Conference reviews

Culturelink‐first world conference dynamics of communication and cultural change‐the role of networks, Zagreb, Croatia, 8–11 June 1995

Cultural policy—state of the art “taking cultural policy into the 21st century’ Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 28–30 June 1995     

Arctic Explorer Robert E. Peary’s Other Quest: Money,Science, and the Year 1897

American Robert E. Peary is famous for his claim of being the first person to reach the North Pole. However, too little historical attention has been paid to independent parts of his long exploratory career. A closer examination of one year, 1897, in his two‐decade quest, reveals the substantial difficulties of being an explorer at the turn of the twentieth century. Peary used specially crafted arguments to endear himself to the recently organized but poorly connected professional scientists who proved to be his most earnest, if inconsistent, backers before 1898. Peary worked on the scientists’ behalf to locate, and sometimes create, publishing venues and stateside audiences for them, in exchange for their patronage. The money chase was difficult and time‐consuming, but did more than help the scientists and ensure Peary’s future backing. It introduced him to the young American scientific community, with whom he learned to “sell” the Arctic. Peary also used his scientific credentials to maintain a public image of the Arctic that allowed Americans to celebrate both the rugged hero and cultural superiority in this remote region.     

Corruption European Style: The 1861 Frémont Scandal and Popular Fears in the Civil War North

Union General John C. Frémont excited considerable controversy during the Civil War, and not just due to his dubious military competence and early advocacy of emancipation. Many republican‐influenced citizens suspected Frémont of the corrupt misuse of power, and undermining the essential moral basis of the republic. While ultimately his ineffectual generalship might have reassured Northerners that “the Pathfinder” was hardly likely to succeed in his suspected schemes, it is striking that even during the war for national survival, citizens remained deeply concerned with the possible threat of power (particularly in the hands of corrupt, designing men) to liberty.     

High-resolution radiocarbon dating of marine materials in archaeological contexts: radiocarbon marine reservoir variability between Anadara, Gafrarium, Batissa, Polymesoda spp. and Echinoidea at Caution Bay, Southern Coastal Papua New Guinea

The remains of shellfish dominate many coastal archaeological sites in the Pacific and provide a wealth of information about economy, culture, environment and climate. Shells are therefore the logical sample type to develop local and regional radiocarbon chronologies. The calibration of radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dates on marine animals is not straightforward, however, requiring an understanding of habitat and dietary preferences as well as detailed knowledge of local ocean conditions. The most complex situations occur where terrestrial influences impinge on the marine environment resulting in both the enrichment and depletion of ¹⁴C (Ulm Geoarchaeology 17(4):319–348, 2002; Petchey and Clark Quat Geochronol 6:539–549, 2011). A sampling protocol that combines a high-resolution excavation methodology, selection of short-lived samples identified to species level, and a tri-isotope approach using ¹⁴C, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O, has given us the ability to identify ¹⁴C source variation that would otherwise have been obscured. Here, we present new research that details high-resolution mapping of marine ¹⁴C reservoir variation between Gafrarium tumidum, Gafrarium pectinatum, Anadara granosa, Anadara antiquata, Batissa violacea, Polymesoda erosa and Echinoidea from the Bogi 1 archaeological site, Caution Bay, southern coastal Papua New Guinea. These isotopes highlight specific dietary, habitat and behavioural variations that are key to obtaining chronological information from shell radiocarbon determinations.     

The taphonomic attributes of a Late Cretaceous plesiosaur skeleton from New Zealand

The pre-burial history of a partial elasmosaurid plesiosaur skeleton is reconstructed from analysis of the distribution and modification of bones preserved in a calcareous concretionary mass. The specimen lacks the skull, cervical vertebrae, left limb bones and some girdle elements, but the remaining bones are interpreted to have been deposited on the sea floor from a semi-buoyant carcass and their relative positions modified by the action of scavengers. Bioerosive agents caused loss of bone, particularly on joint surfaces and vertebral centra, as the carcass lay exposed on the sea floor, perhaps for several years before burial.     

Empire and Globalisation: from ‘High Imperialism’ to Decolonisation

Reviewing the expansion and ultimate demise of the British and French empires, this article takes a long view of globalisation as an integral part of Europe's recent imperial past. The authors’ argument is that these empires were not simply a global phenomenon. Rather, the processes that built and destroyed them were more actively ‘globalising’. In this context, they argue that the rise and fall of the two pre-eminent overseas empires had several globalising effects. These globalising effects include distinct patterns of migration and communication, critical shifts in the movement of goods and capital, new forms of transnational connection, changing conceptualisations of community and individual rights, and discrete forms of violence and conflict that outlasted the ‘formal’ end of empires.     

‘A Puppet,Even Though He Probably Doesn't Know So’: Racial Identity and the Eisenhower Administration's Encounter with Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Arab Nationalist Movement

This article demonstrates that US beliefs concerning racial identity guided the Eisenhower administration's encounter with Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Arab nationalism during the 1950s. It establishes that US texts propagated certain racial-identity assumptions about Arab peoples. The most important of these included the assertions that Arab peoples were irrational and easily manipulated or deceived. Policy-makers utilised these beliefs to explain and contextualise Arab actions, especially those of Egypt and its Arab nationalist government. Officials within the Eisenhower administration believed that Arab irrationality prompted Egyptian leaders to adopt a neutralist position in the cold war. The assumption that Arabs were susceptible to deception and manipulation convinced policy-makers that this position was unacceptable. The Soviets would ultimately, they believed, prey upon Arab manipulability and subjugate Egypt, the Arab nationalist movement, and the entire Middle East. These concerns made the Eisenhower administration's decision to contain Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the Arab nationalist movement seem logical and necessary.