关系模型数据库在动物考古学中的应用

前言与其他人文学科相比,考古学与自然科学相关学科的关系更为密切。这是因为考古学的诞生就与借鉴地质学和生物学的方法有关,及考古学自始至今,利用自然科学相关学科的方法与技术进行研究的过程也从未间断。从考古学的研究目标被定义为"以考古遗存重建相关人群的生活方式"^[1]中也可以看出,考古学既是人文科学,也是自然科学。在考古学研究中运用自然科学相关学科的方法     

动物考古学中的昆虫研究

《动物考古学中的昆虫研究》是一篇动物考古学研究新领域的介绍文章。考古研究显示,昆虫与古代人类生活的关系十分密切,田野考古发现的一些特殊的遗迹现象或遗物可能与人类利用昆虫的行为有关。昆虫遗存是动物考古学的研究对象之一,对此可以进行多方面研究,如复原古气候和古环境,古生物的地理分布,遗迹形成的时间,遗址埋藏的过程,古代人类的生活水平和驯养家畜的行为,等等。在我国已经开始从动物考古学的角度对昆虫遗存进行研究,例如,在青海大通长宁遗址的浮选结果中就出现了炭化的昆虫遗骸。     

免疫学方法在科技考古学中的应用

通过免疫学的分析可以鉴定不同来源血液的种属。对古代器物表面的血液残留物进行种属鉴定,在石器用途研究、动物区系重建以及古人类食物来源分析等领域具有重要意义。介绍了免疫学在考古学中应用的基本理论及方法,对国外学者运用免疫学方法进行考古学研究的概况做了综述,对相关问题进行了探讨。     

浅谈数字化测量技术在田野考古中的应用

本文结合多个考古测量工作,就数字化测量技术如何在考古测量中的应用进行了有益的尝试,并取得了较好的成果。     

色度测量在文物考古中的应用

颜色的定量判断、描述和比较是文物考古中的重要内容。色度测量可以快速、准确、无损地获取研究对象的颜色数据,对其计算分析,可得到更多信息。目前,色度测量已被广泛应用于科技考古和文物保护的实际工作中。本文结合国内外文献,对色度测量方法在文物考古中的应用和研究现状进行梳理后发现色度测量能够有效地帮助解决以下问题:研究文物呈色机制和制作工艺;评价文物清洗效果和保护材料的颜色稳定性;分析环境因素对文物色彩的影响。随着色度学理论和方法的完善和发展,以及与其他分析技术和方法等的结合,优化的色度测量条件、对颜色数据计算处理后得到的文物色貌模型和数字颜色管理系统将在文物考古研究中发挥更大的作用。     

分歧与整合:公共考古学基本理论问题的探讨

一、导言随着后现代主义哲学思潮(Postmoder-nism)席卷全球,科学的合法性问题(Legiti-macy of Science)受到了普遍质疑[1],以理性为本位的宏大理论构建已经无法满足人类对于世界的认识[2],现代科学自身的保守性和功利性已经阻碍了科学的发展。后现代主义对科学的方法进行了解构,对权威话语的逻各斯(Logic)的中心主义进行了颠覆[3],人本主义、人文关怀成为后现代主义的主要诉求之一。正     

生物学和分子生物学在考古学研究中的应用

本文就生物学技术,特别是分子生物学技术在考古学研究中的应用进行了综述。主要介绍植 物硅酸体分析技术在农业起源研究中的应用,人和动物骨骼学应用于人类起源和进化、畜牧业的起 源和发展等研究领域。还简单介绍了分子生物学的一些基础知识。并重点论述了分子生物学技术, 如线粒体ＤＮＡ分析技术和Ｙ－染色体ＤＮＡ分析技术在人类起源和现代人种族起源研究中的应 用。ＤＮＡ分析技术在农作物和家畜的起源和进化研究中亦发挥着作用。     

