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The papers collected in this document are derived from a symposium held during the 1990 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archeology. The symposium, part of an increasing effort to make archeology more accessible to the general public, was dedicated solely to archaeology and education, and the papers described programs designed to involve young persons in archeology through schools, museums, and other means. Following introductory remarks by Marley R. Brown, III, the papers include: "Teacher Training Programs in Anthropology: The Multiplier Effect in the Classroom" (Ruth O. Selig); "The Pensacola Model of Public Archeology" (Judith A. Bense); "By Land or by Sea: Archeology Programs for Youths at the Museum of Florida History" (KC Smith); "Project Origins: Archeology for People with Handicaps" (Micheal Faught; James S. Gittings); "Archeology Is More Than a Dig: Educating Children about the Past Saves Sites for the Future" (Carol Ellick); and "A 'Compleat' Curriculum: Historical Archeology on the Undergraduate Level" (Robert L. Schuyler). (DB)

This paper is a brief summary of a large historic research project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project aimed to document and analyse the nature of mathematics education from tens of thousands of years ago to the present. Data sources varied from first contact and later records, archaeology, oral histories, language analyses, lived experiences, memoirs, government documents, field studies, and previous research especially doctoral studies. The impacts of colonisation, post-colonial aid and globalisation on mathematics education have been analysed and an understanding of the current status of mathematics education established as neocolonial. Managing neocolonial education policies may minimise the loss of cultural ways of thinking.

This document contains 29 papers presented at the 7th-10th Navajo Studies Conferences, 1994-97. The papers are arranged in five sections: "Aesthetics: Rugs, Baskets, and Rock Art"; "Doing Anthropology"; "Health"; "Economics"; and "Contact between Cultures." The papers are: "The First Navajo Studies Conference: Reflections by the Cofounders" (Charlotte J. Frisbie, David M. Brugge); "Dine Interpretations of Navajo Rug Styles" (Kathleen Tabaha); "The Image Weavers: Contemporary Navajo Pictorial Textiles" (Susan Brown McGreevy); "Rock Art: Comparison of Navajo Realistic Style with Plains Biographical Style" (David M. Brugge); "The Storytellers: Contemporary Navajo Basket Makers" (Susan Brown McGreevy); "Navajos Learning and Doing Archaeology: NNAD's Student Training Program at Northern Arizona University" (Davina R. TwoBears); "Road Project Ethnography: Observations on the Role of the Anthropologist and the Cultural Specialist" (David O. Ortiz); "The Final Stages of a Life History Project" (Charlotte J. Frisbie, Augusta Sandoval); "The Landscape of a Life: Life History and the Archaeological Record" (Karen R. Benally, Paul F. Reed); "The Navajo Uranium Miner Oral History and Photography Project" (Doug Brugge et al); "The Trader and Navajo Culture Change" (Theodore R. Reinhart); "Structural Stabilization at Old Fort Ruin" (Larry L. Baker, Christopher L. Zeller); "Issues of Familial Support in the Management of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus" (Julia Roanhorse); "Lifestyle Changes among the Navajo: A Cause of Diabetes?" (Sonya Yazzie); "'They Need To Use Both Sides'" (Nelson Sims); "'I Have No Relatives': Navajo Narratives of Distress and Therapeutic Transformation" (Elizabeth Lewton, Thomas Csordas); "Family Dynamics in Three Generations of Navajo Women" (Joanne E. McCloskey); "Contemporary Navajo Wage Labor and Income Patterns" (Scott C. Russell); "Extraction or Reciprocation? Conflict over the Navajo Nation's Ponderosa Pine Forests" (Patrick Pynes); "The Silent Crisis: Economic Consequences of Multiple Appropriations of Navajo Weavers' Patterns and Production" (Kathy M'Closkey); "Navajo Land Use in the Early Twentieth Century" (Riitta Laitinen); "Hubbell Trading Post Today: A View of Working in a Trading Post" (Maralyn Yazzie); "Room To Trade: Space and the Navajo Trading Experience" (Laura R. Marcus); "Navajo Weavers as Artists: Individuals and Regional Styles" (Nancy Mahaney); "The Creation of a Usable Past" (Teresa J. Wilkins); "Museum Presentations of American Indians" (Mark Tomas Bahti); "Traditional and Academic Plant Study" (Kenneth J. Pratt); "The Navajo Great Gambler Legend: A Global Phenomenon" (Kathryn Gabriel); and "Atonement or Harmony: An Examination of The Beatitudes in Navajo Thought" (Peter Kakos). (Contains references in most papers, photographs, and contributor profiles.) (SV)

The eight papers in this collection focus on the preservation of both print and nonprint library materials: (1) "Properties and Problems of Modern Papers" (D. J. Priest, United Kingdom); (2) "On the Origin of Papermaking in the Light of Scientific Research on Recent Archaeological Discoveries" (Jixing Pan, China); (3) "Researches in New Conservation Methods in the State Library of the Czech Socialist Republic-Prague and Their Effect" (J. Hanzlova, Czechoslovakia); (4) "On Terminology in the Field of Document Conservation. Some Problems" (Z. P. Dvoriashina, USSR); (5) "The Control of Insects in Libraries and Archives" (M. L. Cox, United Kingdom); (6) "FORMAT--Canada's Computerized Information System for Audiovisual Materials" (Donald Bidd, Canada); (7) "A Strategy for the Preservation of Audiovisual Materials" (Peter C. Mazikana, Zimbabwe); and (8) "Progress in the Preservation of Audiovisual Material" (Helen P. Harrison, United Kingdom). (CGD)

Currently, the use of technology in education has become more popular. Special attention has been given to the adaptation of computer technology into the teaching-learning process for effective learning and increasing students' achievement. In recent years, it has been realized that there is an immense benefit in applying computer technology in the social studies classroom in the context of the high school. The first purpose of this study is to investigate the degree of application of these technologies in the social studies classroom, specifically it application in the discipline of archaeology. The second purpose is to show the use of different technologies in order to replace the traditional process of archaeological documentation with a digital one. In this contribution it is presented the methodology used for recording archaeological data in the excavation and in the laboratory, which consist on online database system for field recording and photogrammetry as a means of graphical documentation for the development of the excavated trenches. [For the complete volume, "Proceedings of International Conference on Social and Education Sciences (IConSES) (Chicago, Illinois, October 15-18, 2020). Volume 1," see ED626033.]

