Sue O'Connor, Matthew Spriggs & Peter Veth (ed.). The Archaeology of the Aru Islands, Eastern Indonesia.

Sue O'Connor, Matthew Spriggs & Peter Veth (ed.). The Archaeology of the Aru Islands, Eastern Indonesia. SUE O'CONNOR, MATTHEW SPRIGGS & PETER VETH (ed.). TheArchaeology of the Aru Islands Aru Islandsor Aroe Islands(both: ä`r), group of about 95 low-lying islands, 3,306 sq mi (8,563 sq km), E Indonesia, in the Moluccas, in the Arafura Sea, SW of New , Eastern Indonesia (terra australis Terra Australis (also: Terra Australis Incognita (with "incognita" stressed on the second syllable), Latin for "the unknown land of the South"), was a theorised continent appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century. 22).viii+314 pages, 179 illustrations, numerous tables. 2005. Canberra:Pandanus/Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies Asian studies is a field in cultural studies that is concerned with the Asian peoples, their cultures and languages. Within the Asian sphere, Asian studies combines aspects of sociology, and cultural anthropology to study cultural phenomena in Asian traditional and industrial , The AustralianNational University; 1-74076-113-8 paperback AUS AUSabbr.Army of the United States $49.95. This book presents the findings of three seasons of fieldwork onthe Aru Islands of Indonesia between 1995 and 1997. It presents theresults of a joint Australian and Indonesian collaboration, although itis clear that some of the work expected of the Indonesian partners isnot reported here and there is no indication of when this can beexpected. The fieldwork consisted of site survey, environmental samplingand excavation and, in a series of specialist chapters, each element ofthe fieldwork, the finds and the dating are discussed systematically andin detail. The key research questions covered five issues. The first was to dowith the earliest Pleistocene settlement of the region, the expectationbeing that sites of this period may be located in these islands as theyfall away steeply to the west and that the coast would be littleaffected by the rise in sea level at the beginning of the Holocene.Interestingly, according to Hope and Aplin in their chapter onenvironmental change, the east side of the island would have allowed thewitnessing of coastal retreat of between 20 and 50 kilometres in asingle life time! Two caves were tested by excavation; only one, througha suite of dating methods, gave indications of a Pleistocene occupationdating back to c. 29 kya and thus did not prove to be of sufficientantiquity to address questions of initial colonisation of this region atgreater than 40 kya. The second issue concerned contact with other islands, particularlyin relation to the translocation of plants and animals from the mainlandof New Guinea to neighbouring islands, which has been demonstrated forthe Pleistocene and Early Holocene in the islands to the east of NewGuinea. There was some success here, which can be usefully compared todiscussions from Near Oceania. The third question explored the nature and timing of theintroduction of agriculture into the islands, an issue that is clearerin the islands to the east of New Guinea, compared to islands like Aruin the east. Unfortunately, although a number of potential sites weretested, nothing was found which could directly relate to this issue. The fourth aspect, often related to the third, was the nature ofcontact between incomers, perhaps agriculturalists, who spoke a languagefrom the Austronesian family of languages and the presumed earlierindigenous Papuan speakers. Little was found which would allow thedevelopment of a discussion of this issue. The fifth topic was of a historical nature and considered the roleof the islands in the trade of valuables such as spices and feathers ofbirds of paradise. A tantalisingly short report on the previouslyunrecorded fort and settlement of Ujirr relates to this question. Thebrief survey work at this site leads to the conclusion that this is anon-European site, with Islamic-inspired architecture, perhapsestablished in the late fifteenth century. Clearly this is a site forfurther investigation. The specialist chapters take us through environmental change, humanremains, stone artefacts, bone artefacts and isoleucine isoleucine(ī'səl`sēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. epimerization inCasuarius eggshells. As we have come to expect from the Terra Australisseries, the publication is attractive and mostly free of errors,although I did find some of the photographs were poorly reproduced,rather dark and possibly too small for the job expected of them. This volume provides the first detailed archaeological assessmentof this island group, located as it is at the edge of continents andbiogeographic bi��o��ge��og��ra��phy?n.The study of the geographic distribution of organisms.bio��ge��og zones. The editors very consciously follow in thefootsteps of the nineteenth century naturalist and explorer AlfredRussell Wallace, and, although their expectations of what might be foundon the south-eastern edge of Southeast Asia and north-western edge ofGreater Australia were not fully realised, they have provided a detailedaccount of pioneering field research which, like Wallace, will beessential reading for those who follow. PAUL RAINBIRD rainbirdNounS African a common name for [Burchell's coucal], a bird whose call is believed to be a sign of impending rain University of Wales, Lampeter HistoryWhen Thomas Burgess was appointed Bishop of St David's in 1803 he almost immediately identified the need to establish a College in which Welsh ordinands could receive a higher education. (Email: p.rainbird@lamp.ac.uk)