Historical Ecologies, Heterarchies and Transtemporal Landscapes. CELESTE RAY and MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ-GӦTZ, editors. Routledge, London. xviii + 303 pp. $140.00 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-815-34775-0.

Abstract

mer abodes. The following chapter by Michael D. Danti discusses migration in Early Bronze Age northern Mesopotamia, and he argues against massive abandonment during several megadroughts between 4,200 and 3,900 years ago. Rather, the story is more complicated, depending on local environment and circumstances. In several instances, agropastoralism worked in response to droughts, nixing the need to emigrate. When people did have to leave an area, detachment was gradual. Moving to Southeast Asia, Iannone discusses the multifaceted history of Bagan, the Buddhist capital in Myanmar between the ninth and fourteenth centuries AD, and the dispersed support population surrounding it. Power shifted between the sangha (Buddhist community of monks) and royal power; both competed for tribute, support, and labor. Even when political power was lost, Bagan continued as an important center for pilgrimage and the construction of stupas and temples—that is, for Buddhist meritmaking activities. Discussion chapters differ noticeably in their approaches. Catherine M. Cameron compares case studies in the book, discusses different scales of detachment, and highlights how the importance or meanings of place are determined by cultural and historic perspectives. Jeffrey H. Cohen, a cultural anthropologist, compares challenges in the archaeology and cultural anthropology of migration. Most notable is his point, as illustrated throughout the book, that anthropologists should focus on decisions and processes rather than just movements. His approach is aptly summarized as “abandonment . . . does not signify emptiness but instead defines an action” (p. 199). Indeed. History and engagement do not end when people leave a place.