The Roma in Macedonia: Ethnic politics and the marginal condition in a Balkan state

Most of Eastern Europe's five‐to‐seven‐million Roma (Gypsies) welcomed the revolutions of 1989 only to realize that the post‐communist era brought mixed blessing to them. Although since then their political and cultural marginalization had diminished, their social and economic circumstances had clearly deteriorated in East Central Europe and the Balkans alike. The only exception to this rule appears to be the newly independent Republic of Macedonia, where the Roma's conditions in many respects are far superior to those of their counterparts elsewhere in the region. There are several reasons for this phenomenon. In the economic realm the Macedonian Roma's situation has also worsened (although still much better than that of the Roma in other Balkan states) but not as a result of ethnic discrimination but owing to the economic hardships accompanying the post‐communist transitions. In the political sphere, the Roma in Macedonia have benefited from a state whose representatives are willing to rise above sympathetic rhetoric and take concrete steps to alleviate their problems as well as from relatively well organized Romani political parties. Most important, however, are the differences between societal attitudes towards the Roma in Macedonia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. In Macedonia the Roma's relations with the dominant ethnic group (Macedonians) are primarily characterized by ‘peaceful coexistence’ rather than tension and animosity. Moreover, Romani communities in Macedonia are less isolated from non‐Roma both culturally and socio‐economically. This state of affairs is the result of a number of related factors, most important of which are that the Romani community does not represent a threat to Macedonians given their numerical weakness and lack of political clout in contradistinction to the very real threat posed by the ethnic Albanian community in the country. In turn, the Roma's relations to ethnic Albanians and Turks remain relatively agreeable as well.     

Contribution to the knowledge on relic Stipa spp.-dominated ultramafic grasslands of the Central Balkans

The heterogeneity of the ultramafic vegetation of the Central Balkans is rather great. Although this vegetation has been continuously investigated, some gaps are still to be filled. For example, the lack of available data on ultramafic vegetation of the Republic of Macedonia is evident. In that light, we have investigated different relic Stipa species-dominated dry grasslands over ultramafic bedrock. Twenty relevés were made and compared to the similar vegetation types (i.e. Potentilla visianii, Centaureo kosaninii-Bromion fibrosi, “Thymion jankae”, Saturejo-Thymion and Alyssion heldreichii) by means of numerical analyses. We distinguished one new association and one informal community, providing them with diagnosis and lists of diagnostic, constant and dominant species. We also determined their syntaxonomic positions and relations to ultramafic syntaxa from the neighboring countries.     

Distribution of Arsenic,Antimony, and Thallium in Soil in Kavadarci and its Surroundings,Republic of Macedonia

The aim of this study is to present a spatial distribution of As, Sb, and Tl in topsoil and subsoil in the Kavadarci region, Republic of Macedonia. In total, 344 soil samples were collected from 172 locations (0–5 cm and 20–30 cm) in an area of 360 km². ICP-MS was applied for the determination of the invesgated elements. It was found that the highest contents of As, Sb, and Tl were on Holocene alluvium of the river Crna Reka, where average concentrations exceeded the average of the total investigated area by two times for As, three for Tl, and more than five times for Sb. The enrichment of the Holocene alluvium of the river Crna Reka is supposed to be a consequence of natural erosion from Allchar mine deposits on Ko?uf Mountain and also from mining activities in the past.     

Les primates hominoides du Vallésien de Macédoine (Grèce). Étude de la machoire inférieure

The locality of the Ravine of the Rain is located in Lower Macedonia (Greece); it has yielded an important mammalian fauna of Vallesian age (Upper Miocene). An hominoid Primate is present with a lot of well preserved jaws. It is one of the better set of specimens never found in the same locality. His features and caracters are described and compared with those of the others tertiary Hominoids. This is a species which is near of Sivapithecus, Bodvapithecus and Ramapithecus and also it is very near of the ancestry of Gigantopithecus. All these Primates have had a particular ecology and this is probably the set in which we shall find the root of the plio-pleistocen Hominids.     

Karyological and allozyme survey of the Common shrew, Sorex araneus, from Macedonia

Karyotype and genetic variation of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) from Mt. Pelister in southern Macedonia has been studied. Whereas all autosomes in the chromosomal set (2 n_a, = 28, the only present metacentrics being af, bc, jl, and tu) were of the standard type as well as the sex chromosomes X and Y₂ in males, the Y₁ chromosome was a small metacentric. This chromosomal feature is unique among the common shrew populations studied cytogenetically so far. Three out of 33 loci analysed (Sdh, 6Pgd, Mdh-1) were discriminant between the Mt. Pelister population and Sorex araneus from Slovenia and two loci (Est-3, Ada) were partially discriminant. A relatively high value of Nei's genetic distance (D = 0.137) confirms unique character of the Pelister population.     

Short reviews

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Emerich K. Francis ‐ INTERETHNIC RELATIONS: AN ESSAY IN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Inc., 1976, New York, Oxford, Amsterdam, £20.00. 432 pp., incl. Selected Bibliography and Index.

