An improved OSL chronology for the Still Bay layers at Blombos Cave,South Africa: further tests of single-grain dating procedures and a re-evaluation of the timing of the Still Bay industry across southern Africa

This paper presents a series of new single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for the Still Bay at Blombos Cave, South Africa, and compares them to previously published OSL, thermoluminescence (TL) and electron-spin resonance (ESR) ages for this site. Details are provided about the measurement and analytical procedures, including a discussion of the characteristics of the OSL signals of individual quartz grains. This forms the basis for further investigations into the sensitivity of the equivalent dose (D_e) estimates to a range of different analytical approaches, including changes in the size of the test dose, the choice of signal integration interval, the subtraction of an appropriate background, and isolation of the most light-sensitive (‘fast’) component of quartz OSL. We also report the results of an inter-operator test of D_e determination using seven new samples from Blombos Cave, and demonstrate the reproducibility of results obtained for two samples that had been dated previously at another laboratory and were measured and analysed again in this study. Together, these tests validate the robustness of the Blombos Cave single-grain OSL age estimates to a variety of alternative OSL dating procedures. We have incorporated, for the first time, these ages for Blombos Cave into a data set of all single-grain OSL ages for Still Bay and Howieson's Poort sites across southern Africa, and have used a statistical model to re-evaluate the timing and duration of the Still Bay industry. We calculate the most plausible start and end dates of the Still Bay as 72.2 ka and 71.3 ka, respectively – amounting to a duration of 0.9 ka – and estimate (with conventional 95% confidence) that this industry began no earlier than 75.5 ka, ended no later than 67.8 ka and lasted no longer than 6.6 ka.     

A walk of art: the potential of the sound walk as practice in cultural geography

Some of the most experimental and exciting work using sound and spatiality has come from the art world. This essay traces how an exciting hybrid of sound art and walking – the sound walk - has evolved over the last century. Examining the latest examples of sound walks in London and New York, and reflecting on the author's experience of creating a sound walk route, this essay focuses on the potential of this medium to create flowing, multi-sensory and embodied ways for social and cultural geographers to research the outside environment. The essay concludes that the medium could also be useful for presenting site-specific cultural geography to the public in an accessible and inclusive way.     

Book reviews

Karl Kaiser, Winston Lord, Thierry de Montbrial, David Watt, Western Security: What Has Changed? What Should be Done? Council on Foreign Relations, Inc. (New York) and Royal Institute of International Affairs (London), 1981, pp. 48. No price given.

Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman, The Political Economy of Human Rights. Two volumes, Black Rose Books, Montreal, 1979. Volume I, The Washington Connection and Third World Facism, pp. xvii + 441; Volume II, After the Cataclysm: Postwar Indochina and the Reconstruction of Imperial Hegemony, pp. xx + 392.

Vanuatu. Institute of Pacific Studies, The University of the South Pacific and The South Pacific Social Sciences Association, 1980, pp. 291. $Fiji4.50

Walter Lini, Beyond Pandemonium. From the New Hebrides to Vanuatu. Asia Pacific Books, Wellington in association with the Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific, 1980, pp. 64. $NZ6.95 (cloth), $NZ4.50 (paper).

Jeremy MacClancy, To Kill a Bird with Two Stones. A Short History of Vanuatu. Vanuatu Cultural Centre Publications No. 1, 1980, pp. 158. 300 Vatu (plus postage).

Richard Shears, The Coconut War. The Crisis on Espiritu Santo. Cassell Australia, North Ryde, pp. 210. $6.95.

G. J. Crough, Foreign Investment and Transnational Corporations in Australia: An Annotated Bibliography. Alternative Publishing Co‐operative, Sydney, 1977, pp. xiii + 200. $14.95.

Michael T. Skully (ed.), A Multinational Look at the Transnational Corporation: An International Collection of Academic and Corporate Views on the Future of Transnational Enterprise. Dryden Press Australia, Sydney, 1978, pp. iv + 278. $24.95.

Francien van Anrooij et al., Between People and Statistics: Essays on Modern Indonesian History. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1979, pp. 315. D.fl.39.50

Michael Brecher, with Benjamin Geist, Decisions in Crisis. Israel. 1967 and 1973. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1980, pp. xvii + 479. $34.95.

Desmond Ball, A Suitable Piece of Real Estate: American Installations in Australia. Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1980, pp. 180. $19.95 (cloth), $10.95 (paper).

