Recent work on the concept of the state

Stephen Bornstein, David Held and Joel Krieger (eds), The State in Capitalist Europe, London, Allen and Unwin, 1984, pp.170. $24.95 (paper).

Gregor McLennan, David Held and Stuart Hall (eds), The Idea of the Modern State, Milton Keynes, Open University Press, 1984, pp.240. $28.95 (paper).     

The origins and development of complex prehispanic society in the Lower Santa Valley,Peru: Implications for theories of state origins

A major issue in attempts to construct cross-culturally valid theories of state origins is the relative roles of irrigation agriculture, population growth, and warfare in the rise of complex society. Recently, data from the coast of Peru has provided the stimulus for the formulation of the “coercive theory” of state origins. This theory proposes that state formation in circumscribed environments was the result of population pressure, internecine (local level) warfare, and the incorporation of defeated groups into ever larger, victorious polities. Yet, although the pioneering study of settlement patterns was carried out in Virú Valley, the lack of a comprehensive regional study of the development of prehispanic subsistence-settlement systems in any Peruvian coastal valley meant that the “coercive theory” rested on a precarious data base. Selected results of an extensive and systematic survey carried out in 1979–1980 in the Lower Santa Valley, an area only partly studied prior to our research but long famous for its large number of major prehispanic walls and fortresses, are discussed. Following a discussion of the problem, research methods and data for the early periods leading to state formation are outlined. Analysis of settlement patterns, maize-based carrying capacity, and settlement-cluster ceramic assemblages is then carried out to suggest refutation of the “coercive” model and acceptance of an alternative model of multivariate causality. External, or intervalley, warfare is shown to have been an important socioenvironmental stress leading to sociocultural complexity not only in Santa, but probably in adjacent valleys as well.     

The state of globalisation and the globalisation of the state

This article examines how to evaluate claims about the extent and impact of globalisation. A focus on the significance of earlier phases of globalisation is essential, but underestimating the importance and scope of recent developments is the wrong lesson to learn from a more historically informed analysis. While it is necessary to maintain a healthy scepticism towards endings, inevitability and irreversibility, it is important to remain open to the possibility that the world political economy has indeed undergone substantial transformation. This article argues that quantitative measures of globalisation need to be supplemented with an analysis of the pivotal role of the state in spurring and sponsoring the process of global economic interaction. State constructions of the imperatives of globalisation have aimed to bolster the acceptance of policy changes that support globalisation and transform domestic political economies. There is continuing potential for state activity to have effects--both positive and negative--on the progress of economic globalisation.     

Bringing the study of warfare into theories of nationalism

This article argues that warfare has been marginalised in theories of nationalism but that in conjunction with nationalism is vital for understanding the rise of nation‐states, the formation of nations and the nature of the international system. It offers a critique of statist approaches, suggests mechanisms through which warfare may sacralise nations and explores different patterns of nation‐state formation as they affect the interstate system. In particular, it emphasises tensions between state and nation‐formation as activated by the fortunes of war and the destabilising effects of waves of imperial dissolution, which are accompanied by patterns of re‐imperialization. It suggests that it is simplistic both to claim that war has led to a transition from empires to nation‐states and that contemporary practices of war‐making have led to a postnational era.     

大汶口文化的新发现

新见在江苏邳州大墩子大汶口遗址出土的一些重要器物,其中阳鸟石璧和骨雕鸟上的阳鸟刻画,从考古遗存上对夷族的太阳崇拜和鸟图腾说提供了证据.獐牙勾形器柄上的刻符与<系辞>中八卦卦形符号相同,证明八卦起源于五千年前的大汶口文化时期,比通常认为易学萌芽于商用之际早两千余年.为研究东夷文明增添了宝贵的新资料.     

章学诚创新谱牒学理论之功

章学诚是清代著名的史学家、思想家,毕生致力于讲学、著述、纂修史志和谱牒。他结合自己的史学、方志学理论,对谱牒学的一些至关重要的理论问题,包括史部支流、年谱、谱牒的基本结构、方法和标准,进行了较为详细深入的探讨,从理论到方法全面发展了我国谱牒学理论基础,至今仍具有重要的参考价值。     

Graph theory's uses in formalizing anthropological theories

Hage, Per, and Frank Harary. Structural Models in Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. xiv + 201 pp. including appendix, references, and index. $12.95 paper.