Ancient Mongolian Tomb Holds Skeleton of Western Man

Dead men can indeed tell tales, but they speak in a whispered double helix.

Consider an older gentleman whose skeleton lay in one of more than 200 tombs recently excavated at a 2,000-year-old cemetery in eastern Mongolia, near China's northern border. DNA extracted from this man's bones pegs him as a descendant of Europeans or western Asians. Yet he still assumed a prominent position in ancient Mongolia's Xiongnu Empire, say geneticist Kyung-Yong Kim of Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea, and his colleagues.

On the basis of previous excavations and descriptions in ancient Chinese texts, researchers suspect that the Xiongnu Empire -- which ruled a vast territory in and around Mongolia from 209 B.C. to A.D. 93 -- included ethnically and linguistically diverse nomadic tribes. The Xiongnu Empire once ruled the major trading route known as the Asian Silk Road, opening it to both Western and Chinese influences.

Researchers have yet to pin down the language spoken by Xiongnu rulers and political elites, says archaeologist David Anthony of Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. But the new genetic evidence shows that the 2,000-year-old man "was multi-ethnic, like the Xiongnu polity itself," Anthony remarks.

This long-dead individual possessed a set of genetic mutations on his Y chromosome, which is inherited from paternal ancestors, that commonly appears today among male speakers of Indo-European languages in eastern Europe, central Asia and northern India, Kim's team reports in an upcoming American Journal of Physical Anthropology. The same man displayed a pattern of mitochondrial DNA mutations, inherited from maternal ancestors, characteristic of speakers of modern Indo-European languages in central Asia, the researchers say.

"We don't know if this 60- to 70-year-old man reached Mongolia on his own or if his family had already lived there for many generations," says study co-author Charles Brenner, a DNA analyst based in Oakland, Calif.

Two other skeletons from the Xiongnu cemetery in Duurlig Nars show genetic links to people who live in northeastern Asia, according to Kim's team. Other team members include Kijeong Kim of Chung-Ang University, Eregzen Gelegdorj of the National Museum of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar and Eun-Jeong Chang of the National Museum of Korea in Seoul.

The Duurlig Nars man's genetic signature supports the idea that Indo-European migrations to northeastern Asia started before 2,000 years ago. This notion is plausible, but not confirmed, says geneticist Peter Underhill of Stanford University. Further investigations of Y chromosome mutation frequencies in modern populations will allow for a more precise tracing of the Duurlig Nars man's geographic roots, Underhill predicts.

Scholars have long sought to trace the origin and spread of related languages now found in Europe, India and other parts of Asia. One hypothesis holds that Indo-European languages proliferated via several waves of expansion and conquest by nomads known as Kurgans who had domesticated horses and thus could travel long distances. In this scenario, Kurgans left a homeland north of the Black Sea, in what's now Russia, around 6,400 years ago.

Another view holds that farmers from ancient Turkey spread Indo-European tongues as they swallowed up one parcel of land after another, beginning around 9,000 years ago.

Since 1978, discoveries of 2,400- to 4,000-year-old mummified corpses with European features in northwestern China, not far from Mongolia, have fueled the Kurgan hypothesis (SN: 2/25/95, p. 120). Remains of large wheels found with these blond-haired individuals raise the controversial possibility that these foreigners introduced carts and chariots to the Chinese.

Add to those discoveries a report in the September 2009 Human Genetics. Geneticist Christine Keyser of the University of Strasbourg in France and her colleagues found that nine of 26 skeletons previously excavated at 11 Kurgan sites in northeastern Russia possess a Y chromosome mutation pattern thought to mark the eastward expansion of early Indo-Europeans. That same genetic signature characterizes the Duurlig Nars man.

By 2,000 years ago, the easternmost Indo-European languages were probably spoken in northwestern China, Anthony holds. So an Indo-European speaker could have aligned himself with Xiongnu political big shots and earned an eternal resting place in an elite Xiongnu cemetery, in his opinion.

