Mobility and diet in the Iron Age Pontic forest‐steppe: A multi‐isotopic study of urban populations at Bel'sk

High mobility among Scythian populations is often cited as the driving force behind pan‐regional interactions and the spread of new material culture c.700–200 bce , when burgeoning socioeconomic interactions between the Greeks, Scythian steppe pastoralists and the agro‐pastoral tribes of the forest‐steppe played out across the region. While interregional mobility central to warrior lifestyles is assumed to have been a defining feature of Scythian populations, strikingly few studies have investigated human mobility among communities located along the steppe and forest‐steppe boundary zone. Here, we document movement and dietary intake of individuals interred at Bel'sk, a large urban settlement in Ukraine, through strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of human tooth enamel. The results provide direct evidence for limited mobility among populations from Bel'sk, demonstrating the movement into, and out of, urban complexes. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal that groups at Bel'sk remained local to the urban complex. Dietary intake, reflected in carbon isotopes, was based on domesticated crops and livestock herding. The combination of low mobility alongside dietary evidence suggests local groups engaged in sedentary agro‐pastoral subsistence strategies that contrast sharply with the picture of highly mobile Scythian herders dependent on livestock portrayed in historical sources.     

商王朝东征与商夷关系

商王朝东征始自中商仲丁时期,此后直至商末,商王朝持续对东方夷族用兵。商王朝东征对商代的历史和商夷关系产生了重大影响,一是推动夷族商化,二是商夷之间长期对峙,并导致夷族内部的分化。中商时期商王朝东征是为了转移内部矛盾并掠夺资源,晚商时期几次大规模的东征是征伐不服于商王朝的以人方为代表的东夷族。     

Climate change and Zhou relocations in early Chinese history

In Chinese history, the development of the Zhou tribes and the dynasties that succeeded them between 3550 and 2200 BP in the middle reaches of the Yellow River is known as the period of ‘Five Relocations’. Most of these relocations appear to have been forced by the pressure of nomadic invasions and occupations from the northern steppe. Historians simply attributed these relocations to political and military causes. However, palaeoclimatic studies show that the Zhou tribes and their successor dynasties developed at the demise of the Holocene Climatic Optimum when regional climate became highly variable and unstable. An integrated analysis of environmental change over the Loess Plateau and the Mongolian steppe facilitates a credible understanding of the linkage between climatic events and these relocations. It indicates that the relocations caused an expansion or contraction of the settled regions over the drought-prone semi-arid lands. During climatic amelioration, dry farming societies pushed upward to the Loess Plateau where increased precipitation and soil moisture allowed cereals to be cultivated. When hit by droughts and the associated disasters, both the dry farming societies and the nomadic tribes had to move southward to find an environment suitable for their food production. Migration and relocation were, therefore, basic strategies to secure the resources necessary to sustain an agricultural economy. The settled frontier was pulled back as dry farming societies from the upland plateau retreated to the lowland riverbanks of the Guanzhong Basin. Even though there were political and military intentions, climatic events played an essential role in the relocations of the Zhou tribes and the successive dynasties.     

The Issue of Citizenship for the Bidun Minority in Kuwait after the Arab Spring

Kuwait is a country in which there are many tribes but it is the al‐U'zam tribe which is very dominant and influential in local politics and the economy, in contrast to the other tribes in Kuwait who are recognized by the state as being equal, but have little influence in these things. The Bedouin tribes, such as the Bidun society in Kuwait, who have been excluded from nationality and citizenship and thus have no influence, are an exception. The Kuwaiti government claims that the Bidun themselves gave up these rights so as not to be part of the Kuwaiti state and this has resulted in the Kuwaiti government not granting them any formal economic, political, or social rights. Because of this, the Bidun have had to fight for their rights for decades since the formal establishment of an independent Kuwait in 1961. This article wishes to discuss whether the question of the Kuwaiti refusal to recognize the Bidun as citizens is because of geostrategic reasons, because of the fear of creating a precedent that might lead to the inclusion of other tribes into the Kuwaiti state, or because this is a traditional political strategy for dealing with politically weak tribes.     

Local Forest Protection, Gender and Caste—Dhani Hill, Orissa, India

A questionnaire survey covering 35% of all households in five villages was conducted in a local forest protection group in Orissa, India. The aim was to study dependency, involvement and attitude towards forest protection based on gender and caste. A conceptual model indicating differences between the groups was used as a base. Women experienced more problems of restrictions caused by the protection and more threats associated with the forest than did men. Voting in meetings and a wish for more plantations was of greater importance for women than for men, while men emphasised importance of co-operation with government. Direct involvement was very low among women, even though they were well informed about forest issues. Tribal groups were the main contributers of labour, while general caste had been involved for considerably longer in forest protection than other groups. The tribal groups also wanted more plantations and had a good understanding of the ecosystem. For example, they indicated the value of a growing forest. Men and general caste tended to be more outspoken in this type of questionnaire situation compared to women and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The general attitude towards Dhani Hill, however, was positive and could be linked to daily use and future optimism. This optimism and the involvement of all the different groups should be considered as crucial in the timing of local forest management interventions. This should be seen together with the diversified opinions and ways of expressing such opinions depending on gender and caste.     

