This is a translation from a Russian work published in 1958, one of the major works of a well-known and prolific writer. It deals with the origins of the small nations and peoples of central Siberia and northeastern Asia. Many guesses have been made about these peoples but most have not been substantiated, because of the lack of field work or because the materials on them had not been analysed and published. Levin has reviewed the old materials, gathered and analysed hitherto unpublished ones, and personally surveyed many of the peoples as a member of the Russian Northeastern Expedition. He makes use of all the data of physical anthropology, ethnography, archaeology, and linguistics on the peoples he describes and has thus provided a definitive work on a nearly forgotten segment of mankind inhabiting an extensive territory. Volume III in the series Anthropology of the North: Translations from Russian Sources sponsored by the Arctic Institute of North America and under the general editorship of H.N. Michael, Temple University.

The focus of Richard Zgusta’s The Peoples of Northeast Asia through Time is the formation of indigenous and cultural groups of coastal northeast Asia, including the Ainu, the “Paleoasiatic” peoples, and the Asiatic Eskimo. Most chapters begin with a summary of each culture at the beginning of the colonial era, which is followed by an interdisciplinary reconstruction of prehistoric cultures that have direct ancestor-descendant relationships with the modern ones. An additional chapter presents a comparative discussion of the ethnographic data, including subsistence patterns, material culture, social organization, and religious beliefs, from a diachronic viewpoint. Each chapter includes maps and extensive references.

The eighteen articles appearing in this, the fifth, number of Anthropology of the North: Translations from Russian Sources, were mostly published between the years 1957 and 1963. The exceptions are S.I. Rudenko's "The culture of the prehistoric population of Kamchatka," published in 1948, and A.P. Okladnikov's "Paleolithic remains in the Lena river basin," published in 1953. Thirteen of the articles deal with the archaeology and five with the geomorphology of selected areas of northern Asia. Dr. Chester S. Chard of the University of Wisconsin analyzes the contents and meaning of these articles in his Introduction to the book and fruitfully correlates them with other sources which have been made available to the English-reading specialist over the past few years. In the Notes and References attached to each article, editorial reference has sometimes been added about the availability in English translation of a cited article.

In this powerful and provocative book, Prasenjit Duara uses the case of Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in northeast China from 1932-1945, to explore how such antinomies as imperialism and nationalism, modernity and tradition, and governmentality and exploitation interacted in the post-World War I period. His study of Manchukuo, which had a population of 40 million and was three times the area of Japan, catalyzes a broader understanding of new global trends that characterized much of the twentieth century. Asking why Manchukuo so desperately sought to appear sovereign, Duara examines the cultural and political resources it mobilized to make claims of sovereignty. He argues that Manchukuo, as a transparently constructed "nation-state," offers a unique historical laboratory for examining the utilization and transformation of circulating global forces mediated by the "East Asian modern." Sovereignty and AUthenticity not only shows how Manchukuo drew technologies of modern nationbuilding from China and Japan, but it provides a window into how some of these techniques and processes were obscured or naturalized in the more successful East Asian nation-states. With its sweepingly original theoretical and comparative perspectives on nationalism and imperialism, this book will be essential reading for all those interested in contemporary history.

By demonstrating the importance of communication among social scientists, scientists in the natural sciences and stakeholders living in the Arctic, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the region's rapidly changing physical and human dimensions. In response to the tremendous challenges and opportunities facing the Arctic it is an essential resource for all Arctic researchers and those developing multidisciplinary projects. Representing a state-of-the-art overview of key areas of Arctic research by renowned specialists in the field, each chapter forms a detailed, varied and accessible account of current knowledge. Each author introduces the subject to a non-specialist readership, while retaining intellectual integrity and relevance for specialists. Overall, the richness of the material presented in this volume reflects the ecological and cultural diversity of this vast and environmentally critical part of the globe.

Originally published in 2000, The Arctic provides a comprehensive overview of the region's rapidly changing physical and human dimensions, and demonstrates the importance of communication between natural scientists, social scientists, and local stakeholders in response to the tremendous challenges and opportunities facing the Arctic. It is an essential resource for all Arctic researchers, particularly those developing multidisciplinary projects. It provides an overview of key areas of Arctic research by renowned specialists in the field, and each chapter forms a detailed, varied and accessible account of current knowledge. Each author introduces the subject to a specialist readership, while retaining intellectual integrity and relevance for specialists. Overall, the richness of the material presented in this volume reflects the ecological and cultural diversity of this vast and environmentally critical part of the globe.