清代外销油画《镇海楼》颜料的分析鉴别

为研究清代外销油画《镇海楼》颜料成分及颜料层状况,利用数码显微镜、傅立叶红外光谱、X射线荧光光谱并结合扫描电镜能谱技术对其进行观察和检测。研究表明,此幅清代油画中红色颜料分别为朱砂和赭石,蓝色颜料为普鲁士蓝,黄色颜料则为雄黄和铁黄,白色颜料为铅白。通过显微镜观察发现画中部分颜料层有开裂和局部剥落现象。本研究分析为中国清代油画的材料技法、保护修复及美术史研究提供了极具价值的信息。     

Assessing bone transformation in late Miocene and Plio‐Pleistocene deposits of Kenya and South Africa

Bone reactivity offers a potential way to record local physical–chemical conditions prevailing in fossilization environments and archaeological sites. In the present study, a series of fossil bone samples from the karstic environments of the Bolt's Farm cave system (Cradle of Humankind, South Africa) and from fluvio‐lacustrine environments of the Tugen Hills (Gregory Rift, Kenya) is analysed. The chemical composition and infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic properties of fossil samples point to a transformation of the biogenic apatite and formation of secondary apatite. Depending on the sample, the secondary apatite corresponds to a carbonate‐bearing hydroxy‐ or fluor‐apatite. The maximum fraction of secondary apatite is close to 60%, coinciding with previous observations in experimental alteration of bone in aqueous solutions and suggesting that a fraction of pristine biological apatite is likely to be preserved. The present results also suggest that the acetic acid treatment of fossil samples moderately increases their average crystallinity but may dissolve carbonate‐rich domains of secondary apatite.     

Accessing Hunter-Gatherer site structures using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: applications at a Taltheilei settlement in the Canadian Sub-Arctic

The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy on soils and caribou bone from a Taltheilei culture settlement in northern Canada contribute to developing micro-archaeological approaches suitable for locating and characterizing hearth and midden features on hunter-gatherer sites. A weak yet pervasive signal for montgomeryite was developed from the diagenesis of dispersed ash and caribou processing residues. Disordered calcite, carbonate hydroxylapatite, charcoal, and burned bone in two pit-house hearth deposits indicate that both wood and bone were used for fuel. Crystallinity indices and carbonate/phosphate ratios for bone indicate high intensity burning. These data, in tandem with the presence of semi-subterranean dwellings, demonstrate that this particular tundra-based encampment was occupied during cold seasons, a type of settlement behaviour previously unrecognized in the Taltheilei archaeological record. Our results confirm that Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is an accessible, rapid, and cost effective means of discovering micro-archaeological evidence valuable for reconstructing hunter-gatherer site structures.     

A preliminary study on using enzymes in cleaning archaeological wood

The main goal of this study was to study and evaluate the effect of hydrolyzing enzymes on the anatomical structure and chemical composition of archaeological wood samples. Pine and beech wood samples, which were taken from anonymous mashrabia, have been cleaned with three types of enzymes then a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study were undertaken, to see if any significant structural or chemical differences could be detected between “untreated” and “treated” wood. No dramatic changes in functional groups on the wood surface, as monitored by infrared spectroscopy, occurred in the samples before and after enzymatic cleaning. SEM data, however, show that protease and lipase enzymes may give good results in cleaning wood surface, but the enzyme residues remaining on the cell walls of archaeological wood are another point to consider.     

Discovery of Beeswax as binding agent on a 6th-century BC Chinese Turquoise-inlaid Bronze sword

Recent archaeological field surveys and excavations at Qiaojiayuan, a platform 40 km west of the Yun County in present-day northwestern Hubei Province (central China), revealed four tombs (M₃, M₄, M₅ and M₆) dating back to around 6th to 5th century BC. The grave's layout, artifact assemblages and burial practice indicate that the owners of these four graves were aristocrats of the Chu state. Five turquoise-inlaid bronze artifacts (two swords and three dagger-axes) were excavated. The sword from M₄, imbedded with pieces of well-cut and finely-polished turquoise on its handle, was in a very bad state of preservation and underwent conservation treatment. Some sticky, whitish pastes were exposed when the inlaid turquoises dropped off. The pastes were supposed to be residues of unknown binding agents. Samples of the pastes were collected for FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) analyses to determine the chemical component(s). The results revealed that the pastes were composed of almost pure beeswax. This indicated that beeswax was used as binding agent in turquoise-inlaid bronzes as early as the 6th to 5th century BC in China. Review of recent technical studies suggested that beeswax was used in early China in several different regions (mostly southern part of China) for at least two different purposes (binding agent and lightening).     

