龙门石窟小型坍塌窟龛的修复

龙门石窟小型窟龛坍塌、缺失的现象比较普遍,对坍塌、缺失窟龛进行适当修补和复原,可使雕刻品免受日晒雨淋的侵蚀。为此,以龙门石窟683号洞窟坍塌窟顶的保护性修复为例,选用石材在坍塌洞窟恢复小体量窟顶的修复方法。试验证明,这种方法对石窟外观的改变不大,又可以解决雕刻品直接受到的日晒雨淋问题。试验表明,本方法有可能应用于其它露天摩崖石刻的保护。     

Spanish Civil War caves of Asturias in archaeology and memory

As the Spanish Civil War drew to a close, retreating Republican troops in the northern region of Asturias took refuge in caves in the mountains from the brutal victor’s justice of the Francoist forces. In this paper we examine three of these caves in the context of the Civil War experiences of the rural municipality of Santo Adriano, based on a combination of archaeological recording and oral history interviews. The paper focuses on the role of the La Ponte-Ecomuseum, a grassroots heritage organisation that has worked to preserve and communicate the tangible and intangible heritage of the district. The Civil War heritage presents cultural, political and practical challenges for the museum: nonetheless it has succeeded in establishing an ongoing programme for its communication and protection.     

Mortuary patterns in burial caves on Mangaia,Cook Islands

The behavioural, cultural, and political implications of archaeological human remains in non‐mortuary, possibly culinary, contexts requires that we understand the range of mortuary practices in a particular region. Although several rockshelter sites on Mangaia, Cook Islands have yielded burned, fragmentary human bones in earth ovens that seem to support archaeological models and ethnohistoric accounts of ritual sacrifice and cannibalism, the absence of data on the range of Mangaian mortuary patterns obscures these interpretations. We describe burial patterns based on 40 above‐ground interments representing at least 92 individuals in caves of Mangaia, Cook Islands, in order to begin to develop an island‐wide perspective on mortuary patterns. Sampling both pre‐ and post‐European contact sites we found that multiple interments dominate probable pre‐contact burials (73%, 19 of 26) and single interments dominate post‐contact contexts (80%, eight of ten burials), probably reflecting the influence of Christianity on mortuary ritual. Subadults were more frequent in all post‐contact contexts suggesting alternative burial places, probably church cemeteries, for adults. Burial cave remains are broadly consistent with ethnohistoric accounts of interment in caves, however, they also illustrate additional burial practices and differences between time periods, such as primary body position and the role of multiple‐individual interments, which are not discussed ethnohistorically. The mortuary practices in Mangaian burial caves differ from burials associated with marae and seem completely unrelated to the presence of highly fragmentary and burnt human remains in pre‐contact rockshelter middens elsewhere on the island. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

敦煌莫高窟的影窟及影像——由新发现的第476窟谈起

本文对敦煌莫高窟的影窟和影像进行了全面考察,认为影窟是为河西都僧统或其他有名的高僧大德而专门修建,窟内塑绘有都僧统或高僧大德的影像。影窟是敦煌家庙窟的一种类型,其功用就是纪念和瞻仰,是敦煌世家大族家庙窟的特殊体现。影窟内影像的塑绘,影响着莫高窟归义军时期的供养人画像更多具有邈真(写真)的性质,而其供养性质则处于次要地位,因而使这一时期的家庙窟具有真堂的性质。     

Site formation processes in caves: The Holocene sediments of the Haua Fteah,Cyrenaica, Libya

Caves have yielded some of the most globally important archaeological sequences, but often their interpretation has suffered from assumptions about cave sedimentary processes. Caves contain distinctive sedimentary environments: this has major implications for the understanding of contained archaeological materials. This paper describes and analyses the Holocene sediments in the Haua Fteah, a sequence regarded as essentially continuous by the original excavator. 50 years after it was first excavated, the Haua's Epipalaeolithic to post-Classical chronological range and rich finds make it still the key Holocene archaeological site in North Africa. The reassessment shows, however, that the sequence is strongly discontinuous and this has major implications for the reinterpretation of the site, as the highly-resolved archaeological record is thus likely to reflect a series of brief occupations, rather than continuous human activity. As with many caves, the sedimentary record in the Haua Fteah is an extremely sensitive indicator of environments and processes in the wider landscape. Secure understanding of sedimentary process, from analysis of the highly individual records found in caves, is essential for full understanding of their contained archaeology.     

