Ante Mortem Cranial Trepanation in the Late Bronze Age in Western Siberia

We report a case study of cranial trepanation in a male subject 30 to 40 years of age from the Nefteprovod II burial ground in the Anzhevsk archeological site. This burial dates back to the Late Bronze Age, in particular the Karasuk culture located in the Minusinsk Basin on the Yenisei River and on the upper reaches of the Ob River. The left parietal bone had an opening with evident signs of bone healing, as well as signs of inflammatory reaction from both bone plates of the calvarium. The strongest signs of inflammation were located around the trepanation opening at the exocranium, suggesting that it occurred after, rather than before, the operation. Although trepanation was the main cause for the development of the changes noted in the preceding texts, there are no reasons to believe that the subject died from complications arising from infection after trepanation. The patient survived and later died for reasons that may never be determined. Medical necessity was the most likely justification for trepanation. Immersion in altered states of consciousness may also have been a necessary part of the trepanation process as a mode of sedation, along with other shamanic practices, such as consumption of psychotropic substances or ecstatic dance. These data, together with reports of other ante mortem burials, raised questions about the application of anaesthesia and possible techniques of cranial trepanation. These issues and possible postoperative complications are discussed in the following text. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representations of birds in Minoan art

During the second millennium BC , the Minoan civilization was established in the southern Aegean Sea. In Minoan art, especially on Crete, birds occupied a prominent place, and were often represented in wall-paintings and craft objects. Species still occurring on the island, such as cormorants, mallards, cuckoos, owls, hoopoes, and swallows, as well as exotic taxa such as partridges and possible domestic forms such as pigeons, were the subject of artistic inspiration, and they were depicted not only in purely cult contexts, but also in the backgrounds of naturalistic landscapes. The aim of this paper is to reconsider the identification of some of the birds depicted and to discuss them in the context of the environmental conditions and osteological finds from the southern Aegean islands in Minoan times. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

重庆地区出土青铜器铅同位素比值研究

青铜器矿料来源和产地研究,是青铜时代至关重要的考古问题,也是考古的重点和难点之一.通过比较青铜器样品和矿床的Pb同位素分析数据,可以进行青铜金属原料来源的产地研究.为此,本工作利用MAT262固态离子源型质谱仪对重庆地区云阳李家坝遗址,涪陵小田溪墓群,万州大坪墓群,开县余家坝遗址东周时期巴地青铜器的铅同位素进行了测定和比值研究.结果显示其中合金中铅都为普通铅,而非放射性成因铅.实验数据反映出206Pb/204 Pb比值分布在17.4630 ～ 18.6960,207 Pb/204 Pb比值分布在15.5573 ～ 15.8490,208 pb/204 Pb比值分布在36.7828 ～39.3869,除了两个数据外,大部分器物铅同位素比值分布范围几乎重叠,显示了稳定铅源的存在.此外,这批数据与滇川黔铅锌多金属成矿区的底苏和大梁子矿床数据分布范围相近,局部重合,表明其铅料来源与这一地区有着一定的关系.实验结果反映了重庆地区东周青铜器群在铅料来源上具有同一性和连续性,说明了巴人在春秋时期就已经建立了独立的青铜冶铸业,一直延续到战国时期.     

DNA in cremated bones from an early bronze age cemetery cairn

The discovery of polymeric DNA in charred wheat grains and other burnt plant remains prompted us to examine a set of cremated bones for the presence of ancient DNA. Extracts of cremated bones from an early Bronze Age cemetery cairn were analysed by hybridization probing and the polymerase chain reaction. Hybridization with two probes targeting human DNA resulted in strong positive signals. Polymerase chain reactions directed at a multicopy sequence in human nuclear DNA were successful, extracts of five burials giving amplification products of the expected size. Exploitation of ancient DNA in cremated bones could be of great value in archaeology as it may enable information pertaining to sex and kinship to be obtained from fragmented material.     

作册般铜鼋所记史事的性质

作册般铜鼋是一件珍贵的商代末期青铜器。其铭文所记史事和器物造型所展现的史实是射礼,如果把它与田猎挂钩,则有许多疑窦;如果把它与射礼相联系,则颇能印证文献和西周金文的有关记载。可以说西周辟雍大池的水上射礼很有可能渊源于商代晚期的洹水水上射礼。周礼“三番射”中的某些仪节和必射四矢之寓意,在商代晚期就已经存在。射鱼也是当时常见的一种射礼,射鼋则是射鱼的一项重要射礼内容。本文还对鼋铭作了考释,并认定该器是铭功的庸器、再现商王射艺的实物模型。铜鼋的铭文与造型构思所反映的史事是商代末期王在洹水进行的一次水上射礼活动。     

大嘴子第三期文化聚落遗址研究

本文在《大嘴子》考古报告的基础上,对大嘴子第三期文化的聚落遗址进行了综合研究,对诸如聚落形态、陶器变化、文化去向、社会性质以及族属研究等方面进行了初步探索。     

太湖地区夏商时代考古发现与谱系研究综述

略述太湖地区青铜时代遗址的考古发现,并对有关夏商时期文化谱系的研究史进行回顾与梳理,在此基础上总结与思考建国以来考古发现的特点和谱系研究中存在的问题,以对该领域的进一步研究提供基础和参考。     

Neutron Activation Analysis of Metal Artefacts from the Moche Site,North Coast of Peru

Neutron activation analysis has been used to characterize 60 metal objects from the Moche site, of which four are associated with the Chimú Period, two with the Early Chimú Period and the others with various Moche IV contexts. Different types of utilitarian and non‐utilitarian objects were analysed to identify the metals present, and to investigate their chemical composition and their eventual source. The results clearly indicate the distinction between Chimú and Moche artefacts and confirm the generalized opinion that arsenic bronze was popular after ad 900. They also indicate that gilding copper objects with gold was already a common practice during the Moche era.     

Elite Strategies and the Spread of Technological Innovation: The Spread of Iron in the Bronze Age Societies of Denmark and Southern Korea

I look at the process and speed of innovation spread, examining the economic aspects from the perspective of those who adopt the innovation. Defining innovation adoption as an investment which requires initial cost and risks, I argue that at the time of introduction of a new technology that is expected to have socioeconomic importance, elites of adopting societies try to avoid the initial cost and risks of adoption, actively intervening in the process of its spread. Thus, it is crucial to analyze the strategies and needs of elites, which strongly influence the speed of spread. One of these strategies is to change innovation's role by locating the innovation in a different realm of economy. Comparing the spread of iron technology in the Danish and southern Korean Bronze Ages, I demonstrate that differences in what elites needed to obtain through iron technology in different contexts critically affected the speed and process of iron spread into the two regions.     

环砥石与穿孔技术

近年来在我国一些新石器时代遗址中相继出土“环砥石”,有的发掘者将其命名为“石钻”、“钻头” 等。安徽省文物考古研究所于１９９８年１１月在含山县凌家滩遗址发掘出土１件“环砥石”,称为“石钻”①。浙江省文物考古研究所于 １９７９年１１ 月至 １９８０年１月在桐乡县罗家角遗址第１层和第２层各出土１件“环砥石”（图一）,发掘报告称其为“钻头”,并认为“这类钻头,可能与石器钻孔技术有关”②。这种石器的命名之所以会产生错误,是由于对“环砥石”的用途不明所致。 一、环砥石的用途 环砥石作为一种制作玉石器的工具,在我…