THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING OF NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM SITES IN CENTRAL PORTUGAL

Samples of Neolithic and Chalcolithic pottery from nine sites in the Upper Alentejo and Estremadura regions of Portugal have been dated by the thermoluminescence method (quartz inclusion technique). The project was designed to help establish an absolute chronology for the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in this area, and to try to elucidate the chronological relationships between settlement sites and burial sites (‘dolmens’) in the same area. Portugal was confirmed, together with Brittany, as being one of the earliest foci of megalith builders.     

LUMINESCENCE DATING OF POTTERY FROM LATER PREHISTORIC BRITAIN*

Dating of later prehistoric settlements relies heavily on potter; typologies in England and yet there has been little scientific dating in order to verify these typologies. In this work, luminescence dating techniques were applied directly to the pottery which forms the typological framework. Excellent agreement was obtained between the luminescence ages, and archaeological age ranges for known‐age pottery sherds with diagnostic form and surface decoration. A lower correlation, however, was found in several regions between the luminescence ages for undecorated body sherds and the archaeological assessment which was necessarily based solely on fabric, suggesting the need for reassessment of these fabric chronologies.     

PORE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION DETERMINATIONS IN NEOLITHIC,IRON AGE,ROMAN AND OTHER POTTERY

A method of evaluating the pore-size distribution of pottery is described and results obtained from a number of samples ranging from Neolithic to modern pottery shown graphically. The method may serve to distinguish between similar-looking sherds if no other means of identification exists, but further work is needed before a series of determining curves can be established.     

THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING OF COLOMBIAN POTTERY IN THE YOTOCO STYLE

Two contexts from the Colombian sites, Yotoco Ferry and Moralba, had been linked by archaeological similarities in pottery style, and dated by association with ware from other sites at circaa.d. 1000. However, radiocarbon dating of those contexts set Moralba at circa 800 b.c. , some 2000 yr older than Yotoco Ferry. Thermoluminescent dating of pottery from Yotoco Ferry dated it at circaa.d. 900, and pottery from Moralba was dated at circaa.d. 870. In addition a metal-smelting pottery crucible, thought to be prehispanic, was studied by thermoluminescence and dated, on the contrary, at less than 120 yr old.     

THE USE OF SHELL-TEMPERED POTTERY IN THE CADDO AREA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Abstract

Freshwater mussel shell was used as a temper in the manufacture of ceramic vessels by potters in the Caddo area of the southeastern United States after ca. A.D. 1300. This was at least one or two centuries after it became the dominant temper used by aboriginal groups in much of the Eastern Woodlands but generally contemporaneous with shelltempered usage in parts of the Southern Plains. The introduction of shell temper was variable across the Caddo area, and in certain regions its use was negligible in ceramic vessel assemblages until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but then was rapidly adopted as the dominant temper employed in vessel manufacture, particularly for utility wares. In the traditional territory of the historic Hasinai Caddo in East Texas, shell temper did not appear in vessels until the early eighteenth century, and then only in minor amounts on presumed trade vessels.     

A REVIEW OF THE LATER UPPER PALAEOLITHIC IN THE ODER AND VISTULA BASINS IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT RESEARCH

Summary. The withdrawal of the Vistulan ice-sheet some 15,000 years ago permitted colonisation of the Oder and Vistula basins by a succession of Late Upper Palaeolithic peoples, amongst whom various distinct groups can be recognised. Magdalenian, Shouldered Point, Curved Back Point and Tanged Point technocomplexes are distinguished by the author, who discusses them with reference to the salient features of the archaeological assemblages, comments on the dating evidence, and considers both internal variability and possible relationships with industries in Western and Eastern Europe. The populations of this region, which coincides approximately with the boundaries of modern Poland, were hunter-gatherers exploiting late glacial and early postglacial game resources, but there is evidence that systematic use was made of other local resources, such as ochre (mined at Rydno), Jurassic flint and the chocolate flint of the Holy Cross Mountains. In this process some of the Late Upper Palaeolithic peoples travelled long distances and established wide contacts. Use of the chocolate flint by Swiderian groups of the Tanged Point technocomplex is proving to be a particularly worthwhile study: flint of this kind is found at some 300 out of 700 Swiderian sites. Actual quarrying places are known in the source area, with working and living sites occurring at various distances from them, offering considerable potential for a study of contemporary economic and social organisation and seasonal migration.     

