Book Reviews 81

Judging from Archaeology with Ethnography, the strength of Australian ethnography and archaeology remains within the empirical realm. With the exception of the paper by Murray, the theoretical discussions are pedestrian. Flood concluded that without ethnography there would be no moth hunters. Ross argues that no reasonable archaeological statements for the Victorian Mallee could have been made without the use of ethnography. Similarly Jones and White (p.84) stress that a reductionist archaeological approach would miss out on the social, religious and intellectualcontext of the Ngilipitji quarry and of the production and distribution of large blades (leilira). These statements imply an archaeological malaise, that ethnography is being used to paper over gaps in the fragmentary archaeological record. This is a dangerous practice as sketchy archaeological data can be made to fit a variety of ethnographic models with equal plausibility. The effect is the projection of the ethnographic present back onto the Australian past confirming rather than testing the assumption of continuity. Archaeology with Ethnography is a good opener to the debate about how a more theoretically minded ethnographic approach might cornplement a non-reductionist archaeology. This of course raises the question of what a non-reductionist archaeology might look like. To my mind it is an archaeology capable of extending its scope beyond the walls of a trench or the morphology of flakes. To continue with a strictly empiricist Australian archaeology and ethnography is to run the risk of sentencing these disciplines to a particularist oblivion.

Commemorative histories are generally conservative, providing a normative chronicle of events and developments seen from one, commonly establishment, perspective. In this Golden Jubilee issue of the Bulletin the lnstitute of Archaeology takes a different approach to marking its fiftieth anniversary. Here we have a varied collection of papers - many of them originally given in a special series of lectures - analysing the development of the lnstitute and the general nature of archaeological practice. They generally give personal, sometimes anecdotal accounts of how the lnstitute was conceived and created, and how specific subject areas (Romano-British,Near Eastern, Nautical) or other aspects (conservation, computing, fieldtraining) have developed. Some of these seem more like notes on work-in-progress than final statements or simple self-congratulation, and fit into a general critique of past and present situations as a basis for suggesting future trends responding to new ideas and changing circumstances. Some of these personal reflections may be a little naive, but underneath them all Is a common concern with showing how the personalities and energies of individuals have shaped the lnstitute and the discipline as a whole, and a basic commitment to active field research and data collection and analysis. If some of the discussions seem somewhat parochial and of minimal value from a non-British perspective,others touch on more general current concerns, such as the legitimacy of practising archaeology with the material remains of other people's ancestors. lan Glover and Warwick Bray give a two-part presentation of their views on 'scientific investigation or cultural imperialism: British archaeology in the Third World' critically assessing the effects of their work in different areas of the world. Despite some misgivings, and a recognition of the different aims and contexts within which localarchaeologistswork, they nevertheless come down clearly on the side of international research, and its legitimacy if not necessity. Peter Parr responding to what may have been a more provocative original presentation by Glover and Bray reflects on similar ideas in his assessment of the Institute's involvement in Near Eastern archaeology. The conflicts and selfdoubts expressed by the self-conscious ThirdWorld researchersdo not appear to him asan issue in the Near East, where the archaedoglcal, if not the wider community is seen as having a mutual interest in a common heritage - perhaps orre fostered by the Institute's rde in trainmg overseas students. Other aspects of Parr's paper raise other familiar problems - funding and facilities. Australian excavations, although on a far smaller scale than many Old World ones, also suffer from the same strictures, with their attendant waste oftalent and of unpublished or poorly completedfield research. Despite these distractions - of failing confience in the moral legitimacy of the subject, poor finan-

REFERENCES
Binford, L.R. and J.F. O'Connell. 1984 An Alyawara Day: the Stone Quarry. Journal of Anthropological Research 40:40&32 Woodroffe, C.D.. J. Chappell and B.G. Thorn. 1988 Shell middens in the context of estuarine development, South Alligator River, Northern Territory. Archaeology in Oceania 23:95-103

BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF

ARCHAEOLOGY VOLUME 24. lnstitute of

Archaeology, University College: London (1987). 240pp. ISBN 0076 0722 (paperback). Price f 20.00

