THE FOUNDING ABYSS OF COLONIAL HISTORY: OR "THE ORIGIN AND PRINCIPLE OF THE NAME OF PERU"

The name of "Peru" and the entities and beings it names first appeared "in an abyss of history" on "the edge of the world" in the early 1500s. In this essay I ask what hermeneutical truths or meanings the strange event that made the name of Peru both famous and historical holds for—and withholds from—any understanding of the meaning of colonial history. By way of a reading of Inca garcilaso de la Vega's rendering, in Los Comentarios Reales de los Incas (1609) of "the origin and principle of the name of Peru," I suggest that Peru's name is itself an inaugural event that marks the founding void or abyss of colonial and postcolonial history, which is to say, of modern global history. This événemential void is not unoccupied, however. It is inhabited by another founding, mythopoetic figure of history: "the barbarian" whose speech is registered in the historian's text.     

Patterns of Nutrient Concentrations across Multiple Floodplain Surfaces in a Large Dryland River System

Deciphering patterns and inferring processes in multicausal floodplain river ecosystems is a challenge in river science. The effects of larger‐scale top‐down constraints and smaller‐scale bottom‐up influences on the spatial patterns of nutrient concentrations across multiple inset‐floodplain surfaces was studied in a large dryland floodplain river (Barwon‐Darling River, south‐east Australia). The distribution of sediment‐associated carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus was primarily related with significant differences in the textural character of the different floodplain surfaces. Elevation of the different floodplain surfaces above the active channel was a secondary influence on the distribution of carbon and phosphorus. Combined, these factors produce a spatial patch mosaic of sediment associated carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous across these floodplain surfaces.     

Late-Medieval Horse Remains at Cēsis Castle,Latvia, and the Teutonic Order’s Equestrian Resources in Livonia

EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggests these individuals had been used for riding. The size of the horses was within the range for medieval war horses, and the associated tack also pointed to prestigious riding animals. Radiocarbon dating of the bones placed them firmly within the Teutonic Order's period of rule. We conclude here that these horses fulfilled a military role in the final decades of the Teutonic Order’s rule in Livonia in the late 15th/early 16th century and that the better-known equestrian culture of late-medieval Prussia was comparable in character, if not in scale, to that in Livonia.     

Who Pays the Ferryman? Industry Policy and Shipbuilding in Australia

The lightweight fast ferry industry that has emerged in Australia over the last couple of decades has been a remarkable and surprising success story. Given the contraction of manufacturing in general and traditional shipbuilding in particular, its growth is all the more noteworthy. This paper analyses the evolution of the industry and considers the impact of industry policy on its development. Although the effectiveness of industry policy in Australia has generally been undermined by a lack of political support and inadequate integration with other government policies, it was, nevertheless, an important part of this industry's expansion.