Rilke's Orpheus: A myth revived

This article argues that debates about the theoretical relations between Critical Theory and Existential philosophy have to date been excessively focused on the connections between Martin Heidegger and Theodor W. Adorno, and should now extend their analysis to consider points of dialogue between Adorno and Karl Jaspers. Examining the cognitive, ethical and political implications of their works, the article claims that Jaspers and Adorno have much in common and contribute in related ways to our understanding of certain important issues. This is the case in their views on idealism and on the politics of humanism, but it is most evident in their reflections on the role of metaphysics in modern philosophy: both seek to salvage the contents of metaphysical thinking, and they denounce the tendency towards purely immanent or autonomist accounts of human reality in the theoretical traditions to which they belong. Their views on metaphysics are especially apparent in their interpretations of Kant, in their critiques of neo-Kantianism, and in their shared hostility to Heidegger's reaction to Kantian philosophy.     

Pests in an ancient Egyptian harbor

Our investigations combine detailed identification and interpretation of plant remains and associated fauna and their mode of arrival in one of the rock-cut galleries, Cave 3, at the site of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The site served as a staging area and harbor from which Middle Kingdom pharaohs launched seafaring expeditions to the land of Punt in the early second millennium BC. Quantities of wood, including ship timbers, fastenings, debris related to ship dismantling and reworking, and charcoal were excavated and analyzed. Evidence of marine mollusk infestation (shipworm) was abundant in Cave 3, as were the remains of insect pests of stored foods. We also report on a unique find of a plaster “spill” that preserved the floor of Cave 3 as it was when people worked in the gallery ca. 3800 years ago. The plaster spill created a sealed deposit of plant and insect remains with a diagnostic ceramic fragment, allowing us to securely associate insect remains and “hollow” spikelets of emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) recovered from the gallery. An impression of the beetle Trachyderma hispida and its associated exoskeleton fragments provide new evidence of this species as a potential pest not yet reported from an archaeological grain storage site in Egypt. The finding of Tenebroides mauritanicus from the same deposit is the earliest known association of this pest with stored grains. These unique finds shed new light on the risks associated with preserving food supplies, combating pest infestation, and dealing with marine organisms on land and at sea in the pharaonic harbor.     

古代提花四经绞罗生产工艺探秘

中国古代提花四经绞罗工艺技术已失传,但其生产工艺神奇独特。为了复原其工艺,以长沙马王堆出土的杯型菱纹罗为复制对象,在四经绞罗地组织的穿综方法、提花四经绞罗纹部组织的穿综方法、提花方式的选择方面,改进了夏鼐和约翰贝克的方法,用两步开口方法成功地复制了织物。其参数为:总经4440根,幅宽:50cm,经密88.8根/cm,纬密18根/cm,经线纤度56D。此方法可供进一步探索四经绞罗的织造技术参考。     

中古时期一部重要的文献-《齐民要术》

《齐民要术》是中古时期一部重要的文献典籍,本文从《齐民要术》的作者、版本、内容、语言等方面介绍该书的情况,以期能够促进对于该书的文献整理和汉语史的研究工作。     

福建历史建筑瑰宝——仙游清代“乐善好施”坊

仙游地区的清代"乐善好施"坊,是地方官吏奉旨为捐资兴学、修桥、铺路的清代巨商陈天高构建的表彰性牌坊,它是福建省迄今保存最完整、文化内涵最丰富、雕刻工艺最精湛的清代功德坊建筑。作为地方有影响力的历史建筑,其产生的作用是巨大的,传统的慈善文化己成为中华文化的一个重要组成部分,根植在每一个中国人的心里,并世代传承下去。因此,"乐善好施"坊的作用已超出建筑本身,因而具有重要的历史和文化价值,是研究地方民俗文化、建筑文化和传统的慈善文化等诸多领域方面的重要依据。     

古代北方民族岩画创作艺术管见——以阿拉善右旗曼德拉山岩画为例

在内蒙古自治区最西部的阿拉善盟,就在有着"世界第三大沙漠"之称的巴丹吉林沙漠的边缘,分布着先民们创造的珍贵文化遗产--岩画.这些岩画分布地点繁多,而以阿拉善右旗曼德拉山分布的岩画最为密集.也最为著名.其创作的起始年代甚至可以早到旧石器时代末期,上万年以来一直绵延未辍.岩画的创造者也包括多个北方民族,实为众多民族的文化艺术瑰宝.     

First identification of an ancient Egyptian mummified human placenta

In the course of excavations at Thebes‐West, Upper Egypt, a human organ was recovered from the poorly preserved torso of a female mummy, which was archaeologically dated to the New Kingdom. In the field, the organ was tentatively identified as a liver, but without much certainty. After rehydration and fixation, histological observations led to a rejection of this diagnosis and resulted in the hypothesis that this organ could be a placenta. Comparative histology, performed on an experimentally mummified modern human placenta, revealed a close similarity of microstructural features, which strongly supports the diagnosis of the organ as a placenta. In this paper, we can therefore present the first report of an ancient Egyptian mummified human placenta and provide new insight into Egyptian funeral practices in general, and the fate of the excavated female in particular. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rowing: aspects of the ethnographic and iconographic evidence

L'aviron et les donnees ethnographiques et iconographiques S. McGRAIL AND A. FARRELL Les auteurs exposent les problèmes que soulève l'interprétation des données iconographiques et font quelques suggestions pour appliquer la terminologie de la nage dans ce domaine. Ils présentent aussi, à l'aide d'exemples ethnographiques, diverses méthodes de nage.     

