bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construyendo una cultura de innovación. Una propuesta de transformación cultural
Authors: Naranjo-Valencia Julia C. , Calderón-Hernández Gregorio
Published: February 2015

Este trabajo presenta el modelo de transformación cultural para la innovación que se viene implementando en la empresa Sumicol, perteneciente a la Organización Corona. El modelo diferencia 3 fases: diagnóstico de la cultura actual, definición de la cultura meta e identificación de las brechas que deben cerrarse para alcanzar esa cultura. La investigación se llevó a cabo como un estudio de caso con énfasis en la perspectiva cualitativa realizada a partir de análisis documental, entrevistas en profundidad y grupos focales, y se complementó con una descripción cuantitativa de la cultura. Como resultado se estructura un modelo para el desarrollo de transformaciones culturales, se identifican los formadores de cultura y se establecen los rasgos culturales necesarios para la innovación empresarial.
Inertial effects on the generation of co-laminar flows
Authors: Braff William A. , Bazant Martin Z. , Buie Cullen R.
Published: February 2015

The assumption of low Reynolds number flow, or Stokes flow, is often applied to the understanding of a broad range of microfluidic devices, including micro-reactors, biomedical devices, and membraneless electrochemical cells. However, recent studies have shown that various inertial effects can play a significant role, even in microfluidic systems. In this work, two- and three-dimensional secondary flows are identified in a generic rectangular flow channel design consisting of a secondary channel feeding fluid into a main channel. We identify a scaling argument which is able to predict the occurrence of these secondary flows as a function of system parameters. The impact of these behaviours on the assumption of fully developed colaminar flow is investigated. This work considers a representative geometry, and identifies a set of conditions where inertial effects can play a key role in a microfluidic device.
Investigation of sheet-flow processes based on novel acoustic high-resolution velocity and concentration measurements
Authors: Revil-Baudard Thibaud , Chauchat Julien , Hurther David , Barraud Pierre-Alain
Published: February 2015

A new dataset of uniform and steady sheet-flow experiments is presented in this paper. An acoustic concentration and velocity profiler (ACVP) is used to measure time-resolved profiles of collocated 2C velocity ($u,w$) and sediment concentration and to measure the time evolution of the bed interface position. Ensemble averaging over 11 similar experiment realisations is done to evaluate the mean profiles of streamwise velocity, concentration, sediment flux and Reynolds shear stress. The repeatability, stationarity and uniformity of the flow are carefully checked for a Shields number${\it\theta}\approx 0.5$and a suspension number of$S=1.1$. The mean profile analysis allows to separate the flow into two distinct layers: a suspension layer dominated by turbulence and a bed layer dominated by granular interactions. The bed layer can be further subdivided into a frictional layer capped by a collisional layer. In the suspension layer, the mixing length profile is linear with a strongly reduced von Karman parameter equal to 0.225. The Schmidt number is found to be constant in this region with a mean value of${\it\sigma}_{s}=0.44$. The present results are then interpreted in terms of existing modelling approaches and the underlying assumptions are discussed. In particular, the well-known Rouse profile is shown to predict the concentration profile adequately in the suspension layer provided that all the required parameters can be evaluated separately. However, the strong intermittency of the flow observed in the bed layer under the impact of turbulent large-scale coherent flow structures suggests the limitations of averaged steady two-phase flow models.
Dynamics of elastic dumbbells sedimenting in a viscous fluid: oscillations and hydrodynamic repulsion
Authors: Bukowicki Marek , Gruca Marta , Ekiel-Jeżewska Maria L.
Published: February 2015

Hydrodynamic interactions between two identical elastic dumbbells settling under gravity in a viscous fluid at low Reynolds number are investigated using the point-particle model. The evolution of a benchmark initial configuration is studied, in which the dumbbells are vertical and their centres are aligned horizontally. Rigid dumbbells and pairs of separate beads starting from the same positions tumble periodically while settling. We find that elasticity (which breaks the time-reversal symmetry of the motion) significantly affects the system dynamics. This is remarkable when taking into account that elastic forces are always much smaller than gravity. We observe oscillating motion of the elastic dumbbells, which tumble and change their length non-periodically. Independently of the value of the spring constant, a horizontal hydrodynamic repulsion appears between the dumbbells: their centres of mass move apart from each other horizontally. This motion is fast for moderate values of the spring constant $k$, and slows down when $k$ tends to zero or to infinity; in these limiting cases we recover the periodic dynamics reported in the literature. For moderate values of the spring constant, and different initial configurations, we observe the existence of a universal time-dependent solution to which the system converges after an initial relaxation phase. The tumbling time and the width of the trajectories in the centre-of-mass frame increase with time. In addition to its fundamental significance, the benchmark solution presented here is important to understanding general features of systems with a larger number of elastic particles, in regular and random configurations.
Fast transient microjets induced by hemispherical cavitation bubbles
Authors: Gonzalez Avila Silvestre Roberto , Song Chaolong , Ohl Claus-Dieter
Published: February 2015

