Agrarian State Research Articles

Isotope characterisation of groundwater resources in uranium impacted Fazilka, Punjab

AbstractGroundwater is the most reliable source for freshwater supplies in India and abroad. Population rise has affected the groundwater resources both in terms of quality and quantity. Punjab, being an agrarian state, is highly dependent on groundwater resources for both irrigation and drinking purposes. Recent studies have indicated presence of uranium in groundwater especially in southwestern parts of Punjab. In this research, water samples were collected from Fazilka district of Punjab for evaluating the water quality focussing uranium and identifying source and recharge processes of groundwater. Uranium concentration was found in both shallow and deep groundwater samples. Inter-ionic correlations signify that alkalinity and electrical conductivity of the water samples control the uranium mobilization from the aquifer matrix. Isotopic systematics demonstrate that groundwater recharge is mainly through rainwater infiltration.

The Direction of Farming Policy Toward Food Resilience in Indonesia

Objective: This research aims to analyze the direction of farming policy toward food resilience through subsidy program and maintaining the existence of farmers. Theoretical Framework: As an agrarian state, Indonesia has majority populations living in rural areas with farming being livelihood and rice being main food staple. Therefore, the availability of food material is a very crucial problem. Method: The research methods used was survey on dry-land farmers, secondary data, and documentation of newspaper clipping. Result: The result shows: 1) the farming policy is inhibited by the ever reduced land, 2) subsidy granting has not solved the farmers’ problem yet, the difficulty of finding fertilizer during harvest season and lowered prices during harvest season, and 3) the governmental policy through importing rice does not solve the root of problem in achieving food resilience by making the farmers not prosperous. Implication of Research: The policy is made by government through improving domestic production and importing rice to secure the rice reserve in Perum BULOG. Conclusion: The problems inhibiting the production of food staple are the reduced farming land, the increased population number, and the natural factor. On the other hand, the price of rice goes down during harvest season and import during low season always occurs repeatedly. A commitment of farming policy direction partial to the farmers is required, from upstream to downstream.

LEGAL PROVISION OF SOIL (LAND) MELIORATION IN UKRAINE

Melioration is a powerful factor affecting the soil and soil cover, which changes the direction, periodicity and speed of soil processes and regimes, and leads to a gradual transformation of soils. The evolution of soils under the influence of various types of land reclamation is characterized by varying degrees of changes in chemical, physico-chemical, and agrophysical properties, and in the case of the complex application of various types of land reclamation, high agricultural culture acquires a positive direction, improving soil properties. In the case of a violation of the comprehensive implementation of meliorational effects and agrotechnical measures for the cultivation of agricultural crops, low resource provision, a negative balance of organic substances and an imbalance of macro- and microelements can be formed in the soil. Another determining factor in the change in the purpose of melioration effects on the soil is the transition to the ecological imperative of the agrosphere. This direction is the strategic goal of land reclamation in the foreseeable future, which is of great importance for Ukraine, as the world's leading agrarian state. Solving the problem of investments in the field of soil meioration, which arose due to the disorganization of the legal management of soil and land resources in the conditions of increased natural and anthropogenic loads, global climate changes, violation of the structural and landscape organization of the territory and technical requirements in the system of balanced land use, is gaining increasing relevance, perspective and public demand A feature of law-making practice in Ukraine are numerous environmental laws and departmental regulations, but their implementation is too slow. One of the areas of implementation of the provisions and requirements established by regulatory legal acts in the field of soil reclamation is the development of a regulatory and methodological framework in this field. To ensure the unity and effectiveness of the implementation of regulatory documents at different levels, it is necessary to develop and approve lists of documents, in particular standards, which, in the case of voluntary application, are proof of compliance with the requirements of the current legislation on land reclamation, their use and monitoring. Along with the existence of existing laws, it is necessary to adopt already developed draft laws "On soils and their fertility", "On soil monitoring", "On the removal of degraded and unproductive lands for conservation", "On soil insurance". The Law of Ukraine "On Land Leasing" needs to be revised, which needs to be supplemented in the direction of soil protection obligations on the part of tenants by increasing the minimum lease terms and improving the economic mechanism for stimulating the sustainable use and management of land resources, including their protection from degradation. Keywords: soils, melioration, soil protection, legal support.

