Tracing Medieval and Renaissance Alabaster Works of Art Back to Quarries: A Multi‐Isotope (Sr,S, O) Approach

Multi‐isotope fingerprinting (sulphur, oxygen and strontium isotopes) has been tested to study the provenances of medieval and Renaissance French and Swedish alabaster works of art. Isotope signatures of historical English, French and Spanish alabaster source quarries or areas are revealed to be highly specific, with a strong intra‐group homogeneity and strong inter‐group contrasts, especially for Sr and S isotopes. The chosen combination of isotope tracers is a good basis for forensic work on alabaster provenance, allowing verification of hypotheses about historical trade routes as well as identification of fakes and their origin. The applied analytical techniques of continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF–IRMS) and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) only require micro‐samples in the low‐milligram range, thus minimizing the impact on the works of art.     

Characterizing the Alabastro listato or fiorito of Hierapolis in Phrygia: A Simple Method to Identify its Provenance using Carbon Stable Isotopes

Alabastro listato or fiorito of Hierapolis in Phrygia was a prestigious coloured marble widely used in Roman architecture and decoration. This stone is generally identified in artefacts on autoptic examination, but it may sometimes be confused with alabasters of different provenances. This study describes a simple, but effective, scientific method to contribute to the determination of Hierapolis alabaster. Due to its unique genetic context, it is characterized by a distinctive carbon isotope signature. A comparison between the stable carbon isotope data from this paper and from the literature confirms the uniqueness of the isotopic character of Hierapolis alabaster. Carbon isotopes can ensure a reliably provenance attribution of the alabaster artefacts along with visual recognition by an expert eye.     

Analysis of resinous material present on an alabaster lid excavated from Nabataean Moa in the Arava valley

An alabaster lid with a resinous accretion burnt or stuck next to the handle and on the base was uncovered in the Nabataean rest stop in Moyat Aawad (Moa) in the Arava valley in Israel. The analysis of this resin sample utilising GC‐MS revealed several types of compounds. The chemical analysis revealed compounds typically present in pine tar and plant lipid material (probably oil). The use of pine resin, tar and pitch derived from plant resins is documented in antiquity, not only as a sealant or caulking material but also as medicines, antiseptics and ritual balms.     

An Etruscan ointment from Chiusi (Tuscany,Italy): its chemical characterization

This paper focuses on the chemical characterization of the original contents of an Egyptian origin alabaster unguentarium, found in an Etruscan burial in Chiusi (Tuscany, Italy) and dated 150/125–100 B.C. The unguentarium, found in an intact tomb belonging to a noble woman of Chiusine society, preserved a good part of its original contents owing to a protective layer of clay. The chemical characterization was carried out using a combination of two analytical procedures based, respectively, on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS).     

Notes on a Piece of Painted Glass within a Genealogical Tree of the Family of Stewart

Skipwith church's west tower, of ‘pre-Norman’, ‘Saxo-Norman’ or ‘early Romanesque’ style, has been the focus of a campaign of investigation and analysis which included structural recording and archaeological excavation. A building earlier than this tower was identified; within and around it were burials, some in iron-bracketed wooden coffins, and a piece of newly discovered early ninth-century sculpture confirms the contemporary importance of this site. This building was replaced by a church incorporating the standing tower; hitherto unrecognized details of its construction are reported, together with its subsequent structural evolution. Attention is drawn to an extensive series of cross slabs and to a considerable quantity of painted alabaster fragments representing one or more altarpieces.     

ABSOLUTE DATING OF THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE

A recent argument for raising the absolute date of the beginning of the Aegean Late Bronze (LB) Age to about 1700 B.C. is critically examined. It is argued here that: (1) the alabaster lid from Knossos did have the strati-graphical context assigned to it by Evans, in all probability Middle Minoan IIIA, c. 1650 B.C.; (2) the attempt to date the alabastron found in an early Eighteenth Dynasty context at Aniba to Late Minoan IIIA:1 is open to objections; (3) radiocarbon dates from Aegean LB I contexts are too wide in their calibrated ranges and too inconsistent both within and between site sets to offer any reliable grounds at present for raising Aegean LB I absolute chronology to 1700 B.C. Other evidence, however, suggests this period began about 1600 B.C., i.e. some fifty years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 B.C.     