We report on a novel method to generate fast transient microjets and study their characteristics. The simple device consists of two electrodes on a substrate with a hole in between. The side of the substrate with the electrodes is submerged in a liquid. Two separate microjets exit through the tapered hole after an electrical discharge is induced between the electrodes. They are formed during the expansion and collapse of a single cavitation bubble. The cavitation bubble dynamics as well as the jets were studied with high-speed photography at up to 500 000 f.p.s. With increasing jet velocity they become unstable and spray formation is observed. The jet created during expansion (first jet) is in most cases slower than the jet created during bubble collapse, which can reach up to$400~\text{m}~\text{s}^{-1}$. The spray exiting the orifice is at least in part due to the presence of cavitation in the microchannel as observed by high-speed recording. The effect of viscosity was tested using silicone oil of 10, 50 and 100 cSt. Interestingly, for all liquids the transition from a stable to an unstable jet occurs at$We\sim 4600$. We demonstrate that these microjets can penetrate into soft material; thus they can be potentially used as a needleless drug delivery device.
On the role of adaptivity for robust laminar flow control
Authors: Fabbiane Nicolò , Simon Bernhard , Fischer Felix , Grundmann Sven , Bagheri Shervin , Henningson Dan S.
Published: February 2015

In boundary-layer flows, one may reduce skin-friction drag by delaying the onset of laminar-to-turbulent transition via the attenuation of small-amplitude Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves. In this work, we use numerical simulations and experiments to compare the robustness of adaptive and model-based techniques for reducing the growth of two-dimensional TS disturbances. In numerical simulations, the optimal linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator shows the best performance under the conditions it was designed for. However, it is found that the performance deteriorates linearly with the drift of the Reynolds number from its nominal value. As a result, an order-of-magnitude loss of performance is observed when applying the computation-based LQG controller in wind-tunnel experiments. In contrast, it is shown that the adaptive filtered-X least-mean-squares (FXLMS) algorithm is able to maintain an essentially constant performance for significant deviations of the nominal values of the disturbance amplitude and Reynolds number.
The effect of seam imperfections on the unsteady flow within a fluid-filled torus
Authors: Calabretto Sophie A. W. , Mattner Trent W. , Denier James P.
Published: February 2015

We consider the behaviour of the flow within a fluid-filled torus when there is a sudden change in the rotation rate of the torus. Experimental work on this problem by Madden & Mullin (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 265, 1994, p. 217) demonstrated a flow with a rich and complex dynamics. In particular, planar (top-down) flow visualisation images show a well-defined laminar band at both the inner and outer bend of the toroidal pipe. Hewitt et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 688, 2011, pp. 88–119) demonstrated the existence of finite-time singularities in the resulting viscous boundary layers, and linked the post-singularity structure to one of the laminar bands identified in experiments (Madden & Mullin J. Fluid Mech., vol. 265, 1994, p. 217; del Pino et al.Phys. Fluids, vol. 20 (12), 2008, 124104). The second band (or laminar front) identified by Madden & Mullin was conjectured by Hewitt et al. to be the result of a centrifugal instability, perhaps generated by small imperfections in the experimental apparatus. Here we explore this conjecture further, demonstrating that a small seam imperfection can generate substantial secondary motion but with considerably different dynamics than the centrifugally driven instability of Hewitt et al.
Static and dynamic networks in interbank markets
Authors: COHEN-COLE ETHAN , PATACCHINI ELEONORA , ZENOU YVES
Published: February 2015

This paper proposes a model of network interactions in the interbank market. Our innovation is to model systemic risk in the interbank network as the propagation of incentives or strategic behavior rather than the propagation of losses after default. Transmission in our model is not based on default. Instead, we explain bank profitability based on competition incentives and the outcome of a strategic game. As competitors' lending decisions change, banks adjust their own decisions as a result: generating a “transmission” of shocks through the system. We provide a unique equilibrium characterization of a static model, and embed this model into a full dynamic model of network formation. We also determine the key bank, which is the bank that is crucial for the stability of the financial network.
Simultaneous modeling of initial conditions and time heterogeneity in dynamic networks: An application to Foreign Direct Investments
Authors: KOSKINEN JOHAN , CAIMO ALBERTO , LOMI ALESSANDRO
Published: February 2015

In dynamic networks, the presence of ties are subject both to endogenous network dependencies and spatial dependencies. Current statistical models for change over time are typically defined relative to some initial condition, thus skirting the issue of where the first network came from. Additionally, while these longitudinal network models may explain the dynamics of change in the network over time, they do not explain the change in those dynamics. We propose an extension to the longitudinal exponential random graph model that allows for simultaneous inference of the changes over time and the initial conditions, as well as relaxing assumptions of time-homogeneity. Estimation draws on recent Bayesian approaches for cross-sectional exponential random graph models and Bayesian hierarchical models. This is developed in the context of foreign direct investment relations in the global electricity industry in 1995–2003. International investment relations are known to be affected by factors related to: (i) the initial conditions determined by the geographical locations; (ii) time-dependent fluctuations in the global intensity of investment flows; and (iii) endogenous network dependencies. We rely on the well-known gravity model used in research on international trade to represent how spatial embedding and endogenous network dependencies jointly shape the dynamics of investment relations.
A spatial multi-scale object to analyze road networks
Authors: LAGESSE C. , BORDIN P. , DOUADY S.
Published: February 2015