In this paper we will investigate the way that the technological progress and the Informatics contributed greatly to the field of Archaeology. There will be analyzed the terms of virtual archaeology and virtual reality in archaeology and there will be an extended reference to the applications and the computer graphics that archaeologists could use for their own scientific purposes. It will be attempted to be shown the way that computer graphics can create not only an authentic copy of an archaeological find but can function also as a useful tool of learning for new archaeologists and the broader public that is interested in the ancient past. [For the complete proceedings, see ED557189.]

A photojournalism project is described in this paper that integrated the disciplines of photography, archaeology, and ethnology in an examination of prehistoric megalithic monuments in Ireland and their folklore. Following an introduction tracing the history of the monuments and pointing to the maintenance in Ireland of a body of oral tradition concerning many of them, the paper describes the methodology used in the project, which included (1) preliminary research and selection of monuments to be studied, (2) the study of archival folklore material, (3) the collecting of taped folklore interviews, and (4) the photographing of the people who served as folklore sources and of the monuments. Finally, the paper lists the types of monuments often associated with traditional beliefs and reports the most prevalent types of beliefs concerning the monuments, which involve beliefs about fairies, witches, gods, heroes, and kings, as well as fanciful "scientific" speculations about the creation and function of the monuments. Appendixes provide a list of instructions for folklore collectors, excerpts of transcripts from folkloric material collected for the project, and a bibliography of selected relevant publications. (GT)

This paper explored how art history is taught in secondary schools. The author maintained that identifying the origins and evolution of ideas ensures that proposed models of teaching art history adhere to the philosophical base from which they derive. The paper is divided into five sections. In the first part, the author described four categories of historical inquiry: realistic, formal, expressive, and pragmatic, but argued that these are not mutually exclusive. He maintained that student populations, available resources, and educational goals are other factors that must be considered when deciding which model of art-history instruction to use. Section two, Models of Art History Instruction, reported on three approaches to art history instruction: works of art, information, and process. In section three, Art History as an Inquiry Process, differences between teaching art history as information processing or as a process of finding and answering questions are discussed. The Process Model: An Example Derived from Archaeology is the theme of section four. The author chose Native- American rock art to illustrate how such a lesson could be taught. He illustrated ways in which certain art historical practices might proceed in art education classrooms. Five categories are described: reconstruction, description, attribution, interpretation, and explanation. In the summary, the author explained how an instructor using the inquiry process must design questions which will encourage students to invent their own further inquiries. Resource files are necessary in the classroom for this process. (KM)

Just as a contemporary professional person maintains copies of wills, real estate records, and court decrees, so did 15th-century B.C. residents of the ancient city of Nuzi. Such documents, then and now, are generally written by legal scribes. The Hittites of the 14th century B.C. maintained detailed manuals concerning the care and feeding of their horses. A Hittite birth ritual text refers to other texts in its descriptions of how women were to be prepared for giving birth. Considered by modern Egyptologists as among the greatest literary works of all time is Egypt's "The Report about the Dispute of a Man with His Ba," from 2000 B.C. It concerns a man's discussion with his own soul or spirit. The dispute is about the existence of life after death; it is metaphoric, self-referential, and searches for meaning in both life and death. The script is hieratic and phonetic. Recent reinterpretations have cast doubt on the common perception that the scientific inquiry that occurred in Greece was significantly more profound than that ongoing in China at the same time. In addition, analysts now doubt that alphabetic writing produces more logical thinking than does syllabic script, or that writing gives rise to "mentalities" that do not exist in non-literate cultures. It has even been asserted that conceptions of oral/literate dichotomies in thinking arose to distance European culture from Black or Semitic historical influences. Archaeological evidence disputes the belief that cultures outside of or previous to Athenian culture were primarily oral and hence incapable of the same kinds of cultural achievement of societies that used alphabetic phonetic scripts instead of syllabic phonetic scripts. (A photostat of a portion of the "Report about the dispute of a Man with His Ba" is attached.) (SB)

Interest in early means of communication and in the uses and kinds of media that existed in ancient cultures is starting to grow among communication scholars. Conversation analysis of these cultures is obviously impossible, so that the emphasis must rest with material cultural artifacts. Many ancient cultures used non-verbal codes for dyadic communication. These cultures also applied their ingenuity to the problem of extending communications across distance and space, including smoke and whistle languages. The distinguishing characteristics of whistle languages have been identified. Trade and transportation networks were widely utilized for extending communication beyond the limits of smoke and whistling. Record keeping, often in extensive library facilities, was the primary method for extending communication over time. A particularly sophisticated method of record keeping was the "quipu" used by the Incas of Peru, a system of knotted cords that somewhat resembled old mops. Artworks, such as painting on ceramic vessels, provide insight into cultural lifestyles and information, and often pottery shards contained short notes. Incised stones were sometimes used for the same purposes. In short, what may have been characterized as pre-literate cultures actually possessed a vast array of communication media that were innovative, flexible, adaptive and functional. (HB)

The way archaeologists use tools and draw inferences about them to disembed meaning from artworks is examined. The prehistoric rock paintings of the Lower Pecos River (Texas) are used to illustrate these ideas. An overview of this rock art, specifically the Amistad reservoir, is provided. The deductions of archaeologists about the semi-nomadic people who lived in this environment, now southwest Texas and northern Mexico are depicted. A method for conducting an art-historical inquiry of the Lower Pecos pictography is outlined. W. Eugene Kleinbauer's definition of art historical inquiry is delineated, and his perspective is used to discuss the pictographs. Examples of intrinsic and extrinsic art historical questions are presented. An overview of the five basic stages of Lower Pecos pictographs is related, beginning with the oldest style--the Pecos River Style, followed by the Red Linear, Bold Line Geometric, Red Monochrome, and the Historic style. Four techniques/methods of the rock-art paintings are outlined: (1) the vegetal fiber brush; (2) artist's fingers; (3) beeswax crayons; and (4) blowing liquefied paint into the rock surface. Early archaeologists' interpretations are compared with more contemporary theories. The conclusion maintains that enhanced understanding of prehistoric and historic rock art requires a multi-disciplinary inquiry and that curricula in schools must be developed to include such information. (KM)

