The Swedish journal Morgonbris on political violence in Finland 1917–1918

Women participated actively in the Finnish Civil War in January 1918–April 1918. The radicalization of the Finnish Social Democratic Party and the embracing of a revolutionary discourse sent tremors also to Sweden. In this article, I investigate how the Swedish Social Democratic women’s journal Morgonbris addresses women’s political violence in the period surrounding the Russian Revolution in March 1917, the October 1917 Bolshevik takeover and the following Civil War in Finland early 1918.

Morgonbris did not shun from reporting or debating women’s political violence, however, as this article shows there is a great discrepancy between how different acts of violence are understood in the greater discourse. Some violence, and especially some acts of violence committed by women, is clearly framed as more legitimate than others.     

In situ oxygen isotope micro-analysis of faunal material and human teeth using a SHRIMP II: a new tool for palaeo-ecology and archaeology

A Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP II) has been used to make high spatial resolution in situ micro-analyses of oxygen isotopes in fish otoliths, and teeth from fossil herbivores and a Neanderthal. Large intra-tooth variations in the oxygen isotopic composition (up to 9‰) were observed in the enamel of herbivores from the Neanderthal fossil site of Payre, consistent with preservation of seasonal cyclicity. The range of isotopic compositions observed in Neanderthal tooth enamel was much smaller (∼3‰), possibly the result of a longer enamel maturation time averaging out variability. An archaeological otolith from a Preceramic site in Northern Peru exhibited marked changes in δ¹⁸O over life, due either to the fish occasionally migrating from the sea to a lower salinity habitat, or to short-lived rises in sea water temperature. A fish otolith from Australia's Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area showed clear seasonal variations, but also a general trend towards isotopically heavier and more saline water, as indicated by higher δ¹⁸O and Sr/Ca values resulting from increased evaporation. The results of these case studies are compared to results of oxygen isotope analysis using more conventional methods and demonstrate the ability of the SHRIMP II to provide precise high spatial resolution in-situ oxygen isotope analyses of a variety of biogenic materials. This approach has major advantages over conventional methods. It can provide rapid, micro-scale isotopic analyses of sub-permil precision without the need for chemical preparation of the sample.     

Picturing inclusive places in segregated spaces: a participatory photo project conducted by migrant women in Sweden

This article uses participatory photography to explore contradictory processes of inclusion and exclusion in contemporary Sweden. Our aim is to analyse the social relations that shape the kinds of places recently arrived migrant women experience as ‘safe’, as well as their everyday experiences of inclusion and exclusion. The use of photography – wherein the women choose how, when and where to shoot photos – helps us highlight what otherwise would not be immediately evident with regard to the experience of such places. We argue that there are inclusive places in segregated spaces, and that issues of ethnic inclusion and exclusion are linked to ethnic hegemony and other relationships of power. Drawing on theories of relational space in general, and transgressive space in particular, we demonstrate that our informants' daily existence is simultaneously integrated and segregated, included and excluded, and that emancipatory processes that are already under way must be allowed to proceed if the social landscape of integration is to be an open and equal one.     

Promoting Ethanol in the Shadow of Oil Dependence: 100 years of arguments and frictions in Swedish politics

On a political level, Swedish transport ethanol has always been embedded in visions of an alternative, brighter future. Arguments in support of ethanol have been reiterated throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, exhibiting a striking stability over time. At the same time, the contexts in which arguments for ethanol have been raised have undergone dramatic shifts. This article investigates the historical contingencies of three empirical cases, covering the interwar years, the aftermath of the oil crises of the 1970s and the 21st century's concerns over global warming. It concludes with the observation that despite political convictions about ethanol's commercial, military and environmental potential, domestic production has not managed to take off on its own. It has relied on state support such as tax exemptions, it has been dependent on other industries for feedstock provision and its technical superiority is still waiting for market confirmation.     