Future Climate Change Impacts on Rice in Uttar Pradesh, India's Most Populous Agrarian State

AbstractUttar Pradesh, with a population of 237 million, is the largest agrarian state in India, located in the Indo‐Gangetic plains. Rice cultivation is widespread across all districts of Uttar Pradesh, which have varying climate regimes, irrigation infrastructures, crop management practices, and farm sizes. The state is characterized by different agroecological zones (AEZs) with semi‐arid to sub‐humid climates with significant variability in monsoon rainfall. In this study, the impact of climate change on Kharif‐season rice is estimated using crop‐climate scenarios in Uttar Pradesh. A process‐based Crop Simulation Model, Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis‐Rice, was simulated with bias‐corrected and downscaled climate data for historical (1995–2014) and three future periods (the 2030s, 2050s, and 2090s) for two mitigation pathways (SSP2‐4.5 and SSP5‐8.5) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6. Phenology, irrigation amount, crop evapotranspiration, yield, and water use efficiency were evaluated and assessed for all AEZs. Based on the ensemble of 16 climate models, rainfed rice yield increased in the AEZs of western Uttar Pradesh due to increased rainfall, while in eastern Uttar Pradesh yield decreased, under both shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). Irrigated rice yield decreased in all AEZs under both SSPs due to an increase in temperature and a decrease in the length of the growing period, with reductions of up to 20% by the 2090s. Irrigation requirements decreased from the 2030s to the 2090s due to increased rainfall and decreased crop evapotranspiration. Despite the projected increase in rainfed yield, the overall rice yield is expected to decrease in the future under both SSPs.

Electrical Resistivity Techniques for Groundwater Studies in North-Western Part of District Hisar, Haryana, India

Abstract Haryana is one of the dominant agrarian states of India but salinity in the groundwater is one of the major concerns in the state. The salinity in groundwater is observed from top itself in the central part of Haryana consisting of Hisar, Jind, Rohtak, and Jhajjar districts. As a result, local inhabitants are facing severe problems with the nonavailability of fresh drinking water. In some places, shallow aquifers are having marginally saline water which is used by the local inhabitants in dry months. Groundwater even in shallow aquifers also becomes saline due to less rainfall and intrusion of saline water from lower layers. In some areas, the thickness of freshwater columns has been reduced significantly due to the excessive withdrawal of fresh water and intrusion from underlying saline groundwater aquifers. It is therefore pertinent to study fresh/saline groundwater interface to solve these problems on scientific basis. The geophysical methods especially electrical resistivity method has proved very useful for the estimation of fresh/ saline groundwater interface. The present paper deals with the findings of electrical resistivity survey conducted in Adampur and Agroha blocks of district Hisar, Haryana, India. Thirty-five Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) were conducted in these areas for this purpose. The results indicate that the entire study area is occupied with marginally saline to highly saline groundwater. The study shows the presence of a thin layer of marginally saline groundwater almost uniformly distributed in the entire study area.

Application of biofertilizer to realize sustainable agricultural program: a review

The agricultural sector is a force to encourages the rise in the economic level of an agricultural country, such as Indonesia. However, agricultural programs that are not followed carefully can undermine the order of an agrarian state. Therefore, the concept of sustainable agriculture was introduced and has become a commitment for many countries in the world. One application of sustainable agriculture is the use of effective and environmentally friendly fertilizers. Biofertilizer is considered an alternative to chemical fertilizers that have more advantages. Biofertilizers contain a consortium of microbes that are beneficial to plants. In addition, biofertilizers can improve soil fertility. Many studies prove the effectiveness of biofertilizers in increasing crop yields. Currently, biofertilizers have been widely used in Indonesia, but sometimes the potential of laboratory-tested biofertilizers cannot be found in the field. Another issue is shelf life. This review focused on the effectiveness and shelf life of the biofertilizer. In this review, we try to collect data from previous studies and compile it into a framework that can help overcome the constraints of biofertilizer applications. The analysis was carried out with the introduction of biofertilizers, constraints in the practice of their use, and strategies to overcome those obstacles. Obstacles to the use of biofertilizers can be overcome by selecting potential microbes in order to survive in the soil. The addition of organic matter can also be done to add nutrients to the soil. In addition, storage of the product under adjusted conditions can maintain its effectiveness.

