New Excavations at Border Cave,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation community is implied before 100,000 years ago. The density of lithics varies considerably through time, with high frequencies occurring before 100,000 years ago where a putative MSA 1/Pietersburg Industry was recovered. The highest percentage frequencies of blades and blade fragments were found here. In Members 1 BS and 1 WA, called Early Later Stone Age by Beaumont, we recovered large flakes from multifacial cores. Local rhyolite was the most common rock used for making stone tools, but siliceous minerals were popular in the upper members.     

A shipwreck cargo of Sevillian pottery from the Studland Bay wreck, Dorset, UK

This article is an account of the pottery found at the Studland Bay wreck, Poole. The assemblage includes an important group of Spanish pottery made at Seville at the beginning of the 16th century, including the largest group of lustreware and blue-and-purple wares ever found in an archaeological context. These wares were probably carried as cargo and collected at a stopping-off point along the itinerary of the ship, probably to be sold in northern Europe.     

Still Bay and serrated points from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter,Kwazulu-Natal,South Africa

Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter is a long-sequence Middle and Later Stone Age site in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Jonathan Kaplan excavated the site and analysed the material in the 1980s as a rescue project. For many years thereafter the collection remained untouched, partly because of doubts raised about the stratigraphic integrity of the site. Using single-grain OSL dating we show that post-depositional mixing of sediment was restricted to time-specific, small-scale events. The OSL ages obtained for the Howiesons Poort and pre-Howiesons Poort are comparable to those of other southern African sites with unambiguous Howiesons Poort and Still Bay Industries. Based on morphological and other characteristics, we reason that the Still Bay is represented at Umhlatuzana, and announce the presence of a serrated point assemblage closely associated in time with the Still Bay points.     

Excavations at the Medieval Village of Wythemail,Northamptonshire

EXCAVATION of a single enclosure revealed a sequence from early 13th-century timber buildings to structures with stone foundations, or completely stone-built, in the later 13th and 14th centuries. A two-roomed long-house was replaced by a more complex four-roomed long-house built on a different alignment. Also in the enclosure were a sequence of six outbuildings rebuilt in various positions. In the 13th century there were changes in property boundaries and in the 14th century a road was cut obliquely across the enclosure leading to fundamental changes in planning. Evidence for climatic deterioration was given by the increasing use of drains and of paved and cobbled surfaces in the early 14th century. Finds included metal objects, animal bones, local shelly pottery, and 12th- to 14th-century sherds from Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.     

An improved OSL chronology for the Still Bay layers at Blombos Cave,South Africa: further tests of single-grain dating procedures and a re-evaluation of the timing of the Still Bay industry across southern Africa

This paper presents a series of new single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for the Still Bay at Blombos Cave, South Africa, and compares them to previously published OSL, thermoluminescence (TL) and electron-spin resonance (ESR) ages for this site. Details are provided about the measurement and analytical procedures, including a discussion of the characteristics of the OSL signals of individual quartz grains. This forms the basis for further investigations into the sensitivity of the equivalent dose (D_e) estimates to a range of different analytical approaches, including changes in the size of the test dose, the choice of signal integration interval, the subtraction of an appropriate background, and isolation of the most light-sensitive (‘fast’) component of quartz OSL. We also report the results of an inter-operator test of D_e determination using seven new samples from Blombos Cave, and demonstrate the reproducibility of results obtained for two samples that had been dated previously at another laboratory and were measured and analysed again in this study. Together, these tests validate the robustness of the Blombos Cave single-grain OSL age estimates to a variety of alternative OSL dating procedures. We have incorporated, for the first time, these ages for Blombos Cave into a data set of all single-grain OSL ages for Still Bay and Howieson's Poort sites across southern Africa, and have used a statistical model to re-evaluate the timing and duration of the Still Bay industry. We calculate the most plausible start and end dates of the Still Bay as 72.2 ka and 71.3 ka, respectively – amounting to a duration of 0.9 ka – and estimate (with conventional 95% confidence) that this industry began no earlier than 75.5 ka, ended no later than 67.8 ka and lasted no longer than 6.6 ka.     

