Pub Date : 2022-10-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-16020003
Hong Yin Chan
This paper aims to provide a historical study of the development of the Cantonese community in Singapore. Through an archival study of various Cantonese associations, it will focus on the connotations of what it means to be Cantonese and the lives of Cantonese people in the context of Singapore. According to a 2020 Singapore population census, the “Cantonese” are currently the third largest Chinese-dialect group, making up almost fifteen percent of the Chinese population on the island state. The term Cantonese, in Singapore, commonly refers to those originating from the vicinity of China’s Guangdong Province, mainly from the south-west region of Guangdong, along the Pearl River Delta. Outnumbered by the Hokkien and Teochew communities, the Cantonese were largely centralized in the Kreta Ayer area and were the dominant dialect group there. Yet, the definition of the term “Cantonese” involves two major issues of geographical location and language system. Being Cantonese, as per the administrative control of Guangdong Province, encompasses all of Chinese descent whose respective ancestral origins are from Guangdong. Moreover, the Cantonese are defined by the unique characteristics of the Cantonese language as well. Therefore, this paper will attempt to differentiate the multiple definitions of the term Cantonese, followed by an overall history of the Cantonese people in Singapore.
{"title":"A Preliminary Study of the Social History of the Cantonese Chinese Community in Singapore","authors":"Hong Yin Chan","doi":"10.1163/24522015-16020003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-16020003","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper aims to provide a historical study of the development of the Cantonese community in Singapore. Through an archival study of various Cantonese associations, it will focus on the connotations of what it means to be Cantonese and the lives of Cantonese people in the context of Singapore. According to a 2020 Singapore population census, the “Cantonese” are currently the third largest Chinese-dialect group, making up almost fifteen percent of the Chinese population on the island state. The term Cantonese, in Singapore, commonly refers to those originating from the vicinity of China’s Guangdong Province, mainly from the south-west region of Guangdong, along the Pearl River Delta. Outnumbered by the Hokkien and Teochew communities, the Cantonese were largely centralized in the Kreta Ayer area and were the dominant dialect group there. Yet, the definition of the term “Cantonese” involves two major issues of geographical location and language system. Being Cantonese, as per the administrative control of Guangdong Province, encompasses all of Chinese descent whose respective ancestral origins are from Guangdong. Moreover, the Cantonese are defined by the unique characteristics of the Cantonese language as well. Therefore, this paper will attempt to differentiate the multiple definitions of the term Cantonese, followed by an overall history of the Cantonese people in Singapore.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87268002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-21DOI: 10.1163/24522015-16020006
Song Wei Goh
This paper presents the history of the gramophone industry and Chinese records in pre-war Singapore, through exploring the position of Singapore in the global commercial networks of transnational gramophone enterprises, and the local consumption of Chinese music records. At the turn of the twentieth century, the emergence of gramophone companies in the United States and European countries enabled Chinese opera and music in different regional languages to be manufactured into records, and consumed as commodities by Chinese communities all around the globe. Shaped by multiple routes of trade and cultural connections, the Chinese records sold in Singapore were of diverse historical origins and regional languages that catered to the different Chinese dialect groups. By the 1920s and 1930s, the popularization of gramophones and Chinese records had engendered an unprecedented sonic experience in Singapore.
{"title":"The Gramophone Industry and Chinese Records in Pre-war Singapore: Global Network and Local Consumption","authors":"Song Wei Goh","doi":"10.1163/24522015-16020006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/24522015-16020006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper presents the history of the gramophone industry and Chinese records in pre-war Singapore, through exploring the position of Singapore in the global commercial networks of transnational gramophone enterprises, and the local consumption of Chinese music records. At the turn of the twentieth century, the emergence of gramophone companies in the United States and European countries enabled Chinese opera and music in different regional languages to be manufactured into records, and consumed as commodities by Chinese communities all around the globe. Shaped by multiple routes of trade and cultural connections, the Chinese records sold in Singapore were of diverse historical origins and regional languages that catered to the different Chinese dialect groups. By the 1920s and 1930s, the popularization of gramophones and Chinese records had engendered an unprecedented sonic experience in Singapore.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81621367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ventresca Miller ed. by Louise Tythacott and Panggah Ardiyansyah (review)","authors":"P. Swart","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72927665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
When scholars of early China use terms like “Qin” to interpret archaeological remains, they often conflate three registers of meaning: temporal, political, and cultural. This leads to problematic understandings of history and renders the agency of non-elite people invisible to historical narratives. By conducting exploratory statistical analyses including correspondence and principal component analyses on a cluster of burials from the Wangpo cemetery site in Xiangyang, Hubei, this article demonstrates that the mortuary practices of local communities in the middle Han River valley consisted of much more cultural mixture than current designations suggest. The study proposes an alternative approach to interpreting cemeteries like Wangpo that highlights cultural mixture, leading to a version of history that better incorporates the experiences of non-elites in the formation of early Chinese empire in the middle Han River region.
