Western Asia Research Articles

Roman Power and the Memorial Turn in Civic Honourability in Western Asia Minor, ca 85 BCE-14 CE

Résumé Les honneurs accordés par les poleis hellénistiques à leurs bienfaiteurs ont longtemps constitué un moyen de créer une distance idéologique, intégrant le pouvoir des rois et des étrangers puissants, tout en maintenant l’action civique et l’autonomie. Quelles sont les évolutions sous la domination romaine ? Cet article suggère que les honneurs pour les magistrats romains, et plus tard l’empereur, ont contribué au cours du i er siècle avant J.-C. à modifier progressivement la conception des honneurs pour les citoyens locaux en Asie mineure occidentale : les objectifs traditionnels d’exemplarité et de reproduction sociale ont fini par être éclipsés, sinon remplacés, par celui de la commémoration individuelle. Ce processus s’est produit en deux phases dans la période allant de 85 avant J.-C. à 14 après J.-C. Dans la première, les bienfaits et honneurs accordés aux magistrats Romains en tant que représentants des intérêts civiques ont empiété sur ceux des notables civiques, entraînant une élévation du statut honorifique de ces derniers, et une tendance à souligner la mémorabilité de leurs accomplissements. Dans un second temps, l’apparition du principat et du culte impérial a imposé des limites au statut honorifique local et créé des hiérarchies honorifiques parmi les citoyens, autour des titres et de la primauté familiale, ce qui a mis l’accent sur l’individualité, au détriment de l’exemplarité.

World society and the convergence of consumer values: Buying patterns of eco‐certification in theUAE

AbstractEco‐certifications offer consumers the opportunity to vote with their money for more sustainable methods of production. While consumer‐facing eco‐labels are mostly recognized and consumed in western countries little is known about their performance in expat societies. This study applies world society theory to a sample of Arab, Western, and South Asian United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents to test whether globalization causes assimilation of familiarity, attitudes, and buying frequencies for major eco‐labels. The results show that respondents with Western ethnicities are more familiar with eco‐certifications. However, Arab, and South‐Asian citizens report similar or higher levels of importance for the purported benefits of eco‐certifications. Among respondents familiar with eco‐certification, we found no differences in buying frequency by ethnic group. Findings related to ethnicity support world society theory because social, environmental, and quality ideals converge among different ethnic groups in the UAE.

Топоры как товаро-деньги в контексте их ритуального и социального значения

During its history, money has undergone a complex evolution due to historical and cultural transformations in the different periods. Money as medium of account and exchange arose in the Neolithic era simultaneously with the new stage of social-economic relations, when the surplus of products takes on a commodity form and the barter exchange developed. In the Early Bronze Age (III millennium BC) the first statements arose, bronze and precious metals appeared in Western Asia including the Armenian Highland. At the same time measurement of weight was created in Mesopotamia, money expressed in metal objects became not only a price equivalent, but also medium of payment. The axe, as the most important tool and weapon, acquires the significance of money. Therefore, the Sumer/Akkadian shekel, which was the widespread unit of currency in Near East, originates from the word “axe”.

IMPLEMENTATION OF DIFFERENT CULTURES TO INFLUENCE POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a big problem that could cause effect adversely on postnatal mother’s mental health and cognitive and physical development for their children even though it is well known, disabling, and treatable. The prevalence of postpartum depression in the Middle East hasthe highest number(26%) but in contrast, Europe is on the lowest (8%). Postpartum practices traditionally are utilized for providing care to mothers. However, there are some evidence-based regarding particular outcomes of postpartum depression. Objective: To know about different cultures contributing to postpartum depression. Method: A literature review was conducted across 5 databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, PMC, Science Direct, and Taylor Francis Online between 2015 and 2021 which related particularly to cultural belief in postpartum and postpartum depression. The result will be determined by literature review. Results: There are a wide range of different culture that were implemented upon postpartum period in Western country and Asian Country resulting postpartum depression. Idealized mother, multitasking, having a good financial, job, bonding with infant, is emphasized in Western Country while Asian Country have certain culture in every region. However, gender is common in both nations to cause depression Conclusion: Postpartum depression is psychological disorder which can suffer during postpartum period culture is one of the included causes of it and gender preference is the most issue which lead postpartum depression. Keywords: cultures, postpartum, depression.

Wrack Burial Limits Germination and Establishment of Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus L.).

