The specific thesis that is tested in this study is that there is continual interaction between the sanctuary cult and personal religious experience in the Book of Psalms. The main theoretical argument is that the sanctuary cult had a formative role in creating the piety of the psalmists. The study attempts to explore the specific nature of that relationship and to benefit from the contributions of three major approaches to the Psalms, i.e., the form critical approach (Hermann Gunkel), the cultic approach (Sigmund Mowinckel) and the Psalter-shaping approach (Gerald H. Wilson, James L. Mays, Jerome F. D. Creach, Mark D. Futato, J. Clinton McCann and Walter Brueggemann). The study suggests that the ongoing interaction between the sanctuary cult and personal piety in the Psalms is the result of the creative power of cult. It offers evidence of the possible shaping of the Psalter around the sanctuary motif. It also offers a unique perspective on the piety of the psalmists, suggesting that the psalmists, and particularly the editor(s) of the present shape of the Psalter, promoted the eschatological hope of Israel in the new temple and the heavenly aspect of Israel’s sanctuary. / Thesis (PhD (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2013.

Divine healing has been often seen in opposition to human healing. The two spheres, have been considered as separate, both in space and in terms of elements involved. Asclepian sanctuaries have been mostly presented as domains of exclusively divine intervention, without any involvement of the human factor, possibly with the sole exception of dream interpretation. However, the written testimonies of temple cures, both those in the form of cure inscriptions dedicated in sanctuaries and the literary accounts of the incubation experience, give us reasons to suppose that the practical side of the functioning of the asklepieia could have assumed the involvement of human medicine, with the extent of this involvement differing in various epochs. Regardless of physicians' participation or its lack in the procedure, the methods applied in sanctuary healing appear to have evolved in parallel to the developments in medicine and their popular perception. Archaeological finds as well as the image of Asclepius as the god of medicine itself seem to confirm this. Nevertheless, by no means should these connections between the two spheres be treated as transforming the space of religious meaning into hospitals functioning under the auspices of a powerful god. Although acknowledging them does entail inclusion of human medicine within the space dedicated to Asclepius, it does not thereby deny the procedure of incubation its religious and metaphysical dimension. On the contrary, it shows that to the Greek mind divine and human healing were not mutually exclusive, but overlapped and coincided with each other, proving that the Greek sense of rationality was quite different from the modern and could comprise far more than what we call today "scientific thinking".

The main goal of my work was to determine knowledge of the Třeboň Region as a unique nature area not only for the Czech Republic but also for all of Europe, knowledge and use of educational trails, the spa function of the town and knowledge of the Třeboň Region in general.

The city of Poseidonia-Paestum on the Italian peninsula has a long and manifold history throughout Antiquity. The city was founded by Greek settlers in the seventh century BC, put under Lucanian rule around 400 BC, and was finally colonized by the Romans in the year of 273 BC. This study aims to connect the tangible traces of history to the intangible feelings for a place and explore how these elements give rise to the psychological process of place attachment. The concept holds and interdisciplinary potential and thus is possible to apply to the ancient material from Poseidonia-Paestum. The Greek agora, the Roman forum and the extramural Sanctuary of Santa Venera is approached and analysed from this perspective. A close reading of previous research on place attachment in combination with the archaeological record from Poseidonia-Paestum has formed the basis for analysing the material. This study has shown that it is possible to contextualize the theoretical framework of place attachment in an ancient material by pointing out the semiotic potency of the material remains from Poseidonia-Paestum. Through this perspective new questions have been raised and interpreted. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of the attitudes and ideas that formed the basis of human actions and decisions in the ancient city of Poseidonia-Paestum has been reached.

