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Inflammatory states usually precede the development of an organ or systemic pathologies. Whether a given infection that causes such a state has a chance to develop, depends on many individual and environmental factors. Post-inflammatory changes can be traced in the osseous material. Therefore, macroscopic, radiological and histological analysis was performed on the upper epiphysis of the right fibula (caput fibulae) with a lesion within the articular surface turned towards the tibia (facies articularis capitis fibulae). The research material came from the excavations led in Tell Masaikh (Syria).

The search for truth in the sciences which deal with the prehistoric past seems exceptionally attractive. What is involved in them is not only the historical dimension, but also an attempt at understanding the present moment. This trivial statement may in practice cause a lot of trouble, since the issue at stake is actually not how “truth” is defined, but rather how we arrive at it. We need to remember that while the first stage of the scientific inquiry usually involves the gathering and description of facts, the second stage is mainly concerned with their explanation and interpretation. At both stages of scientific cognition – that is both in the process of obtaining facts and interpreting them – truth can be falsified by mistake or on purpose. Thus, the main aim of science – to make our comprehension agree with the subject (the state of affairs) under scrutiny – can be suppressed by subjective motivation. It is therefore recommendable to present various reasons behind such a peculiar “emendation” of truth in prehistoric research.

Qasr Shemamok, a large tell situated about 30 km southwest of Erbil, close to the village of Tarjan, is a well-known site of Iraqi Kurdistan. It has been identified as the remains of the ancient city of Kakzu (or Kilizu) since the 19th century. In 2012, a French archaeological Mission, guided by O. Rouault with a European team, and funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came to work in Erbil, answering an invitation from the Kurdish authorities, and from the Erbil Salaheddin University, thanks to the strong support of the local French Consulate. The text presents the first results of the anthropological work at Qasr Shemamok, conducted in the 2012 season.

The manuscript presents the results of anthropological work in Tell Masiakh conducted in the 2010 season. Unfortunately the 15th season of excavation was conducted only in Tell Masaikh. The second site (Terqa) was closed for the excavation. The human remains were studied in an excavation house in Tell Ashara, and some samples were prepared for further analyses in specialist laboratories (histological, radiological, and molecular examinations). In sum, the remains of 70 individuals were examined: 18 (2 males, 2 females, the sex of the rest is unknown) come from Tell Masaikh from this season, 52 were found at Tell Masaikh and Tell Ashara in the previous seasons (2008, 2009).

The middle Euphrates valley (Syria) is a very interesting and important region for the history of Mesopotamia. The excavations are currently carried out at Tell Ashara and Tell Masaikh. The first site is primarily the remains of a Bronze Age (2700–1500 BC). At Tell Masaikh were discovered the remains of a settlement from the Chalcolithic (4500 BC), and the Middle Bronze Age, as well as a huge governor’s palace from the times of the Assyrian empire’s days of glory (800–650 BC). The paper is a summary of anthropological research conducted in 2009. We have been excavated 80 human skeletons (50 individuals from Tell Masikh, and 30 from Tell Ashara).

Stany zapalne zwykle poprzedzają rozwój ogólnoustrojowych zmian. To, czy dana infekcja wywołująca taki stan ma szansę się rozwinąć, zależy od wielu czynników indywidualnych i środowiskowych. W materiale kostnym można prześledzić zmiany pozapalne. W związku z tym wykonano analizę makroskopową, radiologiczną i histologiczną górnej nasady kości strzałkowej prawej (caput fibulae) oraz zmianą w obrębie powierzchni stawowej skierowaną w stronę kości piszczelowej (facies articularis capitis fibulae). Materiał badawczy pochodził z wykopalisk prowadzonych w Tell Masaikh (Syria).

Every myth, regardless of its nature, refers back to some event placed in illio tempore. By this fact it constitutes a pattern to all situations and activities in which the event may reappear, the myth can degrade into an epical legend, a ballad or a roman, but it can also survive in a limited form in superstitions, customs and longings without losing neither its structure nor its meaning. In the history of mankind, the perception contributed to the formation of culture - the total of artifacts, both material and immaterial (spiritual or symbolic), these achievements, characteristic for particular society, constitute a model of social behavior. While interpreting the external world people relied on supernatural explanations to some extent, which depended on the level of intellectual development. Initially many facts were explained with the interference of dark, demonic powers, adopting diverse forms in people’s imagination, thanks to such interpretation of reality the vampire was born to existence. The vampire has undergone a peculiar evolution, the features of its character often changed and the figure was many times reborn in varied forms. Settled in present times, the silhouette of the vampire remains realistic in some people’s minds and has no tendency to modify. Its presence in modern times is mainly perceptible through the creation and development of vampire - worshiping sects. The following thesis is aimed to present the evolution of beliefs and picture of the vampire, as well as ancient practices and ways of treating people suspected of vampirism, the text enables a close look into the structure and functioning of modern vampire-related cults, it also attempts to explain the phenomenon of vampirism and its continuously increasing popularity.

