Micromorphological Study of Concotto Surfaces Protected by the Avellino Eruption in 3945 ± 10 cal. BP at the Early Bronze Age of Afragola Village in Southern Italy

ABSTRACT

The term Concotto refers to fragments or patches of hard heated clay that derive from living surfaces, walls, and ovens. Concotto fragments are found throughout the Italian peninsula and date from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Current studies express contradictory opinions about whether or not the Concottos on living surfaces represent intentionally constructed surfaces or the secondary products of the contact between hot embers and sediments. This study uses micromorphological analysis to investigate the function and composition of Concotto surfaces from several domestic structures at the Early Bronze Age village of Afragola in southern Italy. Afragola is an exceptionally preserved agricultural village that was covered by almost 1?m of volcanic ash during the Vesuvius eruption in 3945?±?10 cal. BP. The Concottos at Afragola are hard, red surfaces that are typically associated with burned materials. Micromorphological analysis reveals that the Concottos were intentionally made by laying down patches of clay and then heating them to create a hard, flat surface. This study explores the potential uses of the Concotto as cooking surfaces during the Early Bronze Age of southern Italy.     

Revealing the Monastic Kitchen: Chemical Analysis of the Soil Inside the Monastery of Cornellana (North‐West Spain)

The residues deposited on the floor of the kitchen of the monastery of Cornellana (Asturias, Spain), while it was still in use in the 18th century, have been analysed using different techniques, including the Kjeldahl method, phenol – sulphuric acid assay, FT–IR, SEM–EDX and LOI. This has allowed us to determine the areas of concentration of proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, phosphorus and carbonates, and thus approach the interpretation of the layout of the different areas of activity related to the treatment and cooking of foodstuffs in the kitchen. In any case, and regardless of the fact that this is the first time that these techniques have been applied to study a monastic kitchen in the Iberian Peninsula, the aim of this research is to demonstrate their applicability to other case studies of this integrated set of analytical techniques, some of which are not used very often in the analysis of concentrations of residues and analysis of areas of activity on archaeological soils.     

On Narco‐coyotaje: Illicit Regimes and Their Impacts on the US–Mexico Border

Many have debated whether or not human smugglers, known as coyotes, are involved with drug trafficking organizations. Scholars have largely rejected so‐called “narcocoyotaje”, however; we hope to problematize this narrative by adding a new theoretical layer to the discussion. Namely, we explore the ways in which different criminal activities produce hierarchies and control illicit activities within the clandestine geography of the US–Mexico border. These “illicit regimes” operate against the State, creating a hierarchy that dominates other illicit activities in order to maximize profit, avoid detection and consolidate power. While other studies have explored the relationships between the State and illicit practices this article takes the relationship between two illicit industries as its object of study. Doing so will help us move past the simply binary question about whether or not coyotes are involved with drug cartels, and allows us to understand what is being produced by this relationship, and its consequences for everyone involved.     

Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in organic residue from the hoard of ancient Vani (western Georgia)

An investigation of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in the organic material in bronze objects found in Vani provides evidence that, in the first half of the first century BC, the climate of the area was cooler and much more humid than nowadays. The local population was engaged in cattle-breeding and agriculture, and both viticulture and horticulture were also well developed. The analysis of the contents of an oil lamp showed that the lamp was in use for a long time and was filled with flax oil. Large pieces of beeswax found in the hoard provide evidence of the existence of local bronze-casting industry. The palynological studies of the recent and fossil soil of Vani have shown that only in soil spectra large quantities of spores of various fungi were found, which distinguishes them from the domestic dust spectra. On the basis of this argument it was established that most part of the studied fossil material is not contaminated by the soil where the hoard of bronze objects was buried.     

