Channel Adjustment Following the Crossing of a Threshold: Tarcutta Creek,Southeastern Australia

Historical records indicate that the fertile soils of the western and central Wimmera Plains of Victoria, Australia formerly supported grassy woodlands on rises and flats, and grasslands on shallow depressions and clay plains. Soil type and micro-relief appear to have been the major factors that determined the distribution of these communities. Burning of the woodlands by Aborigines may have contributed to their open grassy nature. The few ungrazed remnants of Buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii) woodland support a suite of species that are absent from or uncommon in other Buloke woodland remnants in the region. This work demonstrates that in districts where little intact native vegetation remains, investigation of the distribution and floristic composition of the pre-settlement vegetation can provide useful information for the maintenance and restoration of remnant vegetation.     

The Pre-Settlement Vegatation of the Western and Central Wimmera Plains of Victoria,Australia

Historical records indicate that the fertile soils of the western and central Wimmera Plains of Victoria, Australia formerly supported grassy woodlands on rises and flats, and grasslands on shallow depressions and clay plains. Soil type and micro-relief appear to have been the major factors that determined the distribution of these communities. Burning of the woodlands by Aborigines may have contributed to their open grassy nature. The few ungrazed remnants of Buloke (Allocasuarina luehmannii) woodland support a suite of species that are absent from or uncommon in other Buloke woodland remnants in the region. This work demonstrates that in districts where little intact native vegetation remains, investigation of the distribution and floristic composition of the pre-settlement vegetation can provide useful information for the maintenance and restoration of remnant vegetation.     

苏家村遗址烧土样品的过火温度研究

烧土制品作为最早的人工建筑材料,使人类的居住环境得到了根本性的改善。然而,学界关于烧土建筑的成因存在人为烘烤处理、缘自火焚、废弃习俗等多种观点。通过科技手段研究烧土制品的过火温度,有助于科学分析烧土建筑的成因,探讨与之相关的建筑工艺,丰富史前建筑史研究。磁学研究表明,考古遗址中的土壤及其他沉积物在受热后新生成了磁铁矿、磁赤铁矿等强磁性矿物导致磁性显著增强,且矿物成分和磁性几乎不会再发生变化;但当重烧的温度接近或大于原始烧成温度时,样品中原始矿物的破坏或新矿物的生成,会引起矿物磁性的改变。基于这一原理,实验室内分析受热黏土的磁化率随再加热温度的变化特征,可反映烧土制品的过火温度。苏家村遗址是大汶口文化晚期至龙山文化中期早段一处重要的聚落遗址,遗址中第5层为厚约20～40 cm的红烧土层且覆盖整个遗址,推测为房屋倒塌造成的建筑垃圾堆积层或人为堆积层,出土大量烧土块。本研究利用X射线衍射分析法、X射线荧光光谱分析法和磁化率法等对苏家村遗址出土的烧土样品开展了组成及构造特征和样品的过火温度的综合分析。结果表明,苏家村遗址烧土样品中的白灰层中人为地添加了白色陶土原料,土层中有意地添加了植物残骸作...     

Taming Surface Water in Pre-Islamic Southeast Arabia: Archaeological,Geoarchaeological, and Chronological Evidence of Runoff Water Channeling in Masāfī (UAE)

In semi-arid to arid environments, water is the most constraining resource for agricultural communities. In Southeast Arabia (Sultanate of Oman and United Arab Emirates), the demographic growth and the increase of sites at the beginning of the Iron Age II (1100–600 b.c.) is generally attributed to the development of groundwater harvesting techniques, and more precisely to qanāt technology. While only little is known on the origin of this technology, even less is known about other hydraulic techniques, which could have been used as a complementary source of water. An irrigation system, recently discovered near an Iron Age settlement in the oasis of Masāfī (UAE) was studied thanks to the combination of various methods—archaeology, geoarchaeology/micromorphology, spatial analysis, and chronology—which have allowed us to identify the technological development of small-scale runoff farming and to link this practice to social as well as environmental issues.     