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SAMPLE PREPARATION METHODS ON STABLE CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE VALUES OF BONE APATITE: A COMPARISON OF TWO TREATMENT PROTOCOLS*

Researchers have long debated the appropriateness of stable isotope analysis of bone apatite to reconstruct the diets of ancient animals. The debate has centred, in part, on diagenesis of bone mineral from interaction with the burial environment. A number of acetic acid treatments are used to remove diagenetic carbonates from samples; however, less is known on how different protocols alter stable isotope values. We compare two common acetic acid solution treatments (0.1 M versus 1.0 M-buffered) to examine the effects on carbon and oxygen isotope values and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra in human bone from different burial contexts. Results indicate that both treatments have a similar effect on isotope values and FTIR spectra in bone apatite.     

司马金龙墓出土木板漆画屏风残片的初步分析

为了解山西大同北魏司马金龙墓出土木板漆画屏风的颜料使用情况和制作工艺信息,利用Micro-Raman、FrlR、XRF、断面切片等技术,对屏风残片上的四种主要颜色(红,黑,黄,白)、红色漆底层、断面分层进行分析与鉴别,结果如下:(1)屏风所使用的颜料有朱砂、炭黑、雌黄、雄黄、石膏.(2)屏风的红色底层系由生漆与朱砂调和、结膜而成,其中可能未曾添加桐油.(3)屏风彩绘部分的颜料分层十分明确,各层的厚度相对均匀,反映出制作者较为高超的绘画技法.(4)在颜料层、木胎与红色漆底层之间的"过渡层"中,分别观察到一些白色物质.初步分析后认为,"过渡层"中白色物质为羟基磷灰石的可能性较大.颜料层中白色物质的成分和物相仍有待进一步的分析.     

The application of a new method of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to the analysis of burned bone

A new method of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is applied to the analysis of burned bones. FTIR analyses were undertaken to examine changes in Crystallinity Index (CI), Ca/P and C/C ratios in bone experimentally burned to known, but varying, temperatures and durations. Three sample groups were used to assess the new FTIR method. Blind tests were performed to assess the use of the CI for predicting burning conditions. The results suggested that the new method of FTIR was preferable to the traditional approach, but that CI is affected by factors other than temperature of burning, including the method of FTIR used, and that predictions of burning conditions in archaeological material may not extend beyond that of ‘high’ or ‘low’ intensity of burning.     

秦兵马俑表层风化状况的研究

秦始皇陵兵马俑是稀世的化瑰宝,其风化状况评估是秦俑保护的重要依据。为此,用扫描电子显微镜、热分析仪、孔隙率检测仪、X-射线衍射仪、傅立叶红外分析等手段对秦兵马俑样品进行了相关的理化分析,并根据分析结果,对秦俑的风化状况进行了初步评估。实验结果表明,秦俑没有发生大规模的、可觉察的内部风化现象,但表面出现了轻度风化,并有少量陶俑表面发生了明显的酥解现象。研究结果表明陶俑的保护,特别是表层防风化问题应当作为秦俑保护的重要研究内容。     

The Protohistoric ‘Quicklime Burials’ from the Balearic Islands: Cremation or Inhumation

Traditionally, the Balearic so‐called ‘quicklime burials’ of the Iron Age have been considered to be inhumations in quicklime. The general appearance of the bones, however, resembles more closely that of cremated bones. Laboratory tests reveal that the observed features of the bones from these burials, including cracks, thumbnail fractures and warping, cannot be explained by an inhumation in quicklime. The δ ¹³C value, Fourier transform infrared spectra, SF values and the low carbon content of the apatite moreover indicate a thermal manipulation of the bones. The ¹⁴C content is depleted with regard to the accepted archaeological age of the sample, which can best be explained by carbon exchange between bio‐apatite and fossil CO₂ released during the heating of limestone. This implies that the Balearic ‘quicklime burials’ must be interpreted as an elaborate cremation practice in presence of limestone. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.