Skeletal remains of dogs unearthed from the Van‐Yoncatepe necropolises

A total of 15 dog skulls and a number of bones have been discovered in two burial chambers dating from 1,000 BC in the necropolises of the Van‐Yoncatepe Castle in eastern Turkey. The finds were a dog skeleton in burial chamber M5 and 14 dog skulls and plenty of bones in burial chamber M6. It was determined on examination that the skeleton found in burial chamber M5 was an 11–12‐year female dog, and that the skulls unearthed from burial chamber M6 belonged to dogs with an age range of seven to eight months to 12–13 years. In the latter chamber, however, except for one skull whose sex could not be determined, one was ascertained to belong to a female dog and the rest to males. Calculations of 20 different indices and ratios were made on the skulls. This showed that these skulls were of the dolichocephalic type. It was observed that there were signs of a widespread periodontal disease and alveolar recession. Enamel hypoplasia and abscess chambers detected on the teeth, and deformations observed in the hard palate were evidence enough to suggest that these were undernourished dogs. There were also some facial fractures, which were noticed to have occurred before death. On the other hand, examination carried out on the bones revealed that the dogs were of medium size, and that they were likely to have had a withers height of 50–55 cm. The data obtained from both the burial chambers brought to light the fact that these dogs were more of the hunting or working types. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in organic residue from the hoard of ancient Vani (western Georgia)

An investigation of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in the organic material in bronze objects found in Vani provides evidence that, in the first half of the first century BC, the climate of the area was cooler and much more humid than nowadays. The local population was engaged in cattle-breeding and agriculture, and both viticulture and horticulture were also well developed. The analysis of the contents of an oil lamp showed that the lamp was in use for a long time and was filled with flax oil. Large pieces of beeswax found in the hoard provide evidence of the existence of local bronze-casting industry. The palynological studies of the recent and fossil soil of Vani have shown that only in soil spectra large quantities of spores of various fungi were found, which distinguishes them from the domestic dust spectra. On the basis of this argument it was established that most part of the studied fossil material is not contaminated by the soil where the hoard of bronze objects was buried.     

Multiple bone tuberculosis in a child from predynastic Upper Egypt (3200 BC)

Tuberculosis, one of the most ancient human diseases, was present in ancient Egypt and has been observed since predynastic times. Excavations in the predynastic to early dynastic necropolis of Adaima, Upper Egypt (3500–2700 BC) led to the discovery of a number of remarkably well‐preserved skeletons of children. The skeletal remains of a 4.5–5‐year‐old child dated from Nagada III A2 (3200–3100 BC) displayed various lesions on the post‐cranial skeleton: spondylitis on the thoracic (T12) and lumbar (L1) vertebrae, partial lytic destruction of the right radio‐ulnar joint, lytic lesions on the scapula and a clavicle, dactylitis on the short bones of hands and feet, enlargement (spina ventosa) and periosteal new bone formation on the long bones. Radiographs show well‐defined radiolucent (cyst‐like) lesions in the metaphysis and the diaphysis of long tubular bones (ulna, radius, femur, tibia, fibula). The lesions recorded during macroscopic and radiological analysis strongly suggest a case of multiple bone tuberculosis. The occurrence of this case of tuberculosis in a child provides a picture of a period where tuberculosis must have been endemic throughout the population living during the origins of urban settlement in Upper Egypt during the predynastic period. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

方寸之美——从提卡遗址出土的赫梯印章辨析古代两河流域文化交流

“‘叙’写传奇——叙利亚古代文物精品展”中有一枚发现于提卡遗址的戳印,年代为青铜时代中期（公元前2000年—前1600年）,在该遗址另发现两枚巴比伦风格的滚印,同样属于青铜时代中期。本文从考古学、文献材料、印章工艺等方面对这枚戳印的遗址信息、功能形制、图像结构、历史背景进行研究,由此探究距今约4千年前,提卡、赫梯、古巴比伦文明之间的交流与往来,进而解读古代两河流域地区的文化演进。     

舒城九里墩墓年代与国别考

舒城九里墩墓中出土有一批战国早期青铜器物,下葬年代为公元前445年之后。墓中所出的青铜礼器具有典型的楚文化特征,墓主人应为战国早期楚国贵族,今舒城可能为其封地;墓中虽亦出蔡、钟离二国器物,但此二国距舒城甚远、时代亦不符,可能为楚灭蔡、钟离二国后所得战利品。     

Artificial cranial modification on a female skeleton from the Byzantine site of Maroneia (Thrace,Greece)

Artificial cranial modification is one of the most often documented types of intentional intervention on the human skeleton in the anthropological record. A female cranium exhibiting headshaping recently came to light at the Early Byzantine site of Maroneia, in Thrace, northern Greece. Headshaping was practiced by several different population groups during the migration period (1st–9th c. AD), but was unknown in Byzantine customs. Homogeneity in burial customs, evidenced by the skeleton's position and orientation and by cemetery topography, strongly supports the hypothesis that this burial belonged to a Christianised citizen who had the right to be buried in a common Christian cemetery. Headshaping provides strong evidence for the cultural adaptability and complexity of Early Byzantine society at Maroneia, an important provincial urban centre of the Byzantine Empire. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国的早期铜器与青铜器的起源