原始形态体育器械的考古学分析——史前劳动工具与原始形态的体育器械

人类文化的产生,由某种意义上说,是从人类的劳动开始的,而人类的劳动又是从制造工具开始的。因此,工具的出现,就意味着人类生产活动的肇始,意味着人类以工具为手段在改变自然界的同时,进而改变人类自身的开始。具有自觉意识的人类的活动,在迈上原始体育形态的第一步台阶时,劳动工具的使用起着重要作用。人类原始的劳动工具,是一种多用途的"人工器官",因此,史前的劳动工具,是反映原始人类文化形态的显著标志。这些工具既是人类同大自然进行斗争的工具,在一定程度上,又是进行身体运动的主要辅助手段。当原始生产工具由于加工技术的发展而不断进步的时候,它们也开始被用于人类进行自身改造的活动中去。从人类利用工具作为器械在改造自然界的同时,进行有意识地自身改造开始,人类原始的体育形态就形成了。但这一发展却经历了极其漫长的过程,在这一漫长的过程中,原始的体育运动器械处于和生产工具不分的状态,即主要用于狩猎、采集的许多生产工具,在一定程度上也被用于身体练习和娱乐活动。如旧石器在晚期,除了石球、石镞和石矛几种新器形的出现外,还有斧形小石刀,雕刻器、钻头等。这些主要是作为切、刮、剥工具来应用于人们生活中的。不过,像小石刀等,后来多数是作为复合工具使用的,因此,它对石镞,石矛等复合工具的发展,也产生了一定的影响。因此,原始生产工具的不断发展进步,也就潜在地为专用原始体育器械的诞生作好了准备。原始社会后期,随着生产力的发展,人类文化的进步和人类活动方式的扩大,许多生产工具在功能方面开始分化。虽然这时的工具仍以石器为主。但在制作方式上,磨制的已占多数,且更为精致,器形种类也大大增多了;同时,骨、角、蚌、木、陶等质料的工具也更加丰富。这一方面反映了人们的经济生活提高了,生活的手段增强了,同时,适应人类运动形式的需要,也演化出了一些颇具专门化的运动器械。但更重要的一点是,工具的改进,为人类文化形态的发展提供了物质前提。对原始体育形态来说,工具的进步与类型的增加,为人们提供了更加丰富的活动手段,在一定程度上,扩大了人们在原始体育上的活动方式。通过考古资料所反映的原始时代工具的发展和功能特点的转化,可以看出原始体育形态从形成到逐步发展的事实。旧石器时代的工具,种类少,形式简单,且多为一器多用。像刮削器、砍砸器、尖状器,甚至石镞、石球等,所显示出的原始体育活动的某些功能只是间接的,其主要特点还是作为当时人类生存谋生的手段。至新石器时代,随着社会和原始经济生活的进步,人们活动领域和内容的扩展,许多工具已经不是生产工具与劳动对象的简单接触所产生的了。这些经过人们精心设计的工具,在原始体育文化的发展中产生了重要的作用,一是许多工具在最初由适应狩猎业和原始农业,逐渐也具有了原始体育活动器械的功能;一是出现了直接用于原始体育活动的器械。这两种变化,使原始的生产、生活工具在推动原始体育形态从其他社会活动中完全分离转化出来,并向文明时代体育形态演化创造了条件。     

Early Neolithic pig domestication at Jiahu,Henan Province,China: clues from molar shape analyses using geometric morphometric approaches

The zooarchaeology of pig domestication in China is a challenging task due to its wild boar ancestors being widespread throughout Eurasia. However using geometric morphometric approaches on molar tooth (M₂), shape and size variations, from modern and Neolithic suids, using Yangshao pigs as a surrogate for the Neolithic domestic form, we have addressed the identification of morphological change during the early step of domestication in three early Neolithic sites where claims of pig domestication have been made. Phenetic relationships here have revealed clear and interpretable phenotypic signatures in the samples of modern and Neolithic pigs; which provide evidence for pig domestication at the site of Jiahu from at least 6600 BC cal., re-establishing the Yellow River region as one of the earliest centre of independent Chinese pig domestication.     

