Freezing and melting behaviors of H2O‐NaCl‐CaCl2 solutions in fused silica capillaries and glass‐sandwiched films: implications for fluid inclusion studies

Fluid inclusions of the H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ system are notorious for their metastable behavior during cooling and heating processes, which can render microthermometric measurement impossible or difficult and interpretation of the results ambiguous. This study addresses these problems through detailed microscopic examination of synthetic solutions during cooling and warming runs, development of methods to enhance nucleation of hydrates, and comparison of microthermometric results with different degrees of metastability with values predicted for stable conditions. Synthetic H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ solutions with different NaCl/(NaCl + CaCl₂) ratios were prepared and loaded in fused silica capillaries and glass‐sandwiched films for microthermometric studies; pure solutions were used with the capillaries to simulate fluid inclusions, whereas alumina powder was added in the solutions to facilitate ice and hydrate crystallization in the sandwiched samples. The phase changes observed and the microthermometric data obtained in this study have led to the following conclusions that have important implications for fluid inclusion studies: (i) most H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ inclusions that appear to be completely frozen in the first cooling run to ?185°C actually contain large amounts of residual solution, as also reported in some previous studies; (ii) inability of H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ inclusions to freeze completely may be related to their composition (low NaCl/(NaCl + CaCl₂) ratios) and lack of solid particles; (iii) crystallization of hydrates, which is important for cryogenic Raman spectroscopic studies of fluid inclusion composition, can be greatly enhanced by finding an optimum combination of cooling and warming rates and temperatures; and (iv) even if an inclusion is not completely frozen, the melting temperatures of hydrohalite and ice are still valid for estimating the fluid composition.     

Age‐at‐death assessment using the os pubis and the auricular surface of the ilium: a test on an identified Asian sample

This paper reviews the results of blind tests of two morphological methods of age‐at‐death estimation. These tests were performed on a known age‐at‐death and sex sample taken from a collection of a Thai population. The first technique is based on the age related changes of the pubic symphysis according to the Suchey‐Brooks system, and the other concerns the metamorphosis of the auricular surface of the ilium elaborated by Lovejoy and colleagues. This is the first time that these methods have been tested on skeletal material from Asia. The results indicate that, for both methods, bias and inaccuracy increase with age and true age tends to be underestimated. As a consequence, age‐at‐death assessment based on these two techniques should be avoided on Asian archaeological series or forensic cases. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

试论殷墟花园庄东地卜辞的行款

殷墟花园庄东地卜辞的行款表面上看较为复杂,但实际上仍遵循着一定的规律。这种规律表现为:卜辞基本守兆,在卜兆上方由内向外契刻,至兆干后再沿兆干外侧下行。由于卜辞字数不同,有的未至兆干即止,有的刻至兆干下方后再内行或外行。此外,相关卜兆的数量与排列方式、卜甲上卜辞条数的多寡、卜甲上可供刻字的空间等因素也会影响到卜辞的行款。了解、掌握花园庄东地卜辞行款与卜兆之间的密切关系,将有助于进一步认识王卜辞与其它非王卜辞的行款规律,对深入探讨商代后期的占卜制度也有裨益。     

楚文化研究又一新成果--《新蔡葛陵楚墓》读后

河南新蔡葛陵楚墓,是近年来淮河流域考古中新发现的一座战国中期大型墓葬。其墓主人为平夜君成,是与楚王关系密切的重要封君。墓葬结构复杂,并有陵寝建筑遗存。出土有包括青铜器、玉器、漆木器和大量竹简在内的各类随葬品,还有人殉现象。在科学发掘和整理的基础上出版了《新蔡葛陵楚墓》一书,详细介绍和分析了考古资料所反映的楚国历史、葬俗、礼制、历法、手工工艺、书法艺术等诸多信息,是我国楚文化研究又一新成果。     

湖北巴东任家坪遗址第一、二次发掘

为配合三峡大坝工程和巴东县污水处理厂的工程建设,湖北省文物考古研究所组织考古队对任家坪遗址先后进行两次大规模考古发掘,这里报道了这两次发掘发现的商周遗存和明清墓葬。     

