History and Anthropology: A Dialogue

Abstract

Mainstream geographical information systems techniques and packaged geographical information systems software are often inappropriate in historical contexts because they use geographical coordinates as a framework around which all other information is organized as “attribute data,” whereas in history locations are often the least certain part of our knowledge. A new and general architecture for documenting administrative units and organizing historical statistics is detailed, which prioritizes named entities and explicit semantic relationships such as “IsPartOf,” while holding coordinate data where available. This architecture is easily aligned with the recent development of geo-semantics by information scientists, meeting the formal requirements for a geo-spatial ontology, but was originally developed to enable the systematic computerization of traditional historical reference works, notably Frederick Youngs’ Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England.     

Archaeology and Development: A Difficult Dialogue

Archaeology and development are considered here from the point of view of the relevance of archaeological results to the problems of development, those being mainly questions of identity in this case. The weight of archaeological contribution is emphasized, as well as the basic problem caused by the association of the peoples' conceptions of their own history with the definitions provided by archaeology. In effect, here are two kinds of knowledge different by constitution: one scientific, the other not. This unavoidable fact, whether it occurs in historical syntheses or in ideological manipulations, must be taken into account by pluridisciplinary research.     

Bioarchaeology and Kinship: Integrating Theory,Social Relatedness,and Biology in Ancient Family Research

Theoretical developments in sociocultural anthropology have transformed the study of kinship. Here, we review these theoretical developments, consider their influence on bioarchaeological kinship research, and propose an alternative framework for studying relatedness in antiquity. We find that broader, more flexible conceptions of relatedness have grown increasingly prevalent in 21st-century bioarchaeology, but kinship research largely continues to emphasize methodological improvement and identification of biological kin in archaeological contexts. By approaching kinship as a multiscalar dimension of social identity, bioarchaeologists can leverage complex conceptions of relatedness with diverse types of data to gain nuanced perspectives on family-based social organization in the past.     

World-Systems Analysis and Archaeology: Continuing the Dialogue

Many archaeologists have used world-systems analysis in precapitalist settings. Some have criticized it; others have dismissed it out of hand. Critiques include that it was developed for the “modern” world, that it is overly economistic, that it neglects individual actors, and that it inappropriately uses modern analyses in ancient settings. Although there is some validity to these charges when applied to Wallerstein’s original formulation, most are misdirected. The critiques are rooted in inattention to the last three decades of work on world-systems, especially modifications made with the explicit intention to make world-systems analysis useful in precapitalist settings. Newer comparative versions of world-systems analysis were initially developed to better understand the evolution of world-systems that gave rise to the modern world-system. These new advances are useful for the study of interregional interactions and long-term development. Archaeologists are well placed to contribute to the further development of world-systems analysis; they can shed light on ancient world-systemic processes and the origins of the modern world-system, provide empirical backing for hypotheses, and raise new theoretical and empirical questions.     

从闽台动物化石看两岸亲缘关系

祖国大陆与台湾的历史关系可追溯到人类历史的早期阶段——旧石器时代,从对闽台鹿角化石的考古研究,发现4万年前台湾海峡已有古人类活动的遗迹,而闽南东山岛就是古代连接两岸的一个桥梁。     

古代埃及的档案

公元前4000年代,古埃及人在尼罗河流域创造了光辉灿烂的化,发明了象形字,产生了用字记载下来的各种献记录,形成了埃及奴隶制国家最早的档案。古代埃及档案献的种类齐全,内容丰富。并设有专门的档案保管库,充分为埃及法老政府所利用,促进了古代埃及的化、艺术和科学技术的发展。     

浅谈生物塑化技术在考古学和人类学中的应用

虽然现在将生物塑化技术普及到文物资料保存工作当中的难度还很大,但这种技术在考古学和人类学领域的应用将具有广阔的前景。     

Some Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Predynastic Egypt

The traditional explanation of the origin of Egypt credits the legendary Menes with founding the state through the conquest of the Delta region, but this is more of a political legend than explanation. Anthropological archaeologists and Egyptologists are bringing new methods and questions to their search for an adequate explanation for the development of one of the world's first territorial states. Early investigations of cemetery sites in Upper Egypt and settlements in the Delta have been supplemented by the excavation of more Upper Egyptian settlement sites, while cemeteries and other important settlements are now being uncovered in the Delta. Three trends are particularly important for the development of social complexity in ancient Egypt: (1) a growing appreciation of regional differences in Predynastic culture; (2) chronological refinements; and (3) an emphasis on group social and political developments, and trade. A consensus appears to be developing that stresses the gradual development of complex society in Egypt, in which a number of small polities coalesced into three or four larger entities during the late Predynastic, followed by the assimilation of the northwestern Delta by the Thinite rulers. The effort to control trade with the southern Levant and Mesopotamia seems to have encouraged expansion of Upper Egyptian cultural and political influence northward.     

Kinship and Networking in a Quaker Family in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Recently there has been much publicity about problems caused in society by family breakdown and the distressing lack of citizenship, particularly among young people. Older generations usually remember the past as better and regret how things have changed. There is, however, a consensus amongst social historians that the romantic view of families in the past being large, loving and supportive is a myth exploded by empirical and statistical evidence. By contrast, this study of kinship and networking in a West Country Quaker family in the nineteenth-century illustrates the family's effectiveness in creating responsible family members and good citizens. The article discusses how kinship originated, strengthened and underpinned their achievements and how its importance faded over time.     

古DNA分析技术在考古学研究中的应用

保留在古代生物遗骸中的遗传物质DNA是一种重要的遗传学资源,古DNA分析技术在考古学中的成功运用已成为一个新兴的考古学研究领域,将现代分子生物学技术应用于考古学的研究中而形成的一个新兴的分支学科——分子考古学,即指利用分子生物学研究技术,对出土的古代可研究对象进行分子水平的分析和研究。分子考古学在解决人类的起源与迁徙、动植物的家养和驯化过程、及农业的起源和早期发展等重大考古学问题上都具有重要的意义。本文时古DNA分析技术及其在考古学上的应用进行了综合论述,特别是对吉林大学边疆考古研究中心考古DNA实验室在近年来所取得的新进展做了系统的回顾和总结,以期为考古学和人类学的研究提供有益的参考     

Trade and Power in Ancient Egypt: Middle Egypt in the Late Third/Early Second Millennium BC

Middle Egypt provides a unique insight into the organization of power, politics, economy, and culture at the turn of the third millennium BC. The apparently easy integration of this region into the reunified monarchy of king Mentuhotep II (2055–2004 BC) was possible because the interests and the local lineages of potentates were preserved. Trade and access and/or control of international exchange networks were important sources of wealth and power then. And Middle Egypt appears as a crossroads of diverse populations, as a hub of political and economic power, as a crucial node of exchanges through the Nile Valley, and as a power center whose rulers provided support to the monarchy in exchange of local autonomy and considerable political influence at the Court. In the new conditions of early second millennium, potentates from Middle Egypt succeeded in occupying a unique advantageous position, not matched elsewhere in Egypt, because of the concentration of wealth, trade routes, new technologies, political power, and autonomy in the territories they ruled.