Islamic glass in the Christian Kingdom of Alwa: Chemistry of shards from Soba,Nubia, Sudan

Excavations at Soba, the capital of Alwa, between 2019 and 2022 yielded more than 30 glass fragments in addition to a glass cosmetic bottle. An analysis of 30 glass samples has identified glass belonging to a number of compositional groups. The majority of fragments were made of plant ash-soda glass produced in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq) between the 9th and 10th centuries, and in the Eastern Mediterranean (Levant and Egypt) between the mid-10th and mid-12th centuries. Seven fragments were made of mineral–soda-lime glass produced in 9th-century Egypt and three high-lead glasses find analogies in the 9th- to 11th-century glass. Archeological evidence, as well as textual sources, leave no doubt about Alwa’s intense transcultural connections. This article provides the first insight into the chemistry of glass shards from medieval Nubia, and the results of analysis contribute to evidence for long-distance contacts of Soba, the capital of one of the medieval kingdoms of Sahelian Africa.     

Chemical Analyses of Sarmatian Glass Beads from Pokrovka, Russia

The chemical composition of 18 glass beads from Early Sarmatian period burials were determined using electron probe microbeam analysis and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. The beads were made from high-magnesia-soda-lime-silica glass, leaded-soda-lime-silica glass, low-magnesia-soda-lime-silica glass and low-magnesia-high-potash glass. Multivariate analysis of the major oxides suggests that there are five distinct glass recipes used to manufacture these beads. These various glass recipes indicate the involvement of the Sarmatians in exchange/trade networks linking the Eastern Mediterranean, the Indian subcontinent, and China.     

A Byzantine Shipwreck from Cape Stoba,Mljet, Croatia: an interim report

The Cape Stoba shipwreck is located on the seabed off the island of Mljet in Croatia at a depth of 21–28 m. Following initial investigation in 1975, four seasons of excavation have been carried between 2010 and 2014 by the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute, joined by the Department of Studi Umanistici of the Università Ca' Foscari of Venice from 2012. The wreck‐site is evidenced by a cargo of nine amphora types dated to the 10th‐11th century AD, produced in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea area, and glassware of Levantine production. The only direct evidence of the ship itself to date, is one iron anchor.     

北京昌平沙河镇出土蜻蜓眼玻璃珠的科学分析与研究

为探讨北京昌平沙河镇墓葬出土的三枚蜻蜓眼玻璃珠的质地和来源,利用X射线衍射分析（XRD）、激光拉曼光谱分析（LRS）、便携式能量色散X射线荧光分析（PXRF）三种无损分析方法,对玻璃珠基体和眼珠分别进行了结构和化学组成的无损伤测试。结果表明,这三枚蜻蜓眼珠的基质为玻璃态物质,其化学成分表明该玻璃属于钠钙硅酸盐（Na₂OCaOSiO₂）系统;Cu和Co是主要的着色元素。考虑到三枚珠子采用的钴料成分为高铁低锰的进口钴料,同时通过与国内外相似珠子的对比,推测这三枚蜻蜓眼玻璃珠是外国进口物的可能性较高。蜻蜓眼玻璃珠所在墓葬群虽为清代,但根据初步的分析研究可推断,墓主通过收藏或其他途径获得并将其作为随葬品。     

Study of medieval glass fragments from Savona (Italy) and their relation with the glass produced in Altare

Altare was in the medieval and post-medieval period an important glassmaking center in the Liguria region in Northern Italy. The first historical evidence of glassmaking in Altare is dated to the twelfth century. In spite of that, due to the continuity of glassmaking up to the present time and the contemporaneous intensive urbanization of the territory, no medieval glass from Altare or its immediate vicinity has been analyzed up to now. In this work, glass from archaeological excavations in the center of Savona, city with close ties with the glassmaking center, was studied. Glass fragments, dated from the tenth to the sixteenth century were selected from the collections of the Archaeological Museum in Savona and non-destructively analyzed with quantitative PIXE-PIGE. The resulting compositions, compared with known glass productions of the same time and evaluated on the basis of historical documents, offer an interesting panorama on the variety of glass circulation in Liguria.     

Fast food/organic food: Reflexive tastes and the making of 'yuppie chow'

Organic food consumption is one of several new trends in eating read as active opposition to industrialized food provision. While fast food consumption is characterized by compulsive gluttony, manifest in fat bodies, alternative consumption practices are seen to be driven by conscious reflexivity, such that consumers monitor, reflect upon and adapt their personal conduct in light of its perceived consequences. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. One is to examine the evolution of organic food from what Belasco called the 'counter-cuisine' to what organic growers call 'yuppie chow', to show how organic salad mix was the carrier of major changes in the organic system of provision, thereby calling into question the notion that organic food is necessarily an antidote to industrialized food. The other is to problematize the facile dichotomies between fast and slow, reflexive and compulsive, fat and thin, and, hence, good and bad eaters, to show where there is slippage and instability in these categories, in addition to a troubling politics of class and gender. To these ends, I showcase the changing provision of a particular organic commodity (salad mix, or mesclun) in California.     

Moving sources: A preliminary study of volcanic glass artifact distributions in northeast China using PXRF

Recent studies have highlighted the long-distance transport of obsidian from the Paektusan (Tianchi or Baitoushan in Chinese) volcano on the border between China and North Korea to eastern Russia and Korea, but little is known about the role of the local population in the production and movement or exchange of this important raw material. This paper addresses this data lacuna by presenting sourcing results of 440 artifacts from 18 Late Paleolithic sites located in northeast China. A portable XRF enabled rapid non-destructive characterization of samples. The results show that although Paektusan obsidian was widely transported throughout northeast Asia, material from at least three other sources was also used. In particular, we highlight the significance of basaltic glass artifacts with the same geochemistry as sources found in the Primorye region of Far East Russia in sites from northeast China. This result indicates a two-way movement of volcanic glass artifacts between Primorye and the northeast of China rather than a unidirectional long-distance exchange system originating from Paektusan Volcano.     

Transitions in Islamic plant-ash glass vessels: on-site chemical analyses conducted at the Raya/al-Tur area on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt

This study focuses on the chemical composition of Islamic plant-ash glass (dated from the 9th to 11th centuries) excavated from the Raya/al-Tur area on the South Sinai in Egypt. Plant-ash glass objects from the Raya site were classified into three compositional types based on on-site chemical analyses with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Based on typological characteristics and chemical composition comparisons with contemporary glass objects from other Islamic sites, one hypothesis holds that plant-ash glass objects produced in the Syria–Palestine or Mesopotamian regions could have been imported to Raya during the 9th to 10th centuries. In particular, some colorless glass vessels with a high magnesium/calcium ratio were noted to exhibit post-Sassanian cut decorations. Conversely, most of the bluish-green plant-ash glass objects from the Monastery of Wadi al-Tur near the Raya site exhibited relatively high levels of aluminum, titanium, iron, and lead. These pieces were likely produced during the Fatimid period (late 10th to 12th centuries), and based on their elemental composition, possibly originated in Egypt. The present work provides a greater understanding of chronological changes in post-9th century Islamic plant-ash glasses and the development of social and commercial networks within the Middle Eastern area.