A GROUND RADAR SURVEY OF MEDIEVAL KILN SITES IN SUZU CITY,WESTERN JAPAN*

A ground-penetrating radar study of medieval kiln sites located near Suzu city, on the Noto peninsula, was conducted prior to excavation. Archaeological site plans estimated from time slices of the closely-spaced parallel radar profiles are compared with excavations and a proton magnetometer survey. The results indicate that non-destructive remote sensing with radar can help to determine effectively the presence and general structural features of intact kiln floors.     

Revisiting the lead isotopic compositions of the Shang bronzes at Hanzhong and the new hypothesis of Qinling as the source of highly radiogenic lead

The provenance of the highly radiogenic lead (HRL) contained in Chinese Shang bronzes has attracted great scholarly attention in recent years. A new study of the Hanzhong Shang bronzes has put forward a hypothesis that the HRL metal may come from the adjacent Qinling Mountains. This article reanalyses the lead isotope ratios and alloy compositions of the Hanzhong bronzes. Combining the analytical results, the modern ore data and the slags from Guanzhong area, we propose that there is no direct evidence to identify Qinling as the provenance of HRL metal (especially lead). Whilst over 80% of the Hanzhong bronzes contain HRL, the indigenous artefacts containing both HRL and special alloying elements (As, Sb, Ni) account only for minor portions. This fact cannot verify that HRL originates from Qinling, and even makes it difficult to prove that most of the Hanzhong bronzes use local metal resources. An alternative argument might be that the HRL used in Hanzhong derived from the Shang dynasty. The use of HRL reflects a unified system for allocating metal resources centred on the Shang kingdom, which has great significance for further understanding of the resource circulation patterns among different bronze cultures and locations during the Shang period.     

Explanation of the Pattern of P49a,f <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taq</Emphasis>I RFLP Y-Chromosome Variation in Egypt

The possible factors involved in the generation of the p49a,f TaqI Y-chromosome spatial diversity in Egypt are explored. The object is to consider explanations beyond those that emphasize gene flow mediated via military campaigns within the Nile corridor during the dynastic period. Current patterns of the most common variants (V, XI, IV) have been suggested to relate to Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom political actions in Nubia, including sometimes settler colonization, and the conquest of Egypt by Napata (in upper Nubia, northern Sudan) that initiated Dynasty XXV. Other events or processes have not been presented. However, a synthesis of evidence from archaeology, historical linguistics, texts, the distribution of haplotypes outside of Egypt, and some demographic considerations, lends greater support to the establishment, before the Middle Kingdom, of the observed distributions of the most prevalent haplotypes: V, XI, and IV. It is suggested that the pattern of diversity for these variants in the Egyptian Nile Valley, was largely the product of population events that occurred in the late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene through Dynasty I, and was sustained by continuous smaller scale bi-directional migrations/interactions. The higher frequency of V in Ethiopia than in Nubia or upper (southern) Egypt, has to be taken into account in any discussion of variation in the Nile Valley, especially in the context of the findings of historical linguistics.Les facteurs possibles qui etaient parmi la generation de p49a,f TaqI Y-divers chromosome spatiale en Egypte, avaient ete explores. L’objectif etait de prendre en consideration les explications autour de celles qui mettaient l’accent sur le gene flow qui avait ete medie a partir des campagnes militaries dans le corridor du Nil, pendant la periode dynastique. Les modeles courants des varieties communes (V, XI, IV) avaient ete suggeres pour qu’ils soient en lien avec les actes politiques du Royaume Moyen et du Royaume Nouveau de Nubie, inclu quelques colonies, et la conquete de l’Egypte par Napta (en Haut Nubie, au Nord du Soudan), cela avait initie la 25eme dynastie. D’autres evenements ou procedures, n’avaient pas ete presentes. Ainsi, une synthese d’evidence de l’archeologie, de langues historiques, de textes, la distribution des haplotypes en dehors de l’Egypte, et quelques considerations demographiques avaient servi de grand support a l’etablissement, avant le Royaume Moyen, des distributions observees des varietes les plus prevalents: V, XI, and IV. Il est suggere que le modele de diversite pour ces varieties dans la Vallee du Nil Egyptien, etait largement le produit des evenements populaires qui s’etaient passes dans la derniere periode du Pleistocene au Moyen-Holocene jusqu’a la Premiere Dynastie, et etait soutenu par de petites echelles continue de demi-migrations/interactions directional. La plus grande frequence de V en Ethiopie qu’en Nubie ou plus haut, au Sud de l’Egypte, doit etre prise en considerartion dans n’importe quelle discussion de variation dans la Vallee du Nil, speciallement dans le contexte des decouvertes de langues historiques.     

An Application of Canonical Correlation Analysis in Regional Science: TheInterrelationships Between Transport and Development in China's Zhujiang Delta

Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) has the ability to deal with two sets of multivariate variables simultaneously and to produce both structural and spatial meanings. In view of the valuable insights to be gained, in this paper I examine the potential applications of CCA in regional science by describing its algorithm in a regional or spatial context. Next, I apply CCA to explore the mutually interdependent relationship between transport and development inChina's Zhujiang Delta. The results highlight the utility of CCA in revealing the structural and spatial patterns of two dominant and four subdominant transport-development relationships in this growing region of China.     

Dental status of Napoleon's Great Army's (1812) mass burial of soldiers in Vilnius: childhood peculiarities and adult dietary habits

A mass grave of the soldiers of Napoleon's Great Army, containing no less than 3269 individuals who died during the retreat from Russia in December 1812, was uncovered during an archaeological rescue excavation in 2002 in Vilnius, Lithuania. General dental analysis, including that of dental wear, tooth loss, caries, calculus, and periodontal diseases and abscesses, was used to evaluate the oral health status and possible dietary patterns of individuals who represented recruits from almost all of Western and Central Europe. Growth conditions in childhood were studied by scoring of linear enamel hypoplasia. In all, 293 individuals (6528 teeth) were selected for the analysis; 20–30 year old males made up the majority of the sample. Their general dental status is characteristic of young individuals: low dental attrition and antemortem tooth loss, as well as low prevalence of calculus and abscesses. The caries rate was average compared with late Medieval/early industrial populations and typical for individuals with diverse diets. However, a considerable amount of pulp caries and a high number of carious teeth in some individuals indicate consumption of cariogenic products (e.g. sugar, sweet drinks) and poor oral hygiene. The frequency and severity of hypoplasia was lower compared with other populations of that time, suggesting the selection of the fittest individuals for military service; this correlates with the historically known selection criteria of that period. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.