1,720,963 research outputs found
Libyan-Italian joint mission in the Jebel Gharbi (Tripolitania). The Holocene sequence of the Jifarah plain
No full textThe importance of Jebel Gharbi, the mountainous range
southwest of Tripoli, like the rest of the Libyan coast,
became particularly relevant during the Holocene. At
that time the territory may have played a key role in the
neolithization process which occurred along the southern
coast of the Mediterranean. Thanks to its central location
the Jebel can give an important contribution to
understand the exchanges which took place along the
coast from both the western regions of Maghreb and
from those to the East, mediated by the Nile Delta.
Another no less important theme to be explored are
the relations between the Mediterranean region and the
sphere of southern Libya, in the continental Sahara.
Though in both regions the pre-production phase is manifest
with similar modes of interaction with the environment,
the Sahara has its own characteristics belonging
to a complex of cultures (the Saharo-Sudanese complex)
which knew both very early ceramics together with herding
on cattle and caprines.
After a long cycle of research aimed at the reconstruction
of the chrono-stratigraphic sequence and the
paleoenvironment throughout Middle and Upper Pleistocene,
during the most recent campaigns the Jebel Gharbi
Archaeological Mission investigated the Holocene fine
sediments, and sites associated with them, which are
particularly numerous at the base of the Jebel escarpment.
As a matter of fact, no significant site for the
Holocene occupation was encountered in the inner region
of the Jebel. On the contrary, the most suited area
to the study of the Holocene occupation was the plain
that begins at the foot of Jebel and reaches the coast: the
Jifarah.
Since 2005 the Jifarah plain became the main investigation
focus of the Archaeological Mission in Jebel Gharbi,
while continuing survey activity also in the southernmost
area, to the limits of the Hammada el Hamra. In a
strip of land close to the base of the Jebel escarpment, the
Jurassic sandstone bedrock is exposed in the beds of
many small wadis. At several places the scarce thickness
of the alluvial deposits allowed the emergence of groundwater
through springs (this phenomenon may have coincided
with seismic episodes). The last campaign in the
field, in autumn 2010, investigated some relevant sites in
Wadi Allohim and the subsequent processing of the fieldwork
data has allowed us to establish a basic Neolithic
sequence for the Holocene Jifarah occupation.
The main problem that our research had to face is the
exclusive presence of open air sites in which most of the
records, especially concerning the bioarchaeological
component, was not preserved. Therefore we had to develop
a research methods that could overcome the limits
of the archaeological record. To answer this difficulty
paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction
were emphasized at the maximum.
The palaeoclimatic model of the Jifarah indicated the
presence of a long phase of relative humidity between
6500 and 3500 BC, preceded and followed by two arid
phases, the last of which represents the beginning of the
modern aridity. The abundance of water, and the resulting
wealth of vegetation, allowed for the continuity of
the occupation and encouraged the process of economic
change towards pastoral based organization. The Shakshuk,
Wadi Bazina and El Jawsh areas appeared the
most suitable territories for the survey.
A transitional phase in the early Holocene (Jifarah A:
Early Neolithic, 6150-5750 cal BC / 8100-7700 cal BP)
might have represented a continuation of the broad spectrum
exploitation economy by collectors who visited seasonally
ponds and marshes. The arid trend typical of
this period could have made the marsh areas more favorable
locations. Not be ruled out that the economic model
of these groups would include already goat breeding,
which at this time is known in the Neolithic layers of
Haua Fteah in Cyrenaica.
During the following phase (Jifarah B: Middle Neolithic,
from 4750 to 3650 cal BC / 6700 to 5700 and 5400
cal BP) the same region presents a large number of
hearths and mounds. These steinplätze are clear markers
of the presence of shepherds groups and a proof of
their short living on the territory. Along with the steinplätze
larger encampments were detected which functioned
as base-camps; they are located in areas rich in
vegetation where also gathering activities could be carried
out such as site SJ-00-59 at Wadi Bazina or site SJ-
10-96 in the Wadi Allohim.
Subsequently, after the arid interval of 3400 cal BC
(Jifarah C: Late Neolithic, from 3400 to 2450 BC / 5400-
4400 cal BP) the adoption of nomadic pastoralism seems
to have been the preferred solution
L’occupazione umana del Gebel Gharbi (Libia): modelli di adattamento e strategie di sussistenza nelle ultime fasi del Pleistocene
No full textCiviltà preistoriche del Jebel Gharbi (Libia). Progetto archeologico congiunto libico-italiano
No full text
Preservation and restoration of the Wadi Sura caves in the framework of the ‘Gilf Kebir National Park’, Egypt
No full textthe preservation of the caves with prehistoric rock art located in the Gilf Kebir plateau in
southwestern Egypt. The project was part of the cooperation program developed to establish
the Egyptian Gilf Kebir National Park (GKNP) protected area. Given their bad state of
preservation, the Italian conservation project focused on the Caves of Swimmers and Archers,
located along the Wadi Sura. Although only very few studies of this kind have been carried out
in the Saharan region, our work in the Gilf Kebir can be considered a pilot study, the results of
which should be evaluated in the long term. Results obtained to date and reported in this paper
provide analytical petrographic studies of the bedrock, a complete photographic and geodetic
survey of the two sites, data from climate monitoring, along with a preliminary consolidation
of some of the most at-risk areas of the two caves. Finally, laboratory experimentation led us to
select the most suitable materials for the consolidation of the rock, shifting in the direction of
nano-technology instead of ethyl silicate use because of the longer cross-linking process of the
latter in hyper-arid environments; the use of the latter can in fact result in extremely long and
expensive field seasons. These results will be valuable for the continuation and extension of the
project, which is currently suspended due to safety concerns in the region
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
