Book reviews

? General

Thelma Chang. "I Can Never Forget”, Men of the 100th/442nd. Arizona: Sigi Productions, University of Arizona Press, 1991. 207 pp. Photographs, bibliography, index. US$34.95, hardcover.

James J. Fox and Clifford Sather, editors. Origins, Ancestry and Alliance: Explorations in Austronesian Ethnography. Canberra: Department of Anthropology, Comparative Austronesian Project, 1996. viii, 336 pp. Introduction, contents, acknowledgments, figures, tables, maps, references, index. Npg, paper.

John Mackenzie. Orientalism: History, Theory and the Arts. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995. xii, 232 pp. 8 pp. of plates. US$24.95, paper.

Richard Robison, editor. Pathways to Asia: The Politics of Engagement. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 1996. 270 pp. A$24.95, paper.

Eileen H. Tamura. Americanization, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identify: The Nissei Generation in Hawaii. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994. xx, 326 pp. US19.95, paper.

Nancy Viviani. The Indochinese in Australia, 1975–1995: From Burnt Boats to Barbecues. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996. xvi, 208 pp. Tables and figures, abbreviations, appendix, bibliography, index. A$24.95, paper.

? Northeast Asia

James Cahill. The Lyric Journey: Poetic Painting in China and Japan. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: Harvard University Press, 1996. x, 251 pp. Preface, glossary, bibliography, index. US$45.00, hardcover.

William H. Coaldrake. Architecture and Authority in Japan. London: Routledge, 1996. xxi, 337 pp. Preface, list of figures, acknowledgments, glossary, chronological table, notes, index. US$135.00, hardcover; US$44.95, paper.

Norman Eder. Poisoned Prosperity: Development, Modernization, and the Environment in South Korea. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. xiv, 192 pp. Two maps, bibliography, index. US$21.95, paper.

JaHyun Kim Haboush, translator. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth‐Century Korea. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. xii, 372 pp. Illustrations, glossary, index. Npg, paper.

Donald Keene. The Blue‐Eyed Tarôkaja: A Donald Keene Anthology. Edited by J. Thomas Rimer. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. ix, 290 pp. Contents, editor's preface, index. US$24.50, paper.

Rikki Kersten. Democracy in Postwar Japan: Maruyama Masao and the Search for Autonomy. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. xiv, 289 pp. Series editor's preface, acknowledgments, index. US$74.95, hardcover.

Hiroshi Komai (Jens Wilkinson, tr.). Migrant Workers in Japan. London and New York: Kegan Paul International, 1995. xviii, 305 pp. List of tables and figures, preface to English edition, preface, introduction, policy proposal, references, index. US$76.50, hardcover.

Fumie Kumagai with Donna Keyser. Unmasking Japan Today: The Impact of Traditional Values on Modern Japanese Society. Westport and London: Praeger, 1996. 192 pp. Preface, bibliography, index. US$39.95, hardcover.

Robert M. Marsh. The Great Transformation: Social Change in Taipei, Taiwan since the 1960s. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. An East Gate Book. 418 pp. Maps, glossary, appendix, bibliography, photographs, index. US$62.95, hardcover; US$27.95, paper.

Joe Moore, editor. The Other Japan: Conflict, Compromise, and Resistance since 1945. New Edition. New York and London: M.E. Sharpe, 1997, for the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. xvi, 406 pp. Introduction, index. US$24.95, paper.

Leith Morton. An Anthology of Contemporary Japanese Poetry. New York and London: Garland Publishing Inc., 1993. xxv, 458 pp. Preface, introduction, biographies of the poets, bibliographic notes, selected English‐language bibliography. US$75.00, hardcover.

Ikko Shimizu. The Dark Side of Japanese Business: Three “Industry Novels” — Silver Sanctuary, The Ibis Cage, Keiretsu. Translated and edited by Tamae K. Prindle. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. 277 pp. US$50.00, hardcover; US$17.95, paper.

Yoshio Sugimoto. An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 285 pp. US$90.00, hardcover; US$29.95, paper.

Shih‐shan Henry Tsai. The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. 290 pp. Introduction, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. US$18.95, paper.

? South Asia

Ludwig W. Adamec. Dictionary of Afghan Wars, Revolutions, and Insurgencies. Metuchen, NJ, and London: The Scarecrow Press, 1996. xvii, 364 pp. US$48.00, hardcover.

Sudhir Kakar. The Colors Of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion and Conflict. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. xiii, 217 pp. Notes, index. US$14.95, paper.

Stanley N. Kurtz. All the Mothers are One: Hindu India and the Cultural Reshaping of Psychoanalysis. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. xv, 306 pp. Foreword by S.J. Thambiah, illustrations, index. US$49.50, hardcover; US$18.00, paper.