从海上交通看中国与百济的关系

2～7世纪的东亚世界,正处于国家整合和社会变革的非常时期。其时位于朝鲜半岛西海岸的国家——百济与中国大陆各朝代的交往最为密切和频繁,成为中国大陆、朝鲜半岛和日本列岛诸国之间沟通联系的重要使者和促进东亚汉字和儒学文化圈形成的重要媒介。透过古代史籍文献中的有关记载和考古的发现研究,以连接中国大陆东部和朝鲜半岛西部的海上交通为切入点,可以从航海史的角度揭示中国与百济之间来往和交流的历史面貌。     

新密古城寨龙山文化大型建筑基址研究

古城寨龙山文化大型建筑基址,具备了四合院式建筑之雏形;其建筑形制和规模,具备了早期宫殿的基本特征,标志当时社会跨入了文明时代。     

曹操高陵的考古发现与研究

考古发现的西高穴二号墓,其墓葬形制、规格明确。通过与其墓葬形制、规格相近的东汉晚期河北定县北陵头M32、徐州土山东汉墓、山东济宁普育小学汉墓和三国时代偃师杏园M36和M34、安徽马鞍山朱然及其家族墓、马鞍山宋山东吴墓、南京上坊孙吴墓等对比研究,西高穴二号墓应为东汉晚期至魏晋时期高等级墓葬。西高穴二号墓出土遗物研究,又进一步推定该墓时代为东汉晚期。通过对西高穴二号墓发现的刻铭石牌文字内容和字体时代、西高穴二号墓出土男性人头骨与文献记载的曹操去世年龄、西门豹祠遗址和邺城遗址与西高穴二号墓相对分布位置、出土"鲁潜墓志"与西高穴二号墓地望关系、西高穴二号墓的地势和"不树不封"现象与历史文献记载、中国古代帝王陵墓与都城位置关系等六方面,论证西高穴二号墓墓主人就是曹操,西高穴二号墓就是"曹操高陵"。     

THE LETTER KILLS: ON SOME IMPLICATIONS OF 2 CORINTHIANS 3:62

The paper focuses on an argument put forward by Augustine in his De doctrina Christiana: there are passages in the Bible that need to be read in a literal, contextual, and ultimately rhetorical perspective. This approach to the Bible (usually overshadowed by Augustine's own parallel emphasis on the importance of allegory) was needed to deal with customs—for instance the patriarchs' polygamy—that had to be evaluated, Augustine argued, according to standards different from those prevailing in the present day. This need inspired Augustine to utter some sharp remarks on the need to avoid (as we would say today) ethnocentric, anachronistic projections into the Biblical text. The long‐term impact of Augustine's argument was profound. The emphasis on the letter played a significant role in the exchanges between Christian and Jewish medieval readings of the Bible, which affected Nicholas of Lyra's influential commentary (Postilla). The same tradition may have contributed to Valla's and Karlstadt's audacious hermeneutic remarks on the Biblical canon, which covertly or openly focused on contradictions in the Biblical text, questioning the role of Moses as author of Deuteronomy. Traces of those discussions can be detected in Spinoza's Tractatus theologico‐politicus. The paper suggests that the emphasis on a literal, contextual reading of the Bible provided a model for secular reading in general. The possible role of this model in the aggressive encounter between Europe and alien cultures is a matter of speculation.     

Urban growth drivers in a Europe of sticky people and implicit boundaries

We investigate urban GDP per capita growth across the EU12 usingdata for functionally defined cities—rather than administrativeregions. We test hypotheses on the role of human capital, EUintegration and fragmentation of urban government and explorespatial dependence and mechanisms of spatial interaction. Resultsare acceptable on standard econometric tests without measuresof spatial interaction but there is spatial dependence. If variablesreflecting spatial adjustment are included, they are statisticallysignificant and eliminate spatial dependence. Not only do theresults now provide consistent estimates of parameters, butthey also support relevant theoretical insights and show nationalborders are still significant barriers to economic adjustment.People in Europe are sticky so it is unreasonable to assumespatial disparities will disappear. Our findings also implythat cities in Europe form national rather than a single continentalsystem.