显微镜探知中国古代颜料史

2003年2008年期间,采用光学显微镜对来自全国11个省和自治区超过30处的考古工地和文博单位的彩绘文物颜料进行了分析和研究,勾勒出中国古代颜料应用的历史轮廓：本文将中国颜料应用史分成三部分论述,先秦至两汉、魏晋南北朝到清代中期、清代晚期。每个时期颜料的应用和彩绘的工艺均有各自的特点,文章配有大量精美的显微照片配合说明。先秦至两汉以中国蓝中国紫为代表,表现出当时科技活动的活跃,秦代骨白的应用也是一个有趣的例子;魏晋南北朝到清代中期是颜料发展史的平和期,这一时期构建起中国传统颜料的体系,未有太大的变化,惟有元代开始应用的苏麻离青颜料是一个关注点;清代晚期。西方工业合成颜料大量涌入是这个时期的显著特点。     

埃及晚期的木基质彩画：赛加拉和法国博物馆

埃及文明在矿物方面的知识总是超出了我们的想象。这方面就包括使用多种黄色矿物绘制颜色相近的色彩。对这些颜料的准确鉴定将拓展人们在彩画方面的研究。画家所使用的颜料非常丰富,除了同时代直接从埃及地面采集的自然颜料外,还有大量像埃及蓝这类合成颜料的应用。对法国的这些藏品的研究将使人们可以追溯几个世纪以来这些颜料的演变和替代过程以及一些从其它地区尤其是东方国家引进颜料的过程。一些颜料的稳定性及其它特性使得其保存状况令人惊讶。卢浮宫博物馆在塞加拉的任务是进行一个埃及晚期（公元前378年一公元前341年）典型群葬墓的发掘工作。发掘出的木质棺材上记载了该墓葬的埋藏时间是Nectanebo二世法老执政的第2年,这是埃及第三十王朝的最后一任法老。该研究涉及以木质为基材的出土物,它包括二十个完整的或破碎成碎块的像盒子一样的棺材。研究通过在双筒显微镜下对文物进行微量取样,而后将样品进行扫描电子显微镜一能谱分析以及显微拉曼光谱分析,从而确定样品中矿物的成分。此外还对样品进行微量化学分析以确定其残存的痕量胶料。彩色颜料包括埃及彩画同时代的传统颜料一黑色,白色,红色,黄色,蓝色,绿色和镀金,同时还包括一些不常见的粉红色或橘色颜料,它是一种外来的、易碎的颜料,成分为五硫化二砷,又称雄黄。     

One Colour, (at Least) Two Minerals: A Study of Mulberry Rock Art Pigment and a Mulberry Pigment ‘Quarry’ from the Kimberley,Northern Australia

Distinctive mulberry paintings found in northern Australia, particularly those of the Kimberley region, have been argued to represent some of the oldest surviving rock art on the continent. Significant research efforts continue to focus on resolving the age of these motifs, but comparatively little attention has been given to understanding their physical composition and potential source(s). In a pilot investigation, we conclude that (at least) two mineralogically distinct mulberry pigments occur in Gwion motifs and demonstrate that their major components can be indicatively chemically differentiated, non‐invasively. Characterization of a ‘quarried’ mulberry ochre source demonstrates that these pigments occur locally as natural minerals.     

Sensitivity of bulk sedimentary stable carbon isotopes to prehistoric forest clearance and maize agriculture

The stable carbon isotope compositions (δ¹³C) of tropical lake sediments and soils have been used to reconstruct the occurrence of prehistoric maize cultivation and its relative importance through time. This study assesses some of the possible variables affecting the response of lake sediment bulk organic carbon isotope (δ¹³C_TOC) values to variations in the scale of prehistoric maize cultivation and the potential of this proxy to yield quantitative estimates of the scale of prehistoric maize agriculture in small tropical watersheds. High resolution analyses of δ¹³C_TOC values, maize pollen concentrations, and mineral influx were conducted on sediments deposited during a ∼220 year period of prehistoric maize agriculture in the watershed of Laguna Castilla, a small lake in the mid-elevations of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic. Close correspondence between δ¹³C_TOC values and maize pollen concentrations in the Laguna Castilla sediment record indicates a close relationship between the isotopic values and the scale of prehistoric maize cultivation. Correlations between the δ¹³C_TOC signature and mineral influx indicate that the isotope record is also sensitive to variations in allochthonous carbon delivery. This study establishes that sedimentary δ¹³C_TOC values can provide a highly sensitive proxy of the spatial scale of prehistoric maize agriculture in small tropical watersheds, but emphasizes the need for a better understanding of sediment dynamics and carbon cycling in anthropogenically modified landscapes before this proxy can be widely employed in diverse archaeological settings.     

战国秦汉时期制铁耐火材料的矿物组织与含量分析

战国秦汉时期是中国古代生铁与生铁制钢技术体系的发端与形成期,制铁耐火材料为发达的生铁与生铁制钢技术体系提供了结构、化学、热性能上的技术保障,具有重要的作用。但目前制铁耐火材料的研究较少,影响了对中国古代钢铁技术的全面认识。本研究对战国秦汉时期出土的制铁耐火材料开展了文献、田野考察和矿相分析,科学认知其微观结构,认为战国秦汉时期制铁耐火材料以黏土质材料为主,使用了砂质材料,但尚未出现砂泥混合质材料。同时,炉壁、铸铁范、鼓风管之间的矿物显微组织和含量差异较大,表明战国秦汉时期工匠已能根据性能需求的不同制作不同的耐火材料用于不同的制铁生产环节。