Reviews of books

Historical Archaeology -     

The role of accredited zoos in the recovery process for species at risk in Canada

Zoos and aquariums are responding to the worldwide biodiversity crisis through major conservation initiatives like captive breeding for assurance populations and reintroduction programs. These institutions also fundraise, offer education programs, and provide critical research on biodiversity. Through a case study inside three accredited Canadian zoos, this paper illustrates that zoos and their staff members are being incorporated into many official species‐at‐risk recovery efforts on provincial, federal, and international levels. Specifically, the zoos studied are involved in every stage of the recovery process, from providing valuable research and habitat analyses, to captive breeding animals for reintroduction, to writing recovery strategies and creating recovery policy for multiple jurisdictional levels. Zoo staff indicate that zoos are uniquely suited to conservation because zoos have space, expertise, apolitical status, and the ability to connect with the public. Overall, the paper suggests that zoos can significantly contribute to species‐at‐risk protection and recovery in Canada and beyond.     

The politics of water security in southern Saskatchewan

This paper examines long-term water and resource management in Saskatchewan. Agriculture has long sustained Saskatchewan's economy, but the province experienced a resource boom in oil and potash in the 2008–2015 time period. What potential water-related risks are posed by oil and potash? And is the province able to balance the short-term economic gains of these developments with the long-term goal of water security? The research is based on interviews with policy elites in the province of Saskatchewan and argues that four factors explain why the government continues to favour industry over water security: low-issue salience, economic and political interest, ideology, and political culture.     

Indigenous Environmental Justice: Comparing the United States and Canada’s Legal Frameworks for Endangered Species Conservation

Canada and the United States are both committed to the protection of endangered species. This article examines how the legal frameworks created around the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) intersect with Indigenous environmental justice (EJ). Specifically, the distribution of benefits and burdens is examined since critical habitat designations can limit activity on Native American and First Nation tribal lands. Legal documents and recent court cases also give insight into Indigenous inclusion and recognition in conservation approaches in North America. Overall, it is argued that Canada’s approach comes closer to EJ, but neither legal framework meets the criterion of genuine EJ for Native Americans and First Nations.     

A Journey among primitive tribes in Madagascar

EUROPE

Island Farm. By F. Fraser Darling. Demy 8vo. Pp. 223. Illustrated. London : George Bell and Sons Ltd., 1944. Price 15s.

A History of the City of York. By Charles B. Knight. Royal 8vo. Pp. ix+774. 3 plans. York : The Herald Printing Works, 1944. Price 42s.

British Survey Handbooks. 1. Belgium. Edited by John Eppstein. Fcap 8vo. Pp. xiv+111. Map. Cambridge : University Press, 1944. Price 3s.

The Dutch Nation: An Historical Study. By G. J. Renier. Demy 8vo. Pp. 272. 1 map. London : George Allen and Unwin Ltd. for The Netherlands Government Information Bureau, 1944. Price 15s.

ASIA

China and Britain. By Sir John T. Pratt. Demy 8vo. Pp.128. 11 plates. 66 other illustrations. London : William Collins, Sons and Co. Ltd., 1944. Price 8s. 6d.

AMERICA

Canadian‐American Relations, 1875–1911. By Charles Callan Tansill. Med. 8vo. Pp. xviii+507. 3 sketch maps. New Haven : Yale University Press ; Toronto : The Ryerson Press ; London : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1943. Price $3.50 or 23s. 6d.

AUSTRALASIA

The Geographical Basis of Government, Specially Applied to New South Wales. By J. Macdonald Holmes. 9 1/2×7 inches. Pp. 168. 34 figs. Sydney: Angus and Robertson Ltd., 1944. Price 12s. 6d.

GEOMORPHOLOGY

Geomorphology—An Introduction to the Study of Landforms. By C. A. Cotton. Third Edition, revised and enlarged. Pp. 505. 473 figs. Christchurch, N.Z. : Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd., 1942. Price 25s.

Principles of Physical Geology. By Arthur Holmes, D.Sc., F.R.S. Pp. xii+532. 95 plates. 262 text illustrations. Edinburgh and London : Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1944. Price 30s.

OCEANOGRAPHY

The Oceans : Their Physics, Chemistry and General Biology. By H. U. Sverdrup, Martin W. Johnson, and Richard H. Fieming. Demy 8vo. Pp. x+1087. 265 figs. 7 charts. Bibliography. New York : Prentice‐Hall Inc., 1942. Price $10.00.

EDUCATIONAL

Higher Surveying. By Arthur Lovat Higgins. Demy 8vo. Pp. viii+463. 172 figs. London : Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1944. Price 25s.

GENERAL

The Statesman's Year‐Book : Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Tear 1944. Edited by M. Epstein, M.A., Ph.D. Crown 8vo. Pp. xxxvii+1484. Map of Boundaries of Poland. London : Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1944. Price 30s.     

A new protocol for the chemical characterisation of steatite – two case studies in Europe: the Shetland Islands and Crete

Steatite has been one of the most difficult materials of archaeological interest to characterise by physico-chemical methods of analysis with a view to identifying its origin. This paper presents a new protocol for the chemical characterisation of steatite based on the analysis by ICP-MS in tandem with INAA of rare earth elements (REE) and some transition metals in geological steatite from several outcrops on the Shetland Islands and on Crete. The major advance over earlier work has been the secure determination of REE at low concentrations. The results have demonstrated the ability to discriminate chemically three of the known Viking Age sources on Shetland. On Crete, although the situation is complex, four sources in the centre of the island have been partially differentiated. This study has also shown that first mineralogical analysis (by XRD) of steatite provides valuable supplementary characterisation data, and second strontium isotope analysis has promising potential for the sourcing of steatite.