Scanning electron microscope study of normal vertebrae and ribs from early medieval human skeletons

A method is described for the preparation of vertebral body and rib sections of archaeological context, for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The specimens included in the present paper are macroscopically normal and are male and female in juvenile and adult age brackets. The changing directionality of trabeculae and the changing ratio of trabecular bone to cancellous space are noted in relation to the age at death.     

Quantifying how much raw material is needed: A case study based on the weight of the lithic artefacts from the Brno-Štýřice III Epigravettian site (Moravia,Czech Republic)

This paper compares the quantification of different raw materials in a chipped stone assemblage by weight and by number at the site of Brno-Štýřice III in Moravia, Czech Republic. The use of the same reduction technology for all raw materials means that the Brno-Štýřice III assemblage is a good case study. The result demonstrates that semi-local raw material tends to dominate numerically, but in terms of weight, there is a significant change in the predominant raw material. The paper contextualizes the results in relation to other assemblages and discusses the possible reasons for this phenomenon.     

Groundwater discharges in the Baltic Sea: survey and quantification using a schlieren technique application

Groundwater seeps are known to occur in Eckernförde Bay, Baltic Sea. Their discharge rate and dispersion were investigated with a new schlieren technique application, which is able to visualize heterogeneous water parcels with density anomalies down to Δσ_t = 0.049 on the scale of millimeters. With the use of an inverted funnel, discharged fluids can be captured and the outflow velocity can be determined. Overall, 46 stations could be categorized by three different cases: active vent sites, seep‐influenced sites, and non‐seep sites. New seep locations were discovered, even at shallow near‐shore sites, lacking prominent sediment depression, which indicate submarine springs. The detection of numerous seeps was possible and the groundwater‐influenced area was defined to be approximately 6.3 km². Flow rates of between 0.05 and 0.71 l m^?2 min^?1 were measured. A single focused fluid plume, which was not disturbed by the funnel was recorded and revealed a flux of 59.6 ± 20 ml cm^?2 min^?1 and it was calculated that this single focused plume would be strong enough to produce a flow rate through the funnel of 1.32 ± 0.44 l m^?2 min^?1. The effect of different seep‐meter funnel sizes is discussed.     

Tracing sickle blade levels of wear and discard patterns: a new sickle gloss quantification method

Although sickle blades gloss is known to form during the harvest, which is a dynamic process and although it is known to be a type of wear which is the outcome of the repetitive encounters between the sickle blades working edges and plant stems; there is no common way to quantify its intensity. Since there is no consensus over a specific scale that will enable the estimation of the amount of wear, based on the quantification of gloss brightness intensity. In this paper we propose a new measurement system which is based on the projection of laser (He–Ne) beam on glossed sickle blades and an analysis of the reflected images. The results form a relative scale from which it is possible to infer on the sickle blades level of wear, and to create discard models.     

Comparing bird bones from Saxon sites: problems of interpretation

Bird bones from Saxon settlements in England provide evidence for considerable exploitation of birds, especially domestic poultry. This paper discusses some of the problems of analysing the relative importance of birds and of the ratio of fowls and geese. Detailed comparison of the results from sites in Southampton suggest that the first questions the faunal analyst should be asking concern methods of recovery and quantification. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The United States Manuscript Census as a Teaching Aid

Abstract

This article describes a new approach for analyzing data within national historical geographic information system databases that can be used to explore long-term trends in landscape evolution. The methodology is based on clustering together areas with similar demographic characteristics to define urban agglomerations whose territorial extents and populations vary over time. The resulting database can be used in a wide range of ways that allow the empirical study of urban growth and urban sprawl. The article is based on data for England and Wales but given the increasing availability of national historical geographic information system databases for countries around the world, the approach could be replicated for a wide range of different places.     

Bao Shichen and Agrarian Reform in Early Nineteenth-Century China

Known primarily for his reformist proposals in the areas of military affairs, foreign policy, the salt monopoly, and the grain tribute system, the influential early nineteenth-century literatus Bao Shichen 包世臣 (1775–1855) also made throughout his life numerous suggestions regarding the improvement of agricultural practice and of rural life. Contrary to the arguments of his older contemporary Hong Liangji that the empire was facing an imminent demographic and provisioning crisis, Bao argued that there was ample possibility for increasing crop yields, and improving popular livelihoods, if a more rational approach was taken to cropping decisions, farm labor allocation, agricultural commercialization, and local-level social organization. Bao was fond of quantification, and, far more than Hong, employed statistical analysis (albeit crude) to bolster his arguments. Fundamentally committed to increasing the power and wealth of the imperial state in the face of threats both foreign and domestic, Bao was highly optimistic that this could be achieved simultaneously with fulfilling his other basic commitment, relieving what he saw as widespread popular immiseration.     

长江三角洲区域政策强度的定量化及其演变过程——以区域开放开发政策为例

区域政策强度是政府投入影响区域经济格局的政策变量值的大小。区域政策强度的影响因素可分为政策自身内容和政策背景属性两类,前者主要考察政策工具体系,后者则主要考察区域政策的影响范围和政策实施保障能力。在此基础上提出区域政策强度定量化的指标体系,据此定量考察区域政策强度值的时空演变规律与特征。以改革开放以来长江三角洲实施的区域开放开发政策作为实证研究样本,经过区域政策强度的定量化分析发现:区域开放开发政策强度具有能级上的差异,不同类型区域政策的强度值变化特征不同,并在时间上呈阶段性和周期性,在空间上由等级梯度向扁平化转变。     

Techniques for Integrating Macrobotanical and Microbotanical Datasets: Examples from Pre-Hispanic Northwestern Honduras

What are useful quantitative approaches in situations with highly variable data quantities, contexts, and sampling strategies? How can paleoethnobotanical findings be interpreted without over-representing data or selling results short? Described here are several major issues and potential solutions. The four sites of the study are located northwestern Honduras, a region with fairly hostile environments for paleoethnobotanical preservation. For this reason, several types of botanical residues are combined to provide a more holistic picture of past ethnobotanical practices. In some cases, these data prove to be complementary, while in others, they are corroborative. This article includes tactics for integrating multiple sample protocols, multiple and overlapping diagnostic elements, multiple and overlapping clade categories, multiple and overlapping samples in a single locus, multiple and overlapping formation processes, and multiple and overlapping cultural practices. In each section, the issue, sampling strategies, quantitative approaches, and a few results are described.