The Still Bay points of Blombos Cave (South Africa)

We present the results of a technological and morphometric analysis of all the Still Bay points (n = 371) recovered from the 1993 to 2004 excavations at Blombos Cave. We have been able to reconstruct the manufacturing sequence of the bifacial points from initial shaping, by direct internal percussion, to finished morphology, by direct marginal percussion. Identifications of impact fractures and manufacturing breaks are based on comparisons with experimental and archaeological bifacial points of verified function, i.e. Paleoindian points from bison kill sites, replicates of Solutrean points mounted as spear-heads or arrowheads and shot into adult cattle, and experimental replication on local raw materials. Our analysis shows that: (a) only a minority of the points are finished forms, and that a large number of pieces are production failures, a situation known at bifacial point production sites of later ages; (b) morphometric and impact scar analyses should take into account this process and distinguish finished points from preforms and unfinished points; (c) there were at least three different kinds of raw material sources and that there is a marked increase in the frequencies of silcrete with respect to the M2 and M3 phases at Blombos; (d) three kinds of evidence prove that some of the points were hafted axially and used as spear tips; (e) production of bifacial points was a primary activity at the site but the hypothesis of intergroup exchange of Still Bay points cannot be sustained on the basis of present evidence; and (f) the Still Bay phase appears to initiate a trend to relatively rapid changes in specialized hunting weaponry and that this innovation is congruent with other innovations such as bone tools, shell beads and engraved ochre of the M1 and M2 phases at Blombos.     

Excavations at the Quaker Burial Ground,Kingston-upon-Thames,London

Abstract

Excavations in a Quaker burial ground at Kingston-upon-Thames uncovered the remains of 360 individuals buried between 1664 and 1814. Historical records combined with the evidence from the excavations have provided an insight into burial rites and undertaking practices of an early Nonconformist community. The archaeological evidence suggests that the simplicity and plainness of Quaker lifestyle were to a large extent reflected in burial. A detailed osteological analysis indicated a healthy, thriving community.     

Geoarchaeological investigations at Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

The sedimentary sequence at Diepkloof Rock Shelter formed through a complex interaction of depositional and post-depositional processes and was variously influenced by biogenic, geogenic, and anthropogenic agents. Here, we present the results of a micromorphological study of the sediments at Diepkloof, focusing in particular on the numerous anthropogenic inputs and modifications recorded within the sequence. By applying the microfacies concept, we were able to identify hearth burning and maintenance, bedding construction and burning, and surface modification by trampling as major processes that contributed to the formation of the site. The human activities recorded within the sediments show a marked change throughout the sequence, implying a shift in the use of the site over time. The present study also provides a context for evaluating other classes of artifacts and data collected from the site.     

南非迷失在太阳城

“原始”、“野性”、“财富”、“神秘”点缀着非洲这片美丽的大陆。定格非洲大陆最南端,大西洋与印度洋的交汇处。这个历史上以常年大风大浪的坏脾气著称的风暴角,便是航海人心怀敬意的坐标——好望角。10米高的海浪在这块岬角附近屡见不鲜,航海船只都对它顶礼膜拜。然而今天,这里早已开发成国家公园,过往的只有游客,再大的浪也是风景.     

Survey and Excavation of the Anglo-Zulu War Fort at Eshowe,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Abstract

A programme of topographic and geophysical survey was combined with metal detecting and trial trenching at the site of the British fort at KwaMondi, Eshowe, KwaZulu. Evidence was recovered of the buildings used by the British troops in 1879, together with artefacts from the siege. In addition, the results provided an insight into the history of the site after the end of the British occupation.     

Intensive El Niño and the Iron Age of South-eastern Africa

Burnt daga structures in Iron Age villages serve as proxies for severe drought on the plateau of southern Africa. The distribution of burnt daga remains in two other rainfall areas, KwaZulu-Natal and the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone over Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, establishes a sequence of simultaneous burnings that parallels the severe droughts recorded for the interior plateau. These widespread correspondences suggest a common cause. Another correspondence with natural proxy data from South America indicates that intensive El Niño events most likely caused the droughts.     

