Pollen-based biome reconstructions for Latin America at 0, 6000 and 18000 radiocarbon years

The biomisation method is used to reconstruct Latin American vegetation at 6000±500 and 18 000±1000 radiocarbon years before present (14C yr BP) from pollen data. Tests using modern pollen data from 381 samples derived from 287 locations broadly reproduce potential natural vegetation. The strong temperature gradient associated with the Andes is recorded by a transition from high altitude cool grass/shrubland and cool mixed forest to mid-altitude cool temperate rain forest, to tropical dry, seasonal and rain forest at low altitudes. Reconstructed biomes from a number of sites do not match the potential vegetation due to local factors such as human impact, methodological artefacts and mechanisms of pollen representivity of the parent vegetation.

Bernard Spencer: essays on his poetry & life

15 chapters by separate hands, an introduction, and updated bibliography publishing proceedings from the 2009 Bernard Spencer Centenary Conference at the University of Reading, along with other related work.

The selected poetry and prose of Vittorio Sereni

2013 centenary corrected paperback edition of a 2006 publication, with introduction, co-translations, and notes

How to apologise in Latin: a case study

Recent years have seen an increase in sociolinguistic studies of the Latin language devoted to aspects and forms of politeness as part of general linguistic behaviour, and considerable progress has been made overall. One area, albeit central to the notion of politeness, has been conspicuously neglected so far, and this area is best summarised by the term ‘apologies’. This paper aims to remedy this situation and to provide a first extensive case study, based on the textual corpus of Terence.