A probable case of gigantism in a fifth Dynasty skeleton from the Western Cemetery at Giza,Egypt

Pituitary gigantism is a rare endocrine disorder caused by excess secretion of growth hormone during childhood. Individuals with this condition exhibit unusually tall stature due to prolonged growth as well as associated degenerative changes. Continued secretion of excess growth hormone during adulthood results in acromegaly, a related condition that results in bony overgrowth of the skull, hands and feet. The remains of a large adult male, probably in his late 20s or early 30s, from a Fifth Dynasty tomb (2494–2345 BC) were excavated in 2001 from Cemetery 2500 in the Western Cemetery at Giza, Egypt, as part of the Howard University Giza Cemetery Project. This individual exhibits characteristics of pituitary gigantism, including tall but normally‐proportioned stature, delayed epiphyseal union, a large sella turcica, advanced arthritis and a transepiphyseal fracture of the left femoral head. Additional pathological features, including osteopenia and thinness of the parietal bones, suggest that this individual may also have been hypogonadal. Craniometric comparisons with other ancient Egyptian groups as well as modern normal and acromegalic patients show some tendency toward acromegalic skull morphology. Differential diagnosis includes eunuchoid gigantism, Sotos syndrome, Beckwith‐Wiedemann syndrome, Marfan syndrome, homocystinuria, Weaver syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome. In conclusion, the pathological features associated with this skeleton are more consistent with pituitary gigantism than any of the other syndromes that result in skeletal overgrowth. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating Geomorphological Assessments and Oral Histories in Catchment Management: Implications for the Mulgrave River,Northeastern Australia

The dramatic decline in the integrity of Australian river systems in recent decades has seen the development of landcare and catchment management groups across the continent as the main facilitators of river rehabilitation works. There is growing concern for the need to develop adaptive management frameworks that assist informed decision making through the integration of social and geomorphological knowledge into catchment planning. In the Mulgrave River Catchment of northeastern Queensland, difficult management decisions have to be made with limited access to knowledge of natural processes and baseline geomorphological data. To date management decisions have been based almost exclusively on oral histories that state that point bars are accreting and the river is becoming shallower due to bank erosion. As a result bank stabilisation and removal of sand from within the channel have been recommended in the absence of any geomorphological assessments. This study compares oral histories of river bank erosion in the Mulgrave River with geomorphic evidence to highlight the need for integrated landscape scenario planning. The results of grain size analysis of bank and bed material from 27 locations, involving 47 samples, suggest that bank erosion cannot be delivering sediments to point bars. Furthermore, qualitative analysis of historic parish maps and aerial photographs shows that there has only been moderate bank erosion at three locations along the Mulgrave River since European settlement. The study demonstrates the important role that geomorphological investigations have for catchment management and the need for management frameworks that integrate geomorphological processes and landholder priorities for sustainable river management.     

Palaeobiology of the Medieval Population of Albano (Rome,Italy): A Combined Morphological and Biomolecular Approach

Recent years have seen increased interest in skeletal populations from the Imperial Roman Age in Italy, but much less is known about diet and standards of living in the subsequent medieval period. To fill this gap, we conducted a morphological analysis of human remains from Albano, an Italian town near Rome, as well as a stable isotope analysis of bone collagen to reconstruct diet. The sample was recovered from a Medieval cemetery (1040–1220 cal. yr. BP) located in the gardens of the historical Palazzo Doria Pamphili in Albano. A minimum number of 40 individuals (31 adults and 9 sub‐adults) were examined using standard methods. Though the general health status of the population was good, signs of cribra orbitalia and diffuse enthesopathies were noted during the morphological examination. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of the bone collagen from 24 adult humans and three faunal bones indicate that the diet of the population may be described as predominantly terrestrial and C₃‐plant based although the data for some of the individuals suggest a modest consumption of C₄‐(millet) based or aquatic proteins. No evidence of significant dietary differences between the sexes was found. The comparison of the isotope data from Albano with those from populations recovered in the same region is consistent with a shift from a terrestrial, possibly plant foods‐dominated subsistence in the Early Middle Ages to a diet with a higher contribution from animal proteins, both terrestrial and aquatic, in the Later Middle Ages. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