Accelerating Rate of Groundwater Depletion & Deteriorating Water Quality in Punjab

Groundwater depletion continues to be a cause for concern in Punjab as the State is amoung three states in India where groundwater extraction is more 100%. The nation average is 60%. The recently released Ground Water Resources Assessment for 2022 points the situation in Punjab being the most critical, with the agrarian state being the worst off in extracting underground water at 166% of its extractable groundwater resources.

Intellectual Diary of an Iconoclast

Trying to address a series of large questions—e.g., when peasants rebel, clandestine forms of resistance, state “imagination,” and the origin of the very first agrarian states—led me to abandon much of the standard political science “tool kit.” This is an account of that intellectual journey. [James C. Scott died on July 19, 2024, just days before this short intellectual biography went live. Scott was an intellectual giant, an eloquent writer, and an inspiration to multiple generations of students and scholars. The Annual Review of Political Science is pleased to be the publisher of his latest, perhaps last, publication. His oral history is available here.]

Assessment of Bee Honey in some Districts in South-Western Nigeria for Agricultural Pesticide Residues and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Purpose: Honey are produced by honeybees which are expected to be free from contaminants or pollutants in the environment. But different degrees of anthropogenic activities in regions where apiaries domiciles have raised issues of primary health importance because of the increasing contents of pesticide residues, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other related hydrocarbon compounds in honey. Osun State is an agrarian state where agricultural herbicides and insecticides are used. The study focused on organophosphate and organochlorine compounds and PAHs. Research Method: Honey samples sourced from selected zones in Osun State, were screened for organophosphate, organochlorine compounds, PAHs as well as other related hydrocarbon compounds using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Finding: There were no traces of highlighted pesticide residues except for PAHs and other related compounds. Ninety-two PAHs and other related hydrocarbon compounds were identified. The number of PAHs and related compounds per sample ranged from 9 to 35. While Cyclohexane, Decodane and Naphthalene were the most common with higher concentrations in all the samples. The Mn±S.D values of Cyclohexane, Naphthalene and Decodane obtained were 0.2976±0.1253µgkg-1, 0.471±0.119µgkg-1, and 12.516±3.120µgkg-1 respectively. Other PAHs and other related hydrocarbon compounds identified had insignificant concentrations. Originality/value: The study recommends that bee farmers should locate their apiaries 3km to 5km away from regions where there are serious hazardous anthropogenic activities including industrial areas. Also, there is need for strong understanding between the bee farmers and crop farmers on tolerable uses of agricultural pesticides, and herbicides on field crops during the flower bloom period where there are no options. Lastly, harvested honey should undergo quality assurance and control for safety reasons. All packaged honey for retail should bear labels including the compositions after quality analysis.

Pattern of Agricultural Progress in India’s North-East and the Contributing Factors: An Econometric Analysis

