| Editorial Board |
will help to set up a cooperative and co-inspiring climate in which the work of“ Junior Archaeological Researchers” can impact and modulate research on the‘ senior’ level. To oversee a student’ s thesis developing into a proper academic paper, in turn, can be quite rewarding for teachers. In the light of what has been learned while editing this journal for the last three years, we believe that this is perhaps the
INTER-SECTION can make on the faculty level.
Altogether then, counterbalancing an overly onesided occupation with the“ best-of-the-best” and providing a new and goal-directed platform for student-staff engagement throughout all stages
primary concerns of INTER-SECTION as a journal“ in-between”.
Issue Contents
INTER-
SECTION and intellectual diversity of Leiden’ s Faculty of Archaeology: Kim Deckers’ contribution derives from research conducted in Bioarchaeology and addresses questions within the scope of Human Origins; Bo Schubert’ s paper is well-situated in the research framework of the Near Eastern group in World Archaeology; the work of Nienke Verstraaten tackles questions in the Archaeology of the Americas; Vivian van Heekeren’ s paper bridges Bioarchaeology and the Archaeology of the Middle Ages and the Modern Period; and Eline Amsing’ s contribution, last but not least, is an expression of current work in Leiden’ s department of Archaeological Heritage and Society. In what follows, the individual papers will shortly be presented in chronological order.
Deckers’ article re-examines the now classic endurance running hypothesis in hominisation in the light of new fossil data. Based on the critical review of the available skeletal evidence and the careful consideration of possible anatomical consequences of increased running stress in early Homo, the paper concludes that advanced running capabilities were probably not more than a byproduct of a more general trend to increase walking
the view that endurance running represents a direct adaptive response to evolutionary pressures in the human lineage, Decker’ s investigation makes an important contribution to ongoing debates on the emergence of the genus Homo and adds to the recent reappraisal of evolutionary complexity and the mosaic character of anthropogenesis in Human Origins research.
Schubert’ s contribution studies the wall-reliefs from the Neo-Assyrian palace of Nimrud. The author advocates the necessity to spatially contextualise the depictions before placing them into a broader socio-political and / or ideological framework. Her paper, drawing on previous studies, integrates spatial, textual( inscriptions) and iconographic data to show that our understanding of wall-reliefs can often be considerably enriched when the function and architectural characteristics of the rooms that hold them are also taken into account. Schubert concludes that architecture, space and depictions show a patterned relationship and are wellorchestrated at Nimrud. Her paper is a welcome contribution to ongoing discussions on the role of monumental architecture in legitimising early
organisation of palaces.
Verstraaten’ s paper investigates the relationship between Zapotec cosmology and what could be termed Zapotec‘ material practice’ during the Classic
evaluate possible links between the relative spatial
directions of the Zapotec world in the context of Tomb 104 at Monte Albán. Verstraaten’ s approach is well-grounded in the theoretical framework of the wider anthropology of the region, allowing her to examine Tomb 104 as a microcosm of Zapotec cultural performances. This holistic perspective enables the recognition of non-trivial continuities between practices, materials( their shape, position and decoration) and imbricated perceptions of the world, tearing down major Cartesian dichotomies( human vs non-human, material vs non-material). Verstraaten’ s contribution represents an important
culture and past worldview( s), yet it also reminds us of the importance of situated‘ micro-analysis’.
Van Heekeren’ s article tries to re-assess the relationship between large-scale changes in living conditions during the Industrial Revolution and the formation of osteoporosis as a symptom thereof. Using London as a case study, the paper compares nine Medieval cemeteries with a total of sixteen post-Medieval cemeteries to establish whether skeletal proxies for osteoporosis increase over time. The paper advocates state-of-the-art
statistical comparison of osteological datasets. The p. 4 | VOL III | INTER-SECTION | 2017