Token Finds At Pre-Pottery Neolighic ‘Ain Ghazal, Jordan A Formal And Technological Analysis

‘Ain Ghazal is a Neolithic site located near Amman, Jordan. It was excavated between 1982 and 1998 by an American-Jordanian team directed by Gary O. Rollefson, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wa. and Zeidan Kafafi, the University of Yarmouk at Irbid, Jordan. ‘Ain Ghazal was first settled about 7250 B.C., during the so-called Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period. In a matter of a few centuries the village of stone houses had spread over 30 acres along the Zarqa River. During a prosperous period when the mixed economy increasingly relied on farming, ca. 7250-6000 B.C., ‘Ain Ghazal witnessed what can be termed an explosion of symbolism. The site was abandoned in the Yarmoukian period ca. 5000 BC. The volume deals with the uniquely rich and varied ‘Ain Ghazal assemblage of symbols including tokens of many shapes, animal and human figurines, modeled human skulls, plaster statues and, mural and floor paintings.A collection of 137 clay and stone tokens from the Neolithic site of ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan was studied in terms of formal and technological characteristics. The assemblage includes spheres, cones, and other shapes that are well known from Near Eastern token collections. A visual technological classification based on surface and fabric characteristics was supplemented by petrographic and XRD studies of smaller samples of artifacts and local clay and stone raw materials. Results show some correlations between shapes and technological processes and close technological similarities among tokens recovered as groups, suggesting single episode production, use and discard.Art and Art Histor

Dual current readout for precision plating

Bistable amplifier prevents damage in the low range circuitry of a dual scale ammeter. It senses the current and switches automatically to the high range circuitry as the current rises above a preset level

On Coset Leader Graphs of LDPC Codes

Our main technical result is that, in the coset leader graph of a linear binary code of block length n, the metric balls spanned by constant-weight vectors grow exponentially slower than those in $\{0,1\}^n$. Following the approach of Friedman and Tillich (2006), we use this fact to improve on the first linear programming bound on the rate of LDPC codes, as the function of their minimal distance. This improvement, combined with the techniques of Ben-Haim and Lytsin (2006), improves the rate vs distance bounds for LDPC codes in a significant sub-range of relative distances

Grain refinement control in TIG arc welding

A method for controlling grain size and weld puddle agitation in a tungsten electrode inert gas welding system to produce fine, even grain size and distribution is disclosed. In the method the frequency of dc welding voltage pulses supplied to the welding electrode is varied over a preselected frequency range and the arc gas voltage is monitored. At some frequency in the preselected range the arc gas voltage will pass through a maximum. By maintaining the operating frequency of the system at this value, maximum weld puddle agitation and fine grain structure are produced

Microwave interferometer controls cutting depth of plastics

Microwave interferometer system controls the cutting of plastic materials to a prescribed depth. The interferometer is mounted on a carriage with a spindle and cutting tool. A cross slide, mounted on the carriage, allows the interferometer and cutter to move toward or away from the plastic workpiece

A Tale of Three Countries: Recovery after Banking Crises

Highlights: • Iceland, Ireland and Latvia experienced similar developments before the crisis, such as sharp increases in banks’ balance sheets and the expansion of the construction sector. However the impact of the crisis was different: Latvia was hit harder than any other country in the world. Ireland also suffered heavily, while Iceland came out from the crisis with the smallest fall in employment, despite the greatest shock to the financial system. • There were marked differences in policy mix: currency collapse in Iceland but not in Latvia, letting banks fail in Iceland but not in Ireland, and the introduction of strict capital controls only in Iceland. The speed of fiscal consolidation was fastest in Latvia and slowest in Ireland. • Economic recovery has started in all three countries and there are several encouraging signals. The programme targets in terms of fiscal adjustment, structural reforms and financial reform are on track in all three countries. • Iceland seems to have the right policy mix. • Internal devaluation in Ireland and Latvia through wage cuts did not work, because privatesector wages hardly changed. The productivity increase was significant in Ireland and moderate in Latvia, yet was the result of a greater fall in employment than the fall in output, with harmful social consequences. • The experience with the collapse of the gigantic Icelandic banking system suggests that letting banks fail when they had a faulty business model is the right choice. • There is a strong case for a European banking federation

Large-N Gauge Theories

Four pedagogical Lectures at the NATO-ASI on "Quantum Geometry" in Akureyri, Iceland, August 1999. Contents: 1. O(N) Vector Models, 2. Large-N QCD, 3. QCD in Loop Space, 4. Large-N ReductionComment: Lectures at the 1999 NATO-ASI on "Quantum Geometry" in Akureyri, Iceland; Latex, 69pp, 23 figure

