Book reviews

Emilio Franzina (1995) Gli italiani al nuovo mondo; L'emigrazione italiana in America 1492‐1942 (Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore), pp. 1‐644. 65,000 lire, ISBN 88‐04‐35977‐3.

Marta Petrusewicz (1996) Latifundium. Moral Economy and Material Life in a European Periphery, translated by Judith C. Green (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press), pp. i‐xx, 1‐289, ISBN 047‐2103423 hardback.

H. James Burgwyn (1997) Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period, 1918‐1940 (Westport, Conn.: Praeger), pp. i‐xx, 1‐246, ISBN 0‐275‐94877‐3 hardback.

Lutz Klinkhammer (1997) Stragi naziste in Italia. La guerra contro i civili (1943‐44), translated by Suzanne Meyer (Rome: Donzelli), pp. i‐xii, 1‐165, 18,000 lire; Paolo Pezzino (1997) Anatomia di un massacro. Controversia sopra una strage tedesca (Bologna: Il Mulino), pp. 1‐243, 26,000 lire, paperback.

Mabel Berezin (1997) Making the Fascist Self: the Political Culture of Interwar Italy (Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell University Press), pp. 1‐267, ISBN 0‐8014‐8420‐9 paperback; Simonetta Falasca‐Zamponi (1997) Fascist Spectacle: the Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy (Berkeley and London: University of California Press), pp. 1‐314, $40.00, ISBN 0‐520‐20623‐1 hardback.

David Ward (1996) Antifascisms: Cultural Politics in Italy, 1943‐46. Benedetto Croce and the Liberals, Carlo Levi and the ‘Actionists’ (Madison, NJ: Farteigh‐Dickinson University Press), pp. 1‐244, ISBN 0‐8363‐3676‐4.

David Forgacs and Robert Lumley (eds) (1996) Italian Cultural Studies: an Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 1‐368, $19.95, ISBN 0‐19‐871509‐9 paperback.

Maurizio Degl'lnnocenti (1995) La società unificata, Associazone, sindacato, partito sotto il fasdsmo (Manduria: Piero Lacaita Editore), pp. 1‐216, 25,000 lire, paperback.

Nello Ajello (1997) Illungo addio, intellettuali e PCI dal 1958 al 1991 (Rome‐Bari: Laterza), pp. 1‐425, 35,000 lire, ISBN 88‐420‐5323‐6.

Tom Behan (1997) The Camorra (London and New York: Routledge), pp. i‐vii, 1 ‐225, ISBN 0‐415‐09987‐0 hardback.

Sandro Setta (1995) La Destra ndl'Italia del dopoguerra (Bari: Laterza), pp. i‐xi, 1‐242, 35,000 lire, ISBN 88‐420‐4591‐8.

Manuela Gieri (1995) Contemporary Italian Filmmaking: Strategies of Subversion ‐Pirandello, Fellini, Scola and the Directors of the New Generation (Toronto: University of Toronto Press), pp. 1‐301, ISBN 0‐8020‐0556‐X hardback; ISBN 0‐8020‐6979‐7 paperback.     

Human occupation in South America by 20,000 BC: the Toca da Tira Peia site,Piauí, Brazil

When and how did the first human beings settle in the American continent? Numerous data, from archaeological researches as well as from palaeogenetics, anthropological and environmental studies, have led to partially contradictory interpretations in recent years, often because of the lack of a reliable chronological framework. The present study contributes to the establishment of such a framework using luminescence techniques to date a Brazilian archaeological site, the Toca da Tira Peia. It constitutes an exemplary case study: all our observations and measurements tend to prove the good integrity of the site and the anthropological nature of the artifacts and we are confident in the accuracy of the luminescence dating results. All these points underline the importance of the Toca da Tira Peia. The results bring new pieces of evidence of a human presence in the north-east of Brazil as early as 20,000 BC. The Toca da Tira Peia thus contributes to the rewriting of the history of the peopling of the American continent.     

Wet-Site Excavation and Field Methodology at Butrint,Albania: The Roman Forum Excavations Project

Since the start of archaeological research at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint (Bouthrotos/ Buthrotum) in southern Albania, archaeologists have allowed the water table to serve as a limit to archaeological excavation. From 2011 to 2013, the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project conducted the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to 4 m below the water table in the ancient urban center. Well-preserved wood and other organic remains were recovered from waterlogged deposits, dating as early as the 7th century b.c. Major changes in RFE Project methodology emerged in response to wet-site archaeology. Unskilled local workers were trained to become local excavators. This significantly improved excavation techniques and recording procedures and enhanced the quality of the archaeological data, showing the high degree to which seemingly disparate elements of field methodology are intertwined.     

When nature nurtures children: nature as a containing and holding space

Contemporary theories of childhood recognize children as experts in their own lives, individuals whose perspectives are worthy of study. Immigrant and refugee children riding waves of historical, geographical, political, cultural and familial changes are likewise recognized as ‘socially competent actors’, anchored in part by their capacity to express personal interests and to form opinions. In a Montreal-based 2012 phenomenological study, 19 of these socially competent actors representing 5 continents were invited to share their perspectives concerning the role of the natural world in their socio-cultural adaptation process. Data provided information concerning children's lived experiences of nature. Research findings provided strong evidence that children entered into relationship with nature. Within this relationship, nature nurtured children by providing a space not unlike that of Winnicott's ‘holding’ or Bion's ‘containment’.