An Investigation of Characteristic Periods of Seismic Ground Motions

The design seismic base shear was obtained from the spectral elastic acceleration S_a divided by a system behavior factor R, accounting for ductility and overstrength. The behavior factor is currently taken as a constant for a given type of structures in various codes regardless of structural periods. In fact, the behavior factor is also a spectrum varying with the natural periods of structures. In order to understand the relationship between the spectral values and the corresponding characteristic periods in these two spectra, S_a and R_μ, this article carries out an investigation into the characteristic periods of 370 seismic ground motions from 4 site types. It is found that the periods T_ga at which the peak values appear in the S_a spectra are much less than the periods T _gR at which the R_μ spectra take a maximum value. Two characteristic periods are necessary to determine the seismic action if a more elaborate procedure is required in practice. Statistical study on these two periods is carried out for the 370 records, and results are presented. For site types A–D, the ratio of these two periods has a statistically averaged value of 5.5–6.7.

The maximum input energy S _EI , relative velocity S _v , power density P _SD , and the Fourier amplitude F _S spectra were constructed to determine their characteristic periods, respectively. These four spectra predict similar characteristic periods to T _gR . T _gR is very close to the characteristic period T _gd of the elastic displacement spectra.

Analysis of SDOF systems under combined harmonic excitations shows that the S_a spectrum is more sensitive to high-frequency excitations, while the displacement spectrum is more sensitive to long period excitations. For the elastic-plastic S_a spectra, peak values tend to appear at shorter periods even the amplitudes of the longer periods are greater than that of the shorter period. This provides an explanation on different characteristic periods in the S_a and R_μ spectra.     

Shell-gathering from mangroves and the seasonality of the Southeast Asian Monsoon using high-resolution stable isotopic analysis of the tropical estuarine bivalve (Geloina erosa) from the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak: methods and reconnaissance of molluscs of early Holocene and modern times

This paper describes a reconnaissance, high-resolution, study of stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) from modern shells of the estuarine bivalve Geloina erosa, and those dated to the early Holocene that were harvested by people from mangroves near the Great Cave of Niah on the north coast of Borneo. This reconnaissance study provides high-resolution palaeoclimatic-palaeohydrological information concerning early human activity in the region and the past character of the Southeast Asian Monsoon. Laser ablation continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-CF-IRMS) on modern shells of Geloina erosa revealed ‘saw-tooth’ stable isotopic profiles that bear a close resemblance to peaks and troughs of trends in recent local rainfall, including the 1998 El Niño drought, highlighting the potential of Geloina erosa for reconstructing seasonality of the Southeast Asian Palaeomonsoon. LA-CF-IRMS analysis of prehistoric shells of Geloina erosa held in the Harrisson Archives of the Sarawak Museum revealed cyclical shifts in δ¹⁸O with similar amplitudes of variation as found in modern shells of Geloina erosa. As at the present day, this probably reflects the changing seasonality of the monsoon rains with shifts to negative δ¹⁸O values during periods of high runoff. Lighter mean δ¹⁸O values of the prehistoric shells, however, may indicate a greater annual surplus of rainfall and possibly consistent with the early Holocene strengthening of the summer monsoon at that time. The similarity of the last growth increment δ¹⁸O of the prehistoric shells to their mean δ¹⁸O profile values suggests that gathering took place during times of moderate runoff.     

Stability in the South Pacific surface marine C reservoir over the last 750 years. Evidence from American Samoa, the southern Cook Islands and the Marquesas

Although minor climatic and sea-level changes have been documented for the South Pacific during the late Holocene, our understanding of the consequent impact of these changes on the marine ¹⁴C reservoir, and therefore the ¹⁴C content of shellfish, is limited. Ultimately, this has implications for documenting the chronology of human movement and adaptation in this region. In this paper we compare marine reservoir (ΔR) data obtained from tightly controlled archaeological proveniences with known-age, pre-AD 1950 shells from the southern Cook Islands, American Samoa, and Marquesas Islands. Results indicate that there has been no significant change in the near-shore marine reservoir in these three locations over the last ca. 750 years. Furthermore, known-age, pre-AD 1950 shell samples provide more precise ΔR values for use in sample calibration than archaeological paired shell/charcoal samples. This is attributed in part to the limitations of assigning provenance and age to material from archaeological sites. On the basis of these results we conclude that the known-age, pre-AD 1950 shell derived ΔR values can be used to calibrate shell ¹⁴C results from deposits of late Holocene age.     