Seed burial under wrack, mats of water-transported plant debris, can limit recruitment of seedlings in wetlands. In a greenhouse experiment, we studied the effects of wrack burial (0, 1, 2, 4, 8 cm depths) on germination and emergence of the macrophyte Iris pseudacorus, native to Europe, Mediterranean Basin, and western Asia, that has invaded wetlands in nearly every global ecozone. We recorded the percentages of germinating, senescent, and quiescent seeds and evaluated seedling establishment and growth relative to substrate environmental variables. Seedling emergence of I. pseudacorus was reduced from >80% in controls without burial to <40% even at minimal wrack depths of 1 cm. Few I. pseudacorus seedlings were able to emerge from wrack burial of up to 8 cm in depth. We also found greater numbers of both quiescent seeds and germinated seeds that did not emerge from wrack burial. Reduced seedling emergence and increased seed quiescence with wrack burial were primarily explained by a reduction in daily temperature variation within the substrate. No senescent seedlings were observed with any depth of wrack burial. In view of our results, the management of I. pseudacorus invasion will be a long-term challenge, requiring continued control due to persistent seeds in wrack-buried seed banks.

Life-cycle analysis of an endangered migratory goose to assess the impact of conservation actions on population recovery

Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation actions is challenging for migratory species because a population can be impacted anywhere along its route. Conservation actions for the critically endangered Fennoscandian lesser white-fronted goose population include culling of red foxes in the breeding area and habitat improvements and reduction of illegal hunting in the non-breeding areas. One goal of the predator control strategy is to prevent adult birds from using an autumn migration route through western Asia, where mortality is believed to be higher than on the migration route through eastern Europe. We used 23 years of count data obtained at different staging areas to parameterize a seasonal state-space model describing the full-annual cycle dynamics of this population and evaluate whether the recent population recovery was linked to these conservation efforts. The results did not provide evidence that predator control influenced population recovery, as survival on the European route did not appear higher than on the allegedly riskier Asian route. However, adult survival at staging areas on both routes and at wintering sites may have improved in the last decade, suggesting a positive effect of the other conservation initiatives. These results emphasize the importance of including the non-breeding dynamics in population assessments of migratory species and highlight the challenge of evaluating the efficacy of separate conservation actions when a proper experimental design is unfeasible. Our study, which is a unique case of cross-national, coordinated conservation efforts, exemplifies how to model complex population dynamics to assess the influence of costly conservation initiatives.

Bullying Victimization and Juvenile Delinquency in Ghanaian Schools: The Moderating Effect of Social Support

Researchers from Western countries and Asia have documented that bullying victimization positively predicts juvenile delinquency. Other researchers have reported that social support considerably reduces adolescent offending. However, little is known about the role of social support in the association between bullying victimization and teenage delinquency. This study investigated the moderating effect of social support on the relationship between bullying victimization and juvenile delinquency in Ghanaian schools. Data for this research were drawn from the 2012 Global School-Based Student Health Survey. Negative binomial regression was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that bullying victimization significantly predicted adolescent delinquency. In addition, physical bullying significantly increased teenage offending. Moreover, parental and school support meaningfully reduced antisocial behavior. Finally, social support did not moderate the effect of bullying victimization on delinquency. The limitations and policy implications of this study are discussed.

A comparative study of disorders of gut-brain interaction in Western Europe and Asia based on the Rome foundation global epidemiology study.

Many studies have been published on disorders of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI) in Asia and Western Europe, but no previous study has directly assessed the difference between the two regions. The aim was to compare the prevalence of DGBI in Asia and Western Europe. We used data collected in a population-based Internet survey, the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study, from countries in Western Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore). We assessed DGBI diagnoses (Rome IV Adult Diagnostic Questionnaire), anxiety/depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-4, PHQ-4), non-GI somatic symptoms (PHQ-12), and access to and personal costs of doctor visits. The study included 9487 subjects in Asia and 16,314 in Western Europe. Overall, 38.0% had at least one DGBI; younger age, female sex, and higher scores on PHQ4 and PHQ12 were all associated with DGBI. The prevalence of having at least one DGBI was higher in Western Europe than in Asia (39.1% vs 36.1%, OR 1.14 [95% CI 1.08-1.20]). This difference was also observed for DGBI by anatomical regions, most prominently esophageal DGBI (OR 1.67 [1.48-1.88]). After adjustment, the difference in DGBI prevalence diminished and psychological (PHQ-4) and non-GI somatic symptoms (PHQ-12) had the greatest effect on the odds ratio estimates. The prevalence of DGBI is generally higher in Western Europe compared to Asia. A considerable portion of the observed difference in prevalence rates seems to be explained by more severe psychological and non-GI somatic symptoms in Western Europe.

