Starch residues on museum artefacts: implications for determining tool use

A sample of 11 museum artefacts was examined to assess the preservation of any adhering organic residues, particularly starch granules, and to assess the potential for the identification of cooked starchy foods. The primary aim was to examine starchy deposits, extract starch granules and examine their physical condition to increase our understanding of the taphonomy of starch granules and associated organic residues in archived material and archaeological deposits. The study shows that organic plant residues could be recovered from archived artefacts and makes a significant contribution to understanding the function of this material. Recovered starch granules showed an interesting pattern of varying organic preservation on the surface of stone and wooden artefacts. Some starch granules were found to be well preserved while others in the same sample appeared to have been affected by enzyme degrading micro-organisms. Recovered residues included fully gelatinised starch.     

An analysis of Late Pre-Islamic copper-base artefacts from Ed Dur, U.A.E.

The article presents the analytical results of a study of copper-base artifacts from ed-Dur, a large site in the United Arab Emirates which was occupied principally during the 1^st century A.D. In addition to identifying a number of pieces with high lead content, the analyses have contributed to an understanding of brass and brass distribtion in the Roman Near East.     

Exploring preferences and non-use values for hidden archaeological artefacts: a case from Denmark

This paper presents a choice experiment study of a proposed wetland restoration project which aims to preserve archaeological artefacts from Stone Age villages which are presently buried within the topsoil. Wetland restoration can avoid destruction of the artefacts due to agricultural cultivation and drainage, and in addition improve biological diversity and recreational opportunities. The results indicate that even though the artefacts are not visible or usable for the population of today, but may contain information and potential value for future generations, the strongest preferences displayed is for ensuring permanent protection of archaeological artefacts, rather than biological diversity and recreational opportunities. The results are discussed in relation to the Prospect Theory: people value a loss of cultural heritage higher than a gain of new cultural goods or services. This insight is of general interest to cultural economics and cultural policy, especially with respect to heritage protection.     

An improved PCR method for endogenous DNA retrieval in contaminated Neandertal samples based on the use of blocking primers

Neandertal skeletal remains are usually contaminated with modern human DNA derived from handling and washing of the specimens during excavation. Despite the fact that the distinct Neandertal haplotypes allow the design of specific primer pairs, for instance in most of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region 1 (HVR1), the human contaminants can often outnumber the endogenous DNA, thus preventing a successful retrieval of Neandertal sequences. We have developed a novel PCR method, based on the use of blocking primers that preferentially bind to modern human contaminant DNA and block their amplification, and greatly improve the efficiency of Neandertal DNA retrieval. We tested the method in four El Sidrón Neandertal samples (two teeth and two bone fragments) with different contamination levels and taphonomic conditions, and we have been able to significantly increase the Neandertal yield from figures around 25.23% (5–69.6%) up to 90.18% (75.3–100%).     

Optical spectroscopy as a rapid and low-cost tool for the first-line analysis of glass artefacts: a step-by-step plan for Roman green glass

Archaeometric research on glass artefacts is continuously evolving and is converging towards a multidisciplinary research domain where different types of techniques are applied depending on the questions asked and the circumstances involved. The technique described in this work is optical spectroscopy. The benefit of this technique being the possibility of building up a knowledge database for a large amount of material in a relatively short period of time and with a relatively limited budget. This is of particular interest for the investigation of extensive and/or unexplored glass collections where a first-line analysis of artefacts could facilitate the selection of material needing further and more detailed examination.     

An Andean regional economy in the world system

Winterhalder, Bruce, and Eric Alden Smith, eds. Hunter‐Gatherer Foraging Strategies: Ethnographic and Archaeological Analyses. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982. x + 268 pp. including bibliography and index. $18.00 cloth, $7.50 paper.     

