Static penetration assessment of stone weapon tip geometry metrics and comparison of static and dynamic penetration depths

Many factors governed the penetration efficacy of prehistoric projectile weaponry. Archaeologists broadly focus their efforts on understanding the effect of stone weapon tips because these specimens are often the only part of the weapon system that survives in the archaeological record. The tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) and perimeter (TCSP) of stone weapon tips have been shown to correlate with target penetration depth. Here, using results from both static and dynamic penetration testing, we compare TCSA and TCSP against other tip geometry metrics: lateral surface area (LSA) and volume (V). Our analyses broadly show that using a single-point geometry metric evaluated at multiple locations along the length of the point, or using multiple geometry metrics evaluated at a single location, better predicts required energy than using a single-point geometry metric evaluated at a single location. Our results also show that in the case where a single geometry metric evaluated at multiple locations is used LSA provided the most robust prediction models. Finally, our results show that for the case where all geometry metrics evaluated at a single location are used the location that provides the most robust prediction model is dependent on how far the point penetrated the target.     

A missing link? Network analysis as an empirical approach for critical physical geography

Critical physical geography (CPG) calls for integrative research on material landscapes and the socio-political dynamics of scientific knowledge production. Network analysis, a rich tradition of tools and approaches for analyzing relational information, has seen little use in the CPG literature to date. This represents a fruitful opportunity, as many of CPG's core interests—knowledge politics, histories of scientific concepts, and ecosocial relations—can be effectively analyzed using network techniques. In this article, I argue for adapting network approaches to CPG. First, I provide an overview of various network concepts, approaches, and their origins. I then discuss bibliometric network techniques for “science mapping” including co-word, co-authorship, and citation analyses. Next, I describe discourse network analysis, a recent mixed-method approach from political science. Finally, I discuss overlaps with emerging approaches from qualitative and visual network analysis. In each section, I provide existing and hypothetical examples, as well as software and visualization techniques, that demonstrate how network approaches could add new insights to CPG and related scholarship. Linking CPG with the diverse traditions of network analysis has the potential to produce new empirical understandings and bring the field into conversation with a growing body of research that spans the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities.     

边疆地理名称与晚清川藏边务——以“川边”、“西康”概念为考察中心

晚清是近代中国边疆政治地理发生巨大变动的转折时期。随着边疆危机日趋深重,晚清时人逐步意识到慎重命名地理名称的重要性。川藏交界区域地理名称的生成、运用,经历了"炉边"、"川疆"、"川边"等名称混用,以"川边"为过渡性名称,到弃用"川边"、强调"西康"名称的过程。地理名称的变更与晚清川藏边务密切相关,特别是对"边"、"藏"界域之争的有力回应。探讨边疆地理名称多歧性、竞争性,则是本文将历史地理学研究与概念史方法相结合的一种尝试。     

Human adaptation and socioeonomic change in northeast China: Results of the Fuxin Regional Survey

Northeastern China is one of the centers of early development of agriculture and sedentary life, as well as of the subsequent development of social complexity and distinct cultural attributes. While the outlines of this trajectory are clear, its important details are still elusive. Like all other regions of northern China, there is little data on the all-important transition from nomad hunter-gatherers to sedentary agriculturalists. The Fuxin Regional Survey was designed as the first step in accumulating new data and addressing the geographic and ecological contexts of these socioeconomic processes. Among the most remarkable results of this survey is the identification of early ceramics, which possibly predate the transition to agriculture. The systematic collection and analysis of stone tools was done in a way never before done in this region. Analysis of our findings, using GIS and other methods, sheds new light on the local trajectory of human adaptation in this area.     

An analysis of spatial patterns of toponyms in Guangdong,China

The unique geographical environment and the historical waves of immigration of the northern Han Chinese to the Lingnan region have contributed to the development of a complex and unique culture in Guangdong Province. Four ancient ethnic groups, the Zhuang, Cantonese, Hoklo and Hakka, have resided in this area for centuries. As an important part of local culture, toponyms often survive changes in history and can reveal the temporal differences between the past and present in landforms and the spatial differences in the distribution of different ethnic group populations. In this study, two goals were sought: (1) the adoption of spatial smoothing and interpolation methods to reveal the spatial patterns of the Zhuang, Cantonese, Hoklo and Hakka toponyms based on comparisons among the proportions of those who speak various languages and (2) the investigation of the differences among toponymic layers under regional environmental conditions and the influences of geographic factors using an independent samples t-test and a binary logistic regression.     