Kim agrees. The Duurlig Nars man's tomb lies close to the tomb of an especially high-ranking Xiongnu man whom he may have served in some way, he suggests.

Kim's group plans to extract and study DNA from additional Duurlig Nars skeletons. For now, Anthony remarks, "this new study from Mongolia is important because it adds one more point of light to a largely dark prehistoric sky."

It seems that Europeans living in China is not uncommon. Refer to this post from August 12, 2009 is about a collection of distinctly Caucasian mummies.
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References:

Bower, Bruce. 2010. "Ancient Mongolian Tomb Holds Skeleton of Western Man". Discovery News. Posted: February 3, 2010. Available online: http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/mongolian-tomb-western-skeleton.html

Last speaker of ancient language of Bo dies in India

The last speaker of an ancient language in India's Andaman Islands has died at the age of about 85, a leading linguist has told the BBC.

ANDAMANESE Andamanese (13) Great Andamanese (10) Central (6) Aka-Bea [abj] (India) Aka-Kede [akx] (India) Aka-Kol [aky] (India) Akar-Bale [acl] (India) A-Pucikwar [apq] (India) Oko-Juwoi [okj] (India) Northern (4) Aka-Bo [akm] (India) Aka-Cari [aci] (India) Aka-Jeru [akj] (India) Aka-Kora [ack] (India) South Andamanese (3) Jarawa [anq] (India) Öñge [oon] (India) Sentinel [std] (India) Source: Ethnologue

Professor Anvita Abbi said that the death of Boa Sr was highly significant because one of the world's oldest languages - Bo - had come to an end.

She said that India had lost an irreplaceable part of its heritage.

Languages in the Andamans are thought to originate from Africa. Some may be 70,000 years old.

The islands are often called an "anthropologist's dream" and are one of the most linguistically diverse areas of the world.

'Infectious'

Professor Abbi - who runs the Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese (Voga) website - explained: "After the death of her parents, Boa was the last Bo speaker for 30 to 40 years.

"She was often very lonely and had to learn an Adamanese version of Hindi in order to communicate with people.

"But throughout her life she had a very good sense of humour and her smile and full-throated laughter were infectious."

She said that Boa Sr's death was a loss for intellectuals wanting to study more about the origins of ancient languages, because they had lost "a vital piece of the jigsaw".

"It is generally believed that all Andamanese languages might be the last representatives of those languages which go back to pre-Neolithic times," Professor Abbi said.

"The Andamanese are believed to be among our earliest ancestors."

Boa Sr's case has also been highlighted by the Survival International (SI) campaign group.

"The extinction of the Bo language means that a unique part of human society is now just a memory," SI Director Stephen Corry said.

'Imported illnesses'

She said that two languages in the Andamans had now died out over the last three months and that this was a major cause for concern.

Academics have divided Andamanese tribes into four major groups, the Great Andamanese, the Jarawa, the Onge and the Sentinelese.

Professor Abbi says that all apart from the Sentinelese have come into contact with "mainlanders" from India and have suffered from "imported illnesses".

She says that the Great Andamanese are about 50 in number - mostly children - and live in Strait Island, near the capital Port Blair.

Boa Sr was part of this community, which is made up of 10 "sub-tribes" speaking at least four different languages.

The Jarawa have about 250 members and live in the thick forests of the Middle Andaman. The Onge community is also believed to number only a few hundred.

"No human contact has been established with the Sentinelese and so far they resist all outside intervention," Professor Abbi said.

It is the fate of the Great Andamanese which most worries academics, because they depend largely on the Indian government for food and shelter - and abuse of alcohol is rife.

For another post on the Andaman Islanders refer to this story I posted September 30, 2008. I have discovered two more posts that make references to the Andaman Islanders,
here, and here.

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References:

Abbi, Anvita. "Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese". Andamanese.net. Available online: http://www.andamanese.net/

Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=1278-16.

Lawson, Alastair. 2010. "Last speaker of ancient language of Bo dies in India". BBC News. Posted: February 4, 2010. Available online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8498534.stm

25 Most Influential People in Forensic Science

For those of you like me who enjoy reading forensic things, check out this blog. It's a fascinating collection of forensic-related posts. Given that its also a shameless promotion for forensic schools, it does contain fascinating information.