Dating of 4th millennium BC pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje,Slovenia

We present absolute dates of seven late Neolithic pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia. They were settled from ca. 3600 to 3332 (±10) and from 3160 to 3071 (±14) cal BC, as shown by investigations of wood using dendrochronology and radiocarbon wiggle-matching. We defined eleven periods of intensive tree felling (and building activities) and one major settlement gap (when no trees were felled) from 3332 to 3160 cal BC. A major settlement gap presumably also followed after 3071 cal BC (i.e., after the end date of the investigated sites). Our investigations included over 2500 pieces of wood, mainly from the piles on which the dwellings were built. Among important wooden artefacts were a wheel with axle (one of the oldest preserved wheels in the world) and two dugout canoes, all from the settlement phase from 3160 to 3100 cal BC. As shown by parallel studies, the economy in the sites was characterized by copper metallurgy, skilful wood processing and use, cultivation of domestic plants, gathering of wild plants, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing. The settlements were contemporaneous with a number of sites in the north of the Alps, the younger ones coincided with the lifetime of the Neolithic Iceman (Ötzi). Since Ljubljansko barje has a strategic position at the crossroads between western central and (south) eastern Europe the presented absolute dates provide a basis for their comparison with other dated contemporaneous sites (in the west), to revise the chronology of similar sites in the (south) east (which are not yet exactly dated), and to evaluate their interconnection and roles in cultural development in prehistory.     

Impact of Roots and Rhizomes on Wetland Archaeology: A Review

The general premise for successful archaeological in situ preservation in wetlands is that raising the water table will ‘seal the grave’ by preventing oxygen from reaching the deposit. The present review reveals that this may not be the entire picture, as a change in habitat may introduce new plant species that can damage site stratigraphy and artefacts. However, reviews on the types and degree of damage caused by vegetation to archaeological remains preserved in situ in wetlands have hitherto only been sporadically treated in the literature. Thus, this paper provides an overview of the adverse effects that various plants species have on the preservation status of wetland archaeology.Disturbance, due to growth of roots and rhizomes of the surrounding soil is denoted contextual disturbance, whereas deterioration of archaeological remains per se acts by several root-related factors that may be spatially and temporally concomitant. In waterlogged anoxic environments, deterioration is mainly related to (i) preferential growth of roots/rhizomes due to nutrient uptake and lesser soil resistance, (ii) root etching due to organic acid exudates, (iii) microbial growth due to root release of oxygen and labile organic compounds, and/or (iv) precipitation of hydroxides due to root release of oxygen. For example, roots of some wetland plants, such as marsh horsetail (Equisetum palustre), have been documented to penetrate archaeological artefacts down to c. 2 m in waterlogged anoxic soils. Here, we demonstrate that cultural heritage site management may unintentionally introduce deep-rooted or exudate aggressive plants by invoking change in hydrological conditions. Moreover, the implementation of biomass energy utilization and agricultural root depth optimization on a worldwide basis stresses the need for more research within root and rhizome impact on archaeological remains in wetlands. In conclusion, the worst-case scenario may be in situ deterioration instead of preservation, and one essential threat to archaeological wetland sites is the impact of wetland vegetation.     

Dress-code: gender performance and misbehavior in the manor

This article is a queer reading of the architecture of Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf's mansion Mårbacka. Through a combination of performativity theory and architecture theory, the article addresses social and historical constructions of gender and sexuality, complicit with the entities age, class and nationality, through architecture. Architecture is explored ‘on the one hand’ as a representation of social norms and ‘on the other hand’ as a practice which can subvert them. Departing from a performative perspective on identity, the term cross-cladding is introduced as a tool to interpret architecture as dressing and thereby its complex, layered and manifold performances of gender and sexualities. The article writes a social and architectural history of what has been called ‘the most famous manor in Sweden and of Swedish manors the most famous in the world’ (Sterner 1935, 4). Mårbacka was not simply the home of Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) and her kin but also a public display of this Nobel Prize-winning first woman of the Swedish Academy – a national monument. Lagerlöf continuously worked on the main building. In 1919–1924, it was transformed with the help of the architects' office of Isak Gustaf Clason. It also appears in Lagerlöf's novels and throughout the building there are references to her books and biography. There is something queer here. The master of Mårbacka was a woman who loved women and made room for a household of women. This article discusses how architecture can represent a gendered disguise and reveals Mårbacka as an excessive, patriarchal ‘power suit’, which enabled a lifestyle that deviated from the norms of society.     

