Human mummified brain from a medieval tomb with lime‐soil mixture barrier of the Joseon Dynasty,Korea

Although all of the Korean medieval mummies found up to the present time have shown relatively well‐preserved brains, relevant biomedical information has been difficult to acquire owing to the obstacles to obtaining permission to conduct invasive investigations. However, recently we were able to secure permission to investigate, through various forms of examination including dissection, a well‐preserved brain found in a lime‐soil mixture barrier (LSMB) tomb in Yongin, Korea, because the remains found within the tomb were mostly skeletal. As in the cases of mummified brains from tombs found in other countries, the current Yongin case showed well‐preserved grey and white matter within well demarcated brain lobes, on which sulci and gyri could be identified. On histological examination, we found that the remaining brain tissue was composed mainly of lipids, which seems to correspond to the preserved myelin sheath. The present paper is the first report on the general preservation status of a mummified brain found in Korea. Moreover, because mummified brains are found quite frequently in LSMB medieval tombs, this study could provide a good basis upon which further such palaeo‐neuropathological studies can be progressed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A RE-EVALUATION of the RED and BLACK BOWL FROM PARKER'S EXCAVATIONS IN JERUSALEM

Summary: An unusual red and black bowl was found in Parker's excavations in Jerusalem at the beginning of the century. There has been no agreement as to the provenience of the bowl, the most common opinion being that it was a Cypriot import dating to Middle Bronze I age. an Archaeological re-appraisal and Archaeometric examinations of the bowl and selected additional pottery from the same excavation revealed that the bowl is clearly of local manufacture and has no pertinence to the foreign relations of the Land of Israel during the Middle Bronze I age.     

Feeding the Crusades: Archaeobotany,Animal Husbandry and Livestock Alimentation on the Baltic Frontier

ABSTRACT

The integrated results of micromorphology, plant macrofossil, pollen, phytolith, and non-pollen palynomorph analyses represent an important study of two thirteenth-century Teutonic Order castles at Karksi (Livonia), and Elbl?g (Prussia). The research examines deposits that formed during the period of active crusading. At Karksi, the investigation of a midden and of the organic-rich sediment beneath allows the diachronic use of this area to be understood. Freshwater aquatic indicators are consistent with the occurrence of shallow stagnant water, as also suggested by a waterlaid pond sediment identified in thin-section. Coprophilous spore taxa suggest the use of the pond as a watering hole. Plant macrofossils from the midden represent a range of habitats, mostly from wet/damp areas, as well as pastures and meadows, and also woodlands. Fragments of millet are embedded within herbivore dung in thin-section showing the use of this grain as fodder. At Elbl?g, parasite ova may derive from animal feces as they also occur in the dung observed in thin-section, and a range of coprophilous fungal spore taxa were extracted. The results reveal information about the range of livestock that the Teutonic Knights kept, whereabouts within the castles the animals were stabled, and what fodder was used.     

For love or money? Assessing outcomes from direct public investment in film

ABSTRACT

This study examines Australian domestic film performance under two distinct policy regimes with respect to direct investment strategy. In particular, we contrast film performance under two public funding agencies with noted differences in (i) the number of films financed annually, (ii) the average (and maximum) funding per film, and (iii) the involvement of an expert review panel in funding decisions. In addition to box office returns, we consider performance benchmarks related to major film festival screenings, nominations and awards; critical acclaim based on IMDb user and critic reviews; and whether or not the film received a release in the major UK and/or US markets. Finally, we exploit a subset of our data where a ‘two-door’ policy was used for investment decisions that allows us to reflect on our more general results.     

