The Hawārī of Socotra, Yemen

Hawārī are traditionally logboats carved from a single tree into a double-ended vessel which can be propelled by either sails or paddle. Hawārī can be found throughout the Indian Ocean from India through to East Africa, yet little is known about this ubiquitous vessel. The aims of this research are to address this lacuna in our knowledge by documenting the rich source of hawārī present on the island of Socotra, Yemen.
© 2009 The Author     

The Third Man; Or, Agency in History; Or, Rationality in Revolution

Theories of revolution invoke human agency to commit the violence that revolution entails, yet theorists of revolution often denounce the general theory of human agency called rational choice because (they say) it does not explain macrosocial facts like revolution and also leaves out culture. Actually, however, rational choice is the major premise of any cogent explanation of revolution, and it includes culture as a factual premise. Rational-choice theory applied to explaining revolution dates back to Thucydides, whose method of explanation is sound and whose theory of revolution is true. Thucydides explains the macrosocial fact of revolution by way of models whose elements are people doing what they hope will succeed, that is, acting on opinion alias culture. Theorists of revolution who make sense of it all rehearse Thucydides: they analyze the narrative history into strategic actions and reactions, explain these actions and reactions by rational choice, and document the explanation with direct and circumstantial evidence for hope of success, though they seldom own up on theory and method or preach what they practice.     

The Cais do Sodré Shipwreck,Lisbon, Portugal

The timber remains of a shipwreck, probably dating to the late‐15th or early‐16th century and found in 1995 at Cais do Sodré, Lisbon, Portugal, during the construction of a subway station, are described and analysed. © 2011 The Authors     

The anthropologist,the state,the empire and the ‘tribe’

This review of Akbar Ahmed's The thistle and the drone finds that the book opens new dimensions for understanding the relations between state and peripheral groups.     

The Kambārī in the Museum of the Frankincense Land,Salalah, Oman

This article examines the kambārī vessel now housed at the Museum of the Frankincense Land, Salalah, Oman, built for display in 1980. This sewn‐plank boat type, used for fishing and lightering in Dhofar, is discussed in the context of other similar vessels in Oman, South Yemen, and Somalia. As one of only five known surviving kambaris, a detailed account of this vessel's construction is given accompanied by an accurate pictoral record.