Reviews

Spatial models and locative expressions in Baluchi , Ela Filippone, Baluchistan Monograph Series, IV, Naples: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1996, 427 pp.

Qissah‐yi niyaz , Hushang Rahnema, Philadelphia: Miras‐e Iran, 1998, 175 pp.

Modernism and Ideology in Persian Literature: A Return to Nature in the Poetry of Nima Yushij , Majid Naficy, Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1997, 144 pp., $27.50

Mysticism and the Plurality of Meaning: The Case of the Ismailis of Rural Iran , Rafique Keshavjee, London: I. B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1998 (Occasional Papers, no. 2), vii + 47 pp.

Sacred Acts, Sacred Time, Sacred Space , John Walbridge, Oxford: George Ronald, 1996.

The History of Contemporary Iranian Jews , vol. 2, ed. Homa and Houman Sarshar, Beverly Hills, Calif.: Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History, 1997.

Padyavand , Judeo‐Iranian and Jewish Studies Series, vol. 2, ed. Amnon Netzer, Costa Mesa, Calif.: Mazda Publishers, 1997.

Memoirs of M. E. Amirteymour Kalali: Tribal Leader, Majles Deputy, Cabinet Minister , ed., Habib Ladjevardi, Iranian Oral History Project, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1997.

Persian Cookings: A Table of Exotic Delights , Nesta Ramazani, New York: Quadrangle Books, 1974, reprint Iranbooks, Inc., 1997, 296 pp.

The Legendary Cuisine of Persia , Margaret Shaida, U.K.: Lieuse Publications, 1992., reprint Penguin Books, 1994, 337 pp.

Reconstructed Lives: Women and Iran's Islamic Revolution , Haleh Esfandiari, Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1997, 234 pp., $15.95, paperback, ISBN: 0–8018–5619–1, $24.50, hardcover, ISBN 0–8018–5618–3.

Die iranische Schia und die islamische Einheit 1979–1996 , Wilfried Buchta, Hamburg, Deutsches Orient‐Institut, 1997, 427 pp.

Maqalati dar jami^cah‐yi shinasi‐yi siyasi‐yi Iran [Articles on the Political Sociology of Iran], Ervand Abrahamian, trans., Soheyla Torrabi‐farsani, Tehran: Shirazeh Publications, 1997, 254 pp. + index.

Parliamentary Politics in Revolutionary Iran: The Institutionalization of Factional Politics , Bahman Baktiari, Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1996, ISBN 0–8130–1461–1, 282 pp. appendix, notes, bibliography, + index.

Street Politics: Poor People's Movement in Iran , Asef Bayat, New York: Columbia University Press, 1997, 216 pages + plus glossary.

The United States and Iran; In the Shadow of Musaddiq , James F. Goode, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, xiv + 235 pp.

The Soviet Republic of Iran, 1920–1921; Birth of the Trauma , Chosroe Chaqueri, Pittsburgh and London: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995, xxvii + 649 pp.

Know Thine Enemy: A Spy's Journey into Revolutionary Iran , Edward Shirley, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997, 247 pp.

The Middle East: from the end of Empire to the end of the Cold War , P. J. Vatikiotis, London and New York: Routledge, 1997, $65.00.

Iran and the Gulf: A Search for Stability , Jamal S. al‐Suwaidi, ed., Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 1996, xi + 425 pp., 12 figures, 8 tables, maps.

The Persian Gulf at the Millennium: Essays in Politics, Economy, Security, and Religion , ed. Gary Sick and Lawrence G. Potter, ,New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, 356 pp.

The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Boom and Petro‐States , Terry Lynn Karl, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997, 342 pp., $55.00, $22.00, paper.     

Rock surface luminescence dating of prehistoric rock art from central Iberia

Rock art paintings are notoriously difficult to date numerically. Recently, luminescence dating has been shown to provide reliable rock surface burial ages in various archaeological settings. Here we use the cross-cutting relationship between a fallen rock and two paintings of the Iberian Levantine (older) and Schematic (younger) styles to constrain the age of the paintings by dating the rockfall event using rock surface luminescence dating. Infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals as a function of depth into the buried face of the talus border indicate that the IRSL signal measured at 50°C (IR₅₀) was sufficiently reset to a depth of about 1.6 mm prior to burial. An uncorrected IR₅₀ age of 1.6 ± 0.2 ka was calculated for the rockfall event by dividing the surface equivalent dose (D_e) by the total dose rate. This age was corrected using both conventional and field-to-laboratory saturation approaches to yield indistinguishable ages of 2.7 ± 0.5 and 2.9 ± 0.3 ka, respectively. Since the panel with Schematic art was first available to the artist after the rockfall, we conclude the Schematic rock art at Villar del Humo is younger than ~2.9 ka. The Levantine rock art was painted on a panel constrained by the talus boulder before detachment, and so it is likely to be older than ~2.9 ka.     

OSL dating as an alternative tool for age determination of relic charcoal kilns

Chronometric studies of charcoal production remains are largely based on ¹⁴C-dating of associated charcoal. Owing to intrinsic limitations, however, this method provides no meaningful time resolution for post-1650 CE features. We investigate the potential of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of heated sandy sediments as an alternative and complementary tool for dating charcoal kiln remains. Seven samples from five relic charcoal kilns and 11 complementary samples from the underlying sandy substrate are used. Through a range of procedural tests, we demonstrate that the single-aliquot, regenerative-dose procedure in combination with OSL signals from quartz allows determining equivalent doses both accurately and precisely. For four of the five investigated kilns, OSL ages are consistent with independent age information from ¹⁴C-dating and written sources. Especially for post-1650 CE features, the precision can be significantly better than that of ¹⁴C-dating, and we highlight the potential of OSL dating for distinguishing, relatively, between charcoal production phases with an unprecedented time resolution. We conclude that the approach is a promising alternative to ¹⁴C.