1. CONSTRUCTING A SELECTIONIST PARADIGM

In his latest contribution to the application of Darwinian evolutionary thinking to the social sciences, W. G. Runciman conceives of human behavior as resulting from three levels of selection—biological, cultural, and social. These give rise, respectively, to evoked, acquired, and imposed patterns of behavior. The biological level is hardly controversial, but to draw a distinction between separate cultural and social selective processes is more problematic. Runciman takes memes to be the variants competitively selected at the cultural level and the practices constituting rule‐governed roles to be the variants competitively selected at the social level—thus preserving separate spheres of research for anthropology and sociology. It is not clear, however, what drives cultural and social evolution. Nor are the three levels theoretically well integrated. The book's strength lies in the numerous examples provided of how the application of selectionist theory illuminates and enriches sociological and historical explanations and contributes to the construction of historical narrative.     

Sociobiology and human nature

Abstract

One of the main theses of sociobiology is that between human beings and the so called 'social' animals there are no qualitative differences, and it is for this reason that it is possible to identify in human beings and social animals essentially similar behaviours, all of which are genetically determined. Sociobiologists often take this idea as a basis for the belief that there exists in the universe an ontological unity that can be understood by means of the scientific empirical method. In this sense, sociobiologists attempt to build a model of human nature in which the fundamental goal of all human action is biological survival, to be understood in terms of the preservation and transmission of genes. In this paper I present a critical approach to these sociobiological theses. Employing a dialectical method, I start from the idea that human beings are qualitatively different from the social animals. Without denying their biological foundations, I affirm that human behavioural characteristics should be understood as products of historical–cultural relations. Even phenomena considered to be the most basic and essential for biological survival, for example diet, rest, and sexuality, possess a fundamental cultural character in which biological survival does not necessarily play an important role. The same can be said of human attitudes towards death and pain. Sociobiology underestimates this historical–cultural dimension of human existence and, despite being a discipline grounded in the theory of evolution, it takes for granted a series of essential principles as unchangeable realities. In this way sociobiology produces an ideological discourse on human nature, a false representation of the world which can be of great utility for legitimising many oppressive and discriminatory practices.     

历史文化街区的空间特性

历史文化街区是个极具"空间特性"的场所,它以历史文化氛围为其最丰富的特质,显现出物质性与非物质性的多层内在价值,并通过一系列现代商业业态的调整、分布,形成了独特的历史感与场所感,在体现城市文化多样性,延续城市文脉方面具有重要作用。本文以历史文化街区的空间特性与其场所精神之间的关系为理解街区及城市空间意识形态的脉络,从街区具有的同构历史感与地域性、复兴市井文化、构建与折射社会关系等几个空间特性出发,试图论证不论是在物质性的环境空间层面还是关系性的社会空间层面,历史文化街区都在其特有的历史文化空间氛围中积极创造着丰富的文脉意义,从而具有了场所精神。     

The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and the Study of Culture Change

The macroevolutionary approach in archaeology represents the most recent example in a long tradition of applying principles of biological evolution to the study of culture change. Archaeologists working within this paradigm see macroevolutionary theory as an effective response to the shortcomings of neo-Darwinian biological evolution for studying cultural evolution. Rather than operating at the level of individual traits, macroevolutionary archaeologists emphasize the role of hierarchical processes in culture change. While neo-Darwinian archaeologists disavow any element of human intent in culture change, to macroevolutionary archaeologists human agency is a key component of cultural evolution that allows cultures to respond to pressures more quickly and with greater degree of flexibility and directedness than found in biological evolution. Major culture change, when it happens, is likely to be rapid, even revolutionary, with periods of rapid change separated by periods of relative stasis of actively maintained stability. The emergence of Neolithic cultures has long been recognized as one of two periods of major revolutionary culture change in human prehistory. Here I examine the record for the Near East, tracing the empirical record for the origin of agriculture in this region, as well as other demographic, social, and ideological components of Neolithic emergence. While the empirical record from the Near East subscribes in a general way to basic principles of macroevolutionary theory, cultural evolution cannot be understood through appeal to principles of biological evolution alone, whether based in macroevolutionary theory or neo-Darwinianism. Instead, the key role of human agency in culture change distinguishes cultural evolution from biological evolution and requires a more pluralistic and less doctrinaire appeal to multiple models of change based in both the biological and social sciences.     

