Underground and Over the Sea: More Community Prophylactics in Europe, 1100-1600.

Public health historians have repeatedly shown that the theory, policy, and practice of group prophylactics far predate their alleged birth in industrial modernity, and regularly draw on Galenic principles. While the revision overall has been successful, its main focus on European cities entails a major risk, since city dwellers were a minority even in Europe's most urbanised regions. At the same time, cities continue to be perceived and presented as typically European, which stymies transregional and comparative studies based at least in part on non- or extra-urban groups. Thus, any plan to both offer an accurate picture of public health's deeper past and fundamentally challenge a narrative of civilizational progress wedded to Euro-American modernity ("stagism") would benefit from looking beyond cities and their unique health challenges. The present article begins to do so by focusing on two ubiquitous groups, often operating outside cities and facing specific risks: miners and shipmates. Evidence for these communities' preventative interventions and the extent to which they drew on humoral theory is rich yet uneven for Europe between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Methodological questions raised by this unevenness can be addressed by connecting different scales of evidence, as this article demonstrates. Furthermore, neither mining nor maritime trade was typically European, thus building a broader base for transregional studies and comparisons.

Estimating transportation role in pandemic diffusion in Nigeria: A consideration of 1918-19 influenza and COVID-19 pandemics.

BACKGROUND: The focus of the study is to assess the role of different transport means in the importation and diffusion of 1918-19 influenza and a novel 2019 corona virus designated as COVID-19 in Nigeria. METHODS: The study provides a review of the means by which the two pandemics were imported into the country and the roles the transport means of each period played in the local spread of the epidemics. RESULTS: The study notes that seaports and railways, being the emerging transportation modes in the country were significant to the importation and local diffusion of 1918-19 influenza, respectively, while air transport is significant to the importation of the current COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that increasing preference for the transport at a given epoch is significant to the diffusion of prevailing epidemic in the epoch.

Using city gates as a means of estimating ancient traffic flows.

Despite the recent flurry of interest in various aspects of ancient urbanism, we still know little about how much traffic flowed in and out of ancient cities, in part because of problems with using commodities as proxies for trade. This article investigates another approach, which is to estimate these flows from the built environment, concentrating on transport infrastructure such as city gates. To do this, I begin by discussing a new model for how we would expect this kind of infrastructure to expand with population, before investigating the relationship between the populations of sites and the total numbers and widths of city gates, focusing on the Greek and Roman world. The results suggest that there is indeed a systematic relationship between the estimated populations of cities and transport infrastructure, which is entirely consistent with broader theoretical and empirical expectations. This gives us a new way of exploring the connectivity and integration of ancient cities, contributing to a growing body of general theory about how settlements operate across space and time.

Nonlinearity and distance of ancient routes in the Aztec Empire.

This study explores the way in which traveling paths in ancient cultures are characterized by the relationship between nonlinear shapes and path lengths in terms of distances. In particular, we analyze the case of trade routes that connected Aztec settlements around 1521 CE in central Mexico. Based on the complex systems perspective, we used the least cost path approximation to reconstruct a hypothetical large-scale map of routes reproducing physical connections among ancient places. We compared these connections with different spatial configurations and identified the probability distribution functions of path lengths. We evaluated the nonlinearity using the mean absolute error based on the path fitness of simple linear models. We found asymmetrical distributions and positive relationships between those measures. If a path length increases, so does its nonlinearity. Thus, the simple pattern of traveling in the Aztec region is fairly unlikely to be straight and short. Complex pathways can represent most of the ancient routes in central Mexico.

Multi-isotope analysis reveals that feasts in the Stonehenge environs and across Wessex drew people and animals from throughout Britain.

The great henge complexes of southern Britain are iconic monuments of the third millennium BCE, representing great feats of engineering and labor mobilization that hosted feasting events on a previously unparalleled scale. The scale of movement and the catchments that the complexes served, however, have thus far eluded understanding. Presenting the largest five-isotope system archeological dataset (87Sr/86Sr, δ34S, δ18O, δ13C, and δ15N) yet fully published, we analyze 131 pigs, the prime feasting animals, from four Late Neolithic (approximately 2800 to 2400 BCE) complexes to explore the networks that the feasts served. Because archeological evidence excludes continental contact, sources are considered only in the context of the British Isles. This analysis reveals wide-ranging origins across Britain, with few pigs raised locally. This finding demonstrates great investment of effort in transporting pigs raised elsewhere over vast distances to supply feasts and evidences the very first phase of pan-British connectivity.

