Traces of Fatty Acids from a Byzantine Sounding Lead Recovered off the Israeli Coast

Fatty acids, typical to large herbivores, were isolated from a 7th century Byzantine sounding lead recovered from a shipwreck off Dor, an ancient anchorage in Northern Israel. The fatty acids survived by being sheltered in an anaerobic environment provided through a site formation process induced by the disintegrating wreck. Previously established identification criteria for fatty acids, absorbed in ceramics, were used to show that tallow was used in this navigational instrument in the Eastern Mediterranean during late antiquity.     

Bone Diagenesis and Taphonomic History of the Paso Otero 1 Bone Bed, Pampas of Argentina

Samples of guanaco bone from an archaeological site in the Pampas of Argentina have been analysed to understand the diagenetic profile of the bone assemblages that characterized the taphonomic history of the site. Two archaeological occupations of Paso Otero 1 were investigated, encompassing similar landscape settings, climates, and depositional environments. The time span is a c. 2000 year period from c. 4800 to 2800 years . A total of 30 bone samples taken from both occupations were used to provide a preliminary characterization of the diagenetic pathways at the site. The parameters investigated provide a comprehensive account of how both mineral (hydroxyapatite) and bone protein (collagen) have been altered. In order to compare the two bone assemblages in terms of their diagenetic parameters, multivariate analyses were conducted. Results indicate two different diagenetic profiles in the site, % N being one of the variables that accounts for most of the variation in Paso Otero 1. The diagenetic analyses indicate that protein is less preserved in the bone assemblage from the middle stable landscape. Alternative interpretations of the diagenetic profiles are discussed in light of the taphonomic history of the site, and palaeoenvironmental information of the region. One hypothesis stresses the importance of the role of climate in defining the different diagenetic pathways, and the other the continued action of the combined diagenetic factors along time as the main explanation for the variability in the state of preservation of the bones in Paso Otero 1.     

析汪精卫的《最后之心情》

汪精卫死前曾留下《最后之心情》一。在该中,他竭力为自己投日卖国辩解,至死不忘反苏防共,乞求国人同情宽恕于他．叮嘱亲信务必实现宁渝合流。但历史是无情的,汪精卫的汉奸罪名是洗涮不掉的;     

关于姚永朴《史学研究法》的认识

《史学研究法》是桐城派晚期学者姚永朴系统阐述其治史理论与方法的专著。从姚永朴所论史学的意义与功能、史著的体例、史文的古今奇偶繁简曲直之分,以及使用比较浅显的文言文形式等方面来看,其《史学研究法》不仅是对中国传统史学的总结,也是对当时西方史学在中国传播所做出的回应。     

DISTINCT,LATE BRONZE AGE (c. 1650 bc) WALL‐PAINTINGS FROM AKROTIRI,THERA, COMPRISING ADVANCED GEOMETRICAL PATTERNS*

This paper studies a set of wall‐paintings of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1650 bc ) initially decorating the internal walls of the third floor of the edifice called ‘Xeste 3’, excavated at Akrotiri, Thera, whose restoration is now in progress. It deals with the methods used for the drawing of the geometrical figures appearing in these wall‐paintings. It is demonstrated that most of the depicted configurations correspond with accuracy to geometrical prototypes such as linear spirals and canonical polygons. It is pointed out that the steady lines of the figures, their remarkable repeatability, the precision of the geometrical shapes and their even distribution in the wall‐paintings indicate a very distinctive use of the ‘Xeste 3’ third floor, which is now investigated.     

SOUTHERN ASIA'S OLDEST INCENDIARY MISSILE?*

A small burnt ball was recovered in 1995 from the basal fills of a ditch surrounding the Bala Hisar, or High Fort, of Charsadda, Pakistan. Associated by Sir Mortimer Wheeler with the siege of the ancient site by Alexander the Great in 327 bce , the ditch forms part of the city's defensive circuit. Using geochemical and microscopic techniques (X‐ray diffraction, micro‐FTIR, SEM and GC–MS) the ball is identified as an artificial composite of mineral (mostly barite) and flammable resinous organic matter originating from conifers from the Podocarpaceae, Araucariaceae and Cupressaceae. The physical and chemical nature of the find suggests that the ball was ignited in a fire, although whether this was a deliberate or accidental occurrence is impossible to establish. The analytical data, combined with the archaeological context of the find, leads us to evaluate whether the find represents southern Asia's earliest incendiary missile.     

CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE ORGANIZATION OF LATE BRONZE AGE NUZI WARE PRODUCTION

In order to investigate the nature and organization of high‐status ceramic production in the Late Bronze Age, samples of Nuzi Ware from four different sites were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). Chemical and mineralogical evidence suggests that Nuzi Ware was produced in at least two distinct regions, one probably in the Adhaim Basin in northern Iraq and another possibly in the Orontes catchment in southeastern Turkey. The existence of individual production units probably developed in response to the local elites' desire to imitate the tastes of the Mitanni aristocracy, resulting in a mapping of political relationships on to material culture.     

Adversarial Map-Making in Pre-Reformation Lancashire

Abstract

'Adversarial Map-Making in Pre-Reformation Lancashire'. A map in the National Archives dated to 1531 showing part of the Fylde in Lancashire has been published on several occasions; but its relationship to another map in the National Archives has not previously been recognised. These two maps were made by the opposing parties in a dispute before the court of the Duchy of Lancaster, and may be the earliest examples of adversarial map-making in a case before an equity court. The case concerned land which had apparently long been regarded as intercommon, but which was now being claimed to be in exclusive ownership. The newly recognised map was made to illustrate recently acquired documentary evidence as to the ownership of the land in question. This map appears broadly trustworthy, and was accepted as such by the court; but the defence map seems rather to have been designed to mislead. In recent years the defence map has been regarded as evidence for the appearance of the locality concerned in the 1530s, but this study shows that it was in fact regarded by the court as unreliable, thus highlighting the need to treat all maps other than those actually commissioned by the courts themselves as partial and therefore suspect.     

Illegitimacy and Authority in the North of England,c. 1450–1640

Abstract

This article explores the impact of illegitimacy upon the social, judicial and political landscape of the North of England, from the late medieval period to the eve of the English Civil War. Historiographies of the gentry and of marriage might suggest that irregular unions and resulting bastardy were increasingly frowned upon and of declining significance. At a time when civil strife and Reformation settlements altered the political structures of the North of England and provided alternative approaches to office holding, social and religious commentators expressed concern about the ordering of society at elite levels. In the face of that, this article considers some of the evidence which suggests the extent of bastard-bearing among the elite throughout the period. It further demonstrates the degree of acceptance of this phenomenon among gentry families, including the inheritance of land, property and goods, and involvement in informal political networks, and demonstrates that base-born sons of the nobility and gentry were often accepted into the Church and ranks of northern officialdom, holding highly localised but strategically important offices as Wardens of the Marches in the far North and acting as Justices of the Peace.