Empire and the state: a critical theoretical assessment

In recent years there has been increasing use of the term ‘empire’ to describe US primacy in world affairs. This should not be viewed merely as an indictment of US power: there are genuine insights to be gained from the study of imperial formations in contemporary politics. Yet there remains confusion and disagreement over the true meaning of ‘empire’. Progressive schools of thought in the academic discipline of international relations can facilitate a fresh understanding of ‘empire’—one that is suited to the complexities of the contemporary global scene.     

Rock Art and Ritual: An Archaeological Analysis of Rock Art in Arid Central Australia

Rock art researchers throughout the world have explicitly or implicitly invoked ritual as an activity associated with the production of rock art but the articulation between the structure and composition of rock art assemblages and ritual behaviour remains poorly understood. Anthropologist, Roy Rappaport (1999) argued that all ritual, whatever the content or focus, has a universal structure. We review this proposition in the context of ritual studies and propose a method aimed at assessing the potential for identifying ritual structure in rock art assemblages. We discuss an archaeological analysis undertaken on the rock art assemblages in arid Central Australia, which aimed at distinguishing such a ritual structure among engraved assemblages, likely to have a Pleistocene origin, as well as more recent painted, stencilled and drawn assemblages. This analysis, despite its limitations, provides the foundation for developing a model, which will enhance the understanding of the relationship between the production of rock art and ritual.     

Raw or Pre-Fired: Kiln Construction at Sawankhalok,North Central Thailand,as a Guide to Ceramic History

Sawankhalok, located in north central Thailand, was an early stoneware ceramic production site where the first kilns were dug cave-like into the natural ground, a method used in China for thousands of years. After a century or so, kilns at Sawankhalok began to be constructed of brick. It is suggested that if the bricks were pre-fired then an external influence may have been responsible. To the contrary, if raw unfired clay was used in the construction of the kilns the evolution was more likely a consequence of conceptual continuity.With the aid of chemical and mineralogical analyses it is shown that the kiln bricks were unfired at the time of kiln construction thereby suggesting that traditional conservatism, apparent in many aspects of the industry, caused processes to remain unaltered in the absence of a persuasive reason for change. These conclusions reflect on the degree of indigenous technology and artistic development associated with Sawankhalok ceramics as opposed to external influence.     

The greater risk of fewer deaths: an ethnodemographic approach to child mortality in Hausaland

"A Nigerian case study illustrates how local understandings of health influence perceptions of infant survival in ways that may juxtapose indigenous interpretations to other 'objective' data. Evidence from two extended field investigations of a Hausa-Fulani village, set 12 years apart, suggests a decline in childhood mortality rates attendant upon the increasing availability of biomedicines. We note, however, that local perceptions are that mortality risks are now greater for those less than five years old. Our discussion focuses on the circumstances that inform this ethnodemography and its applicability to other population studies." (SUMMARY IN FRE)