Ever Lasting Memory──10th Death Anniversary of the 10th Panchen Erdeni

The10thPanchenErdeniinspectingamountainvillageoftheBaiethnicgroupinDali,The10thPanchenErdeniathome.(1988)The10thPanchenErdeniinspectingalivestockfarminXigaze,Tibet.(January1989)The10thPanchenErdenipresidingovertheabhisedaceremonyinGarze,SichuanProvince.(Seqtember1986)The10thPahchenErdenicarryingoutaninvestigationinaTibetanpas-pastoralarea.De10thPanchenErdenigivingimmunitycapsulestochildrenintheKindergartenoftheCentralInstituteforNationalities[nowtheCentralUniversityforNationalities…     

Singing From the Heart of the Snowland——50th Anniversary of the singing Career of Cedain Zholma

A solo concert was held to mark the 50th singing career of Cedain Zholma on December 22,2003.The next day,she went to Hunan at the head of the Tibet Song and Dance Troupe where she sang in a concert held by Shaoshan and Xiantan, hometown of Mao Zedong. Upon invitation of Yunnan, she went to Yunnan for solo performance. On this basis, the TAR Federation for Literaturary and Art Circles published a pictorial titled Highland Soul： Cedain Zholma and a book entitled Music of Snowland： Biography of Cedain Zholma, which were first sold in Xiantan of Hunan Province on December 26.     

A Gift to the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of Qamdo─On "Qamdo of Tibet: History Tradition and Modernization

Atthetimewhenthe500,000PeopleofQamdowerecelebratingthe5Othanniversaryoftheliberationoftheirarea,thebookQaIndoofnbet'Histo-ryTraditionandModemizationcameoffthepresses.WthLiGuanRwen,YangSongandGelegaschiefeditors,thebookisChina'sfirstacadendcworkexplainingthehistoryandstatusquooftheregioninasystematicway.Thebookcontainstheresultsofresearchintothetr8ditionalcultUreandmod-ernizationintheTibetan-inhabitedareasofChina,aprojectconductedundertheleadershipofGeleg.AdozenpeoplefromBeijing,Chengdu…     

WITHOUT SOCIALISM THERE WOULD BE NO TIBET TODAY──Three Indian Parties Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet

More Than 200 Delegates Take Part in CelebrationOn June 5, the CPI-M, CPI and AIFB-the three leftwing political parties in India with a combined membership of 30 million-met in New Delhi to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. H. Surjeet (CPI-M General Secretary), A.B. Bardhan (CPI General Secretary), G.Devarajan (Secretary of the AIFB Secretariat), as well as some 200 delegates representing certain leftwing mass organizations, such as the All-I…     

OUTSTANDINC ACHIEVEMENTS FORETELL BRIGHT FUTURE──In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomus Region

ＯＵＴＳＴＡＮＤＩＮＣＡＣＨＩＥＶＥＭＥＮＴＳＦＯＲＥＴＥＬＬＢＲＩＧＨＴＦＵＴＵＲＥ──Ｉｎｃｅｌｅｂｒａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅ３０ｔｈＡｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙｏｆｔｈｅｆｏｕｎｄｉｎｇｏｆｔｈｅＴｉｂｅｔＡｕｔｏｎｏｍｕｓＲｅｇｉｏｎＴｉｂｅｔａｎｓｗ...     

Evil ThingsTurned IntoGood Things─In Memory of 40th Anniversary of the Democratic Rrform in Tibet

TheDemocraticReformconductedinTibetin1959startedwithsuppressionoftherebellionlaunchedbyreactionariesintheuppersocialstratainTibettostoptheDemocraticReformandsplitthemotherland.AsearlyasJuly1957,therewerePeoplewhoheldgrandritualsinthePotalaPalacetoacceptareportdeliveredbythereactionaryfourriversandsixmountainrangesmovementwhichdemandedthe14thDalaiLamaexerciseruleoverallTibetanareasinChina.Rightafterthat,ringleadersofthemovementgatheredinZhegutang,Shannan,organizingrebeltroopscalledther…     

Donggar Township Where Farmers I know(II)──40th Anniversary of the Democratic Reform

Beginninginthemid-1960s,IshuttledbetweenvillagesinDonggarTownship,DoilungdeqenCounty,locatedinthewesternsuburbsofLhasa.Iremainedthereforfouryears,andhavesincemaintainedcorrespondencewithsomeoftheresidentsthere.Geleg:SpotlightofExplosiveNewsDonggarwasrockedinthewinterof1982whenGeleg,PartySecretaryoftheDonggarPeople'sCommune,decidedtoquittheproductionteamtowhichheandCezholbelonged.Withfiveofhisrelativesheformedagrouptogoitalone.ThoughthiswascommoninsomeotherpartsofChina,itwasrareinTibet.…     

Questioning Theory: Is There a Gender of Theory in Archaeology?