Useful models and ideas for multicultural and cross-cultural educators at all levels who want to use anthropological concepts and processes in the classroom are provided in eight papers. Papers describe six different projects which (1) involved high school students in the collection and analysis of data about local youth cultures; (2) engaged college students in an introductory anthropology course which conducted a participant-observation study of various small groups; (3) used oral history to teach about the concepts of culture and ethnicity; (4) emphasized direct experience and a hands-on approach in archaeology programs developed for pre-college students; (5) promoted an appreciation of cultural relativity and stereotyping by using obsolete films; and (6) examined the use of non-Western mathematics to improve students' mathematical concepts and skills and their cultural awareness. The last two papers deal with teacher training programs, including the use of the simulation BaFa BaFa and its juvenile version RaFa RaFa to teach about cultural pluralism, and pre-college teacher training programs in multicultural education. (RM)

This paper presents a new knowledge-based methodology and realisation for coherent contextualisation in prehistory and protohistory, deploying structural knowledge and structure-based fusion for problem solving. The goal of this fundamental long-term information science research is a sustainable realisation of multi-disciplinary knowledge integration. Essential means are facilities integrating complementary and descriptive knowledge and intrinsic object properties. The research presents a previously unpublished advanced practical implementation for contextualisation considering multi-disciplinary and multi-lingual knowledge object entities, resources, and references. Disciplines span prehistory, archaeology, natural sciences and humanities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Iroquois are one of the most thoroughly studied Indian peoples of this continent, many important aspects of their history and culture remain unexplained. For the past 20 years the Conference on Iroquois Research has reported on current research and discussed needs and opportunities for future research. Twenty papers are included in this document. These deal with such subjects as aspects of recent change on the Allegany Reservation, early years of the Seneca nation, etymology of the word "Iroquois," the Onondaga Bowl Game, and acculturation on the Tyendinaga Reserve in Canada. Another paper suggests the Huron and Iroquois may not have had as strong a matrilocal rule of residence in the 17th century as previously believed. Interest by the Tuscaroras to revive their language is also discussed. An ethnohistorical study of Hocheloga made in connection with the restudy of the Dawson site is given, as well as a discussion of some hitherto unreported pottery types in Eastern Ontario and Southern Quebec. Five papers report on archaeological work at the Kelso, Howlett Hill, Garoga, Simmons, and Cornish Sites. Three reports are concerned with other aspects of analysis and interpretation of archaeological data; these deal with pottery analysis in terms of "attributes" rather than types, pottery analysis as a source for inferences on social relationships and organizations among the Straits of Mackinac peoples, and the use of ethnographic data to interpret archaeological data from the Mohr site. The final paper deals with the Anthropology Study Curriculum Project. History and purposes of the Conference on Iroquois Research are also given. (Author/DS)

