Suggestive Experten: Zur Etablierung der US‐amerikanischen Medienforschung in den 1930–1950er Jahren

Suggestive experts: The rise of American communication studies (1930s to 1950s). – The history of social engineering and its rise in the first half of the twentieth century is a well developed field today. This article attempts to add the history of communications research to this field of historical study. The focus lies on the experts for mass communication and their difficulties to combine scientific methodology with the promise to explore how human behaviour can be influenced by the mass media.     

Investigating the presence of ancient absorbed organic residues in groundstone using GC–MS and other analytical techniques: a residue study of several prehistoric milling tools from central California

Analysis of absorbed organic molecules in groundstone could provide a valuable means to study resource use and processing in antiquity. The following study analyzed extracts from the surfaces of several central California milling tools to assess whether organic residues remained from prehistoric resource processing. It also sought to determine which source identification methods are likely to be successful at providing information about the type, or even the specific identify, of resources that were processed. Lipids (primarily fatty acids) were analyzed using GC–MS and the presence of phenolic compounds was assessed with UV-Vis spectroscopy. Milling surfaces were compared to previously broken surfaces from the same tool with the assumption that both surfaces had been exposed to similar post-depositional conditions. Results supported the presence of ancient residues in milling tools. A higher concentration of fatty acids was recovered from milling surfaces than paired broken surfaces. Furthermore, measurable amounts of azelaic acid (an oxidation product of some unsaturated fatty acids) were present in most milling surfaces, but not in broken surfaces. However, results also indicated that environmentally absorbed lipids formed a significant portion of the total lipid content. Thus, it is suggested that future analyses employ a biomarker approach, rather than criteria based on ratios of common fatty acids, to identify sources of organic residues in prehistoric milling tools.     

Archaeometrical study of Khmer stoneware from the Angkorian period: Results from the Cerangkor Project

In the area around Angkor, Cambodia, several ceramics kilns dating from the ninth to 15th centuries ce have been discovered since 1995. The technical, typological and compositional characterization of their production has been one of the main goals of the Cerangkor Project. Samples of green‐glazed ‘Kulen‐type' stoneware and non‐glazed stoneware produced in five kiln sites in the Angkor region were analysed chemically by wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDS‐XRF) and also petrographically. The data indicate that some workshops used similar raw materials for the same types of ceramics, suggesting the exploitation of the same geological formations in the whole region. Several references groups were established for each type of stoneware offering an important database for future provenance studies of sherds from consumption sites.     

X射线荧光光谱技术与拉曼光谱技术在齐家文化玉器研究中的应用

为分析判断齐家文化玉器的材质,利用X射线荧光光谱技术对宁夏博物馆藏5件齐家文化玉器进行无损检测分析。结果表明,5件玉器所含元素及相对含量与和田玉相似。再借助齐家文化历史史料的有关信息,可推断为和田玉成分;利用拉曼光谱技术测得5件样品的拉曼光谱图,通过与和田玉样品拉曼光谱图比对,最强及次强特征峰位整体与之相似。可以明显看到透闪石矿物的特征峰,两种检测分析结果相互验证。研究结果为探索齐家文化玉器的玉质和玉料来源提供了重要的科学依据和准确的数据支撑。     

甘肃张家川马家塬战国墓地M4出土料珠研究

甘肃马家塬墓地是战国晚期至秦初的西戎墓地,本研究以该墓地M4出土的料珠为研究对象,以期通过分析其成分和结构特征,讨论其工艺特征,以丰富对战国时期费昂斯的相关认识。研究使用扫描电子显微镜-能谱和激光拉曼光谱仪,分析结果显示料珠为费昂斯制品,其釉层玻璃化程度很高,经历腐蚀后熔剂流失严重,明显区别于西周时期的费昂斯制品。同时确定釉层中的一些高锡颗粒物为SnO_2,表明当时在釉层制作中加入锡石或锡粉末。该费昂斯制品应采取了直接施釉或包埋施釉工艺。研究结果可为我国费昂斯发展历程演变提供信息。     

On the post-mortem accumulation of lead by skeletal tissues

Lead concentrations in a number of bones and soil samples taken from the same graves at the site of Bordesley Abbey were significantly correlated. Statistical analysis of the results indicated that 59% of the variation in the bone lead concentrations was due to contamination from the soil.A study of the distribution of lead in a tooth from the Romano-British site at Cirencester by fast particle activation analysis indicated that virtually all the lead was on the external surface, indicating post-mortem absorption.These results strongly suggest that lead is absorbed by skeletal tissue after death even in soils which have an alkaline pH. In the light of these findings, suggestions are made for the strategies which might be adopted for further research in this area.     

Effect of heating on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen

The effects of heat on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of collagen in bone were studied. Boiling or roasting did not change the δ¹³C and δ¹³N values by more than 1‰. More extreme heating, such as might occur if bones were burned or a body cremated, shifted δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values by as much as 5 and 4‰ respectively. These large shifts were accompanied by changes in the atomic carbon-to-nitrogen ratios of the collagen. These results indicate that collagen samples extracted from prehistoric bones which display anomalous atomic carbon-to-nitrogen ratios may have been subjected to heating extreme enough to have altered their ${}^{13}\text{C}{}^{12}\text{C}$ and/or ${}^{15}\text{N}{}^{14}\text{N}$ ratios and therefore should not be used for dietary reconstruction.     

浅谈当代中国电视剧的大众文化思潮

电视剧是一种非主流意识的大众文化形态。随着中国社会文明进程的演变,它已融入广大民众真实生动的生活中,成为社会生活不可或缺的一个重要内容,具有了更广阔的社会文化品格。     

Ending Cold War fears: expectation and interpretation in Mass Observers’ responses to the Gulf War, 1990–1991

This article considers responses to the Mass Observation Project’s Gulf Crisis sub-directive. It argues firstly that observers’ responses show how a potential war within Iraq in 1990/1991 was framed by fear of global conflagration and suggests that these fears were rooted in memories of the later cold war. Secondly it argues that the Gulf War was interpreted as a rapid and successful conflict, which dispelled pre-war fears of global conflagration/nuclear war, and demonstrated that the UK could be involved in large-scale modern military conflicts without risking escalation and global catastrophe.     

Identifying wine and oil production: analysis of residues from Roman and Late Antique plastered vats

The production of oil and wine was an important aspect of the ancient Mediterranean economy. Among the material remains related to the production of these substances, installations used for their production provide evidence that is still unexploited. Although archaeological studies have been carried out on these installations, problems can arise in the identification of their function, as wine and oil production structures can be similar and the archaeological traces insufficient to establish which substance was produced.