Examination of some pigments,grounds and media from Egyptian cartonnage fragments in the Petrie Museum,University College London

A number of cartonnage fragments from the collections of the Petrie Museum, UCL, were examined to identify pigments, media and grounds. The different types of cartonnage made in ancient Egypt are reviewed. Special attention was paid to green pigments, which were shown to be of green earth, or a mixture of Egyptian blue and a yellow, usually goethite or orpiment. Green earth was found in one artefact, dated to the 9th century BC: all other examples were from the Graeco-Roman period. No copper-organometallic greens were present in the examples studied, or Egyptian green, or malachite. Binding media was identified both by ELISA and by GC/MS. A pink colourant was identified as madder, while lead white was used as a white in one example, showing the influence of Roman and Greek pigments on Egyptian art in these later periods. Plant gum, egg, and animal glue were found in different fragments, with mixed media in a few cases. Moganite was found associated with quartz in some preparatory layers by X-ray diffraction, which has not been reported previously as a constituent of ground layers in Egyptian artefacts.     

Egyptian Blue cakes from the Ayanis fortress (Eastern Anatolia,Turkey): micro-chemical and -structural investigations for the identification of manufacturing process and provenance

The microstructure and chemical composition of blue cakes, found during the archaeological excavation of the Ayanis fortress (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey), have been investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman (μ-Raman) and optical microscopy (OM) techniques. The analysis of the Ayanis cakes has shown the presence of Egyptian blue (i.e. CuCaOSi₄O₁₀, cuprorivaite), as the major component, intermixed with minor amount of other phases such as partially reacted quartz grains, an adherent glass phase and copper oxides. Since the finding of Egyptian Blue in Turkey has been never reported so far, great attention has been paid to its characterisation. The micro-chemical and micro-structural investigations of the Ayanis cakes have allowed a further insight into the manufacturing process and into the sources of the starting materials. The results of the characterisation have revealed some significant differences with respect to Egyptian blue cakes found in Egypt and Mesopotamia, as for instance the absence of tin excluded the use of bronze scraps or filings in their preparation differently from those produced in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Furthermore, some peculiarities of Egyptian blue found in Ayanis, as the detection of zinc in the cakes, allow to put forward the hypothesis of a local production considering that a large part of the bronze artefacts found at the Ayanis fortress is characterised by the presence of zinc as minor alloying element.     

秦始皇陵彩绘雕塑整体色彩重建和图案的研究

自1974年开始发掘秦始皇陵墓周围坑,就认识到陶质军队及所有雕塑品早在成形之时其上都有彩绘纹饰.但是直到1999年,对完整的雕塑品上彩绘漆层进行第一次成功加固后,陶兵俑才首次作为彩绘雕塑品被鉴赏.同时,在陵墓周围新发掘出土的其它类型的雕塑上彩绘保存较为良好,尤其是百戏俑和青铜禽类.从2003年开始,对漆层材料和技术的研究作为中德文化遗产研究项目的一部分在中国已经开展.这些研究使得对技术现状有了一个详细的了解,包括对颜料和粘结剂辨别.他们还让人们更好地理解原始色彩.2006年,该研究结果将作为重建色彩和图案计划的根据.从2号坑过洞的一组跪射俑中可以看到作为个人和作为一个编队的彩绘陶俑.显示其总体的图案效果,色彩与效果的生动组合,以及色彩装饰的细节.它也明显的说明了每一件雕塑品的彩绘都不相同,各自独立.装饰品的彩绘图案只限于特别的高级别军人如高级官员和将军.不同类型的复杂图案可以被重建.他们详细的描绘纺织品,以及因为伸展身体而使表面变形的纺织品.另一种类型的装饰是有造型的应用结构.这些单色的结构表面描绘了百戏俑裤子上的精细丝绸,青铜禽类的羽毛或青铜战车上将军的翡翠挂件的突起.装饰图案与真实纺织品之间的关系强烈的令人惊讶.出土的宝贵的丝织品构造可以让我们明白这些陶质雕塑的绘制者想描绘什么样的纺织品,并再次说明陶质雕塑的色彩装饰现实主义.     

