ARCHITECTURAL SYMBOLISM AND CHEROKEE TOWNHOUSES

Abstract

Public structures known as townhouses were hubs of public life within Cherokee communities in the southern Appalachians before and after European contact. Townhouses themselves were architectural manifestations of Cherokee towns. The architectural symbolism of townhouses was related to the symbolism of late precontact Mississippian platform mounds, mythical connections between earthen mounds and Cherokee townhouses, and color symbolism that was widespread in the Southeast during the eighteenth century. These points are evident from documentary sources, oral tradition, and the sequence of protohistoric Cherokee townhouses at the Coweeta Creek site in southwestern North Carolina.     

Emergent Complexity,Changing Landscapes,and Spheres of Interaction in Southeastern South America During the Middle and Late Holocene

Newly created academic programs at Brazilian universities have provided the impetus for new archaeological projects in southeastern South America during the last two decades. The new data are changing our views on emergent social complexity, natural and human-induced transformation of the landscape, and transcontinental expansions and cultural interactions across the Río de la Plata basin during the Middle and Late Holocene. We concentrate on six major archaeological traditions/regions: the Sambaquis, the Pantanal, the Constructores de Cerritos, the Tupiguarani, the Southern Proto-Jê, and the middle and lower Paraná River. Diverse and autonomous complex developments exhibit distinct built landscapes in a region previously thought of as marginal compared with cultural developments in the Andes or Mesoamerica. The trajectories toward increased sociopolitical complexity flourished in very different and changing environmental conditions. While some groups were pushed to wetland areas during a drier mid-Holocene, others took advantage of the more humid Late Holocene climate to intensively manage Araucaria forests. The start of the second millennium AD was a critical period marked by an increased number of archaeological sites, the construction of ceremonial architecture, and the intensification of landscape transformation; it also was marked by the rapid expansion of influences from outside the La Plata basin. The Amazonian Tupiguarani and Arawak newcomers brought with them significant changes in technologies and social and political structures, as well as novel landscape management practices.     

Scarcity and survival: The role of oral tradition in mediating subsistence crises

Survival of periodic subsistence crises is largely dependent on a group memory of past crisis situations and of the strategies appropriate for dealing with the altered environmental conditions. One mechanism utilized by nonliterate societies for the preservation of survival knowledge is its incorporation in oral tradition. As a body of reference knowledge, oral traditions potentially operate over two time scales. Secular oral traditions (folktales, songs, and histories) depend on repetition for perpetuation with inherent potential for distortion. In contrast, sanctified oral traditions, such as ritual performances, rely on a correct reproduction of the ritual order to achieve supernatural efficacy. Rituals accordingly assume an invariant character appropriate for the transmission of survival information over extended periods of time. The role of oral tradition in mediating subsistence crises is examined for two hunter-gatherer groups: the Tareumiut and Nunamiut of northwest Alaska. Utilizing the ecological and ethnographic literature, the temporal variability in the primary faunal resources of these groups is modeled and the social means for buffering subsistence stress are presented. The survival strategies encoded in secular and sanctified forms of oral tradition are then evaluated and compared. The study concludes that secular forms provide a readily available medium for the enculturation of specific values or behaviors relating to group survival across seasonal or short-term interannual shortages, while ritual performances provide a model of resource variability and the appropriate responses relevant to crisis situations recurring on the pan-generational time scale.     

The uses of memory in African studies

Since the 1950's, African specialists have used memory both as a tool and as an object of research.

Anthropologists were finally becoming aware that all social interaction inherently contains ambiguity and conflict and were coming to terms with the impact of colonialism. They started taking a productive interest in what societies, in their present practice, had to say about and make of their past. Roger Bastide (Les religions africaines au Brésil) made collective memory and its functioning the heart of a rich sociological study, situated in a long historical context.

At the same time, historians were starting to write the history of Africa, an effort largely made possible by a tradition of oral transmission. The first consideration was the documentary usefulness of this oral tradition, more or less institutionalized. Historians evaluated these oral sources according to technical criteria, in order to write source critiques. But the nature of the work led to a changed focus. Historians reduced their emphasis on the gathering of factual data and started treating that data with greater skepticism. They also started to strongly repudiate the implicit model of written sources and archives. They became, instead, more concerned with the various forms of memory and fascinated with the analysis of the workings of memory itself in society, and with what new historical information lay hidden in people's memories. Life histories, and personal memories are also used today.     

