Book reviews

Native Resistance and the Pax Colonial in New Spain edited by Susan Schroeder. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. Pp. xxvi + 2000, maps. $45.00/£42.75 (hardback); $19.95/£18.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–8032–4266–2; 0–8032–9249‐X.

European and Native American Warfare, 1675–1815 by Armstrong Starkey. London: UCL Press, 1998. Pp. viii + 208. £40.00 (hardback); £13.95 (paperback). ISBN 1–85728–554–9; 1–85728–555–7.

Frontier Profit and Loss: The British Army and the Fur Traders, 1760–1764 by Walter S. Dunn, Jr. Westport, CT, and London: Greenwood Press, 1998. Pp.xi + 196, map. £47.95 (hardback). ISBN 0–313–30605–2.

British Identities before Nationalism: Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Atlantic World, 1600–1800 by Colin Kidd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.viii + 302. £35.00. ISBN 0–521–62403–7.

Protestantism and National Identity: Britain and Ireland, c. 1650‐ c. 1850 edited by Tony Claydon and Ian McBride. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp.xii + 317. £40.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–521–62077–5.

Scottish Highlanders in Colonial Georgia: The Recruitment, Emigration, and Settlement at Darien, 1735–1748 by Anthony W. Parker. Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 1997. Pp.xiii +182. £31.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–8203–1915–5.

In Irons: Britain's Naval Supremacy and the American Revolutionary Economy by Richard Buel, Jr. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998. Pp.xi + 397. £25.00/$35.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–300–07388–7.

Science and Exploration in the Pacific: European Voyages to the Southern Oceans in the Eighteenth Century edited by Margarette Lincoln. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press in association with the National Maritime Museum, 1998. Pp.xix + 228, illus. £35.00/$63.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–85115–721–1.

Imperial Benevolence: Making British Authority in the Pacific Islands by Jane Samson. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998. Pp.xiii + 240, maps. $35.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–8248–1927–6.

The Maratha War Papers of Arthur Wellesley, January to December 1803 edited by Anthony S. Bennell. Stroud, Glos.: Sutton Publishing for the Army Records Society, 1998. Pp.xi + 458. £40.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–7509–2069–6.

Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India by Lata Mani. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 1998. Pp.xiv + 246, illustrations. $47.00/£37.50 (hardback); $18.00/£13.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–520–21407–2 (paperback).

’Christen und Gewürze’: Konfrontation und Interaktion kolonialer und indigener Christentumsvarianten edited by Klaus Koschorke. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. Pp.298. DM 98 (paperback). ISBN 3–525–55960–7.

Religion in Victorian Britain, Volume V: Culture and Empire edited by John Wolffe. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997. Pp.viii + 359, illustrations. £14.99 (paperback). ISBN 0–7190–5184–3.

Imperialism and Colonialism: Essays on the History of European Expansion by H.L. Wesseling. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 1997. Pp.x + 212. £47.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–313–30431–9.

The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession by Andrew Lambert. London: Chatham, 1998. Pp.256, illustrations. £30.00 (hardback). ISBN 1–86176–086–8.

Sturm über dem Nil. Der Mahdi‐Aufstand: Aus den Anfängen des islamischen Fundamentalismus by Wilfried Westphal. Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 1998. Pp.419, 23 pictures, three maps. DM 48.00 (hardback). ISBN 3–7995–0092–8.

The Journal of John Wodehouse First Earl of Kimberley for 1862–1902 edited by Angus Hawkins and John Powell. Camden Fifth Series Volume 9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Historical Society, 1997. Pp.xxii + 530. £40.00 (hardback). ISBN 0521–62328–6.

Lord Methuen and the British Army: Failure and Redemption in South Africa by Stephen M. Miller. London, and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1999. Pp.viii + 279, maps. £39.50/$57.50 (hardback), £17.50/$26.50 (paperback). ISBN 0–7146–4904‐X; 0–7146–4460–9.

Francophone Sub‐Saharan Africa 1880–1995 by Patrick Manning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.xii + 247, maps. £40.00 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–521–64255–8; 0–521–64519–0.

Mau Mau From Below by Greet Kershaw. Oxford: James Currey, 1997. Pp.xxx + 354. £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–85255–731–0.

Mau Man and Kenya by Wunyabari O. Maloba. Oxford: James Currey, 1998. Pp.x + 228. £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–85255–745–0.

History of Central Africa: The Contemporary Years Since 1960 edited by David Birmingham and Phyllis M. Martin. London: Longman, 1998. Pp.vii + 314. £17.99 (paperback). ISBN 0–582–27607–1.

Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power by Cyrus Ghani, London: I.B. Tauris, 1998. Pp.xiv + 434. £29.50 (hardback). ISBN 1–86064–258–6.

A History of Laos by Martin Stuart‐Fox. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Pp.xv + 253, maps. £35.00 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–521–59235–6; 0–521–59746–3.

Britain in China: Community, Culture and Colonialism 1900–1949 by Robert Bickers. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. Pp.xii + 276, tables, illustrations. £45.00 (hardback); £15.99 (paperback). ISBN 0–7190–4697–1; 0–7190–5697–7.

