河北及京津地区早中全新世文化的时空分布及其气候环境因素

本文根据考古学14C年代数据和考古遗存情况,结合高分辨率的地层和古气候研究资料,分析了河北及京津地区早中全新世文化的时空分布格局以及影响遗址分布的地貌和气候因素。该地区早中全新世文化时间序列为:早期新石器时代文化(10,000~8,800 yr BP)、新石器早中期之间的文化缺环(约8,800~7,300 yr BP)、7,300~6,500yr BP的磁山.兴隆洼.北福地一期三大文化系统并立发展时期以及6,500~6,000 yr BP的前仰韶文化时期。文化序列与气候序列对比发现:文化发展很大程度上受到气候条件的制约。从文化分布空间来看,具有如下特征:首先,早中全新世时期的文化分布在与当时海岸线平行的弧形地带上,这种分布格局与气候和地貌条件有关。在排除了地势高亢和海侵影响地区后,太行山东麓到古海岸线之间的弧形地带成为最佳选择。其次,从遗址分布高度来看,当时人仍居住在较高地貌面上,海侵及众多湖沼阻止了人类向东部平原腹地迈进的步伐。     

Ancient DNA analysis of desiccated wheat grains excavated from a Bronze Age cemetery in Xinjiang

Wheat has been one of the most important crop in Eurasia since the Neolithic period. Understanding the spread of wheat cultivation is crucial to understanding the spread of agriculture as a whole and the interactions between prehistoric populations across the Eurasian continent. However, the routes by which wheat cultivation spread eastwards have been poorly understood to date, due to the scarcity of plant remains recovered from archaeological sites. Desiccated wheat grains excavated from the Xiaohe cemetery in Xinjiang, and dated to the early Bronze Age, show excellent DNA preservation. Here we present an ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis of wheat (Triticum sp.) grains excavated from Xiaohe and provide the first definitive evidence for bread wheat in China during the Bronze Age. The nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) and the intergenic spacer region (IGS) were amplified. The IGS region within the D genome of wheat has a 71 bp insertion that is absent from corresponding regions in the A and B genomes. The results showed that the Xiaohe wheat showed most sequence similarity to hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), including the characteristic insertion into the D genome. The presence of bread wheat at the Xiaohe cemetery is discussed in relation to it having spread into Xinjiang by the Bronze Age, providing new insight into the origins of bread wheat in East Asia.     

Human activity and its impact on the landscape at the Xishanping site in the western Loess Plateau during 4800–4300 cal yr BP based on the fossil charcoal record

The taxonomic identification of fossil charcoal can be a useful archaeobotanical tool, as it can reveal information about prehistoric humans' use of plant resources and other factors. In this study, we quantify the fossil charcoal in a cultural sequence from Xishanping in the western Loess Plateau of China representing 4800–4300 cal yr BP to consider aspects of humans' impact on this landscape. The fossil charcoal assemblages reveal that the relative abundances of Picea, Betula, Acer, Ulmus and Quercus decreased markedly after 4600 cal yr BP. This suggests a marked decline in the mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest after this time. Concurrently, an increasing abundance of Bambusoideae charcoal has been suggested to reflect the expansion of the bamboo forest. The marked changes in the vegetation after 4600 cal yr BP were not obviously influenced by climate; they may be a better reflection of the results of human activity. Furthermore, other genera that provide important resources to humans also increased after 4600 cal yr BP, including Castanea, Cerasus, Padus and Diospyros. It is nearly certain that nuts and berries were an important food resource and that fruit trees were managed by prehistoric humans in the late Neolithic. This work suggests that the scale of prehistoric human impact on the western Loess Plateau landscape during the late Neolithic was much greater than was previously believed.     