Small things in perspective: the contribution of our blind tests to micro-residue studies on archaeological stone tools

Our blind tests are distinctive for they were conducted on replicated stone tools used for a variety of tasks that included the processing of animal remains and plants. The analyst was required to differentiate an array of residues from microscopic morphological characteristics, using light microscopy. The original aim of our first tests was to assess the analyst's ability to identify a variety of plant and animal residues, but issues and problems that arose during the testing process made it clear that greater value might be gained from the lessons that we learnt about methodology and the direction for future micro-residue research. We show that problems identified during our first tests stimulated research. Amongst other things, we learnt to distinguish plant and animal remains more confidently than previously. Our residue analyses are firmly embedded in wider archaeological research and our tests help to explain why there are sometimes contradictions between the evidence from archaeologically recovered remains and residues on stone tools. A further outcome of the tests is that we have adopted a multi-stranded approach that provides a cautious, but secure strategy for identifying and interpreting use-residues. Our studies of contaminants through replications have also been invaluable for distinguishing incidental residues from use-related residues.     

建国初期农具改良政策及实效分析

建国初期,为了迅速恢复和发展农业生产,在中央政府的领导下,我国农村开展了全面的农具改良工作.政府通过建立农具管理和服务机构,兴办工厂,开展宣传教育、发动群众,大量增补旧农具,积极推广使用新式农具.农具改良在一定程度上提高了农业生产技术,改进了生产效率,增加了农业产量,同时奠定了农机产业的基础,为后期的农业机械化进程做了铺垫.由于对农村的具体情况和农具的实际需求了解不充分,农具设计和制造水平低,新式农具质量较低,价格偏高,技术传授和维修服务差,经营管理相对落后,新式农具推广使用未能达到预期的目标,发挥应有的作用.农具工作政策和措施的失误,不仅造成了人力和物力资源的浪费,也损害了政府在群众中的形象.     

明清时期广东五邑地区政区变迁研究

广东五邑地区以潭江流域为中心,是一个相对独立的地理单元,但该地的政区边界却打破了自然山川的界限。从明代到清初顺治年间,为了应对以民变为首的地方政治危机,朝廷先后在潭江流域设置了恩平、新宁、开平三县。这些县级政区的边界大致与潭江流域的地理分界线重合,地理单元的独立性开始作用于政区划界中。清代雍乾年间,形成了新会、鹤山、新宁、开平、恩平五县分治潭江流域的格局。同时,随着新会县核心政区地位的巩固,流域内各县整合为一个统县政区的倾向开始加强,为后世潭江流域的政区整合奠定基础。明清时期潭江流域的政区变迁体现了地理环境和地方政治局势在政区格局形成过程中的根本性作用。     

Archaeozoological research on vertebrates in Central Europe with special reference to the medieval period

This paper is the outcome of a lecture held at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. It provides a summary in English of the archaeozoological research work which has been carried out in Central Europe during the last 30 years, with special reference to material from medieval times. It is shown that a thorough zoological analysis of bones from excavations provides much information for historical interpretation. Not only was the ratio of wild and domestic animals or of the different species of interest, but also the age and sex structure of the population by taking the function of the site into consideration. Some observations on animal teeth gave indications of distinctive handicrafts. Cut marks on cervical vertebrae of horse skeletons found as grave goods from early medieval times were considered in connection with beliefs and juridical conceptions of that time.     

What is Geography? Perceptions of first year undergraduates in South Africa

Disciplines such as Geography are well placed to respond to the changing needs of society and the effective application of geographical knowledge to real-world problems. This project surveyed first year Geography undergraduates’ understanding of “What is Geography?”, both before and after an exercise in which geographic topics were identified within recent newspapers. The survey instrument employed was an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire, and was undertaken with first-year undergraduate Geography students at a university in South Africa. Results show that the exercise enabled students (n = 158) to more readily see the application of geographical knowledge to both environmental and social problems that they identified in the newspaper stories. Students also identified that studying Geography may be able to help them increase their skills, employment prospects and earning potential. These findings can help locate the disciplinary concerns and applicability of Geography in post-apartheid South Africa within the wider context of the twenty-first Century world.