The estimation of live fish size from archaeological cranial bones of the New Zealand blue cod Parapercis colias

Twenty-four measurements were taken on five of the paired cranial bones and the otoliths of a modern sample of 177 blue cod. Parapercis colias. Regression analysis was performed on these measurements to estimate live fork length and ungutted weight. A number of regression models were examined (linear, logarithmic, exponential and power curve) to work out the optimum estimator for each bone measurement. It was found that live fork length of this species can be estimated with a standard error of less than ±28 mm, and the weight to less than ±140 g. Coefficients are provided for 48 equations linking bone size to live characteristics. This is followed by a study of blue cod from an archaeological site at Waihora in the Chatham Islands. Measurements were made on 8036 archaeological bones with a minimum number of individuals of 2547. It was found that the blue cod catch had near normal characteristics, with a mean fork length of 327 mm and SD of 57 mm. The mean body weight was estimated at 569 g. The usable meat weight represented by these fish is estimated to be 1.0 t. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Forest of Contradictions: Producing the Landscapes of the Scottish Highlands

While total global forest cover is decreasing, in many parts of the world forests are on the rebound. Uncritical examinations of this phenomenon credit the benign diffusion of capitalist development for this "forest transition." More critical readings of this question—including green Marxian and poststructuralist approaches—might conclude something very different, however. In this paper, we explore the question of expanding forest cover, using the case of the Scottish Highlands, where forestland has tripled since the 1920s, in an attempt to critically explain regional land–cover change. Drawing upon historical sources and Scottish Executive and Forestry Commission data, we examine the specific environments currently forming in the Highlands under conditions of economic change. We conclude that two divergent forestry practices and ecologies have been formed in the wake of economic restructuring: those geared towards industrial production and those targeted at consumption through ecotourism. We conclude, therefore, that capitalism's spatial fix to declining industrial power in the region is an inherently ecological one that takes the form of "schizophrenic forestry," in which forest expansion leads to the rise of degraded monocultures alongside "pristine" sites of conservation.     

An evaluation of the site specificity of soil elemental signatures for identifying and interpreting former functional areas

Soil multi-element analysis is now a routine technique employed to help answer questions about space use and function in and around archaeological sites. The pattern of enhancement of certain elements, including P, Pb, Ca, Zn, and Cu, has been shown by numerous studies to correlate closely with the archaeological and historical record. Interpretation of these soil signatures, however, has generally been more problematic. One approach to the problem has been the use of ethnographic or “known” sites to guide interpretation, but how confidently can results from one site be extrapolated to another? This study of abandoned farms tests the site specificity of soil multi-element signatures of past space use through the use of discriminant models. Data analysis suggests that one to one comparisons of similar sites are much less accurate (38% accuracy) than comparisons based on a wider range of sites (59.3% accuracy), even when the latter have contrasting geology. The results highlight the importance of individual anthropogenic practices during occupation and abandonment in the development of diagnostic soil geochemical signatures.     

Book reviews

In the context of a shift away from municipal multiculturalism towards community cohesion, and in the light of renewed debates around difference, national identity and Britishness, this article sets out a geographically informed theoretical framework which focuses upon the spatial (re)construction of racial and ethnic identities. The article develops the idea of the everyday as a way of viewing the spatially contingent, complex and negotiated state of inter-ethnic relations in a specific UK city. Not only does this reveal the manner in which strong and stubborn boundaries between social groups are entrenched through the (re)enforcement of spatialised relations of power, but also how accommodations across, between and within difference are realised. Through the employment of empirical material from Leicester, England, the article contends that everyday solidarities emerge from a number of intersecting spatial influences which do not equate to abstract or fixed versions of national belonging.     

Funding the arts and culture through dedicated state lotteries—Part II: Opening the way for alternative decision making and funding structures

CULTURAL POLICY AND THE POLITICS OF CULTURE, Forum organised by the Remarque Institute, held at White Oak Conference Center, Florida November 19–22, 1998