镜头里的晚清中国和中国人--约翰·汤姆逊摄影作品展

一位满族的新娘,一个广州的富家小姐,一对福建的互相凝视的夫妻,三位表情各异的满清总理衙门的官员,北京街边的古董摊,香港照相馆里的画师,闽江夕阳西下的美景,厦门布满鹅卵石狭长阴暗的街道里破败不堪的民居,台湾土著平埔人建造的居所……他们离我们已有一百多年,对于今天的我们而言,也许有些熟悉,抑或十分陌生,     

A comparative geochemical study of bituminous boat remains from H3, As-Sabiyah (Kuwait), and RJ-2, Ra's al-Jinz (Oman)

This paper presents a geochemical analysis of fragments of bituminous amalgam from H3, As‐Sabiyah (Kuwait), and RJ‐2, Ra's al‐Jinz (Oman). The fragments bear barnacles on one side and reed impressions on the other, and are thought to have been part of the coating of reed‐bundle boats. The material from H3 dates to between 5300–4900 BC, while that of RJ‐2 dates to 2500–2100 BC. Samples from both sites were geochemically compared to archaeological and ethnographic material from Kosak Shamali (northern Syria, c.5000–4400 BC), RH‐5 (Oman, 4400–3500 BC) and Baghdad (central Iraq, 1900 AD). The composition of the bituminous amalgams was studied in detail. Rock‐Eval Pyrolysis gave a measure of Total Organic Carbon in the samples, and allowed an initial comparison of the data sets using various parameters. Examination of the proportions of soluble and insoluble organic matter allowed an assessment of the quantity of vegetal matter added to the bitumen to make the bituminous amalgam. The composition of the Ra's al‐Jinz material was studied using X‐Ray Diffraction analysis and thin‐section petrography, in order to assess the proportions of various minerals in the bituminous amalgams. It was concluded that the recipe for the bituminous mixture used to coat reed‐bundle and wooden boats did not differ significantly from that commonly used to make ‘mortar’ for architectural purposes in Mesopotamia. Traces of animal fats or fish oils were not found in the analysed Ra's al‐Jinz material, in contrast to previous hypotheses regarding the composition of the mixture. Comparison of the gross composition of extractable organic matter (the constituents of pure bitumen, soluble in chloroform or dichloromethane) showed the progressive effects of weathering on the samples. The isotopic composition of the bituminous material from H3 and the other sites was then compared to that of bitumen seeps and crude oils from Mesopotamia, Iran and Oman. The most significant result is that the material from As‐Sabiyah originated in Kuwait, at a surface seep at Burgan, while the material from Ra's al‐Jinz had a source in northern Mesopotamia.     

Gilt Brass Buddhist Statues in Tibet

Editor＇s note： After this issue, Chen Dan＇s Column - Tibetan Handicrafts will cease. We believe that readers have gained a real sense of the traditional handcrafts of Tibetans from both her text and the exquisite pictures.     

The uses and abuses of ‘secular religion’: Jules Monnerot's path from communism to fascism

From starting his intellectual career as a surrealist, communist and co-founder of the Collège de Sociologie in 1937, Jules Monnerot (1911–95) ended it as a candidate for the Front National in 1989. In this article I offer an explanation for the unexpected trajectory of this thinker whose work is little known in the English-speaking world. Without overlooking the idea that the infamous College encouraged such tendencies, I argue that the notion of ‘secular religion’, as Monnerot developed it in his Sociology of Communism (1949), goes some way to explain his gradual radicalization from Cold Warrior to fascist, a path that otherwise seems unlikely for a French intellectual after World War II. In order to emphasize the unusualness of Monnerot's case, I contrast it with that of his erstwhile collaborator, Georges Bataille. I show that accusations of fascism often levelled against Bataille should be more accurately directed at Monnerot, indeed that the fascism inherent within the College of Sociology was brought out not by Bataille but by Monnerot. Monnerot's case is unsettling first because his definition of ‘secular religion’ contributed to his pro-fascist stance; and second, because it forces us to rethink what is meant by ‘philosophy after Auschwitz.’ This term usually brings to mind scholars such as T.W. Adorno, Emil Fackenheim or Emmanuel Levinas. Monnerot provides a rare example of a thinker whose fascism only developed after the Holocaust, a shocking response that demands the attention of all those interested in the relationship between religion and politics.     

