Human Agency and Impersonal Determinants in Historical Causation: A Response to David Lindenfeld

Lindenfeld's proposed reclassification of causes—offered in lieu of a chaos theory applicable to history—yields paradoxical results when applied to the developments that installed Hitler in power, since these would have to rank as "constraining" rather than "empowering" because of his lack of control over them. The "principle of sensitive dependence," while an admirable aspiration, proves a counsel of perfection beyond reach of the historian when applied to those same events. As to historical explanations in terms of structural, impersonal determinants, these remain ascendant, to the neglect of human agency. Narrative history, which alone can account for both remote and immediate causes, continues to be unfashionable. Explanations in terms of structures and impersonal forces, which can only imply causation, are attractive because they offer historians wide scope for exercise of erudition and arrive at determinants that appear larger and more powerful than mere actions of humans. Where profound developments are to be explained, such interpretations conform to the assumption that their causes must have been profound. Yet countless turning-points in history, including Hitler's installation in power, were decisively shaped by acts of a few persons. The frustrating difficulty of accounting for individual behavior contributes to the appeal of impersonal, structural explanations. These tend, however, toward a deterministic view of the past which awakens the impression that what happened had to happen. That obscures the openness of past situations and rules out assignment of personal responsibility to individuals, who seem mere pawns of forces beyond their control. A remedy for such deterministic tendencies lies in counterfactual analysis, which, by drawing attention to feasible, but unrealized, alternatives to what happened, can convey the open-ended qualities of past situations and the importance of contingency.     

Distinguishing Remains of Human Cremations from Burned Animal Bones

Abstract

Archaeological remains of human cremations, often consisting of a few calcined bone fragments unassociated with any other indicators of human mortuary behavior, are sometimes difficult to distinguish from mammalian remains representing ancient garbage. Although experimental and archaeological studies of human cremation may facilitate recognition of cremated or otherwise burned mammal bone, they do not provide the necessary criteria to distinguish cremation from other kinds of burning and, therefore, to recognize, immediately, a human cremation in archaeological context. Experiments were conducted to provide criteria for distinguishing the remains of cremated whole large mammals from intensively burned fresh, anhydrous, archaeological, boiled, and baked bones of large mammals. Results indicate that distinctive patterns of cracking, fracturing, and warping of calcined bone, and especially the absence of evidence of perimortem fracture, may alert the excavator to the possibility of a human cremation.     

The Suitability of 3D Data: 3D Digitisation of Human Remains

The use of 3D data in the analysis of skeletal and fossil materials has conveyed numerous advantages in many fields; however, as the availability and use of 3D scanning equipment are rapidly increasing, it is important for researchers to consider whether these methods are suitable for the proposed study. The issue of suitability has been largely overlooked in previous research; for instance, casts and reconstruction methods are frequently used to increase sample sizes, without sufficient assessment of the effect, this may have on the accuracy and reliability of results. Furthermore, the reliability of geometric morphometric methods and the implications of virtual curation have not received sufficient consideration. This paper discusses the suitability of 3D research with regard to the accuracy, reliability, and accessibility of methods and materials, as well as the effects of the current learning environment. Areas where future work will progress 3D research are proposed.     

A Novel Application of Molecular Techniques to Pacific Archaeofish Remains*

Until recently, the identification of fish bone from Pacific archaeological sites generally relied upon morphological analysis of a relatively restricted number of skeletal elements. Limited morphological variation within fish families, amongst other things, has often restricted Pacific archaeofish determinations to the level of family or, in some cases, genus. We suggest that these relatively imprecise determinations may mask important aspects of prehistoric human fishing practices and subsistence patterns. This paper describes a molecular technique that allows for more precise taxonomic determinations, initially applied to the large and diverse family of Serranidae. The technique involves extraction, amplification, sequencing and analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation in the 16s ribosomal RNA gene. Following development of protocols and primers for modern reference materials, the technique was applied to an archaeological faunal assemblage from Aitutaki, southern Cook Islands.     

Prehistoric Human and Ungulate Remains from Preston Docks,Lancashire, UK: Problems of River Finds

Isolated and usually undated human crania from riverine deposits in the British Isles present something of an archaeological mystery. The large numbers sometimes involved—several hundred from the River Thames alone—together with the recovery of unassociated metal artefacts have been taken to imply some or other “ritual” activity. We offer a taphonomic investigation of human crania and ungulate remains obtained from dock excavations during the 1880s at Preston in Lancashire in northwestern England. Although apparently recovered in close spatial proximity, a series of AMS determinations on crania of humans, aurochsen (Bos primigenius) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) has established at least a Neolithic to Saxon age range for the sample. Such a chronological span for a diverse assemblage when considered against modern forensic studies of the taphonomy of bodies in water strongly implies that the human crania need represent no more than an accumulation of elements that normally separate quite naturally from the rest of the body. While the reasons for initial entry to the water may well have included “ritual” activity in one or more case there is simply no reason to infer such behaviour for the human sample as a whole in the absence of direct evidence.     

A Response to David Lehmann

Abstract

The author offers a simple theological framework for critiquing the issues of globalization and empire. The vast majority of people look at the world with theological lenses, and far too often those who attempt to speak to them use language that makes little sense to the rank and file. Here then is one form that such a framework might take.

The Powers Are Good

The Powers Are Fallen

The Powers Can Be Transformed.     

A Response to the Conference

Abstract

The question discussed in this article is whether Christian theology should influence contemporary political debates. The topic is discussed through two practical case studies: (1) technological advances in genetic engineering and (2) the just war tradition and the use of force. In the first discussion, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's unfinished Ethics is employed to demonstrate the importance of substantial theological categories to resist a reductionist technological utilitarian discourse about the body. Intrinsic human dignity is essentially God-given. In the second, Aquinas and Augustine add theological complexity and substance to secular discussions of war and peace. Human caring is more than the protection of the sovereign state. A peace that is only the absence of war can disguise many harmful situations. In conclusion, theological discussion brings nuance, richness and depth to secular political debates so long as theologians go beyond simplistic contributions such as ‘God demands’ or ‘The Bible forbids’.