The paper presents the results of the research which was carried out as a part of the project: Current controversies about human origins. Between anthropology and the Bible, this project was focused on the supposed conflict between natural sciences and theology (or religious beliefs) with regard to the origin of man. The research was aimed at finding out whether such a conflict really exits. For we cannot exclude the possibility that these controversies have no factual ground and their significance is inflated by American popular literature. If, on the other hand, we assume that the conflict is real, it should be worthwhile examining its sources. Such an approach may prove helpful in systematize the highly emotional debates about the origin of man. One of the ways of tackling the issue was a questionnaire which was distributed among students, teachers and university professors. Our respondents represented three disciplines: theology, philosophy and natural sciences, t t e paper presents selected results of the questionnaire which was addressed to a group of students, they were asked to fill in the form consisting of eleven questions, these questions concerned the following issues: the existence of the conflict between evolutionism and creationism, the definitions of creation and evolution, the existence of the spiritual element in man, and the ways of interpreting the Bible (esp. the first chapters of the Book of Genesis).

The paper presents the results of the research which was carried out as part of the project: Current controversies about human origins. Between anthropology and the Bible. This project focuses on the supposed conflict between natural sciences and some branches of the humanities (notably philosophy and theology) with regard to the origin of man. The research was aimed at finding out whether such a conflict really exits. For one thing, we cannot exclude the possibility that these would-be controversies have no factual ground and that their significance is inflated by American popular literature. If, on the other hand, we assume that the conflict is real, it should be worthwhile examining its sources. Such an approach may prove helpful in systematising the highly emotional debates about the origin of man. One of the ways of tackling the issue was the questionnaire which was distributed among students, teachers and university professors. Our respondents represented three disciplines: theology, philosophy and the natural sciences, the paper will present selected results of the questionnaire which was addressed to a group of school teachers, whereas the responses of the students are given less attention in order to emphasise the teachers’ point of view, the teachers of religion and the natural sciences (biology, chemistry and physics) and the students of theology, philosophy and the natural sciences (specialising in biology and environment protection) were asked to fill in the form consisting of eleven questions, these questions concerned the following issues: the existence of the conflict between evolutionism and creationism, the definitions of creation and evolution, the existence of the spiritual element in man, ways of interpreting the Bible (esp. the first chapters of the Book of Genesis). Out of 1000 questionnaires sent out, we received 449, which should be considered a satisfactory number, given the fact that it was the first time this type of research was carried out in Poland.

Acient materials from Wilanow were excavated nearly 40 years ago. It was researched by professor Wiercinski but the results of this work did not appear (it was published only cranial researching). We decided to finish this project – make inventoring, measure, and compare our results. So, the aim of work is to examinate the structure of Wilanow’s population dated back to the early Middle Ages. The whole series is represented by 75 skulls and 48 sketetons. A lot of skulls are very fragmentary, and the analysis is based on the descriptions only of 49 skulls (21 male, 25 female and 3 children). The skulls form Wilanow are interesting because they are approaching the border of brachycephalic. This population is quite different from that one having lived in Poland and dated from this same age. This problem should be researched in the future.

Over the centuries, anthropology has been marked by periods of multiplication or reduction of the taxonomic names of the hominids. Repeatedly, anthropologists, examining the same hominid material, came to different conclusions and made its classification differently. It is therefore worth considering whether these taxonomic controversies result only from biological reasons, or rather from philosophical reasons. The positive answer to this question shows them the common research area of biological and philosophical sciences. Although the methodologies of these disciplines are different, and the type of questions and the scope of concepts are different, these sciences "cooperate" with each other on the basis of discussions about the origins of man.

Eighty years ago Raymond A. Dart wrote the papers about Australopithecus africanus and decided to classify it as a “missing link". The creature from Taung represented an ultra-simian and pre-human stock. Therefore, he proposed a new family Homo - simiadae. Nowadays, scientists on the occasion of this anniversary publish, many papers about this event. They want to remind discussion about Taung's child and in homage to Raymond A. Dart. Surprisingly, the discussion which took place in the thirties and forties was an exact repetition of the earlier debate about Trinil's fossil! In 1890/91 Dubois had found already ancient fossils in Java which classified as Pithecanthropidae - this new family was an evolutionary "bridge" between apes and man. However, despite the fact that anthropologists wanted to find a “missing link” they rejected those interpretations! Some of them thought that fossil form Taung and Trinil belonged to a true ape. Whereas the others believed that remains should have been classified as a hominid family. Those two debates indicate one scheme of thinking: 1. theoretical view of “missing link”; 2. empirical researching; 3. taxonomic debate about fossil; and 4. rejecting the idea of “missing link”.