Origin and Collapse of Complex Societies in Oaxaca (Mexico): Evaluating the Era from 1965 to the Present

I summarize recent archaeological work in Oaxaca, Mexico, with a focus on questions central to world prehistory: the origin and collapse of complex societies. Monte Albán was the capital of an emerging civilization in the southern highlands of Mexico during the second half of the first millennium B.C. Soon after the foundation of the ancient city, there is evidence for state formation and a political expansion into regions outside the Valley of Oaxaca. Centuries later, Monte Albán went into decline, giving way to the competing small polities found throughout Oaxaca at the time of the Spanish conquest. Since the late 1960s, our knowledge of these changes has been transformed by study of Oaxaca's pre–Monte Albán past, regional settlement surveys, and processual model building. Evolutionary and historical perspectives allow for significant refinement of current debates surrounding the rise and fall of complex societies in Oaxaca.     

The Phoenicians and the Ocean: trade and worship at La Caleta,Cadiz, Spain

The area of La Caleta, north‐west of Cadiz, is a key location for studies of the relationship between the Phoenician city of Gadir and the ocean. The port channel and the small islets that characterize the area was one the busiest sectors of the city, and there are abundant underwater remains attesting to past commercial activities. The area also had an important religious role: two sanctuaries were located at the western end of the rocky promontories that surround the channel, and many items identified as offerings have been found. This article synthesizes previous research and provides an overview of the results of a recent project (2008–2010), which enables a thorough review of the development of the seascape and its use during the 1st millennium BC.     

先秦中国和古代希腊文明起源的地理环境之比较

文明起源的地理环境可以分为整体地理环境和中心地理环境。前者指文明整体能力所及的极限地理范围,后者指文明主体的主要活动区域。从这两个角度分别进行比较,将有助于解释希腊和中国文明侧重于陆地或是海洋发展的原因。     

马克思、恩格斯文明理论与中国"早期文明"

在中国文明发展史上,夏、商、西周文明是一个特殊阶段,这个阶段的文明,从国家形态的角度看,与西方文明具有明显的不同。     

吴城文化的社会形态与文明进程

吴城文化时期,农业生产兴旺,手工业高度发展,商业贸易活跃,与周边地区有着广泛的交流与往来。繁荣的社会经济,促使社会各阶层分化和早期城邑的兴起,并在此基础上形成了具有强烈地方色彩的文明形态,成为长江中游地区一个辉煌的文明中心。吴城古城便是这一文明的政治、经济、文化中心。     

韶乐探源:苗蛮文化对中原早期文明的影响

古今学界都认为韶乐是中原早期发明的礼乐制度．与处在蛮荒地区的苗蛮化并无关系。但根据可靠献．隋置韶州得名于韶石,韶石得名于韶乐．可知粤北地区的古化当与韶乐有联系。如果进一步探索．先秦献所载帝舜奏韶乐的传说和夏启舞九韶的“天穆之野”都在今湘南、粤北的南岭地区,韶关石峡遗址出土的6人舞蹈实物显示这一地区的先民早在5000年前左右就对乐舞情有独钟。因此．韶乐当是中华明初期南北方化交流、融合的产物．是南方苗蛮化对中原早期明的形成作出的重要贡献。     

西汉前期的蜀商在中外文化交流史上的贡献

西汉前期的巴蜀商人活动能量十分惊人。他们把蜀地的商品远销至中亚、印度、东南亚、东北亚等地。他们充当了南方走私贸易的主角。岭南和西南地区成为走私行为蔓延和滋生的温床。南印度迈索尔出土的公元前138年的古汉钱,似应与蜀地的走私商人有关,正与《史记》所记载的蜀身毒道相印证。汉武帝消灭南越国,平定西南夷,蜀商走私活动赖以生存的环境和土壤荡然无存。在中国历史舞台上纵横捭阖数百年的巴蜀商人集团从此黯然失色。他们在中外文化交流中所发挥的作用也从此微不足道了。     

长江中游文明进程的阶段与特点简论

本将长江中游的新石器化置于全国新石器时代的总体背景下,侧重于比较研究的视角,选取了五个方面的问题——聚落与建筑,栽培稻起源和史前稻作农业,白陶和彩陶,普用的巫物陶偶,高一级的灵物玉雕人首和动物,列举实证,以阐述长江中游新石器时代若干较显的成就和特色鲜明的化现象。     

福泽谕吉与“脱亚论”的理论与实践

福泽谕吉既是一位近代启蒙思想家,也是一个征韩侵华论的积极倡导者。这种“矛盾”性,取决于他要着力完成的两大任务：一是建立主权独立的近代化国家;二是以武威“大东亚秩序”来取代札教“华夷秩序”。前者诱因于西方“条约体系”下的“民族国家”理念;后者催生于颠覆东亚“朝贡体系”进而取中国而代之的百年夙愿。两大任务的显隐交替和互为前提,解释了《文明论之概略》与《脱亚论》之间的表层矛盾和内在关联。     

中国特色社会主义政治文明的理论构架与建设基础

中国特色社会主义政治文明是一个理论层次非常鲜明的新课题,它涵盖着宏观、中观和微观三个层次的理论形态。研究这一理论构架及其建设基础,对于推进社会主义民主政治建设,具有重大的现实意义。