Molecular and isotopic traces of cooking and consumption of fish at an Early Medieval manor site in eastern middle Sweden

This paper is a presentation of a comparison between prehistoric food culture signals obtained through analyses of lipid food residues in pottery, i.e. pottery-use, from settlement remains on one hand and bone chemical analyses of human skeletal remains from an adjacent and contemporary cemetery on the other. The materials derive from the Early Medieval site Tuna in Alsike par., Uppland, Sweden. The results show a discrepancy between the two food signals and it is argued that pottery-use do not by necessity reflect everyday diet. But it is also argued that the integration of several food signals together with contextual archaeological data is a fruitful way to begin to understand the complexity of prehistoric cultures of food.     

The consilience of historical and isotopic approaches in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean diet

During the Middle Ages, the economies of Europe, the religious directives involving dietary requirements, and the general human subsistence base were transformed. These complicated and intertwined issues are starkly revealed in an isotopic study of two inland Italian human populations that are separated by approximately 850 years in time. Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic values observed in human dentin and bone collagen from the sites of early medieval Castro dei Volsci and late medieval Rome are consistent with diets that differed substantially. As the North Atlantic opened to fishing and food preservations methods improved, Mediterranean peoples increased their fish consumption dramatically, and in doing so, met the religious directives of the Catholic Church. By analyzing both teeth and bone collagen within individuals, long-term feeding behaviors are documented, and the utility of last erupted teeth collagen as sources of adult dietary information is established. This study offers the first physical evidence of this new economic reality linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean economies at the end of the Middle Ages.     

明至清前期海外关系的变化与史学

明至清前期,随着海外关系的变化,史学也表现出不同的特点。明前期,皇朝海外关系是建立在“宣威柔远”政治目的基础之上的。这种关系因郑和一下西洋”的活动达到高潮,史学则因此出现了几部反映这种海外关系特点的著作。晚明,倭患问题与私人违禁进行海外商贸等问题交织在一起,经权衡利弊,皇朝开始改变初期的海禁政策,私人海外贸易迅速发展;与此同时．西方殖民者东来,与中国开始发生直接的接触;随着传教士“精神狩猎”的开始,中西文化交流逐渐展开。这些海外关系的特点,都在史学中得到体现。清前期是海外关系大倒退的时期,中西文化交流逐渐偃息,史学的发展也受到影响。     

Spiriferoidea (Brachiopoda) from the Early Permian Del Salto Formation of Argentina

The fossil lycopod Pleuromeia longicaulis (Burges) comb. nov. and its supposed cone Cyclostrobus sydneyensis (Walkom) Helby &; Martin 1965 are common in the Scythian to Anisian Garie and Newport Formations north of Sydney, N.S.W. P. longicaulis probably lived in extensive monodominant stands in the interdistributary bays of the ‘Gosford delta’ system, bordering a large coastal lagoon or lake. C. sydneyensis was borne as a single erect terminal cone. It was shed intact and may have floated some distance before breaking up and releasing its heterospores.

Austrostrobus ornatum Morbelli and Petriella 1973 from southern Patagonia is now included as a further species of Cyclostrobus.

The Pleuromeiaceae appear to have been facultative coastal halophytes. They probably originated in Eurasia and migrated along early Triassic shorelines, reaching eastern Australia by the mid-Scythian. The coastal habitat of the Pleuromeiaceae and other Triassic lycopods explains the biostratigraphic usefulness of the spores Aratrisporites spp., Nathorstisporites hopliticus Jung 1958, and Banksisporites pinguis (Harris) Dettmann 1961 compared with coexisting fully terrestrial fossil floras. These opportunistic lycopods appear to have expanded in times of recovery from global life crises.     