Dental Affinities of The Irmen People,Western Siberia

Dental features of the Late Bronze Age Irmen population of Western Siberia (14th–10th centuries BC) were studied on the basis of cranio-dental remains from 23 cemeteries in the Kuznetsk Basin, Baraba forest-steppe, the forest-steppe zone of the Altai, Tomsk and Novosibirsk areas of the Ob basin. The results suggest that the Irmen people originated in the Novosibirsk and Baraba areas from a mixture of Andronovo (Fedorovka) and autochthonous groups. Dental data are inconsistent with the idea that the Karasuk tribes might have taken part in this process. The Karasuk people clearly descended from the Okunevo people, as evidenced by the elevated frequencies of the Carabelli cusp and deflecting wrinkle. None of these traits is present in the Irmen people, who display dental gracility evidently introduced by Andronovo (Fedorovka) tribes.     

部落与民族主义的竞逐——1953年法国在摩洛哥的政变与格拉维部落的兴衰

部落构成了中东社会生活的一个重要层面,是理解中东国家必不可少的视角。1953年,法国在摩洛哥发动政变,废黜了支持民族主义力量的苏丹穆罕默德五世。格拉维部落在此期间经历了兴衰起落。此次政变集中反映了摩洛哥国内部落和民族主义力量对国家政权的竞逐,是观察中东地区部落和国家间复杂逻辑关系的典型个案。摩洛哥传统势力的代表格拉维部落与国家间关系表现出复杂形态:部落利用国家力量实现崛起,部落对抗民族主义力量发动政变企图控制国家,最后部落被国家抛弃而衰落。在部落和民族主义竞逐国家政权的过程中,法国殖民者成为二者沉浮的决定性因素和制衡力量。由于部落对国家认同的脆弱性,殖民主义政权得以通过玩弄部落认同对殖民地进行分而治之。     

Study on the discovered ornaments from Jafar-Abad and Tu Ali-Sofla kurgans (second phase of excavations)

In this research, typology of bronze ornaments discovered from Jafar-Abad and Tu Ali-Sofla kurgans (second phase of excavations) near Aras River in Khoda-Afarin town was investigated. These kurgans belong to combatant and migrating Eurasian tribes, which migrated to northwest Iran in Iron Age II (1200–800 B.C.). From the total number of 103 discovered objects, 93 objects were bronze ornaments, including rings, bracelet, earring, buttons for clothes, and spiral. Discovery of ornaments of various types’ revealed the existence of a social classification system of people in these tribes. In addition, study on the discovered buttons from these kurgans showed that as a tradition in burial ceremonies, the deceased were buried wearing clothes. To understand the basics of metalworking of combatant and migrating Eurasian tribes, analytical investigations were also conducted on three jewelry items including a bracelet, a ring, and an earring from a total number of 93 bronze ornaments discovered.     

Transjordan During the Nineteenth Century: Reconsidering the Relation Between Arab Tribes and Christian Religious Communities

The article aims to reconsider the history of Ottoman Transjordan during the second half of the nineteenth century. Istanbul's decision to impose its direct control over this province triggered a process of evolution and change within local political spaces. The traditional balance of power was altered and tribes were forced to accept the authority of the Ottoman Empire. States and tribes were not the only political actors. Christian religious institutions also participated in the dynamics of change. The article reconsiders the history of a Christian village of Transjordan, Madaba, to describe the complex relationship between tribes and Christian religious communities during this period of change and evolution. The section Karak highlights the main aspects that characterized the refoundation of Madaba. In the section The Exodus and the Rebirth of Madaba, the exodus of several Christian tribes from Karak to Madaba is analyzed to explain the overlap and intertwinement between the different cultural horizons and sociopolitical logics of the two actors. The section The Village of Madaba analyzes some episodes of daily life in Madaba to detail the consequences of the interaction between tribes and religious communities. Finally, the functioning of the local sociopolitical space on which the Hashemite emirate was later founded is explained. The religious community‐tribe dyad was, in fact, part of the transition from “the tribe to the state.”     

