Unusual Use of Freshwater Mussel (Unio sp.) Shells during the Early Bronze Age at Tell es-Sa'idiyeh,Jordan

Abstract

Amongst the marine, land and freshwater molluscs from the Early Bronze Age at Tell es-Sa'idiyeh, Jordan, is a group of freshwater mussels which shows evidence of distinctive working. These Unio bivalves have been examined using the scanning electron microscope in order to characterise the patterns of modification. Despite the fact that their precise function remains enigmatic, the range of possibilities has been better understood as a result.     

The Excavations at Tel 'Eton (2006–2009): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Tel 'Eton, commonly identified with biblical 'Eglon, is a large site in the trough valley in the southeastern Shephelah. Since the summer of 2006, Bar-Ilan University has been carrying out a large-scale exploration project at the site and its surroundings. The excavations were preceded by a detailed mapping of the site, which was subsequently divided into 39 sub-units. This was followed by survey and shovel tests in each of those units, and by full-scale excavations in four excavation areas. It appears that the site was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, and again in the Middle Bronze Age to the late Iron Age (8^th century BCE). Following a settlement gap in the 7^th–5^th centuries BCE, the site was resettled for a short period in the late Persian or early Hellenistic period. Among the major finds is a thick Assyrian destruction layer (8^th century BCE), which sealed many houses with their content, including many pottery vessels, metal artifacts, and botanical material (some still within the vessels), and many additional finds. The present article summarizes the results of the explorations of the site in 2006–2009.     

略论辽三彩与唐、宋三彩的异同

唐三彩是一种流行于唐代的铅釉陶器,也是唐代陶瓷手工业的一个新品种。在中国陶瓷史上,唐三彩犹如一枝盛开的奇葩,以它那斑斓绚丽的色泽和栩栩如生的造型,赢得世人的普遍赞誉和喜爱。它与当时的诗歌、乐舞、书画、雕塑、建筑等艺术形式交相辉映,共同构成大唐盛世的豪迈雄风。继唐代之后,辽、宋时期受唐三彩的直接影响,先后烧制出了各具特色的辽三彩和宋三彩。本文通过辽三彩与唐、宋三彩的对比研究,重点探讨三者之间的共同点及相互差异。一辽国创建于公元916年,公元1125年被金所灭,共传九帝,历210年。辽与中原王朝的五代、北宋并立,以今天津…     

Tell el-Ful Revisited: The Assyrian and Hellenistic Periods (with a New Identification)

Abstract

This article deals with the settlement history of Tell el-Ful from the Iron Age until the Hellenistic period. The author rejects past theories that a great fortress was built at the site in the Iron I period and that the settlement was protected by a casemate wall in the Iron IIC. He also rejects the identification of Tell el-Ful as biblical Gibeah/Gibeah of Saul. The author proposes that the tower excavated by Albright and Lapp was first constructed in the Iron IIC as an Assyrian watchtower commanding the northern approach to Jerusalem, and that it was one link in a system of such forts around the capital of Judah. The author maintains that the building served as a Hellenistic fort in a later phase and suggests the possibility, however speculative, of identifying Tell el-Ful with Pharathon, mentioned as one of the forts constructed by Bacchides in Judea in the early 2nd century BCE, and with Perath/Parah of late-monarchic times.     

Problems and Possibilities of Delivering 'Footloose' Geography: The case for space

Within the UK Higher Education system, geography is sometimes taught outside the framework of a conventional geography degree programme. Using a case study of the situation at Napier University, Edinburgh, this paper explores the problems and possibilities of delivering 'footloose' geography within a broadly, but not exclusively, social science context.     

The Hellenistic and Roman Syracuse (Sicily) Fine Pottery Production Explored by Chemical and Petrographic Analysis

The chemical composition and petrographic features of 51 samples of fine pottery selected from the archaeological site of Syracuse have been established by means of optical microscopy and X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry, with the aim of creating a reference group for the ceramics produced in this important Greek colony during the Hellenistic–Roman period. This reference group is constrained by the analysis of six kiln wasters and of raw materials outcropping in the studied area. Among the studied findings, the main part is assignable imputably to local production, while some specimens probably come from Greece and other colonies (Messina and Gela). The Syracuse fine pottery is characterized by inclusions formed mainly by quartz and micaceous and fossiliferous groundmass. The used pastes were more or less purified through the removal of the sandy‐to‐coarse silty granulometric fraction. The multivariate statistical analysis of chemical data permits the identification of production at Syracuse on the basis of comparison with the kiln wasters and the Plio‐Pleistocene clays.     

