Using hearths for temper: petrographic analysis of Middle Woodland charcoal-tempered pottery in Northeast Florida

Charcoal-tempered pottery is uncommon in North America, but was produced with notable frequency in Northeast Florida from ca. AD 300–600. Thirty-six thin sections of pottery were analyzed by petrographic analysis and compared to 10 clay samples in order to characterize the paste of charcoal-tempered wares in terms of charcoal and mineralogical composition and abundance, assess the number of clay sources used to make the pottery, identify the species of wood represented in charcoal inclusions, and infer techniques of ceramic production. This analysis identified four temper categories, three texture groups, and three distinct clay resources used to make charcoal-tempered pottery, all of which were likely local to Northeast Florida. Identified wood taxa include pine (Pinus sp.), cedar (cf. Juniperus sp.), cypress (cf. Taxodium sp.), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum), with pine suspected to be the most common. These genera of charred wood, which exhibit minimal shrinkage in the samples, along with the prevalence of bone and grog inclusions, indicate that hearth contents were processed as temper, sometimes in combination with quartz sand. Potential reasons for the use of hearth contents as temper are considered.     

60年代初工业支援农业的历史考察

在三年困难时期(1959—1961),由于政策上"左"的失误以及严重自然灾害的破坏,我国农业生产遭遇严重挫折,粮食产量连年大幅减少,给人民生活带来严重影响。为了促进农业生产的恢复,国家提出各行各业支援农业。其中,工业对农业的支援是其中一个重要组成部分。工业支援农业的内容主要有:压缩工业规模,增加生产农机、农具、化肥等。通过工业支援农业,农业生产得到一定程度的恢复。     

论抗战时期华北沦陷区的“村政建设”

1941年太平洋战争爆发前后,日本在国际上更加孤立。在物资贫乏、战争迁延日久、军需储存消耗殆尽、兵源枯竭及劳动力缺乏的情形下,日军对华北的依赖性日益加大。在华北,丰富的资源和广大的人力散布在农村,而农村又掌握在中国抗日革命的势力手里,华北日军只控制着寥若晨星的点和线。华北日伪通过"村政建设"向敌后抗日军民展开农村争夺战。"村政建设"主要源于中国历史上统治者控制乡村的统治术,也仿效了日本和伪满洲国的"街村制",体现了日伪利用中国旧有制度,实行法西斯统治的狡诈性。其目的在于根绝共产党及八路军抗日活动的民众基础。随着日军无条件投降,华北日伪的"村政建设"彻底破产。     

Multidisciplinary approaches to defining historic period coastal and fluvial changes at Dunglass Burn,South East Scotland

An exceptionally thick (>2.5 m) fluvial and colluvial valley fill is described from the coastal reach of the Dunglass Burn, draining the Lammermuir Hills in south east Scotland. Buried by the valley fill is a series of charcoal accumulations interpreted as beacons to guide fishing boats, and an assemblage of large mammal bones. Radiocarbon assays on charcoal associated with these elements show them to be of early Medieval age. The onset of this extraordinary fluvial and colluvial sediment aggradation is considered to have begun at c. 1100 AD, although causation cannot be closely defined. The relations between the valley fill and securely dated built structures (buildings, bridges), an approach very infrequently explored, allow the cessation of aggradation to be dated to before the mid‐16th century AD. After c. 1600 AD incision has occurred to the present. The development of this valley fill is likely to have extensively altered the configuration of the coastline in the Medieval and early modern periods. The analyses emphasise the large magnitude of very recent landscape changes.     

Critical Periods in Science and the Science of Critical Periods: Canine Behavior in America

This article offers a canine history of the “critical period” concept, situating its emergence within a growing, interdisciplinary network of canine behavior studies that connected eugenically minded American veterinarians, behavioral geneticists, and dog lovers with large institutional benefactors. These studies established both logistical and conceptual foundations for large-scale science with dogs while establishing a lingering interdependence between American dog science and eugenics. The article emphasizes the importance of dogs as subjects of ethological study, particularly in the United States, where some of the earliest organized efforts to analyze canine behavior began. Further, the article argues that the “critical period” is important not only for its lasting prominence in multiple fields of scientific inquiry, but also as a historiographical tool, one that invites reflection on the tendency of historians to emphasize a particular narrative structure of scientific advancement.     

盛世隐忧：从乾嘉文治看清朝由盛而衰

以盛世光环载入史册的乾隆朝在文治领域潜伏着重重隐忧。当时朝廷重视经学,而思想上却不认同民间汉学;虽然承袭庙堂理学,却对其内圣外王鲜有心得,并且压制朝野理学的发展。同时,统治者的信仰世界混乱、迷茫。嘉庆朝的经学政策略有调整,重新重视理学,又强调以勤简为政,但总体上缺少新意,无济于事,清中期遂成武功彰显而文治偏失的格局。这也是清朝由盛而衰的重要根源。     

四川天府大道北延线(德阳段)新石器时代晚期至商周时期遗址调查简报

2019年5月至6月,为配合天府大道北延线(德阳段)建设,四川省文物考古研究院对道路施工区域进行了考古调查,共发现5处新石器时代晚期至商周时期遗址、1处汉代遗址、1处宋代遗址、7处汉代至宋代墓地以及27处零星遗存点,其中5处新石器时代晚期至商周时期遗址是此次调查最重要的收获,对于认识三星堆遗址周边区域的聚落形态及其与三星堆遗址关系具有重要意义。     

甘青地区史前用玉特征与进程

甘青地区是史前时期重要的用玉地区之一,其用玉进程表现为从前仰韶时期至马家窑时期,一直处于相对沉寂的状态,而大规模和较成体系用玉文化的兴起应始于齐家文化。齐家文化巫玉色彩浓重,玉器更多被用来祭祀。从用玉进程和用玉动机看,甘青地区用玉文化并非独立起源,而是从东部和中原引进与兴起,同时促进了甘青地区玉矿的开发与利用。     

The Possible Advantage of Living in Turf Houses on Settlement Mounds

Abstract

Before timber and stone houses were introduced to northern regions, varieties of turf houses were the most commonly used architecture. These houses had a wooden structure encapsulated in a shell constructed of grass turf. The different ethnic groups of the north built their houses in different styles and constructions, but the general principle was the same. The Norse of North Norway and also on the North Atlantic islands had a tendency to build their houses on top of the ruins of previous houses. After a few centuries this arrangement produced a settlement mound of highly organic soil. In the research literature, both the turf architecture and the settlement mounds have been described as adaptations to and a function of marginality and lack of timber. This paper reports an effort to test the idea that turf houses on top of settlement mounds may have been a finely tuned ecological system that made use of the capacity of organic soil to produce heat.