试论中国历史文化名城的创建与保护——以山东省泰安市为例

从长远看,创建与保护中国历史文化名城对保护城市风貌、延续城市文化以及发展城市经济都具有重要意义。本文对中国历史文化名城的创建和保护中的几个关系问题进行了阐述探讨,提出历史文化名城的发展必须在保护的基础上发展;发展旅游业必须处理好文物古迹保护和利用之间的关系;城市的建设和发展必须克服长官意志,注重长远利益和整体利益,保护好城市中的文物古迹和历史文化氛围。本文还针对山东省泰安市创建中国历史文化名城过程中的问题和对策进行了剖析。     

Integrating natural and cultural heritage: the advantage of feng shui landscape resources

Human activities interact with natural processes to produce landscapes. Cultural and natural phenomena sit side by side in the feng shui woods beside villages in the New Territories, but their continued existence is threatened by urbanisation. To highlight the value of these natural resources, three feng shui woods and villages located in the New Territories of Hong Kong were selected for investigation. The study examined their sociocultural, ecological and botanical characteristics. Investigations and interviews with local residents confirmed that the feng shui woods are: (1) regarded as cultural heritage because they bear testimony to a cultural tradition being revered by local people along the principles of geomancy; (2) an example of traditional human settlement that dates back several hundred years; and (3) characterised by historical continuity devoid of accelerated development. Similarly, they represent a natural heritage as they: (1) represent ongoing ecological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial ecosystem communities; and (2) contain important and significant natural habitats that can be used for education, environmental awareness, conservation of biological diversity as well as serve as destinations for ecotourists and nature appreciation.     

我国人文地理学研究的若干基本意识问题

自1980年代复兴以后的近三十年来,我国人文地理学研究和教学取得了可喜的成绩,但参照国际人文地理学的发展以及我国其他领域改革的深入和推进,存在的问题也日益明显,突出表现在五种意识的不足或缺乏。这使我们在服务国家经济建设方面作出令人注目的成绩的同时,未能对世界人文地理学发展作出我们应有的贡献。亟待反思,找到问题之所在以及通向世界学术殿堂的"桥梁",以便"重新出发"。在恪守学术规范的基础上,增强学术史和与同行对话的意识、以问题和理论为导向,立足本土,加强人文地理研究的理论化,作出原创性的发现,是我国人文地理学者面临的一项艰巨任务。     

正视·总结·继承·发展——2007年高教版《中国近现代史纲要》的理论特色

2007年高等教育出版社出版的《中国近现代史纲要》具有鲜明的文化发展意识、民族发展意识、史学批评意识、历史总结意识和自觉的会通意识等特点。该书的面世不仅有助于推动高校学生思想政治教育的深入和历史教育的进一步发展,而且还在一定意义上体现出当代中国马克思主义史学的理论意义和发展趋势,可以看作是中国马克思主义史学工作者进入21世纪后对中国近现代史的最新研究和解读。     

文化遗址与方言——以方言考证陕西古址为例

陕西,是中华民族的发源地之一。独特的地理环境造就了古老灿烂的三秦文化,这里的文物古迹比比皆是。从人类文化的另一个重要组成部分--语言方面来看,陕西方言源渊流长、保留很多古语成分是其一大特点?因而陕西方言可以为考证古文化环境、文化发展、演变以及扩散等提供确切而丰富的资料。本文列举用方言考证古迹数例,作为这方面的初步尝试。     

A new synthesis: Resituating approaches to the evolution of human behaviour

Most anthropologists would agree that humans are simultaneously historical, biological, behavioral, and social. However, many researchers retain a relatively dualistic paradigm dividing anthropological questions into biological and/or social aspects. Many practitioners of Neo-Darwinian perspectives prioritize natural selection in all explanations of human evolution. Many other anthropologists refuse to acknowledge a significant role for biological features and biological histories in human action, sensation, and engagement. Both perspectives are misplaced. Incorporating emerging perspectives in evolutionary theory into the broader anthropological discourse may help discard simplistic dualisms and resituate our assessments of the evolution of human behavior. In this essay I review three major emergent themes in evolutionary theory; Multi-Inheritance Systems Theory, Developmental Systems Theory, and Niche Construction. I suggest, with one brief example, that placing these elements in transaction with other perspectives in anthropology might enhance the possibilities of assessing human evolution and behavior.     

