Older Period Research Articles

Evolving landscape and cultural change during the Middle Palaeolithic in Southeast Zagros (Iran): Insights from a micromammal assemblage

The Iranian Zagros is a remarkable zone to study Middle and Upper Palaeolithic human occupations and Tang-e Shikan (Arsanjan) is a strategic cave site which archaeological evidence can be taken as a proxy for the southeast portion. Micromammals have been extensively used as palaeoecological indicators and here we use the assemblage from Tang-e Shikan to infer the landscape and environment that framed and arguably triggered cultural change. A thorough taphonomic analysis was undertaken prior to any interpretation. Fourteen taxa have been identified: two “insectivores” s.l., nine rodents, two lagomorphs, and unidentified chiropterans. The remains would be the digestion by-products of a category 5 opportunistic predator: either an avian raptor or a mammalian carnivore. Our results show that shrubland and grassland dominated the distribution of habitats in the area during the Middle Palaeolithic (MP), followed by moderate rocky, desert, and steppe components, and sparse patches of woodland. The younger period of the MP occupation (NMP: ∼55-45 ka BP) would be somewhat wetter than the older period (OMP: ∼70-55 ka BP). Within a general environmental stability, slight changes between OMP and NMP are reasonably correlated with a shift in certain cultural patterns, as the use of a water reservoir and a stone drainage system during the OMP or the increase of hunting and moderate change in lithic technology and raw material acquisition during the NMP. Our environmental inferences are further supported by palynological data and match a regional trend towards wetter habitats in moving from the MP to the present.

Nuevo hallazgo de arte mueble de estilo Paleolítico en el Noreste peninsular: la plaqueta grabada de les Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona)

This paper reports the discovery of a schist slab with 7 zoomorphic figures (deer, wild goats and/or bulls) and other engraved remains at Coves del Fem site (Ulldemolins, Priorat, Tarragona) in 2020. This find adds to the limited, although unique, repertoire of portable art of Palaeolithic style found so far in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed analysis of this piece and comparison with the artistic record known so far for the Mediterranean side of Iberia are key to establish the relative chronology of this find. The themes (a combination of animals and non-figurative motifs), the formal (simplified representations of animals with elongated bodies), technical (a schist slab with fine incised engravings filled with striated strokes) and compositional patterns of the motifs, with a complex palimpsest of figurative and non-figurative engravings distributed on both sides creating two non-scenic compositions, recall an art from the end of the Paleolithic artistic cycle. To these common elements, this slab adds certain singularities. First, two animals of different species are involved in a mirror symmetry composition,which is not unique to this site, but it is more common in older periods and with the animals distributed on both sides of a vertical axis, rather than horizontal, as in this case. Such distribution has no parallels in this final phase of the artistic sequence. Second, the microscopic analysis of the art reveals the preservation of red pigment inside the engraved grooves, showing the use of a mixed technique, involving a combination of incision and painting. This practice, used probably to enhance motifs and improve visualization, has been recorded in a limited number of Palaeolithic sites, most likely due to conservation problems. Third, the slab includes the first example of an engraved goat known in the Catalan repertoire. Overall, this find contributes to expand the repertoire of Catalan Paleolithic art, confirms the importance of the Tarragona province, concentrating most of the finds of Paleolithic portable art in Catalonia, and opens new perspectives in the study of Coves del Fem, substantially expanding the chronology of this site until the end of the Upper Paleolithic period. Finally, it brings a new example with its own peculiarities (the type of composition) for characterizing the art of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in south-western Europe.

Is Slovakia Almost a Hepatitis D Free Country?

It is assumed that the prevalence of hepatitis D in HBsAg-positive individuals reaches 4.5-13% in the world and on average about 3% in Europe. Data from several European countries, including Slovakia, are missing or are from an older period. We analyzed all available data on hepatitis D from Slovakia, including reports from the Slovak Public Health Authority and the results of one prospective study, and three smaller surveys. The determination of anti-HDV IgG and IgM antibodies and/or HDV RNA was used to detect hepatitis D. In the years 2005-2022, no confirmed case of acute or chronic HDV infection was reported in Slovakia. The presented survey includes a total of 343 patients, of which 126 were asymptomatic HBsAg carriers, 33 acute hepatitis B, and 184 chronic hepatitis B cases. In a recent prospective study of 206 HBsAg-positive patients who were completely serologically and virologically examined for hepatitis B and D, only 1 anti-HDV IgG-positive and no anti-HDV IgM or HDV RNA-positive cases were detected. In other smaller surveys, two anti-HDV IgG-positive patients were found without the possibility of HDV RNA confirmation. In total, only 3 of 329 HBsAg-positive patients (0.91%) tested positive for anti-HDV IgG antibodies, and none of 220 tested positive for HDV RNA. The available data show that Slovakia is one of the countries with a very low prevalence of HDV infection, reaching less than 1% in HBsAg-positive patients. Routine testing for hepatitis D is lacking in Slovakia, and therefore it is necessary to implement testing of all HBsAg-positive individuals according to international recommendations.