Walter Moxon and His Thoughts About Language and the Brain

Walter Moxon wrote a well-timed paper in 1866 on aphemia with accompanying right sided hemiplegia. Like many other investigators of this apparent lopsidedness of the articulatory system for human speech, Moxon had to reconcile left hemisphere specialization for this function with the overriding law of symmetry, which for a large sector of the scientific community was a sine qua non of the anatomy and function of high level animal cognition. His reasoning was essentially that since the right dominant hand (and hence the left hemisphere) in some sense led overall bilateral limb movement patterns, that the right side of the tongue would lead whole tongue movement for articulation, the left side following in some mechanical sense. Thus, Moxon could link left hemisphere dominance for handedness as well as for speech. His theory was that “attention” was focused on the left hemisphere during limb movement development, under his assumption that the articulators were limbs as well as the arms and hands. The present paper will examine the professional life of Moxon and his 1866 paper, as well as the scant commentary that it has elicited in the literature on the history of left hemisphere dominance for the human articulatory function.     

The impact of playground design on play choices and behaviors of pre-school children

The purpose of this study was to examine where and how children choose to play in four Australian pre-school centers with very different outdoor playgrounds. Using a momentary time sampling direct observation instrument, a total of 960 scans were taken of pre-determined target areas (paths, paved expanses, grass, softfall, sand feature, manufactured functional, manufactured constructive and natural) within four playgrounds over a 30-day period. During each scan, we recorded the number of boys and girls observed in each target area as well as the dominant type of play (functional, constructive, symbolic, self-focused, talking). A total of 2361 observations of children occurred across the four centers. The results revealed the children were using the four playgrounds differently. At the diverse and natural Center A, the most popular space was the natural area and the least popular space was the sandpit. At the small, compact and diverse Center B, children were fairly evenly dispersed, with the most popular areas being the softfall and paved expanse. At the hard and barren Center C, almost half the children were found on the pavement, but the sandpits and natural areas were also popular. Finally, at the large, sparse and old Center D, children were fairly evenly dispersed, but most were observed playing on the softfall. Across all centers, irrespective of target area, the dominant play activity was functional play followed by self-focused play. This article discusses these findings and asks important questions about the design of pre-school playgrounds. In doing so, this study has begun to explain the relationship between the design of outdoor play spaces, children's choices of play locations and their play behaviors.     

安徽历史气候变迁的初步研究

本文通过对安徽省近300年资料的统计和分析,发现历史上因气候的不断变化和异常,给安徽地区造成了众多的水旱灾害,其中水灾又多于旱灾,并呈现出增多期与减少期交替向前发展的规律,而在时间上则显示出夏季最为集中、秋季次之的高度季节性特点.经与太阳活动的历史资料相比较,又发现安徽水旱灾害与太阳活动有密切关系,在太阳活动世纪周期增强期前提下,水旱灾害多发生在太阳活动11年周期的极值附近.     

中国女性农民工务工活跃度研究——基于全国29省份调查数据与陕西省实证研究

基于全国范围内(除京沪港澳台地区)女性农民工外出务工调查数据,提出女性农民工务工活跃度新概念,并将该概念分解为四个活跃度因子:务工距离、务工时间、务工地点数以及务工频数,用层次分析法得出各因子的权重并计算各省市区的活跃度。引入对应各省市区农民人均纯收入进行回归分析,与多项式模型拟合较好,活跃度随农民人均纯收入的减小而有增大的趋势。分别对四个活跃度因子的地理空间分布进行研究,运用聚类分析法进一步探究务工活跃度结合农民人均纯收入在地理空间上的分布特征,并在全国范围内划分出7个区域类型。最后以陕西省为例,用Logistic回归模型得出女性农民工的个人、家庭及其他因素对务工活跃度有较大影响。     

南京农事节庆活动与旅游业发展的时空耦合研究

运用耦合指数和ESDA方法,从时空维度动态分析2002-2013年南京农事节庆活动与旅游业发展的耦合状况,得到以下结论:①在年际尺度上两者存在明显正向相关关系,农事节庆活动呈现"协调发展、效益提升、快速发展、优化调整"阶段性波动特征;在季节变化上则呈现整体相似特征,3-4月和9-11月出现较明显的峰值期,但农事节庆活动表现出更强的季节性。②2002-2013年农事节庆活动空间耦合差异较明显,耦合指数稳定变化的有主城区、高淳区和六合区,偏离1的有江宁区,波动变化的有溧水区和浦口区;农事节庆活动空间耦合整体存在南北方向上以主城区为中心自北向南,东西方向上由偏西部向偏东部演化的特征。最后,提出南京今后农事节庆活动与旅游业发展的建议。