Tibets Last Caravan Charged With Transporting Salt （V）：SETTING OUT FROM THE SALT LAKE

After finishing gathering salt, the next step was to carry it home. Because the salt-carrying cattle had been tied up the prevrous day, the caravan should by rights have set out well before dawn according to habit, Director Tan asked Galsang Wangdui to delay the departure until daylight so as to provide a filming oppertunity.     

TIBET'S LAST CARAVAN WITH TRANSPORTING SALT(Ⅱ)

After a gap of four days, we came across the caravan again. We picked an optimal point and took a picture of the marching caravan with the snow-capped mountain as its backdrop. While the caravan was plodding along, Galsang Wangdui was not idle, as he was busy in twisting wool into strings with a 1/3rd of a meter-long stick until they became strong ropes. When we finished photographing the caravan of Galsang Wangdui, we advanced ahead to locate the caravan. Soigya was shuttling among the cara…     

TIBET'S LAST CARAVAN WITH TRANSPORTING SALT(Ⅵ)——Last Reunion Supper and Kitchen God in Legend

After resting overnight in Banggo County, we were completely refreshed.We did not go back by the outward route but selected a short cut. Although the distance was shorter, the condition was worse-three small mountains to be crossed. After climbing over the first mountain and going down the slope, we soon arrived at the foot of the second mountain. There was a steep mountain pass before us. The vehicle was climbing and moving slowly upward with the engine laboring. This place was also the lau…     

TIBET’S LAST CARAVAN WITH TRANSPORTING SALT(III)——SALT LANGUAGE AND THE CARAVAN

Saltmen believed aboriginal gods were everywhere. If anyone in a caravan did something bad, offending the local gods, then these would punish the caravan and even bring down disaster upon it. If everyone respected and offered sacrifices to the gods, and followed all the caravan rules, then they the gods would protect them.     

TIBET‘S LAST CARAVAN CHARGED WITH TRANSPORTING SALT(Ⅶ):Barter Trade between Food Grains and Salt

By setting out for saline lakes in spring, Tibetan caravans on horseback return to farmlands in autumn to barter salt for agricultural products.     

TIBET’S LAST CARAVAN WITH TRANSPORTING SALT (IV)——WORKING WHILE SINGING

When the director woke us early in the morning, twinkling stars filled the sky amid dead silence; the mountains could be seen dimly snaking away to the far horizon. We drove to the Salt Lake. The distance was only a little over 10 km, but the way was blocked by a river and the road was rough. So, we all began to judge the direction and searched for the little path leading to the Salt Lake. Northern Tibet in the early spring was still covered with ice and snow. We continued to walk along the…     

TIBET‘S LAST CARAVAN CHARGED WITH TRANSPORTING SALT(Ⅸ):Kelsang Wangdul Arrives at Lhasa

The road became worse by the south part of Namtso;streams of melting snow had eroded the road until it resembled a giant comb.The vehicle alternated between speeding along and a sudden brake that made everyone lurch about as though they were all intoxicated.     

THE LAST TRADE CARAVAN IN TIBET(Ⅶ)——Dongya Is Getting Married

Rural Marriage In Tibet,everybody knows the saying“hit a dog“;some even use it in literature, referring to“A romantic fashion of hitting dogs“.It cannot be easily determined where this phrase originated and there are certainly no records available but, notwithstanding, this phrase has spread throughout the community, referring to certain trysts between men and women.     

WHERE DID THE LUSTRE TILES OF THE SIDI OQBA MOSQUE (ad 836–63) IN KAIROUAN COME FROM?*

Metallic lustre decoration of glazed ceramics is a very special kind of ornament, because its colours change with the observational conditions. In diffused light, they can be green, brown or ochre–yellow. In specular reflection, they show an associated coloured metallic shine (blue, golden‐yellow or orange). The lustre tiles at the Sidi Oqba Mosque in Kairouan still have no defined origin (possibly Kairouan and/or Mesopotamia). Physicochemical analyses of eight Kairouan lustre tile samples and four Mesopotamian lustre pottery samples show that the Kairouan tiles probably came from Mesopotamia, from a major production centre, possibly Baghdad, Samarra or Basra.     

