germresearch 2 3 04 - deutsche forschungsgemeinschaft · 2020. 12. 6. · research 2-3/2004...

research

2-3/2004 Interview with the Sociable Honeybee When the Skylark Abandons the Meadow Zhuangzi and theCultivation of Life A Listening Post to theUniverse On Truth and Reconciliation

Magazine of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

germ

an

In this issue

Messages from theWadden SeaThe Wadden Sea and othermud flats in coastal regionsaround the world, in a variety of climates, are a result of thetides. Taking the southernNorth Sea as an example of thishabitat, scientists study howecological processes operate inthe threatened “Wadden Seahabitat”. This, it is hoped, willlead to a new understanding ofthe processes taking place intidal mud flats. Page 8

A Royal Tomb in SyriaIn one of the largest palacecomplexes in the ancient Ori-ent, in the palace of Qatna, ar-chaeologists have discoveredthe first royal tomb in Syria notto have been raided by graverobbers. The subterranean bur-ial chambers and the treasuresthey contained provide new insights into the world of the living and of the dead in the ancient royal city of Qatna. This began a new chapter in the uncovering of ancient Syrian culture. Page 16

With the Help of RobotsTo treat serious injuries to theskull it is necessary to implanthigh precision titanium plates.Doctors have now teamed upwith engineers to tackle thisproblem. The results so far haveshown that not only computer-aided processes can help withthe prefabrication of individualskull implants, but also robotsare able to provide valuable assistance. Page 34

Commentary

A „Year of Innovation“ for Genetic Engineering as well? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 2

Natural Sciences

A Listening Post to the Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 4Of Mud Flats, Mixed Mud Flats and Sand Flats . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 8

Arts and Humanities

On Truth, Dignity and Reconciliation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 13The World of the Living and the World of the Dead . . . . . . p. 16Zhuangzi and the Cultivation of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 22

Engeneering Sciences

The Sound of Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 24

Life Sciences

The Eating Instruments of Spore Feeders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 27When the Skylark Abandons the Meadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 30Computers and Operation Cranium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 34Interview with the Sociable Honeybee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 36

Portrait

Listen with Your Eyes, Talk with Your Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 21

Supplement

Cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe

Impressum

german research is published by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation); Editorial staff: Dieter Hüsken (editor-in-chief, design),Dr. Rembert Unterstell, Ursula Borcherdt-Allmendinger, Stephanie Henseler, Angela Kügler-Seifert; Translation: SciTech Communications GmbH, Heidelberg;Publisher: WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, P.O. Box 10 11 61,69451 Weinheim (Germany); Annual Subscription price 2005; € 48.00 (Europe), US $ 48.00 (all other countries) including postage and handling charges. Prices are exclusive of VAT and subject to change. Printed by: Bonner Universitäts-Buch-druckerei; Address of editorial staff: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Press andPublic Relations Division, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn (Germany); E-mail: [email protected]; Internet: www.dfg.de; printedon chlorine-free bleached paper with 50% recycling fibres. ISSN 0172-1518

Communication in the Kingdom of the BeesHoney bees are social creatures.The flow of information within a bee colony istherefore of central importance. Biologists are studying the basics (page 36).Cover: Fiola Bode/beegroup

german research 2-3/2004


2


Prof. Dr.

Jörg Hinrich Hacker

A “Year of Innovation” for Genetic Engineering

as well?

The German Chancellor has de-clared 2004 the “Year of Inno-vation”. In addition, elite uni-versities, top-level research and theprerequisites that are necessary fortopnotch research are currently thetopic of discussion in more than justthe talk shows and feature pages. Inthe course of the debate, the ques-tion is often asked: What frameworkconditions are needed for top-levelresearch and innovative science inGermany? There is a consensus inthis country regarding the financialaspect. In the end, we still havemuch to do to reach the goal of in-vesting three percent of the gross

damental life processes to be betteranalysed, private sector, and lastbut not least practical medicine be-cause new, safer drugs like humaninsulin could be developed. Med-ically relevant genetic research(also known as “red genetic engi-neering”) is all in all a story of suc-cess.

At the beginning of the new era ofgenetic engineering, there werealso debates about the risks such asfor example the emergence of newpathogens. Researchers thereforeagreed on a “moratorium” to allowlawmakers to come up with regula-tions that divided genetically modi-

plants. Nearly 70 million hectarescontaining genetically modifiedcrops have now been recordedworldwide, corresponding to anarea that is roughly double the sizeof Germany. The methods of greengenetic engineering are used to cul-tivate new varieties of plants thatare resistant to certain pathogens orinsecticides or to form new ingredi-ents such as vitamins or proteins.The use of transgenic plants there-fore produces crops more economi-cally and using fewer pesticides. Inthe United States, transgenic vari-eties of such crops as maize, cottonor soybeans already make up more

fied organisms into different riskcategories to which specific work-ing conditions apply. These regula-tions have paid off. Red genetic en-gineering has proven itself to be notonly extremely efficient but also avery safe technology. This technolo-gy is finding more and more accep-tance throughout the world, includ-ing Germany, so that the laws havebeen gradually liberalised overtime, which has led to relatively sta-ble framework conditions.

Alongside red genetic engineer-ing,“green genetic engineering”has also been developed, whichcentres on research using geneti-cally engineered or “transgenic”

than 50 percent of the harvest.While large amounts of geneticallymodified plants are being cultivatedin many non-European countries,citizens of many European countriescontinue to have serious reserva-tions about the so-called “genefood”.

What are the current topics of re-search in green genetic engineer-ing? Many extremely interestingand relevant scientific questionscan be answered with the help ofgenetically modified plants. For ex-ample, scientists are researchingthe origins of various diseases inplants. A large number of crops con-tinue to be destroyed by pests, such

Commentary

domestic product in research, as isalready the case in other countries.In short, science in Germany isunder-financed. If we want innova-tion, this is where we have to start.

But what about the principal, im-material requirements for research?Is Germany even a research-friend-ly country? Let us look at the exam-ple of genetic engineering. Almost30 years ago, researchers discov-ered that they can isolate geneticmaterial from organisms (bacteria,plants, animals) and purposely alterit in the laboratory. Many have ben-efited from this innovation, whichsoon received several Nobel prizes:science, because this allowed fun-

3


as vine pest, which attacks andweakens the fine roots of grape-vines or blight, which is a pathogenof grain. Knowledge about themechanisms of these plant diseaseswill contribute to the developmentof new and more resistant varieties,but we can also study how plantsdevelop – for example, how differ-ent tissues emerge from one germbud. Scientists can also analysemetabolic pathways in plants. Thatis why it is not astonishing that over30 percent of all “releases” of trans-genic plants in Germany are carriedout by research institutes such asthe Max Planck Society, the univer-

which has since run out. Germanyhas recently implemented a generalEU guideline in German law, whichpassed the German parliament inNovember 2004. In light of the im-portance of green genetic engineer-ing for science, the expectations forthis new law were high, especiallywith regard to the establishment of reliable regulatory conditions.However, it is doubtful whether thisgoal can be achieved with the newGenetic Engineering Law. In theview of the DFG, this depends ontwo central points. The first point isthat one of the main concerns of thenew Genetic Engineering Law is to

hope that lawmakers and adminis-trators will come up with a regula-tion within the framework of thelegislative procedure that takes theconcerns of sciences into account asmuch as those of agriculture.

The second point is also impor-tant: the registration and ap-proval procedures will bemore expensive and more bureau-cratic. Instead of creating morestreamlined structures, the CentralCommission for Biological Safety(Zentrale Kommission für Biologi-sche Sicherheit), which has provento be quite effective in the past, willhave to be restructured and virtuallydoubled in size. In addition, the ap-plication procedure and the accom-panying record-keeping will bemore expensive than before. Inother words, instead of streamliningand reducing bureaucracy we willhave more commissions and moreunproductive paperwork! Sciencealso expects that the administrativeprocess will create improvementshere as well.

In other words, we have to askourselves: is Germany a countrythat wants innovations in the area ofgenetic engineering, or will therisks alone become the centre of at-tention? Will green genetic engi-neering be placed under commonsuspicion or can scientists count ona leap of faith? Does the constitu-tionally protected freedom in thepursuit of research also apply togreen genetic engineering? Whether2004 will be remembered as the“Year of Innovation” also dependson the answers to these questions.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jörg H. Hacker

Jörg Hinrich Hacker, Professor for MolecularInfection Biology at the University ofWürzburg, is the Vice President of the DFG.The Executive Committee of the DFG is com-posed of the President and eight Vice Presi-dents, as well as the President of the Donor’sAssociation for the Promotion of Science andHumanities in Germany (Stifterverband fürdie Deutsche Wissenschaft).

sities or the Leibniz Association.Many of these projects are alsofunded by the DFG.

