Gazella (Bovidae,Ruminantia) remains from the Siwalik Group of Pakistan

Khan, M.A., Babar, M.A., Akhtar, M., Iliopoulos, G., Rakha, A. & Noor, T., November 2015. Gazella (Bovidae, Ruminantia) remains from the Siwalik Group of Pakistan. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

New gazelle fossils are described from the Siwalik Group of Pakistan. The material includes horncores, maxilla and mandible fragments, and isolated teeth. The available samples are assigned to three Gazella species: Gazella sp. in the Lower Siwalik Subgroup (ca 14.2–11.2 Ma), and G. lydekkeri and G. superba in the Middle Siwalik Subgroup (ca 10.2–3.4 Ma). Based on a review of the Siwalik Group gazelles, G. padriensis is synonymized with G. lydekkeri. Gazella superba Pilgrim, 1939 sensu stricto is a large form and is a valid species of the genus in the Siwalik Group.

Muhammad Akbar Khan [akbaar111@yahoo.ca], Muhammad Adeeb Babar [babar_fcc2005@yahoo.com], Muhammad Akhtar [drakhtarfdrc@hotmail.com], Allah Rakha [babar.441@googlemail.com], Tuba Noor [akbar.zool@pu.edu.pk], Abu Bakr Fossil Display & Research Centre, Department of Zoology, Quid-e-Azam Campus, Punjab University (54590), Lahore, Pakistan; George Iliopoulos [borelakias@gmail.com], Geology Department of the University of Patras, Patras, Greece.     

Researchers,bureaucrats and the lifeworlds of cultural policy

This paper reflects on the value of cultural policy research, particularly when such research forms part of projects that seek to produce insights or ‘outcomes’ that are useful to non-university research partners. The paper draws from the author’s involvement in a project examining cultural diversity in the arts that was funded as part of the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Project scheme. It addresses Eleonora Belfiore’s provocation that this kind of instrumental cultural policy research routinely amounts to ‘bullshit.’ However, in order to understand the critical function of such research, there needs to be greater attention to the lifeworlds of cultural policy and the multiplicity of the policy-making process. This multiplicity both complicates the possibilities for usefulness in policy research, at the same time that it enables such research to be generative in unpredictable ways.     

Preliminary neutron diffraction study of two fenestrated axes from the ‘Enot Shuni' Bronze Age cemetery (Israel)

Neutron diffraction (ND) analyses of ancient metals show that this method is capable of detecting differences in the inner composition and microstructure of ancient metal objects. Here, ND measurements were conducted on two ‘eye shaped’ axes from the end of the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The objects were excavated from the ancient cemetery of ‘Enot Shuni' Israel; one is made of bronze and the other of silver. Both artefacts are rare finds, with the silver axe unique in the archaeology of Israel, and therefore had to be analysed locally. For that purpose, a newly assembled diffractometer (KARL) at the IRR-1 of the Nuclear Research Centre (Soreq, Israel) was used. ND measurement on the bronze axe revealed the existence of an α-phase with a range of Cu/Sn ratios (Cu–Sn solid solutions) and some amount of a δ-phase (intermetallic compound of Cu and Sn). The silver axe ND pattern shows the existence of an α-phase (Ag–Cu solid solution) and some amount of copper metal. Our ND data are discussed in comparison with XRF surface measurements and thermal neutron radiography. The results are shedding more light on the in-depth material composition profile, as well as on the objects’ structural and compositional affinities, and help to better understand the production processes and assist in conservation decisions.     

Iron and bronze production in Iron Age IIA Philistia: new evidence from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

A metallurgically-oriented excavation in Area A at Tell es-Safi/Gath yielded evidence for iron and bronze production dating to the early Iron Age IIA. Two pit-like features, which differed considerably from one another in colour, texture and content, were excavated. Evidence shows that each feature represents a different in situ activity related to iron production, inferred by the presence of hammerscales, slag prills and slag. An upturned crucible was found on top of one of the features. Analysis of the crucible slag showed that it was used for bronze metallurgy. Tuyères, both round and square in cross-section, were found in and around the two features. The presence of the two industries together presents a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between copper and iron working. This is especially important against the background of the scarcity of evidence for iron production in the Levant during the early phases of the Iron Age.     

ASSESSING THE SPATIAL ACCESSIBILITY OF MICROFINANCE IN NORTHERN BANGLADESH: A GIS ANALYSIS

This paper attempts to understand and operationalize the notion of spatial accessibility (SA) in the context of microfinance. Using geographic information system (GIS) data from northern Bangladesh, we have generated a kernel‐smoothed map and found remarkable spatial variation in access to microcredit. Results suggest that areas isolated from physical infrastructure, administrative establishments, and prone to ecological shocks, exhibit lower degree of SA. Moreover, using an instrumental variable framework, we found that SA has a significant positive impact on household's decision to borrow and on the number of loans: one standard deviation higher SA is associated with a rise in participation probability and average number of microloans by, at least, 3.5 percentage points and 16 percent, respectively.