Publications of the Society

Abstract

By summarizing briefly the existing facts and problems relating to the dolmens in Palestine and Transjordan, an attempt was made in this paper to establish the date and purpose of this important and imposing group of ancient monuments. The very nature of the existing archaeological evidence still necessitates certain hypotheses. We concluded that the free-standing dolmens fulfilled some function in secondary burial rites—presumably serving, wholly or partly, as primary burial places—in the Chalcolithic and Proto-Urban Periods, that is, in the second half of the fourth millennium. This conclusion is based upon some datable pottery finds and is supported by the evidence of burial rites in those periods. It is also strengthened by the virtually negative results of any serious attempt to attribute them to any other, earlier or later, period.

The dolmens were erected, in our opinion, mainly by nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoral people. Their zone of distribution, the evidence of secondary burial rites that are usually practised by such people, the population represented by the pottery finds in the dolmens and many parallels as to the economy of megalithic tomb builders in other areas, all point to this conclusion.

Our conclusions, however, are not based upon sufficient data and the dolmen problem in our region undoubtedly requires further systematic research and excavations. We hope that in future investigations, our working hypotheses presented in this paper may be of some help, as they do· not appear as yet fundamentally wrong, although this possibility should never be forgotten.     

辽墓出土金属面具与网络起源的再探讨

在众多辽代墓葬中发现的随葬金属面具与网络极大地激起了人们研究的兴趣。目前学界关于契丹族金属面具与网络的随葬这种葬俗的起源还没有统一的定论,主要有以下六种学说,它们分别是萨满教说,下嫁到萧氏皇家女子专用说,佛教说,金缕玉衣说,树葬说以及东胡说。同时,笔者认为唐代西域胡人覆面缠裹的习俗对契丹葬俗形成是起了很大作用的。综上所述,辽代的金属面具与网络正是这些因素共同碰撞的产物。     

Medieval Britain in 1976

Abstract

The Hospital of St Mary Magdalen, Partney has seen the first major excavation of a minor rural hospital. Existing by c 1115, it was amongst the earliest hospitals founded in Britain after the Norman Conquest and is one of a class of about 60 sites that were run as cells of larger religious foundations. Excavations uncovered the hospital chapel and its burial ground, as well as timber buildings. Monks/priests and lay people, possibly from the monastic estate, may have been interred in separate locations with different burial rites. Of particular note was a burial in a locked coffin or chest. Partney had ceased to function as a hospital by 1318, when it formed an administrative cell of Bardney Abbey. It was abandoned and robbed in the mid-15th century when the area was given over to agriculture.     

Hunter-gatherer burials and the creation of persistent places in southeastern Australia

One of the difficulties in interpreting hunter-gatherer mortuary practices is that many mortuary theories are derived from sedentary societies and rely upon an excavated record. This paper is an analysis of both historical and archaeological evidence of Aboriginal burial practices in the Murray River region of southeastern Australia. The archaeological data relies primarily upon analysis of burials exposed through erosion rather than systematic excavations which limits the range of burial characteristics that may be recorded and interpreted. The mortuary practices identified are highly patterned but regionally and locally variable. It is argued that the evidence demonstrates the persistence of place for Aboriginal people. The existence of persistent places is further related to a potentially fluid but structured connection between people and land.     

拊葬墓与古代家庭

在以血缘为纽带的社会组织中,其成员死后的埋葬方式直接与家庭、家族和宗族相联系。“袝葬”现象揭示了以家庭为核心的生产关系和生活方式。拊葬墓是以一人为主,其他人从属,多人共用一墓的墓葬。考古学研究中墓室的多少常常与墓主人的身份、等级联系在一起。但袝葬现象直接表现在墓葬形制特征上,是墓葬类型的一种特殊形式,因袝葬需要出现的多室墓并非是墓主人身份的象征,不能作为判别墓葬等级的标准。汉代的袝葬墓一般不改变流行的墓葬形制,而是改变某些空间的功能,西晋以后袝葬墓影响到墓葬形制的改变。拊葬墓的流行,是因为社会组织中血缘关系密切的家庭的地位增强,土地所有制、生产经营和财产关系发生了变化。     

关于川渝地区船棺葬的族属问题

本根据成都平原等地和重庆地区葬具的发展线索,认为船棺葬为蜀人的固有葬俗,巴县冬笋坝和昭化宝轮院的船棺葬是受蜀化影响的结果。巴人本来无船棺葬的习俗。     

丧葬习俗的地理学研究——以西藏天葬为例

丧葬形式既是社会文化观念的反应,也是一定自然环境作用的产物。我国主要有5种丧葬形式-土葬、火葬、塔葬、水葬和天葬,大部分民族采用火葬的形式。藏族作为我国民族大家庭重要的一员,在丧葬习俗上与其他民族有着很大的不同,90%以上的藏族同胞接受天葬。独特的自然地理环境﹑深刻的历史和社会文化背景﹑神奇的经学传说是天葬在西藏盛行的主要原因。由于天葬节约土地,净化环境,保护资源,在促进社会文明方面有特殊意义,应予以理解和尊重。     

