Recycled Blessings: An Investigative Case Study of a Rewrapped Egyptian Votive Mummy Using Novel and Established 3D Imaging Techniques

This case study was the first of its kind, where neutron computed tomography (CT) was applied to a wrapped mummified animal. Conventional X‐ray CT was also used to allow for meaningful comparison, and complementary data for a comprehensive investigation. Previous applications of both techniques are limited to metallic objects, such as bronze Buddhas. The mummy used in this study (IA.2402) is dated between the Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 bce ) to Late Period (664–332 bce ) according to the wrapping style, and was originally believed to contain a complete skeleton of a feline. However, precise date and provenance were unknown. Our results prove the presence of only partial juvenile feline remains, and provide a date range for artefact creation (900–804 bce ± 30) and alteration (367–204 bce ± 30). Therefore, this study implements an established imaging technique (neutron CT) in a novel way, while preserving and conserving the intrinsic value of the artefact through non‐destructive investigation.     

THE LOGIC OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF RURAL POLITICS: POLITICAL DISCOURSES ON RURALITY IN NORWAY

Two competing discourses emerge from a careful reading of parliamentary debates in Norway on rural development. One regards rural values as intrinsic, while the other regards the rural as an actor in a play about economic growth. The 'growth' discourse has economic growth as its nodal point and fo-cuses on the freedom of an individual to establish a business wherever he or she wishes, and to migrate to any preferred destination. The 'intrinsic value' discourse places the value of rural settlements and cultures as its nodal point and focuses on allegedly forced migration, a nature-based economy, and local freedom of action. During the neoliberal period, starting about 1980 the strength of the intrinsic value discourse has been increasingly displaced by the growth discourse. The latter seems to match general social changes such as neoliberalism and globalization more than the former. However, analysing the fight between these two discourses is not exhaustive. A broader analytic perspective is needed if we want to understand the logic of how the meaning of rurality comes about. The meaning of rurality in Norwegian politics is made through the way the competing discourses link up to 'nondiscursive' topics that originate and evolve outside the discourses on Norwegian rural politics. We claim that topics which include economic safety and national identity/nation-state are more or less fundamental to understanding the logic of the production of the concrete discourses of rurality in Norwegian politics. We provide evidence that rural change is contingent not only on the meaning-making process in parliamentary debates, but on the way truth claims made by politicians are linked to general national and global issues.     

How the mosquito (man) liberated Cuba

Disease is a more efficient killer of armies than man, but military historians tend not to dwell on this fact, for fear of relegating human volition to a secondary role in the outcome of wars. Thus, studies of the Cuban War of Independence from 1895 to 1898 tell of thrilling machete charges and awe-inspiring battleships, but pay insufficient attention to the insects and microbes that really killed the Spanish army and prepared the ground for the liberation of Cuba. This essay argues that the mosquito and yellow fever did most of the work of freeing Cuba from Spanish military occupation. It also tells how the theory of a Cuban physician, Carlos Finlay, helped to liberate the island from yellow fever following the American occupation in 1898. In this way the essay unites two sundered histories that belong together, and then goes on to explain why the medical community ignored Finlay for almost 20 years, just time enough to allow Cubans to found a new nation.     

Making room for rubbers: Gender,technology, and birth control before the pill

Before the Food and Drug Administration approved in 1960 the distribution of oral contraceptives, the most popular form of birth control in the United States was the condom. Scholars have often downplayed men's involvement in the history of birth control, relegating knowledge and use of contraceptive technology to a separate "female domain." This article explores the role of condoms in the evolution of the American birth control business, attitudes toward public health, and everyday sexual behavior, and suggests why the full complexities of the history of birth control are best captured by an approach that is attentive to broad gender dynamics as well as to the diversity of technological change.     

Historic settlements and pastoralism in the Arctic and Tibetan Plateau: towards a comparison

Historic settlement processes of, respectively, the Northern Sámi and Western Tibetan pastoralists have so far not been subjected to any comparative social science analyses. This study contributes to such a conceptual platform, drawing on the constructs dwelling, settlement, herding unit, pastoral landscape and the labour–animal–pasture triangle. Ethnographic and archival evidence of transitions from sedentary/semi-sedentary to full-fledged pastoralist societies and transitions from a pastoral adaptation to sedentary and semi-sedentary life are analysed and debated in light of the influential theoretical proposition of a categorical difference between a nomad’s and a farmer’s dwelling. At the core of this, comparative inquiry is two highly dynamic pastoral herding societies. It is argued that a comparative approach to the study of settlements requires a theoretical and analytical reframing – informed by a more adequate comprehension of the dwelling–settlement nexus. This preliminary scrutiny of dwelling designs and settlement practices of Sámi and Tibetan pastoralists indicates that nomads in both regions internalized and activated different spatial models and inventively mediated between different spatial models according to seasonal or irreversible shifts of leaving the nomadic adaptation altogether. Further rigorous empirical inquiry into accommodation, innovation and possible failures to mediate gaps in the making/remaking of dwellings and settlements are called for.     

Dual Energy Computed Tomography for the Non‐destructive Analysis of Ancient Ceramics

Ceramics are usually the most common artefact found on any ancient archaeological site. Compositional analysis of this pottery, and characterization of the clay fabrics from which they are made, has the potential to pinpoint sources of manufacture as well as identify trade routes and consumption patterns in the ancient world. Currently, most analytical techniques require the partial or total destruction of the ceramic sample. This research investigates the use of dual energy computed tomography (DECT) to analyse Black Gloss and Vesuvian Sigillata from Pompeii. The results indicate that DECT may be a viable adjunct or alternative to conventional analytical techniques. Importantly, unlike traditional methods, DECT is totally non‐destructive, a highly significant factor when analysing irreplaceable artefacts.