Technology Transfer at the Periphery of the Mycenaean World: The Cases of Mycenaean Pottery Found in Central Macedonia (Greece) and the Plain of Sybaris (Italy)*

The study of technology transfer in pottery production to the periphery of the Mycenaean world has been addressed by considering two different areas, southern Italy and central Macedonia. Technological features such as ceramic paste, decoration and firing have been determined for different ceramic groups established according to provenance criteria. The studies of technology and provenance have been performed following an archaeometric approach, using neutron activation analysis, petrographic analysis, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results have revealed the existence of two different models. On the one hand, southern Italy seems to exhibit a more organized pottery production, which follows a Mycenaean‐like technology, while in central Macedonia production is probably more varied, being based in part on the technology of the local tradition.     

Women's history in Italy (nineteenth and twentieth centuries)

This essay surveys the development of women's history in Italy since its origins, examining the principal questions that have driven research and debate from the 1960s to the present, the ways in which women's history in other countries (notably the US) has been influential in Italy, the impact of women's history on other branches of historical research in Italy and its place — or rather lack of place ‐ in Italian universities.     

仙人好楼居:襄阳新出相轮陶楼与中国浮图祠类证

湖北襄阳东汉—三国蔡越墓出土的相轮陶楼,在建筑形制上为汉式陶楼和印度式相轮塔刹的结合,在装饰母题上同时兼有汉地神仙瑞兽与印度—犍陀罗式有翼天人的图像,明显带有佛教初传时期汉、印文化杂糅的特点。本文在讨论陶楼形制的过程中,分别联系同期北方墓葬中出土的陶楼明器和汉晋之际江南地区的佛饰堆塑重楼魂瓶进行类比分析,证明这两类墓葬明器都与文献记载的"浮图祠"相关联。在佛教初传汉地时,由"仙人好楼居"的汉式重楼过渡到高层佛塔,浮图祠是初期的标志,襄阳蔡越墓陶楼或可看作是浮图祠的标准器。浮图祠用作明器进入墓葬,反映了汉地民间埋葬方式因佛教传入而起的新变化,并在随后长江中游六朝砖墓的建造中留下了印记。     

“正统论”与中国古代政治文化的理性光芒

具有儒家思想特色的政治权力合法性理论——“正统论”中的理性光芒和政治智慧,主要体现在“正统论”中的超越合法性上。这种理论与意识形态以想象的方式按照某种惯例引导人去想象自己与自身所处的实际状况之间的关系不同,启发人从现实的角度思考人与历史、现实的关系,从而将“超越合法性”还原于人心。由此,我们在经济全球化的进程中寻找能够重新凝聚民族精神的价值理性时,应提倡“中华主流精神”,使它有助于建构现代社会的政治、经济和化结构模式,以参与新的世界史规律的形成。     

Spinal degenerative lesions and spinal ligamentous ossifications in ancient Chinese populations of the Yellow River Civilization

Rheumatological diseases, whether inflammatory or degenerative, are ubiquitous among modern Asian people but very few palaeopathological studies have been performed in Asia on this subject. Since 1996, we have been carrying out a palaeoepidemiological survey of rheumatic diseases in ancient Chinese and Japanese skeletal populations. Findings on the spinal column in ancient Chinese populations (ca. 5000 bc –ad 1644) in Henan Province (centre of the Yellow River Civilization) are reported in this study. The examined number of the people over 20 years old was 365 (185 males, 169 females and 11 unsexed). Of these, 248 were young adults, 98 were middle adults and 19 were old adults. Crude prevalence (number/100) in total population of vertebral osteophytosis/facet osteoarthritis was 17.5/7.7, 17/3.7 and 44.6/21.1 at the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, respectively. That of ossified anterior longitudinal ligament (OALL) or Forestier's disease was around 3 at each of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the cervical spine was observed in five out of 114 skeletons with cervical spine preserved, while it did not exist in any thoracic and lumbar segment. Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) was predominantly observed in the thoracic spine, the crude prevalence of which was 36.7. Overall spinal degenerative lesions seemed to have been more prevalent and spinal ligament ossifications less prevalent in ancient Chinese populations than in modern people. None of the inflammatory lesions like rheumatoid spondylitis, as well as seronegative spondyloarthropathies, were detected. This is the first palaeopathological study in which the prevalence of OPLL and OLF, the two clinically important spinal ligamentous ossifications causing myelopathy in modern mankind, was surveyed in ancient skeletons. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochemical Characterization of Lapita Pottery Via Inductively Coupled Plasma–mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS)