W. J. Hudson, Billy Hughes in Paris. The Birth of Australian Diplomacy. Nelson in association with the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Melbourne, 1978, pp. 147. $8.95.

Charles R. Beitz, Political Theory and International Relations. Princeton University Press, 1979, pp. 199. $US21.00 (cloth), $US5.00 (paper).

J. H. Leurdijk (ed.), The Foreign Policy of the Netherlands, Sijthoff and Noordhoff, Alphen aan den Rijn, 1978, pp. ix + 356. D.Fl.85.00.

Shashikant Nair, Rural‐born Fijians and Indo‐Fijians in Suva: A Study of Movements and Linkages. Development Studies Centre, Monograph No. 24, The Australian National University, Canberra, 1980, pp. 97. $8.00.

Goran Hyden. Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania: Underdevelopment and an Uncaptured Peasantry Heineman Education Books, London, 1980, pp. 270. £3.50.

Elizabeth Vallance, Women in the House: A Study of Women Members of Parliament, Athlone Press, London, 1979, pp. 212. $9.70.

G. H. Jansen, Militant Islam, Pan Books Ltd, 1979, pp. 224. $4.25.

David Elliott, Thailand: Origins of Military Rule, Zed Press, London, 1978, pp. 190 £5.95 (cloth), £2.95 (paper).

Joseph A. Camilleri, Australian‐American Relations: The Web of Dependence, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1980, pp. 167, $29.95 (cloth), $9.95 (paper).

Ross Terrill, Mao: A Biography. Harper and Row, New York, 1980, pp. 481. $19.95     

Equity in Regional Service Provision

Most transportation agencies stipulate that an important planning goal is to provide equitable and just public transport services. However, who is to be served and the type of service that should be provided has been ambiguous. This paper develops a methodology for examining equity in the provision of public transportation services. An approach for identifying areas in need of public transport is developed based upon the use of socio-demographic and economic information. Public transport need is then related to levels of access to service. This approach makes it possible to establish the degree to which public transport services may be considered equitable in relation to need and suitable access. A detailed analysis of the southeast Queensland region of Australia illustrates how this approach may be used to inform public transport decision making.     

“Three concepts”—Hospitality, cosmopolitanism, and human dignity: Reconceptualising heritage futures

Resumen Utilizando las imágenes de la destrucción del patrimonio cultural Palestino como punto de partida, este artículo trata de reflexionar de forma crítica sobre el futuro del WAC recapacitando sobre las actuales preocupaciones, a nivel teórico y práctico, en relación con el patrimonio cultural y con la “arqueología de un único mundo”. Mi estrategia es “dotar” de tres conceptos—hospitalidad, el ser cosmopolita y la dignidad humana, a este debate sobre el futuro del WAC, a través de tres autores, Virginia Woolf, Jacques Derrida, y Edward Said. En mi opinión estos tres ‘conceptos’ no son sólo fundamentales para la reconceptualización del patrimonio cultural sino también para sacar a la luz cuestiones claves en relación con la identidad institucional del WAC y los posibles cambios futuros. Mis conclusiones ratifican que la madurez del WAC cristaliza la necesidad de conmemorar no sólo las aspiraciones fundacionales y los logros acumulados, sino también de abrir el futuro de la organización, de forma crítica y reflexiva, a nuevos miembros y a preocupaciones, arqueologías y patrimonios alternativos o paralelos.

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Résumé A l'aide d'images sur la destruction de l'héritage culturel palestinien je cherche à réfléchir sur l'avenir du WAC à travers les rapports contemporains philosopho-operationels de l'héritage culturel et de l'archéologie mondiale. Ma stratégie est de démontrer à travers trois auteurs tels que Virginia Woolf, Jacques Derrida, et Edward Said, trois idées-l'hospitalité, le cosmopolitanisme et la dignité humaine, portant sur ce débat concernant l'avenir du WAC. Je discute le fait que ces idées sont non seulement fondamentales à la reconceptualisation de l'héritage culturel mais aussi capables de donner naissance à des questions fondamentales sur l'identité de l'institution et sur de possibles transformations du WAC. Mes conclusions répètent que l'entrée en majorité du WAC souligne le besoin non seulement de commémorer les aspirations et les efforts accomplis mais aussi d'élargir l'avenir de l'organisation vers de nouvelles fonctions et des héritages archéologiques.