草原上的狼

为了保护自家饲养的牛羊群不受狼的袭击,西北草原各民族家家户户都养牧狗。这种牧羊狗大半系蒙古语称作“泰格”种的狗,方方的一张嘴,大脑袋,腿长腰肢细。“泰格”狗机警、灵敏、行动快速,勇猛且大无畏,实为十分理想的御狼护羊狗。一旦狼偷袭羊群时,羊群吓得聚拢了,“泰格...     

新蔡又发现一颗古象牙齿化石

1983年春,社员张金相在洪河下游黑龙潭打鱼时捞出一颗古象臼齿化石。这是继1953年新蔡练村出土一具古象化石之后又一次发现古象化石。这件臼齿化石呈红褐色,齿长41、宽9—18厘米,重6.25公斤,初步鉴定为第四纪纳玛象臼齿化石(见图)。建国以来,在新蔡先后发现了17种哺乳类动物化石。计有鼹鼠、臼齿鼩、貛、棕熊、仓     

人与狗有十三万年的情谊

最新一期《科学》杂志的一分研究报告披露,根据DNA检验结果,人类的好朋友狗,是狼的后裔,而人类养狗,最早可能是距今十三万五千年前的事,而非过去科学家认定的的一万四千年前,所以说,狗是人类的好朋友,可能还是人类最老的朋友。报告指出,狗的种类繁多,是因为它是许多种驯狼与野狼交配进化几个世纪的结果。由美国洛杉矾加州大学进化生物学家维拉领导的研究小组,同时还发现现在的狗无论是何品种,体内都有母狼基因的踪影,因此他们认定狗的祖先应该就是狼。维拉等人在比较全球二十七个种类的一百六十二只狼,以及六十七个种类的…     

穷物理

<正>古老头骨揭秘狗的驯化狗到底是在旧石器时代人类过着狩猎采集生活时,还是在新石器时代人类开始定居并且进行农业耕作时被驯化的,是一个不断争论的话题。两个来自旧石器时代的头骨样本,一个来自比利时格耶特,距今已经有31680年,另一个来自俄罗斯爱里塞维奇,距今约14000年,以前都被认为是狗。但美国斯基德莫尔学院的Abby Grace Drake和研究团队对两个头骨样本重新进行了详细的3D头骨分析测量,并且把测量结果与现代的狗和狼作了比较,得出的结     

四川大邑县高山古城遗址出土新石器时代动物骨骼遗存

通过对四川大邑县高山古城遗址2015、2016年出土动物骨骼遗存做了比较详细的鉴定、测量、统计和分析,可以肯定为家畜的仅有猪和狗。从出土动物骨骼的NISP、MNI统计来看,家猪的比重均占绝对优势,NISP占比达93.78%,MNI占比为86.49%;家猪上、下第三臼齿的长度、宽度较小,均处于家猪第三臼齿的长、宽参数范围内;从猪的年龄结构来看,以月龄10~20个月为主,也与一般农耕聚落家猪的宰杀年龄结构相符。鉴于以上三个方面的观察,可以推断高山古城先民饲养家猪的技术比较成熟且稳定,饲养家猪也是先民肉食资源最主要的获取途径。而狗所占的比重不高,占NISP、MNI的比重分别为3.76%和5.41%,可能多用做狩猎伴侣或其他。结果表明宝墩文化时期的高山古城先民以饲养家猪作为获取肉食资源的主要途径,当时的家畜饲养技术比较成熟稳定,而稻-粟混作的农业体系无疑为家畜的饲养奠定了坚实的基础。     