As before with “red” genetic en-gineering, there are also debatesabout the risks of “green” geneticengineering: from the possibility ofsupposedly “harmful” genes beingtransferred to neighbouring plantsto the idea that genetically modifiedplants could have adverse effects onhuman health. Many of these sce-narios are based on conjecture andhave not been proven based on theexperiences gained from large culti-vations abroad. Nevertheless, therewas an EU moratorium for certainareas of green genetic engineering,

avert the “penetration” of geneti-cally modified organisms in conven-tional crops. It does not matterwhether the regulatory authoritieshave classified the transgenic plantsas harmless. Only the fact that theremay be transference of genes fromgenetically engineered plants isconsidered. The user is held liable ifa specific threshold value of trans-genic plants is exceeded. This ap-plies to commercial growers as wellas scientists. One thing is clear: withthe new gene law, the actual “inno-vation” in the area of green geneticengineering will be the fact that thiswork will take place outside Ger-many in the future. One can only

4

We still have in our minds aview of gravity that islargely influenced by thework done by the English physicistIsaac Newton three hundred yearsago. He described it as a force of at-traction, acting between all masses.However, the observation of massesin free-fall leads to the conclusionthat this is a motion free of the influ-ence of forces, which, at any givenpoint in space, is always indepen-dent of the size and composition ofthe masses involved. From this, Al-bert Einstein deduced that gravita-tion is an effect that depends on thegeometry of space. The develop-ment of this idea led, in 1915, to thegeneral theory of relativity.

From the Einsteinian point ofview, physical space is neither arigid scaffold nor the arena forprocesses occurring in nature; it is,itself, a participant in events. Spaceis distorted by the presence of mass-

es. The resulting curvature of spacehas a direct influence on the motionof other masses and thus gives theappearance of a diversionary force.When masses move at high speed,the resulting changes in the curva-ture of space are propagated in alldirections with the speed of light,giving rise to gravitational waves.However, it was already acknowl-edged by Einstein that only verylarge masses with very high accel-erations would generate gravita-tional waves of a measurable ampli-

tude. The only possible sources aretherefore objects or events such assystems of black holes and neutronstars or supernovae.

The effect of these waves is ex-pressed as a distortion of space, asstretching and compression of itsgeometrical structure. This leads todiffering changes in the lengths ofmutually perpendicular objects,which can be detected if the said ob-jects are parts of a measuring sys-tem. Such a device for detecting rel-ative changes in length is the

A Listening Post to the Universe


Natural Sciences

5

Michelson interferometer. This isused to compare the transit time oflight over two perpendicular paths.The problem for the experimentalphysicist is that the changes inlength to be expected are extremelysmall. For example, a supernova ex-plosion in a neighbouring galaxywould change the length of a kilo-metre-long arm by one thousandthof the diameter of a proton – and thisfor just a few milliseconds.

For 40 years, attempts have beenmade to confirm the existence of

gravitational waves but only now dowe have sufficiently sensitive lasermeasuring technology. The GEO600 gravitational wave detector is ajoint project of German and Britishresearch groups. This is a Michelsoninterferometer with 600-metre armsthat has been set up on grounds be-longing to the University of Han-nover in Ruthe, to the south of thecity. Responsible for the project arescientists from Hannover, Golm,Glasgow, Garching and Cardiff. It isexpected that gravitational waves

will be detected with frequencies in the audible range – makingGEO600 literally a listening post inspace.

There are many effects that makethe observation of gravitationalwaves very difficult. They causechanges in the light-path differencebetween the two arms and thus sim-ulate a signal. These are, for exam-ple, acoustic disturbances (varia-tions in air pressure); for this reason,all optical structures are housed inlarge vacuum tanks. The armsthemselves are enclosed in evacuat-

Demonstrating the existence ofgravitational waves requires highlysensitive laser measuring technology that was only developed in recent years. In the main building of the new GEO600gravitational wave detector, all opticalcomponents are housed in evacuatedstainless steel tanks.

Demonstrating the existence of gravitational waves has recently become possible. A newly developed, highlysensitive detector generates new information used to research black holes and the origins of the universe


6


ed stainless steel tubes of 60 cen-timetres in diameter. The vacuumrequired here is similar to near-earth space.

Evident sources of interferenceare also seismic tremors of all kinds,thermal motion of the optical com-ponents, as well as technical varia-tions in the light intensity that intro-duce noise. To reach the requiredsensitivity, these interference sourcesmust be adequately suppressed ordisplaced to a frequency range out-side the measurement window. Aparticular challenge was the devel-opment of a suitable laser for GEO600. Laser for gravitational wavedetectors must be not only particu-larly powerful but also extremelystable in frequency, amplitude andbeam geometry. In addition, theymust be capable of continuous oper-ation for months at a time. In recentyears, a laser was developed jointlywith the Laser Centre, Hannover,that is based on a special laser sys-tem and has a continuous output

power of 17 watts. However, sincethe optimum optical power forGEO600 is in the kilowatt range, ameans had to be found of increasingthe circulating optical power in thedetector. The interferometer workswith a so-called null method. Feed-back loops keep the output dark.Only when a gravitational wave ar-rives does light get through to theoutput. This means that, after pass-ing down the arms, the laser light isreturned to the input. An additionalmirror returns this light to the armsand superimposes it on the incidentlight (“power re-cycling”). In thisway, GEO600can work with aneffective powerof ten kilowatts.In a similar way,the signal is am-plified by “signalrecycling”.

Since 1995,there has been a worldwide up-surge in the building of large laserinterferometers for detecting gravi-tational waves. In the AmericanLIGO project, detectors with four-kilometre arms were constructed intwo locations, one in the northwestof the USA (Washington) and theother in the southeast (Louisiana).Near Pisa, the Franco-ItalianVIRGO project, with three-kilome-tre arms, has just been completed.

In spite of its shorter arm length,GEO600 has about the same sensi-tivity as the larger detectors, as itdiffers from them in having incorpo-rated the advanced techniques de-veloped in recent years from its in-ception. Signal recycling, the sus-pension of the optical componentsfrom quartz glass fibres and the pos-sibility of tuning the detector to adesired frequency are still unique toGEO600.

The various projects depend oncooperation. Only by working to-gether with a remote detector

can local distur-bances be reli-ably eliminated.However, to ob-tain informationon the source di-rection and thewaveform of thesignals requiresa worldwide net-work of at least

four detectors. The various stationshave therefore agreed to exchangedata and evaluate them jointly. Thecollaboration between GEO600 andLIGO is particularly close. From theend of December 2001 until mid-January 2002, there were paralleltrial runs of both detectors in whichthe system stability and programsfor data recording and evaluationwere successfully tested. First re-sults are now being published.

A bird’s eye view of GEO600:Running from the main building

are two 600-metre arms, each with its own terminal building.

The arms themselves (right) are enclosed in stainless steel tubes that

are suspended in trenches.

A challenging piece of research work was the development of a high-power laser for GEO600

7

However, as neither of the detectorshas yet reached the planned sensi-tivity, only estimates are currentlypossible. The detectors are beingcontinually improved. At the end of2003 and beginning of 2004, datawere again recorded jointly fromGEO600 and LIGO. From 2004, thedetectors should go into regularmeasuring operation.

The observation of gravitationalwaves will open a new field in as-tronomy. The structure of the wavesis a precise image of the astrophysi-cal phenomenon that generatedthem. We will thus obtain informa-tion about the universe that is of aquite different kind to that fromclassical astronomy, using light,radio waves or X-rays. Most sourcesof gravitational waves do not emitany electromagnetic radiation andvice versa. These two branches ofastronomy will thus provide com-plementary information aboutspace. Furthermore, the major partof the universe is made up of darkmatter that can only be detected byany gravitational waves that itmight generate.

Gravitational waves hardly inter-act with matter. While this makes itdifficult to demonstrate their exis-tence, this also makes them idealinformation carriers. The entire uni-verse is transparent to gravitationalwaves. Researchers therefore ex-pect to observe gravitational wavesfrom the areas of the universe thatare obscured by clouds, as well aswaves generated by its creation.The gravitational waves generatedby the big bang should still be ob-servable as background radiation.Recording these signals providesinformation about the universeshortly after its origin – it is as if wewere listening in to the first cry ofour world.

Dr. Peter AufmuthUniversität Hannover

Two neutron stars orbiting one another generate gravitational waves

that travel to the earth with the speed of light. Below: to prevent

GEO600 responding to earth tremors,mirrors and beam splitters are hung

in multiple pendulums.

8

The tidal flats only appear inhospitable at first glance. A new time-series stationsupports the study of this habitat.Measuring instruments that directlytransmit data to the shore are housed in a work container.

9

Of Mud Flats, Mixed Mud Flatsand Sand FlatsThe extended tidal mud flats found in various climate zones are a result of the tides. Using thesouthern North Sea as their research area, scientists study how ecological processes operate in the threatened “Wadden Sea” habitat

Natural Sciences

10


Why does East Frisia havetides? It’s simple: when theEast Frisians came to thesea, the water took fright and ranaway. Now it comes back twice aday to see if they are still there.“This rather old joke hinges upon themost prominent characteristic of themud flats: the tides. The rapidchange in environmental condi-tions, which also results in fluctua-tions of direct insolation and saltconcentration, may at first sightseem inhospitable, but in fact, bio-logical activity is particularly high inthe mud flat ecosystem.

