Characterisation of Chinese Tang sancai from Gongxian and Yaozhou kilns using ICP-MS trace element and TIMS Sr–Nd isotopic analysis

Tang sancai is one of the most important types of Chinese ceramics. To determine the provenance of Tang sancai is important to study ancient trade and other issues. In this paper we compare ICP-MS trace elements and TIMS Sr–Nd isotopes of visibly similar Tang sancai from two major production centres Gongxian and Yaozhou. The variation in contents/ratios of many of >40 trace elements is small for samples from Gongxian, yet is considerably bigger for that from Yaozhou. However, the variation in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopic ratios is very small for samples from both places. Gongxian and Yaozhou samples have distinctive Sr–Nd isotopic and trace element features despite their similarity in major elements, and these analysis data can be interpreted with geochemistry, indicating that Sr and Nd isotopes have great potential in ceramic provenance studies. The distinct characterisation of these samples provides valuable criteria for identifying provenance of Tang sancai of uncertain origin. Two modern fakes are also analysed, and they can as well be distinguished from antique Tang sancai using above criteria.     

Pliny the Elder and Sr–Nd isotopes: tracing the provenance of raw materials for Roman glass production

In Roman and Byzantine times, natron glass was traded throughout the known world in the form of chunks. Production centers of such raw glass, active from the 4th to 8th century AD, were identified in Egypt and Syro-Palestine. However, early Roman primary glass units remain unknown from excavation or scientific analysis. The ancient author Pliny described in 70 AD that besides Egyptian and Levantine resources, also raw materials from Italy and the Gallic and Spanish provinces were used in glass making. In this study, the primary provenance of 1st–3rd century AD natron vessel glass is investigated. The use of combined Sr and Nd isotopic analysis allows the distinguishing and characterizing of different sand raw materials used for primary glass production. The isotope data obtained from the glass samples are compared to the signatures of primary glass from known production centers in the eastern Mediterranean and a number of sand samples from the regions described by Pliny the Elder as possible sources of primary glass. Eastern Mediterranean primary glass has a Nile dominated Mediterranean Nd signature (higher than −6.0 ? Nd), while glass with a primary production location in the western Mediterranean or north-western Europe should have a different Nd signature (lower than −7.0 ? Nd). Most Roman glass has a homogeneous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr signature close to the modern sea water composition, likely caused by the (intentional) use of shell as glass raw material. In this way, strontium and neodymium isotopes now prove that Pliny's writings were correct: primary glass production was not exclusive to the Levant or Egypt in early Roman days, and factories of raw glass in the Western Roman Empire will have been at play.     

Reform and Growth of Tibetan Education

ＲｅｆｏｒｍａｎｄＧｒｏｗｔｈｏｆＴｉｂｅｔａｎＥｄｕｃａｔｉｏｎ￥ｂｙＤａｉｎｚｉｎＳｏｍｅ４４ｐｅｒｃｅｎｔｏｆｔｈｅｒｅｇｉｏｎａｌｐｏｐｕｌａｔｉｏｎｉｎＴｉｂｅｔａｂｏｖｅｔｈｅａｇｅｏｆ１５ａｒｅｅｉｔｈｅｒｉｌｌｉｔｅｒａｔｅｏｒｓｅｍ...     

Editions and Contents of Tibetan Tripitaka

TibetanTripitakareferstoacollectionofIibetanclassics,whichcoversphilosophy,historylanguage,literdereandat,astronomy,TibetanmedicineandTibetanarchitecture.ItiscomposedoftwopartsDangyurandGangyur.TRANSLATIONOFTRIPITAKA.WiththespreadofBuddhismintoTibet,Buddh…     

Iran and the emergence of information and communications technology: the evolution of revolution?

This study examines the emergence of information and communications technology (ICT) in facilitating political protest in the Middle East, with a focus on the Iranian experience. With the rise of ‘emancipating technology’ to mobilise popular support, many had hoped that the incumbent regime in Iran would be steered towards a more democratic and less authoritarian path. At the same time, the Iranian regime itself has shown an increasingly sophisticated technical nous, constructing a centralised censorship network and using available technology to proliferate propaganda and control and subdue cyber-protest. As such, ICT has acted as a complex dual-edged sword in both mutually supporting and suppressing political activism in modern-day Iran.     

