Methodological aspects of SANS and TOF neutron diffraction measurements on pottery: the case of Miseno and Cuma

Small angle neutron scattering and neutron phase analysis techniques have been for the first time jointly employed to extract microscopic parameters of ceramic samples prepared under controlled conditions, in an attempt to establish a protocol for deriving information on the firing process. Data have also been collected on two series of early medieval samples from the Italian regions of Cuma and Miseno. The variation of the microscopic features observed on these samples could mirror some technological evolution in the period spanning from the 6th to the 12th century AD.     

The reconstruction of past environments through small mammals: from the Mousterian to the Bronze Age in El Mirón Cave (Cantabria,Spain)

El Mirón is a large cave in the Cantabrian Cordillera of northern Spain that presents a long archaeostratigraphic sequence radiocarbon-dated by over 60 assays to between 41,000 and 2000 BP. The sediments, collected from four areas within the cave and sieved-washed with fine wire meshes, contain microvertebrate remains of fish, frogs, lizards, birds and mammals, of which the latter are most abundant. Preliminary taphonomic analysis suggests that the microvertebrates were naturally collected by owls and (less) small carnivores. Small mammal assemblages are useful for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction because they are linked to particular habitats and are sensitive to environmental changes. The small mammals from El Mirón are ideal for this because sample sizes are large, bone preservation is good, and the stratigraphic sequence is long. In this paper we reconstruct the late Quaternary environments in the Cantabrian region of Spain using small-mammal assemblages from El Mirón Cave. On the basis of the ecologic adaptations of this suite of fauna, the majority still extant, we have identified seven habitat types, which are plotted through time. The evolution of the small mammal assemblages at El Mirón reveals seven major climatic shifts that correspond closely to the climatic changes recognized in the Iberian Peninsula during the last 41 kyr.     

Developing Employment Interview and Interviewing Skills in Small-group Project Work

The value of communications skills in geographical education is briefly discussed. In particular the lack of interview and interviewing practice is noted. The use of realistic interviews as part of small-group project work has been developed at Salford over 10 years. The elements include the drafting of job and person specifications, the writing of a cv and covering letter, and the organisation and running of interview panels. Detail is given of how the whole process is assessed. Negotiation skills are also developed. An important element is the realism of the process. The principal down-side is the amount of staff time involved, but this is more than compensated for by the students' perceived value of the skills developed.     

Saxton's Maps of England and Wales: The Accuracy of Anglia and Britannia and Their Relationship to Each Other and to the County Maps

ABSTRACT

From measurements of the graticules on Saxton's two general maps of England and Wales—the atlas map Anglia and the wall map Britannia—together with other evidence, it is argued that neither map was drawn according to any specific projection, but that both were effectively produced as ‘flat-earth’ maps with the graticules superimposed afterwards. Digital versions of Saxton's maps and of a modern map, the 1:1 million Ordnance Survey transport map, are used in a number of comparisons by means of the computer program MapAnalyst. These comparisons allow the scales of the two Saxton maps to be determined. They also show that the maps are of almost the same accuracy in terms of the positioning of settlements, typically within about 4.6 kilometres, in spite of a difference in scale of a factor of about 3.6. This fact and the direct comparison of the two Saxton maps in MapAnalyst show that they are basically the same map, and it is concluded that a version of the wall map was the first to be drawn and that Anglia is a reduced copy prepared for the atlas. The lengths of Saxton's miles as used on the two maps are calculated and compared with other determinations. The relationship between the two general maps and the county maps is briefly considered, and it is provisionally concluded that the relationship is a close one.     