Excavations at the Bairaki Lower Paleolithic Site,Trans-Dniesteria,in 2011

Early Paleolithic deposits of the left-bank high seventh fluvial terrace of the Dniester were excavated at Bairaki, Trans-Dniestria. The assemblage is comprised of 28 artifacts including distinct flakes, cores, and Lower Paleolithic tools. Based on the 2011 geological and archaeological study, tools from the riverbed alluvium, paralleled by those of the Middle Oldowan, date to the earliest Lower Pleistocene. Bairaki, then, should be classified among the most ancient Paleolithic sites in Eastern Europe.     

旅游管理专业“校企合作,工学结合”高职人才培养模式研究

旅游职业教育担负着为中国旅游业输送一大批专业化、国际化的高素质管理人才和服务人才的重任,对其人才培养模式进行深入探讨,从机制上保证教学质量,提升旅游职业教育活力,是形成旅游职业教育特色和优势,在国内旅游教育领域塑造自身良好形象,支撑并推动旅游产业可持续发展的必要条件。     

南非,多肉植物的天然花园

<正>南非位于南纬30度线上下的高压亚热带,气候温暖、干燥且阳光充沛,这里有丰富的植物资源,独有的神奇物种,全南非境内大约有18000种花卉,很多都属南非独有,是公认的植物王国。有一种在世界上独占鳌头的物种——多肉植物。据调     

郑州古荥师家河唐墓清理简报

１９９９年１２月１日,郑州市西北郊古荥镇师家河村村民在该村西取土时发现一些陶俑、镇墓兽、铜镜等物,遂上交正在附近小双桥遗址进行考古发掘工作的河南省文物考古研究所工作人员。经初步判断,这些都为唐代文物,应出自一唐代墓葬。考古人员随即前往文物出土点进行了调查,并对该墓进行了清理。（图一） 墓葬位于村西一高出地面约３米的台地上。西部１００余米有引黄人郑灌渠通过,南部２００米左右为索须河河道,河南岸则为郑州小双桥遗址。在西南部有后庄王遗址,北部即著名的荥阳城遗址。据当地农民介绍,该处原为高出现今地面丈余…     

Underwater Excavations at the Etruscan Port of Populonia

Abstract

The 1987/1988 field season at the U-shaped civic ceremonial center of Cardal in the Lurin Valley, Peru, included mapping and excavation of public and domestic architecture. Occupied from 1150 to 800 b.c., Cardal provides evidence of a more elaborate ground plan than was previously recognized, including dual causewayed plazas, and 10 semisubterranean circular courts. Excavations of the public architecture revealed the periodic burial and construction of ritual buildings, including a steep central stairway and an atrium whose exterior wall was decorated with a polychrome mural of a gigantic mouth band with massive fangs and interlocking teeth. The investigations on the pyramid summit also yielded evidence of a free-standing building with a dual altar, and a burial area. Information on domestic architecture and subsistence recovered from behind the public complex is also discussed. Finally, Cardal is compared to Garagay, a coeval U-shaped center in the neighboring Rimac Valley, and it is argued that the evidence available does not support the hypothesis that these monumental centers were constructed by “complex societies” in the traditional sense of the term.     

A Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tepe Sharafabad, 1971

Abstract

The Elamite civilization of SW Iran represents one of the earliest geographically diverse literate empires in the world. During the 2nd millennium B.C. that part of the Elamite civilization situated in and around the ancient city of Susa (the Susiana plain) experienced a growth of population to unprecedented levels, as well as significant political and economic change. Tepe Sharafabad, already an ancient prehistoric mound, was the site of one of the new settlements founded during this period of growth. At first it was no more than an ordinary small village. Sometime near the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. it was transformed into a rural estate. The study of such small sites may be critical to the understanding of the achievements of this important civilization, and of the evolution of early empires in general.