Multiproxy approach to the study of Medieval food habits in Tuscany (central Italy)

A multiproxy approach based on archaeobotanical, organic residue and isotopic analyses was carried out on materials from 12 Medieval archaeological sites in Tuscany (central Italy), in order to provide a diachronic overview of local diet in rural and urban sites from the mid-eighth to the fourteenth centuries AD. Archaeobotanical analyses were applied to 130,578 seeds/fruits, residue analyses involved 87 samples from cooking and storing vessels, whereas analyses of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes included 63 human bone samples and 26 animal specimens. The results indicate that from the mid-eighth century AD, crop production was of high quality similar, to that of the Roman Age. The main cultivations were naked wheats, barley and horse bean, a diversity that attests the technological skills reached by Tuscan peasants during the whole Middle Ages. Different cereals and pulse abundantly supplemented the diet. This strategy not only ensured peasants’ subsistence in the mid-eighth century AD, minimizing the risks of environmental adversities, but it also increased crop production – from the mid-ninth century AD on, for the revived markets and trade. Between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries AD, C4 plants had a dominant role in the peasants’ diet, when the wheat production was strictly collected first by the landlords and then by the cities for their own needs. Crop production was integrated by swine farming; animal meat consumption is well documented in rural and urban populations from the ninth century AD. Wine and olive oil, considered important elements of diet in Medieval Tuscany, have a very scarce presence, but they are recorded for later periods, mainly in urban areas and in higher social classes, such as the religious and aristocratic ones. In fact, only between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries AD was the great expansion of olive groves and vineyards recorded, when cities and urban populations claim to have access to these luxury foods.     

潘祖荫金石跋尾三则

甲申仲夏,苏州博物馆在对一批碑帖作抢救性整理时,在三种原拓经折装本后发现有清潘祖荫的亲书跋尾考证文字,此三种分别为<古义士伯夷叔齐二公碑并序>、<宋故朝议大夫致仕赠光禄大夫黄公神道碑铭>和<唐白鹿泉神君祠碑>.查阅<滂喜斋丛书>①中的<京畿金石考>二卷、<吴郡金石目>一卷、<宝铁斋金石文跋尾>三卷和<日本金石年表>,均未发现有这三篇跋尾的记载.     

苏州木版画的种类和特色

苏州木版画内容以山水、人物、动植物为主体,并兼顾市民趣味与人趣味。     

Probable persistence of the remains of a Rouget-Neumann sheath into the canalicular system of ancient human bone

Examining histological sections obtained from human bones from Iron Age archaeological excavations (about third to fifth century BC , Alfedena and Sulmona, central Italy), the authors show the presence of an amorphous, afibrillary substance inside the osseous canaliculus in decalcified sections. This substance has shown unusual chromaffinity to staining using the Schmorl method with thionine and phosphowolframic acid. It is probably formed by acid mucopolysaccharides obtained from a transitory betametachromasia with toluidine blue staining at neutral pH. This metachromasia persists after digestion in bacterial collagenesis, but disappears after digestion in bovine testicular jaluronidasis. These reactions indicate that the endocanalicular substance may represent well-kept remains of a Rouget-Neumann sheath, which surrounds cytoplasmic extensions of osteocytes.     

博物馆影响力刍议

博物馆影响力的程度制约着博物馆社会价值实现充分与否,因而博物馆影响力问题处于博物馆理论体系的核心位置。博物馆影响力的产生基于博物馆物质资源、无形资源与现代媒介的应用;其特点体现为复杂性、非权力性与缓释性;其影响涉及公众、社会与同行业三个层面。而对博物馆影响力理论研究的最终目的在于寻求提升之路径。     

Exploring the Dynamics of Delegation Over Time: Insights from Italian Anti-Corruption Agencies (2003–2016)

According to classical literature on delegation in the regulatory state, independent regulators are established to enhance the credibility of regulatory policies. In that regard, anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) are peculiar not only because they deal with extremely salient issues, but also because they receive delegated competencies from the government as the “principal” while, at the same time, the government is their regulatory target. How do governments manage regulatory reforms to strike a balance between gaining credibility as “principals” and possibly losing credibility as targets? Drawing from insights on historical institutionalism, this article undertakes a qualitative longitudinal analysis of organizational change regarding ACAs in Italy, where these kinds of agencies are particularly relevant to political leaders. The findings shed light on delegation as a dynamic process for which multiple factors intersect over time.     

Local and territorial determinants in the realization of public–private–partnerships: an empirical analysis for Italian provinces

ABSTRACT

Relational networks and intangible factors are crucial elements for the competitiveness of a territory. Public–Private–Partnerships (PPPs), in particular, allow for the provision of goods and services that favour the exploitation of complementarities between public and private resources. They aim at promoting an increase in the overall efficiency of investment projects through a complex mechanism that distributes risk and revenues among stakeholders. This paper examines the local and territorial determinants of PPPs through an econometric analysis based upon Italian municipal data, grouped at the provincial level. Using a tobit model, we analyse the relationship between the realization of successful PPP initiatives and different sets of factors, including less analysed local and territorial determinants. We stress the role of the local management of infrastructure assets, the administrative efficiency of local authorities and the diffusion of previous local development initiatives. Local management and territorial context factors explain most of the occurrence of successful PPP initiatives in the pre-crisis period while usual determinants (infrastructure endowment and financial distress) display a weaker effect.     

Geoarchaeology and spatial distributions of the ‘Coche Quemado' obsidian source in north-western Patagonia

In north-western Patagonia, obsidian was used during the entire Holocene, and its importance increased with time. Recent fieldwork discovered a new obsidian source located in the Río Grande, which was called ‘Coche Quemado' (CQ). The results indicate that the CQ source has a different geochemical signal than all other sources in the region. Its use is spatially restricted to piedmont and, to a lesser extent, the plains. Chronologically, CQ was exploited in the middle and late Holocene, and its use accounts for a range of spatial distribution between 150 and 200 km.