Early Imports in the Late Bronze Age of South‐Western Iberia: The Bronze Ornaments of the Hypogea at Monte da Ramada 1 (Southern Portugal)

The composition and manufacture of Late Bronze Age metallic artefacts from funerary and domestic contexts of southern inland Portugal was studied. The prevailing trend comprises binary bronzes (10.3 ± 2.1 wt% Sn) showing deformed equiaxial grains, annealing twins and slip bands. The alloy composition is somewhat independent of artefact type, while the manufacture seems to rely on artefact function and the skilfulness of the metallurgist. The technological characteristics were linked with archaeological and chronological features, disclosing some artefacts of uncommon composition, such as low‐tin bronze bracelets (4.3–7.1 wt% Sn) associated with ornaments of exotic materials (glass and Egyptian faience beads, and also ostrich egg shell beads). The assemblage testifies to an archaic trade with the Mediterranean region before the establishment of the first Phoenician colonies on the southern Iberian coast.     

South African Nuclear Development in the 1970s: A Non-Proliferation Conundrum?

ABSTRACT

The 1970s is often argued to be the era marking the beginning of the overall transformation of the international system and the nuclear order, following the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) entering into force in 1970. South Africa challenged this nuclear order from the outset. In addition to regarding the NPT as inherently discriminatory and hypocritical in allowing a difference between nuclear weapon ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, the South African apartheid regime felt threatened by Soviet expansionism into Southern Africa. Facing international condemnation and isolation due to its repressive domestic politics of racial segregation, and gripped in a war against Soviet- and Cuban-backed forces in Angola, the apartheid regime was quick to move from a decision to build one peaceful nuclear explosive device in 1974, to a formal decision in 1978 to design and develop a secret strategic nuclear deterrent. Using knowledge and skills acquired during a period of techno-nationalism and Western collaboration during the 1960s, South Africa was able to cross this threshold in a relatively short space of time, thereby signaling a clear departure from the nuclear non-proliferation regime that the five nuclear powers of the NPT were trying to establish.     

结合3D打印铸造的青铜器可拆卸式修复研究

残缺是出土青铜器常见的病害。传统青铜器完美修复通过手工制作补配件后连接固定的方式进行,这样的修复方式周期较长,一旦修复后不便于拆解,且掩盖与改变了部分原文物有价值的破损信息。随着3D打印精度与效率的不断提升以及打印材料的推陈出新,3D打印早已从单一输出树脂材料发展为多材质复合输出的方式,其中以直接金属增材为主的金属3D打印以及3D打印结合铸造技术的应用,使得传统青铜文物修复技艺得到了更为科学而有效的发展。本工作通过上海博物馆收藏的一件经过"改制"的商代晚期兽面纹青铜斝的修复案例,对"完美复原式"的传统青铜器修复方式进行新的探索,将可拆卸式补配方式结合3D打印铸造的方法,融入到文物修复流程中,在补配残缺器物的同时,不对文物本体产生干扰,保留具有研究价值的"改制"痕迹,在最少干预性与展陈效果之间寻求一种平衡,使得传统文物修复变得更为安全、精准与有效。     

甘肃武威出土铜奔马铸造工艺初探

甘肃武威出土的东汉铜奔马和铜车马仪仗队是我国古代青铜艺术品中罕见的杰作,是中国众多文物中的代表和古老中华文明的一种象征。甘肃省博物馆通过现代科学仪器检测及综合分析发现:铜奔马和铜车马仪仗队都是陶范铸造法铸造而成,而不是失蜡法铸造的;铜奔马铸造时在铜质马腿内夹铸了卯榫状铁芯骨,以增强马腿的强度和支撑力;铜车马仪仗队中甲型马和刻有铭文的乙型马,是铸造工艺不同的两批制品。这些发现对进一步研究铜奔马及墓主人提供了新的材料。     

基于标准差分析的秦始皇陵青铜马车零部件生产工艺研究

此项研究分析评估了秦始皇陵出土青铜马车零部件尺寸、金属成分配比的标准化程度。研究发现,青铜马车同类型零部件外形尺寸标准差与平均值的比值都保持在2%以内;青铜部件的铜含量标准差在3%以内,器物成分高度统一。马车的青铜部件都为铜锡二元青铜,从小型饰件到大型部件,从薄板部件到青铜焊液,大致都含有约10%的锡,90%的铜。马车零部件的外形尺寸与器物成分的同一化,表明秦始皇统一六国后存在着高度标准化的社会生产。     

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。     

Informing Airmen? The US Army Air Forces’ Intelligence on Japanese Fighter Tactics in The Pacific Theatre, 1941–5

This article traces the development of US air intelligence on the tactics and weapons of Japan's fighter forces during the Pacific War. During the opening stages of the conflict, the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) struggled to set up an intelligence network in the Pacific theater because they were unprepared to wage a large scale conflict against the Japanese. Prior to December 1941, most American air commanders expected Japan to refrain from initiating hostilities with the western powers, and were thus caught unawares when faced with the onslaught of the Japanese air services. The setbacks which US forces suffered in the western Pacific regions during the opening stages of the conflict persuaded air commanders to create a more efficient apparatus that was designed to make good use of the information which aircrews gathered in their encounters with enemy forces. By the end of 1942, observations of the Japanese air forces' performance in combat enabled the Americans to acquire a rudimentary knowledge of the tactical procedures which pilots needed to follow in order to neutralize their opponent. After 1943, the tide of the air war turned decisively in favor of the Allies, owing to the fact that Japan's strengths were stretched to the limit, and its industries could not replace the planes and equipment which the armed forces had lost during the battle of Midway and the Solomons campaign. As the conflict progressed, US aviators noticed how the Japanese had suffered losses to the point where they could no longer defend the skies above their occupied territories, as evidenced by the fact that enemy interceptors were appearing in ever-decreasing numbers. The development motivated airmen to seek ways to destroy the remnants of Japan's air forces as quickly as possible and thereby hasten the tempo of the campaign in the Pacific theater. However, the USAAF remained mindful of the difficulties they faced in fighting the Japanese. This was mainly because the intelligence secured via encounters with enemy forces continued to suggest that they still possessed a good number of serviceable planes, along with trained pilots who were able to cause significant disruption for US air missions. The evidence was taken as a clear indication that the Americans needed to deploy sufficient aircraft strengths and simultaneously develop the tactical methods needed to protect friendly forces against unnecessary casualties.     

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.