SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C. CHRONOLOGY AND THE ‘GREAT SETTLEMENT SHANG’ (14TH–11TH CENTURIES B.C.): INTRODUCTION

Author(s):  
Marina Е. Kuznetsova-Fetisova ◽  

Second half of the II millennium B.C. can be considered as the time when the first writing system appeared in East Asia in the form of oracle bone inscriptions jiagu wen (甲骨文). For the first time those inscriptions sparked academic interest and received recognition at the end of 19th century, though their place of origin remained a mystery for some time. At the end of the 1920s Archaeological department of Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica initiated archaeological excavations near modern city of Anyang, Henan province, PRC, because it was implied that the oracle bones with inscriptions had originated there. Archaeological excavations reveled a great ancient center in Anyang, including a cult center, workshops, and cemeteries including royal necropolis. Due to the fact that names of rulers, known from the transmitted texts, were often mentioned in those inscriptions, it was possible to identify the site as the last capital of Shang-Yin dynasty, so-called ‘Great Settlement Shang’ (14th–11th centuries B.C.). All these make the complex rather unique for its time, as it gives us a chance to connect pre-historical and historical data. Researchers managed to determine two relative chronologies (based on archaeological and epigraphic sources) and later to interconnect them and relate to the events mentioned in transmitted texts on early political history. Still, there is a number of problems in correlating those relative chronologies with absolute dates. Up to now the greatest project to coordinate chronology of the II millennium B.C. has been the project “Chronology of the Three Dynasties: Xia–Shang–Zhou” in 1996–2000, initiated by the Chinese political figure Song Jiang. Regardless of some international criticism of the projects’ results, a great number of scholars make use of them in their studies.

This is a comprehensive, illustrated catalogue of the 200+ marine chronometers in the collections of Royal Museums Greenwich. Every chronometer has been completely dismantled, studied and recorded, and illustrations include especially commissioned line drawings as well as photographs. The collection is also used to illustrate a newly researched and up-to-date chapter describing the history of the marine chronometer, so the book is much more than simply a catalogue. The history chapter naturally includes the story of John Harrison’s pioneering work in creating the first practical marine timekeepers, all four of which are included in the catalogue, newly photographed and described in minute detail for the first time. In fact full technical and historical data are provided for all of the marine chronometers in the collection, to an extent never before attempted, including biographical details of every maker represented. A chapter describes how the 19th century English chronometer was manufactured, and another provides comprehensive and logically arranged information on how to assess and date a given marine chronometer, something collectors and dealers find particularly difficult. For further help in identification of chronometers, appendices include a pictorial record of the number punches used by specific makers to number their movements, and the maker’s punches used by the rough movement makers. There is also a close-up pictorial guide to the various compensation balances used in chronometers in the collection, a technical Glossary of terms used in the catalogue text and a concordance of the various inventory numbers used in the collection over the years.


Author(s):  
Yechiam Weitz

The article deals with the opposition’s success in electing a new Speaker of the Knesset who was not member of ruling party – Mapai. The Mapai Speaker of the Knesset, Yosef Sprinzak, had died in January 1959, and the natural candidate to replace him was Moshe Sharett, an honorable member of Mapai. Sharrett however, turned down the nomination, and the party leaders chose a pale political figure, MK Berl Locker, to run in his stead. As a result of this choice, Yochanan Bader of the Heruth Movement proposed a new candidate – MK Nachum Nir who was not a member of the Mapai party but of Ahdut Ha-Avodah. The vote took place in March 1959, and Nir won, marking the first time a non-Mapai figure was elected to a state position, a highly significant event in Israel’s political history.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Betts

This is a comprehensive, illustrated catalogue of the 200+ marine chronometers in the collections of Royal Museums Greenwich. Every chronometer has been completely dismantled, studied and recorded, and illustrations include especially commissioned line drawings as well as photographs. The collection is also used to illustrate a newly researched and up-to-date chapter describing the history of the marine chronometer, so the book is much more than simply a catalogue. The history chapter naturally includes the story of John Harrison’s pioneering work in creating the first practical marine timekeepers, all four of which are included in the catalogue, newly photographed and described in minute detail for the first time. In fact full technical and historical data are provided for all of the marine chronometers in the collection, to an extent never before attempted, including biographical details of every maker represented. A chapter describes how the 19th century English chronometer was manufactured, and another provides comprehensive and logically arranged information on how to assess and date a given marine chronometer, something collectors and dealers find particularly difficult. For further help in identification of chronometers, appendices include a pictorial record of the number punches used by specific makers to number their movements, and the maker’s punches used by the rough movement makers. There is also a close-up pictorial guide to the various compensation balances used in chronometers in the collection, a technical Glossary of terms used in the catalogue text and a concordance of the various inventory numbers used in the collection over the years.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Himelbrant ◽  
I. S. Stepanchikova ◽  
T. Ahti ◽  
V. Yu. Neshataeva

