Colonial and Provincial Separation Movements in Australia and New Zealand, 1856–1865

This article examines separation movements in Britain’s Australasian colonies during the first decade of responsible government, 1856–65. Separation movements sought to carve new colonies from the territory of existing ones or, in the case of a number of New Zealand movements, to create new provinces within that colony’s quasi-federal system. Their demands rested upon assertions that a colonial or provincial government neglected large and prosperous hinterlands from which considerable revenue was collected. Only one colonial separation movement achieved its goal, but four provinces succeeded. I argue that responsible government played a major role in the success or failure of these movements. Responsibility concentrated authority in a remote capital; colonial separatists desired to exercise this privilege within a smaller new colony that they controlled, but its operation within the larger existing colony provided London with justification to reject most appeals. Further, it allowed New Zealand’s parliament to frame a mechanism that enabled discontented regions to become provinces without referral to local or imperial legislatures. Thus, I provide new insights into the formation of colonial polities and the influence of responsible government on settler political campaigns.     

At the ogre's house

The female helper identified in two recent articles in this journal is a figure in a stereotyped scene that exists in a number of different folktales. When the hero arrives at the ogre's house, this woman warns him that when the ogre returns, he will eat him. Then she protects the hero by hiding him. When the ogre comes in, he smells the human, but the woman (his wife, daughter, grandmother, or captive) prevents him from finding the visitor.     

Functional-adaptive features and palaeobiologic implications of the postcranial skeleton of the late Miocene sabretooth borhyaenoid Thylacosmilus atrox (Metatheria)

A functional-adaptive study of the postcranium of two late Miocene sabretooth borhyaenoid specimens (Mammalia, Metatheria) is presented. Thylacosmilus atrox developed a longer neck than in non-sabretooth borhyaenoids and was capable of strong flexion of the head. The lower back is well-stabilized and more rigid than in the other borhyaenoids. The forelimb appears well-suited for manipulating and capturing prey, with a probably well-developed deltoid and pectoral musculature. Compared with other Miocene borhyaenoids, the hip joint of Thylacosmilus is modified to allow greater postural flexibility (e.g. possibility of erect stances). The low greater femoral trochanter, the short and sigmoid tibia, and the semiplantigrade hind foot of Thylacosmilus precluded fast running. Thylacosmilus killed by stabbing, a peculiar mechanism that evolved in parallel in many other sabretooth taxa. This technique has significant functional-adaptive consequences on the postcranial skeleton, superimposed on the generalized morphological pattern reflected in its non-sabertooth relatives. The superficial similarities observed between Thylacosmilus and Smilodon overshadow real differences (at the level of joint patterns and muscular groups involved in particular movements), a condition that suggests the development in the marsupial form of a morphological type unique to the thylacosmilid lineage within Borhyaenoidea.     

A regional investigation of subadult dietary patterns and health in late Iron Age and Roman Dorset,England

This is the first regional analysis of the impact of Romanisation on subadult dietary patterns and related health parameters in Britain. A sample of 200 subadults from late Iron Age (LIA) and Romano-British (RB) Dorset were examined for dental health and specific metabolic diseases, and a sub-sample of 29 individuals were selected for nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis. The results showed that dental health declined in the Romano-British period and the incidence of scurvy and rickets rose. Increased consumption of marine foods in the RB period is indicated by an increase in δ¹³C between the LIA and RB subadults. After early childhood, there was no age-dependent variation in dietary protein in the RB and LIA populations from Dorset. We propose that these changes related to the introduction of urban living, Romanised diets and population migration.     

Stratigraphy and geochronology of La Playa archaeological site,Sonora, Mexico

La Playa archaeological site in northern Sonora, Mexico contains a long record of human activity that includes the Paleoindian period (terminal Pleistocene) and much of the Holocene. The size and complexity of La Playa has discouraged a systematic characterization of its stratigraphy and geochronology, a deficiency we redress in the study. We distinguished seven stratigraphic units ranging in age from >44,570 to 400 cal yr B.P. using ¹⁴C dates from charcoal and terrestrial gastropods found mostly in archaeological features. All of the buried (in situ) cultural remains are contained in Units B (4690–1580 cal yr B.P.) and C (1010–400 cal yr B.P.) and represent overbank deposition from the nearby Rio Boquillas. Occupation at the site peaks in Units B₄ and B₅, corresponding to the Cienega phase (2800–1800 cal yr B.P.) of the Early Agricultural period. This period coincides with the growth of early agricultural villages in the region and is marked at La Playa by thousands of archaeological features including roasting pits, human burials, and extensive canal irrigation systems. The presence of semi-aquatic and aquatic snails demonstrates that water was present year round in the canal systems constructed during this period. Stable and radiometric isotopic evidence suggests that early agriculturalists diverted ground water over several kilometers from the nearby Rio Boquillas. The extensive Cienega phase occupation ended after about 1700 cal yr B.P. with deep erosion of the site, an event also visible in alluvial records in southern Arizona that marked the end of the Early Agricultural period and significant changes in settlement organization in the region.     

Party Leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives: Making Theoretical Sense of Ambition and Context

This article focuses on the policy-making activities of House Republicans in their early transition to power (104th Congress) as well as in their settling in (105th Congress). Key components of House governance, as practiced by the Democrats in the 103rd Congress, serve as a benchmark for comparison. The analysis reveals substantial differences between the size, scope, and thrust of the leaders' issue agendas. Over time, decision-making apparatus and strategies for building floor coalitions and publicizing party views vary as well. Using data from interviews with the principals and a host of sources from the government and the media, I find evidence that draws attention to the power of personal ambitions and political contexts.