Author: Michael Ashkenazi File Type: pdf An introductory guide to the mythology of Japanone of the most pervasive yet least understood facets of Japanese culture. An extensive glossary of all Japanese terms used in the text, as well as important concepts and historical features An annotated bibliography citing every print and nonprint source for the book, pointing the way toward further research **From School Library Journal Grade 10 Up-Ashkenazis engaging and informative guidebook begins with 100 pages of context. He emphasizes the historical, religious, and social ground for, and provides an overview of, both Shinto and Buddhist myths. This wonderfully vivid and compact introduction tells the core stories and provides key anthropological data explaining the role(s) of myths. The authors lucid, accessible, and even humorous style lightens the impressive scholarship. His account ranges widely over history and culture, without losing its coherence or relevance to mythology. Shinto stories are linked in a comprehensive narrative Ashkenazi also includes Ryukyu and Ainu myths. The final two-thirds of the volume is comprised of detailed alphabetical entries for major figures and concepts (with some overlap), annotated print and nonprint sources, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography of primary sources. Individual entries are much more detailed than those in Jeremy Robertss Japanese Mythology A to Z (Facts On File, 2003) or David Leemings A Dictionary of Asian Mythology (Oxford, 2001). Japanese art enriches the cultural context. Williamss volume follows the same format, and includes the same scholarly helps (e.g., major entries have references, further readings, and cross-references). There is no primary-sources list, but the annotated print and nonprint section is larger. The introductory essays are half the length of Ashkenazis and avoid contested issues. Williams is not a graceful stylist. Unclear antecedents, misused words, nonparallel or awkward constructions, and other writing lapses are off-putting and sometimes obscure meaning. Despite the writers obvious erudition, this presentation of Hindu mythology is unlikely to draw students to the field.-Patricia D. Lothrop, St. Georges School, Newport, RI Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Review [E]ngaging and informative guidebook . . . wonderfully vivid and compact introduction tells the core stories and provides key anthropological data explaining the role(s) of myths. The authors lucid, acessible, and even humorous style lightens the impressive scholarship . . . Japanese art enriches the cultural context. - School Library Journal Highly recommended. All college and university collections. - Choice

Author: Siân Jones File Type: pdf The question of ethnicity is highly controversial in contemporary archaeology. Indigenous and nationalist claims to territory, often rely on reconstructions of the past based on the traditional identification of cultures from archaeological remains. However, many argue that such associations of remains with past ethnic groups is hopelessly inadequate. This study calls into question how such evidence is used and what conclusions can legitimately be drawn from it. Sian Jones responds to the need for a reassessment of the ways in which social groups are identified in the archaeological record, with a comprehensive and critical synthesis of recent theories of ethnicity in the human sciences. In doing so, she argues for a fundamentally different view of ethnicity, as a complex dynamic form of identification, requiring radical changes in archaeological analysis and interpretation.ReviewSian Jones develops here a new framework for the analysis of ethnicity in archaeology that has methodological, interpretative and political implications. Minerva...powerful and definitive... New ScientistIn critically picking a way through the confusing history of ideas and theories, The Archaeology of Ethnicity offers a timely and much-needed synthesis and critique. With coherence and style, this book illustrates how far archaeology has come in recognising the relativity of ethnicity and the distance it still has to travel. Times Literary SupplementThis volume makes a valuable contribution to the discussion of ethnicity in archaeology, and is a must for archaeologists considering aspects of ethnic identity. The Archaeological JournalThis book is useful because it summarises a long and complicated discussion of ethnicity and attempts to apply it to archaeology. ARCThis is an useful introduction to current social theories of ethnicity and a concise summary of archaeological approaches to it. It deserves to be widely raed and ought to form a springboard for further exploration. AntiquityThis book is useful because it summarises a long and complicated discussion of ethnicity and attempts to apply it to archaeology. Archaeological Review, CambridgeA remarkable book and a welcome contribution to archaeological and anthropological reasoning about ethnicity and cultural identity. It is warmly recommended and deserves a wide readership far beyond our own disciplinary boundaries. Norwegian Journal of Archaeology The question of ethnicity is highly controversial in contemporary archaeology. Indigenous and nationalist claims to territory often rely on reconstructions of the past based on the identification of cultures from archaeological remains, in spite of the fact that many consider the association of remains with past ethnic groups to be hopelessly inadequate. Sian Jones examines historical misuses of this type and argues that the archaeology of ethnicity has never really been subjected to any serious theoretical analysis. She responds to the need for a reassessment of the ways in which social groups are identified in the archaeological record with a comprehensive and critical synthesis of recent theories of ethnicity in the human sciences. In so doing, she argues for a fundamentally different view of ethnicity, as a complex dynamic form of identification, requiring radical changes in archaeological analysis and interpretation.