统一与分裂:中国历史的启示

中国历史是一连绵不断的演进过程,国家统一、民族团结的内聚力不断增强。自春秋战国至清前期,虽曾经历了三次社会大分裂,但最终还是走向了秦汉、隋唐和元明清三次大统一。统一的时间越来越长,统一的规模越来越大,统一的制度基础越来越坚实。分裂的代价逐渐为人们所认识,统一的意义逐渐为人们所肯定。传统的古代社会,以战争方式谋求统一,几乎成为不二铁律。在当代世界,以和平方式谋求国家统一,成为人们更理性更睿智的选择,但这只是寻求国家统一方式的发展趋势,能否成为不二铁律尚待人类历史实践的检查。     

塔列朗与法兰西近代民族国家的建立

法兰西近代民族国家建立的进程,开始于1789年的法国大革命,结束于1830年的七月革命。塔列朗的政治活动贯穿于这一进程的始终。他在大革命期间,推动教会资产国有化,参与起草《人权宣言》;在督政府时期,以较新的外交理念促成法国外交部的改革;在拿破仑帝国时期,参与了重要条约的谈判,并力图遏制拿破仑的称霸政策;在波旁王朝复辟时,起草了“1814年宪章”,尽力维护大革命的成果;在七月革命中,抛弃了复辟王朝,支持承认大革命现实的路易.菲利浦登上王位,并出任驻英大使出席伦敦会议,为解决欧洲重大外交问题付出了努力。事实证明,他并非如一般史家所描述的那样,是一个以自身利益为行为准则,没有信仰的政治变色龙,而是一个以法兰西民族国家利益为行为准则的政治家。他为法兰西近代民族国家的建立做出了重大贡献。     

宋辽高丽人形注子探析

按照宋代文献记载,当时的茶肆中多供奉瓷质的茶神陆羽像.宋代商品经济发达,城市繁荣,茶肆很多,因而这种瓷像在当时应该比较多见,但却一直未见确凿的实物资料披露.本文对几件宋、辽、高丽时期出产于不同窑口的人形注子从其功用和造型特征等角度进行研究分析,认为这些瓷器很可能就是茶坊中供奉的茶神陆鸿渐.     

当代日本新保守主义思潮研究

当代日本新保守主义,可以视为日本政治思想史上冷战终结前后,保守主义发展过程中的一个新思潮。它的出现同日本近代历史的保守主义和战后传统保守主义的发展历史极为相似。从纯粹意义的政治思想史角度,无法确定其标志性的思想起源。相反,却可以从其政治人物的政论和政治行动中,清晰地反映出它产生、发展的轨迹。     

One world,one place

Este artículo rastrea la historia del World Archaeological Congress desde una perspectiva sudafricana-una posición estratégica apropiada, dado que el WAC se formó entorno al tema del apartheid y la relación entre el estudio del pasado y la política del presente. Mientras el apartheid fue una cuestión bien definida, los asuntos que el WAC ha tenido que afrontar con posterioridad no han resultado tan sencillos, e incluso en ocasiones han llevado a la incertidumbre. El concepto de Una Arqueología Mundial que el WAC adopta puede ser visto como una serie continua de meditaciones ligadas con una propuesta fundacional. Sin embargo este mundo ha cambiado. Las nuevas tecnologías de información y comunicación suponen el fin de las distancias que en el pasado supusieron un factor limitador para los movimientos mundiales progresistas. En pocos a?os, la red de banda ancha tendrá un coste bastante inferior en todas las ciudades del mundo. Las organizaciones mundiales que luchan contra intereses establecidos serán redes flexibles que se organizarán entorno a cuestiones locales, compartiendo al mismo tiempo la información y los recursos a nivel global. De este modo se abren grandes oportunidades para los movimientos mundiales que enlazan, a una y al mismo tiempo, las complejidades de las circunstancias locales y las oportunidades de las alianzas globales.

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Résumé Le r?le de l'apartheid et de la localisation de Cape Town sont des éléments utilisés dans le survol du développement du Congrès Mondial de l'Archéologie et du mouvement One World Archaeology depuis 1986. à l'époque un boycott académique a empêché la participation des Sud-africains au congrès de Southampton durant lequel fut formaliser le CMA. Le terme un monde, une place, caractérise la proposition d'adopter une nouvelle approche et l'opportunité de repositionner le mouvement One World Archaeology. L'approche un monde, une places'oriente sur le concept de place, de sites locaux d'engagements et de connections entre la question de l'identité, le patrimoine culturel, l'interprétation historique et les droits humains. Un accès élargis aux nouvelles technologies de communication peut faciliter cette approche et offrir le potentiel de se préoccuper de la diversité des localisations et rendre possible le développement d'un réseau de communication stratégique d'une ≪archéologie engagée.

