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A Test of Dental Ablation Scoring Criteria
No full textIntentionally modified teeth provide a durable record of past identities, but their identification in archaeological samples has been inconsistent. This study assesses common diagnostic criteria for identifying intentional dental ablation by testing for false-positive cases of ablation in a control group of non-human primates where no true cases of dental ablation are expected. The primary author observed the dentition of 849 non-human primates from the National Museum of Natural History’s Division of Mammals, including great apes, lesser apes, and relatively large-bodied, Old-World monkeys. A smaller sample was selected for further study based on antemortem tooth absence and collection history. Seven different methodologies using combinations of six diagnostic criteria for the identification of dental ablation were chosen from a sample of published studies. To determine which criteria combinations may have falsely identified dental ablation in these specimens were, the non-human primate control group was analyzed based on anterior tooth loss, lack of disease, symmetry of loss, full healing of the alveolus, lack of evidence for trauma, and normal tooth spacing. All scoring methodologies produced false-positive results, many diverging significantly from expected results. Dental ablation was falsely identified in 2–17% of the non-human primate control group, with the highest false-positive rates when symmetry or normal spacing were not included as discriminating criteria. This work demonstrates the necessity for thorough and descriptive methodologies for replicability to be possible. It also highlights the importance of symmetry and tooth spacing as diagnostic criteria to avoid false positives.
Dientes con modificaciones intencionales dan un registro duradero de identidades pasadas, pero su identificación en especímenes arqueológicos ha sido inconsistente. Esta investigación evalúa los criterios de diagnóstico comunes para identificar la ablación dental intencional por medio de la prueba de casos de falsos positivos de ablación en un grupo de control de primates no humanos, donde no se esperan casos verdaderos de ablación dental. El autor principal observó la dentición de 849 primates no humanos de la División de Mamíferos del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, incluso los grandes simios, los simios menores y los monos del Viejo Mundo de cuerpo relativamente grande. Se seleccionó una muestra para un análisis más profundo basado en la ausencia de dientes antemortem y la historia del espécimen. De una muestra de once investigaciones publicada, se eligieron siete metodologías diferentes que utilizan combinaciones de seis criterios de diagnóstico para la identificación de la ablación dental. Para determinar qué combinaciones de criterios pueden haber identificado falsamente la ablación dental en estos especímenes si fueran humanos, se analizó el grupo de control de primates no humanos en función de la pérdida de dientes anteriores, la falta de enfermedad, la simetría de la ausencia de dientes, la curación completa del hueso alveolar, la falta de evidencia para traumatismos y el espacio normal entre los dientes. Todos los métodos de análisis produjeron resultados falsos positivos, muchos de los 2–17% del grupo de control de primates no humanos, con las tasas más altas de falsos positivos cuando la simetría o el espacio normal no se incluyeron como criterios de discriminación. Este trabajo demuestra la necesidad de metodologías exhaustivas y descriptivas para la replicabilidad. También ilumina la importancia de la simetría y el espacio entre dientes como criterios diagnósticos para evitar falsos positivos
"How to Do a Good Job of Body Snatching": Historicizing Radiogenic and Stable Isotopic Studies
No full textTo situate the contributions in this special issue, I historicize the isotopic study of ancient bodies. I begin with radiocarbon (14C) dating as developed by the physical chemist Willard Libby. Libby and team’s successful efforts reverberated throughout the sciences but were experienced most profoundly in archaeology. For Libby, this scientific advance engendered symbolic capital, and he was appointed to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) General Advisory Committee in 1950. As a member of the AEC, he analyzed radioactive strontium (90Sr) to determine the effects of radioactive fallout. Decades later, declassified records indicate that aspects of this work, while not illegal, were decidedly unethical. I see the full scope of Libby’s research, both its contribution and its opprobrium, as inceptive for bioarchaeologists’ radiogenic and stable isotopic studies. But less historic trivia, my consideration is offered as a cautionary tale for the subfield—about methodological innovation, ontological transformations, and the bioethics of analyzing human remains.
