Virtual anthropology and forensic arts: the facial reconstruction of Ferrante Gonzaga

In the last few years virtual anthropology has been used to solve different problems that could not be properly addressed using a traditional anthropological approach. Mainly when dealing with mummies or embalmed bodies, the virtual approach is the only solution to carry out a detailed analysis of the skeleton without jeopardizing the integrity of the physical remains.     

唐陵大遗址考古的思路与方法——2007～2008年度中国田野考古一等奖获奖项目介绍

<正>陕西唐陵大遗址保护项目的考古工作荣获2007～2008年度全国田野考古一等奖。这是国家文物局和考古学界对我们工作成绩的肯定与鼓励,也是我院田野考古工作者开拓创新、辛勤工作的结果。以下将唐陵考古工作中的思路、方法、措施以及得失作以介绍,以期得到考古界同仁的指教。     

南京市区就业空间布局研究

本文采取就业密度分析方法,对南京市区就业空间布局进行实证研究。在南京市区现有11个区的基础上将南京市区划分为159个研究单元。依据2005年南京市1%人口抽样调查资料中"区县层面"分行业就业数据,以及2006年南京市用地现状图,修正匹配得到各个研究单元制造业、服务业、商业金融业及总的就业密度值。并运用Arcgis软件对就业密度值进行核密度分析以及3D模拟,分析南京市区制造业、服务业以及总就业的空间布局特征及原因机制。     

Building a tephrostratigraphic framework for the Paleolithic of Central Anatolia,Turkey

The Central Anatolian Volcanic Province (CAVP) in Turkey preserves widespread deposits of Quaternary tephra, presently associated with a small but growing number of Paleolithic archaeological sites. We use multivariate analyses of the abundances of a suite of nine major and minor element oxides determined by electron probe microanalysis. From these data, we construct a classificatory model for correlating distal tephra to one of five volcanic edifices or eruptive phases within the CAVP. Application of this model to distal deposits of primary tephra-fall and reworked tuffaceous sediments from the archaeological sites of Körkuyu and Kaletepe Deresi 3 indicates Late to possibly Early Pleistocene ages for the artifact assemblages there, and provides a fundamental tephrostratigraphic framework to examine spatial and temporal variation in hominin behavior comparable to that of other regions, such as eastern Africa.     

《味水轩日记》所反映长江下游地区1609—1616年间气候冷暖分析

虽然明清时期我国气候总体呈现出寒冷的特征,但其间气候并不是一成不变的,而是呈现出多次冷暖波动的格局。通过对高分辨率资料《味水轩日记》中降雪率、初终雪日期、河流初冰日期、红梅始花日期、初雷日期以及一些感应记录等证据进行分析,表明1609-1616年间长江下游地区的冬半年气温较为温暖,略微高于现代(1951-1980年)气温。这对于分析10年尺度上气候变化,了解明代气候及变化的特征具有重要意义。     

Flake scar patterns of Clovis points analyzed with a new digital morphometrics approach: evidence for direct transmission of technological knowledge across early North America

Clovis points are the principal diagnostic artifacts of a Clovis complex that spread across North America between ca. 11,050–10,800 radiocarbon years before present. Clovis may be the best documented Paleoamerican culture in North America, but much remains to be learned about the movement and interactions of Clovis peoples. Similarities among Clovis points from geographically diverse locations have led some researchers to suggest that a uniform projectile point technology existed across North America during Clovis times. Others have rejected this idea, proposing local and independent technological adaptations to different regional environments. To investigate these ideas, we used digital morphometrics to analyze 50 Clovis points from nine different contexts. First, 3D surface models of the points were created with a portable laser scanner. Next, these models were digitally cross-sectioned through both faces, yielding two-dimensional isoheight contours of flake scar patterns that reflect the original reduction techniques used to shape the projectile points. In the final step, the contours were transformed with elliptic Fourier analysis into Fourier coefficient series, and patterns of variation and symmetry were explored with principal components analysis. When compared to modern Clovis point replicas made by an expert knapper, the flake scar contours of the ancient Clovis points showed little morphological variation and a large degree of bifacial symmetry. Our results support the existence of a widespread standardized “Clovis” knapping technique, most likely transmitted through direct interaction between knappers from different groups.     

3D reality-based artefact models for the management of archaeological sites using 3D Gis: a framework starting from the case study of the Pompeii Archaeological area

This work describes the procedures, the different techniques and the pipeline used for creating a digital framework that should assist the Superintendence of Pompeii in the digital reconstruction, classification, management and visualisation of archaeological finds inside an advanced 3D web-based repository of reality-based data. Specific topics have been focused on the quality assessment procedures adopted to ensure consistency and reliability of data throughout the whole 3D models acquisition and pipeline creation, as well as on the particular semantic reality-based structure adopted to develop an information system into a knowledge one. The main purposes of our framework have been the usage of 3D digital models as a restitution of the real object and as a metaphor for navigating through the data; 3D models were used as archaeological cognitive systems and developed as a collection of structured objects, identified through a precise terminology that allows to easily extend the concept of 2D GIS to 3D GIS. In addition, the system was developed as a scalable application that allows the use of the same database by different users, simply filtering the data according to the specific requirements, and can operate both as standalone and web-based application.     

