The provenance of some glass ingots from the Uluburun shipwreck

The discovery of a Late Bronze Age trading vessel at Uluburun near Ka? off the Turkish coast offers exciting possibilities for our understanding of Bronze Age trade. On board the ship was a large consignment of glass ingots that were assumed to originate either from Mesopotamia or Egypt. This paper presents the results of major and trace elemental analyses of three deep blue and turquoise glass ingots from the Uluburun wreck, and for the first time securely demonstrates that their composition is consistent with an Egyptian origin. The compositional similarity of the glass ingots to glasses from the Mycenaean world suggests that Egypt was exporting to that region via trading ships such as that from Uluburun.     

Identifying the geochemical taphonomy of the osteological material from Katsambas rockshelter

We report analytical work undertaken in order to identify the geochemical taphonomy of the osteological collection (human and animal bones) recovered from a 1950s excavation at Katsambas, a small cavity in the marly limestone on the west bank of Kairatos River, Crete. The site had funerary use and yielded material of Neolithic and Minoan age with poor stratigraphical association. Disintegration of provenance labels from bags has introduced further uncertainty about the contexts of recovery. Samples of human and animal bones that macroscopically appear to belong to three taphonomic categories were studied by means of FT-IR spectroscopy, TEM microscopy and REE analysis to explore the taphonomical processes the bones have undergone. Although not novel in palaeontological research the use of REE opens a new path to investigating poorly provenanced osteological collections from old excavations. Such geochemical work offers a proxy to their relative dating through the evaluation of the time span bones have remained in the sediments and their respective taphonomic histories.     

Human osteoarchaeology in the UK 2001–2007: a bibliometric perspective

Bibliometric analysis of osteoarchaeology publications covering the period 2001–2007 in leading journals was carried out. The aims were two‐fold: firstly, to characterise research in this field in the UK and make comparisons with selected other countries, and secondly, to shed light on the use of skeletal collections. It was found that, since a previous survey of this type,covering the period 1991–1995, isotopic and DNA studies have increased. In the UK, work on biodistance studies is minor compared with other countries, and the proportion of palaeopathology work is high. In palaeopathology, substantial effort continues to be devoted to case studies, particularly in the UK where the frequency of problem‐orientated work directed at understanding earlier populations has not increased since the early 1990s. Although it is argued that the case study still has a place in osteoarchaeology, the balance of work needs to shift further in favour of population studies, particularly in the UK. Skeletal collections are vital for primary osteoarchaeological work, and there was little evidence for any great use of skeletal databases such as the Standard Osteological Database. Skeletal collections from the UK were the most used for the research papers analysed, demonstrating the importance of UK‐held collections for research that leads to high profile publication in the international scientific literature. These observations are pertinent since legal, ethical and practical issues in the treatment of human remains, particularly those connected with retention of skeletal collections, are now coming under closer scrutiny in the UK. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

南京大学人文地理学发展系谱

本文梳理了南京大学人文地理研究机构的发展历程,总结南京大学人文地理研究机构由基础层、应用层、联合应用层三个层级组成。将南京大学九十年的人文地理学科发展历程划分为三个历史时期,即1919年到建国初期的近代中国人文地理学源地与人才培养的摇篮,建国初期到20世纪70年代末80年代初承担全国性科学研究和生产任务的先行者,20世纪80年代初期至今的优势学科凸显,同时"大人文地理科学"蓬勃发展与国际化阶段。认为南京大学对中国人文地理学科发展有四大贡献,即中国人文地理学的摇篮与创新源地,中国人文地理学思想理论发展的中坚,中国人文地理学主要分支学科建设的引领者,以及中国人文地理学承担国家重大项目的主体。     

快速城市化背景下广州五眼桥涌地区河涌环境演化研究——基于人类活动变迁的微观视角

在河口三角洲地区,河流是与人类活动关系最为密切的自然元素。本研究选取位于珠江三角洲核心区的广州市五眼桥涌地区为典型案例,通过实地调查、标图和深度访谈,结合相关的统计资料和历史文献,解析了快速城市化背景下珠江三角洲河涌环境的演化过程及动力机制,并分析了人-河关系的演进。研究发现案例地的河涌环境在地貌形态和水环境方面都发生了剧烈变化;城市河涌环境演化的主要动力来自于社会生产层面和个人生活层面的人类活动变迁。案例地人与河涌关系的演进经历了亲密和谐、对立隔离、重塑改善三个阶段。     

李旭旦先生的学术思想和贡献及其他——纪念李旭旦先生诞辰100周年

李旭旦先生是人文地理学家、区域地理学家和地理教育家,毕生致力于地理教育和科学研究,培养了几代地理学人才,桃李满天下。他才思敏捷,知识渊博,治学严谨、执着,有较高的学术造诣。学术上他强调人地协调论和统一地理学,提倡区域研究,致力于地理教育理论的建设,创办《地理知识》杂志,曾任德国《GeoJournal》杂志编委,主编《人文地理学》(中国大百科全书分册)、《人文地理学论丛》、《人文地理学概说》,提出白龙江是我国西部南北地理分界线的科学论断,主张把解决现实问题作为人文地理学的主攻方向,重视野外调查,晚年他提出复兴人文地理学的倡议,把我国人文地理学的发展推向一个新的阶段。他是我国现代人文地理学的奠基人。     

我国人文地理学研究、教学与出版关系论——以出版为中心的探讨

地理学界关于教学与研究的关系有些研究,关于研究与出版、教学与出版的关系几乎没有研究,但人文地理学界对这两种关系没有什么研究。研究表明,教学与研究相互依赖,研究是教学的基础,教学是研究成果得以普及和传承的途径之一,还可能促进研究的深入。教学和研究的质量和水平与出版有相当的关系。教材建设需要引进足够的重视并根据成果写出,研究的理念需要拓展,需要培养问题意识、学术史意识、与同行对话的意识和理论意识,还应注意著述的学术规范。学术出版要坚持高标准,以品质为导向,兼顾经济效益和社会效益。     

CT imaging of human mummies: a critical review of the literature (1979–2005)

The number of computerised tomography (CT) investigations of mummies has increased since the first published study in 1979. However, this approach has never been validated. We present a critical analysis of the literature (1979 to 2005). Relevant articles were selected via a MedLine search and analysed according to CT technique, methodology, and author's speciality. Thirty‐one original articles matched our selection criteria. Of these studies, 42% were authored by radiologists, while 26% had no contribution from radiologists. Hypothesis‐driven papers comprised only 9.7% of the total. While 84% of the studies had a stated purpose for conducting the CT study, only 67% of studies defined their CT protocol clearly. CT was used to study mummification techniques in 74% of instances, and/or to detect disease in 58%. Conclusions based on CT analysis were derived in 84% of studies, but only 32% of these answered specific questions. Furthermore, only 36% of these conclusions were related to the stated purpose of the study. Using the criteria of the grading system we developed, we found that 61% of studies were supported only by weak evidence. We conclude that evidence‐based research with better design should be encouraged in future palaeoradiological studies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender representation and participation in Dutch human geography departments

Since the beginning of the 1970s the under‐representation of women in geography has been questioned in several publications. Most articles refer to the situation in English‐speaking countries. This paper examines the vertical and horizontal gender segregation in human geography departments in Dutch universities. In spite of several policy measures to promote equal opportunity, women form only 19 per cent of all human geography faculty. In the conclusion, consequences and dilemmas related to gender representation and segregation are discussed.