The Tale of Tea and Salt

ＴｈｅＴａｌｅｏｆＴｅａａｎｄＳａｌｔ￥／／Ｉｎａｎｃｉｅｎｔｔｉｍｅｓ,ｔｈｅＸａａｎｄＮｕｔｒｉｂｅｓｍａｄｅｔｈｅｉｒｈｏｍｅｓｏｎｔｈｅｏｐｐｏｓｉｔｅｂａｎｋｓｏｆａｒｉｖｅｒ,ｌｉｎｋｅｄｏｈｌｙｂｙａｓｕｓｐｅｎｓｉｏｎｂｒｉｄｇｅ．Ｔ...     

Introducing δSr analysis in archaeology: a demonstration of the utility of strontium isotope fractionation in paleodietary studies

Isotopic methods are widely used in archaeology to investigate paleodiet. Here, we present a new method to identify trophic level in archaeological human populations and to investigate paleodiet. We demonstrate that strontium isotope compositions (reported as δ^88/86Sr) vary in a mass-dependent manner with increasing trophic level and can elucidate paleodiet in archaeological human populations. We present new mass-dependent strontium isotope data from tooth enamel and bone from individuals buried during the Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 1000–1300) in the large cemeteries of Chiribaya Alta, Chiribaya Baja, San Gerónimo, and El Yaral in the Ilo and Moquegua Valleys of southern Peru. We compare these data to radiogenic strontium isotope data (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and light stable isotope data (δ¹⁵N_col and δ¹³C_col) from the same individuals to investigate geologic variability in strontium sources as well as marine food consumption among the Chiribaya. Our results demonstrate the utility of measurements of strontium isotope fractionation as a new tool for archaeological investigation of paleodiet. Importantly, this new technique can be used to generate paleodietary (δ^88/86Sr) and paleomobility (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) data from the same specimen, minimizing destructive analyses of invaluable archaeological material, and provides a new way to examine paleodiet through hydroxyapatite, which is particularly important when collagen is poorly preserved.     

The Lives and Afterlives of Vis and Rāmin

This article is a review of the afterlife, or Nachleben, of the romance Vis and Rāmin, one of the first representatives of its genre in New Persian literature. In addition to providing readers with an extensive bibliography of sources and research concerning the poem, it also analyzes these materials to put forward two basic arguments: one, that moral or religious antipathy to the poem’s contents may not have played as great a role in its fortunes as did aesthetic taste; and two, that V&R proved to be a more widely circulated and durable work than is commonly supposed, but on the level of fragments, not the entire text. In light of these arguments, it is proposed that studies structured around the comparison of fragments—themes, ideas, ethics, and motifs, rather than whole texts—may offer more purchase in constructing models of analysis that situate V&R, and Persian literature more broadly, within a literary oikumene in which it connects and interacts with neighboring traditions.     

The emergence of an ethic of care in rural Kenyan schools? Perspectives of teachers and orphaned and vulnerable pupils

In the context of HIV, there is considerable debate about the role of schools and teachers as potential sources of care and support for vulnerable children. This qualitative research examines ‘care’ as experienced and practiced by pupils and teachers in rural Western Kenya. In primary and secondary schools, interviews were conducted with 18 teachers and 57 orphaned and vulnerable pupils, alongside Photovoice. Drawing on thematic analysis and an ‘ethic of care’ theoretical perspective, we unpack the informal caring practices of teachers within resource-constrained settings. The research provides glimpses of schools as spaces of care, participation and support for orphaned and vulnerable pupils. Recognising and providing institutional support for the development of an ethic of care in schools may help to tackle the considerable educational barriers facing girls and boys who are orphaned and vulnerable and move ‘care’ closer towards the centre of educational policy and practice in the global South.     

Erosion and Errors: Testing the Use of Repeated LIDAR Analyses and Erosion Modelling for the Assessment and Prediction of Erosion of Archaeological Sites?

Slope soil erosion is one of the main threats to archaeological sites. Several methods were applied to establish the erosion rates at archaeological sites. Digital elevation models (DEMs) from three different dates were used. We compared the elevations from these three models to estimate erosion. We also applied the landscape evolution model LAPSUS with the available DEMs as basis. Spatial processing errors and effects of tillage and harvesting practices explain most of the DEM elevation differences between the recordings. Increased DEM resolution does not result in more precise or reliable erosion. The present technological level of landscape evolution modelling makes it possible to indicate areas most vulnerable to soil displacement by surface runoff erosion and tillage. Future research, using sediment and surface dating techniques such as deposit of radionuclides, heavy metals and OSL dating will provide a more accurate estimation of erosion rates and the subsequent impact on archaeological sites.     