Mud flats are an important com-ponent of coastlines affected by thetides in various climate zones andwith different current conditions.They are among the most produc-tive natural ecosystems on the plan-et and play an important role in theglobal biochemical and geochemi-cal balance. Tidal flats not only pro-vide a habitat for many species ofbirds, but are also the nursery for awide variety of marine organisms.Because sediments are depositednear the coast during high tide, tidalflats also provide important protec-tion against marine erosion. Forcenturies, a major part of human ac-tivity all over the world has beenconcentrated in coastal regions. It isassumed that in the year 2025 about75 percent of the world’s population(as opposed to 50 percent today) willbe living in coastal regions. The de-mand for exploitation of this spacewill therefore increase. This appliesto industrially useful materials frommarine organisms, marine biotech-nology as well as to the productionof renewable energy in coastal windpower systems. This is accompaniedby the risk that the exploitation ofresources will irreparably destroythis ecosystem. Knowledge of theecological processes and the healthstatus of the flats, which can be de-rived from this knowledge is there-fore of great importance to thecoastal population.

The particular characteristics ofthe tidal flat ecosystem, which areseen as being particularly worth-while protecting, have led to parts ofthis ecosystem being declared a Na-tional Park, which has restrictionsregulating exploitation through

fishing and tourism. Strong politicalefforts are being made to promotethe Wadden Sea, as the tidal flatzone of the southern North Sea is called, to the status of a WorldHeritage Site.

The North Sea’s flat relief andpronounced tides have created ex-tensive tidal mud flats along itscoast. The tide raises water by be-tween about one and three metersbetween low tide and high tide inthe eastern North Sea. The tidalflats habitat encompasses the saltmarshes, dunes and beaches thatare above the average high tidemark, the actual flats that are ex-posed at low tide, and the tidalcreeks and depressions (Priele andTiefs) that are permanently under

ed by storm tides. The islands andthe tidal flats that lie inland fromthem are young formations in geo-logical terms. During the most re-cent ice age about 18,000 years agothe coastline ran far out in the NorthSea. The coastline only reached thecurrent shores when the continentalice masses melted about 9,000 yearsago, forming today’s coastal areathrough a rising, and intermittentlyretreating, sea level.

Humans only began to protect thecoastline with dikes during the Mid-dle Ages.

Within the Wadden Sea a distinc-tion is made between mud flats,mixed mud flats and sand flats,based on the characteristics of thesediment. They provide a variety of

water and run like rivers throughthe tidal landscape.

One of the largest continuoustidal flat zones of the world extendsalong the North Sea coast from Blå-vands Huk in Jutland, Denmark, inthe north along the coasts of Schles-wig-Holstein and Lower Saxony inGermany to Den Helder in theNetherlands. Particularly character-istic are the barrier islands, whichwere created a few thousand yearsago by sand deposits off the coastsof Lower Saxony and the northernNetherlands, whereas the islandsoff the coast of Schleswig-Holsteinare mainly remnants of a formerland mass that have not been erod-

habitats for the organisms living inor on the sea bed of the tidal flat.

Complex biological structuresarise from the interaction betweenthese organisms. In specific regionsof the Wadden Sea certain life formspredominate, for example the lug-worm, with its typical spiral casts,

The surface of the sandy tidal flat has an impressive structure. Top: Drilling is

required to obtain new data. In the processsediment cores of up to a length of six

metres are extracted. Using a flat bottomboat that can “run aground“ on the tidal

flat surface, researchers travel to theirstudy area and stake out the study plot.

11


the sand mason worm, which livesin extended dense colonies, andbanks of blue mussels. In addition tothe 60 or so animal species that are afew millimetres to centimetres insize, a smaller fauna of several hun-dred species that live between thesand grains is an important elementof the biodiversity. The food chain isbased primarily on microalgae liv-ing on the bottom and in the watercolumn. Apart from the manifold“predatory relationships“ amongstthe fauna of the tidal flat seabed, theinteractions between the organismsalso extend to the higher levels ofthe food chain. Many young fishand shrimps live on the rich foodsupply in the tidal flats. They, inturn, provide nourishment to thelarge flocks of migratory birds thatvisit the mud flat twice a year ontheir way from their arctic breedinggrounds to their tropical winterfeeding grounds and back again.

The dynamic processes thathave formed the tidal flats andcontinue to change them areexceedingly complex. The sedimentbudget is still an unsolved question.Since the quiet run-off zones of thewater were lost as a result of dikebuilding, it is assumed that tidalsediments are increasingly de-prived of fine-grained materials.The mud remains in suspension andcannot settle. However, this has notyet been confirmed by experimentalmeasurements taken from ships.Mathematical models, however,show that from wind force eight up-wards – when coastal research ves-sels can no longer be used – sedi-ment is lost from the tidal flats to thesea.

Similarly, the effect of hard win-ters, when ice floes freeze to the sur-face of the sediment and possiblycarry this layer out into the openNorth Sea during flood tide, is alsonot yet fully understood. By the es-tablishment of a permanently mea-suring time-series station betweenthe German islands of Spiekeroogand Langeoog in August 2002, stud-ies of the transport of suspendedmaterial in the water column evenunder harsh weather conditionshave become possible. Long-termchanges in the sediment budget will

12

also affect the ecosystem becauseconditions for colonization on thesea bed will change. It is thereforeimportant to be able to differentiatebetween the delayed effects of dikebuilding and the effects of long-term sea level rise due to climatechange and human influence.

Interest in the role of microorgan-isms in the water column and insediment has only just begun tocrystallise. As well as filter feederssuch as mussels, microorganismsare the sewage treatment system ofthe tidal flats. They decompose theremains of dead plankton and othercreatures and return the products tothe food cycle. This is mostly doneby the bacteria in the water column

and in the upper sediment layers,which are often only a few millime-tres thick and still contain oxygen.The aerobic bacteria ensure that theanaerobic zone below does not ex-tend to the surface, causing the tidalflat to deoxygenate and black spotsto appear on the surface. On a smallscale these black spots do not pose aproblem, but a chain of natural phe-nomena caused large black areas toform following the hard winter of1995/96, resulting in the death oflarge numbers of mussels andworms due to lack of oxygen. How-ever, the tidal flats were even ableto recover from this situation by thenext summer thanks to their strongself-healing capacity. The role ofthe bacteria that live in the anaero-

bic sediment zone below the surfaceremains a complete mystery. Manyare unknown organisms, which aredifficult to grow in culture andwhose physiological characteristicshave not been studied. It is not evi-dent whether they extract theirnourishment from hard-to-decom-pose organic matter that is left overby the surface bacteria, or if the porewater in the sediments providesthem with nutrients that can beutilised more easily. They may, per-haps, be relatives of bacteria thatlive in similarly inhospitable condi-tions under more than a thousandmetres of sediment in the oceans.

The many manifestations of tidalflat systems make it difficult torecognise the basic principles ac-cording to which the flats react toexternal changes, such as theweather over the seasonal cycle,changes in sea level and lack of oxy-gen. To gain a new understandingof the processes occurring in thetidal flat system, a materials budgetwill be determined, taking thebackbarrier tidal flats of the NorthSea island Spiekeroog as an exam-ple. The currents, composition, hy-drodynamics and morphology oftidal flats as well as the biogeo-chemical processes on particles inthe water column, at the sediment-water interface and in the tidal flatswill be investigated using an arrayof modern analytical methods. Atthe same time, mathematical mod-els will be developed for the numer-ous subprocesses in the tidal flatsystem. These will form the basis fora mathematical model that will de-scribe tidal flats as a whole andwhich can be used to follow theirdevelopment. After an appropriategeneralization, it should becomeapplicable to tidal flat systems any-where in the world.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rullkötter Universität Oldenburg

A time-series station was established in the North Sea off the southwest tip ofSpiekeroog. The working station ridesmounted on a strong 40-metre tube, a thirdof which is buried in the tidal flat sediment.It is supplied with instruments andaccessories by boat.

13


When a nation is workingthrough its past, the call forreconciliation is often ex-pressed. Konrad Adenauer andCharles de Gaulle hoped for a Ger-man-French reconciliation. NelsonMandela spoke of the reconciliationbetween black and white people inSouth Africa after the end ofApartheid. After the fall of theBerlin Wall there was a call for rec-onciliation between perpetratorsand victims in East Germany. Glob-al hotspots point to the explosive-ness of the topic in the present: be it in Iraq, the Middle East,Afghanistan, East Timor, CentralAfrica or the Balkans – the problemof overcoming guilt is universal inthe effort to establish a peacefulpost-war order. The question thenarises: to what extent can theologystill provide guidance in concreteconflict situations?

The theological project “The po-litical dimension of reconciliation”started from the observation thatreconciliation as a central theme inChristian theological teaching re-curs in the political realm. Reconcili-ation is spoken of in both theologyand politics. But does it mean thesame thing in both contexts? Is therea commonality of meaning in addi-tion to the common usage of wordslike guilt and reconciliation in poli-tics and theology? Where and underwhat conditions is it possible totranslate from theological languageinto political and vice versa? Theuniversal nature of the biblicalpromise that God reconciled “theworld” to himself (2 Corinthians5:17-21) at first seems to legitimate a

correspondence in political realitywith this idea of reconciliation. Onemight ask whether the elements ofthe Christian concept of reconcilia-tion, such as the forgiveness of sins,the wiping away of guilt, the over-coming of hostility through friend-ship, and the rebuilding of commu-nity can be found in the political rec-onciliation process.

