AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIET AT THE SITE OF YARNTON, OXFORDSHIRE, USING STABLE CARBON AND NITROGEN ISOTOPES

This paper reports the results of stable isotopic analyses conducted upon animal and human bones recovered from Yarnton, Oxfordshire. Spanning the Neolithic to Saxon periods, it is in many ways a typical site, but is unusual in that a small Middle Iron Age cemetery was discovered.
All of the data presented here lie within the expected isotopic ranges for the European Holocene, although both faunal and animal δ¹⁵N values are higher than is commonly found. The faunal data show the expected pattern for the animals studied (horse, cattle, sheep/goat, pig and dog), with pigs being more omnivorous than ruminants, and dogs eating an isotopically similar diet to humans. The animals' diets had higher δ¹⁵N values during the Roman period as compared to the Iron Age, although it is unclear if this reflects an environmental change or alteration in animal management practices. Despite the site's riverine location, there is no isotopic evidence for fish consumption. No distinctions were found based on gender or burial position within the Iron Age cemetery. Age-based distinctions were found in δ¹³C values, although these cannot be fully explained. As expected, infants have a higher nitrogen isotopic value than other individuals, reflecting the consumption of their mother's milk.     

童画 画出孩子们最快乐的童年

<正>坐落于秦皇岛森林体育公园旁的秦皇新天地,汇聚了无数优秀的商业品牌。在这里,有这样一家成就孩子们绘画梦想的美术教育机构——童画。在童画,每一位前来学习绘画的孩子,都能在艺术的海洋里徜徉,用他们手中的画笔,绘出最快乐的童年。童画成就着孩子的色彩梦想,为每一位小学员打开一扇探索艺术的大门。     

WOOL AT DANEBURY: A SPECULATION USING EVIDENCE FROM ELSEWHERE

The high proportion of sheep bones and the finding of implements used in cloth manufacture have led to suggestions that this Iron Age hill fort in Hampshire was a centre for wool cloth making. In the absence of textile remains from the site, evidence from other Iron Age sites with such remains is used to suggest that the sheep kept at Danebury are likely to have had mainly primitive hairy and primitive woolly fleeces with an annual moult and a range of colours. the absence of shears suggests a more primitive method of harvesting the wool. White wool and dyed textiles from the other sites indicates the possibility of dyeing. A reassessment of the textile implements suggests that the textile activity was no more than domestic production. the weight of the spindle whorls is discussed in relation to the sort of wool spun, but further experimentation is proposed to answer such questions as the true use of the weaving combs. the slingshots might have been hurled with a wool sling and not only at a human enemy or at game, but to control sheep flocks.     

LOCALIZING HISTORICAL CLUES USING IRT AND PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSES AT VILLA MIRABELLO,MONZA (ITALY)*

The rebuilding of Villa Mirabello started in 1666. Built on designs of Gerolamo Quadrio, the project refurbished and enlarged a smaller 16th century country house (‘casa da nobile e da massaro’). Archival documents report on the remodelling, which consisted of selective demolition of portions of the structure, re‐using most of the masonry as the core of the new building, and the reinforcement of retained masonry by insertion of ‘ceppo’ stone quoins to update new exteriors. The aim of Quadrio was to create an elegant and sumptuous mansion, suitable for noble owners such as Giuseppe Durini and his family. The plan and a small part of original finishing (‘marmorino’ plaster decoration) are recognizable nowadays. Nevertheless, there are many questions in interpretation when one compares the documents and the building. That is, Cardinal Angelo Durini made a major modification in the 18th century, and further minor changes were made in the 19th century. Although these latter modifications did not alter the plan, they changed the distribution of rooms and masked both decoration and finishing. After over 20 years of neglect, Villa Mirabello is now close to being restored. Architects in charge ordered a preliminary set of diagnostics to assess damage and study the historical evolution of the building. Integration of IR thermography (IRT) and endoscopy allowed restorers to detect the structure's texture underneath the plaster, and to detect openings filled with masonry. Moreover, archive documents confirmed these results and, above all, defined a date for the use of specific building techniques. This research constitutes a reference for buildings set in the same time and location that do not have significant archival documentation. Active IRT provided useful information for structural assessment (such as location of arches, chimney stacks, different thickness of wall, wooden elements, voids, beams etc.) and for crack pattern evaluation. This information directs design professionals working on this conservation project, and helps define the costs of intervention.     