Southern Europe and western Asian marine heatwaves (SEWA-MHWs): a dataset based on macroevents

Abstract. Marine heatwaves (MHWs) induce significant impacts on marine ecosystems. There is a growing need for knowledge about extreme climate events to better inform decision-makers on future climate-related risks. Here we present a unique observational dataset of MHW macroevents and their characteristics over the southern Europe and western Asian (SEWA) basins, named the SEWA-MHW dataset (https://doi.org//10.5281/zenodo.7153255; Bonino et al., 2022). The SEWA-MHW dataset is derived from the European Space Agency Sea Surface Temperature Climate Change Initiative (ESA SST CCI) v2 dataset, and it covers the 1981–2016 period. The methodological framework used to build the SEWA-MHW dataset is the novelty of this work. First, the MHWs detected in each grid point of the ESA CCI SST dataset are relative to a time-varying baseline climatology. Since intrinsic fluctuation and anthropogenic warming are redefining the mean climate, the baseline considers both the trend and the time-varying seasonal cycle. Second, using a connected component analysis, MHWs connected in space and time are aggregated in order to obtain macroevents. Basically, a macroevent-based dataset is obtained from a grid cell-based dataset without losing high-resolution (i.e., grid cell) information. The SEWA-MHW dataset can be used for many scientific applications. For example, we identified phases of the well-known MHW of summer 2003, and taking advantage of statistical clustering methods, we clustered the largest macroevents in SEWA basins based on shared metrics and characteristics.

Drowned Landscapes: The Rediscovered Archaeological Heritage of the Mosul Dam Reservoir

Like natural catastrophes or armed conflicts, resource extraction projects herald the alteration or destruction of natural and cultural landscapes alike. Dam construction is a major threat to cultural heritage in Western Asian archaeology. One event may result in obliterating hundreds of sites, most of which never reappear or do so only sporadically following cyclical water fluctuation. Destruction of sites remains ongoing, necessitating constant assessment of damage and the establishment of strategies of documentation and maintenance. This paper proposes a new paradigm for future safeguarding and, more widely, a new tool for managing contiguous terrestrial and lacustrine cultural zones. It outlines a new set of cost-efficient tools for observing these archaeological localities’ “emergence patterns” and quickly assessing damage timescales and site areas. As a case study, Iraq’s largest hydroelectric basin, the Mosul Dam reservoir on the upper Tigris, is discussed, as it offers several insights into tackling endemic issues of site recording, monitoring, and threat assessment in a constantly shifting environment. The research has profited from an unexpected drought in 2018 yielding archaeological sites and villages thought forever lost and is informed by new archaeological projects recently undertaken on the eastern bank of the lake.

Epidemiological landscape of esophageal cancer in Asia: Results from GLOBOCAN 2020.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a global health problem. Asia represents a huge burden of EC globally, and incidence and mortality vary considerably across different Asian regions. Data on incidence, mortality, and preference were extracted from GLOBOCAN 2020. Age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were calculated overall by sex, age, country, region, and continent. The predicted burden of incidence and mortality in 2040 was calculated based on global demographic projections. It was estimated there were 481 552 new cases of and 434 363 deaths from EC in Asia in 2020, accounting for 79.7% and 79.8% of world EC cases and deaths, respectively. EC incidence and mortality in Asia ranked the highest among all continents. Eastern Asia represents the highest age-standardized world incidence rate (ASWIR) of 12.3 per 100 000 for all Asian regions. Western Asia represents the lowest ASWIR of 1.7 per 100 000, accounting for 0.7% of the globe. There exist obvious differences in epidemiological features in Asian countries, including incidence, mortality, prevalence, and mortality incidence ratio. There is forecast to be up to 781 000 new cases of EC in Asia by 2040, with increasing rates of 63% for incidence and 72% for mortality from 2020. Asia has an increasing number of EC cases and deaths. Strategies for targeting in high-incidence areas, the elderly, and survival should be prioritized to reduce the global EC burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries in Asia.

The Silk roads: phylogeography of Central Asian dice snakes (Serpentes: Natricidae) shaped by rivers in deserts and mountain valleys.