Spatiotemporal pattern of Neolithic-Bronze Age settlements and its driving mechanisms in Northern Haidai Region, China: Natural environment, social organization, and subsistence strategies

The spatiotemporal distribution of settlements and their environmental context since the Neolithic is one of the vital components for exploring past changes in human-land relations. However, little attention has been paid to the relationship between the evolution of the social organization, settlement patterns, and the corresponding environmental settings. In this study, the spatiotemporal distribution and rank-size of settlements revealed crucial aspects of the hydrogeomorphic conditions, cultural inheritance, and social evolution in northern Shandong Province based on the GIS analytical methods. The prehistoric settlements were primarily distributed in the pre-mountain plains and low mountain hills due to the change of water volume of big rivers and sea level fluctuations until the expansion to the northern plains during the Longshan period. Determined cultural sequences were demonstrated to be accompanied by different settlement development patterns. Most settlements in an older period were abandoned in the subsequently younger period except the Shang-Zhou period, indicating poor inheritance. The emergence of a middle and high-rank regional settlement system in the Dawenkou-Longshan period suggests a fundamental change in social organization, reflecting the transition from complex chiefdoms to early city-state kingdoms. Such a regional social stratification was intensified during the Shang-Zhou periods when a four-tier settlement system emerged. In addition, the solid cultural importation from the Dawenkou-Longshan period to the central and southern regions brought about the exchange and advancement of production technologies, which once established a solid position in agriculture. However, this was broken by drought and cold climatic events, and the complexity of the Yueshi cultural settlement system that subsequently emerged was substantially weakened. As an important area of Haidai culture, the natural driving force and social organization of ancient culture development from the Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age are of great significance for understanding the interrelationship between the origin and process of Chinese civilization and environmental evolution.

Transformations of place, memory and identity through urban place names in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

The paper looks at the renaming of streets as a significant aspect of post-socialist change using an example of the city of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. It discusses politics, processes and practices of (de-re)commemoration in street names, which reflect transformations of memory (remembering and forgetting), identity, heritage, power and resilience related to public space in a post-socialist city. Changing street names creates new connections between the past and the present and reflects political power struggles for control over contested space between various groups that tend to privatise their own history, heritage, memory, identity, places and symbols. The case of Banská Bystrica demonstrates strategies of the street renaming based on the decommunisation of names (done by restoration of the names from older periods or by introducing non-commemorative names), and on commemoration of names based primarily on local (or regional/national) heritage, events and personalities that might become areas of contested heritage.

Is “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities” principle applicable in biodiversity? – Towards approaches for shared responsibilities based on updated capabilities and data

The application of the “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (and Respective Capabilities)” (CBDR-RC) principle in the field of biodiversity received criticisms due to the lack of scientific evidence and/or outdated categories which in turn resulted in a knowledge gap in its applicability in policy-making. Reflecting on this research gap, we reviewed existing relevant publications by quantifying and evaluating the responsibility of different countries under various categories (i.e., low-, middle-, and high-income) for biodiversity loss. As concrete indicators, we used the five direct drivers of biodiversity loss by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to examine and identify biodiversity-related footprints and challenges, whereby the applicability of the CBDR principle was considered. Data on the national impact and positive contributions to global biodiversity were also encompassed, considering all available data from older periods as possible. The results showed that low-, middle-, and high-income countries contributed to biodiversity loss, with high-income countries as the largest contributor, indicating relatively high responsibility by developed countries. Meanwhile, developing (middle- and low-income) countries contributed about 44% of biodiversity loss. The results further indicated that the shared responsibility was not clear enough to be sorted out by a simple dichotomy between developed and developing countries and immediately applying the CBDR principle. Besides, the impact of global trade should be fairly attributed to consumer countries (frequently developed countries) and producer countries (developing countries). Moreover, the upward move in the income category in many countries in the last decades has not been fully reflected in discussions under the Convention on Biological Diversity. This means that the respective capabilities have not been considered in a timely manner in policy-making. As such, we propose non-binary “Differentiated But Shared Responsibilities (and Updated Capabilities)” (DBSR-UC) as a new concept, highlighting the need for incentives and burdens based on scientific evidence.

