Characterisation and blind testing of radiocarbon dating of cremated bone

The success of radiocarbon dating of burned or cremated bones depends on the exposed temperature during burning and the degree of re-crystallisation of the inorganic bone matrix. We present a method for characterisation of likely cremated bones by employing visual inspection, infrared spectrometry and carbon stable isotope analysis on the bio-apatite fraction. The method of radiocarbon dating of cremated bones was tested by dating paired samples of bone and associated context materials such as pitch, charcoal and a dendrochronologically dated oak coffin. The dating of these paired test samples were largely performed as blind tests and showed excellent agreement between pitch and bone. The weighted mean age difference of all test samples is observed to −9 ± 60 ¹⁴C yr. To test the indicators and the effects of the degree of burning, a Late-Neolithic human individual has been studied, as this individual exhibits the full spectrum from low temperature burning (charred) to high temperature (“cremated”) from one end of a single bone to the other. This is reflected as a marked step in numerous parameters as well as in a significant difference in ¹⁴C age between the charred and the cremated bone samples.     

Neolithic cremation in south‐east Arabia: archaeological and anthropological observations at FAY‐NE10 in the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE)

Small fragments of cremated human bone, clearly representing numerous individuals, were found in a stratified Neolithic context in a small cave at Jebel Faya in the Central Region of the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. With radiocarbon dates between 6500 and 5800 cal BC, they are among the earliest well‐documented cases of cremations in south‐west Asia. Taxonomic identification of the small burned bone fragments is based on morphological and histological analysis. The deposits are to date the oldest human remains found in south‐east Arabia and represent a phase during the Middle Neolithic for which no other types of burials have yet been documented.     

唐墓彩绘文物的保护研究

针对唐代墓葬的几件彩陶文物和壁画的特殊要求,选择性能优良的保护材料对彩绘文物进行加固保护。通过X-射线荧光光谱仪和分光光度仪进行彩绘文物颜料成分分析,选用浓度为2%的B72和2%的改性B72加固保护彩绘文物,测试保护后文物的表面颜料粘结性、耐水性、耐酸碱等性能,同时选用分光光度仪和粘接强度仪测试光照老化后文物的颜料颜色和粘接强度的变化。试验结果表明,文物颜料主要成分包括铅丹、铅丹和朱砂混合物、土红以及石绿;加固保护后文物的粘结性、耐水性和耐酸碱度都有所提高,且改性B72的提高程度比B72大;光照老化后改性B72保护的彩绘文物颜料主波长、色纯度和亮度变化均小于B72的变化,改性B72的粘接强度提高指数是B72的3倍之多,粘接性能优于B72。综合对比可以看出,加入紫外线吸收剂的改性B72保护材料很好地起到加固和保护彩绘文物的作用,在彩绘文物加固保护材料的选择上具有借鉴和指导意义。     

试论我国南方地区的宋代漏泽园遗迹——附论江苏丹阳大泊公共墓地出土的唐墓铭砖

宋代漏泽园是中国古代最完善的官办公墓制度,有关遗迹的发现研究过去集中在北方地区,南方地区还是空白（特别是南宋阶段）。本文根据作者掌握的几批南方地区出土两宋材料,结合文献记载和部分考古发现的唐代遗迹,就有关制度的渊源与火葬的关系,以及两宋漏泽园制度在南方地区实施的年代、特点和发展演变情况等进行论述,提出新的看法。     

Human Remains and Funerary Rites in the Phoenician Necropolis of Motya (Sicily)

The aim of this paper is to examine the fresh evidence retrieved in the early cemetery or ‘archaic necropolis’ (eighth to sixth century bc ) on the island of Motya, one of the main Phoenician colonies in the Mediterranean. Because of its integrity and the large number of finds, the cemetery has been considered one of the most relevant sites for the study of early burial customs in the West. The absence of anthropological data, completely neglected in the past, was a major shortcoming of previous research. This failing is now being rectified by a new project of fieldwork and excavation undertaken on the island by a team from Palermo University. This report provides a close examination of the human remains from a group of 32 graves discovered during three seasons (2013–2015) in a combined archaeological and taphonomic perspective and contributes to shed light on the funerary practices of the Phoenicians in Sicily. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Limited yet informative: pathological alterations observed on human skeletal remains from third and second millennia bc collective burials in the United Arab Emirates

