Book Review

Abstract

Using data from a Middle Paleolithic site at Bir Taifawi in the Eastern Sahara, this study tests recent hypotheses that much of the typological variation apparent in the Middle Paleolithic can be traced to intensity of raw material use, and consequent reuse and reshaping of retouched tools. The Saharan material indicates that, although raw material was used quite intensively, the archaeologically defined types were desired forms in their own right and not simply stages in a reduction sequence.     

The Abbott government and the Islamic State: a securitised and elitist foreign policy discourse

This article analyses the foreign policy discourse that surrounded the Abbott government’s 2014 decision to fight the Islamic State (IS). An analysis of parliamentary Hansard reveals that the debate featured three prominent axes: the legacy of the 2003 Iraq War; the strategies and objectives of the 2014 mission; and Australia’s domestic terror threat level. Throughout, the Abbott government not only marginalised dissenting views, but also justified its renewed engagement in the Middle East via a highly securitised and elitist foreign policy discourse. This finding has consequences beyond the battle against the IS. It reveals a deep-seated tension between the ideals of democratic pluralism and the reality that securitised and elitist foreign policy discourses protect governments from serious scrutiny.     

Archaeometric Clearinghouse XX

Abstract

This article is a review of three recent monographs concerned with the later Middle Cypriote and Late Cypriote periods on Cyprus (ca. 1700–1200 B.C.). Each study focuses narrowly on archaeological, philological, or historical problems associated specifically with Cyprus or more generally with interrelations among Aegean, Cypriote, and eastern Mediterranean cultures. Oblivious to common interests, the authors reflect their own particularistic concerns: philology, toponymy, stone anchors. The three publications reviewed serve both as a framework and as a vehicle for presentation of a balanced discussion of archaeological, historical, and theoretical problems associated with Middle/Late Bronze Age Cyprus and its role in eastern Mediterranean maritime trade. In conclusion, and as an alternative, a concise synthesis of cultural and socio-historical patterns on Cyprus ca. 1700–1200 B.C. is presented.

The three volumes under review are: L. Hellbing, Alasia Problems. StudMedArch 57 (P. Åström's Förlag: Göteborg 1979); D. E. McCaslin, Stone Anchors in Antiquity: Coastal Settlements and Maritime Trade Routes in the Eastern Mediterranean. StudMedArch 61 (P. Åström's Förlag: Göteborg 1980); J. Strange, Caphtor/Keftiu, A New Investigation. Acta Theologica Danica 14 (E. J. Brill: Leiden 1980).     

REVISITING THE DEAD AT HELENA CROSSING,ARKANSAS

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a bioarchaeological reanalysis of the skeletal remains interred in the Middle Woodland burial mounds at the Helena Crossing site (3PH11). Based on current bioarchaeological methods, our reanalysis offers summaries of the sex and age estimates, pathologies, and trauma of the burials from Helena Crossing that are useful for their subsequent interpretation. We also document previously unrecognized evidence of postmortem processing in specific burials as evidenced by cut and chop marks that are associated with defleshing, disarticulating, and possibly mutilating particular corpses. We note the special attention paid to detaching and processing the mandibles and/or maxillas of several burials that indicates, along with evidence from other sites, that the mouth was an important symbolically charged orifice during the Middle Woodland period in the Eastern Woodlands.     

Why the Homeless Rebel: Housing Struggles in post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

Post-apartheid housing struggles urgently need to be addressed in order to consolidate the inclusivist democracy in South Africa. Former white minority governments restricted housing in order to control the movement of Africans and their labour. This paper analyses aspects of post-apartheid housing protest. The argument is that such protests are rooted in a problematic rights discourse of the anti-apartheid struggle, and in the new constitution's recognition of the right of access to adequate housing, which is nonetheless, subjected to fiscal constraints. The article's second focus is on a legacy of land dispossession, which also hinders housing delivery. Failure to realise the right to housing fuels some of the most important conflict that will shape future organisation of state institutions and relations between the state and society.     

Enlightenment,Haskalah, and the State of Israel

ABSTRACT

This article charts the broad and transforming effects of the European Enlightenment and the Jewish Haskalah on Zionism and on modern Israel’s government, judiciary, and political discourse. It traces this complex legacy using a semantic distinction between two Modern Hebrew terms for the Enlightenment, haskalah and ne’orut, that illustrates their importance in the political and discursive legacies of the State of Israel. The article then explores the recent populist and nationalist assaults against some of these legacies.     