? Southeast Asia

H.S. Barlow. Swettenham. Kuala Lumpur: Southdene Sdn Bhd, 1995. xviii, 783 pp. Foreword, abbreviations, bibliography, plates, index. Npg, hardcover.

Daniel S. Lev and Ruth T. McVey, editors. Making Indonesia: Essays on Modern Indonesia in Honor of George McT. Kahin. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1996. 201 pp. US$18.00, paper.

Peter Rogers. Northeast Thailand from Prehistoric to Modern Times. Bangkok: Duang Kamol, 1966. 259 pp. Npg.

James Niel Sneddon. Indonesian Reference Grammar. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1996. xxvii, 387 pp. A$29.95, paper.

N.P. van den Berg. Currency and the Economy of Netherlands India, 1870–1995. (Reprint of The Financial and Economical Condition of Netherlands India since 1870 and the Effect of the Present Currency System with introduction by Pierre van der Eng.) Singapore: Sources for the Economic History of Southeast Asia Data Paper Series No. 5, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1996. xxx, 120 pp. Tables. S$29.00/US$24.00, paper.

Pierre van der Eng. Agricultural Growth in Indonesia: Productivity Change and Policy Impact since 1880. Studies in the Economies of East and South‐East Asia. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press; New York: St Martin's Press, 1996. xiii, 375 pp. Abbreviations and acronyms, preface, tables, figures, notes and references, appendices, bibliography, index. US79.95, hardcover.

Michael Vatikiotis. Political Change in Southeast Asia: Trimming the Banyan Tree. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. xiv, 230 pp. Foreword. US$13.99, paper.     

Destroy? ‘Migrate’? Conceal? British Strategies for the Disposal of Sensitive Records of Colonial Administrations at Independence

Publicity given in 2011 to the existence of a Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘migrated archive’, now known also as the ‘Hanslope disclosure’, following a High Court demand for release of records relative to a case brought by former Mau Mau detainees, led me to explore files already in the public domain which might throw light on British policy towards the ‘disposal’ of locally created records of colonial administrations at independence. This article examines Colonial Office and Commonwealth Relations Office files concerned primarily with Kenya, Tanganyika, Nigeria and the Central African Federation, but which reveal much about policy and practice not only in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Southeast Asia. Reasons for refusals to pass material to successor independent governments, and the underlying security concerns, are spelled out in the records; some indication of the volume of records destroyed or sent to London is given; methods of destruction and transmission are discussed; deliberate misinformation given to local politicians and officials is admitted; and tensions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Public Record Office, and between political expediency and archival practice, are revealed. The article continues with a discussion of ultimately inconclusive deliberations led by UNESCO in the 1970s and 1980s which sought the return of, or access to, ‘migrated’ records ‘in the search of historical truth and continuity’.     

Erosion Hazards and Efficient Preservation Measures in Prehistoric Cultural Layers in the Littoral of Lake Constance (Germany,Switzerland)

Many Neolithic and Bronze Age cultural layers and pile fields embedded in sediments at the shorelines of pre-alpine lakes in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Italy (in part UNESCO World Heritage Sites), are threatened by littoral erosion which is partly caused by human agency. Based on measurements of the wave field at four prehistoric sites on Lake Constance (Germany, Switzerland) we discuss the role of passenger ship navigation. We also review the stability and ecological compatibility of archaeological preservation control fills on the littoral platform of Lake Constance, and we make some recommendations for future preservation measures.     

A calf for all seasons? The potential of stable isotope analysis to investigate prehistoric husbandry practices

The Early Bronze Age barrows at Irthlingborough and Gayhurst in central England are notable for the large number of cattle (Bos taurus) remains associated with their human Beaker burials. Previous work using strontium isotope analysis has indicated that most of the cattle analysed, and one aurochs (Bos primigenius), were of local origin [Towers, J., Montgomery, J., Evans, J., Jay, M., Parker Pearson, M., 2010. An investigation of the origins of cattle and aurochs deposited in the Early Bronze Age barrows at Gayhurst and Irthlingborough. Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 508–515.]. In this study, stable isotope analysis of enamel and bone was carried out to investigate whether the mature cattle had experienced similar husbandry practices, climate and environment. Bulk carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope analysis of collagen suggested most were consuming similar sources of plant protein from environments probably local to the sites and this was supported by high resolution intra-enamel carbon isotope profiles. Oxygen isotope profiles indicated the aurochs and most of the cattle experienced similar climatic regimes: the only exception being an animal with a non-local strontium isotope ratio. However, a comparison of seasonality profiles of the local animals using estimated tooth formation times showed that there was no consistency in season of birth: the animals appeared to have been born throughout the year. Cattle can breed throughout the year but it requires considerable human effort and intervention to successfully overwinter young stock; it is therefore unlikely to have been carried out without good reason and benefit if winters were harsh. One reason is to ensure a continuous supply of milk. Measuring oxygen isotope profiles to identify year-round calving may thus be a potential indicator of dairying economies.     