City road networks have been extensively studied for their social significance or to quantify their connections and centralities, but often their geographical origin is forgotten. This work focuses on the spatial-geographical and geometrical aspects of the road network skeleton. Following previous work, a multi-scale object, the way, is constructed, based only on the local geometry at road crossings. The best method to reconstruct significant elements is investigated. The results show that this object is geographically meaningful, with many particular characteristics. A new indicator, structurality, is introduced and compared with previous indicators, on the cities of Paris and Avignon. Structurality appears to be stable over the borders of the map sample, and is able to reveal the underlying coherence of the road network. This stability can be interpreted as coming from the particular way the network developed in time, and was later preserved. This link with the historical development of the cites, which deserves to be further studied, is exemplified in the cases of Villers-sur-Mer (France) and Manaus (Brazil). The construction method, the results, and their potential meaning are discussed in detail so that they can be used in various related disciplines, such as sociology, town planning, geomatics, and physics.
C isotopic variations in the lower–middle Frasnian (lower Upper Devonian) of the Rudny Altai
Authors: IZOKH OLGA P. , IZOKH NADEZHDA G. , SARAEV STANISLAV V. , DOKUKINA GALINA A.
Published: February 2015

We conducted isotope–geochemical studies of the Upper Devonian of the Rudny Altai. Whole-rock carbon isotope analyses of the studied section represented by carbonate fore-reef facies reveal a negative excursion at the base of punctata Zone. When compared to conodont biofacies turnovers and the Upper Devonian events chart, the new data have demonstrated a synchronism between the negative excursion and the coeval decline in conodont biodiversity corresponding to the Middlesex anoxic event of the Frasnian Stage of the Upper Devonian.
Loss of helminth species diversity in the large hairy armadillo Chaetophractus villosus on the Tierra del Fuego Island, Argentina
Authors: Ezquiaga M.C. , Abba A.M. , Navone G.T.
Published: February 2015

The aim of this work is to compare the taxonomic diversity of parasite species of the large hairy armadillo Chaetophractus villosus in its native range and in another recently introduced population (Tierra del Fuego island), and to evaluate whether the isolation of the latter determines a decrease in its parasitic diversity. Forty specimens from Buenos Aires and Tierra del Fuego Provinces were collected and examined for helminths. Eleven parasite species were found in the native population, and only one species was present in Tierra del Fuego (Trichohelix tuberculata). This may be explained because isolation and climatic conditions prevent encounters between potential host species and infective forms of parasites. Further sampling will be needed throughout the entire Patagonia steppe to confirm how the characteristic parasitic fauna of C. villosus behaves across the armadillo's southern distribution.
Genetic characterization ofToxoplasma gondiiisolates from Portugal, Austria and Israel reveals higher genetic variability within the type II lineage
Authors: VERMA S. K. , AJZENBERG D. , RIVERA-SANCHEZ A. , SU C. , DUBEY J. P.
Published: February 2015

This study compared genetic diversity ofToxoplasma gondiiisolates from Portugal, Austria and Israel. For this, we genotyped 90T. gondiiisolates (16 from Portugal, 67 from Austria and 7 from Israel) using 10 nested PCR-restriction length polymorphism (RFLP) genetic markers and 15 microsatellite (MS) markers. By PCR-RFLP typing, 7 isolates from Portugal chickens were identified as type II (ToxoDB #1 or #3), 4 were type III (ToxoDB #2) and the remaining 4 isolates have unique genotype pattern were designated as ToxoDB #254. One mouse virulent isolate from a bovine fetus (Bos taurus) in Portugal was type I (ToxoDB #10) at all loci and designated as TgCowPr1. All 67 isolates from Austria and 7 from Israel were type II (ToxoDB #1 or #3). By MS typing, many additional genetic variations were revealed among the type II and type III isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates from the same geographical locations tend to cluster together, and there is little overlapping of genotypes among different locations. This study demonstrated that the MS markers can provide higher discriminatory power to reveal association of genotypes with geographical locations. Future studies of the type II strains in Europe by these MS markers will be useful to reveal transmission patterns of the parasite.
Beyond the Grave: Human Remains from Domestic Contexts in Iron Age Atlantic Scotland
Authors: Armit Ian , Ginn Victoria
Published: February 2015

The occurrence of human remains in Iron Age domestic contexts in southern England is well-attested and has been the subject of considerable recent debate. Less well known are the human remains from settlement contexts in other parts of Iron Age Britain. In Atlantic Scotland, human bodies and body parts are found consistently, if in small numbers, in Atlantic roundhouses, wheelhouses, and other settlement forms. Yet these have remained unsynthesised and individual assemblages have tended to be interpreted on a site-specific basis, if at all. Examination of the material as a corpus suggests a complex and evolving set of attitudes to the human body, its display, curation, and disposal, and it is improbable that any single interpretation (such as excarnation, retention of wa r trophies, or display of ancestral relics) will be sufficient. Although the specific practices remain diverse and essentially local, certain concerns appear common to wider areas, and some, for instance the special treatment accorded to the head, have resonances far beyond Iron Age Britain.
A New Bayesian Chronology for Mesolithic Occupation at Mount Sandel, Northern Ireland
Authors: Bayliss Alex , Woodman Peter
Published: February 2015

