Architectural Aesthetics,Orientations, and Reuse at the Terminal Classic Maya Site of Ucanal,Petén,Guatemala

ABSTRACT

The Terminal Classic period (ca. a.d. 830–950/1000) in the Southern Maya Lowlands is known as a time in which investments in public architecture and vaulted masonry buildings began to wane. Masonry constructions have often been noted to be of poorer quality in comparison with previous phases. Moving beyond models of scarcity, this paper examines the aesthetics, meanings, and reorientations of architectural projects at the site of Ucanal, Petén, Guatemala during the Terminal Classic period. We highlight three processes that were central to the new architectural programs at the site: an emphasis on the aesthetics of wood, the reorientation of sacred space in residential contexts, and the fragmentation and reuse of buildings and monuments. Although these materials and processes are often associated with a loss of splendor, we suggest that they were part of an active architectural revisionism, one that remade history by reworking the old and reorienting the new.     

The use of radiocarbon-derived ΔC as a paleoclimate indicator: applications in the Lower Alentejo of Portugal

Values of δ¹³C are frequently reported with radiocarbon dates from organic materials. In C₃ plants δ¹³C values have been linked to changes in water use efficiency as a response to arid conditions. By calculating ¹³C discrimination (Δ¹³C) from ¹³C isotopic composition (δ¹³C), archaeologists can gain potentially valuable inference into past climate conditions. Values of Δ¹³C reflect the process of discrimination against heavier ¹³C isotopes of carbon by comparing the δ¹³C of samples to that of the atmosphere, and can be calculated when records of atmospheric δ¹³CO₂ are available. The present study examines a 1300 year history of radiocarbon-derived Δ¹³C from the Lower Alentejo of Portugal using charcoal recovered from excavations of a series of medieval habitation sites in the study area. To calculate Δ¹³C, the posterior means generated from Bayesian change-point analysis of δ¹³CO₂ records were used. Archaeological data were then compared to contemporary ecological studies of Δ¹³C of the same taxa against instrumental records of climate. Values of Δ¹³C fell within mean ranges for the taxa through a period of population growth between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. During the height of the Medieval Warm Period in the 11th century AD Δ¹³C values frequently fell to low levels associated with arid conditions. At this time environmental degradation and erosion were documented. Values of Δ¹³C increased for a brief period in the early 12th century AD before the rural Lower Alentejo was largely abandoned for nearly two centuries. Another period of aridity occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries AD. Radiocarbon-derived Δ¹³C is a potentially useful paleoclimate proxy for archaeologists provided that results can be paired with observed Δ¹³C variation in studies that pair these data with instrumental climate records.     

山东出土东周铜(钅和)及相关问题研究

山东出土铜(钅和)可分为两型、五期。春秋时期流行椭圆腹(钅和),战国时期流行圆角方腹(钅和)。春秋早期流行单环耳(钅和),春秋中期至战国晚期流行双环耳(钅和)。春秋早期偏早铜(钅和)产生于鲁北地区,其原型为陶罐;春秋早期偏晚传播到沂沭河流域。春秋晚期铜(钅和)的分布范围南达湖北、江苏,北达河北,西达甘肃,至战国中期逐渐消亡。     

Fish tanks of eastern Crete (Greece) as indicators of the Roman sea level

The ancient fish tanks and fish traps of Crete are relics of the Roman domination of the island; they were usually constructed near the major urban centers of that period. The direct relationship of their various functional characteristics with past sea levels and the relatively accurate determination of their construction dates establish them as sensitive indicators of sea level change through space and time.     