中国公元前16世纪以前的早期铜器已在50多个地点发现500多件,主要分布在四个地区,其年代最早为公元前4500年。早期铜器的发展,经历了公元前4500～前2500年尝试冶炼各种原始铜合金的发生期,公元前2500～前2000年以红铜为主的发展期和公元前2000～前1600年以青铜为主的成熟期。中国古代青铜器分别起源于西北地区和中原地区,青铜时代开始于公元前2000年前后。     

A case of cranial trepanation in a Roman necropolis (Cassino,Italy, 3rd century BC)

The aim of this study was to investigate an individual from a Cassino necropolis of the 3^rd century BC. The inhumation shows a rectangular wound between the sagittal and lambdoid sutures of the cranium. Furthermore a series of pathological traces on the post‐cranial skeleton are present. The trepanation of the skull seems intentional: probably a healed surgical procedure to treat a sword wound. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stable Isotope Record of Human and Sheep Enamel Carbonate from the Ancient Middle Euphrates Valley (Syria)

Stable isotope analyses of human tooth enamel have allowed us to reconstruct the isotope composition of dietary carbon, changes in the oxygen isotope composition of drinking water and the possible migration of humans in ancient Terqa and Tell Masaikh (SE Syria). δ¹⁸O_carbonate values of human tooth enamel from the interval comprising the Neo‐Assyrian to the modern Islamic periods (from 900 BC to AD 1949) generally mirror the isotope composition of Euphrates water, which is believed to have been a major drinking water source. Lower δ¹⁸O_carbonate values of human Bronze Age apatite are linked to a different hydrologic system that was present in the Middle Euphrates valley at that time (2650–1700 BC). Higher δ¹⁸O_carbonate values of some individuals in the Neo‐Assyrian (900–700 BC) and Islamic periods (AD 600–1200) may indicate human migration from the interior of the Near East. Low δ¹³C_carbonate values (−11.3 to −12.4‰) of human tooth enamel from the interval comprising the Early Bronze to the Islamic periods (from 2650 BC to AD 1200) indicate C₃ plants as a predominant source of dietary carbon. Changes in human dietary customs in SE Syria (with inferred usage of C₄ plants) occurred in the modern Islamic period only (AD 1850–1949). Oxygen and carbon isotope data of sheep enamel show the usage of water bodies characterised by an enhanced evaporation rate during the Neo‐Assyrian time (900–700 BC) and grazing sheep herds on drier areas during the Islamic and the modern Islamic periods (after AD 600). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Skeletal pathology of a high‐ranking official from Thrace (Turkey,last quarter of the 4th century BC)

A male human skeleton from Thrace dated at around 320 BC was found in a wealthy tomb 12 km from what is now Tekirdağ, Turkey. The occupant of the tomb died at the age of 40–45 years and has a pathologic left humerus caused most probably by traumatic injury. It is 9 cm shorter than the right humerus. A drainage fistula penetrating into the medullary cavity occurs at its proximal end. Due to severe arthritic destruction, the left humeral head has completely lost normal articulation, with the glenoid cavity of the left scapula displaying, in turn, severe erosive lesions and important reduction in its articular surface. A marked abscess is discernible bilaterally on the chondro‐costal sternal end. The individual also has a hip with a total sacroiliac joint fusion and shows slight or moderately developed exostoses on different parts of his skeleton. These joint destructions most likely indicate that he suffered from chronic osteomyelitis and septic arthritis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国早期青铜器的起源与传播

中原地区虽然从新石器时代就零星地发现青铜器残片,但青铜文化真正兴起则到了公元前2千纪的前半叶,中国北方早期青铜文化发生的时代晚于中原地区。相比之下,新疆地区则在公元前3千纪末开始,就出现了发达青铜器群;甘青地区青铜器群出现的年代也早于中原地区和中国北方地区。新的发现与研究表明,中国早期青铜器有从西北向中原内地和中国北方地区传播的趋势。这些发现大大拓宽了中国早期青铜器起源与传播研究的视野。     

楚屈子赤目簠年代与作器者小识

比较可见,楚屈子赤目簠既晚于淅川下寺M7、M8出土的几件铜簠,又早于下寺M1、M10和南阳彭射墓随葬的同类器,而与下寺M4尤其是M36所见的簠相近,铸作年代当属于春秋中期的末年或中晚之际,绝对年代约在公元前580年左右。屈子赤目,学界多认为是《左传》文公三年(公元前624年)所载的息公子朱,赤目是名,子朱为字。然从该器的制作年代以及当时屈氏家族重要人物的排比来看,其更可能是息公子朱之次子、申公屈巫臣之弟、屈荡之兄。     

The casting core composition and provenance of the Goljamata Kosmatka (Bulgaria) bronze head