Pleistocene frogs from the Darling Downs,southeastern Queensland,and their palaeoenvironmental significance

Systematic collecting from fluvial late Pleistocene deposits from the Darling Downs, southeast Queensland, Australia, has led to the recovery of the first fossil frogs from the region, ail from the Myobatrachidae, a family of ground dwelling and burrowing frogs. The most common species recovered, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, is extant on the Darling Downs. The fossil taxa include species whose extant populations inhabit arid zones(Limnodynastes sp. cf. L. spenceri), montane forests (Kyarranus spp.), and open woodlands (Neobatrachus sudelli), and indicate the existence of a mosaic of habitats during the Pleistocene. The absence of the Hylidae (tree frogs), a family common throughout the Darling Downs today, may be explained by a taphonomic bias that favours non-arboreal forms. Alternatively, hylids may have been rare or absent on the Darling Downs during the Pleistocene.     

Age profiles of rhino fauna from the Middle Pleistocene Nanjing man site,south China—explained by the rhino specimens of living species

A total of 60 pieces of rhino materials have been identified from the Nanjing Man site. Morphologically, they belong to the species Dicerorhinus mercki. Among the materials, 40 pieces are broken bones, and 20 are isolated teeth or jaw bones (totally comprising 41 tooth units). Among the teeth, 74% are deciduous, most of them attached to jaws. Other isolated teeth are not greatly worn, meaning they were not naturally replaced, so they represent juvenile animals. Because the skeletons are completely isolated and most of them are broken, their death can not be attributed to a natural trap. Therefore, it is very probable that hominid activities were associated with rhinos at this site. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘The terrible twos’: Gaining control in the nursery?

‘The terrible twos’ are often described as a time of ‘gaining control’, usually thought of as adults asserting control over children, who learn to control themselves. However, toddlerhood is as much about children learning to take control for themselves. This paper is an attempt to detail something of the social geography in the toddler room of a Scottish nursery, considering both styles of adult control and the ways in which toddlers attempt to appropriate and reconfigure space and time for themselves. That is, the ways in which space and time are negotiated in the course of day-to-day nursery life.     

20世纪初天津的金融风潮及其应对机制

20世纪最初的十年 ,天津金融市场接连发生六七次金融风潮。这些金融风潮有着各自不同的原因和背景 ,但其深层次原因在于 ,在天津对外贸易发展的过程中金融业自身发展的不足。主要表现在金融业基础的脆弱 ,金融制度的混乱及制度变迁的滞后。面对一次次金融风潮 ,天津官商共同寻求应对策略 ,但更多的是针对性的对策 ,而较少具有根本意义的制度性建设。这一切都表明天津金融市场面临这样的变局所显现出的明显的不适应     

论清末民初语言的“日化”现象——以鲁迅作品为例

清末民初盛行通过日译本转译西方著作,汉语中引进了大量的日语词汇和句法。笔者认为,比起一直以来通用的“欧化”的说法,把此现象称为“日化”更为贴切。本文以鲁迅作品中的具体“日化”语言实例为证,论证了“日化”的语言事实。对于“日化”语言一直以来遭忽视的现象,笔者从政治、经济、文化心理、汉字等方面分析了原因。     

Possible evidence of bone tool shaping by Swartkrans early hominids

Ever since Dart (J. Phys. Anthrop. 7 (1949) 1) interpreted certain bones from Makapansgat as tools, scientific consensus has fluctuated as to whether some bone objects from early hominid sites should be interpreted as artefacts, or the result of non-human taphonomic processes, which are known to produce pseudo-bone tools morphologically similar to human modified or used artefacts. Here we present possible evidence of bone tool shaping from Swartkrans (Members 1–3; ca. 1.8–1.0 Mya). Four horncores and the proximal end of an ulna used as tools in digging activities also have facets covered by parallel spindle-shaped striations characteristic of grinding. Identification of these traces as possibly resulting from deliberate shaping or re-sharpening of the bone tools is based on the characterisation of the use-wear pattern and other taphonomic modifications observed on the Swartkrans bone tools. This interpretation is also supported by the study of the remainder of the horncores from Swartkrans, horncores from other southern African Plio-Pleistocene sites (Sterkfontein, Makapansgat, Gondolin), modern horncores affected by pre- and post-mortem modification, ethnographic, LSA, African Iron Age and experimental bone tools shaped by grinding. These data suggest that early hominids had the cognitive ability to modify the functional area of bone implements to achieve optimal efficiency.