Reconstructing site organization in the eastern Aleutian Islands,Alaska using multi-element chemical analysis of soils

This study presents the results of multi-element analysis of weak-acid extractions of 953 soil samples collected by coring on and around pre-historic village sites on two islands, Sanak and Amaknak, in the eastern Aleutians. Concentrations of aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), and zinc (Zn) were determined using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Resultant elemental signatures allow the identification of site features and organization in the absence of large-scale excavation. All the archeological sites showed similar and distinct chemical signatures regardless of the several thousand year date range of the sites or the length of time a site was occupied. However, intensity of occupation does appear to affect concentrations of elements. Site features such as houses, house berms, house floors and middens had distinct anthropogenic signatures and could be distinguished from one another. This approach may be used to identify sites that do not have distinct surface features and to target areas for excavation.     

The Hellenic and Hippocratic origins of the spinal terminology

Numerous Hellenic terms have been gradually adopted during the development of modern medical science. Moreover, there are a significant number of words that derive directly from the Hippocratic texts. Hippocrates (ca. 460-ca. 377 BC), revered as the father of medicine, and his followers left behind a valuable heritage of medical knowledge that, practically, laid the foundations of Western medicine. Their theories, collected in Corpus Hippocraticum, transformed medicine by adding, mainly, clinical observation and inductive reasoning as significant parts of medical diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, Hippocratic writings have provided an invaluable heritage of medical terms for all medical fields. The present article examines the Hellenic and Hippocratic terminology referring to the spine and how this vocabulary has influenced and dominated upon modern spinal onomatology.     

Vernacular culture and the place of folk music

This paper focuses on an evening event at the Community Centre, Jacksdale, Nottinghamshire, UK in 2001 featuring a group called The Chase, performing folk music and dance from France and other European countries. It raises a series of issues concerning the relationships between folk culture and modern everyday life. These questions intersect with debates concerning authenticity, tradition, working-class culture, community and sense of place. The paper develops the concept of vernacular culture within a dynamic and plural conception of place as a means of theoretically locating folk music within modern everyday life.     

‘Our lives,our fortunes,and our sacred honors’: The Kansas Civil War and the revolutionary tradition

New England settlers used the history of the American Revolution in their struggle against the proslavery party in Kansas territory. As the settlement of Kansas became increasingly politicized over slavery, New England settlers drew on the history of their Puritan and Patriot ancestors to legitimize their actions. Although the New Englanders were a minority of the Kansas population, they nonetheless claimed a privileged understanding of the meaning of liberty in the United States. The free‐state political movement used these claims as an effective propaganda tool. The New England settlers, and the free‐state movement, claimed to be acting on the principles of the Revolution. At times, free‐staters argued that their struggle surpassed the Revolution in significance. Eventually, later Kansans concluded that the Kansas Civil War had been, not a revolution itself, but the prelude to a national Civil War of revolutionary significance in its spread of human liberty.     

New books

Lehrbuch der Geographie, von Hermann Wagner. Sechste, gänzlich umgear‐beitete Auflage von Guthe‐Wagner's “Lehrbuch der Geographie.” Erster Band—Erschienen in 4 Lieferungen, 1894–1899—Einleitung. Allgemeine Erdkunde. Hannover und Leipzig. Hahn'sche Buchhandlungen, 1900. Pp. xvi + 882.

La Traversée de l'Afrique du Zambèze au Congo Français. Par Edouard Foá. Paris: Librairie Plon. Pp. xii + 323.

Eaglehawk and Crow: A Study of the Australian Aborigines. By John Matiiew, M.A., B.D. London : David Nutt; and Melbourne : Melville, Mullen, and Slade, 1899. With Illustrations and a Linguistic Map. Pp. xvi. and 288. Price 18s. net.

Origin and Character of the British People. By Nottidge Charles Macnamara. London : Smith, Elder, and Co. 1900. Pp. 234. With 33 Illustrations. Price 6s.

La Rénovation de l'Asie. Par Pierre Leroy‐Beaulieu. Armand Colin et Cie, Editeurs. Paris, 5. Rue de Mézières, 1900.

Narrative of Cruises in the Mediterranean during the Greek War of Independence, 1822–26. By William Black, L.E.C.S.E., Surgeon H.M.S. Chanticleer. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd; London : Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., Limited, 1900. Price 14s.

British America. ("The British Empire Series.”) London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co., Limited, Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road, 1900.

Bilder aus dem Kaukasus. Neue Studien zur Kenntnis Kaukasiens. Von C. von Hahn, Professor am I. Gymnasium zu Tiflis. Leipzig : Dunckler und Humbolt, 1900. Pp. 335. Price 6 M.

Surveying and Exploring in Siam. By James McCarthy, F.R.G.S., Director‐General of the Siamese Government Surveys. London : John Murray, 1900. Pp. xii + 215. Price 10s. 6d. net.

The Value of the Waters of the Great Rivers of India. By Major‐General F. C. Cotton.

Die Insel Giglio. Prague : Heinr. Mercy Sohn, 1900. Folio. Pp. 127.

Nelson's Supplementary Reader—The Story of the North‐West and North‐East Passages. By C. G. Cash, F.R.S.G.S. London, Edinburgh, and New York : Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1899.

La Spéléologie on Science des Cavernes. Par E. A. Martel (Scientia, Mars 1900). Paris : G. Carré et C. Naud. Pp.126. Price 2 frcs.

Dent's County Guides.—I. Hampshire with the Isle of Wight. By George A. B. Dewar, John Vaughan, and others. II. Norfolk. By William A. Duff. London : J. M. Dent and Co., 1900. Price 4s. 6d. net each.

Sir Stamford Raffles. England in the Far East. By Hugh E. Egerton, M.A. ("Builders of Greater Britain” Series.) London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1900. Pp. 290. Price 5s.

Khaki in South Africa. China of To‐day: The Yellow Peril. London : George Newnes, Ltd., 1900. Price 5s. each.

How to read the War News from China. London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1900. Pp. 142. Price 1s.

The Dominion of Canada: With Newfoundland and an Excursion to Alaska. Handbook for Travellers. By Karl Baedeker. Second revised edition. Leipzig: Karl Baedeker. 1900. Pp. lxii + 268. Price M. 5.