Submitted by Oliveira Santos Dilzaná (dilznana@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-01T15:10:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Genivalda Cândido.pdf: 14101984 bytes, checksum: 6b41f506818bc712362ae23e0e58cf25 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Oliveira Santos Dilzaná (dilznana@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-08T17:48:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Genivalda Cândido.pdf: 14101984 bytes, checksum: 6b41f506818bc712362ae23e0e58cf25 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-08T17:48:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Genivalda Cândido.pdf: 14101984 bytes, checksum: 6b41f506818bc712362ae23e0e58cf25 (MD5) / FAPESB / A pesquisa intitulada de “Abordagens e discussões sobre o espaço museal, a patrimonialização e a comunicação cultural no estudo comparativo entre o museu e a sala de milagres do Santuário do Bomfim, Salvador, Bahia”, teve como objetivo realizar um breve panorama histórico a partir do período que abrange a chegada de Theodózio Rodrigues de Faria a Salvador, e o surgimento do Santuário do Bomfim, que transcorreu no século XVIII, especificamente nos anos de 1740 até 1770. Tendo como foco primeiro no contexto histórico, mudanças sociais, urbanas, econômico-social que corroboraram de certa forma para a construção da Basílica do Bomfim. Em Segundo momento procuramos tecer uma ligação aos itens que contribuíram para toda a discussão presente nos referidos ambientes, como a religiosidade, a estética, o espaço e a comunicação. Itens estes primordiais no desenvolvimento das análises realizadas. A pesquisa também objetivou analisar como as práticas ex-votivas, presentes nos dois espaços, se vinculou à cultura popular dos pagadores de promessa, inerentes as classes sociais que transitam livremente pela sala de milagres, e os objetos ex-votivos que são museografados no Museu dos Ex-votos, local onde não é permitido ao crente, a colocação de ex-votos. Assim, então, se fez necessário a interpretação e elucidação das novas dimensões e significados culturais da arte e da religiosidade popular, e a retratação do ex-voto como um documento integrante do patrimônio cultural do Santuário do Bomfim. The research titled "Approaches and discussions on the museum space, the patrimonial and cultural communication in a comparative study of museum or room of miracles in Bomfim Church in Salvador, Bahia", aimed to make a brief historical overview from the period covers the arrival of Theodózio Rodriguez de Faria from Salvador, and the emergence of the Sanctuary of Bomfim, which takes place in the eighteenth century, specifically the years between 1740 to 1770. With the first focus social, urban changes, the historical context, economic and social that corroborated in a way for the construction of Bomfim's Cathedral. Weaving a link to items that corroborate all this discussion in these environments, such as religion, aesthetics, space and communication. These primary items in the development of the analysis. A priori the project aimed to analyze how former votive practices, present in the Sanctuary of Bomfim, is linked to the popular culture of the promise of paying inherent social classes who freely move around the miracles of room, and the former votive objects that are museographic in Ex-votos of the Museum, which is not allowed, by the believer, the placement of exvotos. So, then, if the interpretation and elucidation of new dimensions and cultural meanings of art and popular religiosity was necessary, and the retraction of the ex-votos as an integral document of the cultural heritage of the Sanctuary of Bomfim.

The presented thesis focuses on the comparison of the Tel Arad sanctuary with other Judean archeological sites (Beersheba, Lachish, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Moza, Tel Halif), where an archaeological evidence of cultic places from the Iron Age IIa-b was found. A realistic reconstruction of the Arad and the Judean cults in the light of the latest findings was possible only after a research of epigraphic materials from Kuntillet Ajrud, Khirbet el-Qom and Khirbet Beit Lei. The thesis also analyzes the smaller cultic artefacts which are connected to the popular religion. The first evidence of the Judean cult dates back to the late 11th or early 10th century B.C.E. and was found in Khirbet Qeiyafa. Nevertheless, most of the findings are from the official legitimate and illegitimate cultic sites of the 8th century B.C.E. In the end, they were canceled by different rendition (e.g. they were abandoned, dismantled or buried under the layer of earthen fill). Many of the archaeological sites are still under excavation, which means, that the collection of the material culture is going to be larger and significantly more varied. We can use these artifacts to reconstruct and understand ancient Judean cult. There is a high possibility that the new future findings will challenge original theories from the last decades....

In this paper we present the existence of Formative Period settlements and archaeological materials in a ravine near to the city of Lima, capital of Perú. Through comparatives analysis we have related these elements with data from others areas of Lima (Ancón, Huachipa, Tablada de Lurín, etc.), and we have reconstructed the early occupational landscape in this area of the Rímac Valley, and the use of the space and the settlement area in the lower zone that included different structures and a large worship zone that included a sanctuary in the upper ground. / En el presente trabajo se da a conocer la existencia de asentamientos y materiales arqueológicos del Periodo Formativo en una quebrada próxima a la ciudad de Lima, capital del Perú. Mediante análisis comparativos se ha logrado emparentar estos elementos con los datos procedentes de otras áreas de Lima (Ancón, Huachipa, Tablada de Lurín, entre otros) y se ha reconstruido el panorama de ocupación temprana en esta zona del valle, así como el uso del espacio y del área de poblamiento en la zona baja, que incluyó asentamientos de control y un amplio espacio de culto que comprendía, entre otras estructuras, un santuario en la parte alta.