This paper outlines some of the research goals and methodological objectives of the Maritime Endangered Archaeology (MarEA) project, taking the maritime and coastal archaeology of the Kingdom of Bahrain as a case study. The Arabian Gulf's exponential population growth and fast rate of urban development, particularly in the coastal margins, has had a profound impact on the maritime cultural heritage (MCH) of the region and in particular, on the coastal heritage of the Kingdom of Bahrain over the last decades. Therefore, the need to document and assess threats to the maritime and coastal archaeology of the island has never been so urgent. MarEA aims to document and record submerged and coastal archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa, through the analysis of satellite imagery, extant datasets, and literature, working closely with local partners. The project evaluates disturbances and threats acting upon the cultural heritage. It does so by consolidating the information in EAMENA's (Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project) open-access database. This paper highlights MarEA's methodology by demonstrating an analysis of threats and changes that have destroyed, impacted, or continue to impact maritime cultural heritage sites in Bahrain, including Qal'at al-Bahrain, the coastal towns of Manama and Muharraq, and offshore sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss an Archeological analysis of two high school mathematics textbook series in an effort to investigate how actions for the doing of statistics are formed by statements from the statistics lessons the texts. The objective of this paper is not to present all of the findings related to the posed question, but to focus on discussing the methodology employed (i.e. Foucauldian Discourse Analysis), which is relatively novel for analyzing textbooks in mathematics education. One finding will be presented to highlight how the methodology employed can contribute to the field helping to uncover patterns not found using well established deductive frameworks. This methodological discussion is meant to provide an example of how using different methodologies can help to investigate issues in the field and problematize taken for granted norms against a new horizon to embrace the sociopolitical turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative methodology for assessment of geosite can be used for the sustainable management and conservation of geological heritage of an area. The main aim of this paper is to develop the methodology for identification, characterization and evaluation of every geosite based on the quantitative assessment. This early stage of evaluation discussed on criteria that cover all value sets and its potential of used. Value sets take into account the scientific value, cultural value, ecological value, aesthetic value and economic value, respectively. The total scores based on quantitative analysis will be used to determine the ranking of the geosite. Following the description of the proposed method, the paper presents the assessment results of thirteen selected geosite in the Archaeological Heritage of Lenggong Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A significant part of all research takes place in extra-academic organizations. Practitioner researchers often present their results in publications different from those in academia, e.g. in reports, sometimes (and here) referred to as 'gray literature'. Gray literature is increasingly available online. However, availability does not mean that reports are exploited to their full potential in research. Disciplines like archaeology have substantial problems with the scholarly communication and knowledge sharing between extra-academic and academic research. This paper approaches this problem from a report-user perspective. For the benefit of potential report users' gray literature literacies, report-writing practices are analyzed by means of practice theory. Qualitative interviews with six practitioner researchers in Swedish archaeology firms make up the material. The analysis focuses on how report writers draw on regulative, institutional, and infrastructural resources in their practices. Based on the findings about the practices in which reports are written and become informative, the paper presents seven suggestions supporting report users' potential to critically analyze and use report content. The results contribute to the information science field with insights into extra-academic information practices, and as input in a wider critical discussion of the information-related conditions for research outside academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports preliminary findings from select re-analyses and new excavations conducted under remit of the project 'Human Populations and Demographics in Qatar from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age' (performed in cooperation with Sidra Medicine, the Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and Qatar Museums Authority). Due to the absence of large settlements, our understanding of pre-Islamic societies in Qatar has until recently been extremely limited. However, progress in bioarchaeological research methods offers new possibilities to address this knowledge gap. Several thousand pre-Islamic burials can now be used as an important resource to elucidate the relationship between population dynamics and sociocultural changes in pre-Islamic Qatar. In addition to analysis of previously excavated skeletal remains, new excavations can be conducted in carefully chosen cemeteries from different pre-Islamic periods, thereby allowing bioarchaeological samples to be retrieved from undisturbed burial contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a radar data widens the possibilities of archeological prospection extremely. The resolution of the available sensors was quite limited that the detection of huge upstanding monuments or culture landscape was possible. Data of the remote sensing have different purposes of use. Radar data make it possible to monitor the Earth's surface in any weather. Radar is an active system that generates its own radiation in the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The radar systems work in the wavelength range distances 0.8 - 100 cm. This interval is divided into sub-bands, called the Ka, Ku, K, X, C, L, P. This paper shows two radar sensors. Sensor PALSAR with fine resolution of up to 7m, which is part of satellite ALOS and sensor SAR, which is part of the German satellites TanDEM-X with resolution of 6 m. In Peru there are many of archeological sites. Some of them are buried under a layer of sand or soil. The layer is usually tens of centimeters thick. For these purposes, we need sensor that can penetrate the soil and provide information about buried archeological sites as well. The archeological site Chankillo is a gut example. About Chankillo was written many articles. Chankillo is located near the small town of Casma in an area that is very rich in interesting historical objects (Sechin). Chankillo is a famous complex with thirteen towers that were used as a solar observatory (Ghezzi and Rugless, 2007 and Pavelka at all, 2013). Chankillo also has residential and gathering areas that we can see on Google Earth (GE). On GE we can also see that near Chankillo are a few rectangular constructions. About these construction sites there is not information. Therefore it is good to use radar data for information about this place. If radar sensors can penetrate the sand and detect the buried objects, it will be good strategic information for archaeologists. A second archeological site is the very famous Nazca desert plain in Peru, where there are well known structures called geoglyphs. The geoglyphs were studied by German mathematician named Maria Reiche (Reiche 1996). But the place near Nasca city called Palpa de Nasca is not only geoglyphs (Pavelka at all, 2013). A lot of other very interesting cultural and archaeological sites can be found in the Nasca area. At CTU, we started a new project that is focused on archaeo-astronomical orientations of important objects in Peru as a part of long term "Nazca" project. In this paper we use the radar data to identify historical object in the Nasca area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research deals with the development of a new type of game‐based learning environment: (M)MORPG based on mixed reality, applied in the archaeological domain. In this paper, we propose a learning scenario that enhances players’ motivation thanks to individual, collaborative and social activities and that offers a continuous experience between the virtual environment and real places (archaeological sites, museum). After describing the challenge to a rich multidisciplinary approach involving both computer scientists and archaeologists, we present two types of game: multiplayer online role‐playing games and mixed reality games. We build on the specificities of these games to make the design choices described in the paper. The proposed approach aims at raising awareness among people on the scientific approach in Archaeology, by providing them information in the virtual environment and encouraging them to go on real sites. We finally discuss the issues raised by this work, such as the tensions between the perceived individual, team and community utilities, as well as the choice of the entering point in the learning scenario (real or virtual) for the players’ involvement in the game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Foucault's understanding of power does not preclude the possibility of resistance, the depictions that emerge from his work fail to address resistance adequately. His is the work of the all-seeing Panopticon, the totalizing episteme, and the normalizing police. This paper seeks to understand why notions of resistance have been obscured in Foucault's work, despite his theory of power. The answer to this question can be found in Foucault's theory of discourse, embodied in both archaeology and genealogy. This theory subscribes to a specific view of discourse and practices that leads to the neglect of resistance. This paper begins with an exploration of both archaeology and genealogy, and the resulting studies that emerge from them. Having discussed the pitfalls to Foucault's approach to discourse, I then turn to the work of M.M. Bakhtin as an alternative. Bakhtin posits a dialogic approach to discourse analysis. I argue that a dialogic approach is more adequate in portraying resistance than Foucault's archaeology. To show this value-added I cite a specific example of a dialogic approach to an interaction between a doctor and a patient (Young, 1989). I offer Bakhtin's approach not in substitution to Foucault, but rather view the relationship as complimentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional (i.e. extra-academic) contract archaeology is an internationally widespread practice contributing significantly to the archaeology literature. However, professional knowledge production in archaeology, and most notably the professional report genre, is at times described as problematic. The problem descriptions are ambiguous and can be grouped under at least three different topics: concerns for content quality and practical accessibility, concerns for the comparably low degree of analytical and theoretical synthesizing in reports and concerns for lack of mutual knowledge transfer between academic archaeologists and professional archaeologists. Technical issues of access are to an increasing extent being solved. Format standardizations are also developing. Hence the report genre becomes more accessible, and the content more readable and informative. Yet articulations of attitudes toward the genre in archaeology text books and journal articles remain focused on the genre's problems. The aim of my ongoing dissertation research is to nuance the understanding of the professional report genre in archaeology. I do so by analyzing factors shaping reporting as it takes place in the intersection between academic norms, professional values and market logics. I argue an improved genre understanding is crucial to diminish cultural issues of access to the report literature, and also as a basis for development of reporting practices. In the dissertation research I analyze (1) perceptions about the report genre in archaeology literature, (2) information policy regulating reporting in archaeology, (3) how report writers and county board professionals interpret the reporting and report auditing work tasks and (4) the frames of reference report writers bring into reporting. The aim of this paper is to explicate the research design consisting of four sub-studies, to briefly report on findings from study no. 4, and to discuss preliminary, partial results from study no. 