The prescription as literature

In the medical writings of antiquity the recipe, a basic form of scientific writing, was considered a literary genre with conventions of its own. In texttype-linguistics, however, the recipe plays only a minor role; in studies on the history of literary short texts it is hardly ever mentioned and, furthermore, it has come to the conclusion that the recipe's function has lain solely in the curing of the sick. The present study focuses on its multifunctional character. A collection of widely scattered and hardly accessible recipes shows that the recipe adopted functions beyond giving technical directives. Its multifunctionality in the German literature of early modern times is manifest in medical and cooking jocular recipes, cooking recipes in minnesang, mock recipes aimed at physicians and astrologers, recipes of spiritual-religious content, recipes containing art and literary criticism as well as recipes in a moral-satirical or a political-agitative vein.     

New insights into Byzantine glass technology from loose mosaic tesserae from Hierapolis (Turkey): PIXE/PIGE and EPMA analyses

This study focuses on the Byzantine glass tesserae from Hierapolis (Phrygia, central Turkey). Fifty-seven samples of loose tesserae from two sites in the town (the theatre and the church of St. Philip) are analysed by particule-induced X-ray emission and particule-induced gamma ray emission and electron probe X-ray microanalysis to obtain the chemical composition and identify the colourants and opacifiers. The aims are to add new information to the scant knowledge of the Byzantine glassmaking technology, to constrain the chronology of the mosaics and to trace the supply routes of the tesserae. In the destruction layers of the theatre, tesserae produced following the Roman glassmaking technology (natron glass opacified by calcium and lead antimonate) were found. They were made using a Levantine 1 raw glass, generally attributed to the early Byzantine period (fifth to sixth c.). In the church, the samples attest a technological change from Roman tradition, and a complex pattern according to building history (two phases are attested, probably in the sixth and eighth to ninth c.), and a multiplicity of supply. Three glass types and some recipes not attested before in this chronological range for the production of tesserae are documented, such as the use of a local low-chlorine natron glass for the production of black and red tesserae, the blue colouring by a source of cobalt with zinc in a natron glass tessera and the opacification with tin oxide (both in a lead-free and in a high-lead natron glass), as well as with quartz.     

The Production and Circulation of Carthaginian Glass Under the Rule of the Romans and the Vandals (Fourth to Sixth Century ad): A Chemical Investigation

Fifty‐seven glass samples from Carthage dating to the fourth to sixth century ad were analysed using the electron microprobe. The results show that these samples are all soda–lime–silica glass. Their MgO and K₂O values, which are below 1.5%, suggest that they were made from natron, a flux that was widely used during the Roman period. The major and minor elements show that these samples can be divided into four groups, three of which correspond to the late Roman period glass groups that were found throughout the Roman Empire: Levantine I, and ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ HIMT. Of particular interest is our Group 2, which is technologically and compositionally similar to HIMT glass and the CaO and Al₂O₃ values of which are similar to those of Levantine I. Glass of similar composition has been reported by several authors and is predominantly found dating from the late fifth to seventh century. This could represent a ‘new’ glass group; therefore further study is needed to determine its origin. Also, this study suggests that the Vandal invasion in North Africa did not disrupt the glass trade between Carthage and the Levantine coast.     

Chemical analysis of white porcelains from the Ding Kiln site, Hebei Province, China

The Ding kilns were some of the most famous early kilns of medieval China, producing huge quantities of white and cream-white porcelains of outstanding technical and aesthetic quality. Since 1949 they have been excavated three times, in 1965, in 1987, and in 2009 respectively. In this latest study 69 white porcelain sherds from assured contexts and from the 2009 excavations were analyzed using laser ablation techniques (ICP-AES). The samples date from Five Dynasties, Northern Song and Jin Dynasties respectively (early 10^th to early 13^th C CE). The results show that Ding wares of different times show different characteristics that can be demonstrated through chemical composition. During the early phase of production the Ding ware bodies consisted largely of high firing kaolinitic clays with predominantly calcareous materials as fluxes. After the early Northern Song Dynasty, some calcareous material was replaced by a more potassic material. The compositions of the glazes show a parallel evolution to the bodies. However, because the glazes are very low in titania it seems unlikely that the main clay ingredients of the bodies could have been used in the glaze recipes. For much of the kiln site’s history the glazes appear to have been made mainly from the same siliceous flux-rich materials that had been blended with the main body-clays used to make the Ding ware porcelains, plus some extra calcareous material. The P₂O₅ contents of the glazes suggest that wood ash may have been one source of CaO in the glaze recipes.     

