Radiocarbon Dates on Textile and Bark Samples from the Central Grave of the Adena Mound (33RO1), Chillicothe,Ohio

The Adena Mound (33RO1) is the type site of the Adena culture, yet there have been no radiocarbon dates to place it reliably within a temporal framework. Fortunately, the artifact collection, curated by the Ohio Historical Society, includes objects that are highly suitable for radiocarbon dating, including fragments of textiles and tree bark associated with the central burial. We selected a textile fragment and two bark fragments for radiocarbon dating. The textile exhibits alternate pair twine with very fine yarns probably composed of cellulose bast fibers. The bark is from a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) tree. The results of the radiocarbon dating indicate that the Adena Mound was constructed between the end of the second century B.C. and the beginning of the first century A.D., placing it near the midpoint in the sequence of radiocarbon-dated Adena culture sites. This study demonstrates the value of museum collections for gleaning new data from curated materials.     

Toward More Continuous and Practical Artifact Analyses: Defining and Learning From Key Dimensions of Fort Ancient Triangular Projectile Points in the Miami Valleys

Artifact typologies are routinely created, debated, and modified, but too rarely is the goal to focus on small geographic regions and to define key axes of variation. Our goal is to further this practice by examining the utility of a long-standing artifact typology from the U.S. Midwest, one associated with discerning temporal changes in triangular projectile-point forms. Our samples are derived from nine well-dated Fort Ancient villages along the Great and Little Miami Rivers of southwest Ohio and southeast Indiana. Our approach statistically explores numeric and nominal measurements of projectile-point morphology. Findings reveal significant differences among formal variables that are consistent with most of the typology as recently amended by other researchers. However, by focusing on numeric variables, we also have found that there are a series of additional significant temporal changes. Collectively, we identify a series of distinctions in temporal, morphological, and geographical variation among triangular projectile points. Various hypotheses are discussed regarding cultural transmission of the observed changes in projectile points.     

Characterization of organic media in the wall-paintings of the “Palace of Nestor” at Pylos,Greece: evidence for a secco painting techniques in the Bronze Age

This paper presents the results of an investigation of organic binding media detected in samples from the Mycenaean wall-paintings at the “Palace of Nestor” in Pylos (Western Messenia, Greece): samples dated from the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BC). This is the first scientific study to be conducted on organic binding media in Mycenanean painting, and it is a study that aims to contribute significantly towards our understanding of the original painting techniques used during the Bronze Age. The analytical procedures employed for the detection and characterization of the organic substances preserved within the paint layers (proteinaceous materials, lipids and plant gums), were based on chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques (PY–GC/MS, GC/MS). The most significant results, highlighting an a secco painting technique, are herein reported and discussed.     

High-Altitude Agro-Pastoralism in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan: New Excavations of the Chap Farmstead (1065–825 cal b.c.)

ABSTRACT

The highlands of Central Asia posed considerable challenges to early agriculturalists, yet the processes of human subsistence strategies there remain poorly understood. In this paper, we present results from the excavation of the Chap in Kyrgyzstan. The recovery of a rich macrobotanical assemblage consisting of several crop species and crop processing debris, together with skeletal remains of pastoral livestock, indicate a localized agro-pastoral complex at 2000 masl dating to 1065–825 cal b.c. Aerial photogrammetry, magnetometry, and topographic modeling reveal local irrigation systems, while stone artifacts are linked with cultivation and crop processing. Furthermore, the ceramic assemblage reveals a local production tradition and stylistic similarities with communities of neighboring regions. Overall, data from Chap contribute to a new understanding of human ecology and agricultural development in the mountains of Central Asia, suggesting that domesticated plants and animals were integral for the intensive occupation of high-elevation valleys in Central Asia.     

Defining the Early Bronze Age landscape: a remote sensing‐based analysis of Hafit tomb distribution in Wadi Andam,Sultanate of Oman

High‐resolution, freely available Google Earth software was successfully utilised in a remote‐sensing survey to locate and map thousands of Hafit tombs in a study area centring on Wadi Andam in the Sultanate of Oman. This dataset was refined for reliability with ground‐based fieldwork, and was analysed in the landscape using GIS software. The tombs are not randomly distributed across the study area; rather, the hydrology of the area appears to have been a dominant determining factor in the location of the graves. The structures were constructed in elevated, highly visible locations, possibly in an attempt to mark ownership of the landscape. The distribution of Hafit tombs is likely to provide some insight into the utilisation of the landscape in this period, with the evidence from Wadi Andam tentatively suggesting the presence of a nomadic pastoralist population. The development of this rapid, accurate and cost‐effective methodology has the potential to greatly facilitate the survey and analysis of Hafit tombs across the Oman peninsula.     

“复合族氏”铭文研究的一种新视角——以殷墟晚期“告”作有铭铜器为例

殷墟晚期铜器铭文多数较短,其中又以类似"亚某"、"寝某"等形式的短铭较多。以往的研究中多将这种形式的铭文归为"复合族氏铭文"。通过对殷墟晚期"告"作有铭铜器的梳理,我们认为这种形式铭文中的一部分可能不是"复合族氏铭文",而是"官职+私名"。这对认识殷墟晚期短铭金文的性质具有一定的启发作用。     

试论商周青铜器族徽文字不同于一般铭文的特点

与商周青铜器一般铭文相比,族徽文字具有象形性和标识性较强、美化装饰色彩明显、书法色彩浓厚、词位和句法不固定、章法布局不合文字排列常规等特点。深入了解这些特点,对于族徽文字的正确隶定、考释及其性质认识,具有较为重要的意义。     

Ceramics of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh Culture,Early Bronze Age,Yakutia

The principal diagnostic feature of the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC) Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture of southern, southwestern, and western Yakutia, which was first described by the present author, is pottery decorated with punched nodes in combination with dentate impressions and stamp imprints. This type of pottery differs from Ust-Mil pottery and resembles both ancestral Ymyiakhtakh ceramics and ceramics made by immigrants. The Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture did not spread across all Yakutia, but occupied vast taiga regions in the basins of the Aldan, Olekma, Vilyui, and Middle Lena. Most immigrants were descendants of the Glazkovo people, and entered Yakutia along the upper reaches of these rivers.     

重庆彭水徐家坝遗址出土商周时期的船形杯功能研究

2009年,重庆彭水徐家坝遗址出土了一件船形杯,其用途到底是什么?学术界一直未有一个定论。本工作利用检测手段,从物质成分和结构方面揭示出徐家坝遗址出土船形杯的用途。扫描电镜能谱分析显示船形杯体中含有大量的Cu和Pb以及微量的Sn,杯体表层分离出来的铜块为Cu、Sn和Pb三元合金的铸造组织结构。同时,杯体表面青灰色残留物的X-射线衍射分析显示其中含有锡石(SnO2)、氧化铜(CuO)和碳(C)。实验数据表明巴人在商周时期已经了解到了青铜合金的性质,掌握了青铜冶铸技术,有力证实船形杯可以作为冶铸工具坩埚的观点。