Reviews of books

Satire in Colonial Spanish America: Turning the New World Upside Down. By Julie Greer Johnson. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Pp. xvii, 224.

La Araucana. Por Alonso De Ercilla Y Zuniga. Edición de Isaias Lerner. Madrid: Editorial Cátedra, 1993. Pp. 1026.

Diente del Parnaso (Manuscrito de la Universidad de Yale). Por Juan Del Valle Y Caviedes. Edición, introducción y notas de Luis Garcia‐Abrines Calvo, con la colaboración de SYDNEY JAIME MUIRDEN. Jaén: Diputación Provincial, 1993. Pp. 481.

Catálogo concordado de la Biblioteca ie Hernando Colón. Tomo 1, 1–400. By Tomas Marin Martinez, Jose Manuel Ruiz Asencio and Klaus Wagner. Madrid: Fundación MAPFRE América, Cabildo de la Catedral de Sevilla, 1993. Pp. 717.

The People of Quito, 1690–1810: Chan, ‘e and Unrest in the Underclass. By Martin Minchom. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, Dellplain Latin American Studies, 1994. Pp. xvii, 297.

Los encomenderos de Quito, 1534–16C 0. Origen y evolución de una élite colonial. By Javier Ortiz De La Tabla Ducasse. Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano‐Americanos, 1993. Pp. xvi, 377.

Word from New Spain: The Spiritual Au obiography of Madre María de San José (1656–1719). Critical edition and introduction by Kathleen Myers. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1993. Pp. x, 234.

Una partecita del cielo. La vida de Santa Rosa de Lima narrada por Don Gonzalo de la Maza a quien ella Ilamal a padre. Versión paleográfica de Luis Millones. Ensayos de Luis Millones y Fernando Iwasaki. Lima, Perú: Editorial Horizonte, 1993. Pp. 217.

Poema Heroyco al merecido aplauso de Soror Ivana Inés de la Crvz. De Ioseph Zatrilla Y Vico. [Barcelona, 1696]. Edición facsímile de Aureliano Tapia Mendez. Monterrey, N.L.: Talleres Gráficos de Cultura de la Ciudad de México, 1993. Pp. xi, 38.

Carta de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz a su confesor. Autodefensa espiritual. Estudios y notas de Aureliano Tapia Mendez. Monterrey, N.L.: Imprenta Madero (Ciudad de México) para Producciones al Voleo El Troquel, 1993. Pp. 253.

Reading Columbus. By Margarita Zamora. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993. Pp. xvi, 247.     

Educating geographers in Spain: geography teaching renewal by implementing the European Higher Education Area

This article discusses the current state of the geography discipline in Spanish Universities after putting into action the European Higher Education Area. After decades of geography teaching, following theoretical and expository discourse models, the so-called Bologna Process has been a great opportunity to reflect what geography should be taught, how geography should be taught and why geography should be taught. Aspects such as competences, employability, learning methodologies, assessment, Geographical Information Systems domain have been incorporated into the renewal of geography teaching in Spanish higher education, which has contributed to the strengthening of geography in a context of geospatial technologies revolution and public awareness of spatial challenges.     

World Heritage and the Local Community: The Case of Atapuerca (Burgos,Spain)

As social constructions, heritage properties require the participation of all their stakeholders, especially in the case of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) World Heritage Site is used as a test case for assessing the fulfilment of the local community’s development expectations, perceptions, and values. This paper is the first formal attempt to ascertain the opinions of residents in the surrounding villages — Ibeas de Juarros and Atapuerca — regarding the initiatives taken by the authorities, and the changes produced, since the site was included in the World Heritage List. The results show that many improvements can be made with the aim of democratizing the decision-making process, ensuring the involvement of the local community and improving their quality of life, in order to fulfil the spirit and recommendations of UNESCO.     

“Funerary bundles” in the PPNB at the archaeological site of Tell Halula (middle Euphrates valley,Syria): analysis of the taphonomic dynamics of seated bodies

This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis of the burials from Tell Halula (Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria). The numerous burials recovered from this Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) settlement, in addition to the large volume of field documentation, have provided an opportunity to study burials in more depth than is usually allowed. This data set is important because of the unique mode of deposition, the exceptional preservation of the related assemblages (including fabrics, mats, and basketry) and the highly standardized nature of the funerary practices. Although the burials were found in various stages of preservation and articulation, we will show that they all represented the same type of funerary deposit, namely seated burials, often encased in bottle-shaped funerary bundles, and that the variability found during excavation can be attributed to post-depositional taphonomic effects. We provide a study of the different forms that result from these taphonomic influences and highlight the importance of doing this type of analysis. We hope that this paper will be a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature surrounding both seated burials and the taphonomy of burials.     

