The Huldremose Iron Age textiles,Denmark: an attempt to define their provenance applying the strontium isotope system

Archaeological textiles recovered on two occasions from the Huldremose bog, Denmark, represent some of the best preserved and complete garments from the Danish Iron Age (500 BC–AD 800). In order to address the question regarding the provenance of the textile's raw material, we applied a recently developed method based on strontium isotopes to wool and plant fibres from these ancient garments. Textile plant fibres from Huldremose I find are of non-local provenance, whereas the wool from which the garment was made stemmed from sheep grazing on glaciomoraine soils developed on Cretaceous–Tertiary carbonate platform sediments widely found in Denmark. The Huldremose II find consists of an unusually large and well preserved garment, which is composed of wool from at least three different provenances. One source is again local, whereas the other two sources, characterized by elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, are compatible with geologically older (Precambrian) terrains which are typical for Northern Scandinavia, e.g. Norway or Sweden. Our study suggests that wool and plant fibres were either traded or brought as raw materials for textiles more commonly and over longer distances than previously assumed.     

New insights into the consumption of maize and other food plants in the pre-Columbian Caribbean from starch grains trapped in human dental calculus

In a first region wide study, starch grains from human dental calculus from the pre-Columbian insular Caribbean (dating to ca. 350 B.C.–A.D. 1600) are used to identify important plant foods in the diet and to assess potential dietary differences related to age or sex. Results give important insights into pre-Columbian maize (Zea mays) consumption throughout the region, confirming recent studies that indicate that maize was more commonly consumed in the insular Caribbean than originally thought. No age or sex based differences in maize consumption were found. Furthermore, based on the results of new experiments regarding grinding and pressure damage to starch grains, it is clear that maize in the Caribbean was ground, baked and consumed as bread as was the case in large parts of the mainland. Based on our results we tentatively suggest maize consumption in the Caribbean was at least in some cases associated with feasting and ceremonial activities. The variety in other plant foods identified (mostly tuberous root crops) shows that the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region consumed a broad spectrum, but locally variable diet in which a variety of root crops functioned as staple crops, including marunguey (Zamia sp.) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). We found no indications for the traditionally assumed heavy reliance on manioc (Manihot esculenta) cultivation in the region.     

馆藏剥制动物标本害虫防治法的研究进展

剥制动物标本作为自然博物馆的重要藏品,具有极高的收藏、研究和展览价值,但因其本身富含有机质,极易遭受害虫的损害。传统有毒化学药品消杀法是博物馆防治害虫的重要方法,该法在将数以万计的剥制动物标本成功保存下来的同时也给人类健康和自然环境带来了严重的危害。科学家一直在探寻各种新型的动物标本害虫防治方法,希望在防治虫害和保护人类健康及自然环境之间找到最佳的平衡点。国内博物馆收藏有数量庞大的剥制动物标本,但相应的害虫防治技术研究却相对滞后并严重阻碍了博物馆行业的健康发展。在综合国内外现有相关文献的基础上,对剥制动物标本制作工艺、虫害及防治方法的研究进展综述,以期为我国博物馆工作提供参考资料。     

核磁共振(NMR)T2分布对云冈石窟风化的初步研究

云冈石窟的保护受到我国文物保护工作者的重视。恶劣的自然环境,加上人为的污染,使云冈石窟的保护问题日显严峻,必须综合治理。然而,在这些复杂因素中,岩体的风化治理最为关键。岩石的孔隙尺寸及其分布是表征岩石力学、水理性质的重要参数。同种岩石,其孔隙率越高或者孔隙分布越大,则表示岩石的力学和水理性质越差。由此可见,借助孔隙率及孔隙分布状况,可表征同种岩石的风化情况。核磁共振横向弛豫时间T2与岩石孔径分布具有一定的线性关系。随着石雕风化的加剧,岩石可视孔隙率增大,孔径大小的平均值也将相应增大。基于这一前提,本研究尝试采用核磁共振横向弛豫时间T2分析石雕文物不同深处的孔径分布情况,通过实验室对云冈石窟新鲜岩石样品,结合抗盐风化安定性实验,和对自然风化样品采用便携式核磁进行无损检测,探讨其风化程度和深度,以便深入研究石雕文物的风化状况。研究结果表明, 风化岩石的新鲜层只有一类小孔隙,弛豫时间约为2~6ms,风化层岩石有大孔隙生成,且随着岩石风化程度增强,小孔径孔隙所占孔隙比例降低,大孔径孔隙所占比例增多。根据不同深度岩样的孔径分布情况,及新鲜岩石的孔径分布情况,可以得出岩石的风化深度为5mm左右。本研究可为后续的现场保护措施提供有价值的信息。     

植物对土遗址的保护作用初探——以内蒙古东部地区土遗址为例

位于内蒙古东部的土遗址上普遍长有植物,由于植物本身对土遗址具有双重作用,既有保护作用,也有破坏作用,采用植物保护土遗址就是最大限度的发挥其有利的一面,故此研究植物在遗址中发挥的保护作用尤为重要.选择应昌路故城、元上都遗址和辽上京遗址作为研究对象,采用现场调查的方法从植被覆盖度、根系分布情况两方面研究植物对土遗址的作用.结果表明,遗址顶面普遍被以羊草、冰草、紫羊茅、马蔺、旋覆花为主的低矮草本植物覆盖,其覆盖度集中在30％～60％;这些植物对防止降水冲刷遗址有明显的作用,对遗址的整体外貌影响也比较小.因此,针对长有植被、雨蚀病害严重、其他保护手段技术还不成熟、达不到理想的保护效果的遗址,可采用植物保护土遗址,并且其思路是可行的.     