森林史研究:以菲律宾森林滥伐史研究为重点

本文主要介绍国际森林史研究的发展历程和解释菲律宾森林滥伐史的主要观点。就国际森林史研究来看, 经历了一个从重点研究温带森林史向热带森林史转变的过程。就菲律宾森林滥伐史研究来看, 提出了诸如人口增长压力说、木材生产和贸易说、林业政策鼓励说、行政不力和政治腐败说等重要解释框架。森林史研究需要超越从单因素出发进行解释的现状, 需要向综合研究转变。国别和专题的森林史研究需要从全球森林史和环境史的整体视野来关注。     

From Frontier to Border Along the Iroquois Southern Door

The Upper Susquehanna drainage in New York assumed increasingly greater prominence as a borderland during the eighteenth century. Contrary to the idea that geopolitical boundaries were Colonial impositions, the creation of this borderland ensued from long-term strategies on the part of Native American as well as Euro-American powers. Reacting to Colonial encroachments from south and east, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) populated the valley with multi-ethnic towns consisting of both refugee tribes from the Atlantic seaboard and Iroquois representatives. These actions created a distinctive zone of creolized communities, and reflected the Haudenosaunee ability to play off English notions of demarcating the landscape.     

History Is in the Land: Multivocal Tribal Traditions in Arizona's San Pedro Valley

The San Pedro Ethnohistory Project is a collaborative researchinitiative between the Center for Desert Archeology and fourIndian tribes whose ancestors lived along this ancient naturaltravel route (4). Realizing the substantial data about the SanPedro River Valley reflected few native voices, a team of archeologistsand anthropologists designed the project to include participationfrom four area tribes with ties to the area—the TohonoO’odham, Hopi, Zuni, and Western Apache. Each of the tribeshave "distinct oral traditions that provide an anthropologicalcontext for interpreting the history and archeology" of thevalley (6). The project included fieldwork     

HANNIBAL'S INVASION ROUTE: AN AGE‐OLD QUESTION REVISITED WITHIN A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PALAEOBOTANICAL CONTEXT

The point of Hannibal's departure from New Carthage in Iberia, in 218 bc , and his subsequent march along the Mediterranean coast to the Pyrénées and on to the Rhône Basin, has been reconstructed by ancient historians with considerable accuracy. The latter 400‐km phase through the Alps, however, has been the subject of some controversy as to whether the Punic Army followed a southern versus a northern invasion route, or some intermediate variant. What is certain from the ancient texts is that Hannibal was trapped by Gallic tribes in a large defile—a gorge large enough to hold the entire army—along the approach to the high col of passage on to the Po River Plains of northern Italia. The entrapment involved an enfilade attack planned by an unknown Gallic commander, a military operation that nearly decimated the Punic Army. Previous arguments as to the location of the defile have hinged on inconclusive topographic, geological and geomorphic assessments. New data from palaeobotanical reconstruction of the northern approach route show the Gorges de la Bourne and the Gorge du Bréda, astride the Isère River, to have been forest covered during the invasion, which would have made the Gallic assault impossible. The existing evidence argues for a southern route, the approach through the narrow defile of the Combe de Queyras, with passage over the Col de la Traversette, as argued by Sir Gavin de Beer nearly a half century ago. Narrowing the approach route focuses on sites worth geoarchaeological exploration.     

Forbidden and sublime forest landscapes: narrated experiences of Latvian national partisan women after World War II

At the beginning of the Cold War, tens of thousands of Baltic people headed for the forests. It was the largest and longest such experience of human and forest interaction in the history of the three Baltic countries. The forest was turned into a political concept and had abruptly become a doubly sensitive zone: to the authorities it was a space of revolt subject to their control; to the locals, the forests were transformed into sites of both resistance and shelter when life was endangered. Based on recorded life story interviews, this article examines how women experienced the changes in their native landscapes after World War II in the occupied Baltic states, and what it meant for them to be labelled “forest outlaws”.     

Facilitating native land reacquisition in the rural USA through collaborative research and Geographic Information Systems

A large proportion of American Indian reservation lands are owned by non‐Indian entities. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool for visualising land tenure changes, and public participation GIS (PPGIS) is one approach for using spatial technologies to facilitate the identification and reacquisition of reservation lands by tribes. While some tribes have successfully harnessed GIS for land management and for systematically identifying lands for reacquisition, others struggle to implement land management systems such as GIS for these purposes. This paper situates PPGIS in relation to other forms of participatory action research and outlines our use of a PPGIS framework to engage undergraduate geography students in the mapping of land tenure status on ten rural Minnesota Indian reservations as part of a collaborative partnership with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF). A PPGIS framework allowed us to collaboratively define research goals in response to tribal community needs and provided structure for student work with partner reservations to develop and implement tailored mapping and analysis techniques. Two sets of findings are significant. First, the assembly of a standardised set of maps for American Indian reservations in Minnesota provides a tremendous visual and analytical resource for ILTF and individual tribes to pursue land reacquisition within reservation boundaries. Second, from a PPGIS perspective, we found that working with a coordinating or ‘bridging’ organisation provided key benefits by enabling education of both the student–faculty partners and the individual tribes. The PPGIS model empowered both partners by allowing tribes to harness a powerful technology to assist in visualising land‐based assets and allowing students to contribute to native land reacquisition efforts through application of their GIS skills. This mapping helps facilitate economic and cultural viability in tribal communities by providing an important visual catalogue of existing land‐based assets, in support of future land acquisition and economic development planning.     

