In this paper we develop a theory of the psychological preconditions for greater survival in complex evolving socioeconomic systems ordered by radically uncertain institutions. We introduce the notion of the antifragile personality, whose personal knowledge of how and why to act in the world grows in the presence of radical uncertainty. We make use of a new theory of the mind as a network structure within and upon which the psychological process operates to elaborate the psychological properties of the antifragile personality and discuss its consonance with aspects of Jungian psychology. We extend aspects of the Schumpeterian, Kirznerian and Lachmannian entrepreneurs, as well as Ulrich Witt's notions of the necessity of adaptability and imagination and Caroline Gerschlager's exegesis of "agents of change" by giving them greater foundation in psychology while unifying them by showing how they identify aspects of an underlying antifragile personality. We formulate definite predictions using our theory about the psychological factors in socioeconomic success which align well with existing data and investigate how our theory offers practical advice for strategy in evolutionary socioeconomies ordered by radically uncertain institutions.
'Really made me think about how I think' - Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit WestTough times don't last. Tough people do. In The Black Swan, Taleb showed us that highly improbable and unpredictable events underlie almost everything about our world. Here Taleb stands uncer
Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte (Antichità di Ercolano esposte) è un libro di otto volumi di incisioni dei reperti provenienti dallo scavo delle rovine di Ercolano nel Regno di Napoli (ora Italia). Fu pubblicato tra il 1757 e il 1792 e furono consegnate copie a destinatari selezionati in tutta Europa. Nonostante il titolo, l'Antichità di Ercolano mostra oggetti provenienti da tutti gli scavi intrapresi dai Borboni nel Golfo di Napoli. Questi includono Pompei, Stabia e due siti di Ercolano: Resina e Portici. Le incisioni sono di alta qualità e il testo di accompagnamento mostra una grande borsa di studio, ma nel libro mancano le informazioni sul contesto che ci si aspetterebbe da un moderno lavoro archeologico. Le Antichità è stata progettata più per stupire i lettori con la qualità degli oggetti nella collezione del Re di Napoli che per essere utilizzata nella ricerca. Il libro ha dato slancio al movimento neoclassico in Europa, offrendo agli artisti e ai decoratori l'accesso a un enorme negozio di motivi ellenistici.
A particular type of multivariate analysis called “fuzzy c-means clustering” was applied to ancient bricks of 44 archaeological sites in the Lagoon of Venice, the remains of historical settlements of the last two thousand years. Each brick is characterized by its three geometrical dimensions, probably related to the local units of measure of the various epochs. The analysis was made with binary data (presence/absence) for the 20 principal types of bricks. The aim was to establish temporal relations among the various sites, some of which have definite temporal reference, allowing both to extend the references to the unknown sites and to evaluate, measuring the depth of the archaeological sites, the trend of the geological subsidence in the Venetian area. The results, compared also with those of a Correspondence Analysis, are, within some limitations, in agreement with the available dating from archivistic sources.
In the past few years, the application of digital techniques to archaeology has strongly increased, including 3D recording of lithic artefacts for purposes of documentation and analysis. In this paper, the main acquisition techniques are reviewed focusing on their application to lithics, and on the cost-benefit analysis which largely depends on the research objectives. The introduction of the main functions of the virtual approaches to lithics comes from the new possibilities offered in the area of graphic documentation. In fact, 3D models could gradually replace the archaeological drawing thanks to the data objectivity and to the ability to undergo remote analysis. Indeed, in virtual models complex metric data and technological information are easily recorded. Furthermore, 3D models allow the application of quantitative and statistical analysis for different aims, such as reduction intensity estimation and geometric morphometrics, especially thanks to the landmark-based approach. All these potentials have been already explored in recent years, some of them have produced a considerable number of publications. However, this diversification needs the sharing of Open Data protocols in order to evaluate the methods, as well as the application of integrated approaches. Some examples of integration between traditional and 3D analyses derive from traceology and refitting studies, where the virtual tool is not considered as replacing but complementary. Finally, the options in the fields of data storage and cataloguing have been addressed, besides the free circulation of 3D models for academic and museological purposes, including 3D printing.
The Petra monumental site is located on the left rim of the Rift Valley in central-southern Jordan. The entire valley, which is tectonic in origin, rests on Late Cambrian quartzarenite rock formations of continental origin. Past research conducted by our team has allowed us to identify the following main causes of the weathering processes: thermal expansion and shrinkage of rocks caused by the great differences in day and night temperatures contribute to the loosening of quartz grains that lead to the disintegration of the rock. Heavy rainfall and above all surface runoff contribute significantly to the removal of weathered materials from the surface. Other forms of decay are caused by the presence of salts along the fractures. Both fieldwork and laboratory analyses performed in the past in a climate chamber have demonstrated that the products usually used in conventional restoration work are not very effective, due to the “extreme” climate and the chemical and physical characteristics of the rocks. The project proposes the realization of a GIS aimed at acquiring complete knowledge of the man-made structures and hydraulic system underlying the routes of the canalisations and identifying the cisterns. This work is meant to contribute a valid support aimed at the restoration, which will involve several different disciplines, including the geological and chemical analysis of the rocks, the topography and the 3D photogrammetry.
