Use of ground penetrating radar to map subsurface archaeological features in an urban area

The ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique was used to investigate the subsurface in an urban area located in Mesagne (Italy) to obtain a map of the archaeological features in the ground. The GPR survey was undertaken at selected locations placed near (about 50 m) to a necropolis dating from the Messapian to the Roman imperial age, using a GSSI Sir System 2 incorporating 200 and 500 MHz centre frequency antennae. The selected areas (A and B) were surveyed along parallel 1 m spaced profiles using a 200 MHz antenna in area A and along parallel 0.5 m spaced profiles using a 500 MHz antenna in area B. For the selected areas the processed data were visualised in 3D space not only by means of the standard time slice technique, but also by means of a recently proposed approach, namely by iso-amplitude surfaces of the complex trace amplitude. The immediacy in revealing the spatial positioning of highly reflecting bodies, such as the anomaly interpreted as an old hypogeum room in area A, makes 3D visualisation techniques very attractive in archaeological applications of GPR. Their sensitivity to the signal/noise ratio is, on the other hand, highlighted by the quite poor performance in area B, where the only reliable result provided by all the techniques was the ancient living surface reflection, whereas none of them could effectively enhance the visibility of weak hyperbola reflections noted on 2D sections and probably related to the walls located on the ancient living surface. The performance of the various techniques in these two different situations allowed insights into their main advantages and drawbacks to be gained.     

Methodological aspects of SANS and TOF neutron diffraction measurements on pottery: the case of Miseno and Cuma

Small angle neutron scattering and neutron phase analysis techniques have been for the first time jointly employed to extract microscopic parameters of ceramic samples prepared under controlled conditions, in an attempt to establish a protocol for deriving information on the firing process. Data have also been collected on two series of early medieval samples from the Italian regions of Cuma and Miseno. The variation of the microscopic features observed on these samples could mirror some technological evolution in the period spanning from the 6th to the 12th century AD.     

辽金人的忠孝观

忠孝是中国古代伦理的重要内容 ,中国传统文化的组成部分。契丹、女真早期本无忠孝观念。辽金建立后 ,随着社会的发展 ,儒学的传播 ,统治者的倡导 ,民族的融合等 ,忠孝观念逐渐形成和发展起来。忠孝在辽金及后来元人那里 ,超越了民族、地区和国别的畛域 ,人们对外族、邻国、敌国乃至前朝的忠臣孝子同样表现出尊重和崇敬。 1 0 - 1 3世纪 ,忠孝已成为汉、契丹、女真、蒙古等各民族一致认同的伦理道德观念和行为规范 ,从而体现了中国传统文化的历史继承性和强大凝聚力。     

"吧国公堂"档案之《公案簿》述略

<公案簿>是现存吧国公堂(巴达维亚华人评议会)档案中的核心部分,所涵盖的时间范围大约为150年(1787-1940年)左右.<公案簿>的内容主要有两个方面一是对吧国公堂有关华人的各类案件的会审记录;二是对有关吧城华人社区重要事件和重大决议的记录.对涵盖这一时期最为原始的记事录的内容及案例加以考察和分析,一方面可以洞察一个处在多种变革时期具有代表性的华人社区的社会生活及其行政管理的内幕,另一方面也可以从中了解各个历史阶段荷印殖民政策的变化及其对当地华人社会的影响.     

Bear dentine aspartic acid racemization analysis: a proxy for the dating of Pleistocene cave infills

A high correlation between chronometric determinations based on aspartic acid racemization ratios and radioactive dating methods is described from samples of cave bear (Ursus deningeri and Ursus spelaeus) dentine. For samples from a very restrictive environment, as deep cave bear sites are (in view of their highly stable geochemical and thermal history), an age calculation algorithm was obtained. It has been found that there is a very close relationship between collagen preservation, from total aspartic acid in the > 3500 D fraction, and the amino acid racemization.     

The Material Characterization of a Santamarian Ceremonial Axe

The characterization of a ceremonial bronze axe is described. The axe is assigned to the Santamarian culture of north‐west Argentina, c. 1000–1470 ad, and was selected to increase presently limited knowledge of prehistoric metallurgy in the Andean region of Argentina. The characterization methods used were electron probe microanalysis, gamma radiography, X‐ray diffraction, optical metallography and microhardness testing. The axe was well cast in a bivalve mould, with the only defects in the area of an ancient fracture. The analysis showed that it is made from a tin bronze with a, probably, accidental addition of lead. Arsenic was found as a surface contamination, probably deriving from arsenic in the water of the stream in which the axe was found. The axe shows that Santamarian craftsmen had the skill to decorate the axe in an artistic style with a strong local accent while providing a functional, annealed and cold‐worked cutting edge.     

Law as an anti‐value: Justice,violence and suffering in the logic of becoming (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Anthropologists are chronologically only the latest to have adopted justice (and injustice) as an object of (critical) inquiry. Even among anthropologists, however, the radical critical cry that law is the instrument par excellence of control and repression, has today fallen out of fashion. Starting from the Afghan case, in this paper I reflect on law as a potential source of violence and as an anti‐value – in the sense of being in antithesis with accepted social values – in the contemporary global scenario. My focus here is neither on the uses that can be made of law nor on the outcomes of its interpretation and application. Rather, I am interested in what law can generate when it betrays social values and sentiments of justice.