Para situar las contribuciones, sintetizo la historia del estudio isotópico de cuerpos antiguos. Comienzo con la datación por radiocarbono (14C), desarrollada por el químico-físico Willard Libby. El éxito de Libby et al. tuvo impacto en todas las ciencias, pero este impacto resultó más profundo en la arqueología. Para Libby, este avance científico generó un capital simbólico, y por ello fue designado como miembro del Comité General de Asesores (General Advisory Committee) de la Comisión de Energía Atómica (AEC) de Estados Unidos. Como miembro de la AEC analizó el estroncio radiactivo (90Sr) para determinar los efectos del polvillo radiactivo. Décadas más tarde, los registros desclasificados indican que este trabajo no era ético. Veo el alcance completo de la investigación de Libby, tanto su contribución como su oprobio, como incipiente para los estudios isotópicos radiogénicos y estables de los arqueólogos biológicos. Pero, más allá de la historia, mi consideración se ofrece como una advertencia para el subcampo—sobre la innovación metodológica, las transformaciones ontológicas y la bioética de la investigación de restos humanos
Religion and Power in Haiti: An Evaluation of Catholic Syncretism in Haitian Vodou
No full textIn the midst of crowded streets filled with world-famous restaurants, historical landmarks, and museums, rests a city with deep historical complexity: New Orleans, Louisiana. Controlled by France, Spain, and the United States at various times in history, there is a unique mixture of colonial influences. Though the city is part of the United States today, French history is far from forgotten. In fact, French influence is written into every detail of the city, from the ever-present use of the French language to the annual Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) celebrations. However, New Orleans also exists in a liminal space, caught between the fervent Catholicism and the oft-maligned Voodoo. For, in equal portions is New Orleans remembered as Catholic and Voodoo. In Jack-son Square alone, one can exit the historic St. Louis Cathedral, turn left, and within a three-minute walk arrive at a botanica—a religious goods store— with an active presence of Voodoo. One of these botanicas is that of Voodoo Authentica, a botanica that is a fusion of traditional New Orleans Voodoo and traditional Haitian Vodou
Fighting for the (Step)Motherland? Predictors of Defense Willingness in Estonia’s Post-Soviet Generation
No full textWhat makes individuals willing to defend their (adopted) homeland as their own? This is an essential question for all diverse societies. We turn to the case of Estonia, which inherited a sizable Russian-speaking population after the fall of the Soviet Union. Using recent polling data, we test demographic and attitudinal predictors of defense willingness among the first generation of males that have been raised in the republic since the restoration of independence. The results enable us to unpack differences between Estonian-speakers and Russian-speakers, as well as disagreements among the latter, which shed light on the state of social cohesion in Estonia’s national fabric
“The Swedish Principle is the Christian Principle”: Christianity and the Concept of the People in Swedish Patriotism during World War II
No full textTo strengthen Swedish patriotism during World War II, representatives of the Swedish Parliament and the Church of Sweden gathered at Stockholm’s City Hall and issued the motto “The Swedish principle is the Christian principle.” This study analyzes the role of Christianity in Swedish patriotism as expressed at that meeting. Using Viroli’s theories of nationalism and patriotism, this unifying message is found to contain a variety of understandings regarding the relationships between the Swedish people, Christianity, and the Church of Sweden. Christian faith was presented as part of both nationalism and patriotism and as both an instrument for increasing national loyalty and an objective in itself
South American Joyce: Polysemic Words and Vulgar Language in Brazilian Translations of Ulysses
No full textSeveral translations of the novel Ulysses by James Joyce exist in a variety of languages, even, recently, Chinese. It was published in 1922 and it was thereupon translated to German, French, and even Polish and Czech. One might be surprised to learn that three translations of the Irish novel have appeared in Brazilian Portuguese, with a fourth one planned to be published later this year. Unfortunately, the circumstances and the translators behind these publications have scarcely been considered outside of Brazil. Discussing these aspects highlights this marginalized country’s perceptions and contributions to the divulgation of Ulysses to Brazil along the years. I, thus, analyze the three Brazilian translations of the novel and their usage of polysemic words and vulgar language as I investigate them according to Lawrence Venuti’s concepts of domesticating and foreignizing translations. Analyzing the three Brazilian translations in terms of their foreignizing and domesticating traits is to address current transnational concerns in the fields of modernism, postcolonial literature, and translation, as a dialogue is brought to the forefront concerning possible connections and bridges the translators might have established between the two cultures and languages. This transnational trait is specifically important to marginalized cultures in order to highlight their contributions to Western novels, furthering, thus, the necessity and importance of understanding other perceptions of literary movements, in this case, modernism
Settler Colonialism and Science Fiction: Imagining the Worlds Turned Inside Out
No full textFor those who were not Indigenous to it, the Americas were once the ‘New World’, colonies, and distant and alien places. When it comes to imagining new worlds, there is no better new world than a literally brand new one. Mars is the closest, and humans recently hurled a few sophisticated objects at it. Billionaire Elon Musk is planning to hurl a few more in that direction and turn it into a colony. Mars, however, has been mainly an imagined place. Science fiction as a literary genre has imagined it, and many other new worlds, and has routinely done so to reflect on real or impending contradictions developing in this one. The contradictions are in a sense where the new worlds are imagined from, but the new worlds are imagined as colonies located somewhere else. This paper sketches the evolution of science fiction colonialism and focuses on the ways in which it is contiguous with a political tradition I have elsewhere defined as ‘the world turned inside out’
The Topos of Self-Discovery in Quest Narratives: Ben Okri's Astonishing the Gods as an Example of Minor Literature
No full textReview of: Mildred Trotter and the Invisible Histories of Physical and Forensic Anthropology
No full textA Review of Mildred Trotter and the Invisible Histories of Physical and Forensic Anthropology, Emily K. Wilson, ISBN 9781032180892, CRC Press, 2022
Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel
No full textReview of Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice. Rupa Marya and Raj Patel, New York: NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021. 484 pages. 20.00 trade paperback, $14.99 e-book.