Technological Choices in Hand‐Made Indigenous Pottery from Western Mallorca (Balearic Islands,Spain) (C.1200–75 bc): An Archaeometric Approach

This paper addresses the technological choices observed in Mallorca (Spain) for the production of hand‐made pottery during the Late Bronze and Iron Age. We have conducted a diachronic analysis of the ceramic assemblages recovered from two archaeological sites placed in the same territory by means of X‐ray fluorescence and optical microscopy by thin‐section analysis. The archaeometric characterization of the hand‐made vessels allows us to establish several compositional groups related to the use of different raw materials and certain paste recipes associated with the archaeological sites and periods considered. Thus, this study evidences different productive strategies in each site and across time in the same geographical area.     

Micro‐CT Imaging and Analysis of Enamel Defects on the Early Late Pleistocene Xujiayao Juvenile

Dental pathologies and enamel defects in East Asian hominins have rarely been reported. Here, we systematically document and describe a suite of enamel defects in the Xujiayao juvenile maxilla, an East Asian hominin from the early Late Pleistocene that may represent an unknown hominin lineage. In addition, we determine the chronology of growth disruptions represented by matched linear enamel hypoplasias, evaluate the long‐held hypothesis that the large brownish pit on the I¹ is evidence of dental fluorosis and assess the utility of micro‐computed tomography (micro‐CT) techniques in analyzing enamel defects. With the use of binocular microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro‐CT imaging techniques, the Xujiayao teeth were found to exhibit a high number of pit‐form defects seldom seen in the fossil record. By matching the timing of linear enamel hyperplasia across multiple teeth, a minimum of five developmental disruptions were identified, indicating that the Xujiayao juvenile experienced several growth disturbances during its short lifespan. Our SEM and micro‐CT analyses suggest that the large pit on the I¹ is an enamel hypoplasia due to its morphology and pre‐eruptive enamel thinning. It is not a post‐eruptive fluorotic pit, and there is no evidence of chalkiness or opacity associated with dental fluorosis. The micro‐CT technique made it possible to verify the presence of enamel hypoplasia and to more precisely quantify defect dimensions, especially in unerupted teeth and shallow hypoplasias that are difficult to detect by binocular microscopy or SEM. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chinese Indentured Mine Labour and the Dangers Associated with Early 20th Century Deep‐level Mining on the Witwatersrand Gold Mines,South Africa

Trauma analysis in archaeological human remains can aid our understanding of cultural practices, socio‐economic status, environmental and social conditions, and even aspects of a person's occupation. For this reason, fracture patterns and frequencies can be useful in making inferences about the environment people lived and worked in. This is especially true for the 20th century mining industry where unskilled migrant labourers were often subjected to harsh working and living conditions. In this study, the skeletal remains of 36 Chinese indentured mine labourers, who worked and died on the Witwatersrand mines, South Africa, during the period ad 1904–1910, were assessed for evidence of trauma. Historical information suggests that these indentured Chinese labourers were unfamiliar with the workings of deep‐level mines and as a result sustained many work‐related injuries. Analyses suggest low frequencies of ante‐mortem trauma. In the few instances where they occurred, these healed fractures most probably reflect injuries already sustained in China, some time before Chinese indentured employment on the Witwatersrand mines. A high frequency of traumatic lesions, specifically peri‐mortem fractures, however, suggests a drastic shift in their working environment attesting to the hazardous working conditions associated with deep‐level mining in the early 20th century. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neonatal Mortality,Young Calf Slaughter and Milk Production during the Early Neolithic of North Western Mediterranean

The North‐Western Mediterranean witnessed a rapid expansion of farmers and their livestock during the Early Neolithic period. Depending on the region, cattle played a more or less important role in these communities; however how these animals were exploited for their milk is not clear. Here we investigate calf mortality to determine indirectly whether cattle dairying was practised by Early Neolithic stock herders. Age‐at‐death (AtD) frequencies for calves from two sites: Trasano (Italy, Impressa culture: 7–6^th millennium BC) and La Draga (Spain, Cardial culture: 6^th millennium BC) were estimated from dental eruption and development stages, and measurements of un‐fused post‐cranial material. Adult age classes are well represented in the dental AtD frequencies and were interpreted as the result of the slaughter of prime beef and retired lactating females. For calves aged less than 12 months, there was no statistical difference in the AtD frequencies based on dental and post‐cranial material indicating that the data is a good representation of the mortality patterns of calves, either natural or deliberate. At both sites there was a strong mortality peak at 3–6 months in all AtD profiles. At La Draga, this peak was clearly differentiated from a peak at 0–1 month, which can be interpreted neonatal mortality possible a consequence of the birthing season coinciding with the end of winter during more humid climatic conditions that at present. The deliberate slaughter peak around 3–6 months is discussed, and we propose that stock herders controlled the mortality of infant classes, possibly in response to variable external environment pressures while maintaining animal productivity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observations on the undersurface of the skeletalized human acromion in two populations

