Resurrecting Ancient Christianities

Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament. By Bart Ehrman (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), vi + 342 pp. $30.00 cloth.

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. By Bart Ehrman (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), xviii + 294 pp. $30.00 cloth.     

Taxonomic, anatomical, and spatio-temporal variations in the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of plants from an African savanna

Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope ratios are commonly used to reconstruct palaeodiets and palaeoenvironments. The method is based on our knowledge of isotopic patterns in plants, which are subject to taxonomic and environmental variability. While previous researchers have addressed isotopic variability amongst plants, no studies have looked extensively at a broad suite of taxa over multiple temporal scales from within the savanna biome so as to provide baseline data for palaeodietary and palaeoenvironmental studies. Here we document variations in the isotopic compositions of plants collected over two years from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, with respect to species and anatomical differences, and the influences of geological substrate and spatio-temporal shifts in climate. Results show that environmentally-induced carbon isotopic variations in plants within this region are generally smaller than 2‰, which is lower than what has been previously reported for plants compared across multiple habitat-types. These data suggest that δ¹³C differences of 2‰ or more (or 1‰ if the diet is predominantly C₄) between animals from a given area reliably indicate real dietary differences. Plant δ¹⁵N values vary greatly between different microhabitats (by up to 4‰), responding to a range of environmental influences that may, in turn, significantly influence variation in animal δ¹⁵N values.     

Fifty Years Since Lashley's In Search of the Engram: Refutations and Conjectures

In his well-known article “In Search of the Engram” published in 1950, Karl Spencer Lashley summarized his 33 years of research and theory on memory and the brain. He concluded that (1) memories are not localized but are instead distributed within functional areas of the cortex and (2) memory traces are not isolated cortical connections between inputs and outputs. Though not the first time he had expressed such convictions, their reiteration in this article was backed by Lashley's estimable reputation and expressive power and they have taken firm root in the collective knowledge of today's memory and neuropsychological research community.     

Judicial Politics, War Finance and Absolutism: The Parlement of Besancon and Venality of Office, 1699-1705

During the War of the Spanish Succession, how was Louis XIVable to extract badly needed funds from France’s privilegednoble judges without inciting serious resistance? This articleanswers this question by examining the monarchy’s successfulefforts to expand venal officeholding in the Parlement of Besançon.It argues that Louis XIV’s achievement depended largelyon the skilful management of judicial politics. The Bisontinparlementaires long opposed the expansion of venality. The king’sministers and their local agents were able to overcome theiropposition by fashioning an effective strategy of divide andrule that convinced the majority of the judges to support thecrown’s policies while simultaneously marginalizing thosedetermined to resist. This strategy established a model forthe royal government’s political management of the sovereigncourts. Louis XIV’s successors, however, permitted thismodel to decay at their peril.     

Strontium isotope ratios in fossil teeth from South Africa: assessing laser ablation MC-ICP-MS analysis and the extent of diagenesis

This study tests the precision and accuracy of laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) for measuring strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) in fossil teeth from Swartkrans and Sterkfontein in South Africa, and explores the extent of diagenesis in these specimens. Compared to solution MC-ICP-MS or thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) methods, LA-MC-ICP-MS can be faster and less expensive, but has lower precision and accuracy. We found that ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in fossil rodent teeth measured by LA-MC-ICP-MS were offset from solution values by a mean of 0.0005 ± 0.0010 (2σ). Because of the very wide spread of biologically available ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (∼0.710 to ∼0.790) in the region, LA-MC-ICP-MS is more than sufficient for assessing the geographic origins of the fossil rodents. The concentration of strontium in modern and fossil enamel from the area is statistically indistinguishable, as is the range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in modern rodents and fossil rodents from Swartkrans. Thus, there is little evidence of diagenetic Sr in the fossil enamel. In contrast, the fossil dentine may contain up to ∼50% diagenetic strontium, although many dentine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are still far removed from the background cave value of 0.729. We propose that LA-MC-ICP-MS will also be of use for investigating the geographic origins of other, non-rodent fossil teeth from the Sterkfontein and Swartkrans collections, and may prove of similar utility at other suitable sites.     

Night Revels and Werewolfery in Calvinist Guernsey

From the mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, Guernsey's Calvinist régime sought to control the rival cultural attractions of night-time activities, enjoyed especially by the young. These included the vueille and “gadding” between parishes. Cases of disguising in 1624 and 1630, the former under a mare's skin, when examined alongside examples from the other Channel Islands, England and Wales, demonstrate analogies with hobby horse perambulations and the Mari Lwyd. A unique reference to vouarouvarie [werewolfery] also describes a rowdy nocturnal activity, here with elements drawn from medieval identifications of the werewolf with outlawry and the dead. Werewolfery in Calvinist Guernsey may also have involved the harassment of women.     

The Personal is Personal (Review Essay)

Book reviewed in this article:
John B. Boles (ed.), Autobiographical Reflections on Southern Religious History     

The OECD and the Reconfiguration of the State in Emerging Economies: Manufacturing ‘Regulatory Capacity’

This article explores attempts to construct ‘regulatory capacity’ in developing countries, focusing on the work of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) and its role as an international standard‐setting institution in regulatory governance. The article explores how the construction of specific forms of regulatory capacity, and attempts to orchestrate the adoption of regulatory reform agendas in emerging economies, reflect broader processes of political‐policy transfer that impact state capacity and the ability of developing states to manage economic development. By analysing the OECD's engagement practices with third party organizations such as APEC (Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation organization) and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its specific engagement with emerging economies through country ‘reviews’ and ‘audits’, the author explores the implications for state capacity in terms of the adoption of regulatory systems of governance.     

The Capitulare de Villis,the Brevium exempla,and the Carolingian court at Aachen

For all the scholarship done on the Capitulare de villis and the Brevium exempla, much about them remains unclear, and no new interpretations have been offered in the last few decades. This article reads the documents without some of the assumptions prevalent in previous scholarly interpretations, and alongside both the written and material record, especially the archaeological evidence from Charlemagne's properties at Aachen and throughout his realm. It argues that the Capitulare de villis and the Brevium exempla were most likely issued shortly after 794, as a result of the logistical issues introduced when Charlemagne's court became resident at Aachen.