The first lichenological inventory in Koryakia has resulted in the list of 315 species reported from Parapolsky Dale, within and in vicinities of the Koryak State Reserve. Altogether 46 species are published from the Kamchatka Territory for the first time, including Lecanographa grumulosa new to Russia, East Asia and Beringia; Cercidospora trypetheliza, Lecania dubitans, Pertusaria borealis, Piccolia ochrophora, Protoparmelia cupreobadia, Rimularia badioatra and Strangospora moriformis new to Russian Far East; Abrothallus bertianus, Cladonia strepsilis, Physciella melanchra, Rimularia badioatra, Sclerococcum parasiticum, Sphinctrina leucopoda and Strangospora moriformis new to Beringia. The lichen diversity of the study area is relatively poor due to natural reasons. Comparison with neighboring regions (Kamchatka Peninsula, Chukotka, Magadan Region, Yakutia and Alaska) shows that the lichen flora of Parapolsky Dale contains almost no specific species. The majority of the species recorded here are also known from neighboring regions, especially Alaska and Kamchatka Peninsula.


Author(s):  
Caroline Durand

Al-Qusayr is located 40 km south of modern al-Wajh, roughly 7 km from the eastern Red Sea shore. This site is known since the mid-19th century, when the explorer R. Burton described it for the first time, in particular the remains of a monumental building so-called al-Qasr. In March 2016, a new survey of the site was undertaken by the al-‘Ula–al-Wajh Survey Project. This survey focused not only on al-Qasr but also on the surrounding site corresponding to the ancient settlement. A surface collection of pottery sherds revealed a striking combination of Mediterranean and Egyptian imports on one hand, and of Nabataean productions on the other hand. This material is particularly homogeneous on the chronological point of view, suggesting a rather limited occupation period for the site. Attesting contacts between Mediterranean merchants, Roman Egypt and the Nabataean kingdom, these new data allow a complete reassessment of the importance of this locality in the Red Sea trade routes during antiquity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-179
Author(s):  
S.Yu. Sinev

Three species of the genus Wockia Heinemann, 1870, which are so far known in Russia are reviewed; their male and female genitalia are illustrated, and a key for identification is provided. Two species, W. koreana Sohn, 2008, and W. magna Sohn, 2014, which were recently described from East Asia, are for the first time reported from Russia. The investigation of the holotype of W. funebrella Heinemann, 1870, discovered in the collection of the Zoological Institute RAS (St Petersburg), confirmed that this species is a junior subjective synonym of W. asperipunctella (Bruand, 1851). The distribution of Palaearctic species of the genus is discussed shortly.


2019 ◽  
pp. 256-281
Author(s):  
E.M. Kopot`

The article brings up an obscure episode in the rivalry of the Orthodox and Melkite communities in Syria in the late 19th century. In order to strengthen their superiority over the Orthodox, the Uniates attempted to seize the church of St. George in Izraa, one of the oldest Christian temples in the region. To the Orthodox community it presented a threat coming from a wealthier enemy backed up by the See of Rome and the French embassy. The only ally the Antioch Patriarchate could lean on for support in the fight for its identity was the Russian Empire, a traditional protector of the Orthodox Arabs in the Middle East. The documents from the Foreign Affairs Archive of the Russian Empire, introduced to the scientific usage for the first time, present a unique opportunity to delve into the history of this conflict involving the higher officials of the Ottoman Empire as well as the Russian embassy in ConstantinopleВ статье рассматривается малоизвестный эпизод соперничества православной и Мелкитской общин в Сирии в конце XIX века. Чтобы укрепить свое превосходство над православными, униаты предприняли попытку захватить церковь Святого Георгия в Израа, один из старейших христианских храмов в регионе. Для православной общины он представлял угрозу, исходящую от более богатого врага, поддерживаемого Римским престолом и французским посольством. Единственным союзником, на которого Антиохийский патриархат мог опереться в борьбе за свою идентичность, была Российская Империя, традиционный защитник православных арабов на Ближнем Востоке. Документы из архива иностранных дел Российской Империи, введены в научный оборот впервые, уникальная возможность углубиться в историю этого конфликта с участием высших должностных лиц в Османской империи, а также российского посольства в Константинополе.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara Calvini ◽  
Maria Stella Siori ◽  
Spartaco Gippoliti ◽  
Marco Pavia