“庄子是谁”四说献疑

＂庄子是谁＂,即历史上那个叫做＂庄子＂的人究竟是《庄子》中哪些内容的作者这一问题,是一个非常棘手的历史难题。对此,学界主要有四种认识：其一,庄子乃内篇的作者;其二,庄子乃外杂篇的作者;其三,庄子乃《庄子》中一部分内容的作者;其四,庄子乃《庄子》一书的作者。然而,这四说的主要依据,包括内篇精深外杂浅俗说、内篇与外杂篇必有一伪说、刘笑敢来自汉语词汇发展规律的证明等,都存在一定的漏洞。以上四说的漏洞,意味着＂庄子是谁＂的问题并没有真正得以解决。因此,基于一种相对审慎的考虑,不妨将庄子看作《庄子》文本统一组织下的一个作者符号。     

俗化南夷——岭南秦汉时代汉文化形成的一个思考

岭南地区南越国墓的文化因素构成情况大体有三:一种是相当典型的越式墓,墓主当为比较纯粹的土著越人;一种情况是越式特征已经减退而汉式因素亦不明显,墓主当为受到汉文化一定影响的土蓍越人;第三种情况是汉式因素比较明显却仍然存在相当强烈的越式因素。其中最后一类墓年代更晚,分布亦较为普遍,族属似可称"次生越人"。从考古学文化和历史背景分析,岭南汉族的最重要来源应该是"次生越人"。南越国土著越人与南下汉人融合的大趋势是"次生越人"的形成和壮大,"文化上汉化"的同时,还存在"民族意识上越化"的另一面。     

山西省农业土地资源可持续利用研究

农业土地资源的可持续利用是实现农业可持续发展的基础和保证。本文通过分析山西农业土地资源的特点,开发利用现状及存在的主要问题,提出了山西农业土地资源可持续利用的主要措施:加快退耕还林步伐,调整农业用地结构,优化农业生态环境;加强生态农业建设,合理利用土地资源,提高土地生产率;加大农业生态环境整治力度,防止土地退化,减轻自然灾害;强化土地管理,规范土地市场,保护农业土地资源。     

中国城市职能结构的特征研究

本文利用1999年的城市数据库和纳尔逊分类方法分析了我国城市职能的基本特征,对各行业的就业频率分布曲线进行了分析,并比较了不同城市规模、不同地域城市职能差异,认为我国城市工业职能较强,就业比重较大;城市工业专业分工程度较低;我国城市职能随城市规模变化出现一定变化规律,建筑业比重随城市规模的增大而减小,科教文卫等服务业随着规模的增大而增大;我国城市职能结构表现在空间上的差异是东部城市工业职能较强,西部城市行政、科教等服务业就业比重较高。     

论中国保险业的诚信缺失与建设

诚信是保险业的生命线,也是保险业可持续发展的重要保证。但是,由于中国保险业的社会信用基础薄弱,法律法规建设滞后,保险企业管理体制落后,诚信信息评估不足,从而导致了中国保险业的诚信缺失现象。因此,规范诚信秩序,建立和完善诚信体系,是中国保险业健康、稳定发展的基础性工作。     

Performance-Based Vulnerability Assessment of Multi-Story Reinforced Concrete Structures Exposed to Pre- and Post-Earthquake Fire