Comparison of 3D Landmark and 3D Dense Cloud Approaches to Hominin Mandible Morphometrics Using Structure‐From‐Motion

The objective of this study is to compare landmark‐based assessment of hominin mandible morphological variation with that from a high‐density point cloud, using 3D models constructed from structure‐from‐motion (SfM) surface capture techniques. Surface models of nine hominin mandible casts were created using SfM photogrammetry. The morphology of these models was described using traditional geometric morphometrics based on identification of landmarks. This was compared to the morphological variation described by the differences between high‐density point clouds, which do not rely on anatomical landmarks, using an iterative closest point algorithm. The landmark‐based approach grouped the anatomically modern human and Neanderthal mandibles with reasonable success. The high‐density point cloud approach also grouped these successfully, but was able to incorporate information from a specimen that was insufficiently preserved to be included in the landmark data set. This improved the accuracy of the grouping. The use of high‐density point clouds from surface capture to analyse hominin mandible morphology allows for greater amounts of information to be included and offers a potential method to identify shape affinity that is as successful as landmark‐based geometric morphometrics.     

Zooarchaeology in Complex Societies: Political Economy, Status, and Ideology

The zooarchaeology of complex societies provides insights into the interrelated social and economic relationships that people and animals created. I present a synthesis of zooarchaeological research published since the early 1990s that addresses political economy, status distinctions, and the ideological and ritual roles of animals in complex cultures. I address current approaches and applications as well as theoretical shifts in zooarchaeological practice. Research indicates there is great variability across space and time in how past peoples used animals to generate economic surplus, to establish status differentiation within societies, and to create symbolic meaning through sacrifices, offerings, and in feasts. The study of human/animal interactions in complex societies can contribute to fundamental questions of broad relevance regarding political and social life.     

Meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry

Identifying spatial and temporal variation in animal exploitation patterns is essential for building our understanding of the transition from hunting to stock-keeping. Quantitative analysis of the published records of over 400,000 animal bones recovered from 114 archaeological sites from SW Asia and SE Europe from c12 ka to c7.5 ka cal BP (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) demonstrates significant spatiotemporal variability in faunal exploitation patterns. Sites in the Euphrates region show adoption of domestic taxa by c10.5 ka cal BP, although on average these taxa contribute less than 10% to total assemblage size. This rises to a median of about 40% by c9.5 ka cal BP, and then to about 45% of total NISP by c8.5 ka cal BP. By c10.5 ka in the Tigris and Zagros region domesticates contribute less than 5% to faunal assemblages, but then rise to a median of about 20% by c9.5 ka and 40% by c8.4 ka cal BP. In contrast, Levantine sites have low numbers of domestic taxa (<1%) until c8.8 ka cal BP, when the proportion dramatically increases to a median of about 35%. This apparent delayed-adoption pattern also holds true for the southern Levant, which shows, on average, low levels (<1%) of domestic taxa until 8.8 ka cal BP, at which point domesticates contribute a median of about 10% to assemblages. In the northern parts of SW Asia, the mid- to late-10th millennium cal BP is pivotal, as proportions of domestic taxa show a dramatic increase in frequency during this time, and the ‘package’ of domestic sheep, goat, cattle and pig becomes more firmly established. This sets the trend for sites of the 9th millennium and the appearance of Neolithic communities in SE Europe from the 8th millennium cal BP onwards, from which point domestic animals are ubiquitous in faunal assemblages.     

Quantifying Ship Shape in Archaeology: Evaluating 3D Geometric Morphometrics

The analysis of the archaeological remains of ships and boats, in particular hull shapes, have been central to wider analysis of performance, function, and significance within past societies. This article reviews established methods of quantifying shape in ship and boat archaeology—linear measurement ratios and form coefficients—and evaluates the utility of 3D geometric morphometrics (GM). The 3D shape of 30 vessels from north‐west Europe dating between 325 BC and AD 1915 are quantified to study how hull shape relates to a vessel's function and intended operating environment. A comparison of the three methods highlights the importance of analysing the complexity of a hull in a holistic manner and demonstrates that 3D GM outperforms the traditional methods.     