The zīndag ruwān ceremony in historical perspective

AbstractThe Pahlavi syntagm zīndag ruwān (NP zende/zinde ravān), literally “living soul / soul of the living”, designates a Zoroastrian funerary ceremony to be performed by priests on behalf of a person in his/her lifetime for the benefit of his/her own soul. It is particularly ordered by that person as a pre-emptive means to ensure that the funerary prayers will be recited, even if relatives are unable to do so, and to guarantee the protection of the god Sraoša in the passing away to the afterlife. In this contribution, I discuss the most relevant aspects of this Zoroastrian ceremony that can be extracted from the Pahlavi literature, and consider that its changes from older periods until modern times are due to diachronic, diatopic and socio-economic variables.

Place meanings of Dutch raised bog landscapes: an interdisciplinary long-term perspective (5000 BCE–present)

Few natural landscapes have been so negatively stereotyped as raised bogs. These stereotypes as well as knowledge gaps on bog perceptions have hampered the development of nuanced and realistic views on humans’ historical relations to bogs. We studied variation in eight bog place meanings (attachment, beauty, biodiversity, functionality, risk, admiration, historicity, and mystery) from prehistory to present by integrating qualitative archaeological and historical with quantitative survey evidence on Dutch bog areas. Virtually all place meanings were found in late modern and present-day material. In older periods, functionality, risk, and mystery were dominant. Daytime/night-time differences could explain the co-existence of apparently opposite place meanings. Physical bog landscape characteristics were important place meaning determinants, and similar meaning patterns across different bog areas underlined this. The long co-existence of mystery (and risk) alongside functional meanings may explain the persistent popularity of negative bog stereotypes.

Hatay Remaining Within Today’s Administrative Boundaries in Evliya Çelebi’s Travel Book Which is an Ethnographic Work

Osmanlı Döneminde XVII. yüzyılda yaşamış olan ünlü seyyah Evliya Çelebi’nin Seyahatname isimli eseri, dönemine kaynaklık eden detaylı bir çalışmadır. Seyyah, gezip gördüğü yerlere ve insanlara dair gözlem ve bilgilerini anlattığı eseri aynı zamanda etnografik açıdan değerlendirilebilen bir metindir. Bu nedenle, seyyahın eseri tarih, coğrafya, sosyoloji, gastronomi, arkeoloji, din bilimleri ve diğer birçok alanda çalışmalara konu olmuştur. Tüm bu bilim alanlarının yanı sıra insanın bilimi olan antropoloji için dönemin toplumsal yapı, kültür, mimari, ekonomi, dil, sosyal sınıf, eğitim inanç, gelenek ve ötekileri noktasında zengin bir etnografik veri sunar. XVII. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Döneminin gündelik yaşamına yakından tanıklık eden seyyah, zaman zaman mübalağalı anlatımlarının yanında seyahat ederken aynı zamanda katılımcı gözlemleri ile doğrudan veriler elde ederek eserini oluşturmuştur. Bu anlamda eseri hem kendi dönemi hem de kendisinden çok daha eski dönemleri içeren anlatılar ile doludur. Bu çalışmada seyyahın döneminde idari sınırları farklı olsa da günümüzde Akdeniz’in en doğusunda yer alan Hatay ilinin XVII. yüzyıldaki görünümü etnografik açıdan değerlendirilmiştir. Ayrıca seyahatnamede geçen ve bugün Hatay ili sınırları içinde kalan yerlerin inanç, ekonomi, mimari, doğal çevre, hastalıklar, ticaret ve etno-dinsel yapısı gibi konuların ışığında gündelik hayata ışık tutan verilere ortaya konulmuştur.