Despite being blessed with rich agro-climatic conditions, the largest agrarian state in India’s North-East, Assam recorded relatively poor agricultural growth, since independence. The question of agricultural performance in terms of use of factors and growth pattern always arise that seems to vary in different stages of policy shift. Agricultural diversity increased in the initial phase with the expansion of agricultural area but slowed down in the later stages. However, the nature of agricultural diversity and use of resources including land allocations reflects the adaptation of farming community, absorption of labour force and sustainability of earning of farmers. The objectives are to analyze: i) the pattern of agricultural growth, diversity; ii) relative contribution of crop diversification, yield and area towards output growth in the pre-Green Revolution, Green Revolution and Post-Reform period; iii) association of various factors with crop yields in the short run and the adjustment process in the long run. Using secondary data, semi-log linear and spline regression functions we examined the growth and stationarity of growth processes is checked by ADF test. Times series analyses like cointegration and ARDL bound testing approach has been followed to examine the relation of various factors with yield of various crops in the short and long run. The ECM also provides the process of adjustment and CUSUM(Q) test is used for checking fitness of the models. Changes in diversity are analyzed through Herfindahl Index and the additive decomposition technique is employed to examine changing contribution of growth of yield, area and cropping pattern and their interactions. The result reveals varied impacts of main weather variable (rainfall), technological factors and cropping intensity on the yields of crops in different phases since 1950-51. Area effect on output and cropping pattern growth though declined, yield growth contributed increasingly in successive sub-periods in Assam. However, the contribution of modern technology towards the growth has not been uniform in the three major stages of agricultural transformation in Assam.

Organic and Conventional Agriculture- A Comparative Economics: Bulletin of Agrarian State University from Moldova: 2022; (5/462):123-130. ISSN 1994-2796 (Print) Scientific Article

The main problem of agriculture is finding a compromise between (1) food security and (2) minimal nega- tive impact on the environment. Currently, the first task is called upon to solve traditional agriculture, the second — organic. To identify the most sustainable type of agriculture, it is important to compare their economic aspects. When comparing, the analogy method was used. To assess the dynamics of demand for organic products and resources for their production, data from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the National Organic Union and the Union of Organic Farming were analyzed. The purpose of the study: to identify the benefits and opportunities of organic agriculture, the conditions for its long-term sustainability. The problem under consideration: the choice of the most appropriate type of agricul- ture for solving the main problems of the industry. The study showed that the driver for the development of organic agriculture in developed countries is consumer demand and a number of positive externalities, while the limiting factors for the wide distribution of this type are the high price of products, the decrease in the level of food security of countries, the need to increase the cost of research and development of specific technologies. In the short term, traditional agriculture will continue to dominate due to higher productivity. Organic agriculture, with an increase in research costs and the introduction of innovations, can compete with traditional agriculture in the long term.

Adoption of agricultural technology and its recent impact on agricultural development in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India

Agriculture and allied sector play an important role in the Indian economy. It employs nearly 54.6 per cent of the population and contributes 17.4 per cent of the gross domestic product in India (Census, 2011). Among the various factors, technology is crucial for agricultural development. West Bengal is one of the leading agrarian states in India. According to agricultural census data of West Bengal, the total food grain produced in 2021 is 20.110 tons million. The present study attempts to examine the level of agricultural development in terms of technology in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Murshidabad contributes the highest in food production. It also enjoys a favourable climate, suitable soil, and availability of labour. About 76 per cent of the total land area is under cultivation. Eleven variables are considered related to agricultural development and machinery. Data is collected from the Agriculture Department, Murshidabad district, 2015-16, Bureau of Applied Economics and Statistics, Government of West Bengal, 2015-16, District Statistical Handbook, Murshidabad district, 2013-14, and other secondary sources. To draw a relation Z-score, Composite Z-score, and Carl Pearson’s correlation coefficient are calculated. Arc GIS is used for mapping. Based on agricultural development and the use of technology blocks are categorized into high, medium, and low levels. Providing high-yield varieties of seeds, proper irrigation facilities, organic and chemical fertilizers, and other institutional facilities can help the blocks with low and medium levels of agricultural development and minimize food insecurity and unemployment in the district.

Water security and health risk assessment of an urban household-level drinking water and sanitation system, Punjab, India.