{"title":"When is a Qin Tomb not a Qin Tomb? Cultural (De)construction in the Middle Han River Valley","authors":"Glenda Chao","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0016","url":null,"abstract":"When scholars of early China use terms like “Qin” to interpret archaeological remains, they often conflate three registers of meaning: temporal, political, and cultural. This leads to problematic understandings of history and renders the agency of non-elite people invisible to historical narratives. By conducting exploratory statistical analyses including correspondence and principal component analyses on a cluster of burials from the Wangpo cemetery site in Xiangyang, Hubei, this article demonstrates that the mortuary practices of local communities in the middle Han River valley consisted of much more cultural mixture than current designations suggest. The study proposes an alternative approach to interpreting cemeteries like Wangpo that highlights cultural mixture, leading to a version of history that better incorporates the experiences of non-elites in the formation of early Chinese empire in the middle Han River region.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79623950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
(Malang, East Java) is regarded by many experts—and museum visitors—to be the finest of all East Javanese statues. It was returned to Indonesia in 1978, but four other related statues were kept by the Netherlands. This statue has now taken on a new role in cultural cooperation and has since been loaned by Indonesia to various international exhibitions. The case of the painting depicting The Arrest of Prince Diponegore is of a different order. It did not involve restitution because its legal ownership was never disputed: the painting was created in the Netherlands and presented by the artist, Prince Raden Saleh, to King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1850. Since Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1949, Prince Diponegore has been recognized as a national hero. Because of this newly formulated historic importance, the restitution of all objects related to him have been requested by the Indonesian government. Due to its emotional value, the Dutch royal family transferred the painting to the Indonesian nation as a gift in 1977 or 1978. This example is used to underscore the fact that factors beyond legal issues may play an important role in restitution. The essays in this book bring to light information never before published regarding the processes, practices, and politics of acquiring, displaying, and returning Southeast Asian art. It takes us into museum galleries and storage facilities and we hear from curators and museum directors about their opinions and attitudes towards returning prized artifacts. The book details negotiations and discussions with diplomats, politicians, and museum professionals in various countries of origin against a background of their cultural and political histories and addresses the recent role of social media. As such, the book, illustrated with a selection of relevant objects, is a very readable and interesting overview of important issues along with specific cases of cultural appropriation in relation to a particular region of the world. However, the involvement of private collections, art dealers, and auction houses in restitution issues is barely touched upon. The complex story of repatriation and restitution remains a work in progress in a world of shifting power structures.
