New evidence for the emergence of the human-pet relation in early Roman Berenike (1st–2nd century AD)

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Osypińska ◽  
Piotr Osypiński

Animals were as inextricable a part as they were indicative of the system of common ancient Egyptian beliefs. Their special role was manifested in a rich iconography and in multitudes of animal mummies deposited in the major sacral complexes. Seen in this light, the cemetery of small animals of 1st–2nd century AD date, excavated since 2011 in the Red Sea port town of Berenike, comes across as entirely unique, notwithstanding the spiritual aspects of cats, dogs and monkeys. Contrary to Egyptian animal burials of all periods associated with human ones, the Berenike inhumations were not intended as afterlife companions of their last owners; neither were they ever mummified. Recent results of research present the variety of species kept in the households and insight into their behaviour. Pathological changes on one of the dog skeletons suggest a deadly condition, that is, osteosarcoma. The Berenike data also shed new light on the distribution of the cat beyond Egypt and a rising preference for keeping the animal as a pet in Europe and the Middle East.

Author(s):  
Rupert Brandmeier

This paper concerns a probable shipwreck cargo of Aqaba amphorae, which was discovered during the second season of the survey project along the Saudi Arabian coast, initiated by nautical archaeologists of Philipps-University Marburg and conducted in cooperation with members of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Heritage in autumn 2013. Seafaring and sea trade was, according to the few ancient sources and modern research activities, a hazardous endeavor in antiquity. Transport containers like the Aqaba Amphorae played a major role in sea trade, a significant number of which have been detected on various sites along the Red Sea coast and its hinterland. The chronological classification as well as the application is far from complete, and recent archaeometrical investigations help to clarify the logistical aspects of manufacturing and distribution of Aqaba amphorae. Finding a number of remains of Aqaba amphorae at a supposed shipwreck site close to Jeddah delivers new insight into the maritime routes and activities along the western coast of Saudi Arabia. The documentary material currently available is the baseline for further research in the field of maritime archaeology as it pertains to trade in the Red Sea.


2020 ◽  
pp. 128-138
Author(s):  
A. S. Bik-Bulatov

The article uses little known letters of M. Gorky, many of which were published for the first time in 1997, as well as findings of Samara-based experts in local history to shed light on the writer’s work as editor-in-chief of the Samarskaya Gazeta newspaper in 1895. The researcher introduces hitherto unstudied reminiscences of the journalist D. Linyov (Dalin) about this period, which reference a letter by Gorky, now lost. The paper details a newly discovered episode of Gorky’s professional biography as a journalist: it concerns his campaign against a Samara ‘she-wolf,’ the madam of a local brothel A. Neucheva. Linyov’s reminiscences turn out to be an important and interesting source, offering an insight into the daily grind of the young editor Gorky, providing new evidence of his excellent organizational skills, and describing his moral and social stance. The author presents his work in the context of a recently initiated broader discussion about the need to map out all Russian periodicals for the period until 1917, as well as all research devoted to individual publications.


Author(s):  
Sigrún Dögg Eddudóttir ◽  
Eva Svensson ◽  
Stefan Nilsson ◽  
Anneli Ekblom ◽  
Karl-Johan Lindholm ◽  
...  

AbstractShielings are the historically known form of transhumance in Scandinavia, where livestock were moved from the farmstead to sites in the outlands for summer grazing. Pollen analysis has provided a valuable insight into the history of shielings. This paper presents a vegetation reconstruction and archaeological survey from the shieling Kårebolssätern in northern Värmland, western Sweden, a renovated shieling that is still operating today. The first evidence of human activities in the area near Kårebolssätern are Hordeum- and Cannabis-type pollen grains occurring from ca. 100 bc. Further signs of human impact are charcoal and sporadic occurrences of apophyte pollen from ca. ad 250 and pollen indicating opening of the canopy ca. ad 570, probably a result of modification of the forest for grazing. A decrease in land use is seen between ad 1000 and 1250, possibly in response to a shift in emphasis towards large scale commodity production in the outlands. Emphasis on bloomery iron production and pitfall hunting may have caused a shift from agrarian shieling activity. The clearest changes in the pollen assemblage indicating grazing and cultivation occur from the mid-thirteenth century, coinciding with wetter climate at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. The earliest occurrences of anthropochores in the record predate those of other shieling sites in Sweden. The pollen analysis reveals evidence of land use that predates the results of the archaeological survey. The study highlights how pollen analysis can reveal vegetation changes where early archaeological remains are obscure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-151
Author(s):  
Jules Boutros ◽  

