Reassessing the chronology of the Mississippian Central Illinois River Valley using Bayesian analysis

Chronology building has long served as a major focus of archaeological interest in the Central Illinois River valley (CIRV) of west-central Illinois. Previous methods have relied primarily upon relative dating techniques (e.g., ceramic seriation) as a means of sorting out temporal relationships between sites. This study represents the first investigation into the utility of Bayesian techniques (which consider radiocarbon dates in context with archaeological information) in the CIRV. We present the results of a detailed ceramic seriation of the region, data that we use as a priori information in our Bayesian models. We then offer contiguous, overlapping, and sequential models of site occupations in the Mississippian CIRV, review the output and appropriateness of each model, and consider their implications for the pace of sociopolitical change in the region.     

Reviews

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES IN BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY. Kenneth Younger. Chatham House Essays: 7. London, Oxford University Press, 1964. Pp. 139. 15/9.

BRITISH EMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA. R. T. Appleyard. Australian National University, Canberra, 1964. Pp. xiii + 255. £2/17/6.

BRITAIN AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 1955–1963. Miriam Camps. London, Oxford University Press, 1964. Pp. x + 547. £A4.14.6.

INTERNAL WAR. Harry Eckstein (ed.). Glencoe, The Free Press, 1964. Pp. 339. $6.50.

MODERN GUERRILLA WARFARE. Franklin Mark Osanka (ed.). Glencoe, The Free Press, 1962. Pp. xxii + 519, bibliog.

MALAYSIA. K. G. Tregonning. Cheshire for the Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1964. Pp. 98. 13/6.

MALAYSIA; A SURVEY. Wang Gungwu (ed.). Melbourne, F. W. Cheshire, 1964. Pp. 466. £5.

SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA. Milton E. Osborne. Data Paper: Number 53, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1964. Pp. 115. $2.50.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN UNIVERSITY. A COMPARATIVE ACCOUNT OF SOME DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS. T. H. Silcock. Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Press, 1964. Pp. xiii + 194. $6.

CHINA. K. S. Latourette. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. viii + 152. $1.95.

MODERN CHINA. Edited by A. Feuerwerker. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. vi + 186. $1.95.

CEYLON. S. Arasaratnam. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. vi + 182. $1.95.

TRADITIONAL INDIA. Edited by O. L. Chavarria‐Aguilar. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. vi + 153. $1.95.

DEFIANCE IN MANCHURIA: THE MAKING OF JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY, 1931–1932. Ogata Sadako. Berkeley and Los Angeles, Calif., 1964. Pp. xvi + 259, bibliog. $5, Aust. 65/6.

THE MILITARY AND SOCIETY IN LATIN AMERICA. John J. Johnson. Stanford University Press, California, 1964. x + 308 pp. $7.00.     

Towards a nuanced understanding of health‐supportive place using composite research methods

Chronic non‐communicable diseases comprise a major challenge for health in contemporary Australia and across the globe and, while various factors are at play, personal choices in behaviour and lifestyle are significant. The physical make‐up and ongoing management of the places where we live positively and negatively influences these lifestyle choices and subsequent health outcomes. However, responses—in research, policy, built environment design, construction, and management—frequently fail to recognise the intricacies of this people‐place‐behaviour nexus largely because those responses are highly focused and empirical. Rather, the health‐supportive environments needed to address the current chronic disease epidemic also require additional—networked, nuanced, and intuitive—understandings. Responding to that need, the study described in this paper took a comprehensive view of what constitutes a health‐supportive built environment. We detail the composite methods employed—built environment audits, interviews, and focus groups—all of which are available for use by others in similar situations. Then, using two case study examples, we reflect upon how our methodology revealed otherwise hidden aspects of the extent to which the study sites supported or hindered health‐supportive behaviours and responses. These results suggest intervention actions for policy makers and practitioners that will help them respond to the complex needs of communities in creating a health‐supportive environment.