(玛琅,东爪哇)被许多专家和博物馆游客认为是所有东爪哇雕像中最好的。它于1978年归还给印度尼西亚,但其他四个相关雕像由荷兰保存。这座雕像现在在文化合作中扮演了新的角色,并从那时起被印度尼西亚借给各种国际展览。而《逮捕迪波尼戈里王子》则属于另一种情况。它不涉及赔偿,因为它的法律所有权从来没有争议:这幅画是在荷兰创作的,1850年由艺术家拉丹·萨利赫王子(Prince Raden Saleh)献给荷兰国王威廉三世(King Willem III)。自从印度尼西亚于1949年脱离荷兰独立以来,迪波尼戈尔王子就被公认为民族英雄。由于这一新的历史重要性,印度尼西亚政府已要求归还与他有关的所有物品。由于这幅画具有情感价值,荷兰王室于1977年或1978年将其作为礼物转交给了印度尼西亚。这个例子是为了强调一个事实,即法律问题以外的因素可能在赔偿中发挥重要作用。本书中的文章揭示了以前从未发表过的关于获取、展示和归还东南亚艺术的过程、实践和政治的信息。它带我们进入博物馆的画廊和存储设施,我们从策展人和博物馆馆长那里听到他们对归还珍贵文物的意见和态度。这本书详细介绍了在不同国家的文化和政治历史背景下,与外交官、政治家和博物馆专业人士进行的谈判和讨论,并阐述了社交媒体最近的作用。因此,这本书以精选的相关物品为插图,是一本非常具有可读性和有趣的重要问题概述,以及与世界特定地区有关的文化挪用的具体案例。然而,私人收藏家、艺术品经销商和拍卖行参与赔偿问题却很少被提及。在权力结构不断变化的世界中,遣返和归还难民的复杂情况仍然是一项正在进行的工作。
{"title":"The Compensations of Plunder: How China Lost Its Treasures by Justin M. Jacobs (review)","authors":"Jeff Kyong-McClain","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0031","url":null,"abstract":"(Malang, East Java) is regarded by many experts—and museum visitors—to be the finest of all East Javanese statues. It was returned to Indonesia in 1978, but four other related statues were kept by the Netherlands. This statue has now taken on a new role in cultural cooperation and has since been loaned by Indonesia to various international exhibitions. The case of the painting depicting The Arrest of Prince Diponegore is of a different order. It did not involve restitution because its legal ownership was never disputed: the painting was created in the Netherlands and presented by the artist, Prince Raden Saleh, to King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1850. Since Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1949, Prince Diponegore has been recognized as a national hero. Because of this newly formulated historic importance, the restitution of all objects related to him have been requested by the Indonesian government. Due to its emotional value, the Dutch royal family transferred the painting to the Indonesian nation as a gift in 1977 or 1978. This example is used to underscore the fact that factors beyond legal issues may play an important role in restitution. The essays in this book bring to light information never before published regarding the processes, practices, and politics of acquiring, displaying, and returning Southeast Asian art. It takes us into museum galleries and storage facilities and we hear from curators and museum directors about their opinions and attitudes towards returning prized artifacts. The book details negotiations and discussions with diplomats, politicians, and museum professionals in various countries of origin against a background of their cultural and political histories and addresses the recent role of social media. As such, the book, illustrated with a selection of relevant objects, is a very readable and interesting overview of important issues along with specific cases of cultural appropriation in relation to a particular region of the world. However, the involvement of private collections, art dealers, and auction houses in restitution issues is barely touched upon. The complex story of repatriation and restitution remains a work in progress in a world of shifting power structures.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87459940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carmen Sarjeant, Philip J. Piper, Nguyễn Khánh Trung Kiên, Đăng Ngọc Kính, Đỗ Thị Lan, Peter Bellwood, M. Oxenham
The initial appearance of fine, incised, and impressed ceramics dating to the Neolithic period (4200-3000 B.P.) in southern Vietnam was associated with the emergence and spread of sedentary settlements, cereal agriculture, and new forms of material culture. However, differences existed in contemporary ceramic technologies between sites. This article presents a preliminary characterization of the pottery found at Rach Nui, a habitation site with an economy focused on vegeculture and foraging that was located at the confluence of the Vam Co Dong, Dong Nai, and Vam Co Tay rivers. The rim forms and decorations at Rach Nui are presented alongside a characterization of the tempers and clays from a small sample of sherds using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX). The Rach Nui ceramics are compared to previous studies of pottery from An Son, located upstream on the Vam Co Dong River. The results of the characterization and comparison indicate that Rach Nui potters focused on local production of a limited range of vessels compared to primarily agricultural settlements like An Son. This research on Rach Nui pottery demonstrates that by ca. 3500 B.P., the inhabitants of the various Neolithic settlements of southern Vietnam, and perhaps more broadly across Mainland Southeast Asia, had established their own social and cultural traditions that were reflected in locally specific ceramic technologies. Keywords: ceramic technology, geochemical analysis, diversification, environmental adaptation, Neolithic, southern Vietnam
