Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1986

IT IS BECOMING increasingly apparent that conventional classification schemes for medieval timber and earthwork fortifications in Ireland are compromised by two factors. First they depend upon ethnic categorization, an approach derived from assuming the innovatory ethos of the Anglo-Norman conquest which commenced in 1169. Second, until very recently, the role of the ringwork as a congener to the motte-and-bailey has been ignored. The evidence from western Ireland discussed in this paper points to a pre-Norman development of feudalism and its symbol, the private castle; ultimately, the conceptual and geographical contexts of these innovations are contemporary events elsewhere in the British Isles and northern France. The discussion further points to the probability that shortly after c. 1200, the ringwork—present from or even before 1169—replaced the motte-and-bailey as the customary Anglo-Norman garrisoned fortress in Ireland, thereby providing an explanation for the curious easterly bias in the distribution of the latter.     

Overseas relations

EUROPE

The Making of the English Landscape. By W. G. Hoskins. 8 3/4×7. Pp. 240. 82 plates+frontispiece. 17 maps and plans. London : Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1955. 25s.

The Highlands in Colour. Photographed by W. S. Thomson : introduced by W. H. Murray. 10×7 1/2. Pp. 64 (7 text+54 pages of photos). Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd Ltd, 1954. 12s 6d.

Scotland. By G. S. Fraser and Edwin Smith. 12 1/4 ×9. Pp. 62+191 black and white and 3 colour plates. 1 map. London : Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1955. 42s.

Ulster Folklife. Issued by the Committee on Ulster Folklife and Traditions, 9 3/4×7 1/4. Pp. 56. 6 plates. Belfast, 1955.

Highlights of the Donegal Highlands. By H. P. Swan. 9×6. Pp. xv+186. 97 plates. 2 endpaper maps. Belfast: H. R. Carter Publications Ltd, 1955. 12s 6d.

AFRICA

Southern Africa. A Geographical Study. By John H. Wellington. Two volumes. 9 1/2 ×6 3/4. Vol. I. Pp.528. 97 photographs. 96 figures and maps. 4 maps in end pocket, 70s. : Vol. II. Pp. 283. 14 photographs. 25 figures and maps. 4 maps in end pocket. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1955.

A. MacP.

ASIA

To the Third Pole. By G. O. Dyhrenfurth. Translated by Hugh Merrick. 10×7 1/2. Pp. xxvi+233. 47 plates. London : T. Werner Laurie, 1955. 30s.

Kanchenjunga. By John Tucker. 9×6. Pp. 224. 35 plates and figs. London : Elek Books Ltd, 1955. 21s.

AMERICA

Virginia at Mid‐Century. By Jean Gottmann. 9 1/2×6 1/4. Pp. vii+584. 64 maps and graphs. 197 photos. New York : Henry Holt and Co. Inc., 1955.

CARTOGRAPHY

Die Kartographie 1943–54 (Eine bibliographische Uebersicht). By Hans‐Peter Kosack and Karl‐Heinz Meine. 8×11 5/8. Pp. 216. Lahr Schwarzwald: Astra Verlag, 1955. German marks 26.

GEOMORPHOLOGY

New Zealand Geomorphology. By C. A. Cotton. 8 1/2×51/2. Pp. 281. 16 plates. Wellington : New Zealand University Press, 1955. 42s.

BIOGEOGRAPHY

Origin and Distribution of the British Flora. By J. R. Matthews. 7JX5. Pp.176. 6 figs. London : Hutchinson's University Library (Biological Series), 1955. 8s. 6d.

BIOGRAPHY

Alicella : A Memoir of Alice King Stewart and Ella Christie. By Averil Stewart. 81/2×6. Pp. xxiv+311. 10 plates. London: John Murray Ltd, 1955. 21s.

The Seasons Return. By John R. Allan. 8 3/4×53/4. Pp. 219. 17 plates. London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1955. 15s.

GENERAL

Four Archaeological Studies

Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers. By Sir Mortimer Wheeler. 7 1/8×5 1/4. Pp.224. 20 figs. 30 plates. A Pelican Book. Harmondsworth : Penguin Books Ltd, 1955‐ 3s. 6d.

Roman Britain. By I. A. Richmond. The Pelican History of England, Volume I. 7 1/8×51/4. Pp‐240. 8 plates. 12 figs. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd, 1955. 2s 6d.

Roman Roads in Britain : 1. South of the Foss Way—Bristol Channel. By Ivan D. Margary. 10×1/2. Pp.253. 16 plates+frontispiece. 11 maps+1 folded end map. London : Phoenix House Ltd, 1955. 42s.

The Problem of the Picts. Edited by F. T. Wainwright. 9 1/4×63/4. Pp. xi+187. 12 plates. 16 figs. 7 maps. Edinburgh : Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1955. 21s.

Historical Geography. By J. B. Mitchell. 71/2×5. Pp. xvi+356. 52 figs. London: English Universities Press Ltd. [Teach Yourself Geography], 1954. 10s 6d.

The Ordnance Survey Annual Report, 1954–55. 13 1/2×81/2. Pp. 5–23. 10 plates. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1955. 5s.

ATLASES AND MAPS

A New Map of the World: The Trystan Edwards Homalographic Projection. 40×30. London : B. T. BatsfordLtd, 1953 reprinted 1955. 42s. Explanatory Brochure.     

The human geography of Lewis

The search for and early exploitation of oil and gas in Scottish waters have occurred over a brief time span. Considerable environmental problems have had to be overcome offshore and large servicing and engineering developments have been established onshore. The latter have generated particular pressures locally on labour supply and on the economic infrastructure of certain regions. The economic potential of oil has raised hopes for Scotland's future prosperity.     

The perfect worker: discursive makings of Filipinos in the workplace hierarchy of the globalized cruise industry

Filipinos are by far the largest nationality represented on cruise ships despite the fact that cruise lines can hire from wherever they choose. The reasons for this phenomenon lie in a mélange of political, economic, and cultural factors, yet when polled, industry insiders repeatedly cite well-worn Filipino stereotypes as the primary cause. This reflects a system in which discourses surrounding workers become fixed in ways that ideologically frame Filipinos as docile and compliant yet industrious and inexpensive. Filipinos are thus constructed as readymade workers for subordinate positions rather than for roles as leaders on the ship. This case shows the subtle ways that labor becomes stratified along ethnic lines and how discourses become the fault lines that define and reproduce the great inequalities between different groups of workers. The task of this article is to understand the ways that discourses relate to the workplace positioning of Filipino seafarers and reinforce a reading of ‘Filipino-ness’ that marks them as the perfect sort of worker for the cruise lines. It is further suggested that such framings are subject to revision via worker agency and changing socioeconomic labor market conditions.     

Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington,Yorkshire, UK

Archaeological work in advance of construction at a site on the edge of York, UK, yielded human remains of prehistoric to Romano-British date. Amongst these was a mandible and cranium, the intra-cranial space of which contained shrunken but macroscopically recognizable remains of a brain. Although the distinctive surface morphology of the organ is preserved, little recognizable brain histology survives. Though rare, the survival of brain tissue in otherwise skeletalised human remains from wet burial environments is not unique. A survey of the literature shows that similar brain masses have been previously reported in diverse circumstances. We argue for a greater awareness of these brain masses and for more attention to be paid to their detection and identification in order to improve the reporting rate and to allow a more comprehensive study of this rare archaeological survival.