Prehistoric hunters and gatherers of Brazil

Although carbon-14 dates prior to 13,000 B.P. have been obtained from several sites east and south of Amazonia, their reliability is uncertain. By about 11,000 B.P., however, two lithic traditions were widespread. The Uruguai tradition, characterized by bifacial stemmed projectile points, was associated with open vegetation in the south; the Itaparica tradition, emphasizing well-formed unifacial artifacts, had dispersed over the eastern tropical parklands. An enormous amount and variety of rock paintings and/or engravings are associated with the latter. Around 7000 B.P., two new traditions emerged to exploit new habitats. The Humaitá tradition, characterized by large bifacial tools and an absence of stone projectile points, expanded over the broad-leaved forests in the south, leaving the open landscapes dominated by the projectile point-using Umbu tradition. The sambaqui (shell midden) tradition, also emphasizing large bifaces, developed along rugged portions of the southern coast. By 4000 B.P., groups along the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo were using domesticated or semidomesticated plants, perhaps sweet manioc. Maize was being grown in Minas Gerais by about 3500 B.P. Carbon-14 dates from numerous sites indicate, however, that the hunter-gatherer way of life persisted in many places long after the advent of pottery-making horticulturalists. The existence of large temporal and spatial gaps even in regions with considerable investigation makes it difficult to reconstruct the process of evolution reflected in these archaeological complexes. Correlations between cultural traditions and environmental fluctuations indicate, however, that adaptation to changing conditions was a significant challenge faced by prehistoric Brazilian populations.     

Archaeology, History, and Historical Archaeology in South America

This paper discusses the relationship between history and archaeology in general, their common concerns and links with historical archaeology. It deals with the development of historical archaeology in three related South American countries, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and pays attention to recent trends in the theory and practice of the discipline in the area.     

Flint and Quartzite: Distinguishing Raw Material Through Bone Cut Marks

Since the 1980s, several experimental analyses have been able to differentiate some lithic tool types and some of their raw materials according to the morphology of cut marks imprinted by such tools when used for butchering activities. Thus, metal tool use has been differentiated in contexts with an abundance of lithic tools, or even the use of hand axes has been documented in carcass processing, in contrast with simple unretouched or retouched flakes. As important as this information is, there are still other important aspects to be analysed. Can cut marks produced with different lithic raw material types be differentiated? Can cut marks made with different types of the same raw material type be characterized and differentiated? The objective of this study is to evaluate if cut marks resulting from the use of different flints and different quartzites are distinguishable from each other. In the present work, an experimental analysis of hundreds of cut marks produced by five types of flint and five varieties of quartzite was carried out. Microphotogrammetry and geometric–morphometric techniques were applied to analyse these cut marks. The results show that flint cut marks and quartzite cut marks can be characterized at the assemblage level. Different types of flint produced cut marks that were not significantly different from each other. Cut marks made with Olduvai Gorge quartzite were significantly different from those produced with a set comprising several other types of quartzites. Crystal size, which is larger in Olduvai Gorge quartzites (0.5 mm) than Spanish quartzites (177–250 μm), is discussed as being the main reason for these statistically significant differences. This documented intra‐sample and inter‐sample variance does not hinder the resolution of the approach to differentiate between these two generic raw material types and opens the door for the application of this method in archaeological contexts.     

Governance and cooperation in Euroregions: border tourism between Spain and Portugal

There are several obstacles to establish tourism governance policies in a border area and to improve the conceptualization of tourism in border territories transcending the transnational level, using territorial delimitation at Euroregional level. At borders, tourism usually works as a strategic policy tool to strengthen the regional image, shape common identity narratives and facilitate interactions, becoming these regions, nowadays, challenges for the actors of the territory, representing a priority area for the application of territorial development strategies at local level and at the level of the European Union itself. A qualitative analysis was based on performed semistructured interviews with key tourism stakeholders. From the interviewee? perspective, cooperation should be achieved through cooperation agreements between the business sector and economic agents to develop natural, cultural and heritage resources.     

Reviews of books

Satire in Colonial Spanish America: Turning the New World Upside Down. By Julie Greer Johnson. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Pp. xvii, 224.

La Araucana. Por Alonso De Ercilla Y Zuniga. Edición de Isaias Lerner. Madrid: Editorial Cátedra, 1993. Pp. 1026.

Diente del Parnaso (Manuscrito de la Universidad de Yale). Por Juan Del Valle Y Caviedes. Edición, introducción y notas de Luis Garcia‐Abrines Calvo, con la colaboración de SYDNEY JAIME MUIRDEN. Jaén: Diputación Provincial, 1993. Pp. 481.

Catálogo concordado de la Biblioteca ie Hernando Colón. Tomo 1, 1–400. By Tomas Marin Martinez, Jose Manuel Ruiz Asencio and Klaus Wagner. Madrid: Fundación MAPFRE América, Cabildo de la Catedral de Sevilla, 1993. Pp. 717.

The People of Quito, 1690–1810: Chan, ‘e and Unrest in the Underclass. By Martin Minchom. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, Dellplain Latin American Studies, 1994. Pp. xvii, 297.

