青铜器与青铜时代

青铜是指红铜（纯铜）与锡或铅等元素的合金,因表面色泽黄中泛白,略显青色而得名。青铜的熔点比红铜低,而硬度却比红铜高,所以具有较强的可塑性与较高的耐用性,适合于铸造各种器具。     

Sheep wool in Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe

This study presents the results of a series of wool measurements from Bronze Age and Iron Age skins and textiles from Hallstatt, and Bronze Age textiles from Scandinavia and the Balkans. A new method of classification that was set up and applied on mostly mineralised Iron Age material has now been applied to a large body of non-mineralised material from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Three types of microscopes were used and their advantages and disadvantages assessed. The results of the investigation cast new light on sheep breeding and fibre processing in prehistoric Europe, and suggest that different sheep breeds existed in Bronze Age Europe.     

Lithic technology and obsidian exchange networks in Bronze Age Nuragic Sardinia (Italy)

The study of the Sardinian Bronze Age (Nuragic period) and the factors which created and maintained an island-wide identity as seen through the presence of its distinctive nuraghi has received considerable attention; however, the amount of research directly related to the stone tools of the era has been relatively limited despite the wealth of knowledge it is capable of yielding. This research hopes to contribute to Sardinian archaeology through the study of ancient technology, specifically obsidian lithic technology, by combining typological information with source data gleaned from the use of portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. This research also explores temporal changes in the acquisition of obsidian raw materials and the corresponding changes in how the obsidian was used. The results provide precedence for future work in Sardinia and create a model for integrating two types of analyses, sourcing and typological. By combining these results, it is possible to investigate ancient economies, exchange networks, and cultural values.     

辽东地区青铜时代石棺墓葬及相关问题研究

本文从石棺墓葬的形制入手,根据墓葬本身的结构特点将石棺墓划分类型,并结合各类型墓葬中出土的随葬品组合特征,探讨了辽东地区青铜时代各类型石构墓葬的发展与演变过程,并对它们之间的相互关系及文化属性做进一步分析与研究.     

Size and Distribution of the Population in Late Bronze Age Messenia: Some Statistical Approaches

Abstract

The region of Messenia in extreme SW Greece has recently received unusual attention not only from archaeologists but also from philologists, historians, and various social and natural scientists. This article represents an attempt to synthesize some of the data thus generated in order to explore the locational concerns of the inhabitants in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 B.C.). Some statistical techniques are used to generate a prediction of the regional population, to investigate the differential distribution of the population over the varied landscape, and to attempt to understand the significance of the population distribution in terms of the social and economic organization of the developed kingdom of Pylos (13th century B.C.).     

Turquoise Mine and Artefact Correlation for Some Bronze Age Archaeological Sites in Hubei Province,China

In China, there are places that are rich in gem‐quality turquoise resources, including north‐west Hubei Province and the nearby Baihe County in Shaanxi Province, and many ancient mining sites, although the mining history remains a mystery. Based on the compositional data from reference samples of known deposits, a comparison of the major and trace element contents of archaeological turquoise may help with determination of artefact provenance. This paper discusses new evidence of provenance‐tracking of turquoise in this area, obtained from geochemical analyses using REE and other trace elements of 22 turquoises and their surrounding rock samples from six ancient mines and three archaeological sites. The results indicate that the three archaeological turquoises from the tomb of the Middle Spring and Autumn Period (580–560 bc ) and the Warring States Period (476–221 bc ) in Hubei Province were made of raw material from north‐west Hubei Province and the nearby Baihe County in Shaanxi Province. [Correction added on 29 October 2014, after first online publication: In the preceding sentence, the correct dates for the Middle Spring and Autumn Period, and the Warring States Period have been added]     

关于青铜器定名的几点思考——从伯湄父簋的定名谈起

本文从分析一件定名有争议的青铜器--伯湄父簋入手,认为青铜器的定名是个十分复杂的问题,不能孤立地看待某一件器物,必须了解这一类器物发展、演变的全过程,以及它与其它器物(同出的陶器和其它铜器)的关联与区别,才能把握住它的性质,给它以正确定名.利用这些定名原则与方法,本文总结出包括伯湄父簋在内的豆形簋的基本特征以及它与豆的区别,认为伯湄父器是簋而不是豆,并据此分析了其它几件定名上有争议的青铜器.     

为成吉思汗之死问题说几句话

作者用《蒙古秘史》、《史集》、《蒙兀儿史记》等八种文献记载的史实,辩驳了所谓"成吉思汗是被西夏打死的"、"成吉思汗是被西夏打伤后逃走而亡的"等错误说法.其次,对西夏灭亡后,西夏人到哪里去了的问题,谈了自己的看法.最后还简单介绍了世界上有很多国家或地区,研究成吉思汗的状况.     

