Food for eternity? The analysis of a date offering from a 3rd millennium BC grave at Hili N,Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

Ever since the early 3rd millennium BC the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has played an important role in eastern Arabia where its remains, in the form of seeds, fruits and stem fragments, are preserved on numerous archaeological sites. The recent discovery of a carbonised mass of pitted dates in a collective burial pit from the end of the Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2200–2000 BC) at Hili (United Arab Emirates) constitutes the earliest example of a food preparation involving this species. The present paper describes the discovery and identification of this unique offering before addressing the question of its significance in a funeral context in Bronze Age Arabia.     

南方青铜繹研究

两周时期,江淮间、长江中下游地区的徐舒蔡楚吴越邗等南方各国流行鼎形繹、缶形繹、鬲形繹、飌形繹、提梁?繹、方繹、双耳兽流繹等,既受中原影响,又承袭土著文化,既具时代特征、又有地域风格。特别是源于江淮地区北部,流行于楚吴徐等国的?繹,代表了东周时期南方系统青铜文化特色,并对中原及百越地区的青铜文化产生了一定影响。     

皖南沿江地区部分出土青铜器的铜矿料来源初步研究

根据要想追溯青铜器铜矿料来源,必须先了解古铜矿及其冶炼金属产物的微量元素和同位素特征,研究其输出方向这一思路,以前期提出的以较高含量的Se、Te、Ni(Co／Ni大多小于1)、Ag、Au等及相对低含量的Sb、Bi、Mo等作为安徽铜陵等地古铜矿冶炼产物一铜锭产地的特征指示元素为综合判别标志,用等离子发射光谱仪对皖南沿江地区出土的部分青铜器进行多元素分析。结果表明,样品Tc2007、Tc2005、fc12所用铜料不大可能来自铜陵地区,其余样品可能来自当地。鼎、(虚瓦)等大件样品可能在其它地区铸造后传人本地。研究结果说明,利用微量元素判断青铜器铜矿料来源是可行的。     

萧梁钱范的残留物初步研究

为弄清镇江出土的萧梁钱范是铸造铜钱还是铁钱,或是两者兼铸。利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)及其配备的X射线能谱仪(EDS),分析了出土的萧梁公式女钱范的残留物。钱范ZJ1的正、反面和胎的点扫描和面扫描分析结果表明,其应为铸造铜钱之范。而钱范ZJ2剖面的线扫描分析指出,其铜含量从正、反表面向胎的内部呈现明显的梯度分布,从而进一步验证了这些钱范铸造的是铜钱,而不是铁钱。     

几件青铜器的科学分析和修复

为对几件出土的青铜剑、青铜器和弯形器进行保护研究,用X射线探伤、X射线衍射、金相显微镜、扫描电镜和原子吸收光谱等方法对器物的形貌、成分及制作技术进行了分析。分析结果表明青铜剑0125的剑格和茎部锈层下有合范痕迹一些铸造小缺陷;弯形器腐蚀形态为均匀性腐蚀,枝晶间腐蚀和活性腐蚀;0108表面有合金层和褶皱,合范痕迹;0101、0102断面没有任何锈蚀及金属疲劳痕迹。器物经用不同方法清洗、铝箔局部还原处理、倍半碳酸钠浸泡和BTA缓蚀处理后,在相对湿度95％的环境中一周,没有发现新的锈蚀出现,达到良好的保护效果。表明科学分析方法在物保护和修复中是非常有用的,同时还可以获得关于考古学和历史学的很多信息。     

Millet cultivation history in the French Alps as evidenced by a sedimentary molecule

We report on the detection, in a sediment core drilled in Lake Le Bourget (French Alps), of a fossil molecule (miliacin) that was synthesized by broomcorn millet cultivated in the watershed, and then exported to the sediment. The variation in abundance of this molecule allows us reconstructing the history of millet cultivation around Lake Le Bourget. Our results support the introduction of millet around −1700 BC in the region. After an intensive cultivation during the Late Bronze Age, the failure of millet cropping during the Hallstatt period coincides with a phase of climatic deterioration. Millet cultivation recovers during the Roman and Mediaeval periods before falling most probably due to the introduction of more productive cereals. These pioneering results constitute the first continuous record of an agrarian activity covering the last 6000 years and emphasize the close relationships between local hydrology, land use and agro-pastoral activities around Lake Le Bourget.     

Isotopic dietary reconstruction of humans from Middle Bronze Age Lerna,Argolid, Greece

This study presents the results of a carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of 39 human bone and 8 animal samples from Middle Bronze Age (or Middle Helladic, MH, ca. 2100–1700 BC) Lerna, Greece. The isotopic data indicate that the humans had a C₃ terrestrial diet while certain individuals appear to have significant amounts of animal protein in their diet. With regard to weaning age, the isotopic values and the estimated age of early enamel disruptions suggest that solid foods were starting to be used as a substitute for breast milk at or before the ages of 2.5 and 3 years old.     

Painted plaster from Bronze Age Thebes, Boeotia (Greece): a technological study

From the rather difficult excavations that have taken place in Thebes since the beginning of the last century, many fragmentary but often well-preserved paintings on plaster have been unearthed. These belong to several contexts and periods: House of Kadmos (Late Helladic IIIA), Treasury Room (Late Helladic IIIB1) and Oikopedon Spourli (Late Helladic III). Their iconography, style and technology fit well with other paintings from the Late Bronze Age sites found in the vicinity of Thebes (e.g. Gla and Orchomenos). This paper presents a technological study of the Bronze Age painted plaster from Thebes, Greece. The paintings were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction; stereo, reflected light and scanning electron microscopy; some by laser-induced breakdown spectrometry and by micro-Raman spectroscopy, in order to identify the pigments and the composition of the plaster layers, and to determine the painting technique(s) that the artisans may have employed. The plaster layer onto which the paint layer was applied was often the only layer and consisted mainly of calcite, while a clay plaster formed the backing between the lime plaster coat and the actual wall surface. The pigments identified were: yellow ochre, haematite (red), cuprorivaite (Egyptian blue), indigo and possibly riebeckite for blue, charcoal (black), calcite (white), and a combination of black and red for purple. A detailed macroscopic study of the painted surface revealed several features, which indicated that the technique of al fresco painting was employed extensively, a technique already in use since the start of the Late Minoan I phase on Crete. A generally lower level of quality in the appearance of the later paintings (Treasury Room and Oikopedon Spourli) was also noted, but this was not reflected in the materials used or in their overall manipulation.     

An Umm an‐Nar‐type compartmented soft‐stone vessel from Gonur Depe,Turkmenistan

Recent excavations by V.I. Sarianidi in the so‐called ‘royal necropolis’ of Gonur Depe North, in southern Turkmenistan, have brought to light the first unequivocal example of an Umm an‐Nar‐type soft‐stone compartmented vessel ever found in Central Asia. The find is discussed in light of other evidence of links between Central Asia, south‐eastern Arabia and Bahrain.