Environmental context of a Neolithic site at Beifudi,north-west Hebei Province,China

The earliest evidence of prehistoric religious practice in China found so far comes from excavations at Beifudi, about 120 km south of Beijing, in the form of votive offerings and porcelain sorcery masks dated to the period 8000–7000 yr BP. These finds are part of a rich Neolithic site located on the second river terrace on the north shore of the Yi River. This paper presents results of pollen analysis of part of a sediment profile from a depression at the edge of first terrace towards second terrace, a few hundred metres away from the main archaeological finds. A sequence of marked changes in environment occurred between 9000 cal yr BP and 6000 cal yr BP, and dating evidence suggests strong associations with the ebb and flow of human activity in the area. The first phase of activity on the site begins at around 8000 cal yr BP, towards the end of a period of relatively dry, cold environmental conditions. Between 7800 cal yr BP and 7400 cal yr BP, the first clear evidence of cereal cultivation appears in the pollen record. Rich archaeological finds occur during the same time period, suggesting local prosperity. This first phase of the Beifudi culture ends at 7300 cal yr BP, when warmer and wetter conditions are inferred and wetland areas expand, reducing the area available for crop cultivation near the site. A return to drier and cooler conditions from 6900 cal yr BP corresponds with the second phase of apparent prosperity in the archaeological record from Beifudi. This phase ends at around 6500 cal yr BP, at the start of another shift towards wetter conditions in the flood plain environment. The pollen record suggests that environmental conditions in the flood plain were a major determinant of human activity at Beifudi in the early-mid Holocene.     

Climate change,conflict, and cooperation: Global analysis of the effectiveness of international river treaties in addressing water variability

Climate-driven water variability is a natural phenomenon that is observed across river basins, but one that is predicted to increase due to climate change. Environmental change of this kind may aggravate political tensions, especially in regions which are not equipped with an appropriate institutional apparatus. Increased variability is also likely to challenge regions with existing institutional capacity. We argue that our best attempts to assess the ability of states to deal with variability in the future rest with considering how agreements have fared in the past. In this paper, we explore treaty effectiveness, or treaty resilience, by investigating whether particular water allocation and institutional mechanisms help mitigate inter-country tensions over shared water. We use water-related events from the Basins at Risk events database as a dependent variable to test particular hypotheses regarding the impact of treaty design on conflict and cooperation over time. A broad set of climatic, geographic, political, and economic variables are used as controls. The analysis is conducted for the years 1948–2001 using the country dyad as the level of observation. Findings pertaining to our primary explanatory variables suggest that country dyads governed by treaties with water allocation mechanisms exhibiting both flexibility and specificity evince more cooperative behavior. Country dyads governed by treaties with a larger sum of institutional mechanisms likewise evince a higher level of cooperation, although certain institutional mechanisms appear to be more important than others.     

Sharpening Advocacy Coalitions

The concept of “advocacy coalitions” is the bedrock of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), one of the most established and successful approaches for understanding policy processes across the globe. This article revisits and sharpens the conceptual definition of advocacy coalitions. We summarize the lessons from its theoretical emphases under the ACF and specify its five attributes (policy actors, shared beliefs, coordination, resources, and stability). Through this specification, we identify the ideal coalition type and several coalition subtypes. We then clarify and make a distinction between how we think about coalitions as a concept and how we approach coalitions empirically. This article sharpens the lens for describing and explaining coalitions toward better observations, theorizing, and measurements. It ends with next steps for further deepening and broadening knowledge about advocacy coalitions.     

