The Legacy of the Vietnam War: Making a Living amid Unexploded Ordnance in Xieng Khouang Province,Northern Laos

Laos was drawn into the Second Indochina War, making the country the most heavily bombed country on earth. Although the war ended more than four decades ago, unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to kill and injure civilians. In many provinces UXO constitutes the major hindrance to socioeconomic development and obstacle to local people earning a decent living. The aim of this article is to examine the ways in which local people have developed livelihood strategies to survive in dangerous environments through the lens of sustainable livelihood perspectives. This article argues that livelihood improvements in Xieng Khouang Province should be characterised as a bottom-up phenomenon. UXO is still a major concern for the government and local people with respect to achieving development objectives. As the financial resources for UXO clearance are limited, education is a powerful tool for creating awareness of UXO risks among local people. The research suggests that more resources should be mobilised to deal with UXO problems.     

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in an ethnic theme park setting – the case of Binglanggu in Hainan Province,China

Since 2003, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has become a priority of China’s cultural heritage safeguarding policies at all levels. Despite this, academic research has paid limited attention to the safeguarding of ICH in a theme park setting. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of safeguarding ICH in an ethnic theme park in China. It investigates how the Binglanggu theme park in Hainan aims to contribute to the safeguarding of Li minority heritage. The study is based on qualitative data consisting of interviews with Li minority members working at Binglanggu, the Vice-Manager of the theme park and interviews with heritage and tourism experts in Hainan, as well as observation at the theme park. The findings indicate that, when concentrating on certain ICH expressions that align with the state’s ethnic minority narrative, the theme park makes an important contribution to the research and documentation of Li minority heritage. However, the park struggles to transmit ICH expressions to the younger generations. The research concludes that essential criteria to contribute to the safeguarding of ICH are to include the ethnic minority group in the safeguarding process, for example by employing them in management positions, and to concentrate more strongly on education and transmission.     

A new elasmosaurid specimen from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica: new evidence of a monophyletic group of Weddellian elasmosaurids

O’Gorman, J.P. & Coria, R.A. September 2016. A new elasmosaurid specimen from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica: new evidence of a monophyletic group of Weddellian elasmosaurids. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

A new fossil elasmosaurid specimen, MLP 15-I-7-48, from the upper Maastrichtian Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation, Vega Island, Archipelago James Ross, Antarctica, is described. The fossil is a well-preserved anterior limb, which shares with Vegasaurus molyi from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica, a concave to flat anterior margin of the humeral shaft, and with Vegasaurus molyi and Aphrosaurus furlongi from the upper Maastrichtian of California, a well-defined depression on the anterior margin of the ventral surface of the humeral shaft. A phylogenetic analysis recovered MLP 15-I-7–48 as sister group of the lower Maastrichtian Vegasaurus molyi within a new clade nominated as Weddellonectia: Kawanectes lafquenianum ((Vegasaurus molyi; MLP 15-I-7–48) (Morenosaurus stocki (Aristonectinae))). This indicates that the previously proposed faunal turnover between the early and late Maastrichtian Weddellian marine reptile fauna, did not severely affect the non-aristonectine elasmosaurids. Additionally, other taxa previously considered evidence of a faunal turnover are re-evaluated.

José P. O’Gorman. [joseogorman@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar]. División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n., B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina. Rodolfo A. Coria. [rcoria@unrn.edu.ar]. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro—Subsecretaría de Cultura de Neuquén—Museo Carmen Funes, Av. CVórdoba 55 (8318), Plaza Huincul, Neuquén, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina.     

