of time represented by the stratigraphic sequence analysed. Bivalve shells were used, along with other types of household refuse, in construction techniques aimed at limiting soil humidity in the settlements and inside the dwellings.     

Identification of the first reported Lapita cremation in the Pacific Islands using archaeological,forensic and contemporary burning evidence

Burnt human remains excavated from a scoop feature from a cemetery at Teouma, Vanuatu in the western Pacific (∼2850 BP) were examined to assess the nature of the deposit. Possible scenarios explaining the reason the bone was burnt and interred were assessed using osteological signatures taken from archaeological, experimental, and forensic studies. The methodology of the study included recording color change, types of bone distortion, and element representation in conjunction with archaeological evidence. The burnt and fragmented human bone (n = 430, fragments weighing 620 g) represents a single adult individual. Macroscopic evidence from the bone indicates the body had been fleshed or fresh at the time of burning and element representation follows a similar pattern to other burials excavated from the site. Excluding burning, there was no evidence of human modification to the bone such as cut marks, percussion pits or peri mortem trauma suggestive of cannibalism. The archaeological evidence from the site indicates that the body had not been burnt in the place the remains were subsequently discovered. The combined macroscopic and archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the human bone was burnt as a result of a deliberate cremation of an individual. If a conclusion of deliberate cremation is accepted, this research represents the first case of a Lapita period cremation and demonstrates how a combination of methods can explain the nature of an archaeological deposit of burnt human bone when the cause is not otherwise apparent.     

The Stolypin Variant of Russian Modernization

Petr Stolypin developed an effective reform program for Russia, well tailored to the country’s past experience and need to transform from an agrarian to an industrial society. He should not be blamed for others’ failure to implement his program after his assassination.     

Migration and mobility at the Late Lapita site of Reber–Rakival (SAC), Watom Island using isotope and trace element analysis: a new insight into Lapita interaction in the Bismarck Archipelago

This paper uses strontium isotope (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) and Ba/Sr trace element data in archaeological tooth enamel samples to investigate migration and mobility at the Late Lapita site of SAC, Watom Island in the Bismarck Archipelago. Previous archaeological models have identified Lapita mobility at a community level using obsidian distribution patterns and changes in ceramic design, whereas isotope and trace element data can potentially reconstruct prehistoric mobility on an individual level. Human and pig teeth were sampled from SAC and a selection of human teeth were included from the Late–Post Lapita site of Lifafaesing, Tanga Islands as a geographic/geological comparison.The results indicate that there is a large amount of isotopic variation in the Bismarck Archipelago which is useful for identifying non-local individuals and possibly determining their origins. One human individual and several pigs were suggested as coming from elsewhere in the region. Three potentially separate locations were identified for the non-local pigs. It is argued, using the data from SAC, that Late Lapita communities in the Bismarck Archipelago were more mobile than previously assumed. The potential for identifying individual migrants in a Lapita context are discussed in terms of assessing the more subtle aspects of Lapita society in the Southwest Pacific Islands.