Mount Sandel has long been an iconic site for the Irish Mesolithic, having produced evidence for a sequence of occupation huts and pits and the earliest radiocarbon dates for the Mesolithic on the island. This paper presents details of a recent programme of redating whereby the application of Bayesian modelling has confirmed the early date for the site but also helped to refine its internal chronology. The major phase of hut building at Mount Sandel took place within a much shorter period of time than had previously been thought, perhaps only a generation or two. The dating of pits of differing sizes suggests that many of them were created during other slightly later visits to the area. The implications of the dating programme for the place of Mount Sandel in the Irish Mesolithic, and for the chronology of the period and its relations with that on the British mainland, are discussed.
Esoteric Knowledge? Ancient Bronze Artefacts from Iron Age Contexts
Authors: Hingley Richard
Published: February 2015

‘Esoteric knowledge is knowledge of the unusual, the exceptional, the extraordinary; knowledge of things that in some way lie beyond the familiar everyday world’ (Helms 1988, 13)

This paper explores the ways in which Bronze Age bronze artefacts may, on occasions, have been used in the commemoration of place during the southern British Iron Age. The chronologically-based typological systems adopted by archaeologists indicate that these artefacts occur out of their time as they were already several centuries old when they were buried, but it should not be supposed that Iron Age societies necessarily viewed these items entirely in terms of a linear sequence of time. While broadly similar in form and material to items in the cultural repertoire of contemporary society, the bronzes were also quite distinct in the particular forms that they adopted. That these items often appear to have been deposited at sites with a pre-existing monumentality may suggest that objects and places were felt to share ‘otherworldliness’. These items and places may have been used to construct esoteric knowledge through reference to spirits but it is also likely that particular acts of curation and deposition created genealogical associations, incorporating ideas of the mythical past into the context of the present. Drawing on the evidence for the form and contexts of depositions of these objects, this paper addresses the connected topics of what Iron Age society did to objects and sites derived from its own past and what we, in turn, do to (and can do with) the information derived from the Iron Age.
Pyhtää Susikopinharju (1), Finland: a Site with Mesolithic Dwellings
Authors: Lönnqvist Kenneth K.A.
Published: February 2015

The paper presents the excavations of a Late Mesolithic settlement and the dwelling depressions at Pyhtää Susikopinharju (1), Finland, in 1998. The excavations revealed the first Mesolithic house remains unearthed to date. A rich finds assemblage was also recovered, including unusual amounts of organic material such as refuse fauna and bone tools, and a chert microlith. Parallels for the Stone Age house/hut are found in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. The evidence suggests that the people were in interaction with a world that lay hundreds of kilometres outside their territory.
A Levallois Knapping Site at West Thurrock, Lower Thames, UK: its Quaternary Context, Environment and Age
Authors: Schreve D.C. , Harding P. , White M.J. , Bridgland D.R. , Allen P. , Clayton F. , Keen D.H. , Penkman K.E.H.
Published: February 2015

Levallois knapping debris is present beneath the sides of a disused tramway cutting connected to Lion Pit, West Thurrock, Essex. This occurrence, first recorded during the early 20th century, is in the basal gravel of the Taplow/Mucking Formation, which dates from the end of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 8. The relatively undisturbed nature of this knapping debris is confirmed by the incidence of refitting material, although finer debitage is absent, presumably winnowed out. The Levallois character of the assemblage is demonstrated by the occurrence of characteristic ‘tortoise’ cores and flakes with faceted striking platforms. The artefact-bearing gravel is overlain by >10 m of predominantly fine-grained sediments, including fossiliferous sands and massive clayey silt, as well as laminated silts, clays, and sands of possible estuarine origin. These are attributed to deposition under temperate conditions during MIS 7. To the south, a younger fluvial gravel, attributed to MIS 6, has been incised into the interglacial sequence. The top of the estuarine sequence has been affected by pedogenesis, both before and after its burial by an unbedded solifluction gravel.
‘Total Archaeology’ and Model Landscapes: Excavation of the Great Wilbraham Causewayed Enclosure, Cambridgeshire, 1975–76
Authors: Evans Christopher , Edmonds Mark , Boreham Steve , Evans John , Jones Glynis , Knight Mark , Legge Tony
Published: February 2015