AN ATTEMPT AT DATING THE SWANSCOMBE SKULL BONES USING NON-DESTRUCTIVE GAMMA-RAY COUNTING

A low-background germanium spectrometer was used to measure the gamma-ray spectra of the three parts of the Swanscombe skull. Detailed studies of the method showed that it was possible to make accurate measurements of the content of ²²⁶ Ra and ²³¹ Pa but less accurate ones of ²³⁸U and ²³⁵U. Results from the three samples were inconsistent, showing that their exposure to radioactive ground water must have been very different, although they were found close together. The uncertainty in the ratio of ²³⁴U to ²³⁸U in the ground water and the lack of knowledge of the time at which the bones acquired the uranium also prevented the deduction of any reliable dates for these specimens.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ORIGINS OF VARIATION IN PERISHABLE ARCHITECTURE AT JONATHAN CREEK

Abstract

The Jonathan Creek site in Kentucky was excavated in the early 1940s in an effort to uncover the community plan of an entire Mississippian town and mound center. Although the project terminated prematurely, the remnants of 89 structures representing a diverse array of architectural foundation styles were documented. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of multiple attributes, such as posthole diameter and spacing, wall-trench width and depth, roof supports, and floor area, are necessary to adequately parse the variation in architectural style, construct inferences about the aboveground appearance of buildings, and suggest origins for the diverse construction methods used at the site. At least some of the distinctive differences in foundation preparation would have resulted in diversity in the appearance of finished buildings. Time is not wholly adequate to explain this diversity. Technological and functional choices made by the ancient builders account for some of this variation, while social, genealogical, and ethnic differences, and possibly distinctive ritual customs and traditions among the residents, explain other sources of variation.     

NON-DESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF OBSIDIAN ARTEFACTS USING NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES: INVESTIGATION OF PROVENANCE OF NEAR EASTERN ARTEFACTS

A non-destructive analytical method using both instrumental neutron activation and proton-induced gamma ray emission techniques was developed to study the provenance of obsidian artefacts from Turkey, Syria and Iraq.     

A MACROSCOPIC INVESTIGATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL STYLE AND THE PRODUCTION OF MIDDLE TO LATE ARCHAIC FISHHOOKS AT THE CHIGGERVILLE,READ, AND BAKER SITES,WESTERN KENTUCKY

Abstract

Manufacturing trajectories represent a series of choices made by artisans in the process of transforming a raw material into a useful object. In some cases these choices explicitly communicate a message; in others, patterned behaviors may result in a kind of technological style that can be used to make inferences about the manufacturer’s identities. Investigation of bone tools from the Chiggerville, Read, and Baker sites in the Green River region of western Kentucky has resulted in the identification of four distinct methods of manufacturing single-piece fishhooks. Additionally, small pointed implements may represent the barbs of composite fishhooks, indicating the use of a technologically distinct fifth style. These fishhook types are interpreted as evidence for the movement of individuals throughout the mid-South in the process of social interaction and exchange and support the hypothesis that Shell Mound Archaic groups in western Kentucky were complex hunter-gatherers.     

POTS, HOUSES AND METAL: TECHNOLOGICAL RELATIONS AT THE BRONZE AGE TELL AT SZÁZHALOMBATTA, HUNGARY

Summary.   At the Bronze Age tell of Százhalombatta, Hungary, techniques used for making pottery echo those used in other media. Pottery and architecture have a close relationship. Not only were both made of clay, but methods of making pots echo those used for building. Similarly, pottery and metalwork share common themes and technologies for working with clay and bronze. Since choices made by potters are not solely confined to the environment, raw materials and tools, but are also socially and culturally defined, by implication the transfer of know-how must be situated within social networks between people. This paper considers how the identification of technical relationships between different media at Százhalombatta can be used to explore social relations in Bronze Age society, thereby suggesting relationships that work on both technical and social levels.     

PAINTINGS, PRESSES AND PERFUME PRODUCTION AT POMPEII

Summary. An unusual type of olive press, operated by wedges being driven into an upright frame, is known from four paintings found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The technological and socio-economic evidence contained in these depictions is presented in detail, together with supporting literary and archaeological information. It is established that the wedge press was essentially a specialised machine employed in the production of very high quality olive oil by or for the perfume industry (for which Campania was famed). The choice of the scene as decoration for wealthy houses indicates a connection between the urban elite and the various activities which comprised perfume manufacture. Furthermore, a number of finds of press beds from Pompeii which have in the past been identified (and reconstructed) as the remains of screw presses, can now be reinterpreted as wedge presses serving the town's perfume industry. The combination of the various categories of evidence (pictorial, literary, archaeological) creates a window on an area of Pompeian economic life which has hitherto been little appreciated.     

