THE SEARCH FOR THE ORIGIN OF BITUMEN EXCAVATED FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE NORTHERNMOST ISLAND IN JAPAN BY MEANS OF STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF FI–MS DATA*

The origin of bitumen excavated from archaeological sites in Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, was sought by means of field‐ionization mass spectrometry (FI–MS) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC–MS) of the hydrocarbon components. The field‐ionization mass spectra were decomposed by Z‐numbers into several components, where the Z‐number refers to z in the formula C _n H _2n+z . This is equivalent to the deficit number of H atoms, when compared to the corresponding saturated hydrocarbon, which is related to the number of saturated hydrocarbon rings in alkanes. By use of the spectral intensities of the seven alkane components in each sample, multiple discriminant analysis was employed for the data of raw bitumen samples and excavated samples from archaeological sites. Based on this method and the gas chromatogram type, the following bitumen trade in the prehistoric age of Japan was elucidated: bitumen from Niigata, one of the main sources on the main island of Japan, spread to the north in 2000 bc , probably via the coastal zone, and reached a small island near the north end of Hokkaido. Bitumen from Sakhalin reached the central lowland in Hokkaido, but it went no further. Bitumen from Akita, another main source on the main island, spread over northern Honshu much earlier and reached the Oshima peninsula, the southwestern part of Hokkaido. The Akita bitumen scattered into the central lowland after the Niigata and Sakhalin bitumen. This area is believed to be the place where people from the south and the north met in those periods.     

X-ray fluorescence survey of tikal ceramics

X-ray fluorescence measurements of Ca, Fe, Rb, Sr, Y and Zr were made on 362 ceramic sherds excavated from the lowland Maya centre at Tikal, Guatemala. Twelve sample categories include unslipped, polychrome and red slipped ceramics from three cultural periods, the Manik, Imix and Eznab. Also represented are Manik black, Ik polychrome and Imix Tinaja pink. Results of analyses show two prevalent paste compositions, a calcite-tempered type characteristic of unslipped ceramics and a calcium- poor, rubidium-rich type typical of Late Classic slipped wares. Within these broad types, we observe strong overlap in the compositional data among the different ceramic categories. However, despite the similarities, there are measurable differences in the scatter (or variabilities) of these data and in their degrees of overlap. In general, the variabilities observed in the ceramic composition correlate with the population of the site and the expected number of production centres.     

南宋“刻花填彩攒犀纹”漆器残片的微损检测及髹漆工艺研究

漆器作为中华民族文化的重要象征之一,一直以来都是文保研究者关注的焦点。为了探索微损分析技术在多层漆器分析中的适用性,本工作以浙江省温州市出土的南宋“刻花填彩攒犀纹”漆器残片为研究对象,通过超景深显微镜,正置荧光显微镜,扫描电镜-能谱,显微拉曼光谱,红外光谱,热裂解气相色谱串联质谱等多种科学的分析方法,以揭示多层漆器复杂基质材料/组成、结构及髹漆工艺的微损剖析流程,并总结归纳漆器中常用材料的判断方法,以期为漆器的研究提供技术支持。     

山普拉墓群出土毛织品上蓝色染料的分析研究

本文采用薄层色谱法、红外光谱法、高效液相色谱法、质谱及快原子轰击质谱法的分析测试手段,通过综合比照认定毛织品上的蓝色染料的主要成分应是靛蓝素,染色过程中可能采用了复染与套染工艺     

Seismic Vulnerability of Historical Masonry Aggregate Buildings in Oriental Sicily

ABSTRACT

The seismic vulnerability assessment of historical UnReinforced Masonry (URM) buildings is a very complex task since it is strongly related to a great variety both of geometrical layouts and of masonry mechanical characteristics. In this article, some results of a Catania University research project, denomined “FIR 2014”, focused on the seismic vulnerability estimation of historical buildings, built in Catania after the 1963 earthquake, are presented. First, a detailed typological analysis of the considered urban fabric, characterized by typical residential masonry buildings, has been performed. Such analysis allowed recognizing an elementary structural modulus, which has been studied according to different geometrical layouts representative of isolated or aggregate buildings. The results of nonlinear static analyses, performed by applying an innovative macro-element approach, allowed for the assessment the seismic vulnerability of typical URM buildings coherently to the Italian seismic code. The adopted macro-element strategy for the seismic assessment of aggregate masonry buildings, although related to a specific historical center, may be applied to similar urban fabrics and can also be used for the calibration and validation of fast seismic assessment strategies, particularly useful for the evaluation of the seismic risk at urban scale.     

明益王“秋波”琴的漆涂层材料与工艺分析

孙中山故居纪念馆馆藏一张明代落霞式古琴“秋波”,据考证为明代受封于江西抚州的益王监制。清代以后,它被广东的文人琴士评为广东四大名琴之一。运用剖面显微观察、扫描电镜能谱分析、显微拉曼、光学光热红外显微光谱、热裂解-色谱质谱分析等科学检测手段,对古琴脱落的大漆残片进行了无机和有机成分分析,并对其工艺进行了讨论。实验结果表明,大漆残片保存了两个时期的不同髹漆工艺,早期以蛋白质类和非/半干性油黏结剂混合黏土类无机矿物做灰胎,晚期以大漆和干性油黏结剂混合鹿角霜/骨灰做灰胎并掺加少量黄铜屑。将科学分析与古琴槽腹、琴背的铭文相印证,进一步明确了“秋波”琴明末斫髹、清末修复的流传历史。此外,运用盖蒂保护中心研发的ESCAPE数据分析方法,首次在中国传世古琴样品中明确鉴定出一般认为产自越南的野漆品种laccol,其为清代重修时广东中山的修琴师使用添加的。本研究立足于古琴文物实体,以详尽的科学实验为支撑,并参阅《太古遗音》《髹饰录》等文献,为明代益王琴的制作工艺提供了参考,同时为古琴文物的保护修复提供了科学支撑。