Ghostliness in Asian Diasporic Film and Literature

This paper examines the ways in which tropes of ghostliness and haunting are deployed in three recent books to describe the cultural effects of globalisation, modernisation and transnational movement in contemporary Asian and Asian diasporic film and literature.     

Ancient bronze technology and nomadic communities of the Middle Gobi Desert,Mongolia

The Xiongnu period of Mongolian prehistory (ca. 3rd century BC–AD 2nd century) is notable for the emergence of an expansive nomadic state and major changes in metallurgical and ceramic technologies. A number of Xiongnu period and pre-Xiongnu period bronze and bronze-related artifacts from the site at Baga Gazaryn Chuluu in the Middle Gobi province of Mongolia were examined for their chemical compositions and microstructures. They include finished objects, leftovers from casting, and pieces of slag from copper smelting and the assemblage likely represents a combination of local and regional production as well as long-distance exchange items. Results show that the entire bronze manufacturing process, from smelting to fabrication, is represented at BGC sites and bronze working may have been technologically self-sufficient, though ore sources are still uncertain. Our evidence suggests that this bronze assemblage was the result of two different technological traditions characterized by either the dominant use of arsenic, enforced apparently by restriction in tin supply, or the profuse use of both tin and lead. The arsenic-based tradition was observed in the majority of pre-Xiongnu period objects while the tin and lead recipes were verified in most objects dating to the Xiongnu period. This shift in bronze tradition may reflect changes in inter-regional interaction with frontier groups beyond the Gobi Desert and with the early state societies of China.     

Paleo-parasitological study on the soils collected from archaeological sites in old district of Seoul City

A paleo-parasitological study was performed on soil samples from archaeological sites in the old district of Seoul Metropolitan City (Old Seoul City) where the capital of the Joseon Kingdom was constructed about 600 years ago. The sampling sites were the original locations of the Royal Palace Wall, Yukjo Street and the Royal Arsenal. Microscopic examinations showed that parasite eggs of Clonorchis sinensis, Diphyllobothrium latum, Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp. remained in the soil strata, which were estimated to represent the 14th-19th centuries. We suspect that the medieval citizens of Old Seoul City, numbering around 200,000, might have been made vulnerable to parasite infection by a combination of bad hygiene, inadequate sewer system and seasonal flooding.     

Hydraulic engineering and irrigation agriculture in the Moche Valley,Peru: c. A.D. 1250–1532

This paper examines the hydraulic properties (i.e. velocity and discharge) of the main late prehistoric canals of the Moche Valley. Velocities, estimated from excavated canal sections using the Manning flow equation, are compared to tables of maximum permissible velocities and reveal that canals were constructed to transport water efficiently, but that on gradients steeper than 1:100 the Chimu and Inca engineers were unable to transport large discharges without severe erosional problems. Discharge estimates are compared with modern field requirements, using a known ethnographic watering cycle. This demonstrates that in almost every instance the channel size was of the same order of magnitude as that predicted from the requirements. The construction of the Inter-valley canal to bring water to the state lands in Moche was a technological disaster.