The last glaciation in the Western Mourne Mountains,Northern Ireland

During the late‐Midlandian (25–13 ¹⁴C ka BP), the last Irish Ice Sheet was thicker in the Western Mourne Mountains than previously argued. Geomorphological and sedimento‐logical analysis shows that regional ice from the Irish Ice Sheet spilled over the mountains, reaching a major limit 5 km along Pigeon Rock Valley. These findings differ from the previous view that a local valley glacier occupied the valley during this period. The pattern of deglaciation was reconstructed using glacial and periglacial evidence. A complex topographic environment in the upper reaches of the valley suggests that regional ice stagnated as it wasted away. During the Nahanagan Stadial (Younger Dryas, ca. 11–10 ka ¹⁴C BP) an arcuate ridge was formed on the western flank of the valley. Calculations suggest that the Equilibrium Line Altitude, influenced by topographic conditions favourable for snow accumulation, was approximately between 1736 m and 1386 m lower during the Nahanagan Stadial than at present.     

The Sound of a Person

Konggap, sung melodic motifs that last only a few seconds embody the acoustic representation of a person among the Yupno people of Papua New Guinea and are a unique phenomenon in the Pacific. The konggap forms a very complex system of personal identification and expression of social relationships; at the same time it connects the singer to the ancestral world. Every person in Yupno society possesses his or her own konggap, and Yupno people are able to identify a large number of konggap, some men even up to three hundred. Nobody would sing his or her own konggap during the day. When crossing Yupno land, a person has to sing the konggap of the respective landowner to identify himself as an insider, a local person ? unlike strangers (and possible enemies) who remain silent. But at nightly dances each dancer sings his own konggap and during mourning at funerals groups of women simultaneously sing the konggap of the deceased person. An interdisciplinary ethnographic‐musicological‐cognitive fieldwork study was conducted in order to find out how it is possible that the Yupno are able to identify and distinguish between this staggering amount of very short sung motifs.     

Beyond Alternative: Exploring the Potential for Autonomous Food Spaces

Abstract: Much attention has been given in recent years to the rise of alternative food networks However, the very concept of “alternative” has come under increasing scrutiny, as theorists grapple with what is meant by alternative and whether the concept adequately captures the key components of such a diverse range of networks and communities. Drawing on poststructuralist political economy, I propose the concept of autonomous food spaces as one possible lens for approaches food‐provisioning activities that situate food within the broader context of non‐capitalist communities seeking to build relationships of mutual aid and non‐market exchanges. I use the examples of a radical collective kitchen, Food Not Bombs, and a community‐supported agriculture operation, Vegetables Unplugged, to explore the potential for autonomous food spaces as part of a broader “politics of possibilities” beyond capitalism.     

David S. Bell and John Gaffney (eds.), The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic,Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, xvi+219pp., £57.50, ISBN 9780230285224

Agir ici—Survie France Cameroun. Croisement dangereux Dossiers noirs de la politique africaine de la France, no. 7 L'Harmattan, 1996 95 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 7384 4458 X

ALDRICH, R. and MERLE, I. (eds) France Abroad: Indochina, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte University of Sydney, 1997 168 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 1 86451 042 0

ALLEGRE, C. and JEAMBAR, D. Questions de France Fayard, 1996 355 pp., 120F., pbk, ISBN 2 213 59744 8

BADINTER, R. La Prison républicaine (1871–1914) Livre de poche, 1995 44F., ISBN 2 253 136 344

BARTRAM, G., SLAWINSKI, M. and STEEL, D. (eds) Reconstructing the Past Keele University Press, 1996 224 pp., £35, ISBN 1 85331 168 5

HARGREAVES, J. Decolonization in Africa Longman, 1996 298 pp., £14.99, ISBN 0 582 24917 1

Impression de la Convention Nationale, 1792 — an IV. Inventaire analytique des unarticles ADXVIII^e 208–357 Archives nationales, 1997 556 pp., 400F., ISBN 2 86000 255 3

LETERRIER, S.‐A. Le XIX^e siècle historien, Anthologie raisonnée Belin, 1997 352 pp., 125 F., ISBN 2 7011 2252 X

School of European Studies, University of Wales Cardiff New readings, vol, 2, 1996 87 pp., no price indicated, ISSN 1359 7485

NORA, P. Les Lieux de mémoire Collection ‘Quarto’, Gallimard, 1997 vol. 1, 1642 pp., 180F., ISBN 2 07 074902 9; vol. 2, 1372 pp., 180F., ISBN 2 07 074903 7; vol. 3, 1756 pp., 180F., ISBN 2 07 074904 5.

WOLOCH, I. (ed.) Revolution and the Meanings of Freedom in the Nineteenth Century Stanford University Press, 1996 447 pp., £40, ISBN 08 047 2748 1     

Medieval Britain in 1967

Abstract

Almost 180 years of scholarship on the Lewis chessmen have given us a solid foundation of understanding, primarily based upon their art-historical analysis. Taking a more interdisciplinary approach (combining elements of art history with archaeology and history), this paper focuses on some over-looked themes — primarily the archaeological, gaming and political contexts of the 12th- and 13th-century North Sea world — and some more familiar themes but in a new light. We suggest a more fluid composition and function of the gaming hoard, with at least four sets of chessmen from the same workshop conceivably made for use in Lewis, possibly in the early 13th century.