History as Sacrifice: The Polynesian Iconoclasm

ABSTRACT The Polynesian iconoclasm comprised a series of destructive episodes in which god‐images were rendered powerless and temples and associated structures were successively burned or torn down in Eastern Polynesia. Beginning in Tahiti and neighbouring Mo'orea in 1815, it spread rapidly to other Society Islands, the Austral Islands and the Southern Cook Islands. In this article I suggest that the willingness of Polynesian leaders to follow Tahitian precedence in destroying or unwrapping their god images can be partially explained by the fact that they saw themselves as participants in a large‐scale sacrifice, the common objective of which was the acquisition of greater mana and the consequent revitalisation of their societies. In making this argument I engage with anthropological theories that address relationships between sacrifice and historical transformation. I conclude by proposing that the Polynesian iconoclasm was a form of rituopraxis comprising regionally specific improvisations upon a general ritual schema.     

Thorium-230 coral chronology of a late prehistoric Hawaiian chiefdom

Documenting the history of settlement in Hawaii during the last few centuries before European contact, is crucial to charting the evolution of the most complex chiefdom in Polynesia. It is precisely this period that Hawaii, and many Polynesian societies, underwent their most rapid changes in political, economic and social organisation. The last ∼500 to 300 years in the ¹⁴C calibration curve is problematic with wide fluctuations often rendering large age spans that do not precisely date single events, especially troubling with a culture-historical record of ∼1000 years duration. Here we present an extremely high precision ²³⁰Th chronology for archaeologically constrained coral samples from a range of occupancy sites. Our high precision dates allow the time of site use to be clearly demonstrated. They also provide the first dates for habitation sites in Hawaii that clearly show contemporaneous occupation—the major problem in settlement pattern archaeology. We demonstrate that two sites were occupied within the same year. Our refined chronology, provides new and exciting opportunities for tracking sociopolitical and economic developments during the last few centuries—the crucial period in the evolution and transformation of Polynesian societies.     

迈克尔·曼的社会权力史及权力史观述评

迈克尔·曼是第三代历史社会学家中的杰出代表。他的社会权力史别出心裁、匠心独具 ,理论上讲是马克思·韦伯“社会理想型”研究方法的延续。曼的社会权力史涵括整个人类史 ,其解释力强、角度新颖、理论性强。但是 ,其权力史仍是欧洲中心主义的 ,并且在其中 ,作为历史组成部分的个人消失了。     

The evolution of sociopolitical complexity in prehistoric Hawaii: An assessment of the archaeological evidence

The sociopolitical system of late prehistoric Hawaii was among the most complex of any Oceanic chiefdom, as indexed by such characteristics as scale, rate of energy extraction, degree of functional specialization, and political hierarchy. Various anthropologists and archaeologists have advanced models of how this complex sociopolitical system developed out of an earlier Ancestral Polynesian society. Recent advances in Hawaiian archaeology have now begun to provide a wealth of data on the course of prehistoric change in the archipelago over some 1500 years and, thus, provide evidence which can be used to test alternative models of the evolution of sociopolitical complexity. This paper reviews the major alternative models that have been put forward and provides a synopsis of the archaeological evidence relevant to their testing.     

The Aftermath of the Fifteen in the North of England

Abstract

The Jacobite rebellion of 1715 in England came to an end with the Jacobite surrender at Preston on 14 November 1715. Activity in the North of England pertaining to the rebellion, especially in Lancashire, continued for the next two years. Of major concern was the disposal of over a thousand prisoners, mainly through transportation, though there were some executions. The remaining prisoners were released in 1717. This was not, though, another 'Bloody Assize'. Whigs rejoiced, and some were rewarded, but not all. Jacobite activity continued, albeit at a verbal level, even gaining some recruits. Catholics suffered by being harassed by the soldiery and some fled the North.     

李闻惨案之善后

1946年7月发生在昆明的李闻惨案,是战后中国政治史上一个影响十分广泛的事件。这一惨案出现在全面内战一触即发的前夕,遭到暗杀的李公朴、闻一多均为推动国共和谈的中国第三大政党中国民主同盟的中央委员,加之他们惨死于同城,相隔仅仅三天,因而立即引起国内外的强烈反应。多年来,无论大陆还是台湾,在回顾国民党丧失大陆政权的原因时,都不约而同地认为这一事件是国民党失去人心的一个重要标志。李闻惨案已过去65年,但围绕这一事件的性质、责任、处置等方面表现的矛盾与展开的角逐,还有不少有待深入探讨的空间。如惨案初期关于事件性质的论争,即反映了不同政治势力立足于各自立场对这一事件的基本判断;惨案制造者的抵赖与歪曲,则凸现了不同力量在责任追究问题上的博弈;而国内外的强烈舆论以及美国政府的介入,也一定程度上影响美国援华政策的实施;至于蒋介石处置该事件方针的形成和执行,同样表现了战后中国政治受不同因素制约的复杂与交错。对于这些目前研究相对薄弱的问题进行梳理和考察,显然有助于进一步理解李闻惨案为什么会给国民党统治造成难以弥补的创伤,也有助于了解和把握各种矛盾在战后中国政治转型中的作用与演变。     

Sheffield Castle and The Aftermath of The English Civil War

The demolition of castles following the English Civil War is often seen as an inevitable consequence of the conflict, with their slighting often being ascribed to a need to prevent further bloodshed and punish the ruling elite. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the destruction of elite buildings during this period was far from straightforward, and this complexity is reflected in the methodology employed to damage them. At Sheffield, so extensive was this damage that, less than a century later, not a trace remained of what had once been one of the largest castles in South Yorkshire. Whilst little remains of the building itself, the rare survival of a set of demolition accounts, alongside a large number of other sources including personal correspondence, estate rentals and town records, means it is possible to explore in great detail the circumstances of the castle’s slighting. Through these a far more nuanced picture of civil conflict emerges with the castle’s destruction taking place within a complicated dialogue between the Lord of the Manor, Parliament’s officials and the inhabitants of Sheffield themselves.     