Seleucia Pieria: an ancient harbour submitted to two successive uplifts

Historical sources ascribe the foundation of Seleucia (Seleukeia) Pieria to Seleucos I Nikator, shortly before the foundation of Antioch in the late 4th century BC. The Seleucia Pieria site seems however to have been inhabited earlier, perhaps from around 700 BC, possibly by a Greek population under an Assyrian ruler. The city became of considerable military importance during the wars between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids; it was occupied by the Romans in the 1st century BC, but had practically disappeared in the 6th century AD.
Geomorphological surveys in the area have revealed the existence of elevated marine notches and rims bioconstructed by vermetids, oysters and calcareous algae, which occasionally erode or intersect the archaeological sites, showing that two rapid land uplift movements, probably of seismic origin, took place during the late Holocene. The first movement, which occurred about 2500 ± 100 years bp, was the strongest one and caused a local vertical displacement of about 1.7 m, which may have severely affected the earlier Greek settlement. Though several earthquakes are reported to have occurred in the area during the following ten centuries, none of them seem to have been strong enough to cause significant vertical displacements. The second movement occurred around 1400 years bp, probably in May 526 AD, when a great earthquake followed by tsunami waves is known to have caused devastating damage in Antioch and Seleucia. According to geomorphological data supported by several radiocarbon dates, the earthquake was accompanied by a 0.7 to 0 8 m upheaval. This seismotectonic event also caused a rapid silting of the Seleucia Pieria closed harbour basin and entrances, thus preventing its further use.     

Rowing Ancient Warships: Evidence from a Newly-Published Ship-Model

A clay model of the 6th or 5th century BC may be evidence for the nature of ancient Mediterranean warships in general.
© 2007 The Author     

浅谈清紫檀雕莲叶龙纹宝座的修复

为了更好地把精美古家具呈现于大众,运用传统修复工艺对一件罕见清紫檀雕莲叶龙纹宝座进行修复.经过制订方案、清洗、拼对、粘合、补配、雕刻、打磨、组装、做旧、保养等步骤,使此文物得到了较好的修复效果.古家具修理是一项技术性与艺术性相结合的复杂工艺,需要许多知识的积累,也要有好的手艺.只有从文物实际情况出发,遵循文物修复的原则,才能“修旧如旧”,还文物原貌.     

Wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence analysis of ancient glasses*

The application of X‐ray fluorescence to the study of the composition of ancient glasses has been limited by the large amount of material required for samples. In this paper the setting of a reduced sampling XRF method for the analysis of ancient glasses is described. The method involves the preparation of glass beads by melting the sample with lithium tetraborate flux. By means of reference and synthetic samples, the method allows regression curves to be set, covering broad ranges from ppm to high concentrations. By means of a single program, up to 31 elements of interest in the study of ancient glass are analysed. The reproducibility, sensitivity and reliability of the method are discussed. The results demonstrate that 0.2 g of glass is sufficient to obtain accurate and sensitive analyses for most of the elements of interest.     

Hazor and egypt: An egyptological & ancient near-eastern perspective

T. Muraoka (ed), Studies in Ancient Hebrew Semantics (Abr‐Nahrain Supplement 4; Peeters Press, Leuven, 1995). Pp vii + 108.

Loren D. Crow, The Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–234). Their Place in Israelite History and Religion (SBLDS 148; Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1996. pp xiii +226).     

Development of an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay based on the monoclonal antibody of Bombyx mori to detect ancient silk

Identifying the traces and residues of unearthed silk fibres is crucial for further analysis and study. In this study, an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the monoclonal antibodies specific to Bombyx mori fibroin was developed in order to for detect ancient silk. Five monoclonal antibodies were successfully prepared based on fibroin hydrolysate, and four had a high specificity for mulberry silk. Furthermore, they could be used to discern B. mori fibre from tussah fibre and eri fibre. The ELISA standard curve of the most sensitive monoclonal antibody, anti‐Silk Fibroin (SF)‐3, was y = 0.022x + 0.177 (R² = 0.998), and the detection limit was 4.65 ng/ml. Using this antibody, we successfully identified five ancient mulberry silk samples from different time periods. The results suggest that ELISA assays based on monoclonal antibodies can be used as an immunological testing method for unearthed silk fibre.     

古诗之美

古诗之美,美不胜收：耐人寻味的语言美;复杂丰富的情感美;鲜活生动的形象美;深刻含蓄的思想美。只要我们时时修身炼性,扫除心灵的尘埃,我们就会心如明镜,发现古诗之美。