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The summer residence of Polish kings was built in Lobzow, a small village located in a previous neighboring Cracow city, former capital of Polish Kingdom. Nowadays Lobzow is a popular district situated close to the old historical center. The main aim of the paper is to present some research and design difficulties in the palace, connected with the specifics of the place, as well as the complicated stratigraphic situation, being the result of several transformations which took place in a residence during its long history. The very poor condition of the building was the first huge problem for the researchers and conservators. The interiors were seriously destroyed, among them were beautiful wooden painted ceilings, historical stone details, etc. In that circumstances the most important was to start architectural research and archeological excavation before conservation and designing works. The excavations and all required research also historical and archival started in 1999. Thanks to preserved written sources we know about early history of the royal palace. The beginnings of the residence date from XIV century when a small castrum was built. Next it was transformed into a huge Mannerist palace at the end of XVI century and rebuilt in a Baroque style a little bit later. Then it was demolished by Swedish army to be reconstructed and expanded in XIX century as cadets' high school. Because of its reach history with so many architectonical transformations, the palace is a true challenge for scientists and the reconstruction of its historical changes and following phases is like a puzzle. The results of the research gave some new information about this complicated but fascinating building. They confirmed mostly the information we had from historical sources but they allowed also to recognize some unknown phases and discovered some architectural solution applied here which we hadn't expected before. Although they became a base for the conservation designing and modernization actions leading to the final adaptation of the building. In a future one should take into account the revaluation of the surrounding park with the royal gardens and archaeological researches on the court yard. Nowadays the building belongs to Cracow University of Technology and it is a main seat of Faculty of Architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to tackle a problem that intrinsically affects archaeological sites located outside the places where they are generally found and valued: on the one hand, historical centres -where they tend to form part of musealisation projects on an urban scale- and, on the other hand, rural or natural environments -where the sites, generally of a larger scale, constitute a benchmark in themselves in terms of both protection, research and visitor reception. However, our research focuses on those archaeological sites located in the urban periphery and, more specifically, on their treatment by hands of the planning instruments that have designed the growth of the city in recent decades. The situation of economic growth experienced by Spain, together with other European countries, at the end of the last century and at the beginning of the present one, implied a great expansion of the urban fabric that ended up transforming in a short time the periphery of the cities and affecting the patrimonial elements (both natural and cultural) that were located in their borders, among them, numerous archaeological sites of great relevance. To this must be added the construction of large road infrastructures-roads and high-speed railroads-that accompanied the re-dimensioning of the urban-territorial network. To address its main objective, the work will follow a methodology based on in situ analysis, bibliography and official planning instruments over a case study located in the interior of Andalusia: the city of Lucena, in the province of Cordoba. This city is a paradigmatic example for analysing the effect of this double dynamic of urban growth and the implementation of large infrastructures, as well as the diversity in the destination and the effects that rapid urban expansion has had on its heritage elements, as it contains in its surroundings remains of different periods and occupations ranging from Prehistory (the Cave of the Angel) to Roman and Late Antiquity. As results, we can highlight three important sites that have suffered different fate: the Roman kilns of El Tejar, abandoned next to the construction of a highway; the Paleo-Christian and Late Antique basilica of Coracho, dismantled and moved to an environment out of context, surrounded by industrial buildings; and the Jewish necropolis, which forced the displacement of a large ring road, and it has been rehabilitated and opened to the public as a major tourist attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper describes the design strategies of an ecosystem of tools and services, currently under construction, developed in cooperation among archaeologists and computer science experts of the Università degli Studi di Milano and architects and topographers of the Politecnico di Milano. This ecosystem is based on the archaeological experience carried out in Tarquinia since 1982 in the frame of the “Tarquinia Project”. The project takes into account the analysis and processing of multifaceted archaeological evidences in a context-oriented environment, in which interdisciplinary contributions of several scientist are combined and integrated, in order to grasp the original system of interaction of different branches of the ancient reality. Such a cooperation needs a system of "query/communication" able to integrate archaeological data, artefacts and architectural structures (subsoil and over-ground), cartographic and photographic documentation and scientific contents, achieved in the past and implemented during the field research. The proposed ecosystem aims to provide a set of services for federating different existing data-sources (GIS, including 3D tools), through the definition of a semantic network of relationships among landscapes, stratigraphic layers, structures and artefacts of an excavation site (ArchMatrix). This ecosystem is based on an innovative global design method, focused on the management of raw-data captured and analyzed by different experts in a collaborative way. The aim is to develop a solution able to support analyses and studies grounded in the real needs of the archaeological investigation, by enabling archaeologists in producing archaeological and historical interpretations starting from the real core of the documentation they deal with. In such a framework, the present paper focuses on a novel approach to identify the object of the archaeological research, starting from the needs of field archaeology, and on the design of a system meant to solve problems according to an integrated approach in a unique context of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Robert K. Merton's middle range theory is one of the most influential programmatic statements on the epistemology of sociological theory. However, its accompanying theoretical procedures and ultimate goals remain vague. Consequently, the wide-recognition and favored usage of the middle range approach by both theorists and researchers seems to have contributed to the abandonment of a path toward a systematic, grand sociological theory. Nonetheless, there have been some attempts to link middle-range theorizing to grand theory. This paper searches for a possible of grand system of sociological theory by examining three emergent strategic pathways to achieving a grand theory from the level of middle-range theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stratigraphic layout of an excavation determines how finds can be interpreted regarding their timeline and relationships with each other. Older excavation reports do not fully record this layout however and reconstructing the relationships is often subject to conjecture. In this paper we present a first approach for reasoning over and visualizing the stratigraphy given only profile information. We will demonstrate how this can be used for spatial analysis, but also for reasoning over different processes contributing to the found layout, including potential influences that left no visible traces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These are excerpts from the closing talk at the "XIIth Conference on Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum", which took place last Summer in Thessaloniki -an excellent place to enjoy an interest in archeology. A more complete personal view of the early days of QCD and the rest of the Standard Model is given in [1]. Here I discuss a few of the points which -to my judgement- illustrate well the QCD evolution (in time), both from a scientific and a sociological point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven examples of a special type of jewellery - flat, double spiral, bronze wire earrings have been recorded in monuments dated to the late Hunno-Sarmatian period. This paper analyses the main characteristics of the jewellery in question and their area of distribution. It also focuses on a likely source of origin within the culture of the Altai people. We note that neither prototypes nor analogues have been found at Altai sites dated to the Early Iron Age and Middle Ages. Nor have analogues been found in adjacent regions of South Siberia and Central Asia. Nonetheless, a detailed study of the criteria of discovery and characteristics of the earring type throws light on their date and origin. According to the authors, these artefacts date to the period between the second half of the 3rd century and the 5th century AD, and their origin is related to the appearance in Altai of samples of the Xianby material culture from Northern China via Mongolia during the time of Tobas and Muyun dynasty rule. All earrings in question were found in burials of women. Due to their unique nature, flat, double spiral-shaped earrings are established as a diagnostic attribute of the Altai archaeological culture in the late Hunno-Sarmatian period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated approach now is a priority in archaeological sites study. In this paper, we consider the possibility of modern methods usage to estimate archaeological hillforts condition on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan. In our view, the analysis of medieval fortified settlements of X-XIII centuries, the most common in the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan, has the highest priority. Because always the main criteria for the selection of favorable place to settle was the closeness of the water and the presence of natural fortifications, most of the archaeological sites usually located on the banks and terraces of small rivers, where influence of fluvial and exogenous processes is possible. Intensive territory development (plowing, irrigation, active construction, etc.) also led to a significant change in exterior of monuments and often - to their complete disappearance. So, the main task of our investigation is to provide both historical data and operational information about the current state of archaeological sites. This article gives an example of modern techniques application to study hillforts that exposed to different types of negative impacts. The complex method including GIS, multitemporal remote sensing data and GNSS survey provides not only assessment of the risk of study sites damage, but also archaeological data updating and development of specific measures for historical and cultural heritage conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term household is perhaps for anyone unfamiliar concept. In general, it is possible to say that the current household responds to jointly economize family living under one roof. However, in retrospect to the general description, understanding and especially the subsequent possibility of identifying households may vary considerably. Within the Slovak (and world as well) history the first households can be considered in the Neolithic period, when were established the first permanent settlements. Attention is focused especially on them because settlement building represents a major milestone in human society. Households were defined by scientists in countless ways. Each study focused on prehistoric households gave its own view of their clarification. Ultimately, there is a problem how to define a household term in prehistoric times without using traditional, contemporary, vision of this term. Difficulties also lie in how to identify the household in the archaeological record. Our study focuses on the Neolithic settlements in Slovakia and the main aim is to highlight the possibilities and challenges in the study of households in this period. We will attempt to summarize available information on households from published papers related to the observed period and to find answers to the questions of the existence of households and to which extent data are available in the archaeological record. Household archaeology as an independent research direction has worldwide undoubtedly several decades of tradition therefore it is time to interpret settlement features and finds in the territory of Slovakia in a new way, with a focus on the activities of households, their relation to families and neighbouring residences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peru is worldwide known due to UNECSO world heritage like Cuzco, Machu Picchu or Nasca desert lines. However, other areas are unknown for many people and cannot be saved on national level due lack of finance. Many valuable historical areas were destroyed in the past by climatic events; many were destroyed during last five centuries by man. Near well-known city of Nasca, there is an archaeological site Cahuachi, which was a ceremonial centre