Major advances in the use of geographic information systems have been made in both anthropology and archaeology. Yet there are few published discussions of these new applications and their use in solving complex problems. This book explores these techniques, showing how they have been successfully deployed to pursue research previously considered too difficult--or impossible--to undertake. Among the projects described here are studies of land degradation in the Peruvian Amazon, settlement patterns in the Pacific northwest, ethnic distribution within the Los Angeles garment industry, and prehistoric sociopolitical development among the Anasazi. Following an introduction that discusses the theory of geographic information systems in relation to anthropological inquiry, the book is divided into sections demonstrating actual applications in cultural anthropology, archaeology, paleoanthropology, and physical anthropology. The work will be of much interest within all these communities.
Handling and sharing geospatial data from etherogeneous sources in a collaborative way can be addressed by a WebGIS platform, built with open source components. An important role is played by open standards, metadata and open source (OSS) architectures, which we review in the present paper. We introduce Anteo, a WebGIS realized with standard and open software technologies, devoted to exchanging and sharing archaeological data from Aquileia. Current functionalities of Anteo are presented and discussed.
The paper aims to illustrate an intervention of digital restoration carried out on different groups of antefixes coming from excavations started in 1845 in a private fund today located in Curti, near Caserta and pertaining to sacred building roofs of a sanctuary whose oldest phase is dated to the 6th century BC. Nowadays, finds are preserved in the Museo Provinciale Campano, located in Capua. Particularly, two hundred and fifty antefixes belonging to the group named ‘female heads within the nimbus’, have been studied, articulated into thirty different series, filed in a database created ad hoc, and the digital restoration of their prototypes has been completed. Issues relating to seriality and traceability of these finds to individual archetypes will be explored, features that make a faithful 3D reconstruction of a prototype possible, based on the combination of physical data of fragmented antefixes pertaining to each series. Furthermore, phases and techniques of detection and scanning of an archaeological find using a laser scanner for small objects will be particularly analyzed. It will show how to achieve a mesh from a scanning file and how to elaborate it. Lastly, processing steps necessary to the realization of a 3D restoration will be illustrated through modeling techniques and collation of different 3D scannings. These kinds of technological experimentations contribute to diversify our memory transmission modes. They offer the chance to create digital and implementable catalogs, useful for a dynamic documentation of the Archaeological Heritage, but also and above all, fundamental tools for the monitoring, conservation and fruition of analyzed corpora.
In località Baratti (Piombino, LI), lungo la strada comunale che conduce a Populonia Alta, sono state condotte indagini archeologiche di emergenza¹ a seguito della disastrosa alluvione che colpì l’area nell’ottobre 2015. Le ricerche hanno interessato le pendici orientali di Poggio del Castello e hanno messo in luce la planimetria di un edificio² – solo parzialmente scavato in profondità – piuttosto articolato, composto da ambienti definiti da muri con zoccolo in pezzame di pietra e alzati in mattoni crudi. La struttura doveva svilupparsi su due livelli ed era dotata di un accesso su una strada secondaria, lastricata utilizzando lastre di calcarenite con innesti...
The dataset1 consists of 3D scans of one cuneiform tablet from Haft Tappeh Iran and one cuneiform tablet of the Hilprecht Collection as well as 3D annotations on these 3D meshes, including metadata. The 3D annotations were created with the annotation software Annotorious2 on 2D renderings and reprojected to the original 3D model. The respective 2D renderings and annotations in 2D are also part of this data publication. The annotations might be used in machine learning tasks for character recognition, linguistic studies, or visualization in Assyriology. We publish these data in different formats and give guidance on how to use them in different usage scenarios and with several software applications. The data serve as the basis for a detailed description, reasoning, and elaboration of a recommendation for the state-of-the-art handling of 3D data in cuneiform research. The data is stored as an archive on Zenodo and may serve as an example for replication by similar 3D scanning.
During the last few years we have witnessed the development of research on trade amphorae, in particular with the help of archaeometric techniques and quantitative processing of analytical data. In this context we can quote the research project carried out by the authors, which focuses on the amphorae of Spanish origin found in Venetia. The study is articulated in two main parts: the first one concerns morphometric analysis of the amphorae by means of their photogrammetric restitution and the comparison between the diverse forms using geometric indexes calculated on the coordinates of the points measured on outline of the vase. The second one concerns the characterisation of the amphorae by means of the chemical-mineralogical analysis of the paste, with the aim of reconstructing their exact provenance. The historical-archaeological purpose of the project, the first results of which concern the amphorae from the Tomba di Giulietta in Verona, is the assessment of trade exchanges between Venetia and Betica.
Il tema del paesaggio storico è essenziale nel dibattito contemporaneo sulla città e il suo destino. In questo ambito gli anfiteatri romani dell’Italia settentrionale possono svolgere un ruolo attivo nel superamento dei "margini’" dei limiti intraurbani e extra-urbani, nella ricomposizione del sistema città/territorio, felicemente declinato in antico, ridotto a fenomeno di sprawl urbano oggi. Un anfiteatro nella sua integrità monumentale, ma anche nel suo stato di rovina o addirittura nel suo essere invisibile, ma non completamente perduto (forma di un i solato, ad esempio), diventa cerniera urbanistica - come era nel mondo romano (tra le sfere di urbanitas e rusticitas) –, aiuta processi di ricompattamento sociale, evita ghettizzazioni. Per svolgere queste funzioni esso va conosciuto, tutelato, valorizzato. Postfazione di Carlo Berizzi.