大运河作为文化线路的认识与分析

中国的大运河一直是炎黄子孙所珍视的文化遗产。近年来的申遗热,更促使学界将大运河纳入世界遗产的范畴之中进行全新的认识与研究,同时国际重要的遗产研究团体也对大运河这一特殊案例给予了多方关注。当前学界对于大运河遗产的特点与价值等重点专题都展开了热烈地探讨,但与世界遗产理论体系并没有充分地接轨。因此,有必要从世界遗产体系中已有的相关文件在对大运河价值评估中产生的问题出发,探索文化线路对于大运河特质识别和价值研究的理论指导,从而发掘出对大运河遗产的新认识。     

古代襄樊城市变迁进程的初步研究

传统观点认为,襄樊古城缘起于西周晚期仲山甫封樊,但本文运用最新考古发现结合文献资料进行考证后认为,古代襄樊城市的源头为至少西周中期建都于今樊城西北的古邓城,并详细分析了襄樊城市发展史上三座古城邓城、襄阳城、樊城的变迁进程,阐述了古代襄樊城市变迁与政治、军事、地理形势变化的密切关系,从而揭示出古代襄樊城市从"一城独镇"到"双城并雄"、"三城竞秀"、"南城北市"的发展轨迹。     

京郊四村80年:乡民社会的历史图景与现实处境

20世纪20年代李景汉调查的京郊四村长期以来一直得到学术界的关注,2006～2008年,我们又对京郊四村进行了田野调查和文献研究,目的意在秉承前辈学者的研究理路,以村民的收入和消费为主线,呈现其从乡土社会到城市街区的转换历程,以及失地农民在适应城市生活中所面临的诸多问题。作为城乡关系的"连接点",大城市边缘村落既是乡土社会转型的前沿地带,也是都市化引发社会矛盾和冲突的焦点。因此,对京郊四村的再研究,不仅续写了村庄的历史,更突显了认识和记录中国社会变迁的价值所在。     

当前浙江华侨回国定居现象探析

针对近年来移民回流现象,用抽样调查的定量方法,对回浙定居华侨的人口社会学特征进行了归纳;对影响华侨回国定居的经济、政治因素进行了分析;认为当前华侨回国定居主要是为了恢复国内户口,方便经商、读书和生活等,其本身还具有很强的国际流动性。我国政府有关主管部门应当实施积极的华侨回国定居政策,以顺应经济全球化和人权保障的时代潮流。     

孙叔敖故里封地考述——兼论《楚相孙叔敖碑》的真伪与文本时代

孙叔敖作为楚庄王时期的令尹,王室世族显贵,不可能是期思县内的平民百姓,《荀子》等称其为期思之人,当与其先辈的封地食邑在期思一带有关。孙叔敖后人受封之寝丘,在淮河以北的今安徽省临泉县一带,早期文献有明确的记载。唐宋以来,许多文献不辨南北朝时期固始县的沿革变化和治所迁移,将古寝丘定于后来的固始县(即今河南固始县)境内,不足为信。传世《楚相孙叔敖碑》,内容存在明显的矛盾和混淆,并非东汉时期的原作,应是南北朝后期至隋唐期间的续刻或拟托,不能作为古寝丘在今河南固始县一带的论据。     

盘庚迁都新议

盘庚迁殷,以往大多数学者认为是自奄迁于今之安阳洹南之殷墟,即今之小屯村一带.然而在今之洹南的考古发掘中,很难找到盘庚、小辛、小乙三王时期的文化遗存和遗物.随着考古发掘的扩大和发展,我们认为,盘庚始迁为漳南洹北的殷墟,历经小辛、小乙时期,至武丁时,都城稍稍南移,遂移至今洹南殷墟.盘庚始迁之漳南洹北,文献上称之为漳南之商丘,又可称亳、称殷.它与洹南之殷墟合则称之为殷(后世称之为殷墟),析则分别称亳与殷.由于盘庚、小辛、小乙居洹北仅二十多年,析称的史实遂被“二百七十三年更不徙都“的记载所湮没,致使人们忽略了盘庚始迁的这段历史.     

晚清铁路外债观初探——以芦汉铁路为中心

在晚清铁路外债举借过程中,洋务官员逐步有了成型的、带有明显思想倾向的外债观,芦汉比国债款交涉是典型的蓝本。其核心是在依赖心理驱动下生成路权与债权交换的主导思想。在体现外资合理性的同时,也暴露出排斥商股、模糊抵押权限、利用外资形式偏执等诸多偏差,表现出近代国人在利用外资上排拒与依赖并存的矛盾心态。