Arbëreshë migration in the Sibaritide (Calabria, South Italy):Landscape archaeology, past mobility and present-day community identity

Since the early 1990s, the Groningen Institute of Archaeology has carried out surveys and excavations in the Sibaritide (Calabria, South Italy) with a strong interest in the study of mobility based on changes in material culture and settlement patterns related to Bronze Age Aegean, Greek and Roman presence. In a newly planned archaeological project, the authors aim to open a window on the multicultural interaction in the landscapes of the Sibaritide from the mediaeval to the modern period, particularly related to the arrival and enduring presence of Arbëreshë communities. The project will start out in the summer of 2023 with an archaeological survey of the landscapes surrounding the Arbëreshë villages of Civita/Çifti and Frascineto/Frasnita where the Groningen Institute of Archaeology already conducts excavations of Bronze Age sites. The local Arbëreshë communities will be involved in the project through participatory practices and ethnographic listening. This approach will help us to trace the history of migration and the strong sense of place of the contemporary Arbëreshë people within a shared process of knowledge production. With our new project we hope to support an inclusive long-term narrative of the cultural encounters in the Sibaritide in which the local landscape is valued as heritage conceptualised in archaeological and ethnographic terms, but also in the stories and memories of the local communities

A multidisciplinary study of an exceptional prehistoric waste dump in the mountainous inland of Calabria (Italy) : implications for reconstructions of prehistoric land use and vegetation in Southern Italy

The mountainous inland of northern Calabria (Southern Italy) is known for its sparse prehistoric human occupation. Nevertheless, a thorough multidisciplinary approach of field walking, geophysical survey and invasive research led to the discovery of a major archaeological archive. This archive concerns a rich multi-phased dump, spanning about 3000 years (Late Neolithic to Late Imperial Roman Age) and holding two Somma-Vesuvius tephra. Of these, the younger is a distinct layer of juvenile tephra from the Pompeii eruption, while the older concerns reworked tephra from the Bronze Age AP2 eruption (ca. 1700 cal. yr BP). The large dump contains abundant ceramics, faunal remains and charcoal, and most probably originated through long-continued deposition of waste in a former gully like system of depressions. This resulted in an inversed, mound-like relief, whose anthropogenic origin had not been recognized in earlier research. The tephras were found to be important markers that support the reconstruction of the occupational history of the site. The sequence of occupational phases is very similar to that observed in a recent palaeoecological study from nearby situated former lakes (Lago Forano/Fontana Manca). This suggests that this sequence reflects the more regional occupational history of Calabria, which goes back to ca. 3000 BC. Attention is paid to the potential link between this history and Holocene climatic phases, for which no indication was found. The history deviates strongly from histories deduced from the few, but major palaeorecords elsewhere in the inlands of Southern Italy (Lago Grande di Monticchio and Lago Trifoglietti). We conclude that major regional variation occurred in prehistoric land use and its impacts on the vegetation cover of Southern Italy, and studies of additional palaeoarchives are needed to unravel this complex history. Finally, shortcomings of archaeological predictive models are discussed and the advantages of truly integrated multidisciplinary research

The Adult Film Industry: Time to Regulate?

The industry is putting the health of its employees, adult film perfomers, at risk by insisting that they work without condoms

The Bronze and Iron Age habitation on Timpone della Motta in the light of recent research

This paper presents material evidence for a continuous sequence of inhabitation of the archaeological site of Timpone della Motta at present-day Francavilla Marittima (northern Calabria) from the Middle Bronze Age 2 (MBA2) to the end of the Archaic period (ca. 1700 BC – 500 BC). The authors bring together results of investigations at eight different locations of the Timpone della Motta ranging in location from the summit of the site down to its lower slopes. Importantly, the new evidence sheds light on the transition from the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age phases, which, while characterized by continuity in hut dwellings, sees the introduction of Greek-inspired pottery wares, shapes and decorations in household and production contexts. On a regional level, the compiled evidence now securely places the Timpone della Motta among the major protohistoric settlements that sprung up in the MBA2 in the foothills lining the plain of Sybaris prior to its transformation during the late Iron Age and Archaic periods in an indigenous and then Greek sanctuary. Notably, already before the Greek colonial period, in the course of the 8th c. BC, the Timpone della Motta shows evidence for a well-established Aegean connection on the evidence of Euboean pottery and before that in the Middle and Recent Bronze Age (MBA-RBA) judging from the presence of recently identified (Italo-) Mycenean potsherd

Taking forward a 'One Health' approach for turning the tide against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and other zoonotic pathogens with epidemic potential

The appearance of novel pathogens of humans with epidemic potential and high mortality rates have threatened global health security for centuries. Over the past few decades new zoonotic infectious diseases of humans caused by pathogens arising from animal reservoirs have included West Nile virus, Yellow fever virus, Ebola virus, Nipah virus, Lassa Fever virus, Hanta virus, Dengue fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, and Zika virus. The recent Ebola Virus Disease epidemic in West Africa and the ongoing Zika Virus outbreak in South America highlight the urgent need for local, regional and international public health systems to be be more coordinated and better prepared. The One Health concept focuses on the relationship and interconnectedness between Humans, Animals and the Environment, and recognizes that the health and wellbeing of humans is intimately connected to the health of animals and their environment (and vice versa). Critical to the establishment of a One Health platform is the creation of a multidisciplinary team with a range of expertise including public health officers, physicians, veterinarians, animal husbandry specialists, agriculturalists, ecologists, vector biologists, viral phylogeneticists, and researchers to co-operate, collaborate to learn more about zoonotic spread between animals, humans and the environment and to monitor, respond to and prevent major outbreaks. We discuss the unique opportunities for Middle Eastern and African stakeholders to take leadership in building equitable and effective partnerships with all stakeholders involved in human and health systems to take forward a 'One Health' approach to control such zoonotic pathogens with epidemic potential

The global dynamics of diabetes and tuberculosis: the impact of migration and policy implications

The convergence between tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) will represent a major public health challenge in the near future. DM increases the risk of developing TB by two to three times and also increases the risk of TB treatment failure, relapse, and death. The global prevalence of DM is predicted to rise significantly in the next two decades, particularly in some of the low-and middle-income countries with the highest TB burden. Migration may add further complexity to the effort to control the impact on TB of the growing DM pandemic. Migration may increase the risk of DM, although the magnitude of this association varies according to country of origin and ethnic group, due to genetic factors and lifestyle differences. Migrants with TB may have an increased prevalence of DM compared to the native population, and the risk of TB among persons with DM may be higher in migrants than in autochthonous populations. Screening for DM among migrants, screening migrants with DM for active and latent TB, and improving access to DM care, could contribute to mitigate the effects of DM on TB. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases