氢氘交换用于古代皮革胶原蛋白微观结构的研究

皮革文物由动物皮制作而成,是人类在认识和改造自然过程中留下的宝贵财富,是研究古代社会历史的珍贵实物史料。皮革作为一种天然有机高分子材料,其主要组成成分胶原蛋白易受保存环境影响发生变性劣化,研究胶原蛋白的微观结构对于了解古代皮革的劣化具有非常重要的意义。氢氘交换技术(HDX)基于蛋白质中不稳定的氢原子会与氘原子发生交换的原理常被用于蛋白质结构研究,但其用于古代皮革胶原蛋白的结构研究却鲜见报道。本研究采用HDX结合傅里叶变换红外光谱技术(FTIR),对现代皮革、人工老化皮革和古代皮革胶原蛋白的三股螺旋结构进行了分析和比较研究,通过特征吸收峰的位置和氘代率来表征胶原蛋白微观结构的变化。研究结果表明现代皮革胶原蛋白的三股螺旋结构保存完整,氘原子难以进入其中与主链氨基氢原子发生交换反应,氘代率为32.09%。而人工老化皮革和古代皮革在劣化过程中胶原蛋白主链酰胺氢的溶剂可及性以及其参与形成的氢键发生了变化,维系三螺旋结构稳定的氢键断裂,三股螺旋结构发生一定程度解体,位于螺旋结构中心的甘氨酸暴露出来,增大了骨架酰胺氢的溶剂可及性,结构变得松散不稳定,加快了氢氘交换速率,更容易发生氢氘交换反应。三个古代皮革样品中Old3的氘代率最低,氘代率为65.87%,其三股螺旋结构被破坏程度最小,劣化程度也最轻。与之前已报道的氢氘交换研究蛋白质结构的文献相比,在以下方面做出拓展:一是通过分析胶原蛋白特征结构,指出主链氨基氢尤其是甘氨酸的酰胺氢是与氘原子发生交换的主要对象。二是根据氢氘交换后相应基团质量数发生变化会引起伸缩振动频率的变化这一特点,选择傅里叶变换红外光谱中胶原蛋白的酰胺A带来作为氢氘交换反应的表征工具,通过特征峰的位置和氘代率来量化氢氘交换程度。本研究将氢氘交换技术与傅里叶变换红外光谱技术相结合,引入到皮革文物胶原蛋白结构的研究中,有助于深刻理解皮革文物劣化机理,为胶原蛋白微观结构的研究和皮革文物劣化程度分析提供了一种新的方法和研究思路。     

The Archaeological Site of Persepolis (Iran): Study of the Finishing Technique of the Bas‐Reliefs and Architectural Surfaces

One of the aims of the 5‐year Iranian/Italian project for Persepolis, called ‘From Palace to Town’ was to contribute to the conservation of the stone monuments of the imperial site. As part of the activities dedicated to this purpose, a diagnostic study was carried out. Various aspects were considered: petrographic characterization of the stone, forms and factors of decay, and in situ testing of suitable conservation treatments. The present paper reports on the unexpected results of the study on the finishing of architectural surfaces. The results obtained on a limited, but nevertheless significant, number of samples collected from the monuments of the imperial Terrace, allow us to state that the dark grey limestone used for several (or many?) monuments was covered on purpose with a thin, fine whitish layer containing fluorapatite, as major component, and calcite. It is highly probable that the fluorapatite was obtained from calcined animal bones and that slaked lime was used as a binder. Further evidence for this is the discovery of a kiln with the remains of calcined bones and, nearby, a waste pit with animal bones containing fluorapatite. A second white layer, obtained with barium sulphate, was detected in one of the samples beneath the external, earthy encrustation. It could be perhaps interpreted as the remnants of a polychrome finishing.     

