NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF AD 1660–1930 EUROPEAN COPPER-COLOURED BLUE GLASS TRADE BEADS FROM ONTARIO,CANADA

Blue glass trade beads from well-dated late seventeenth- to early twentieth-century sites and collections have been analysed non-destructively by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The beads display enough variations in their elemental contents to allow us to characterize the different chemistries. The implication of these results is that similar chemical analyses of blue beads from undated archaeological sites may be used to help date the sites, since each bead chemistry has a specific earliest period.     

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF SIXTEENTH- AND SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPEAN BLUE GLASS TRADE BEADS FROM THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES AREA OF NORTH AMERICA*

Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European blue glass trade beads from aboriginal sites in the eastern Great Lakes area of North America have been analysed non-destructively using low neutron dose instrumental neutron activation analysis, so that the beads could be returned to their keepers. Dark blue (cobalt-coloured) beads are readily separable from turquoise (copper-coloured) beads. Differences in the chemistries of the turquoise blue beads appear to be useful in separating glass beads from the two centuries. Low calcium, sixteenth-century turquoise beads tend to distintegrate by a leaching of the alkali metals.     

Many Voices,One Court: The Origin and Role of Dissent in the Supreme Court

E pluribus unum—out of many, one—is the phrase emblazoned on the Seal of the United States, which refers to the notion that a single American voice emerges from the many diverse groups that constitute the nation. The legislative and executive branches of government often act as one voice through legislative bills and executive acts, aggregating diverse interests that reflect the national will. The notion of e pluribus unum, however, is not often applied to the judiciary, a branch of government the members of which are viewed, not as outlets for the will of the people, but as gatekeepers of the rule of law. But while the Supreme Court may not speak directly for the people, its opinions speak to the people, and the methods used by the Justices to express those opinions have revealed changes in the conception of the Court's voice throughout history.     

LANDSCAPE CHANGE IN THE LAKE SIMCOE-COUCHICHING BASIN, 1800–1983

Census data and Trimble's erosive land use (ELU) index are used to document changes in agricultural land use and potential erosion in the Lake Simcoe—Couchiching Basin during the past two centuries. The ELU index is represented by the cover-management factor in the universal soil loss equation and takes values between 0 (no erosion) and 1.0 (accelerated erosion). Basin-wide farmland ELU scores increased prior to 1901 due to intensification of agriculture, fell between 1911 and 1961 as yields and areas under grass increased, and then increased again from 1961 onward due to expansion in corn hectarage. The 0.152 index computed in 1981 is almost as large as the largest index (0.154)computed in 1891 and illustrates the huge environmental changes in the basin since early settlement without the beginnings of a permanent and more viable system of land use. Les changements d'utilisation des sols survenus au cours des deux derniers siècles dans le bassin du Lac Simco-Couchiching de même que I'érodibilité de ces sols, font I'objet d'une évaluation à I'aide des données de re-censements et de I'indice d'érosion particulier aux dif-férentes utilisation du sol (indice de Trimble). Le facteur de gestion de la couverture dans l'équation universelle de la partie de sol figure dans cet indice dont la valeur se range entre 0 (absence d'érosion) et 1.0 (érosion en accélération). Les scores pour les terres agricoles à I'éhelle du bassin ont augmenté avant 1901 quand l'agriculture s'est intensifiée, puis ont chuté entre 1911 et 1961 à mesure que les rendements et les superficies herbacées augmentaient, et enfin ont de nouveau re-monté depuis 1961 à la suite de l'expansion des superficies plantées en maïs. L'indice obtenu pour 1981 (0.1521 est presque aussi élevé que I'indice le plus fort atteinten 1891 (0.154). ll démontre les changements considérables survenus dans I'environnement du bassin depuis le tout début de son peuplement, alors qu'aucun système d'utilisation des sols permanent et plus viable n'a encore pu èmerger.     

Lake Nuga Nuga: a Levee‐dammed Lake in Central Queensland,Australia

Lake Nuga Nuga is a levee‐dammed lake in the dry sub‐humid tropics of the Fitzroy Basin in Central Queensland, Australia, that has expanded significantly since it was first mapped in 1866. ²¹⁰Pb dating of a sediment core from the lake indicates that the rate of sedimentation has been constant for the past 67 years at 3 mm yr^?1 despite widespread clearing and land use intensification in the catchment during that time. Pollen analysis confirms this and shows that there was little change in vegetation during the early settlement period (1863–1962), but the intensification of land use that started in the early 1960s brought about a dramatic change in the vegetation communities. This study demonstrates that while sediment production may be significantly impacted by land‐use activities, sediment delivery is primarily controlled by topography.     

Congenital Syphilis in the Archaeological Record: Diagnostic Insensitivity of Osseous Lesions

The paucity of convincing evidence for congenital bone lesions of syphilis in the archaeological record led to study of the human remains from the Buffalo site in West Virginia, dated at 550—650 years BP. The diagnosis of syphilis (venereal) in adults was based on previously validated population criteria for the recognition of syphilis and its distinction from among the other treponemal diseases. Among the 151 juveniles (23.3 per cent of the total series), only one had macroscopic evidence of periosteal disease. The low frequency of recognizable osseous stigmata characteristic of congenital syphilis, combined with the conspicuous absence of pathognomonic dental lesions, make such periosteal lesions insufficiently sensitive criteria for the identification of syphilis in the archaeological record. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.