基于磁化率测量平遥古城古砖的烧制温度

古砖的烧制温度决定了其物理力学性质。本研究提出基于磁化率来确定古砖烧制温度的方法。通过对古砖重新加温,测量不同温度下古砖的磁化率,得到磁化率差值的平方-温度曲线图。图中第一个较大的偏差对应的横坐标即为古砖的烧制温度。利用上述方法测得实际烧制温度为700℃、800℃和900℃的黏土砖的烧制温度分别为690℃、810℃和870℃。二者误差较小,认为利用该方法确定砖的烧制温度可行。本研究利用该方法确定了平遥古城10块古砖的烧制温度,发现其烧制温度在650～690℃和850～870℃两个区间范围内。据此推测平遥古城古砖是以秸秆和木柴为燃料烧制而成。本研究实验结果可为古建筑修复和保护提供理论参考。     

Faunal remains from the Islamic fort at Luluyyah (Sharjah,UAE)

Knowledge about human subsistence and the role of animal economy in the Islamic period of south‐east Arabia is still sketchy. The analysis of faunal remains from the coastal fort at Luluyyah (Sharjah, UAE), dated to the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century CE, provides some information. People depended on marine resources and domestic animals, a trait observable in the region since the Neolithic. Livestock breeding was not particularly developed. Judging by the distribution of their skeletal remains, the animals were slaughtered at the fort, implying that they either lived there or reached it alive.     

Compositional Analysis of Ceramics from Goguryeo Fortified Sites in Central Korea

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the ceramics from the Goguryeo fortified sites of the Han River region in central Korea were manufactured and consumed locally during the southern expansion of the Goguryeo State (475–551 ce ). For this research, 88 ceramic samples from seven contemporary sites in the southern territories of Goguryeo were sampled and analysed by ceramic thin‐section petrography and neutron activation analysis (NAA). In addition, to establish a possible chemical fingerprint at Hongryeonbong Fort 2, five clay specimens were also gathered and analysed from the pottery firing structure. The results of this analytical study indicate that the majority of the ceramics from the Goguryeo fortified sites of central Korea were produced and circulated within this newly acquired region. In addition, it is highly probable that Hongryeonbong Fort, which contains the remains of what may be ceramic firing architecture, is the place of production for the ceramics.     

A Rock‐Magnetic Quest for Possible Ore Sources for the Ancient Iron‐Smelting Industry in the Olkhon Region (Lake Baikal,Siberia)

Rock‐magnetic techniques were used to examine the topsoil layer of Kurma archaeological site (in the Olkhon region, on the north‐western coast of Lake Baikal, Siberia) in an effort to determine the possible sources of iron ores for iron‐smelting centres (at about the bc /ad boundary). Measurements have shown a magnetic enhancement of the topsoil due to magnetite grains resulting from weathering of strongly magnetic crystalline rocks. They have also revealed a preliminary picture of the distribution of strongly magnetic topsoils around the ancient iron‐smelting centres. Perhaps, in addition to traditional sources of raw materials, the ancient metallurgists used black sand talus as an ore deposit.     

Cats of the Pharaohs: Genetic Comparison of Egyptian Cat Mummies to their Feline Contemporaries

The ancient Egyptians mummified an abundance of cats during the Late Period (664 - 332 BC). The overlapping morphology and sizes of developing wildcats and domestic cats confounds the identity of mummified cat species. Genetic analyses should support mummy identification and was conducted on two long bones and a mandible of three cats that were mummified by the ancient Egyptians. The mummy DNA was extracted in a dedicated ancient DNA laboratory at the University of California - Davis, then directly sequencing between 246 and 402 bp of the mtDNA control region from each bone. When compared to a dataset of wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris, F. s. tristrami, and F. chaus) as well as a previously published worldwide dataset of modern domestic cat samples, including Egypt, the DNA evidence suggests the three mummies represent common contemporary domestic cat mitotypes prevalent in modern Egypt and the Middle East. Divergence estimates date the origin of the mummies' mitotypes to between two and 7.5 thousand years prior to their mummification, likely prior to or during Egyptian Predyanstic and Early Dynastic Periods. These data are the first genetic evidence supporting that the ancient Egyptians used domesticated cats, F. s. catus, for votive mummies, and likely implies cats were domesticated prior to extensive mummification of cats.     

Recovering social and cultural dynamics from plaster floors: chemical analyses at ancient Chunchucmil,Yucatan, Mexico

Phosphate analysis and trace metals analysis were used to determine activities that took place on plaster floors in domestic contexts at the ancient Maya site of Chunchucmil, Yucatan. Research on activities and the use of space contributes to an understanding of social relations within household groups as well as unforeseen patterns that structure refuse discard. The floors analyzed in this paper pertain to three structures in two neighboring houselots dating to the Early Classic (300–600 A.D.) period. Data from the chemical analyses were utilized in conjunction with associated architectural features and artifacts found on the floors. These three lines of information were interpreted with the help of models developed from ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological research. The results demonstrated functional differentiation of rooms within elaborate residences and suggested that front rooms were used to host visitors. The results also suggested that different types of debris were managed differently. Finally, chemical analyses suggest that non-elite Maya occasionally enacted rituals often restricted to elites.     

Accurate measurements with primitive instruments: the “paradox” in the qanat design

Qanats are up to 3000 years old artificial sub-horizontal underground water channels, 5–80 km long, widespread in Iran, but also common in western China, Arabia and the Mediterranean; they were excavated from the bottom of vertical shafts, starting from their exit and advancing upstream till main, productive wells, constructed at the very beginning of the project were met. Successful qanat excavation therefore required accurate geodetic design, though based on primitive instruments; an apparent “paradox”, obscured by the tremendous social and economic significance of qanats controlling lifestyle in arid regions.     

Ancient DNA of the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) from Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

We report analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences from nine archaeological specimens (8 femura and 1 incissor) of Rattus exulans excavated from Anakena Beach Dune on Rapa Nui. Sequence of a 239-base-pair fragment of the hypervariable mitochondrial control region reveals a single mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence of all samples corresponding to the R9 haplotype prevalent in East Polynesia. This suggests a single or very limited introduction of Rattus exulans to the island. Rapa Nui, like other remote islands of Polynesia, remained effectively isolated following colonization.