关于清代榷关额税的考察

清代榷关制度的核心内容是税收 ,而税收的核心内容就是“额税”的确定 ;“额税”的确定始于明朝的钞关。清朝统治者在对明代钞关制度的继承与发展中 ,首要任务就是对明末钞关“额税”重新核定以及对清代新增榷关额税的确定。本文考察的清代榷关的“额税”专指作为其正项收入的正额和盈余两部分。     

Protocol for lapis lazuli provenance determination: evidence for an Afghan origin of the stones used for ancient carved artefacts kept at the Egyptian Museum of Florence (Italy)

Despite that the Badakhshan Province (Afghanistan) remains the most plausible hypothesis for the lapis lazuli used in antiquity, alternatives proposed in literature are worth to study to confirm or disprove their historical reliability. In this work, a protocol for determining the provenance of lapis lazuli rocks used for carved artefacts is described. Markers for the univocal attribution of the raw material to a source were identified analysing 45 rocks of known provenance (among which 15 georeferenced) from 4 quarry districts. To the best of our knowledge, this reference database is the widest in provenance studies on lapis lazuli. All the markers are recognisable by means of Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques, in particular micro-proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and micro-ionoluminescence (IL). These techniques are non-invasive and applicable in air, allowing to analyse artworks and rocks of practically any shape and dimension without sample preparation.The protocol was applied to determine the provenance of raw material used for carved lapis lazuli artefacts kept at the Egyptian Museum of Florence, the second most important Egyptian museum in Italy, second only to the museum of Turin. The collection in Florence has a great historical value and includes several lapis lazuli pendants, scarabs, small statuettes and amulets ascribable mainly to the first millennium BC. Following the protocol, 11 of these artefacts were analysed by means of IBA techniques. Results ascribe the raw material to the Afghan quarry district.     

Slag inclusion analyses for studying ferrous alloys employed in French medieval buildings: supply of materials and diffusion of smelting processes

This paper aims to propose a data treatment method in order to efficiently exploit the major element compositional analyses made on slag inclusions (SI) of ferrous archaeological artefacts. This method is employed to study the reinforcements used in medieval monuments. The first part of the paper shows: (i) that SI composition can be very variable in an artefact and that it is necessary to analyse a sufficiently redundant number of inclusions; and (ii) that on the one hand a local concentration effect and, on the other hand additives during forging can cause this variability. Nevertheless, after filtering this data, it is showed that specific compounds (called here Non-Reduced Compounds – NRC) have in most of cases a constant ratio in the SI. This allows to evidence the signature of the system (ore, charcoal and pollutant) that produced the ferrous alloys. Moreover, a weighted average compound can be extracted from the results. It is demonstrated that, considering some specific elements with a different behaviour in the direct and indirect processes, it is possible to differentiate the two processes. A methodology is then proposed and applied to several samples gathered on different French medieval buildings to follow the diffusion of the indirect process in France.     

古玉器的无损检测体系

目前古玉辨伪只是根据目视的经验来鉴别古玉材质。由于其种类繁多,产地各异,再加各种沁色,有时难以分辨真伪。10种无损检测方法的应用,根据客观的测试数据可以可靠地分辨古玉材的真伪。     

An Apologia for Theoretical History

Karl Popper's critique of theoretical history remains formidable but contains serious flaws. Popper held erroneous views about the practice of the natural sciences and created overly severe strictures for theoretical statements in the social sciences. General theory and general theoretical statements play a legitimate role in the social sciences. Merton has promoted middle-range theories and models and Lakatos multiple ontologies. One can answer Popper's criticisms of either the impossibility or triviality of long-term historical laws by searching for stable constellations of local or middle-range laws rather than a universal law. Moreover, the successful use in the social sciences of various types of scales of measurement rather than an absolute scale shows that quantitative analysis is possible in history. Investigators need to find the boundaries, the frameworks of feasibility, in which historical trends and laws operate. Popper's maximalism plays into the irrationalist trends that he himself deplored. If historical investigators and theoreticians set appropriate goals for theoretical history, they can practice their discipline responsibly and find meanings, if not a single meaning, in history.     

An empirical study on the modification of China's current urban social security system

This study challenges the conventional correlation between economic performance and the level of the development of social security systems. By focusing on China's urban areas, we provide an overview of the components and benefits, from a comparative perspective, of China's current social security system. We also create a comprehensive and generally applicable method using factors such as economics and population, among others, as standards to evaluate the efficacy of China's system. In order to demonstrate our primary hypothesis – that the Chinese Communist Party government has to modify its social security system to adapt to or bring about changes in the basis of its legitimacy – we analyse Chinese social security records and other related data after 1949 by statistical methods. The formula we provide in this study can be used to forecast China's expenditure on its urban social security system, and other scholars can apply our methods to countries in which conditions are broadly similar.