Indeterminacy and approximation in Mediterranean weight systems in the third and second millennia BC

Research on weight systems used during the Bronze Age, prior to the introduction of writing, generally assumes that the widespread use of metal as \u2018commodity currency\u2019 eventually resulted in the adoption of widely shared systems of measurement. Many studies aimed at the identification of recurrent weight values as multiples and/or submultiples of theoretical standard units. This approach faces two limitations: 1) the absence of written sources, or at least statistically sound samples, makes it difficult to either validate or reject any reconstruction of prehistoric systems; 2) in the literate Ancient World, different polities usually retained distinct systems. Here an alternative analytical framework is outlined, making use of elementary statistics and crosshistorical comparisons, and relying positively on \u2018indeterminacy\u2019 and \u2018approximation\u2019 rather than on \u2018exactness\u2019. Recurrent weight measures can correspond to \u2018Standard Average Quantities\u2019, rather than representing arrays of exact multiples/submultiples of given units. By departing from a \u2018fractional\u2019 theoretical logic, one can observe that constant exchange practice may have produced the normalisation of \u2018tradable quantities\u2019 and that this can happen without necessarily implying the unification of local systems.La recherche sur les unit\ue9s de poids employ\ue9es \ue0 l\u2019\uc2ge du Bronze pr\ue9suppose qu\u2019une utilisation courante du m\ue9tal, sous forme de mati\ue8re premi\ue8re, comme monnaie d\u2019\ue9change permit une g\ue9n\ue9ralisation d\u2019\ue9chelles de mesures communes. Plusieurs \ue9tudes ont \ue9t\ue9 men\ue9es afin d\u2019identifier les valeurs de poids r\ue9currentes repr\ue9sentant des multiples et/ou sous-multiples d\u2019unit\ue9s de mesure th\ue9oriques standardis\ue9es. Ces \ue9tudes ont deux limites : 1) l\u2019absence de sources \ue9crites ou au moins d\u2019un \ue9chantillonnage statistique fiable, rendant difficile de valider ou de rejeter toute tentative de reconstruction de syst\ue8mes pr\ue9historiques; 2) dans le monde ancien les diff\ue9rentes entit\ue9s politiques utilisent des unit\ue9s de mesures distinctes qui leur sont propres. Cet article pr\ue9sente une analyse alternative mettant en comparaison divers cas historiques connus avec des statistiques \ue9l\ue9mentaires, en s\u2019appuyant sur les concepts \u2018d\u2019ind\ue9termination\u2019 et \u2018d\u2019approximation\u2019, et non sur la notion \u2018d\u2019exactitude\u2019. Les mesures de poids r\ue9p\ue9t\ue9es peuvent davantage correspondre \ue0 des Standard Average Quantities (quantit\ue9s moyennes standardis\ue9es) qu\u2019\ue0 des s\ue9ries exactes des multiples ou des sous-multiples des unit\ue9s donn\ue9es. En s\u2019\ue9cartant d\u2019une logique \u2018fractionnelle\u2019 th\ue9orique, on peut observer que la pratique des \ue9changes constants peut avoir donn\ue9 lieu \ue0 une normalisation des \u2018quantit\ue9s \ue9changeables\u2019 sans la n\ue9cessit\ue9 d\u2019une unification des diff\ue9rents syst\ue8mes locaux

La tomba di giganti di Pala ‘e Sulzaga, Bonorva (SS)

Analisi del contesto e dei reperti dagli scavi condotti sulla tomba di giganti di Pala ‘e Sulzaga (Bonorva, SS), con particolare attenzione per la stratigrafia del piazzale antistante alla tomba -la cui camera era stata saccheggiata-, utilizzato nel corso del Bronzo recente e finale

L’edificio termale di Sas Presones, Rebeccu, Bonorva (SS).

Rapporto di scavo e interpretazione del contesto dell'edificio termale di età romana, in località Sas Presones (Bonorva, SS); implicazioni del contesto

La fonte nuragica di Su Lumarzu, Bonorva (SS)

Analisi del contesto e dei reperti dagli scavi condotti sulla fonte nuragica di Su Lumarzu (Bonorva, SS)

La sequenza ceramica e strutturale del villaggio del nuraghe Tres Nuraghes di Bonorva (SS).

Analisi del contesto e dei reperti dagli scavi condotti nel villaggio del nuraghe Tres Nuraghes (Bonorva, SS), con uno studio specifico della sequenza di cronologia relativa, comprendente fasi dal Bronzo recente al primo Ferro, tramite tabella statistico-combinatoria, e una valutazione gritica delle datazioni assolute, duplicate in due diversi laboratori (Univ. di Lecce e Univ. of Georgia, USA)

Comparing the effect of daytime sleep and wakefulness on mnemonic discrimination

Sleep is considered the optimal state to consolidate hippocampal-dependent memories. A particular memory process is mnemonic discrimination. Mnemonic discrimination refers to the ability to differentiate between novel and previously encountered information. Previous studies have found that mnemonic discrimination is impaired by sleep deprivation, whereas nocturnal sleep seems to protect memory representations when compared to a similar period of wakefulness. In this study we tested whether a daytime nap can facilitate mnemonic discrimination as assessed by the Mnemonic Similarity Task. Thirty-eight participants performed incidental learning of 256 images of unique everyday items at about 12:00 PM. Fifteen minutes later, in a recognition test, they were presented with 192 images: 64 targets (Old), 64 foils (New) and 64 lures (Similar to targets). For each image they had to decide whether it was already presented, never presented, or similar to an image presented during the encoding session. Then participants were split into a Nap group (N=19), who had a 90-min nap opportunity in the lab, and a Wake group (N=19), who stayed in the lab playing a low-arousing game. At 3:00 PM all participants performed a delayed recognition test, similar to the immediate test but with different images. Similar memory discrimination was observed in both the Nap and Wake group. The lack of a beneficial effect of sleep could be due to the differences between diurnal and nocturnal sleep and/or the potential role of videogames in facilitating memory discrimination during wakefulness