440 research outputs found
The wandering « Leg of an Indian King ». The cultural biography of a friction idiophone now in the Pigorini Museum in Rome, Italy
The article presents new data on the history of a Mesoamerican musical instrument, which is a notched human bone used as a friction idiophone, today, held at the Pigorini Museum in Rome, Italy, where it is recorded as MNPE n. 4209. The documentary data allow for the reconstruction of the instrument’s cultural biography along a time span of almost five centuries. Collected in the Mixtec Kingdom of Tututepec (Oaxaca, Mexico) during the 16th century, it passed through different Italian collections before reaching its present location in Rome toward the end of the 19th century. The text also analyzes how in its long historical journey through different contexts and regimes of value, the notched bone generated diverse sets of discourses on cultural otherness. It is argued that this discursive agency of the object is due to its enduring coevalness, a quality that allows ancient objects to be always contemporary and meaningful to different cultural audiences.Cet article prĂ©sente des donnĂ©es nouvelles sur l’histoire d’un instrument de musique mĂ©soamĂ©ricain, un fĂ©mur humain Ă encoches, utilisĂ© comme idiophone Ă friction, aujourd’hui conservĂ© au musĂ©e Pigorini de Rome, sous le numĂ©ro d’inventaire MNPE n. 4029. Les donnĂ©es recueillies permettent de reconstituer la biographie culturelle de cet instrument sur près de cinq siècles. Cet objet fut collectĂ© au xvie siècle dans le royaume mixtèque de Tututepec (Oaxaca, Mexico), et il est passĂ© ensuite dans plusieurs collections italiennes avant d’atteindre l’endroit oĂą il se trouve, Ă Rome, vers la fin du xixe siècle. L’article analyse Ă©galement comment, au cours de son long voyage Ă travers diffĂ©rentes situations historiques et avec des rĂ©gimes de valeur changeants, cet instrument de musique n’a cessĂ© de susciter le dĂ©veloppement de discours divers sur l’altĂ©ritĂ© culturelle. On avance aussi ici que l’agentivitĂ© discursive de l’objet est liĂ©e Ă sa « contemporanĂ©itĂ© durable » (enduring coevalness), une qualitĂ© qui permet Ă des objets anciens de demeurer significatifs et actuels pour diffĂ©rents publics.Este trabajo presenta nuevos datos sobre la historia de un instrumento musical mesoamericano, un idiĂłfono de fricciĂłn, hecho en un fĂ©mur humano, hoy conservado en el museo Pigorini de Roma, donde se registra con el nĂşmero de inventario MNPE n. 4209. Los datos recopilados permiten reconstituir la biografĂa cultural del instrumento a lo largo de un lapso de casi cinco siglos. Obtenido en el reino mixteco de Tututepec (Oaxaca, MĂ©xico) en el siglo xvi, el instrumento ha pasado a travĂ©s de varias colecciones italianas antes de llegar a su presente lugar en Roma hacia el final del siglo xix. El texto investiga tambiĂ©n cĂłmo en el transcurso de su largo viaje a travĂ©s de diferentes contextos histĂłricos y regĂmenes de valores, el hueso trabajado continuĂł estimulando una serie de discursos sobre la alteridad cultural. Proponemos además que la agencia del objeto se debe a su « contemporaneidad perdurable » (enduring coevalness), una cualidad que permite a los objetos antiguos de ser vistos siempre como contemporáneos y significativos aun frente a contextos culturales cambiantes
Un posible caso de sacrificio de niños del Clásico TardĂo en el área zoque: la Cueva del Lazo (Chiapas)**Las investigaciones del Proyecto ArqueolĂłgico RĂo La Venta y los sucesivos trabajos de análisis y restauraciĂłn de los materiales han sido posibles gracias al apoyo del Dipartimento di Paleografia e Medievistica de la Universidad de Bolonia (Italia), del Centro de Estudios Superiores sobre MĂ©xico y CentroamĂ©rica de la Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas (MĂ©xico) y de la AsociaciĂłn Cultural de Exploraciones Geográficas La Venta (Italia). Un constante apoyo econĂłmico ha sido proporcionado por la Direzione Generale per la Promozione e la Cooperazione Culturale del Ministero degli Affari Esteri de la Repubblica Italiana. Además de las mencionadas instituciones, agradezco a Thomas A. Lee, Giuseppe Orefici, Elvina Pieri Orefici, Vera Tiesler y Andrea Cucina por haber discutido los temas tratados en el presente artĂculo. Giuseppe Orefici proporcionĂł amablemente las fotos originales de excavaciĂłn, algunas de ellas aquĂ publicadas. Finalmente, un sincero agradecimiento a Lynneth Lowe, coordinadora del Centro de Estudios Mayas de la Universidad Nacional AutĂłnoma de MĂ©xico, quien en diciembre de 2010 nos invitĂł amablemente a participar al ciclo de conferencias “ArqueologĂa de las Tierras Altas y la DepresiĂłn Central de Chiapas”, donde se presentĂł una primera versiĂłn del presente texto. Lynneth Lowe, Maricela Ayala FalcĂłn y Claudia M. Báez proporcionaron una valiosa ayuda a lo largo del proceso editorial; finalmente, los comentarios de dos dictaminadores anĂłnimos permitieron mejorar la calidad del texto. La responsabilidad de su contenido y de los eventuales errores es solamente del autor.
ResumenLa excavaciĂłn de la Cueva del Lazo (Ocozocoautla, Chiapas), en el área zoque del oeste de Chiapas, sacĂł a la luz un contexto del Clásico TardĂo compuesto por once entierros de niños asociados a una gran cantidad de materiales perecederos, entre ellos muchos textiles. Si bien el análisis fĂsicoÂantropolĂłgico no ha detectado huellas que indiquen la causa de muerte de los infantes, la interpretaciĂłn del contexto arqueolĂłgico sugiere que los 11 infantes pudieron haber sido objeto de una secuencia de actos de sacrificio.AbstractThe excavation of the Cueva del Lazo (Ocozocoautla, Chiapas), in the Zoque region of Western Chiapas, brought to light a Late Classic context composed by eleven child burials, associated with a huge amount of perishable materials, including textiles. Despite the fact that the bioanthropological analysis didn’t detected any evidence of violent death, the interpretation of the archaeological context suggest that the children could have been the object of a sequence of sacrificial acts
La vitalità della casa. Il modello delle sociétés à  maisons nella riflessione antropologica e archeologica e la sua applicazione al contesto mesoamericano
Around the mid of the Seventies, Claude Lévi-Strauss proposed the notion of sociétés à maisons to clarify some aspects of the social organization of the Kwakiutl that had caused problems to Franz Boas. Lévi-Strauss’ proposal, even if formulated in a highly synthetic manner, arose a lively debate, witnessed by a series of volumes and articles. This article provides a synthesis of Lévi-Strauss’ proposal and of the debate it caused among anthropologists and archaeologists. In the final part, the text focuses on the application of the notion of sociétés à maisons to Mesoamerican societies, also proposing a possible application in the specific context of the city of Teotihuacan.Attorno alla metà degli anni ’70 Claude Lévi-Strauss formulò la nozione di sociétés à maisons al fine di spiegare le difficoltà incontrate da Franz Boas nella descrizione della società kwakiutl. La proposta di Lévi-Strauss, per quanto estremamente sintetica, ha dato vita a un intenso dibattito, testimoniato da una serie di volumi e articoli pubblicati nei decenni successivi. Nel presente testo si fornisce una sintesi della proposta lévi-straussiana e del dibattito a cui ha dato vita tra antropologi e archeologi. Nella parte finale ci si concentra sull’applicazione della nozione di sociétés à maisons nel contesto mesoamericano, proponendo anche una sua applicazione allo specifico contesto della città di Teotihuacan
La memoria fiorita. Scrittura, memoria e materialita’ del colore nell’antica Mesoamerica
The paper presents a cultural-historical interpretation of the data deriving from scientific analyses carried by the mobile laboratory MOLAB (SMAArt, University of Perugia-CNR) carried out on Mesoamerican manuscripts, providing hints on pictorial techniques and on the relationships between technological traditions and linguistic, stylistic and thematic issues. Comparing different data, we will explore the emic perception of the manuscripts’ materiality, linking the use of organic dyes obtained from flowers with indigenous notions about writing, chanting, brilliance and flowers’ colour.The paper presents a cultural-historical interpretation of the data deriving from scientific analyses carried by the mobile laboratory MOLAB (SMAArt, University of Perugia-CNR) carried out on Mesoamerican manuscripts, providing hints on pictorial techniques and on the relationships between technological traditions and linguistic, stylistic and thematic issues. Comparing different data, we will explore the emic perception of the manuscripts’ materiality, linking the use of organic dyes obtained from flowers with indigenous notions about writing, chanting, brilliance and flowers’ colour.Il contributo presenta un’interpretazione