Residential segregation from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century: evidence from the Netherlands

A case study of three early modern Dutch cities (Alkmaar, Delft, and Amsterdam) using geographical information systems and confronting earlier historical, sociological, and geographical models finds clear patterns of segregation below the level of the city block, thus necessitating block-face mapping. The remarkable continuity in patterns of residential segregation is best explained by the workings of the real-estate market, allowing the well-to-do and middle classes to realize their preferences. In Amsterdam, the merchant elites were able to use their political dominance to plan a scenic and expansive residential environment free from noisy and odorous activities.     

New archaeozoological evidence for the introduction of the guinea pig to Europe

The remains are described of a guinea pig dated to the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th c. AD. The animal was discovered at a site in Mons, Belgium, and is the first European archaeozoological find dated with certainty on the basis of both the archaeological context and a radiocarbon dating of its bone. This find confirms that the guinea pig was introduced to Europe soon after the conquest of South America. The morphological and metrical analyses performed on the skeletal remains are in agreement with the iconographic and literary sources indicating the domestic status of the animals imported to Europe. While a previous discovery in England suggested that the guinea pig was a prestigious animal, the present study argues that it was accessible to several classes of the population which may be related to the rapid spread of this prolific animal after its introduction in Europe.     

Innovation in paper making: The Netherlands 1750–1850

Abstract

Until the middle of the eighteenth century Dutch paper makers had a leading position on the international paper market, both commercially and technically. From around 1700 a decline set in, which became dramatic after 1780. The introduction of new machinery and processes from Britain and elsewhere during the nineteenth century was slow, but when it came about, the Dutch paper industry regained an important part of the international market. This article attempts to explain the technological aspects of this development in the light of theories about the economic and technological history of the Netherlands in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.     

Combining New Awareness and Public Support for Archaeology with In Situ Preservation of an Archaeological Monument

Preserving archaeological remains in situ is one of the main objectives of the Valletta Treaty, which was signed by the Dutch government in 1992. Subsequently, preservation in situ has become one of the pillars of archaeological heritage management in the Netherlands. Another objective of the Treaty is the promotion of heritage education and raising of public awareness for the protection and investigation of archaeological heritage. Until recently, this goal has received too little attention. The design and building of an underground visitor centre, DOMunder, raised an important question: How can we transform an archaeological monument into an asset for the community and at the same time ensure long-lasting preservation? Not many parallels exist, as most archaeological sites in urban environments are seen as a burden for development. Sites are generally either excavated or left in situ; in both cases the archaeology remains invisible and inaccessible to the public. In the case of DOMunder, the location in a wet sedimentary environment provided even more challenges. This paper focuses on a few of the many questions and problems that were raised before and during the building process and the (preliminary) answers and solutions.     

Absence/presence and the ontological politics of heritage: the case of Barrack 57

19 July 2009. A barn burns down in a small Dutch town. Afterwards, this invisible and insignificant ‘barn’ became widely known as ‘Barrack 57’. The destruction triggered attention and led to the barn’s association with a Nazi Second World War transit camp and with Anne Frank. Its material destruction made this barn/barrack both present and absent in various networks. We use the case of Barrack 57 to study the interplay between presence/absence and non-existence of objects in these networks, an exercise which connects to and contributes to the development of constructivist perspectives on object formation in heritage studies. Our analysis of presence/absence and non-existence therefore is based on different concepts developed in actor network theory and Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems. Of particular importance is Luhmann’s distinction between first- and second-order observation. We argue that heritage objects themselves are the result of different enactments of (non) human properties in various relational configurations. With this view, a new task for critical heritage scholars emerges. Understanding the dynamics of presence/absence and non-existence of heritage objects in different networks deepens insight into the broader issues of the formation of heritage objects and their delineating technologies and the policies of normalisation and naturalisation.     

Bitumen in Early Ceramic Art: Bitumen‐Painted Ceramics From Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria)*

The paper presents the results of a chemical analysis of black pigment used to decorate pottery from Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, northern Syria (c. 6100 cal bc ). The pigment appears to be bitumen. A comparison with known reference samples from modern locations of bituminous sources in the Near East suggests that the bitumen used to paint ceramics at Tell Sabi Abyad came from at least two different source areas in northern Iraq. The bitumen‐painted ceramics at Tell Sabi Abyad represent the earliest evidence attested so far of bitumen used as a pigment for pottery decoration.     

Feeding Relationship: Uncovering Cosmology in Christian Women's Fellowship in Papua New Guinea

While the Christian doctrine to which Hula villagers of the south east coast of Papua New Guinea today subscribe claims that community is achieved contractually through membership in the Church, this paper suggests that, in practice, Hula sociality is shaped by other exigencies. As part of their program the members of the Iru‐ale United Church Women's Fellowship undertake the incorporation of certain outsiders (in this case the ethnographer) through the ceremonial presentation of food and the act of feeding. A phenomenology of this imperative reveals important connections to pre‐Christian mythology and cosmology. Incorporation seen in this context situates the ‘feeding relationship’ at the core of a Hula ontology in which body and food are consubstantial. The manipulation of food as body is shown to play a determining role in the constitution of various modes of existence; human and non‐human, male and female, the living and the non‐living. The feeding relationship thus facilitates continuity between past and present practices and suggests that the Hula have assimilated the introduced religion into their lifeworld largely on their own terms.     

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND URBAN CONCENTRATIONS: UNBUNDLING SPATIAL LAGS*

ABSTRACT Foreign direct investment (FDI) is seen as a way to import technology and catch up with economic leaders. It is therefore important to understand why some countries attract more investments by multinationals than others. We expand the set of common determinants of FDI with urban agglomerations and ask the question whether the accessibility of market potential and the number of potential investment locations, in the shape of urban concentrations, matters, since the importance of urban agglomeration economies for FDI has not been investigated before. We show that countries with several medium‐sized cities attract more foreign investment, especially if they are close to main agglomerations, but too much concentration (primacy) reduces the inflow of FDI. Moreover, we unbundle spatially lagged FDI by including spatial lags of the determinants of FDI. It is important to disentangle such third‐country effects in order to understand how FDI flows depend on the complex ways in which multinationals fragment sales and production across countries. Using a panel of U.S. affiliates’ sales in foreign countries between 1984 and 1998, we find evidence that cities are important drivers of FDI. Furthermore, third‐country effects suggest that horizontal and complex forms of FDI coexist.