Presence of the African Saber-toothed FelidMegantereon whitei(Broom, 1937) (Mammalia, Carnivora, Machairodontinae) in Apollonia-1 (Mygdonia Basin, Macedonia, Greece)

We have made a multivariate morphometric study of the fossils ofMegantereonfrom the Apollonia-1 site at the Mygdonia Basin (Macedonia, Greece), using discriminant functions. Results obtained indicate that these specimens belong to the African speciesMegantereon whiteiBroom, which is also found in the Lower Pleistocene of Dmanisi (East Georgia, Caucasus) and Orce (Southern Spain). Morphofunctional studies ofM. whiteisuggest that this saber-toothed felid was an ambush predator with great killing capability in relation to its food requirements, thus leaving enough meat to be scavenged by both hyaenas and hominids.M. whiteimay have played an important ecological role making the first dispersal ofHomoto Eurasia the Lower Pleistocene possible.     

Roman agriculture in the conventus Bracaraugustanus (NW Iberia)

A review of archaeobotanical data, together with new, still unpublished data, from Roman sites in conventus Bracaraugustanus suggests the Romanization of the northwest Iberia brought little changes to the agricultural strategies of local communities in indigenous-type settlements. The main crops remain the same as in the Iron Age: Triticum aestivum/durum, Panicum miliaceum, Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare, Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum and T. aestivum subsp. spelta, Avena and Vicia faba. The first secure reference for the cultivation of Secale cereale in the region comes from a Roman context, suggesting that it was introduced in this period, although it probably remained a minor crop.     

Fowling during the Gravettian: the avifauna of Pavlov I, the Czech Republic

This is the first article that describes in detail the bird remains from the Gravettian mega-site Pavlov I in the Czech Republic. More than 1000 bird bones represent at least 19 taxa, of which the most numerous are tetraonids including black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) and ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and ravens (Corvus corax). The archaeological and biological contexts indicate that most birds were hunted by people in the vicinity of the site, possibly with the help of knotted nets made from plant fibres. We suggest that ravens were killed while feeding on carcasses and/or food remains that may have been disposed of intentionally, and feathers may have been used for arrow fletching. Human-modified bones indicate that birds were used not only for food but also as raw material for tools and decoration. Although mammals were certainly more important in the subsistence of the Gravettian people, it is clear that birds played a role in their culture. The location of Pavlov I enlarges the explanatory scope of the Broad Spectrum Revolution hypothesis to include higher latitudes north of the Mediterranean.     

数字化全色接笔技术在华池双塔寺佛教版画虚拟修复中的应用

由于保存环境及人为破坏等因素的影响，中国古版画大多存在不同程度的残缺病害，艺术和研究价值受到严重破坏。为再现古代版画艺术风貌，利用基于色彩管理系统的图像采集、数字绘画、艺术微喷等技术，对甘肃华池县博物馆一幅图像严重残缺的佛教版画进行了数字化全色接笔虚拟修复。经实践验证，数字化全色接笔技术可以在不干预文物本体的基础上精准还原图形和色彩，且虚拟修复后的复制品作为图像补充，与传统修复后的文物本体共同展示时，可完善其艺术美学观感。研究结果可为书画保护修复技术发展研究提供参考。     

Biblical Archaeology: a Plea for its Continuation

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to propose a ritualistic reading of Old Testament ritual texts based on the theory of Roy A. Rappaport. ² 2. Rappaport's ritual theory as it is expressed in Rappaport's major work, Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). One of Rappaport's more or less overlooked views is that in order to be able to “understand” a certain ritual, one will have to become acquainted with this ritual's liturgical orders, its encoded message. In other words to understand a ritual it is necessary in some way to be informed of this ritual's particular worldview.

