Separating Sheep (Ovis aries L.) and Goats (Capra hircus L.) Using Geometric Morphometric Methods: An Investigation of Astragalus Morphology from Late and Final Bronze Age Central Asian Contexts

Many qualitative and quantitative methods for the separation of sheep and goat bones are based upon Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and European specimens. However, these methods may not be as applicable in other geographical contexts due to regional morphological variation. In order to address this, both traditional and geometric morphometric methods were applied to sheep, (Ovis aries L.) and goat (Capra hircus L.) astragali from archaeological sites from Kazakhstan dating to the Late and Final Bronze Age (1900–900 bce ). This exploratory research confirmed that qualitative features remained useful for distinguishing between species, while traditional morphometric methods were unable to conclusively support the field identification of species. Geometric morphometric methods found significant morphological differences between species and confirmed group membership while exploring specific qualitative features that were effective in distinguishing between sheep and goat in Central Asian contexts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

1919 in dynamic East Asia: March First and May Fourth as a starting point for revolution

Abstract

The March First Movement and the May Fourth Movement are like mirrors reflecting each other’s relationship. This article uses the concept of “simultaneity” in global history to reevaluate the significance of both events in world history. It also examines the differences exhibited by the simultaneity of the two events from the perspective of an “interconnected East Asia.” After entering the world-system, imperial Japan, semi-colonial China, and colonial Korea occupied different positions within its hierarchical structure. Here we need to pay attention to the status-diverse but mutually influential conditions in East Asia. To see through the complexity of (semi)colonial modernity and find the inherent opportunities to overcome modernity, it is useful to analyze the “double project” of adapting to modernity and overcoming modernity. Since the 1920s, the two events have been continually reinterpreted in the vein of socio-historical changes. The question of how to remember the two is not only a historical question but also a practical question for the present. Now is truly the methodological turning point in exploring and reinterpreting the two events. The author will use the terms “March First Revolution” and “May Fourth Revolution” in an attempt to tackle this issue. The mass gatherings that took place during March First and May Fourth provide sufficient evidence to support the use of “revolution” to describe them. Although March First and May Fourth are part of two respective histories of Korea and China, at the same time they are part of East Asia’s and the world’s interconnected history.     

晚清时期南洋地区中华商会的角色定位及其实践

论文聚焦于晚清南洋各埠中华商会的创办及其在保障当地华人华商权益、增进海内外同胞沟通与交流等方面所发挥的作用,从章程文书和案例两个视角剖析南洋中华商会的角色定位。20世纪初,清政府倡导创办商会,南洋各埠华商积极响应。由于清政府在海外的护侨保侨作用有限,南洋中华商会在近代海外华人社会中扮演着多重角色。它不仅是商业联合组织,更是维护海外华侨权益、增进海内外同胞交流的重要支柱。早期中华商会的一系列努力奠定了其在海外华侨社会中的影响与地位,并延续至今。     

“中国西南与东南亚地区冶金技术的起源与传播暨临邛冶铁实验考古”国际学术研讨会综述

2019年11月,"中国西南与东南亚冶金技术的起源与传播暨临邛冶铁实验考古"国际学术研讨会在四川邛崃市召开。来自海内外的百余位学者,就中国西北与西南、中亚、东南亚地区冶金技术的起源与传播进行深入探讨,并在临邛汉代冶铁实验考古现场就汉代冶铁和炒钢的技术与工艺、考古遗迹与各个生产环节的对应关系、出土冶铸遗物的科技检测分析等问题展开讨论。与会代表一致认为,研讨会的召开不仅展示了亚洲大陆冶金考古的新发现和新成果,临邛冶铁实验考古也为今后冶金考古研究提供了新的思路和有效借鉴。     

中共中央东南局推进马克思主义在浙江的传播研究

全面抗战时期,中共中央东南局引领和推动马克思主义在浙江的传播,为浙江的红色文化建设做出了重要贡献。面对严峻的抗战形势,中共中央东南局紧紧抓牢抗战进步文化的领导权,通过创办抗战红色报刊、开展抗战文艺活动、依靠无产阶级知识分子等多种途径来传播马克思主义,极大地推动了浙江的马克思主义传播。在传播内容、手段和效果上,呈现出隐蔽性与灵活性、多样性与主导性、时代性与先进性相统一的地域性特点。全面抗战时期马克思主义在浙江的传播深刻改变了群众的思想状况和话语体系,影响了人们的判断和选择,为中国共产党赢得抗战胜利奠定了群众基础。     

