The Karschau Ship, Schleswig-Holstein: Dendrochronological Results and Timber Provenance

The felling of the oak trees used to build the Karschau ship took place in or around the AD 1140s. The tree-ring curves from the oak planks from the Karschau Ship match best with site-means from Odense, a medieval town on the island of Funen, Denmark. New research being carried out by the author is allowing the determination of the provenance of ancient oak to a more local level. Through this dendrochronological research, it is now possible to differentiate between small regions of timber sources for shipbuilding, allowing a more nuanced interpretation.
© 2006 The Author     

Estimates of Income and Income Inequality in the United States and in Each of the Fifty States: 1988–1999

Abstract Estimates of income levels and income inequality in the United States in 1988, 1995, and 1999 are presented based on a dataset created by a statistical match of Internal Revenue Service and decennial Census data. In addition, estimates are presented of income levels and income distribution in each of the fifty states of the United States during those same years. Trends in national and regional income inequality and income levels over the period are analyzed also.     

A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing: What We Know about the Role of the Media in State Politics

Abstract

This article explores the intellectual itinerary of the contemporary French political philosopher Pierre Manent. In particular, it highlights his efforts to do justice to the three great “poles” of human existence: philosophy, politics, and religion. Manent is shown to be a philosophically minded Christian, one who thinks politically and who rejects the temptation to “despise the temporal order.” Manent's reservations about the European project in its present form are shown to be rooted in a understanding of politics that emphasizes the need to weave together “communion” and “consent” if Europeans are to avoid administrative despotism and those postpolitical fantasies that prevent them from thinking and acting politically. The article ends with a reflection on Manent's impressive history of “political forms” in the Western world.     

Yeats,Wittgenstein and the ladder of linguistic inversion

This paper will consider the philosophy of language by Ludwig Wittgenstein in relation to the later modernist poetry of W. B. Yeats in Last Poems (1939). Accordingly, Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922) and Philosophical Investigations (1953) are used to understand the limits of language in conveying the facts of existence and the necessity for the inversion of previously held truths to navigate the altering nature of reality through time. W. B. Yeats’s final volume of poetry, Last Poems (1939), is shown to parallel the philosophical ideas of Wittgenstein, thus demonstrating the subversive nature of Yeats’s last written poetry as an interrogation of his own constructed truths of the past. Both philosopher and poet are shown to coalesce in the deconstruction of linguistic representations of the world through the “form of life” that is the game of language in order to question limiting worldviews.     

Selecting and Sampling Shipwreck Timbers for Dendrochronological Research: practical guidance

In this article, we provide practical and straightforward guidance for the selection and sampling of shipwreck timbers for dendrochronological research. We outline sampling strategies and present informative figures that illustrate how to proceed in a variety of scenarios that archaeologists regularly encounter. However, in order to fully exploit the potential of tree‐ring research on these objects, we would urge archaeologists to involve dendrochronologists during the project planning phase to carefully plan and conduct adequate sampling of shipwreck assemblages.     

Temp to Perm: Stacking the Electoral Deck Through U.S. Senate Appointments?

One concern with allowing governors to appoint replacements for U.S. Senate vacancies is that appointees may have an advantage over their competition in seeking election. Another is that governors may use their power to further their own political ambitions. This investigation explores whether an electoral benefit is conferred through receiving or making an appointment. The analysis provides insight into how gubernatorial appointments shape electoral outcomes for quasi-incumbents and the Senate's membership. Notably, the results reveal an electoral boost for representatives who are appointed prior to making a run for the Senate. Although the results demonstrate that some appointees gain an advantage by receiving appointments, governors who run for Senate do not experience an electoral benefit from making an appointment.     

Doel 2: a second 14th‐century cog wrecked in den Deurganck,Doel, Belgium

In 2002, the preserved bottom part of a wreck was excavated, identified as a cog, and named Doel 2. An interdisciplinary research programme (2010–2014), revealed that the ship was constructed after 1328 with wood from northern Poland. Complete 3D‐registration of the timbers, and structural analysis showed it had a keelplank with a natural upward curve at the bow that served as a hook, and that most bottom planks were recaulked, among many other repairs. The ship ended up in ‘den Deurganck’, a creek near the Scheldt river where it was partially disassembled before the surviving remains were inverted, probably as a result of a flood. This paper presents the detailed recording and archaeological interpretation of the ship remains, and the results of the dendrochronological analysis.     

Identifying the sources of Inka period ceramics from northern Chile: results of a neutron activation study

To examine regional patterns of ceramic production and distribution during the era of Inka domination in northern Chile, we determined the elemental compositions of 157 samples of archaeological ceramics and geological clays from the sites of Catarpe and Turi using instrumental neutron activation analysis. We identified two major and three minor composition groups in the ceramics. The major groups, High Cr and Low Cr, are linked to clays from two broad geological contexts within the region, while the minor Low Na group is made up of ceramics imported from northwestern Argentina. The distribution of the composition groups indicates that, in the Catarpe–Turi region, patterns of ceramic production differed for different vessel types: jars were made from clay and temper acquired near the sites where the jars were used, while bowls were made of material coming from more distant sources. The geographical distribution of the analyzed ceramics indicates that bowls were exchanged between Catarpe and Turi in a pattern more similar to tribute/extraction than to market exchange, with Catarpe being the dominant site. The compositional analysis also demonstrates that Inka-style ceramics were being locally produced at sites in this region during the era of Inka domination.