A NEW METHOD FOR EXTRACTION,ISOLATION AND TRANSESTERIFICATION OF FREE FATTY ACIDS FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTTERY

This paper presents evidence for increased recovery of organic residues from archaeological pottery through use of a microwave‐assisted liquid chromatography protocol. C_16:0 and C_18:0 saturated fatty acids were obtained from archaeological potsherds recovered from nine Neolithic settlements in the Middle East dating between 4700 and 7300 cal bc , including materials that had not produced evidence for the survival of any lipid species through use of ‘conventional’ solvent extraction techniques. Compound‐specific isotopic analyses of C_16:0 and C_18:0 fatty acids in potsherd extracts subsequently revealed δ¹³C/δ¹²C compositions consistent with modern subcutaneous fats of wild boar and goats pastured on lands adjacent to the Jordan Valley, and residues from a modern pottery vessel used in the manufacturing of butter, cheese and yogurt in central Turkey. These results are presented as an illustration of capabilities of the microwave‐assisted recovery protocol. The reclamation of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids from archaeological pottery fragments recovered from a number of the earliest ceramic horizons in the Middle East is herewith reported, and the extraction methods and instrumental analytical techniques are described.     

Strontium and stable isotope evidence for diet and mobility in Roman Gloucester,UK

This paper presents the results of a multi-isotopic (oxygen, strontium, carbon and nitrogen isotopes) investigation of population and dietary diversity in Roman Gloucester, focusing on individuals found in a late 2nd century AD mass burial pit at London Road, and comparing them to those found in the nearby cemetery. There were no statistical differences in isotopic composition between mass grave and cemetery burials, suggesting, in agreement with the osteological evidence, that the mass burial was the result of a catastrophic event, probably an epidemic disease. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis demonstrated considerable diversity in the origins of the Gloucester population, with evidence for both UK and non-UK individuals. Diet was predominately terrestrial and similar to that of other Romano-British populations. Elevated δ¹³C_dentine ratios in some individuals are correlated with raised δ¹⁸O_p values and are therefore probably due to childhoods spent in warmer climates, rather than dietary variation.     

东龙山遗址夏代早期文化的~(14)C-AMS年代学研究

文明起源是世界范围内的重大学术课题,夏、商、周三代是中国文明起源研究的关键阶段之一,但传世文献的确切记载只能上推到841BC.为此,国家设立重大科研项目--"夏商周断代工程",以期解决841 BC以前的夏、商、周三代纪年断代问题.     

THE SCIENTIFIC IDENTIFICATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL JET-LIKE ARTEFACTS

Jet has been widely used in the past for jewellery but was just one of a range of black lithic materials employed. When worked into small objects these materials can be visually indistinguishable, yet discrimination is important because of the restricted occurrence of jet. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a rapid non-destructive discriminatory technique, but not all samples are clearly classified, and inhomogeneity may pose problems. A reassessment of the use of XRF is reported. Other techniques considered include electron spin resonance, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-radiography. These were tested on geological materials to define an effective methodology for archaeological material. The recommended approach is a combination of XRF and X-radiography, although preliminary Fourier transform infrared results showed promise. The X-ray techniques were tested on Romano-British assemblages from Catterick and Stanwick.     

Isotopic Determination of Seasonality in Diet and Death from Nubian Mummy Hair

Sections of human hair from naturally desiccated Sudanese Nubian mummies representing X-Group (AD 350-550) and Christian (AD 550-1300) periods in the Wadi Halfa area have been analysed for their isotope ratios. Because the carbon in hair represents food intake over the growth period of this tissue, analysis comparing segments taken next to the scalp with those further along the shaft can indicate diet just prior to death as well as any recent shift in food consumption. Modern populations in this area practise seasonal crop scheduling which involves the cultivation of C₃ plants (wheat, barley and most fruits and vegetables) in the winter and the hardier C₄ plants (sorghum and millet) in the summer. Shifting isotopic values along the length of hair strands of the ancient inhabitants of this area demonstrate that this practice has its roots at least as far back as the Initial Phase of Intensive Agriculture. The most common season of death appears to have been summer, the time of greatest climatic, nutritional and physiological stress for both ancient and modern inhabitants.     

Dating of modified femora of extinct dwarf Hippopotamus from Southern Madagascar: Implications for constraining human colonization and vertebrate extinction events

Two significant events in the late Holocene history of Madagascar were (a) the arrival of people, and (b) the loss of nearly two dozen species of land vertebrates in the socalled “subfossil extinctions”. The consensus is that the faunal losses occurred shortly subsequent to human arrival, but the timing of these events is poorly constrained. The minimum age for initial human presence on the island may now be set at approximately 2000 bp, on the basis of AMS ¹⁴C dates for human-modified femora of extinct dwarf hippos from SW Madagascar. Assuming that this date also marks the beginning of deleterious human interactions with the subfossil fauna, and assuming that this fauna became completely extinct by 900 bp, the width of the anthropogenic “extinction window” may have been as long as c. 1000 a. This estimate, nearly twice the length of previous ones, is close to the unadjusted minimum for the duration of the terminal Pleistocene extinction event in the Americas. Whether or not this length of time comports with theoretical expectations of a “blitzkrieg” pattern of losses is uncertain, but greater refinement in dating the end of the subfossil extinctions is unlikely to produce radically shorter estimates of duration.     

东北亚地区国际经济合作的文化地理研究

本文以地域文化观点,历史地论证了东北亚地区民族文化的若干相近之点;根据东北亚地区社会经济发展的不平衡,论述了地区经济合作的必要与可能;随着地区经济的大规模合作,必然加强其间的科学文化交流,从而将产生巨大的文化地理效应,并可能在原有基础上形成更具地域性的文化圈。     

左江流域种植业区划

左江流域六县(市)地处桂西南喀斯特地区,区内农业资源和生产水平各有差异。为了配合该地区经济的全面开发,我们收集了该地区七十一个行政乡农业生产有关的特征数据,运用数学的方法--聚类分析法和电子计算机技术,对该地区农业的空间布局进行合理调整--种植业类型区划分,并分别论述各类型区的特点及今后发展方向。为该地区今后在农业生产上做到宜地适种、扬长避短,并在此基础上向区域化、集约化的农业迈进提供科学依据。     

关于山西与环渤海地区区域工业合作的思考

山西作为全国的能源重化工基地,工业结构呈现出"畸重型"特点。近年来,这种结构与市场的矛盾日益突出,山西工业处于一种不景气状态。山西工业要振兴,区域合作是捷径。山西与其东邻的环渤海地区,有着明显的地缘优势、资源互补优势和良好的合作基础。随着国家经济建设重心向中西部地区的转移,山西作为中部地区的前沿地带,很有可能成为环渤海地区向中西部转移工业的首选地区。山西应牢牢抓住这一契机,加强与环渤海地区进行多方位、多渠道、多层次的合作。其合作途径是文章重点探讨的内容。     

关于夏商周碳十四年代框架

中国历史教科书将翻开新的一页,因为新的夏商周三代年表公布了,它将中国有确切纪年的历史向前推进了 １２２９年。 由历史学、天文学、考古学和Ｃ测年技术等学科的２００多位专家参加的我国建国以来社会科学领域规模最大的科学研究项目—夏商周断代工程,历经４年多的时间,终于实现了既定的目标,建立了三代年表。这标志着我国在年代学方面的研究又迈上了新的台阶。 夏商周三代年表从西周共和元年的公元前８４１年到公元前２０７０年跨越中国早期的三个朝代,总年数长达１０００多年,中间涉及了许多重要的年代定点和时段。其复杂性、其…