Book reviews

Theodore G. Th. Pigeaud and P. Voorhoeve. Handschriften aus Indonesien (Bali, Java, und Sumatra), xi, 71 pp., 6 plates. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH, 1985. (Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, XXVIII, 2.) DM 64,‐

G. J Knapp, Kruidnagelen en christenen: de Verenigde Oost‐Indische Compagnie en de bevolking van Ambon 1656–1696.xii, 323 pp. Dordrecht: Foris Publications, 1987. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land ‐en Volkenkunde, 125.) Guilders 35.

Rainer Carle (ed.). Cultures and societies North Sumatra. 514 pp. Berlin; Hamburg: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1987. (Veröffentlichungen des Seminars für Indonesische und Südseesprachen der Universität Hamburg, 19.) DM 95.

J. Noorduyn. Bima en Sumbawa: bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van de sultanaten Bima en Sumbawa door A. Ligtvoet en G. P. Rouffaer.xii, 187 pp. Dordrecht: Foris Publications, 1987. (Verhandelingen van net Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde, 129.) Guilders 30.

Anthony J. Whitten and others. The ecology of Sulawesi. By Anthony J. Whitten, Muslimin Mustafa, Gregory S. Henderson,xxi, 777 pp. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press, 1987.

Robert Wessing. The soul of ambiguity: the tiger in Southeast Asia. vi, 148 pp. [Dekalb, Illinois]: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, 1986. (Monograph Series on Southeast Asia, Special Report 24.) (Distributed by Cellar Bookshop, 18090 Wyoming, Detroit, Michigan 48221.)     

The architecture of the Iron Age II fortified settlement at Muweilah (Sharjah,United Arab Emirates)

Excavations at Muweilah have uncovered twelve buildings encircled by two pairs of walls and ditches. We have published preliminary studies of several buildings. Research has now progressed to a stage where it is possible to produce a more complete analysis of the architecture. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the fortifications and each building with its installations. Our assessment of the architecture identified the repeated combination of three rooms in many of the buildings in the Central Area of Muweilah. Moreover, a detailed study of the fortifications revealed several means of accessing Building II, the columned hall, in the Western Area. These findings offer insights into the organisation of Iron Age II settlements in south‐eastern Arabia.     

Heritage Monitoring Scouts: Engaging the Public to Monitor Sites at Risk Across Florida

ABSTRACT

Along Florida’s nearly 13,000 km of shoreline, nearly 4000 archaeological sites and over 600 recorded historic cemeteries are at risk from climate change impacts including coastal erosion and a 2-metre rise in sea level. In 2016, the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) created the Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) programme to engage the public in monitoring sites at risk. The programme grew quickly during the first year of operation to include 233 volunteers who submitted 312 monitoring forms. The programme exists beyond the singular act of a volunteer reporting site conditions; across Florida, varied combinations of local partnerships present unique opportunities for programmes, for example, the pilot program at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. Preliminary outcomes from the first year of HMS Florida and the pilot indicate the programme is effective in public engagement and a powerful management tool for tracking change to sites over time.     

The survival of PCR-amplifiable DNA in cow leather

We have investigated the survival of PCR-amplifiable mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in a small number of modern and medieval bovine leather samples. The results of this preliminary investigation demonstrate that, while no nuclear DNA can be PCR-amplified from any of the specimens, mitochondrial DNA can be amplified from all samples. To investigate this contrasting pattern of DNA survival further, we have vegetable-tanned cow skin in our own laboratory, and directly assayed the survival of PCR-amplifiable mitochondrial and nuclear DNA at each step of the process. The results indicate that nuclear DNA is reduced to sub-amplifiable levels as a result of the tanning baths, whereas amplifiable mitochondrial DNA survives the complete process. Our results suggest that old and archaeological bovine leather may represent a useful source of genetic information, although this information will most likely be limited to that which can be gained from mitochondrial DNA.