One of the most important facts that the Second Vatican Council has revealed is that the point of the Church is not itself, but to go beyond itself, to be a community that preaches, serves, celebrates, and witnesses to the reign of God with due respect to the text and context. During the past century, the Church of the Middle East experienced the absence of an authentic missionary enthusiasm and the lack of a clear and pertinent theology with which it could face the challenge presented to Christianity by Islam. This challenge resides in its special role and mission before the Muslims, which this paper will further discuss and, in doing so, answer the question, How can the Church of the Middle East try to approach the Muslims in a time of violent Islamic fundamentalism and persecutions, in a region where most of the Christians are opting to remain distant or to emigrate?


Antiquity ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (354) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Osypińska

The burial of animals is attested in Egypt from the pre-Dynastic period through to Roman times. This phenomenon is observed across different animal species and involves varied funerary practices, although mummification is the most significant. Against this background, a series of burials of small animals, under excavation since 2011 at Berenike, suggests a unique example of pet-keeping rather than the religious or magical deposits found in the Nile Valley.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Bashir Salau

The two versions of the autobiography that Nicholas Said published offer insight into 19th-century conditions in five continents as well as insight into life as a child, slave, manservant, and teacher. As a child in the 1830s, Said was enslaved in Borno, marched across the Sahara Desert, and passed from hand to hand in North Africa and the Middle East. After serving as a slave in various societies, Said was freed by a Russian aristocrat in the late 1850s after accompanying the aristocrat in question to various parts of Europe. In the 1850s, Said also traveled as a manservant for a European traveler to South and North America. Ultimately he settled in the United States, where he authored two versions of his autobiography, served as a teacher and soldier, got married, and disappeared from sight. This article compares the two versions of the autobiography that Said published, provides an overview of Said’s life, charts the development of scholarly works on Said, and draws attention to the primary sources related to the study of Said and his autobiography.


Author(s):  
Tamara Chalabi

This chapter proposes to explore the writing of Gertrude Bell through a few prisms: first, her interest in history and archaeology, and second, her private letters. It will examine how Bell’s interest in archaeology mirrored her interest in politics: just as in her political role, in which she was building a state, Bell attempted through her archaeological work and photography to create a mythology about the Orient. Bell’s private letters also provide an insight into how she interacted with men and the role of this interaction in realising her political aims and in shaping her life. The chapter will examine how these interactions were informed by attitudes towards women in the Victorian world she inhabited, whether in England or the Middle East.


2012 ◽  
Vol 393 (7) ◽  
pp. 641-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Wang ◽  
Qian Liu ◽  
Jin-Chun Chen ◽  
Yi-Xian Cui ◽  
Bing Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) shows an antimicrobial activity towards two types of clinically relevant bacteria. The potency of hIAPP varies with its aggregation states. Circular dichroism was employed to determine the interaction between hIAPP and bacteria lipid membrane mimic. The antimicrobial activity of each aggregate species is associated with their ability to induce membrane disruption. Our findings provide new evidence revealing the antimicrobial activity of amyloid peptide, which suggest a possible connection between amyloid peptides and antimicrobial peptides.


Author(s):  
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

Abstract Job advertisements for Islamic studies faculty positions provide material and significant insight into the construction and reification of a normative Islam. These ads serve to further entrench inaccurate notions of “authentic” Islam. Quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate how religious studies colleagues craft job calls that replicate stereotypes about Islam and Muslims, how the study of Islam functions, and an Arab and Arabic-centric emphasis. Such ads prefer specific regions (the Middle East), languages (Arabic), and subjects (texts). Ironically, this archive shows that ads for jobs in the field of Islamic studies frequently instantiate biases and stereotypes that Islamic studies scholars dedicate their careers to dismantling. Stated hiring preferences, including teaching obligations, entrench an “essence” of Islam or Islamic studies at odds with scholarly discourse about Islam, Islamic studies, and religious studies that may be summarized as a simple, troubling equation: Islam = Middle East + Arabic + texts.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document