Glass Beads from 15th–17th Century CE Jar Burial Sites in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains

A total of 74 glass beads, included as grave goods in 15th–17th century CE jar burials from Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, were analysed using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS). Several glass types were identified, including two subtypes of high‐alumina mineral soda glass, and lead–potash glass. The final glass type represents a newly discovered and previously unidentified type of high‐alumina soda glass, with high magnesia (m‐Na–Al Mg>). This study represents the first glass data from the mid‐second millennium CE from Cambodia and sheds light on the multiple long‐distance maritime exchange networks in which the upland people buried in the jars were participating.     

The ‘Migrated Archives’ and a Forgotten Corner of Empire: The British Borneo Territories

The ‘migrated archives’, previously concealed files related to former colonies of the British Empire, were released over the period 2012–13. The first flurry of academic and journalistic interest, focused on possible revelations of the misuse of colonial power, soon subsided. Nevertheless, the archives have been valuable in enlarging knowledge of colonial policy-making. They have also aided exploration of the interstices between the official records of colonial administration and the often unrecorded life of peoples and communities. In this sense the ‘migrated archives’ are a rich resource in prompting a new look at established historical narratives of the British Borneo territories of Brunei, North Borneo and Sarawak. These territories have received scant attention in the historiography of British colonialism. This has been to the detriment of wider scholarship in studying issues such as the expansion of the wartime colonial state; the ‘second colonial occupation’ and the evolution of post-war British colonial governance; the development of anti-colonialism; the formation of Malaysia; counter-terrorism conflicts; and the nature of the colonial legacy. The colonial period may seem a fleeting phase in the age-old cultural and economic formation of the Borneo states, yet it continues to have contemporary relevance in a strategically sensitive part of the world. This article seeks to show that the Borneo territories merit greater attention from historians of British colonialism and that the ‘migrated archives’, used in conjunction with other sources, can make a significant contribution towards the history of colonialism in a previously neglected area.     

A possible case of ‘poll‐evil’ in an early Scythian horse skull from Arzhan 1, Tuva Republic,Central Asia

Occipital bone lesions on an Iron Age horse cranium from the burial mound of Arzhan 1, Tuva, Central Asia, are described and interpreted. Cavitations around the nuchal ligament attachment site on the skull are interpreted as foci of inflammation and necrosis following local infection. It is suggested that the pathology represents a case of ‘poll‐evil’, most likely due to a bacterial infection. The significance of such an interpretation is discussed, including its implications for disease ecology and the possible infection risks to contiguous animal and human communities of the first millennium BC in Central Asia. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating indices of curation for Archaic North American bifacial projectile points

Abstract

This paper addresses the definitions of the term “curation” and the utility of various techniques for its quantification based on morphometric, isometric, and geometric characteristics of bifacial projectile points. The definitions were evaluated through the comparative application of curation indices to a collection of Archaic projectile points from the Southwestern United States. Bifacial projectile points from the Walt Jones Farm site (10Br9), Georgia, were analyzed with the accompanying debitage using curation indices and non-indexical measures. Comparisons of the curation indices with non-indexical measures allow an examination of the utility of the term “curation,” and we argue that indices of curation cannot operate in a vacuum without additional information concerning an assemblage.     

New Reflections on Old Questions in the Anthropology of Gender

The ethnographic exploration of sex and gender continues to yield important results. We have some new cases—and new insights into old cases—to consider, with the help of the critical and cautionary insights of the last three decades. This article argues for a systematic reexamination of questions about gender stratification that were raised in an earlier sub-disciplinary era in light of new ethnographic and theoretical work. In doing so, it may pay to return to once popular analytical methods like cross-cultural comparison aimed at generalization. Three recent ethnographies about gender in Southeast Asia point toward possibilities for future synthesis.