Chosen of the Gods: Identity and Status in the Sacrificial Victims from the Llullaillaco VolcanoMummified children recovered from the summit of Llullaillaco volcano, in the Andes of Argentina, are an outstanding example of archaeological visibility of social actors, whose faces remain almost perfectly preserved half a millenium after their burial. The extraordinary preservation of the bioanthropological evidence from the Llullaillaco volcano has allowed scholars to undertake an archaeological approach towards topics such as social identity and status among the sacrificial victims in the Inca Empire. Interdisciplinary research on the frozen bodies of the young woman and the two infants from Llullaillaco, including Paleoradiological techniques (x-rays and cat-scans), Odontological studies, Paleopathological examination, DNA and hair analysis, has provided scientists with tangible results, that can be cross-checked with the information presented by the historical sources in relation to the sex and gender profile, physical beauty and social and ethnic origin of the children that the Inca priests would select as messengers into the world of the gods. / Los niños momificados recuperados de la cima del volcán Llullaillaco, en los Andes de Argentina, constituyen un ejemplo pocas veces igualado de la visibilidad arqueológica de actores sociales, ya que sus rostros se encuentran casi perfectamente preservados desde el momento de su muerte, hace más de medio milenio. La extraordinaria conservación de la evidencia bioantropológica del Llullaillaco ha permitido abordar temas relativos a la identidad y estatus social de las víctimas sacrificiales en el imperio inca. Los estudios interdisciplinarios en los cuerpos congelados de la doncella y los niños del Llullaillaco —que involucraron técnicas de paleoradiología (radiografías y tomografías computarizadas), estudios de odontología antropológica, exámenes de paleopatología, estudios de ADN antiguo y análisis de cabello— han provisto a los científicos de resultados tangibles para contrastar los requisitos de perfil sexo-etario, belleza física y extracción social que las fuentes históricas refieren en torno a la selección que los sacerdotes incas efectuaban de los mensajeros para el mundo de los dioses.

Over the last 40 years, the Caribbean has lost half of its live coral cover, mostly in the form of Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, due to disease, bleaching from rising water temperatures, and other stressors. To help restore these corals to reefs in Florida, the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) created nearshore nurseries and transplanted over 30,000 acroporid colonies across the Florida Keys. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the growth, survivorship, and condition of nursery-raised A. cervicornis colonies that were part of two transplant projects: 1) photographic analyses of 17 past CRF transplant projects over the last seven years; and 2) a transplant experiment at Little Conch Reef to additionally assess the effects of depth, colony density, and the genetic composition of transplants. The photographic analyses included 2,428 individual colonies, 38 genotypes, and six reefs from 2007 to 2013. Results from the photographs were combined with one in situ monitoring effort that used SCUBA in 2014. In the Little Conch Reef experiment, 1,288 colonies from 14 genotypes were transplanted in October and November, 2013 at two depths (5m and 12m) in either cluster or thicket configurations. At each depth, clusters comprised 14 colonies, each placed within in 1m diameter radius, with ten monogenetic and six multigenetic structures. Thickets were 3.5m by 1.5m in size, with 10 colonies from each genotype forming its own subunit within the larger configuration. In June 2014, 963 additional colonies were added to the shallow site by stacking them on top of six existing clusters and one thicket to evaluate whether larger three-dimensional structures affected growth or survival. The Little Conch Reef experiment was monitored through January 2015. Results from the photographic analyses were: 1) maximum size of A. cervicornis transplants was approximately 40cm in diameter; 2) mortality increased after approximately two years; 3) despite high mortality, some colonies survived the duration of each project; and 4) frequent and long-term monitoring is required to assess factors that affect survival and condition. Results from the Little Conch Reef experiment suggest: 1) maximum skeletal diameter was unaffected by any of the treatments; 2) percent survival and percent live tissue were higher at the shallow site compared to the deep site, and similarly, the clusters outperformed the thickets, and multigenetic clusters outperformed their monogenetic counterparts; 3) location within the shallow site had an impact on survival and condition, with clusters doing better on the south side than on the north; and 4) stacking did not positively impact growth, survival, or condition. In general, the sizes and condition of natural populations of A. cervicornis throughout the Florida Keys are similar to results from both experiments and with other transplant projects conducted in the Caribbean. Remarkably, despite high mortality in nearly all of the projects, small numbers of colonies transplanted for most projects, a few colonies survived to 2014/2015. These colonies have the potential to act as a “seed population” that might produce sexually dispersed larvae better adapted at surviving mortality events and asexual fragments that may be better acclimated to the stressors related to their location. Evidence of persistence in this species and expansion northward in Florida suggest that it is too early to consider coral reefs a lost cause, and that coral restoration holds promise for enhancing recovery of A. cervicornis.

Located 100 km west of Key West, Florida, Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO) is a largely untouched subtropical marine ecosystem that serves as an important developmental habitat, nesting ground, and foraging area for several species of sea turtles, including green turtles. The Park supports a recovering population of green turtles comprised of resident juveniles, subadults, and adults of both sexes; nesting females include residents and migrating females that only return to nest. Stable isotope analysis has been applied widely to describe the trophic ecology of green turtles, from urbanized bays with significant anthropogenic input, to relatively pristine ecosystems with healthy populations at carrying capacity. However, there is a paucity of published literature about the trophic ecology of green turtles in DRTO. This study describes the trophic ecology occupied by two distinct size groups (61 green turtles < 60 cm (SCL) and 98 green turtles > 60 cm (SCL)). Flipper tissue and plasma were analyzed for stable isotopic composition of C and N. Flipper tissue values for δ15N (3.41‰ to 9.69‰) and δ13C (-22.43‰ to -5.38‰) fall within literature values for green turtles, and the wide range of values indicated they could potentially feed at multiple trophic levels. Understanding the trophic ecology of this population of green sea turtles is instrumental to effective management and habitat preservation strategies in DRTO.