Tectonic Setting of Mount Agung, Bali: Insight From Petrology and Geochemistry Analysis

One of the longest arcs in the world originated from the complexity of subduction zones is the Sunda Arc that covers 80% of Indonesia's active volcanoes, from the Andaman, Sumatra, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Previous research in magmatism in Sunda Arc has conceded that the continental crust is in the west and becomes progressively oceanic towards the east. However, recent research has suggested that continental basement is more widespread than previously thought. Therefore, this study aims to re-evaluate the tectonic setting of Mount Agung, Bali, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Based on the results of published geochemistry data analysis and our petrological and/or mineralogical data, we found that Mount Agung was influenced by three cogenetic magmas and can be divided into 4 eruption periods, i.e., pre- 3200±60 BP, 3200±60 – 1870±40 BP, 1870±40 – 1040±50 BP, and post-1040±50 BP. These calc-alkaline magmas were derived from partial melting caused by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate within the Eurasian Plate. It produced basalt to dacite rocks with SiO2 varying between 51 and 63 wt%. As seen from the spider diagram, Rb, Ba, Th, K, and La – Sm contents are enriched, while Eu – Lu experienced depletion. In addition, the Nb content shows a negative anomaly, which is a characteristic of volcanic products from convergent plate boundaries. Based on the ratio of Zr to Zr/Y, it introduces that Mount Agung is affected by continental arcs. La/Sm to Th/Nb diagram reveals that in the older period (pre-1040±50 BP), the magma differentiation process is subduction-related enrichment, while in the younger period (post-1040±50 BP), there may be a slight influence from the presence of crustal contamination. Thus, these analyses presume that Bali Island has a continental basement (micro-continent basement), which may become the eastern end boundary of Sundaland.

Involuntary Unemployment Under Ongoing Nominal Wage Rate Decline in Overlapping Generations Model

Abstract We analyze involuntary unemployment based on consumers’ utility maximization and firms’ profit maximization behavior with ongoing nominal wage rate decline. We consider a three-periods overlapping generations (OLG) model with a childhood period as well as younger and older periods under monopolistic competition with increasing, decreasing or constant returns to scale technology. When there exists involuntary unemploymnet, the nominal wage rate may decline. We examine the existenbce of involuntary unemployment in that model with ongoing mominal wage rate decline (or deflation). Even if the nominal wage rate declines, we have a steady state with involuntary unemployment and constant output and employment. We need budget deficit or budget surplus to maintain the steady state depending on whether real balance effect is positive or negative. Also we examine the possibility to achieve full-employment by fiscal policy.

Early Oligocene—Late Miocene Wildfire History in the Northern Tibetan Plateau and Links to Temperature-Driven Precipitation Changes

Late Cenozoic wildfire evolution in Inner Asia has been attributed to both ice-volume modulating precipitation changes and surface uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Whether this is the case or not requires additional research and wildfire records from older periods. In this study, 251 microcharcoal samples from the Huatugou section in the western Qaidam Basin are used to reconstruct the early Oligocene-middle Miocene wildfire history of the northern Tibetan Plateau. The results show that wildfires remained relatively frequent before ∼26 Ma, then reduced gradually until ∼14 Ma, and finally increased slightly but still at low level between 14 and 12 Ma. The wildfire variations can be correlated to the steppe-based dryness changes, and both of which are coincident with global temperature changes. We infer that mean annual temperature might have played a dominant role in controlling wildfire frequencies in the northern Tibetan Plateau through modulating atmospheric moisture content. This conclusion is in line with previous studies including microcharcoal-based wildfire records of 18–5 Ma successions from the Qaidam Basin as well as soot-based wildfire records from Quaternary glacial–interglacial cycles of the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Archaeological and Geological Research for the Reconstruction of Settlement and Habitation Models along Hadzhiyska River and the Southern Slopes of Eminska Mountain, Bulgaria

The main objective of this paper is to present the fieldwork results ofarchaeological and geological investigations in the area of Hadjiyska river and the southern slopesof Eminska Stara Planina in Bulgaria. The area of interest is home to a large number ofarcheological findings dating back from the Late Antiquity (4-6th c.) and the Middle Ages (7-18thc.), and fewer from older periods (prehistorical, Thracian and Roman periods). Geologicalobservations show presence of alluvial, prolluvial-delluvial, and prolluvial hollocen sediments.Combining the results of archaeological and geological research allowed for (i) the verification ofthe hypothesis that older archaeological objects are covered by accumulated sediments, and (ii) anattempt to look into the livelihood in the area.