Diet in the Iron Age cemetery population at Wetwang Slack,East Yorkshire,UK: carbon and nitrogen stable isotope evidence

This paper reports δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values for human and animal bone collagen from the middle Iron Age site at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, UK. The data indicate a human diet which was high in animal protein, with no evidence for any significant marine food input. No differences were found between high-status vehicle (or ‘chariot’) burials and the rest of the population and no other status differentiations are visible according to burial rite, age or sex groupings, although the data obtained for the older males display an unusual trend. No dietary variation is seen between two site phases and no evidence for an early immigrant group is present. The range of isotope values for the adult human group as a whole is small, indicating that the diet is likely to have been consistent over time and across the population, although two individuals stand out as unusual amongst the 62 analysed.     

Osseous talocalcaneal coalition in a medieval skeleton (ca. 1050 AD)

Tarsal coalition (TC) is defined as an abnormal fusion of two or more tarsal bones. The fusion may be fibrous, cartilaginous or osseous and can be congenital or acquired in response to infection, articular disorders, trauma, neoplasm or surgery. We report a case of a talocalcaneal (TCC) type of tarsal coalition in a medieval skeleton from Northwest Germany dating to ca. 1050 AD. The fusion is of osseous type. Plain AP radiographs and computed tomography confirmed the macroscopic diagnosis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Making the Dead Visible: Problems and Solutions for “Big” Picture Approaches to the Past,and Dealing with Large “Mortuary” Datasets

There can be few “bigger” questions than the nature and development of human experience and self-awareness and few better ways to study it than through the changing treatment of the dead over time. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the ‘Invisible Dead’ project (Durham University) is exploring diachronic changes in mortuary practices across two regions: Britain and the Levant. In doing so, it uses archaeology as a way to approach fundamental questions about the human condition. This paper explores the principal difficulties faced during the construction of a database for this project and their wider relevance for the development of robust and successful methods for the study of large “mortuary” datasets in the future. It discusses the issues and biases identified within the mortuary record and how the project has sought to mitigate some of these. By adopting a flexible and ultimately expandable approach to data entry and analysis, value can be added to legacy datasets and “grey” literature, allowing us to make comparisons between regions which are both geographically and chronologically distinct.     

Between the Vinča and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Linearbandkeramik</Emphasis> Worlds: The Diversity of Practices and Identities in the 54th–53rd Centuries cal BC in Southwest Hungary and Beyond

Perhaps nowhere in European prehistory does the idea of clearly-defined cultural boundaries remain more current than in the initial Neolithic, where the southeast–northwest trend of the spread of farming crosses what is perceived as a sharp divide between the Balkans and central Europe. This corresponds to a distinction between the Vin?a culture package, named for a classic site in Serbia, with its characteristic pottery assemblage and absence of longhouses, and the Linearbandkeramik (LBK), with equally diagnostic but different pottery, and its apparently culturally-diagnostic longhouses, extending in a more northerly belt through central Europe westward to the Dutch coast. In this paper we question the concept of such a clear division through a presentation of new data from the site of Szederkény-Kukorica-d?l?. A large settlement in southeast Transdanubia, Hungary, excavated in advance of road construction, Szederkény is notable for its combination of pottery styles, variously including Vin?a A, Ra?i?te and LBK, and longhouses of a kind otherwise familiar from the LBK world. Formal modelling of its date establishes that the site probably began in the later 54th century cal BC, lasting until the first decades of the 52nd century cal BC. Occupation, featuring longhouses, pits and graves, probably began at the same time in the eastern and western parts of the settlement, starting a decade or two later in the central part; the western part was probably the last to be abandoned. Vin?a pottery is predominantly associated with the eastern and central parts of the site, and Ra?i?te pottery with the west. Formal modelling of the early history of longhouses in the LBK world suggests their emergence in the Formative LBK of Transdanubia c. 5500 cal BC followed by rapid dispersal in the middle of the 54th century cal BC, associated with the ‘earliest’ (älteste) LBK. The adoption of longhouses at Szederkény thus appears to come a few generations after the start of this ‘diaspora’. Rather than explaining the mixture of things, practices and perhaps people at Szederkény with reference to problematic notions such as hybridity, we propose instead a more fluid and varied vocabulary, encompassing combination and amalgamation, relationships and performance in the flow of social life, and networks; this makes greater allowance for diversity and interleaving in a context of rapid change.