Evidence of pedogenesis from a neolithic site at Rackham,Sussex

A rich assemblage of Neolithic flints and associated charcoal lies at a depth of 15–20 cm in what is now a strongly-leached podzol. The site was probably associated with butchery and the preparation of animal materials using flint implements manufactured on the site. The pollen profile suggests that the contemporary vegetation was mixed deciduous forest and that the artifacts were buried by earthworm action. Subsequent deforestation and the development of Calluna heath would have led to the extinction of the earthworms and the development of the present podzol.     

Excavation and pollen analysis on a bell barrow at ascot,berkshire

The paper describes the partial excavation of a bell barrow, associated with a single radiocarbon date in the 15th century bc. Pollen analysis is employed to elucidate details of the barrow's manner and sequence of construction. Investigation of the buried soil revealed a long period of human interference culminating in a phase of cereal cultivation. This may correspond with a series of possible furrows in the old land surface.     

Radiocarbon Dates on Textile and Bark Samples from the Central Grave of the Adena Mound (33RO1), Chillicothe,Ohio

The Adena Mound (33RO1) is the type site of the Adena culture, yet there have been no radiocarbon dates to place it reliably within a temporal framework. Fortunately, the artifact collection, curated by the Ohio Historical Society, includes objects that are highly suitable for radiocarbon dating, including fragments of textiles and tree bark associated with the central burial. We selected a textile fragment and two bark fragments for radiocarbon dating. The textile exhibits alternate pair twine with very fine yarns probably composed of cellulose bast fibers. The bark is from a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) tree. The results of the radiocarbon dating indicate that the Adena Mound was constructed between the end of the second century B.C. and the beginning of the first century A.D., placing it near the midpoint in the sequence of radiocarbon-dated Adena culture sites. This study demonstrates the value of museum collections for gleaning new data from curated materials.     

Publications briefly noted

PAUL W. LEWIS and BAI BIBO (PIU BO), compilers. Haqniq Doqtnoq Doq'yul. Hani Sayings. Kunming: Yunnan Nationalities Press, 1999. RMB25, paper.

ANDREW COBBING (based on an original study by Inuzuka Takaaki). The Satsuma Students in Britain: Japan's Early Search for the ‘Essence of the West’. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2000. 201 pp. Introduction, plates, glossary, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. £45.00, hardcover.

PETER H. HOFFENBERG. An Empire on Display: English, Indian, and Australian Exhibitions from the Crystal Palace to the Great War. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. 418 pp. Appendices, notes, bibliography, index. US$50.00, hardcover.

MASAKO GAVIN. Shiga Shigetaka, 1863–1927: the Forgotten Enlightener. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2002. 233pp. Glossary, introduction^ appendices, notes, bibliography, index. £45.00, hardcover.

JOY HENDRY. The Orient Strikes Back: a Global View of Cultural Display. Oxford: Berg, 2000. 257pp. Introduction, bibliography, index. US$19.50, paper.