Fiscal Policy as a Solution to Involuntary Unemployment

We show the existence of involuntary unemployment based on consumers’ utility maximization and firms’ profit maximization behavior under monopolistic competition with increasing, decreasing or constant returns to scale technology using a three-periods overlapping generations (OLG) model with a childhood period as well as younger and older periods, and pay-as-you-go pension for the older generation, and we analyze the effects of fiscal policy financed by tax and budget deficit (or seigniorage) to achieve full-employment under a situation with involuntary unemployment. Under constant prices we show the following results. 1) If the realization of full employment will increase consumers’ disposable income, in order to achieve full-employment from a state with involuntary unemployment, we need budget deficit (Proposition 1). 2) If the full-employment state has been achieved, we need balanced budget to maintain full-employment (Proposition 2). We also consider fiscal policy under inflation or deflation. Additionally, we present a game-theoretic interpretation of involuntary unemployment and full-employment. We also argue that if full employment should be achieved in equilibrium, the instability of equilibrium can be considered to be the cause of involuntary unemployment.

Anthropometric and topometric characterization of patients with breast cancer

Background: Anthropometry is one of the simplest and most accessible methods. Breast cancer is largely associated with anthropometric indicators, such as weight, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist circumference.
 Aims: To examine the anthropometric and topometric characteristics of the mammary glands of patients with breast cancer.
 Materials and Methods: A total of 260 patients with breast cancer were examined from 2019 to 2021 in the Department of Onco-mammological Surgery of the A.I. Kryzhanovsky Krasnoyarsk Regional Oncological Dispensary. Anthropometric examination was conducted according to the classical method, and parameters such as height and weight were obtained. Organometric measurements were conducted according to the Body Logic System (Mentor Medical Systems B. V., USA), developed by Professor Dr. Hammond for Mentor, a silicone implant manufacturer.
 Results: In the study group, the average height, weight, and body mass index were 163 (158168) cm, 75 (6586) kg, and 28.96 (2432.87) kg/m2, respectively. A comparative analysis of the main anthropometric data of patients with breast cancer showed relatively higher body length values in the young adult group and conversely smaller values in women in the senile period, as well as the average body mass index and body mass index in the older group. In women, the average chest circumference of the mammary gland in the middle-aged group decreased by 9 cm in the older period and by 6 cm in the senile period. Similar changes were found in the chest circumference at the level of the nipples. In women, the average values in the middle-aged group decreased by 9.5 cm in the older period and by 4 cm in the senile period. The distance from the jugular notch to the nipple of the right breast showed significantly (p 0.05) higher values in the older group (by 6 cm) and senile group (by 4.7 cm) than in the young adult group and between the middle-aged group and older group (by 4 cm) and in the senile (by 2.7 cm) group. Similar changes were found on the left breast in the older group (by 5.75 cm) and senile group (by 5.25 cm) compared with young adult group and between the middle-aged group and older group (by 4 cm) and senile (by 3.5 cm) group. The distance from the level of the middle of the clavicle to the nipples showed significantly (p 0.05) lower values of the right and left mammary glands in the your adult group than in other age groups. The intermammary distance was significantly (p 0.05) greater in the middle-aged group (by 0.5 cm) than in the older and senile groups.
 Conclusion: Most studies on breast anthropometry focus on plastic surgery because clear anthropometric measurements of the breasts and their relative positions based on fixed skeletal and soft tissue landmarks are useful for assessing the condition of the patients preoperatively and for evaluating breast aesthetics postoperatively. Future studies in clinical practice should identify women with a high risk of breast cancer based on anthropometric parameters.

Age of the volcanoes of the Columbretes Islands (Western Mediterranean)

The Columbretes Islands, compose the only volcanic archipelago in the western Mediterranean, and are located on the eastern edge of the Ebro continental shelf, 50 km to the east of the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and constitute the emerging part of the Columbretes Volcanic Field. Only one volcanic structure is recognised on the surface, corresponding to Columbrete Grande, in which successive phases of hydromagmatic and strombolian volcanic activity are identified. The bathymetric analysis also identifies other monogenetic volcanoes, aligned according to two strikes: a main N170o E direction (formed by more than seven volcanic centres of phonolitic composition and which, at present, appears as small islets) and a second direction, N55o E (which belongs to the two volcanic centres of basic composition, one of which is Columbrete Grande). New K/Ar radiometric dating, along with the reinterpretation of the existing data and current volcanological criteria, allows two periods of main volcanic activity to be recognised: an older period with a basanitic composition (from 0.7 to 0.8 Ma) and a second period, of essentially phonolitic composition (from 0.2 to 0.3 Ma). The well-preserved morphology of submarine volcanoes indicates that volcanic activity has continued until much more recent times.