INVESTIGATING SEASONALITY AND SEASON OF BIRTH IN PAST HERDS: A REFERENCE SET OF SHEEP ENAMEL STABLE OXYGEN ISOTOPE RATIOS

Intra‐tooth sequential analysis of enamel δ¹⁸O is currently used to investigate birth seasonality in past animal populations, offering new insights into seasonal availability of animal resources, herd management and seasonality of site occupation. Reference data sets are still required to address two major difficulties: (1) that inter‐individual variability in the record of the seasonal cycle is affected by tooth size; and (2) that the season of birth cannot be directly estimated from the timing of tooth growth, because of a delay in enamel mineralization. We present a data set acquired on the lower second molar of 10 modern sheep from Rousay (Orkney) born within a few weeks of each other in April/May and submitted to the same environmental conditions until death. All sheep have recorded a sinusoidal pattern of δ¹⁸O variation spanning approximately a year. From the difference between the expected and the measured time sequence, the delay of enamel mineralization is estimated to be 5–6 months. The data set is then described using a model mainly based on a cosine function. The period, corresponding to the length of the M2 crown formed over a year, averaged 35.8 mm. A very slight variation of tooth growth rate with time and no attenuation of the isotopic signal towards the cervical margin of the crown could be detected in this data set. The lowest δ¹⁸O values, corresponding to the sheep's first winter, were tracked at a distance from the enamel/root junction that varied between 23.0 and 30.3 mm (x_min mean = 27.6 mm); the highest δ¹⁸O values, corresponding to the sheep's second summer, were between 6.3 and 11.6 mm (x_max mean = 9.9 mm). Most of the variability can be attributed to tooth size. When normalized on the period, x_min and x_max are 0.28 (± 0.05) and 0.78 (± 0.05) on average, meaning that the Rousay sheep have recorded the minimum and maximum δ¹⁸O values on average at 78% and 28%, respectively, of the end of the periodic cycle recorded in the second molar.     

A COMBINED MULTI‐ANALYTICAL APPROACH FOR THE STUDY OF ROMAN GLASS FROM SOUTH‐WEST IBERIA: SYNCHROTRON μ‐XRF,EXTERNAL‐PIXE/PIGE AND BSEM–EDS

An integrated, multi‐analytical approach combining the high sensitivity of SR‐μXRF, the light element capability of PIXE/PIGE under a helium flux and the spatial resolution of BSEM + EDS was used to characterize chemical composition and corrosion of glass samples (first to fourth centuries ad ) from an important, but scarcely investigated, Roman region of south‐west Iberia (southern Portugal). The geochemical trends and associations of major, minor and trace elements were investigated to shed light on production techniques, the provenance of raw materials and decay mechanisms. The results, while confirming a production technique common to Roman glasses throughout the Empire—that is, a silica‐soda‐lime low‐Mg, low‐K composition, with glass additives as colouring and/or decolouring agents (Fe, Cu, Mn, Sb)—show at one site high Zr–Ti contents, suggesting a more precise dating for these glasses to the second half of the fourth century. The Ti–Fe–Zr–Nb geochemical correlations in the pristine glass indicate the presence of minerals such as ilmenite, zircon, Ti‐rich Fe oxides and columbite in the sands used as raw materials for the glass former: these minerals are typical of granitic‐type source rocks. The unusually high K content in the corrosion layers is consistent with burial conditions in K‐rich soils derived from the alteration of 2:1 clays in K‐bearing rock sequences.     

SELECTION AND HEATING OF COLOURING MATERIALS IN THE MOUSTERIAN LEVEL OF ES‐SKHUL (c. 100 000 YEARS BP,MOUNT CARMEL,ISRAEL)

The transformation of yellow goethite into red hematite by heating has long been assumed for Palaeolithic red artefacts excavated close to fireplaces. However, this transformation is extremely rare. Using SEM–FEG–EDX, PIXE–PIGE, TEM and μXRD, we characterized the mineralogical and chemical compositions of four microsamples of colouring materials from the Mousterian layer B in the es‐Skhul rock‐shelter, from about 100 kya ago. For some colouring materials, the Mousterian people of es‐Skhul chose to gather remote yellow lumps for heating. Their significant transport distance provides evidence of the possible high cultural value of these colouring materials for transformation into red pigments.