The Making of Fired Clay Bricks in China Some 5000 Years Ago

Fired bricks are a hard and durable masonry material that has played a major role in the emergence of early human urban civilization. In China, fired clay bricks have been widely used as a building and flooring material since the Qin Dynasty (476?206 bc ), although a few lines of evidence show that fired clay bricks might have been invented as early as 5500 years ago in eastern central China. However, these burnt clumps of clay appear not to be bricks in the strict sense, and our knowledge about the origin of fired clay bricks in China still remains fragmentary. Archaeological excavations at a Middle Neolithic cultural site in northwestern China reveal that the making of fired clay bricks began some 5000 years ago. Our findings also open a window into the process of prehistoric brickmaking in East Asia.     

Churchwarden Clay Tobacco-Pipes and the Southorn Pipemaking Family of Broseley,Shropshire

Abstract

The origin of the term ‘Churchwarden pipe’, now used to describe any long-stemmed clay—and sometimes even brier—pipe, is examined and the suggestion made that it was originally invented by the prominent Broseley, Shropshire, clay pipemaking family of Southorn to describe a specific type among their long-stemmed pipes. The Southorn family, whose products were possibly the premier-quality British clay pipes of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, is also discussed in the light of available evidence, much of which is confused or contradictory.     

The boundaries of eros— Sex crime and sexuality in Renaissance Venice

Throughout Western history there have been two sharply differentiated beliefs about the character of creativity. However, one of these beliefs—Judaeo-Christian and neo-Platonic—has occupied such a dominant position that the very existence of the other has been obscured and ignored. Yet the evidence for this second belief is no less extensive or vivid. It has never been formulated in the same way as the first and so has never constituted a tradition as such; yet it has existed over as long a period of time and can therefore be called a tradition. Moreover, this second belief seems to bear a closer relation to the character of creativity displayed by people regarded as ‘creative’, as well as to what we have learnt about creativity in this century from psychologists. Attitudes to creativity in the modern period have generally been based on the first tradition, but the activities of creative people have borne out the validity of the second tradition. The attitudes, in other words, have been based on false expectations. To recover the lost tradition, therefore, may enable us to see more accurately what we may or may not achieve by being creative.     

Contours of equatorial electrojet current density

A set of 17 rocket measured altitude profiles of the equatorial electrojet current density have been used to determine the parameters of a two-dimensional model of the equatorial electrojet with which the contours of equal current density of the electrojet have been constructed. The contours are in full agreement with contours by other workers constructed from wind models of the electrojet. They show the existence of return (westward) currents of the equatorial electrojet, on both flanks of the dip equator, extending from about 250 km to about 1000 km or more, with a peak at about 500 km–600 km from the dip equator, whose peak intensity is about 30% of the peak intensity of the eastward current at the dip equator. Other evidences of the westward current, the location and intensity of its peak have been mentioned.     

ON THE USE OF COLOUR COORDINATES TO EVALUATE FIRING TEMPERATURES OF ANCIENT POTTERY*

Colour measurement was investigated as a means to evaluate equivalent firing temperatures of ancient pottery. Colour coordinates were determined on samples of six clays previously fired, and then refired, in the temperature range 600–1100°C. Under the adopted conditions, significant variations of colour hue and saturation were normally observed on refired samples only after the original firing temperature had been exceeded; less reliable information was provided by luminosity. Original firing temperatures of clay samples were correctly recognized in most cases by projecting the points representing samples’ colour on to the a*b* plane of the ClEL*a*b* colour space.     

GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SEDIMENTS IN AND AROUND AN EARLY NEOLITHIC WELL NEAR BRODAU,GERMANY*

The discovery of wells of the linear pottery culture since 1990 has led to new insights on the ability and needs of humans at this time. The still small number of about 20 wells in Europe, compared to the much greater number of known settlements of this period, led to the assumption that they were built for special purposes, other than the water supply for the whole village. Investigations on the origin of archaeosediments of a more than 7000‐year‐old and 4.2 m deep well from the linear pottery culture in north‐west Saxony, Germany were carried out by geochemical analysis to improve our knowledge of the building, the usage and the decay of this wooden construction. Special emphasis was put on the material around two 10‐week‐old piglets that were intentionally deposited in the construction pit. Three major units—the sediment in the well, the infilling of the construction pit and the surrounding gravels—influenced by lateral transport of fine clay could be identified and described.     

