Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19th century, the continual expansion of irrigation in this region has altered the natural hydrology of the Amu Darya delta, leading to widespread desertification and the near total disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea. The situation is widely acknowledged as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale, and yet it is not the first irrigation crisis in Khorezmian history. Numerous events of irrigation collapse are recorded in the archaeological record of this oasis, with many in the scientific community now very interested in this past record for its potential to inform on the modern crisis. Unfortunately, there has also been a tendency to overlook the different historical conditions that led to irrigation in this oasis over the last three millennia. In this article, I take an alternative approach that draws on political ecology's insights about the cultural embeddedness of environmental behavior. I compare two periods of irrigation in Khorezm, one ancient and the other modern, to show how the particular social contexts of each period shaped irrigation schemes in different ways. Significantly different design and implementation features are apparent in the ancient versus modern systems, with vastly different implications for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Keywords: water, irrigation, Aral Sea, archaeology, collapse, Soviet Union, nomadic pastoralis

Spatial Humanities

This roundtable introduces spatial humanities researches at Purdue. Projects include Mapping Victorian women\u27s habitation and violence encounter by Dr. Megha Anwer; Animating material agencies with GIS data: an example from the archealogy of the Soviet Union by Dr. Elizabeth Brite; Modeling community interaction in Bronze Age Greece by Dr. Katherine Jarriel; Mapping \u27no place\u27: Eastern and Central Europe\u27s nineteenth and twentieth century phantom, indifferent, and alternative geographies by Amber Nickell

Housing stability and diabetes among people living in New York city public housing

Public housing provides affordable housing and, potentially, housing stability for low-income families. Housing stability may be associated with lower incidence or prevalence and better management of a range of health conditions through many mechanisms. We aimed to test the hypotheses that public housing residency is associated with both housing stability and reduced risk of diabetes incidence, and the relationship between public housing and diabetes risk varies by levels of housing stability. Using 2004-16 World Trade Center Health Registry data, we compared outcomes (housing stability measured by sequence analysis of addresses, self-reported diabetes diagnoses) between 730 New York City public housing residents without prevalent diabetes at baseline and 730 propensity score-matched non-public housing residents. Sequence analysis found 3 mobility patterns among all 1460 enrollees, including stable housing (65%), limited mobility (27%), and unstable housing patterns (8%). Public housing residency was associated with stable housing over 12 years. Diabetes risk was not associated with public housing residency; however, among those experiencing housing instability, a higher risk of diabetes was found among public housing versus non-public housing residents. Of those stably housed, the association remained insignificant. These findings provide important evidence for a health benefit of public housing via housing stability among people living in public housing

Irrigation in the Khorezm oasis, past and present: a political ecology perspective

The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19th century, the continual expansion of irrigation in this region has altered the natural hydrology of the Amu Darya delta, leading to widespread desertification and the near total disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea. The situation is widely acknowledged as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale, and yet it is not the first irrigation crisis in Khorezmian history. Numerous events of irrigation collapse are recorded in the archaeological record of this oasis, with many in the scientific community now very interested in this past record for its potential to inform on the modern crisis. Unfortunately, there has also been a tendency to overlook the different historical conditions that led to irrigation in this oasis over the last three millennia. In this article, I take an alternative approach that draws on political ecology's insights about the cultural embeddedness of environmental behavior. I compare two periods of irrigation in Khorezm, one ancient and the other modern, to show how the particular social contexts of each period shaped irrigation schemes in different ways. Significantly different design and implementation features are apparent in the ancient versus modern systems, with vastly different implications for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Keywords: water, irrigation, Aral Sea, archaeology, collapse, Soviet Union, nomadic pastoralis

