The oldowan reassessed: A close look at early stone artifacts

Early Stone Age assemblages called “Oldowan” and early “Developed Oldowan” are discussed, based on the results of a long-term study of Plio-Pleistocene sites at Koobi Fora, Kenya and an extensive experimental research program of replicating and using early stone artifact forms. Five major conclusions are drawn from this investigation: (1) many Oldowan core forms (“core-tools”) are probably simple by-products of flake manufacture rather than representations of stylistic norms; (2) flakes and retouched flakes - were essential tools in Oldowan technology, particularly for activities involving cutting; (3) this simple technology does not necessarily reflect the cognitive abilities of the early hominids that manufactured the stone artifacts; (4) there is evidence to show that Oldowan technology can be viewed as a simple curated one, in which raw material was intentionally carried from place to place for future use; (5) early hominid populations that made and used stone implements were not necessarily dependent upon them for their survival.     

大遗址保护与考古遗址公园建设初探——以大明宫遗址保护为例

考古遗址公园建设是中国特色的文化遗产保护模式,是大遗址保护实践和国内外文化遗产保护理论结合的有益探索,也是目前最具现实意义和操作性的一种大型遗址保护途径。大明宫遗址公园是我国首批国家考古遗址公园之一,其建设以科学规划为基础,以考古发掘资料为支撑,对大明宫范围内的多处遗址进行了较科学、完整的保护展示,并因地制宜制定了绿化方案。目前大明宫遗址的保护已逐步走向成熟,其组织规划及运营管理等方面的经验为考古遗址公园建设提供了有益的借鉴。     

A Methodological Approach Towards Conservation

Abstract

Since conservation became a recognized discipline, professionals involved in conservation projects have tried to find the best criteria for their interventions. Often these criteria remain quite vague, based on the idea that every historic building has its own special conditions, which make its problems different from other buildings. This conviction, which is appropriate at one level, has serious consequences due to the lack of a consistent methodology. More than a lack of criteria, we might talk about a lack of 'habit' in identifying values in the Mediterranean region: the concept of values is much more widespread in Anglo-Saxon countries.

If we take a look at the history of conservation, there are a number of cases which are often used as models: for example, the Colosseum or the Arch of Titus in Rome, both interventions which are greatly admired and included in many conservation manuals. More recently there are projects which are widely accepted by the heritage conservation community as well: the paper explores the Palace of the Partal (Granada), the Villa Romana del Casale (Piazza Armerina), the theatre at Orange, and the Insula Orientalis I in Herculaneum. In this article, I suggest that there are constant elements within these conservation projects, reflecting typological, structural, constructional, functional, aesthetic, formal, historical, and symbolic values. These features represent a way of planning a conservation project and a critical methodology to judge the outcomes of the project in an objective manner. The methodology is qualitative rather than quantitative. All historic buildings have a set of values developed from their origins and throughout their history. These values can be analysed to extract the most important elements to be preserved. Analysing the values of our built heritage will allow us to create better decision-making processes.     

Vulnerability Index: A New Approach for Preventive Conservation of Monuments

A new approach is developed for vulnerability analysis of monuments based on a matrix model and the relationships with static and structural factors, climatic conditions, air quality, urban planning and social agents for preventive conservation of cultural heritage in urban centers.

The objective is to provide tools for decision-makers in the current recession to allow them to prioritize strategies for cultural heritage preservation in a town, where territorial policies are applied and regions where restoration budget is distributed. This new tool allows to classify monuments in order to prioritize restoration and is useful in deeper analysis associated to risks assessment.

The degradation of building materials and structures is mainly due to deterioration caused by structural instability, weathering, pollution, and anthropogenic damage. The vulnerability approach of each monument (vulnerability indexes) was calculated, based on a Leopold matrix that depends on intrinsic variables and the life of the monuments. For the very first time, the influence of different deterioration agents has been balanced with a Delphi forecast based on architects’ opinions.

The result is a new pre-Artificial Intelligence tool that enables users to reproduce human reasoning to study relations between vulnerability factors, risk factors, and the historical parameters of the monuments.     

A question of blood, race, and politics

This article explores the political and intellectual context of a controversy arising from a proposal made at the 1959 meetings of the American Society of Blood Banks to divide the blood supply by race. The authors, a group of blood-bankers and surgeons in New York, outlined difficulties in finding compatible blood for transfusion during open-heart surgery, which they attributed to prior sensitization of their patient, a Caucasian, by a previous transfusion from an African American donor. Examining the statistical distribution of blood-group antigens among the various races, they concluded that risk of adverse hemolytic reactions and the cost of testing could be reduced by establishing separate donor pools. The media reported the suggestion, which, given the political climate of the day, rapidly became a public issue involving geneticists, blood-bankers, physical anthropologists, and the African American medical community. Liberals condemned it, whereas eugenically inclined segregationists used the finding to support their views concerning evolutionary distance between the races and the dangers of miscegenation. Here we examine the contribution of comparative racial serology to this affair, the arguments and background of the main players, and the relevance of the debate to discussions about the role of "race" in post-genomic medicine.     