‘Burning Back with the Snow’: Traditional Approaches to Grassland Management in Tasmania

High altitude grasslands in northwestern Tasmania respond positively to periodic disturbance through grazing and burning. The major issue in considering the value of these activities as management tools, how-ever, is understanding their dynamics. Too much or too little disturbance may create adverse impacts. Yet, many of the most diverse grasslands have long traditions of active management by Tasmanians for hunting and grazing. Interviews with a number of these graziers and hunters reveal the existence of a coherent system of grassland management which has been applied for generations. These traditional management techniques may well derive from traditional Aboriginal methods and have considerable value for modern grassland management.     

Chemical characterization of clay pipes and wig curlers from Roy’s Orchard,Pipe Aston,Herefordshire

Abstract

Excavation on the site of a late 17th-century and early 18th-century clay tobacco pipe kiln and workshop at Roy’s Orchard, Pipe Aston, in north-east Herefordshire has revealed that the site was probably used concurrently by a number of pipemakers, from c. 1680 to c. 1720 or slightly later. In addition to marked and unmarked pipes, the waste from the site includes unmarked wig curlers of two types. Chemical analysis of a sample of pipes and wig curlers and of pipeclays which might have been the source of the clay reveals that the wig curlers are probably products of the Pipe Aston pipemakers and that they were made in two batches, corresponding to their typological classification. The source of the clay used has been shown conclusively not to have been the locally available Silurian clays but a Coal Measures seatearth, comparable with the outcropping at Ironbridge Gorge. Samples of Devon Ball clay and Coal Measures clay from Clun, a closer outcrop than Ironbridge, have been analysed and can be discounted as potential sources of the Pipe Aston pipeclay.     

Religion in an Age of Empire: The Salvation Army and British Imperialism, 1878–1914

Debates about the British Empire continue to rage, especially those concerned with its impact on domestic affairs during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The degree to which empire mattered to average Britons at home has tended to generate polarised responses from historians. Some have sought to downplay its overall significance, whereas others have been prone to argue that its effects on society were widespread. The present article speaks into this debate by examining one notable British organisation — the Salvation Army — which came into being in the second half of the nineteenth century. While a number of scholars have addressed the imperialist implications of Army work in the colonies, much less work has been done to scrutinise the empire's influence on Salvationists within Britain itself. Looking at three characteristics frequently associated with imperialist ideology — militarism, racial othering, and devotion to the monarchy — this article contends that the Salvation Army's relationship to the British Empire was remarkably dynamic and complex during the timeframe under review. Demonstrating that Salvationist thinking and practice could both help and hinder the aims of imperialism, it points to the need for more balanced and nuanced approaches to the study of the empire in the metropole.     

秦俑陶片的偏光显微分析研究

为了预防性保护和修复秦俑,必须掌握秦俑残片显微结构及其烧制环境、破损方式,从而为改善秦俑修复工艺、筛选修复材料提供基础,运用偏光显微镜对秦兵马俑残片中的一些矿物质(石英、长石、云母等)颗粒的分布形态和含量来分析陶土的成分结构、制作工艺、烧成气氛及原料来源等信息。结果表明,秦俑陶片主要成分为少量砂屑及大量粘土,而粘土为岩土矿风化的产物,秦俑残片裂痕较多的部位风化、酥粉痕迹明显。秦俑制作工艺以模为主,模、塑结合,并在粘土中添加了细砂,多于还原气氛中烧制而成。     

The evolution of threat narratives in the age of terror: understanding terrorist threats in Britain

This article examines the evolution of threat narratives in the age of terror, focusing on the United Kingdom. The analysis is broken down into two sections. The first part of the article presents four distinct and yet overlapping notions of the threats which have influenced both the West, and more specifically the UK, in debates about counterterrorism since 9/11. The four threat narratives—Al‐Qaeda as a central organization; decentralized terror networks; home grown; and finally apocalyptic threats—have all been used to inform counter terror measures in the West. The second section of the article argues that terrorism has evolved strategically, and is hybridized owing to the security environment—interpenetrated by globalization, digital media and information communication technologies—in which it occurs. The article concludes with a preliminary discussion of some strategic and operational themes which have influenced the form and character of terrorism and insurgency, exploring how they impact on the ways in which threats are constituted and countered, illustrating that what is new maybe the nature of our own fears.     