storico culturale dei dati derivanti da analisi scientifiche che il laboratorio mobile MOLAB (SMAArt, Università di Perugia-CNR) ha condotto su manoscritti mesoamericani fornendo indicazioni su tecniche pittoriche e sul rapporto tra tradizioni tecnologiche precoloniali e aspetti di carattere linguistico, stilistico e tematico. In questa sede, comparando dati di ordine diverso, si esplorerà invece la possibile percezione emica della materialità dei manoscritti, indagando in particolare il nesso esistente tra l’uso di coloranti organici derivanti da fiori e alcune nozioni indigene relative a scrittura, canto, brillantezza e cromatismi floreali.The paper presents a cultural-historical interpretation of the data deriving from scientific analyses carried by the mobile laboratory MOLAB (SMAArt, University of Perugia-CNR) carried out on Mesoamerican manuscripts, providing hints on pictorial techniques and on the relationships between technological traditions and linguistic, stylistic and thematic issues. Comparing different data, we will explore the emic perception of the manuscripts’ materiality, linking the use of organic dyes obtained from flowers with indigenous notions about writing, chanting, brilliance and flowers’ colour
Matos Moctezuma Eduardo, Messico. La scoperta del passato
Matos Moctezuma Eduardo, Messico. La scoperta del passato, (Corpus Precolombiano, Jaca Book, Milano, 2010, 386 pp. ISBN 9788816604360)di Davide Domenic
Per Bocca d'altri. Indios, gesuiti e spagnoli in due documenti segreti sul PerĹŻ del XVII secolo
Il volume contiene una serie di testi concernenti lo studio dei Documenti Miccinelli, una serie di manoscritti relativi alla storia del PerĂą coloniale e alla figura del gesuita Blas Valera
Conjunctivally Applied BDNF Protects Photoreceptors from Light-Induced Damage
Purpose: To test whether the topical eye treatment with BDNF prevents the effects of
continuous light exposure (LE) in the albino rat retina.
Methods: Two groups of albino rats were used. The first group of rats received an
intraocular injection of BDNF (2 lL, 1 lg/lL) before LE, while the second group was
treated with one single drop of BDNF (10 lL, 12 lg/lL) dissolved in different types of
solutions (physiological solution, the polysaccharide fraction of Tamarind gum, TSP,
and sodium carboxy methyl cellulose), at the level of conjunctival fornix before LE. The
level of BDNF in the retina and optic nerve was determined by enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay. We recorded the flash electroretinogram (fERG) in dark
adapted rats 1 week after LE. At the end of the recording session, the retinas were
removed and labeled so that the number of photoreceptors nuclear rows and
thickness of the outer nuclear layer was analyzed.
Results: Intravitreal injection of BDNF before LE prevented fERG impairment. Different
ophthalmic preparations were used for topical eye application; the TSP resulted the
most suitable vehicle to increase BDNF level in the retina and optic nerve. Topical eye
application with BDNF/TSP before LE partially preserved both fERG response and
photoreceptors.
Conclusions: Topical eye treatment with BDNF represents a suitable, noninvasive tool
to increase the retinal content of BDNF up to a level capable of exerting
neuroprotection toward photoreceptors injured by prolonged LE.
Translational Relevance: A collyrium containing BDNF may serve as an effective,
clinically translational treatment against retinal degeneration
Death Notices-Joerg Haeberli, Laura Laurencich Minelli, Ursula Wagner, Nancy Ellen Kirkhuff Porter, Billie Jean Isbell, Lynn Ann Meisch, & Bernard While Bell Jr.
This consists of short biographies of deceased scholars Joerg Haeberli, Laura Laurencich Minelli, Ursula Wagner, Nancy Ellen Kirkhuff Porter, Billie Jean Isbell, Lynn Ann Meisch, and Bernard White Bell Jr
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