The objective of this project wasto study the conditions for reconcili-ation in the political realm by way ofexamples and to reflect on the polit-ical aspects of reconciliation in all itstheological solemnity. The ethicalinterest is directed at a theological“quality check” of the political talkof reconciliation that took placewhile workingthrough the pastafter the changesto the politicalsystems in Ger-many and SouthAfrica.

The causal re-lationship be-tween the transi-tion processes inSouth Africa and Germany was es-tablished by former South AfricanPresident de Klerk in his famousparliamentary address of 2 Febru-ary, 1990. He announced the re-lease of Nelson Mandela, notingthat after the fall of the Berlin Wallthe Apartheid system was no longernecessary to protect against com-munism as before. In the question ofreconciliation “outside” Christiandoctrine, there were first method-ological problems to be dealt with.How can a status description of po-

litical reality succeed without reli-giously instrumentalising theprocess to be examined, i.e., withoutmaking theological understandinga selection criterion in perceivingpolitical reality from the outset? Forthe methodology, it helped to utilizecase studies, a technique which hasbeen applied in the social sciencesfor some time now. The case studiesmethod makes it possible to disen-tangle the portrayal of political real-ity from its interpretation. The casestudy analysis was further refined inthe transfer to the theological pro-ject by applying additional methodsfrom qualitative social research. In-terviews were used, for example, inaddition to textual analysis.

The so-calledtransformation re-search in historyand law sug-gests the analysisof political transi-tion processesalongside five op-tions for action:Depending onthe power rela-

tionships, a young democracy canintroduce criminal proceedingsagainst the prior injustice (option 1),proclaim amnesty (option 2), shedlight on the matter through truthcommissions (option 3), introduce apolicy of reparations to the victims(option 4) or attempt severe sanc-tions outside criminal law – such ascleansing and rationalisation of thecivil service (option 5). The option finally carried out depends deci-sively on the nature of the systemchange.

On Truth, Dignity and ReconciliationWhat are the conditions associated with political reconciliation? A theological study shows that working through the past between victims andperpetrators always requires a conscious effort to overcome guilt

Arts and Humanities

The conditions ofreconciliation in thepolitical realm may beanalysed through theuse of case studies

14


The options listed above are asso-ciated in the political debate with aspecific understanding of reconcili-ation, which was then examined foragreement with the Christian con-cept of reconciliation. Internal asso-ciations should be made betweenthe manifold connections of politicalreconciliation with the theologicaldoctrine of reconciliation. An insur-mountable gap appeared to open upbetween the political concept of rec-onciliation analysed in the casestudies on the one hand and theteachings on the idea of reconcilia-tion that can be traced straightthrough the Christian tradition onthe other hand. The latter all have todo with the relationship betweenGod and humanity, the former withthe relationship between onehuman being and another. In bothcases it is still a matter of overcom-ing guilt through reconciliation.However, the social and political di-mension of the reconciliation of Godand man was not considered in thetheological doctrine of reconcilia-tion through the centuries. As itturned out, this dimension could notbe connected with a theological in-terpretation of political reality.

T he reconciliation doctrinesbased in traditional history were less suitable for theologi-cal interpretation than the analysisof paths of reconciliation from theBiblical tradition.What momentsare essential inan interpersonalreconciliationprocess accord-ing to the rele-vant Biblical rec-onciliation sto-ries? To what ex-tent are theyreflected in reconciliation paths be-tween perpetrators and victims inpolitical forums, such as in the SouthAfrican Truth and ReconciliationCommission? The analysis showedthat central elements of the Biblicalreconciliation path, such as offeringreconciliation in the form of an ad-mission of guilt, its acceptance inthe form of forgiveness, and the new relationship of those who are recon-ciled in the form of restitution, reoc-

cur in the societal and political con-text. It was found that the successfulreconciliation path cuts across allstages biblically and politically.When, for example, there is no ad-mission of guilt on the part of theperpetrator, the prospects for recon-ciliation on the part of the victim areslim in all but the rarest cases.

Reconciliation includes workingthrough guilt – in the hope of for-giveness. “Working through” de-scribes a process of the spiritual dif-fusion of the pastwith the objec-tive of freeingthe shared futurefrom this burden.A critical lightfell on the de-bate, staged ef-fectively for themedia, regardingthe level of guiltof unofficial Stasi (colloquial abbre-viation for “Staatssicherheit”, mean-ing “State Security”, the main secu-rity and intelligence organisation ofthe German Democratic Republic(East Germany)) collaborators be-cause it did not demand a one-timeadmission of guilt, but rather a sortof “permanent contrition”. Theprospect of reconciliation waseclipsed. Forgiveness was impossi-ble. Theologically, such an under-standing cannot be legitimised ei-ther by Protestants or Catholics.

As well as inter-personal recon-ciliation, intra-personal recon-ciliation was alsosuitable for theo-logical interpre-tation. With thisaspect of recon-ciliation, it is amatter of recon-

ciliation with oneself, or more pre-cisely with one’s own, often trau-matic history of the degradationsexperienced in a repressive system.The personal memories need to becleansed. This reconciliation doesnot demand recompense betweenthe conflicting parties, but rather anacknowledgement of the reality thataffects the offended or afflicted per-son, of his or her “fate”. The storiesof the victims at the forum of the

South African Truth and Reconcilia-tion Commission are about degra-dation. The Reconciliation Commis-sion is supposed to contribute to therestoration of their dignity. What es-pecially makes an impression thereare the symbolic processes that ac-company the commission. When avictim enters, everyone presentstands up. This process can be inter-preted as a symbolic representationof the fact that the dignity of the per-son is inviolable, even though it has

been “trampledupon”. In theprocess of pub-licly telling theirstories, the vic-tims appear asauthentic com-mentators aboutwhat happenedto them. By nam-ing names they

become distinctive persons. Thenames of the more than twentythousand victims who told their sto-ries to the commission are impres-sively listed on 80 printed pages inthe final report. It is worth mention-ing that the memorial design of theinquest commission “Overcomingthe consequences of the SED (SEDis the German abbreviation for the Sozialistische EinheitsparteiDeutschland, or Socialist UnityParty of Germany, which was thegoverning power in East Germany)dictatorship in the process of Ger-man unification” also plans to listthe names of the victims – accordingto the Biblical verse: “I have calledyou by name; you are mine” (Isaiah43:1). The result is that politicaltransition processes contain ele-ments that refer to a reality in whichreconciliation is already real.

The Kingdom of God does notend at the church walls. There areconnections between political rec-onciliation and reconciliation as atheological concept. The societaldefining power of theology thus hasthree dimensions: first, it clarifiesthe possible conditions of reconcili-ation. Reconciliation can be seen asa sign that points beyond the mater-ial things of this world to anotherworld. These signs appear like“falling stars” and can be perceivedas tangible traces in political reality

Reconciliation encompasses both dealing with guilt, and the hope for a path to forgiveness

Reconciliation can beviewed as a sign thatextends beyond thematerialism of theworld as we see it

15

Images of political reconciliationthat stick in the mind: Helmut Kohland François Mitterand seal theGerman-French friendship with asymbolical handshake in Verdun.Willy Brand unexpectedly kneelsin penance at the memorial forthe victims of the Warsaw GhettoUprising – a gesture which causeda sensation and drew him respectfrom around the world.

but do not produce their ownreality. There is no method forpredicting when they willcome or where they will shine.

It, secondly, reminds us tokeep human rules “open” foran occurrence that is outside itspossibilities. The means ofcriminal punishment as a“human rule” should also inpresent and future transitionsocieties be connected withsetting up a truth commissionthat allows the interpersonalcontact between perpetratorsand victims. One reason toavoid the death penalty forperpetrators after political up-heavals is that it forever pre-cludes the possibility of recon-ciliation. This view, finally,makes a clear judgment in the-ological perspectives on thenegligent use of the word “rec-onciliation” in political speech:Whoever demands reconcilia-tion must be completely clearthat it is not a “cheap” concept.It must not be confused with“let bygones be bygones”.Reconciliation includes frame-work conditions that cannot bequickly dispensed with. Theseinclude, for example, willing-ness by the perpetrator to takepersonal responsibility andwillingness by the victim to for-give. Encounters between per-petrators and victims withinthe framework of a truth com-mission can also help to start aprocess in which victims beginto come to terms with their fateand the perpetrators are begin-ning to regain their humanity.

PD Dr. theol. Ralf K. Wüstenberg Universität Heidelberg

16

The excavations in the Syrian palace of Qatna, one of the largest palace complexes ofthe ancient near eastern world,were supposed to finish in October2002. But then there was a find thatcaused a major sensation: the firstuntouched royal tomb in Syrian ar-chaeology was discovered. Thissuddenly offered a wealth of newinformation on the world of the liv-ing and the world of the dead in thekingdom of Qatna.

Qatna was a royal residence inthe second millennium beforeChrist. It lies buried in a mound ofruins in what is today called TellMishrife. The site is close to themodern city of Homs in westernSyria, where the fertile agricultural

plains meet the vast expanse of theSyrian-Arabian desert steppes.Qatna lay at the crossing point ofmajor transport routes.

Therefore the power of its kingswas based above all on trade. Thesekings reigned over a state thatreached its farthest extent between1800 and 1600 BC. During this peri-od, the kingdom’s influence couldbe felt as far as Ebla in northernSyria and to the south as far as Dam-ascus. Even cities in northern Pales-tine sometimes found themselvesunder Qatna’s domination.