Influenced by rapid changes in climate and landscape features since the Miocene, widely distributed species provide suitable models to study the environmental impact on their evolution and current genetic diversity. The dice snake Natrix tessellata, widely distributed in the Western Palearctic is one such species. We aimed to resolve a detailed phylogeography of N. tessellata with a focus on the Central Asian clade with 4 and the Anatolia clade with 3 mitochondrial lineages, trace their origin, and correlate the environmental changes that affected their distribution through time. The expected time of divergence of both clades began at 3.7 Mya in the Pliocene, reaching lineage differentiation approximately 1 million years later. The genetic diversity in both clades is rich, suggesting different ancestral areas, glacial refugia, demographic changes, and colonization routes. The Caspian lineage is the most widespread lineage in Central Asia, distributed around the Caspian Sea and reaching the foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan, and Eastern European lowlands in the west. Its distribution is limited by deserts, mountains, and cold steppe environments. Similarly, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan lineages followed the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya water systems in Central Asia, with ranges delimited by the large Kyzylkum and Karakum deserts. On the western side, there are several lineages within the Anatolia clade that converged in the central part of the peninsula with 2 being endemic to Western Asia. The distribution of both main clades was affected by expansion from their Pleistocene glacial refugia around the Caspian Sea and in the valleys of Central Asia as well as by environmental changes, mostly through aridification.

The genus Astragalus (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae: Galegeae) in Mexico

Astragalus is the most diverse genus within flowering plants with almost 2500 species, it is widely distributed around the world, very abundant in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, in central and western Asia, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan, central Asia, Europe, Mongolia, Siberia, northeastern China, and Japan. In the American continent it is especially abundant in Canada, western United States, Mexico, and South America. Given the diversity of Astragalus species present in Mexico, the recent description of at least 15 new species for this country, the absence of a recent study that encompasses all the new findings and that the last general study for Mexico dates back almost 60 years, we consider necessary a new taxonomic synopsis that encompasses all the new information, which is presented here. The study records 102 species of Astragalus in Mexico. This work is based essentially on the review of collections of specimen samples, type specimens in national and foreign herbaria, data bases, and the collection of specimens of this genus by the authors in the last 40 years and that covers practically the entire area where this genus is distributed in Mexico. In this study we recorded 102 species and 46 infraspecific taxa; seventy one species and 17 varieties are endemic to Mexico. Baja California (32), Chihuahua (25), Durango (23), Sonora (22), Coahuila (20), San Luis Potosí (17), Nuevo León (17), and Zacatecas (15) are the states with the greatest species richness. In Mexico, the diversity of Astragalus species decreases from north to south and from west to east. Most of the species of Astragalus in Mexico are distributed in the mountains, followed by low and arid plains, including coastal dunes, those last ones, exclusively of the northwestern region. There are no records of any Astragalus species in Campeche, Tabasco, Quintana Roo or Yucatan. The dichotomous keys are based mainly on the color of flowers, the shape of the pod and if the fruit is sessile or stipitate. For each species is included also a morphological description, habitat, altitudinal range, and distribution map.

Mitochondrial genome phylogeny reveals the deep‐time origin of Gomphomastacinae (Orthoptera: Eumastacidae) and its alpine genera in China

AbstractGomphomastacinae is a grasshopper subfamily in Eumastacidae, with a morphology and distribution distinct from other subfamilies. The alpine genera of Gomphomastacinae that inhabit the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China show unique characteristics adapted to high‐altitude life. However, their phylogenetic position and biogeographic history remain controversial. Thus, to determine the diversification history of these alpine genera and the origin of the subfamily, we obtained mitochondrial genome sequences from all seven Gomphomastacinae genera distributed in China. The reconstructed phylogeny was well supported and confirmed the phylogenetic position of Gomphomastacinae within Eumastacidae. Time calibration revealed a deep‐time origin of the subfamily dating back to the Cretaceous period, and the diversification among alpine genera was also an ancient pre‐Miocene event (30–50 Ma). Based on phylogeny and time estimates, the most likely biogeographic scenario is that Gomphomastacinae originated from an ancestral lineage that lived in East Gondwana and dispersed to Central and Western Asia through India. Subsequently, the alpine genera likely diverged along with the uplift of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and survived drastic climate change by in situ adaptation to high‐altitude dwellings.

Dual domestications and origin of traits in grapevine evolution.

We elucidate grapevine evolution and domestication histories with 3525 cultivated and wild accessions worldwide. In the Pleistocene, harsh climate drove the separation of wild grape ecotypes caused by continuous habitat fragmentation. Then, domestication occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus to yield table and wine grapevines. The Western Asia domesticates dispersed into Europe with early farmers, introgressed with ancient wild western ecotypes, and subsequently diversified along human migration trails into muscat and unique western wine grape ancestries by the late Neolithic. Analyses of domestication traits also reveal new insights into selection for berry palatability, hermaphroditism, muscat flavor, and berry skin color. These data demonstrate the role of the grapevines in the early inception of agriculture across Eurasia.