Some remarks on ethnicity in medieval archaeology

Recent critiques of the culture‐historical approach to ethnicity have denounced the idea that archaeological cultures are ‘actors’ on the historical stage, playing the role that known individuals or groups have in documentary history. But the critique has gone as far as to claim that, because archaeologists supposedly have no access to the meaning of cultural traditions, medieval ethnicity cannot be studied by archeological means. Ethnicity should be banned from all discussions, if medieval archaeology is to make any progress in the future. The paper examines the theoretical malaise at the root of this scepticism verging on nihilism. The understanding of the archaeological record not as an imprint, but as a text allows for much learning about meaning in the past. Symbols, style and power are the key concepts that currently guide anthropological research on ethnicity as a ‘social construction of primordiality’. As several archaeological examples show, medieval ethnicity was a form of social mobilization used in order to reach certain political goals. Ethnic identity was built upon some pre‐existing cultural identity, in a prototypic manner.     

Some types of vertebral pathologies in the Argar Culture (Bronze Age,SE Spain)

A collection of 1825 vertebrae belonging to 105 individuals from several Argaric Culture sites (Bronze Age, SE of Spain) were studied. Several pathologies that could provide information about activity patterns were analysed, including spondylolysis, compression fractures and Schmorl's nodes. Spondylolysis appears exclusively in men. Compression fractures seem to be more related to age (osteoporosis) and are more frequent in women, but without statistical significance. Schmorl's nodes affect a large number of the individuals studied, with a slight predominance in men; there are no differences by age. The results obtained were compared with the available archaeological and anthropological information, which shows a clear division of activities by sex in the Argaric population. The validity of studying these pathologies as activity patterns is discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Middle Bronze Age Ramparts: Functional and Symbolic Structures

Abstract

The Middle Bronze Age is a period of urban rebirth, with one of its hallmarks being massive earthworks surrounding cities. These structures have been studied extensively, with traditional interpretations of their function revolving around defensive aspects. However several scholars have called into question the validity of these interpretations, offering alternative explanations revolving around more “social” reasons. The present paper suggests that while the structures were constructed for protecting the city and its inhabitants, this only strengthens its “social” symbolism. Of major importance to its symbolism is the effect the ramparts had on the landscape, altering it permanently, and giving an impression of controlling the landscape.     

Bronze Age boundaries and social exchange in north-west Cyprus

Summary.   During the Late Bronze Age a number of towns engaged in copper production and overseas trade arose throughout the coastal regions of Cyprus. While some of these towns were located within a few kilometres of major ore deposits in the Troodos Mountains, others were situated much farther away, and presumably acquired their copper supplies through extensive networks of exchange. This paper addresses the question of how such networks may have been structured in north-western and north central Cyprus, within and adjacent to the research area of the Sydney Cyprus Survey Project. Based on our analyses of site locational factors, we propose the co-existence of at least two distinct networks of copper procurement and transport. Consideration of the finds from settlement and mortuary sites in the northern Troodos and Mesaoria plain suggests a pattern of hierarchical exchange relations between coastal and inland regions.     

Stone circles and the structure of Bronze Age society

Analyses of modern human societies have consistently demonstrated the presence of recurrent grouping levels forming a nested, hierarchical structure. That this structure exists in both hunter-gatherer and western industrialized societies suggests that it may be a fundamental organizing principle of considerable antiquity. Stone circles are perceived as being foci of aggregation for prehistoric groups and thus provide a proxy for the sizes of those aggregations. Combining an empirical analysis of a sample of 140 stone circles with a Monte Carlo simulation model that derives expectations for a continuous size distribution based on the nested hierarchy concept, the current paper suggests that similar organizing principles were already in place during the Bronze Age. Furthermore, it is suggested that findings traditionally attributed to the operation of the ‘rank-size rule’ may in fact reflect the basic underlying structure of human society.     

香港的青铜时代及其分段

早在 2 0世纪 2 0年代 ,香港地区就有了考古活动。 2 0世纪 70年代 ,特别是 80年代以来 ,为了配合工程建设 ,香港地区进行了大量的考古工作 ,迄今为止 ,发现认为是青铜时代的遗址达 2 6处① ,石刻数处。目前已有条件对香港青铜时代及其遗存作一初步探索。一、香港青铜时代的确认在学术界 ,对香港青铜时代这一基本问题有不同的看法。这些看法是在一些文章中顺带提出来的。大多数学者认为香港的史前人们经历过这个时代② ;也有学者认为香港为青铜文明的边缘地带 ,迄今为止未发现过本地区特征性的青铜器 ,因而是否经历过青铜时代还有待深入的探…     

Crane and vulture at an Italian Bronze Age site

Bones of a crane (probably Grus grus) and a large vulture have been found in middle Bronze Age levels of the southern Italian site of La Starza. It is suggested that these birds may have been hunted for their feathers. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.