Relationship between ancient bridges and population dynamics in the lower Yangtze River Basin, China.

It has been suggested that population growth dynamics may be revealed by the geographic distribution and the physical structure of ancient bridges. Yet, this relationship has not been empirically verified. In this study, we applied the archaeological records for ancient bridges to reveal the population growth dynamics in the lower Yangtze River Basin in late imperial China. We investigated 89 ancient bridges in Yixing that were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties (AD1368-1911). Global Position System information and structure (length, width, and span) of those bridges was measured during our field investigations. Their distribution density was calculated by ArcGIS. The historical socio-economic dynamics of Yixing was inferred from the distribution and structure of ancient bridges. Based on the above information, the population growth dynamics in Yixing was projected. Our results show that 77 bridges were built in Yixing during the Qing dynasty, which is 6.41 times more than the number built during the Ming dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, bridges were built on pivotal routes; in the Qing dynasty, bridges were scattered across various places. Over the period, the density distribution of bridges shifted northwestward, while the average length and width of bridges decreased. The increasing number of bridges corresponded to population growth, largely attributable to massive clan migration from northern China during the Little Ice Age. The shift in the density distribution of bridges corresponded to the formation of settlements of large clans and the blossoming of Yixing Teapot handicrafts. The scattering and the reduction in average length and width of bridges was due to the dispersal of population and the associated formation of small settlements in the latter period. Our approach is innovative and robust, and could be employed to recover long-term historical population growth dynamics in other parts of China.

Mobility during the neolithic and bronze age in northern ireland explored using strontium isotope analysis of cremated human bone.

OBJECTIVES: As many individuals were cremated in Neolithic and Bronze Age Ireland, they have not featured in investigations of individual mobility using strontium isotope analysis. Here, we build on recent experiments demonstrating excellent preservation of biogenic (87) Sr/(86) Sr in calcined bone to explore mobility in prehistoric Northern Ireland. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A novel method of strontium isotope analysis is applied to calcined bone alongside measurements on tooth enamel to human remains from five Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Northern Ireland. We systematically sampled modern vegetation around each site to characterize biologically available strontium, and from this calculated expected values for humans consuming foods taken from within 1, 5, 10 and 20 Km catchments. This provides a more nuanced way of assessing human use of the landscape and mobility than the 'local' vs. 'non-local' dichotomy that is often employed. RESULTS: The results of this study 1) provide further support for the reliability of strontium isotope analysis on calcined bone, and 2) demonstrate that it is possible to identify isotopic differences between individuals buried at the same site, with some consuming food grown locally (within 1-5 Km) while others clearly consumed food from up to 50 Km away from their burial place. DISCUSSION: Hints of patterning emerge in spite of small sample numbers. At Ballynahatty, for instance, those represented by unburnt remains appear to have consumed food growing locally, while those represented by cremated remains did not. Furthermore, it appears that some individuals from Ballynahatty, Annaghmare and Clontygora either moved in the last few years of their life or their cremated remains were brought to the site. These results offer new insights into the choice behind coterminous cremation and inhumation rites in the Neolithic. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:397-413, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Before 1979: African American coachmen, visibility, and representation at Colonial Williamsburg.

Before the living history museum of Colonial Williamsburg started its concerted interpretation of slavery in 1979, the African American coachmen were already representing the past and implicating black history and slavery in this restored eighteenth-century capital of Virginia. Various records of photographs, postcards, letters, newspaper clippings, oral history accounts, visitor observations, and corporate papers provide awindow to understand the social climates of the museum's period in the 1930s to the 1970s. This body of evidence supports the contention that the coachmen were visible and influenced public history within and outside the museum.