As I focus on the ritual texts of the so called P material in the Pentateuch, and in particular on the law of the Nazirite in Numbers 6,1–21, I use this notion of Rappaport's as a hermeneutical key to the reading of the ritual texts.

It is my claim that when we try to answer the questions posed by a ritual text, if we limit our search to the worldview of the ritual in question, we will not only be using an approach which is methodologically sound and appropriate, we will also receive better answers.     

The ‘bullets to water’ belief complex: a pan-southern African cognate epistemology for protective medicines and the control of projectiles

Remarkable similarities across colonial encounters where Africans believed projectiles could be influenced by ritual practices (medicines, behaviours, observances) demand enquiry into their conception and trajectory. Although suggestion of pan-subcontinental phenomena may elicit suspicion of a generalisation, here evidence is examined from the late-independent and colonial periods that shows that a general belief, held cognate between groups, may indeed have existed. The focus is on precolonial¹ southern African beliefs in the manipulation of projectiles and how these may have affected ritual responses to firearms during colonisation. At least a millennium of interactions between hunters, herders and farmers appear to have resulted in commonly held beliefs, albeit with differential emphases. From first contact, and into sustained colonisation, it became necessary for Africans to highlight and/or adapt indigenous beliefs as mechanisms by which to cope with firearms and settler aggressive expansion.     

ACCESSING PAST BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: THE CASE OF LEMNIAN EARTH*

Lemnian Earth, a medicine in the shape of a stamped clay tablet (sphragis) from Lemnos, northeastern Greece, was much valued in antiquity and in the post‐medieval period as an antidote to poison and a treatment for other ailments. Although it was among the first archaeological materials to be subjected to chemical analysis (in 1807), there is still no clear understanding as to what made Lemnian Earth an effective medicine. We argue that Lemnian Earth, the artefact, was not the same as Lemnian Earth, the raw material. We suggest a composition for the artefact by scrutinizing the documentary evidence for its properties and by considering the geochemical processes that led to the formation of the raw material and the ritual relating to its extraction. The study of the latter highlights the need for archaeological materials scientists to recognize ritual as a possible manifestation of physical and chemical processes carried out within the framework of past beliefs and practices.     

Getting “Out of Africa”: Sea Crossings,Land Crossings and Culture in the Hominin Migrations

Palaeoanthropologists and archaeologists have advanced a wide range of explanatory narratives for the various movements of Homo erectus/Homo ergaster, and the first modern Homo sapiens, “Out of Africa”—or even back again. The application of Occam's razor—a parsimonious approach to causes—gives a more cautious approach. There is nothing in the available evidence that would require the ability for a human water crossing from Africa before the later Pleistocene, whether across the Strait of Gibraltar, the Sicilian Channel or the southern Red Sea (Bab el-Mandab). A parsimonious narrative is consistent with movements across the Sinai peninsula. The continuous arid zone from northern Africa to western Asia allowed both occupation and transit during wet phases of the Pleistocene; there is no requirement for a “sponge” model of absorption followed by expulsion of human groups. The Nile Valley as a possible transit route from East Africa has a geological chronology that could fit well much current evidence for the timing of human migration. The limited spatial and temporal opportunities for movements “Out of Africa,” or back again, also puts particular difficulties in the way of the gene flow required for the multiregional hypothesis of the development of modern Homo sapiens.     

The Irish Sí Tradition: Connections Between the Disciplines,and What’s in a Word?

One of the most prominent features of the Irish landscape is the great multitude of megalithic sites which date back to the Neolithic. In this paper, I will attempt to demonstrate that the understanding of these sites in Ireland can be enhanced by referencing the native tradition, including the Irish word for the sites, sí, and the sís powerful cultural tradition attested to throughout native Irish folklore, literature, onomastics, and traditional knowledge. In doing so, I will explore the difficulties and the potentials of interdisciplinary communication between archaeology and folkloristics, and the related issues regarding communication between official and unofficial discourses.     

