Petrographic analysis and INAA geochemistry of prehistoric ceramics from Robinson Pueblo, New Mexico

The examination of thin sections is a successful method for discovering provenance groupings of archaeological ceramics if non-clay inclusions in pottery paste can be identified with petrographically distinctive geologic sources. When this is not the case, geochemical analysis must be employed to search for more subtle evidence of such groupings. This situation is likely to arise in studies, such as the present one, where the objective is to discern local or subregional patterns of pottery manufacture and exchange. Ninety potsherds from site LA46326 in New Mexico were subjected to both INAA and petrographic analysis. The results of this conjoint approach are assessed in relation to geochemical theory and are analysed graphically and statistically.     

Book reviews

SYSTEM 37 VIGGEN: ARMS, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE DOMESTICATION OF GLORY. Ingemar Dörfer. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1973. 258 pp. N.Kr.90 ($US18.00).

SIR JOHN MONASH. A. J. Smithers. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1973. 0–207–12587–2. 303 pp. $7.95.

RADICAL POLITICAL ECONOMY: COLLECTED ESSAYS. E. L. Wheelwright. ANZ Books, Sydney, 1974. 0–85552–018–3. 414 pp. $5.95 paper.

JAPAN'S FOREIGN POLICY. F. C. Langdon, University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, 1973. 321 pp. $US9.00 hardcover.

THE PATHET LAO: LEADERSHIP AND ORGANISATION. Joseph J. Zasloff. Lexington Books, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1973. 174 pp. $US10.00.

PERVASIVE POLITICS: A STUDY OF THE INDIAN DISTRICT. Donald F. Miller Melbourne Politics Monographs, Department of Political Science, University of Melbourne, 1972. 226 pp. $2.80, $1.80 (students), paper (postage: local 85c, overseas $1.05).

CHINA IN BURMA'S FOREIGN POLICY. Ralph Pettman. Australian National University Press, Contemporary China Papers No. 7, Canberra, 1973. 56 pp. $2.50 paper.

ZAMBIA. SECURITY AND CONFLICT. Jan Pettman. Julian Friedmann Publishers Ltd., Lewes, Sussex, 1974. 284 pp. £4.25.

THE DIPLOMACY OF CONSTRAINT: CANADA, THE KOREAN WAR AND THE UNITED STATES. Denis Stairs. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1974. 371 pp. $C15.00 hard cover.

ALL TOGETHER NOW: THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE IN CANADA, 1964–1972. Vernon J. Kronenberg. Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Toronto, 1973. 124 pp. $C2.50 paper.

WAR MACHINERY AND HIGH POLICY: DEFENCE ADMINISTRATION IN PEACETIME BRITAIN 1902–1914. Nicholas d'Ombrain. Oxford Historical Monographs, Oxford University Press, London, 1973. 302 pp. $13.15.

BRITAIN'S LEGACY OVERSEAS. Geoffrey Bolton. Oxford University Press, 1973. 168 pp. $2.10, paper.

GREAT POWER POLITICS AND NORWEGIAN FOREIGN POLICY: A STUDY OF NORWAY'S FOREIGN RELATIONS NOVEMBER 1940‐FEBRUARY 1948. Nils Morten Udgaard. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1973.

EUROPE 1945 TO 1970. Charlotte Waterlow and Archibald Evans. Methuen, London, 1973. 423–87840–9. 316 pp. $11.60.     

Geographies of Trade Unionism: Translating Traditions Across Space and Time

In the context of national trade union decline, this paper explores the geography of trade union organization through case study research at the Shredded Wheat Factory in Welwyn Garden City (Herfordshire, UK). This example highlights the geographical constitution of trade union traditions, focusing upon the ways in which collective practices and ideas are forged in particular places but also how trade union traditions can be translated across space, from one place to another. This translation is argued to take place in three ways: (i) through the direct migration of workers, (ii) through the "demonstration effects" of strikes, trade union defeats and the ensuing media and trade union coverage of these events, and (iii) through solidarity initiatives taken by workers themselves. Rather than understanding workers' traditions as being historical products in place, I argue they are simultaneously geographical in their constitution. Trade unionism is shown to be processual, constantly evolving in and across time and space. Through such insights the research enhances existing geographical work in the field, advocating an approach which focuses upon the agency involved in trade union organization, the processual nature of trade union organization and the importance of the spatial translation of trade union traditions.     

Turning night into day: transgression and Americanization at the English inter-war roadhouse

In the inter-war Home Counties, the roadhouse, a sizeable country club style location of entertainment and dancing was an iconic destination of consumption and leisure aimed at the wealthier middle classes. These establishments were marketed in newsreels as exclusive and sophisticated but in reality were open to wider groups in a settings that offered anonymity by virtue of their suburban locations. Reflecting this, roadhouses were also used in literature and in cinema as a locus of transgression and danger. Readings of suburbia have concentrated on static analyses of house/home and discussions of suburban mobilities have been confined to commuting, thus reinforcing the centrality of the house. A consideration of mobilities facilitated by the motorcar can produce a more subtle view of the suburban world of the period. In this paper the roadhouse is shown to form part of a new suburban landscape responding to the development of the wider availability of the automobile and to London's new arterial roads. The leisure products consumed at the roadhouse were heavily influenced by American cultural exports but were hybridized for local audiences.