The late prehistory of xinjiang in relation to its neighbors

Recent research by Chinese archaeologists has identified many late prehistoric (2000-400 B.C.) oases, pastoral settlements, and cemeteries in eastern Central Asia (Xinjiang province of China). The synthesis presented here organizes the data into 10 archaeological cultures, defined on the basis of ceramics, burials, small finds, and architecture. The archaeological cultures reveal two periods, corresponding to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The oases cultures formed a core area before the Chinese Han period and maintained close contacts with nearby highland pastoralists in Siberia and western Central Asia. The evidence for interaction between Xinjiang and the complex cultures in China and western Central Asia is evaluated with regard to the origins of the early Xinjiang cultures.     

The Greek-Norwegian Deep-Water Archaeological Survey

From 1999 to 2003 the project surveyed the sea-bed in selected areas in Greece in order to locate marine cultural remains in depths below 50 m that have not been explored by divers. The project has shown that it is possible to perform systematic large-area surveys in deeper waters using off-the-shelf equipment from available small ships, at relatively low cost with good results.
© 2006 The Authors     

COMPARISON AND TRANSFER – A FRUITFUL APPROACH TO NATIONAL HISTORY?

The aim of this article is to discuss how a combined comparative and transnational approach can widen our understanding of historical change. By using examples from the first wave of the women's movement in Sweden and Canada we argue that exploring national differences, investigating differences in class and political culture and finally even tracing the transfer of resources and ideas could open up for new perspectives in gender history. Comparisons of women's organizing in different countries, but within the same international organizations, could help us to discern common structures that otherwise tend to be regarded as unique in one national context. In addition, such an approach can help to highlight specific national opportunities, cultures or strategies influencing the outcome of women's organizing.     

Elk Heads at Sea: Maritime Hunters and Long‐Distance Boat Journeys in Late Stone Age Fennoscandia

Tumlehed is the most well‐preserved and complex prehistoric rock painting in the coastal region of south‐west Sweden. Originally reported and described in 1974, we re‐documented the panel using digital and IR photography, DStretch image enhancement software, and non‐destructive PXRF spectroscopy. This re‐documentation revealed a more complex image inventory with several previously unknown motifs and image details. The new data provide a better basis for identifying motif categories, the organization of the panel, the chronological sequence, and different frequentation periods. We report on the only known boats with an elk‐head stem in southern and western Scandinavian rock art, the emergence of rock art boat depictions in the region, and evidence for long‐distance maritime journeys and sea‐mammal hunting in the later Stone Age. Comparisons to similar images with shoreline data in Fennoscandia narrow the time range for the date of the painting to 4200–2500 BC.