The revised catalogue of primatological material stored in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali of Torino and in the Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi of the Università degli Studi di Torino and belonging to the historical material of the Torino University is introduced. The material, 494 specimens belonging to 399 individuals of 122 taxa, is of particular importance since specimens were mainly obtained during the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century. A relevant part of the collection was created by the collaborators of the Museum, among which it is worth to mention F. De Filippi, A. Borelli and E. Festa, while other material came from purchases and donations from private people or the Royal Zoological Garden of Torino. Great part of the specimens is stuffed but also the osteological materials are of particular importance, as many of them derived from the specimens before being prepared and consisting of skulls or more or less complete skeletons. After this revision, the Lectotype and Paralectotypes of <em>Alouatta</em> <em>palliata</em> <em>aequatorialis</em> have been selected, and the type-specimen of the <em>brunnea</em> variety of <em>Cebus</em> <em>albifrons</em> <em>cuscinus</em> has been recognized. In addition, some specimens of particular historical-scientific importance have also been identified and here presented for the first time.


2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Florian Mazel

Dominique Iogna-Prat’s latest book, Cité de Dieu, cité des hommes. L’Église et l’architecture de la société, 1200–1500, follows on both intellectually and chronologically from La Maison Dieu. Une histoire monumentale de l’Église au Moyen Âge (v. 800–v. 1200). It presents an essay on the emergence of the town as a symbolic and political figure of society (the “city of man”) between 1200 and 1700, and on the effects of this development on the Church, which had held this function before 1200. This feeds into an ambitious reflection on the origins of modernity, seeking to move beyond the impasse of political philosophy—too quick to ignore the medieval centuries and the Scholastic moment—and to relativize the effacement of the institutional Church from the Renaissance on. In so doing, it rejects the binary opposition between the Church and the state, proposes a new periodization of the “transition to modernity,” and underlines the importance of spatial issues (mainly in terms of representation). This last element inscribes the book in the current of French historiography that for more than a decade has sought to reintroduce the question of space at the heart of social and political history. Iogna-Prat’s stimulating demonstration nevertheless raises some questions, notably relating to the effects of the Protestant Reformation, the increasing power of states, and the process of “secularization.” Above all, it raises the issue of how a logic of the polarization of space was articulated with one of territorialization in the practices of government and the structuring of society—two logics that were promoted by the ecclesial institution even before states themselves.


2011 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 369-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saarah Jappie

Ebrahiem Manuel sits opposite me, about to embark upon his story. His living room is filled with material manifestations of his research: boxes overflowing with books and papers cover his entire sofa, newspapers and articles line the floor, and collages of images and texts hang on the walls and sit in the cabinets. It is clear that he is consumed by his passion for heritage, and his personal journey of discovery. He speaks in an animated, almost theatrical tone, raising and lowering his voice, stressing certain syllables, alive as he tells his story of “the ancient kietaabs.”The journey began in 1997, when Ebrahiem returned to South Africa after years at sea, working as a cook on shipping vessels. Upon his return, he began a quest to learn about his personal heritage, inspired by a dream he had had about his grandfather. This search led him to an oldkietaab, given to him by an elderly aunt. This was not the first time he had come across the old book; he remembered seeing it as a child, amongst other kietaabs, stored out of reach of the children, on top of his grandfather's wardrobe. It was inside this book that a possible key to his ancestors was to be found.This significant find was a range of hand-written inscriptions inside the book, in Arabic, English, and an unknown script. The Arabic script and its corresponding English transliteration read “Imaam Abdul Karriem, son of Imaam Abdul Jaliel, son of Imaam Ismail of Sumbawa.” Here was his family tree, starting from his great-grandfather and leading to two generations before him and, it seemed, their place of origin, the island of Sumbawa in eastern Indonesia. Ebrahiem then decided to go to Indonesia to solve what had become the mystery of “the ancient kietaab.”


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