Variability in the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect in Muscat (Sultanate of Oman) during the 4th millennium BC: reflection of taphonomy or environment?

Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating of archaeological coastal sites in arid areas is challenging because of the relative rarity of datable terrestrial artefacts. Marine artefacts provide an abundant source of carbon, which is technically easy to date but radiocarbon dates need to be corrected for local variations from the global average marine ¹⁴C reservoir age (ΔR). In archaeological sites, this is usually done by the comparison of the ¹⁴C age measured between coeval pairs of terrestrial and marine samples that have no inbuilt age. Here, we present the results of a study that aims to determine the local ¹⁴C marine reservoir effect (MRE) along the Eastern coast of the Arabic Peninsula during the 4th millennium BC, a period of important cultural, demographic and social changes in this region. Previous estimates of the MRE based on associated shells and charcoal vary by about 400 ¹⁴C yr and this is a serious limitation to the establishment of a precise chronology in the area based on marine material. In order to maximize the chances to obtain contemporaneous terrestrial–marine pairs for a new assessment of the MRE in this region we dated charcoal, shells, fish and turtle bones as well as human bones found in three recently and carefully excavated graves from Ra’s al-Hamra RH5. A large variability was found between charcoals (up to 240 ¹⁴C yr) and marine specimens (up to 785 ¹⁴C yr) present in the same grave. This variability was attributed to inbuilt ages, diagenesis and possibly environmental factors although taphonomic processes cannot be excluded. We discarded the oldest charcoals and used the ¹⁴C ages obtained on human apatite as a cut-off value to remove the marine outliers. Two out of the three graves provided terrestrial and marine assemblages which did not differ statistically and were used to calculate an average MRE of 645 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr (ΔR = 255 ± 55 ¹⁴C yr). This value is consistent with previous estimates based on the ¹⁴C dating of marine sediments off Pakistan and suggests stability of the MRE in the Arabian Sea since the 4^th millennium BC.     

Radiocarbon reservoir effects in human bone collagen from northern Iceland

Human bone collagen from a series of Icelandic human pagan graves was radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dated to aid understanding of early settlement (landnám) chronologies in northern Iceland. These individuals potentially consumed marine protein. The ¹⁴C age of samples containing marine carbon requires a correction for the marine ¹⁴C reservoir effect. The proportion of non-terrestrial sample carbon was quantified via measurement of carbon stable isotopes (δ¹³C) using a simple mixing model, based on δ¹³C measurements of archaeofaunal samples. Non-terrestrial carbon was also quantified in six pig bones from the archaeofaunal dataset. Assuming all non-terrestrial carbon in human and pig bone collagen was marine-derived, calibrated age ranges calculated using a mixed IntCal09/Marine09 calibration curve were consistent with an early settlement date close to landnám, but several samples returned pre-landnám age ranges. Measurements of nitrogen stable isotopes (δ¹⁵N) strongly suggest that many of the human bone collagen samples contain freshwater diet-derived carbon. Icelandic freshwater systems frequently display large freshwater ¹⁴C reservoir effects, of the order of 10,000 ¹⁴C years, and we suggest that the presence of freshwater carbon is responsible for the anomalously early ages within our dataset. In pig samples, the majority of non-terrestrial carbon is freshwater in origin, but in human samples the proportion of freshwater carbon is within the error of the marine component (±10%). This presents a major obstacle to assessing temporal patterns in the ages of human remains from sampled graves, although the majority of grave ages are within the same, broad, calibrated range.     

Sulfur and iron analyses of marine archaeological wood in shipwrecks from the Baltic Sea and Scandinavian waters

Analyses of marine archaeological wood from shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea area, Kronan, Riksnyckeln, Tattran, the Puck Bay Boat and the Ghost wreck, and at the Scandinavian West coast, the Göta wreck, Stora Sofia and the Viking shipwrecks of Skuldelev, show accumulation of sulfur compounds. The penetration profiles of sulfur and iron into the wood and the speciation of characteristic sulfur groups were evaluated by combining X-ray spectroscopic analyses, in particular S K-edge XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure) and X-ray fluorescence, with ESCA and elemental analyses. The combined analyses support the hypothesis that hydrogen sulfide produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria reacts and accumulates at low iron concentration mainly as organically bound sulfur, which as in previous studies was found by X-ray spectro-microscopy to accumulate in lignin-rich parts of the wood cell walls. The presence of iron(II) ions from corroding iron promotes formation of pyrite and other iron(II) sulfides, which easily oxidise in aerobic conditions with high humidity. No significant differences in sulfur and iron accumulation were found in wood from shipwrecks in the east coast brackish water and the west coast seawater. Sediments from three wreck sites, the Göta wreck, Stora Sofia and Kronan, were analyzed to a depth of a few decimeters and showed especially at the Stora Sofia high sulfur concentrations, exceeding 3 mass%. S K-edge XANES analyses of the sediments showed mainly reduced forms of sulfur, in particular pyrite and iron(II) sulfides together with elemental sulfur.     