Between Two Oceans: A Military History of Singapore From First Settlement to Final British Withdrawal by Malcolm H. Murfett, John N. Miksic, Brian P. Farrell, and Chiang Ming Shun. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp.xviii + 398. £35.00 (paperback). ISBN 0–19–588482–5.     

The charophyte Lamprothamnium succinctum as an environmental indicator: a Holocene example from Tom Thumbs Lagoon,eastern Australia

The palaeobiota from a middle to late Holocene succession in Tom Thumbs Lagoon, N.S.W., Australia, reflects a range of environmental conditions caused by sea-level changes and active estuarine sedimentation. At the base of the succession (～ ?0.4 m AHD) a thin bed, containing molluscs dated at 6.7 ka B.P. by radiocarbon and amino acid racemisation, and foraminifers is indicative of open estuarine conditions. From +0.35 m AHD towards the top of the sequence the charophyte Lamprothamnium succinctum occurs in subrecent deposits. This species is characterised here by statistical measurements, and new characters are described and illustrated. The charophytes record a drop in sea level and the establishment of a lower salinity artificial wetland. The investigation has also established that decalcification in charophytes can be related to acidification produced by the release of organic acids, aggravated after 1928 by anthropogenic pollution.     

Differentiation of archaeological maize (Zea mays L.) from native wild grasses based on starch grain morphology. Cases from the Central Pampas of Argentina

This paper presents, for the first time, a detailed study, from an archaeological perspective, of the morphological characteristics of the starch grains within the kernels of selected native wild grasses found in the Central Pampas of Argentina. We compared native wild grasses to maize starch grains, which can be distinguished from each other based on their size, shape and other attributes. The majority of the studied grains did not share morphological characteristics with maize starch grains. Considering this, it can be said that, if irregular and polyhedral grains with transverse or radial fissures dominate the starch assemblage, maize identification may be done on the basis of both morphology and size. Additionally, this research contributes to the characterization of the starch grains of the Panicoideae subfamily, which includes maize. Several classes of simple and compound starch grains are described and defined for native species of Pooideae, Chloridoideae, Arundinoideae, and Panicoideae subfamilies. The results obtained may constitute a baseline for the future determination of maize and wild grass use in archaeological contexts belonging to Middle/Late Holocene hunter–gatherers in the Pampas of Argentina and neighboring areas.     

3D electrical prospection in the archaeological site of El Pahñú, Hidalgo State,Central Mexico

The implementation of a 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT-3D) survey was carried out in El Pahñú archaeological site, Hidalgo State, Central Mexico. A combination of a new ERT arrays allowed studying the subsoil beneath the Main Pyramid built near the edge of a plateau, along with another important structure (the Tecpan), which was a smaller structure that lodged the governmental council in pre-Hispanic times. The recorded information was acquired through the combination of several electrodic designs: L-Corner (LC), Equatorial (Eq), and Minimum Coupling (MC). For the Main Pyramid, the electrodes were set up around the perimeter of the structure, since they were not permitted to be inserted over the edifice, thus preventing damages to the architectonic elements. The second structure allowed inserting electrodes on selected spots within the architectonic space. The combination of the different arrays made possible the acquisition of 1204 apparent resistivities beneath the Main Pyramid and 2460 resistivity data beneath the Tecpan. The apparent resistivity data were inverted to obtain a three dimensional display of the subsoil electrical resistivity beneath the archaeological structure. The interpreted resistivity model under the Main Pyramid displayed a highly resistive structure towards its northern face that could be associated with infill. Such material was employed by the ancient constructors to level the terrain close to the edge of the cliff. Another interesting anomaly was found towards the central portion of the structure that could be associated to a foundation offer. The interpretation of data beneath the Tecpan identified the structural foundations and other interesting anomalies related to the different occupational times. The investigation supported the archaeological investigation of the site, suggesting areas of potential geological risk and of archaeological interest. For example, the Main Pyramid presents serious stability problems, indicating that the infill has weakened, producing cracks threatening long-term pyramid integrity.     

Isotopic values of diet of Blastocerus dichotomus (marsh deer) in Paraná Basin,South America

The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus, Illiger, 1815) is the largest contemporary South American deer, and its habitat includes the floodplains and wetlands of eastern South America. Throughout the Holocene these deer were widely used by indigenous societies, from the southern banks of the Amazon River to the Río de la Plata River, and from the Andean foothills to the Atlantic Ocean. However, despite the enormous ecological and archaeological importance of this ungulate in the region, our knowledge of the isotopic values of their diet is almost nonexistent. This paper is the first systematic approach to the study of the isotopic values of this mammal's diet, using archaeological and present-day samples from interconnected watersheds of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers in east-central Argentina. The results obtained from 24 measurements indicate an average value of ?21.09 ± 1.46‰ in δ¹³C collagen, with a low coefficient of variation (6.92%). The data indicate a marked preference for consumption of plants with a C₃ photosynthetic pathway. Most of the observed variability in the isotopic values corresponds to the period 900–1430 ¹⁴C years BP, a time range during which the values show higher consumption of C₄ plants. This it could be related with a period where temperature and associated humidity increased, synchronous in the area with the Medieval Climate Anomaly.     