Confronting Caribbean heritage in an archipelago of diversity: Politics,stakeholders, climate change,natural disasters,tourism, and development

Abstract

The Caribbean archipelago is a series of independent island nations and overseas departments, territories, colonies, or commonwealths of developed countries. About 250 generations of human occupation in the Caribbean have produced a blend of traditions sometimes called a “cultural kaleidoscope.” Eight thousand years of shifting cultural identities are recorded in archaeological, architectural, documentary, and ecological records, and in memories and oral traditions known as “heritagescapes.” Caribbean heritagescapes are increasingly threatened by a combination of socioeconomic needs of modern society, ineffective governmental oversight, profit-driven multinational corporations, looters, and natural environmental processes. Balancing the needs of society against the protection and management of heritage requires careful thought and measured dialogue among competing stakeholders. Here we review the status of heritage in the Caribbean and offer a way forward in managing a diminishing supply of heritage resources in the face of current socioeconomic demands, and the unique legislative environments of independent island nations and overseas possessions of developed countries.     

Scottish Windpumps & Windmills: New Information

Abstract

The author has examined documentary sources concerning the pioneering Lombe's Silk Mill on the River Derwent in Derby. He has combined evidence from both Italian and British sources with the physical remains and provided a reconstruction of the mill and its machinery layout. Its importance as a precursor of factory production in Britain is discussed.     

The Role of River Transport in the Development and Location of Productive Forces in the Eastern Regions of the USSR

A basin-by-basin survey of water-borne freight movements in Siberia. The Ob'-Irtysh basin has gained in significance with the development of its oil and gas resources, and further expansion of water transport depends mainly on construction of additional cargo-handling facilities. In the Yenisey basin, the construction of large hydroelectric dams tends to provide an important deep-water route between Lake Baykal and the sea, but no ship locks are being provided in most of the dams. The importance of the Lena basin has been enhanced since 1951 by the construction of the Tayshet-Lena railroad, providing direct access to the upper Lena from the Trans-Siberian main line. Cargo destined for the north coast of Siberia now moves increasingly through the Lena basin instead of over the Northern Sea Route. The Amur River continues to play an important transport role (especially for lumber and coal movements) even though large segments of the stream are paralleled by the railroad.     

环境营造:中国历史上人类活动对全球变化的贡献

在古代-近现代中国,历时数千年人类活动展开所具有的时空条件、土地面积和经营方式、人口规模和质量、社会组织形式、社会形态延续条件等基本内容,在世界各国中是难有其比的。国外许多科学家将加大力度利用丰富的历史文献(中文为主),用于研究和解释人类活动对地球环境变化可能具有的作用和影响份额的希望,寄托在中国科学家和历史学家身上,是有充足理由的。本文认为,发挥国情和历史地理专业优势,现阶段可以视为全球变化研究框架中的重要内容是(1)土地利用与土地覆盖格局的变化;(2)流域生命-文化环境的构成及其成长;(3)河湖海系统的演变;(4)制度和政策因素怎样调节人类的社会经济行为;(5)提取和整理对地球环境有重大影响的自然、人文事件。为了对人类活动引起环境变化的影响和作用作出较为准确的判断,研究中需要做好的事项有(1)排查文献资料中的人为主观撰述因素;(2)核实人类活动可以影响的范围或方面;(3)分析人类活动本身包含的复杂性因素;(4)充分估计自然本身的力量;(5)尊重和学习其它专业的研究方法及其实验结果。时至今日,科学事业发展的形势,已经将历史学加入自然科学研究计划的工作提到了研究时间表上。     

THE OVERALL EFFECT OF AUTOMOBILE TRANSPORTATION ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

The aggregate effects of a variety of impacts generated by motor transport on the natural environment in the Upper Oka River basin are examined (through factor analysis) and maps of roadside pollution intensity are generated. The two factors identified, representing the effects of higher-order and local roads, respectively, provide a basis for regionalization of the Upper Oka basin according to the impacts generated by automobile traffic. The pattern of regional impacts identified, in turn, provides the basis for policy recommendations on how to reduce the level of roadside pollution and minimize other negative environmental impacts of road transport (translated by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005).     