带齿石臼小议

石臼,是一种粮食加工工具,带齿石臼,即臼窝内壁有齿者。石臼在黑龙江省的许多古代遗迹中均有发现,采集的标本也不少。尤其带齿石臼出土的数量渐多,笔者觉得有对其进行考证的必要,因此,本文力求对带齿石臼的年代及产生过程作一点粗浅的探讨。在肇东八里城(金代古城)出土的石臼,外形皆不规整,大小亦不相等,但臼窝径皆在30厘米左右,深20厘米左右,内壁有齿。在与兰西县金代古城女儿城紧邻的女儿屯路旁,曾见一石臼,臼窝上有明显的斜纹臼齿,或许为金代的遗物。1981年,笔者在阿城市的一个村庄里,见到3件带齿石臼,均为花岗岩质,臼体有的较规整,有的不规整,其中一件的平面呈圆角长方形,长50、宽40、高35厘米,臼窝径和深度均为22厘米,窝壁上有斜纹臼齿。1982年7月,在牡丹江市郊五公里遗址北缘的一个水泡子边,发现     

牧人的动物踪迹识别

粗浅地划分,青藏畜牧踪迹学可以分为踪迹学常识、踪迹学的时空规律和通过踪迹识别影响其踪迹主体。 一、踪迹学常识:蹄印和踪迹阵 踪迹学常识来源于生命认读,严格地说,对生态环境中的其他生命品类行踪和习性,不仅仅有人在认读,畜和兽也在进行关注。如:山羊已经对狼的踪迹有着常识性的了解,正如狼凭嗅觉可以知道山羊走向那里,山羊也可以通过嗅觉知道某条路上或某处山地有无狼踪迹和出没。甚至,在山地避险行为中山羊往往能成功地逃避掉狼的齿牙相向,在这点上,山羊利用了自己四肢相对齐长利于陡壁行走的优点,针对狼后肢相对长,前肢相对短的不利陡     

关于狗的生存权的争论

很久很久以前,人类孤立地征服于混沌之中,有一群聪明的胡狼意识到,跟随人类迁徙可以捡拾到它们所需的食物,于是依存于人类旁边.胡狼警觉的本性可以防止其他猛兽对人类的突袭,人群接受了狼,这一支狼的族系就成为了陪伴人类共度黑暗的第一群狗.今天人类饲养的六畜之中,只有狗从来不是人的猎物,而是各依本能而合作的伴侣,人类更聪明些,漫长岁月中,人成为了永远的主人.     

“三为”课堂：指向关键能力的学教变革

<正>“请同学们仔细听第四、五两段的朗读录音,同时观察老师为课文绘制的四幅插图,图中有多处与情节不符,请大家观察后指出来,并在原文中找到依据。比比谁更强。”“图中画的是狗,应该是狼,而且也不应该趴在地上。‘犬坐于前’不是‘狗坐在前面’,而是说其中一只狼‘像狗一样坐在前面’。”“狼的眼睛画得不对,图上是睁开的,应该是闭上才对。‘目似瞑’中的‘瞑’意思是‘闭眼’。”“屠户的刀不应该砍在狼的屁股上,应当砍在狼的大腿上。‘断其股’和我们平常所说的‘头悬梁,锥刺股’一样,‘股’指‘大腿’。”     

关于狗的生存权的争论

很久很久以前,人类孤立地征服于混沌之中,有一群聪明的胡狼意识到,跟随人类迁徙可以捡拾到它们所需的食物,于是依存于人类旁边。胡狼警觉的本性可以防止其他猛兽对人类的突袭,人群接受了狼,这一支狼的族系就成为了陪伴人类共度黑暗的第一群狗。今天人类饲养的六畜之中,     

Turner Teeth and childhood caries in a protohistoric California Indian population

Three instances of unusual enamel defects are reported from a late prehistoric and protohistoric non-agricultural California Indian population. The defects, consisting of irregular absence of enamel over much of the crown of single premolars, with no corresponding hypoplastic defects in the remainder of the dentition, are typical of Turner teeth. Such defects are a consequence of pulp exposure from severe caries infections in the primary dentition. Their presence is suggestive of unusually high levels of childhood caries experience for a non-agricultural population, a suggestion borne out by examination of the deciduous dentitions.     