On The Grounds Of Post‐Byzantine Greek Icons

The grounds of 51 post‐Byzantine icons (Eastern Orthodox panel paintings) were studied by means of analytical techniques. The artefacts cover the period from the mid‐15th to the mid‐19th century and originate mainly from western (Epirus and the Ionian Islands) and southern Greece (Crete). The findings are examined in the light of technical recipes from related areas and eras, while special insights are gained from the exploration of a gypsum processing recipe by Dionysius of Fourna. A spectrum of ground fabrication practices that is richer than that reported so far or can be deduced from surviving Greek recipes is documented; three instances of ‘grosso‐sottile’ type grounds and a case of ‘inverse grosso‐sottile’ ground are among the reported novel, for post‐Byzantine icons, findings. Moreover, a case of an early icon restoration intervention is documented.     

孔雀蓝釉技术源流考辨

孔雀蓝釉是中国陶瓷低温釉体系中重要的环节,正是由于孔雀蓝釉的配制,我国低温釉出现了以氧化钾作为熔剂的技术手段,为后来景德镇釉上彩的彩料配制奠定了技术基础。孔雀蓝釉的技术来源尚没有清楚的认识,学者大多推测中国孔雀蓝釉的生产受到了伊斯兰陶孔雀蓝釉的影响。但现有对金元时期我国孔雀蓝釉的检测表明有多种配方共存的情况,这一现象说明当时孔雀蓝釉的生产并没有统一技术。笔者通过对孔雀蓝釉出土文物的时间与产地特征,以及对琉璃瓦生产工艺演变的考察,认为我国孔雀蓝釉是在低温铅釉琉璃的助熔剂"黄丹"的制作工艺演变过程中增加硝形成的,到元代中期以后配方探索才逐渐完成,形成了以硝为主要助熔剂的制作工艺。     

Lustre Recipes from A Medieval Workshop in Paterna

The discovery of the workshop ‘Les Olleries Xiques’ in Paterna has provided a unique opportunity to analyse the raw materials, and in particular the recipes used in the production of the lustre decorations. Chemical and phase analyses of lustre raw materials and of lustre decorations belonging to the workshop pottery are shown. A comparison with existing ancient documentation on lustre recipes is also presented.     

THE CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY OF A PHOENICIAN MUSHROOM-LIPPED JUG

Summary.   This paper is the biography of a single piece of pottery found in a tomb in Sardinia. The form is one that is common in Levantine sites in the Mediterranean in the Early Iron Age, but this single vessel, its history, context, and form, allows a greater story to be told: it points to a second wave of Levantine exploration and colonization – probably Tyrian – that built upon a Euboean–northern Phoenician initial phase in the eighth century BC.     

The Upper Paleolithic period in the Levant

The classic Upper Paleolithic sequence in the Levant was based on a series of stratified assemblages with culture-specific type fossils. Research in the last two decades has revealed numerous assemblages that cannot be accommodated within the classic sequence. The recently discovered assemblages are now regarded as representing two large entities that differ in both technology and typology. The locally developed Ahmarian is dominated by blades and bladelets, while the Levantine Aurignacian (probably an intrusive from the north) is dominated by flakes and by endscrapers or burins. The nature and contents of the sites suggest that Levantine Upper Paleolithic people were organized as small bands of mobile foragers, whose important resources were ungulate meat and plant foods. This subsistence economy and the associated settlement patterns lasted till about 13,000 B.P. and was succeeded by the Natufian culture with an entirely new socioeconomic organization.     

