Ancient Solomon Islands mtDNA: assessing Holocene settlement and the impact of European contact

Archaeologists, linguists and geneticists generally agree that Near Oceania was subject to two major pulses of human dispersal: a Pleistocene occupation around 40,000 BP and a Late-Holocene migration at 3500 BP commonly associated with the Austronesian expansion out of Taiwan. The latter led to the development of the Lapita cultural complex in the Bismarck Archipelago which resulted in the settlement of Remote Oceania and there are a variety of competing models (express train, slow boat, entangled bank, etc.) used to explain this. Recent genetic studies have focused on this issue, but none of them have taken into consideration the bias possibly introduced by 19th-century historically reported population decline caused by European contact.     

Trace Metal Distribution Within Marine and Estuarine Sediments of Western Moreton Bay,Queensland, Australia: Relation to Land Use and Setting

This broad‐scale investigation provides an overview of trace metal concentration and distribution within sediments in the subtropical setting of Moreton Bay on the eastern Australian coast. Samples of sediment in one‐metre long PVC cores were collected from the intertidal zone of the western shoreline of the Bay and within its main estuaries. The material is typically silty sand along the Bay shoreline, becoming more clayey within the estuaries. Downcore pH is typically between 7.0 and 8.0, with layers in some cores of pH 6.0 to 7.0. Locally, pH can fall below 5.0 due to pyrite oxidation or exceed 8.0 due to the presence of shell fragments. A comparison with results of similar studies in other highly populated centres in Australia shows that overall the Moreton Bay area sediments have relatively low metal content. Typically, concentrations are two to three times higher in fine‐grained, estuarine sediments than in sandy material along the Bay shoreline. Compared with Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council Guidelines for metal concentrations in sediments, the elements most commonly elevated and warranting further assessment are Ni, Hg, Pb, Zn, and occasionally Cd, As and Cr. The highest metal concentrations are found in estuaries, close to more populated or industrialised areas, notably along the Brisbane River. Overall, the distribution of metals in unconsolidated material is controlled by (a) the heavy metal affinity for Fe‐ and Mn‐rich oxidised sediments, (b) grain size, (c) background concentrations in local rocks, and (d) conditions of weathering and deposition. For example, natural elevation of Fe occurs in marine sediments adjacent to areas of Tertiary basalts and this has produced a relative increase in a number of trace metals in those sediments. Typically, trace metals correlate well with Al, and with Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides. The results of this study show that in the western Moreton Bay region, natural controls have the major influence over metal distribution; although urban and industrial inputs exist, for much of the area they are secondary. The main sources of introduced trace metals are presumed to be light industry (such as maritime and port facilities, petroleum refineries and storage, manufacturing and chemical processes), landfills, agriculture and intensive fertilising (for example, golf courses) as well as the composite effect of urban centres. Overall, higher concentrations of metals are closely related to intense development. If specific locations are targeted for focussed sampling, elevated concentrations of metals are likely to be found locally.     

Intrinsic or extrinsic population growth in Iron Age northeast Thailand? The evidence from isotopic analysis

Here we present strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope measurements from the tooth enamel of 34 adults from Noen U-Loke, an Iron Age site (c. 300BC–500AD) in the Upper Mun River Valley (UMRV), northeast Thailand. The Mun Valley is rich in archaeological sites from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, with evidence for changes in social complexity, new technologies and population growth. Whether the population growth in the UMRV was intrinsic, as opposed to extrinsically due to immigration, is an unresolved question. Our results suggest low levels of long-distance immigration, with only three (two females, one male) of the thirty-four individuals as probable immigrants from outside the region. We discuss the implications of this result as a contribution to longer-term investigations of population growth, human mobility and fertility during this prehistoric period of substantial societal changes in mainland Southeast Asia.     

Christian Marriage,Money Scams,and Melanesian Social Imaginaries

In this paper, we draw on fieldwork with middle‐class investors in ‘fast money schemes’ (Ponzi scams) to consider how Neo‐Pentecostal Christianity may be mediating social and economic change in Papua New Guinea, particularly in relation to gender equality. Ideas of companionate marriage and the cultivation of an affective self imply masculinities that are more sensitive and less domineering. As these images of fulfilled modernity flow out from Pentecostal churches into broader Papua New Guinean society, they corroborate Taylor's theory of how change occurs within the modern social imaginary.     

A critical assessment of the Hawke government's 1985 code of conduct for Australian companies with interests in the republic of South Africa

Like other Australian governments in the contemporary period the Hawke government sought to enhance its international standing by condemning apartheid. Failing to implement effective policy to match the strong criticism exposed the rhetorical character of the government's South Africa policy. Repeatedly the Hawke government found itself defending a policy framework, which in opposition it had denounced. In essence Australia's South Africa policy had displayed little principle. Refusing to play sport while maintaining bilateral trade and investment with South Africa, underscored the contradictory basis of Australia's South Africa policy. In an effort to redress this policy imbalance the Hawke government chose to enact an employment code for Australian employers of black South African labour. The government promoted this element of policy as a substantial advance in reformulating its overall policy approach. Archival documents and material released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal a very different image.     

Futures for Feminist Histories

Books reviewed in this article: Gerda Lerner, Why History Matters: Life and Thought Barbara Laslett, Ruth-Ellen B. Joeres, Mary Jo Maynes, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham and Jeanne Barker-Nunn (eds), History and Theory: Feminist Research, Debates, Contestations Joan Wallach Scott (ed.), Feminism and History