Microarchaeology of a collective burial: cova des Pas (Minorca)

FTIR and phytolith analyses have been used to understand the exceptional preservation of the organic remains at the burial cave of Cova des Pas (Minorca), and to obtain high-resolution data of the plant remains present in the sediments. The presence of sodium nitrate and gypsum suggests a relatively dry environment that has enabled the preservation of the organic material, and contributed to the natural mummification. The dry conditions also favored phytolith preservation. Grass inflorescence phytoliths are abundant all over the site suggesting that phytolith accumulations might have an anthropogenic origin and are related to the burial ritual.     

Upper Cretaceous volcanoclastic deposits from the Haţeg basin,south Carpathians (Romania): K-Ar ages and intrabasinal correlation

In order to constrain the age of the Upper Cretaceous continental Densuş-Ciula Formation from the Haţeg basin, South Carpathians, and correlate it with the other continental unit that occurs in the region, the Sanpetru Formation, we separated and dated by the K-Ar method biotites and amphiboles from volcanoclastic deposits. The mineral phases analysed are from two tuff layers and volcanic bombs cropping out near Rachitova village. Two tuff layers from the Densuş-Ciula Formation give early Maastrichtian ages of 69.8±1.3 and 71.3±1.6 Ma, respectively. The ages determined for the tuff layers constrain the age of deposition for the Densuş-Ciula Formation and enable further correlations with the available palaeomagnetic data from the deposits occurring along the Sibişel Valley that belong to the Sanpetru Formation. The volcanic bombs collected near to Răchitova village are andesites and dacites. The age determined by K-Ar method on hornblende separated from a volcanic bomb is 82.7±1.5 Ma, which is older than the underlying Campanian marine deposits in turbidite facies. This suggests that the volcanic bombs were re-deposited during the early Maastrichtian. Thus, the volcanics found at Răchitova have at least two origins: one type is related to an explosive synsedimentary volcanic activity, and the other type is represented by older andesitic/dacitic bombs, which most probably originate from a volcanic centre situated in the Haţeg region.     

泉州湾宋代海船船体微生物群落结构多样性研究

泉州湾宋代海船于1974年发掘出土,是我国发掘的第一艘体量大,年代早的远洋贸易木帆船,也是研究我国古代海外交通史、对外贸易史、造船史等不可多得的实物资料,属于国家珍贵一级文物,具有重要的保护价值。作为国内乃至亚洲大型海洋出水木质文物保护的先例,泉州湾宋代海船经过多年来综合性保护修复和开放式展览,其船体的保存现状值得关注。 微生物是造成木材降解糟朽的重要生物因素之一。微生物对木材的危害主要是木腐菌、着色菌和霉菌等真菌以及一些能够分解纤维素的细菌引起的各种损害。因此,木质文物中微生物类群的解析是众多木质文物预防性保护的重要前期基础,也是微生物病害发生时针对性高效防护的重要保障。为了了解当前泉州湾宋代海船船体中微生物的种群及分布规律,本研究采集从船头到船舱及船尾组成的25个不同区域的样品,采用新一代高通量扩增子测序技术,分析了不同木材类型组成的船体微生物的类群及分布规律,并解析当前船体中是否存在对其潜在有害的致腐微生物类群。 微生物群落组成调查与分析结果表明,船体各个部位中存在稳定且丰富的微生物类群。尽管船体不同部位的细菌和真菌群落组成具有一定的差异性,但这种差异性与船体的木材类型和所处结构位置的关联性不显著。其中船体不同保存区域中存在的优势细菌种属为不动杆菌属(Acinetobacter)(13.65%)、芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)(6.88%)和假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)(3.69%),优势真菌为枝孢霉属(Cladosporium)(12.26%)、假丝酵母菌属(Candida)(5.93%)和扁孔腔菌属(Lophiostoma)(5.66%)。本次检测分析发现的芽孢杆菌属、链球菌属、枝孢霉属和曲霉属均可降解木材纤维素,这些微生物在一定环境条件下生长爆发则会威胁船体的保存,具有一定的潜在隐患。因此,在后续该船体的保护中应该定期对船体进行微生物病害防治处理,严格控制船体的展存环境温湿度,以益于船体的长期保存。 本研究首次系统地解析泉州湾宋代海船船体各个部位的微生物群落结构组成,同时也对泉州海外交通史博物馆当前对该船体的开放式展览微生物病害风险进行评估,为后续该船体微生物病害的预防性保护工作提供重要的参考。