We have obtained high‐resolution elemental data on Lapita ceramics (3200–2700 cal year bp ) from Fiji, Tonga and New Ireland using chemistry‐based inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). These data show clear elemental distinctions between Lapita pottery manufactured in Fiji, Tonga and New Ireland, and demonstrate significant elemental variation in Fijian ceramics collected from settlements in close proximity to one another. Therefore, we anticipate that ICP–MS will become an effective technique for tracking the transfer of Lapita pottery within and between different island groups in Oceania.     

Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in organic residue from the hoard of ancient Vani (western Georgia)

An investigation of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in the organic material in bronze objects found in Vani provides evidence that, in the first half of the first century BC, the climate of the area was cooler and much more humid than nowadays. The local population was engaged in cattle-breeding and agriculture, and both viticulture and horticulture were also well developed. The analysis of the contents of an oil lamp showed that the lamp was in use for a long time and was filled with flax oil. Large pieces of beeswax found in the hoard provide evidence of the existence of local bronze-casting industry. The palynological studies of the recent and fossil soil of Vani have shown that only in soil spectra large quantities of spores of various fungi were found, which distinguishes them from the domestic dust spectra. On the basis of this argument it was established that most part of the studied fossil material is not contaminated by the soil where the hoard of bronze objects was buried.     

20世纪前期宜兴陶业史料钩沉及泥片成型

自晚清以来,首先由一些外国人开始关注、著录宜兴陶业。到20世纪前期,中国人对于窑口、产品、工艺等宜兴陶业情况的文献记录逐渐涌现,其中包括宜兴制陶环节中最具特色的泥片成型工艺。传统泥片成型工艺虽延续至今,但以如今的制作方法与之相比,诸多方面和细节已逐渐改变,甚至消失。宜兴窑业传统工艺的传承与保护,任重而道远。     

Technological Characterization of Campanian Pottery of Type A,B and C and of Regional Products from Ancient Calabria (Southern Italy)

Sherds of Campanian pottery were studied by SEM‐EDX. SEM images show that slips of Campana C are scarcely sintered and are thicker than the well vitrified coatings of Campana A and B and imitations of Campana B. Slips of products with a grey slip on a grey body are very thin and well vitrified. EDX analyses indicate that slips are richer in aluminium and iron, and poorer in silicon and calcium, with respect to the bodies. Higher potassium is also found in all of the coatings except those of Campana A. Here relatively high sodium makes the total alkalis comparable with those of the other products, except Campana C, where it is somewhat lower. Measurement of thermal expansion and X‐ray powder diffractograms suggest that firing temperatures were mostly in excess of 900°C, but some samples of Campana C seem to have been fired below 800°C.     

LIME PLASTER AS AN ADHESIVE FOR HAFTING EIGHTEENTH-DYNASTY FLINT SICKLES FROM TELL EL DAB'A,EASTERN NILE DELTA (EGYPT)*

A combination of analytical techniques, including thin-section observations, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis, was applied to study the nature and origin of an adhesive used for mounting flint sickle blades to a wooden handle, recovered from early Eighteenth Dynasty culture layers of the multi-layer settlement at Tell el Dab'a, Lower Eygpt. The results obtained from these investigations led to the conclusion that the adhesive is a pure lime plaster, thus providing the oldest evidence for the use of this material as a binding agent so far known in ancient Egypt.