Multicollinearity and Parameter Estimation in Simultaneous-Equation Models of Fluvial Systems

Simultaneous-equation statistical models are an attractive method for directly analyzing interactions among components of geomorphic systems. This study demonstrates that the utility of simultaneous-equation analysis is limited for fluvial systems by inherent multicollinearity among hydrologic and morphologic variables. Although multicollinearity for observed data may not be severe, estimation procedures for simultaneous-equation models often enhance this multicollinearity to problematic levels. Diagnostic tests are applied to three models of fluvial systems to illustrate the severity of the problem. It is recommended that investigators who develop simultaneous-equation models perform appropriate diagnostic evaluations to determine the impact of multicollinearity on specific parameter estimates.     

The coming of age of the history of archaeology

Publications and organizational developments relating to the history of archaeology from 1989 until June 1993 are critically examined. Attention is paid to the changing motivations for producing such publications, their shifting intellectual orientation, controversies, especially as they relate to internal vs external approaches and the epistemological status of explanations, problems of verification, and the status of these studies as a subfield within archaeology.     

Mobilizing Manhood: Gender and the Great Strike in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand

The Great Strike of 1890 in Australia and New Zealand symbolized the rise of class, influenced nationalist discourse, and shaped labour politics. It also signified a crisis in gender relations. Conservatives and unionists openly contested the meaning of masculinity, mobilizing concepts of manhood in ways specific to class, community, ethnicity and age. Both groups were alarmed by the role women played in the dispute; attacks on scabs and special constables and the occupation of public, ‘male’ spaces challenged ascribed boundaries, customs and locales, and revived a rich tradition of pre-industrial protest.     

Land Snail Shell Beads in the Sub-Saharan Archaeological Record: When,Where, and Why?

Shell beads are well established in the archaeological record of sub-Saharan Africa and appear as early as 75,000 BP; however, most research has focused on ostrich eggshell (OES) and various marine mollusc species. Beads made from various land snails shells (LSS), frequently described as Achatina, also appear to be widespread. Yet tracking their appearance and distribution is difficult because LSS beads are often intentionally or unintentionally lumped with OES beads, there are no directly dated examples, and bead reporting in general is highly variable in the archaeological literature. Nevertheless, Achatina and other potential cases of LSS beads are present at over 80 archaeological sites in at least eight countries, spanning the early Holocene to recent past. Here, we collate published cases and report on several more. We also present a new case from Magubike Rockshelter in southern Tanzania with the first directly dated LSS beads, which we use to illustrate methods for identifying LSS as a raw material. Despite the long history of OES bead production on the continent and the abundance of land snails available throughout the Pleistocene, LSS beads appear only in the late Holocene and are almost exclusively found in Iron Age contexts. We consider possible explanations for the late adoption of land snails as a raw material for beadmaking within the larger context of environmental, economic, and social processes in Holocene Africa. By highlighting the existence of these artifacts, we hope to facilitate more in-depth research on the timing, production, and distribution of LSS beads in African prehistory.     

An Interview with James Kwesi Anquandah

Professor James Kwesi Anquandah was Ghana’s first archaeologist. He was also the first Ghanaian to become head of the Archaeology Department at the University of Ghana, which was the first archaeology department in sub-Saharan Africa, established in 1951. Dedicating his life to Ghanaian archaeology, particularly during the difficult years in Ghana in the 1980s and early 1990s, Anquandah had a significant impact on the development of archaeology in Ghana. In addition to his research, advisory and curatorial work, Professor Anquandah was instrumental in the training of three generations of Ghanaian archaeologists. During the course of a professional career that spanned nearly six decades, Professor Anquandah made archaeology relevant and accessible to all Ghanaians.