2. ONCE AGAIN,WITH MORE FEELING

This book summarizes in a compact volume Runciman's arguments to comparative sociologists that their discipline belongs under the theoretical umbrella of neo‐Darwinian selectionism. In his view, heritable variation and competitive selection govern cultural and social as well as biological evolution. Runciman makes a strong case for the usefulness of selectionism, but two of the theory's central features are problematic: his choice of units of selection; and the notion that culture can be distinguished from society historically as well as analytically. No one friendly to the basic project would argue against the need for hypotheses about units that undergo selection, but arguments can be made, also on pragmatic grounds, that he has chosen the wrong kinds of units. Runciman's learning and wisdom show to good effect in the book's fundamental approach: in the overall human story, the biological, cultural, and social coevolve. The quickly accumulating evidence of evolutionary psychology, anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience strongly supports the hypothesis that there is a biological basis for a great deal of human behavior, and also that sociocultural evolution modifies genes. History, in this way of thinking, is like a “braided stream” of unpredictably mutating, blending, and coevolving biological, cultural, and social processes. The old Darwinian image of branching fails to capture the complexity of evolutionary processes in biology, culture, and society. Runciman outlines a unified bio‐social science relying upon information theory. If his program were carried out consistently it would relegate to a non‐scientific level the traditional historical narratives about “carriers” or “vehicles”. The scientific‐explanatory level would instead feature replicators. Gametheory strategies play a prominent role in the selectionist picture. The emphasis on units of information stored in human brains or in exosomatic brain prostheses pushes neuroscience and information theory to the fore. An argument for the analytic‐heuristic value of “memes” and “practices” should be weighed against the value of other hypothetical units undergoing selection in a sociocultural evolutionary approach.     

Nietzsche as Deep Historian

The recent biocultural turn in evolutionary and neurological research suggests that prior efforts to combine historical and biological thinking, often dismissed as crude biological determinism, warrant a second look. In this essay, I show how a number of Nietzsche’s main ideas about historiography anticipate these developments. Nietzsche insisted that the study of history could assimilate the natural sciences by overcoming fixed disciplinary assumptions about when history begins, thereby extending the historical timeline deep into our species’ past. He also described the ongoing transformations in human mental structure that have been generated through the complex historical interaction of human biology and culture. Nietzsche viewed this interaction as crucial to understanding historical phenomena such as the power of religious organization and ritual, the emergence of democratic egalitarianism, and the formation of entrenched social hierarchies.     

殷墟小屯宫殿宗庙区甲组夯土基址的处理与加固保护

田野考古发掘的夯土建筑基址是文化遗产的重要组成部分,也是近年来文物保护领域的重点研究对象之一。殷墟宫殿区内发掘的夯土建筑,作为一种特殊历史文物,是见证人类社会发展的重要实物。保护和利用好现有的遗址,有着十分重要的历史意义和现实意义。根据保护土质文物的原则和要求,经过针对相关样品的分析测试,在取得一定经验的基础上,使用土质文物加固剂对建筑基址进行了全面的处理和保护。     

Cultural evolution: a basic concept for human and historical geography

The concept of cultural evolution profoundly affected the objectives and methods employed in the social sciences in the earlier part of this century but it has largely been ignored by geographers. In recent years a number of American cultural anthropologists have re-examined the concept of cultural evolution, including Sahlins and Service, who consider that cultural evolution is analogous to biological evolution involving the diversification of cultural forms through adaptive modification and the progress of culture through successive levels of development. They have called these two processes specific evolution and general evolution respectively and from these two perspectives on cultural evolution they have developed the Law of Cultural Dominance. Certain operational problems exist in the application of the concept of cultural evolution, but once they have been surmounted it promises to constitute a valuable mode of explanation in the analysis of cultures and cultural change.     

The Cognitive Function of Music. Part II

Abstract

Ancient and contemporary theories of the cognitive functions of music are reviewed and compared with the hypothesis (advanced in Part I) that music performs a fundamental cognitive function, helping to maintain psychic balance in the face of the diversity of the world. Considering historical evidence of the evolution of cultures and consciousness, a parallel evolution of music as a powerful and unifying emotional mechanism is demonstrated and recent cognitive experiments that have confirmed this hypothesis are summarized. The neural mechanisms of music include mental representations which unify the entire life experience. It follows that music is fundamental in making human evolution possible. The human mind and our human cultures would not exist as they do today without music. Future theoretical and experimental research directions are outlined.     