Scurvy‐related Morbidity and Death among Christopher Columbus' Crew at La Isabela,the First European Town in the New World (1494–1498): An Assessment of the Skeletal and Historical Information

This article explores the living conditions and specifically the possible etiologies of subperiosteal reactions among those seafarers who did not survive Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the Americas and died at La Isabela, the first permanent European settlement in the New World, which is located in the present‐day Dominican Republic. The town was founded in 1494 by Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) and occupied for only 4 years. This study analyses the macroscopic and histological evidence of the skeletal series excavated from this contact cemetery, which is presently curated at the Museo del Hombre Dominicano. Twenty of the 27 systematically scored individuals reveal subperiosteal bone accretions, and in at least 15 individuals, these accretions appear bilaterally. The morphology, distribution and healing stages of the majority of these lesions provide new, direct evidence suggesting severe adult scurvy, a condition caused by sustained vitamin C deprivation, which was common among seafarers before the 18th century. The historical context surrounding the individuals' death at the European contact settlement and the conditions and duration of Christopher Columbus' second transatlantic voyage to the New World represent key elements in the interpretation of these lesions. In this case, the evidence also corroborates the known failure of Columbus' crew to exploit the locally available foods rich in vitamin C. Scurvy probably contributed significantly to the outbreak of sickness and collective death within the first months of La Isabela's settlement, an aspect that inflects the current discussion about the degree of virulence of New World infections that decimated the European newcomers, who we conclude to have been already debilitated and exhausted by scurvy and general malnutrition. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

陕西韩城梁带村芮国墓地西区发掘简报

简报首次披露了梁带村墓地西区2007年发掘的10座中小型墓的信息,据出土玉器的纹饰特征等推断,这些墓葬年代为春秋早期偏晚阶段。这批等级较低的墓葬普遍有棺椁或单棺作葬具,但均不随葬陶器,而有少量玉器的现象在其他地区同时期的墓地是非常少见的,从另一层面揭示了周代芮国墓葬的突出特点。中型墓多有铜翣及串饰也较有特色,是研究周代墓葬制度的重要资料。M18出土铸有"虢季"字样铭文的铜鼎,则反映出芮国与虢国的联系交流情况,或可印证有关文献的记载。     

Late Mesolithic hunting of a small female aurochs in the valley of the River Tjonger (the Netherlands) in the light of Mesolithic aurochs hunting in NW Europe

The valley of the River Tjonger, situated in the Province of Friesland (the Netherlands), is rich in prehistoric organic remains. The fill of the valley, consisting of waterlogged sediments (peat, gyttja and sands), presents favourable conditions for the preservation of bone, antler and botanical remains. Numerous bones with chop and cut marks, in majority of aurochs (Bos primigenius), are known from several locations in the valley. The Late Mesolithic (ca. 8000–5500 BP) is especially well represented. In this paper we present a recently discovered small hunting and butchering wetland site dating to the Late Mesolithic. The site, named Balkweg, represents a single hunting and primary butchering event pertaining to a small female aurochs with a height at the withers of 134 cm. The morphology of the vertebrae and the phalanges as well as the Late Mesolithic date confirm the identification as an aurochs cow. Single event sites are underrepresented in the archaeological record due to their small size and poor visibility. The importance of aurochs hunting during the Mesolithic is discussed in this paper as well.     

Who brought in the rabbits? Taphonomical analysis of Mousterian and Solutrean leporid accumulations from Gruta do Caldeirão (Tomar,Portugal)

In the Iberian Peninsula, leporids, and specifically rabbits, play a key role in the understanding of hunter-gatherer economies. They appear to have been especially important in the Tardiglacial, when large numbers of small prey animals and of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in particular, are a ubiquitous feature of faunal assemblages from archaeological sites. Since a large number of non-human predators can also contribute to the formation of such assemblages, the ability to discriminate between bones accumulated by humans and by other kinds of predators is a key prerequisite to their interpretation. On the basis of systematic actualistic studies carried out on modern leporid remains produced by mammalian terrestrial carnivores, nocturnal and diurnal raptors, and humans, we identified diagnostic taphonomic indicators of the different predators. In this paper, the patterns observed on the modern material are applied to the taphonomical analysis of two archaeological samples of rabbit and hare remains from Mousterian and Solutrean layers of Gruta do Caldeirão, a cave site located in Central Portugal. Our results suggest that Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) were mainly responsible for the Mousterian accumulations, whilst the Solutrean ones were most likely the result of human activity. These data support the notion that, in Iberia, significant reliance on rabbits does not become a feature of subsistence strategies until later Upper Palaeolithic times.