越南南部最初出现的精细、切割和刻印陶瓷可以追溯到新石器时代(公元前4200-3000年),这与定居定居点、谷物农业和新的物质文化形式的出现和传播有关。然而,不同地点之间的当代陶瓷技术存在差异。本文介绍了在Rach Nui发现的陶器的初步特征,Rach Nui是一个居住地点,位于Vam Co Dong, Dong Nai和Vam Co Tay河的汇合处,经济集中在蔬菜和觅食上。Rach Nui的边缘形状和装饰,以及使用扫描电子显微镜和能量色散x射线光谱(SEM-EDX)从一小块碎片样品中提取的粘土和粘土的特征。Rach Nui陶瓷与先前研究的位于Vam Co Dong河上游的An Son陶器进行了比较。表征和比较的结果表明,与安松等以农业为主的定居点相比,Rach Nui陶工专注于在当地生产有限种类的器皿。对Rach Nui陶器的研究表明,大约在公元前3500年,越南南部的各种新石器时代定居点的居民,也许更广泛地说,在东南亚大陆,已经建立了自己的社会和文化传统,这些传统反映在当地特定的陶瓷技术上。关键词:陶瓷技术,地球化学分析,多样化,环境适应,新石器时代,越南南部
{"title":"Diverse Ceramic Technologies in Neolithic Southern Vietnam: The Case of Rach Nui","authors":"Carmen Sarjeant, Philip J. Piper, Nguyễn Khánh Trung Kiên, Đăng Ngọc Kính, Đỗ Thị Lan, Peter Bellwood, M. Oxenham","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0014","url":null,"abstract":"The initial appearance of fine, incised, and impressed ceramics dating to the Neolithic period (4200-3000 B.P.) in southern Vietnam was associated with the emergence and spread of sedentary settlements, cereal agriculture, and new forms of material culture. However, differences existed in contemporary ceramic technologies between sites. This article presents a preliminary characterization of the pottery found at Rach Nui, a habitation site with an economy focused on vegeculture and foraging that was located at the confluence of the Vam Co Dong, Dong Nai, and Vam Co Tay rivers. The rim forms and decorations at Rach Nui are presented alongside a characterization of the tempers and clays from a small sample of sherds using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX). The Rach Nui ceramics are compared to previous studies of pottery from An Son, located upstream on the Vam Co Dong River. The results of the characterization and comparison indicate that Rach Nui potters focused on local production of a limited range of vessels compared to primarily agricultural settlements like An Son. This research on Rach Nui pottery demonstrates that by ca. 3500 B.P., the inhabitants of the various Neolithic settlements of southern Vietnam, and perhaps more broadly across Mainland Southeast Asia, had established their own social and cultural traditions that were reflected in locally specific ceramic technologies. Keywords: ceramic technology, geochemical analysis, diversification, environmental adaptation, Neolithic, southern Vietnam","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74258104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Not even a dozen burials are known from Neolithic times in the area of modern-day Mongolia. This period is of utmost interest as it constitutes the transitional phase from hunter-gatherer-fisher communities during the Palaeolithic to the introduction of mobile pastoralism around 3000 B.C.E. with the Afanas’evo culture. This article presents new excavation results from a Neolithic burial at “Ölziĭt Denzh” (internal site code KGS-11), near the center of Erdenemandal in Arkhangaĭ Aĭmag, Central Mongolia, and places this burial in the context of the earliest graves in Mongolia. The site consists of nearly 180 indistinct earth mound features, one of which was excavated to verify anthropogenic origin of the identified mounds. All mounds were strongly affected by burrowing animals. The excavation yielded the body of a female in an extremely crouched position. The find inventory contains two unique stone artifacts. Two radiocarbon dates put the burial at the first half of the fourth millennium B.C.E. The other 10 earliest burials from Mongolia fall into two regional groups, one in the Egiĭn Gol valley of northern Mongolia and one in eastern Mongolia; each group displays different burial customs and grave structures. Although it remains to be corroborated by further excavations, the pure earth mounds and their association within a large burial ground at Ölziĭt Denzh seem to be unique aspects of a burial style otherwise unknown for this time and region, as the comparison with the other largely contemporary remains from Mongolia shows. This article therefore aims to draw attention to a potentially new form of burial that has not previously been recognized in the field.