In later years, between 1600 and1340 BC, the kings of Qatna weredependent on the powerful Mittaniempire in northern Mesopotamia.This of course sharply reduced

The World of the Livingand the World of the DeadArchaeologists discovered Syria’s first untouchedroyal tomb during excavations of the palace complexof Qatna. The burial chambers allow new insights into the ancestral cult and burial practices of the ancient Near East


Arts and Humanities

17

Qatna’s political significance, but itretained its wealth during this peri-od, certainly thanks to its continuingimportance in trade. Qatna wastherefore also one of the objects inthe struggles for domination in Syriabetween the Hittite empire of Ana-tolia and the Egyptian Pharaohs.Qatna was destroyed in the courseof the Hittites’ campaigns in Syria,probably around 1340 BC, its palaceplundered and the city abandonedin their wake.

However, this tragic fate forQatna spelt good luck for the ar-chaeologists. The destroyers set fireto the building, the heavy cedar roofbeams collapsed and the walls ofthe building fell on top.

The palace was already excavat-ed 80 years ago: French archaeolo-gist Count Robert Du Mesnil duBuisson led excavations between1924 and 1929. In 1999, an interna-tional joint venture was establishedto excavate Qatna, offering new op-

Left: Archaeologists found a basaltsarcophagus in the main chamberof an underground burial complex.The bones of the royal dynasty ofQatna were laid to rest here.The intensive excavation work inthe Syrian palace of Qatna, one ofthe largest palace complexes of the ancient near eastern world, was always accompanied byongoingdocumentation. Below: The ruins of the modern village ofMishrife, whose residents wererelocated to allow the excavationof the Bronze Age palace.

18


portunities for investigation usingmodern scientific methods. Thisjoint venture was made up of groupsfrom the Syrian Directorate Generalof Antiquities and Museums, theItalian University of Udine and ateam of archaeologists from the de-partment of the Ancient Near Eastat the University of Tübingen. Since2000, the middle and western partof the palace ruin was excavated bythe Germans and the eastern partby the Italian archaeologists. TheItalian and Syrian scientists are alsosuccessfully investigating otherparts of the extended ruins site ofthe old city of Qatna.

The initial impression during thenew excavation work, however,was disappointing. Du Mesnil duBuisson had excavated in thebiggest parts of the building downto the floors of the rooms and sal-vaged the foundation where it exist-ed.

After the excavations were com-pleted, the residents of the villagethat arose atop the ruins had re-moved all remnants of the walls thatremained above ground, formedthem into new mud bricks anderected their modern houses direct-ly on the old floors of the palace.What would be left of the original

foundations from the bronze-agepalace?

The main starting points forstudying the palace building are thefoundations. These are made ofmud bricks and are laid four to fivemetres deep. They are an unmistak-able indicator of where the formerwalls ran, and thus of the entire out-line of the palace. The palace can beretraced room by room by uncover-ing the foundation walls. A largehall was most likely used for audi-ences. Its inside dimensions of 36 x36 metres are greater than the di-mensions of any previously knownbronze-age palace. The roof overthis enormous room was held up byfour large columns, which werespaced twelve metres apart to forma square inside the room.

There was also a cistern inside thepalace, which ensured the watersupply for the residents and atten-dants. Its enormous storage capacityresults from the hole punched in therock beneath the palace. On allsides of the cistern, large terracewalls support the adjacent rooms

Magnificent burial objects were discoveredin the royal grave of Qatna, including twoduck heads of beaten gold, a slender handshaped from gold leaf and an artisticallymade small box in the shape of a lion’shead. Right: Two basalt statues represen-ting dead kings sit on either side of a stonedoor that leads to the main chamber of theburial complex.

19

behind them. One of these roomscollapsed into the depths, afterwhich the terrace walls topplednearly completely down. This mostlikely occurred in connection withthe final destruction of the palace.The floor plates of the room, the restof its fixtures and in particular themurals painted on the walls of theroom ended up within a debris coneinside the cistern.

The fragments of the murals havecreated a sensation among re-searchers. Their colours and motifsare reminiscent of the Minoanpaintings in the Cretan palaces andthe houses on the island of Thera inthe Aegean from between 1800 and1550 BC. Their technique provesthat they are original Syrian cre-ations and were not made by Cretan

artists. Nevertheless the paintingsof the palace of Qatna make clearthe close relationships between theAegean and Syria in the middle ofthe second millennium BC. Thespectacular discoveries of the exca-vation campaign of 2002 beganwhen a corridor walled with mudbricks was found leading down-wards from the throne room of thepalace into the palace foundation.First there was a long staircase lead-ing down with steps made of mudbrick overlaid with wooden planks.At the end of the stairway, aboutfour metres below the palace floor,was a door whose frame and wallanchors were still clearly delineatedin the shape of charred timbers. Be-hind this door, the corridor contin-ued approximately 30 metres wide

between narrow foundation walls.The debris from the fire on theground floor of the palace had fall-en here. Below this were 73 claytablets with cuneiform writing in amixture of Accadian and Hurrianwords. All of these texts were partof the archive of King Idanda, mostlikely the last ruler of Qatna beforethe destruction of the palace. Thecuneiform tablets must have beenstored in flat ceramic bowls abovethe subterranean corridor. Thetexts provide extensive insights intothe political events and activities ofthe palace in the time just before1340 BC.

The cuneiform tablets had falleninto the corridor. However, they hadnothing to do with the former func-tion of the subterranean passage.

20


The surprise was that the corridorended in the anteroom of the royalburial chamber.

It took a great deal of labour to re-move the fire debris that filled thepit. The first surprise was revealedon the floor: two statues of basalt de-picting the seated portraits of deadkings. They were venerated as an-cestor portraits in front of which afew broken offering bowls still lay.Between the two figures set side byside there opened a rock door pro-viding the access into a large rec-tangular chamber of rock. Threemore chambers went off from this on

ously in Egypt, had to be ruled out.The samples did not exhibit elevat-ed levels. Nevertheless, all of theair was completely exchanged be-fore the complex was entered forthe first time.

In the first large basalt sarcopha-gus, the anthropologist of the teamfrom Tübingen could distinguishthe bones of at least three differentindividuals. The situation in the sec-ond sarcophagus was similar. Thisindicated that this was not the graveof one king, but must be the burialsite of the royal family. The bones ofadults and children, women and

main chamber. Other burials wereonce conducted on these. Theirbones were not well preserved, butwere strewn with burial objects forthat purpose: a small ivory box inthe shape of a lion’s head, a rounddecorative rosette of gold with in-laid sard and ivory, small goldendecorative plates with representa-tional reliefs, numerous beads ofgold, glass and stone, which werescattered on the biers, bundles ofbronze spearheads, the golden lin-ing of a quiver, also decorated withreliefs, roller seals and other things.

Stone benches stood around theedges of the main chamber. Thesewere for sitting on during ritual cer-emonies. Animal bones throwncarelessly under the benches aresigns of ritual meals. Storage vesselsand food bowls on the benches alsoshow that food must have beenstored and consumed here. The liv-ing and the dead took their mealstogether in the main chamber. Thisis connected with the ancient idea of“kispu”: that meals must be fed reg-ularly to the dead for a long time tomaintain their positive powers forthe afterlife. The kispu ritual hasnever been as clearly proven inNear Eastern archaeology as here.

In one of the side chambers was adense deposit of bones. Here wasthe final resting place of the bonesof the royal dynasty of Qatna. Here,too, the dead were given meals asshown by offering bowls found ontop of this mountain of bones. Anamassing of evidence suggests thatthe underground vault was usedcontinuously as a royal burial placefor 400 years.

The finds of the 2002 campaign,1900 individual objects from theburial chambers alone, will be fol-lowed by a long phase of documen-tation, analysis and interpretation.But it is already clear today that twonew scientific chapters in the studyof ancient world and Syrian culturescan be opened: one on ancient neareastern burial practices and the an-cestral cult associated with themand the other on the art history ofwestern Syria in the second millen-nium BC.

Prof. Dr. Peter Pfälzner Universität Tübingen

different sides. The first glimpse in-side the chambers was breathtak-ing. They were not filled up, andthey contained two sarcophagi,vases, ceramic vessels and pieces ofgolden decorative items. This madeit clear that the grave had neverbeen plundered!

Before the work could be startedinside the chambers, air and mouldsamples were taken and analysedwith the help of the Robert Koch In-stitute in Berlin. The risk from dan-gerously elevated mould spore concentrations, which caused thedeath of the discoverers of the Tu-tankhamen grave 80 years previ-

men could be distinguished. Calcitevessels, ceramic bowls, a goldenbowl, an ivory sceptre and decora-tive gold discs were deposited in thesarcophagi.

The remains of wooden bierscould be clearly recognised in the

The five-metre deep antechamber to theunderground burial complex of Qatna. Thearchaeologists found the decisive clue inthe autumn of 2002 when they came upona corridor leading downwards from thethrone room to the foundation of thepalace. Numerous labourers were neededto clear first this corridor and then theantechamber.