U-series Dating of Fossil Teeth and Carbonates from Snake Cave,Thailand

Snake Cave (Thailand) is an important site for the study of the evolution in Southeast Asia, leading to a discovery of rich and various faunas, including a human tooth. Fossils of large and small mammals converge to indicate, on the basis of faunal assemblage, a late Middle Pleistocene age for the fossiliferous layers; on the other hand, previous U-series dating of carbonates furnished a lower limit for the fossils of about 130 ky.In order to achieve a better comprehension of the chronology of the cave, the Uranium-series method for absolute age determination has been applied to some carbonates older than those studied previously and to fossils themselves.We used the isochron technique approach to yield valuable ages because spleleothem samples consist in a mixture of calcite and detrital contamination. The results obtained suggest that the main fossiliferous level is older than about 160 ky. The application of the U-series method to tooth samples from this tropical cave leads to erroneous ages, probably because of post depositional groundwater movements.     

Protocol,Potentials, and Limitations of Ancient Teeth 3D Printing

Bioarchaeological analyses of teeth rely traditionally on noninvasive methods that reveal essential information about past individuals and populations. Methodological developments have revolutionized the discipline, but their application is commonly invasive and destructive. The resulting loss of material and information can be buffered through 3D technology applications. Although useful, it is essential that we carefully assess the reliability of these methods, in order to understand what data are preserved and which ones are lost through their application. This study offers a protocol for the implementation of 3D technology in the fabrication of ancient teeth analogs. Analog accuracy was assessed by comparing metric and non-metric traits between the originals and their respective analogs. Results showed that metric traits preserved well, but the preservation of non-metric traits was partially hindered.     

Teeth of juvenile woodchucks as seasonal indicators on archaeological sites

The woodchuck, Marmota monax, a burrowing scuirid of eastern North America, was a common food animal of prehistoric peoples. Since the species has a single, brief birthing period all juveniles are at a comparable stage of development at a given time. Widths of the continuously growing incisors, development of the cheek teeth and alveoli, and loss of deciduous teeth have been determined from a sample with known dates of collection. These data are compared to juvenile woodchuck remains from an archaeological site to determine season of kill.     

Measuring Root Dentine Translucency in Human Teeth of Varying Antiquity

Many workers have calibrated human root dentine transparency (RDT) as a linear regression on age. It is now regarded as a well-established means of estimating age at death in modern human material. Similar applications in archaeological material have not yet been developed. The aim of this study was to establish a standard protocol for measuring RDT which was derived from previous methods and which could be applied to teeth of unknown and varying antiquity. An initial study on two archaeological populations determined the choice of tooth to study and a second study, using expendable teeth (of unknown age and origin), evaluated various techniques of specimen preparation and examination. Findings from the pilot study indicated that the lower canine was the tooth of choice. From the second study it was observed that archaeological teeth could only be sectioned if they had first been infiltrated and embedded in methyl methacrylate. The optimal section thickness was found to be 150 μm and no benefit was gained by staining. Inter-observer reliability tests showed significant differences in repeated measures of RDT in intact teeth, which were not borne out when sectioned teeth were used. Intra-observer reliability was maintained for measurements in both intact and sectioned teeth. These findings have been used to establish a standard protocol for application to human teeth of any depositional phase to estimate the dental age at death of that individual.     

Root Canals of Buried Teeth: Radiographic Changes due to Crystal Growth

The radiographs of 43 skulls recovered from a 4000-year-old site in Central Thailand were examined for changes in the pulp chamber and root canals of teeth. Eleven specimens aged between 8 and 40 years featured marked root canal radiopacities not consistent with the appearance of dentine. Scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis revealed the presence of crystals of almost pure calcium. The crystals had developed post-mortem, with the likely source of the mineral being sea shells which were abundant at the place of burial. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

岭南古代居民拔牙习俗的考古发现

拔牙,也称拔齿,古代文献中又称“凿齿”、“折齿”、“缺齿”、“断齿”、“打牙”等。是原始居民及流传到近代一些民族在年轻时,基于传统文化的因素,以人工方法拔掉或凿去特定的几颗健康强壮的恒齿改变牙齿形态的一种风俗习惯,以损伤身体,达到装饰或标明个人的身份与社会地位。有的部落和民族甚至以这种拔牙形体特征为称号,被称为“凿齿之民”、“凿齿之人”、“打牙仡佬”等等。