Also check out http://www.forensicscience.net. It too promotes forensic science schools, but also discusses forensic science topics and specialties.

Great forensic scientists over the years have been compared to Sherlock Holmes. But, Holmes was a work of fiction, whereas the following individuals are real — and, they’ve solved real crimes. Their contributions to forensic science, both past and current, continue to expand the world of forensics while shrinking that world for criminals.

The following list of the twenty-five most influential people in forensic science is listed in alphabetical order by surname. The links lead to more information about each individual.

1. Michael Baden: Dr. Michael M. Baden: Dr. Baden is a medical doctor and a board-certified forensic pathologist known as a host of HBO’s Autopsy. He also is known for his work as an investigator into high-profile death cases including John Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Sid Vicious, John Balushi and more. His latest case involved the investigation into the cause of David Carradine’s death. Baden concluded that Carradine’s death was not the result of suicide. Dr. Baden wrote Unnatural Death, Confessions of a Medical Examiner and Dead Reckoning, the New Science of Catching Killers.

2. Bill Bass: Dr. William Bass: If you’ve heard of the Body Farm, a book penned by Patricia Cornwell, then you may have heard of Bill Bass. This man was responsible for the resolution of many high-profile cases as well as the education of some of the most high-profile forensic scientists in this country through the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center, which he started in 1971. His specialties include research into human osteology, human decomposition and the roles they play in answering questions about a person’s death. He writes forensic fiction with journalist Jon Jefferson under the pen name, Jefferson Bass.

3. Joseph Bell: Dr. Joseph Bell: This link takes you to the Joseph Bell Centre for Forensic Statistics and Legal Reasoning at the University of Edinburgh, established in 2001. This center was named for Dr. Bell (1837-1911), who inspired Arthur Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Homes. Conan-Doyle met Dr. Bell in 1877 at the University’s medical school, where he observed Bell’s keen attention to detail. The Joseph Bell Centre offers training courses to enhance and expand the skills of lawyers, forensic scientists, law enforcement officials, law students, IT security staff, and the judiciary.

4. Frank Bender: Frank Bender: Currently, Frank Bender is one of the best known and forensic facial reconstruction artists. He calls himself a “recomposer of the decomposed” as he shapes likenesses from clay. His work over the years has led to over twenty-five positive identifications for places such as the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, the FBI, the Mexican Government and Interpol. One of his most recent works is a pencil sketch of a homeless man that Philadelphia police killed in July.

5. Mark Benecke: Dr. Mark Benecke: Born in Germany in 1970, Benecke (known as “maggot man”) received his Ph.D. at Cologne University and worked in the Manhattan Chief Medical Examiner’s office until 1999. Currently, he works internationally as a freelance expert witness and teaches at various police academies and acts as a visiting professor to various universities. His latest claim to fame is his attempt to explain alleged signs of vampirism.

6. Sara Bisel: Dr. Sara C. Bisel: Dr. Bisel (1932 – 1996) was a physical anthropologist and archaeologist who pioneered work in the chemical and physical analysis of skeletons. Her work, especially in Herculaneum, a town destroyed by the 79 CE Mount Vesuvius eruption, helped advance the field of forensic archaeology. Her work at Herculaneum also established her reputation internationally as an authority on ancient health and nutrition.

7. Francis Camps: Francis Edward Camps: Almost any pathologist could tell you about Camps’ (1905-1972) 88,000 postmortems performed during his career as a chief pathologist at London Hospital. Although his nervous temperament played havoc in court, this attribute also endeared him to television audiences. He was fascinated with the Jack the Ripper case and, after pursuing evidence, determined that “Jack” was Montague John Drewitt. Camps helped to develop the British Association of Forensic Medicine and he donated his papers to the hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department.

