旧石器时代人类对赭石的利用

赭石是史前遗址中较为多见的一类遗物。西方学者对赭石的研究较为深入,其重点是功能分析,常见的研究方法是民族考古和实验考古。近年来,新的思路和方法不断被应用到赭石研究中,研究者从赭石上提取的古人类行为信息更加丰富。中国的部分旧石器遗址中也发现了一定数量的赭石,不过研究深度与西方尚有一定差距。本文旨在介绍非洲、欧洲旧石器时代赭石的发现与研究状况,总结研究方法,希望能够为中国的赭石研究提供借鉴。     

华北地区旧石器时代晚期的文化交流

旧石器时代晚期我国华北地区古人类文化呈现出多样性。本文通过对华北地区旧石器时代晚期遗址出土的石叶石器、细石器、骨器、装饰品的比较,阐述这一时期华北地区遗址之间存在的某种联系和文化交流。另外,本文还对近年来学者关于人类迁徙等问题的讨论提出了一些看法。     

将人类文明的火种传播公众 周口店遗址社会教育的探索与实践

正周口店遗址是世界上同时期中材料最丰富、最齐全和最有价值的古人类遗址及古生物遗址群,在世界古人类文化遗存中占有突出的地位。以遗址为依托的周口店遗址博物馆作为世界著名的史前古人类遗址博物馆,以其广泛而丰富的社会教育资源,成为北京乃至全国重要的科普基地。1992年,博物馆被北京市政府授予"北京市青少年教育基地"称号;1997年,博物馆被中宣部列为"全国百家爱国主义教育示范基地"。"市院共建"后,周口店遗址博物馆充分利用独特而丰富的古人类文化资源,发挥博物馆的社会教育功能,科普工作更富有开拓性、建设性和鲜明的时代特征。     

要闻

<正>安徽东至华龙洞遗址发现猿人头骨化石安徽省东至县华龙洞古人类遗址发掘现场11月20日传来消息,经多次发掘已出土20余件古人类化石、古人类制作使用的石器和6000余件脊椎动物化石,其中还包含1件古人类头骨化石。专家称,根据对发现的古人类化石形态的初步观察并结合对动物群组成的分析,可以确定在华龙洞发现的古人类化石     

山东滕州市前掌大墓地出土人骨的碳、氮稳定同位素分析

前言人骨稳定同位素δ13C(δ碳十三)、δ15N(δ氮十五)研究是古人类食物状况研究的主要方法[1],δ13C分析可以推测古人类的主食结构,而δ15N分析可以告诉我们其食肉状况,结合其他考古遗存的综合研究,越来越多的考古遗址人类食物状况得到揭示[2],特别是许多缺乏文字资料的史前遗址,这成     

试论鄂尔多斯乌兰木伦遗址第1地点的性质和功能

鄂尔多斯乌兰木伦遗址是2010年新发现的一处旧石器时代旷野遗址,经过多年发掘出土大量石制品、动物化石、颜料块和火塘等遗迹现象。石制品组合和拼合、动物考古埋藏学以及用火遗迹表明乌兰木伦遗址属于原地埋藏,较好地保存了古人类原料采集、预剥片、剥片、加工和使用的完整动态链,表明该遗址具有石器制造场的性质。大量动物碎骨、骨骼上的切割痕迹以及火塘和烧骨的发现表明在乌兰木伦遗址还发生了屠宰动物的行为和生活行为。综合来看,乌兰木伦遗址是一个多功能的古人类活动营地。     

穷物理

<正>周口店第1地点古人类用火证据研究新进展周口店第1地点古人类用火证据是该遗址一系列重大科学发现中的一项重要内容,在很长时期内,作为同类遗存中最早的记录及其分析论证结果被国际学术界广泛接受。从20世纪80年代中期开始在这一问题上出现争议,其后开展的埋藏学和地球化学分析又得出进一步否定的结论。但周口店遗址     

贵州古人类学三十年──兼谈多学科考古运用前景

贵州古人类学,从材料发现到遗址问世和众多研究成果展示。迄今已有三十年（1964－－1994）。通过考古工作者几代人的努力,目前共调查发现有关古人类遗址和地点达60处（席克定,1993）。其中,经试掘和发掘能肯定为古人类遗址的地点约有44处。有十四处已被列为全国重要古人类地点（《中国远古人类》1987）。桐梓猿人地点被列为世界古人类的重要地点（《NationalGeoraphic》1985）。盘县大洞遗址被列为1993年度中国十大考古新闻之首。三十年里调查采集地点共44处。对其中的19处遗址分别进行了18次发掘和13次试掘清理。获得了丰富的实物和资…     

