External Auditory Exostoses and its Relationship to Prehistoric Abalone Harvesting on Santa Rosa Island,California

Bioarchaeological research among prehistoric Pacific Coast populations has shown that external auditory exostoses (EAE) are found in high frequencies. On California's northern Channel Islands archaeological research has demonstrated that there was an intense exploitation of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens), particularly between ~8000 and 3500 years ago. If the Island Chumash were free‐diving for red abalone in subtidal waters, EAE should be prevalent in prehistoric populations from Santa Rosa Island. We recorded the presence or absence, number, side and severity of EAE growths for 207 adult individuals from three time periods on Santa Rosa Island. Our results show that ~11% of the total population was affected, including 22.5% of males and ~3.4% of females. The incidence among females increases from 0% in the Early period, to 2.6% in the Middle period, and 6.8% in the Late period. Overall these are lower rates than those reported for other Channel Island and Pacific Coast sites. Given the relatively low percentage of Santa Rosa Islanders affected with EAE, red abalones may have been harvested primarily in shallow waters rather than the deeper subtidal zone. Our data suggest that gender differences in food procurement activities existed on Santa Rosa Island throughout prehistory, congruent with the argument that EAE is an activity‐induced pathology that occurs with prolonged exposure to cold water and wind conditions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

留美学生的“保钓运动”与祖国和平统一

20世纪70年代初由旅美中国留学生发起的“保钓运动”有高潮迭起的发展过程;有由单纯的爱国保土运动向“中国统一运动”转变的深刻原因;起到了维护中国领土主权、谴责美El侵略、唤起国人民族意识的作用,是留美学生和学人关心祖国前途、促进祖国和平统一的发端;中国政府对留美学生发起的“保钓运动”给予了积极肯定;“保钓运动”寻求国家统一的探索,对祖国和平统一事业有积极影响。     

楚汉青阳位置之谜试解

楚汉时期重要地名"青阳"的位置一直是未得确解的千年谜题。本文指出,秦汉时的青阳,指的是长沙郡(国)青阳县,治地位于今湖南湘阴北境青山岛上;史籍所谓"荆王献青阳以西",指的是前278年楚顷襄王通过楚秦会盟,把湘江以西以洞庭平原为主体的区域割给秦国;史籍所谓"越水长沙,还舟青阳"八字,意为越人水攻长沙(后),(北上)聚舟船于青阳。青阳位置谜题的解决,有利于楚国末年以至汉初洞庭平原自然面貌的认识。     

Raw Material and Technological Changes in Ceramic Productions at Sai Island,Northern Sudan,from the Seventh to the Third Millennium BC

This study presents the results of integrated mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses of different ceramic assemblages and local sediments from Sai Island, northern Sudan, dating to between the seventh and the third millennium bc , and highlights a significant variability in the raw materials and technology of these productions. Although archaeometric analyses of ceramics are widely employed in many parts of the world, a lamentable scientific gap exists for African pottery, which this paper aims to bridge with new and compelling results.     

Non‐Destructive Investigation of a Scalenohedral Hematite Pendant from Bahrain,c.1800 bc

A scalenohedral hematite pendant (presumably a pseudomorph after a calcite crystal), excavated on Bahrain (ancient Dilmun) in the Persian Gulf from layers dated to c.1800 bc , was investigated using X‐ray computed microtomography. The internal porosity was studied in 3D, showing a preferential concentration of small pores in the central part, where carbonate remnants might still be present, and larger, flattened, elongated voids in the subsurface portion. Part of the scalenohedron can be described as an intergrowth of platy hematite crystals. Microtomography also yielded data on pore‐size distribution. Considerations are given to the genetic model and the provenance of the hematite pendant.     

The implications of water storage for human settlement in Mediterranean waterless islands: The example of Pantelleria

Abstract

Consistent water supply is a common issue in the history of Mediterranean civilizations, where hydraulic solutions, such as cisterns, wells, reservoirs and aqueducts, were adopted for private and public supply. In this context, the island of Pantelleria, where surface freshwater is virtually non-existent, represents a unique case for understanding human–environment interaction in waterless environments. Here, in historical times, year-round water supply was only possible through the storage of rainwater in underground cisterns. An intensive field survey carried out across the island led to the discovery of hundreds of cisterns dated from the Punic and Roman periods to the present day. The study of the spatial distribution of the cisterns was compared with archaeological data on the island to gain new insights on historical settlement and demographic patterns. The present work focusses on a semi-quantitative assessment of water storage on the island of Pantelleria based on the evaluation of potential volumes of stored water for different periods. Data available for cisterns in Pantelleria have been analysed and compared with those from coeval Mediterranean regions. Calculations on the seasonal fluctuation between water demand and supply have been estimated to evaluate the efficiency of such system for sustaining human population and subsistence activities through time.     

Manuscript XXXIIThe Final Fate of the La Pérouse Expedition?The 1818 Account of Shaik Jumaul,A Lascar Castaway in Torres Strait

The final fate of the La Pérouse expedition is a mystery. In 1788 the frigates L’Astrolabe and La Boussole were wrecked on Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands. According to Vanikoro oral history, the survivors then left, approximately six months later, in a boat which they had built. They were never seen again. This paper reports the rediscovery of an 1818 Indian newspaper article, detailing the rescue in Torres Strait of a lascar named Shaik Jumaul, a castaway for four years on Murray Island (Mer). While on Mer he saw weapons and instruments that seemed not of English manufacture. The Murray Islanders informed him that these came from the crew of a vessel wrecked nearby some three decades earlier. No European ship is known to have been lost in Torres Strait in that period. Shaik Jumaul’s account points to the possibility that the La Pérouse expedition ended finally in northern Australia.     

Small Islands and Marginality: Santa Barbara Island and its Role in the Prehistory of California’s Channel Islands

As the smallest of California’s Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Island has received limited attention from archaeologists. A United States National Park Service project designed to assess its 19 known sites evolved into an island-wide survey that increased the number to 63 sites that date between 4000 and 600 years ago. Most are small shell and lithic scatters, although some are larger shell middens with greater faunal and artifact diversity. Their constituents and geographic distribution indicate that the island not only served as a stopover during inter-island travel but was occupied for longer periods to target local resources such as marine mammal rookeries. Our research presents an opportunity to evaluate the significance of this island to prehistoric communities throughout the archipelago. On a broader level, it provides insights into the important roles that small islands have played in prehistoric lifeways as well as perceptions of marginality.     

Taxonomic status of the Eocene penguins Orthopteryx gigas Wiman, 1905 and Ichtyopteryx gracilis Wiman, 1905 from Antarctica

Traditionally, the systematics of the Seymour Island fossil penguins has been based on Wiman's groups defined by the robustness and size of isolated postcranial bones. However, current evaluations of fossil penguins necessitate that new species be established when the specimens include at least a tarsometatarsus or in some cases a humerus. Accordingly, neither of the two species reviewed herein (Orthopteryx gigas and Ichtyopteryx gracilis) are represented by remains sufficiently complete to validate a new taxon. Orthopteryx gigas is based on an isolated synsacrum lacking diagnostic characters. Ichtyopteryx gracilis is based on a tarsometatarsus but with insufficient preservational quality to justify discrimination of the species. For these reasons both Orthopteryx gigas and Ichtyopteryx gracilis should be considered nomen dubia.