The water scarcity and deteriorating water quality are major issues of concern to the agrarian state of Punjab, India. The focus of the study is to assess the status of drinking water and sanitation systems of Punjab using an exhaustive dataset of 1575 drinking water samples from 433 sampling locations in 63 urban local bodies of Punjab. Water security index(WSI) indicate that out of 63 urban local bodies, 13 are categorized into good class, 31 fall under fair class, and 19 fall under poor class. The access indicator under sanitation dimension shows that Bathinda region has maximum sewerage network coverage relative to other regions, whereas ca. 50% of the ULBs in Amritsar region do not have sewerage facility. It is clearly depicted that the variation in WSI is mainly attributable to sanitation dimension (10-22.5) as variation in water supply dimension (29-35) is relatively less. Hence,emphasis on indicators and variables of sanitation dimension is required for the improvement of overall WSI. The assessment of qualitative aspects of drinking water and health risk depicts that the drinking water quality of southwest part of the state (i.e. Malwa region) is under good quality class contrary to its poor groundwater quality. Kapurthala district shows high health risk due to the presence of trace metals despite being classified into good class within water security index. The drinking water quality is better and health risks are minimal in regions where drinking water is supplied via treated surface water sources (e.g. Bathinda region). Furthermore, the results of health risk assessment correlate with M[Formula: see text]-WaterQualityIndex outcome owing to presence of trace metals in groundwater above permissible limits. These results will help in identification of shortcomings in water supply and sanitation infrastructure and its management in urban areas.

Rice landraces of Tamil Nadu –a review

India being a floristically diverse and genetically rich nation is endowed with huge rice germplasm collections. As per the vedic evidences, in olden days about 400 landraces of paddy had been in cultivation in Tamil Nadu which is an agrarian state of India. But due to the introduction of high yielding cultivars these landraces went out of cultivation leading to genetic erosion. However, a few hundreds of landraces are in cultivation in small pockets in Tamil Nadu. So it is our bound duty to conserve the available landraces, sort out the duplications and maintain the identity of the cultivars by the way of precise morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization for the valuable traits possessed by these landraces. According to ancient Tamil literature, some of these landraces are resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses while some others are known for their nutritional and therapeutic values in rice. Landraces of Tamil Nadu origin were extensively studied for their tolerance against abiotic stresses whereas the clinical validation of several of the landraces with nutritional and medicinal value is gaining importance in view of the growing interest of the consumers for a health conscious diet. In this context, traditional knowledge about the indigenous cultivars will help to explore the scientific basis of the nutraceutical values of the traditional cultivars by the plant breeders for sustaining food as well as the nutritional security and for overcoming the future challenges

Status of Mechanization in Kadapa District of Andhra Pradesh

Indian Agriculture is undergoing a gradual shift from dependence on human power and animal power to mechanical power. Mechanical power is largely consumed in big land holdings asunder their economic condition, the small and marginal farmers are unable to own farm machinery on their own. Andhra Pradesh State is typically an agrarian State with 80.96 lakh ha of the net sown area and has about 65.39 lakh ha operational holdings and 34.35 lakh ha are small and marginal holdings. Some of the initial problems in farm mechanization had been the small and scattered size of farm holdings, financially challenged farmers, lack of awareness among the marginal farmers, and the issue of dry land agriculture. In Andhra Pradesh at present, the Farm power availability is below 2.00Kw/ha. Which is low and there is a lot of scope for improvement. The mechanization index very low SC and ST category because of that is staying away from the municipal areas, small land holding, less annual income, and repair and Maintenance Lake of non-availability of workshops in rural areas. The economic status of the farmers is greatly affected by the farm mechanization index less mechanization formed in less than 25,000 Rs of the annual income of the farmers.

The perils of national narratives

The perils of national narratives

Spatially Contextualizing Rural Land Transformation in Peri-Urban Area: A case of Jalandhar City, Punjab (India)

The advent of market liberalization in 1990 brought various forms of transformation, principally land transformation, to Indian cities and their respective peri-urban areas. The Jalandhar city and surrounding rural area from an agrarian state (Punjab) of India provide exemplified setting in this respect. A period of 30 years (1991-2021) has been selected to assess land transformation's magnitude, intensity, and direction. The applicability of different spatial data and methodologies helped analyze the facets of land transformation in quantitative and qualitative terms. The results highlight a massive rural land transformation due to the development of various urban corridors and institutional & commercial set-ups in the city fringe by converting and usurping prime agricultural land and increasing land fragmentation. The built-up class has seen a growth of more than 200 per cent in these decades at the cost of 22 per cent of cropland and other studied classes.

