Cave occupations in Southeastern Arabia in the second millennium BCE: Excavation at Mugharat al-Kahf,North-Central Oman

This paper reports the results of excavation at Mugharat al-Kahf (WTN01) in Wādī Tanūf, North-central Oman. It also provides information on the nonmortuary and nonsedentary activities in central Oman during the Wādī Sūq period (2000–1600 BCE), as the subsistence and social arrangements of this period are the subject of much debate. Previous surveys had discovered a substantial amount of Wādī Sūq pottery at the site. This project took forward the excavation for further exploration. The excavation at Test Pit 1 identified Layers Ia and Ib, wherein pottery sherds, charred date stones and other samples for radiocarbon dating were discovered. These prove the cave's occupation during the early third millennium BCE, early second millennium BCE and the Islamic period. The analysis of artefacts and floral remains provided insights into the sojourn, storage and consumption of dates in the cave, and the mobile lifestyle in central Oman.     

Early Human Decapitation, 11,700–10,700 cal bp,within the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic Village of Tell Qaramel,North Syria

The process and timing of skull removal remains poorly understood by researchers. New archaeological and skeletal analysis from two skeletons from the early Pre‐Pottery Neolithic site of Tell Qaramel, northern Syria, highlights that Neolithic villagers used stone tools to physically decapitate the dead. Drawing upon cutmarks on the axis and the mandible from primary and secondary burials, we employed a scanning electron microscope to document how Neolithic people cut the ligament and its surrounding connecting tissues that bind the cranium with the bones of the axis and the mandible. The position of the cutmarks, especially at the top of the odontoid process of the axis, illustrates the complexities of intentional skull removal. From these and associated burial data, we illustrate that Levantine Neolithic people had specific practical codes for the sequence of skull removal, but given variation in the decomposition of the human body, at times, villagers had to use flint tools for skull removal. This study provides evidence of some of the world's earliest examples of intentional decapitation within human communities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Book reviews

Young Whan Kihl and Peter Hayes (eds), Peace and Security in Northeast Asia. The Nuclear Issue and the Korean Peninsula. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. xvi + 491 pp. US$74.95 (cloth).

Dae Hwan Kim and Tat Yan Kong (eds), The Korean Peninsula in Transition. London: Macmillan, 1997. xiv + 269 pp. £40.00 (cloth).

Desmond Ball, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) in South Korea. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 110, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, 1995. 83 pp. $15.00 (paper).

Suisheng Zhao, Power By Design: Constitution‐Making in Nationalist China. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. xii + 217 pp. US$37.00 (cloth).

Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun, The Tragedy of Lin Biao: Riding the Tiger during the Cultural Revolution 1966–1971. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. 251 pp. US$30.00 (cloth).

Paul J. Bailey, Postwar Japan: 1945 to the Present. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996. xv + 208 pp. $22.95 (paper).

Ralph Pettman, Understanding International Political Economy: With Readings for the Fatigued. Boulder, CO and London: Lynne Rienner, 1996. xiv + 257pp. US$19.95 (paper).

Cal Clark and K.C. Roy, Comparing Development Patterns in Asia. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1997. ix+ 198 pp. US$45.00 (cloth).

David Wall, Jiang Boke and Yin Xiangshuo, China's Opening Door. London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs, International Economics Programme, 1996. 150 pp. £15.95 (paper).

Hal Hill, The Indonesian Economy since 1966. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. xx + 327 pp. No price given.

Joseph R. Blasi, Maya Kroumova, Douglas Kruse, foreword by Andrei Shleifer, Kremlin Capitalism: Privatizing the Russian Economy. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press, 1997. xix + 249 pp. US$42.50 (cloth) US$16.95 (paper).

Ron Edwards and Michael Skully (eds), ASEAN Business Trade and Development: An Australian Perspective. Melbourne: Butterworth Heinemann, 1996. xviii + 356 pp. $45.00 (paper).

Richard Robison (ed.), Pathways to Asia: The Politics of Engagement. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin, 1996. xvii + 270 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Edwin E. Moise, Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996. xviii + 304 pp. US$39.95 (cloth).

Peter Edwards, A Nation at War: Australian Politics, Society and Diplomacy during the Vietnam War, 1965–1975. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin in Association with the Australian War Memorial, 1997. xx + 460 pp. $59.95 (cloth).

Meg Gurry, India: Australia's Neglected Neighbour? 1947–1996. Brisbane: Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, 1996. 105 pp. $18.00 (paper).

Sandy Gordon, Security and Security Building in the Indian Ocean Region. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 116, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1996. 243 pp. $24.00 (paper).

David Stevens (ed.), In Search of a Maritime Strategy: The Maritime Element in Australian Defence Planning since 1901. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 119, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1997. xviii + 252 pp. $24.00 (paper).

Helen Hookey and Denny Roy (eds), Australian Defence Planning: Five Views from Policy Makers. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 120, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1997. xiv + 71 pp. $15.00 (paper).

Carl G. Jacobsen, The New World Order's Defining Crises: The Clash of Promise and Essence. Aldershot, Hants: Dartmouth, 1996. 124 pp. £37.50 (cloth).

Douglas T. Stuart and William T. Tow, Security Policy in the Asia‐Pacific: A US Strategy for a New Century? Griffith University: Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Australia‐Asia Papers, No. 76, 1996. xiv + 52 pp. No price given.

Stanley R. Sloan, NATO's Future: Beyond Collective Defense. Washington, DC: INSS McNair Paper No. 46, 1995. 73 pp. No price given.