This paper presents the results of fieldwork and archive ‘excavation’ relating to the causewayed enclosure at Great Wilbraham near Cambridge. Initiated in 1975 by David Clarke and John Alexander, the project effectively ceased after one further season following Clarke's untimely death. Combining original data with new results from geophysical and environmental surveys, a reappraisal of the site and its landscape context is offered. ‘The archive provides a context in which to ask how the project might have developed had it not come to such an abrupt end. It also serves as a platform from which to review the assumptions that underpinned the formal approaches to landscape modelling that were so popular in the 1970s and the methodological principles which informed New Archaeology ‘in the field’.
Beacon on the Ridge. Rock Carvings at Kasen Lövåsen, Bohuslän, Sweden
Authors: Coles John
Published: February 2015

This paper discusses the rock carvings at Kasen Lövåsen, a site which now lies 5 km inland but, during the Bronze Age, looked out over a sea in process of withdrawal by the isostatic rise of the land. The site carries eight panels of carvings that have been the subject of several surveys and descriptions. Recent work has clarified the nature of some of these and revealed more. Carvings include discs, numerous boats, human figures (some explicitly male), including helmeted individuals, spear and swordsmen and paddle or torchbearers, duck figures, boots, dog-like creatures, and horse-riders. Composition and siting are discussed in relation to the quality and preservation of carving, dating, and to aspects of topography, communication routes, and sea level recession. The reasons and mechanisms behind transformations in the imagery are explored in terms of changing social symbolism and ideology in response to a rapidly changing land- and seascape.
Hominid colonisation and the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic of the West Midlands
Authors: Lang A.T.O. , Keen D.H.
Published: February 2015

The recognition over the last 20 years that the Quaternary deposits of the West Midlands cover a longer period of time than previously envisaged has led to a re-analysis of their contained Palaeolithic archaeology. Stone tools have been found in the region for over a hundred years and cover most periods of hominid colonisation from the time of the earliest occupants of the country over half a million years ago. Twentieth century research in the West Midlands, often led by Professor F. W. Shotton at the University of Birmingham, correlated the Palaeolithic of the region with the Quaternary geological sequence as it was then understood. Shotton identified the ‘Wolstonian’ glaciation as the key event of the Midlands Pleistocene, around which a chronology for the Palaeolithic could be built and gave an age of less than 250 kyr for this episode. Work since 1985 has compared the Midlands sequence with the oxygen isotope record of the ocean basins and shown that the concept of a relatively recent ‘Wolstonian’ is now untenable and that the former chronology built around it is too short for the observed events in the area. This new time paradigm, with the earliest occupation of the area thought to be c. 500 kyr, has made necessary a reconsideration of the chronology of the Palaeolithic and Middle Pleistocene of the area. This new time framework brings into critical focus the issue of reworking of the archaeology and its true age. The tools themselves present complications of analysis compared to many other areas containing a Palaeolithic record, perhaps most notably through the use of largely non-flint raw materials, some which may have been introduced into the area by early humans or an hither-to unidentified glacial event. This opportunity to present a new chronology of occupation comes out of the work carried out by the ‘Shotton Project’ based at the University of Birmingham, and by the University of Liverpool.
Spatial Relationships, Dating and Taphonomy of the Human Bone from the Mesolithic site of Cnoc Coig, Oronsay, Argyll, Scotland
Authors: Meiklejohn Christopher , Merrett Deborah C. , Nolan Richard W. , Richards Michael P. , Mellars Paul A.
Published: February 2015

This paper examines the spatial distribution of the human bone sample excavated from the Mesolithic shell midden site of Cnoc Coig on Oronsay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. Although no burials were recovered the information from the apparently isolated bone finds has been significant. Two types of bone group are distinguished, one that resembles the widely reported ‘loose bone’ phenomenon that is widely recognised from European Mesolithic sites. The other, represented by two bone groups at Cnoc Coig, is, at this time, restricted to western Scotland. It is dominated by hand and foot bones and appears to represent purposive behaviour. We concentrate our discussion on the latter phenomenon and place it within discussion of the nature of the later Mesolithic in western Scotland.
Rethinking the ‘Cursus Problem’ – Investigating the Neolithic Landscape Archaeology of Rudston, East Yorkshire, UK, using GIS
Authors: Chapman Henry P.
Published: February 2015

In terms of their interpretation, cursus monuments remain arguably the most enigmatic class of Neolithic landscape monument. This paper reconsiders this ‘cursus problem’ through the study of the complex of cursuses that surrounds the village of Rudston, East Yorkshire. Using a GIS-based analysis, it is argued that two distinct forms of architecture can be recognised. In the earlier phase it is possible to recognise the importance of somatic experience generated through movement along the interior of the monuments, incorporating elements of visual surprise in addition to constant visual relationships with earlier monuments. By the later phase, somatic experience becomes less important, with the cursus forming a more naturalised role in harmony with the natural landscape and less structured for movement. The results of this analysis have wider implications for the study of both cursus landscapes elsewhere and prehistoric landscape archaeology more generally.
Transforming Beaker Culture in North-West Europe; Processes of Fusion and Fission
Authors: Needham Stuart
Published: February 2015

‘It is the slippery assemblages and the social traditions they represent, that we are trying to precipitate from the mass of beaker data’. Clarke 1970, 33

The pottery we collectively call ‘Beakers’ is united by the thread of a potting and style tradition, Wrapped up in that tradition are also expressions concerning what such a pot is for and who it may represent. Both style and those embedded meanings mutate through the long currency of British Beakers. Indeed, the newly emerging chronology for Beaker grave groups suggests that there was one critical point of rapid mutation in both pot form and associated artefacts. This phase is referred to as a fission horizon, c. 2250–2150 cal BC, and it underlines the difficulties that past schemes of steady evolution have run into.