This paper raises questions about the practice of theory in anthropological archaeology. Particular attention is given to questions surrounding the gender of theory: what genders are more heralded in the theoretical spotlights and how the subject position of doing theory is gendered. An analysis of the contents of four Readers of Archaeological Theory shows the problematic selection and thus representation of women’s theoretical contributions, including their effective ghettoization in gender and feminist archaeology. Insights from how feminists have been grappling with theory are considered, and archaeologists are urged to confront the ways in which “doing theory” is/is not valued and how it is differentially valued, and to discuss the place and uses of theory more explicitly and critically.     

New Elements in the Iconography of 9th–10th Century Ural-Siberian Silver

On the basis of its technological and stylistic features, a new find of oriental silverware from the Konda River is identified as a work of the Ural-Siberian circle and dated to the 9th–10th centuries. Its scene of gender violence is interpreted using the parallel text of the “Sabha Parva,” which describes the sufferings of Draupadi, Queen of Pandavas, and the actions of Duhshasana who won her in a game of dice. The urban culture of the pre-Arabian Sogd connects the Indian source with the Turkic environment of the Ural region. Here knowledge of the story from the “Sabha Parva” had not yet been recorded but nonetheless existed judging from scenes from the “Virata Parva” which appears among the monumental paintings of Penjikent.     

A Patriotic Living Buddha──Remarks of the 10th Panchen Erdeni

The10thPanchenleftussomeeightyearsago.Recallinghisdayswithus,wecherishaDrofoundmemoryofthemaster.The10thPanchenlovedtheCommunistPartyofChina,thesocialistmotherland,theTibetanraceandTibetanBuddhism.Thefourlovesareanunitedintegralwhole,andtheyarebasedonthe…     

Composition of white paste inlay on the pottery from sites of the 10th–8th centuries bce in the northern Pontic region

For the first time, the mineralogical–geochemical compositions of the white paste inlay found on vessels from sites (10th–8th centuries bce ) in the northern Pontic region are investigated. Samples of the white paste on vessels from settlements, burials of sedentary groups and graves of early nomads were analysed by means of scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Between the 10th and eighth centuries bce , various innovations occurred in the working area. Iron processing technology and the manufacture of iron products also appeared. Other innovations were changes in the manufacturing technology of ceramics. A high-quality, polished/burnished surface and ornaments with white paste inlay are characteristic of this pottery. When collating white paste mixtures of different European sites, similarities in the preparation of white paste recipes for vessels from the Balkan and northern Pontic regions are evident. During the Early Iron Age, further changes in the manufacture of the white paste were discovered in the northern Pontic region, namely the application of high-temperature firing to obtain more resistant synthesized material such as calcium alumosilicates and silicates (wollastonite). The development of iron metallurgy in this period could provide a basis for the elaboration of new techniques in ceramic manufacture.     

An age of transition? Castles and the Scottish Highland estate in the 16th and 17th centuries

Abstract

In the archaeology of post-medieval rural Scotland, research traditions have inhibited understanding of social change prior to the 18th century as the emphasis has been on the dramatic overturn of 'traditional' society with Improvement and the Clearances. This contrasts with the situation for England and, indeed other parts of Europe, where there is an established concern for the much earlier 'Age of Transition' from medieval to modern. Here I explore the ancestry of Improvement by considering the genesis of the landed estate in the 16th and earlier 17th centuries, and this is primarily achieved through an analysis of the architecture and geography of castles in one area of the Highlands. This case study concerns the castles of the Glenorchy Campbells, a lineage emerging in the earlier 15th century and proceeding to become one of the most significant of Scottish, and British, landed families. In no small part through a changing approach to castle building, their rise was predicated on the transformation of clan territory into landed estate in the period after 1550. The usefulness of the 'Age of Transition' construct, in this specific context and in general, is appraised. In concluding, I argue for the alternative of the dialectical Marxist concept of contradiction. This places the focus on tension, fluidity, and lack of resolution in society, running counter to the idea of transition from one state to another. With contradiction, modern society as a simply definable entity is never established and cannot be delineated in a straightforward way. It is an itinerant process, constantly emerging and changing.     