Post-earthquake fire can potentially bring about much more damage than the earthquake itself. Performing a vulnerability assessment for a structure that has already sustained damage in an earthquake and is then exposed to fire is therefore of importance. This paper describes a performance-based investigation in which applied loads to a structure are appropriately quantified. To do so, a sequential structural analysis is performed on the Life Safety performance level of a three-story reinforced concrete frame selected from a building. For the analysis to be more realistic, the slab is also included in the frame analysis through the concept of effective length. The frame is first subjected to an earthquake load with the PGA of 0.30 g followed by a fire analysis, using the ISO834 fire curve and the iBMB fire curve. The time needed for the structure weakened by the earthquake to collapse under fire is then calculated. As a benchmark, fire-only analysis is also performed for the undamaged frame. Moreover, the effect of thermal spalling is considered in the slabs. The selected frame is evaluated under various failure criteria such as load capacity, displacement, and rate of displacement. The results show that no failure is observed when the frame is exposed to fire alone, either when using the ISO curve or the iBMB curve under various failure criteria. It is also shown that while the PEF resistance based on load capacity criteria under the ISO curve is around 120 minutes, it reduces to about 95 min under the iBMB curve. However, considering the rate of deflection failure criteria, the PEF resistance is around 103 min and 75 min under the ISO and the iBMB curves, respectively. It is then concluded that in the PEF analysis, the iBMB curve is more compatible with the concept of performance-based design than the ISO curve is.     

感知距离对旅游目的地之形象影响的分析——以五大旅游客源城市游客对苏州周庄旅游形象的感知为例

旅游目的地形象是影响旅游行为的一个重要因素,本文以苏州周庄为例,选择距周庄不同距离的五个城市(上海、南京、合肥、济南、成都)作为样本地,采用定量方法对周庄的旅游形象及距离对旅游形象的影响进行了调查。     

宪法本体论的解读

宪法是国家的根本大法,这更多的是从一国法律体系和法律效力方面来明确的。全面认识宪法,还应包括更多的内容:宪法是法的组成部分,是人民授权政府的一份授权委托书,因而,宪法既是控制公共权力的控权法,同时又是保护人民权利的保权法;宪法是国家活动的总章程,因而,宪法明确了国家的组织原则和管理方式;宪法调整的是国家的重大社会关系,因而宪法在内容上有别于其他普通法律;宪法具有最高的法律效力,因而制宪和修宪的程序比普通法律严格。     

论史料

史料是一种语言,对史料性质的分析本质上是一种“元分析”。只有在史料系统内部,史料才具有客观性。史料的客观性是一种语言的客观性。历史研究的客观性就是运用史料的规范性,即语言游戏的规则性。史料与历史的关系是一种假关系。史料不能直接产生理论,但可以充分限制理论;史料虽不能肯定什么理论是好的,但可以肯定什么理论是不好的。     

SERVQUAL在中外旅游业中应用的比较研究

文章从时空分布、研究方法、方向、内容和技术路径等方面就SERVQUAL在中外业界中的应用进行比较研究,并针对国内相关研究表现出的时间上的滞后性、方法上的单一性、研究方向上的不全面性、研究内容上的肤浅性以及研究技术路径上的不科学性等问题,指出中国旅游业服务质量评价的方向。     

A CRAVING FOR CRITICAL HISTORY

Roger Cooter is concerned about the survival of historiography under the pressures of neoliberal economics and the entertainment industry. His and Claudia Stein's book is a welcome call for “critical history,” which is aware of own fundamental intellectual categories. Cooter emphasizes the importance of self‐reflection and political contextualization of all knowledge‐production. However, although reflection is undoubtedly a virtue, it is not clear whether historiography is under such a severe threat. It is also necessary to ask where the limits of contextualization lie. It is doubtful whether a fully localized and contextualized study removed of all “presentist” categories and language is possible. In addition, one should avoid combining antirealism about natural sciences in the name of anti‐Whiggism with realism about historical knowledge in attempts to provide contextualized accounts of the past. What is needed above all is the hermeneutical dialogue between the language of past agents and the language of present actors.     

中学语文教学与创新教育

创新教育需要渗透到各科教学中。语文学科也毫不例外，并且只有对本学科不断创新，不断注入活水，它才有发展前途，才有存在的必要。语文教学法进行的是母语教学，是一门基础性的、工具性的学科教学。     

试论古代埃及人的历史意识

古代埃及人认为,世界在创建之初创世之神就创建了神圣的宇宙秩序——玛特,它是自然界和人类社会的运行法则。它是一种抽象的观念,是我们理解古代埃及人思想特征的关键所在。以玛特观念为基础,古代埃及人形成了朦胧状态的历史意识,包括神人关系、社会历史发展的模式、创世与王权、历史的作用等。古代埃及人正是以此为基础认识过去,发现人类存在的意义。