In reviewing the continental background for Beaker-carrying cultures, a corridor of Bell Beaker/Corded Ware fusion is perceived along the southern flanks of the Channel. This created a modified spectrum of Beaker culture which stands at the head of the insular phenomenon. The long ensuing currency of Beaker pottery and Beaker graves in Britain does not hold up as a unified, steadily evolving entity. Instead, three ‘phases of meaning’ can be suggested: 1) Beaker as circumscribed, exclusive culture; 2) Beaker as instituted culture; 3) Beaker as past reference. The fission horizon initiates phase 2.
The Cronk yn How Stone and the Rock Art of the Isle of Man
Authors: Darvill Timothy , O'Connor Blaze , Cheetham Paul , Constant Vanessa , Nunn Robert , Welham Kate
Published: February 2015

Reappraisal of an early 20th century excavation at the Cronk yn How round barrow near Ramsey in the Isle of Man suggests that a stone pair was demolished during the 3rd millennium BC to make way for a round barrow with a single central burial. It is suggested that one of the stones from the original pair was decorated with a series of motifs before being incorporated into the barrow. Some of the motifs used find parallels amongst later Neolithic incised rock art on the walls of tombs and houses, and on stone plaques. Other motifs, including what appear to be representations of deer, serve to expand the repertoire of known designs and highlight the potential of this kind of this rather understudied category of rock art. Parallels for the zoomorphic motifs can be found in Scandinavia. A review of other rock art within the Isle of Man revealed more than 70 recorded panels at 55 individual sites making this one of the more densely populated rock art landscapes in the west of Britain. Two main styles are represented, the passage-grave style, which includes the Cronk yn How Stone, and the cup-mark dominated style, or Galician Style. The latter accounts for more than 95% of recorded sites which accords well with what is known of the Isle of Man's cultural relationships during the 4th and 3rd millennia BC.
The Late Upper Palaeolithic Lithic Collection from Gough's Cave, Cheddar, Somerset and Human Use of the cave
Authors: Jacobi Roger
Published: February 2015

A first formal description is given of the largest collection of lithic artefacts from Britain to be clearly dated to the first part of the Late Glacial Interstadial. Much of this material is interpreted as having been left in the cave following hunting of wild horses and red deer in summer and winter. The large total of artefacts is suggested to be a result of small increments over a lengthy period rather than evidence of use of the cave as a base camp or aggregation site. It is possible that the cave took on an additional or alternative function as a funerary site.
Bridge to the Outer World: Rock Carvings at Bro Utmark, Bohuslän, Sweden
Authors: Coles John
Published: February 2015

The rock carving site of Bro Utmark in Bohuslän is one of the largest in Sweden. Its hundreds of carved images reflect a variety of Bronze Age concerns, and the boats, warriors and animals depicted demonstrate the work of master carvers in the period 1600-300 BC, but concentrated in the later Bronze Age (1100–600 BC). The site is central to a concentration of about 200 carved sites, burial mounds, and other monuments. During the Bronze Age, Bro Utmark lay near the shoreline of a sea which was 15 m higher in relation to the land. The evolving cultural landscape of the Bronze Age suggests incremental settlement in the emergent land, with shorelines and wetlands providing focal points for activity.
The Survey and Excavation of a Bronze Age Timber Circle at Holme-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, 1998–9
Authors: Brennand Mark , Taylor Maisie , Ashwin Trevor , Bayliss Alex , Canti Matt , Chamberlain Andrew , French C.A.I. , Fryer Val , Gale Rowena , Green F.M.L. , Groves Cathy , Hall Allan , Linford Neil , Murphy Peter , Robinson Mark , Wells James , Williams David
Published: February 2015

In 1998 a circle of timber posts within the intertidal zone on the north Norfolk coast was brought to the attention of the Norfolk County Council Archaeological Service. A subsequent programme of archaeological recording and dating revealed that the structure was constructed in the spring or early summer of 2049 BC, during the Early Bronze Age. Because of the perceived threat of damage and erosion from the sea a rescue excavation was undertaken during the summer months of 1999. The structure was entirely excavated, involving the removal of the timbers and a programme of stratigraphic recording and environmental analysis. A survey was also undertaken within the environs of the site which has identified further timber structures dating from the Bronze Age. Detailed examination of the timber from the circle has produced a wealth of unexpected information which has added greatly to our understanding of Early Bronze Age woodworking, organisation of labour and the layout and construction of timber ritual monuments.
Off-Site Artefact Distribution and Land-Use Intensity in Turkish Thrace
Authors: Erdoğu Burçin
Published: February 2015