广东“南澳Ⅰ号”明代沉船出水铜器表面凝结物分析与去除

海洋出水铜器及其合金表面常常会覆盖一层凝结物,掩盖器物原始表面。本文以"南澳I号"明代沉船出水的22件铜器残片为研究对象,运用X-射线荧光分析(XRF)、X-射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电镜/能谱仪(SEM-EDS)等方法分析表面凝结物成分,发现其主要是钙质凝结物,并在此基础上采用机械法去除表面凝结物,为脱盐保护准备条件。本研究成果可为中国南海海域出水铜器的保护提供参考和借鉴。     

Molecular evidence for the mixing of Meat,Fish and Vegetables in Anglo‐Saxon coarseware from Hamwic,UK

Absorbed lipid residues from 24 seventh‐ to ninth‐century coarseware potsherds from the major Anglo‐Saxon trading centre of Hamwic (Southampton, UK) were analysed by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS) in order to reconstruct the dietary habits of its population. The results show that the vessels were used for preparing ruminant fats and leafy vegetables. In addition, evidence was found for a minor contribution of aquatic foods. Beeswax was found once and most probably relates to a sealing function or to honey. Remarkable features were: (i) the isomeric mixture of octadecenoic acid (C_18:1 Δ^{7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16}) and 8‐ to 16‐hydroxyoctadecanoic acid, and (ii) the co‐occurrence of C_17:1, C_19:1 and isoprenoid fatty acids. These features were proposed as biomarkers for ruminant and aquatic food sources, respectively. Furthermore, the carbonyl position distribution in mid‐chain ketones was used to identify mixtures of animal‐ and plant‐derived ketones. The paper highlights the difficulty in interpreting complex lipid signatures that show a mixture of various foods, as observed in the majority of the samples. This was linked to the preparation of stews or the recycling of vessels. The results are considered alongside ceramic usewear data and existing data relating to environmental remains recovered from the Hamwic excavations.     

Panda politics

This article argues that China's agreement in 2012 to loan Canada two panda bears is emblematic of animals’ simultaneous material‐symbolic inclusion and exclusion in contemporary politics. Employing a material focus, this article draws a connection between the panda gift and the promise to which it is attached: a promise of material flows; of Chinese access to Canadian resources, especially; and controversially, tar sands oil. Common to geographical flows of both pandas and oil is a devaluation of nonhuman life. In one flow, two pandas cross the Pacific for a decade of captivity at the Toronto and Calgary Zoos, where visitors will pay to view the permanently visible pandas. In the other instance, oil will be shipped across the same ocean, oil whose production comes at great cost to wildlife, including caribou, birds, and fish, and whose spill at any point along its journey to China would devastate marine and terrestrial wildlife populations. Stark power imbalances between species are at the heart of both of these flows and their material consequences. This article argues that, in emphasizing what the pandas symbolize, the extent to which their own and others’ lives are materially affected is elided.     

India's Energy Security: Challenges and Opportunities

A noted specialist on India's energy security reviews the range of energy-related issues that will have a bearing on that country's ability to sustain the high current rates of economic growth and development into the future. The author explores the multiple challenges India confronts in securing (through domestic production and external sources) an adequate mix of energy supplies (hydrocarbon fuels, nuclear power, renewable energy sources) and describes as well as analyzes a broad front of actions (both government programs and the activities of private companies) taken to address them. The analysis illuminates India's important role in the production and consumption of several forms of energy. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O130, P280, Q400. 5 figures, 64 references.     

Household Incomes in Central Asia: The Case of Post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Two European geographers present the findings of a sizeable survey (n = 7,515) providing a detailed geographical analysis of household incomes and reliance on personal subsidiary garden plots across Kazakhstan. The authors focus on assessing the extent to which Kazakhstan's rising GDP during the post-Soviet period has coincided with an increase in the general population's personal income and ability to secure adequate food supplies for personal consumption. The fine geographical scale of analysis of the survey data (significantly less coarse than oblast-level data) enabled them to identify regions characterized by "trickle-down" income, largely centered on the country's two main urban centers and areas of resource exploitation. The patterns revealed in the paper have relevance to the debate concerning the uneven distribution of benefits from resource exploitation (notably oil and gas) to Kazakhstan's population. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D100, D310, I300, Q120, R290. 2 figures, 6 tables, 51 references.     

The Clean Energy Dilemma in Asia: Is There a Way Out?

A prominent American geographer and specialist on energy and environmental policies in developing countries assesses the challenge to sustainable development posed by Asia's rapid economic growth and the concurrent need to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production and use. A particular focus is on China and India, as rapidly growing energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, and on Russia as a potentially important supplier of natural gas and liquid alternatives to coal use. The author suggests some elements of a strategy to resolve the dilemma of reducing global environmental impacts without penalizing Asia's economic development, although a significant energy transition over the next several decades appears quite difficult.     

Environmental Degradation of Russian Coastal Regions: Exploring the Gulf of Finland

An American geographer and Russian ecologist discuss current and prospective environmental hazards precipitated by large-scale infrastructure projects on Russia's southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The region, investigated by both authors during the course of regular field research from 1999 to 2009, is one of the best environmentally preserved coastlines of the Baltic Sea with abundant potential greenfield sites, largely due to its closed-border-zone status during the Soviet period. A favorable location for trade also places the region under intense development pressure. The authors devote particular attention to two major developments, a multifunctional port complex (which inter alia serves as a major pipeline terminus and oil export port) and expansion of an existing nuclear power plant. Based on extensive personal observations and government documents, they analyze the emerging environmental threat posed by these initiatives as well as the challenging political environment that discourages public participation and local involvement in spatial planning.