Evidence for a Neolithic Age fire-irrigation paddy cultivation system in the lower Yangtze River Delta,China

Establishing stable cropping systems was vital in antiquity, assuring certain yields and enabling ancient people to settle, thus possibly causing various modern food habits and culture to form around the world, especially in cereal-cultivation-dominated countries. China, one of the most famous ancient agricultural countries, has a long history of rice planting, and the fire-irrigation paddy cultivation system is prevalent in the lower Yangtze region, which is considered a rice domestication center. However, its origin and cultivation pattern remain unclear. We studied a famous agricultural vestige, the Chuodun site, involved in rice planting in the lower Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, during the Neolithic Age. Clear evidence from archaeology, paleobiology, pedology and biogeochemistry suggest both that the rice fire-irrigation cultivation system formed during the Neolithic Age and that ancient peoples lived there steadily. Under this extensive cultivation system, soil structures and properties changed significantly; in particular, it left more black carbon in the soil and increased the organic carbon soil stability, which can be used to reconstruct prehistoric environments. Meanwhile, the prevalent fire-irrigation paddy cultivation system used by farmers in this area, though for a different purpose than ancient people, may be inherited from the Neolithic Age.     

The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera,Monotomidae)

Cai, C.-Y., ?lipiński, A. & Huang, D.-Y., 31.3.2015. The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera, Monotomidae). Alcheringa 39,488–493. ISSN 0311-5518.

Jurorhizophagus alienus gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil root-eating beetle, is described and figured based on an exceptionally well-preserved impression fossil from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (ca 165 Ma), Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. It represents the earliest fossil Monotomidae known to date. Jurorhizophagus can not be assigned to either of two subfamilies Monotominae or Rhizophaginae based on the unique combination of many unusual characters, including an 11-segmented antenna with a 3-segmented club, the presence of a distinct frontoclypeal suture and transverse pronotum with a median longitudinal groove. The discovery of a new genus from the Middle Jurassic highlights the antiquity of Monotomidae and provides new information about the phylogenetic relationships between Monotomidae and its allied families.

Chen-Yang Cai [caichenyang1988@163.com], Di-Ying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn] (corresponding author), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Adam ?lipiński [adam.slipinski@csiro.au], Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Collections Australia, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.     

四川简阳东溪园艺场遗迹性质与年代探讨

上个世纪70年代,在四川简阳东溪园艺场发现了一处出土器物丰富的古代遗迹,发掘者在考古简报中判定其为元代墓葬。通过与本地历年墓葬、窖藏材料的对比研究,笔者认为该遗迹初建为南宋墓葬,后在南宋晚期的宋蒙战争中、及明代中晚期分别被用作为窖穴埋藏贵重生活用品和商品,此外,笔者还对该遗迹内出土器物的不同时代进行了重新认识。     

随州新出随大司马■有戈小议

本文对随州文峰塔曾国墓地新出随大司马嘉有戈的年代、铭文有关文字进行了讨论,认为其时代应在春秋中期,人名首字应是"嘉"字。然后就戈铭所涉及到的过去历史、考古学界热议的"曾国之谜"问题简单谈了一点初步看法,认为从目前的材料和研究情况来看,曾、随一国的观点是较为合理的,而不应仓促予以否定。     

卫三畏的汉学观

卫三畏是近代中关关系史上的重要人物,是美国的第一位汉学教授。他从观念形态、精神产品、生活方式等方面对中国进行了研究,认为中国是一个具有高度文明的国家,但在科学上是保守的,在生活上是落后的。     

青海农村金融服务体系发展的路径

本文从青海农村金融服务体系的现状出发,针对青海农村金融服务体系存在的问题,探讨了青海农村金融改革的路径,并提出了一些青海农村金融服务体系改革发展的建议。     

我国会展旅游发展中的问题与对策探析

我国会辰旅游的发展对我国的社会、经济、文化的大发展起到了很大的推动作用,但总的来说,我国会展旅游发展水平仍然很低,发展中存在着一些问题。本文针对会展旅游发展中的司题,对如何使我国会展旅游走上可持续发展的轨道作了初步探讨。     

考古学与中国上古史重建

中国近代考古学建立之初,不免材料不足并有先天局限,但随着考古学的发展和壮大,其对中国上古史之重建的作用日益显现。以顾颉刚为代表的古史辨派对旧古史系统进行了摧毁性的批判,傅斯年、李济等人继之而起,开辟了重建之路。傅斯年为重建中国古史提供了体制保证并指明方向,李济则在理论和方法上提出了系统的方案。然而,李济等人限于当时条件,具体实践工作并不理想,而中国大陆考古学者们则做出了切实的贡献。经过60年的发展,中国田野考古学取得极大的成就,苏秉琦等学者据此提出考古学文化"区系类型理论"和中国文明"多元一体格局说",中国上古史重建已进入切实展开的时期。     

The Use of Menthol as Temporary Consolidant in the Excavation of Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army

Temporary consolidation is widely used to protect delicate artefacts or other fragile relics in art conservation. Although cyclododecane is extensively accepted, the safety‐related issues have become an increasing concern and its short working time is always annoying. Inspired by its low melting point, polar structure, well‐established safety profile, easy local availability and low cost, we propose menthol as a new temporary consolidant on the new excavation site of Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army. In this paper, we offer a preliminarily exploration of the kinetics of menthol sublimation on two different matrices, its residue after volatilization, its penetrability and distribution in simulated terracotta samples, as well as other important properties in the laboratory. The results obtained from these tests reveal that the sublimation of menthol can be a zero‐ or a first‐order process, depending on the porosity of the matrices, and its best operational temperature resides in the range of 60–80°C. Finally, two field cases at the archaeological site of Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army are presented to show that menthol is a very effective temporary consolidant.     

宋代瓷业技术传播的几个问题

瓷业技术传播是古代手工业史上的一个常见的、却是容易被简单化的问题。我们在观察古代瓷器手工业遗存的时候,经常会注意到甲乙两地某些技术因素的相似性,比如瓷器釉色、造型或装饰的类同,或装烧工艺与窑炉建造方式的近似。这些显而易见的事实往往使人联想到古代窑场之间的技术交流。但是透过瓷业遗存本身,洞察其背后隐藏的人的生产与精神活动,了解技术交流完成的过程,以及社会变迁的信息,却是一件不容易的事情。已有的关于瓷业技术交流的研究,多停留在对瓷业遗存本身的描述与比较上,尽管也有学者从梳理手工业制度入手,