{"title":"A Unique Burial of the Fourth Millennium B.C.E. and the Earliest Burial Traditions in Mongolia","authors":"S. Reichert, N. Erdene-Ochir, J. Bemmann","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0015","url":null,"abstract":"Not even a dozen burials are known from Neolithic times in the area of modern-day Mongolia. This period is of utmost interest as it constitutes the transitional phase from hunter-gatherer-fisher communities during the Palaeolithic to the introduction of mobile pastoralism around 3000 B.C.E. with the Afanas’evo culture. This article presents new excavation results from a Neolithic burial at “Ölziĭt Denzh” (internal site code KGS-11), near the center of Erdenemandal in Arkhangaĭ Aĭmag, Central Mongolia, and places this burial in the context of the earliest graves in Mongolia. The site consists of nearly 180 indistinct earth mound features, one of which was excavated to verify anthropogenic origin of the identified mounds. All mounds were strongly affected by burrowing animals. The excavation yielded the body of a female in an extremely crouched position. The find inventory contains two unique stone artifacts. Two radiocarbon dates put the burial at the first half of the fourth millennium B.C.E. The other 10 earliest burials from Mongolia fall into two regional groups, one in the Egiĭn Gol valley of northern Mongolia and one in eastern Mongolia; each group displays different burial customs and grave structures. Although it remains to be corroborated by further excavations, the pure earth mounds and their association within a large burial ground at Ölziĭt Denzh seem to be unique aspects of a burial style otherwise unknown for this time and region, as the comparison with the other largely contemporary remains from Mongolia shows. This article therefore aims to draw attention to a potentially new form of burial that has not previously been recognized in the field.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77951347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elissa A Bullion, Zhuldyz Tashmanbetova, A. R. Ventresca Miller
We review the historical trajectory of bioarchaeology in Central Asia to draw attention to the importance of previous archaeological and biological anthropology research that pioneered large scale systematic excavation and use of technology such as aerial photography. We highlight the political and social biases of past work and how its legacy continues to shape modern practices. We are interested in bringing these dynamics to the attention of western scholars who are increasingly focusing on Central Asian samples for research. Political ideologies, especially during the Soviet period, shaped the study of populations in Central Asia, including centering ethnogenesis as an enduring focus. Current research requires careful work by scholars to contextualize human remains within social and theoretical models of the past that continue to shape everything from access to collections to the organization of departments. Advances in molecular methods have led to an increase in studies of human remains, often focusing on panregional social, dietary, and genetic changes. However, these studies often have small sample sizes and are thinly distributed across the vast expanse of Central Asia. Researchers conducting bioarchaeological research should concentrate on the documentation of biological and material culture at the micro-regional scale to build up models of broader social processes from the bottom-up. Finally, ethical bioarchaeology in the region requires that the contributions of Central Asian scholars past and present be acknowledged and centered, and that training, research, and publication opportunities be provided for Central Asian scholars and communities.
{"title":"Bioarchaeology in Central Asia: Growing from Legacies to Enhance Future Research","authors":"Elissa A Bullion, Zhuldyz Tashmanbetova, A. R. Ventresca Miller","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0019","url":null,"abstract":"We review the historical trajectory of bioarchaeology in Central Asia to draw attention to the importance of previous archaeological and biological anthropology research that pioneered large scale systematic excavation and use of technology such as aerial photography. We highlight the political and social biases of past work and how its legacy continues to shape modern practices. We are interested in bringing these dynamics to the attention of western scholars who are increasingly focusing on Central Asian samples for research. Political ideologies, especially during the Soviet period, shaped the study of populations in Central Asia, including centering ethnogenesis as an enduring focus. Current research requires careful work by scholars to contextualize human remains within social and theoretical models of the past that continue to shape everything from access to collections to the organization of departments. Advances in molecular methods have led to an increase in studies of human remains, often focusing on panregional social, dietary, and genetic changes. However, these studies often have small sample sizes and are thinly distributed across the vast expanse of Central Asia. Researchers conducting bioarchaeological research should concentrate on the documentation of biological and material culture at the micro-regional scale to build up models of broader social processes from the bottom-up. Finally, ethical bioarchaeology in the region requires that the contributions of Central Asian scholars past and present be acknowledged and centered, and that training, research, and publication opportunities be provided for Central Asian scholars and communities.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80093610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Understanding the timing and nature of ancient agricultural development in the Philippines is hindered by a paucity of direct evidence of crops, that is, plant remains identified to taxa. Here we present analysis of plant microfossils (pollen, phytoliths, and starch) with the addition of ceramic and parasitological analyses of archaeological samples from Andarayan, Cagayan Valley, Northern Luzon to shed light on human activity in the region. Combined with previous ceramic and alluvial records from this area, the results are consistent with a continuity of a Neolithic subsistence tradition throughout the Cagayan Valley and its tributaries for the last 4000 to 500 years. Rice (Oryza sativa), taro (Colocasia esculenta), and cf. cassava (Manihot esculenta) starch provide evidence for cultivation of these taxa in the catchment. As plant taxa vary considerably in their production and preservation of different tissue types, the study also shows the value of a combined plant microfossil approach to cast the net widest when looking for direct evidence of horticulture. The parasitological analysis, showing a range of helminth parasites of humans and their commensals (dogs, pigs, and rats), to our knowledge represents the first ancient helminth eggs reported for the Philippines.
