Unofficial Road Building in the Amazon: Socioeconomic and Biophysical Explanations

Roads have manifold social and environmental impacts, including regional development, social conflicts and habitat fragmentation. ‘Road ecology’ has emerged as an approach to evaluate the various ecological and hydrological impacts of roads. This article aims to complement road ecology by examining the socio‐spatial processes of road building itself. Focusing on the Brazilian Amazon, a heavily‐studied context due to forest fragmentation by roads, the authors consider non‐state social actors who build ‘unofficial roads’ for the purpose of gaining access to natural resources to support livelihoods and community development. They examine four case studies of roads with distinct histories in order to explain the socio‐spatial processes behind road building in terms of profit maximization, land tenure claims, co‐operative and conflictive political ecologies, and constraints as well as opportunities afforded by the biophysical environment. The study cases illustrate the need for a multi‐pronged theoretical approach to understanding road building, and call for more attention to the role of non‐state actors in road construction.     

Der „Mitteleuropäische Kristall“ – zwischen „Blauer Banane“ und „osteuropäischem Pentagon“

Der deutsch-tschechische Grenzraum liegt gewisserma?en in einer Sandwich-Position zwischen verschiedenen europ?ischen Makroregionen; auf europ?ischer Ebene wird er bislang eher als Verbindungselement wahrgenommen. Seine innere Struktur ist von einer relativ geringen Besiedlungsdichte und ausgepr?gten Stadt-Land-Unterschieden gekennzeichnet. Im Frühjahr 2006 gründeten die beiden nationalen Regierungen eine deutsch-tschechische Arbeitsgruppe für Raumentwicklung. Der Artikel skizziert, welche Ziele und Erwartungen damit verbunden werden und welche Funktionen ein solches Gremium übernehmen kann. Dazu wird zun?chst die Ausgangssituation dieses Raumes skizziert. Abschlie?end wird das m?gliche Leitbild des „Mitteleurop?ischen Kristalls“ vorgestellt.     

What's in a name? Possible names for a legislative body and the birth of national sovereignty during the French Revolution, 15-16 June 1789

Historians disagree over the meaning of the declaration on 17June 1789 by Third Estate deputies, along with a few clergy,that they constituted a ‘National Assembly’, onethat could act in place of the Estates General and despite theabsence of most Noble and Clerical deputies. This article reconstructsthe debates of 15–16 June 1789 leading up to this declaration,finding in deputy memoirs, letters and newspaper accounts fifty-eightspeeches given by thirty-eight deputies supporting several alternativeproposals. Careful analysis of the speeches demonstrates thatselection of the title National Assembly was a result of contingentevents and political compromise, primarily chosen as a meansto end the stalemate between the Orders over verification ofdeputy credentials and over whether voting in the Estates Generalwould be by head or by Order. It thus calls into question argumentsthat the declaration was the necessary outcome of a pre-revolutionaryprocess.     

Traditions and transitions in Korean bronze technology

Metallurgical examination of Korean bronze artifacts shows that a technical tradition based on casting and use of leaded high-tin alloys was established in Korea at the early stages of bronze use. After the subsequent discovery of quenching methods that suppress formation of the brittle δ phase, new thermo-mechanical techniques were introduced between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. Lead-free alloys were used, and tin contents near that of the peritectic point in the Cu–Sn phase diagram were chosen. Leaded high tin alloys continued in use, but only in cast objects, and with significant composition variation. The unique conditions during the time of innovation suggest that the transition to new metallurgical techniques was gradually achieved through domestic technical innovation inspired by external influences.     

The in situ preservation of archaeological remains: using lysimeters to assess the impacts of saturation and seasonality

Recent research has studied the effects of seasonal variability on waterlogged burial environments. In a new approach to the study of archaeological contexts, the use of controlled laboratory conditions via lysimeters has enabled new insights into the nature of short term fluctuations in saturation, and the impact that these can have on burial contexts. In addition, the protocols used have facilitated interesting insights into burial environments and the way in which fluctuations in saturation and seasonality can impact on the contained organic components within them.     

Nitrogen isotopes and the trophic level of humans in archaeology

Human and domesticate animal bone collagen δ¹⁵N values in prehistory differ generally by 3‰ or more from Neolithic to post- Roman times in Northwest Europe, leading to an assumed dietary animal protein fraction of 60–80% using a standard interpretation of δ¹⁵N values. We examine the assumptions on which this model rests and the limitations of our knowledge in the analysis of δ¹⁵N values in archaeology. We have developed a set of models which, with small changes made in assumptions (on the order of 1‰), can produce substantially lower estimates of the dietary animal protein fraction for given δ¹⁵N values. We consider the implications of various dietary animal protein fractions on agricultural carrying capacities and human population densities in prehistory.     

Transitions in cast iron technology of the nomads in Mongolia

Metallurgical study of seven cast iron artifacts recovered from sites of the former Xiongnu (BC 3rd to AD 1st), Turk (AD 6th to 8th), Khitan (AD 10th to 12th), and Mongolian empires (AD 12th to 15th) shows that the earlier Xiongnu and Turk artifacts were made of cast iron alloys of near eutectic composition. The later Khitan and Mongol objects had greatly reduced carbon content in the range of ultrahigh carbon steel rather than cast iron, and contained more than 0.5 mass % silicon as an alloying element. Inclusions high in sulfur, phosphorus or silicon are also present. These differences suggest that Mongolia experienced a technical transition a few centuries before the establishment of the Mongolian empire, which is in agreement with some written accounts. The microstructures of the cast iron artifacts are compared with the related archaeological and documentary evidence. The results suggest that the use of fossil coal in smelting and the state policy of controlling iron production were the major factors responsible for the transition.     

国家起源的理论

千百年来,国家起源一直是伟大哲学家和思想家们关注的一个话题,从亚里士多德、孟德斯鸠、霍布斯、卢梭、弗格森、孔德到摩尔根、马恩和列宁,都有过经典性的系统论述。时至今日,在新资料、新方法、新技术的支持下,在吸收过去理论成就的基础上,国家起源更成为当今国际学术界的三大课题(人类起源、农业起源和国家文明起源)之一,并且产生了很多既有实证性又有理论性的研究成果。卡内罗在这篇经典文章中,对当今各种理论流派做了比较详细的概括总结。就他自身而言,是持强制论或者说战争论的观点,认为战争是国家兴起的主要动力。他甚至认为,世界各地的历史学和考古学证据都毫无二致地证明战争是早期国家形成的根本原因,战争以这样或那样的形式在国家兴起中起到了决定性作用。当然,他也认为,战争并非国家起源的唯一因素。尽管战争可能是国家兴起的必要条件,但却不是充分条件。国家的兴起还需要一些特殊条件,经过一些具体的过程,例如自然的限制、社会的限制、资源的集中、政治的演化等等。卡内罗的战争论虽然是一家之言,但由于它对历史的继承和现实的尊重而有巨大的合理性,对包括中国在内的国家文明起源研究有重大影响,而且今后仍然有十分积极的意义。本文写作于1970年,从时间上看观点已显陈旧,但是作为国家起源理论的一种重要流派,仍然值得介绍和回顾。