21

hen Dr. Ulrike Zeshan bends her index and middle fingers several

times while moving her handsdownwards, you may think that sheis performing some kind of fingerexercise. In fact, she is communicat-ing in the language of hands: signlanguage. The sign for the word“research” clearly demonstrates thedepth of exploration that this activi-ty entails. When the young philolo-gist, nicknamed “The EuropeanLady in Indian Dress”, introducesherself, however,things become morecomplicated. The signfor her nationality isthe only memorableone: placing her fiston top of her headwith the index fingerpoin-ting straight up,the 34-year-old indi-cates that she comesfrom Germany. InGerman sign lan-guage, the upwards-pointing index fingersymbolises the Prus-sian spiked helmet.“But in Indian or Chinese sign lan-guage, the sign lookscompletely differ-ent”, the hearing lin-guist (pictured right)explains enthusiasti-cally with a mischie-vous smile, addingquickly: “There areseveral hundred dif-ferent sign languages in the worldtoday. The exact number is still un-known; there are also local and re-gional dialects.”

Sign languages are the drivingforce for the DFG Emmy Noetherfellow, who returned to Europe fromAustralia in October 2003. At theMax Planck Institute for Psycholin-guistics in Nijmegen in the Nether-lands, she is now working on a pro-ject entitled “Sign Language Typol-ogy: The Comparative Philology ofSign Languages”. She aims to dis-cover how sign languages are simi-lar to one another and how they dif-fer. “And what can we learn about

human language from them?” Zeshan asks, thoughtfully.

In the second phase of her EmmyNoether Fellowship, Zeshan set upher own working group in Nij-megen. “It was particularly impor-tant to me to attract deaf team mem-bers – after all, they’re the experts!”Currently six in number, her col-leagues from Turkey, South Korea,China, Uzbekistan and the Nether-lands bring with them not only theirexpertise in their own sign language,but also “language material” which

they had previously collected andrecorded in their home countries. Tothis is added a huge amount of fieldresearch which Zeshan carried out inPakistan and India, in Lebanon andin Turkey. This research, consistingof video material, linguistic “tran-scriptions”, and grammatical infor-mation, is stored in a database. Thiswill enable forty sign languages tobe documented and compared.

The Erlangen-born linguist tookher first steps towards blazing a trailinto the jungle of sign language inher dissertation “Sign Languages ofthe Indian Subcontinent” at the Uni-versity of Cologne. Her previous

studies had also had an internationalflavour: Linguistics, Oriental Studiesand English Philology at the Univer-sity of Cologne, at the University ofJordan in Amman, and at the StateUniversity of New York at StonyBrook. She then performed researchat the Australian Universities ofCanberra and Melbourne.

“Sign languages are wronglyequated with gestures which ac-company spoken language”, saysZeshan. This means that peopleoften think that sign languages

do not have a com-plete linguistic sys-tem. “That’s absolutenonsense”, she de-clares. “In fact, everysign language has itsown grammar andsyntax”. Many coun-tries, however, do not allow deaf chil-dren to be taught an appropriate visuallanguage. Even in Germany, sign lan-guage was not offi-cially recognized un-til 2002.

“The biggest prob-lem for deaf peo-ple is education”, Ze-shan emphasises.One of her project’sgoals, therefore, is to strengthen deafcommunities, partic-ularly in developingcountries. She there-fore provides volun-

tary support to the Indian Ministryof Social Justice and Empowermentin Mumbai, helping to developteaching materials for schools forthe deaf and to train sign-languageteachers. Her pioneering spirit andcommitment are recognized bymany, and her team’s reaction is un-mistakable: they raise both thumbshigh in the air. There are, after all,some signs which are universallyunderstood.

Rembert Unterstell

In this column, we publish occasional arti-cles on outstanding young researchers.

Portrait

W

Listen with Your Eyes, Talk with Your Hands

Ulrike Zeshan and the philology of sign languages

22

Arts and Humanities


As soon as we turn our atten-tion to the influential litera-ture of any other – non-Euro-pean – culture, questions arise thatare impossible to even pose precise-ly, let alone answer. What if the lan-guage is written in an abstract logo-graphic script, whose symbols mayhave more than one meaning? Whatif the intellectual consciousness of aculture, such as that of China, hasbeen moulded by completely differ-ent formative experiences over thecourse of millennia? From its veryearliest writings one discovers thatChinese philosophy has been gov-erned by the experience of changeand transience. Daoist (Taoist) phi-losophy assumes that change re-veals a ‘divine order’ that is referredto as the dao, which means ‘road’,‘way’ or the ‘course of nature’.

This linguistic-cultural differencebecomes especially apparent in themost comprehensive and complexfoundational text of Daoism: the“Perfect Book of Nanhua“ ofZhuangzi (pronounced jwong-dz),written between about 400 and 300 B.C.

In this scripture, also simplynamed Zhuangzi after its author,the second chapter, entitled “Dis-cussion on Making All ThingsEqual” (qí wù lùn), a radical-scepti-cal stance on the subject of speechand reality is found. According tothis argument, reality can only beperceived and described in a rela-tive way. Any attempt to define aview of reality in its entirety as theone true way leads to self-alienationand a loss of spontaneity. HenceZhuangzi concludes that there arealways numerous ways of perceiv-

ing reality, depending on the giventime and place. For this reason, hiswriting contains a variety of forms ofperspectival thinking – a word, asentence or a parable can often beinterpreted in various ways, all ofwhich are right. The reason for thisis that Zhuangzi incorporates themultiple meaning of individualwords, making them stylisticallyfertile, like in poetry, he is able tocreate many levels of being whichilluminate each-other in a highlypoetic way.

Zhuangzi also frequently takesrecourse to the dream metaphor toportray the bewildering relation-ship between language and reality:“Confucius and you are both

dreaming! And when I say you aredreaming, I am dreaming, too.Words like these will be labeled theSupreme Swindle.” (Zhuangzi II,transl. by Burton Watson).

If this situation is itself taken to bea dream then what the narrator sayscan only be referring to reality to alimited extent. It is important torecognise this restriction and not totry to gain command of reality arro-gantly. Zhuangzi’s main intent is todisrupt accustomed ways of think-ing and speaking and to encouragethe reader to directly relate theirown thoughts (“theory”) to their ex-perience (“things”). This is madeparticularly evident in the parableof the Dream of the Butterfly, famil-iar to every educated person in thefar east.

“Once Chuang Chou (that is,Zhuangzi) dreamt he was a butter-fly, a butterfly flitting and flutteringaround, happy with himself anddoing as he pleased. He didn't knowhe was Chuang Chou. Suddenly hewoke up and there he was, solid andunmistakable Chuang Chou. But hedidn't know if he was Chuang Chouwho had dreamt he was a butterfly,or a butterfly dreaming he wasChuang Chou. Between ChuangChou and a butterfly there must besome distinction! This is called theTransformation of Things”.

Fundamental concepts such asdreams and reality, identity and its

Zhuangzi and the Cultivation of LifeWhat is the intellectual consciousness of the Chinese culture?A philosophical and literary masterpiece of Daoism gives us an insight into ancient Chinese philosophy – “The Perfect Book of Nanhua“

What if the intellectual consciousness of aculture, such as that of China, has beenmoulded by completely different formativeexperiences over the course of millennia?

23


ing his own identity. So it is not allabout a “truth (of being)” that needsto be recognised and discussed, butabout a “truthfulness” that con-stantly needs to be attained (cheng– one of the basic concepts of Confu-cian philosophy), which is the ex-pression of agreement with change.

According to Zhuangzi, the urgeto find proof is the origin of thenever-ending argument betweenphilosophers, as they attempt to getcloser to reality by categorisingthings as either “true” or “false”.Since this reality is not unique, how-ever, and since it is continuallychanging in our perception, our

able to express new meanings de-pending on the situation. The expe-rience of change permeatesZhuangzi right through to its verystyle – which gives it its unity ofstyle and content that have madethis work a philosophical and liter-ary masterpiece.

Following the basically theoreti-cal second chapter comes a chapterentitled “The Secret of Caring forLife”. Here we find the story of thecook Ding, which demonstrates thepractical application of Daoist prin-ciples. Zhuangzi describes how thecook has mastered the art of cuttingup an ox over the years, so that theblade of his knife is “as good asthough it had just come from thegrindstone”. When asked by LordWen-hui, how he achieved suchperfection, the cook gives the fol-lowing reply:

“What I care about is the Way,which goes beyond skill. When Ifirst began cutting up oxen, all Icould see was the ox itself. Afterthree years I no longer saw thewhole ox. And now – now I go at itby spirit and don't look with myeyes. Perception and understandinghave come to a stop and spirit moveswhere it wants. I go along with thenatural makeup, strike in the bighollows, guide the knife through thebig openings, and follow things asthey are. So I never touch the small-est ligament or tendon, much less amain joint”, (Zhuangzi III, transl. byBurton Watson).

This story is a parable for how todeal with life. If one fits in to life andlearns to overcome difficult situa-tions quickly and efficiently “withthe spirit”, then the spirit does notbecome exhausted by unnecessaryworrying, but stays “as good asthough it had just come from thegrindstone”. This is where the prac-tical aspect of Daoism becomesclearly apparent. To spontaneouslyand intuitively act appropriately re-quires many years of experience.Zhuangzi describes this aspect pri-marily through parables aboutcraftsmen and artists, who combinethis art of living (“The Secret of Car-ing for Life”) with their art.