Alternative pathways to power in late Postclassic Highland Mesoamerica

In recent years, scholars have become dissatisfied with neoevolutionists’ view of social evolution as a series of step-like transformations leading to political centralization and have refocused attention away from traditional theory and toward issues of agency, power sharing, and alternative pathways to complexity. To build on this emerging theoretical orientation, we propose that collective action theory provides a useful path to explaining social change. To evaluate this idea, we make use of ethnohistoric and archaeological sources on the Postclassic (AD 1250–1521) of Highland Mesoamerica (Central Highlands of Mexico and the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca), to investigate the causes and consequences of key aspects of sociopolitical change. Of the study states, Tlaxcallan, Cholula, Texcoco, and other central Highlands polities relied extensively on internal revenues and, accordingly, implemented power sharing, control of political officials, and infrastructural power. Conversely, states in eastern Puebla and the Mixteca Alta focused on external revenues and, thus, exhibited greater degrees of despotic governance. These results suggest that collective action provides a useful starting point for understanding state-building in Highland Mesoamerica and merits further testing with other Mesoamerican cases as well as societies in other world areas.     

Structural Assessment of Ancient Masonries before and during a Rehabilitation Process

ABSTRACT

The rehabilitation of old buildings requires detailed knowledge of the mechanical characteristics and stress state of the structural elements, which play an important role in the intervention process. In this sense, non-slightly destructive tests can estimate structural characteristics with good precision at relatively low costs. Consequently, this article presents a device, based on the flat jack technique, applied to continuous stress monitoring over time. It also focuses on the onsite determination of service stresses and its continuous monitoring in several masonry buttresses of a historic building, as well as the assessment of the structural safety before, during, and after an intervention process. A brief analysis of the research is performed, and the motivation and the methodology adopted are described. Finally, the evolution of the measurements recorded and the analysis of the results achieved are detailed. The study enabled recommendations to be made to the intervening agents that guarantee structural safety.     

Paleonutritional and paleodietary survey on prehistoric humans from Las Cañadas del Teide (Tenerife,Canary Islands) based on chemical and histological analysis of bone

The aim of the present study is to perform a paleodietary and paleonutritional survey on 17 individuals buried in accordance with the prehispanic ritual in the central plateau of the island Tenerife, called Las Cañadas del Teide. We recorded hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon isotope compositions of human bone collagen, bone barium and strontium, and histomorphometrically assessed trabecular bone mass (TBM). Bone trace elements and TBM were compared with reference data derived from a modern sample consisting of 13 individuals. In addition, δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values were determined in several modern indigenous plants, bone collagen of prehistoric domestic animals (goat and pig), and prehistoric wild animals (a giant lizard, Gallotia goliath and a giant rat, Canaryomis bravoi), which represent food sources potentially consumed by the prehistoric population of the Island. The carbon stable isotope composition of bone collagen ranged between ?20.5 and ?18.6‰ (VPDB), indicating a diet based on C₃ plants. Nitrogen isotope values ranged from 8.2 to 12.4‰ (AIR), suggesting a general meat-enriched diet, most likely domestic goats, of higher level consumers. Hydrogen isotope values ranged from ?18 to +4‰, whereas log Ba/Sr was greater than ?0.40 in the vast majority of cases. TBM showed a tendency to osteoporosis in 30% of the individuals analyzed. C-14 dating showed that two burial sites, including 5 individuals, belonged to the post-conquest era (after the 15th century), despite a fully “prehispanic” burial ritual, which lends credenceto the oral tradition that some of the prehispanic population fled to the highlands at the time of the Spanish conquest, and lived there during decades or even centuries. These individuals showed lower δD, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, and higher log Ba/Sr values than those buried before the Spanish conquest, suggesting dietary differences between the two groups. Also, women showed a trend to a higher consumption of vegetables than men.     

The Evolution of the Pre-Confucian Meaning of Jen 仁 and the Confucian Concept of Moral Autonomy

Abstract

Once ostracized and relegated to a mere marginal position in the history of modern Chinese literature, Lin Shu 林紓 (1852–1924) has now become an important and relatively well-known figure. This paper summarizes existing research on Lin Shu's translations and the controversy between the vernacular and the classical language, emphasizing the achievements of Chinese and Japanese scholarship during the past century. For practical reasons, results have been divided chronologically into four categories: (1) Criticism of Lin Shu before 1924; (2) Early Chinese Scholarship (1924–1935); (3) Late Chinese and Early Japanese Scholarship (1935–1960); (4) Renaissance of Studies on Lin Shu outside China (1960–2000). This periodization is supplemented with a brief excursus on the current state of Lin Shu studies.