八世纪早期的唐墓壁画

近几十年来最为杰出的考古发现之一就是唐墓壁,它们为研究唐代人物绘画提供了大量的资料.……     

进城的鸡

猪在大街上逛悠,牛在公园里吃草．曾是19世纪曼哈顿的一景。如今,鸡也成了城市里的家禽新宠,这种情况遍及全美。     

吴哥奇迹的宿命

从空中俯瞰,拥有几百年历史的古寺如幻影般时隐时现,起初它只不过像柬埔寨北部绿林中的一块茶色污迹。失落的吴哥城在我们脚下铺展开来,如今仅余断壁残垣,居民多为种植稻米的农夫。     

Epilepsia Verminosa

Epilepsy is a major public health threat in the developing world, with much higher prevalence and incidence rates than those observed in developed countries. At present, one of the most common causes for epilepsy worldwide is the parasitic worm, Taenia solium, and the associated neurocysticercosis (NCC) that may often result from this infestation. Worm infestation was already recognized as a cause of epilepsy by the middle of the 18th century. Helminths and their effects on health were a daily medical concern in the 18th and 19th centuries--with prevailing views ranging from the beneficial effects of the presence of adult worms in the gut, to considering them as culprits for a wide variety of diseases. A number of cases followed longitudinally by various nineteenth-century French physicians showed that there was good reason to believe that the verminous influence on seizures was real, as the expulsion of the T. solium often coincided with a notable amelioration of symptoms. Several theories were proposed to account for how the worms could lead to Epilepsia nervosa, including notions of competition for nutritional resources between the host and the parasite, and irritation of the medulla and of peripheral nerve endings predisposing to epileptiform episodes. Recently, after almost a century of quiet, interest in the neurological effects of helminths has been rekindled, due in part to the growing number of cases in the United States with NCC-related neurological disorders. In this article, we review the history of our understanding of the relationship between seizure disorders and parasitic worms, and we relate this history to contemporary epidemiologic and public health issues in developing countries.     

真龙族裔

要想抓一条龙,请遵循以下步骤：先杀一头羊,把肉切好;叫上几个精壮的伙伴．扛三个3米长的钢铁捕兽笼,把羊肉装袋拎上。接着你得翻越好几公里山路,走得膝盖生疼。三十多摄氏度的高温下,你俨然成了蒸笼里的饺子——但你顾不上擦汗,开始放置第一个捕兽笼,装入大堆生肉作诱饵,还要挂几袋在树上以便肉香散播出去。     

奇幻沙漠索诺兰

沙漠可以欺骗眼睛。烈日烧灼的死亡之地,干渴欲裂的幽寂山谷,可以在瞬间变幻为充盈着声色、活水和生命的缤纷乐土。     

奇幻沙漠索诺兰

若说索诺兰沙漠是一片荒原,那它怎么会有这样浓密的植被,让你几乎无法极目远眺、更不要说毫发无伤地穿越而行？若说这里的生命被烈日摧残,折损殆尽,那干河床的沙地又怎么会零零乱乱地爬满了足迹：领西端、黑尾鹿、蓬尾浣熊,还有多到能喂饱每平方公里地界里近百条守株待兔的响尾蛇的啮齿动物？     

纪念性建筑:象征性行为之热动力学解释

在考古研究与文明探源中,宏伟的纪念性建筑如金字塔、宫殿、庙宇陵墓常被视为文明灿烂程度的重要标志。本文中,布鲁斯·特里格借鉴热动力学方法来看待这个问题,并用"最省力"原则来剖析这种毫无回报的能量投入。热动力学用计算或衡量社会能量投入的劳力和数量来衡量这个社会的权力和复杂化程度,随着社会复杂化的进程和文明的起源,人类的生产方式发生了一种重大的变化。一般来说,无论是动物还是人类的生存都遵循一种"最省力"的原则,即在从事任何活动如生产和分配食物和其他资源时都力求节省能量,也即我们今天所谓的讲究"效益"。"最省力"原则完全不适用于祭祀建筑的营造和奢侈品的生产,而表现了一种"显赫消费"的特点。如果权力经济主导着这些物品的生产,那么消耗能量、特别以一种非实用目的来消耗他人能量的方式便成为衡量权力大小的标志。于是,权力能够从象征性上予以表达和强化的最基本方式,就是为非实用的目的而消费能量。从经济学角度来说,权力的"显赫消费"和全部依赖社会剩余产品的特点,很容易损害支撑这个社会系统存在的经济基础。当统治阶层将大量的社会资源和能量投入毫无回报和经济效益可言的祭祀和炫耀活动中去的时候,其结果很快就会达到开始损害其经济基础一点。当整个社会的运转完全为了维持等级体制而非供养民生,当"显赫消费"逐渐开始透支能量和耗竭资源、无法再从物质上来维持统治阶层的神圣地位时,这个复杂社会的崩溃就不可避免。为什么考古学上所谓"满天星斗"的史前文明大部分都是流星一闪,究其原因可能可以从权力的政治经济学上来找答案。