淮河中游地区史前人类文化演化过程的环境考古学观察

淮河中游地区位于我国东部地理、气候等自然条件多重过渡地带,又是长江流域与黄河流域、东部沿海与西部腹地之间古文化相互交流、碰撞和融合的重要区域,也是中华文明孕育和发展的重要地区之一。淮河中游地区新石器时代考古学文化的演化过程与全新世气候环境的变迁密切相关。暖干型气候条件有利于史前人类文化的发展,而冷湿型气候环境则不利于人类的生存繁衍。该地区文化的演化过程充分反映了史前人类对全新世气候环境变化的适应性和主观能动性。     

乡村口述史的理论与实践——以笔者在农村的访谈为例

乡村口述史是围绕农村、农民而进行的口述史学研究。乡村口述史料的发掘不仅可以弥补县及县以下政府部门所藏文献资料的不足,还可以揭示出某些文献资料所不能记录的历史真相,使我们进一步了解历史的多维面相。但是乡村口述史的搜集、整理又是一项非常艰苦的工作,研究者必须具有克服困难的勇气、耐力与技巧。     

Space, Time and Sustainability in the Hadejia-Jama'are Wetlands and the Komodugu Yobe Basin, Nigeria

Debates about sustainability still take insufficient account of the significance of space and time. In this paper, their significance is demonstrated empirically through an account of the complex environmental and socio-economic impacts of dam construction on flood-plain wetlands in the Hadejia-Jama'are river basin in Nigeria. Socio-economic data from a rapid rural appraisal exercise and household questionnaire survey (data on patterns of production in the flood plain and patterns of mobility) are appraised in the context of patterns of environmental change and of inundation (analysis of riparian vegetation and time-series aerial photographs). The paper concludes that sustainable river basin development requires more attention to be paid to the perspectives derived from different scales of analysis. This calls for appropriate institutions allowing communication at the interface between village-level producer and river basin manager.     

新石器时代中国玉器的区域特征

新石器时代我国辽河流域、黄河流域与长江流域三个地区的玉器,在材质、造型和纹饰方面表现出强烈的区域性特征:辽河流域的玉器多采用岫岩玉为原料,长江流域的玉器则多用透闪石一阳起石制成,而黄河流域多见绿松石制成的器物;辽河流域的玉器纹饰简单风格朴实,长江流域的玉器器形和纹饰都很特别,黄河流域则多生产工具且光素无纹.此外,玉器反映了新石器时代中晚期辽河流域内渔猎经济和宗教在社会中居于主导地位,长江流域中下游地区则可能进入了王权、军权和神权一体化的方国阶段,而世俗权力的独大在黄河流域普遍存在.世俗权力在这一地区社会政治生活中占据了主导地位.     

Oral Histories and Scientific Knowledge in Understanding Environmental Change: a case study in the Tumut Region,NSW

What can professional land managers gain by consulting with local communities? Scientific knowledge provides valuable insights into the causes of environmental change and the processes by which it occurs but often lacks a historical dimension. Recollections of local people can supplement both historical records and scientific understandings of cause and process to achieve a more comprehensive picture of change over time. However, the process of memory is tied to life experience and is highly selective. Any attempt to use oral accounts in constructing a picture of environmental change over time must also include an analysis of the process of memory itself. Drawing on oral histories with long term residents of the Tumut region of NSW, this paper explores the nature of local environmental knowledge and evaluates oral history as a source of information for understanding environmental history and the impact of changing patterns of land use.     

THE TSIMSHIAN, THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY, AND THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST FUR TRADE, 1787–1840

The paper examines the first half-century of the fur trade on the Northwest Coast from the perspective of its First Nations participants. It focuses on the array of initiatives taken by Ligeex, a prominent Tsimshian chief, to insert non-native traders within the geopolitics of the indigenous world. The reconstruction is undertaken by linking Tsimshian oral narratives with Euro-American documentary sources.
ľarticle traite des cinquante premiéres années du commerce des fourrures sur la côte nord-ouest du point de vue des participants membres des Premiéres Nations. II se concentre sur la série ďinitiatives entreprises par Ligeex, un chef tsimshian de premier rang, afin ďincorporer les commerçants allochtones à la géopolitique du monde indigéne. La reconstruction est effectuée en reliant des narrations de la tradition orale tsimshiane à des sources documentaires euro-américaines.     

