The bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site and the political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain: an application of lead isotope analysis

Lead isotope ratios of 15 Chinese bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site (Suizhou City, Hubei Province) were analyzed and compared with copper ores across China. This study attempts to provide a new perspective to discuss the role that Zeng State played among all the vassal states in the early Zhou dynasty (ca. 1046–977 BC). The political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain is another main content of this paper. The lead isotopic characteristics of Chinese bronze artifacts between different historical periods are also in the scope of the study. By comparison, the lead isotopic ratios of the tested bronzes and copper deposits in the north Jiangxi Province show numerous overlaps. It indicates that the tested bronzes might have a single ore source, and this source was in the south of the Zhou dynasty. Combined with history and archaeological records, it is highly likely that the middle Yangtze Plain might be a part of the Zhou dynasty since the very beginning. Moreover, Zeng State might have a great influence in the ancient middle Yangtze Plain, and the nobles of Zeng State might even have authority to supervise certain area extending to Jiujiang. As lead isotopes of the bronzes appear to show a clear relation to chronology, the change of lead isotope patterns across times may further serve to distinguish the bronzes of the Western Zhou dynasty from the late Shang ones.     

Book reviews

Australian politics

Paul R. Bartrop, Australia and the Holocaust 1933–45 (Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994) pp.304 $34.95 ISBN I 875606 12 2.

Ross Fitzgerald, ’Red Ted’ The Life of E.G. Theodore (St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1994) pp.474 $24.95 ISBN 0 7022 2649 1.

Ian Gray, Politics in Place: Social Power Relations in an Australian Country Town (Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1991) pp.214 $45.00 ISBN 0 521 40426 6.

Mike Nahan and Tony Rutherford (eds), Reform and Recovery: An Agenda for the New Western Australian Government (Perth: Institute of Public Affairs, March 1993) pp.253 $21.50 ISBN 0 909536 39 2.

Dean Jaensch, The Liberals (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1994) pp.240 $19.95 ISBN 1 86373 361 2.

C.B. Schedvin, In Reserve: Central Banking in Australia, 1945–75 (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1992) pp.602. $49.95 ISBN 1 86373 371.

Susanna Short, Laurie Short: A Political Life (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1992) pp.299 $29.95 ISBN 1 86373 188 I.

Julie P. Smith, Taxing Popularity: The Story of Taxation in Australia (Canberra: Federalism Research Centre, 1993) pp.172 $n.p. ISBN 0 7315 1508 0.

Jenny Stewart, The Lie of the Level Playing Field: Industry Policy and Australia's Future (Melbourne: Text Publishing Co., 1994) pp.305 $19.95 ISBN 1 86372 037 5.

Phillip Toyne, The Reluctant Nation: Environment, Law & Politics in Australia (Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1994) pp.228 $17.95 ISBN 0 7333 0375 7.

Ken Walker (ed.), Australian Environmental Policy (Kensington: New South Wales University Press, 1992) pp.306 $29.95 ISBN 0 86840 029 7.

Comparative and international politics

Gary D. Allinson and Yasunori Sone (eds), Political Dynamics in Contemporary Japan (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993) pp.311 SUS16.95 ISBN 0 8014 8096 5.

Barbara Callaway and Lucy Creevey, The Heritage of Islam: Women, Religion, & Politics in West Africa (Boulder, Co.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1994) pp.221 $US19.95 ISBN 1 55587 253 0.

Helena Catt and Elizabeth McLeay (eds), Women and Politics in New Zealand (Wellington: Political Science in association with Victoria University Press, 1993) pp.151 $n.p. ISBN 0 86473 260 0.

Ann Millar, Trust the Women: Women in the Federal Parliament (Canberra: Department of the Senate, 1993) pp.194 $29.95 ISBN 0 642 19523 4.

David F. Ericson, The Shaping of American Liberalism: The Debates Over Ratification, Nullification and Slavery (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1993) pp.238 $n.p. ISBN 0 226 21684 5.

John Francis, The Politics of Regulation: A Comparative Perspective (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993) pp.289 $45.00 ISBN 0 631 17467 2.

B.D. Graham, Representation and Party Politics: A Comparative Perspective (St Leonards NSW: Allen & Unwin/Oxford: Blackwell, 1993) pp.261 $45.00 ISBN 0 631 17396 X.

Carol Graham, Peru's APRA: Parties, Politics, and the Elusive Quest for Democracy (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 1992) pp.267 $US37.50 ISBN 1 55587 306 5.

Joseph Held (ed.), The Columbia History of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992) pp.435 $29.95 ISBN 0 231 07696 7.

R.A. Herr and B.W. Davis (eds), Asia in Antarctica (Canberra: Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University with Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre, 1994) pp.232 $n.p. ISBN 0 86740 426 4.

Michael Hill, Understanding Social Policy, 4th edn (Oxford UK and Cambridge USA: Blackwell, 1993) pp.230 $45.00 ISBN 0 631 18849 5.

Robin Jeffrey, What's Happening to India? Punjab, Ethnic Conflict and the Test for Federalism, 2nd edn (London: Macmillan, 1994) pp.252 $36.95 ISBN 0 333 59444 4.

Joel S. Kahn and Francis Lob. Kok Wah (eds), Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1992) $24.95 pp.327 ISBN 1 86373 167 9.

Andrew Mack and John Ravenhill (eds), Pacific Cooperation: Building Economic and Security Regimes in the Asia‐Pacific Region (St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1994) pp.269 $24.95 ISBN 1 86373 605 0.