Bone collagen preservation in the tropics: a case study from ancient Puerto Rico

Bone collagen is a well-characterized and generally robust protein that plays a key role in both radiometric dating and stable isotopic reconstruction of paleodiet. To be useful for such purposes, however, analyzed collagen must be relatively taphonomically unaltered. To date, little research has been conducted to document the taphonomic fate of bone collagen from archaeological sites in the tropics. In the present work, a large (n = 298) dataset of archaeological bone samples from sites on the island of Puerto Rico is examined by means of radiometric, chemical, and elemental analyses. The ultimate conclusion of this work is that while collagen loss may be accelerated in the tropics versus that seen in samples from higher latitudes, what collagen remains is typically sufficiently well-preserved and taphonomically unaltered as to make radiocarbon dating and/or stable isotopic analysis worthwhile.     

Actualistic research into dynamic impact and its implications for understanding differential bone fragmentation and survivorship

The relationship between bone mineral density and archaeological bone survivorship has played a critical role in zooarchaeological and taphonomic studies in recent decades. Numerous studies have suggested that higher-density skeletal element portions survive more frequently than lower-density element portions when archaeological assemblages are affected by some taphonomic processes. Interpretations of density mediated destruction have become commonplace in the archaeological literature, and are often used to explain the absence of certain bone elements and element parts in zooarchaeological assemblages. This study explores the effects of rockfall on bovid elements in varied environmental conditions and the differential survivorship of their element parts, and has implications for understanding the taphonomic processes through which bones are subjected to dynamic loading. Actualistic rockfall experiments conducted on twelve samples of frozen, fresh, and semi-dried bovid bones reveal that the generally low-density epiphyseal ends of bone elements resist fracture and analytical deletion with more frequency than the higher-density diaphyses. This evidence suggests that bone density does not correlate with likelihood of breakage or effective archaeological “destruction” when rockfall and other processes that result in dynamic impact are in action. While this research does not question the relationship between bone mineral density and the likelihood for archaeological survivorship as the result of some taphonomic processes, it presents one specific set of taphonomic processes that result in the differential survivorship of low density bone elements parts and the fragmentation and destruction of higher density element parts. This research presents evidence that shows that dynamic impact is a process capable of fragmenting and sometimes destroying high-density elements while low-density elements survive.     

Localisation and William Macewen's Early Brain Surgery Part I: The Controversy

Neurosurgery for the removal of brain tumours based on localising signs is usually dated from the 1884 operation by Bennett and Godlee. However, within weeks of that operation claims were made on behalf of William Macewen, the Glasgow surgeon, to have been the real pioneer of such surgery. According to Macewen's protagonists, he had conducted seven similar operations earlier than Bennett and Godlee and, in a notable 1888 address, Macewen described these seven pre-1884 cases and a number of others operated on after 1884. This paper, which is in two parts, contains an evaluation of the claims made for the priority of Macewen's pre-1884 operations. Part I deals mainly with Macewen's work in fields other than brain surgery that are relevant to it and sets out the facts of the controversy. It begins with a brief biography of Macewen, describes his pioneering work in antiseptic and aseptic surgery, his work on osteotomy and bone regeneration, and his use in brain surgery of the knowledge so gained. Part I concludes with an examination of the battle waged in the newspapers between Macewen's and Bennett's and Godlee's supporters, and of previously unpublished correspondence between Macewen himself, David Ferrier and Hughes Bennett. The primary records of the patients on whom Macewen operated, together with other materials relevant to the controversy, are examined in Part II.     