A combined visual-geochemical approach to establishing provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts

A technique for establishing source provenance for pegmatite quartz artifacts was developed using a quarry sample from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to quantify Ti, Ge, Th, and U trace element concentrations and Pb isotope ratios, coupled with qualitative visual characteristics to distinguish between pegmatite quartz from different archaeologically exploited sources in the Churchill River basin region. The technique was also applied to a small sample of quartz artifacts recovered from sites in and around the study area in a preliminary attempt to assign or rule out raw material provenance to characterized sources.     

Museum salvage: A case study of Mesoamerican artifacts in museum collections and on the antiquities market

Abstract

Museum salvage refers to critical studies of museum collections with little or no provenience information that seek to glean useful archaeological information from these artifacts and examine the nature of their origins and possible connections to the illicit antiquities trade and the art market. Our case study focuses on artifacts from Mesoamerica and objects from the ancient capital of Teotihuacan in particular. We take a multi-scalar approach, including a quantitative analysis of Sotheby’s auction records for Mesoamerican items from 1966 to 2010, a survey of Teotihuacan attributed items in U.S. museums, and a more detailed examination of Teotihuacan-style artifacts in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science collections. The study tracks and attempts to explain diachronic patterns in the Mesoamerican antiquities trade, connections to museum collecting practices, and looting behavior. The study illustrates the potential benefits of museum salvage, while also revealing the clear limitations of research on poorly documented archaeological material.     

世界遗产保护的地方视角——以武夷山的城村为例

从现实来看,遗产与旅游关系密切。其一,遗产的潜在价值将是最直接的旅游资源,这可从蜂拥而至的大众旅游看出;其二,遗产旅游的独特性可能会使规划者依据需要选择遗产地的一些文化特质,一方面适应于全球化的模式需要,另一方面则凸显其地方文化特色。这一观点呈现出遗产地村落面临遗产旅游而可能发生的两种现象:去地方化与再地方化。本文将以武夷山城村古村落为个案,在重新审视世界遗产保护模式的基础上,考察村落共同体在遗产保护中的文化变迁与调适,以期说明去地方化和再地方化现象是地方(村落、民众等)应对当下遗产运动所做出的表述,由此强调遗产的地方性主体的文化自觉对遗产保护的重要意义。     

黄河流域早期铜器演进初探

黄河流域是中国早期铜器起源与发展的关键区域,早期铜器的演进受社会复杂化程度制约。在文明化进程的视野下,本文通过用铜遗存的考古信息与社会经济背景,将黄河流域早期铜器的演进分为早期用铜的萌芽、发展初期及区域化特征形成三个阶段,初步阐释铜制品从出现到规模化使用的过程。人群流动、定居农业、手工业生产、城市与权力的集中是影响黄河流域早期铜器演进模式的重要因素。大体在公元前2300年至前1400年的文明进程中,黄河上游铜器的制作与使用具有相似的风格及开放共融的特征,而黄河中下游地区防御性城市与权力的发展,推动了铜器技术与社会功用的本土化转变。     

Post-depositional surface whitening of ceramic artifacts: alteration mechanisms and consequences

Surfaces on ceramic artifacts that are paler than the main sherd body are commonly interpreted as slips that were intentionally applied by the potter during the manufacturing process. However, due to post-depositional alteration, sherds that were not originally coated with a slip may macroscopically appear with deceptively similar pale surfaces. This paper presents a comparison of two sherds, both with pale to white surfaces, one of which is a real slip and the other a surficial corrosion that occurred during the burial stage. Observations using optical and scanning electron microscopy, as well as electron-probe image- and microanalysis, clearly illustrate the features of the two surfaces, as well as demonstrating their causes and effects. The superimposed slip is clearly delimited from the sherd body by a denser and much finer-grained fabric, in which clay minerals predominate and porosity is reduced by about 20% compared to the body. In the other sample, surface corrosion, due to invading fluids, has led to leaching of calcareous constituents and results in a remarkable increase in porosity close to the rim (ca. 25%). Sometimes called the “espresso crema effect” (Tschegg et al., 2009b), the surface becomes considerably brighter than the core and can easily be confused with intentional slips. This, as a consequence can lead to significant misinterpretations, to erroneous sherd characterizations and classifications, as well as to incorrect assignments to specific ware groups.     

Athapaskan kinship: Still an open question

Isidore Dyen and David F. Aberle. Lexical Reconstruction: The Case of the Proto‐Athapaskan Kinship System. New York and London: Cambridge University Press, 1974. xx + 498 pp. Maps, tables, works cited, and indices. $27.50.     

Burning Images: A Critical Review of Rock Art Conservation in Zimbabwe

Rock art is the most easily accessible of archaeological material. In Zimbabwe, there are thousands of sites, mostly in open-air environments which can be accessed and enjoyed by many people without any restrictions. Yet, rock art is also easily damaged and therefore requires conservation. Social, political and economic challenges in the last two decades have had profound effects on the conservation status of this particular cultural heritage. This paper examines the state of conservation of rock art, conservation approaches and challenges in Zimbabwe. It also discusses possible solutions especially as the country is making frantic efforts at international re-engagement. The story of rock art conservation in Zimbabwe is similar to what is happening in many neighbouring developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Therefore, the discussion in this paper also informs on general issues in rock art management and conservation in Africa.