A first note on the excavations at UAQ38, a new Neolithic site in the Emirate of Umm al-Quwain

At the end of 2018, the first season of excavation was carried out at the shell midden site of UAQ38. The site occupies the top of a sand dune not far from UAQ36 and UAQ2, two other recently investigated Neolithic shell middens. Several well-stratified anthropogenic levels were excavated at UAQ38, which can be dated mainly to the 5th millennium BC, although the recorded artefacts suggest a possible older date for the lowest levels. Food waste, post-holes, fireplaces, and burnt shell dumpings attest to human activities that took place at the site over a rather long period of time. Here the stratigraphic sequence will be presented, together with a first overview of the artefactual assemblage. The collected data will be concisely discussed in order to fit the site within the typology of Neolithic settlements that can be proposed for the area. UAQ38 is so far the only Neolithic site along the northeastern coast of the UAE for which stratified charcoal is available for dating.     

A note on the use of temporal frequency distributions in studies of prehistoric demography

Temporal frequency distributions of archaeological sites and radiocarbon dates are commonly used as proxies for prehistoric population levels based on the assumption that more people create a stronger archaeological signal. While this assumption is certainly correct, we question whether relative frequencies of sites or dates observed from prehistoric contexts are necessarily linked to human demography. In this paper, we demonstrate that the typical positive curvilinear frequency distributions observed in archaeological contexts also regularly occur in paleontological and geological contexts and are thus likely caused by the operation of time-dependent destructive processes, what we call “taphonomic bias.” Using a simple model, which assumes a constant rate of site loss over time, we show how taphonomic bias can produce positive curvilinear frequency distributions through time even in cases of population stasis, decline, and fluctuation. We conclude that caution must be used when attempting to infer demographic trends from frequency distributions alone.     

“高氏之宝”印章考释

1977年,内蒙古巴林左旗辽上京遗址西北的十三敖包乡水泉村白草洼,出土一枚印文为"高氏之宝"的印章,现藏辽上京博物馆.<辽上京文物撷英>一书辑有此印,并认定为辽代印章①,然殊可商榷,现将"高氏之宝"介绍如下,略作考释.     

民初国会对孔教的争论及其思考

民初国会对孔教的争论,是中西文化冲突在政治层面上的反映。主张孔教者希望将孔教载入宪法,体现在立国精神中,将民族文化精神与宪政结合起来,忽视了与共和政体对立的因素,在客观上阻碍了宪政的顺利进行;而反对孔教者,则看到了传统与宪政间的对立,加剧了民族文化认同危机,二者均存不足。     

Land use change in Northeast China in the twentieth century: a note on sources,methods and patterns

Studies of historical change in cultivated land use in Northeast China have become important in the discussion of food supply safety and the reconstruction of land use/cover changes in China. This paper subjects a number of sources relating to land use change in the three provinces of Northeast China to comparative analysis. The data examined include Russian survey data (1914), data from local and regional Chinese governments during the Republic of China (1931), data from the Japanese Society of Manchuria Railway (SMR) for 1940 and various sets of contemporary Chinese data for the second half of the 20th century. A unified method of reconstructing the data and estimating the rate of cultivated land use change in Northeast China during the 20th century is developed here. A relational model is proposed for this purpose. It establishes a general framework for relating the various sets of data generated in different time periods and indicates ways in which the data have to be calibrated to ensure their comparability. The calibration of the data involves correlation and regression analysis. The results of the comparative analysis show that the area of and rate of change in cultivated land use in Northeast China increased until the last decade of the twentieth century. Increase rates were particularly high between 1914–1931 and 1950–1960.     

登封高村壁画墓清理简报

2003年郑州市文物考古研究所与登封市文物局在登封市告成镇高村清理出一座宋墓,墓内壁画保存完好.其中甬道西壁绘制的烙饼图色彩艳丽,为郑州宋墓仅见.     

浙江萧山跨湖桥独木舟遗址加固保护试验研究

为了保证所用加固材料对跨湖桥独木舟遗址土壤加固的有效性,使用改性水性环氧和正硅酸乙酯两种加固材料,分别于该遗址隐蔽部位进行了小面积加固试验,通过测试加固前后的土壤密度、pH值和色差以及强度等,对加固效果进行了评价。结果表明加固后的土壤干密度有所提高,土壤更加密实,仍处于原来的中性环境,保持土壤原貌,抗剪强度也有所提高。     

A 2500‐year record of marine resource use on Ulong Island,Republic of Palau

The paper reports fish bone and shellfish assemblages from Ulong Island in the Rock Islands of Palau, western Micronesia dating from ∼3100 to 500 BP . Use of marine resources in early prehistory appears to have been highly localised with increasing capture of outer‐reef/pelagic taxa including shark and tuna after 1000 BP . Local stocks of large Tridacnids were depleted during initial human use of Ulong Island, and there is a size decrease in Scarus sp. remains consistent with pressure on the inshore fishery, especially after establishment of permanent stonework villages in late prehistory. Comparison of archaeological assemblages of fish bone from other Rock Islands dated to after 2000 BP indicate that the captured fish species and major capture methods differ between sites and likely reflect local marine environments at each location. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Holocene economic specialisation through aquatic resource exploitation at Kobadi in the Méma,Mali

Following the last humid phase of the Late Holocene, human groups left the Saharan latitudes of northern Mali at around 2500 cal. years BC to settle further south. The Kobadi population was among the first Neolithic human groups to enter the Niger Inland Delta in central Mali. People adapted to their new environment by intensifying one of their former subsistence practices, namely fishing. The rich and diversified ichthyofauna exploited was dominated by large Nile perches and a variety of catfish taxa. It testifies to relatively stable hydrological conditions: a fluvial lake which was probably linked permanently to the main Niger River. Fish were caught with harpoons and probably also with diverse fishing devices such as nets, baskets and fences. Preparation processes prior to cooking cannot be determined, but fish were probably cooked on hot coals or stones, the left‐overs of the meals being discarded randomly at the site. Intense exploitation of the aquatic environment near Kobadi provided an abundant, secure and predictable source of protein. Besides fish and riparian mammals, reptiles such as turtles, monitors and crocodile were hunted. Domestic cattle provided milk and/or meat. These animals were either raised at the site or obtained by means of exchange with pastoral groups roaming the hinterlands. From the 2^nd millennium BC, the focus on aquatic resources at Kobadi, mostly through the intensification of fish exploitation, may demonstrate the beginning of economic specialisation in the Niger Inland Delta. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国学者高句骊历史研究的百年历程

高句骊是我国古代少数民族之一。高句骊政权存在705年。该文认为中国学者的高句骊研究肇始于好太王碑的发现,经历19世纪80年代至1949年的研究初始阶段、1949年至20世纪70年代的研究冷落期、20世纪80年代以降的研究勃发期。该文简要地评析了上述3个时期的研究方向、特点及研究成果与不足。