In this article, the author investigates off-site artefacts distribution around the prehistoric settlements of Turkish Thrace and provides evidence relating to prehistoric land use. Intensive block and transect surveys were completed in two small separate areas in the Edirne region, as well as intra-site gridded collection of settlements. Since until now no intensive archaeological surveys have been conducted in Turkish Thrace, this work is unique for the whole region. Results show that most of the prehistoric settlements in the Edirne region can be described as mobile, reoccupied flat settlements. Most off-site artefacts were found either immediately or in small concentrations around the settlements.
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk: Interim Statement
Authors: Boismier W.A. , Schreve Danielle C. , White Mark J. , Robertson D.A. , Stuart A.J. , Etienne S. , Andrews J. , Coope G.R. , Field M.H. , Green F.M.L. , Keen D.H. , Lewis S.G. , French Charles , Rhodes E. D. , Schwenninger J.-L. , Tovey K. , Donahue R.E. , Richards M.P. , O'Connor S.
Published: February 2015

In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was identified as being of national and international importance, and was subsequently excavated by the Norfolk Archaeological Unit with funding provided by English Heritage through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

This report presents some of the initial results of the excavation. It sets out how the site was excavated, outlines the stratigraphic sequence for the site, and presents some provisional findings of the excavation based on the results of the assessment work carried out by project specialists and Norfolk Archaeological Unit staff.
Valuable and Useful: Mid-Holocene Stemmed Obsidian Artefacts from West New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Authors: Araho Nick , Torrence Robin , White J. Peter
Published: February 2015

Distinctive obsidian artefacts from West New Britain appear sometime before 3950 cal BC and terminate abruptly at 1650 cal BC. We propose that they had a wide range of meanings for their users and functioned in both utilitarian and ceremonial contexts, similar to more recent ground stone axes from Highland New Guinea. They therefore represent the earliest evidence for valuables in Papua New Guinea. Here we draw together studies of the technology, spatial distribution, and chemical sourcing of the artefacts, along with considerations of fragility and brightness, to evaluate competing models for their function as utilitarian items and as exchange goods. Whereas many artefacts were probably useful tools integrated within a mobile settlement pattern, others were clearly reserved for special functions, and many may have operated in both the utilitarian and ceremonial spheres.
An Investigation of Ancient Cultivation Remains at Hengistbury Head Site 6, Christchurch, Dorset
Authors: Lewis Helen , Gardiner Julie
Published: February 2015

Excavations at Hengistbury Head Site 6 (Dragonfly Ponds) in 1984–5 uncovered a rare sequence of cultivation features, with pre-Late Iron Age to Romano-British period spade marks and an associated cultivation soil underlying proposed Romano-British furrows and another cultivation soil (Chadburn & Gardiner 1985; Chadburn 1987). Keyhole excavations for soil micromorphological study of these features and soils were conducted in 1997 as part of a larger project on identifying and characterising prehistoric cultivation from soil indicators in the field and in thin section (Lewis 1998). Profile inversion indicators identified within the implement marks suggest that the spade-mark horizon may show ‘double-digging’, and that the furrows were probably created by post-Roman mouldboard ploughing. Excavation and soil micromorphology results are presented here, and the importance of the remains at Hengistbury Head to the study of ancient agricultural land use is discussed in terms of methodological issues.
Prehistoric Foragers and Farmers in South-east Asia: Renewed Investigations at Niah Cave, Sarawak
Authors: Barker Graeme , Barton Huw , Beavitt Paul , Bird Michael , Daly Patrick , Doherty Chris , Gilbertson David , Hunt Chris , Krigbaum John , Lewis Helen , Manser Jessica , McClaren Sue , Paz Victor , Piper Phil , Pyatt Brian , Rabett Ryan , Reynolds Tim , Rose Jim , Rushworth Garry , Stephens Mark
Published: February 2015

The paper describes the initial results from renewed investigations at Niah Cave in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, famous for the discovery in 1958 of the c. 40,000–year old ‘Deep Skull’. The archaeological sequences from the West Mouth and the other entrances of the cave complex investigated by Tom and Barbara Harrisson and other researchers have potential implications for three major debates regarding the prehistory of south-east Asia: the timing of initial settlement by anatomically modern humans; the means by which they subsisted in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene; and the timing, nature, and causation of the transition from foraging to farming. The new project is informing on all three debates. The critical importance of the Niah stratigraphies was commonly identified – including by Tom Harrisson himself – as because the site provided a continuous sequence of occupation over the past 40,000 years. The present project indicates that Niah was first used at least 45,000 years ago, and probably earlier; that the subsequent Pleistocene and Holocene occupations were highly variable in intensity and character; and that in some periods, perhaps of significant duration, the caves may have been more or less abandoned. The cultural sequence that is emerging from the new investigations may be more typical of cave use in tropical rainforests in south-east Asia than the Harrisson model.
Chariots of the Gods? Landscape and Imagery at Frännarp, Sweden
Authors: Coles John
Published: February 2015

