First discovery of the ancient dingo-type dog in Polynesia (Pukapuka,Cook Islands)

A Dingo-type dog skeleton was excavated in Pukapuka Island of the Cook Islands with an estimated age of about 350 years. Luomala (1960) suggested that an investigation of the breed of Polynesian dogs would provide clues to the history of migration of the Polynesians, who domesticated the dogs. The Pukapuka dog skeleton is morphologically similar to the dingo and suggests some racial or economical interchange among Australia and Polynesian islands before contact with western civilization.     

Saints and Sinners: a tephrochronology for Late Antique landscape change in Epirus from the eruptive history of Lipari,Aeolian Islands

Assessing the impact of past human activity on landscape change in the Mediterranean has always presented challenges, requiring sound chronological frameworks for observed environmental change. The current research, focused on the environs surrounding the ancient city of Butrint (southern Albania) during Late Antiquity, c. 4th–6th Century AD, establishes a tephra-based chronology for landscape change through the discovery of ash horizons from a little known eruption on the island of Lipari (Aeolian Islands). Recovered glass shards were geochemically fingerprinted to a 6th Century AD event on the island, dated through local archaeological sequences and corroborated by hagiographic evidence. The presence of this marker horizon at Butrint shows a continuation of open water, estuarine conditions throughout Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval period (during which time Butrint ceases to function as an urban centre), disproving the widely held notion of increased soil erosion/deposition as a result of post-Roman landscape degradation. The study also shows that it is following the medieval revival of the town in the 13th Century that marked environmental change takes place, as estuarine areas silt, giving rise to marsh and wetland. The study highlights the importance of using a range of dating techniques to constrain landscape change, while the presence of the 6th Century Lipari tephra in Epirus, derived from an eruptive event larger than previously suspected, provides a useful regional dating marker for future landscape studies.     

A Note on the Results of Recent Excavations at Camber Castle,Sussex

Abstract

A significant number of clay tobacco pipes in the style of the Ottoman ‘chibouk’ can be found in museums and private collections on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Indeed the smoking of these pipes remains a folk memory with the majority of senior citizens. It became obvious that very few of these artefacts were made locally and that the Maltese, being at the geographical centre of Mediterranean culture, might have received their imports from anywhere.

In 19th-century Tunisia (Malta’s nearest North African neighbour) three-quarters of the European population were Maltese migrants. Therefore, this study set out to discover whether Tunisia was a source of supply.

In Tunis it became obvious that although clay tobacco pipes had turned up in local excavations, little attention had been paid to them and a fuller examination was welcomed. A by-product of this examination was to establish a locally made Tunis pipe, although little evidence was found for trade to Malta in that particular commodity.     

Investigation of ancient noodles,cakes, and millet at the Subeixi Site,Xinjiang, China

Ancient foodstuffs, including noodles, cakes, and common millet, were excavated from the Subeixi Cemeteries (cal. 500–300 years BC), Turpan District in Xinjiang, China. Starch grain and phytolith analyses were undertaken to identify the plant species involved. These indicate that the noodles and cakes were made from Panicum miliaceum. Ancient food preparation technologies were also investigated by cooking experiments.     

Promotion of a neglected heritage at Stone Age sites in the Western Cape,South Africa

Abstract

All archaeological sites in South Africa are protected in terms of the National Monuments Act, yet some have been badly damaged by vandals, unauthorized collectors and the effects of natural and anthropogenic erosion. In an effort to minimize such damage, the policy in the past has been either to restrict access or to keep a low profile, in relation both to rock art and excavated sites. Coupled with the fact that, in the past, the precolonial period has not been included in school history curricula, this policy has had a negative effect. South Africans generally have a limited knowledge of the results of research on rock art and archaeology and are not aware of the legislation. Furthermore, there is no infrastructure and no market for promoting such sites for tourism. The National Monuments Council has identified the need for public education in this field within a broader goal of promoting a common heritage for all South Africans in this time of political change. Three examples of recent active intervention are given in this paper. Stone Age living sites at Nelson Bay Cave and Matjes River rock shelter have been developed as local attractions, and protective conservation measures have been put into practice at rock art sites that are open to the public in the Western Cape.     