土墩墓研究中的几个问题

"土墩墓"的研究是长江下游地区吴文化考古研究中的一项重要内容,是探讨吴国历史发展脉络的重要途径之一。随着考古发掘工作进展,有助于我们对"土墩墓"进行深入的研究。"土墩墓"研究中有些问题必须首先加以明确,才能确保研究走上正轨。文章从"土墩墓"的名称问题、"一墩一墓"与"一墩多墓"问题、"土墩墓"研究中的"分研究区"问题等等诸方面,对土墩墓这一特殊的遗迹现象进行了探讨,最后对"土墩墓"的一般特点进行了探索性的概括。     

双房文化青铜器的型式学与年代学研究

<正>在辽东地区双房文化的器物群中,除了陶器以外,最为引人注目的便是所谓的"东北系青铜器"。这种具有鲜明地方特色和时代特征的青铜制品,除了见于辽东地区的双房文化以外,还广布于辽西、河北北部、朝鲜半岛和吉林、黑龙江两省的部分地区,长期以来一直为中外学术界所关注。     

元代陕西行省研究

元代陕西行省设立早,起初临时处理军政,且与四川时合时分,至元二十三年(1286年)后自为一省。陕西行省与行御史台、宗王等分治最为典型。因西台负责四省监察,蒙古军都万户府迁治凤翔及安西王等出镇,陕西行省长期充任西部军政大本营。然军事权偏弱,还有所谓"未尝提调军马"的"旧例"。这是前期四川设行枢密院,蒙古军都万户府与其不相统摄,平章多不兼都万户,直接支配军队有限等所造成。任职或镇守陕西的,往往是廉希宪、赛典赤、阿思罕、乃蛮台等重臣及安西王、湘宁王等显赫宗王。该省"舞台"或可窥见元朝廷各种政治势力的角逐乃至厮杀。     

巩固思想阵地 夯实执政基石——关于青海省藏区县级党校建设的调研与思考

县级党校事关基层政权稳固和当地经济社会发展的大局,青海藏区县级党校是党进行思想政治教育的阵地,更是党的执政地位的重要政治屏障,加强青海藏区县级党校建设有其必要性和紧迫性。本文从教师队伍、培训轮训、科研工作、办学条件、经费收支等方面分析青海藏区县级党校建设的现状及其存在的问题、面临的困境与挑战,指出青海藏区县级党校总体状况不容乐观,亟待加强。在此基础上,从强化领导、加强教师队伍建设、加大投入改善办学条件、完善功能、发挥咨询作用、扩大培训内容与规模等方面,就如何加强青海藏区县级党校建设提出具体的对策建议。     

甘肃玉门花海西晋墓群出土木牍的保护

甘肃河西地区出土文物特殊的高盐碱埋藏地质环境,造成画像砖、木质文物、丝织品等文物埋藏期间大量盐碱的渗入。文物出土后,随着环境温湿度的变化,使得文物内部盐碱重结晶,直接导致了画像砖画面脱落、木质文物崩裂及丝织品脆化。本工作针对甘肃玉门花海西晋墓群出土木牍的损害状况,进行了表面清理、渗透填充加固、脱盐及对个别器物进行了回软整形等保护,保护处理后状况良好,保护方法对同一地区出土其他木质文物的保护有借鉴作用。     

江苏史前考古的发现和研究

近50年来,江苏境内发现了许多旧石器时代和新石器时代的文化遗址,对这些史前文化遗址按文化区域阐析文化性质、文化时代和年代,并提出江苏史前考古今后需要探索的问题。     

基于网络分析的交通网络评价及其与区域经济发展关系研究

以网络分析为基础,使用节点连通性和可达性等指标,评价研究甘肃省的交通网络以及交通网络与区域经济发展之间的内在关系,提出了平均经济--网络直径概念、功能及其计算方法。研究结果表明,节点连通性和可达性指标与区域经济发展水平具有密切的相关性,且跨区域交通对区域经济发展的贡献率大于仅邻域交通对区域经济发展的贡献率;使用节点连通性和可达性指标可界定出各区域经济之间的空间相互作用范围,为整个区域的交通规划和经济区划提供有力的科学依据;甘肃省交通呈聚团模式,具有空间自相关性。