昌宁出土铜镯的工艺及合金成分分析

铜镯是"西南夷"地区青铜时代最为常见的青铜器种类之一,考古发现数量众多,造型和纹饰因地而异。这种装饰品对于研究青铜时代西南先民的青铜艺术、技术等具有重要的价值。之前关于西南夷青铜器的研究,更多集中于铜鼓、铜兵器等主要铜器类型,而专门对铜镯展开的专题研究较少,因此目前对云南各地域铜镯的合金成分与制作技术特征缺乏整体性认识。与此同时,由于铜镯是一类常见的装饰品,对其进行研究可更直接地反映不同文化人群对金属资源的掌控、青铜技术的选择等考古学问题。根据文献记载,云南西部保山昌宁一带是西南夷中哀牢的主要分布区,近年来对该地展开的考古发掘工作为研究哀牢青铜文化提供了科学的实物资料。为了探讨昌宁地区哀牢青铜文化铜镯的合金成分及制作工艺特点,深化对云南不同地区出土铜镯技术特征的认识,本研究利用金相显微镜和扫描电镜能谱仪对昌宁出土的6件铜镯进行了成分分析和金相观察。结果显示,此批铜镯全部为锡青铜,含有少量的砷、硫、锑等杂质元素;其制作工艺多样,铸造、热锻和热锻后冷加工等多种方法并用。在此基础上,收集云南其他地区出土铜镯的科技分析数据,并结合类型学展开对比分析,把握各地铜镯制作技术的差异和联系。结果表明,云南各地出土铜镯,均以锡青铜为主,制作工艺上铸锻并重,这反映了西南夷青铜技术体系的一个重要特征。但进一步观察发现,铜镯的合金配比和加工方式又表现出明显的当地特色,如哀牢铜镯的平均含锡量最高且十分稳定,而滇、昆明夷铜镯的锡含量范围非常离散。各西南夷族群所采用的铜镯制作方法的同与异,究其原因,可能和铜镯造型、族群对资源的掌控能力、人的审美喜好等方面有关。本研究的创新性在于从铜镯这一被较少关注的青铜器类出发,结合成分、金相与类型学分析,综合以往研究对云南各地域出土铜镯工艺技术的共性及区别展开讨论。总之,铜镯作为云南地区常见的人体装饰品,不仅展现了不同区域少数民族对铜镯这一器型采用的合金配比与青铜制作工艺,而且从非实用器的角度反映了西南夷对资源的利用与掌控、审美思想等方面的信息。     

Storage Structures of the Late Early Bronze I in the Southern Levant and the Urbanisation Process

Nearing the end of the Early Bronze (EB) I period (3350–2950 bce) the southern Levant underwent a transition from a village-oriented to an urban-centred society. An outstanding phenomenon of this period throughout the region is the proliferation of rounded circular structures, usually interpreted as storage facilities, often found in proximity to domestic buildings. These imply increased food production of individual households and a greater need for storage of food surpluses. The agricultural prosperity and resulting surpluses suggested by these storage structures reflect the changes affecting local society and may have been one of the catalysts for urbanisation and the formation of ruling elites during this period.     

Yoram Tsafrir,B.A., M.A., PhD (30 January 1938–23 November 2015)

Abstract

The coins attributed to Alexander Jannaeus include a very common type that was apparently struck during the last four years of his 27-year reign, or possibly after his death. The presence or absence of these common coins, at sites where there is a relevant gap in the sequence of the numismatic archaeological finds, can sometimes indicate whether the site was destroyed and abandoned for a period at the end of the second century and/or during the first half of the first century B.C.E. Analysis of this presence or absence can also, in some instances, help to resolve a long-standing question about the attribution of certain other Hasmonean coins to Jannaeus. These contentions are demonstrated through case studies of the numismatic finds at Samaria, Pella, Bethsaida, Khirbet esh-Shuhara, and Gibeon.     

THE SYMBOLIC AND SOCIAL MEANINGS OF THE INTERMEDIATE BRONZE AGE COPPER DAGGERS

Abstract

The transformation of hard, durable natural substances, such as stone or metal, into cultural objects with symbolic value has played an important role in human social development. This paper attempts to understand the symbolic and social meanings of copper daggers during the Intermediate Bronze Age, and the reasons for their widespread use within a burial context. A multidisciplinary approach is taken, combining and processing different areas of research, and employing a range of archaeological and ethnographic parallels. This paper allows also for a more comprehensive understanding of the social organisation during the Intermediate Bronze Age.     

Rock-cut tombs and funerary landscapes of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages in Sicily: New fieldwork at Pantalica

Abstract

Rock-cut chamber tombs are characteristic monuments of the Bronze and Iron Ages in southern Sicily. They are found in large numbers and prominent locations at several Late Bronze Age sites, most of which were first investigated over a century ago by Paolo Orsi, but received little attention subsequently. One famous example is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Pantalica, where the author recently conducted fieldwork aimed at clarifying the form, distribution and topographical relationships of the tombs, which date from about 1250–650 b.c. Although these monuments present various practical problems for research, and their contents were removed long ago, the author argues that they can be profitably studied from an architectural, contextual, and landscape perspective. A new sample of the Pantalica tombs is presented, showing a wide range of forms and associations that provides a basis for the discussion of several issues: links with domestic architecture, demography, accessibility, visibility, temporality, and perception.     

