The Middle and Later Stone Age faunal remains from Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

The faunal sample from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and overlying Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits of Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape Province, South Africa) includes at least 40 taxa, mostly mammals, but also tortoises, snakes, birds (especially ostrich represented by eggshell), and intertidal mollusks. The LSA sample contains only species that occurred nearby historically, including domestic sheep, which LSA people introduced to the region by 1800 years ago. In contrast, like other Western Cape MSA faunas, the Diepkloof MSA sample has more species and it is especially notable for five large extralimital grazing species. These imply a greater-than-historic role for grasses in the local vegetation, particularly in the post-Howiesons Poort (latest MSA) interval where the grazers appear most abundant. Extreme fragmentation and dark-staining impedes analysis of the MSA bones, but cut-marks, abundant burning, and numerous associated artifacts suggest that people were the main accumulators. Rare coprolites imply that carnivores could have contributed some bones, and concentrations of small mammal bones, particularly near the bottom of the MSA sequence, suggest a role for raptors. Tortoise bones are common throughout the sequence, and the MSA specimens tend to be especially large, as in other MSA assemblages. The LSA specimens are smaller, probably because LSA human populations were denser and preyed on tortoises more intensively. The most surprising aspect of the Diepkloof assemblage is its marine component. The coast is currently 14 km away and it would have been even more distant during much of the MSA when sea levels were often lower. Intertidal mollusks, particularly black mussels and granite limpets, are concentrated in the LSA and in the Late and Post-Howiesons Poort layers. Only LSA shells are complete enough for measurement, and the limpets are small as at other LSA sites. The implication is again for more intense LSA collection by relatively dense human populations. Both the LSA and MSA deposits also contain bones of shorebirds and Cape fur seals. Whale barnacles and occasional dolphin bones indicate that MSA people scavenged beached cetaceans.     

Craniofacial variation between southern and northern Neolithic and Modern Chinese

Previous studies propose that the Yangtze River is the geographic boundary separating northern and southern Chinese populations. In order to test this hypothesis, 19 Neolithic and 15 Modern human cranial samples from north of the Qinling Mountain Range, south of the Yangtze River and in between were chosen for morphometric analysis. Our results indicate that cranial variation exists in Holocene Neolithic and Modern northern and southern Chinese. In the Neolithic sample, the northern Chinese crania are characterised by greater upper face height and orbit height, while the southern Chinese skulls are depicted by a wider nose. The morphology of the crania between the Qinling Mountain range and the Yangtze River feature a mosaic of characters that suggest affiliation with both north and south groups. In the Modern day sample, northern crania are characterised by a broad and wide face, and a tall nose. From the Neolithic to Modern day, a series of microevolutionary processes that apply to both the northern and southern samples can be discerned. Overall, the head gets lower, the face and nose become narrower and the orbits tend to be narrower and higher. Our results support the suggestion that the Qinling Mountain Range and the Yangtze River represent a natural barrier to the movement of Chinese populations. Climatic variation and the transition to an agricultural lifestyle are proposed as the primary factors influencing human craniofacial morphologies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

近代中国自由主文视域中的革命观念——以“胡适派学人群”为中心的考察

辛亥以来,革命浪潮席卷国中。在近代中国救亡图存的特殊历史情境下,自由主义者对革命表现出了颇为复杂的实际认知。从自由主义者的十月革命观感、对革命内涵的认知、对暴力革命的批评、质疑及推崇渐进改革道路等方面来看,自由主义者是"广义的革命"论者,他们并不一般地反对社会革命与政治进步。在近代中国的不同历史时期,自由主义者对革命表现出了一定程度上的灵活性和变通性,而非绝对地加以反对。近代中国自由主义视域中的革命观终究受其渐进改革的政治理念所支配,而其与近代中国国情与社会实际的隔膜则是其难以产生重大社会影响的主因。     

