Pre-Hispanic gold pieces of an enigmatic archaeological finding in Medellín,Colombia: A glance at an archaeometric analysis

The study analysed pre-Hispanic gold objects found within a surprising archaeological finding of a structure that likely served as a funeral pyre in Medellín, Colombia. ¹⁴C analyses of the site's organic materials dated the structure to the fifth century ce . The metal objects were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), density measurement by the Archimedes method, and metallographic analysis. The measurements by EDXRF and SEM-EDX showed that the pieces were composed mostly gold and silver. The XRD results indicated that the microstructure of the objects corresponded to a single phase of gold and silver. The images obtained by the metallographic microscope showed equiaxial grains with some twins, a structure consistent with annealed metals. The different colours observed correspond to different grain orientations. Pre-Hispanic objects from a second archaeological site in the municipality of Amalfi (Department of Antioquia) were also analysed for comparative purposes. The results showed that the gold objects were not subjected to any alloying process, but were instead manipulated in their original form (native gold). The shape of the objects and their microstructural results suggested that the pieces were manufactured by casting, mechanical deformation and then annealing.     

The Evaluation of Regional Innovation and Cluster Policies: Towards a Participatory Approach

The objective of this article is to provide a reply to the following question: What is the most suitable way of tackling evaluation of new regional policies? Regional development has moved today to new arenas. Here, we are discussing learning communities and regions that are able to adapt themselves to the new competitive conditions. SMEs policies at the regional level have also changed. New regional policies devote much of their attention to networks of inter-firm and inter-institutional cooperation - clusters - and to regional innovation systems. As a consequence, evaluation methodologies are also changing looking for more creative ways of assessing the impact of these new policies. In our opinion, participatory evaluation seems to be more appropriate to the specific characteristics of new regional policies and more suitable for sorting out the problems posed by their evaluation. In addition, under this approach, evaluation can turn into a useful tool to mobilize communities for regional action , empower local agents and enhance learning capacity.     

Anthropogenic units fingerprinted by REE in archaeological stratigraphy: Mas d'Is (Spain) case

On occasions, archaeologists have to deal with serious difficulties to differentiate between processes that ultimately are responsible for the formation of stratigraphic units.Sometimes we face problems related with depositional units in multilayered deposits and other times, we ask for the character of some dark surface soils, very similar to natural paleosols and usually associated with archaeological findings. In both cases, the problems we must address concern the relative impact of human activities.The imbalance between anthropic and natural processes in the formation of archaeological deposits is crucial for a correct interpretation of the processes involved in the formation of archaeological sites, but also of their occupation-abandonment dynamics and the understanding of their spatial behaviors and relationship with the environment.In this paper we propose a new methodological approach for the identification of anthropogenic fingerprints in stratigraphic units through Rare Earth Elements (REE) soil analysis. The role of REE for the effective identification of sediment provenance due to their coherent behavior during weathering, erosion and fluvial transportation and their high resistance to chemical mobilization is well known in other areas of knowledge. We try to explore its potentiality in a challenging archaeological context. Our purpose was to identify human traces in stratigraphic units where archaeological materials are scarce or absent intertwined with others richer in archaeological remains by the determination of multiple elements and statistical studies. We believe that Rare Earth Elements (REE) soil analysis provides unique insights for a better characterization of natural and archaeological sediments but more importantly to recognize different stages of the gradient. We expect to discern between natural versus anthropic units and between primary versus secondary deposits (redeposition), using the case of the Neolithic site of Mas d'Is (Alicante, Spain) as an example. The application of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) remarks differences in REE values, those analysis show differences between units of undoubtedly anthropogenic origin and control samples taken from natural sediments –including marls bedrock–, in their vicinity, but also we could notice finer nuances like the degree of human contributions to paleosols formation.     

Biological mineral content in Iberian skeletal cremains for control of diagenetic factors employing multivariate statistics

The aim of this study was to define a strategy for a correct selection of bone samples by employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for reconstructing the biological mineral content in bones through the determination of major elements, trace elements and Rare Earth Elements (REE, lanthanides) in skeletal cremains of ancient Iberians (III–II B.C), discovered in the Necropolis of Corral de Saus (Moixent, Valencia) between 1972 and 1979. The biological mineral content was determined taking into account diagenetic factors. A control method for a better reading of results was applied. To explore large geochemical datasets and to reduce the number of variables, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used, thus, providing a deeper insight into the structure of the variance of the dataset. PCA shows that the elemental profiles of bone and soil samples are clearly different. Bone samples obtained from the outer bone layer were shown to have a different elemental composition; more similar to soil samples than samples of the inner bone layer. PCA scores and loadings plots were preferred to dendrograms obtained using Cluster Analysis, due to the limits of the latter one to appreciate the spatial ordering of samples. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), a frequently used supervised classification method, was applied to differentiate between degradation states of bone samples. PLS-DA results obtained in this study confirmed that changes derived from different burning conditions were associated with transformations in the mineral part of the bones. Accordingly, carbonized bones can be differentiated from cremated bones. Class assignment of bone samples with uncertain thermal conditions in dependence on their elemental composition has shown to be feasible. Consequently, for biochemical-archaeological studies the analysis and statistical classification of carbonized and cremated archaeological bones, as well as those exposed to unknown thermal conditions together with experiments in modern bones, are recommended.     

