Finnish Farmstead Organization in Old And New World Settings

During recent years an increasing amount of scholarly attention has focused upon the assessment of ordinary people, conventional places and common events. Most studies of material culture, however, have been directed toward vernacular and ethnic architecture and artifacts, with relatively little attention given to the physical organization of rural enclaves or entire farmstead units. Undoubtedly studies of farmsteads have been limited in number because of the substantial amount of field survey work that is required, and what is perceived as a lack of primary research materials, both archival and structural. Despite these apparent problems, an assessment of extant rural building groupings and remnants in a Wisconsin Finnish-American community and a perusal of various reference materials revealed sufficient evidence to undertake an in-depth study of farmsteads and their spatial organization. By comparing farmsteads developed by Finnish immigrants in Wisconsin with prototypical examples from Finland, it was possible to determine both differences and similarities in functional and morphological characteristics on both sides of the Atlantic.     

The Nomad as State Builder: Historical Theory and Material Evidence from Mongolia

Theory on nomadic political complexity has largely been based on twentieth century ethnography and numerous historical accounts of the military confederations of pastoral nomads. Over the past two decades, archaeologists have increasingly used material evidence to evaluate ideas about nomadic polities and have added indigenous and local-scale perspectives to an understanding of nomadic political process in many regions across the Old World. One of these is Mongolia, a major center of nomadic state and empire formation, where archaeologists have recently focused attention on an early regional polity that arose at the end of the first millennium BC and is known as the Xiongnu (also Hsiung-nu) state. This paper synthesizes the latest archaeological research on the Xiongnu state in order to evaluate historical models that explain state emergence among nomads on the far eastern steppe. The material record from Mongolia adds the detail and resolution needed to refine existing explanations for Xiongnu state emergence.      

Abstract Cultural Landscapes

Fred B. Kniffen's career as an educator and scholar spanned more than 60 years (1929-1993). The Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University, countless undergraduate and graduate students who had the good fortune to study under his thoughtful guidance, and American academic geography all bear an indelible imprint of Kniffen's eclectic interests, academic leadership, meticulous scholarship and innovative teaching. To generations of students, Kniffen was an exemplary role model and kindly "father figure." His students were encouraged to work in the field. As graduate advisor, he ensured that students were well versed in the history and philosophy of the discipline, as well as possessing a broad understanding of both physical geography and cultural anthropology. As an educator, perhaps his most lasting contribution was the work ethic and genuine love and enthusiasm for geography that he imparted to students.     

The Binding of a God: A Study of the Basis of Idolatry

ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF RAJASTHAN, by LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JAMES TOD, edited by WILLIAM CKOOKE, 3 vols. Oxford University Press. London : Milford. Reviewed by M. Longworth Dames.

THE DENDROGLYPHS OR “CARVED TREES” OF NEW SOUTH WALES. By R. ETHERIDGE, Junr. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales. Ethnological Series, No. 3. Sydney: W. A. Gullick, Govt. Printer. Reviewed by E. Sidney Hartland.

DAS WEIB IM ALTINDISCHEN EPOS : EIN BEITRAG ZUR INDISCHEN UND ZUR VERGLEICHENDEN KULTURGESCHICHTE. Von JOHANN JACOB MEYER. Wilhelm Heims. Leipzig, 1915. M. 15. Reviewed by W. H. D. Rouse.

MAGIC IN NAMES AND IN OTHER THINGS, by EDWARD CLODD. London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1920. 12s. 6d. net. Reviewed by R. R. Marett.     

Land and man in highland Ethiopia

Allan Hoben. Land Tenure among the Amhara of Ethiopia: The Dynamics of Cognatic Descent. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973. xiv + 273 pp. Maps, figures, appendix, glossary, bibliography, and index. $9.50.     

Children's language and maternal control

Jenny Cook‐Gumperz. Social Control and Socialization: A Study of Class Differences in the Language of Maternal Control. Primary Socialization, Language and Education Series. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. xii + 290 pp. Figures, appendix, bibliography, and index. $16.95.