In late life, the humeral impingement disorder becomes common due to degenerative changes in the rotator cuff which allow the proximal humerus to press against the acromion in elevation of the arm, so producing facets on the tip region of the subacromial surface and on the lateral margin of the greater tubercle of the humerus. To discover what changes occur prior to those described, 184 acromions below the age of 55 years were examined. During the 18–25 year period, the subacromial surface showed patterns of formation of surface trabeculae of new bone, some associated with union of the epiphysis or with remodelling as a response to the presence of the proximal humerus at a distance of 10–15 mm; others indicated a subacromial attachment of the coraco‐acromial ligament. As early as 30 years of age, flattening of the surface trabeculae of bone was noted in association with compression lipping of the outer margin of the greater tubercle of the humerus, the part that crosses closest to the subacromial surface during elevation of the arm. Although resembling changes found in the impingement disorder, in both populations by the age of 35 years the changes were too common to be so and were not associated with the erosive pitting of the upper surface of the tubercle regarded as the earliest bony criterion of degenerative change in the cuff. It is postulated that, in the normal shoulder joint, in raising the arm, pressure is exerted, perhaps transiently, in the subacromial bursa and adjacent soft tissues which induces the compressive changes described. Probably due to the physically arduous lifestyle of the islanders, these changes occurred earlier among them; so did (but later) cuff degeneration indicated by erosion of the humeral tubercle. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lingual cortical mandibular defects (Stafne's defect): an anthropological approach based on prehistoric skeletons from the Canary Islands

While posterior lingual mandibular depressions (Stafne's defect) are often discussed in clinical reports, they are rarely the subject of anthropological research. This situation is paradoxical since osteologists and skeletal biologists are in a position to enhance understanding of the trait's aetiology by systematically recording the trait in recent and prehistoric skeletal collections. This report reviews anthropological studies of cortical defects of the mandible, recommends a protocol for recording observations in trait variation, and presents new data for the prevalence of Stafne's defect—lingual cortical defects of the mandibular corpus. Among the Guanches of Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain), the prevalence of lingual cortical defects is 3.32% (15/452), males are more frequently affected than females, and there is a tendency for individuals with antemortem tooth loss to display larger lesions than individuals without antemortem loss of teeth. Defects of the left side are somewhat more variable in position than defects located on the right. In comparative perspective, prevalence of lingual cortical defects among the Guanches is high, given the overall 1.07% prevalence reported for archaeological series (Finnegan & Marcsik,1980), but is similar to figures reported for the Avar period sample from Hungary 3.73%. Prospects for the use of lingual cortical defects as non‐metric traits of value in population distance studies remain uncertain since variation in trait expression may have a high environmental component. However, if human osteologists routinely include observations of lingual mandibular cortical defects in their analysis of skeletal collections, the data required to elucidate factors responsible for the trait's cultural, ecological, temporal and geographical patterning will more rapidly become established. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Building the Reservoir to Nowhere: The Role of Agencies in Advocacy Coalitions

The purpose of the advocacy coalition framework is to explain policy change over time through an examination of the stability of advocacy coalitions within policy subsystems. Recently, scholars have confirmed that advocacy coalitions are held together by shared belief systems, specifically in distributive policy arenas. We contend that federal agencies, in distributive policy arenas, provide both the anchors and support systems for the development and maintenance of belief systems. This anchoring helps provide adequate resources, access to political institutions, ability to control administrative process, and/or the capacity to deliver public goods and services. We conducted an analysis of the policy changes that occurred during the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act for the construction of the Bureau of Reclamation's Animas‐La Plata project. This is an example where administrators, through the management of information, were able to control the policy process. The analysis provides a needed replication of previous findings regarding policy change and offers new insights into how institutions are critical to subsystem stability over time.     

利用FT-IR、Py-GC/MS和THM-Py-GC/MS微损分析技术探索油画文物复杂的有机基质组成

近现代油画有机基质组分复杂、难辨,其分析鉴定是当今文物保护科技研究的难点之一。利用微损分析技术研究油画文物复杂的基质结构、材料和技法,可以阐明油画特定层的性质和状况,对于专业保护人员制定修复决策至关重要——这对选择正确修复技术非常有用,关系到修复后油画的安全状态,因此已成为许多研究者关注的焦点。本研究利用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、热裂解气相色谱-质谱(Py-GC/MS)和热辅助水解甲基化-裂解气相色谱-质谱(THM-Py-GC/MS)等微损分析技术对一幅中国国家博物馆藏油画《德涅泊尔河的秋天》进行科技分析。研究发现,综合运用这些微损分析技术可以有效识别油画用的胶结介质和其中添加剂的种类,最大限度、准确、完整地提取样品中所蕴含的信息。结果表明,该油画的有机胶结材料为聚乙烯醋酸酯类材料和亚麻籽油,同时聚乙烯醋酸酯类材料中使用了邻苯二甲酸二丁酯作为增塑剂。裂解产物中不含光油树脂类成分,说明画作下部的光亮层并非作者有意上的光油层。此外,油画部分区域还添加了蜂蜡作为改性材料,起到增加颜料稠度、可塑性和减弱光泽的作用。