Nineteenth century mortality at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Since Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children opened in 1882, significant advances have been made in child health. Our aim was to investigate the hospital mortality that occurred in the last decade of the 19th century at Royal Hospital for Sick Children. METHODS AND RESULTS: Hospital mortality records for the decades, 1890-1899, were collected from the Archives of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Data were extracted from the hospital inpatient records and the pathology records. In the decade 1890-1899, there were 731 hospital deaths. The main cause of death at that time in the 19th Century was infection, particularly of the respiratory tract. The age at which death occurred was analysed and the recorded cause were analysed as was the distance patients travelled to the hospital. The ratio of boys to girls and length of inpatient stay was similar to that seen in the hospital currently. CONCLUSION: This study records the mortality in a children's hospital in a large developing industrial city in the 19th century as experienced in a children's hospital.

O plano de mobilidade urbana e o futuro das cidades / The urban mobility plan and the future of cities

O artigo traça um breve histórico sobre a evolução dos problemas da mobilidade, dos cavalos aos carros, e mostra que hoje, tal como há cem anos, a priorização do transporte individual levou a problemas sociais, ambientais e de saúde pública. Em seguida, analisa a Política Nacional de Mobilidade Urbana, ressaltando suas inovações e os pontos de atenção que podem prejudicar sua efetividade. Por fim, destaca a necessidade de se melhorar o transporte coletivo e não motorizado e, concomitantemente, desestimular o uso do automóvel, como formas de se devolver aos cidadãos o direito à cidade e aos serviços essenciais que ela guarda.(AU)

O plano de mobilidade urbana e o futuro das cidades / The urban mobility plan and the future of cities

O artigo traça um breve histórico sobre a evolução dos problemas da mobilidade, dos cavalos aos carros, e mostra que hoje, tal como há cem anos, a priorização do transporte individual levou a problemas sociais, ambientais e de saúde pública. Em seguida, analisa a Política Nacional de Mobilidade Urbana, ressaltando suas inovações e os pontos de atenção que podem prejudicar sua efetividade. Por fim, destaca a necessidade de se melhorar o transporte coletivo e não motorizado e, concomitantemente, desestimular o uso do automóvel, como formas de se devolver aos cidadãos o direito à cidade e aos serviços essenciais que ela guarda.

The article starts by providing a brief history of the evolution of mobility problems, from horses to cars, and shows that nowadays, as it was 100 years ago, the prioritization of individual transportation facilities leads to social, environmental and health problems. Secondly, the National Urban Mobility Policy analysis highlights some innovations as well as points of attention that may impair its effectiveness. Lastly, the article advocates the necessity of collective and non-motorized transport and, simultaneously, discourages car use as a way of returning to the citizens the right of the city's space and its services.

Geographical mobility in Wiltshire, 1754-1914.

The aim of this paper is to determine the birthplaces, rather than residences, of spouses married in two parishes in England and to consider the effect of local topography, religion and occupation on pre-marital geographic mobility. A wide array of primary documentary sources was used to construct a database of over 22,000 individuals who lived in south-west Wiltshire in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Individuals were arranged in family groups and pedigrees traced for several generations. Data were included on birthplace, religious affiliation, occupation and many other variables. Geographical mobility calculated from birthplace was higher than estimates derived from residence prior to marriage. Brides had shorter marital distances than grooms. There were noticeable changes in the frequency of marital distance at 4 miles and 11 miles. Spouses born outside the parish of marriage were more likely to come from certain villages in ways which cannot be explained merely by distance and size. The Somerset-Wiltshire border formed a barrier, although a porous one, to the flow of marriage partners. Occupation influenced geographical mobility: grooms from higher-status occupational groups were more likely to be born further away than grooms from lower-status occupational groups. Catholic grooms were more likely to be born in the parish of marriage than Protestant grooms, but were also more likely to be born more than 11 miles away.

