Razi on Reason and Political Authority: A Study in Medieval Persian Political Thought

The Philosopher of Rey, Mohammad-e Zakariya-ye Razi and his Ismaili adversaries, Abu Hatam-e Razi and Naser-e Khosrow, share a political understanding of religion according to which religion is a theologico-political system of domination. However, they are at odds over the political philosophy appraisal of religion qua a system of authority. The paper explicates the latter disagreement in part based on Razi's and his opponents' conflicting ideas about the nature of the faculty of Reason and its distribution among men. Consequently, the paper underlines a democratic implication of Razi's thesis on the makeup of the human intellect.     

A critical approach to discipline of human geography as an apparatus for state hegemony in Turkey

This study examines the hegemony of political power on the discipline of human geography in Turkey. Throughout the history of the country, human geography curricula have been aligned with the nationalist and hegemonic power politics of state authorities instead of being guided by universal norms, thus ignoring Turkey’s sociopolitical and cultural geography. This is reflected in the contents of human geography text books at the high school and college level. Similarly, the subjects of articles that have appeared in the 12 academic geography journals published in Turkey within the last 71 years also support this claim. The intervention of political power in the academic identity of human geography and the efforts to align human geography curricula with a certain ideological view have resulted in the emergence of apolitical geographers, who remain deaf and blind to social issues. This study analyzes the negative features of human geography education curricula and their political implications in Turkey, and proposes several recommendations.     

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70: protection of human rights in Australia*

This commentary reflects on the legacy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its 70th anniversary, in terms of the protection of human rights within Australia. I reflect on Australia’s failure to implement domestically the terms of the two founding Covenants, and the resulting piecemeal protections that exist for human rights. I finish by considering the growing complexities in understanding human rights, responsibilities, and limits.     

Modern humans in Sarawak,Malaysian Borneo,during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3: palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Great Cave of Niah

During recent reinvestigations in the Great Cave of Niah in Borneo, the ‘Hell Trench’ sedimentary sequence seen by earlier excavators was re-exposed. Early excavations here yielded the earliest anatomically-modern human remains in island Southeast Asia. Calibrated radiocarbon dates, pollen, algal microfossils, palynofacies, granulometry and geochemistry of the ‘Hell Trench’ sequence provide information about environmental and vegetational changes, elements of geomorphic history and information about human activity. The ‘Hell’ sediments were laid down episodically in an ephemeral stream or pool. The pollen suggests cyclically changing vegetation with forest habitats alternating with more open environments; indicating that phases with both temperatures and precipitation reduced compared with the present. These events can be correlated with global climate change sequences to produce a provisional dating framework. During some forest phases, high counts of Justicia, a plant which today colonises recently burnt forest areas, point to fire in the landscape. This may be evidence for biomass burning by humans, presumably to maintain forest-edge habitats. There is evidence from palynofacies for fire on the cave floor in the ‘Hell’ area. Since the area sampled is beyond the limit of plant growth, this is evidence for human activity. The first such evidence is during an episode with significant grassland indicators, suggesting that people may have reached the site during a climatic phase characterised by relatively open habitats ∼50 ka. Thereafter, people were able to maintain a relatively consistent presence at Niah. The human use of the ‘Hell’ area seems to have intensified through time, probably because changes in the local hydrological regime made the area dryer and more suitable for human use.     

马家浜文化区的地理景观

马家浜文化区的环境研究,以往都以1000年左右为尺度,即把马家浜文化作为一个基本时间单元来分析,所得结论是粗线条或大趋势性的。在马家浜文化研究近半个世纪的今天,我们已经有条件提取更多信息,变趋势性考察为过程性研究,进而描绘这一时期更加细微的演化曲线,构建人地关系景观。     

锶同位素分析技术在考古学中的应用研究

在考古化学这个新领域内,考古学家们经过努力,成功地将锶同位素分析技术运用于考古学领域,通过对遗址中人类骨骼的锶同位素分析来对古代人类的迁移情况进行研究。由于考古材料间存在着差别,各个实验室所采用的方法和实验步骤间也存在一些差异,因此还没有统一的分析方法和步骤,至今仍处于进一步的探索之中。在我国的考古学研究中,这项技术还处于起步阶段,迄今为止还未见到相关的研究成果。本文主要对这项技术在考古学上应用的原理及研究中注意事项进行了较为详细的论述,并且计划今后进行这方面的实验研究,希望能为国内同仁进行这方面的研究时提供些许借鉴。     

Auditory Exostoses in Pre‐Hispanic Populations of the Lower Paraná Wetlands,Argentina

Auditory exostosis (AE) has been characterised from the medical and anthropological perspectives as an adaptive biological response to repeated immersion in cold water as well as exposure to cold environmental temperatures and wind chill. At the archaeological level, the highest prevalence has been found in societies living in coastal environments in areas located at 30–45° north or south latitude with a subsistence pattern based on fishing and mollusc gathering. The region of the lower Paraná River wetlands in Argentina is an area dissected by multiple rivers, streams, and lakes, especially in the Paraná delta near Buenos Aires where these features create a landscape composed of many islands. A variety of archaeological analyses performed on faunal remains, stone tools, bone, and ceramic artefacts are consistent with the interpretation that towards the end of the late Holocene (2000–700 BP), this region was inhabited by hunter–gatherer populations with a subsistence pattern based mainly on fishing and hunting along with the gathering of molluscs. In this work, we present an analysis of 176 crania of individuals recovered from 21 archaeological sites in the region. Results indicate the presence of AE in 6.25% of the cases, with all of these corresponding to adult male individuals. This moderate prevalence coincides with the expected levels for populations where contact with water is frequent in regions located at 30–45° latitude. The absence of female individuals showing evidence of AE allows us to suggest a possible sex‐based division of labour. We hope that this work can contribute to ongoing discussion of the economic and social aspects that characterised pre‐Hispanic life in the study area, while also expanding the available information on AE at the worldwide level. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

河南焦作聂村商代晚期墓地人骨研究

通过对河南焦作聂村商代晚期遗址出土的人骨进行观察、测量和数据统计分析,结果表明,聂村商代晚期墓地所出人骨的死亡年龄主要集中在中年期,颅骨种族特征与古中原类型的殷墟中小墓(2)组最近似,成年男性居民平均身高为165.41厘米。在聂村商代晚期人骨上还发现筛状眶与多孔性骨肥厚、骨性关节炎等骨骼病理,两性在龋病患齿率上存在显著差异,女性明显高于男性。     

“Catching the Yellow Ghost”: A Case Study of Popular Religious Activities and Social Transformation in Rural North China

This article studies the relationship between local society and social change in rural north China from the late Qing dynasty to the People’s Republic of China period through the activity of “Zhuo huanggui” (literally, “Catching the Yellow Ghost”). “Catching the Yellow Ghost” is a ritual activity in Guyi village, Wu’an county, Hebei province. According to villagers there, “Catching the Yellow Ghost” has been celebrated since the late Qing dynasty. However, due to political pressures in the 1950s, it was not until the 1980s that “Catching the Yellow Ghost” began to be revitalized. Since that time, “Catching the Yellow Ghost” has gained rapid popularity and fame in north China. Through the lens of the “Catching the Yellow Ghost” ritual, this article explores social transformation in China from the late 19th to the early 21st century. By analyzing the continuity and discontinuity of “Catching the Yellow Ghost,” this article offers a new understanding of the relationship between local society and social change in rural north China.