John M. Shields and William C. Potter (eds), Dismantling the Cold War: U.S. and NIS Perspectives on the Nunn‐Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Cambridge, MA: CSIA Studies in International Security, MIT Press, 1997. 426 pp. $39.95 (paper).

William F. Martin, Ryukichi Imai and Helga Steeg, Maintaining Energy Security in a Global Context. A Report to the Trilateral Commission No. 48. New York: The Trilateral Commission, 1996. xiv+ 117 pp. No price given.     

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Atif A. Kubursi. Oil, Industrialization and ‘Development in the Arab Gulf States. London: Croom Helm, 1984. 144 pp. No price given.

Giacomo Luciani. The Oil Companies and the Arab World. London: Croom Helm, 1984. 197 pp. $31.95.

Freda Hawkins. Critical Years in Immigration: Canada and Australia Compared. Kingston and Montreal: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1989. xx + 368 pp. $Can 35.00.

Keith Suter. Is There Life After ANZUS? Sydney: Pluto Press, 1987. v + 91 pp. $9.95. Peter Jennings. The Armed Forces of New Zealand and the ANZUS Split: Cost and Consequences. New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Occasional Paper No. 4, 1988. xi + 108 pp. $12.00.

Alan Powell. The Shadow's Edge: Australia's Northern War. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1988. 346 pp. $24.95.

John Kenneth Galbraith. A History of Economics: The Past as the Present. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1987. xi + 324 pp. $39.95.

John Turner (ed.) Britain and the First World War. Unwin Hyman, 1988. No price given.

Neil Elder, Alastair H. Thomas and David Arter. The Consensual Democracies? The Government and Politics of the Scandinavian States. Revised edition. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988. xii + 248 pp. $34.95.

Seong‐Kyu Ha (ed.) Housing Policy and Practice in Asia. London: Croom Helm, 1987. 197 pp. $87.95.

J.D. Conroy. Shelter for the Homeless — Asian Pacific Needs and Australian Responses. Canberra: Australian Council for Overseas Aid, 1987. vi + 141 pp. $5.95.

Diane K. Mauzy (ed.) Politics in the ASEAN States. Kuala Lumpur: Maricans, no date. 343 pp. No price given.

Richard Robison, Kevin Hewison & Richard Higgott (eds.) Southeast Asia in the 1980s: Tie Politics of Economic Crisis. Sydney, London, Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1987. viii + 244 pp. No price given.

Noordin Sopiee, Chew Lay See, Lim Siang Jin (eds.) ASEAN at the Crossroads: Obstacles, Options and Opportunities in Economic Co‐operation. Kuala Lumpur: Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, 1988. viii + 577 pp. No price given.

Desmond Ball (ed.) US Bases in the Philippines: Issues and Implications. Canberra: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, 1988. 90 pp. $10.00.

Niall O'Brien. Revolution from the Heart. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. x + 310 pp. $AUS48.00.

Wilfred Fabros. The Church and its Social Involvement in the Philippines, 1930–1972. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1988. 202 pp. $US8.00 P/Back, $US11.00 Cloth.

Cecil B. Currey. Edward Lansdale: The Unquiet American. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988. xviii + 430pp. $US24.95.

Ansil Ramsay and Wiwat Mungkandi (eds.) Thailand‐US Relations: Changing Political, Strategic, and Economic Factors. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1988. vi + 335 pp. $US20.00.

R. Cribb. The Politics of Environmental Protection in Indonesia. Working Paper No. 48, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1988. 36 pp. $5.00

George Monbiot. Poisoned Arrows. An Investigative Journey through Indonesia. London: Michael Joseph, 1989, 249 pp. $35.00.

Toshio Toyoda (ed.) Vocational Education in the Industrialization of Japan. Tokyo: The United Nations University. Production by University of Tokyo Press, 1987. xii + 267 pp. No price given.

Noor A. Husain and Leo E. Rose (eds.) Pakistan‐US Relations: Social, Political and Economic Factors. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1988. viii + 326 pp. $US20.00.

V.D. Chopra (ed.) Afghanistan: Geneva Accord and After. New Delhi: Patriot Publishers, 1988. 253 pp. Rs30.

C.D. Throsby (ed.) Human Resources Development in the Pacific. Canberra: National Centre for Development Studies, 1987. x + 248 pp. No price given.     

Dental calculus and other dental disease in a human skeleton of the Okhotsk Culture unearthed at Hamanaka-2 site,Rebun-Island,Hokkaido, Japan

A human skeleton of the Okhotsk Culture from the Hamanaka-2 site of Rebun Island, northern part of Hokkaido, was found with abnormally large deposits of dental calculus, especially on the right upper 2nd and 3rd molars. This may relate to the early loss of the corresponding right lower molars. Root apex cementum hyperplasia and resorption of alveolar bone due to periodontal disease were also observed; these may have been associated with the calculus. The severe dental calculus and other diseases observed appear to have nothing to do with the subsistence pattern and ethnological background of the Okhotsk Culture, but rather with the individual's poor oral hygiene and digestive dysfunction.     

First discovery of the ancient dingo-type dog in Polynesia (Pukapuka,Cook Islands)

A Dingo-type dog skeleton was excavated in Pukapuka Island of the Cook Islands with an estimated age of about 350 years. Luomala (1960) suggested that an investigation of the breed of Polynesian dogs would provide clues to the history of migration of the Polynesians, who domesticated the dogs. The Pukapuka dog skeleton is morphologically similar to the dingo and suggests some racial or economical interchange among Australia and Polynesian islands before contact with western civilization.