While syntheses of palaeopathological studies have been undertaken in many parts of the world, until recently little was known about human health in the past in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Focusing on skeletal pathologies, this paper documents the results of the first synthetic palaeopathologlcal study for this country. The collections of archaeological human skeletal remains come from three sites dating to the third and two sites dating to the second millennia bc and consist predominantly of disarticulated, partially fragmented and often cremated remains. The paper initially discusses potential explanations for the neglected study of human skeletal remains from the UAE. This discussion is followed by an outline of the types of burial practices employed in the past in this region and their effects on preservation. The nature of the collections and the methodology employed in their study are described. Using specific headings, the pathological findings are then documented, followed by a discussion of the results of the skeletal analysis in light of the available archaeological evidence. Finally, it is shown that although limited by preservation, analyses of human skeletal remains provide valuable details about the types of diseases that affected people in the past in the UAE. While less detailed than some palaeopathological syntheses, the results presented in this paper lay the foundations for further work on humans in the past in eastern Arabia. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anthropological and physicochemical investigation of the burnt remains of Tomb IX in the ‘Sa Figu’ hypogeal necropolis (Sassari,Italy) – Early Bronze Age

Excavations carried out in Tomb IX of the hypogeic necropolis of ‘Sa Figu’, near the village of Ittiri (Sassari, Italy), supplied burnt human bone remains and pottery unambiguously referred to the Early Bronze Age (characterised by the local culture of ‘Bonnannaro’). Besides the anthropological study, we have investigated and evaluated the possibility of a funerary cremation practice in Sardinian pre‐history, a subject that has previously not been considered from a scientific point of view. Making use of a calibration procedure based on X‐ray diffraction (XRD) line‐broadening analysis, related to the microstructural properties, it was possible to estimate the combustion temperature to which the fragmented bones were subjected. It was found that the studied bones reached temperatures varying from 400°C up to a maximum of 850°C. This spread of values suggested inhomogeneous combustion of the bones, which seems compatible with funerary cremation practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of heating on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen

The effects of heat on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of collagen in bone were studied. Boiling or roasting did not change the δ¹³C and δ¹³N values by more than 1‰. More extreme heating, such as might occur if bones were burned or a body cremated, shifted δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values by as much as 5 and 4‰ respectively. These large shifts were accompanied by changes in the atomic carbon-to-nitrogen ratios of the collagen. These results indicate that collagen samples extracted from prehistoric bones which display anomalous atomic carbon-to-nitrogen ratios may have been subjected to heating extreme enough to have altered their ${}^{13}\text{C}{}^{12}\text{C}$ and/or ${}^{15}\text{N}{}^{14}\text{N}$ ratios and therefore should not be used for dietary reconstruction.     

Reassessing the Age,Sex and Metric Variation of Commingled Human Remains from a 1911 Excavation of a Neolithic Passage Tomb Complex in North‐West Ireland

The Neolithic passage tomb complex at Carrowkeel, County Sligo, Ireland, is one of the best preserved and most significant megalithic funerary and ritual landscapes in Europe. The most substantial archaeological excavations at the complex were undertaken in 1911, from which a relatively large sample of commingled unburnt and cremated human remains from seven chambered passage tombs was recovered. Although the archaeological value of this material is reduced as its spatial and stratigraphic context is uncertain, the skeletal remains have the potential to provide insights into how these monuments were used. This study is a quantitative reassessment of that osteological material from the passage tombs excavated in 1911, with a focus on a contextual analysis of the remains. Overall, the age‐at‐death and sex ratios do not indicate any demographic differentiation between monuments in selecting locations for the deposition of bodies, and there is no clear evidence to suggest any selectiveness of certain skeletal elements took place. There may however have been a differentiating age and gender aspect in terms of the unburnt versus cremated bone surface depositions within the passage tombs, as a higher proportion of 5+ years non‐adults and adult females were present in the cremated material. By using the log‐ratio metric scaling technique on the cremated adult material, a statistically significant difference in skeletal dimensions is observed between individual passage tombs; however, it is unclear how significant this disparity is from a biocultural point of view. Despite apparent methodological difficulties in assessing an archaeological bone assemblage collected by early 20th‐century antiquarians, the material can still yield new knowledge about the rituals conducted at Carrowkeel. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新型文物封护保护材料氟橡胶耐紫外性能研究