The composition of casting core residues from the interior of a 4th century BC bronze head, unearthed in a Thracian tomb of central Bulgaria, was studied by means of petrographic, SEM, chemical and XRD analyses. Results indicated that the sand–clay mixture is dominantly rich in rock and mineral fragments, mostly derived from metamorphic and plutonic silica-rich rocks. No significant compositional differences were noted between the five analysed samples, except for content of bronze impurities and oxidation products. On the basis of geological studies and of chemical comparison with potteries of various ages, speculations were made about the location of the bronze foundry. The results are compatible with a derivation of the casting core from northeast Greece and the southern areas of F.Y.R.O. Macedonia and Bulgaria have terrains compatible with the casting core composition     

Rhodian amphora stamps found in Mleiha (Sharjah,UAE): old and recent finds

To date Mleiha has yielded eighteen stamps belonging to Rhodian wine amphorae. Eleven of these can be dated to the second half of the third and the first half of the second centuries BC. Rhodian stamps are vital for the chronological framework of the PIR‐A period at Mleiha. Most of them, if not all, belonged to funerary contexts but were unfortunately rarely found in undisturbed contexts. The stamp types of the eponym ?ριστε?? and of the fabricants ?πολλ?νιο? and Φιλοστ?φανο? do not seem to occur very often.     

江苏连云港海州西汉墓发掘简报

2002年,连云港市博物馆对海州区双龙村的西汉墓(M1)进行了发掘。M1墓室东西长4.2、南北宽3.6米,内有两个椁室,共放置4具漆木棺。随葬器物有铜器、铁器、玉器、漆木器、角器、木牍等,其中木牍包括名谒和衣物疏。墓主人可能是西汉中后期的地方官员。在M1的三号棺内发现了一具保存完好的女尸,从出土的龟纽铜印看,墓主叫凌惠平,死亡年龄大约55岁,可能是男性墓主人的妻子。     

山东日照首次发现春秋时期樊国铭文青铜器

今日照市春秋时属莒国领域。2008年3月日照市东港区首次发现春秋时期樊国铭文青铜器,这是继山东发现黄国太子伯克盆、陈国大丧史仲高钟铜器后的又一次新发现,为研究春秋时期莒国与樊国的关系提供了重要依据。     

Study on the discovered ornaments from Jafar-Abad and Tu Ali-Sofla kurgans (second phase of excavations)

In this research, typology of bronze ornaments discovered from Jafar-Abad and Tu Ali-Sofla kurgans (second phase of excavations) near Aras River in Khoda-Afarin town was investigated. These kurgans belong to combatant and migrating Eurasian tribes, which migrated to northwest Iran in Iron Age II (1200–800 B.C.). From the total number of 103 discovered objects, 93 objects were bronze ornaments, including rings, bracelet, earring, buttons for clothes, and spiral. Discovery of ornaments of various types’ revealed the existence of a social classification system of people in these tribes. In addition, study on the discovered buttons from these kurgans showed that as a tradition in burial ceremonies, the deceased were buried wearing clothes. To understand the basics of metalworking of combatant and migrating Eurasian tribes, analytical investigations were also conducted on three jewelry items including a bracelet, a ring, and an earring from a total number of 93 bronze ornaments discovered.     

Sagittal Clefting of the Fifth Lumbar Vertebra of a Young Adult Female from Apollonia Pontica,Bulgaria

A rare congenital anomaly in the form of sagittal clefting of the fifth lumbar vertebra was observed in the skeleton of a young adult female excavated from the Greek colonial site of Apollonia Pontica (5th to 3rd centuries BC) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. No compensatory changes had occurred to the adjacent vertebrae, and no other skeletal anomalies or pathological conditions were observed in the skeleton. This anomaly, the first of its kind documented in ancient Greek remains, was likely asymptomatic and of no clinical significance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Emergence of Chariots and Riding in the South Caucasus

Summary.   The beginning of the Late Bronze Age, i.e. the late fifteenth–early fourteenth centuries BC, saw the emergence of chariots in Transcaucasia, where rich barrows of this period yielded bronze chariot models. The latter correspond to the type of chariots widespread in the western Near East in the late sixteenth–early thirteenth centuries BC. Hence it can be inferred that, regardless of the ultimate origin of Near Eastern chariots, Transcaucasian specimens belong to the Near Eastern tradition. However, in Transcaucasia, in contradistinction to the Near East, the chariot was merely a prestige marker. The growing role of the horse indicative of horseback riding is attested by some Transcaucasian funeral complexes of the late second millennium BC, which correspond to those of the steppes of south Russia. It seems likely that the builders of these barrows were related to the Iranian population of the Russian steppes.     

湖北巴东高桅子遗址2004年发掘简报

高桅子遗址本次发掘共分5个地点,地层堆积多属明清时期,发现六朝、唐代墓葬各1座,清末房基2座。出土及采集遗物有石、陶、瓷、铜、铁器等。六朝墓为岩坑石椁券顶墓,墓内残存的青瓷钵、铜五铢钱、铁削刀等表明其年代当属晋代;唐墓以六朝墓室为墓圹,随葬的青瓷注壶采用模印贴花技法施釉下褐彩的装饰方法乃中唐时期长沙窑的特点;清末2座连间房基的选址、朝向、布局、结构及营造法式等,在峡江地区均有其代表性。