Taphonomy of ungulate ribs and the consumption of meat and bone by 1.2-million-year-old hominins at Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania

The phenomenon of equifinality complicates behavioral interpretations of faunal assemblages from contexts in which Pleistocene hominins are suspected bone accumulators. Stone tool butchery marks on ungulate fossils are diagnostic of hominin activities, but debate continues over the higher-order implications of butchered bones for the foraging capabilities of hominins. Additionally, tooth marks imparted on bones by hominins overlap in morphology and dimensions with those created by some non-hominin carnivores, further confounding our view of early hominins as meat-eating hunters, scavengers or both. We report on the manual/oral peeling of cortical layers of ungulate ribs as taphonomically diagnostic of hominoid/hominin meat- and bone-eating behavior that indicates access to large herbivore carcasses by hominins at the site of BK, Olduvai. Supporting these inferences, we show that certain types of rib peeling damage are very rare or completely unknown in faunas created by modern carnivores and African porcupines, but common in faunas modified by the butchery and/or consumption activities of modern humans and chimpanzees, during which these hominoids often grasp ribs with their hands, and then used their teeth to peel strips of cortex from raggedly chewed ends of the ribs. Carnivores consume ungulate ribcage tissues soon after kills, so diagnostic traces of hominin butchery/consumption on ribs (i.e., peeling and butchery marks) indicate early access to ungulate carcasses by BK hominins. Tooth marks associated with the peeling and butchery marks are probably hominin-derived, and may indicate that it was not uncommon for our ancestors to use their teeth to strip meat from and to consume portions of ribs. Recognition of rib peeling as a diagnostic signature of hominoid/hominin behavior may also aid the search for pre-archaeological traces of hominin meat-eating.     

Empirical Formulation for Estimating the Fundamental Frequency of Slender Masonry Structures

The fundamental frequency of a structure enables better assessment of its seismic demand for an efficient design and planning of its maintenance and retrofit strategy. The frequency is independent of the type of external loads, however, depends on structural stiffness, mass, damping and boundary conditions. In the case of slender masonry structures such as towers, minarets chimneys, and pagoda temples, it is influenced by mass and stiffness distribution, connection to adjacent structures, material properties, aspect ratio and slenderness ratio. In this present article, the data collected from various literature reviews on the slender masonry structures regarding dynamic, geometrical, and mechanical characteristics have been correlated to identify the major parameters influencing the fundamental frequency of such structures. The database has been used for developing an empirical formulation for predicting the fundamental frequency of such structures. The comparison between the experimental fundamental frequencies and the estimated fundamental frequencies are carried out in order to define reliability and accuracy of these empirical formulae.     

Vulnerability Index: A New Approach for Preventive Conservation of Monuments

A new approach is developed for vulnerability analysis of monuments based on a matrix model and the relationships with static and structural factors, climatic conditions, air quality, urban planning and social agents for preventive conservation of cultural heritage in urban centers.

The objective is to provide tools for decision-makers in the current recession to allow them to prioritize strategies for cultural heritage preservation in a town, where territorial policies are applied and regions where restoration budget is distributed. This new tool allows to classify monuments in order to prioritize restoration and is useful in deeper analysis associated to risks assessment.

The degradation of building materials and structures is mainly due to deterioration caused by structural instability, weathering, pollution, and anthropogenic damage. The vulnerability approach of each monument (vulnerability indexes) was calculated, based on a Leopold matrix that depends on intrinsic variables and the life of the monuments. For the very first time, the influence of different deterioration agents has been balanced with a Delphi forecast based on architects’ opinions.

The result is a new pre-Artificial Intelligence tool that enables users to reproduce human reasoning to study relations between vulnerability factors, risk factors, and the historical parameters of the monuments.     

‘It is not fair that he is treated as a commoner’: lower-level native lords in the repartimiento of Macha (Charcas) under colonial rule, 1540–1619

This article studies the impact of colonial rule on Andean hierarchies of power, underlining the role of lower-level native leaders who enabled paramount lords to organize labor services, levy tribute, and govern Andean polities. Using the repartimiento of Macha (Charcas) as a case study, this article examines the impact of external colonial authorities' actions against the backdrop of rising internal tensions within Andean polities. Segmented polities such as Macha faced increasing tensions, giving rise to new mediating roles for lesser-ranking native leaders, placing the subordinate lords' fight for status at the center of debate. This article starts by exploring the first interrelations between lesser-ranking lords and colonial authorities under the encomienda system through the late 1560s. It then turns to the impact of Viceroy don Francisco de Toledo's reforms in the early 1570s, which simplified and standardized native hierarchies of power within each repartimiento while also fragmenting local Andean elites between tribute-paying lords and those exempted of from it. Finally, the article examines the reactions of lower-level native leaders in the face of new constraints regarding tribute exemption and related obligations in the early seventeenth century, as exemplified by indio principal don Diego Chambi.