Excavating the 18th- and 19th-Century Urban Flour Mill: the Example of the Archaeological Investigations at the Former J.A. Symes Factory Site,Highbridge Road,Barking

Abstract

The area occupied by the former J.A. Symes match factory, Highbridge Road, Barking, was once home to a large steam- and water-powered flourmill. The mill was originally driven by the tidal flow of the River Roding, prior to its expansion and gradual conversion to steam. A residential redevelopment, undertaken in spring 2006, provided an opportunity to conduct a developer-funded archaeological investigation, carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd. The excavation exposed the partial, multi-phase remains of the mill's below-ground foundations, in particular the evidence for successive power systems. These remains were interpreted with the help of documentary research, demonstrating the complementary nature of these two forms of evidence on an urban industrial site.     

Chatsworth Street Cutting,Part of the Original Terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Abstract

Recent surveys of textile mills in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and East Cheshire have laid the groundwork for future study in their respective areas. All three have necessarily referred back to precedents set in eighteenth century Derbyshire, where water power was first successfully applied to the manufacture of both silk and cotton. Derbyshire retains an important group of early cotton mills, most of them distributed along the River Derwent and its tributaries. Recent measured surveys of five of the most significant early mills and of a number of related sites by RCHME's Threatened Buildings Sections, supplemented by photographic coverage of further sites over many years, have provided a core of information on which the present article is largely based. The article concentrates on the surviving physical remains of the cotton industry, but draws also on documentary and other evidence for vanished structures.     

Integrating Geomorphological Assessments and Oral Histories in Catchment Management: Implications for the Mulgrave River,Northeastern Australia

The dramatic decline in the integrity of Australian river systems in recent decades has seen the development of landcare and catchment management groups across the continent as the main facilitators of river rehabilitation works. There is growing concern for the need to develop adaptive management frameworks that assist informed decision making through the integration of social and geomorphological knowledge into catchment planning. In the Mulgrave River Catchment of northeastern Queensland, difficult management decisions have to be made with limited access to knowledge of natural processes and baseline geomorphological data. To date management decisions have been based almost exclusively on oral histories that state that point bars are accreting and the river is becoming shallower due to bank erosion. As a result bank stabilisation and removal of sand from within the channel have been recommended in the absence of any geomorphological assessments. This study compares oral histories of river bank erosion in the Mulgrave River with geomorphic evidence to highlight the need for integrated landscape scenario planning. The results of grain size analysis of bank and bed material from 27 locations, involving 47 samples, suggest that bank erosion cannot be delivering sediments to point bars. Furthermore, qualitative analysis of historic parish maps and aerial photographs shows that there has only been moderate bank erosion at three locations along the Mulgrave River since European settlement. The study demonstrates the important role that geomorphological investigations have for catchment management and the need for management frameworks that integrate geomorphological processes and landholder priorities for sustainable river management.     

Frontier Life: Late Prehistoric Adaptations of the Kansas City Locality

Abstract

Late Prehistoric (AD 900–1500) adaptations along the lower Missouri River in the Kansas City locality include two distinct contemporaneous archaeological cultures, Steed-Kisker and Pomona. Both are reviewed with emphasis on interaction, change, and continuity. Evidence from other sites in northeastern Kansas, a prairie-woodland ecotone, points to interaction where their culture core areas overlapped, a locality that was a frontier throughout much of prehistory between cultures of the eastern woodlands and the Great Plains. Recent investigation of house remains at the Scott and Caenen sites, representing the Steed-Kisker and Pomona cultures respectively, provides significant insight concerning relations or lack thereof. About 130 years apart in time of occupation, they are only 350 m distant in Stranger Creek valley, the last major tributary of the Kansas River before its confluence with the Missouri River. Both illustrate the contrasting nature of these adaptations, specifically change from a Woodland adaptation represented by Steed-Kisker and continuity with respect to it represented by Pomona, which persisted longer. The possibility of assimilation of both cultures with the Oneota tradition during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is discussed.     

上宅新石器文化遗址环境考古

上宅遗址所在的平谷盆地是中国环境考古策源地。上宅遗址的发现与发掘,一定程度上填补了北方草原文化与中原文化间的空白。以无彩陶,陶器不具绳纹和鸟首形镂空器等特殊器物为特征,构成一支具鲜明特点的沟河流域新石器时代中期早段文化,称之为上宅文化。上宅遗址依山傍水,聚居于河旁黄土台地,形成于全新世气候最适宜期。与邻区同期文化形成环境类似,其聚落形成环境具代表性。