陕西下河遗址新石器时代早期农业活动初探

综合花粉、炭化种子等生物指标记录可以提供有关早期植被与农业活动方面的信息。研究显示,下河遗址地区在距今5300～4700 cal a BP之间植被类型以草原为主,仅在河谷地区与山区有少量乔木生长;该地先民在仰韶时代晚期农业活动以旱作农业为主,广泛种植粟类作物,伴随少量黍类作物;另外,较多数量草木犀植物种子的出现可能暗示该地先民利用植物资源饲养牲畜,但仍需进一步研究,以获得更多证据的支持。     

北宋仁宗朝的集議

本文在釐清北宋前中期集議制度形成與變化基礎上,旨在呈現仁宗朝政務決策如何圍繞集議展開運轉的實態,以及由此引起的北宋中期決策方式的調整。仁宗朝是北宋集議活動鼎盛時期,它從前期繼承的集議有兩種:一是唐五代以來以討論禮樂典章爲主的尚書省集議;二是宋代新出現的、討論專門政務以供二府(中書門下、樞密院)決策的有司集議。當時尚書省集議的功能逐漸被有司集議取代,並在多部門集議基礎上,形成以兩制、臺諫爲核心的穩定議事羣體,集議流程趨於完善。集議爲宰執以外的官員提供了參政議政的重要渠道,一定程度改變了宋初以來君主或二府獨斷的決策方式。     

清代伪古玉的生产与辨伪

大利“伪”即假,伪古玉即是假冒的古玉,制作伪古玉的目的,是冒充古玉以获取高额利润,因此制作者主观上是刻意地按照原物或图录中真品的样子去加工,不仅追求造型、花纹的逼真,     

巧工夺丽质 辽宁省博物馆明清玉器展赏析（中）

玩赏与实用皆宜的文房用玉以优良玉料雕琢的文房用具,既是文人雅士不可或缺的实用工具,又可作为雅玩和陈设品,因此自宋代以来,文房用玉就深受社会上层的欢迎,使用量很大,住玉器生产中占有重要的地位。清代的义房用玉与其他玉器一样,在数量和质最上都超过以往的任何时期。     

Polychromic structures and pigments in Guangyuan Thousand-Buddha Grotto of the Tang Dynasty (China)

This paper presents a multi-analytical study of the polychromy in the Guangyuan Thousand-Buddha Grotto. Samples taken from 15 locations in No. 512 and No. 689 caves are prepared as cross-sections for the analysis by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with backscattered electron imaging (SEM-BSE). The cross section analysis indicates that some paintings were repainted in the past. The chemical composition of each painting layer is obtained by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). The main pigments for 15 samples including green, red, blue, white and black paint layers, are identified by the combination of polarized light microscopy (PLM), Fourier Transform infrared spectrum (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy (RS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The integrated analytical results reveal that the green pigments are malachite and atacamite; the red color is attributed to minium, hematite and cinnabar; the blue pigments are lazurite and organic blue materials; the white color is ascribed to anglesite and gypsum; and the black surface of polychrome is the accumulation of longtime smudging by folk burning incense in the devotional practice or the soot deposition resulting from burning bonfires in the caves. Some arsenic-containing pigment is detected in the green samples. This case study also demonstrates the advantages and the limitations of every analytical technique for the pigment identification, confirming the necessity of the integrated analytical techniques approach. The present results are not only useful to assist in the authenticity of the used pigment materials and history of the polychromic in the past, but also aimed at guiding the conservation scientists in taking into account materials and methods utilized in the past.     

Distilling zinc for the Ming Dynasty: the technology of large scale zinc production in Fengdu, southwest China

Our understanding of zinc distillation technology in ancient China has traditionally been limited by a lack of studies of production remains. The discovery of nearly 20 zinc smelting sites dated to the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) along the Yangtze River in Fengdu, Chongqing, southwest China since 2002 is allowing a detailed technological reconstruction of zinc production. This paper presents the analytical study by OM, SEM-EDS and EPMA-WDS of the production remains from three of these sites, including zinc ore, zinc metal, retorts and slag. The analytical results reveal the use of large-scale installations for zinc distillation with retorts made of pots, condensers, pockets and lids, all well designed to meet specific performance characteristics. The retorts were charged with iron-rich oxidic zinc ores, coal and charcoal; a high temperature of around 1200 °C and highly reducing atmosphere were achieved to reduce the zinc ores; the zinc vapour formed within the pots was cooled and collected in the condensers. The mass production of zinc in Fengdu was probably set up to supply governmental mints.