Can Host Innovation Systems in Late Industrializing Countries Benefit from the Presence of Transnational Corporations? Insights from Thailand's Manufacturing Industry

Innovation systems in late industrializing countries are said to be ill-developed and fragmented, lacking crucial key resources and access to technology and knowledge. At the same time these national innovation systems (NISs) host subsidiaries of transnational corporations, which could contribute to the development of the NIS due to their advanced technology and capabilities. This paper considers data from innovation surveys, self-assessment of technological capabilities and qualitative interview information in order to establish two things: firstly, the technological activities and capabilities of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in Thailand (as compared to Singapore, Penang and Europe), and secondly, the main mechanisms by which foreign affiliates foster upgrading in domestic firms and in the innovation systems themselves.     

Network Structures in Regional Innovation Systems

While interactive learning and inter-organizational relations are the fundamental building blocks in regional innovation system (RIS) theory, the framework is rarely related to investigations of regional knowledge network structures, because in RIS literature relational structures and interaction networks are discussed in a rather fuzzy and generic manner, with the “network term” often being used rather metaphorically. This paper contributes to the literature by discussing theoretical arguments about interactions and knowledge exchange relations in the RIS literature from the perspective of social network analysis. More precise, it links network-theoretical concepts and insights to the well-known classification of RIS types by Cooke [(2004) Introduction: Regional innovation systems – an evolutionary approach, in: P. Cooke, M. Heidenreich & H.-J. Braczyk (Eds) Regional Innovation Systems: The Role of Governances in a Globalized World, 2nd ed., pp. 1–18 (London: UCL Press)]. We thereby exemplarily show how the RIS literature and the literature on regional knowledge networks can benefit from considering insights of the respective other.     

The Importance of Public Research Institutes in Innovative Networks-Empirical Results from the Metropolitan Innovation Systems Barcelona,Stockholm and Vienna

The recent discussion on economics and regional economics has increasingly stressed the importance of knowledge and information. Research institutes, in particular, are seen as crucial for assisting local firms in their innovation activities. The aim of this paper is to explore the real importance of research institutes supporting innovative activities in businesses. Based on the representative European Regional Innovation Survey the results show that the actual significance of research institutions in the support of firms' innovation processes is smaller than revealed in the concepts of the innovative networks, innovative milieu or learning region.     

区域创新系统的管治框架演化——来自深圳和东莞的对比实证

本文在电子企业问卷调查的基础上,对比分析深圳和东莞的区域创新机制,并进一步从管治角度构建区域创新机制差异的理论框架,在中国转型的体制背景下阐释管治的演化逻辑。结果显示,改革开放初期自上而下的管治模式相对于自下而上的管治,在各自向网络化管治模式演化的过程中,由于先发制度优势和组织能力禀赋,更能顺利的推动工业基础薄弱地区向区域创新系统的转变。最后指出,演化视角分析必须注重时间和地理的特殊性。     

New insights into the neolithisation process in southwest Europe according to spatial density analysis from calibrated radiocarbon dates

The agricultural way of life spreads throughout Europe via two main routes: the Danube corridor and the Mediterranean basin. Current archaeological literature describes the arrival to the Western Mediterranean as a rapid process which involves both demic and cultural models, and in this regard, the dispersal movement has been investigated using mathematical models, where the key factors are time and space. In this work, we have created a compilation of all available radiocarbon dates for the whole of Iberia, in order to draw a chronological series of maps to illustrate temporal and spatial patterns in the neolithisation process. The maps were prepared by calculating the calibrated 14C date probability density curves, as a proxy to show the spatial dynamics of the last hunter-gatherers and first farmers. Several scholars have pointed out problems linked with the variability of samples, such as the overrepresentation of some sites, the degree of regional research, the nature of the dated samples and above all the archaeological context, but we are confident that the selected dates, after applying some filters and statistical protocols, constitute a good way to approach settlement spatial patterns in Iberia at the time of the neolithisation process.