How was Bell Beaker economy related to Corded Ware and Early Bronze Age lifestyles? Archaeological,botanical and palynological evidence from the Hegau,Western Lake Constance region

Abstract

The Europe wide spread of what has been called the Bell Beaker phenomenon remains an enigma of European prehistory. While most of the recent research stresses the ideological aspects of using Bell Beaker material culture, here we take a regional and economical perspective. We look for the chronological relationships and the economic choices of the Bell Beaker phase and of its closest neighbours in time and space: the Late Neolithic Corded Ware and the Early Bronze Age. We focus on the regional archaeological settlement history and present the hitherto richest European Bell Beaker-associated collection of palaeobotanical macro-remains, together with our high-resolution palynological work on annually laminated lake sediments. These different lines of evidence are tied together by an absolute chronology derived from new radiocarbon accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) dates (now more than 200) and from the dendrodates from the World Heritage wet preserved pile dwellings. We show the preceding Late Neolithic, the actual Bell Beaker, and the following Early Bronze age economies each relying on different agricultural strategies that focus on distinct parts of the landscape. There is no link obvious between Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker, but there is between Bell Beaker and Early Bronze Age. Related to different modes of production, differences in ideology become visible in food preferences as well as in other parts of the material culture. We conclude that the Bell Beaker economy represents a re-orientation of the mode of production focusing on single, rather small farmsteads which often do not leave a distinct signal in the archaeological record.     

Between‐group Differences in the Patterning of Musculo‐skeletal Stress Markers: Avoiding Confounding Factors by Focusing on Qualitative Aspects of Physical Activity

This paper presents a method for studying between‐group differences in physical activity patterns through the analysis of musculo‐skeletal stress markers (MSM). The specific aim was to develop a method that could overcome the problems related to confounding variables such as body size by shifting the analytical focus from the comparison of differences in intensity to the comparison of differences in kinds of activity. Instead of testing whether there are differences in the measures of central tendency of MSM scores between two groups, we proposed looking for differences in MSM covariation patterns. Formally, this is achieved through the statistical comparison of group‐specific MSM intercorrelation matrices. The null hypothesis is that the matrices are equal, and the statistical significance of the test statistic is obtained with a permutation test. In this way, the problem of confounding variables such as body size is mostly avoided because the procedure is based on the comparison of group‐specific sets of correlation coefficients which are scale‐free. The method was employed in a case study to investigate the differences in activity patterns between men and women from the Early Bronze Age population buried at the necropolis in Mokrin, Serbia. The null hypothesis of no difference between the male and female MSM correlation matrices was rejected (p = 0.0135). After the statistical significance of the difference was established, further investigation of male and female activity patterns was undertaken by means of principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation. PCA results suggest that covariation between MSMs is stronger in the male sample. Success in demonstrating differences in activity patterns between sexes implies that the proposed method can be used to test for differences in physical activity between groups of individuals defined by criteria other than sex. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Copper quality and provenance in Middle Bronze Age I Byblos and Tell Arqa (Lebanon)

Forty-four Middle Bronze Age I weapons discovered at the sites of Byblos and Tell Arqa in Lebanon were investigated in order to study their copper quality and provenance. The evaluation of copper qualities is based on quantifying permanent inclusions such as copper sulfide and lead globules. The provenance of copper was studied using lead isotope analyses. For further discrimination between copper groups and sources elemental analyses by PIXE were performed on some of the weapons investigated. The results revealed two copper groups that could be qualified as “dirty” copper and “clean” copper. The former was used in most of the weapon types whereas the latter was reserved for items made of high-tin bronzes (>11 wt%) which underwent heavy hammering during the manufacturing process. Even though several potential copper sources were identified, the data point to Iran and Oman as the most probable areas of origin for the metal used in these weapons. These results contribute to the study of inter-regional exchange networks in the ancient Near East.     

Strict solar alignment of Bronze Age rock carvings in SE Sweden? – Critical remarks on an archaeoastronomical case study

A recently published paper proposing a “strict solar alignment” of figurative rock carvings in southern Sweden requires some critical and cautionary remarks. Using the paper “Strict solar alignment of Bronze Age rock carvings in SE Sweden” by N.-A. Mörner as a case study, various pitfalls and challenges in archaeoastronomical investigations are highlighted. Substantiating the idea of a relationship between the orientation of archaeological features such as rock carvings and astronomical events such as sunrise at winter solstice requires accurate and precise determination of (i) the orientation of the archaeological features and (ii) the azimuth of the astronomical event at the time of creation of the rock carvings, taking into account all influencing factors such as changes in Earth orbit parameters, surrounding topography and vegetation. Furthermore, possible motivations or intentions of Bronze Age rock carvers have to be considered. When trying to support a causal link between the orientation of archaeological features and astronomical events, it is indispensable to discuss and exclude possible alternative explanations, related to, for example, rock carving practice and visibility. Taking into account the above issues, there is no evidence for a solar alignment of the Järrestad rock carvings. The issues discussed using the Järrestad rock carvings as a case study are relevant to archaeoastronomical investigations in general.     

Transition from hunting to animal husbandry in Southern,Western and Eastern Finland: new dated osteological evidence

The beginning of animal husbandry in Finland is one of the most debated topics in Finnish archaeology. For this study a total of 69 bone materials from archaeological sites in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland, dating from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Metal Period, were analysed: 52 represented identifiable animal bones. These data were complemented with those from previously analysed bone materials. A total of 19 domestic animal bones were radiocarbon-dated to determine their connection with a particular cultural period. However, 13 of them proved to belong to the historical and not the prehistoric period, emphasizing the importance of radiocarbon-dating and context awareness when interpreting prehistoric bone materials. Among the radiocarbon-dated material were the oldest dated sheep, cattle and horse bones in Finland. The oldest radiocarbon-dated domestic animal bone in Finland, from sheep or goat, derives from the Late Stone Age Kiukainen Culture site, while cattle and horse bones date to the Bronze Age. This is later than expected. However, the available material does not exclude the possibility that some animal husbandry was practised in Finland earlier. Nevertheless, domestic animal bones are rare in samples dated to the cultural periods studied, while hunting and fishing represented important subsistence activities.