8. Marcella Fierro: Dr. Marcella Farinelli Fierro: Perhaps you know Dr. Fierro best as “Kay Scarpetta,” a fictional character in a series of crime novels penned by Patricia Cornwell. Fierro, former Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia and Professor Emerita, oversees all violent, suspicious and unnatural deaths throughout the State of Virginia. She also teaches forensic pathology and serves as a consultant to the FIB on the National Crime Information Center. Dr. Fierro advised Cornwell on all her Scarpetta books.

9. Alec Jeffreys: Sir Alec John Jeffreys: Considered the “father of DNA evidence,” Alec Jeffreys’ discovery of the first DNA fingerprint was accidental. But, this British geneticist’s discovery revolutionized forensic science and also helped to resolve paternity and immigration disputes. Most recently, Sir Jeffreys has called for a drastic reduction in the DNA database, stating Britain has disregarded rights and privacy of innocent people in collecting database information.

10. Ellis KerleyEllis R. Kerley: Kerley (1924-1998) was an American anthropologist and pioneer in forensic anthropology. In research, he is best known for pioneering the microscopic approach to the estimation of age at death from human bone. A university professor for 22 years, Kerley also served as Scientific Director of the Army identification laboratory in Hawaii and worked on many forensic cases — most notably the identification of remains belonging to repatriated American soldiers from Korean and Vietnam Wars. The Ellis R. Kerley Forensic Sciences Foundation was founded in 2000 in his memory.

11. Clea KoffClea Koff: After studying prehistoric skeletons in Berkeley, California, Cloa Koff (also known as the “Bone Woman” based upon the title of her book) was sent to Rwanda in 1996. What occurred over the following four years changed her life and shocked the world as she exhumed bodies and studied their bones for the UN War Crimes Tribunal. Her answers to questions about the victims may help bring the guilty to justice in Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.

12. Wilton KrogmanWilton Marion Krogman: Krogman (1903-1987) was an American anthropologist and teacher who taught some of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists. He published his first work in 1941, The Growth of Man, while at Chicago. In 1972, he published Child Growth based on his studies while a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He published one of his most famous works in 1986, entitled The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine. His work remains standards for anatomical measurements throughout the world. University of Pennsylvania named a building for Krogman, and also bestows an award for distinguished achievement in biological anthropology in his name.

13. Frances LeeFrances Glessner Lee: A socialite and heiress, Frances Lee (1878-1962) revolutionized crime scene investigation through building miniatures, or tiny dioramas, that detailed how a crime scene was developed and how it possibly evolved. These Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death,” originally donated to Harvard in 1945 for use in her seminars, eventually went to the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office. Frances also became a captain in the new Hampshire State Police, obtaining a great deal of technical knowledge about crime scene forensics.

14. Dr. Henry C. Lee: Possibly one of the world’s most well-known forensic scientists, Henry Lee currently serves as the Chief Emeritus for Scientific Services for the State of Connecticut and an occasional lecture professor of forensic science at the University of New Haven, where he has helped to set up the Henry C. Lee Forensic Institute. Lee has worked on so many high-profile cases that it’s difficult to name them all; but, some cases include O.J. Simpson, Laci Peterson, JonBenet Ramsey, the DC sniper shootings, and was involved in the early stages of investigation for the missing Orlando toddler, Caylee Anthony.

15. Edmond Locard: Locard (1877–1966) pioneered the development of criminalistics, the practice of gathering evidence for scientific examination and crime solving. Locard developed the first official crime laboratory in the world. His most important contribution is the principe de l’échange (principle of exchange). Locard stated “Toute action de l’homme, et a fortiori, l’action violent qu’est un crime, ne peut pas se dérouler sans laisser quelque marque.” Translated, “Any action of an individual, and obviously the violent action constituting a crime, cannot occur without leaving a trace.”

16. William Maples: Maples (1937-1997) was a renowned forensic anthropologist at the University of Florida. He is known for his work in human identification and trauma analysis and for his book, Dead Men Do Tell Tales. Throughout his career, he assisted in the identification of the human remains of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, Czar Nicholas II, and Joseph Merrick, “The Elephant Man.” Maples also assisted medical examiners in Dade County identifying victims of the ValuJet airline disaster in the Everglades. The University of Florida named their center for forensic medicine after Maples, a man who “brought compassion and scientific rigor to the more than 1,200 cases with which he was involved during his twenty-eight year career.”