中世纪和近代早期英国关税性质的演变

中世纪和近代早期,英国关税性质发生了根本性变化,从一种国王特权税,逐渐演变为处于议会严格控制下的议会间接税。中世纪和1625年前的近代早期,关税主要是国王的一种特权税。1625-1660年间,随着议会和王权斗争的高涨,以及议会的暂时胜利,关税一度转变为处于议会直接控制下的间接税。复辟时期,关税的最终课征批准权继续掌握在议会手中,但因缺少日常操控权,其关税权残缺不全。光荣革命后,因议会在与王权的斗争中取得了决定性胜利,关税演变为完全由议会严格控制的间接税。     

Brief reflections on the journal Italianists keep

Abstract

The following three papers were given at a Round Table held at New York University's Casa Italiana in October 2005, chaired by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. As part of the events held to mark the tenth anniversary of the Journal of Modern Italian Studies, we asked our three invited speakers – Raymond Grew, Elizabeth Krause and Paolo Macry – to comment on the directions taken by the JMIS in its first decade and to set out some objectives for the future.     

Possible causes and significance of cranial robusticity among Pleistocene–Early Holocene Australians

An analysis of possible developmental-functional causes of cranial form suggests that the morphology of ‘robust’ Pleistocene/Early Holocene Australians such as Willandra Lakes Human 50 might best be explained by four underlying factors: possession of a (1) large neurocranium, (2) narrow cranial base, (3) viscerocranium with considerable midfacial projection, and (4) large dentition, especially the cheek teeth, with their associated large jaws and high volume masticatory muscles. Some of these features are likely to be highly heritable, while others are caused/exaggerated by influences from ageing processes, diet, and a hunter-gatherer lifestyle in an arid environment. These underlying ‘causes’ are either apomorphies of Homo sapiens (1 and 2) and thus absent from pre-modern specimens such as from Ngandong, or represent plesiomorphic features of latter Homo (3 and 4). It is concluded that combining current knowledge of cranial development-function with genetic studies of the population history of Aboriginal Australians provides the most parsimonious solution to understanding their origins.     

近代山东农村手工业的外向型发展--以草辫、花边、发网业为例

清末民初。山东农村兴盛一时的草辫、花边、发网业是在资本主义入侵后,传统手工业遭到冲击和破坏,为适应国际市场的需求而发展起来的、产品专供出口的新兴手工业。通商口岸的开埠和地方政府、绅商的积极倡导、支持推动了它们的外向型发展。新兴手工业的商品化、专业化的发展。增加了农民家庭经济收入,发展了农村商品经济。活跃了农村市场,使农村手工业经济结构由传统封闭型向出口导向型转变。其贸易活动加强了城乡之间的互动联系,加速了山东沿海城市近代化的进程。     

新中国历史科学的盛举--论中国史学会主编<中国近代史资料丛刊>的重大成就

20世纪 5 0年代 ,经过中国史学会精心组织 ,由一批第一流学者分别担任主编 ,1 0年之中编辑出版了《中国近代史资料丛刊》 1 0种 ,62册 ,共计 3 0 0 0余万字。它是在马克思主义观点指导下对近代史资料的一次大规模的科学整理 ,为近代史研究提供了最基本和最有价值的史料 ,成就巨大 ,影响深远 ,因而堪称是新中国历史科学的盛举。     

古代(战国)丝织品的降解特征初探

为深入了解研究古丝绸的降解特征,对新鲜丝绸和古丝绸进行对比研究,采用了包括扫描电子显微镜、红外光谱仪、X-射线衍射仪、差热分析仪等现代仪器分析方法,从宏观到微观对古丝织品进行了多角度、多层次的综合分析。结果表明,古代丝绸在复杂的地下环境下,受酸、碱、盐和微生物的综合作用,丝绸的宏观形貌、分子结构发生了明显变化。古丝绸的质地也不再有蚕茧那么致密均匀,丝蛋白的构像发生了变化,肽键断裂,碳碳键断裂,结晶度变小,热稳定性变差,使之失去了原有的强度。了解这些降解特征对采取正确的保存保护古丝绸具有重要的意义。     

现代设计中剪纸元素的应用

传统剪纸艺术重新受到现代设计者的强烈关注,这一现象说明剪纸艺术不仅与现代设计在风格上有着惊人的一致性,而且与西方现代设计理念也有着惊人的相似性。