Coastal villas, maritime villas; a perspective from Southern Britain

The coastal siting of Romano-British villas is generally discussed and attention is particularly focused on the Channel seaboard of Britain. Here, comparison is made with the distribution of those natural harbours and offshore anchorages that have been traditionally favoured by sailing craft. These are clearly described in the first edition of Hobb’s British Channel Pilot of 1859. A relationship is proposed between the rare incidence of leeward anchorages and the siting of villas at Folkestone, Eastbourne, Sidlesham, Weymouth and Honeyditches. Other villas with significant maritime settings are identified at Southwick, Fishbourne, Emsworth, and Brading all of which adjoin harbours or ‘roads’ identified by Hobbs. In the Eastern Solent, anchorages at Spithead, Mother Bank and Cowes Roads are equated with the Magnus Portus described by Ptolemy. At this location some supportive evidence is offered by Roman ceramics recently recovered from the seabed. Attention is also drawn to maritime themes in the mosaics at Fishbourne, Brading and Low Ham where the chosen mythological scenes appear to be an overt expression of contemporary nautical preoccupations.     

Psychological components of middle paleolithic technology: The proceduralization of lithic core reduction

Exploring the evolution of human cognition has been as methodologically problematic as it has been a vital area of study over the last couple of decades. In particular, the integration of archaeology and psychology, while fundamental to many such studies, has suffered from a difficulty by many researchers to effectively link models from the cognitive sciences with the archaeological data ( [Wynn, 2009] and [Wynn and Coolidge, 2010] ). In the current study one psychological process, proceduralization is used to examine the technological strategies that underpin the sequential nature of lithic core reduction. This is done via the application of sequential lithic information analysis (SLIA), a method developed by the author for the concurrent study of qualitative and quantitative sequential information. In the present context SLIA helps elucidate both the micro- and macro-level dynamics that underlie the reduction of a sample of Middle Paleolithic refitted Levallois cores from the site of Taramsa-1, Upper Egypt. The results of this study provide an explanation for the variability recognised within the Levallois technology and also speak to the existence of certain aspects of modern cognition by ca. 70,000 years before present.     

Stable isotope analysis of dog,fox, and human diets at a Late Holocene Chumash village (CA-SRI-2) on Santa Rosa Island,California

Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope analyses of dog (Canis familiaris), island fox (Urocyon littoralis), and human bone collagen from CA-SRI-2 (AD 130–1830) on Santa Rosa Island, California provide a proxy of diet and the relationships between humans and these animals. Carbon isotopic signatures indicate that Native Americans and their dogs at CA-SRI-2 subsisted almost exclusively on marine resources, while the island fox ate primarily terrestrial foods. Nitrogen isotopes and archaeofaunal remains indicate that humans and dogs also ate higher trophic level foods, including finfishes, marine mammals, and seabirds with smaller amounts of shellfish. The CA-SRI-2 island foxes appear to have eaten higher amounts of terrestrial foods, similar to the diets observed in modern fox populations. These data generally confirm the commensal relationship assumed to exist between domesticated dogs and people, but the carbon isotopic composition of dogs is enriched ∼2‰ compared to humans. We hypothesize that the difference in carbon isotopes between dogs and humans may have resulted from a higher consumption of C3 plants with lower δ¹³C values by humans, or less likely from the ingestion by dogs of significant amounts of bone collagen, which is enriched by ∼4‰ over associated muscle.     

Preservation and Rescue: Challenges and Controversies in the Protection of Archaeological Resources

Abstract

Data from 44 pit-structures excavated as a part of the Dolores Archaeological Program are used to test two hypotheses about the relationship between the ritual use of a structure and the manner in which that structure was abandoned. The pit structures all date to 860–900 A.C. and are associated with large Pueblo villages located along the Dolores River in what is now SW Colorado. Three basic levels of ritual use have been defined for these structures based on the number and type of features associated with the structures. Those structures with evidence of the most important ritual usage are significantly associated with a mode of abandonment in which the structure was purposefully burned down. Those having ritual features that appear to be of secondary importance are significantly associated with an abandonment mode in which the roof of the pit-structure was intentionally collapsed to bury human individuals on the structure's floor. It is more difficult to characterize the abandonment mode of structures which represent the simplest level of ritual use, though it is most common to have a simple abandonment in which the roof simply deteriorated and collapsed with time. The recognition of a probable hierarchy of ritual usage in early Pueblo pit-structures and the association of special abandonment modes with each type of ritual pit-structure specifically allow a better glimpse of ritual activities in early Pueblo societies. In a more general sense these data show that it is possible to archaeologically detect patterned associations between a structure's use and its mode of abandonment.     

