THE EARLY STATE MODULE: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

The Early State Module model predicts specific, archaeologically testable, spatial attributes for early states. Further, it suggests that social complexity develops as a result of interaction between equal-sized polities, and that degree of complexity and territorial size are related. The spatial patterns of some early states presented to support the ESM model are tested statistically and are found not to satisfy the predictions of the model. Case studies of non-state and state societies indicate that the spatial attributes of ESMs are not unique to early states, that interaction does not always lead to state formation, and that territorial size and complexity are not necessarily directly related.     

INTRUSIVE BURIAL GROUPS IN THE LATE ROMAN CEMETERY AT LANKHILLS, WINCHESTER—A REASSESSMENT OF THE EVIDENCE1

This paper examines the evidence brought forward by the excavator to support his hypothesis that foreign ethnic groups were buried in the late Roman cemetery at Lankhills, Winchester, and that these groups are identifiable from their burial rites. The report is reassessed within the pattern of diversity which is the demonstrable norm of burial practice worldwide. The value of strongly theoretical explanations of funerary layout is questioned in the light of case-studies where historical sources add an otherwise unavailable dimension to the context of the known archaeological data.     

Human conflict and ecosystem services: finding the environmental price of warfare

Environmental degradation resulting from warfare is a growing concern, particularly with increasing recognition of humanity's dependence on healthy ecosystems. Though environmental legislation does exist that seeks to prevent or mitigate environmental harm before, during and after conflict, it has limited scope and effectiveness. This may be one reason why the environmental laws of war are so rarely applied in attempts to bring parties responsible for environmental harm to justice. Enforcement of such legal instruments also requires appropriate quantification of environmental damage, which is particularly difficult in a warfare context. A focus on the loss of environmental resources, habitats or ecosystems is only part of the story—the real cost of environmental damage is in the loss of ecosystem services that such resources provide, both now and in the future, and which regional and global human societies depend upon. The ecosystem services framework, wherein the costs of damage to ecosystem services are quantified in economic terms, may prove a more effective way of highlighting the environmental damage resulting from warfare. Moreover, quantification along monetary lines is potentially more likely to establish a solid case for justifiable reparations than criteria relating to loss of biodiversity or ecosystem health, which are more difficult for society and governmental agencies to place specific values on. This article discusses the ecosystem services framework in the context of warfare, and highlights both the potential and the challenges that may accompany adoption of such a framework by the international community.