A Note on the Shift to a Service-Based Economy and the Consequences for Regional Growth

Using data for the 50 U.S. states we relate industry-specific employment growth rates over the period 1976–1989 to the industrial compositions of the states in 1976. We explore the idea that services and manufacturing are inextricably linked and that this interdependence may be beneficial to manufacturing (through knowledge spillovers, for example). Specifically, we test whether the manufacturing sector grew faster in service-based economies. Our evidence does not support the idea of cross-fertilization from services to manufacturing.     

Russia's Oil Industry: Risk Aversion in a Risk-Prone Environment

A Russian economist and a Norwegian political scientist, both long-term observers of the Russian energy industries, discuss the outlook for the Russian oil industry. The focus is on the relationship between reserves and industry strategies, and is presented from the perspective of an oil-producing enterprise. The authors analyze trends in reserve exploration and development and compare them with oil-industry investment patterns. They discuss differences and similarities among companies, as well as implications for future output. Also examined in the paper are factors inhibiting long-term private investment in the oil industry (including factors specific to particular companies) as well as the relevant policies of the government. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D21, H25, L71, Q48. 8 figures, 1 table, 40 references.     

A Note on Iron Age Figural Artefacts from Tell Dothan

ABSTRACT

Tell Dothan, located just 10 kilometers from modern-day Jenin, was excavated by Joseph P. Free for 10 seasons between 1953–1964 (Figure 1). During the course of these excavations, Free recovered numerous figurines and figural artefacts. The study of figural artefacts in the southern Levant in the last two decades has received renewed interest with re-examinations of well-known traditions (for a recent and interesting reinvestigation of the Iron Age Judean Pillar Figurines, see Darby 2014), closer attention to the production processes (e.g., Ben Shlomo 2010; Darby 2014; Kletter, et al. 2010), and discussions about the uses and functions of these curious objects. The present article presents only those from the Iron Age with attention to their spatial distribution in order to contribute to the understanding of the archaeological remains at the site. At the same time, the Iron Age collection from Dothan is important not only because it supplements the growing number of published figural artefacts from the southern Levant, in particular from the lesser-explored regions of the modern-day West Bank, but because it textures the interpretation of the architecture at tell Dothan, itself.     

A Research Note on Austronesian Relationship Terminologies With and Without Relative Age Categories

This research note examines the formal patterning of Austronesian relationship terminologies with or without relative age categories. Specifically, the article considers (1) the formal contrast between these patterns, (2) the key variant forms of these patterns, and (3) the distribution of these patterns and their associated variants throughout the Austronesian-speaking world. It offers a succinct examination of a key dimension of Austronesian terminologies and points to the position of eastern Indonesia as an innovative transition zone in the development of Austronesian terminologies.     

Comparison of Two Methods of Estimating Age at Death in a Chilean Preceramic Population

A method of histological determination of age at death, using the anterior cortex of the femur, was tested on a group of adult Preceramic skeletons from Chile (ca. 3300–3000 years BP). These skeletons had been previously studied by another investigator who assigned sex and morphological ages. Comparison of the results of the two methods of ageing indicates that, although there is considerable agreement between them at younger ages (20–39 years), discrepancies increase at older ages. It is clear that the morphological method is ‘truncated’, i.e. it does not take into account the possibility that some individuals could live past the age of 45 years. On the other hand, the open-ended histological method gives a realistic age range of 20–65 years for the Preceramic group, but an unrealistic number of individuals are aged 50 years and older. It is concluded that, in spite of certain advantages, the histological method must be used with caution in archaeological studies because exfoliation of peripheral unremodelled bone lamellae can cause over-ageing as deeper, more remodelled areas come to lie nearer the periosteal surface. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黑水城所出宋赵德诚家状试释

有“靖康元年□月　日承节郎赵德诚状”等字 ,称之为“状”并无不可 ,但这件文书的归类 ,通过比对《庆元条法事类》所载宋代文书格式 (详下 ) ,可以进一步确定为就是史籍常见的所谓“家状”。这件文书的定名按照敦煌吐鲁番文书整理的习惯 ,应该拟题为《宋靖康元年 (112 6 )保安军德靖寨赵德诚家状》。关于本件的录文和标点 ,有多处值得商榷。1行的“诚” ,从图版看 ,上面缺文至少在四字以上 ,根据《庆元条法事类》所载宋代家状格式 ,首行一般是家状撰者“具官姓名” ,即家状书写人在首行写上自己的官称和姓名。显然 ,1行的“诚”是“赵德诚…     

吐鲁番出土文书所见"手把"考

本文梳理了吐鲁番随葬衣物疏中“手把”的用法,考证了“手把”的含义,认为“手把”就是吐鲁番古墓葬中出土的木握手的名称。     

Size and Distribution of the Population in Late Bronze Age Messenia: Some Statistical Approaches

Abstract

The region of Messenia in extreme SW Greece has recently received unusual attention not only from archaeologists but also from philologists, historians, and various social and natural scientists. This article represents an attempt to synthesize some of the data thus generated in order to explore the locational concerns of the inhabitants in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 B.C.). Some statistical techniques are used to generate a prediction of the regional population, to investigate the differential distribution of the population over the varied landscape, and to attempt to understand the significance of the population distribution in terms of the social and economic organization of the developed kingdom of Pylos (13th century B.C.).