Deciphering bone depositional sequences in caves through the study of manganese coatings

The presence of black-coloured bones in caves has been sometimes associated to the use of fire by humans, but more frequently the agent responsible for black colour is the natural deposition of manganese oxides. Manganese coatings were not usually studied once human action was discarded. However, they can provide valuable information about the origin and the sequence of formation of a palaeontological or archaeological deposit. In this paper, we present a quantitative and qualitative study of the manganese coatings that affect most of the bones recovered in the palaeontological site of Liñares cave (NW of Iberian Peninsula) together with other taphonomic marks. The manganese coatings are superimposed on other features previously existing on the surface of the bones. In turn, the coatings can be affected by other agents that modified them totally or partially. The combined interpretation of the different taphonomic marks provides us with valuable information on the sequence where the different taphonomic processes were produced, as for example the intervention of carnivores in the disarticulation of some elements before the burial, the preservation of anatomic connections until after the burial of the carcasses, and the existence of reworking processes in some parts of the infill.     

Together in the field: interdisciplinary work in Kebara and Hayonim caves (Israel)

The authors present an example of close field collaboration among prehistorians and researchers from different disciplines (particularly the geosciences), within the context of a long program of interdisciplinary research at the caves of Kebara and Hayonim (Israel). We outline the benefits brought about by the presence of different specialists being in the field during the excavation over long periods. Specifically, daily collaboration in the field during the excavation brings about: (1) A consensus of choice of strategic areas to excavate, either at the beginning of the project or during successive field campaigns, while taking into account the needs and goals of different specialists and their needs in taking samples; (2) A meeting of different points of view with many discussions of stratigraphy and site formation processes, which in caves are quite complex; (3) A unification of specialized vocabulary and jargon specific to each discipline by constant interaction in the field, which in turn facilitates communication among specialists; (4) A positive didactic element in training doctoral students in the field. This interdisciplinary strategy is more or less widespread now, but it was not the case in the early 1980s, and actual integration of results from the sciences (particularly the geosciences) came about only fairly recently. Without doubt, the awareness of the importance of such interdisciplinary archaeological data for discussing archaeological issues has ultimately paved the way for active interdisciplinary collaboration sprouting from the fieldwork, and has led to the generation of more robust and accurate interpretations.     

Folded wheel-made oil lamps,standing pit burial caves and Judaean ethnic identity in the Hasmonean period

ABSTRACT

Two distinct archaeological phenomena appeared between the middle of the second century BCE and the middle of the first century: the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave. Following an examination of their dating, distribution, and social significance we suggest that this material culture was characteristic of the Jews in Judaea during this time and that it reflects the creation of an ethnic identity. The fact that the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave were typical of Jews in Judea indicates that they were ethnic features of Jewish society. By these means the Jews emphasized their dissimilarity from the rest of the population. The archaic appearance of the lamps and the burial caves, which replicates the cultural characteristics of the Kingdom of Judah during the monarchic/first Temple period, indicates that Jewish society in the Hasmonean period sought to legitimize its existence through the use of its former culture and memory.     