The Third Reich and Yugoslavia: An Economy of Fear, 1933–1941

In The Third Reich and Yugoslavia, Perica Hadži-Jovančić offers a sophisticated account of the evolving economic and political relationship between Germany and Yugoslavia during the late 1930s. Even at the time, contemporaries struggled to explain the nature of power wielded by a militarizing German economy over the smaller states of south-eastern Europe, and whether the Third Reich was mounting a ‘bloodless invasion’—to use the words of Paul Einzig—that exploited these agrarian states, or whether Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria retained economic agency. Since 1945, scholars of the Third Reich have continued this debate, deploying a range of concepts from informal empire to hegemony or soft power to explain how much economic influence, if any, Germany actually wielded in south-eastern Europe before it started military operations there in 1941, and to assess how much the Third Reich benefited from its trading and investment ties with this region. Few historians, however, have explored both sides of the story, and this is where Hadži-Jovančić provides a welcome improvement to the existing literature. Using a range of German and Yugoslav sources from archives in Belgrade as well as Berlin, Freiburg, Munich and London, he illustrates the profound agency that Yugoslav leaders exercised over their nation’s economy until a pro-Western coup toppled the government in March 1941, prompting Hitler to launch a ruthless invasion. Hadži-Jovančić argues that until this moment, or perhaps with the fall of France in 1940 at the earliest, the ‘phrase “German informal empire” could hardly be applied to Yugoslavia’ (p. 192). German experts and government officials wanted to transform Yugoslavia into an agricultural and mineral hinterland for their country’s industrial economy, but many Yugoslav leaders rejected this framework. Hadži-Jovančić shows that even though Germany contributed to the industrialization of Yugoslavia by exporting desperately needed machinery and by buying surplus agricultural goods, diplomats from Belgrade successfully defended their nation’s economic interests in trade negotiations and often extracted price concessions from Berlin. Some Yugoslav experts—mostly Croatians like Oto Frangeš or Rudolf Bićanić—believed deeper ties with Nazi Germany would be their nation’s best hope for development in the context of a global depression. But many others, above all Serbian elites like Jovan Mihailović, Vladimir Djordjević and Gjoko Grdjić, questioned German motives and wanted their nation to industrialize by immersing itself in the international economy and retaining close trading relations with Britain and France. Deep into the 1930s, Yugoslavia thus saw participation in a German Grossraumwirtschaft—or large area economy—as a temporary sidetrack on the path back to a liberal international economy. Yet certain events did eventually push Yugoslavia closer into Germany’s economic orbit, above all western sanctions against Italy in 1935—which damaged Yugoslavia’s relationship with its second-largest trading partner—and the Anschluss, which dramatically expanded Germany’s financial and commercial preponderance across south-eastern Europe.

Land Use Changes and Extent of Crop Diversification in North Western Zone of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu, one of the important agrarian states in India, has experienced remarkable growth in the agricultural sector. Among the seven agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu, north western zone is known for intensive agrarian economy of which, the economy of Salem district is predominantly agrarian having 2.20 lakh hectares of net cultivated area (42.31 percent of total geographical area). The district has distinctive cropping patterns and the major crops grown in the district include Paddy, Tapioca, Maize, Sorghum and Vegetables. Given the importance of changing scenarios in cropping patterns, this study was undertaken to analyze the land use and cropping pattern changes and to examine the extent of crop diversification in Salem District over the year using the time series data for 20 years, i.e., from 2000-01 to 2019-20. Direction of changes in land use and cropping pattern was investigated using Markov chain analysis and for each year, crop diversification index was calculated. It was concluded from the study that the compound annual growth rate of area under crops like cereals and millets, pulses, spices and condiments, fruits, fibres. drugs, narcotics & plantation crops and other non-food crops were positive whereas it was negative for sugar crops, oilseeds, vegetables, fodder and green manure. Based on the crop diversification index value, it is evident that Salem district is moving towards crop diversification rather than specialization however the process as analysed on a time series basis is stagnant.

