Animal Exploitation in the Early Prehistory of the Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands were the last large islands in the Mediterranean to be settled, with colonization not occurring until the third millennium cal BC. The richest assemblages of zooarchaeological data for reconstructing patterns of animal exploitation and management come from Mallorca, Menorca, and Formentera and date to the late third and second millennia cal BC. In this article, I consider these exploitation and management strategies from the perspective of human ecodynamics. In general, the early settlers of the Balearic Islands adopted economic strategies which remained very conservative throughout the Early and Mid Bronze Age (i.e., 2500/2300–1200 cal BC). On Mallorca and Menorca, animal resources were derived mainly from domesticated fauna, with the evidence supporting a mixed-farming model wherein cultivation is complemented by small-scale and relatively unspecialized animal husbandry. In contrast, on Formentera there is a diversification of the faunal economy, with fish and wild birds providing an important contribution to the diet; this probably relates to the extreme marginality of the Formenteran environment. This case of initial human settlement and flexible adaptation to the Balearics highlights one of the core aspects of human ecodynamics: the ability for colonizing populations to both uniquely respond to and affect ecological conditions in island environments.     

祥云地区出土铜器pXRF成分分析——昆明夷铜器工艺类型初探

为探究滇西地区青铜文化及相关铜器的制作技术,本研究使用便携式X射线荧光光谱(p XRF)对滇西祥云县大波那墓地、检村石棺墓和红土坡古墓群出土357件铜器进行了成分分析。结果表明,p XRF可在无损、原位的情况下,基本做到铜器合金成分的定量分析。铜器材质均以红铜和锡青铜为主,铅锡青铜和砷铜居少量。三处墓地铜器Sn、Pb配比模式高度一致。铜矛、铜剑等兵器中出现少量高锡青铜。这些现象反映出祥云地区各时期铜器的制作工艺高度一致,可称之为昆明夷铜器工艺类型。大波那墓地铜器基本不含铁,其余墓地存在较多高铁铜器,大波那地区的先民应该采用了不同的冶炼技术。砷铜全部出自红土坡古墓群,初步推测晚期墓葬出现的砷铜乃至砷铜工艺很可能是沿着"半月形文化传播带"由西北地区传入祥云地区的。     

Between Principles and Pragmatism: India and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime in the Post-PNE Era, 1974–1980

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that even when India had posited its peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE) of May 1974 as a mark of resistance against a prejudiced nuclear order based upon the NPT, India's policies in the post-PNE period confirmed with many aspects of the emerging non-proliferation consensus. India's response was guided by two major factors. On one hand, were its long-held principles such as the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy (including PNE's) and the right to nuclear technology cooperation for peaceful purposes. On the other hand, were the pragmatic policy choices it had to make as advanced nuclear states worked towards a stricter non-proliferation regime. In this struggle between India's principles and its necessities, India's nuclear behavior was guided much more by pragmatism rather than by its normative preferences. Yet, even when India made major compromises on its nuclear principles in private, in public India stuck to the rhetoric of its principled opposition to the NPT regime. These tensions between India's actual practice and its public policy are evident on three major non-proliferation issues: nuclear safeguards, export controls and the danger of nuclear proliferation in its neighborhood.     

Socio‐cultural innovations of the Final Umm an‐Nar period (c.2100–2000 BCE) in the Oman peninsula: new insights from Ra's al‐Jinz RJ‐2

The Early Bronze Age site of RJ‐2, located close to the coastal village of Ra's al‐Jinz on the eastern Omani coast (Niyabat Ra's al‐Hadd), was the focus of archaeological investigations for over two decades. The latest campaigns of excavation unearthed an architectural complex (Building XII) dated to the very end of the Umm an‐Nar period (Final UaN, c.2100–2000 BCE), previously attested on site by poorly preserved remains. This paper presents the remains explored during the most recent fieldwork, focusing on the stratigraphic‐structural sequence and the spatial layout. It also considers the transformations affecting structural evidence and material culture during this period, at both local and regional level, highlighting their significance for a comprehensive assessment of the last occupations related to the Early Bronze Age in south‐eastern Arabia. The paper concludes by showing how the Final Umm an‐Nar phase represents an age of substantial socio‐cultural innovations, which most likely shaped the transition towards the following Wadi Suq period.     

青铜粉状锈中生物因素的影响

本文探讨了青铜粉状锈中生物因素的影响。实验结果表明：微生物在青铜腐蚀中起了促进作用。     

在SO2存在下青铜腐蚀与相对湿度的关系

采用光度法和亚硫酸氢钢静态分解法研究了不同相对湿度0．1％SO2存在条件下,仿古铜-锡-铝合金的腐蚀情况。在无可溶性氯离子存在下,青铜腐蚀的第一和第二临界相对湿度值分别为50％和65％左右;在有可溶性氯离子存在下,其两个临界相对湿度值均有所降低。从而给出了青铜保存的最佳湿度范围。     

The neolithic and early bronze age of the Lake Baikal Region: A review of recent research

Rich settlement and burial evidence from the Baikal/Angara region in Central Siberia provides one of the most promising opportunities in the global boreal forest for studying Holocene foragers. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age prehistory of the region is known to western scholars only through a few English translations of the works of A. P. Okladnikov. Since the publication of Okladnikov's model, the region has witnessed large-scale archaeological fieldwork that has produced abundant quantities of new evidence. Moreover, the model has been partly invalidated by extensive radiocarbon dating. Research advances over the last couple of decades have augmented the area's previous reputation but have also revealed the need for new theoretical perspectives and modern analytical techniques.     

New Insights into the Provenance of the Obsidian Fragments of the Island of Ustica (Palermo,Sicily)

In this study we applied a multidisciplinary approach, coupling geophysical and geochemical measurements, to unveil the provenance of 170 obsidian flakes, collected on the volcanic island of Ustica (Sicily). On this island there are some prehistoric settlements dated from the Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age. Despite not having geological outcrops of obsidian rocks, the countryside of Ustica is rich in fragments of this volcanic glass, imported from other source areas. The study of obsidian findings was carried out first through visual observations and density measurements. At least two different obsidian families have been distinguished, probably imported from Lipari and Pantelleria islands. Analysing the magnetic properties of the samples, these two main sources were confirmed, but the possibility of other provenances was inferred. Finally, we characterized the geochemical signature of the Ustica obsidians by performing microchemical analyses through electron microprobe (EMPA) and laser ablation (LA–ICP–MS). The results were compared with literature data, confirming the presence of the Lipari and Pantelleria sources (Sicily) and indicating for the first time in this part of Italy a third provenance from Palmarola island (Latium). Our results shed new light on the commercial exchanges in the peri‐Tyrrhenian area during the prehistoric age.