     

Archaeological ethnography: Conversations around Kruger National Park

Este artículo esboza las posibilidades para una práctica mixta, a la que yo denomino etnografía arqueológica, que enlaza la arqueología y antropología sociocultural. Mi trabajo de campo se ha realizado en los límites del Parque Nacional Kruger con individuos de la comunidad de Malatji, y también con ecologistas sociales, guardas del parque, intérpretes y agentes del patrimonio que trabajan en el parque nacional. La investigación contribuye y evalúa críticamente el centralísmo del patrimonio arqueológico de Sudáfrica y sus múltiples papeles en la formulación de nuevas subjetividades en la nación cosmopolita y postcolonial.

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Résumé Cet article illustre la possibilité d'utiliser l'ethnographie archéologique comme pratique hybride permenttant de faire le pont entre l'archéologie et l'anthropologie socioculturelle. Mon travail de terrain se déroule à la limite du Parc National Kruger avec des individus de la communauté Malatji et aussi des spécialistes en écologie sociale, des agents de la conservation, des guides interprètes et des représentants du patrimoine employés du parc national. Cette recherche entend contribuer et faire une évaluation critique de la centralité du patrimoine archéologique en Afrique du sud et de ses r?les multiples dans la formation d'une nouvelle subjectivité dans la nation cosmopolite postcoloniale.

     

Fighting or Dancing: Archaeology and Folklore Traces

The connections between archaeology and traditions or folklore may be thought of as a dance, in which archaeological traces complement or constitute elements of folklore, and traces of folklore complement and constitute archaeological interpretation. On the other hand, archaeology and folklore may engage in competition about the “true” past(s). In this paper I will explore the tensions between these perspectives, and the tensions between archaeology and many forms of folklore.     

Optical dating of alluvial deposits at the orogenic front of the andean precordillera (Mendoza,Argentina)

Well constrained numerical ages of alluvial fan sediments are key to understanding the chronology of alluvial episodes and tectonic activity at the front of the Andean Precordillera. We tested the application of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating in the distal part of an alluvial fan five kilometers north of Mendoza. For OSL dating a large number of aliquots (n > 70) — each composed of ∼50 quartz grains — were measured in order to obtain reliable burial ages despite scattered dose distributions. Owing to a feldspar contamination in all samples, an infrared stimulation was inserted before each OSL measurement, which reduced the feldspar OSL signal successfully. By using the minimum age model we obtained stratigraphically consistent burial ages of alluvial deposits in a depth profile. The uppermost ∼1 m of sediment is composed of debris flow deposits buried 770±76 years ago. Three plant remnants used for radiocarbon dating from the same layer, however, yielded ages younger than 350 years, which are interpreted to underestimate the depositional age. Underneath the debris flow, a major unconformity cuts a series of distal alluvial fan sediments with interstratified floodplain deposits, which are composed of sandy and calciterich silt layers, respectively. Three samples from this unit which were distributed over one meter of sediment thickness yielded statistically concordant OSL ages of 12.3±1.2 ka, 12.3±1.2 ka, and 11.7±1.1 ka. The deposition of these sediments during the latest Pleistocene coincides with a phase of cool and humid climate, which occurred before the alluvial fan propagated farther into the foreland. The overlying debris flow sediments are associated with alluvial fan incision during the arid Late Holocene.     

Proposing new approaches for dating young volcanic eruptions by luminescence methods

The application of luminescence dating to young volcanic sediments has been first investigated over three decades ago, but it was only with the technical innovations of the last decade that such analyses became viable. While current analytical procedures show promise for dating late Quaternary volcanic events, most efforts have been aimed at unconsolidated volcanic tephra. Investigations into direct dating of lava flows or of non-heated volcanoclastics like phreatic explosion layers, however, remain scarce. These volcanic deposits are of common occurrence and represent important chrono- and volcanostratigraphic markers. Their age determination is therefore of great importance in volcanologic, tectonic, geomorphological and climate studies. In this article, we propose the use of phreatic explosion deposits and xenolithic inclusions in lava flows as target materials for luminescence dating applications. The main focus is on the crucial criterion whether it is probable that such materials experience complete luminescence signal resetting during the volcanic event to be dated. This is argued based on the findings from existing literature, model calculations and laboratory tests.     

Multidisciplinary analysis of a mummified cranium claimed to be that of a medieval execution victim

This article presents a multidisciplinary analysis of a human skull with preserved soft tissue curated by a small museum in Boscastle, Cornwall, UK. The skull lacks a mandible and is coated in a black tar-like substance. Records left by a previous museum curator (now deceased) claimed the skull to be the head of a medieval execution victim. The skull was purportedly recovered from a London church that was destroyed during the Second World War where it had been kept in a carved oak box. If these details are correct, the skull would appear to have been venerated as a relic. The skull and box have been analysed using a range of techniques including computerised tomography, laser scanning, microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and radiocarbon dating. These analyses demonstrated the skull in fact to be that of an Egyptian mummy dating from the Ptolemaic period. Other instances have been noted of parts of Egyptian mummies being presented as European saintly relics, and the ‘Boscastle skull’ would appear to be an example of such. A wider point illustrated by the work presented here is that sufficient application of modern analytical techniques may reveal considerable information regarding human remains which otherwise have little or no provenance. This point strengthens arguments for the retention of such remains by curating institutions.