The Commonwealth and the Oath of Allegiance Crisis: A Study in Inter-War Commonwealth Relations

Recent historical treatment of Anglo-Irish relations in the 1930s has overlooked the complex nature of the legal disagreements between the two countries during that period. This article provides an account of some of the fundamental points of legal disagreement between the countries. It explains how differences of opinion as to the structure of intra-commonwealth constitutional relations led to conflict between the British government and that of the Irish Free State, with particular reference to the oath of allegiance crisis. It considers how other commonwealth countries saw these points of conflict. It concludes with a re-appraisal of the roles of Lord Hailsham and de Valera in Anglo-Irish relations, as examples of differing attitudes towards the commonwealth relationship.     

Technological change and Post Office communications in Britain, 1918–1945

The pressures of both World War I and World War II made the British Post Office a central concern in national politics. Yet this development has received little attention in the historiography of the Post Office or the British state. The demands of war and expectations for service from individuals living in a consumer society raised questions as to how to improve technology and infrastructure to satisfy these divergent needs. The Post Office’s position as a department within the Civil Service meant that debates over the nature of technology, and the levels of spending required to sustain and improve Post Office services inevitably led to heated discussions concerning the practicalities of increased spending during the economic downturns of the 1920s and 1930s, and the subsequent pre-war planning period from 1937. This article will explore these issues by examining the nature of the Government-Post Office relationship in this period, and trace how the relationship evolved to accommodate the growing needs of the domestic and wartime economy. It will show the growing centrality of the Post Office to the nation’s communications planning. Moreover, it will demonstrate how a mixture of new technology, and an adaptation of working practices helped it adapt to both the peacetime economy of the 1920s, and the pressures of the World War II.     

Caught between extremes: the culture and economics of traditional mask art in contemporary Sri Lanka

In contemporary Sri Lanka, the commodification of local mask production resulting from cultural tourism has caught the traditional mask artisan in a tight spot between “tradition” and “modernity”. The impacts of tourism are diversely received and interpreted within the local mask artisan community, with tourism simultaneously resulting in what can be called a “cultural discovery” and “cultural decline”. Within this cultural debate, this paper is an attempt to understand how the traditional mask artisan arrives at a balance between “tradition” and “modernity”, and culture and commerce. Qualitative research conducted in southern Sri Lanka shows that tradition and modernity are shifting conceptions. Negotiating a balance between tradition and modernity is, therefore, largely a matter of meaning and interpretation. When cultural commodification occurs, tradition and modernity are continuously redefined and reinvented by both the traditional mask artisan and cultural consumer to fit their own needs and agendas. Cultural commodification contributes to the survival and revival of Sri Lanka's mask tradition, a strategy that is simultaneously welcomed and contested within the local mask artisan community.     

Possible rheumatoid arthritis found in the human skeleton collected from the tomb of Joseon Dynasty,Korea, dating back to the 1700s AD

We report a possible rheumatoid arthritis (RA) case found in a Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) tomb encapsulated by a lime‐soil mixture barrier (LSMB). The tomb is thought to have been constructed during the 1700s AD (1760 AD by carbon dating). In our anthropological examination, joint destruction, erosion or fusion (signs of polyarthritis) were identified mainly in the peripheral skeleton. Especially in both sides of the wrist bones, severe destruction/joint fusion possibly caused by polyarthritis was observed. A similar polyarthritis pattern also was seen in the right foot bones, even though we failed to confirm this symmetry due to the missing left foot bones. Despite these findings, signs suggestive of polyarthritis are very rarely seen in axial bones, even though bony fusions are found in the atlanto‐occipital joint or thoracic vertebrae (TV) 9–10. By the osteological signs observed in this case, the individual, a female, might have been suffering from a very late stage of RA and died in her 40s, even though other forms of chronic arthritis could not be ruled out completely. Though the current case could not provide evidence to decisively settle the debates on the antiquity of RA, our report could be a stepping stone for forthcoming studies on RA cases found in East Asian countries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life and death on a Barbadian sugar plantation: historic and bioarchaeological views of infection and mortality at Newton Plantation

Despite the rise in African Diaspora bioarchaeology, poor preservation and sampling bias has impeded Caribbean research. Paleodemography and infectious diseases are assessed here for 46 skeletons exhumed in 1997–98 from a slave cemetery at Newton Plantation (ca. 1660–1820). Life expectancy is closer to historic predictions than in earlier craniodental studies. High rates of periosteal infection were encountered but no evidence of specific skeletal diseases. Absence of sequelae does not support Newton as a healthy population relative to others. Rather, extreme stress, particularly for Newton females, is evidenced by the lowest relative mean age at death of any diaspora skeletal sample, and many mild to moderate lower limb infections in men, women and adolescents attest to injuries on the sugar gangs. Activity stress and abuse, coupled with disease and malnutrition, culminated in high mortality and replacement. This first comprehensive study of health on a Caribbean sugar plantation contributes to a growing biology of the African Diaspora and over three decades of Newton Plantation research. Specifically, it demonstrates the importance of systemic, multidisciplinary and comparative approaches to reconstructing the complex life stresses of slavery. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Reconsideration of the Construction Period of the Cruciform Terraces and the Elevated Causeways in the Angkor Monuments,Based on the Magnetic Susceptibility of the Sandstone Blocks*

In this paper, the construction period of the cruciform terraces with columns and the elevated causeways in the Angkor monuments of Cambodia is reconsidered, based on the results of our investigation of magnetic susceptibility and other characteristics of sandstone blocks. From an art‐historical point of view, they are generally considered as modifications in the post‐Bayon style period—the period during the reign of Jayavarman VIII (1243–95 ce ) or later. However, from a lithological point of view, the average magnetic susceptibilities of the sandstone blocks in the cruciform terraces with columns and the elevated causeways are consistent with the rest of the monument. In addition, the characteristics of the sandstone blocks in the cruciform terraces, such as their shape, the orientation of the bedding plane and the stacking method, suggest that they were constructed in the same period as the rest of the monument.     

Was He Murdered Or Was He Not?—Part I: Analyses of Mercury in the Remains of Tycho Brahe

World‐renowned Renaissance astronomer Tycho Brahe died on 24 October 1601, after 11 days of illness. Several conspiracy theories regarding his death have been aired, the first shortly after his death by William Shakespeare in the play Hamlet, published in 1603. A key factor in the still lively debate is whether he was administered mercury—as medicine by his own hand, or as poison by an unfriendly hand. In 2010, Brahe's grave was reopened and samples of his bones, hair, teeth and the textiles were procured and analysed. Here, we present evidence that Brahe was not administered lethal doses of mercury.     

ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL HISTORICAL CLOTHING: AUTOMATED PRODUCTION OF A TWO‐DIMENSIONAL PATTERN*

A recurrent problem for scholars who investigate traditional and historical clothing is the measuring of items of clothing and subsequent pattern construction. The challenge is to produce exact data without damaging the item. The main focus of this paper is to present a new procedure for establishing a three‐dimensional model and the corresponding two‐dimensional pattern for items of skin clothing that are not flat. The new method is non‐destructive, and also accurate and fast. Furthermore, this paper presents an overview of the more traditional methods of pattern documentation and measurement. Their weaknesses and strengths are also assessed.