Standardisation in 3D Geometric Morphometrics: Ethics,Ownership, and Methods

The collection and analysis of 3D digital data is a rapidly growing field in archaeology, anthropology, and forensics. Even though the 3D scanning of human remains in archaeology has been conducted for over 10 years, it is still frequently considered as a new field. Despite this, the availability of 3D scanning equipment and the number of studies employing these methods are increasing rapidly, and it is arguably damaging to the validity of this field to continue to consider these methods new and therefore not subject to the same standardisations as other researches. This paper considers the current issues regarding the lack of standardisation in the methods, ethics, and ownership of 3D digital data with a focus on human remains research. The aim of this paper is to stimulate further research and discussion, allowing this field to develop, improving the quality and value of future research.     

Traditional pig herding practices in southwest Iberia: Questions of scale and zooarchaeological implications

Archaeological interpretations are interwoven with analogical reasoning. This paper presents a large volume of ethnographic data on traditional pig husbandry in modern Iberia and discusses their zooarchaeological importance. Europe-based ethnoarchaeological studies on traditional pig husbandry (e.g., in Sardinia/Corsica and Greece) have only recently made their appearance and have been proved environmentally and geographically more relevant than similar studies carried out in Asia. This paper presents archaeologically relevant data on a great variety of themes such as pig morphology, adaptation in and exploitation of environment, herd size and composition, the relations between wild and domestic populations, castration, breeding, genetic diversity, slaughtering practices, age-at-death, home range, control and movements, diet, weight, agricultural damage and products. The results show that traditional systems of animal husbandry do survive in Europe and their study widens and improves our interpretative framework. This Iberian-based study showed that domestic pig morphology is the combined result of the breeder’s selection and the pig’s adaptation to a given environment and husbandry system. Moreover, scale is a crucial factor significantly affecting all other aspects of a husbandry system.     

Uluburun shipwreck stowaway house mouse: molar shape analysis and indirect clues about the vessel's last journey

Human translocation by stowaway transport is the widely accepted vector of the current worldwide distribution of commensal rodents but its historical process has never been directly evidenced. The anecdotal find of the small murine (mice and rats) mandible among the wealthy cargo of the Uluburun shipwreck provide us with an unexpected opportunity to directly evidence the species associated with this stowaway and provide indirect clues regarding the ship's route. Taxonomic identification and geographic sourcing has been performed using outline molar shape analysis by Elliptic Fourier Transform comparing the Uluburun mouse molar phenotype with extant populations from eastern Mediterranean sibling species. Results showed that the mandible belonged to the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) with significant phenotypic similarities with extant Syrian house mouse populations. These results provide the earliest direct evidence for stowaway transports highlighting the historical process of the house mouse invasion of the Mediterranean. Using modern behavioural comparisons, combined with archaeological and historical sources, it has been argued that the servicing port of Ugarit (Minet el Beida) was a likely step on the vessel's last journey.     

Shape Change and Variation in the Cranial Morphology of Wild Canids (Canis lupus,Canis latrans,Canis rufus) Compared to Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) Using Geometric Morphometrics

Wild canid populations exhibit different anatomical morphologies compared to domesticated dogs in North America. This is particularly important concerning archaeological sites, which may contain early domesticated species, for the proper identification of osteological remains. Previous studies have indicated domestic dogs exhibit a shorter rostrum accompanied by a crowded tooth row; however, none describe the overall complexity of these changes. Consequently, using a landmark‐based geometric morphometric analysis, cranial morphological characteristics were examined in North American wild canids: the gray wolf (Canis lupus), coyote (Canis latrans), red wolf (Canis rufus), and the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). The shape and size of the cranium in lateral and ventral views were compared between the three wild species to the group of domesticated dogs. Wild canids clustered separately from the domestic group in all statistical analyses. Results indicate an expansion of the orbital region, a compression of the rostrum, and an overall warping in the shape and orientation of the skull. In domestic species, there is also a downward shift in the frontal portion of the skull accompanied by the braincase assuming a more upward position. This technique successfully depicted how slight changes in isolated areas of the cranium can have an impact on the overall shape and morphology of the skull. We presume these changes in cranial anatomy reflect the recent selective pressures domestic dogs have undergone since diverging from their wild ancestors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.