The Eastern Sámi: A short account of their history and identity

During the last decade there has been a growing interest in the history and culture of the Eastern Sami, but information on this subject is insufficient. In this article the author starts from the quite problematical question about the use of the term Eastern Sámi, and presents further data about the main historical milestones for the Eastern Sami from olden times up to the end of the 20^th century. Among other things, the author considers changes which happened in the structure of Eastern Sami social life, the cultural and linguistic environment and its influence on the Eastern Sami culture and languages, influence of the state borders and state policies, and the relationship between the Sami and the Orthodox Church. Based on this historical background, the author elucidates the issue of Eastern Sami identity and their sense of affinity. Is there still a future for their culture, language and identity? The author, who grew up on Sami land in Russia, has for more than a decade been studying the Eastern Sami culture, folklore and religion. In this presentation, the inner point of view, native Sami terms and place‐names are especially emphasized.     

Clay Tobacco Pipes and Coffee Cup Sherds in the Archaeology of the Middle East: Artifacts of Social Tensions from the Ottoman Past

Nearly all discussion in historical archaeology exploring issues of consumption and commodities is focused on the Euro-American world. This paper contributes data from archaeological investigations in the Middle East for exploring modern consumption. Commodities of pleasure, such as tobacco and coffee, entered Middle Eastern social life after the fifteenth century and greatly impacted the cultural landscape of the Middle East, entangling the peoples of the region into larger socio-political arenas. Examples from provincial corners of the Ottoman Empire illustrate the potential of historical archaeology for uncovering the material self-definition of peoples in the Middle East and for breaking down perceived divisions between components of the modern world.     

The Compulsory Exchange of Populations : Greek-Turkish Peacemaking, 1922–1930

Abstract

As a precedent in the resolution of Middle Eastern crises, the settlement of the embittered Greek- Turkish conflict of 1919–1922 constitutes a landmark. The swiftness and comprehensiveness of the settlement was hailed from the moment it was formally achieved by the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 23 July 1923. It has been rendered even more impressive since World War II by what, until recently at least, has seemed like the intractable Arab-Israeli dispute.     

The Calderstones,Near Liverpool

Abstract

This article is a contribution to the revisionist literature on the monastic orders in late medieval England and their art and architecture. It discusses the visual and material cultures of the Cistercians in northern England in the period immediately before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, demonstrating the enduring popularity of the Order in the late Middle Ages and that patronage of art and architecture continued until the very moment of the Suppression. Evidence is also discussed showing that monks and nuns salvaged property from their houses in the hope that their monasteries would be restored.     

Ceramic Petrology and the Study of Anglo-Saxon and Later Medieval Ceramics

Abstract

A SURVEY of archaeological ceramic thin sections held by institutions and individuals in the United Kingdom was undertaken in the early 1990s by the City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit and funded by English Heritage. Over 6,000 thin sections of Anglo-Saxon or medieval date (or reports on their analysis) were located. For the Middle to Late Anglo-Saxon and the post-Conquest Periods, these studies have confirmed that pottery production was carried out in a limited number of centres and that most pottery, including handmade coarsewares, was therefore produced for trade. The distances over which pottery was carried vary from period to period but were actually as high or higher in the Middle to Late Anglo-Saxon Period as in the 13th to 14h centuries. However, for the Early Anglo-Saxon Period (and the Middle Anglo-Saxon Period outside of eastern England) the evidence of ceramic petrology is equivocal and requires more study. These 6,000–odd thin sections represent a resource which could be used for various future studies, some of which are discussed here, and as an aid to their further use a database containing information on the sampled ceramics, their location and publications of their analyses will be published online through Internet Archaeology.     

Media and Ideology in the Middle East: A Critical Discourse Analysis

This study explores the ideologization of media discourse in the Middle East through investigating political influences over leading media corporations in the region. A critical discourse analysis was applied to news reports issued by prominent Middle Eastern media giants Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. The research data included eight news articles from both media outlets. Thus, four articles from each corporation have been studied and analyzed in an effort to realize the objectives of the study at hand. Blass’s Manipulative Strategies… and van Dijk’s Ideological Square… constituted primary methodological instruments within the framework of this research. The findings indicate an explicit impact of local political agendas on the discourse and editorial policies of each of the studied media corporations, which emerge in violation with the claimed journalistic commitment to objectivity and impartiality in terms of news reporting.     