Chemical Analyses of Sarmatian Glass Beads from Pokrovka, Russia

The chemical composition of 18 glass beads from Early Sarmatian period burials were determined using electron probe microbeam analysis and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. The beads were made from high-magnesia-soda-lime-silica glass, leaded-soda-lime-silica glass, low-magnesia-soda-lime-silica glass and low-magnesia-high-potash glass. Multivariate analysis of the major oxides suggests that there are five distinct glass recipes used to manufacture these beads. These various glass recipes indicate the involvement of the Sarmatians in exchange/trade networks linking the Eastern Mediterranean, the Indian subcontinent, and China.     

Experimental Tests of Middle Palaeolithic Spear Points Using a Calibrated Crossbow

Controlled experiments using a calibrated crossbow to thrust stone-tipped spears into animal carcasses reveal a relationship between Levallois point morphology and their performance as spear points. A comparative study of morphometric variation of Levallois points from Levantine Mousterian contexts supports the hypothesis that the demand for stone spear points was an important factor in Levallois point production.     

Mobility patterns and core technologies in the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant

Mobility is thought to be a significant source of Middle Paleolithic archaeological variability in the East Mediterranean Levant. However, models of Levantine Middle Paleolithic land-use have historically been based on rare and taphonomically sensitive evidence from a limited number of sites. Because lithic artifacts are the most ubiquitous archaeological remains available to the prehistorian, relationships between stone tool technology and mobility patterns can improve tests of hypotheses about prehistoric land-use strategies. This paper examines variation in Middle Paleolithic mobility strategies in the Levant from the perspective of core technology. A model linking expedient core reduction techniques and decreased mobility is adapted from one developed for late prehistoric contexts in the New World. Incorporating core data from numerous Levantine Middle Paleolithic assemblages, this study tests hypotheses about diachronic change, synchronic geographic variation, and possible hominin behavioral differences in mobility strategies.     

Two unique Byzantine immured lead-glazed relief ceramic icons and related tiles from the church of St Basil in Arta,Greece: investigation and interpretation of materials and techniques

St Basil’s late Byzantine church in Arta (NW Greece) is unique among other surviving churches of the same era as a result of two glazed relief ceramic icons and arrays of square glazed tiles that decorate its external wall. The latter decorative items were carefully examined by means of analytical techniques in order to reveal the materials and techniques used for their manufacture and thus interpret their connection to the contemporary Byzantine and Italian ceramics. Analytical results indicate that lead plus quartz suspensions were employed for the fabrication of the majority of the glazes in the spirit of recipes for Italian Archaic majolica pottery, and thus they are differentiated from the common contemporary Byzantine products. Nonetheless, the raw materials used in the Arta area ceramics deviate substantially from those used in the Italian products and, possibly, a local (NW Greece) production is reflected. The unexpected rather rich variety of raw materials and/or techniques that underlies the visual uniformity of the glazed material in consideration might reflect selection of the best products generated upon experimentation with various contemporary technical alternatives. Finally, the decorative arrangement of the glazed items that we see today might reflect a way to circumventing original objections to the ceramic icon innovation.     

Local recipes or distant commodities? Lead isotope and chemical compositional analysis of glaze paints from the Salinas pueblos,New Mexico

For nearly four hundred years, Pueblo potters in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico produced technologically innovative glaze-decorated bowls and exchanged them widely among different villages. While potential sources of lead ores used to make glaze paints are found throughout the Rio Grande Valley region, researchers have only recently begun to identify which ore sources potters exploited and to understand the social and economic factors underlying patterns of ore resource use. In this paper we use stable lead isotope and electron microprobe analysis of glaze paints on Rio Grande Glaze Ware made at two Salinas pueblos to identify ore sources and glaze recipes used by their potters. Despite some isotopic overlap of ore sources, the lead isotope data point to regular exploitation of ores from the Socorro area of the southern Rio Grande. Salinas potters apparently used other sources as well, and likely mixed ores from different sources. We also identify four local glaze recipes that appear to incorporate multiple ore sources, suggesting that Salinas potters obtained raw ores rather than finished glaze paints.     