Defining paleoclimatic routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals across Iran.

Fossil and archaeological evidence indicates that hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia occurred throughout the Pleistocene, including the expansion of Homo sapiens populations out of Africa. While there is evidence for hominin occupations in the Pleistocene in Iran, as evidenced by the presence of Lower to Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites, the extent to which humid periods facilitated population expansions into western Asia has remained unclear. To test the role of humid periods on hominin dispersals here we assess Paleolithic site distributions and paleoenvironmental records across Iran. We developed the first spatially comprehensive, high-resolution paleohydrological model for Iran in order to assess water availability and its influence on hominin dispersals. We highlight environmentally mediated routes which likely played a key role in Late Pleistocene hominin dispersals, including the expansion of H. sapiens and Neanderthals eastwards into Asia. Our combined analyses indicate that, during MIS 5, there were opportunities for hominins to traverse a northern route through the Alborz and Kopet Dagh Mountains and the Dasht-I Kavir desert owing to the presence of activated fresh water sources. We recognize a new southern route along the Zagros Mountains and extending eastwards towards Pakistan and Afghanistan. We find evidence for a potential northern route during MIS 3, which would have permitted hominin movements and species interactions in Southwest Asia. Between humid periods, these interconnections would have waned, isolating populations in the Zagros and Alborz Mountains, where hominins may have continued to have had access to water.

Climate change and food security nexus in Asia: A regional comparison

Global climatic conditions are expected to become more variable in the future, which will have far-reaching impacts on food production. In Asia, many of these impacts have been measured, but a comprehensive analysis of the effects of climate change on food production at the regional scale is limited. In this study, two key issues were addressed. First, we estimated the actual trends in temperature and precipitation across 12 Asian countries in Southern, South-Eastern, Western, and Eastern Asia between 1970 and 2018 and examined their implications on food production. Second, we deployed robust estimation techniques and examined how climatic conditions influence food production across Asian sub-regions. The results show that annual temperature across Asian regions trends positively. However, a cross-country analysis reveals varied trends in annual rainfall. The regional results indicate that temperature significantly induces food production in all regions except South-Eastern Asia, where the effect is negligible. Rainfall promotes food production in Southern, South-Eastern, and Western Asia but is not favourable to food production in Eastern Asia. The findings also show that the impacts of climatic variables on food production differ significantly from country to country. Our results are robust and suggest that substantial investments in agricultural extension, research programmes, and improved irrigation infrastructure are critical to enhancing food production and security in Asia.

Rapid Arctic warming and extreme weather events in Eastern Europe and Western Asia

Rapid Arctic warming and extreme weather events in Eastern Europe and Western Asia

Long-term dynamics of Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) stands in the Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran

Although Oriental beech is the dominant and economically most important species in the Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran, little is known about its long-term dynamics and their drivers. To fill this gap, two small lake-mire complexes with mainly local pollen deposition signals and a larger peatland with presumably mainly regional pollen signals in the beech zone of the Hyrcanian region were compared using pollen analysis, AMS radiocarbon dating and ordination techniques. The pollen data confirm the long-term continuity of a regional mixed deciduous broadleaved forest cover dominated by beech-hornbeam stands with short intervals of co-dominating oak and, to a lesser extent, elm accompanied by lime, ash, Cappadocian maple and Persian ironwood. At the (extra)local scale, hydrological changes drove the development of Caucasian alder, velvet maple and wingnut. Except for the last 1–2 centuries, in which human intervention intensified, climate change was the main factor influencing forest structure and composition in the area. This study provides an important reference for ecological restoration of the unique broadleaved forests in Western Asia.

Classification and analysis of glass artifacts based on feature filtering

Glass is an important physical evidence of the early trade between China and the West. In the early days, the glass introduced into China was mainly pearl shaped ornaments from Western Asia and Egypt. Later, China learned its glass manufacturing technology and used local materials to make glass. Therefore, although the appearance of local glass products is similar to that of foreign glass products, their chemical compositions are not the same. According to the data, the classification rules of high potassium glass and lead barium glass are analyzed; For each category, this paper choose appropriate chemical components to classify them into subclasses, give specific classification methods and results, and analyze the rationality and sensitivity of the classification results.