{"title":"A Ceramic and Plant and Parasite Microfossil Record from Andarayan, Cagayan Valley, Philippines Reveals Cultigens and Human Helminthiases Spanning the Last ca. 2080 Years","authors":"M. Horrocks, J. Peterson, B. Presswell","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0018","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the timing and nature of ancient agricultural development in the Philippines is hindered by a paucity of direct evidence of crops, that is, plant remains identified to taxa. Here we present analysis of plant microfossils (pollen, phytoliths, and starch) with the addition of ceramic and parasitological analyses of archaeological samples from Andarayan, Cagayan Valley, Northern Luzon to shed light on human activity in the region. Combined with previous ceramic and alluvial records from this area, the results are consistent with a continuity of a Neolithic subsistence tradition throughout the Cagayan Valley and its tributaries for the last 4000 to 500 years. Rice (Oryza sativa), taro (Colocasia esculenta), and cf. cassava (Manihot esculenta) starch provide evidence for cultivation of these taxa in the catchment. As plant taxa vary considerably in their production and preservation of different tissue types, the study also shows the value of a combined plant microfossil approach to cast the net widest when looking for direct evidence of horticulture. The parasitological analysis, showing a range of helminth parasites of humans and their commensals (dogs, pigs, and rats), to our knowledge represents the first ancient helminth eggs reported for the Philippines.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84436472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
abstract:In Central-East Polynesia (CEP), development of warfare remains poorly documented except for the fortified villages of Rapa iti. In the Marquesas islands, previous research briefly reported the existence of defensive structures, especially some fortified pā, in areas usually qualified as 'marginal'. However, no site has yet been investigated in depth. In 2015, within the context of the larger Ua Huka project, we documented the pā of Mahaki, located between 700 and 800 m in altitude, and known in local oral traditions as a fortified refuge site for the Hokatu community during periods of conflicts. We recorded various categories of archaeological remains, the interpretations of which revealed a complex occupation of this area combining economic, defensive, and ritual functions. We argue that increasing inter-community violence and environmental pressure drove the progressive occupation of the high plateau. This study sheds new light on the Marquesan pā and their integration into the territories of the 'enata chiefdoms.
{"title":"\"You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee\": New Insights on the Defensive, Economic, and Ritual Functions of a Fortified Pā on Ua Huka, Marquesas Islands","authors":"G. Molle, Vincent Marolleau","doi":"10.1353/asi.2022.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/asi.2022.0006","url":null,"abstract":"abstract:In Central-East Polynesia (CEP), development of warfare remains poorly documented except for the fortified villages of Rapa iti. In the Marquesas islands, previous research briefly reported the existence of defensive structures, especially some fortified pā, in areas usually qualified as 'marginal'. However, no site has yet been investigated in depth. In 2015, within the context of the larger Ua Huka project, we documented the pā of Mahaki, located between 700 and 800 m in altitude, and known in local oral traditions as a fortified refuge site for the Hokatu community during periods of conflicts. We recorded various categories of archaeological remains, the interpretations of which revealed a complex occupation of this area combining economic, defensive, and ritual functions. We argue that increasing inter-community violence and environmental pressure drove the progressive occupation of the high plateau. This study sheds new light on the Marquesan pā and their integration into the territories of the 'enata chiefdoms.","PeriodicalId":36318,"journal":{"name":"Translocal Chinese: East Asian Perspectives","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81454834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}