封护措施对文物保护修复具有重要的意义,封护保护能有效阻隔环境因素(水分、氧气、空气污染物)对文物的影响,提高文物的耐腐蚀性。目前丙烯酸树脂B72和有机硅在文物封护领域应用较多,它们对于馆藏文物的保护有显著的效果,但它们的耐紫外性能不佳,不能很好地满足户外文物长期保护的要求。近年来氟碳材料由于具有优异的耐候性和耐老化性,已逐渐受到文物保护工作者的重视,本工作选择了一种新型氟碳材料F2311型氟橡胶作为研究对象,近年来已有将氟橡胶应用于金属文物、陶器、彩绘、壁画等文物封护保护的报道,但报道多侧重于应用,未见从理论方面验证或考察氟橡胶保护效果的研究。为了研究氟橡胶的耐老化性和在文物封护领域的适用性,本工作选用了丙烯酸树脂B72和2种有机硅涂料(分别为正硅酸乙酯和工业成品KSE-OH300)作为性能对比研究,通过紫外加速老化实验对它们进行了长期老化测试,利用红外、接触角、色差仪进行了结构和性能表征。结果表明:1)新型氟碳材料氟橡胶具有较优的紫外线耐受性,其在长期的紫外照射作用下颜色、结构和疏水性能均未发生明显变化,推测氟橡胶能够长期用于文物户外或户内封护保护,特别是针对处于复杂存储环境的文物保护有广阔的应用前景;2)B72在紫外照射下会发生氧化降解行为,红外证明这种降解反应在紫外照射初期就开始发生了,B72在紫外光下氧化降解导致封护膜发生黄变,在文物表面造成色差,推测B72不适用于户外文物的长期封护保护;3)2种有机硅类材料成膜后疏水性能一般,且在紫外辐射下结构趋于不稳定,外观也会发生黄变,推测这2种有机硅同样不适用于户外文物的长期封护保护。本工作通过评估材料的耐紫外性能来考察它们的耐老化性和在文物封护领域的适用性,研究结果表明新型氟碳材料氟橡胶与B72和2种有机硅相比,具有更优的紫外线耐受性,该考察结果可为文物封护材料的选择提供参考。     

丙烯酸树脂B72丙酮溶液在陶瓷文物修复中应用比例研究

作为加固剂和封护剂,丙烯酸树脂B72(简称B72)是国内外应用极其广泛的文物保护修复材料,但作为黏接剂在陶瓷修复粘接、补全、涂层饰色流程中的应用比例及范围几乎未见相关研究实例。文章梳理了B72材料性能和配制方式,通过不同比例B72丙酮溶液固化及作业时间和应用状态实验,提出其作为黏接剂在陶瓷文物粘接、补全、涂层饰色修复流程中的应用比例标准、适用范围和配方比例。研究结果可为文物保护者提供B72简便高效的应用甄选方案。     

Detection of blood proteins in ancient human bone using ELISA: A comparative study of the survival of IgG and albumin