Using the Concept of Ethnicity in Defining Philistine Identity in the Iron Age

ABSTRACT

Normally the discussion about Philistine identity vis-à-vis Isra-elite identity moves on a macro basis: On one side the Philistines, and on the other the Israelites. Little attention has been paid to the related concept of “scale and social organization.” If we try to find a background for the macro definitions: Israelites, Philistines, we move on an imaginary level. It is a kind of literary concept nourished among the elite—never more than a few percent of any ancient society. The realities of ancient Palestine in the Iron Age were different. First of all nationality was an unknown concept, and any idea of ethnicity related to the issue of nationality (as in Avraham Faust's recent book on Israelite origins) is irrelevant. Second, there were, as argued by, among others Mario Liverani, no national borders in Antiquity. Borders were fiscal delimitations: Who paid tax to whom? Third, ethnicity follows the group, and a certain person may change identity as he moves through differ-ent groups. In a society of such small extent as ancient Palestine, each villager would have an identity defined by his village as against the members of the neighboring community—ethnicity cannot be separated from identity—and villagers living in one area will have a distinct consciousness of being differ-ent from those who live “on the other side of the river.” “National” identity, when the idea of ethnicity includes all people living within the fiscal borders of an ancient state, would hardly ever be called upon, except when the elite wanted to defend its privileges—its right to obtain taxes—against intruders. Thus the concept of a Philistine—Israelite controversy based on different ide-as about ethnicity is no more than a projection of modern ideas about the na-tional state which came into being two hundred years ago.     

al‐Khafaji reinterpreted: New insights on Umm an‐Nar monuments and settlement from Bat,Oman

Al‐Khafaji is a central and well‐known point on the early third millennium BC map of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat, in the Sultanate of Oman. For years, Kasr al‐Khafaji (“Tower 1146”) has been understood as an Umm an‐Nar (ca. 2800–2000 BCE) monument standing amid a contemporary village. However, recent excavations by the Bat Archaeological Project (BAP) reveal that the entirety of the known site—monument(s) and settlement—is situated on an anthropogenic clay mound that elevated it meters above the surrounding landscape. This paper presents the results of BAP's recent excavations, emphasising the social spaces created by architecture of various functions and scales. It also considers the implications that this new interpretation of al‐Khafaji may have for how the relationship between Umm an‐Nar towers and settlement should be understood. The paper closes with a discussion of Umm an‐Nar tower function and social meaning, concluding that the Khafaji monument(s) likely served a symbolic and possibly performative role in Umm an‐Nar society that was perceived as separate from Umm an‐Nar settlement.     

Pollen on the Shroud of Turin: The Probable Trace Left by Anointing and Embalming

This study proposes an alternative interpretation of the pollen grains found on the Christian relic of the Shroud of Turin, the majority of which belong to entomogamous plants. The examination of the images in the literature and the observation of modern pollen under light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy reveal that the most abundant pollen on the relic may be attributed to the genus Helichrysum (Asteraceae family) instead of Gundelia tournefortii. The other most important pollen found belongs to the Cistaceae‐Cistus spp.—the Apiaceae—probably Ferula spp.—and the Anacardianceae—the genus Pistacia. These pollen grains could have come from plants used to obtain expensive and valuable substances that would have been the basis for the oils of Helichrysum, ladanum and galbanum, as well as for mastic and terebinth products; this fact has not been considered by previous authors. Ancient historical records give us references that could link the pollen traces to a mixture of balms and ointments employed for preparing the body for funeral and burial. For this reason, the palynological study reveals coherency with these historical records about the rituals, as reported on by the important scientists Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides, dating back to the first century ad .     

Pandora's pithos

Large clay jars have long been popular for both wet and dry storage, but are particularly associated with Mediterranean wines and olive oil. Such ‘pithoi’ also underpin important historical shifts in social complexity and landscape investment, play prominent roles in Mediterranean social life, and thus offer an excellent opportunity to think about the deeper consequences of container culture.     

Preface

Abstract

Clustered around ripon there are, surprisingly, traditions about Kentigern (or Mungo) of Strathclyde, Columba of lona, and Oswald of Bernicia. While individually poorly attested, when brought together — as does not appear to have been done hitherto — they deserve closer examination than had previously been accorded to them, although any conclusions reached must, inevitably, be tentative.