The “Perfect Book of Nanhua” isa scripture which incorporates cos-mology, linguistic philosophy,morals and the philosophy of life ina way which is even unique andidiosyncratic in Chinese philoso-phy. In order to be able to compre-hend and interpret this scripture,new methodological approachesare required. In doing so, it is notonly possible to develop new ap-proaches for understanding otherChinese philosophical scriptures,but new and unexpected ways oflooking at the fundamental topics ofoccidental culture emerge, for in-stance on the issue of existence andtime, or of body and spirit.

This allows this work to make acontribution towards interculturaldialogue for which there are manywilling participants waiting on theoriental side.

Dr. Henrik JägerUniversität Trier

Under the roofs of an unfamiliar culture.Chinese philosophy is guided by experiences

of change and transience.

boundaries (difference), the changeand perception (knowledge), theseare all interwoven in these few sen-tences to form a complex parable.

If one can no longer say precisely,who the butterfly is and whoZhuangzi is, if, behind the descrip-tions, a hidden reality changes im-perceptibly, then the descriptionsare also no longer able to describethis reality: The reader can nolonger rest assured in the knowl-edge that he knows who’s who. Thelonger he reads the passage, themore he will find himself question-

thought and speech also has tochange. This does not mean, how-ever, that Zhuangzi fundamentallybelittles the value of perception andknowledge, as he has often beenfalsely accused of. It simply meansthat knowledge is only useful if onehas learned how to apply it appro-priately in any given situation.

The chapter “Discussion on Mak-ing All Things Equal” calls for a lan-guage that adapts itself to change,that becomes malleable and allowsfor mutual resonance, whose termsare not set in stone, but instead are

The subjective evaluation of a product normally involves all the senses. For example, a po-tential purchaser might judge anew car that has attracted his atten-tion with almost all his senses –sight, hearing, smell and touch. Op-tical design plays a very importantpart but the satisfying thud withwhich the door closes can also sig-nal quality to the potential buyer.The nose recognises the typicalsmell of a new car and we know atonce whether the steering wheelfeels right. Research into the psy-chophysics of individual senses isalready well-advanced and thereare models that enable a fairly pre-cise prediction of how a particulargroup will judge, for example, thesound quality of a car.

Significantly less research, on theother hand, has been carried outinto so-called multimodal interac-tions. Thus, for example, the per-ceived loudness is not only influ-enced by what is heard but also bythe accompanying visual impres-sion. This article discusses exam-ples of such audio-visual interac-tions. In a first series of experiments,the influence of colour on the per-ceived loudness of a passing train

was investigated. The sound of apassing high-speed train wasrecorded on digital magnetic tapeand played back to subjects throughheadphones. After each playback,the subjects were required to judgehow loud the passing train was. Inaddition to the acoustic playback,the subjects were presented withthe image of a high-speed train on a3x3-metre screen. This image wasfirst presented in the originalcolouring of the train, white with ared stripe. It was also presentedwith the train coloured bright red,light blue and light green, using thePaintbrush computer program. Al-though the noise of the train was al-ways played back to the subjects atthe same level, the red train appar-ently seemed louder to them thanthe light green one. We thus have ascientific demonstration of anaudio-visual interaction that haslong been put to practical use. Thepower and performance of sportscars is also intended to be heard andthey are frequently painted brightred. A light green sports car, on theother hand, is only available by spe-cial order. Hence, this “amplifica-tion” of the loudness by an appro-priate colour is already used in prac-

tice, although – from a scientificpoint of view – the psychophysicaland neurophysiological back-grounds to these audio-visual inter-actions have so far been but little in-vestigated.

Whereas, in the first series oftests, the sound and picture“matched”, a second series of testswas carried out to investigate the in-fluence of “unrelated” pictures onthe perceived loudness. The soundof the passing train was played tothe subjects through headphonesagain. At the same time, they wereshown unrelated still pictures, suchas a tree in summer or winter.

Although the subjects heardphysically identical sounds, theyhad the impression that the sound ofthe train was quieter when they

The Sound of ColourIn our subjective perception, visual and acoustic impressions arelinked. Sounds and pictures – a new study of their interaction provides a basis for product optimisation

Whether it is a car or a train, a red colourcan apparently influence its perceivedloudness. This is also confirmed by subjectsto whom a high-speed train was presentedin various colours on a screen while thesound of it passing by was played back tothem through headphones at constantlevel. The astonishing result: subjectively,the red train is perceived as being louder!

Engineering Sciences

26


were shown an unrelated picture.This reduction in loudness wasgreater when the picture was of atree in a winter landscape thanwhen they were shown a tree in fullsummer leaf.

Obviously the view of a winterlandscape reminds the subjectsthat, in winter, sound can be “ab-sorbed” by snow. This mixing of vi-sual and auditory information in thebrain could be the cause of the qui-eter perception of the winter sce-nario.

While the tests described so far allused still pictures, the next test se-ries was to find out whether videopictures would give rise to an evengreater audio-visual interaction.The sound of the passing train wasplayed to the subjects throughheadphones again, but this timethey were shown pictures usingvideo goggles. The first picture was

a still picture of a goods train andthis was followed by a video of thesame train.

As expected, the still picture ofthe goods train already reduced theperceived loudness. However, if thesubject is shown a correspondingvideo to accompany the sound ofthe passing goods train, the per-ceived loudness is again significant-ly reduced. Audio-visual interac-tions are apparently stronger withmoving pictures than with still pic-tures.

The above experiments all placedthe subjects in the position of a staticobserver.

In further experiments, the sub-jects were set in a dynamic point ofview in order to involve them stillmore closely in the audio-visual sce-nario presented. The audio andvideo recordings used were made ina car in various situations (stoppedat traffic lights, 30 km/h, 50 km/h,main road, motorway, tunnel). Onceagain, the acoustic stimulus washeld constant and, in a first series ofexperiments, the visual stimuluswas presented in a sound proofbooth using video goggles. In a fur-ther series of tests, the experiment

was carried out in a simple drivingsimulator with the video sequencesprojected by beamers, placing thesubject in the position of the driver.

In this series of experiments, theinfluence of the pictures on the per-ceived loudness is evident as well. Itis found that subjects experience asimulated car journey as significant-ly quieter than when experiencingthe same sounds and pictures as sta-tic observers. The results are evenmore significant in the driving simu-lator, where the sounds can be ex-perienced as up to 50 percent qui-eter than in less realistic situationsat the same level.

In summary, the experiments arean impressive demonstration of howthe relationship of sound and pic-tures influences human perception.Although early experience with thephenomenon has already been usedin product optimisation, the scientif-ic understanding of the underlyingpsychophysical and neurophysio-logical mechanisms is still in its in-fancy.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl Dr.-Ing. Christine Patsouras Technische Universität München

Studying the interaction between visual and auditory stimuli. The picture

of a tree in summer and in winter ispresented to subjects with an

“unrelated” noise, i.e. railway noise.

27

How do insects manage to col-lect minute food particles likefungal spores? Have theirmouthparts adapted to this foodover the course of evolution?

Over a 400-million year evolu-tionary history, insect mouthpartshave been transformed in a myriadof different ways. More than 34 dif-ferent basic types developed asadaptations to specialised diets andtechniques of food intake. As a re-sult of this enormous variety, insectmouthparts constitute ideal modelsystems. They can be used forstudying the effect of body structureon animal evolution and ecology.Comparisons of the mouthparts ofdifferent insect groups provide evi-dence with respect to the extent thatparticular food preferences requireparticular body structures. Inverse-ly, one may ask to what extent agiven mouthpart structure requiresor even restricts the use of the foodsupply.

Beetles of the superfamilyStaphylinoidea exhibit particulardiversity in their food acquisition.With more than 57,000 describedspecies worldwide they are alto-gether one of the most species-richanimal groups in the temperate andtropical zones. Each year zoologistsdescribe some 700 new species inthis group of beetles alone. Thisgroup only has a body size of a fewmillimetres and lives hidden on theground in debris. The beetles are ei-ther predators or live on dead anddecaying organic material and onfungi. Among the fungus-eaters,some species of featherwing bee-tles, round fungus beetles and rove

beetles specialise on collecting fun-gus spores.

Fungi are dispersed, for example,by single celled spores. Usually,these spores are enclosed by atough cell wall that protects themagainst drying out. The inside isvery rich in nutrients and, therefore,attractive to spore-feeders. Howev-er, they must first break the cell wallopen by mechanical or enzymaticmeans.

Beetles encounter spores in verydifferent guises. In one large groupof fungi they are found in a specialfruiting layer, which is contained inthe narrow tubes of polypores orfree on the surface of lamellae in gill

mushrooms. Surface-growing fungilike slime moulds, moulds andmildews form spores in special fruit-bodies that are attractive to spe-cialised insects. Also, some beetlespecies are specialised in feeding onpollen. Pollen assumes the male rolein plant fertilisation. Therefore,many of these beetles are found on

The Eating Instruments of Spore-FeedersBiologists find research on insect mouthparts revealing because the complexinteraction of food preferences and body structure provides insights into the process of evolution

Evolution as architect: this rove beetlemandible adapted to its food over millionsof years. With the comb-shaped structure inits mouth the beetle mostly collects fungalspores that it cracks like nuts.

