Distinguishing nonhuman predation on birds: pattern of damage done by the white-tailed eagle Haliaetus albicilla, with comments on the punctures made by the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos

The study presents criteria to distinguish some of the nonhuman predation on birds whose remains may also be found at archaeological sites. Specifically, it deals with fragmentation patterns of bird bones in uneaten food remains of the white-tailed eagle Haliaetus albicilla and discusses perforations in victims' bones done by the white-tailed and golden eagles. The food remains show very low degree of fragmentation; bones of the pectoral girdle and wing predominate while head and leg elements are poorly represented. The proportion of perforated sterna differs between the two species of eagles and it is suggested that the differences are attributed to the species of prey rather than the way of handling them by the raptors.     

周原甲骨灼烧状况与风化原因研究

为了研究周原出土甲骨的灼烧状况与风化原因,用测色色差、X射线衍射、热重、扫描电镜和显微红外等多种分析手段对九种周原无字甲骨样进行了分析。结果表明,被分析样品都曾经受不同温度的灼烧,造成有机质丢失与骨头结构的破坏,这是导致甲骨风化的主要原因。出土后用酸浸泡清洗水垢,可能是导致甲骨风化的另一原因。在用于研究甲骨灼烧状况的诸多方法中,X射线衍射与扫描电镜分析两的作用突出。     

甲骨卜辞所见之巫者的医疗活动

古代巫医不分,由于人类将疾病致因视为鬼魂作用,故以巫者充当人鬼间的中介,寄希望于巫术行医、安抚死神从而达到消除疾病的目的。正因基于此观念,医与巫、医疗与巫术、药物心理与巫术心理取得了自然的结合,求药及求巫两者皆统一于医疗活动之中。商代的医疗知识仍然处于中国医学的萌芽状态,具有迷信性质,常与巫教信仰交织在一起。即使如此,此时的巫医也开拓壮大了医学的先河。除利用药材之外。商人亦知运用针刺方法以治病,此种针砭医疗器具,在各地遗址时有发现。在医疗方面的巫术的具体活动,则主要包括二种:一为医疗巫术,二为逐疫除凶。     

河南舞阳县贾湖遗址出土猪骨的再研究

前言河南舞阳县贾湖遗址是我国中原地区极为重要的新石器时代前期遗址。该遗址历经七次发掘,已获得大量珍贵的考古资料。其中丰富的动、植物遗存,是探讨我国北方地区动、植物驯化过程的重要材料。《舞阳贾湖》详细报道了该遗址前六次发掘的材料。报告中提出了存在家猪的观点,但并没有指出具体的期段,而且其判定存在家猪的依据仅仅     

Archaeological implications of human-derived manganese coatings: a study of blackened bones in El Mirón Cave,Cantabrian Spain

The main interest in the study of taphonomic processes lies, from the archaeological point of view, in being able to draw conclusions about human behaviour from them. This paper analyzes the causes of a specific taphonomic alteration: the differential appearance across levels and among site areas of a black stain on bones from the Magdalenian levels in El Mirón Cave. From an understanding of these taphonomic agents, we aim to achieve a better comprehension of aspects of human use of the cave toward the end of the Late Glacial period. By determining the processes that stained many of the bones with manganese in the rear part of the cave vestibule, we are able to suggest some characteristics of the human occupation of the cave and its possible seasonal use.     

Extinct species identification from late middle Pleistocene and earlier Upper Pleistocene bone fragments and tools not recognizable from their osteomorphological study by an enhanced proteomics protocol

Ancient preserved molecules offer the opportunity of gaining a deeper knowledge on their biological past. However, the development of a proteomic workflow remains a challenge. The analysis of fossils must involve a low quantity of material to avoid damaging the samples. In this study an enhanced proteomic protocol was applied to 5-milligram samples of about 130,000-year-old mammalian bones ranging from the end of the Middle Pleistocene up to the earlier Upper Pleistocene, excavated from Scladina Cave (Sclayn, Belgium). Using sequence homology with modern sequences, a biological classification was successfully achieved and the associated taxonomic ranks to each bone were identified consistently with the information gained from osteomorphological studies and palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary data. Amino acid substitutions on collagens were identified, thus providing new information on extinct species sequences and helping in taxonomy-based clustering. Considering samples with no osteomorphological information, such as two fragments of bone retouchers, proteomics successfully identified the families providing paleontologists new information on these objects. Combining osteomorphology studies and amino acid variations identified by proteomics, one of the retouchers was potentially identified as belonging to the Ursus spelaeus species.     

山东沭河上游出土人骨的食性分析研究

本研究通过对山东沭河上游大汶口文化晚期及春秋战国时期 2块人骨的碳、氮同位素分析和无机成分的锶、钡、钙等微量元素分析 ,恢复了当时人的食物结构。结论有以下两点 :1 由同位素分析可知 ,本地区贫民老百姓的食物在大汶口晚期时以C4植物为主 ,大约占 6 5 1 %的比例。此时期的食物结构存在贫富差异 ,富有者的食谱主要以C3植物为主 ,大约占 6 6 4 %的比例。 2 通过对小朱家村遗址出土的 1块人骨样品的微量元素分析 ,反映出同位素分析所表明的C3植物 ,除了少量种植的稻米外 ,可能还包括胡桃属、榛属、栗属、豆科等采集植物。     

Analysis of ancient Japanese society through mitochondrial DNA sequencing

In this study, DNA was extracted from human bones recovered from a 2000-year-old archaeological site located in northern Kyushu in southwestern Japan. Part of the mitochondrial control region was amplified by a polymerase chain reaction. Mitochondrial DNA sequences determined from 55 individuals were classified into 16 different types. Comparing the location of the burial site and the sequence types, people buried at separate sites were shown to have different maternal lineages. Our palaeomolecular biological findings strengthen the opinion that social differentiation began during this period in Japan, a fact that is generally accepted among archaeologists. The results of this study show that intensive analysis of ancient DNA from archaeological sites is a useful tool for investigating the social systems of vanished populations.     

Can trace elements in fossils provide information about palaeodiet?

The main aim of this study is to try to see if, despite the diagenetic changes undergone by the fossil bones buried in Venta Micena (Orce, Spain), the concentration of trace elements permits the differentiation of particular groups. It is possible that some chemical elements allow us to identify different dietary groups in accord with their archaeological context. Different multivariant methods—correlation, principal component analysis and cluster analysis—were applied to the data, and in all cases the results show that two elements (Ba and Zn) seem able to discriminate between groups with different diets. In this sense, diagenesis cannot explain all the variability found in the concentrations of trace elements in fossils from the Orce region. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Traumatic bowing deformities in tubular bones

Is bowing in long bones from an archaeological context representative of postmortem damage or genuine antemortem pathology? Bowing deformities (also known as traumatic bowing deformities, plastic bowing deformities, plastic bowing fractures and acute bowing fractures in the clinical literature) are true pathological entities that have only recently been recognized by clinicians. Bowing in long bones results from a force that exceeds the elastic properties of a given bone, producing a new plastic (bowing) response phase. These subtle deformities commonly affect the radii and ulnae in children and less frequently other tubular bones of the skeleton. Traumatic bowing should be considered as a possible diagnosis whenever abnormal curvature of a long bone is observed. This presentation illustrates two cases of traumatic bowing isolated from two ossuary populations from Ontario, Canada and addresses differential diagnostic concerns. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.