The Origins of the Civilisation of Angkor, Volume Seven: The Excavation of Non Ban Jak ed. by C.F.W. Higham and A. Kijngam

Reviewed by: The Origins of the Civilisation of Angkor, Volume Seven: The Excavation of Non Ban Jak ed. by C.F.W. Higham and A. Kijngam Carmen Sarjeant The Origins of the Civilisation of Angkor, Volume Seven: The Excavation of Non Ban Jak. Edited by C.F.W. Higham and A. Kijngam. Authors: H. R. Buckley, N. Chang, K. Domett, S. E. Halcrow, H. R. Heath, C.F.W. Higham, T.F.G. Higham, N. Ling, B.F.J. Manly, D.J.W. O’Reilly, L. Pederson, F. Petchey, L. Shewan, R. Thosarat, and S. Ward. Bangkok: The Fine Arts Department, 2020. xx + 524 pp., 583 figures, 42 tables, 2 appendices, bibliography, index. Hardback US $31, ISBN 978-616-283-497-4. The seventh volume in the Origins of the Civilisation of Angkor series comprehensively describes the findings from excavations at Non Ban Jak (NBJ) over several field seasons in the upper Mun Valley, northeast Thailand. Two mounds were excavated, human burials [End Page 126] recovered, and the material culture from domestic and industrial contexts and faunal remains are presented. The volume includes further analysis of the ceramic industry and health and disease. The volume summary includes comparisons with nearby Noen U-Loke (NUL) and Ban Non Wat (BNW) and offers important insights on social change in response to climate in mainland Southeast Asia between a.d. 200 and 800. Dating to the Late Iron Age, NBJ retains intact evidence of domestic structures from a prehistoric context that is rare in mainland Southeast Asia at this scale. Furthermore, significant evidence of local ceramic production from kilns and iron smithing was recovered. NBJ has much to offer in future research and the volume is an essential contribution to understanding the origins of early agrarian states in Southeast Asia. The first chapter (by Higham, Higham, and Petchey) provides an introduction and chronology for NBJ, a large, moated site in the upper Mun Valley of northeast Thailand. As with other studies in the Origins of the Civilisation of Angkor series, the chronology is meticulously outlined with over 70 dates reported from charcoal, bivalve shell, carbonized rice grains, human bone collagen, and a bird’s egg. A small portion of the site contains Neolithic period evidence, but not in situ. The reliable sequence from a.d. 220–380 to a.d. 700–820 covers four centuries of rapid house building. Chapters 2 through 5 (by Higham) cover the east mound excavations, documented layer by layer with photos and a summary of the recovered materials, features, and burials. These chapters contain detailed information of the findings, easily referred to when considering the interpretations in the subsequent chapters. The eastern mound burials are outlined in chapter 6 (by Higham, Buckley, Halcrow, and Domett) with images and mortuary goods catalogued. This chapter leads into the east mound material culture discussed in chapter 7 (by Higham). The pottery includes the contents of the kilns, historic period pits, and occupational contexts (specifically from residential settings). The frequent presence of two bowls placed lip to lip was identified in various contexts, potentially related to buildings and burials and found in occupation layers with no clear feature association. Other ceramic items include spindle whorls, anvils, bow pellets, skin rubbers, structural clay daub associated with houses and kilns, and other clay building materials for house walls and floors. Notably, no ceramic casting bronze moulds were found at NBJ. Iron artifacts from non-mortuary contexts included ploughshares, points, sickles, and knives, indicative of the agricultural activities at the site. Glass beads and bronze ornaments (especially bangles) were found. Stone adzes and burnishing stones were rare. The morphology of ceramics are described in greater detail. However, the descriptions summarizing each vessel form are not consistently cited to images of the forms in plan and profile views where needed in the text. The provided images of the ceramics found within specific contexts such as pits and kilns are crucial for understanding local production. Later in chapter 7, the citing of images in the text is more consistent in the M and N squares section. Chapter 8 (by Higham) is on the cultural sequence of the western mound. This portion of the site had a small...