《睿宗大圣真观施食台记》石幢考

在中国诸种信仰中,唯道教为本土而生。因道家采儒、墨之善,集名、法之要,素来信徒弥众,与之有关的遗物也屡有所见。洛阳古代艺术馆石刻陈列室展出的《睿宗大圣真观施食台记》石幢即是其中之一,原由洛阳博物馆征集。...     

湖北随州市王家台遗址发掘简报

王家台遗址位于随州市均水涢水交汇处。2006年10~11月,为配合随岳高速公路工程建设,随州市博物馆对该遗址进行了抢救性发掘。遗址包含东周、西汉和唐代三个时期的文化遗存。东周文化遗存为主要收获,出土器物以鬲、豆、瓮、罐等构成主次分明的梯次组合,为研究古代曾国(随国)历史文化提供了实物资料。     

湖北丹江口市连沟旧石器遗址调查

本文对湖北丹江口市连沟遗址Ⅲ、Ⅱ级阶地所发现的 201件石制品进行了详细的介绍, 并对其时代和文化特征进行了初步研究, 得出它们的时代分别为旧石器时代早期和中期, 在文化面貌方面, 其同属于南方砾石石器工业的范畴。该遗址的发现对研究南方砾石器工业的时代以及认识该工业的早、中期遗存之异同具有重要的意义。     

Cremated Human Remains Deposited in Two Phases: Evidence from the Necropolis of the Tuileries Site (Lyon,France: 2nd Century AD)

A small 2nd century AD necropolis was discovered at site N°16–28 Tuileries Street, in the 9th district of Lyon. This funerary ensemble included two secondary funerary structures, one containing cremation residues and the other an ossuary. Together, the structures have spatial, stratigraphic and anthropological particularities, which can be used to establish the relative chronology of certain funerary gestures applied to a single individual. Here, we insist on the necessity of detailed anthropological analyses, which allowed us to reestimate the minimum number of individuals, reconsider the relationship between the two different structures and postulate a new interpretation of the funerary gestures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Study on the Whetstone-as-Funerary-Object Practice at the Jinsha Site,Chengdu

Whetstone-as-funerary-object was a common practice seen in tombs at the Jinsha site. Commonly found in the tombs at the Jinsha site, whetstones could have been a signifier of professional soldiers or violence groups in the ancient Shu culture, thus a product of the stratified ancient Shu society. Whetstones have been largely discovered in boat-coffin burials. The practice took form no later than the early Western Zhou dynasty, went on the decline in the late Spring and Autumn period, and came to an end in the Warring States period. The burial custom in question reflects the rise and fall of Jinsha as the central settlement area, and is a likely result of the two major transitions the ancient Shu society underwent over the period from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn period. The ancient Shu society experienced regime changes and went under the reign of reshuffling rulers in the late Spring and Autumn period; as a result, the emerging ruling elite abandoned the old whetstone-as-funerary-object practice, and embraced the new world.     

金沙遗址玉器的材质来源探讨

成都金沙遗址是迄今为止我国发现玉器最多的遗址,通过对其中551件玉器材质鉴定的结果发现,最主要的材质类型为透闪石集合体构成的软玉。通过对软玉型玉器的宏观特征、显微特征、玉器和石器的矿物及岩石组合特征研究,以及与四川汶川龙溪玉、新疆和田玉特征的对比,并且采用ICPMS进行主要玉器类型和玉料的微量元素特征的研究,同时结合现代资料和古代史料,认为金沙出土的玉器主要的材质应该来自于汶川的龙溪玉,与新疆和田玉、良渚玉器没有关系,但同时也存在其他地区玉料甚至是玉器交流的可能。     

