Down at the old Ship and Ball — taverns,trade and daily life in the London Borough of Southwark

SUMMARY: Archaeological excavations in Southwark over the past 50 years have proved to be a very prolific source of evidence for the material culture of people living in this part of London from the 16th century onwards. This lecture, the fourth held by SPMA in honour of the late Geoff Egan, focuses on a remarkably rich and varied assemblage of 17th- and 18th-century artefacts excavated on a site in Tanner Street in 2012. Covering a wide spectrum of activities, occupations and levels of society, these include ceramics, glass, clay tobacco pipes, pewter, copper-alloy, wood, leather, bone and ivory, with objects as diverse as cloth seals, spoons, book mounts, wine bottles and glasses, bird feeders and a mallet for playing pall mall, and sources ranging from the English Midlands to the Far East.     

Spinning Yarns: The Archaeological Evidence for Hand Spinning and its Social Implications,c ad 1200–1500

THIS PAPER EXAMINES the archaeological evidence for hand spinning in medieval Britain from c 1200 to c 1500. Ceramic, stone and baked clay spindle whorls have dominated the excavated finds, but a new corpus of lead-alloy spindle whorls, recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme and Scottish Treasure Trove, is presented here. Analysis of the metal whorls’ distribution, manufacture, dating and decoration is provided, illuminating the wide social and economic contexts in which they were used. From memento mori of pious spinners to sexually potent objects representative of lubricious gossips, the ubiquitous spindle whorl was a universal tool that had a powerful agency. The artefacts are small finds embodying daily life but also tie into the wider national economy of the High and Late Middle Ages.     

Between science and empire: the diplomatic struggle over Mesopotamian antiquities in Lisbon (1914–1926)

A powerful curiosity to discover the ancient world – reaching its peak in the nineteenth century – led to British, French, and German museums to enhance their collections with a great number of Mesopotamian antiquities. Most of these were the product of excavation work, which took years, followed by a shipping process fraught with hurdles and delays – much as when Babylonian and Assyrian antiquities were stranded in Portugal over the period 1914–26. In that case Portuguese officials seized the hoard of Babylonian and Assyrian items due to be sent to Germany at the beginning of the First World War by the German Oriental Society, which had carried out excavation works in Ottoman territories in the name of Kaiser II Wilhelm. The extensive British efforts and diplomatic exchanges aimed at bringing the pieces to London after the war, presents us with important clues regarding ownership disputes over antiquities, and the imperial struggle to acquire the cultural heritage of the near east. This study reveals that, under the existing legal framework, the items eventually taken to Berlin actually belonged to the Imperial Museum in Istanbul, and analyzes the discourse of ‘scientific concern’ constructed by British diplomacy.     

考古与甲骨学的宝贵收获——读《殷墟花园庄东地甲骨》

《殷墟花园庄东地甲骨》是一部优秀的考古发掘报告,又是一本令人耳目一新的甲骨学著作,本文从报告体例、科学性和技术水平、资料的价值、著者的研究等方面对该书进行了评价。指出该书是一部具有很高科学价值和实用价值的著作。     

《武汉博物馆文物保存环境监测评价报告》结论分析及其思考

通过对《武汉博物馆文物保存环境监测评价报告》综合分析,将武汉博物馆在馆藏文物保存环境达标建设一期工程中对文物保存环境中的温湿度、空气污染物、光照等控制方法和效果做了客观分析和评价。同时从工作观念的更新、工作程序的规范和工作方案的科学方面提出了自己的见解,并对影响文物保存环境的因素做了客观分析。进而提出建立馆藏文物保存环境达标建设专业技术委员会、加强文物保存小环境的研究、尽早公布实施《博物馆藏品保存环境规范》、重点解决馆藏文物保存环境中的主要矛盾和重视新馆建设、规范陈列制作和环境改造中的环境保护问题等建议。强调要用科学的发展观指导馆藏文物保存环境达标试点工作,以实现我国基层博物馆馆藏文物保护工作从传统的个体保护走向科学的整体保护的目标。     

郭店简、上博简中的禅让学说与中国古史上的禅让制

关于尧舜禹禅让的事迹,见于春秋以前的史籍,并非出自战国的某家之言;孔子虽讲到尧舜禹禅让,但实际并未提倡实行禅让;郭店简《唐虞之道》与上博简《容成氏》、《子羔》篇,皆为战国儒家后学所作;尧舜禹禅让传说是三代以前存在不同于后世之世袭制的权力继承制的反映,不能视为战国诸子为了宣扬自己的社会理想编造的故事;中国古史传说与西方学者关于古代社会研究结论的吻合,证明人类古代社会的发育是有其共同规律的。     

‘Why did they take him away?’ The theft of Neddy Larkin

Neddy Larkin, a Bundjalung man from New South Wales, Australia, was stolen from his grave and in 1891 sold to the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA. This paper uses the methodology and concepts outlined in Latour’s An Inquiry into Modes of Existence to chart Neddy Larkin’s transitions from kinsman to scientific data.     

城镇土地定级研究的几个问题——以西安市中心城市区为例

本文以西安市中心城市区土地定级为例,对城镇土地定级的理论和研究方法进行了较深入的研究、探讨,拓宽和深化了地理学、土地经济学的研究内容。为我国城镇土地定级研究工作的进一步开展提供重要依据。     

口碑史料厘定

口碑史料是史料的四大类型之一。现代概念上的口碑史学在中国尚未真正建立起来 ,史学界对口碑史料的认识相当模糊。为纠谬补苴 ,使口碑史料与其他类型的史料彻底区别开来 ,笔者主张把口碑史料定义为 :由历史研究者亲自采访得来的、仅供自己使用的口耳相传的史料。它应包括口述回忆、口头传说和专用口语三部分。