From limestone caves to concrete graves: 3000 years of mortuary practice in the Palauan archipelago,Micronesia

Human skeletal remains have been discovered from a variety of contexts in the Palauan archipelago of western Micronesia. These include caves, rockshelters, earthen mounds, stone platforms, midden burials, crypts, sarcophagi, and historic period gravesites. Recent excavation of a prehistoric cemetery in a rockshelter on Orrak Island dating from ca 1000 BC–AD 200, combined with nearly contemporaneous surface finds in caves on both Orrak and other nearby islands, shed light on the earliest known burial practices in Palau. Interment in limestone caves and rockshelters was then replaced in succession by burial in earthwork terraces, beneath stone platforms, in middens, within limestone slab crypts and at least one known stone sarcophagus, and finally in Western or Asian‐style gravesites with headstones. Here we present the first major synthesis of mortuary patterns in Palau from the earliest periods of known settlement (ca. 1000 BC) to modern times. Understanding how these burial practices change over time provides valuable insight into changing sociocultural practices within Palauan society, including how contact with outsiders during the historical period drastically altered traditional mortuary behaviours. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Neolithic household activities in marginal areas: the micromorphological evidence from the Kouveleiki caves,Peloponnese, Greece

The micromorphological study of the Neolithic archaeological sequence of the Kouveleiki Caves A and B and the reassessment of the archaeological record under the new data revealed that the site constituted a small-scale self-contained mixed farming household in an upland area of Greece. The study of the microstructure and the microstratigraphy of the sediment revealed that the front chamber of Cave A is dominated by dry, almost totally burnt coprolites resulting from stabling, most likely of sheep and/or goats. There are also indications of frequent trampling and disturbance of the stabling deposits by human activities. Hence, Cave A was used as a small seasonal pen and, probably, as a place for rudimentary activities. The dark back chamber of Cave A was the main habitation area, where plastered floors were constructed by a mixture of burnt dung (derived from the seasonal pen) and red clay (to be found in the plain in front of the cave). The nearby Kouveleiki Cave B was probably used as a complementary activity area.     

Initial evidence of plant and animal-origin organic additives from the second-century bce earthen plaster of rock-cut caves of Karla,India*

Analytical investigations through phytochemical screening, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and light microscopic observation of the earthen plaster of Karla Caves of western India identified the presence of antifungal, antibacterial and insect repellent Careya arborea stem fibres as a vegetal additive. The scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) study also revealed the inclusion of rice (Oryza sativa) husk as a plant additive in the plaster. In the high rain-fed coastal regions of western India, the antimicrobial, antioxidant and termite-resistance properties of C. arborea helped the survival of the plaster in unfavourable climatic conditions. Besides, the C. arborea and rice husk together played a role in reducing cracks, decreasing the density, and imparting a plasticity and a durability to the plaster. The liquid Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) of organic extracts revealed carboxylic acid (fatty acids)-based additives in the earthen plaster. From the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the plaster, the presence of animal milk fat, animal and vegetable fat, and vegetable oil was identified, and probably used to strengthen the earthen plaster for their resistance to tensile stress. The analysis also diagnoses the inclusion of methyl commate B, a resinous material obtained from the Burseraceae plant family, which has antimicrobial properties, through GC-MS analysis.     

Discussion on the variation characteristics of water content of Quaternary soil cover on the top of Yungang Grottoes and the problem of water seepage in caves北大核心

为研究云冈石窟顶部土壤覆盖层的含水率变化情况,建设了土壤环境监测网收集云冈石窟土壤含水率实时监测数据,并分析其时空变化特征及影响因素。结果表明,平坦地形条件下云冈石窟顶部第四纪土壤覆盖层含水率时空变化特征明显:年变化具有周期性,垂向上随深度逐层降低(冬季除外)。春、夏季土壤含水率抬升、储水,秋、冬季下降、失水;在春、夏日土壤含水率呈白天上升、夜晚下降趋势,秋、冬日则呈白天下降、夜晚也下降趋势。土壤含水率时刻处于不停的运动变化之中,受温度、大气降水、微地形等众多因素影响,山体边坡浅层土壤可能为侧向饱和流的入渗通道。降雨对土壤含水率的影响深度与实际入渗深度不一致。云冈窟内顶板及岩壁上部、中部含水率主要受降雨渗透窟顶土壤层、沿岩体裂隙通道进入洞窟的渗漏水控制,而岩壁底部含水率更多受窟前不饱带和与地下毛细水的影响。多年的防水实践也证明云冈洞窟渗漏水主要来自于石窟顶部及附近区域。防渗排水始终是云冈洞窟渗漏水治理的主导思路,建议应根据窟顶土壤厚度、地形地貌和遗址分布等分区治理,充分发挥土壤的防渗作用,减少对土壤覆盖层的过度干预。防渗层材料在具有防渗作用的前提下,应具备一定的透气性,满足“洞窟—覆盖层—大气环境”之间的水汽循环。     