REVISITING THE DEAD AT HELENA CROSSING,ARKANSAS

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a bioarchaeological reanalysis of the skeletal remains interred in the Middle Woodland burial mounds at the Helena Crossing site (3PH11). Based on current bioarchaeological methods, our reanalysis offers summaries of the sex and age estimates, pathologies, and trauma of the burials from Helena Crossing that are useful for their subsequent interpretation. We also document previously unrecognized evidence of postmortem processing in specific burials as evidenced by cut and chop marks that are associated with defleshing, disarticulating, and possibly mutilating particular corpses. We note the special attention paid to detaching and processing the mandibles and/or maxillas of several burials that indicates, along with evidence from other sites, that the mouth was an important symbolically charged orifice during the Middle Woodland period in the Eastern Woodlands.     

GOD,CAESAR AND MAMMON AT CORONATION HILL

Australia is on the brink of a recession, and we have platinum, palladium and 350,000 ozs of gold locked up in Coronation Hill but we cannot go ahead and mine it because, all of a sudden, it has become a sacred site. It was not a sacred site fifty years ago. Barry Coulter, Treasurer of the Northern Territory, 27/8/86     

A PRE-ENCLOSURE BURIAL AT WINDMILL HILL, WILTSHIRE

Summary. A pre-enclosure burial of the Early Neolithic phase at Windmill Hill is described and its significance assessed.     

SNOW pH AND DUST LOADING AT SCHEFFERVILLE, QUEBEC

Problems of acid precipitation in association with industrial activity in areas such as the Great Lakes region are now well-known (e.g. Hornbeck et al., 1977), and the Canadian Network for Sampling Precipitation (CANSAP) has established monitoring stations across Canada. In communities in northern Canada, however, especially in winter, a considerable amount of SO₂ is liberated locally. It is therefore important to be able to separate local effects from the regional or continental ones, but most CANSAP stations utilize a single collector, the position of which may not be representative of the general conditions in the locality.
The Schefferville, Quebec, area presents a good opportunity to evaluate the local effects of a small area (˜ 1 km²) source in winteras no industrial activity other than ore-extraction takes place. The only gaseous contaminants liberated locally are derived from fuel oil, and the only particulates come from well-defined mine and dump areas.
Here we present measurements of snow pH and dust loading in the Schefferville area, consider the importance of local gaseous and particulate pollutants, compare these with pollutants from distant sources, and assess the significance of the pollution patterns.     

洛阳关林镇唐墓发掘报告

2002年11月至2004年1月,洛阳市文物工作队为配合城市基本建设,先后在洛龙区关林镇中国储运公司802仓库住宅楼考古工地、洛阳市世祺房地产公司世祺嘉苑一期商品楼考古工地、河南省地矿局地质调查一队办公楼考古工地、世祺嘉苑二期商品楼等四处考古工地发掘出唐代墓葬共计61座。墓葬分布比较密集,其中中储802仓库工地发掘墓葬5座,世祺     

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM,LONDON

Neutron activation analysis was used at the British Museum from 1978 until 2002 for provenance studies on ceramics and marble. Significant numbers of the items analysed were of high quality and value, and careful sampling was necessary to avoid damage to the object. An in‐house British Museum Standard Pottery was established and inter‐calibrated with a number of standards used by other archaeometry laboratories. The results of the projects have been published in many papers, and the databases established will be of use to future scholars interested in the ceramic groups represented. Projects on Greek and Near Eastern pottery have been undertaken. Relatively large numbers of north European medieval and post‐medieval pottery samples were analysed, as well as the tin‐glazed ceramics of Spain and Italy. Classical marble has also formed the subject of another project and a database of quarry material has been established.     

EARLY IRON AGE BALANCE WEIGHTS AT LEFKANDI, EUBOEA

Summary.   This report analyses the 16 stone balance weights and fragments recovered in 1994 from the ninth-century BC Tomb 79 in the Toumba cemetery at Lefkandi, Euboea, the tomb of the 'Warrior Trader'. In material, shapes, and mass standards, the weights are for the most part virtual duplicates of common LBA balance weights from Cyprus and the Levant and attest to (a) the long-term continuity of maritime trading across the Bronze/Iron Age divide in the Cypro-Levantine world, and (b) the active participation of Euboeans in this commercial sphere no later than the early ninth century. Discussed also is the relationship between some of these weights and the later Euboeic weight standard.