Competition in Research Activity among Economic Departments: Evidence by Negative Spatial Autocorrelation

Despite the prevalence of both competitive forces and patterns of collaboration within academic communities, studies on research productivity generally treat universities as independent entities. By exploring the research productivity of all academic economists employed at 81 universities and 17 economic research institutes in Austria, Germany, and German‐speaking Switzerland, this study finds that a research unit's productivity negatively depends on that of neighboring research units weighted by inverse distances. This significant and exemplary robust negative relationship is compatible with the notion of competition for priority of discovery among individual researchers and the universities that employ them, and with the notion that the willingness to relocate decreases with distance. In addition, the empirical results support the hypotheses that collaboration and that the existence of economies of scale increase research productivity. A pesar de la existencia de tanto fuerzas de competencia como de patrones de colaboración dentro de la comunidad académica, los estudios sobre la productividad de investigación tratan por lo general a las universidades como entidades independientes. El presente estudio explora la productividad de investigación de todos los economistas académicos empleados en 81 universidades y 17 institutos de investigación económica en Austria, Alemania y Suiza germano‐parlante, y concluye que la productividad de una unidad de investigación depende negativamente de la productividad de las unidades vecinas ponderada por las distancias inversas que las separan. Esta relación negativa es robusta, significativa y emblemática, lo cual concuerda con el concepto de competencia por prioridad de descubrimiento (priority of discovery) entre investigadores individuales y entre las universidades que los emplean. Así mismo concuerda con la idea de que la voluntad de desplazarse disminuye con la distancia. Adicionalmente, los resultados empíricos de este estudio apoyan la hipótesis de que la colaboración y la presencia de economías de escala tienen un efecto positivo sobre (incrementan) la productividad de investigación. 尽管对学术团体的研究主要针对竞争力和合作模式,但在研究科研生产率时,大学仍被视为独立的实体。本文通过调查奥地利、德国和瑞士德语区的81所高校和17个经济研究单位经济学家的研究产出率,研究发现一个研究单位的产出效率高低负依赖于反距离加权相邻研究单位的研究产出率。这种重要且典型稳健的负相关关系与个人研究者及其所在大学关于发现优先权的竞争观念相符,同时也与研究者的调动意愿因距离增加而减少的情况相一致。此外,经验结果也支持了合作和规模经济的存在能提高研究产出率的假设。     

Identification of animal skin of historical parchments by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods

This study deals with establishing of a PCR-based strategy with the aim to recognize the animal origin of different historical parchments. This is one of relatively rare studies on the analysis of ancient DNA from parchments. Robustness of the PCR technology is demonstrated by successful identification of the animal species using only a small amount of DNA isolated from 12 parchment samples. Ten PCR-based assays specific for the detection of different animal species (Bos taurus, Ovis aries, Capra hircus, Sus scrofa, Oryctolagus domestica, Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus, Dama dama) and two PCR assays utilizing universal primers were evaluated and optimized with the aim to find a rapid parchment identification method, which would be more reliable than the classical microscopic examination. The optimized PCR methods produced satisfactory results. Out of 12 investigated parchments, 9 items were unambiguously identified, DNA from 2 samples could not be amplified with any of the species-specific PCR assays, and only one parchment produced controversial results. The species-specific PCR results were confirmed by direct sequencing and PCR cloning with consequent sequencing. Our approach, including isolation of parchment DNA by chaotropic solid-phase extraction, optimization of the PCR programs and high-stringency annealing temperatures, demonstrated to be effective, easy and reliable for the analysis of historical parchment DNA. We consider this PCR-based strategy potentially useful also for investigation of other types of animal items conserved in museums, galleries or libraries.