Avian Remains from Late Pre-colonial Amerindian sites on Islands of the Venezuelan Caribbean

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of the analyses of 3793 bird remains archaeologically recovered from seven late pre-Hispanic sites (～AD 1000–1500) on islands of the Venezuelan Caribbean. In order to address subsistence and manufacturing uses of bird bones, we first discuss the recovery process of this unique sample. We proceed to investigate the bones' archaeological contexts as well as the taphonomy in play and analyze diverse bone categories. We found that indigenous peoples consistently targeted several families of birds for food or feathers or both, and that avian bones were used for fashioning tools and adornments. We also discuss possible signatures of island campsite seasonal occupancy as inferred from the bio-ecology of the identified bird taxa. The data suggest that the differentiation of nesting grounds between the Red-footed and Brown Booby in the Southeastern Caribbean may be a result of anthropogenically-induced adaptation. The findings discussed in this paper open challenging avenues for assessing long-term changes in bird communities including the dynamics of resident and wintering bird populations.     

Exploitation of groundwater in the oasis of Masāfī (UAE): A diachronic perspective

In order to understand the role of water resources in the establishment and long-term evolution of settlements investigated by the French Archaeological Mission in the UAE in the oasis of Masāfī, wells and springs of all periods, identified at the surface and in stratified contexts, were mapped and studied thanks to a multidisciplinary approach combining archaeology, geomorphology, geoarchaeology and ethnography. Our study demonstrates that:

• – The Masāfī oasis was located in a specific geological setting entailing the accumulation of groundwater resources at reachable depth.
• – The groundwater resources remained rather stable from the mid-second millennium BC to the second half of the twentieth century AD. In this respect, the apparent abandonment of the oasis during some periods cannot be explained by water depletion.
• – The groundwater resources have decreased sharply since the second half of the twentieth century AD, due to the introduction of new water extraction technologies, motor pumps and then drillings, as a result of the modernisation and industrialisation of UAE economy.

Our study also stresses the importance of well and spring irrigation in the development of the sedentary settlements in south-eastern Arabia, technologies that have often been neglected in the regional archaeological literature in favour of the qanāt.     

曲阳县独古庄村发现战国古井

2008年7月,曲阳县独古庄村村民在取土时发现一口古代水井,经县文物保管所发掘清理,共出土5层灰陶井圈。该井是曲阳首次发现的战国古井,为研究曲阳地区战国时代先民的生活居住情况提供了实物资料。     

The Politics of Nature at the Former Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to develop a new approach in Holocaust studies, namely an environmental history of the Holocaust. A case study of the former concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau demonstrates the extent of the entanglement of the politics of memory and the politics of nature, or political ecology, to use Bruno Latour’s term. I suggest that memorials should be treated as an environment, and thus explored as an assemblage of human and nonhuman (f)actors. Analysing both the official preservation strategies adopted by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum as well as artistic projects (including ?ukasz Surowiec’s Berlin-Birkenau), I consider commemorative practices’ environmental impact. My investigation thus primarily focuses on the role of the figure of the tree-as-witness in preservation work and in the use of powerful herbicides (namely Roundup) in preserving traces of the camp. This study could open the way to further comparative studies of ecocide and genocide.     

严复、伊藤博文"同学"说考订

清末民初,严复与日本首相伊藤博文是留英同学的传闻开始出现,其内容和细节在流传中愈益翔实。1990年代严复一些未刊书信面世,在《致梁启超》一函中,严自称留英期间与伊藤博文同窗数载,回国后的待遇、命运则大相径庭。尽管该函两个标点本的识读有一定差异①,但考查这一时期严、梁的言行、交往、境遇,其内容有真实性,不能简单认定为伪,何况传闻的出现时间远早于此函。依据传播学原理判断,“同学说”的始作俑者可能就是严复本人。     

金戈铁马 烽火硝烟——历史节点上的山海关之战

在山海关石河东岸、角山南麓，有一个美丽的村庄，名叫回马寨，传说村庄得名与明朝末年农民起义军领袖李白成及发生在这里的石河大战有关。     

毛泽东“停、缩、发”讲话历史真相探源

在我国农业合作化运动中,毛泽东著名的"停、缩、发"讲话现在有两个文本,一个是1955年3月,一个是1955年5月。通过对不同文本的史料真实性、佐证性和连续性进行认真梳理,发现毛泽东1955年3月"停、缩、发"讲话或三字方针在历史档案、当年讲话和相关文件中均无任何记载,存在若干疑点。     

Fast Nonlinear Analysis of Traditional Chinese Timber-Frame Building with Dou-Gon

ABSTRACT

This article presents a study of the applicability of fast nonlinear analytical (FNA) models in predicting the global response of Chinese traditional timber-frame building with Dou-Gon under seismic excitation. Efforts are made to overcome challenges in establishing simplified calculation models, and the corresponding dynamic equations are derived considering the mechanical behavior of sliding column root, mortise-tenon joint and Dou-Gon (bracket sets). Furthermore, nonlinear time-history analysis is conducted under different seismic excitations. Through a verification study, a good correspondence is obtained with previous shake-table test results. Seismic response analysis is also conducted to investigate the energy dissipation of column root sliding, mortise-tenon joint, and Dou-Gon. Subsequently, peak responses of column root and roof under increased values of peak ground acceleration (PGA) are also analyzed. And then, seismic isolation ability and damping characteristics of the model are discussed.     

早期鄂豫陕间文化交流通道的初步研究

今鄂豫陕三省的交界地带,特别是以南阳盆地为中心的地区,是早期中原、荆楚、关中各大区域之间往来的交通要道,这些通道实际上就是各区域之间文化交流的地理舞台,更是三代国家实现区域联合不可缺少的信息传输纽带。