Los encomenderos de Quito, 1534–16C 0. Origen y evolución de una élite colonial. By Javier Ortiz De La Tabla Ducasse. Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano‐Americanos, 1993. Pp. xvi, 377.

Word from New Spain: The Spiritual Au obiography of Madre María de San José (1656–1719). Critical edition and introduction by Kathleen Myers. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1993. Pp. x, 234.

Una partecita del cielo. La vida de Santa Rosa de Lima narrada por Don Gonzalo de la Maza a quien ella Ilamal a padre. Versión paleográfica de Luis Millones. Ensayos de Luis Millones y Fernando Iwasaki. Lima, Perú: Editorial Horizonte, 1993. Pp. 217.

Poema Heroyco al merecido aplauso de Soror Ivana Inés de la Crvz. De Ioseph Zatrilla Y Vico. [Barcelona, 1696]. Edición facsímile de Aureliano Tapia Mendez. Monterrey, N.L.: Talleres Gráficos de Cultura de la Ciudad de México, 1993. Pp. xi, 38.

Carta de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz a su confesor. Autodefensa espiritual. Estudios y notas de Aureliano Tapia Mendez. Monterrey, N.L.: Imprenta Madero (Ciudad de México) para Producciones al Voleo El Troquel, 1993. Pp. 253.

Reading Columbus. By Margarita Zamora. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993. Pp. xvi, 247.     

A Report on Historical Archaeology Publications in Latin America

Historical archaeology is today widely practiced in Latin America. Scholars not living or working in the region often are unaware of the research conducted in the countries south of the United States. This brief report outlines some of the historical archaeology conducted in Latin America and provides a brief bibliography.     

饱水竹简变色原因的研究

竹简出土后由于所处环境发生了很大的变化,其颜色也随之快速的变化,竹简的变色使竹简上的字迹模糊不清,很难识读,极大地影响了竹简的史料价值。为研究导致竹简变色的原因,采用3％草酸法、1％的硼氢化钠法、3％的连二亚硫酸钠法、1％过氧化氢法、乙醇法以及控制金属离子浓度的鳌合法分别对竹简进行了脱色处理并采用红外光谱分析及X射线能谱仪对各种方法处理后的竹简进行了分析与检测。研究结果表明：(1)影响竹简变色的主要原因是竹简中的二价铁离子氧化变成三价铁离子,三价铁离子与竹材中的酚类衍生物反应生成深色化合物,导致竹简颜色变深。(2)许多发色基团在光和氧的作用下也会导致竹简变色,不过它们不会引起竹简变色过深。但金属离子尤其是铁元素的存在会加速这种变色甚至发黑。(3)用草酸处理的样品经过一段时问后之所以会出现返色的现象,是由于草酸与铁离子反应生成草酸铁,该反应强于酚羟基与铁离子的结合力,因此草酸可以起到脱色作用。草酸铁为浅黄色,这种颜色与竹材颜色相近。但草酸铁耐光性较差,当吸收紫外光时草酸铁容易发生分解,如果此时有酚类物质存在,则分解的铁离子能与之反应形成黑色物质。同时随着空气中温湿度的不断变化．竹简内部的铁离子也会不断被迁移到竹简的表面,致使竹简再度被“着色”。     

大桂林旅游区开发方略研究

桂林旅游资源得天独厚,如何加大桂林旅游开发的力度,已成为一个紧迫的课题。本文从桂林旅游现状出发,深入分析了有关条件,提出建立大桂林旅游区的构想。     

A Roman Skeleton with Possible Treponematosis in the North‐East of the Iberian Peninsula: A Morphological and Radiological Study

The main goal of this paper is to describe and discuss pathological lesions observed in a Roman skeleton (between 2^nd and 3^rd century AD) from the north‐east region of the Iberian Peninsula (St Nicasi 18–24 site. Gavà, Barcelona), which may be compatible with treponematosis. Most of the skeleton, with the exception of the neurocranium, was recovered. Only the left tibia was affected, whereas the rest of the recovered skeletal remains were unaffected. Macroscopic examination revealed a male individual between 25 and 30 years of age at death with a sabre‐shaped left tibia. The proximal half of the diaphysis was pitted and the bone overall enlarged. The surface of the tibia showed occasional vascular impressions where, in some instances, small raised plaques of new bone appeared to bridge over them, specifically in the most affected area of the proximal half of the tibia. No destructive lesions were observed. Radiographic examination and gross inspection at the cross section of the tibia showed encroachment into the medullary cavity of coarse cancellous bone and cancellization of the cortex. The observed lesions indicate that the tibia was affected by a chronic infectious disease. Differential diagnoses were considered, and these included other infectious diseases, fibrous dysplasia, Paget's disease, chronic varicose ulcers affecting bone and trauma, with the conclusion that the disease affecting the tibia could have been treponematosis. This could be significant in the history of the treponematoses being one of the oldest examples of treponematosis in pre‐Columbian Europe. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.