Plant microfossil analysis reveals disturbed forest and a mixed-crop,dryland production system at Te Niu,Easter Island

Plant microfossil analysis was carried out on 12 soil samples from a variety of landscape features at three locations (100–250 m a.s.l.) along a 950 m transect at Te Niu, Easter Island. Pollen and phytolith assemblages were dominated by palms and ground ferns, and suggested disturbed forest. We identified pollen of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and starch grains of the common yam (Dioscorea alata), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and taro (Colocasia esculenta). The data suggest a mixed-crop, dryland production system at Te Niu dominated by yam and sweet potato, and supplemented by taro and bottle gourd. The data provide direct evidence of crop type and range, supporting the indirect evidence (topographic and landscape features, field and historical research, comparisons with elsewhere in the Pacific) that much of the rock covered landscape of Easter Island was used for intensive horticulture.     

Re-evaluating the history of the wheat domestication gene NAM-B1 using historical plant material

The development of agriculture is closely associated with the domestication of wheat, one of the earliest crop species. During domestication key genes underlying traits important to Neolithic agriculture were targeted by selection. One gene believed to be such a domestication gene is NAM-B1, affecting both nutritional quality and yield but with opposite effects. A null mutation, first arisen in emmer wheat, decreases the nutritional quality but delays maturity and increases grain size; previously the ancestral allele was believed lost during the domestication of durum and bread wheat by indirect selection for larger grain. By genotyping 63 historical seed samples originating from the 1862 International Exhibition in London, we found that the ancestral allele was present in two spelt wheat and two bread wheat cultivars widely cultivated at the time. This suggests that fixation of the mutated allele of NAM-B1 in bread wheat, if at all, occurred during modern crop improvement rather than during domestication. We also discuss the value of using archaeological and historical plant material to further the understanding of the development of agriculture.     

A new Jungle-fowl from the Pleistocene of Europe

The domesticated Red Jungle-fowl G. gallus is believed to have been dispersed by man from India during the Holocene. The distal end of a radius from the Ipswichian Interglacial deposits at Crayford, Kent, was indistinguishable from that of the wild form of Red Jungle-folw. A coracoid from the early Middle Pleistocene of N Norfolk was also very similar to that species but showed differences comparable with those found between different species of Gallus. At least one species referable to Gallus is known from the Pliocene of South-eastern Europe. Extrapolating from zoogeographical speciation patterns it would be possible for a Gallus species to have evolved through Pleistocene speciation in the European region. The species might have become extinct during a glaciation or have been exterminated by early man. A new species Gallus europaeus is described with the coracoid as a holotype, and the radius from Kent is tentatively referred to it.     

Dating of modified femora of extinct dwarf Hippopotamus from Southern Madagascar: Implications for constraining human colonization and vertebrate extinction events

Two significant events in the late Holocene history of Madagascar were (a) the arrival of people, and (b) the loss of nearly two dozen species of land vertebrates in the socalled “subfossil extinctions”. The consensus is that the faunal losses occurred shortly subsequent to human arrival, but the timing of these events is poorly constrained. The minimum age for initial human presence on the island may now be set at approximately 2000 bp, on the basis of AMS ¹⁴C dates for human-modified femora of extinct dwarf hippos from SW Madagascar. Assuming that this date also marks the beginning of deleterious human interactions with the subfossil fauna, and assuming that this fauna became completely extinct by 900 bp, the width of the anthropogenic “extinction window” may have been as long as c. 1000 a. This estimate, nearly twice the length of previous ones, is close to the unadjusted minimum for the duration of the terminal Pleistocene extinction event in the Americas. Whether or not this length of time comports with theoretical expectations of a “blitzkrieg” pattern of losses is uncertain, but greater refinement in dating the end of the subfossil extinctions is unlikely to produce radically shorter estimates of duration.