Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋 @bibliolater@qoto.org

**Tel Shiqmona during the Iron Age: A first glimpse into an ancient Mediterranean purple dye ‘factory’**

“_It is the only site in the Near East or around the Mediterranean—indeed, in the entire world—where a sequence of purple-dye workshops has been excavated and which has clear evidence for large-scale, sustained manufacture of purple dye and dyeing in a specialized facility for half a millennium, during the Iron Age (ca. 1100–600 BCE)._”

Shalvi G, Sukenik N, Waiman-Barak P, Dunseth ZC, Bar S, et al. (2025) Tel Shiqmona during the Iron Age: A first glimpse into an ancient Mediterranean purple dye ‘factory’. PLOS ONE 20(4): e0321082. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321082.

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #DOI #Article #Ancient #Culture #Archaeology #Archaeodons #IronAge #Mediterranean #Academia #Academics @archaeodons

**Labor, land, and the global dynamics of economic inequality**

“_This study supports the contention that transitions from labor- to land-limited systems, rather than cultivation and/or herding per se, have contributed systematically to the long-term dynamics of economic inequality._”

A. Bogaard, P. Cruz, M. Fochesato, J. Birch, G. Cervantes Quequezana, S. Chirikure, E.R. Crema, G.M. Feinman, A.S. Green, H. Hamerow, G. Jin, T. Kerig, D. Lawrence, M.D. McCoy, J. Munson, S.G. Ortman, C.A. Petrie, & P. Roscoe, Labor, land, and the global dynamics of economic inequality, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (16) e2400694122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2400694122 (2025).

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #Anthropology #Agriculture #Wealth #Inequality #Academia #Academics @anthropology

**Material philology and Syriac excerpting practices: A computational-quantitative study of the digitized catalog of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Library**

“_The results reveal that most manuscripts contain fewer than 20 excerpts, but a small number show much higher levels of excerpting, highlighting the immense intellectual and literary activities implicated in their production._”

Maeir N (2025) Material philology and Syriac excerpting practices: A computational-quantitative study of the digitized catalog of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Library. PLOS ONE 20(3): e0320265. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320265.

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #Culture #Charts #Religion #Taxonomy #Christianity #Analysis #Philology #Syriac #Academia

**Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion**

“_Our longitudinal analysis captures a dramatic shift in the American religious landscape, showing how people are breaking free from religious institutions and exploring more personalized forms of faith that resonate with their values._”

Schnabel, L., Horwitz, I., Hekmatpour, P., & Schleifer, C. (2025). Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion. Socius, 11. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251327442 (Original work published 2025)

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #DOI #Religion #Society #Culture #Sociology #Academia #Academics @sociology

🔴 **Evidence of the Zanclean megaflood in the eastern Mediterranean Basin**

“_Our findings provide evidence for a large amplitude drawdown in the Ionian Basin during the MSC, support the scenario of a Mediterranean-wide catastrophic flood at the end of the MSC, and suggest that the identified sedimentary body is the largest known megaflood deposit on Earth._”

Micallef, A., Camerlenghi, A., Garcia-Castellanos, D. et al. Evidence of the Zanclean megaflood in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Sci Rep 8, 1078 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19446-3.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Geology #Geomorphology #Geophysics #Sedimentology #Flood #Mediterranean #Academia #Academics @geology

🔴 **Computational analysis of US congressional speeches reveals a shift from evidence to intuition**

“_We find that evidence-based language has continued to decline since the mid-1970s, together with a decline in legislative productivity. The decline was accompanied by increasing partisan polarization in Congress and rising income inequality in society._”

Aroyehun, S.T., Simchon, A., Carrella, F. et al. Computational analysis of US congressional speeches reveals a shift from evidence to intuition. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02136-2.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Language #Linguistics #Psychology #Politics #USPol #USA #US #UnitedStates @psychology @linguistics

🔴 **Triumph and Betrayal: Assyria's Path to Empire, 935-745 BC**

“_This book re-examines the historical question of Assyria’s expansion, presenting a novel reconstruction of the early Neo-Assyrian period with the latest data (including new Assyrian kings), detailed regional studies synthesising the newest historical and archaeological findings, and interpretative essays outlining new historical factors._”

Edmonds, A. 2025. Triumph and Betrayal: Assyria’s Path to Empire, 935–745 BC. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111593715.

