Radiocarbon dating of prehistoric hearths in alpine northern Sweden: problems and possibilities

The chronology of prehistoric Sami settlement sites has previously been established by conventional radiocarbon dating of bulk charcoal samples associated with hearths from sunken hut floors (stállo-foundations). Here we present results of a comprehensive dating exercise of stállo-foundations in the alpine area of northern Scandinavia using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of charcoal. Over a 3 km² study area, AMS calibrated ages of hearth charcoal from 22 stállo-foundations across 12 sites securely date these features to between cal. AD 640 and AD 1180. Only small variations in age were found between charcoal samples from different areas of a given hearth. Statistical analysis of all the charcoal AMS radiocarbon dates obtained reveals that 12 stállo-foundations across nine sites are contemporaneous and date to the Viking Period (AD 800–AD 1050). The tightly constrained AMS-based chronology of stállo-foundations contrasts with the existing chronology based on conventional radiocarbon analysis, which places these features within a significantly greater time-frame of between AD 600 and AD 1900, with most dates ranging between AD 800 and AD 1350.This discrepancy is likely to result from the necessity of collecting composite hearth charcoal particles, which may originate from different phases of occupation, in order to achieve the required final carbon content for conventional radiocarbon analysis. We argue that the new AMS-based radiocarbon chronology of stállo-foundations presented here supersedes the existing chronology based on conventional (Gas Proportional counting) radiocarbon analysis and we advocate the use of AMS radiocarbon dating in future hearth investigations.     

清宫大白伞盖佛母信仰探析

清代宫廷对白伞盖佛母的崇拜出现了显著的发展,特别在乾隆时期,除在宫中大量制作白伞盖佛母像外,还在北京及其周边地区的各大寺庙制作供奉精美的绘画和雕塑,甚至专门兴建寺院来供奉白伞盖佛母像。其信奉目的和崇拜方式等方面的特点,目前尚很少有专门的论述见诸文献。本文借助清宫档案及现存清代原状佛堂内白伞盖佛母的陈设情况,试图说明清代宫廷是将白伞盖佛母作为重要的福寿保护神来供奉的,并不是简单地继承元代的信仰传统而是另有传承和发展。     

六朝隋唐时期考功郎隶属及其职掌之变化

六朝隋唐时期,考功郎隶属及其职掌均发生较大变化。魏晋时,考功郎掌百官考课,隶属于吏部尚书;南朝时,功论郎取代考功郎掌考课,隶属于都官尚书;北朝中后期,考功郎中掌考课百官及考试秀孝,隶属于吏部尚书;隋及唐前期,考功郎中、员外郎之隶属及其职掌略同北朝。唐中期以后,考功郎中、员外郎专掌京官与地方官的考课,策试秀孝的职责则转归礼部。六朝隋唐时期考功郎隶属及其职掌的变化,反映了尚书省机构的职能调整及选举与考课各司其责体制的逐渐形成。     

魏晋南北朝玉佩研究

魏晋南北朝玉佩自发现以来,学术界对其性质和组构样式的判断皆不甚明了。近年南京仙鹤观东晋玉佩的完整发现,为研究其结构与性质提供了详实的研究资料。本文以此为基础,结合国内各地玉佩的发现情况及历史文献资料,分析魏晋南北朝时期玉佩发展、演变的历史原因,并试对玉佩构件进行了初步的复原研究。     

从上海与北方关系的演变看环渤海经济崛起

上海开埠以后,在成为全国最大对外贸易口岸的过程中,把北方变成了它的间接经济腹地,带动了北方经济的外向化。进入20世纪以后,环渤海港口城市的直接辐射作用得到加强,促使该地区的直接对外贸易迅速发展,经济现代化水平迅速提高,并迫使上海的有效辐射范围从北方逐步向长江流域退缩。直接龙头取代间接龙头,是近代区域经济发展的内在规律和必然结果。它加速了环渤海经济的崛起,不利于上海经济的更好发展。     