Anne McElvoy, The Saddled Cow: East Germany's Life and Legacy (London: Faber and Faber, 1992), pp.258 £14.99 ISBN 0 671 16691 6.

Gaines Post, Jr, Dilemmas of Appeasement: British Deterrence and Defence 1934–37 (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1993) pp.363 $US53.35 ISBN 0 8013 27487.

David Remnick, Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire (London: Viking, 1993) pp.576 $45.00 ISBN 0 670 85236 8. Gale Stokes, The Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) pp.319 $n.p. ISBN 0 19 506645 6.

Brian Roper and Chris Rudd (eds), State and Economy in New Zealand (Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1993) pp.276 SNZ36.50 ISBN 0 19 558273 X.

Peter Self, Government by the Market? The Politics of Public Choice (London: Macmillan, 1993) pp.317 $29.95 ISBN 0 333 56972 3.

Mitchell A. Seligson and John T. Passé‐Smith (eds), Development and Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Inequality (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1993) pp.456 $US22.00 ISBN 155587 400 2.

Martin Shaw, Post‐Military Society: Militarism, Demilitarization and War at the End of the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991) pp.229 $32.95 ISBN 0 7456 0199 5.

Hugh Smith (ed.), Peacekeeping: Challenges for the Future (Canberra: Australian Defence Studies Centre, Australian Defence Force Academy, 1993) pp.229 $20.00 ISBN 0 7317 0274 3.

Stephen John Stedman (ed.), Botswana: The Political Economy of Democratic Development (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1993) pp.214 $US35.00 ISBN 1 55587 305 7.

Stephen John Stedman (ed.), South Africa: The Political Economy of Transition (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 1994) pp.213 $US38.00 ISBN 1 55587 421 5.

Lionel Cliffe et al, The Transition to Independence in Namibia (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 1994) pp.293 $US38.50 ISBN 1 55587 420 7.

Dan Tschirgi (ed.), The Arab World Today (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rlenner, 1994) pp.274 $US18.50 ISBN 1 55587 459 2.

Thomas G. Weiss (ed.), Collective Security in a Changing World (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 1993) pp.332 $US35.00 ISBN 1 5587 338 3.

Robert W. Gregg, About Face? The United States and the United Nations (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 1993). pp.180 $ US16.95 ISBN 1 55587 406 1.

Robert Zuzowski, Political Dissent and Opposition in Poland: The Workers’ Defense Committee ‘KOR’ (Praeger: Westport, 1992) pp.293 $US65.00 ISBN: 0 275 94138 8.

Political Theory and Methodology

Geoffrey Brennan and Loren Lomasky, Democracy and Decision: The Pure Theory of Electoral Preference (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993) pp.237 $99.00 ISBN 0 521 35043 3.

Alain Lipietz, Towards a New Economic Order: Post Fordism, Ecology Democracy (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992) pp.199 $34.95 ISBN 0 7456 0866 3.

Graham Little, Friendship. Being Ourselves with Others (Melbourne: Text Publishing, 1993) pp.272 $24.95 ISBN 1 86362 024 3.

John Locke, Political Writings (ed. David Wootton), (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1993) pp.479 $17.95 ISBN 0 14 043310 4.

Martin Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1992) pp.292 $34.95 ISBN 0 19 876268 2.

Philippe Van Parijs (ed.), Arguing for Basic Income: Ethical Foundations for a Radical Reform (London and New York: Verso, 1992) pp.248 $39.95. ISBN 0 86091 586 7.     

The failure of the Yanchep international campus: A case study in the politics of marketing education

Private universities and colleges have traditionally played no part on the Australian higher education scene. This paper, however, argues that the concept has become plausible since the implementation of a new overseas student policy in 1985 which has allowed education to be exported as a commodity. This policy has, in large degree, been moulded by the perceived process of decay in higher education as a result of funding constraints, and by the general environment of economic decline in Australia. A case study of the evolution and early demise of the proposed Yanchep International Campus is the main focus of the paper. It attempts to illustrate the problematic and politically divisive nature of the formation of private institutions and the degree to which institutions such as Yanchep might not be viable profit making enterprises without heavy state subsidisation.     

New Insights into the Provenance of the Obsidian Fragments of the Island of Ustica (Palermo,Sicily)

In this study we applied a multidisciplinary approach, coupling geophysical and geochemical measurements, to unveil the provenance of 170 obsidian flakes, collected on the volcanic island of Ustica (Sicily). On this island there are some prehistoric settlements dated from the Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age. Despite not having geological outcrops of obsidian rocks, the countryside of Ustica is rich in fragments of this volcanic glass, imported from other source areas. The study of obsidian findings was carried out first through visual observations and density measurements. At least two different obsidian families have been distinguished, probably imported from Lipari and Pantelleria islands. Analysing the magnetic properties of the samples, these two main sources were confirmed, but the possibility of other provenances was inferred. Finally, we characterized the geochemical signature of the Ustica obsidians by performing microchemical analyses through electron microprobe (EMPA) and laser ablation (LA–ICP–MS). The results were compared with literature data, confirming the presence of the Lipari and Pantelleria sources (Sicily) and indicating for the first time in this part of Italy a third provenance from Palmarola island (Latium). Our results shed new light on the commercial exchanges in the peri‐Tyrrhenian area during the prehistoric age.