The only four terracotta plaques That were found in Urkesh, dating back to the second millennium BC, offer a style variation of the nude woman motif that was extremely popular in Mesopotamia. The main objective of this article is to present these previously unpublished terracotta plaques from Urkesh. The artifacts in question are dealt with from an archaeological point of view, where the descriptive information and archaeological context related to them is provided, before discussing their proposed function that relies to some extent on their imagery and what it represents. The analysis of these plaques, which conform with the domestic nature of other plaques found all over Mesopotamian sites, and the sexualization of woman’s depiction on them and how it relates to some extent to the change in the manufacturing techniques from the freehand molded figurines to the mass production of a mold made plaques, and the interpretation of their function as objects of a domestic nature, are presented in this article in effort to highlight what might be a new proposed function for the plaques of Urkesh, in the light of their archaeological context that might be related to burials
Located in
Associated publications
/
…
/
ANTHROPOLOGICA ET PREHISTORICA
/
Bibliographic references
Invasive mosquito species (IMS) and their associated mosquito-borne diseases are emerging in Europe. In Belgium, the first detection of Aedes albopictus (Skuse 1894) occurred in 2000 and of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald 1901) in 2002. Early detection and control of these IMS at points of entry (PoEs) are of paramount importance to slow down any possible establishment. This article reviews the introductions and establishments recorded of three IMS in Belgium based on published (2007–2014) and unpublished (2015–2020) data collected during several surveil- lance projects. In total, 52 PoEs were monitored at least once for the presence of IMS between 2007 and 2020. These included used tyre and lucky bamboo import companies, airports, ports, parking lots along highways, shelters for imported cutting plants, wholesale markets, industrial areas, recycling areas, cemeteries and an allotment garden at the country border with colonised areas. In general, monitoring was performed between April and November. Mos- quitoes were captured with adult and oviposition traps as well as by larval sampling. Aedes albopictus was detected at ten PoEs, Ae. japonicus at three PoEs and Aedes koreicus (Edwards 1917) at two PoEs. The latter two species have established overwintering populations. The percentage of PoEs positive for Ae. albopictus increased significantly over years. Aedes albopictus is currently entering Belgium through lucky bamboo and used tyre trade and passive ground transport, while Ae. japonicus through used tyre trade and probably passive ground transport. In Belgium, the import through passive ground transport was first recorded in 2018 and its importance seems to be growing. Belgium is currently at the invasion front of Ae. albopictus and Ae. japonicus. The surveillance and control management actions at well-known PoEs associated to long-distance introductions are more straightforward than at less-defined PoEs associ- ated with short-distance introductions from colonised areas. These latter PoEs represent a new challenge for IMS management in Belgium in the coming years. Aedes albopictus is expected to become established in Belgium in the coming years, hence increasing the likelihood of local arbovirus transmission. The implementation of a sustainable, structured and long-term IMS management programme, integrating active and passive entomological surveillance, vector control and Public Health surveillance is therefore pivotal.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2022