Breaking Traditions: An Isotopic Study on the Changing Funerary Practices in the Dutch Iron Age (800–12 bc)

Urnfields in the Dutch river area were replaced by cemeteries with a mixture of cremation and inhumation graves around the sixth century bc . This study provides the first biogeochemical evidence that the Iron Age communities were heterogeneous in terms of geological origins. The high percentage of non‐locally born individuals (~48%) supports the hypothesis that the change in burial practice was the result of the influx of foreign people, who were being allowed to keep their own burial customs, whereas some of the local inhabitants adapted the burial rites of foreign cultures, leading to a heterogeneous burial rite for some centuries.     

蒙藏院与民国时期的西藏治理述论（1914—1928）

1914—1928年间,在军阀混战、政局多变的大背景下,蒙藏院作为主管蒙藏事务的中央机构,在西藏治理方面做了很多工作,主要是:组织边疆调查,为中央决策提供信息,并参与解决玉树争端;管理喇嘛教事务,办理西藏驻京堪布、内地活佛转世中的涉藏事宜;组织、监督全国性政治会议西藏代表选举和选派,向中央转达西藏地方的意见;协助有关方面派人进藏联络,妥善处理西藏商人进京贸易问题;接待九世班禅,支持西藏地方的爱国力量。这些对加强中央政府与西藏地方的联系、稳固西南边疆发挥了重要作用。但由于种种原因,该院的努力并未完全达到应有的效果。     

新疆多岗墓地出土人骨的碳氮稳定同位素分析

拜城多岗墓地是新疆西部发现的墓葬数量较多的墓葬群之一,墓葬情况复杂,葬俗葬式多样,是早期铁器时代的研究资料。本文对于采集到的该墓地41具人骨进行碳氮稳定同位素分析,探讨多岗居民的饮食状况;并结合墓葬类型、随葬品种类,男女性别以及考古学分期等对不同条件人们的食物差别进行考察,为该区域早期铁器时代居民的饮食结构研究提供依据。分析结果显示,多岗居民δ15N平均值为12.56‰,表明食物中有较多的肉类;而δ13C分析平均值为-14.77‰,相应植物类食物中C4类植物为40%左右。参考周边遗址的出土遗存,其C4类植物应为粟或黍。     

The Mountain People——Ethnic Teng

The Teng people are an ethnic group who live in the boundary area of Tibet.For various reasons,the survey of ethnic minorities in China.conducted in the 1950s,excluded the Teng people. Nevertheless,the products,the lifestyle and even the culture of the Teng people are unique amongst ethnic Tibetan.Moinpa, and Lhopa.They are,therefore,named as the"Teng people".     

Morphological taphonomic transformations of fossil bones in continental environments,and repercussions on their chemical composition

The aim of this paper is to provide a summary of structural or surface modifications of vertebrate bone remains in continental palaeoenvironments that may have repercussions on their chemical composition. Both before and after burial, a different set of physical, chemical and biological agencies may produce modifications of the bone morphological structure and/or bone chemical composition. Several of these morphological modifications are diagnostic of particular agents, which otherwise may not be noticed or identified in a fossil association. In order to understand diagenesis, those events that occurred before final burial have to be considered, as they may strongly modify the bone morphological structure and influence post–burial changes.     

浅析广西西林县普驮铜鼓葬

广西西林县普驮发现的“铜鼓葬”是古句町一种较为特殊的葬俗,时代为西汉晚期至东汉初,其特殊的葬俗、独特而丰富的随葬品,暗示此类葬俗是专为某类特殊的人群使用。我们认为西林普驮铜鼓葬的主人身份是句町部落集合体中具有显赫权威的精神领袖－巫师。     

The Creation of Science and Technology Terms in Tibetan and Modernization in Tibet

1.There can be no modernization in Tibet withoutmodern science and technology,and the dissemina-tion of modern science and technology needs languageas an intermediary.As the main common language ofthe Tibetan people,the Tibetan spoken and writtenlanguage has played a very important role in the exist-ence and development of the Tibetan people.It hashelped to promote and maintain material and ethicalprogress,and to maintain the integrity of the nation,and so has left a brilliant page in the cultural store-house of the motherland.Now,as society witnessesprogress in science and technolog,and confronts the     

