An Integrated isotopic study of Early Intermediate Period camelid husbandry in the Santa Valley,Perú

ABSTRACT

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were determined for camelid bone collagen, hair, and wool (fibre) sampled from textiles from archaeological sites in the Santa Valley (north coast of Perú) occupied during Moche III (El Castillo, A.D. 300?500) and Moche IV (Guadalupito, A.D. 500?700) phases; a small number of camelid bone collagen samples were also analysed from the Late Suchimancillo Phase (A.D. 0?300). These data suggest that localised camelid husbandry was practiced in the Santa Valley from at least the Moche III phase. The nature of camelid husbandry likely involved animals being kept spatially segregated and fed a diverse range of fodder. The isotopic compositions of the bone collagen and wool textiles were very similar, which suggests that the wool that was used to produce the textiles was derived from local camelids rather than being acquired from the highlands. The transition from Moche III to Moche IV, which saw a significant increase in Mochica presence in the Santa Valley, was not accompanied by major changes in camelid husbandry practices. Localised camelid husbandry continued through this transition with minimal change; the prolonged droughts of the sixth century A.D. had no discernable effect on camelid husbandry, probably due to the special hydraulic conditions unique to the Santa Valley.     

On Reading Patrol Reports – 2: Travels in East Awin

ABSTRACT

Reports of patrols through remote areas of Papua and New Guinea led by officers of the Australian administration must be read with care. We discuss the case of a patrol report from the mid 1960s where the patrol cannot have travelled the route indicated on the accompanying map. By cross-referencing to reports from later patrols, we provide both an improved reading of the report in question and, more generally, an appreciation of motivations that influenced the knowledge patrol officers produced.     

Salt Production of Late Imperial China in the Upper Three Gorges Region: A Case Study of the Zhongjingba Site in Chongqing

This article aims to improve the understanding of salt production in the upper Three Gorges region, based on archaeological investigation and excavation of salt-production sites in Yushan, Pengshui County, Chongqing. This article introduces the features of salt sources and the types and dates of the salt wells in Yushan, and investigates the local brine transportation and salt-making techniques. The Zhongjingba site is a large salt-making site with well-preserved remains of production and support facilities dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Large numbers of evaporation furnaces, brine tanks, and working pits have been excavated and revealed a complete process of producing salt. Analysis of historical documents and the excavated remnants has allowed the reconstruction of the po lu yin zao salt-making process (which, in Chinese, means to splash brine onto the evaporation furnace), the first archaeological evidence of this technique; the management, output capacity, and sales area of the ancient salt production in Yushan are also discussed.     

Trans/national knowledge production through difference: dilemmas of doing research on veiling in Amman,Jordan

Abstract

This article examines some dilemmas I experienced while doing research on fashionable veiling in Amman, Jordan. My fieldwork experience and the knowledge I co-produced with the participants were shaped by each layer of my identity as a Jordanian, Muslim, non-veiled woman, with a particular classed, spatialized Ammani heritage and affiliation with western feminist academia. The article engages with the implications my positionality had on my insider-outsider status and the knowledge the participants and I co-produced. I argue that the research setting, while fraught with difference, constituted a site for transnational solidarity and knowledge production. The participants and I had divergent understandings of, and aspirations for, Jordanian Muslim femininity shaped by our varying positions within the Global North-Global South. I argue that we practiced solidarity by collaborating and co-constructing a transnational site to unpack and defend their viability. I found that our collaboration was not fuelled by a shared sense of injustice and did not produce a shared outlook on Islam, Jordanianness or femininity. Rather, it created a site where we were able to emphasize our divergent sense of these paradigms as women positioned differently within the trans/national, cultural, and religious spaces we shared.     

传统村落神圣空间形态、当代价值及其研究范式再认识

神圣空间是中国传统村落重要的空间形态，但理论界对神圣空间时有“存续论”和“废弃论”的学术争议，对其内涵、类型、流动性发展趋势以及新的研究范式也缺乏深入解读，这对人们深入认知传统村落神圣空间带来了困惑和迷茫。通过文献梳理，认为：神圣空间的内涵是“空间+意义”的综合。在传统村落中空间形态有两类，一是具有明显可观察性的宗教信仰性神圣空间，二是一切不可让渡或不可化约的人文意义的神圣空间。在内容研究方面，学术界对第一类型的神圣空间研究着墨较多，但研究特点表现在对神圣空间“本身”进行阐释。对第二类型神圣空间建构性的解读属于新兴研究类型，研究主要将传统村落神圣空间看作是社会建构的过程和动态性实践的产物。在流动性视角下，学术界更注重对传统村落神圣空间与流动性互动产生的社会经济、文化和环境之间建构和生产的研究，认为“神圣空间作为文本”更符合新的社会事实及其推动下的研究议题。不同认知范式具有差异性，相互补充是人们整体认知传统村落神圣空间的基础，也对乡村振兴实践中传统村落文化的整理、挖掘以及塑造社会经济发展具有重要指引。