#OpenAccess #OA #Nonfiction #Book #Ebook #Bookstodon #Academia #Academic #History #NeoAssyrian #Assyria #Empire @bookstodon

🔴 **Recurrent humid phases in Arabia over the past 8 million years**

“_Wetter conditions likely facilitated mammalian dispersals between Africa and Eurasia, with Arabia acting as a key crossroads for continental-scale biogeographic exchanges._”

Markowska, M., Vonhof, H.B., Groucutt, H.S. et al. Recurrent humid phases in Arabia over the past 8 million years. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08859-6.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Geography #Arabia #Climate #Academia #Academic @geography

🔴 **Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands**

“_Here we describe chronological, archaeological, faunal and botanical data that support the presence of Holocene hunter-gatherers on the Maltese islands. At this time, Malta’s geographical configuration and sea levels approximated those of the present day, necessitating seafaring distances of around 100 km from Sicily, the closest landmass._”

Scerri, E.M.L., Blinkhorn, J., Groucutt, H.S. et al. Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08780-y.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Archaeology #Arcaheodons #Palaeoecology #Migration #Academia #Academics @archaeodons

🔴 **Large scale and regional demographic responses to climatic changes in Europe during the Final Palaeolithic**

“_Our study also shows that during the Final Palaeolithic, the climatic cooling of GS-1 coincides with a pronounced population decline in most parts of the study area. An apparent increase in population density occurs only in north-eastern Central Europe and north-eastern Italy. Our estimates suggest that the total population was reduced by half._”

Schmidt I, Gehlen B, Winkler K, Arrizabalaga A, Arts N, et al. (2025) Large scale and regional demographic responses to climatic changes in Europe during the Final Palaeolithic. PLOS ONE 20(4): e0310942. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310942

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #DOI #Archaeology #Archaeodons #Demography #Paleoclimatology #Paleoecology #Paleobiology #Europe #Academia #Academics @archaeodons

🔴 🗺️ **Known unknowns in the North. Uncertain maps of the Arctic in early modern times**

“_By zooming in on world maps and North Pole maps from the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries and examining them in a long-term chronological sequence, we can follow lines and lands that appear and disappear and trace the winding paths of mapping processes and practices through the centuries._”

van Netten, djoeke (2025) ‘Known unknowns in the North. Uncertain maps of the Arctic in early modern times’, International Journal of Cartography, pp. 1–20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2025.2478270.

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #DOI #Map #Maps #Cartography #EarlyModern #Europe #NorthPole #Arctic #Academia #Academic @earlymodern

🔴 💻 **Are chatbots reliable text annotators? Sometimes**

“_Given the unreliable performance of ChatGPT and the significant challenges it poses to Open Science, we advise caution when using ChatGPT for substantive text annotation tasks._”

Ross Deans Kristensen-McLachlan, Miceal Canavan, Marton Kárdos, Mia Jacobsen, Lene Aarøe, Are chatbots reliable text annotators? Sometimes, PNAS Nexus, Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2025, pgaf069, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf069.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #LargeLanguageModels #LLMS #Chatbots #Technology #Tech #Data #Annotation #Academia #Academics @ai

🔴 **Generative AI and accuracy in the history of mathematics**

“_This process is illustrated by querying ChatGPT with questions from a history of mathematics quiz designed to highlight the common occurrence of mathematical results being misattributed. ChatGPT's performance on a set of decades-old common misconceptions is mixed, illustrating the potential for these systems to reproduce and reinforce historical inaccuracies and misconceptions._”

Rowlett, P. (2024) ‘Generative AI and accuracy in the history of mathematics’, British Journal for the History of Mathematics, 39(1), pp. 64–69. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/26375451.2024.2312789.

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #History #Maths #Mathematics #Math #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ChatGPT #Academia #Academic @ai

🔴 **A brief history of mathematics in finance**

“_In this paper, we present a brief historical perspective on how the development of finance theory has influenced and in turn been influenced by the development of mathematical finance theory._”

Akyıldırım, E. and Soner, H.M. (2014) 'A brief history of mathematics in finance,' Borsa Istanbul Review, 14(1), pp. 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bir.2014.01.002.