晚清议改科举新探

废除科举并非清统治者的初衷。迄道光至光绪,长达半个多世纪,议改科举的主流,多以讲求实学、增广科目、取材标准多样化为基本取向,希望以老树嫁接新枝的方法,激活科举制生机。朝臣疆吏们先后至少有18份以上要求增设科目的改革方案,正式奏呈清廷,最高执政者亦并多次谕令部院大臣讨论议复。由于整个统治集团的观念更新滞后,礼部等机构恪守夷夏之大防,阻挠变制,总理衙门鉴于反对派势大而采取等待姿态,经济特科的举办又一波三折,以虎头蛇尾告终,使得科举制失去了逐步内在更新的最佳时机,后起者不得不考虑除旧布新的彻底变革。     

日本泉屋博古馆所见先秦私文书(三)--春秋战国青铜私文书的衰落

日本泉屋博古馆展藏的春秋战国青铜铭文器明显少于西周,从著录的全文集里看,春秋战国的青铜铭文器数、字数及内容,与西周相比也骤然减少。其原因是奴隶制度的代表制如分封制、宗法制、礼制等,到了春秋战国时期逐步走向衰落,家庭或家族的铸器铸铭之风,也必然要随其走向衰落,这是青铜私文书衰落的一个原因;另外,代替青铜私文书载体的其他材料如铁、竹木、玉石的大量使用,是青铜私文书衰落的另一个原因。总之,从先秦青铜私文书的发展变化中可以看出,任何一种社会文化的发生与发展都与其政治制度的兴起、鼎盛、衰落有紧密的联系,是社会事物发展变化的必然结果。     

汉长安城遗址出土骨签名物和用法再议

汉长安城遗址出土的骨签是研究汉代工官制度的重要资料,关于其性质,学界还有不同的争论。本文主要探讨了骨签的性质,认为骨签的正式名称应该为“揭”,并对骨签的用法进行了阐述。     

Late Holocene Neotropical agricultural landscapes: phytolith and stable carbon isotope analysis of raised fields from French Guianan coastal savannahs

This paper summarizes phytolith analyses from four pre-Columbian agricultural raised-field sites of the coastal savannahs of French Guiana—Savane Grand Macoua, Piliwa, Bois Diable and K-VIII—and carbon isotope analyses from the first-named site. The combined phytolith and ¹³C isotope analyses evidence the transformation of the landscape from a relatively homogeneous wetland vegetation comprised of a mixture of C4 and C3 plants (the latter including Cyperaceae and other herbaceous monocots such as Marantaceae and Heliconia, Oryzoideae grasses, and other plants typical of frequently flooded areas) to the construction of raised fields that were dominated by C4 plants (maize and other Panicoideae grasses). Our analysis proves the utility of phytoliths for tracing the agricultural history of landscapes, showing that, as in other parts of the Central and South American lowlands, maize (Zea mays) was one important crop cultivated in raised fields. We also estimated the productivity of raised-field agriculture, showing that in combination with other subsistence activities, it certainly had the capacity to sustain sizeable populations.     

‘Parry’ fractures and female-directed interpersonal violence: Implications from the Late Archaic Period of west Tennessee

The recognition of a high frequency of ‘parry’ fractures in the females from the Late Archaic Period (2500–1000/500 BC ) west Tennessee site of Eva prompted a more thorough examination of female-directed interpersonal violence in prehistoric Tennessee sites. The study examined forearm fractures in eight (N = 308) Late Archaic Period hunter-gatherer sites and five (N = 501) Mississippian Period (c. AD 1200–1600) agriculturalist sites. On the basis of chi-square test results, there does not appear to be any gender bias in forearm fracture occurrence in the Archaic Period. The high frequency of female ‘parry’ fractures at Eva was an artefact of the ratio of females to males. More importantly, craniofacial trauma data do not support an aetiology that would explain mid-shaft forearm fractures as a result of interpersonal violence.     

Characterization and origin of black and red Magdalenian pigments from Grottes de la Garenne (Vallée moyenne de la Creuse-France): a mineralogical and geochemical approach of the study of prehistorical paintings

Pigments sampled from wall paintings and from crayons taken on the floor, at the Grottes de la Garenne (Saint-Marcel – Indre, France) have been analyzed and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, Raman micro-spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ICP/MS and analytical TEM. The red pigment used for the wall paintings is mainly composed by hematite, clays, carbon matter and carbonates. Results on the red pigments show that the compositions of the paintings are similar to that of some crayons. Regarding these analyses, their origin is compatible with local siderolithic facieses. Analysis of black pigments shows that they are made of cryptomelane, pyrolusite, clays, carbonates and carbon matter. It shows also that paintings and some crayons compositions are compatible. On the contrary of red pigments, the origin of black pigments is probably allochtonous. Indeed, the traces of thallium detected in cryptomelane, the cerium anomaly and the absence of iron are not compatible with local facieses or other sites from the French Massif Central.