New Constraints on the Timing and Pattern of Deglaciation in the Húnaflói Bay Region of Northwest Iceland Using Cosmogenic 36CA Dating and Geomorphic Mapping

Understanding the evolution and timing of changes in ice sheet geometry and extent in Iceland during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent deglaciation continues to stimulate much active research. Though many previous studies have advanced our knowledge of Icelandic ice sheet history preserved in marine and terrestrial settings (e.g., Andrews et al., 2000; Norðdahl et al., 2008), the timing of ice margin retreat remains largely unknown in several key regions. Recently published 36Cl surface exposure ages of bedrock surfaces and moraines in the West Fjords (Brynjólfsson et al., 2015) contribute important progress in establishing more precise age control of ice recession in northwest Iceland. In another recent study, the spatial pattern and style of deglaciation in northern Iceland have been revealed through geomorphic mapping and GIS analyses of glacial landforms (Principato et al., 2016). Additional insight comes from updated numerical modeling reconstructions, which now provide a series of glaciologically plausible Icelandic ice sheet configurations from the LGM through the last deglaciation (Patton et al., 2017). However, the optimization of ice sheet model simulations relies on critical comparisons with the available empirical record of glacial-geologic evidence and chronological control, which remains relatively limited and sparsely distributed throughout Iceland. Our investigation is motivated by the need for more accurate constraints on the deglacial history in northern Iceland, where dated terrestrial records of ice margin retreat are particularly scarce. (excerpt

Recent changes in the surface salinity of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre

Sea surface salinity (SSS) was measured since 1896 along 60°N between Greenland and the North Sea and since 1993 between Iceland and Newfoundland. Along 60°N away from the shelves, and north of 53°N, the amplitude of the seasonal cycle is comparable to or less than interannual variability. In these parts of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, large-scale deviations from the seasonal cycle correlate from one season to the next. This suggests that in these regions, summer and autumn surface data are useful for monitoring changes in upper ocean salinity best diagnosed from less common winter surface data. Further south near the subarctic front, the Labrador Current or near shelves where seasonal variability is strong, this is not the case. Along 60°N, the multiannual low-frequency variability is well correlated across the basin and exhibits fresher surface water since the mid 1970s than in the late 1920s to 1960s. SSS in the Irminger Sea along 60°N lags by 1-year SSS farther east in the Iceland Basin. Variability between Iceland and Newfoundland within the Irminger Sea north of 54°N presents similar characteristics to what is observed along 60°N. Variability near the northwest corner of the North Atlantic Current (52°N/45°W) is larger and is not correlated to what is found further north. Maps of SSS were constructed for a few recent seasons between July 1996 and June 2000, which illustrate the fresh conditions found usually during that period across the whole North Atlantic subpolar gyre, although this includes an episode of higher salinity. The SSS anomaly maps have large uncertainties but suggest that the highest SSS occurred before the spring of 1998 in the Iceland Basin, and after that, in the Irminger Sea. This is followed by fresher conditions, first in the Labrador and Iceland Basin, reaching recently the Irminger Sea

Population assessment of future trajectories in coronary heart disease mortality.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates have been decreasing in Iceland since the 1980s, largely reflecting improvements in cardiovascular risk factors. The purpose of this study was to predict future CHD mortality in Iceland based on potential risk factor trends. Methods and findings: The previously validated IMPACT model was used to predict changes in CHD mortality between 2010 and 2040 among the projected population of Iceland aged 25–74. Calculations were based on combining: i) data on population numbers and projections (Statistics Iceland), ii) population risk factor levels and projections (Refine Reykjavik study), and iii) effectiveness of specific risk factor reductions (published meta-analyses). Projections for three contrasting scenarios were compared: 1) If the historical risk factor trends of past 30 years were to continue, the declining death rates of past decades would level off, reflecting population ageing. 2) If recent trends in risk factors (past 5 years) continue, this would result in a death rate increasing from 49 to 70 per 100,000. This would reflect a recent plateau in previously falling cholesterol levels and recent rapid increases in obesity and diabetes prevalence. 3) Assuming that in 2040 the entire population enjoys optimal risk factor levels observed in low risk cohorts, this would prevent almost all premature CHD deaths before 2040. Conclusions: The potential increase in CHD deaths with recent trends in risk factor levels is alarming both for Iceland and probably for comparable Western populations. However, our results show considerable room for reducing CHD mortality. Achieving the best case scenario could eradicate premature CHD deaths by 2040. Public health policy interventions based on these predictions may provide a cost effective means of reducing CHD mortality in the future