A review of the Quaternary Tayassuidae (Mammalia,Artiodactyla) from the Tarija Valley,Bolivia

Five successive events can be widely recognized in the Tremadoc to early Arenig graptolite sequences of the world: 1, appearance of Dictyonema flabelliforme s.l. at the base; 2, appearance of Anisograptus; 3, appearance of Clonograptus and/or Adelograptus; 4, appearance of Temnograptus, Kiaerograptus, large Clonograptus and Tetragraptus; and 5, appearance of Tetragraptus approximatus at the base of the Arenig. The five events are used as a basis for distinguishing 5 successive graptolite assemblages and for correlating Tremadoc sequences. The most precisely and confidently correlated horizon is that of event 5, the appearance of T. approximatus; the next best is that based on event 4. Derivation of the biradiate Anisograptids, Clonograptus, and Adelograptus, from their presumed ancestor, Dictyonema flabelliforme, now appears to have passed through a stratigraphically, if not phyletically, intermediate stage represented by the triradiate Anisograptus, Triograptus and Bryograptus.     

First dendroarchaeological dates of prehistoric contexts in South America: chullpas in the Central Andes

Despite the existence of long-lived tree species with excellent tree-ring characteristics, the use of dendrochronological techniques for dating archaeological contexts has been very limited in South America. Recent research in the Bolivian Altiplano of the Central Andes has yielded a network of Polylepis tarapacana chronologies that goes back to the 13th century. This species was regularly used by local populations since pre-Columbian times as raw material for beams, lintels, hooks and other architectural features in houses, storage chambers, and sepulchers. The aim of this study is to argue in favor of the potential of P. tarapacana for providing high resolution dates of significant archaeological events during the pre-Columbian era. The chronology of chullpas (burial towers and storage chambers) in the southern Andean Altiplano is used as a case study. Growth rings from P. tarapacana have provided several centennial-length dendrochronological records including a reference regional chronology covering the last 786 years in the Central Andean highlands. Based on this long reference chronology calendar years were assigned to woody pieces from pre-Hispanic chullpas. Dendroarchaeological results are consistent with contextual evidence and most radiocarbon dates from woody samples and related archaeological items. Our results indicate that P. tarapacana has a high potential for providing annually-resolved tree-ring dates for archaeological contexts in the Altiplano since the early 13th century.     

The cultural paradiplomacy of Barcelona since the 1980s: understanding transformations in local cultural paradiplomacy

This article seeks to explain the conditions for the emergence and institutionalization of the cultural paradiplomacy of the city of Barcelona and its local effects. The recognition of the city as an active participant on the international stage is based on its evolution from an industrial to a service economy. Against this backdrop, Barcelona’s city council, in common with many other city authorities operating in the world’s metropolises during the 1980s, initiated its own cultural paradiplomacy as a strategy for attracting capital and promoting local development. This policy became established as part of a new multilevel system of governance. This article analyzes the causes of the institutionalization of this activity from an intergovernmental perspective. It concludes that in the context of economic globalization, the emergence of cities’ cultural paradiplomacy is strongly related to the restructuring of the State and its external administration and to the intensification of the ‘cultural branding’ of cities as a tool for global competition.     

The Study of Archaeological Floors: Methodological Proposal for the Analysis of Anthropogenic Residues by Spot Tests,ICP-OES,and GC-MS

The identification of chemical activity residues on archaeological surfaces requires the analysis of large numbers of samples, which can be costly and time consuming. Researchers wishing to apply sediment chemistry often are confronted with a dilemma of which technique to use and how to accommodate sediment chemistry into their budget. We propose an approach to the identification of chemical activity residues in which semiquantitative spot tests, which are cheap, quick, and easy to apply, are employed as an initial phase of analysis in order to leverage the results of more time-consuming and costly instrumental techniques. Three examples that pair spot tests with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry analysis show that spot tests successfully identify areas of interest. This approach can save both time and research funds.