Presence of hydrocarbons on Mars: A possibility

There exists a fair degree of geological similarity between the internal structure of Mars, its orbital cycle, and axis tilt with that of Earth. The early plate tectonics along with subaerial volcanism have emitted oxygen as evident in the geological history of Earth during the Archaean–Proterozoic transition. The ancient Valles Marineris equatorial rift basin of Mars could have resulted because of lithospheric dynamics. The associated large-scale transtensional strike-slip during the Late Amazonian Period further implies manifestation of possible plate tectonics on Mars. The presence of the earliest organic species, 3.7 billion years ago, had been established on Earth. The presence of lake and ocean and evidence of glaciation infer probable evolution of life in early Mars. The depositional morphology like alluvial fans, debris flow fans, deltas, and lacustrine fans implies possible sedimentation processes active on early Mars. Organic matters on Mars could be in situ or could have been delivered by meteorites. The presence of organic molecules of benzene and propane in 3-billion-year-old rock samples has been evidenced in Gale crater. Deposition of source rock and subsequent decomposition of organic matter could have generated hydrocarbons in early Mars. A comparative geological phenomenon between Meso-Neoproterozoic petroleum geology of Earth and the equivalent Amazonian and older periods has been analyzed in the light of the envisaged hydrocarbon generation and entrapment on early Mars. Possible martian petroleum systems of the ancient Valles Marineris rift basin and crater-induced basins including prevalence of gas hydrate and abiotic origin of methane have been studied.

A New 40Ar/39Ar Analysis Method of Volcanoclastic Strata to Determine Eruption Periods—Example of Xintaimen, China

The Jehol Biota is famous for its diversity of Early Cretaceous fossils preserved under large amounts of pyroclastic materials. However, the precise determination on the ages of volcanoclastic strata is challenging, because of their complex provenance. The solution to this problem may lie in the greatly improved geochronological methods, such as the 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. In this study, we use the laser fusion 40Ar/39Ar dating method to date volcanoclastic samples and apply statistical analyses of the acquired apparent ages to determine the volcanic eruption periods. From the 12 volcanoclastic samples analyzed in this study, we obtained 262 apparent ages that vary from 85.5 to 153.6 Ma. By fitting these apparent ages with a Gaussian mixture distribution model, we find three age clusters that are normally distributed, with each cluster statistically representing an eruption period. The mean values of the three normal distributions are 90.37±2.72 (1σ), 109.89±4.94, and 125.26±10.01 Ma. A comparison of our results with a statistical analysis of literature data indicates that volcanic activities occurred over a wide spatial scale across western Liaoning Province during the two older periods, whereas during the last time period, eruptions occurred more locally and belonged to the final stage of volcanic eruptions in the basin. The method and results reported in this study provide a good example of (1) dating volcanoclastic materials using the 40Ar/39Ar method to determine the time periods of volcanic activities and (2) investigating the stratigraphic correlation in complex volcanoclastic basins.

Involuntary Unemployment Under Ongoing Nominal Wage Rate Decline in Overlapping Generations Model

We analyze involuntary unemployment based on consumers’ utility maximization and firms’ profit maximization behavior with ongoing nominal wage rate decline. We consider a three-periods overlapping generations (OLG) model with a childhood period as well as younger and older periods under monopolistic competition with increasing, decreasing or constant returns to scale technology. We examine the existenbce of involuntary unemployment in that model with ongoing mominal wage rate decline (or deflation). Even if the nominal wage rate declines, we have a steady state with involuntary unemployment and constant output and employment. We need budget deficit or budget surplus to maintain the steady state depending on whether real balance effect is positive or negative. Also we examine the possibility to achieve full-employment by fiscal policy

Wain, wagon and wayfarer

Abstract The runic inscriptions of the older period contain a series of terms referring to the notion of speed, agility and alertness in a broader sense. Most of these forms that occur on runestones are conveniently explained in terms of bynames and individual names (cf. Brylla 1993). The paper explores the structure of this lexical field which has two major sub-groups: (1) Weapon names designating attack and swift motion, and (2) Personal names and bynames invoking the notions of speed, travel and alertness. Subgroup 1 includes East Germanic material, whereas subgroup 2 seems to be restricted to the Northwest Germanic linguistic territory. The recently discovered Rakkestad runestone from eastern Norway affirms the relevance of this interpretation of personal names and bynames. The paper argues that this linguistic discussion is of socio-cultural importance in an overarching perspective of Early Norse society.