17. Porntip Rojanasunan: Known as Dr. Death, this Thai forensic pathologist also is an author, a human rights activist and a cancer survivor. She currently is the Director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice in Bangkok. She also introduced DNA evidence to Thailand and altered how autopsies were carried out in this country. She dyes her hair punk-rock hair red, wears eccentric clothing and makeup; but, while her appearance may belie her professionalism, it reflects her candor. Most recently, Porntip took charge of the effort to identify victims of the tsunami in the Phang Nga region.

18. Keith Simpson: Professor Cedric Keith Simpson: Simpson (1907-1985), an English pathologist, was a professor of forensic medicine at the University of London at Guy’s Hospital and a lecturer at the University of Oxford. He was considered the leading forensic pathologist in Great Britain after Sir Bernard Spilsbury (see below). His most notable case involved the first use of forensic odontology, or the identification of an individual through teeth and bite marks, in a murder conviction against Robert Gorringe for the murder of his wife, Phyllis.

19. Sydney Smith: Born in New Zealand, Smith became Chair of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh until 1953. His first big case involved the discovery of the bodies of two children in the Hopetoun quarry near Edinburgh. Although the bodies had been in water for eighteen months, Smith provided enough vital information to lead to the arrest of the father and to Scotland’s first execution of the century. Sir Smith described this event in his autobiography, Mostly Murder. Smith’s work on an attempt on the life of Sir Lee Stack Pasha, the Sirdar of the Egyptian Army and Governor General of Sudan marked the beginning of scientific examination of firearms and projectiles.

20. Robert Spalding: Spalding joined the FBI in 1971 as an investigative agent and, in 1975, began to teach forensic serology at the Forensic Science Research and Training Center (FSRTC), FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. During this time, he developed expertise in bloodstain pattern analysis and was assigned to the newly formed Evidence Response Team Unit, where he taught crime scene investigation to FBI field office evidence response teams throughout the U.S. He is the owner of Spalding Forensics, LLC, and contributes to many books on the topic of serology.

21. Bernard Spilsbury: Noted as Britain’s first forensic scientist, Sir Spilsbury (1877-1947) worked on cases including the Seddon case and Major Armstrong poisoning. Spilsbury single-handedly transformed forensic pathology from a widely discredited science to one that was both “ghoulish and glamorous.” A media hero based upon his almost supernatural gifts in solving murder mysteries, Spilsbury took his own life in 1947 after a series of personal disasters. The Wellcome Library plans to digitize Siplsbury’s note cards this upcoming year.

22. Richard Walter: This American forensic psychologist developed psychological classifications for violent crime after interviewing more than 20,000 convicted felons. He also co-founded the Vidocq Society, an organization for forensic professionals dedicated to solving cold cases. Walter’s most spectacular case involved John List, a man who had been in hiding for eighteen years. With the help of artist Frank Bender (see above), List was captured the day after the profile and image were displayed on the television show, America’s Most Wanted. On the infamous side, Walter may face perjury charges [PDF] in a 1982 case.

23. Cyril Wecht: Dr. Wecht has served as a forensic pathologist consultant in numerous high-profile cases and is noted for his controversial theories on cases for Elvis Presley, O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey. His most notable case, however, is his outspoken criticism of the Warren Commission’s findings concerning John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Dr. Wecht currently serves as a clinical professor at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Graduate School of Public Health, and holds positions as an Adjunct Professor at the Duquesne University School of Law, School of Pharmacy, and School of Health Sciences.

