The prehistory of Island Southeast Asia: A multidisciplinary review of recent research

Island Southeast Asia extends across both the equatorial and the intermediate tropical zones of world climate, and it also spans a region of complex and geologically unstable land and sea relationships. The Sundaland region in the west and the isolated islands of Wallacea in the east both witnessed complex trajectories of human movement and evolution during the Pleistocene. The record of human evolution in Sundaland is still affected by uncertainties over phylogeny, dates, and archaeological correlations. Initial human settlement across Huxley's Line into Wallacea cannot at present be proven to be older than the Late Pleistocene. Stone tool industries dating to within the past 40,000 years are described, including new discoveries which indicate a surprising level of technological virtuosity. Human populations of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene are also considered in terms of skeletal and genetic data, particularly with respect to the rather controversial antecedents of the present, mainly Mongoloid, population. The article terminates its coverage at about 2000 B.C., within the period characterized by the expansion of speakers of Austronesian languages and by the expansion of agriculture into a porous and often-resistant network of hunter-gatherer societies. The archaeological and ethnographic records of the region bear witness to a continuous but dwindling existence of hunting and gathering right through to the present day. While the results of archaeology occupy a central position in the reconstruction of Southeast Asian prehistory, a proper understanding can be achieved only if a multidisciplinary standpoint is adopted.     

Culture as a variable in comparative politics: A review of some recent literature

Bringing culture into the analysis remains a problem for comparative political science. The notion is too vague and elusive — we are reluctant to evoke that amorphous mass of beliefs, institutions and actions which comprise the political culture of any nation when trying to compare policy processes. Only when the interplay of familiar political variables fails to correlate is culture introduced as an explanation of last resort

Recent work seeks more rigour for a cultural variable. Drawing on the anthropology of Mary Douglas and the public policy of Aaron Wildav‐sky, ‘cultural theory’ argues that groups fashion their world in limited and predictable ways. Regime, belief and economy are subsumed by more fundamental choices about the organisation of collective life. Culture is people sharing values which justify social relations.

This paper sketches the premises and findings of cultural theory. It suggests some possibilities for comparative research — and the problems of testing this ambitious reformulation of political culture.     

The neolithic and early bronze age of the Lake Baikal Region: A review of recent research

Rich settlement and burial evidence from the Baikal/Angara region in Central Siberia provides one of the most promising opportunities in the global boreal forest for studying Holocene foragers. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age prehistory of the region is known to western scholars only through a few English translations of the works of A. P. Okladnikov. Since the publication of Okladnikov's model, the region has witnessed large-scale archaeological fieldwork that has produced abundant quantities of new evidence. Moreover, the model has been partly invalidated by extensive radiocarbon dating. Research advances over the last couple of decades have augmented the area's previous reputation but have also revealed the need for new theoretical perspectives and modern analytical techniques.     

A sense of scent: A review of two books dealing with primate endocrinology

Stoddart, D. Michael. The Scented Ape: The Biology of Human Odour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. ix + 286 pp. including glossary, references, and index. $80 cloth, $24.95 paper.

Ziegler, Toni E. and Fred B. Bercovitch, eds. Socioendocrinology of Primate Reproduction. New York: Wiley‐Liss, 1990. viii + 217 pp. including chapter references and index. $72.50 cloth.     

30年来中国大陆汪精卫研究述评

20世纪80年代以来,中国大陆整理和出版了大量关于汪精卫及汪伪政权的研究资料,同时一批具有较高学术水平的汪精卫生平传记陆续问世,另外在北京还召开了两次以汪精卫和汪伪政权为主题的学术会议,这些都推动了汪精卫及汪伪政权研究的良性发展.近30年来,中国大陆学者对汪精卫的方方面面都展开了研究,取得了丰硕的成果.从学者们发表的有关论文及论著来看,对汪精卫的研究主要集中在辛亥革命时期的汪精卫、大革命时期的汪精卫、汪精卫叛国投敌的原因、汪精卫的人际关系、汪精卫的政治思想等几个热点问题.学者们就这些问题展开了热烈的讨论,发表了大量研究成果,澄清了一些模糊认识,修正了不少学术观点.然而,在中国大陆的汪精卫研究中,也存在着一些突出问题和薄弱环节.要解决好这些问题,就需要众多学者的共同努力和有关方面的大力支持.     

近20年来大陆段祺瑞及北洋皖系研究述评

本文从6个方面,即袁世凯大将段祺瑞、皖系统治时期、临时执政时期、段祺瑞最后十年、段祺瑞幕府、段祺瑞家族,简要介绍了近20年来大陆段祺瑞及北洋皖系的研究状况.总体上认为,成果增多,进步较快,但有些方面的研究还较为薄弱,有些方面的探讨还有待深入.     

近十年宋辽金元宗族研究综述

宋辽金元宗族研究取得可喜的成果,出版了数部学术水准很高的专著。台湾的宋代宗族研究尤为突出,深入探讨了宗族与科举、婚姻的关系,阐述了宗族在地方社会的作用以及保持强盛的机制。辽金宗族研究也取得了不小进展。宋辽金元宗族的研究,需要将宋辽金元各时期宗族与明清时期的宗族连在一起,注重宗族与社会历史断裂与连续的关系,进行长时段研究。加强地域性宗族研究,开展宋元时期不同地域宗族的比较研究、宋元与明清宗族的比较研究也是必要的。     

Medical anthropology: A comment on recent publication

George M. Foster and Barbara G. Anderson. Medical Anthropology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978. 302 pp. Bibliography and index. $14.95.

Eleanor E. Bauwens, ed. The Anthropology of Health. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby, 1978. 200 pp. Index. $10.50, paper.     

The assumption of equilibrium in the analysis of migration and interregional differences: a review of some recent research

"This paper questions the plausibility of the assumption of interregional equilibrium in recent research into migration and the valuation of amenities in the United States. It is shown that it is difficult to develop a satisfactory explanation for continuing net migration which is compatible with the equilibrium assumption, and that recent relevant research generally fails to support the idea that the U.S. economy is in equilibrium. The association of higher rent levels with in-migration is explained as a short-run phenomenon. If the spatial economy is in disequilibrium, then the valuations of amenities assuming equilibrium will be biased, being probably too low in areas of net in-migration and too high in areas of net out-migration."