Christianity in the Gulf during the first centuries of Islam

This article re-examines the ceramics of SBY-9, a church and monastery site on the island of Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi emirate, U.A.E. It then explores other archaeological evidence for Christianity in the Arabian Gulf and compares it to the textual data, resulting in a reconsideration of the history and activities of the Church of the East. The pottery of SBY-9 indicates that the monastery complex was occupied some time between the second half of the seventh century and the mid-eighth century AD and not, as previously believed, the sixth–seventh centuries AD. Other excavated churches and monasteries in the Gulf region should also be redated to the eighth and ninth centuries AD (al-Qusur, Kharg). These findings cast a new light on the history of Christianity in the Arabian Gulf after the Muslim conquest.     

汉晋墓葬中随葬陶瓶内盛物的初步研究

汉至西晋时期的墓葬中经常发现一些盛于朱书陶瓶内的物品,按其质地可以分为天然矿物类、金属制品类、植物类、五谷类。本文对已发现的材料进行了初步考察,认为这些物品就是道士们做法事的遗痕,分别起着压镇、代形、充当贡赋的作用。这些物品和巫医术士使用的物品大致相同,反映出早期道教和巫医方术之间密不可分的关系。     

Pottery Use-Alteration as an Indicator of Socioeconomic Status: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Gamo of Ethiopia

The use of a pottery vessel leaves markers on the ceramic wall that can inform archaeologists how the vessel functioned in the past. At present, archaeologists have little information for understanding how use-alteration reflects the complex nature of ceramic function and socioeconomic status. I conducted a 2-year ethnoarchaeological research project among the Gamo people of southwestern Ethiopia, who continue to produce and use pottery on a daily basis. This research indicates that interior surface attrition occurs primarily on pottery vessels used in wealthy households because of fermentation processes from high-status foods. Thus, the Gamo example suggests that there is a relationship between ceramic use-alteration and household socioeconomic status.     

浅谈新石器时代出土陶器的考古修复

根据陶器质地、火候的差异使用不同的粘接剂是陶器修复的关键;补配材料及作色材料的应用得当,将使出土陶器再现当年风采。     

Pottery Production, Distribution, and Consumption—The Contribution of the Physical Sciences

The study of the life cycle of pottery, from the selection of raw materials and the production stage through distribution and use to ultimate discard, can make a valuable contribution to archaeological research. The aim of the present paper is to provide a summary and critical assessment of the particular contribution of the physical sciences to the reconstruction and interpretation of this life cycle, in large part through the presentation of selected case studies. The topics covered include the reconstruction of the technology used in pottery production, through a combination of microscopy, radiography, and chemical analysis; the investigation of the extent of craft specialization and the organization of pottery production; the reconstruction of pottery distribution from its production center, using thin-section petrography and chemical analysis, and the interpretation of these data in terms of exchange and trade; the reconstruction of the consumption stage or uses to which pottery was put, from the study of surface wear, organic residues, and performance characteristics; and a discussion of the reasons for the introduction of pottery and for the different technological choices made in pottery production. Throughout, the importance of considering the overall environmental, technological, economic, sociopolitical, cultural–ideological and historical context in which the pottery was produced, distributed, and consumed is emphasized. The paper is concerned, almost-exclusively, with unglazed earthenware spanning prehistory through to circa 1500 AD.     

河曲坪头遗址龙山时期陶器及其制陶原料的化学成分分析

为了对山西省忻州市河曲坪头遗址出土的龙山时期的陶器以及制陶原料中的粘土原料的种类和来源进行相关探讨,利用ICP-OES对出土的陶器、坯料,以及遗址附近采集的土样进行了化学成分测试,并使用SPSS软件对分析结果进行了降维处理和主成分分析。结果显示:坪头遗址不同质地的陶器陶土原料相同,只是在钙含量方面存在细微差异。制作陶器所用的粘土原料很可能取自附近的红色古土壤层。该遗址是古人在当地制作陶器的一个场所。     

潮湿彩绘陶加固材料对比研究及应用

针对考古出土的彩绘陶存在脆弱易毁、难以保存的问题,选择明胶和水性氟碳作为潮湿彩绘陶片的加固材料,采用不同浓度的加固材料对4种颜色彩绘陶片进行加固,并对加固前后的强度、色差以及光泽度进行检测和对比,结果表明较为理想的浓度选择为明胶在1%左右,水性氟碳浓度在20%左右。同时,对有底层和无底层两种类型的彩绘陶片进行加固对比实验,发现经明胶加固及老化后,有底层试样的色差和光泽度变化比无底层试样小;经水性氟碳加固后,有底层试样的色差和光泽度变化比无底层试样小,但老化后,则相反。在实践应用时,选用这两种材料对盱眙出土的一组潮湿彩绘陶进行了抢救性加固保护,都取得理想的效果。     

岩画断代研究——科技考古学领域中一个亟待解决的问题

探索和研究表明,岩画断代问题仍然是困扰岩画研究的难题之一,其主要原因是岩画本身不能够提供可供断代的直接依据。本文综述了目前岩画断代研究中经常使用的自然科学和考古学方法及其存在的问题,提出应用AMS14C是今后研究我国岩绘画断代问题的首选方法,解决岩刻画的断代问题则主要有赖于微腐蚀方法。     

The Wavy Line and the Dotted Wavy Line Pottery in the Prehistory of the Central Nile and the Sahara-Sahel Belt

The two type-sites of the Khartoum Mesolithic and Khartoum Neolithic (Khartoum Hospital and Shaheinab), in Central Sudan, were excavated at the end of the 1950s. The ceramics recovered from these sites, characterized by wavy line and dotted wavy line decoration, formed a cornerstone for identifying Mesolithic–Neolithic components along the Central Nile and across the Sahara-Sahel Belt. Moreover, they formed a model for an evolutionary sequence, and suggested a level of cultural uniformity for the Nilo-Sahara-Sahel Belt from the eighth to the fourth millennia BC. This paper examines these and other related issues.L'hôpital de Khartoum et Shaheinab, qui se situe au centre du Soudan, sont les deux sites archéologiques principaux de la civilisation mésolithique et néolithique. Ces deux sites furent découverts et excavés au cours des années 1950s. Les céramiques découvertes dans ces deux sites se caractérisent par leurs lignes continues et ondoyantes, et d'autres ondoyantes mais discontinues. Ces céramiques représentent la pierre angulaire pour les caractéristiques de la période mésolithiqueet néolithique dans le centre de la vallée du Nile et á travers la zone du Sahara-Sahel. De plus, elles ont constitué un modèle pour l'évolution et ont suggéré une certaine uniformité culturelle entre la vallée du Nile, le Sahara et le Sahel de huitième au quatrième millénaires avant J.-C. Cette recherche traite donc de ces points et d'autres aspects s'y rapportant.     

永安遗址两座砖雕墓的考古发掘

2006年吉林省考古研究所在永安遗址发掘两座彩绘圆形砖雕墓葬。从墓葬结构和出土文物判断其年代大致为晚唐五代时期。这两座墓葬的发掘为研究唐宋时期砖雕墓葬提供了新的实物资料。