THE TECHNOLOGY OF PRODUCTION OF SASANIAN GLAZED POTTERY FROM VEH ARDAŠ?R (CENTRAL IRAQ)

Scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive X‐ray detector (SEM‐EDS) has been used to study samples of Sasanian glazed pottery. Analysis of ceramic bodies revealed a general homogeneity in composition among the studied samples and the use of calcareous clay for their manufacture. Glazes are typically alkaline in composition, with sodium and potassium oxide contents between 8 and 13%, and between 3 and 5%, respectively; calcium and magnesium oxide contents are between 7 and 10%, and between 3 and 5%, respectively. These data suggest the use of plant ash together with a silica source for glaze production. Coating thickness is highly variable among different samples, from some 400 up to 1200 µm, but it is generally uniform when a single sample is concerned. Glazes are mostly coloured blue or blue‐green; copper and iron are the colouring agents detected; abundance of bubbles, silicate crystals and relics of unmelted material are responsible for their generally opaque appearance, together with the presence of weathering products. The characteristics of the body to glaze contact zone, together with the widespread presence of bubbles, would not rule out production by a single firing process. A few samples feature a peculiar gritty coating on one side of their surface; SEM images show that they are actually partially vitrified, and EDS data denote a rather heterogeneous composition. It seems possible that they result from mixing clay together with the frit used for glaze development.     

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF CERAMICS FROM THE CHRONOLOGICALLY TRANSITIONAL (LATE BRONZE – EARLY IRON AGE) SITE OF LINYOVO-1, SOUTHERN SIBERIA: METHODOLOGICAL PROSPECTS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS

Linyovo-1, a Late Bronze – Early Iron Age site in southwestern Siberia, is highly important for the study of ceramic production as it offers a rare opportunity for directly examining the clay and paste of which the vessels were made. Technological analysis has allowed us to trace the changes produced by fi ring. For the fi rst time, results of petrographic, X-ray phase, and thermal analysis of vessels are being published. An algorithm of derivatographic measurements and the techniques of data processing and interpretation are outlined in some detail. Prospects for science-based methods of studying pottery are discussed. As an alternative to the traditional approach for assessing fi ring temperature on the basis of thermal analysis, we suggest using a comparative analysis of the preservation of clay components in the ceramic paste to evaluate the quality of fi ring. This approach can be used with regard to vessels from a single site as well as those from different sites and even with regard to various parts of a single vessel.     

MAIZE ADOPTION AND INTENSIFICATION IN THE CENTRAL ILLINOIS RIVER VALLEY: AN ANALYSIS OF ARCHAEOBOTANICAL DATA FROM THE LATE WOODLAND TO EARLY MISSISSIPPIAN PERIODS (A.D. 600–1200)

Abstract

We consider the causes and timing of maize (Zea mays) intensification in the central Illinois River valley and argue that an understanding of changes in maize production requires a consideration of changes occurring in the entire plant subsistence system. To this end, we explore trends in the collection and production of plant foods from the Late Woodland (A.D. 600–1100) to Early Mississippian periods (A.D. 1100–1200). The plant data reveal a stepwise decrease in nut collection during the Late Woodland period, and again during the transition to the Early Mississippian period. This pattern is accompanied by statistical increases in maize abundance, indicating an intensification of maize production around A.D. 1100. We consider these patterns in light of similar maize increases occurring throughout the Eastern Woodlands and evaluate several possible interpretations related to population pressure, climate change, competitive generosity, and cultural emulation, the latter which appears to have been inspired by prolonged contact between local populations and Mississippian groups in the greater Cahokia area.     

HISTORY ENGRAVED ON THE STONES-Tubo Stone Inscription in Lhodrak——The 2~(nd) Record of Archeological Studies in Lhodrak

<正>Lhodrak Town is a small town on the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region(TAR) in China.This is a peaceful and beautiful town stretching from east to west along the Lhodrak River between a mountain and the river.The Xungqu River of Lhodrak runs day and night from the town to the distant border.The end of the downtown of the county seems to be the end of the access.Nevertheless,a single road suddenly appears before you,zigzagging to the village and surrounded by rich forest.In the morning when the fog is still lying on the land,we have     

THE COMPOSITION AND MANUFACTURE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL COLOURED WINDOW GLASS FROM SION (VALAIS,SWITZERLAND)—A ROMAN GLASS‐MAKING TRADITION OR INNOVATIVE CRAFTSMANSHIP?*

Archaeological excavations between 1984 and 2001 at the early Christian cemetery church in Sion, Sous‐le‐Scex (Rhône Valley, Switzerland), brought to light more than 400 pieces of coloured window glass dating from the fifth or sixth centuries ad . The aims of this paper are threefold: first, to characterize the shape, colour and chemical composition of the glass; secondly, to understand whether the production of the coloured window panes followed traditional Roman glazing techniques or was of a more innovative nature; and, thirdly, to provide some indications as to the overall design of these early ornamental glass windows. Forty samples of coloured glass have been analysed by wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence. The results of the chemical and the technological studies showed that most of the glass was produced using recycled glass, particularly as a colouring agent. Some of the glass was made of essentially unmodified glass of the Levantine I type. The results taken together seem to confirm that raw glass from this region was widely traded and used between the fourth and seventh centuries ad . The artisans at Sion were apparently still making use of the highly developed techniques of Roman glass production. The colour spectrum, manufacture and design of the windows, however, suggest that they represent early examples of ornamental coloured glass windows.