Rock art as an archaeological and social indicator: The neolithisation of the Iberian Peninsula

Rock art has been regarded as a second class archaeological data source. In this paper we use Levantine rock art as a case study, to show how this situation can be reversed. This rock art, found along the Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula, has been considered to be typically Mesolithic due to its distinctive hunting scenes. A review of certain archaeological indicators provides new arguments about its chronology, its socio-cultural attribution, and its significance. We first deal with the chronological issue, presenting the evidence that led to the recent consideration of the Levantine style as Early Neolithic, in synchrony with two other rock art styles (Schematic and Macroschematic). We will further propose that rock art itself is a central and independent source of information to explore the historical context of the Neolithisation of Mediterranean Iberia. Its wide geographical distribution allows us to study different and complementary territories as a single entity. This contrasts with the limitations posed by the study of settlements, whose differences, at a regional scale, are usually interpreted in terms of cultural variability. If we consider rock art as a key aspect in the constitution of social landscapes, it must not be treated just as an ideological by-product of the Neolithisation, but as a key factor in understanding this historical process.     

A BRONZE SCULPTURE ATTRIBUTED TO LOUIS-SIMON BOIZOT AND PLATINUM COATING METHODS

During the examination of the sculpture of Medea Rejuvenating Aeson attributed to Louis-Simon Boizot (1743–1809), X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed, surprisingly, that the outer surface of the brass cast was patinated with platinum. Research into the history of platinum coating methods revealed that chemical techniques for the deposition of platinum from solution were in use before the advent of electroplating. Some experimental work to replicate the patination technique of electrochemical replacement plating of platinum based on recipes from the nineteenth century is described. The technical evidence suggests that a late eighteenth-century date for the sculpture is reasonable.     

On the Constitution and Transformation of Philistine Identity

Recent discussion of the formation and alteration of Philistine identity in the Levantine Iron Age continues to reference primarily pottery styles and dietary practices. Such traditional narratives propose that the Philistines comprised one group of the ‘Sea Peoples’ and that the cultural boundary markers that distinguished their society in the Iron Age I (twelfth–eleventh century BC) diminished in importance and disappeared suddenly in the early Iron Age IIA (tenth century BC), with the ascendancy of the Judahite kingdom. Based on data from the Levant (especially Philistia), the Aegean and Cyprus, we argue for a more complex understanding of the Philistines who came to the region with an identity that drew on, and continued to engage with, a broad range of foreign artefact styles and cultural practices with non‐Levantine connections. Concurrently they incorporated local cultural attributes, at least until the late ninth century BC, a feature that we argue was unrelated to the supposed tenth century expansion of the Judahite kingdom.     

An Upper Palaeolithic shell scraper from Ksar Akil (Lebanon)

The vast majority of Palaeolithic tools that survive in the archaeological record are lithics. Tools made of marine shell are rarely found in Western Eurasian contexts, regardless of the time period. This paper reports the discovery of a Glycymeris valve from the Upper Palaeolithic level of Ksar Akil (Lebanon), excavated in the 1940s and stored in a museum since then. The shell comes from level IX, whose lithic industry is attributed to the Levantine Aurignacian. Careful macroscopic and microscopic analysis revealed that the shell had been worked deliberately into a scraper-type tool. The shell was directly dated, at ～37 ka BP, an age much older than expected for its context, which was anticipated to be ～30 ka BP. This illustrates the potential problems relating to the AMS radiocarbon dating of bivalve shell material from the Levantine coast.     

Late antique glass from Salapia: Tracking production and trading networks

The investigation of 38 late antique vessels from the archaeological excavation of Salapia has been performed using EMPA and LA-ICP-MS. The collection was made using impure sands and mineral soda. Among coloured glass, most vessels were made of ‘fresh’ glass. The use of colouring agents is rare, and most decoloured glass is obtained by Mn addition. Sb-decolouration is limited to one cup, and two colourless vessels show both manganese and antimony. As for provenance, the prevalence of Egyptian-HIMT glass over the Levantine is evident. Among Levantine glass, Jalame glass is represented, whereas Apollonia glass is absent. Among Egyptian (and deemed Egyptian) glass, the prevalence of HIMT glass over the other types has been observed. The high attestation of fresh glass, most notable in the earlier centuries, suggests the importation of glass in the form of finished objects, especially luxury vessels.