Mephisto

This article explores the resonances of objects that travelled between continents and the entangled imaginaries tied to them – here a 30-tonne German military tank captured by Australian soldiers during the First World War in France and shipped to Brisbane to be exhibited at the Queensland Museum. The author ‘reads’ the tank, intriguingly named ‘Mephisto’, as the apotheosis of nature/culture divide entrenched in nineteenth-century colonialism, which exported the taxonomies of the Enlightenment to the antipodes and in return repatriated objects of flora and fauna all over Europe. Mephisto thus also marks the manifestation of a German–Australian modernity: developed from the agricultural tractor, the tank remains a brutal and clumsy device designed purely to subdue and conquer territory.     

Identical rock types with different chemistry: sourcing phyllite-tempered Hohokam pottery from the Phoenix basin,Arizona

The organization of ceramic production and distribution among the ancient Hohokam of the Phoenix basin, Arizona, has been documented in recent years with much detail. Based on diverse temper and clay compositions, the provenance of individual ceramics is routinely determined with considerable precision. One exception is phyllite-tempered pottery, which was made in one corner of the basin but also across a broad upland zone adjacent to the north. The phyllite-tempered pottery from different production sources cannot be distinguished on the basis of their temper type. As shown with assays with an electron microprobe, however, both the temper and clay fractions are chemically diverse and geographically distinct, allowing many of the phyllite-tempered wares to be sourced. Among the phyllite-tempered ceramics consumed in the Phoenix basin, some are shown to have been made locally, but, surprisingly, large numbers were imported from the northern uplands. Their numbers support the idea that the connection between the Phoenix basin and the northern uplands was a prominent component of the Hohokam regional economy despite the great difference between them in settlement size and density.     

Testing technological practices: neutron activation analysis of neolithic ceramics from Valencia,Spain

Using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of prehistoric pottery, daub, and modern clay samples from Valencia, Spain, we tested expectations on changes in raw material use with socio-economic shifts during the Neolithic (ca. 5600–2800 BC). Elemental analysis identified three distinctive clay source groups used by Neolithic potters. Contrary to expectations, a shift in raw material use was identified between the Early and Middle Neolithic despite general similarities in technological practices. In the Late Neolithic, pottery production became more specialized, but potters used the same range of clay sources documented earlier. This study illustrates the utility of INAA for testing hypotheses of prehistoric craft production.     

The making of a city campus

Campus spatial development has attracted relatively little scholarly research, yet through time major moves reflect and interact with broader policy, design, and societal trends. The city campus as a high‐density, mixed‐use knowledge precinct has emerged as a distinctive type. Its growing prominence points to the convergence of interdependent trends in urban life, higher education, and economic growth. This article describes, contextualises, and reflects upon the physical evolution of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in central Sydney. The narrative identifies several distinct development phases: from the urban renewal of a rundown inner‐city precinct through comprehensive replanning following the tenets of high modernism, then adaptive reuse and heritage conservation, to architectural design excellence. In the process, it has become an Australian exemplar of a “tech transformed” contemporary city campus.     

浅谈3D打印技术在陶瓷类文物修复和复制中的应用

3D打印技术已在多领域证明其高效性以及便捷性,成为社会热点。由于3D打印带有非接触式扫描的特点,这对于文物修复工作者而言,是在复制和修复过程中,为保护材质脆弱、价值珍贵的陶瓷类文物的可引进的新手段。在简单介绍3D打印技术复制陶器的主要过程之后,通过实例细致地了解每一个具体步骤,分析液化打印、粉末打印等不同打印技术的优缺点,如何在不同需求下进行选择;并且介绍在得到3D打印复制件后,通过复制件表面上色、纹饰加工处理等步骤完成整个复制品。3D打印技术不仅可被运用于文物复制,而且能以其与传统修复手法相比之下的无损、快速、精确等特点,在文物修复中发挥作用。     

The technological development of stonepaste ceramics from the Islamic Middle East

The microstructures and chemical compositions of stonepaste bodies from the Islamic Middle East, typically produced from a mixture of ten parts crushed quartz, one part crushed glass and one part white clay, are investigated using analytical scanning electron microscopy. For comparison, replicate stonepaste bodies are produced in the laboratory at firing temperatures in the range 900–1200 °C, and are similarly examined. The stonepaste bodies are divided into four primary microstructural groups that reflect the increasing reaction during firing of the glass fragments with the clay and quartz particles. The observed microstructures are then used to assess the geographical and chronological variations in the production technology of stonepaste ceramics from Egypt, Syria, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkey, spanning the period from 11th to 17th centuries AD.     

Ontology of the self and material culture: Arrow-making among the Awá hunter-gatherers (Brazil)

The Awá are a group of hunter-gatherers in transition to agriculture living in the Brazilian Amazon forest. After contact with mainstream society from the 1970s onwards, their culture, and especially their material culture, has undergone important transformations. Many traditional technologies and artifacts have been lost, especially those related to women. In this context, the persistence of arrow-making, although threatened by the spread of shotguns, is remarkable. During ethnoarchaeological work conducted between 2005 and 2009, we have been able to observe that the everyday making and use of arrows cannot be explained in neither functional nor symbolic terms alone. From our observations, we conclude that making and using arrows is indissolubly woven with the self of Awá men and, for that reason, we consider that only a relational-ontological approach can help us understand the deep relationship between men and arrows. Finally, we argue that the Awá case offers new possibilities to investigate technologies of the self in other non-modern societies.     

Bois Laiterie revisited: functional,morphological and technological analysis of a Late Glacial hunting camp in north-western Europe

Previous exhaustive analysis of the remains at Bois Laiterie Cave resulted in the classification of this site as a Magdalenian hunting camp. However, during recent analysis of usewear-traces on selected artefacts, one of the authors [KS] noticed in the collection numerous backed points which are rather untypical for the classical Magdalenian. In light of this, a typological and technological reinvestigation of the Bois Laiterie assemblage was undertaken. Here, we present the results of this investigation and the traceological analysis. Further, implications of these results for the interpretation of the chronological, archaeo-cultural and functional position of the Bois Laiterie site within the context of the north-western European Late Glacial are discussed.     

Petrographic and geochemical investigations of the late prehistoric ceramics from Sos Höyük,Erzurum (Eastern Anatolia)

Ceramics from the late prehistoric periods at Sos Höyük, in Eastern Anatolia, located along a thoroughfare that connects the Trans-Caucasus, Iran and central Anatolia, were subjected to petrographic and X-ray fluorescence analysis in order to characterise the clay groups, with a view to determining provenance and production patterns. Dominated by Kura-Araxes Ware, the data from the sequence at Sos Höyük were compared with the previous studies from the neighbouring regions to understand commonalities in pottery production. The analyses reveal a local production of vessels, most probably for household use. Although Sos Höyük potters shared similarities in the procurement pattern of raw clays and production technique with their neighbours, differences can be also recognized.