Ancestral pueblo population aggregation and abandonment in the North American Southwest

After over a century of archaeological research in the American Southwest, questions focusing on population aggregation and abandonment continue to preoccupy much of Pueblo archaeology. This article presents a historical overview of the present range of explanatory approaches to these two processes, with a primary focus on population aggregation in those regions occupied by historic and prehistoric Pueblo peoples. We stress the necessarily complementary nature of most of these explanations of residential abandonment and aggregation. Case studies from the northern Southwest illustrate the continuous nature of these processes across time and space. We suggest that additional explanatory potential will be gained by the use of well-defined theoretical units to frame our current approaches. We extend the use of the local community concept as a theoretical unit of organization that, along with explicit archaeological correlates, should help advance our research into population aggregation and abandonment in this and other regions of the world.     

Human biology in the Classic Maya collapse: Evidence from paleopathology and paleodiet

We review evidence from human biology—paleopathological and isotopic paleodietary studies on ancient Maya skeletons—to assess the validity of ecological models of the Classic Maya collapse, in which elevated disease and deteriorating diet are commonly assumed. To be upheld, the health arguments of ecological models require that the Maya disease burden (1) was greater than that for many other societies and (2) increased over the span of occupation. The dietary argument requires (1) consistent change in diet from Preclassic and Early Classic Periods to the Terminal Classic and (2) increasing social divergence in diet. A correlation between diet and disease is necessary to link these arguments. Neither pathology nor isotopic data consistently support these criteria. Instead, it appears that local environmental and political factors created diversity in both disease burden and diet. In view of the human biological data, we are skeptical of ecological models as generalized explanations for the abandonment of Classic Maya sites in the southern lowlands.     

An cUbaid site in the Emirate of Sharjah (U.A.E.)

This article reports on the excavations of a coastal site in Sharjah dating to the 5th millennium BC at which examples of painted ^cUbaid pottery, probably of Mesopotamian origin, were found.     

Sustainable transport planning and the Dublin transportation initiative

The concept of sustainability has become a significant consideration in planning in Europe and the US. At both the international and the national level, urban planners and policymakers have developed a package of policies designed to produce sustainable growth and development. In transport, this has been interpreted to mean that we need to increase accessibility while we reduce mobility by shifting trips from automobile to walking, bicycle or public transport modes. Using this criteria, the latest Dublin transport plan has been found to be only partially effective. Similar to many American transport plans, the DTI has opted for the infrastructure‐related sustainability policies and avoided the less popular economic disincentives.     

'They Never Trusted Me to Drive': Farm girls and the gender relations of agricultural information transfer

This research explores the ways in which the gender relations of family farming influence the transfer of agricultural information and knowledge resources to farm girls, a rarely studied population. The study is based on a sample of 32 female farmers from southern Ontario, who were interviewed extensively about their experiences growing up on family farms, and about their lives as adult farmers. Their accounts underscore the fact that the gendered division of labour evident on North American farms constrains the information passed on to farm girls (and women) in particular ways. Farm girls do not share fully in the occupational inheritance of agriculture - they are frequently excluded or marginalised from important agricultural resources, including information. This exclusion comes about through the ongoing social processes of agrarian patriarchal culture, operating both inside and outside of the agri-family unit. In particular, the study illustrates how the social construction of agriculture is heavily reinforced by certain types of myth-making, which work to disadvantage farm girls and women.     

Constructions of Filipina Migrant Entertainers

While international labor migration from South and South-east Asia has received a considerable amount of attention in academic circles, a feminist discourse is largely ignored. This ignorance is reflected in a dearth of materials on women labor migrants, as well as explicit considerations of gender. Discussions of Filipina migrant entertainers commonly emphasize poverty as the primary determinant of their movement. Evidence does suggest that unemployment in the Philippines has contributed to their search for overseas employment. However, this discourse has kept hidden other institutionalized forms of oppression that continuously and simultaneously affect Filipina migrant entertainers. In particular, the concrete realities of their gender, race, and nationality have been replaced by a reductionist overemphasis on economic factors. Through an examination of government and private institutions engaged in the recruitment, deployment, regulation, and protection of overseas contract workers, I identify and deconstruct four controlling images of Filipina migrant entertainers: the Other; the prostitute; the willing victim; and the heroine. I argue that these reflect the observer's intention, objectives, and motives in addressing the situation of Filipina migrant entertainers. Specifically, these representations of Filipina migrant entertainers have been socially constructed to rationalize and justify the existing material conditions encountered by the women. This analysis transcends more traditional migration studies that focus predominantly on a single factor- economics-to the exclusion of other interrelated aspects, such as gender, race, and nationality. The discussion addresses the epistemological foundations of how the migration of Filipina entertainers is contextualized.