A phosphatic stromatolite (Ilicta cf. composita Sidorov) from the Middle Cambrian,northern Australia

Phosphatic stromatolites from the early Middle Cambrian (Ordian) of the Georgina Basin are described and identified as Ilicta cf. composita Sidorov. Based on Öpik's interpretation of the early Middle Cambrian, the age of the Georgina Basin specimens is similar to that of the type specimens described from the late Early Cambrian of Eastern Siberia. Phosphatic stromatolites occur at the base of dolomitized and partially silicified bioherms up to 4 m thick. The phosphatic forms overlie impermeable, cemented pavement surfaces which were covered by stratiform stromatolites from which rose columnar forms up to 5 cm in height. The stromatolites were phosphatized by penecontemporaneous diagenetic reactions that took place just below the sediment water interface and above the impermeable substrates.     

Christianity and Secularisation in the West and the Middle East: A Theological Stance

In this article I argue that Christianity is essentially secular. Hence, secularisation not only has a theological connotation concerning Christian faith but also it is the highest and most perfect realisation of Christian religion, since it signifies the cross that is in the centre of Christian faith. As Christians take upon themselves secularisation as an existential choice, namely the powerlessness of God and of the human being, they simultaneously take the worldly‐human existence as “here” and “now” upon themselves. I will argue that this is the culmination of Reformation. Further, I want to demonstrate that secular Christianity, in the sense given in this article, remains a challenge for both Western and Eastern worlds. In order to accomplish this I will reflect in the first part of this article — from a theological point of view — upon some sociological interpretations or theories concerning mainly secularisation in Western Europe and also the contemporary socio‐political scene in the Middle East. In the second part of the article I will present several Western and Eastern theological positions that defend secularisation, and through their contributions I will construct my own theological stance for secular Christianity.     

Good guys or bad? Middle class blacks and the black community

William Alan Muraskin. Middle Class Blacks in a White Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975. 318 pp. $14.95.     

Prioritising Heritage Resources in a Time of Loss: Sea Level Rise and Archaeological Resources of the Middle Atlantic Region,US

ABSTRACT

The US Middle Atlantic region, known for its rich archaeological record and diverse topographic settings, is experiencing a range of climate change impacts, most notably: sea level rise and coastal erosion in its tidal zones. Documented palaeostratigraphic and palynological studies throughout the region provide a record of late Pleistocene/Holocene environmental response to changing climate, confirming observations from other disciplines that the magnitude of modern impacts exceeds past temporal and spatial patterns. The corresponding impact on archaeological resources is great, requiring a renewed effort to document threatened sites while also working with local and state governments to develop mitigation strategies. The Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference (MAAC) created the Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Committee to promote regional partnerships in site impact assessment and mitigation strategies. The network highlights the predicament of archaeology in this time of climate change: accelerated research and discovery in the face of catastrophic loss.     

Dealing with Tribes and States in Ancient Palestine

This paper offers a critique on state formation theories used in the explanation of the rise of the biblical United Monarchy. The last three decades of archaeological and biblical research have shown that there is no firm evidence for speaking of a kingdom or empire of David and Solomon in ancient Palestine. Thus what is proposed here is to evaluate the archaeological record through the data provided by the ethnological record of the Middle East, keeping the biblical stories apart from this interpretation. The analysis of the dynamics and structure of Middle Eastern “tribal states” and “chiefdom societies”, including here the practice of patronage bonds, gives us important keys for understanding Palestine's societies. The historical perspective that appears then is one different from the Bible's stories and from modern ideas such as “states” and “nations”, offering us instead a better methodology for reconstructing ancient Palestine's historical past.     

The Conjectural Legacy in Editing Horace Exemplified by the First Epode

Addressing three well-known textual issues in Epode 1 (in this order: perdam/ perdat 34, the punctuation of 7–14, superne/superni 29), the author advocates some principles for editors concerning the large legacy of conjectures to Horace: An editor should divide these into four categories according to merit: (I) those adopted in the text itself, with information in the Apparatus criticus, (II) those in the Apparatus criticus only, (III) those in the Appendix critica – the majority, and (IV), if feasible, those found only in a separate repertory/data bank. Whereas the Apparatus criticus should be slim and highly selective, the Appendix critica can be all the more generous. – Strictly philological commentaries accompanying such an edition are seen as a great desideratum in today's classical scholarship.     

Terra incognita: terrestrial LiDAR documentation of Mound A at Kolomoki (9ER1)

ABSTRACT

The manifest representation of space and place is essential to good archaeology. Our ability to document and relate these concepts, projected into the past and reflected in the present, has increased tremendously with the expansion and availability of technology. We present recent efforts to further document a well-known place in the cultural landscape: the Kolomoki site in southwestern Georgia, occupied primarily during the Middle and Late Woodland periods. Specifically, we summarize older investigations of Mound A, then present the results of recent terrestrial LiDAR documentation. Our work substantiates the claim that Mound A was the largest Woodland-period mound in Eastern North America in terms of overall volume.