24. Michael Welner: This link takes readers to The Forensic Panel and its peer reviewed protocols, the first of its kind in the U.S., pioneered by Dr. Welner. Dr. Welner has defined the application of the cutting edge of science to forensic practice through his work as principle forensic psychiatrist in some of America’s most sensitive litigation. he has pioneered the effort toward establishing a clinical and forensic standardization of the worst of crimes, through tools such as The Depravity Scale, a history- and evidence-driven forensic instrument that helps experts to define legal words for purposes of fair and consistent application to criminal sentencing.

25. Frederick Whitehurst: Dr. Whitehurst was employed by the FBI crime lab, which rated Whitehurst as the leading national and international expert in explosive and explosive residue sciences. Despite this rating, Dr. Whitehurst was forced to defend himself against the FBI when he blew the whistle on scientific fraud within the FBI lab during the case of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. After winning the first successful whistle blower cases against the FBI, Whitehurst started the Forensic Justice Project (FJP), a non-profit forensic watch dog group that functions as a project of the National Whistleblowers Center (NWC).

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References:

Best Forensic Science Schools. 2009. "25 Most Influential People in Forensic Science". The Forensic Files. Posted: December 8, 2009. Available online: http://www.bestforensicscienceschools.com/2009/25-most-influential-people-in-forensic-science/

Bias and Ethnocentrism in Anthropology

What kind of biases can an anthropologist have that would affect their work? Any bias at all is the answer. Anthropologists strive to achieve a holistic and objective viewpoint upon cultures. Any bias at all can warp, alter and change an anthropologist's entire view of a culture and or society.

What most biases come from an anthropologist is a tendency called ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the idea of interpreting another culture, judging them, based upon the views and value system of the anthropologist's home culture. This is opposed to the preferred approach of an anthropologist, viewing a society objectively and describing it factually.

What anthropologists strive for and focus upon obtaining is the idea of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is the practice of describing, defining and understanding a culture, it's customs and concepts but not judging them. Cultural relativism focuses upon judging a person or people based upon their own values and moral systems. In essence it is trying to see from another culture's point of view.

The idea of cultural relativism was influence and introduced in no small part by the school of thought known as postmodernism. Postmodernism denies the existence of true knowledge in the world, it states that knowledge is a human construct that we must deconstruct so we may understand. The postmodern movement examines the limits of science and tries to view everything as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The reason this is important to anthropology is that it emphasizes multiple ways of seeing the world, not a single ultimately correct way.

When concerning bias and anthropologists it must be kept in mind that no anthropologist can escape all bias. There will be bias in all anthropologists, the goal of anthropology is to do what they can to suppress their own biases and view cultures as relative to each other. Not judging a culture based upon an inapplicable value/judgment system (One outside of it's own) is vital to anthropology, but some bias is to be expected and should be watched for.
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References:

Martinez, Christian K. 2010. "Bias and Ethnocentrism in Anthropology". Associated Content. Posted: January 26, 2010. Available online: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2632281/bias_and_ethnocentrism_in_anthropology.html

Tonga's Nukuleka, the birth place of Polynesia

NUKULEKA, a small fishing village on the northern shores of eastern Tongatapu, at the entrance to the Fanga'uta Lagoon, has been identified by a Canadian archaeologist, Professor David V. Burley, as the cradle of Polynesia.

David drew his conclusion from his final excavation at Nukuleka in August 2007 where, with his team of three archaeological students from the Simon Fraser University, Canada and a scholar from France, they found pieces of Lapita pottery that confirmed his belief.

"The big pieces of pottery are about 2,900 years old and with the others there may be 50 years difference," he said.

"Tonga was the first group of islands in Polynesia to be settled by the Lapita People about 3,000 years ago, and Nukuleka was their first settlement in Tonga," said David.

Lapita people

The Lapita people, the cultural ancestors of modern Polynesians, were the makers of Lapita pottery and David's research is showing that they moved out of island Melanesia and into the South Pacific islands making the initial human colonization of the region.

David is an authority on pottery in Tonga and in Polynesia who has done extensive archaeological excavation throughout the Tonga Islands since 1989. He has been to 'Ata, 'Eua, Ha'apai, Vava'u, Niuafo'ou and Niuatoputapu, but most of his findings were on Tongatapu.