Reviewed by David Frankel

Department of Archaeology, La Trobe Universify, Bundoora, Victoria 3083

82 Book Reviews

cial support and resources, and technical and personal problems - the common element to emerge from this volume is of the value of primary archaeological research and especially the need for more, and better, excavations. The global scope of the Institute's field research is shown in the listing of 196 projects being carried out by the staff and students in all parts of the world. This emphasis on fieldwork - fundamental to Mortimer Wheeler's original concept of the Institute - clearly remains a central policy. However, in considering the field-training programme Drewitt recognises the need for a significant change in what constitutes adequate archaeologicaltraining. As in Australia the main growth area in employment in the U.K. is in cultural resource management, requiring skills not only in survey and excavation, but also in a range of managerial and other areas. The need for post-graduate training in these aspects has been debated for some time in Australia: our problem here, as in London, will be to combine this new form of technical training with academic research skills so as to give our graduates the global perspectives, the primary field skills and those others which many of them will use in their day-today work in the future. This volume, with its historical perspective and self-evaluation, forms an appropriate commemoration for the first fifty years of a significant archaeological institute and points the way towards future developments within Wheeler's conception of what constitutes proper archaeology. The price of this Bulletin includes a separate Review Supplement with reviews of fifty-six books covering an extremely wide range of archaeological subjects.

depth in a popular treatment of prehistory as in this volume by Allan Thorne and Robert Raymond, and a tribute to the authors that they have been able to carry it off so well. Both authors - Thorne, the anthropologist, and Raymond, the journalist have a long-standing commitment toward maintaining high intellectual quality in the popularization of scientific materials, and it shows in this work on the peopling of the Pacific Rim. Furthermore, the intellectual quality is particularly high for a book designed to accompany a television series, and in that regard Man on the Rim compares favorably or even exceeds the quality of other recent works such as the Nature of Australia. There is to be expected, of course. some unevenness in the coverage of both topics and geographical areas, in part because of the necessity of creating thematically unified segments for the television-viewing audience. However, I was somewhat dismayed at the relatively short coverage (limited to only a few paragraphs) given to certain areas, such as prehistoric Japan. Other areas, such as Siberia and the North American Arctic, receive comparatively significant attention (in two chapters, 'Into the Deep Freeze' and 'A Universe of Ice'). And, as might be expected, a fair amount of attention is given to Australia and Melanesia. On the whole, however, there is at least some attention given to all regions of the Pacific Rim. I was personally glad to see extended coverage of Tierra del Fuego, where I have been working most recently. More disconcerting than the extent of coverage. in fact, is the organization of the book (and the TV series?) which mixes areal and topical approaches. Following initial chapters on early man in mainland Southeast Asia ('First Footsteps') and on colonization of Australomelanesia ('Casting Off') are individual chapters on the prehistory and modern populations of Australia, Siberia, the North American Arctic, and Melanesia, in that order. Following this are three chapters that deal with changes over time in subsistence ('Changing the Menu'), technology ('A New Cutting Edge'), and economic organization ('The Powerhouse'). After a chapter on modern Japan ('Pure and Simple') are chapters on native North America ('Flaming Arrows'), South America ('RoadsWithout Wheels'), and Mesoamerica ('The Feathered Serpent'), followed by Polynesia, presumably because it was last to be settled by prehistoric populations. Thus areal and topical juxtaposition probably works well on TV, but is less satisfying in book form, although this is partly compensated for by the elaborate color illustrations. The greatest strength of the book is the fact that it is both very comprehensive and up-to-date in its coverage of theoretical issues. The section on fossil man in Southeast Asia, for example, includes some of the most recent fossil discoveriesin China, although there is no discussion of the implications of the east Asian fossils for the timing of the appearance and spread of anatomically modern

MAN ON THE RIM: THE PEOPLlNG OF THE

PACIFIC, by ALAN THORNE and ROBERT RAYMOND. Angus and Robertson in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Ryde (1989). 288pp. (cdor plates, end notes, index) lSBN 0 207 16246 8 (hardcover). Price $39.95

Reviewed by David Yesner

Departmentof Anthropology, Universityof Alaska, 321 1 Providence Drive, Anchorage AK. 99508 USA. It is indeed an ambitious project to encompass such a wide range of geographical areas and time