Chinese Objects in Eurasian Empire: On the Cultural Meaning of Chinese Art in Russia in the Late 17th–Early 18th Centuries

This article examines special features of “Chinoiserie” or “Chinese fashion” (“Kitaischina”) in Russia from the late 17th to the early 18th century: The reign of Peter the First. It discusses this cultural phenomenon’s historical origins, demonstrates the role of Chinese luxury goods and art objects in the era’s Russo-Chinese cultural exchange, and illustrates how Chinese decorative arts were used in Russian palaces. While Chinoiserie in Russia was influenced by similar trends in Western Europe, it was rooted in the unique history of regular contacts between Russia and the Qing Empire. Chinese objects not only appeared as commodities in the higher levels of Russian society, they also contributed to the prestige of the Russian state. Peter the First had a political purpose behind the collection, display and imitation of Chinese art objects in Russian palaces, as these practices demonstrated the growing wealth and power of newly established Russian Empire, which enjoyed trade connections with the Qing Empire. While contemporary perceptions of China in Russia were derived mostly by the exotic images of export art, ethnographic collections of genuine Chinese utensils, which were founded during that period, also contributed to Russian views of China. This research uses a comprehensive methodology, combining studies of material objects preserved in Russian museums and written sources, including archival records.     

The Neurophysiological Aspects of Pavlov’s Theory of Higher Nervous Activity: In Honor of the 150th Anniversary of Pavlov’s Birth

Whereas Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936) is well-known for his work on classical conditioning, his contribution to neuroscience, particularly his interest in the function of neural centers in the central nervous system, is not as widely known. During the last three decades of his life, Pavlov explored cortical processes by salivary reflex conditioning, a method he used to develop his theory of higher nervous activity. This theory outlined the function of the brain in higher organisms in their interaction with the changing environmental contingencies. As early as 1908, Pavlov outlined a neurophysiological theory as the physiological basis of his theory of higher nervous activity. He maintained that the neural processes of excitation and inhibition irradiate and concentrate among the cortical neural centers. Most of all, he emphasized the plasticity of the cortex in higher organisms’ in the Darwinian struggle for existence.     

Birds in the medieval culture and economy of the East Slavs in the 10–13th centuries AD

The paper is devoted to a re-examination of the bird remains from the numerous East Slavic settlements (10–13th centuries AD). Species diversity suggests that medieval people in the Eastern Europe used birds for food, falconry, in ritual and, possibly, for aviary specimens and pets. Furthermore, bird feathers were used for preparing arrows. The most popular bird of prey was goshawk. Primary game birds were ducks, geese, swans, common crane and corvids along with black grouse and capercaillie in forest zones. The archaeological data present evidence for the use of wild birds (e.g., hooded crow) in funeral ceremonies for the first time. The majority of the identified birds have not changed their distribution, but in recent times some of these taxa have become rarer. Red-breasted goose is now extant in the area but its remains were found in the medieval layers, although this species could have been an occasional visitor in the Ukraine. Archaeological data and historical sources prove that white stork has lived in the territory of Ukraine since the Middle Ages or even earlier. The most common domestic poultry for the East Slavs was chicken. Domestic ducks and geese were much rarer. Historical documents were also consulted in this study and these also contribute to our understanding of the role of birds in the life of the East Slavs.     

“Eastern” ornaments of the 11th‐13th centuries in the Sami areas: Origins and routes

Ornaments of east‐European origin found at Viking Age and Early Medieval sites in northern Scandinavia have been analysed by many Scandinavian scholars. In the Scandinavian context, the presence of these import items has given rise to many theories concerning inter‐ethnic relations and the function of these ornaments as markers of ethnicity. In this paper, the Soviet scholar N. A. Makarov offers an analyses of where these “eastern” ornaments could have been produced and what their distribution patterns in these areas may reveal about the origins of and contact routes between various peoples.