THE BEGINNINGS OF TIN-OPACIFICATION OF POTTERY GLAZES

A multidisciplinary programme of research on the glazed ceramics of the Islamic world has been focused on questions of their dating, provenance and technology. One particular question has been the development of tin-opacified glazes, and the nature of glaze opacification generally in the Islamic world. The findings of the various studies combine to indicate that tin was first used experimentally in Basra, Iraq, in the first half of the eighth century AD, apparently within the context of pre-Islamic opaque-glaze technology. Over the course of the next century, an opaque-glaze technology entirely reliant on tin oxide inclusions was developed in Iraq and Egypt and, subsequently, this technology spread to the rest of the Islamic world and also to Europe.     

中原地区史前陶窑发展演变研究

陶器是新石器时代的广域性文化遗存之一,明显改变了史前人类包括饮食结构在内的诸多生活方式,并促进了史前文化的繁荣与发展,因而制陶术也被视为史前人类的重大发明之一.以往对制陶技术的研究多集中在制坯成型工艺方面,陶窑结构虽也被纳入考察的范畴,却未能充分考虑烧制技术与陶窑结构之间的内在联系,似乎一直没有把握住陶窑形态结构演变的核心特征.中原地区(本文主要指河南及山西中南部)不仅是新石器时代文化发展的重要区域,也发现有裴李岗文化以来各个阶段的史前陶窑遗存,为探讨史前陶窑的结构演变及烧制技术提供了较系统的实物依据.本文在充分考虑烧制技术的基础上,通过陶窑形态结构分类,力求把握其结构演变的核心特征及演变规律.     

新石器时代环形饰品研究

目次一序言二环形饰品的分类三新石器时代腕臂环饰资料分析四环形饰品的时空变化五环形饰品的社会功能及佩带习俗六结语一序言装饰品起源于旧石器时代,即使人们还在为生存与大自然搏斗的艰苦时代,他们也没有忘记用动物骨骼、贝壳、石头等信手拈来的材料做成装饰品。提起腕臂环饰,也许首先想到的是晶莹的水晶或各色美玉,而那些曾流行于距今7000年前的新石器时     

THE AUTHENTICITY OF FIGURINES,ANIMALS AND POTTERY FACSIMILES OF BRONZES IN THE HUI HSIEN STYLE

For some 15 years the authenticity of a group of small pottery pieces, claimed to have originated in the Hui Hsien area of China, has been the subject of academic discussion and some dissension. The thermolumines-cent dating of 22 such pieces from 4 independent collections is reported following a review of archaeological evidence for the origin of the material and of scientific investigations that have previously been made in investigation of its authenticity. It is concluded that all the pieces are of modern origin and not some 2300 years old as their stylistic forms might suggest.     

STONE AXES OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS: NEOLITHIC EXCHANGE IN AN INSULAR CONTEXT

Summary. The petrology of stone axes found in the Channel Islands is examined. Recent research has resulted in the identification of an axe production centre at Le Pinacle, Jersey, and axes produced there have been recorded on Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. The Channel Island assemblages also include axes of Type A dolerite, flint, jadeite, eclogite and fibrolite, produced at known centres on the European mainland: together, these 'exotic' axes account for around 32% of the total Channel Island sample. A marked fall-off is noted between Jersey and the other islands in terms of the occurrence of these imported axes, and this can perhaps be explained in relation to factors affecting navigation. The social significance of inter-island and island/mainland interaction is explored.     

青藏高原最早的新石器时代村落--昌都卡若遗址的考古发现

Along the eastern flank of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a range of lofty mountains.In a valley marked by the ceaseless flow of the Lancanjiang River is a prehistoric human settlement quietly observing the passage of time.Thousands of years have passed since the site was abandoned,and few know of its existence today.Indeed,it was only rediscovered in the 1970s,almost as if locals had to brush away the crusts on their eyes after a long night's sleep to even see it.Still,the event sent shockwaves throughout the archaeological field,and it is marked in history books as having been one of the most significant finds.     

THE RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY OF THE NEOLITHIC AND COPPER AGE OF NORTHERN ITALY

Summary. Until twenty years ago the chronology of the Neolithic and Copper Age settlement of Northern Italy was almost exclusively based on the stratigraphical sequence of the Arene Candide cave in Liguria. The research carried out since the sixties has strongly increased our knowledge of the earliest farming communities and the first copper using people who inhabited the country between the end of the seventh and the beginning of the fourth millennium BP. This article considers the available evidence for this period which is now supported by a good set of radiocarbon dates.     

关于汉代铸钱陶范上铭记的研究

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