Rehabilitating the Spirituality of Pre‐Islamic Arabia: On the Importance of the Kahin,the Jinn,and the Tribal Ancestral Cult

This article brings into focus the misunderstood and oft‐ignored pre‐Islamic spirituality of, primarily, the Hejaz and their religious leaders, the kahins, often uncharitably translated as soothsayers. A combination of factors has limited discussion of pre‐Islamic religion, including the persistent rejection by Muslims of pre‐Islamic history as a time of ignorance (jahiliyyah) and a Judaeo‐Christian bias in Western scholarship. From the perspectives of anthropology and comparative religion, certain conclusions about pre‐Islamic spirituality can be derived. Most important among these is that the pre‐Islamic Arabs engaged in clearly religious practices revolving around the importance of the tribe and its members, living and dead. This article will hopefully spark a renewed interest in the study of the spirituality and religion of the pre‐Islamic Arabs.     

文化认同理论下的伊斯兰文化与全球化——阿拉伯学者的学术视野与理论路径

面对全球化的挑战,阿拉伯—伊斯兰文化认同的核心内涵正在经历着一系列重新定义的任务,命题的多重性导致观点的多样化。在西方前所未有的优势和汹涌澎湃的全球化浪潮面前,阿拉伯—伊斯兰世界日益担心自身的文化认同困境以及文化自主特性阿拉伯学者认为全球化确实是一种挑战,这种挑战认知并不是相同的,而是多元主义的。阿拉伯学者从不同角度开出应对良方,包括排斥全球化、应对全球化、捍卫全球化以及敌视全球化,以伸张阿拉伯—伊斯兰文化。阿拉伯学者对全球化的不同视角说明阿拉伯世界的思想、社会与文化的多元化,对全球化的多元认知有其历史与现实的影响元素。而对阿拉伯—伊斯兰文化参与全球化而言,全球化不可能被全部接受也不能全部抛弃,接受其的态度可以称为“积极中立“的方式。     

The Evolution of Pre‐Islamic South Arabian Coinage: A Metallurgical Analysis of Coins Excavated In Sumhuram (Khor‐Rori,Sultanate of Oman)

The present paper deals with compositional and microstructural features of 26 pre‐Islamic, South Arabian coins recently unearthed during archaeological excavations. Most of the investigated coins come from Sumhuram (Khor Rori, southern Oman), and were minted by the Hadramawt kingdom (fourth century bc to third century ad ); only a few of them belong to the Himyarite kingdom's coinage (first to fourth centuries ad ). In addition, some coins of both the Hadramawt and the Himyarite kingdoms found at Qani' (B'ir ‘Ali, Republic of Yemen) have been analysed for comparison. Our main focus was to provide new hints towards the comprehension of the chronological evolution in South Arabian coinage in terms of both metal composition and minting techniques. In addition, some melting crucibles found at Sumhuram have been examined in an attempt to make a comparison with the coins’ composition and to test the hypothesis that they were used for minting operations.     

The Invention of History: The Pre‐History of a Concept from Homer to Herodotus

The following pages, which deal with the pre‐history of the concept of history from Homer to Herodotus, first propose to decenter and historicize the Greek experience. After briefly presenting earlier and different experiences, they focus on three figures: the soothsayer, the bard, and the historian. Starting from a series of Mesopotamian oracles (known as “historical oracles” because they make use in the apodosis of the perfect and not the future tense), they question the relations between divination and history, conceived as two, certainly different, sciences of the past, but which share the same intellectual space in the hands of the same specialists. The Greek choices were different. Their historiography presupposes the epic, which played the role of a generative matrix. Herodotus wished to rival Homer; what he ultimately became was Herodotus. Writing dominates; prose replaces verse; the Muse, who sees and knows everything, is no longer around. So I would suggest understanding the emblematic word “historia” as a subsititute, which operates as an analogue of the (previous) omnivision of the Muse. But before that, Herodotean “invention”— the meeting of Odysseus and the bard Demodocus, where for the first time the fall of Troy is told—can be seen as the beginning, poetically speaking at least, of the category of history.     

Chemical and Petrographic Analysis of Pre‐Hispanic Pottery from the Southern Abaucán Valley,Catamarca, Argentina

Neutron activation (NAA) and petrographic analyses were carried out on Late and Inca Period pottery from 15 archaeological sites and several clay samples in the southern Abaucán Valley, Catamarca, Argentina. The results from the NAA and petrographic analyses provide new data concerning local versus non‐local pottery production and vessel exchange for these two pre‐Hispanic cultural periods. The chemical data demonstrate the use of different clay sources over time until the Inca appearance in the region, when a more structured and controlled production is observed. Petrographic analyses show a similar change in the ceramic paste recipes used by ancient potters.