Early Upper Paleolithic industries of Eastern Europe

Early Upper Paleolithic sites are known in various parts of Eastern Europe, but the two main concentrations of them are the Prut-Dniester basin and the middle Don. The flint industries are divided into archaeological cultures (cultural traditions), of which some show clear archaic features (Kostenki-Streletsian, Gorodtsovian, Brynzenian, etc.), while others have no Mousteroid characteristics (Spitsynian, Telmanian, etc.). Both types of culture coexisted throughout the Early Upper Paleolithic. In some cases, it is possible to trace genetic links between archaeological cultures and to follow the transition between the Middle and the Upper Paleolithic. The radiocarbon age of the oldest Upper Paleolithic sites in the Russian Plain is about 40,000 B.P., but some sites may be older. The Early Upper Paleolithic ended about 24,000–23,000 B.P. In the Crimea, the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition appears to have taken place at about 20,000–18,000 B.P.     

Mandibular ramus posterior flexure: a sex indicator in Homo sapiens fossil hominids?

Accurate determination of sex in skeletal human samples is very important in anthropological and demographic studies. Recently, Loth and Henneberg have suggested that a new osteological criterion on the mandible, the mandibular ramus posterior flexure (MRPF) had a high sex discriminating effectiveness. A preliminary test applied to a few hominid mandibles )including Australopithecines, Homo erectus, Neanderthals and Upper palaeolithic hominids) apparently confirmed the high reliability of the MRPF as a sex indicator ‘over time and through palaeospecies’. As the pelvis is commonly considered as providing the most significant criteria that allows the establishment of skeletal sexual dimorphism of adults, the present paper evaluates this mandibular feature on a few additional palaeolithic hominids (i.e. Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans) for whom a gender estimation was known based upon the pelvis. This analysis was conducted on the original material and its results appear in contradiction with those of the previous studies made by Loth and Henneberg. A reconsideration of the visual assessment of MRPF as a sex indicator in Homo sapiens fossil hominids is therefore suggested. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

李佳白与尚贤堂--清末民初在华传教士活动个案研究

美国传教士李佳白早期在山东传教,维新时期创办针对上层社会传教的机构“尚贤堂”。从晚清至民国初年,李佳白通过尚贤堂联络中外人士、举办文化活动、宣传和平主张和实行各教联合,曾受到广泛关注。尚贤堂的创立和发展与中国社会的变迁密切相关,反映了20世纪初,在中国社会转型的背景下,在华传教士活动的新变化、新特点以及传教士的活动逐渐淡出中国历史舞台的过程。对这个问题的研究,具有一定的现实意义。     

Comparing Communities—The Limits of Typology

Across the disciplines, communities and identities are usually classified into general categories, such as ethnic, tribal, territorial, civic, religious or political communities/identities. This may be useful in many instances to structure the field and highlight certain distinctive features. But, as this contribution will argue, such typologies do not provide a sound basis for comparison. This holds true both for intercultural and for interdisciplinary comparison. For instance, religion was configured rather differently in ancient Rome, late Antique Christianity and early Islam, and each of them differed fundamentally from our modern concept of religion (as opposed to a secular sphere). The same applies to ethnicity. Likewise, historians and social anthropologists (and even specific schools within the disciplines) operate with often rather differently configured concepts in this area. In fact, most actual communities are framed by more than one “vision of community”; they are rarely only ethnic, religious or political. Their shared frames of reference can be compared: for instance, ancestral lineages, supernatural origins, sacred places, shared history, tribal solidarities, legal practices, exchange networks or outside perceptions. Such frames of references of course overlap and typically create more than one level of identification. This contribution will take the example of the new peoples and powers that emerged after the end of the Roman Empire in the West (such as Goths, Franks and Anglo-Saxons). What shaped these communities, and how did ethnic, territorial, religious and political identifiers interact in the process?