Evolutionary inferences made on the basis of cytogenetic data are of considerable value to biologists and anthropologists. Although a considerable amount of data has accumulated on the rates of cytogenetic change among lineages, there has been a general failure to appreciate the implications of these observations for the overall study of the evolutionary processes, and for the interpretation of other bodies of cytogenetic data. My goals in this paper are to discuss evolutionary rates; to focus on the factors influencing the rate of karyotypic change; and to show how phylogenetic influences may be made from karyotype data -- with special reference to the order Primates.

The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the lithic collection from the chultun in such a way as to provide information for interested lithic analysts and to make comparison with other collections possible. However, context can be an important element of description, and our understanding of context can influence conclusions drawn from the characteristics of the collection, In the examination of the chultun collection, therefore, each item or class of items is interpreted with a view to suggesting an explanation for its incorporation into the refuse. In general, the following alternative possibilities have been considered: 1) the item class consists of an unwanted byproduct of manufacture or resharpening; 2) the item was exhausted; 3) the item was broken, a) during use, or b) during manufacture; 2+) the item was abandoned unfinished. For some lithic items none of these possibilities seems very probable while for others several seem equally probable. Finally, the consequences and implications of the prehistoric selection of these items as refuse will be considered.

Recent discussions on the household production of health focus on how health and illness are produced in the household. New economic models of the household view it as a site where both production and consumption take place; neo-Marxist refinements have demonstrated that the household may also be characterized by conflicting interests, which often involve gender and age inequalities. This type of micro-level analysis is important in improving the understanding of health behaviors, which may then be used to increase the effectiveness of international health programs, many of which have been thus far criticized for their ineffectiveness. An analysis of women's roles towards this end is paramount as women are typically health managers in the domestic economy, a situation that is often noted, but on which research is scant. Recent studies have examined the impact of women's work, both inside and outside the home, on the production of household health. It is also essential to assess how resources (e.g., money, time, food, knowledge, health treatments, power) are distributed in the household and how this distribution may differentially affect the health of household members, especially women and children. Important topics which warrant further exploration in the household production of health literature include the impact of the domestic life-cycle, examination of the household production of health in female-headed households, and greater understanding of the role of men in household health, especially how it may inform international health policies.

This study considers the spaces occupied by Maya royal rituals as a means of testing the application of models of political organization. Investigation of the architectonics of several temple pyramids at the sites of Copan, Tikal, and Seibal indicates that Maya political organization does not resemble that required by either the galactic polity or segmentary state models. Comparison with large Mesopotamian temples from Early Dynastic levels at Khafaje and al-'Ubaid suggests that the royal rituals of the Classic Maya are indicative of a city-state political organization.

This paper addresses the correspondences between two current approaches in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis: Peircian semiotics and Bakhtin/ Volosinov's dialogism. Peirce's contribution to sociolinguistics has been the insight that language, though arbitrary, relies upon indexicality and iconicity to be meaningful. In their critiques of abstract objectivism, Bakhtin and Volosinov similarly argued that language is tied to the social contexts in which it is spoken (or written). Both approaches share three concerns. First, language is both arbitrary and socially and contextually grounded. A second issue is the relationship between social diversity and linguistic differentiation. Third, the role of language in the construction and transmission of ideology will be discussed.

Two anthologies of archaeological ceramic-technology studies are discussed regarding their relative contributions to anthropological archaeology. Although the texts by Kolb and Lackey (1988) and Bronitsky (1989) are important reading for ceramic specialists, the latter volume is riddled with flaws and contains studies that rarely articulate well to socioeconomic or sociopolitical questions of archaeological relevance.

Presidential rhetoric in the United States provides a window into the ideological legitimation of the state, including its military activities abroad. An analysis of rhetorical strategies in George Bush's public speech at the time of the Persian Gulf War reveals how gendered categories are employed to justify the war to the American public. Drawing on a dualistic conceptualization of "good" (hegemonic) versus "bad" (subordinate) masculinities, the President's war narrative describes a "noble" American military pitted against a "bestial" enemy. This process of legitimation is inseparable from a broader "moral regulation" of American society in which gendered identities are selectively cultivated and marginalized. Presidential rhetoric helps to reify these identities, which become, in turn, indispensable to the war effort.

Native commentators on Taiwan's recent industrialization consider culture to be a key factor in the nation's modernization drive. Indigenous writers present Chinese culture as not only economically fit but also morally superior to other nations. Such presentations are based on an idealized view of a Confucian society, which includes assumptions about the state as cultural guide and model. In presenting Chinese culture as a key to modernization, the writers also contribute to certain ideological projects. Legitimation of the government, paternalistic claims on citizens and workers by the state and employers, and the rhetorical war against communism arc some of the tacit agendas I discuss.

Rap music and videos provide a potentially powerful lens through which to view inner-city neighborhoods and their residents. Rap also provides ghetto residents with a potentially powerful means with which to write their histories and forge their own identities. The dominant discourse on African Americans relegates them to the margins of historical action. Rap is explored as a kind of alternative public sphere, one in which blacks are reflecting on and challenging that discourse. This paper challenges the wholesale categorization of certain populations or groups as "other," and reaffirms the power of individuals and collectivities to make their own histories.