Greenstone and diabase utilization in the stone age of western Norway: Technological and socio‐cultural aspects of axe and adze production and distribution

The subject of this article is the production and distribution of stone axes and adzes originating from two large Stone Age quarries in western Norway: the greenstone quarry on the small island of Hespriholmen, B?mlo kommune, Hordaland fylke, and the diabase quarry at Stakaneset, Flora kommune, Sogn og Fjordane Fylke. The identification of production sites and distributed products associated with these quarries is based on petrological investigations, both thin‐section and geochemical analyses. Radiocarbon and shoreline datings of debris assemblages and chronological grouping of the distributed artifacts have made it possible to gain control over the time depth and time consistency in the utilization of the two outcrops. Different technological aspects of the production process are discussed on the basis of finds and observations from the quarries and workshop sites. The distribution patterns will be examined with regard to their reflection on cultural continuity and change. Finally, some hypotheses on the social context of production and distribution will be put forward. These include the diffusion mechanisms responsible for the distribution and aspects concerning terri‐toriality and demography as reflected in the distribution patterns.

The results presented here are based on two theses for a master's degree in archaeology at the University of Bergen: ‘Bruk av diabas i vestnorsk steinalder’ (Asle Bruen Olsen 1981) and ‘B?mlo. Steinalderens råstoffsentrum på S?rvestlandet’ (Sigmund Alsaker 1982).     

In the name of God: translation and transformation of Chinese culture,foreign religion,and the reproduction of “Tianzhu” and “Shangdi”

Translation between one language and culture into another assumes that a fundamental set of commonalities exist between the two cultural and linguistic contexts. In the case of the Christian Bible, Chinese translations not only involved translating words into Chinese, but also adapting and transforming an exotic Western religion for local sensibilities in such a way that Christianity might be recognized as a legitimate system of thought within a Chinese cultural milieu. Focusing on the perspective of different Chinese translations of the name of the Christian God, this article examines the history of the debate regarding the issue of translation, and the approaches adopted by the Catholic and Protestant faiths. It examines the reclamation and evolution of traditional Chinese vocabulary into new terminology through the application of Western religious concepts, and the ways in which indigenous Chinese society accepted these concepts, with an eye towards examining the course of historical progress through the history of social adoption of these ideas.     

Han Shuli and His Pursuit of Art

ＷＡＮＧＤＵＩＰＥＯＰＬＥｎ１９９６，ＨａｎＳｈｕｌｉｔｏｇｅｔｈｅｒｗｉｔｈＮｇａｗａｎｇＺｈａｂａａｎｄＹｕＸｉａｏｄｏｎｇａｃｃｅｐｔｅｄｔｈｅｅｎｔｒｕｓｔｍｅｎｔｏｆｃｒｅａｔｉｎｇａｈｕｇｅｈｉｓｔｏｒｉｃａｌｏｉｌｐａｉｎｔｉｎｇ—Ｄ...     

A Review of “The Co-Presidency of Bush and Cheney”

Craig, Barbara Hinkson. The Legislative Veto: Congressional Control of Regulation. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1983. Pp. xviii, 176. $16.00.

George C. Edwards III. The Public Presidency: The Pursuit of Popular Support. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983. Pp. x, 276. Hardbound, $16.95; softbound, $8.95.

Goldenberg, Edie N., and Michael W. Traugott. Campaigning for Congress. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1984. Pp. 192, Bibliography, Index. $9.50.

Kau, James B. and Paul H. Rubin. Congressmen, Constituents, and Contributors: Determinants of Roll Call Voting in the House of Representatives. Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishing, 1982. Pp. ix, 160. $25.00.

Melnick, R. Shep. Regulation and the Courts: The Case of the Clean Air Act. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1983. Pp. x, 404. Hardbound, $22.95; softbound, $11.95.

Shelley, Mack C. II. The Permanent Majority: The Conservative Coalition in the United States Congress. University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1983. Pp. 201. $24.50.

Sinclair, Barbara. Congressional Realignment: 1925-1978. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1982. Pp. 201. $25.00.

Spitzer, Robert J. The Presidency and Public Policy: The Four Arenas of Presidential Power. University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1983. Pp. 189. $18.75.

Turner, Michael. The Vice President as Policy Maker: Rockefeller in the Ford White House. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1982. Pp. xviii, 252. Hardbound, $29.95.