Description
Book SynopsisMigration is the talk of the town. On the whole, however, the current situation is seen as resulting from unique political upheavals. Such a-historical interpretations ignore the fact that migration is a fundamental phenomenon in human societies from the beginning and plays a crucial role in the cultural, economic, political and social developments and innovations. So far, however, most studies are limited to the last four centuries, largely ignoring the spectacular advances made in other disciplines which study the ‘deep past’, like anthropology, archaeology, population genetics and linguistics, and that reach back as far as 80.000 years ago. This is the first book that offers an overview of the state of the art in these disciplines and shows how historians and social scientists working in the recent past can profit from their insights.
Trade ReviewReading this book is rewarding in many ways. It raises the awareness that migration is an intrinsic feature of human existence, indicative of as well as instrumental to development. The confrontation with 200,000 years’ development of the ‘homo sapiens’ puts the present perception of ‘globalisation’ into a perspective, which opens up a considerably wider scope for the future. The confrontation of the diverse approaches not only widens our horizon but serves, at the same time, as an antidote against prejudices based on incidental single aspects." Jörn Janssen, CLR-News, No 2 (2010) 75-76. Gelungen ist [es] den Herausgebern mit der Fokussierung auf die historischen Migrationsprozesse in Ozeanien, Afrika und den Amerikas der letzten 100.000 Jahre. Nachhaltig zeigen die Beiträge des Sammelbandes, dass Migration eher das "außergewöhnliche Normale" als die aktuelle Ausnahme darstellt; oder, wie es die Herausgeber formulieren würden: World History ist Migration History Andreas Huebner, KULT_online, No 27 (2011)
Table of ContentsForeword PART I. HISTORICAL APPROACHES 1. Migration History: Multidisciplinary Approaches, Jan Lucassen, Leo Lucassen & Patrick Manning PART II. BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES 2. Population Genetics and the Migration of Modern Humans (Homo sapiens), Peter de Knijff 3. A Brief Introduction to Geochemical Methods used in Assessing Migration in Biological Anthropology, Shomarka Keita PART III. LINGUISTIC APPROACHES 4. Prehistoric Migration and Colonization Processes in Oceania: A View from Historical Linguistics and Archaeology, Andrew Pawley 5. Linguistic Testimony and Migration Histories, Christopher Ehret 6. The Archaeo-Linguistics of Migration, Patrick McConvell PART IV. ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES 7. Ancient Immigrants: Archaeology and Maritime Migrations, Jon M. Erlandson 8. The Family Factor in Migration Decisions, Jan Kok References Index