Colour in Context: Status Indicators and Elite Dress in Pre-Islamic Central Asia

Colour in the archaeological record is a critical yet often understudied category of inquiry. In this paper, we explore how the use of colour in monumental art can be used to analyse cultural markers of status. The primary focus of this analysis is the colour on the costume of a group of bust figures in a late first millennium painted gallery at the site of Akchakhan-kala, in ancient Khorezm, Uzbekistan. Analysis reveals that the selection of colours at Akchakhan-kala was influenced both by the availability of raw materials and by broader trends of colour usage throughout the Iranian and steppe worlds. A systematic examination of colour facilitates a more informed perspective on the differentiated status of these elites in pre-Islamic Central Asia. This paper provides an initial step to building a database of contextualized colours found throughout the region, as well as a foundation for colour studies in elite costume worn in ceremonial contexts in the pre-Islamic Iranian world.Dans l’enregistrement des données archéologiques, la couleur est une catégorie d’investigation à valeur critique, mais souvent sous-étudiée. Dans cet article nous examinons comment l’usage de la couleur dans l’art monumental peut être utilisé pour analyser les marqueurs culturels du statut social. L’objet principal de cette analyse est la couleur des costumes dans un groupe de figures en buste, composant une galerie peinte à la fin du premier millénaire avant notre ère sur le site d’Akchakhan-kala dans l’ancien Khorezm (Ouzbékistan). L’analyse révèle que la sélection des couleurs à Akchakhan-kala a été influencée à la fois par la disponibilité des matières premières et par les tendances plus larges de l’usage de la couleur dans le monde iranien et celui de la steppe. Un examen systématique de la couleur facilite une perspective mieux informée sur les statuts différenciés de ces élites de l’Asie centrale préislamique. Cet article fournit une première étape pour construire une base de données sur les couleurs mises en contexte trouvées dans l’ensemble de la région, et aussi un point de départ pour l’étude des couleurs dans le costume porté par les élites dans les contextes cérémoniels du monde iranien préislamique.Kidd Fiona, Baker Brite Elizabeth. Colour in Context: Status Indicators and Elite Dress in Pre-Islamic Central Asia. In: Arts asiatiques, tome 70, 2015. pp. 33-48

Kara-tepe, Karakalpakstan: agropastoralism in a Central Eurasian oasis in the 4th/5th century A.D. transition

This paper reports on the results of archaeological field excavations at the site of Kara-tepe, in the semi-autonomous region of Karakalpakstan in northwestern Uzbekistan. Investigations at the site in 2008–2009 turned up an unusually rich assemblage of remains from a household context. Combined analysis of the household botanical and faunal remains has allowed us to reconstruct the agropastoral practices of local inhabitants in this oasis region during a critical period of social and environmental change in the Early Medieval transition (4th–5th centuries A.D.). The results of the study raise important new questions about agropastoralism in the oases of Central Eurasia, highlighting continuities of practice between oasis and steppe populations, and revealing dynamic changes in these systems over time.none - UCLA Department of Anthropology; none - Carlyle Greenwell Research grant, University of Sydney; none - Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation, University of Sydney; none - UCLA Friends of Archaeology; none - G.F. Dales Foundation; none - Cotsen Institute of Archaeology; none - UCLA Center for European and Eurasian Studies; 7948 - Wenner-Gren Foundation2031-01-0

Effectiveness of Ultraviolet Disinfection in Reducing Hospital-Acquired Clostridium difficile and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus on a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of ultraviolet (UV) environmental disinfection system on rates of hospital-acquired vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) and Clostridium difficile. DESIGN: Using active surveillance and an interrupted time-series design, hospital-acquired acquisition of VRE and C. difficile on a bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit were examined before and after implementation of terminal disinfection with UV on all rooms regardless of isolation status of patients. The main outcomes were hospital-based acquisition measured through (1) active surveillance: admission, weekly, and discharge screening for VRE and toxigenic C. difficile (TCD) and (2) clinical surveillance: incidence of VRE and CDI on the unit. SETTING: Bone marrow transplant unit at a tertiary-care cancer center.ParticipantsStem cell transplant (SCT) recipients.InterventionTerminal disinfection of all rooms with UV regardless of isolation status of patients. RESULTS: During the 20-month study period, 579 patients had 704 admissions to the BMT unit, and 2,160 surveillance tests were performed. No change in level or trend in the incidence of VRE (trend incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81-1.14; level IRR, 1.34; 95% CI, 0.37-1.18) or C. difficile (trend IRR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.89-1.31; level IRR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.13-2.11) was observed after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Utilization of UV disinfection to supplement routine terminal cleaning of rooms was not effective in reducing hospital-acquired VRE and C. difficile among SCT recipients