Iron Age hydraulic plaster from Tell es-Safi/Gath,Israel

Hydraulic plasters or mortars prior to the Roman period are rare. Here, we report the identification and characterization of 3000 year old (Iron Age) hydraulic plaster surfaces from the site of Tell es-Safi/Gath. This site, located in central Israel, was occupied almost continuously from prehistoric through modern times, and is identified as the Canaanite and Philistine city of Gath. A survey using an on-site Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) identified the presence of amorphous silicates, in addition to calcite, in each of two superimposed plaster layers. This suite of minerals is characteristic of hydraulic plaster. An in-depth characterization of the plasters using FTIR, acid dissolution, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray powder diffractometry (pXRD), heating experiments and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), shows that special silicate-containing minerals were brought from some distance to the site in order to produce these plaster surfaces. We therefore conclude that the plasters were deliberately produced, and were not the result of a fortuitous addition of local silicate minerals. A layer of around 150 μm thick enriched in carbonate hydroxylapatite was found in both plaster surfaces, and the same mineral was identified by infrared spectrometry in the surrounding sediments. This suggests that organic materials were used on these surfaces. These surfaces are among the oldest hydraulic plasters known.     

Modern and fossil charcoal: aspects of structure and diagenesis

The structures and compositions of modern and fossil charcoal samples were compared in order to evaluate charcoal degradation processes in archaeological sites. Modern charcoal samples produced in campfires contain two major phases: graphite-like microcrystallites and a non-organized phase. These phases create a mosaic-like structure with differing relative proportions depending on the taxonomic source of the wood used. Fossil charcoal samples (Tel Dor, Israel: 3000 years BP and Kebara Cave, Israel: 40,000 years BP) also contained the graphite-like microcrystallites and the non-organized phases, but were clearly altered compared to modern charcoal. The graphite-like phase of the fossil charcoal has much higher electrical resistivity, and its ESR properties show that it has markedly altered surface electronic states. Infrared spectra show the presence of additional carboxylate groups. Oxidation has therefore altered the structure. This appears to be a “self-humification” process that affects the graphitic component, and probably the non-organized phase as well.     

Study on the source of raw material and firing technique of glazed tiles bodies in the Ming Imperial palace site,Nanjing, China

This article considered glazed tiles excavated from the Ming Imperial Palace site in Nanjing as the research object. Glazed tiles were selected and analyzed via vacuum porosimeter, thermal dilation (TD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to determine their physical property, firing temperature, phase composition, and chemical composition, respectively. Results show that the firing temperature of body belongs to the temperature range (of 950–1,100°C), whereas the water absorption and apparent porosity are large. The phase composition of glazed tile bodies is the same (predominantly quartz and mullite). However, some samples contain trace amounts of rutile, hematite, sodalite, and orthoclase. The firing temperature combined with the phase composition indicates that the raw material and firing process of glazed tile body samples have similarities, which embody of the strict and unified management system of the official kiln. The raw materials of glazed tile body in the Ming Imperial Palace site may come from Dangtu glazed kiln, whereas the rest of the samples remains to be explored. This study provides a scientific basis for understanding the evolution of glazed tile-making technology in ancient China, and is important for the protection and repair of glazed buildings in the Ming Dynasty.     

秦陵百戏俑坑土遗址纵向水盐运移的模拟土柱实验研究

风化盐析是影响土遗址最为严重的病害之一。了解不同深度处土遗址可溶盐的含量以及变化规律可为土遗址的盐析病害提供理论依据和技术支撑。为此,本实验采用有机玻璃土柱装置和应用EM50传感器探头监测土柱不同深度处的含水率、电导率的变化规律,并结合实验室分析测定了不同时间土柱表面的含盐种类以及含盐量、不同深度处的含盐量等。结果表明,不同深度处土样的含水率越小电导率越大,且土壤表面的含水率最小,电导率最大;利用离子色谱法测定结果表明,除K+之外,Na~+,Mg~(2+),Ca~(2+),Cl-and SO_4~(2-)的含量随深度的变化趋势与含盐量随深度的变化趋势一致。本研究可为土遗址盐析病害的防治提供理论参考。     

屈家岭文化中的儿童埋葬方式探析

新石器时代对于儿童的埋葬方式在一定程度上反映出先民精神文化面貌。屈家岭文化是长江中游的一种考古学文化,在所发现的众多的遗址中,对于儿童的埋葬方式主要采取两种:一种是土坑葬,另一种就是较为多见的瓮棺葬。选取一些典型的文化遗址,分不同的类型从埋葬方式、葬具、葬坑等方面入手,进行深入的分析和研究,探讨其内涵和意义。     

Community Forestry and Tree Theft in Mexico: Resistance or Complicity in Conservation?

Community forestry is thought to diffuse the kind of tensions over access to resources that frequently make centralized forest management systems based on the principles of scientific forestry ineffective and conflictive. Centralized systems often create resistance, as communities whose vegetation management practices have been declared illegal by forest bureaucracies anonymously contest the restrictions imposed on them by ‘stealing’ trees and committing ‘arson’. These restrictions are intimately related to the requirements of scientific forestry, however, so co‐management strategies relying on scientific forestry might also engender various forms of internal resistance, such as tree theft. Local interpretations of justice in access to resources, together with community social structures and the distribution of resources can result in internalized resistance, rendering community‐based resource management ineffective. In a Mexican community case‐study, scientific forestry and tree theft co‐evolved during a period of concessions and continue under co‐management. This system creates an arena where anonymous individual resistance like tree theft can give way to forms of protest more likely to result in legitimate and effective forest management systems.     

上海元代水闸遗址出土木构件无损冻干初探

传统的冷冻脱水过程通常需要将电阻温度传感器(RTD)插入到物料中以监测温度变化从而确定干燥终点,这种方式对于处理木质文物来说具有一定的破坏性,无法做到无损或微损。本研究尝试采用无损方式对定型加固剂浸渍液即时浓度进行分析,并对冷冻干燥终点进行预测。采用这种无损技术成功地对志丹苑元代水闸遗址出土的30件木构件进行真空冷冻脱水定型处理,既达到了预期的定型保护效果,又确保了木构件的安全。