Evolutionary approaches in archaeology

Two evolutionary approaches in contemporary archaeology, selectionism and processualism, are compared in terms of their theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and empirical contributions. Selectionism is a tightly focused approach that aims to apply a strict Darwinian framework to the study of cultural evolution. The selectionists view cultural evolution as a shift in the relative frequencies of cultural traits; the evolutionary mechanism that brings this about entails undirected variation followed by selection in a manner analogous to biological evolution. Processualism is a more flexible approach that acknowledges the importance of variation and selection but employs these concepts in a broader framework that recognizes fundamental differences between cultural and biological evolution. Among them are the central roles played by directed variation and the hierarchical operation of selection in cultural evolution. As we enter the late 1990s, the selectionists appear comfortably ascendant while the processualists often seem in disarray—they appear less confident, more embattled, more internally diverse. This diversity and dynamism, however, may harbor great potential for further growth and development. It is suggested that processualism's ongoing ferment will spawn the evolutionary archaeology of the future.     

中国历史地理学的回顾与前瞻

中国历史地理学是一门既古老而又年轻的科学,是研究历史时期我国地理现象和人地关系的科学。这是近几十年来治此学的学人经过历时长久的论证,与历来的沿革地理学不同,沿革地理学只是中国历史地理学中历史人文地理的一个部分,不能以一个部分代替全面。中国历史地理学是一门有用于世的学科,当前国家的建设事业,多与此学有关,深望治此学人共同努力,多所建树,无负于时代的使命。     

新史学:历史学者的永恒追求 --并以此纪念《史学月刊》创刊300期

作为史学发展进程中一种带有规律性的史学现象的新史学,是历史学发展的内在要求和历史学者的永恒追求。史学史表明,历史学的发展历程,在本质上就是一个一代一代的历史学者在传承既有史学文化遗产的基础上追求新史学的永无止境的过程。历史学者对新史学的追求,是历史学者史家主体意识的鲜明而集中的体现。历史学者所追求的新史学,虽有明确的方向性,但一般只是一个模糊的轮廓。正是通过、并且正是在历史学者对新史学孜孜不倦的永恒追求中,史学不断实现着对自身的超越。     

‘Our irrepressible fellow-colonist’: the biological invasion of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) in the Eastern Cape c.1890–c.1910

The paper provides an analysis of the spread of the alien prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) through the Eastern divisions of the Cape Colony in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It argues that biological invasions are historical processes whose trajectories are crucially shaped by the diverse and shifting cultural values attached to the invader by the invaded human society. Prickly pear underwent a gradual transformation from utility to weed as it traversed space (west to east) and time (seventeenth to nineteenth centuries), entering new natural (Karoo for Mediterranean) and economic (market for subsistence) environments more conducive to its rapid spread. Even then its definition as ‘evil’ reflected class and regional biases not shared by either the rural poor of the Eastern Cape (whether black and white) or commercial stock farmers above and west of the Winterberg–Amatola line who prized and frequently cultivated the plant for subsistence and fodder. This division and widespread non-compliance blunted official extermination efforts and left the matter unresolved by the end of the colonial period. A cultural explanation of the prickly pear invasion is contrasted with both purely biological explanations and the tendency of environmental historians to reduce such events to environmental epiphenomenon of capitalism.     

文化生态保护区建设的时间性和空间性研究

文化生态保护区建设是基于非物质文化遗产整体性特征,借鉴吸收西方文化生态学的理论,根据中国具体国情而实施的一项重要文化工程。对文化生态保护区建设的时间性和空间性予以综合探讨,既关乎学理,也是一个重要的现实实践问题。从时间性上来说,应尊重区域历史文化发展脉络、贴近民众当下生活,在当代生活时间中维护传统的连续性;从空间性上而言,应基于文化空间的完整性、行政管理的有效性而划定合理边界,并鼓励在维护文化特色的同时促进交流互鉴。文化生态保护的核心是人,文化生态保护区通过建设历史文化底蕴深厚、特色鲜明的自然人文空间,实现人与自然、人与社会、人与历史、人与自身关系的构建。