Life Sciences

28


flowers during the spring and sum-mer months.

Feeding on spores and fungi canbe proven simply and beyond adoubt through analysis of intestinecontent. Various adaptation prob-lems must be solved in the process.The spores are often loosely scat-tered over the surface and must lit-erally be swept in. But spores mayalso be integrated within a fruitinglayer from which they must be har-vested. Additionally, the sporesneed to be concentrated in the oralcavity and transported to digestiveregions close to the mouth opening.Finally, their transport to the foregutmust be ensured. Usually, their wallmust first be broken open using spe-cial implements.

To identify the various solutionsto this problem, the mouthpartsof all evolutionary lines ofspore-eating Staphylinoidea wereexamined using a scanning electronmicroscope. It was important to con-tinuously compare spore-feedersand non-spore-feeders, especiallyamong closely related groups, forthe sake of a meaningful analysis.

The mouthparts of insects are ap-pendages of the head capsule thatare moved by muscles. In generalthey consist of a strong, paired set of

mandibles (upper jaws),paired maxillae (lowerjaws) and an unpaired labium(lower lip). The mandible isused to grasp and chew food.For this purpose, the inneredges are often sharp andhave teeth. A rasp-like chew-ing surface is located at thebase of the mandible. Bycontrast, the maxillae aremuch more complex instructure and are primarilyused for food transport, butalso assist the mandibles inchewing the food. The labi-um blocks the mouth area to-wards the back and participates intransporting the food.

Spore-feeders have developed avariety of fine structures for the indi-vidual tasks involved in food up-take. Functionally, they resembletool types like brushes, combs,brooms, rakes, rasps, shovels andvarious grinding surfaces. In somespecies grooves surrounded by bris-tles direct the food flow towards the mouth opening. Brush-, broom-,rake- and shovel-shaped parts areprimarily used to brush in finespores from the fungus surface.Therefore, these structures are es-pecially found at the tip of themandibles, the inner and outer

lobes of the maxillae and the termi-nal sections of the labium. Fromthere the spores are transferred fur-ther inward by simply beingbrushed off to brush fields and bris-tle combs on sections of themandibles, maxillae, labrum (upperlip) and labium located deeperwithin. These features prevent thespores from escaping to the side byconcentrating them at the centre of

the oral cavity. From there thespores are swept between thegrinding surfaces at the base ofthe right and left mandibleswhere their walls are brokenopen. The final transport intothe actual mouth opening ispresumably accomplished bysuction created in the foregut.

The rasp-like rows ofteeth between the top

of the mouth and theupper side of the

mandibles and thecomb- and broom-

like structures onthe inside of their

grinding surfaces aresupporting structuresin this transport.

Comparisons show that thefood import path and associated

tool types are not unique to spore-feeders but are part of the basicblueprint of all Staphylinoidea.Most representatives of thesegroups also feed on fine materialsbut have a broader dietary range.This especially includes fungalmycelia, fine material from deadplants and animals as well as the mi-croscopic flora and fauna that livesin it. In many groups this nutritionaltype is the starting point for the evo-lution of spore-feeder mouthparts.This basic pattern can also be foundin an unmodified form in the majori-ty of more specialised spore feeders.When food preferences change,

Face to face among the flowers: rovebeetles gather on blackberry flowers in spring and summer to eat their tastypollen and to meet willing mates. Below:this rove beetle female is from Mexico and, just like its European relatives, feedson pollen.

29

body structures do not necessarilyhave to change. Rather, physiologi-cal and behavioural changes are ini-tially decisive.

But in certain taxonomic groupssome mouthparts that are usedfor collecting and then grind-ing the spores have undergone spe-cial modification. Because manyhave repeatedly developed in vari-ous groups of exclusive spore-feed-ers, they may be identified as spe-cial adaptations to this nutritionaltype. In the maxillae this particular-ly applies to the equipment of theinner grinding surfaces with their

same function but do not share acommon origin.

A different initial situation isfound in spore-feeding representa-tives of the rove beetles, which areyounger in terms of evolutionaryhistory. These groups shifted fromdetritus eating to predation. In thisrespect extensive grinding surfaceson the mandibles were no longerneeded and, consequently, often re-duced. This situation obviously rep-resented a far greater hurdle to theevolution of spore-feeders than togroups that feed on fine plant mate-rial. But predatory mouthparts thatoriginally lacked grinding surfaceson the mandibles were no insur-mountable obstacle to developingspore-feeder mouthparts. Severalspecies have developed secondarygrinding surfaces on other parts ofthe mandibles and even the maxil-lae.

The Gyrophaenina are a specialgroup of spore-feeding rove beetles.

They are usually found in largenumbers between the lamellae ofgilled mushrooms. Since the ances-tors of this group were also preda-tors, the grinding surfaces had to bedeveloped from scratch. However,they are not located on the innerside of the mandible but on its underside. This means that the spores arenot – as is usually the case – groundbetween the grinding surfaces ofthe right and left mandible but be-tween the under side of the maxillaand a part of the labium. For thispurpose the latter is formed like amortar that first collects spores andthen grinds them. This unusual de-sign required an extensive reshap-ing of the feeding mechanism. It isalso a good example of the fact thatthere are often several solutions tothe same functional problem in theanimal kingdom.

Prof. Dr. Oliver BetzUniversität Tübingen

fine protrusions and teeth. This in-cludes particularly complex “sporebrushes” in the area of the maxillaethat make it possible to brush inlarge quantities of spores. It is aston-ishing to see the high degree ofagreement of even the finest struc-tural details have developed in com-pletely independently ways in vari-ous subgroups of these beetles. Biol-ogists call them convergences – sim-ilarities that are based upon the

The gills of this Australian oystermushroom offer ideal conditions for rovebeetles. Several thousand of the two-millimetre large beetles may colonize asingle mushroom at once to feed on itsspores. They will also lay their eggs there.

30

When the SkylarkAbandons the Meadow

Life Sciences

31

Humans have been altering theappearance of the Europeanlandscape for centuries, andagriculture is responsible for a sig-nificant part of these changes. Al-though the impact was initially on arestricted local and regional level, itincreased in scale and intensity, inpace and extent until the presentday. At first, the creation of opencountryside increased the diversityof plant and animal species. Thisprimarily affected species at homein meadows, pastures and fields –that is to say open country species.Unfortunately, this positive devel-opment stopped in the 1950s. Pro-pelled by increasing demand andproduction of agricultural goods,agriculture was intensified and ex-tended. This has resulted in a loss ofanimal and plant species as well asleading to a monotonous landscape.Presently, about 25 percent of theEarth’s surface has been trans-formed into areas of agriculturalproduction, with a mere 10 percentof the original landscape remainingunaffected by humans. Sustainableland use models are urgently re-quired, but they must take into ac-count the economic and socialneeds of people as well as thepreservation of ecological diversity.Models can be a useful means ofrepresenting these complex interre-lationships and assessing risks. TheCollaborative Research Centre“Land use options for peripheral re-gions” at the Justus Liebig Universi-ty of Giessen is developing interdis-ciplinary approaches to this type ofmodelling.

This change in land use has a mul-titude of ramifications: changes inthe landscape directly affect thestructure and function of ecosystemsas well as the systems linked tothem. These complex processes andespecially their changes and conse-quences can often only be empiri-cally recorded with great expendi-ture of time and money. This iswhere ecological modelling is bene-ficial. Models represent reality in asimplified form and, therefore, makecomplex relationships more trans-parent. Over the course of time,these simple models can be imple-mented to include additionalprocesses from natural systems. Bio-

Modern agriculture harms animals and plants byendangering biodiversity. New computerised models help to design a land use model that meets human requirements as well as preserving the ecosystem


32


diversity research studies biologicalvariety on our planet whereas popu-lation ecology examines fluctuationsin the number of individuals withinspecies. Models in these two disci-plines analyse both complex struc-tures and processes of ecosystems aswell as very specific questions suchas the chances of survival for selectspecies of plants and animals. Inconjunction with Geographical In-formation Systems (GIS), models arealready being used as importantplanning and decision-making toolsin environmental and landscapemanagement. They enable us to de-scribe the effects of the changingeconomic, technical, legal and cli-matic framework of land use. Themore different models from the vari-ous disciplines are interlinked, themore accurate the results. The cen-tral hypothesis of the studies is thatwhen agricultural areas are nolonger used for agriculture, then thecountryside ceases to fulfil essentialfunctions. Which landscape func-tions are affected, to what extent,what areas and what political mea-sures are suitable to counter thesedevelopments – all these questionsare answered by means of intercon-nected models.

The region being studied is theLahn-Dill upland in central Hesse.There, the distribution and survivalprobabilities of several animalspecies, such as the fox, skylark andyellowhammer, were simulatedunder different land use scenarios.This was based on digital land usemaps derived from satellite pictures.These maps were linked with com-puter models to establish the spatialreference to the landscape. Changesin land use were simulated and theresulting potential distribution of an-imal species was calculated.

The skylark is a typical inhabitantof open landscapes. How

germresearch 2 3 04 - deutsche forschungsgemeinschaft · 2020. 12. 6. · research 2-3/2004...

Documents