The Bedouins in the Palestinian–Zionist struggle at the beginning of the British Mandate: 1920–1929

This article presents the causal factors behind the Arab riots of the 1920s and the reasons some of the Bedouin tribes joined that struggle. It provides an overview of the “Events,” as Zionist historiographers termed the riots—the developing conflict between the Palestinians and the Jews, the methods and resources used by both parties, as well as the responses of the British authorities—from the local, national, and regional perspectives, especially in the political arena. It investigates the political stances that emerged among the local Bedouin tribes regarding the Zionist–Palestinian struggle and the reasons for the diversity of stances: while some tribes took an active part in the events on the Palestinian side, others remained neutral and a few tribes even chose to ally with the Jews, or at least warn them of forthcoming attacks. These different stances consolidated during this period, affecting the events and outcomes of the Great Palestinian revolt that took place in 1936–1939, as well as the conduct of these groups during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.     

Evidence of Prehistoric Irrigation in Northern Ecuador

Abstract

Field evidence for the existence of irrigation at a late pre-Inca site in northern Ecuador is examined. The implications of irrigation agriculture are examined with respect to the probable level of socio-political complexity. It is concluded that the pre-Inca societies of northern Ecuador were more stable and more clearly stratified than had been suspected previously. They were, therefore, an attractive addition to the Inca Empire which was unwilling or unable to conquer the jungle tribes only a few kilometers from its capital.     

部落联盟模式与希腊罗马早期社会权力结构

近年来,谢维扬教授的国家起源理论在史学界产生了广泛影响。它的基本框架是,在人类社会早期国家的产生道路上,有部落联盟和酋邦两种模式。由前一模式产生出来的国家,政治制度具有民主的性质,如雅典和罗马。由后一模式产生出来的国家,政治制度则是专制性质的,如中国、阿兹特克、印加和祖鲁。     

Botanical,malacological and archaeological zonation of settlement deposits at Gomolava

A 2 × 2 m column was excavated within the large-scale excavation carried out by a Jugoslav team at tell Gomolava, Hrtkovci, Jugoslavia, occupied from Vinc?a (c. 5000 BC) to post-Roman times. The archaeological zonation of the column's material is briefly outlined to provide the background to the detailed palaeobotanical, palynological and malacological study. The results of this study are used to aid the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment of the tell. They indicate that the earliest agrobotanical zone, in which most of the cultigens were already present, but which is characterized by a very low count of charred seeds, persists throughout the Vinc?a, Baden and most of the Kostolac layers of the tell. A marked increase in charred seeds, without the appearance of new species, occurs in the next zone (Bronze and Iron Age). In zone 3 (Iron Age and Roman), Triticum dicoccum, Triticum aestivum and Lens culinaris attain significant levels.An interesting correlation between an increase in shade-loving snail species (zone B) and increase in building activity in the same level needs to be verified by further similar studies. This level is approximately that of the end of the Vinc?a occupation, but does not precisely correlate with an archaeological transition, suggesting that new building styles may have ante-dated the full development of the Baden cultural group on the site. During the third malaco zone (zone C) most shade loving snail species decrease abruptly to make place for open country species. The spread of these species could have been caused by the partial or total abandonment of the tell. Aquatic snails, which had first appeared in the lowest habitation layers of the tell become rare towards the subsequent bronze and iron age occupation of the tell, indicating that hardly any riverine clay was used for the construction of houses within these periods. The final malaco zone, representing the disturbed iron, roman and medieval periods indicates that again open grassy slopes must have occurred on or around the tell.     

北魏道武帝入主中原与胡汉融合的历程

北魏孝文帝的汉化改革为人熟知,但北魏的开创者道武帝以异族征服者的姿态挺进中原时,如何调整与汉族士人的关系,如何将地方大族重新纳入新的国家政权,是解释孝文帝汉化成功的关键。本文通过考察道武帝在国家制度建设以及任用汉族士人方面的作为,探讨五胡十六国时期北方异族政权初入汉地之际胡汉融合的历程。