David said that within 100 years of the arrival of the Lapita People, the whole of the Tonga islands were settled.

"Then a thousand years later they moved eastwards to eastern Polynesia.

Plentiful shell fish

"There are 19 Lapita sites that we have found around the Fanga'uta lagoon," said David. "They came here first about 3,000 years ago when the lagoon sea level was higher than today. There were no mangroves, so the lagoon shore was a big beach, and the lagoon was full of shellfish, and everything that we have dug up was packed with layers of shellfish. When we excavated at Havelu, there was no dirt, just solid shells.

"The waterfront around Nukuleka is still rich with shells, imagine 3,000 years ago. At the bottom of the Nukuleka site we found that they were also eating a lot of turtles and birds. We have documented 26 species of birds, including big pigeons and the shells were mainly Kaloa'a."

David's excavation at Nukuleka in August 2007 was rewarded with some of his best findings.

"This site was first excavated by Poulsen in 1964-65 and they found sherds, very different from other findings in Tonga, but very similar to what we found to the west, to western Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and so on, so obviously these people come from the west, based on linguist and other evidence.

"The designs in the pottery are very distinctive and similar to the tapa designs of today, they tell us how related they are to designs in other areas in Tonga and other places," David said. "The designs are also very similar to tattoo designs."

Earliest site

David returned to Nukuleka with his team in August to gather enough evidence to substantiate his claim that this is the earliest site in Tonga, and to collect samples for carbon dating.

"What we are trying to prove that this is the first site in Tonga, and every thing that we have found verifies that," he said.

"The Lapita pottery in Tonga shows they were here for 100 years before they started decorating the pot, then 100 to 125 years later they stopped completely decorating the pots," said David, who is working on a book about the site.

"I wanted to come back here. I want to give something back to the villages of what I have found. I lived in these villages for months, took the stuff away and they never heard from me, but now I want to give them something back.

"I want to do a better exhibition when the museum is on a better footing," he said.
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References:

Fonua, Pesi. 2008. "Tonga's Nukuleka, the birth place of Polynesia". Matangi Tonga Online. Posted: January 7, 2008. Available online: http://www.matangitonga.to/scripts/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=8&num=3601

Britons letting go of the handshake

IT's long been a somewhat touchy area, but the handshake appears in danger of dying out altogether in socially reserved Britain.

Survey findings released this week found 74 per cent of British adults admit they no longer reach out to shake hands with friends and colleagues.

And there seems little hope of the younger generation resurrecting the tradition, with only 45 per cent of respondents aged under 25 saying they use handshakes compared with 69 per cent of those aged 26 and over.

Manchester Metropolitan University senior psychologist Dr David Holmes, who analysed the survey, said a powerful legacy was under threat.

"Handshakes are dying out with the young, they don't do it and in general, even among people who were brought up with them, they are being used less and less," Dr Holmes said.

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"The handshake symbolises trust between individuals, countries, business and sportsmen as well.

"It is a tradition that we don't want to see die out."

Commissioned by a hand wash manufacturer, the survey of 1,000 people found 67 per cent said health fears made them reluctant to shake hands.

Dr Holmes said apart from germ phobias, people were more comfortable these days with the controlled social contact of a phone call or text message than face-to-face interaction which requires immediate and direct responses.

And while younger people sometimes used greetings like touching clenched fists, "high-fives" or air kisses, they were not being taught the art of the handshake by their parents and were therefore awkward about how to respond.

So, the solution to saving the handshake? Dr Holmes believes practice makes perfect, and may also mean preservation.

"For every person that shakes hands, then another person will start to think it's not such a bad thing," he said.

In her book, Watching the English, anthropologist Kate Fox writes: "Note, though, that the English handshake is always somewhat awkward, very brief, performed 'at arm's length', and without any of the spare-hand involvement - clasping, forearm patting, etc. - found in less inhibited cultures."

With the growing popularity of kissing (almost always the "air" variety) as a form of greeting, you have an etiquette minefield in a society distinctly ill at ease with physical contact.

