A characterisation study of Ubaid period ceramics from As-Sabbiya,Kuwait, using a non-destructive portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer and petrographic analyses

The Ubaid cultural phenomena (6500–4200 BC) of southern Mesopotamia has been used to characterise other archaeological sites in the Arabian Gulf region. The aim of this inquiry is to explore the nature of the interaction between the homeland of the Ubaid and the wider Gulf region. Through the use of a non-destructive portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer, this study seeks to characterise and identify the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the ceramic assemblage from the Bahra 1 site of the As-Sabbiya region, Kuwait. The chemical results demonstrated that a combination of six trace elements [rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb) and barium (Ba)] occur significantly enough to delineate clay-based artifact groups—local red coarse from Ubaid, while the mineralogical analysis confirms the pXRF result and identifies the source of the raw materials and temper as well. Also, the comparison between the Ubaid and Bronze Age assemblage results suggests that potters used different clay resources within their own regions and/or production techniques.     

铁质文物常用除锈试剂的除锈效率及其腐蚀性的比较研究

为比较铁质文物常用除锈试剂的除锈效果,为铁质文物保护中除锈试剂的选择提供建议,对磷酸、柠檬酸、酒石酸、Na_2EDTA等多种试剂进行了实验研究。使用铁锈粉末、铁锈块、铸铁片、带锈铸铁片等多种样品进行了实验,以定量研究试剂的除锈效率以及对铁基体的腐蚀性。结果表明:几种试剂对铁基体的腐蚀都很强烈,且腐蚀铁基体的速率远高于溶解铁锈的速率,加入缓蚀剂可以显著降低铁基体的腐蚀;磷酸在几种试剂中除锈能力最强,对粉末样品和锈块样品都具有较好的除锈效果,但需要过量才能保证除锈作用持续,而少量磷酸则对铁器有钝化保护的作用;柠檬酸、酒石酸、Na_2EDTA对铁锈粉末有一定的溶解作用,但对锈块的除锈效率很低。因此,在铁质文物保护中,添加缓蚀剂的磷酸是比较合适的除锈试剂。     

Stone projectiles from the siege of Alcalá la Vieja (Spain) and likely trebuchet placement

Investigations of the siege of Islamic Alcalá la Vieja (Madrid, Spain) by Christian forces in the 12th century ce have depended on secondary sources proven to be unreliable and error-laden. In a search for possible locations of trebuchets used by the Christian attackers, the option was for an interdisciplinary approach combining elements from archaeology, physics and spatial analysis. The discovery of stone projectiles near the Islamic fortress allowed for the application of projectile physics to the calculation of several effective firing ranges for each stone. Those outcomes, in combination with geographical information system (GIS) data, have revealed a possible location where Christian forces could have effectively deployed hybrid trebuchets as siege engines.     

Revisiting interregional wage differentials: New evidence from Spain with matched employer-employee data

This article examines wage differences across Spain's NUTS-2 regions along the entire wage distribution based on matched employer-employee microdata from 2006 to 2014. Unlike previous related studies, we properly control for differences in regional purchasing power parities, which are very large in practice. Although part of the raw regional wage differences observed is explained by differences between regions in productive structures, and, to a much lesser extent, in labor forces, noteworthy, very similar throughout the wage distribution regional differences net of composition effects arise even after controlling for a broad set of individual and firm characteristics.     

For the Benefit of All Men: Oceanography and Franco-American Scientific Diplomacy in the Cold War, 1958–1970**

In the 1960s, the growing strategic importance of ocean exploration led the French government to develop greater capacity in marine scientific research, aiming to promote cooperative and diplomatic relations with the leading states in ocean exploration. Devised during Charles de Gaulle's government (1958–1969), the restructuring of French oceanography culminated, in 1967, in the establishment of the state-led Centre National pour l'Exploitation des Océans (CNEXO). Beyond being intended to control the orientation of marine research at a national level, the CNEXO's mission was to use scientific diplomacy to balance a desire for enhancing international cooperative relations in oceanography with French ambitions to equal the USA's leading capacity to explore the oceans. Its director, the naval officer Yves la Prairie, played a crucial role in articulating scientific, national, and diplomatic interests for France in the oceans.     

图像与文本:西藏当雄县羊八井寺早期壁画遗存初探

建于1503-1512年的拉萨市当雄县羊八井寺旧殿内转经道的早期壁画,系西藏重要艺术流派曼塘派和钦孜派早期的重要遗存之一。文本和图像的研究表明,这些壁画出自两派的创建者及其早期传人之手,它们对于厘清和重构这两个画派的早期艺术面貌和历史具有重要的学术价值。     

Smalt production in the Ore Mountains: Characterization of samples related to the production of blue pigment in Bohemia

The study deals with the chemical composition of samples related to the production of a blue pigment/smalt. The samples examined come from the regions of Soví huť and Horní Blatná (north-west Bohemia) dating to the 16th and 17th centuries. These locations are often mentioned in relation to the discoverer of smalt production technology: Christopher Schürer. The aim of the study is to evaluate the chemical composition of samples from both localities as well as with respect to the ores occurring in the given regions. The samples can be divided into two basic groups. The first clearly represents smalt (potassium glass coloured with cobalt), while the second apparently constitutes the samples of the so-called ‘speiss’ (an aluminosilicate mass with metallic compounds). The analysis of the smalt confirmed the representation of minor elements bismuth and nickel (always) and uranium and molybdenum (rarely), which are found in Co ores from the Ore Mountains. The paper is the first to present the composition of actual blue pigment finds originating directly from the production sites, while the available literature has so far only reported the results of analyses of the pigments already used when referring to the Ore Mountains.     

乾清宫空间功能的转换与制度变迁（上）

乾清宫是明清皇宫中位于内廷的宫殿,在明代是皇帝的寝宫,清康熙八年,皇帝居住场所从保和殿迁入乾清宫,这座明代皇帝寝宫遂被改造成清帝的理政中心。随着乾清宫空间功能的改变,清代一些重要的制度也随之出现,如乾清门御门听政、乾清宫召对臣工、懋勤殿秋谳勾到等。而且乾清宫功能的转变,直接影响了外臣进入内廷的行为方式。本文通过对文献资料的梳理,论证了乾清宫空间功能转变的原因、过程及相应制度的产生。     

从张四墩遗址看薛家岗文化的去向

采用ICP等离子体发射光谱方法,测试分析了安徽张四墩遗址和薛家岗遗址出土陶器的微量元素,并运用热膨胀法测定了低温古陶器的烧成温度。在此基础上,结合考古发掘资料,将测试数据作多元统计分析,系统讨论了张四墩遗址不同文化风格古陶的矿料来源,并探讨了张四墩遗址与薛家岗遗址陶器的产地、渊源的关系和制陶工艺方面烧成温度的变化关系,研究结果表明:张四墩遗址反映的文化是一种多元性的文化。一方面,它承继了本地薛家岗文化的部分因素,另一方面,受到东部的良渚文化,特别是北方大汶口文化的强烈影响。     

从金石学、考古学到古代器物学——代《南方文物》"名物新证"专栏主持辞

金石学之金与石,包含了铜器和石刻两个部分,它们的来源是不一样的。石刻之学源于文献。孙星衍《寰宇访碑记·序》云:“金石之学,始自《汉·艺文志》《春秋》家奏事二十篇载秦刻石名