of the Nasca culture. This culture is often joined with famous Nasca lines, whose origin and reason are still unknown. There is much evidence that indicates that the Nasca Lines were created by people from Cahuachi; it is supported by a number of found artefacts but the origin and purpose of all Nasca Lines are still not explained satisfactory (mainly figural geoglyphs or trapezoids). The archaeological survey [10] shows that this important centre was at least three times damaged by El-Niňo; last catastrophic flooding around 350 AC meant the end of this big ceremonial centre. The complete fall of Nasca civilization was around 750AC. This was apparently due to El Niño effect which triggered destructive flooding. Excavation shows many pieces of evidence of this catastrophe. German-Czech expedition in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2012 investigated and documented some parts of Peruvian history; original maps using terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry, GNSS measurements and very high resolution satellite images have been created. Field work was focused on dating of some parts near Nasca city; project outputs will be described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the already existing traditional methods of archaeological field data classification and archiving do not meet modern requirements in the context of accuracy and convenience. The purpose of this study is to create and test more effective methods based on close range photogrammetry and GIS, which can be used to record all the stages of archaeological excavation process. Within the scope of the pilot project covering the territory of Bulgar ancient town (heritage asset), four methods of close range photogrammetry were used to depict all the excavation objects: 1) technique of central axis; 2) technique of perspective route photography shooting; 3) technique of fixed angles; 4) technique of suborthogonal photography shooting around perimeter. To reduce the cost of the survey, amateur cameras were used. Photogrammetric measurement results are: orthophoto, digital terrain model, three-dimensional model covered with surface texture. These data eliminate the need of sketching excavation objects and performing leveling. Success depends only upon the correct choice of the positioning method. The method proposed in this paper is a finished tool which can be used by archaeologists. During the pilot test it became possible to minimize cartographic activities. Quality of the result obtained using photogrammetry and GIS was significantly higher in comparison to manual processing outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scope of this paper is a very actual subject within the Romanian archaeology: the identification of the raw matter used to manufacture certain categories of prehistoric stone tool inventory, as well as the tracing of its provenance. The artifacts subjected to the analysis originate within the Suceava Plateau, a subunit of the Moldavian Plateau, located in the Northeastern Romania, a region well-known for its rich Bronze Age finds. From a geo-structural point of view, the Suceava Plateau overlays the Moldavian Platform, this is in fact the southwestern edge of the East European Platform. Out of the nine-sample group selected for the analysis, eight are fragments of stone axes of Early and Middle Bronze Age (around 3500-1500 BC); the remaining sample was extracted from the principal material used to raise one of the tumuli of the Bronze Age barrow cemetery of Horodnic de Jos (Suceava Co.), investigated by the archaeologists of Suceava between 2012 and 2013. The authors' aim is to identify the source area of the raw material, on the basis of the thin microscopy sections of the samples. The final conclusions are that the dominant materials are the effusive rocks originating in the neogene volcanic rocks of the inner piedmont of the Eastern Carpathians, as well as the rocky intrusions within wildflysch formations (Hauterivian -- Albian) of the Rarau Syncline, located in the north-central area of the same mountain range. Both sources are located at around 150 km from the central part of the Suceava Plateau, where are located the archaeological sites out of which the samples were taken. Three of the analyzed axes are made of detritic sedimentary rocks originating in two different geostructural units -- the Moldavian Platform and the Carpathian Flysch -- easy to procure rocks even today, from outcrops or riverbeds. Concurrently, this analysis raises some issues: how well-structured a process was the prospection, extraction and shipment of raw material? Were there traveling craftsmen, production and distribution/redistribution centers for this type of artifacts? It is worth noting that a multitude of stone axes types, which cover chronologically almost 1500 years, and pertain culturally to different prehistoric civilizations, show the same area of origin for their raw material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reconstructions are commonly used in archaeology to represent cultural heritage monuments that had been lost or damaged by natural causes. Traditionally, these reconstructions require a huge number of human resources and large ranges of time, resulting in high costs of production. To tackle with this issue, many researchers developed semi-automatic techniques to produce virtual models expeditiously. These procedural techniques provide different ways of represent buildings, including interiors and outer facades, in an archaeological or modern context. However, the existing techniques focusing building interiors only support the production of virtual models composed mainly by regular shapes such as rectangles. In this paper it will be presented the first steps of a novel methodology to provide a solution for the generation of building interiors constrained by arbitrary convex shapes. This methodology uses a specific ontology with a set of rules in order to regulate the generation process. The sequence of steps includes the room placement and area definition, section cuts and area readjustments, room linking and finally the extrusions and roof placement to deliver the final 3D model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrestrial laser scanning with the close-range photogrammetry is now one of the most effective and most accurate, non-invasive methods of historic monuments inventory, especially during in-field archaeological and architectural works. In addition to the possibility of object's geometry registration, together with imaging documentation, the laser beam intensity of reflectance has recently become more important. It has been widely applied (as a complementary parameter) directly in the analytical works and monumental objects' surface detection, as well as, indirectly, during the diagnosis of the historical substance. The objective of this paper is to discuss selected issues related to performed field works concerning the ruins of the castle in Iłża, in Poland, which include acquisition and integration of data, as well as analysis and interpretation of the mentioned intensity of the reflectance parameter. The final result is the practical utilization of data for evaluation of behaviour of selected parts of a described object. Works are performed with the use of non-destructive methods of documenting and recognition of cultural resources, developed by the Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw within the research project "Utilisation of laser scanning and remote sensing for protection, investigations and inventory of the cultural heritage. Development of non-destructive, digital methods of documenting and recognition of resources of the architectural and archaeological heritage", within the programme of the Minister for Science and Higher Education, called "The National Programme for Development of Humanities". [6]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in the nineties, new technology for the documentation of archaeological and historical objects has been preferred in research. Very rapid development of the new technologies based on computer processing or computer-aided techniques with rapid digital camera development such as laser scanning meant a great change in general. The modern approach in spatial documentation deals with image-based modeling. There is a problem with the focusing of whole spatial objects. Non-sharp parts cannot be successfully processed to a precise point cloud or 3D model. So far, it has been necessary to capture spatial or significantly curved objects in small increments. Recently, there has been an evolving commercial market of plenoptic camera technology. Such a well-known product is the Lytro camera, a low-cost plenoptic camera. The main ability of this technology is to capture traces of light rays inside the camera. Due to this property of plenoptic cameras, we are able to produce images with extended depths of field. Photogrammetry has faced the image focus problem in the whole area since the beginning. The ability of creating images with an extended depth of field is suitable property for close range photogrammetry, where objects could be imaged in a very short distance. Low image resolution and the ability of producing images with an extended depth of field makes this technology usable for small object documentation. This paper will introduce the testing of this technology for the Czech Technical University in Prague for the documentation of small bronze archaeological findings. Images with an extended depth of field have been used as a base for the creation of 3D documentation of these archaeological findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile mapping with laser scanning is frequently limited to the sole geometric reconstruction of objects or surfaces. In the special case of the construction of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of intertidal zone of beaches, this task is known to be very challenging. In the context of the interdisciplinary research project named 'SeArch', which aims at documenting and managing archaeological patrimony in the North Sea, a field campaign was organized in the summer of 2013. During this campaign, an amphibious vehicle (ARGO) was equipped with a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) in profiler mode, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a Real-Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System (RTK GNSS) and a PC hydrographic data acquisition software and huge storage capacity. Based on previous research, this configuration appeared to have the best performance under the environmental conditions at the Belgian North Sea coast. Especially for the intertidal zones of beaches, the use of this mobile platform resulted in very promising results from a geometrical point of view. A summary of the results of the campaign is presented in this paper. Although the focus of this campaign was on the construction of DEMs with a high resolution and a high accuracy, the used Leica HDS 6200 phase-based laser scanner also returned a backscatter value for each measured point. A provisional analysis of these values suggested a relation between the physical properties of the reflecting surface and the registered backscatter values. However, earlier studies have also demonstrated the influence of the incidence angle and measured distance on this backscatter value. As will be discussed in this paper, a correction function can be defined that takes these parameters into account as weights for corrected backscatter data. In combination with the commonly used point cloud, the corrected values allow the calculation of false-color composites of the measured surface and the detection and description of features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research deals with the development of a new type of game‐based learning environment: (M)MORPG based  on mixed reality, applied in the archaeological domain. In this paper, we propose a learning scenario that enhances players’  motivation thanks to individual, collaborative and social activities and that offers a continuous experience between the  virtual  environment  and  real  places  (archaeological  sites,  museum).  After  describing  the  challenge  to  a  rich  multidisciplinary  approach  involving  both  computer  scientists  and  archaeologists,  we  present  two  types  of  game:  multiplayer online role‐playing games and mixed reality games. We build on the specificities of these games to make the  design choices described in the paper.  The proposed approach aims at raising awareness among people on the scientific  approach in Archaeology, by providing them information in the virtual environment and encouraging them to go on real  sites. We finally discuss the issues raised by this work, such as the tensions between the perceived individual, team and  community utilities, as well as the choice of the entering point in the learning scenario (real or virtual) for the players’  involvement in the game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the discursive approaches to innovation policy analysis in Finland. The author's look into the formation and development of the Finnish innovation policy and discusses the archaeological approach in innovation policy. They also examine the approaches used in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy changes.

The Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (KCCAMS) facility specializes in using radiocarbon (14C) as a tracer for the global carbon cycle (GCC). KCCAMS distinguishes between natural and anthropogenic carbon found in natural waters, soils, sediments, the atmosphere, and biota. Presented here is an overview of our compact accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) system. A brief description of technical modifications that allow us to obtain high beam current output from the ion-source (~225 μA of 12C-) and achieve high precision (0.2-0.3%), with minimum downtime for maintenance is also given. General requirements of 14C-AMS sample preparation are summarized including recent advancements allowing the measurement of samples < 0.100 mg of carbon. In this review paper, the importance of the global carbon cycle and how the 14C-AMS (as tracer) has assisted into understanding carbon exchange and cycling between the Earth's reservoirs-terrestrial, atmospheric, and marine-are succinctly illustrated and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of using Microsoft's Kinect to create a low-cost and portable system to virtually navigate, through a prototype 3D GIS, the digitally reconstructed ancient Maya city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copan in Honduras. The 3D GIS, named QueryArch3D, was developed as part of the MayaArch3D project (http://mayaarch3d.unm.edu), which explores the possibilities of integrating databases and 3D digital tools for research and teaching on ancient architectures and landscapes. The developed system, based on the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), controls in a remote and touchless mode the movements in the 3D environment in order to create a sense of spatial awareness and embodiment. A user can thus use gestures to interact with information stored in the spatial database, calling up photos, videos, textual descriptions as he/she moves through the virtual space of the ancient Maya city. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