加拉帕戈斯 从火山到深海的世界尽头之旅

<正>锤头鲨,顾名思义,这种鲨鱼有着像锤子一样的脑袋,准确地说来,它们的脑袋长得如同一把榔头,而眼睛就长在头的左右两侧,距离非常远,看上去颇有几分怪异,不过也正是因为这样,锤头鲨才有了更为广阔的视野。锤头鲨的寿命通常有30～40岁。一般来说,锤头鲨的体长在4米左右,体重230公斤上下,生活在热带及温带海域。在今天,锤头鲨已经成为濒危动物,在加拉帕戈斯,你能够见到这些"水中巨头"的身影,其实还有赖于当地政府的保护,厄瓜多尔政府已经在加拉帕戈斯群岛的海洋保护区内为濒临灭绝的锤头鲨设立了禁猎区,让这些"水中巨头"可以有一片生存的净土。     

行摄西班牙 领略小而精致的别样风景

<正>西班牙,这个号称"出产阳光和海滩"的国家,是个享誉全球的旅游大国。截至2018年7月4日第42届世界遗产大会闭幕,西班牙共计拥有47项世界遗产,名列世界第3位。西班牙丰富的旅游资源,深厚的文化底蕴,以及热情的舞蹈,就像一个強大的磁场,吸引着世界游客频繁往来。建在云端的龙达小镇吃过早饭,我们从塞维利亚出发,前往西班牙安达卢西亚的龙达小镇参观。龙达小镇有3000多年的悠久历史。早在罗马帝国时代,一批旅人风尘仆仆地爬上这座750公尺的悬崖峭壁,发现这里地势险要,风景秀丽,河流丰沛,于是安营扎寨,建造出第一座房子。这白     

红树林里的小精灵 马来西亚沙巴Klias红树林湿地保护区

<正>在马来西亚沙巴州西南海岸的红树林保护区,居住着一种珍贵的灵长类野生动物——长鼻猴(proboscis monkey)。长鼻猴有着大得出奇的长鼻子,目前只有在马来西亚婆罗洲的沙巴、沙劳越等地的红树林中才能看到,属于世界濒危动物,也是马来西亚的国宝。     

折柳送别诗的民俗观照

“折柳”作为我国特有的送别习俗起源很早,因为“柳”在我国是“祝福”的象征,也是可以“驱鬼避邪”的“鬼怖木”;柳在中国古人心目中可以起到保护的作用,它既可以保护逝去的亲人的灵魂远行,同样保护活着的亲人路途平安。折柳送别的习俗植根于我国独特的传统文化,与我国古代人民的文化心理密切相关。     

千里寻蝶 捕捉如梦如幻的对称之美

<正>拍摄蝴蝶"对称"之美,是蝴蝶摄影中的一种挑战。一是机会可遇不可求,"蜂团蝶阵乱纷纷",当你与群蝶相遇,它们如天女散花般毫无秩序,又似小河流水一样,形成一种动态的"彩流",常常让你望蝶兴叹,不拍则失去良机,而选择拍摄又仅仅是一种简单的影像记录,难以展现蝴蝶的美、张扬和摄影者的艺术表现力;二是瞬间难把握,当你看到两只