ABSTRACT The immunological identification of species-specific blood proteins in skeletal remains has an important role in the reconstruction of ancient dietary, ritual and domestic behaviour. However, which protein provides the most suitable target for such work has not been considered previously, and the present investigation was carried out on human bone to assess the relative merits of IgG and albumin. Extracts of bone from 31 individuals (from the English Civil War, medieval, Early Saxon, Roman, Iron Age and Bronze Age periods) were tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using monoclonal antibodies. Albumin was detected in 23 of the 31 skeletons, including those from the Iron and Bronze Ages, whereas IgG was identified in only one; this difference was very highly significant (P < 0.0005, χ² 30.0). The better detection rate for albumin was thought to be due to its higher original blood level, inherent differences in survival pattern being considered unlikely. Testing the same extract for both proteins in the same assay system ensured that any effects due to soil factors, burial conditions, physical integrity of the bone, chronological age, amount of original specimen, method of analysis and type of reagent were the same for each part of the study, thus permitting a valid comparison of antigen survival to be made. Control samples, including fresh and ancient animal bone extracts and human and animal sera, confirmed that the results were consistent and specific, with no cross-reactivity between human and animal material, and that as little as 10 ng of protein was detectable. In summary, the investigation compared the suitability of IgG and albumin for osteoarchaeological studies using a highly specific, sensitive and versatile ELISA; the results showed that albumin was a far better target molecule for such work and that it can survive in ancient bone for long periods of time.     

受阻胺H-622改性B72及光稳定机理研究

为了提高B72文物保护材料的耐光性能,采用高分子量受阻胺H622对B72进行物理共混改性。监测了改性材料老化前后的颜色、失重等参数的变化,并探讨了受阻胺的稳定机理。实验结果表明,经受阻胺H622改性后,材料的耐光老化性大大提高,红外光谱、接触角、失重、硬度等指标的变化明显较改性前降低。同时观察到老化近500h时,改性材料的颜色基本不变。受阻胺H622对B72的稳定作用是由于受阻胺吸收光能后转变为可以再生的氮氧自由基,能捕获B72老化降解产生的自由基,从而阻止B72降解反应的不断进行。由此可见,采用受阻胺H622改性B72是可行的,提供了一种延长B72寿命的新方法。     

A study by thermal treatment and X-ray powder diffraction on burnt fragmented bones from tombs II,IV and IX belonging to the hypogeic necropolis of “Sa Figu” near Ittiri,Sassari (Sardinia,Italy)

In the course of an anthropological investigation of three tombs of the hypogeic necropolis of “Sa Figu” (near the village of Ittiri in North Sardinia, Italy), numerous burnt bone fragments were collected. In particular, from the whole necropolis we selected a tenth of long bones from tomb IV, a small fragment of femur from tomb II and four fragments belonging to tomb IX. The aim of this work is to determine a temperature range to which the bone fragments were heated, in order to assess a funerary cremation which was presumably used at that time to quickly and hygienically eliminate the flashy parts of deceased people rather than a purification rite with fires inside the sepulchres. We attempted to evaluate the range of temperature to which the bones were likely subjected, making a joint use of thermal treatment and powder X-ray diffraction investigations. From our X-ray line broadening results carried out with a modern approach (Rietveld method), it emerged that a group of five fragmented burnt bones (one specimen belonging to tomb IV, the other four from tomb IX) were subjected to a heat treatment in a temperature range from 600 and 750 °C. Conversely another group of bones (belonging to tombs II and IV) turned out to be subjected to temperatures not higher than 250 °C.     

Secularisation,anticlericalism and cremation within Italian cemeteries of the nineteenth century

This article examines the monumental cemeteries of nineteenth-century Italy with regard to their role as platforms for the tensions between Church and state. In that burial grounds were publically owned yet administered by the clergy, they represented a space where conflicts between secular and clerical powers might be played out – conflicts that reached a peak in the final decades of the Ottocento following the annexation of the Papal State to unified Italy. Particular attention is given to the adoption of cremation as a practice that was advocated by anticlerical, liberal and radical factions in opposition to the Catholic Church. That opposition was manifested in the design and layout of Italian burial grounds and in construction of new crematoria.     

抗钻强度在文物加固保护中的应用

抗钻强度测试是一种极微小破坏性的强度测试方法,特别适合于物保护中加固强度及加固剂渗透深度的测定。通过用有机氟材料对几种不同材质物(石质、砖或陶质、土质)在实验室和现场加固强度及渗透深度的测试,并与抗压强度进行比较,结果表明抗钻强度是一种有效的加固强度表征方法,特别适合于物的现场保护应用。