The Philosopher's Stories: The Role of Myth in Plato's Pedagogy

In this essay I will argue that Platonic myths are a useful tool not only in the education of the ignorant but for the philosophical mind as well. To do this I will first examine the limitations and problems that Plato sees in written communication, and I will then argue that myths avoid these problems by undermining their own validity. If they are to avoid the problems that plague the written format, myths must show themselves for what they are: inadequate tools for giving a complete account of a particular subject. Myths, I will argue, are those shadows (to use the term from the story of the Cave in the Republic) that show their own shadow-like nature. In this way the myth is able to work hand-in-hand with dialectic to educate philosophers.     

Late Postclassic lowland Maya archaeology

The archaeology of the Late Postclassic lowland Maya (ca. A.D. 1200–1517) is summarized and reviewed. The history of past research is outlined, and investigations on topics of major scholarly concern are discussed. The current data allow us to present an approximate reconstruction of the events and processes that characterize the period, although the information on many areas and topics is still fragmentary. Research in Maya archaeology has focused heavily on the more spectacular developments of earlier periods, creating the impression that the last few centuries of the prehispanic era were a time of disorganization and decline. New data and interpretations indicate that the Late Postclassic was a dynamic period in which the lowland Maya were moving in new directions, restructuring their society and worldview.     

Site Identification and Correlation Using Geoarchaeological Methods at the Cabeço do Porto Marinho (CPM) Locality, Rio Maior, Portugal

Several geoarchaeological techniques have been employed in evaluating an open-air site within a uniform sand matrix, near Rio Maior, Portugal. Electrical resistivity data, acquired at the Upper Palaeolithic site complex of Cabeço do Porto Marinho (CPM), delineated an important new occupational locus. This result was confirmed, first by auger testing which recovered subsurface artefacts, and then by direct excavation. In addition, 107 samples were recovered at the site for magnetic susceptibility measurements. Comparisons between magnetic susceptibility profiles from two loci, including the new area at CPM, show distinctive patterns which allow direct correlation between the occupation areas. These methods provide quick and inexpensive means for investigators to evaluate new sites or to correlate between and within sites, without resorting to other more time-consuming and expensive techniques.     

Rowing: aspects of the ethnographic and iconographic evidence

L'aviron et les donnees ethnographiques et iconographiques S. McGRAIL AND A. FARRELL Les auteurs exposent les problèmes que soulève l'interprétation des données iconographiques et font quelques suggestions pour appliquer la terminologie de la nage dans ce domaine. Ils présentent aussi, à l'aide d'exemples ethnographiques, diverses méthodes de nage.     

Book reviews

Joseph Camilleri, Chinese Foreign Policy: The Maoist Era and its Aftermath. Martin Robertson and Company, Oxford, 1980, pp.xiv + 311. £25.00.

Gerald Segal (ed.), The China Factor: Peking and the Superpowers. Croom Helm, London, 1982, pp.210 £12.95.

Josef Fullenbach und Eberhard Schulz (eds.), Entspannung am Ende? Chancen und Risiken einer Politik des Modus vivendi (An End to Detente: Risks and Opportunities of a Policy of Modus Vivendi). R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich, 1980, pp.381. No price given.

J.J. Fox, R.G. Garnaut, P.T. McCawley, J.A.C. Mackie (eds.), Indonesia: Australian Perspectives, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra 1980, pp. x + 772. $24.00.

Shirley W.Y. Kuo, Gustav Ranis and John C.H. Fei, The Taiwan Success Story: Rapid Growth with Improved Distribution in the Republic of China. 1952–1979. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1981, pp. xviii + 160. No price given.

William H. Newell (ed.), Japan in Asia 1942–1945. Singapore University Press, Singapore, 1981, pp. vii +123. $S12.00.

Elizabeth E. Graves, The Minangkabau Response to Dutch Colonial Rule in the Nineteenth Century. Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, Cornell University, 1981, pp. ix+ 147.$7.50.

Talukder Maniruzzaman, The Bangladesh Revolution and its Aftermath. Bangladesh Books International Limited, Dacca, 1980, pp. xvi + 259. $US10.00.

U Maung Maung, From Sangha to Laity: Nationalist Movements of Burma 1920–1940. Australian National University Monographs on South Asia No. 4, South Asian History Section, Australian National University, Canberra, 1980, pp. xvi + 311. $7.50.

Roger C. Thompson, Australian Imperialism in the Pacific: The Expansionist Era 1820–1920. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1980, pp. 289. $25.00.

John Robertson, Australia At War 1939–1945. Heinemann, Melbourne, 1981, pp. 269. $27.50.

Adam Bromke, Harold von Riekhoff, Jacques Levesque and J.F. Fedorowicz, Canada's Response to the Polish Crisis. Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Toronto, 1982, pp. 45. $CAN2.00.

Edward C. Thaden (ed.), Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finland, 1855–1914. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1981, pp. xiii + 497. $US52.50 (cloth), $US23.00 (paper).

Philip Towle (ed.), Estimating Foreign Military Power. Croom Helm, London, 1982, pp. 276. $13.95.

Ted Robert Gurr (ed.), Handbook of Political Conflict: Theory and Research. The Free Press, New York, 1980, pp. ix + 566. $52.95.

G.W. Jones and H.V. Richter (eds.), Population Mobility and Development: Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Australian National University, Development Studies Centre, Monograph No. 27, 1981, pp. xx + 474. $9.00.

John D. Conroy, Essays on the Development Experience in Papua New Guinea, IASER Monograph 17, Port Moresby, 1982, pp. xi + 147. K6.50.

Jan Jelmert Jorgensen, Uganda. A Modern History. Croom Helm, London, 1981, pp.345. £13.195.

Christian P. Potholm and Richard A. Fredland (eds.), Integration and Disintegration in East Africa. University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland, 1980, pp. x + 219. No price given.

Olga A. Narkiewicz, Marxism and the Reality of Power 1919–1980. Croom Helm, London, 1981, pp. 337. £14.95.

P.T. Bauer, The Third World and Economic Delusion, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London, 1981, pp. x + 293. £15.00.

Andrew P. Rasiulis, On the Utility of War in the Nuclear Age. Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Toronto, 1981, pp. 95. $CAN4.75.

Edward Dommen (ed.), Islands. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1981, pp. 135. No price given.

Wilfred Burchett, The China Cambodia Vietnam Triangle. Zed Press, London, and Vanguard Books, Chicago, 1981, pp. 235. $9.95.

Andrei Amalrik, Will the Soviet Union Survive until 1984? Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1980 (revised from 1970 edition), pp. 224. $5.50.     

Early fetal maturity assessed from patterns of ossification in the hand and foot

The assessment of fetal age at death is fraught with many complications and often the determination of the maturity of the fetus is a more realistic solution to the question of fetal viability. This study examines the pattern of appearance of primary centres of ossification in the fetal hand and foot, in an attempt to construct a maturity continuum. The results show that completion of ossification in the hand precedes that in the foot and generally occurs in a more regular pattern. The method proves useful at assessing fetal maturity between the third and tenth months of intra-uterine life. In addition, the relationship to other major centres of ossification is considered.