New Data on the Relief Development of the South Shetland Islands,Antarctica

Abstract

During several expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula and the neighbouring islands, samples were collected from different sediments which contained datable materials or which were datable with new techniques. Thus it became possible to develop, together with our geomorphic field data, some new ideas on relief development at the rim of the Antarctic continent as well as on the glacial history of the area studied.

Planation surfaces in this area seem to be fairly old. For example, the prominent marine erosion surface on Fildes Peninsula, 35–45 m above mean sea level, is probably older than 85 000 years – older than the last interglacial period and the penultimate glaciation. All Holocene beaches, which are situated between 20 m and the present coastline, were formed during the last 6000 years.

Before 6000 BP the islands were still completely glaciated. The breakdown of the ice cover to nearly the present extent must have been extremely abrupt, taking no more than 1000 years (6000 to 5000 BP). Between 3000 and 1000 BP there were at least two re-advances. These advances were restricted to the prominent outlet glaciers, which followed pre-existing valleys.     

Technology,chronology and the role of crucible steel as inferred from iron objects of the ancient site at Junnar,India

Ordinary iron objects from an ancient habitation site at Junnar in India, dating to the 2nd BC to AD 2nd century, were examined for their microstructure, chemical composition and age. The objects were mostly made of high carbon steel with a homogeneous microstructure consisting of fine spherical particles of carbide in the ferrite background, free of non-metallic inclusions. Their carbon concentration ranged from 0.7% to over 1.6% with one exception at 0.2%. Some of them contained trace amounts of silicon, manganese and sulfur while one object retained cavities due to volume contraction during solidification reactions. These features indicate that the objects examined constitute an early example of Indian steel making in crucibles. Evidence was found that basic techniques needed for the success of crucible steel technology were mostly available at Junnar at the time. The radiocarbon measurement on carbon samples extracted from one of the iron objects placed its date between 176 BC and AD 20, in agreement with the radiocarbon dates of three charcoal samples from the same site. The forgoing results support that crucible steel was produced in India at a much earlier date than previously supposed, to serve as a material for specific needs arising in daily life.     

探索符合古代小说实际的校勘之路——孙楷第古代小说校勘方法浅探

本文以新近出版的《小说旁证》为范例,对孙楷第先生校勘古代小说的成就和方法进行总结,指出他既继承了古籍校勘的一般原则和规范,又根据古代小说的具体情况加以灵活变通和创新,态度审慎,方式得当,探索出一套符合古代小说实际、卓为有效的校勘方法,对古代小说的校勘整理具有典范意义。     

16th-Century Ship Graffiti on the Town Walls of Eivissa, Balearic Islands, Spain

Among the historical ship depictions in Eivissa (Balearic Islands, Spain), the graffiti of galleys on the Renaissance city walls are of particular interest. From archival documents the building sequences of this monument can be confirmed. Thus the galley graffiti on the eastern side of the bastion of Sant Bernat can be narrowed down chronologically to slightly after 1568. These graffiti are also interpreted from the social history point of view, in the light of ongoing corsair incursions during the 16th century.
© 2009 The Author     

《旧金山对日和约》再研究--关于其对西沙群岛、南沙群岛的处理及后果

西沙群岛、南沙群岛主权本属中国,第二次世界大战期间被日本占领,日本战败后理应由中国收回,但1951年美国起草和主导签署的<旧金山对日和约>只表明日本放弃这些岛礁,未明确主权归属问题,为的是防止中国(大陆)从<对日和约>中得出对中国主权有利的结论来.<对日和约>如此处理主权问题为日后两群岛"主权未定"论埋下了祸根.     

山东章丘市小荆山后李文化环壕聚落勘探报告

小荆山遗址是山东后李文化时期重要的环壕聚落遗址。本文着重介绍了小荆山遗址环壕的形状与结构、环壕内地层堆积。通过分析发现 ,小荆山后李文化时期环壕的西半部利用了自然冲沟 ,东部为人工开挖而成。文章对环壕聚落内居址、墓葬的布局进行了探讨 ,进而认为 ,在山东地区 ,早在七八千年以前就存在着环壕聚落 ,其后的大汶口、龙山文化时代的一些遗址中也有环壕存在的迹象。小荆山后李文化的环壕是山东境内目前发现最早、结构最清楚的环壕 ,它的发现 ,将带动山东地区史前聚落形态及环壕聚落的研究。