The key problem with kissing someone hello is the question of how many - one quick peck in the cheek vicinity or the more elaborate two favoured in continental Europe.

If you go for the double barrell but your recipient is of the single school, you're left puckering into thin air while they've moved on to greet the next person.

Any sign of indecision from either party and a comical dance ensues while each tries to anticipate the other's next move, or lack thereof.

One solution is to plant one kiss and then pull the recipient in for a hug, thereby cutting off any access to a second smacker.

But then you're left to perform a rather uncomfortable dis-embrace before sloping off in embarrassment.

An English friend of mine has developed a strategy of kissing one cheek and then the other with such fluidity, grace and purpose that the kissee is in no doubt there will be two and it's over before they can even think about it.

It's the best solution I've seen, allowing a return to the stiff-upper-lip pretense that it never happened.

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References:

Baynes, Valkerie. 2010. "Britons letting go of the handshake". . Posted: January 31, 2010. Available online:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/the-other-side/britons-letting-go-of-the-handshake/story-e6frfhk6-1225825143509

Foreign threats to US raise tolerance for diversity, study finds

Research looks at how intergroup harmony in the US changed as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks

Foreign threats to the United States can encourage tolerance for diversity domestically and a corresponding intolerance for diversity internationally, according to a study by University of British Columbia (UBC) and Stanford University researchers published this week in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

On September 11, 2001, Paul Davies was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University working on the psychology of intergroup relations. As military jets escorted passenger airliners from the skies in the hours after terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and in the air over Pennsylvania, Davies realized that all around him the interactions between people had shifted dramatically.

"The world changed instantaneously," he says. "Foreigner became synonymous with enemy. There was all this animosity directed towards any foreigner, and at the same time there was an extraordinary outpouring of brotherly love within America. We had this paradox that 9/11 led to intergroup harmony inside the United States while leading to intergroup conflict outside the United States."

Davies decided to look more closely at what was happening. Within a few months, he and co-investigators Claude Steele and Hazel Rose Markus from Stanford University had a research program ready to go — examining the relationship between foreign threats, national identity and citizens’ endorsement of models for both foreign and domestic intergroup relations.

"To the best of our knowledge, this line of research is the first to document these relationships," says Davies, who is now a professor of psychology at UBC’s Okanagan campus. "Our initial studies, conducted during the week of the six-month anniversary of 9/11, had Americans read a U.S. senator’s policy on intergroup relations. During this period of national challenge, Americans endorsed multiculturalism more as a domestic policy and assimilation more as a foreign policy."

Davies notes that a foreign policy of assimilation presumes that your nation’s values, principles, and practices are a model for all foreign cultures to emulate. That’s in stark contrast to multiculturalism, which strives to have a reciprocal relationship with other cultures and embraces
diversity as a source of strength.

In subsequent research, American participants were exposed to a United Nations report that either challenged or supported U.S. global status. Americans who read that foreigners were threatening the dominant status of the U.S. once again revealed a strong preference for assimilation (i.e. promoting the U.S. as a model for foreign countries to emulate) as a foreign policy, but Americans who read that foreigners were supporting the dominant status of the U.S. no longer revealed this preference.

"Most recently, we discovered that Americans primed with 9/11 — a foreign threat — revealed higher levels of national identity than those primed with the Columbine massacre — a domestic threat," says Davies. He points out that a heightened level of national identity predicted support for multiculturalism as a domestic policy and support for assimilation as a foreign policy.

"During a period of national challenge, embracing one’s national identity can be highly adaptive,"
Davies says. "The healing power of embracing one’s national identity was obvious among the 78 percent of Americans who indicated, in 2002, that 9/11 and its aftermath has changed America for the better. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that calamity can unite people in a way that shared humanity cannot."
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References:

University of British Columbia. 2008. "Foreign threats to US raise tolerance for diversity, study finds". SciCornwall. Posted:August 12, 2008. Available online: http://www.scicornwall.com/2008/08/foreign-threats-to-us-raise-tolerance-for-diversity-study-finds/