白人到来前北美印第安人社会的疾病生态及其意义

在白人到来前相当长的时期内,印第安人社会疾病较少,印第安人身体相对健康。但是随着农业的发展和居住模式从游牧到定居的转变,土著社会中各种疾病开始增多,印第安人健康状况逐渐恶化。至哥伦布到来前夕,印第安人社会已经充斥着各种疾病,并非是很多学者所说的毫无疾病的"伊甸园"。白人到来前北美印第安人社会的疾病生态对白人到来之后的外来传染病入侵美洲具有重要的意义。印第安人已有的疾病削弱了土著民族的健康状况,导致外来传染病会产生更高的发病率和死亡率,大大加剧了该群体的疾病负荷。这一时期土著民族的疾病生态成为白人到来后外来传染病入侵、印第安人人口大量死亡、土著社会遭受严重打击的重要因素之一。     

处女地假说与北美印第安人的命运

在白人殖民者到来前,北美印第安人已经在美洲大陆上生活了数万年,并对周围的环境产生了重要的影响。白人殖民者来到美洲后,一方面出于欧洲种族主义的文化偏见,一方面出于剥夺印第安人土地的现实利益需要,建构出处女地假说,并根据自身需要将北美大陆上的原住民简单形容为高贵的印第安人和嗜血的野蛮人两种非此即彼的刻板形象。处女地假说成为白人殖民者向西部边疆扩张、驱逐和剥削印第安人的理论工具。对于美洲白人来说,该假说意味着机会和希望,而对于北美印第安人来说,该假说则代表了种族主义偏见和殖民主义的罪恶。随着现代环境主义的兴起,处女地假说和印第安人的传统生态智慧受到热捧,印第安人也试图利用这一工具为其当前争取资源控制权的斗争服务,但收效不大。     

Talking about others: archaeologists,indigenous peoples and heritage in Argentina

Abstract

In the process of creating the Argentinean nation, the indigenous peoples were dispossessed of their lands and their sacred sites. The indigenous past was therefore neglected in a nation that was thought to be formed by European immigrants. As a result, pre-Hispanic heritage was considered part of the public domain of the State and a subject of scientific enquiry. In the last few decades, legal and political changes have encouraged indigenous peoples' claims on heritage issues. The aim of this paper is to analyse a number of contested heritage issues in which indigenous communities were involved, as well as a few examples in which archaeologists, authorities and indigenous groups have succeeded in building a dialogue regarding the care of specific archaeological sites. These issues are further discussed in the context of the current socio-political and economic crisis in Argentina.     

Cowboys,Indians, and being human

Niels Winther Braroe. Indian and White: Self‐image and Interaction in a Canadian Plains Community. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975. x + 205 pp. Dlustrations, bibliography and index. $8.50.     

New Indians,new edition

Wendell H. Oswalt. This Land Was Theirs: A Study of the North American Indian, Second Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1973. xx + 617 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, and index. $13.00.