Cubic Dice: Archaeological Material for Understanding Historical Processes

The characteristics of dice found in archaeological contexts assist in the understanding of historical processes and human behavior. The dice attributes of configuration and dot pattern are regionally and/or temporally specific and can be used to help date dice themselves or the context in which they are found. As well, dice have been used to decipher Etruscan words and may identify novice and expert dice makers in the archaeological record. The shape and size of the dots and dice cubes further inform the distinctive appearance of dice in medieval versus Roman times

New Approaches to Board Games Research : Asian Origins and Future Perspective

Leiden185 p.; illus.; 24 cm

The Caroline Islands Script

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993Pacific Islands StudiesThis thesis maintains that the Caroline Islands script has been unjustly dismissed as a preferable orthography for the Woleaian language. The reason for this dismissal were twofold: (l) the researchers compared the script with an inaccurate tentative orthography by Smith (1951) and (2) there are still many misconceptions about syllabaries in general. However, this thesis seeks to show that the script should be preferred to introduced Roman alphabets for the Woleaian language, since (l) it strengthens cultural practices, (2) enforces indigenous forms of education and (3) adds to cultural pride, whereas schooling with conventional Roman alphabet orthographies tend to influence these factors negatively. Three syllabaries, the Yi, the Vai and the Cherokee syllabary, with histories similar to the Caroline Islands script support the thesis that the script should be preferred for cultural reasons. These official printed syllabaries demonstrate that political support is needed to revive the Caroline Islands script and restore it as an official orthography

Spatial and temporal assessment of crack cocaine use in 13 European cities through wastewater-based epidemiology.

Already in early 2000s, concerns have been growing in the EU about increasing use of cocaine and it is estimated that below 1 % of the population administer the drug by smoking crack cocaine. New available data suggests an increase in the use of crack cocaine and an increase in the number of crack cocaine users entering treatment has been reported in several European countries. Robust estimations of crack cocaine use are however not available yet. The use of crack cocaine has long been associated with severe adverse socio-economic conditions as well as mental health problems, such as suicide ideation and depression. The aim of this study was to assess spatial trends in population-normalized mass loads of crack cocaine biomarkers (i.e., anhydroecgonine and anhydroecgonine methyl ester) in 13 European cities in six countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy). Furthermore, temporal trends over a five-year period were evaluated through the analysis of historic samples collected in the Netherlands. Finally, the stability of the crack cocaine biomarkers in wastewater was investigated through batch experiments. The samples were analyzed with a new developed and validated hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry method. Targeted crack cocaine biomarkers were found in all cities. Also, crack cocaine biomarker was detected in wastewater from 2017 to 2021 in the Netherlands, but no significance between the years were found. With respect to biomarker in-sample stability, AEME was found to be stable in wastewater. This study assessed crack cocaine use for the first time on a broad scale, both temporal and in cities across Europe, with wastewater-based epidemiology and it shows the importance of wastewater analysis to monitor community loads of crack cocaine use