CARARE is a best practice network funded by the EU ICT Policy Support Programme. It is aimed at establishing a best practice network of heritage agencies, archaeological organisations and research institutions to establish an aggregation service for Europeana for archaeological and architectural digital content, including images, texts and 3D objects. CARARE is particularly focused on recommendations for metadata schemas dedicated to archaeological and architectural heritage and on solutions for the publication of 3D and Virtual Reality content. This paper describes the recommendations which have been made by the project for publishing 3D objects online in easily accessible formats such as 3D PDF with the metadata necessary for discovery in Europeana. It is illustrated by the contribution of the Scuola Normale Superiore and its work in preparing 3D representations of Pompeii monuments for publication through Europeana. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Our project attempts to understand the operation of power in the development of computer-based information systems using Foucault's conception of discourse. Foucault's "genealogy" sees power not in the characteristics or resources of particular actors, but as a continuing chain of power/knowledge encounters. The "knowledge" aspect of these encounters is partly understood through Foucault's "archaeology". Thus long-term power/knowledge chains characterise systems of formation that pervade discourse, and influence immediate power/knowledge encounters. In particular we look at systems of formation that could be labeled "management" and "information technology" and their entanglement in the "process" of information systems development. This distinct understanding of "discourse analysis" influences our approach to our interpretive research methodology. In this paper we will demonstrate how our approach to interpretive analysis works for a pilot interview, positing several tests from the pilot interview for further investigation. This rarely seen approach to IS research presents a benefit when studying the topic of power, because we may be able to grasp through exteriority the deep structures that influence the narrative of an individual. This may represent a gain in the provability of the interpretative IS research choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research in four offices of Brobeck, a failed law firm, highlights the importance of failed companies as research sites. We show how a failing organization actively abandons organizational artifacts as the values and norms around the artifacts cease to function. We put forth a method of organizational archeology, which combines ethnographic, archival, and historical approaches, to uncover the different stages of failure and illuminate the micro-processes of de-organization. Materiality, the interaction between members of the organization and techno-social, physical and digital artifacts, emerges as a central interpretive frame for understanding organizational failure. While previous research has looked at the organizational "wake," we develop its material counterpart, the organizational "burial." This paper sits at the intersection of materiality and organizational failure in organization studies. From this perspective, we contribute a new view of organization; the organization is defined pari passu by the organizational artifacts revealed in the course of disbanding. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the Laconia Acropolis Virtual Archaeology project (LAVA), a co-operative archaeological learning environment that has been developed to address the need for students to be able to engage with realistic archaeological excavation scenarios. The practice of fieldwork lies at the heart of archaeology yet poses particular problems for the learning of the subject. The opportunities for students to gain real-world fieldwork experience are limited. Even when available the roles that students can play, and responsibilities that they can take, are constrained. This paper describes the motivation for, and design of a system that helps students collaborate in exploring virtual archaeological excavations and facilitates them in constructing an improved understanding of the subject. We make use of computer games methodologies to provide an engaging system. We deploy a range of technologies to bring alive resources derived from real archaeological excavation. We provide an infrastructure which supports a group-based exploratory approach and we also integrate 3D gaming technology with a service-based learning environment to provide anytime-anywhere access and thereby support self paced learning. It is not an aim of this project to replace real-world fieldwork practice; rather our aim is to both compliment and enhance that practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of radioactivity, a fundamental property of certain atoms, is credited to several scientists, including Henri Becquerel and Marie and Pierre Curie, who together made ground-breaking discoveries that paved the way for the use of radioactive isotopes in various applications in fields such as medicine, agriculture, industry, or archaeology. In medicine especially, radioactivity plays a crucial role, with application in both diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, including cancer. However, radioisotopes also pose potential risks to human health and the environment if not handled properly, causing damage to cells and increase the risk of cancer and other health problems. Nevertheless, their uses are regulated and monitored to ensure safety and, therefore, their utilization has firmly increased in the last decades. Overall, radioactive isotopes are a valuable tool in a wide range of fields and their continued development and application will remain important for years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]