Dukarr lakarama: Listening to Guwak,talking back to space colonization

Guided by the Yolŋu songspiral of Guwak, in this collaboratively written paper we argue that the extension of earth-based colonization into space disrupts and colonises the plural lifeworlds of many Indigenous people who have ongoing connections with and beyond the sky. Listening to Guwak, we speak back to promoters of space colonization who frame their projects as harmless according to four core understandings. First, they assume that there are no people or other beings Indigenous to what they think of as ‘outer space’, and that none of the Indigenous people or beings who also live on earth have travelled to or inhabited this space. Second, they assume that space is dead or non-sentient in itself, and that it is incapable of fostering life. Third, they understand that space is cleanly separated from earth, meaning that what happens in space has no effect on earth, or vice versa. Fourth, because of these three assumptions, they do not identify any ethical objections to occupying and exploiting space.We follow Guwak as she undermines each of these assumptions, by moving through and as Sky Country. These learnings emphasize the presence and role of Law, order and negotiation in Sky Country; the active, animate, agential presence of beings in Sky Country; the connectivity and co-becoming-ness of earth and sky; and the ethical obligations to attend to and care for and as Sky Country. We contend that the argument applies to many worlds that intimately connect with, extend into (or beyond) what Western sciences call ‘outer space’. Indeed, we hope that in sharing Guwak we encourage broader conversations about Sky Country and its relations with other Indigenous worlds.     

‘Not All That Is White Is Lime’—White Substances from Archaeological Burial Contexts: Analyses and Interpretations

Archaeological burial contexts may include a variety of white substances, but few analyses have been published. This study reports on the physico‐chemical characterization of such residues from seven archaeological sites. It is often assumed that white materials from burial contexts are lime. Our findings demonstrate that they can be gypsum, calcite (chalk), aragonite, brushite, degraded metal, natural (gum) resins or synthetic polymer–based products. These may be present as the result of diagenetic processes, funerary practices or modern contamination. This paper provides an analytical approach for the holistic investigation of white materials encountered in burial contexts.     

MY TIBETAN MOTHER KELSANG

In his youth, he worked for sixteen years in northern Tibet where he put his heart and soul into this snow-covered plateau. According to his friends, it is impossible to give a complete portrayal of his life with limited words. He is Wu Yuchu, head of the Yok Museum of Tibet. Mr. Wu is known as"Mr. Yak", a mon in his 60s working tirelessly for the preservation and promotion of yak culture.In 2017, Mr. Wu agreed to start writing a column called"Colorful Choracters of Tibet"about real Tibetan people he knew over the years on China'sTibet magozine. We will select some of the bestpieces to share with our readers.     

Birds and burials at Ajvide (Gotland,Sweden) and Zvejnieki (Latvia) about 8000–3900 BP

Animal bones in human burials may reveal aspects of the relationship between animals and humans. This article describes the roles of birds in mortuary practices and in the ideology of Stone Age northern Europe. Bird bones from two large burial sites, Middle Neolithic Ajvide (Gotland, Sweden) and Mesolithic and Neolithic Zvejnieki (Latvia) are investigated with osteological methods. Beads and pendants were fashioned from the wing bones of waterbirds, and used in the decoration of the body or the burial dress. The jay was found in three Neolithic burials at Zvejnieki, and it may have been a totem animal for the Middle Neolithic people at Zvejnieki, and its wings or feathers were presumably attached to dresses and costumes for the dead. Bird remains in burials at Ajvide, Zvejnieki and some other Stone Age cemeteries may indicate similar features in the way of perceiving birds, especially the possible symbolic roles of waterbirds and wings. The findings are discussed from the perspective of the cosmology of historical hunter–gatherer (and herding) groups in modern Russia.     

史前信仰中神龙形象来源刍议

自古埃及以降的闪米特文明都有神奇蛇的信仰,但这些蛇都是克托尼俄斯的神物,代表地下界,从不升天也不飞翔,这种信仰符合蛇的自然本质。中国的龙为天神,既不符合蛇的本质,又和其他古文明崇拜的蛇神形象大异其趣。中国龙的形象来自昆虫。在大自然中,只有昆虫能由蛇体化为鸟形,也只有昆虫能暂死后再生、升天。古人神化昆虫,这实为龙的形象与崇拜来源。不同地区的萨满教,都有崇拜昆虫变形、羽化神能的痕迹。中国先民确有尚虫信仰。中国龙可能更近似于古埃及的金龟蜣螂甲虫崇拜。尽管埃及的金龟和中国的龙崇拜在起源、发展上关联性不大,但两者的信仰观念与象征意义却相当接近。夏禹形貌为虬龙,其名"禹",恰和"虫"同字,故龙、虫义同。     

Medieval memories and the reformation of religious identity: Catholic and Anglican interactions with parish church sites in County Limerick,Ireland

SUMMARY: This paper examines parish church sites in County Limerick and their evolving meanings as a result of Ireland’s unsuccessful Protestant Reformation. Unusually for Europe, most Irish parish churches fell into ruin from 1550 to 1700. Conquest, loss of patronage and the Anglican Church of Ireland’s failure to convert most native Catholics ensured this eventuality. Nevertheless, local memories continued to draw people to these sites. There is evidence for Catholic burial in the 18th and 19th centuries, conversion of chancels into burial plots and, sometimes, church maintenance or construction by Anglicans. These activities all reveal contemporary concerns with history, identity and legitimacy.