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Dating agricultural terraces is a notoriously difficult problem for archaeologists. The frequent occurrence of residual material in terrace soils and the potential for post-depositional disturbance mean that conventional artefactual and lab-based dating methods often provide unreliable dates. In this paper we present a new technique using luminescence field profiling coupled with OSL dating to produce complete (relative) sequences of dates for sedimentary stratigraphies associated with agricultural terraces and earthworks. The method is demonstrated through a series of case-studies in western Catalonia, Spain, in which we reconstruct the formation sequence of earthwork features from the Middle Ages through to the present day. OSL profiling at the time of archaeological survey and excavation permitted spatially and temporally resolved sediment ‘chronologies’ to be generated, and provides the means to interpret the environmental and cultural archives contained in each. The case-studies presented here show that luminescence approaches are a valuable tool to reconstruct landscape histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eclectic twentieth-century Italian intellectual and militant Emilio Sereni (1907–1977) is well known for his works dealing with the history of the Italian agricultural landscape, which enjoyed widespread editorial success and were translated into English and French. Yet his intellectual influences, as well as his scientific personality, have generated little academic interest. This is partly the effect of the relative academic marginality of Sereni, who was an example of an intellectual who alternated political work and ‘pure’ research outside the university. Using the primary sources held in the extraordinary archives Sereni left behind, and which have only recently been opened to researchers, this paper addresses his connection to geography, a discipline that played a pivotal and little-known role in his interdisciplinary work. It also shows the importance of the international transfer and circulation of knowledge to that work. At the same time, by retracing Sereni's references, the paper analyses the complex and controversial relationship between science and political commitment which characterised both his career and his intellectual generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The genetic structure of populations is impacted by environmental factors of both natural and anthropogenic origin. These factors can affect dispersion, gene flow and selective pressures. We test whether natural environmental factors or anthropogenic factors influence the genetic structure of the amphipod, Melita plumulosa (Crustacea: Melitidae), which serves as an indicator of environmental health in estuaries along eastern Australia. Sequence data from one mitochondrial and two nuclear loci were collected and analyzed from eight geographically distinct populations spanning the known distribution of this species. We identified two major clades corresponding to the east and south coasts of Australia, and populations also largely grouped according to geography within each clade. Population differentiation indicated all sampling localities to be distinct from one another and sequence divergences suggested ancient divergence, with the deepest genetic divergences between the eastern and southern populations. Reproductive compatibility did not indicate cryptic speciation between populations. Sequence divergence and population differentiation suggest historic geographic isolation dating back to the Pleistocene to have influenced the population biogeography of M. plumulosa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]