Differences between NISP and MNE in cutmark analysis of highly fragmented faunal assemblages

Documentation of cutmarks is standard protocol in contemporary zooarchaeology. However, there is currently no consensus about how to best quantify them. This study examines differences in cutmark patterning using two approaches: 1) by means of an experiment, comparing a control cutmark pattern to ten simulated highly fragmented sets of front and rear limbs using %NISPcut as the quantitative unit, and 2) by quantifying an archaeological faunal assemblage using both the number of identifiable specimens (NISP) and the comprehensive minimum number of elements (cMNE). Results reveal significant differences in cutmark patterning between the control set and the simulated fragmented sets. Additionally, the ordinal-scale frequencies of cutmark anatomical portions (proximal, shaft, distal) are inconsistent and fluctuate across the simulated sets. Results of the zooarchaeological analysis show that differences between the two quantification methods are significant. In general, this study suggests that on heavily fragmented assemblages, interpretations of butchering behavior based on cutmark patterning are influenced by the chosen unit of quantification. Overall, using NISP as the quantitative unit provides inconsistent results, whereas, by alleviating the effects of high fragmentation, cMNE is more reliable.     

Distinguishing between archaeological sheep and goat bones using a single collagen peptide

We describe a method of isolating and analyzing a single collagen peptide able to distinguish between sheep and goat bone collagen. The 33 amino acid peptide from both sheep and goat collagen was sequenced and shown to differ between the two species at two positions. Analysis of a range of caprines indicated that the sequence changes occurred between the divergence of the Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) and the ibex (Capra ibex) and that the proposed goat marker is diagnostic of all Capra species and breeds. The survival of these markers in archaeological bones was tested using a set of 26 ovicaprid specimens from Domuztepe, a Neolithic site in south central Turkey. These markers were used to test the osteological determination of 24 of the Domuztepe bones, and determine the species for two immature specimens. The collagen-peptide method has advantages over other non-morphological methods of sheep/goat distinction because of the long-term survival of collagen over other biomolecules such as ancient DNA. The results also highlighted the problems in relying upon one morphological criterion, in this case on the distal radius, to distinguish between sheep and goat bones.     

New parameters for the characterization of diagenetic alterations and heat-induced changes of fossil bone mineral using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry

Diagenetic alteration may limit the potential use of the biogenic composition of fossil bone as a reliable source of information for dietary, environmental and climatic reconstructions. One of the key parameters used to determine the state of preservation of fossil remains is their crystallinity. This can be evaluated by means of infrared spectroscopy, measuring the “splitting factor” (IRSF). However, the crystallinity may fail to describe the extent of chemical and mineralogical changes occurring during fossilization, and cannot be used alone as a reliable indicator of biogenic signal preservation.     

Breaking Bones to Obtain Marrow: A Comparative Study between Percussion by Batting Bone on an Anvil and Hammerstone Percussion

The fat‐ and nutrient‐rich marrow of animal bones can be extracted using different techniques. Passive hammerstone percussion has been the primary focus of experimental bone breaking and the main analogy to understand archaeological bone breakage. Here, the term ‘passive’ is applied because the bone to be broken passively receives the impact from a hammerstone. In addition to this technique, there is another bone‐breaking method that also requires direct percussion, but in an active way. This method is percussion by ‘batting’, in which the bone is actively hit against an anvil until the bone breaks. This technique has rarely been considered at an experimental level and, therefore, has been omitted in the majority of the archaeological interpretations of faunal assemblages with pre‐use of fire technologies. In this study, we attempt to analytically characterize this type of bone‐breaking technique through a systematic comparison with hammerstone percussion. The applied statistical tests will allow us to distinguish some diagnostic modifications, such as the outlines of the fracture planes and the type of notches or their location with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bone. These features and their proportions allow the consideration of the use of this technique in Pleistocene anthropogenic faunal assemblages.     

殷墟卜辞中的鸟

中国古代的民族有鸟崇拜的习俗。《左传.昭公十七年》记载郯子论古代官制,云:我高祖少挚之立也,凤鸟适至,故纪于鸟,为鸟师而鸟名。凤鸟氏,历正也,玄鸟氏,司分者也,伯赵氏,司至者也,青鸟氏,司启者也,丹鸟氏,司闭者也。祝鸠氏,司徒也,睢鸠氏,司马也,鸠氏,司空也,爽鸠氏,司寇也,鹘鸠氏,司事也。五鸠,鸠民者也,五雉为五工正,利器用,正度量,事民者也。