The rock carving at Frännarp has been known for a century and has been the subject of many reports, always concentrating upon the detailed representation of Bronze Age carts. A new recording of the site has revealed the existence of many faint carvings, including small carts, many discs, and also a number of paired animals for the well-known cart designs. Field surveys around the site show a dense concentration of burial and other monuments in the immediate area. The Frännarp site must have served as a special focus here and also for a wider cultural landscape, and a land-based route is identified which may have aided access from further afield.
Excavations at a Neolithic Cursus, Springfield, Essex, 1979–85
Authors: Buckley D. G. , Hedges J. D. , Brown N. , Healey E. , Hurcombe L. , Kelly M. , Major H. , Milton B. , Murphy P. , O'Connor T. P. , Wilkinson T. J.
Published: February 2015

A long cropmark enclosure at Springfield, Essex, interpreted as a Neolithic cursus, was investigated betwee 1979–85 to confirm its date and establish a site sequence. The enclosure was c. 690 m long and 37–49 m wide the ditch being uninterrupted in all areas examined, features within the interior at the eastern end included a incomplete ring of substantial post-pits which it is suggested originally formed a complete circle. Peterborou pottery, predominately Mortlake style, Grooved Ware, a small amount of Beaker pottery, earlier Bronze Age urn sherds, and flint artefacts of the late 3rd-early 2nd millennium were recovered from the cursus ditch an other features. Collectively the evidence indicates a prolonged period of use. The results of the excavations a described, the site is discussed in its local and regional context and the implications of the excavation for our understanding of cursus monuments are considered.
Intra- and Inter-Site Variability within the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic: Evidence from Jebel Humeima (J412), South-west Jordan
Authors: Kerry Kristopher W.
Published: February 2015

Expanded excavations at the rockshelter of Jebel Humeima (J412) in south-west Jordan provide the basis for re-evaluation of its Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblage. Initially identified as Levantine Aurignacian, the sample is more closely aligned with the Early Ahmarian. The framework currently used for the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic, combined with spatial clustering of specific blank and tool types, is directly responsible for initial misidentification. This spatial clustering is thought to represent two distinct activity loci: early-stage core reduction and later-stage blade and tool production. This kind of technological and typological variability may also help account for some of the ambiguity within the current Upper Palaeolithic framework of the southern Levant.
Pit-digging and Structured Deposition in the Neolithic and Copper Age
Authors: Chapman John
Published: February 2015

In this article, the author identifies the concentration principle for the accumulation of large quantities of objects in the settlements of the Balkan Neolithic and Copper Age and suggests reasons for this principle. One of the chief examples of this principle is the structured deposition of objects in pits. After the characterisation of the location of such pits – whether under houses or in the open air, there is a discussion of the forms of deposits in pits – including human bone deposits, burnt deposits and unusual combinations of rare and quotidian objects, as related to different manifestations of the life-cycle of the pits. The structure of the deposits is investigated in the light of their immense variability. Rather than attempting to ‘explain’ all the cited examples in a global, structuralist manner, the pits and their contents are interpreted in terms of local strategies of categorisation of everyday and exotic materials used in social practices. This does not exclude broader forms of prehistoric rationality, which appear to endure over a long period of time and in many different regions. These findings are related to the wider social dynamics of enchainment and accumulation – two important long-term social practices characterising the Balkan Neolithic and Copper Age.
Bronze Age Accessory Cups from Lincolnshire: Early Bronze Age Pot?
Authors: Allen Carol , Hopkins David
Published: February 2015

Sixteen accessory or pygmy cups of the Early Bronze Age front Lincolnshire are illustrated and discussed for the first time: many were previously unpublished. The possible origins of the cups are considered and it is suggested that they had organic counterparts in domestic use more suitable for the lifestyle of the early 2nd millennium BC. The use of grog tempered fabrics is considered, leading to the concept of ritual use of the cups in traditional rites connecting society with its past. In the Early Bronze Age it seems very likely that the use of pottery was restricted to special occasions, and the cups in particular were used for drinking and smoking sessions, recognisable as part of both modern and past social gatherings and ceremonies.
A Late Bronze Age Landscape at South Hornchurch, Essex
Authors: Guttmann E.B.A. , Last J. , Gale R. , Harrison E. , McDonald T. , Macphail R.I. , Scaife R. , Waldron T.
Published: February 2015

A 2.5 ha open area excavation at South Hornchurch, Essex (London Borough of Havering) has revealed an extensive Late Bronze Age settlement on the Thames terrace gravels. The site is particularly significant because of the association of a circular ditched enclosure or ringwork with a contemporary field system, as well as clusters of enclosed and unenclosed circular structures. Two enclosures were formed by rings of pits or large post-holes. Placed pottery deposits and unurned cremation burials were found, mostly associated with structures and entranceways. Other finds include both plain and decorated Post Deverel-Rinibury pottery, burnt flint, spindle whorls, possible loomweights, perforated clay slabs, and a bivalve clay sword mould. The entire site was subsequently sealed by a buried colluvial ploughsoil which almost certainly represents the final phase of Late Bronze Age activity. The site's spatial structure, environmental context, and regional significance are discussed.