安图沙金沟旧石器遗址发现的石器研究

安图县沙金沟遗址于2006年发现,遗址位于沙金河右岸第Ⅲ级阶地上,在地表和含角砾的黄色亚黏土层中共发现石器82件,原料以黑曜岩为主,包括石核、石片、石叶、细石叶、二类和三类工具(刮削器、雕刻器、尖状器和砍砸器等)。遗址的地质年代推测为晚更新世的晚期,即旧石器时代晚期。     

河南西平上坡遗址植物遗存试探

本文在对西平上坡遗址浮选所获的植物遗存和两个剖面的孢粉样品鉴定分析的基础上,初步判定了龙山丈化晚期和二里头文化早期遗址所在地理环境与农业经济,并对位于淮河流域北部的驻马店地区中南部与北部的古文化及环境、农业形态进行了探讨。     

江苏东台开庄遗址动物遗存研究报告

开庄遗址2018-2019年的发掘工作中收获了丰富的动物遗存,包含龟科、大雁、狗、熊、猪、梅花鹿、水鹿、麂、獐、麋鹿、水牛等,尤其以麋鹿等野生动物种类占优.对H13性质的分析及麇鹿各部位出现频率的讨论显示出开庄遗址和其他遗址之间可能存在搬运行为或其他联系.生业经济方面,开庄遗址良渚晚期是以饲养家猪和狞猎野生动物相结合的模式,而到了龙山文化时期,则迅速转变为大量采集狩猎的资源获取模式.     

郑州商城相关问题研究——纪念郑州商代遗址发现60周年

1950年发现了郑州商代遗址,1955年在遗址中部发现了闻名中外的郑州商城.揭示了商代前期的文化面貌,为探索夏文化打下了基础.郑州商城始建于二里岗下层一期晚段,距今约3500年,后为仲丁之隞都.     

河南淅川马岭遗址聚落考古的探索

通过对河南淅川县马岭遗址的发掘,我们探索了如何在复杂的软遗址中进行聚落考古的方法,包括采用开放式发掘方式及其资料记录的特点;如何确定遗迹、遗迹组和聚落面;演绎的思维方式对于聚落考古的重要性。     

A Unique Case of Prone Position in the Primary Cremation Tomb 252 of Monte Sirai Necropolis (Carbonia,Sardinia, Italy)

A series of graves belonging to the Phoenician period were investigated after the campaign excavation of 2007 in the Phoenician‐Punic necropolis of Monte Sirai (Carbonia, Sardinia, Italy). One tomb in particular (labelled 252) is presented here because of its uniqueness. Tomb 252 contained the cremated remains of an individual, probably male, and comparison of the excavation records alongside reconstruction of the bone material itself makes clear that the individual was cremated in a prone position. It represents the first case of prone cremation reported in the literature. To investigate whether the temperature of the cremation was homogenous across the entire body, we have conducted a combined physical–chemical analysis using X‐ray diffraction spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

二里头遗址出土木炭碎块的研究

结合考古发掘,在二里头文化一、二期之交和四期采集一些炭化碎块,并对这些炭化碎块的结构在体式显微镜和扫描电子显微镜下进行鉴定、分析和拍照,得出这些炭化碎块分别属于7个树种,即槲栎、麻栎、麻栎属的一个种、侧柏、油松、朴树和另一种阔叶树。通过对地层中分散的木炭分析,初步认为二里头遗址周围分布有大量的阔叶树栎林、杂木林和少量的松柏针叶林;当时的气候是温暖湿润的,但具体到不同的文化时期可能也存在着温湿度差异,二里头文化四期与一、二期之交气候相比较,前期的生态气候好于后期;通过对灰坑里的木炭分析,显示不论在二里头文化一、二期之交,还是在二里头文化四期,古人喜欢把栎木作为薪炭材。     

阜新查海遗址旅游资源发展研究

查海遗址是辽宁阜新重要的一处遗址遗迹类文化旅游资源,具有良好的旅游发展空间。本文通过分析查海遗址旅游资源的构成,提出了发展原则和策略。