我是怎样发现王府井古人类遗迹的

岁末年初,北京东方广场工地上发现的古人类活动遗址成为京城百姓街谈巷议的热门话题,这不仅因为遗址位于繁华的王府井商业街,而且因为这一振奋人心的重大考古发现首次证实:人类在大约一万多年以前即已从洞穴来到了平原。截止本刊发稿时,王府井古人类活动遗址的抢救性挖掘工作仍在紧张地进行,到底还会挖出什么样的“宝贝”?重见天日的文物究竟会传递出什么样的文化信息?一连串的不解之谜业已摆在人们的面前,这将有待于考古学家的科学发掘和缜密研究。对此,我们和所有关心先民生活状态的人们一样抱有浓厚的兴趣。我们相信,人们同样关注这个遗址上所掘文物的归宿。倘若如许多专家所提议的那样,在东方广场建造一个“北京古人类遗址博物馆”,那么,举世闻名的王府井商业街将会由于这一难得的历史人文景观而增添无穷的魅力。 关于王府井古人类活动遗址的发现经过,已有的新闻报道中有一些失实之处,本刊为此特发表岳升阳博士的《我是怎样发现王府井古人类遗迹的》,以飨读者。     

泖州史前遗址群

柳州地处桂中,自然环境和气候适宜古人类繁衍生息。1958年发现的柳江人化石,在国内外引起极大的震动,成为历史和考古教科书的重要内容。此后,柳州又先后发现了一批史前时期古人类文化遗址,对构建柳州地方史前史和开展国际古人类研究有着十分重要的意义和影响。     

战后中西人文地理学比较研究

回顾二战以来以美、英为代表的西方和中国人文地理学的发展历程,从学科地位与学科体系、哲学思想及思维方式、研究方法与应用领域等方面将两者作以比较,以期更好地了解、借鉴国外经验,为结合我国实际,构建二十一世纪新型的具有中国特色的人文地理学提供借鉴与参考。     

Ochre Provenance and Procurement Strategies During The Middle Stone Age at Diepkloof Rock Shelter,South Africa

Usually referred to in archaeological contexts simply as ‘ochre’, ferruginous rocks were commonly used during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in South Africa. While ochre use by early modern humans has often been interpreted as reflecting complex behaviours, related procurement strategies and selection criteria remain poorly documented. Eight ochre sources from the surroundings of Diepkloof rock shelter in South Africa and 28 ochre pieces from the site's MSA levels were studied by XRD, ICP–OES and ICP–MS. Mineralogical and geochemical data demonstrate that ochre was both locally procured and transported to the site from more distant sources. Here, we investigate the reasons underlying the choice of particular local and non‐local ochre sources exploited at Diepkloof, emphasizing differences in their physico‐chemical properties. Regardless of the motivations behind ochre selection, our data shed new light on the behavioural complexity of MSA societies and suggest that ochre procurement strategies may be independent of subsistence concerns.     

Identifying grinding,scoring and rubbing use-wear on experimental ochre pieces

Ochre pieces were used experimentally for a variety of grinding, scoring and rubbing activities to record and compare the use-wear markings that each activity creates on the ochre piece. Ochre that is ground on coarse or fine-grained slabs develops parallel striations that cover the surface of the piece. The striations have unfrayed ends. Grinding is the only activity that results in significant changes to the surface shape of the ochre, producing a plane. When ochre is scored either to create a deliberate design or to produce powder, the grooves that form often do not reach all the edges of the used surface and they regularly have frayed terminations. This demonstrates that the incisions were created by multiple scoring strokes. When ochre is scored to manufacture ochre powder the incisions that are generated are parallel groups of grooves with erratically oriented grooves as well. Bone and wooden tools are soft and they therefore do not generally create obvious incisions on ochre pieces. Grooves created through grinding on a slab or scoring with a stone tool have microstriations within them and they show a range of profile shapes. The most common use-wear from rubbing ochre on animal hide, human skin, human hair and wood is smoothing, edge rounding and polish, although incisions and microstriations also occur occasionally. Residues are often left on an ochre piece after rubbing or scoring with organic materials. The comparative collection of macro- and microscopic use-wear marks from experimentally ground, scored and rubbed ochre is useful as an aid to classifying archaeological collections of ochre.     

The role of shellfish in hunter–gatherer societies during the Early Upper Palaeolithic: A view from El Cuco rockshelter,northern Spain

The role of coastal resources in the subsistence strategies of Palaeolithic human populations has only recently become an important topic in Old World archaeology. Information on the exploitation of these resources, both as foodstuffs and symbolic elements, can be used to infer the emergence of modern human behaviour as well as to track the diversification and intensification of human diet over time. The excavations carried out at El Cuco rockshelter, located in northern Spain have provided evidence for the exploitation of marine resources during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. The accumulation of Patella shells at El Cuco provides the largest accumulation and the first clear evidence of collection and consumption of molluscs during the Aurignacian on the Atlantic Façade of Europe. A deposit of ornamental shells appeared in a very homogeneous context dated to the Gravettian, suggesting that the shells belonged to the same item. The analysis of this evidence has allowed us to conclude that marine resources were systematically used at least from the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic in the region. However, a comparison with the Mesolithic shows that intensive shellfish gathering did not occur until the end of the Upper Palaeolithic. Regarding the ornaments, it is interpreted that the identified shell beads were used as social or personal status markers.     

Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data

The increase in the presence of ‘ochre’ in African Middle Stone Age contexts has been employed, together with changes in human biology and behaviour, to support the hypothesis that ‘modern’ cognitive abilities arose in Africa. The consistent exploitation of ochre is interpreted as evidence for colour symbolism, a proxy for the origin of language and a defining aspect of ‘modern’ human behaviour. That humans attached considerable symbolic value to red ochres in particular is illustrated by ethnographic examples. Research has shown that wear patterns indicative of abrasive processing methods prevail, but many archaeological specimens also exhibit wear traces not derived from grinding or scraping alone. Building on former research, I present here the results of an experimental study devised to infer the methods employed to extract powder from ochre during the African Middle Stone Age. The prospect of ascertaining at least some of the likely uses to which ochre may have been put, is also explored. I conclude that functional data derived from actualistic experiments can be used to enhance our understanding of some aspects of prehistoric behaviour.     

世界遗产:现代人类中心主义的实证

面对全球性的生态危机,人类中心主义遭到种种质疑,现代人类中心主义应运而生。现代人类中心主义的产生与可持续发展战略的提出不仅具有时间上的相关性,而且具有相同的问题背景,二者的价值取向有着惊人的一致。只有自觉地坚持现代人类中心主义,人类才有可能有效地实施可持续发展战略,实现真正意义上的可持续发展。现代人类中心主义在实践上的全面落实是一个相当长的历史过程,在当前历史条件下,世界遗产为现代人类中心主义提供了实证,并可望成为实现现代人类中心主义的典范。     

The Source of Iron‐Oxide Pigments Used in Pecos River Style Rock Paints

The likely sources of iron‐oxide pigments used in prehistoric rock paintings in the Lower Pecos Archaeological Region were identified on the basis of chemical fingerprinting using LA–ICP–MS. The chemical signatures of 13 red rock paint samples collected from two south‐west Texas sites were compared with three potential source materials (ochre, siltstone and rhyolite), and two pigment cakes (crayons) that were excavated near the sampling sites. The significant chemical similarities between the paint and siltstones suggest that siltstone was used as the source of the colour. The overlapping chemical signatures for one of the pigment cakes and siltstone further suggests that some of the prehistoric people inhabiting the area 3000–4000 years ago had acquired the skills to extract iron oxide from siltstone and process it into paint pigments.     

Differentiating bamboo from stone tool cut marks in the zooarchaeological record,with a discussion on the use of bamboo knives

The archaeological record of Southeast Asia is marked by a relative lack of Acheulian assemblages compared with the rest of the Old World. Suggestions that prehistoric human populations in this area relied instead on a non-lithic technology based on bamboo have not been supported by archaeological evidence. To provide a diagnostic means of assessing prehistoric use of bamboo, cut marks were experimentally produced on bone using chert tools and bamboo knives. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination revealed morphological differences in cut marks produced by the two materials that allow identification of bamboo knife cut marks on faunal materials. Such evidence, if found in Pleistocene through early Holocene archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, would indicate early human reliance on bamboo technology.     

Paradigms in science and archaeology

The paradigm concept as developed in western philosophy of science contexts is reviewed, and the metaphysical paradigms that govern research protocols in mainstream Old and New World prehistoric archaeology are described and compared. It is concluded that post-1970 New World archaeological research receives its intellectual mandate from anthropology, is founded on postpositivist biases, and is governed by a critical-realist ontology, a modified-objectivist epistemology, and an experimental-manipulative methodology. Post-1970 Old World archaeological research is viewed as a kind of history, remains mostly in the strict empiricist tradition, and is governed by a realist ontology, an inductivist epistemology, and by an observational methodology. The claims of various kinds of postprocessual archaeology are also evaluated in terms of the paradigm concept.     

A pre‐Columbian case of congenital syphilis from Anatolia (Nicaea, 13th century AD)

In this study, the skeleton of an approximately 15‐year‐old child, dating back to the Late Byzantine period (13th century AD) is examined with the aim of determining where this specimen fits in the continuing arguments on the origins of syphilis. It was unearthed during an excavation at an amphitheatre in Nicaea dating to the Roman period. The Nicaea specimen displays common symptoms found in the majority of people with congenital syphilis such as Hutchinson's incisor, mulberry molar, darkened enamel, radial scar on frontal bone, sabre tibia, syphilitic dactylitis, and gummatous and non‐gummatous osteomyelitis on almost every post‐cranial bone. Because of the sub‐periosteal new bone formation, the medullary spaces in some long bones are narrowed or completely obliterated. These lesions, which were observed via macroscopic and radiological examination, reflect the late stages of congenital syphilis. The specimen, when examined together with increasing numbers of other finds from the Old World, contributes to the argument that venereal syphilis did exist in the Old World before 1493, and brings forward the need to revise the Columbian hypothesis, which maintains that syphilis is a new disease carried to the Old World from the New World by Columbus' crew. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.