Theory and the history of cartography

Abstract

Cartographic history has been dominated by an empiricism that treats the nature of maps as self‐evident and which denies the presence of any theory. In contrast, this paper argues that theories lie at the root of all empirical study whether or not they are acknowledged. The linear, progressive model of cartographic development, for example, is not a law deduced from historical evidence; if it were it would be easily and quickly dismissed. It derives instead from our cultural beliefs concerning the nature of maps, which is to say from our unexamined theories. Historians of cartography need to be critical of their assumptions and preconceptions. Theoretical discussions in the history of cartography must address not whether we should use theory at all but to which theories we should adhere. It is inadequate simply to knock theories down. We must establish a debate in which old understandings of maps, of their creation, and of their use are replaced by better (that is, more consistent and coherent) theories.     

The Fordwich Stone and its Legend

Abstract

The ubiquitous use of the Latin word ‘sedilia’ to refer to the ritual seats to the south of an altar for the use of the celebrant priest and his assistants has led to the notion that it is an authentic medieval term. This paper shows the results of a survey of documentary references to seats of all kinds in medieval England, and demonstrates that in the medieval period the word sedilia was of no especial distinction, meaning merely ‘bench’, only gaining its current meaning in the late 18th century. The word was used along with a variety of others to refer to now lost seating in medieval churches, including benches and individual chairs in the chancel as well as seating in the nave. This piece will make some suggestions for the distinctions made in the terminology in medieval documents regarding the different types of seating in churches. To avoid confusion, the word ‘sedilia’ is italicised when it refers to medieval use of the Latin word, but not when it refers to the modern definition.     

论党组织中权力与权利的关系

政党组织中权力与权利不同于一般意义上的权力与权利,因此＂权力本位论＂虽不足取,但也不能将＂权利本位论＂简单地套用于政党组织。不过,为了有效制约党组织中的权力,防止权力的异化和滥用,必须保持权力与权利的基本平衡。为此,中国共产党自成立以来,不断调整权力与权利的关系,但由于观念和制度等方面的原因,目前仍存在着一些不平衡,且造成了多方面的负面影响,因此必须解放思想,创新制度,逐步降低权力重心,以不断优化党内权力结构。     

被建构的历史:当代贵州地方志中的南明史叙述

在历史的建构中,人的思维与意志占据着重要位置。通过对历史进行建构,今人将自己的意识写进历史之中。当代贵州地方志中对南明史的叙述,恰恰正是历史与建构之间的一种复杂反映。编撰者在编写南明史时其实就是对贵州安龙的南明史进行重构,从某种程度上说,被建构了的历史已经不完全是原来意义上的历史,字里行间,历史建构者的褒贬之意、好恶之感贯穿历史的始终,溢于言表,袒露无遗。     

Libya and the International System: Retracing the Aftermath of the Lockerbie Bombing

The defining moment of Libya's relationship with the United States during the last decade of the 20th century was the 1991 implication of Libya and its government by the United States and United Kingdom in the 1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The controversial decision of the United Nations Security Council to employ sanctions against Libya after its refusal to surrender two bombing suspects to the United States and United Kingdom was largely ignored by European countries with interests in Libya, and led to the eventual open opposition to sanctions by many of Libya's African neighbors. Libya was quickly found guilty in the U.S. and UK courts of public opinion; however the common assumption that Libya's refusal reflected its indignation toward the West is problematic, and does not take into account historical factors that pushed Libya away from compliance, nor the lengths to which Libya attempted to sidestep those factors in order to respect international law. This article places Libya's reaction to the destruction of Flight 103 into the context of its recent relationship with the United States, and argues that despite the tainted U.S. public perception of Libya and its leader, the aftermath of the destruction of Flight 103 no longer plays an important role in shaping United States–Libya relations.     

Law, Patronage and Municipal Authority in Seventeenth-Century France: The Aftermath of the Lanturelu Revolt in Dijon

Popular uprisings have attracted the interest of early modernhistorians but the efforts of local elites to manage their consequencesremain largely unexplored. This article examines how Dijon’smunicipality negotiated the aftermath of the 1630 Lanturelurevolt. Following the uprising, Louis XIII curtailed Dijon’sprivileges, reorganized its municipality, and ordered it toindemnify the revolt’s victims. Over time, however, theavocats of Dijon’s municipal government successfully manipulatedthe Ancien Régime’s power networks—law, localinstitutions and clientage networks—to win a restorationof Dijon’s traditional city government, the reductionof damage claims, acknowledgement of the municipality’sinnocence and reaffirmation of its contested authority. Lanturelu’saftermath, often interpreted as an example of the early Bourbons’growing control over French cities, thus reveals that the lattercould remain dynamic political centres in the early seventeenthcentury and that the state’s expanding apparatus couldbe used to contest royal authority, as well as extend it.