An evolving problem: methamphetamine production and trafficking in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Methamphetamine is a serious illicit drug problem in the United States and globally. For decades, methamphetamine has been supplied to the illicit market through local clandestine manufacturing and trafficking. In the early stages, illicit methamphetamine was produced and trafficked by motorcycle gangs and Mexican criminal groups. Over time, local clandestine manufacturing increasingly contributed to the illicit supply and broader methamphetamine problem. This review examines the evolution of the illicit methamphetamine supply in the U.S. METHODS: A review of the literature on methamphetamine production and trafficking was conducted. Information was obtained from numerous sources including governmental reports, books and academic articles. RESULTS: Attempts to control the supply of methamphetamine have only led to short term disruptions in availability. Clandestine manufacturing and trafficking have undergone significant changes over the past several decades. Shifts in local production have regularly been counterbalanced by changes in production and trafficking from criminal organizations in Mexico. Transnational criminal organizations now control much of the methamphetamine supply in the U.S. and methamphetamine remains widely available. CONCLUSIONS: The supply of methamphetamine in the United States is dynamic. Producers and traffickers have adapted to control efforts and the problem continues. Control efforts focused on eliminating supply are limited at best.

Shop 'till we drop: a historical and policy analysis of retail goods movement in the United States.

The movement of retail goods is central to modern economies and is a significant-but understudied-fraction of our overall energy footprint. Thus, we propose a new category for energy analysis called Retail Goods Movement (RGM) that draws its boundaries around the portion of freight dedicated to retail goods and the portion of driving dedicated to shopping. Historically, the components of RGM have not enjoyed policy priority. However, the net payoff from energy research and policy directed at RGM may now be high enough relative to other options to deserve increased investment. We combine a quantitative decomposition of the dynamics of RGM energy use with a qualitative discussion of what trends could have contributed to them. The RGM sector's energy use grew from 1.3 EJ (2.8% U.S.) in 1969 to 7.0 EJ (6.6% U.S.) in 2009. The major drivers were increases in population, freight tonnage (before 1990), distance freighted per tonne and driven per shopping trip (after 1990), and weekly shopping trips per household (before 1995). RGM energy intensity increased per capita (180%), per constant dollar GDP (60%), and per retail expenditure (140%). Finally, we describe policy recommendations that could become the basis of a sound RGM resource plan.

Energy supplies and future engines for land, sea, and air.

The years 2012 and beyond seem likely to record major changes in energy use and power generation. The Japanese tsunami has resulted in large countries either scaling back or abolishing the future use of nuclear energy. The discovery of what seems like vast amounts of economically deliverable natural gas has many forecasting a rapid switch from coal- to gas-fired generating plants. On the other hand, environmentalists have strong objections to the production of natural gas and of petroleum by hydraulic fracturing from shale, or by extraction of heavy oil. They believe that global warming from the use of fossil fuels is now established beyond question. There has been rapid progress in the development of alternative energy supplies, particularly from on-shore and off-shore wind. Progress toward a viable future energy mix has been slowed by a U.S. energy policy that seems to many to be driven by politics. The author will review the history of power and energy to put all of the above in context and will look at possible future developments. He will propose what he believes to be an idealized energy policy that could result in an optimum system that would be arrived at democratically.

"I have seen the future": selling the unsustainable city.

Seventy years ago, General Motors' Highways and Horizons exhibit at the World's Fair, designed by Norman Bel Geddes and Eero Saarinen, promoted demand for cars and federal highways without any concern for environmental sustainability, the theme of our 2010 conference. The main exhibit included a sequence of four parts (entrance ramps, map lobby, Futurama ride, and "intersection of 1960") where the viewer's perception of spatial scale was manipulated. Setha M. Low's theory of "embodied space" helps decode why movement through these diverse spaces influenced millions of Americans' views of transportation and urban form, a promotional success yet to be equaled by advocates of environmental sustainability.

Height and death in the Antebellum United States: A view through the lens of geographically weighted regression.

Factors related to geography such as climate, natural resources or waterways often affect human activities. However, traditional approaches such as ordinary least squares (OLS) have limitations in investigating such patterns. Unlike OLS regression, geographically weighted regression (GWR) allows the coefficients of explanatory variables to differ by locality by giving relatively more weight to geographically close observations. GWR depicts spatial patterns. This paper examines the pattern of height and crude death rate in the United States prior to the Civil War by this method. The GWR results show that access to water transportation increased mortality and decreased stature in the food exporting areas of the Midwest, and the opposite pattern appeared in the food importing areas of the Northeast.