Tom G. Svensson, ETHNICITY AND MOBILIZATION IN SAMI POLITICS. Stockholm, University of Stockholm Studies in Social Anthropology No. 4, 1976. pp. 279, n.p.

Alphonso Pinkney, RED, BLACK, AND GREEN; BLACK NATIONALISM IN THE UNITED STATES. London, Cambridge University Press, 1976. pp. 270, £7.50.

David H. McKay, HOUSING AND RACE IN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY. London, Croom Helm, 1977. 193 pp., £7.50.

Gordon Bowker & John Carrier (Eds) RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS: SOCIOLOGICAL READINGS. London, Hutchinson, 1976, pp. 400, £3.95.

John Stone (Ed) RACE, ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE: READINGS IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS. California, Wadsworth, 1977, pp. 400, n.p.

Trevor R. Lee ‐ RACE AND RESIDENCE: THE CONCENTRATION AND DISPERSAL OF IMMIGRANTS IN LONDON. Oxford University Press, 1977. pp. 193, £6.95.     

Neottia cordata (Orchidaceae) at its southernmost distribution border in Europe: Threat status and effectiveness of Natura 2000 Network for its conservation

Neottia cordata is an orchid species that exclusively occurs in Picea abies subsp. abies and Pinus sylvestris stands and forms its southernmost distribution limits in Greece. Over the last decade, it has been recorded in numerous sites, in which it forms small colonies, both in terms of population and area. This research re-evaluates the threat status of Neottia cordata based on updated chorological and population data; it also checks the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 Network as far as its conservation is concerned by applying the MaxEnt model. The recently collected data justify the classification of N. cordata as "Vulnerable". The most significant variables that affect its distribution were found to be the vegetation type and the precipitation of the warmest quarter. The results of the MaxEnt model suggest that: (i) the Natura 2000 Network is characterised by areas of higher habitat suitability values when compared to the areas that fall outside this network; and, (ii) Picea abies subsp. abies forests are more suitable for its conservation than those of Pinus sylvestris. It is concluded that the most appropriate management measure for the species conservation is the maintenance of the tree layer canopy closed.     

Stipa crassiculmis subsp. picentina (Poaceae) new for the Balkans – a further example of amphi-Adriatic disjunction

Stipa crassiculmis subsp. picentina Martinovský, Moraldo & Caputo (Poaceae, Pooideae, Stipae) was found for the first time in the Balkan Peninsula. It was recorded in the northern part of the Republic of Macedonia, in the P?inja River gorge (Badar Gorge), between Veles and Katlanovo on ultramafic substrates. To date, S. crassiculmis subsp. picentina was known only for Italy where it occurs in the Lombardy and Campania administrative regions. This record for the Balkan Peninsula is a new example of Amphi-Adriatic Balkan-Apennine disjunction. In this paper, the morphological and anatomical characters of the specimens collected in the study area were reported together with the phytosociological characteristics of the habitat. The threatened status of the species for Macedonia was also assessed on the basis of the IUCN criteria.     

Two new and rare mountain door-snails (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Clausiliidae) from high mountain areas in Macedonia

Two species of Clausiliidaeare described as new to science. Euxinella alpinellasp. n. is the fourth species within genus Euxinella Nordsieck, 1973, and Vestia lazaroviisp. n. is the second species of genus Vestia recorded from the Republic of Macedonia. In both species, the clausilium apparatus shows a high degree of variation.     

The deciduous lower dentition of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis (Primates, Hominoidea) from the late Miocene deposits of Macedonia, Greece

Two mandibular fragments with associated milk teeth assigned to the late Miocene hominoid primate Ouranopithecus macedoniensis are analyzed. The fossils, which belong to a single individual, were found in the Vallesian locality of "Ravin de la Pluie" of the Axios Valley (Macedonia, Greece). The material is described here and compared with extant and extinct hominoids, allowing assessment of the evolutionary trends in the deciduous lower dentition within the Hominoidea. Hylobatids represent the more primitive pattern. Gorilla is slightly more derived than hylobatids, but less derived than Pongo and Pan, the latter being the most derived. With relatively smaller deciduous canines and more molarized deciduous premolars, Ouranopithecus is more derived than both Pan and Gorilla. Among the fossil hominoids, Proconsul, representing the primitive condition, has a very simple dp(3)and a dp(4)that has a trigonid that is taller than the talonid and which lacks a hypoconulid. Griphopithecus is more derived than Proconsul in having a dp(4) with a lower trigonid, a hypoconulid, and a less oblique cristid obliqua. Australopithecus and Paranthropus possess a similar morphology to that of Homo, while Ardipithecus appears to be more primitive than the latter genera. Ouranopithecus has a more derived lower milk dentition than Proconsul and Griphopithecus, but less derived than Australopithecus and Paranthropus. The comparison of the lower milk dentition of Ouranopithecus confirms our previous conclusions suggesting that this fossil hominoid shares derived characters with Australopithecus and Homo.