宋朝的配隶法与厢军中的配军

宋朝的配军制度,是建立在配隶法基础上的强制罪犯充军的集兵制度,是宋代兵制中于募兵制之外又一个值得注意的特点。配隶法自宋初实行以后,逐步成为一个内容繁杂、适用于各种犯罪的刑种。两宋时期的厢军是配军数量较多的军种,配军不仅集中分布在厢军的牢城营,而且在厢军其他重役军分和一般军分中都有较多分布。由于配隶法适用范围的泛化和枉法滥配现象的大量存在,宋朝牢城等配军军分的溢额成为一种常态,配军数量十分庞大。宋统治者之所以将罪犯配隶充军,很大程度上是为了直接控制一批能够服兵役和劳役、随时听候国家调遣的人力资源,配军的存在也因此具有了其自身的社会经济价值和军事价值。     

宋初和平统一战略及实践

在和平建国及收兵权的基础上,宋初统一战略中,和平统一的设想前所未有地突显出来,在战略中广泛实施,并在一些地方大获成功。出现了在武力威胁下不战而降的荆南模式;没有直接的军事威胁,但朝廷做出过明确的归顺要求,最终主动归顺的吴越模式;既没有任何军事威胁,朝廷甚至也没有做出明确的或暗示的归顺要求,自觉纳土的漳泉模式。宋政府英明的统一战略和高超的政治手段,为国家的统一和历史的发展做出了重要的贡献,在分裂时期提供了和平统一的可行性,值得充分肯定。     

清代垦殖政策与陕北长城外的生态环境

陕北长城外地区位于蒙陕农牧交错带,属于典型的脆弱生境地带。清代中央和地方两级政府针对当地汉民承租蒙民土地从事农牧业生产这一环节,在不同时期制定了不同的垦殖政策,经历了封禁、招垦、禁垦、拓垦四个阶段,这既是清政府对陕北长城外地区逐步认识和开发的过程,同时也是该地区生态环境变化的过程。在政策—人—环境相互作用的关系过程中,制度、政策与权力的结合对区域环境变化的影响具有根本性的驱动作用。     

宋代功臣配享述论

功臣配享是古代帝王对有功之臣的最高酬劳,也是激励其他臣僚、引导政治舆论的重要方式。宋代在继承前代制度的基础上,形成了具有自身特点的配享之制。在配享功臣的选择上,宋代君臣本着尊崇宗庙和激励后继大臣的原则,采取了慎重的态度,并依据了较为严格的标准。功臣配享与宋代政治关系密切,它反映了当朝君臣的政治态度,是当权政治集团利益和要求的直接体现。     

Winning while losing: The Apprentice Boys of Derry walk their beat

Ethno-territorial conflict is a common feature of human affairs, and efforts to understand and mitigate its impacts require an examination of how peoples, communities, and nations “lose;” specifically, what happens as and after they lose in terms of their relationship with place and space, and the associated effects on self and community identity. This article examines recent Apprentice Boys of Derry parades in Northern Ireland as a mechanism by which a community that has lost control of symbolically significant space seeks to demonstrate an ongoing attachment to critical places. Twice-yearly parades allow Protestants to narrate their experience in the town of Derry/Londonderry as a victory, despite circumstantial evidence which suggests otherwise. The ability to claim victory through parading provides members of the Apprentice Boys organization with a raison d'etre, and serves in place of an aggressive agenda to regain control of territorial icons. The article draws upon extensive fieldwork, including interviews with key figures on both sides of the sectarian divide, and explores the nature of the community and the evolution of its parades as Protestants have lost influence in the town since the onset of Northern Ireland's Troubles. It suggests that, in the study of ethno-territorial conflicts, attention should be paid to the tactics of those who lose hegemony, as their actions affect the potential for conflict management and the likelihood of ongoing strife.