三种植物精油对博物馆空气霉菌的抑菌活性研究

从广西民族博物馆易滋生霉菌的展柜里分离、纯化及鉴定了三株霉菌,并研究香叶精油、罗勒精油和山苍子精油对霉菌的抑菌效果,测试这些植物精油喷洒于纸张表面后纸样的防霉性及鉴定三种精油的主要抑菌活性成分。实验结果显示,三种供试植物精油对霉菌均具有显著的抑菌效果,在纸张上的防霉效果也很明显,其综合抑菌效果大小为:香叶精油罗勒精油山苍子精油。GC-MS分析表明,香叶精油的主要活性成分为:香叶醇(56.73%)、橙花醇(38.31%)。罗勒精油的主要活性成分为:丁香酚(83.14%),己二醇(16.15%)。山苍子精油的主要活性成分为:柠檬醛(36.01%),(Z)-3,7-二甲基-2,6-辛二烯醛(29.71%)和柠檬烯(16.67%)。植物精油作为博物馆展存环境的空气防霉剂具有良好的应用前景。     

Testing flora as bioindicator of buried structures in the archaeological area of Maxentius’s villa (Rome,Italy)

The flora of the archaeological area of Maxentius’s villa (Rome) was tested as bioindicator of buried remains of masonry and pavements. A total of 53 floristic surveys provided the occurrence of each species in sample units, as well as some their phenological features. The data were elaborated through multivariate statistical analysis in order to assess floristic affinities/differences among sample units, and define their ecological characteristics. The fuzzy set methodology was applied to evaluate relation between floristic richness, plant cover and soil depth. Results showed that the buried remains of stonework create a discontinuity in the ground, influencing the flora growing above it. This phenomenon may give rise to differential presence of some species (e.g., Cota tinctoria, Trifolium scabrum ssp. scabrum on thin soil; Ranunculus bulbosus, Trifolium pratense on deeper soil), but will not have such a great effect on floristic richness. The bioindication of this phenomenon also occurs through phenological irregularities in single specimens and changes in plant cover. Nevertheless other environmental factors (soil moisture/aridity, trampling, enrichment of nitrogen, cutting, ground depression) can interfere with the use of plants as bioindicators of buried structures. It is therefore necessary to consider other factors ecological influencing each site when you want to use plants as bioindicators in archaeological prospection.     

Studies on amerindian dogs, 1: Carbon isotopes in relation to maize in the diet of domestic dogs from early Peru and Ecuador

Work initiated purely as a dating project in support of a craniometric and morphological investigation of domestic dogs from early Peru has proved to have much wider implications. The stable carbon isotoperatios (¹³C/¹²C) of hair samples from ten dogs show that maize formed a significant part of their diet. Radiocarbon dates for these remains have confirmed that they belong to the period well after the cultivation of maize was first established. Stable carbon isotope measurements can thus be used to test for the presence of maize as a dietary constituent at earlier sites even where there is otherwise only indirect evidence for its cultivation. Collagen from animal or human bone is a suitable alternative to hair for this purpose and the method has been successfully applied to collagen dating to c. 3000 BC from the Valdivia culture site of Real Alto, Ecuador, as well as to a series of early Peruvian dogs.     

克孜尔石窟出土蓝色颜料研究

克孜尔石窟是蜚声中外的佛教艺术宝库,其丰富的历史文化遗存,是研究丝绸之路文化交流与融合的重要实物资料。为了解克孜尔石窟第189窟前发现的蓝色颜料,采用X射线衍射(XRD)对其成分进行分析,采用拉曼、扫描电镜能谱仪(SEM-EDS)将其与第189窟壁画蓝色样品的元素组成及物相进行对比,采用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)、透射傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)对其可能含有的胶结材料进行分析。结果表明,该出土蓝色颜料样品为青金石,胶结材料为植物胶。研究表明,通过多种分析手段联合使用,可以更全面、客观地了解分析对象的各种信息,为今后克孜尔石窟壁画制作材料及制作工艺的分析提供经验和借鉴。     

古代织品染料的分析

从染草中提取出各种植物染料,然后进行古样品的模拟染色。以薄层色谱法为主要测试手段,并结合化学分析以及高效液相色谱。紫外光谱等近代方法对染料进行分析与鉴定,建立起一套行之有效的天然植物染料分析和鉴定的方法,并成功地用于古代样品的分析,揭示了三千年前古样品染料色素的成分。