Petrochemical Identification and Insights on Chronological Employment of the Volcanic Aggregates Used in Ancient Roman Mortars

Through the assistance of trace element and petrographic analyses on 14 samples of mortar aggregates from Roman monuments, including the Porticus Aemilia, the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of the Dioscuri, Temple B and other structures of the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina, and the Villa di Livia, we establish the source area and we investigate the chronological employment of the volcanic materials used in ancient Rome's masonry. In contrast to previous inferences, the petrochemical data presented here show that systematic exploitation of the local ‘Pozzolane Rosse’ pyroclastic deposit has occurred since the early development of concrete masonry, at the beginning of the second century bc , through the early Imperial age. Subsequently, exploitation was extended to the overlying Pozzolane Nere and Pozzolanelle deposits. Only during the early phase of development of the concrete masonry in Rome, volcaniclastic sediments outcropping near the construction sites were mixed with the sieved remains of the tuff employed as the coarse aggregate, to produce the fine aggregate. The results of the study on the investigated monuments suggest the possibility of establishing the chronological identification of three different types of mortars, as a function of the composition of the volcanic material employed in the fine aggregate, which, when implemented by future studies, may contribute to the dating of monuments and archaeological structures.     

Late Bronze Age Copper Smelting Slags from Luserna (Trentino,Italy): Interpretation of the Metallurgical Process

In the Late Bronze Age, the extractive metallurgy of copper in north‐eastern Italy achieved a peak of technological efficiency and mass production, as evidenced by the substantial number of metallurgical sites and the large volume of slags resulting from smelting activities. In order to define the technological features of the Late Bronze Age metallurgical process, more than 20 slags from the smelting site of Luserna (Trentino, Italy) were fully analysed by means of optical microscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Three different slag types were identified based on mineralogical and chemico‐physical parameters, each being interpreted as the product of distinct metallurgical steps. A Cu‐smelting model is proposed accordingly.     

Human adaptation and socioeonomic change in northeast China: Results of the Fuxin Regional Survey

Northeastern China is one of the centers of early development of agriculture and sedentary life, as well as of the subsequent development of social complexity and distinct cultural attributes. While the outlines of this trajectory are clear, its important details are still elusive. Like all other regions of northern China, there is little data on the all-important transition from nomad hunter-gatherers to sedentary agriculturalists. The Fuxin Regional Survey was designed as the first step in accumulating new data and addressing the geographic and ecological contexts of these socioeconomic processes. Among the most remarkable results of this survey is the identification of early ceramics, which possibly predate the transition to agriculture. The systematic collection and analysis of stone tools was done in a way never before done in this region. Analysis of our findings, using GIS and other methods, sheds new light on the local trajectory of human adaptation in this area.     

古代彩绘文物中的胶结物研究现状——基于Web of Science数据库研究论文的定量统计分析

为了解古代彩绘文物中胶结物的研究现状和发展趋势,本研究利用Web of Science核心数据库,对古代彩绘中常见的胶结物(蛋白质类胶结物、植物胶、干性油、天然树脂、天然蜡)的研究论文进行了收集整理。通过对数据库中发文时间截至2017年的研究论文进行了系统检索,对期刊论文的年份、收录情况、期刊种类、作者、研究机构、被引数和影响因子等进行定量分析,并对中国学者的研究论文进行统计,以此了解国际国内彩绘文物胶结物的研究现状和发展水平。此外,还对近年来迅速发展的免疫分析技术在彩绘文物胶结物检测中的应用进行统计,以此了解免疫法在检测彩绘文物蛋白质类胶结物中的适用性。     

翁牛特旗大营子冶炼遗址研究

大营子冶炼遗址位于赤峰市翁牛特旗五分地镇大营子村南侧的大山的北坡上,包含东西两区冶炼遗存。东区冶炼遗存年代较早,至迟在公元前1 400年已开始冶炼活动。铅同位素、微量元素示踪研究显示大营子冶炼遗址东西两区均使用了来自林西县大井古铜矿的多金属共生矿石,直接冶炼铜砷锡三元青铜合金。大营子冶炼遗址东区冶炼遗存的年代测定,获得了迄今为止最早的夏家店上层文化年代测定结果,为探讨辽西地区青铜时代考古学文化的演变提供了新的科学证据。     

The Wadi al‐Hijr (Sultanate of Oman) in the third millennium BC

In 2010–11 a pedestrian survey of the western end of Wadi al‐Hijr in northern Oman identified 1507 archaeological features in a 124 km² area. Data were collected on each feature's architectural characteristics, associated artefact assemblages, topographic and environmental locations, condition of remains, and relations to other archaeological features. The majority of datable features belong to the third millennium BC and divide unequally between the Hafit and Umm an‐Nar periods. While the majority of these third‐millennium BC features were tombs, other feature types were identified, including towers, settlements, quarries, dams, enclosures, and possible platforms. Third‐millennium BC features were organised into clusters and ranged considerably in size, from a few features to several hundred. All of the clusters established during the Hafit period were maintained in the Umm an‐Nar period, suggesting a continuity throughout the third millennium. Some preliminary hypotheses regarding settlement patterns are suggested.     

