Holey Goats: Multiple Cases of Supratrochlear Foramina in the Humerus of Caprines from the New Kingdom Pharaonic Town of Amara West,Northern Sudan

Supratrochlear foramina (STF) were recorded in fifteen per cent of goat and sheep/goat humeri from the New Kingdom pharaonic town of Amara West, in modern northern Sudan. To the authors’ knowledge, this trait has never before been reported in the published literature for goats or sheep, whether from archaeological or modern contexts. The aim of this work is twofold: to contribute to the growing corpus of studies addressing the incidence and aetiology of STF, and to raise awareness for their possible presence in caprines, thus encouraging their identification and recording in archaeological assemblages.     

Epiphyseal fusion in brown bears: a population study of grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribilis) from Montana and Wyoming

This contribution presents results of a study of the timing of appendicular epiphyseal fusion in brown bears (Ursus arctos) based on the visual examination of 86 modern skeletons of grizzlies (U. a. horribilis) of known age and sex from the greater Yellowstone area, in the States of Wyoming and Montana (US). The timing of fusion in brown bears was compared with the (scant) information available for the black bear (Ursus americanus); both similarities and differences were found. It is still inconclusive whether the discrepancies stem from the methods of study (visual examination vs. X‐rays) or whether they reflect real difference in fusion ages. It is suggested that data derived from U. arctos can be used profitably to investigate mortality patterns of extinct bears such as the cave bear Ursus spelaeus. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Osteometry as a Source of Refined Demographic Information: Sex-Ratios of Reindeer, Hunting Strategies, and Herd Control in the Late Glacial site of Stellmoor, Northern Germany

In archaeozoological investigations of sexually-dimorphic species such as Rangifer, Cervus, andBison , osteometry has a great—but as yet unexploited—potential as a source of refined demographic information. For this purpose, however, two important points must be taken into account. Firstly, the age-classes represented by different skeletal elements differ and thus sex-ratios may vary according to the anatomical element studied. Secondly, the fragments to be analysed should be chosen carefully in order to ensure that he age-class which they represent is known. A failure to do so may hinder the correct determination of sex ratios. This paper attempts to show, by means of an example, that, when these factors are considered, important demographic information and interesting insights about topics such as hunting strategies can be gained. The analysis of the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) assemblage from Stellmoor, an open-air Late Glacial site in northern Germany, revealed that male and female individuals in the different cohorts were killed in the same proportions as they occur in a typical herd, thus pointing to a non-selective hunting strategy. The results also argue against the assertion that reindeer herds were controlled by people during this period.     

Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage in South Africa: The Development of Relevant Management Strategies in the Historical Maritime Context of the Southern Tip of Africa

South Africans have a long association with water. It has provided a source of food, a medium for trade and a catalyst for migration and development. The country??s geographical position as a crossroads of maritime trade between Europe and the East means that its history is inextricably linked to the history of the rest of the world. The result is a multi-faceted representation of sites, objects and mythologies related to water and maritime heritage that reflect not only local historical and social development, but global cultural change as well. Given the importance of South Africa??s underwater cultural heritage (UCH), managers have grappled with management principles, ethics and theoretical models in an effort to produce and enforce heritage legislation that is relevant and effective. This paper outlines South Africa??s maritime context from 1.5 million years ago until the present, summarises legislative and mitigation developments over the past half century and provides details of current trends in maritime archaeology and UCH management at the southern tip of Africa. Training programmes and public awareness are keys to this strategy to bring UCH and maritime archaeology into the mainstream and counter treasure hunting and looting of this rich, friable resource.     

Local sustainability initiatives: innovation and civic engagement in societal experiments

ABSTRACT

Local sustainability initiatives are studied from two scholarly perspectives: the perspective of sociotechnical innovation, which relates to the capacity of bottom-up initiatives to contribute to the development of sociotechnical alternatives; and the perspective of civic engagement which relates to the capacity of citizens to organize themselves in order to pursue community goals. This paper argues that taking both these perspectives into account overcomes the problem of being too instrumental or the problem of neglecting the role of technology and innovation in local initiatives. The perspective of sociotechnical innovation presents different types of innovation pursued by local initiatives: the creation of new technology, the application of existing technology and the development of social innovation. Furthermore, innovations might diffuse over wider society by: replication, scaling up, and translation. In turn, civic engagement may take the shape of: the strengthening of social capital, the formation of social movements, and the substitution of functions and services. The insights from literature are illustrated and qualified by applying them in the context of concrete local initiatives. Finally, local initiatives will be portrayed as social contexts that are successful in gathering actors with different motivations and world views and that may contribute to the democratization of innovation.