Post-glacial environmental change and hunting-gathering societies of the southern Prairie Peninsula

Evidence from several disciplines supports the proposition that following the Wisconsinan and an initial but brief moist phase of the Holocene, there was a gradual drying trend in the mid-continent Prairie Peninsula that peaked about 7000 years ago, a pattern that was not reversed until about 4000 years ago. Except for minor perturbations, conditions during the past four millennia have essentially been similar to those of the present. Studies in palynology and geomorphology have shown that the climatic regimes of the early/mid Post-glacial had a marked influence on both the biota and landscape erosional patterns, especially along the margins of the Prairie Peninsula. Measurable changes in the landscape and attendant biota show a time-transgressive pattern of drought related phenomena recorded palaeo-ecologically from west to east.Few studies of archaeological sites in the Prairie Peninsula have examined the evidence in and around the sites themselves for data reflecting local environmental dynamics. In fact, earlier models proposed for explaining the evolution of food-procuring systems in eastern North America virtually ignored potential changes in the natural environment. This paper examines data from two archaeological sites along the prairie-forest border in Missouri that contain long cultural sequences. Evidence is presented that pronounced changes in the natural environment occurred and that these biophysical variables are indeed critical for understanding the evolution of food-procuring societies in the American Midwest.     

Cost‐benefit appraisal of the industrial areas programme in Greece: Aims,methodologies and assumptions

The Industrial Areas Programme in Greece aims to promote and propagate industrial activity in targeted regions. The policy mainly provides for the acquisition of industrial land and the development of the public infrastructure and has been operational since 1968. The objectives of this research are to evaluate the cost‐effectiveness of this policy in terms of the stated aims. Cost‐benefit methods are used to compare the likely outcomes of the policy in the light of the resources deployed. The research illustrates the variety in performance levels that individual projects achieve but concludes overall that the programme has been more than worthwhile. This paper deals with the objectives of the study and how they are to be achieved.