#OpenAccess #OA #History #Maths #Mathematics #Math #Finance #Academia #Academics

🔴 **Unpacking the effects of materialism on interpersonal relationships: A cognitive approach**

“_Three studies (N = 1389) employing correlational and experimental methodologies showed that materialism leads to heightened expectations and standards for a significant other, which are associated with poorer interpersonal outcomes. Specifically, materialism heightens the ideal standards that one has for a close other around achievement (e.g., ambition) and positive image (e.g., attractiveness), which are linked to higher conflict and lower relational satisfaction._”

Moldes, O. (2025). Unpacking the effects of materialism on interpersonal relationships: A cognitive approach. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64, e12795. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12795.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Psychology #Relationships #Materialism #Academia #Academic @psychology

🔴 💻 **“Turning right”? An experimental study on the political value shift in large language models**

“_Our findings reveal that while newer versions of ChatGPT consistently maintain values within the libertarian-left quadrant, there is a statistically significant rightward shift in political values over time, a phenomenon we term a ‘value shift’ in large language models._”

Liu, Y., Panwang, Y. & Gu, C. “Turning right”? An experimental study on the political value shift in large language models. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 179 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04465-z.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Rightwing #Politics #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Technology #Tech #LLMS #Academia #Academics @ai

🔴 **Late Bronze Age Metal Exploitation and Trade: Sardinia and Cyprus**

“_An array of new provenance studies demonstrates the complexity of the Bronze Age metal trade and, taking a maritime perspective, provides the opportunity to reveal how strategically positioned actors such as Nuragic Sardinia managed to dominate sea-borne routes, and gained a prominent and independent international position._”

Sabatini, S. and Lo Schiavo, F. (2020) ‘Late Bronze Age Metal Exploitation and Trade: Sardinia and Cyprus’, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 35(13), pp. 1501–1518. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10426914.2020.1758329.

#OpenAccess #OA #Research #Article #History #Archaeology #LateBronzeAge #Metals #Copper #Tin #Lead #Mining #Trade #Nuragic #Sardinia #Cyprus @histodon @histodons @archaeodons

🔴 📖 **Beyond the River, Under the Eye of Rome**

“_Hart delves into the cultural and political impacts of Rome's interactions with Transdanubian peoples, emphasizing the Sarmatians of the Hungarian Plain, whose long encounter with the Roman Empire, he argues, created a problematic template for later dealings with Goths and Huns based on misapplied ethnographic and ecological tropes._”

🔗 https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11453670.

#OpenAccess #OA #DOI #Read #Nonfiction #Book #Ebook #Bookstodon #History #Histodon #Histodons #Europe #Romans #Academia #UniversityPress @bookstodon @histodon @histodons

🔴 **Qaryat al-Fāw/Qaryatum dhāt Kāhilim: On the identity of the god Kahl**

“_Despite his name being recorded in various texts and inscriptions on numerous objects that confirm his role as the city's patron god, scant information exists regarding his attributes or sphere of influence. Nonetheless, clues on some of his characteristics can be gleaned from coins bearing his likeness._”

de Lara, J. (2024). Qaryat al-Fāw/Qaryatum dhāt Kāhilim: On the identity of the god Kahl. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 35, 136–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12249.

#OpenAccess #OA #Article #DOI #Archaeology #Archaeodons #Arabia #Mythology #Academia #Academic @archaeodons

🔴 **The Persistence of Tychonism**

“_In conclusion I will suggest that the historical longevity of
Tychonism has been considerably underestimated and also that Tychonists were not generally restrained from public endorsement of heliocentrism by religious pressure. On the contrary, I suggest that the continued acceptance of Tychonism was conditioned by its congruence with scientists’ religious beliefs._”

Barker, P. (2025) ‘The Persistence of Tychonism’, in Philosophical Readings. Zenodo, pp. 11–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15035063.

#OpenAccess #OA #DOI #History #HistSci #EarlyModern #Science #Religion #Academia #Academic @science @religion