Grave‐goods from the long chamber tomb “Dibba 76/1” (Fujairah,UAE): a first inventory

The aim of this paper is to present the rich set of finds collected inside the grave Dibba 76/1, in the Emirate of Fujairah, during a season of rescue excavation conducted under the direction of S. Ali Hassan in 1994. The recovered grave‐goods include pottery, soft‐stone vessels, metal finds, personal ornaments, coins, and other items. Although comparable with other corpuses of material excavated in south‐eastern Arabia, the material of Dibba 76/1 stands out for the inner variety of the different artefacts’ classes and their remarkable chronological heterogeneity. The study of the grave‐goods suggests that Dibba 76/1 was reused over several centuries, showing a strong continuity in the funerary destination of this specific place from the end of the Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BC) to the first phases of the late pre‐Islamic period (250 BC–AD 400), and the full integration of the area of Dibba in the succession of the various cultural facies known during this long time span.     

al‐Khafaji reinterpreted: New insights on Umm an‐Nar monuments and settlement from Bat,Oman

Al‐Khafaji is a central and well‐known point on the early third millennium BC map of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat, in the Sultanate of Oman. For years, Kasr al‐Khafaji (“Tower 1146”) has been understood as an Umm an‐Nar (ca. 2800–2000 BCE) monument standing amid a contemporary village. However, recent excavations by the Bat Archaeological Project (BAP) reveal that the entirety of the known site—monument(s) and settlement—is situated on an anthropogenic clay mound that elevated it meters above the surrounding landscape. This paper presents the results of BAP's recent excavations, emphasising the social spaces created by architecture of various functions and scales. It also considers the implications that this new interpretation of al‐Khafaji may have for how the relationship between Umm an‐Nar towers and settlement should be understood. The paper closes with a discussion of Umm an‐Nar tower function and social meaning, concluding that the Khafaji monument(s) likely served a symbolic and possibly performative role in Umm an‐Nar society that was perceived as separate from Umm an‐Nar settlement.     

The exploitation of marine resources at Saruq al‐Hadid: Insights into the movement of people and resources in Bronze and Iron Age south‐eastern Arabia

Marine resources were an integral and consistent component of subsistence strategies employed in south‐eastern Arabia throughout late prehistory. Of particular interest is the movement of these resources from the coast to interior sites and the implications of this movement for transhumance and trade in the region during this period. Marine species were frequently identified in the faunal assemblage from the inland site of Saruq al‐Hadid, dating from the Bronze Age to Early Iron Age (c.2000–c.800 BCE). This included marine fish species, along with two cormorant species (Phalacrocorax sp.) and several fragments of dugong (Dugong dugon). Twenty‐seven families of marine shell were also identified in the remains recovered from the site. The presence of these remains at this inland site demonstrates that resources were frequently moved from the coast to the interior throughout Saruq al‐Hadid’s occupation, indicative of their enduring significance in subsistence strategies employed at the site. This paper presents the results of zooarchaeological analysis of these remains and discusses the significance of their presence at Saruq al‐Hadid, with reference to subsistence, craft production and intra‐regional exchange during the Bronze and Iron Ages.     

Memories of Kings of Israel and Judah within the Mnemonic Landscape of the Literati of the Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Period: Exploratory Considerations

This article explores, from a perspective informed by Social Memory studies, memories of kings of Judah (/Israel) in three different corpora (the Deuteronomistic Historical Collection, the Prophetic Book Collection and Chronicles). It draws attention to the interdependence between memories of kings and other characters populating the world of memory evoked by each of these corpora and explores the ways in which the worlds of memory evoked by each of them interacted, informed and balanced each other within what we may call the “comprehensive mnemonic system” of the literati. The article sheds light on generative grammars governing systems of preferences and dis-preferences for certain types of memories of kings in each of the corpora and across them, and at times, even across cultures, and highlights that the world of memory of the Yehudite literati of the late Persian/early Hellenistic period was shaped by a consistency of inconsistency, and an overall coherence manifested through a seeming lack thereof that served well the social reproduction of the group.