Towyn-y-Capel,and the Ruined Chapel of St. Bride,on the West Coast of Holyhead Island: with Notices of the Curious Interments there Discovered

Conservation of the Cosmati pavement in Westminster Abbey included the compilation of a record of remains first revealed in 1868–70. Study of these showed two phases of building dating to the mid-eleventh century and the reconstruction of the Abbey in the mid-thirteenth century. Parts of the plan of the mid-eleventh-century eastern end and the presbytery were recovered, including details of the pier bases. A reconstruction of the profiles show that there must have been two steps between the presbytery and the sanctuary.     

Lesions as Therapy: Rigidity and Parkinsons Disease

Since James Parkinson (1817) first characterized the shaking palsy as a unique condition, significant confusion has remained concerning the causes and treatments of Parkinson‘s disease (PD). Through the 19th century, a wide variety of approaches were attempted in an effort to reduce its cardinal signs – rigidity, tremor, and bradykinesia – but to little effect. Today, approaching 200 years after Parkinson‘s seminal work, this disorder is commonly treated by surgical means, inducing a lesion in one specific portion of a small nucleus in the central nervous system (Desaloms et al., 1998, Lang et al., 1999). The notion of providing a lesion to the nervous system as a therapy for PD, however, began in earnest at the beginning of the 20th century. The first attempt to alleviate the symptoms of PD through surgical means involved a section of the dorsal roots of the spinal cord supplying the affected limb (also known as dorsal rhizotomy).Today, selective dorsal rhizotomy is commonly performed to treat chronic pain (Scrivani et al., 1999) and spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (Vaughan et al., 1998). Thus, for certain types of paralysis, this procedure relieves some measure of rigidity without producing further complications.     

Early Contributions to the Reflex Chain Hypothesis

The reflex chain hypothesis was developed to explain the observation that successive movements could be linked together into a contiguous sequence. From the established principles of reflex physiology and association psychology, scientists in the last half of the 19th century began to develop the notion that each of a series of movements may be linked through the sensory results of prior movements. In addition, the same basic principles were applied to mental actions, thus providing a credible explanation for all behavior. The wide applicability of this hypothesis made it an important influence on the scientific thought in the early 20th century.     

The Role of Future Discounting in Subsistence Decisions: The Case of Hohokam Agave Bajada Cultivation

This article demonstrates the relevance of future discounting behavior to studies of prehistoric subsistence strategies. The case study of Agave spp. bajada cultivation among the Classic Period, a.d. 1150–1450, Hohokam of southern Arizona illustrates how slight discounting of future rewards can significantly alter agriculture investment strategies. Despite a higher kcal/hour return than maize agriculture, agave cultivation lessened or ceased in several communities during a time in which intensification would be predicted due to inferred subsistence stress. We surmise the decade-long maturation of agave made it unattractive relative to more immediate return resources in any context that presented risks to land tenure. The cessation of agave cultivation can be understood on two levels of explanation. The long-term investments required by agave and tendency to discount future rewards are the ultimate causes. Political and social instability during the tumultuous Classic period, causing increased insecurity in land tenure, are the proximal causes.     

Building a better world: Ethics and anthropology

Elvin Hatch. Culture and Morality: The Relativity of Values in Anthropology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983. 163 pp. Bibliography, index. $27.00 cloth; $12.50 paper.

Raoul Naroll. The Moral Order: An Introduction to the Human Situation. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1983, 498 pp. Tables, appendices, notes, glossary, bibliography. $29.95 cloth; $14.95 paper.     

Islands in the stream: Formalism and hermeneutics converging

Benjamin N. Colby and Lore M. Colby. The Daykeeper: The Life and Discourse of an Ixil Diviner. Cambridge and London: Harvard University 1981, xvi + 333 pp. $25.00.