河南焦作出土的汉代简式陶仓楼

焦作市出土的简式陶仓楼明显地反映了焦作地区出土的陶仓楼从豪华走向简易,从繁荣走向衰退的过程。简式陶仓楼的出土,为研究东汉中晚期的社会经济、建筑结构、丧葬习俗提供了宝贵的实物资料。     

山东新泰出土东周青铜复合剑制作技术研究

为探讨东周青铜复合剑的制作技术,采用X光探伤、CT、XRF、金相分析等方法,对出土于山东新泰周家庄战国早期齐国墓的2把青铜复合剑进行了内部结构、制作工艺、合金技术、金相组织等方面的研究.结果表明:2把青铜复合剑均采用低锡合金和高锡合金两种材料复合而成.在检测分析的基础上,讨论了新泰出土的2把青铜复合剑与吴越特色青铜复合剑制作技术上的差异:在结构上,低锡区设置在剑脊的两侧,其截面结构呈现多种形式,与高锡区铸接,浑然一体;在成分上,低锡区含锡量仅为4％,具有锡青铜最佳的延伸率.结合青铜复合剑剑柄的特色,认为虽然新泰出土复合剑的内部结构与已研究的吴越特色青铜复合剑有明显差异,但制作理念应是一脉相承的.     

Trends and Implications of Delayed and Non-Marriage in Korea

Korea has experienced marital transition since the 1920s, but recent data reveal rapid changes in marital behaviour and norms. Analysts usually relate these to the second fertility transition, fast growing gender equality, economic developments, and ideational changes, pointing to the necessity of understanding the process of change in marital behaviour in the context of societal transformation as well as demographic transition. With this background in mind, this paper constructs refined measures, such as age-specific first marriage rates and total first marriage rates, for different time periods and for different cohorts to present a clearer picture of marriage trends. The results are then examined in relation to various social and demographic factors, a procedure which provides an indirect check on the validity and usefulness of the method.     

The responsible government question in Natal, 1856–1893

ABSTRACT

The history of South Africa's Eastern Cape continues to attract considerable attention. Recent scholarship suggests that the Royal Engineers, as one of the executive arms of imperial colonisation, played a significant role in the colonisation and development of the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony. This article seeks to contribute to the discussion by examining the importance of surveying and mapping in underpinning and extending the colonial State in what is now the Eastern Cape. It attempts to disentangle and assess the impact of the activities of the Royal Engineers and other military officers. It briefly examines African responses to surveying and the construction of fortifications; and attempts to unravel the respective roles of imperial and colonial agencies in surveying, mapping, and construction of fortifications and establishment of towns.     

Duelling after the Duce: postwar conflicts of honour in Italy

Unlike other western European countries, Italy did not see the waning of the duel of honour after the First World War. On the contrary, there was an increase in the practice during the 1920s as the Fascists used mechanisms of honour to facilitate and legitimize their rise to power. However, Mussolini's regime found the individualism of the chivalric tradition inconsistent with its totalitarian notions of discipline and duty and worked in a variety of subtle ways to try to eliminate the ritual from Italian life. For the most part, the Second World War finished the process and, in the wake of defeat, destruction and partisan conflict, duelling virtually disappeared as a means of settling disputes of honour among elites. Nevertheless, one can point to a handful of formal duels, which adhered to traditional regulations, that occurred in the decade after the war. This article investigates these encounters in order to understand why these particular participants decided to opt for a ritual that was both out of fashion and had lost much of its legal immunity. It also argues that their actions actually demonstrate just how alienated the duel had become from Italy's social mainstream after the war.     

The Intervention Crisis of 1862: A British Diplomatic Dilemma?

In the fall of 1862, William Ewart Gladstone opened a cabinet debate whether Great Britain should intervene in the American Civil War. Influenced by the staggering death toll and lack of results, the British cabinet contemplated a humanitarian intervention. Coinciding with the debate was a cabinet crisis in France over French policies toward Italy and more importantly the overthrow of the Greek king. The revolution in Greece reopened the Eastern Question and forced the Palmerston Government to carefully consider its foreign policy. By closely looking at the chronological overlap of the intervention debate, the French cabinet crisis, and the Greek Revolution, this article shows the interplay of the entangled global crises during the fall of 1862 and their impact on trans-Atlantic diplomacy. The British Government had to determine whether the situation in North America or the containment of Russia and the Eastern Question required attention more urgently. The British Government determined that threats closer to home mattered more.