A partial prehistory of the Southwest Silk Road: Archaeometallurgical networks along the sub-Himalayan corridor

Historical phenomena often have prehistoric precedents, with this paper we investigate the potential for archaeometallurgical analyses and networked data processing to elucidate the progenitors of the Southwest Silk Road in Mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. We present original microstructural, elemental and lead isotope data for 40 archaeological copperbase metal samples, mostly from the UNESCO-listed site of Halin, and lead isotope data for 25 geological copper-mineral samples, also from Myanmar. We combined these data with existing datasets (N=98 total) and compared them to the 1000+ sample late prehistoric archaeometallurgical database available from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan. Lead isotope data, contextualised for alloy, find location and date, were interpreted manually for intra-site, inter-site and inter-regional consistency, which hint at significant multi-scalar connectivity from the late 2nd millennium BC. To test this interpretation statistically, the archaeological lead isotope data were then processed using regionally-adapted productionderived consistency parameters. Complex networks analysis using the Leiden community detection algorithm established groups of artefacts sharing lead isotopic consistency. Introducing the geographic component allowed for the identification of communities of sites with consistent assemblages. The four major communities were consistent with the manually interpreted exchange networks and suggest southern sections of the Southwest Silk Road were active in the late 2nd millennium BC

The age and sex structure of burial sites in continental Southeast Asia, a funerary perspective

International audienc

A Partial Prehistory of the Southwest Silk Road: Archaeometallurgical Networks along the Sub-Himalayan Corridor

Historical phenomena often have prehistoric precedents; with this paper we investigate the potential for archaeometallurgical analyses and networked data processing to elucidate the progenitors of the Southwest Silk Road in Mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. We present original microstructural, elemental and lead isotope data for 40 archaeological copper-base metal samples, mostly from the UNESCO-listed site of Halin, and lead isotope data for 24 geological copper-mineral samples, also from Myanmar. We combined these data with existing datasets (N = 98 total) and compared them to the 1000+ sample late prehistoric archaeometallurgical database available from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan. Lead isotope data, contextualized for alloy, find location and date, were interpreted manually for intra-site, inter-site and inter-regional consistency, which hint at significant multi-scalar connectivity from the late second millennium bc . To test this interpretation statistically, the archaeological lead isotope data were then processed using regionally adapted production-derived consistency parameters. Complex networks analysis using the Leiden community detection algorithm established groups of artefacts sharing lead isotopic consistency. Introducing the geographic component allowed for the identification of communities of sites with consistent assemblages. The four major communities were consistent with the manually interpreted exchange networks and suggest southern sections of the Southwest Silk Road were active in the late second millennium bc

Urodynamic Assessment in Postmenopausal Women

Lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms are not uncommon in postmenopausal&nbsp;Myanmar women. The aim of the study was to study the urodynamic&nbsp;assessment in postmenopausal women. A cross-sectional, analytical study&nbsp;was conducted to eligible 114 postmenopausal women (81 symptomatic&nbsp;women and 33 asymptomatic women) attending at Gynaecological Out-patient Department of Central Women&rsquo;s Hospital (Yangon) from&nbsp;October 2012 to June 2014. Examination included body mass index (BMI),&nbsp;vaginal examination, cough test, and 1 hour pad test. Urine RE was done to&nbsp;all patients to exclude urinary tract infection. Urodynamic investigation was&nbsp;done in those patients who had no urinary tract infection and it was carried&nbsp;out at Urosurgical Ward of No. 2 Military Hospital, Yangon. The most&nbsp;frequent symptom among the study population was urinary incontinence&nbsp;(50%) followed by urgency (45.6%), night time frequency (38.6%).&nbsp;Symptom-based clinical diagnosis of study population were: stress urinary&nbsp;incontinence (SUI) in 9.6%, urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) in 4.9%,&nbsp;mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) in 25.4%, overactive bladder (OAB) in&nbsp;16.7%, and voiding problem in 28.9% of study population.</p

Rurally rooted cross‐border migrant workers from Myanmar, Covid‐19, and agrarian movements

This paper examines the situation of rurally rooted cross-border migrant workers from Myanmar during the Covid-19 pandemic. It looks at the circumstances of the migrants prior to the global health emergency, before exploring possibilities for a post-pandemic future for this stratum of the working people by raising critical questions addressed to agrarian movements. It does this by focusing on the nature and dynamics of the nexus of land and labour in the context of production and social reproduction, a view that in the context of rurally rooted cross-border migrant workers necessarily requires interrelated perspectives on labour, agrarian, and food justice struggles. This requires a rethinking of the role of land, not as a factor in either production or social reproduction, but as a central component in both spheres simultaneously. The question is not ‘whether’ it is necessary and desirable to forge multi-class coalitions and struggles against external capital, while not losing sight of the exploitative relations within rural communities and the household; rather, the question is ‘how’ to achieve this. It will require a messy recursive process, going back and forth between theoretical exploration and practical politics