The archaeology of World War II karst defences in the Pacific

During World War II, the Japanese military, using either their own or civilian labour, excavated tunnels into the limestone of many Pacific islands and modified natural caves for use as command posts, hospitals, combat positions, storage, and shelter. Civilians also used caves to shelter themselves during the war. This article introduces the archaeology of WWII caves and tunnels referred to collectively as ‘karst defences.’ While karst defences exist across the Pacific, little is known about these sites both historically and archaeologically. Based on a study in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and analysis of karst defence construction and function, this article demonstrates that karst defence use extends beyond what has been described in historical accounts. The authors find that the sites in Saipan were used by three different groups of people and identifies distinct Japanese military and civilian sites and evidence of post-war use by the United States.     

Identification of a Deep-water B-29 WWII Aircraft via ROV Telepresence Survey

American-produced B-29 Superfortress bomber aircraft flew missions against Imperial Japan in the Pacific Theater from air bases in the Mariana Islands from November 1944 until the end of WWII. Mechanical failures forced many B-29s into the ocean surrounding Saipan and Tinian. Terrestrial wreckage of these aircraft has been located in the Pacific region, but no losses in deep water were located until 2016, when a NOAA exploration cruise investigated sonar targets in the Saipan Channel, between Saipan and Tinian. Disarticulated wreckage from a B-29 was located at 370 m over a large area of the seabed. Telepresence-enabled, non-invasive exploration from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer allowed scientists on shore to view live streaming video and to work collaboratively to guide the investigation. Experts in aviation archaeology, corrosion studies, WWII history, forensic studies, marine biology, and oceanography participated in the survey using an ROV, highlighting components which could lead to possible identification of the B-29 in situ, and conducting an environmental characterization of the site. This deep-water aircraft site exemplifies multiple-stakeholder driven research in aviation archaeology and highlights several issues in the value of individual site identification.     

Book reviews

Teny S. Reynolds and Stephen H. Cutcliffe, Eds. Technology and the West: A Historical Anthology from Technology and Culture (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1997), pp. 461.

Jon Agar. Science and Spectacle: The Work ofjodrell Bank in Post‐War British Culture. Harwood, 1998. pp. Xx+260. IIIus., Index., Bibliog.

David Nye. Consuming Power: A Social History of American Energies (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998), pp. xii + 331.     

An Efficiency of Scarcity: Using Food to Increase the Productivity of Soviet Prisoners of War in the Mines of the Third Reich

During World War II, Heinrich Kraut, of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Labor Physiology, studied the effect of diet on work productivity in Soviet prisoners of war under heavy forced labor in the coalmines of the Ruhr. Kraut’s work illustrates an efficiency of scarcity, in which the elements of control and intervention often associated with efficiency efforts were not available. His efforts to improve productivity left unaddressed the violence and squalor amid which the prisoners lived and worked, despite his recognition that such conditions negatively affected work performance; his studies thus illustrate the primacy of National Socialist racial ideology even in labor practices crucial to war production. Kraut used technical and specialized knowledge to accommodate the brutal and inhuman labor practices of the Third Reich.     

Manufacturing regional disparity in the pursuit of economic equality: Alberta's First Nations Gaming Policy, 2006–2010

The Province of Alberta in 2001 implemented the First Nations Gaming Policy (FNGP) to improve First Nations development potential by permitting the construction of reserve casinos. This article argues that during the policy development stages provincial and First Nations leaders failed to consider the geographic placement of reserve communities, both in terms of where casinos would be placed and how gaming revenues would ultimately be distributed. Therefore, a policy intended to assist with First Nations economic rejuvenation in Alberta has benefitted a small proportion of First Nations while exacerbating regional economic difficulties the policy was in part calculated to ameliorate. The authors recommend revisiting the FNGP to establish a more equitable revenue distribution formula, thus resulting in a greater distribution of gaming revenues to a larger number of First Nations.