Assessing the reliability of pRIA for identifying ancient proteins from archaeological contexts

The use of immunological techniques for identifying the origin of proteins and inferring foodstuffs exploited by prehistoric occupations has been conducted for several decades. Cases of experimental laboratory and archaeological studies have shown the potential of these techniques for reliable results. However, very few of these case studies employ archaeological sites that have excellent preservation and high-resolution spatial contexts between identifiable faunal remains, features, and stone tools. We present an assessment of the identification reliability of one immunological technique, protein radioimmunoassay (pRIA), using faunal remains and stone tools from two sites from arctic and subarctic contexts. The results of this research indicate that, even in contexts with excellent preservation, the identifications produced by the pRIA technique are subject to misidentification and cross-reactions due to diagenetic alteration of proteins. We propose a higher minimum reaction value (percent binding of labeled antibody) that mitigates these effects, and renders the pRIA results more reliable for ancient, poorly preserved organic remains.     

Genetic characterization of an archaeological sheep assemblage from South Africa’s Western Cape

The Neolithic Revolution, constituting a shift from food acquisition to food production, came to Africa as it did to most of the rest of the world: through processes of transmission rather than through de novo innovation. In contrast with other regions the pastoral management of cattle, sheep and goats was widespread in Africa thousands of years before settled agricultural communities or the use of domesticated plants were in evidence ( 46, 35 and 10). We report here the discovery of haplogroup B in the first genetic analysis of an African archaeological sheep assemblage.     

陕西千阳尚家岭秦汉建筑遗址初识

The architectural site dating to the Qin-Han Dynasty in the Shangiialing site of Qianyang County, is one of the best preserved building remains in the Qian River Valley during this time period. This architecture might have been used for near 200 years from the Late Warring States Period to the Middle Western Han Dynasty. Recent archaeological works provide significant information to further understanding of the style and characteristic of this building and to how it was renovated and reconstructed under the historical background of ＇ban cheng qinzhi ＇ （The Han Dynasty inherited systems from the Qin Dynasty）. Since the site is situated on an east-west major communication route, this architecture might have served as a ＇ligong bieguan ＇ （resort palace）, or functioned as a courier state and storage house simultaneously.     

想象历史的方法——从成都平原商周时期出土的象牙说起

在距今3000年前的三星堆遗址和金沙遗址出土的大量具有鲜明的区域特色和民族特点的青铜器、金器、玉器、陶器等遗物和高耸的城墙、规模宏大的"宫殿式"建筑遗存及反映其严重社会分层的墓葬等遗迹现象,显示其已进入了成熟的文明社会;三星堆"祭祀坑"和金沙遗址"祭祀区"大量象牙、鹿角及獠牙的出土,反映出成都平原商周时期早蜀社会发达的物质文明以及其优越的生态环境,同时也昭显了人类过度性的开发和拓殖是成都平原商周时期温暖湿润的生态环境消失或破坏的一个重要的原因。     

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。     

试论夏家店下层文化石城

夏家店下层文化石城主要分布在冀、蒙、辽三省、自治区交界处,对于其用途,有不同认识。本文在较全面梳理夏家店下层文化石城发现的基础上,探讨了夏家店下层文化石城的类型及其用途。总起来说,夏家店下层文化石城作为聚落单位来看,包含有服务于该城的祭祀遗存,但不能掩盖其强烈军事防御功能的本质。如果将夏家店下层文化石城作为一个整体来看,呈带状分布的全部石城就构建起了护卫中心区域的外围整体防御体系。     

THE OCCURRENCE OF PALYGORSKITE IN THE YUCATÁN PENINSULA: ETHNO‐HISTORIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS*

Palygorskite is a rare clay mineral used by the ancient Mayas for fabricating the Maya blue pigment and for other purposes. It seems to have been obtained from a restricted area in the Yucatán peninsula where important archaeological sites are found. Geological samples from different localities in this area show a high content in palygorskite, indicating that this clay is widespread in Yucatán. Combining structural, morphological, compositional and geochemical methods, we analysed the common characteristics of Yucatecan palygorskites, and compared them with palygorskites from other origins around the world. These results can be used for defining a fingerprint of Yucatecan palygorskite to be used in provenance studies of archaeological artefacts, in particular the Maya blue pigment.     

吐鲁番柏孜克里克石窟所出小学书残片考证

吐鲁番柏孜克里克石窟出土汉文文书中,有古小学类文本残片三件:80TB1:304,80TB1:002a和80TB1:151,在已公布的成果中,或定名有误,或未能识别.经过比勘和研究,可以确定这些写本分别是玄应<一切经音义>抄录本、可洪<新集藏经音义随函录>摘抄增订本和<切韵>的抄本.     

Eagle owl (Bubo bubo) pellets from Roman Sagalassos (SW Turkey): distinguishing the prey remains from nest and roost sites

Two concentrations of animal bones, almost exclusively from small mammals and wild birds, were found within the destruction debris of a Roman bath complex in Sagalassos (SW Turkey). The overall species spectrum, skeletal element representation, fragmentation and preservation condition of the bones indicate that they represent the prey remains of a large nocturnal avian predator, more precisely the eagle owl (Bubo bubo). Differences in skeletal element representation and in prey species' spectrum show that the two bone clusters derive from pellets deposited near a nest site and a roost site, respectively. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the bones indicate that eagle owls lived in the collapsing bath complex during the second half of the 6th to the beginning of the 7th century AD, before the final abandonment of the town. The MNI of the prey animals found at the nest site, confronted with the daily dietary needs of a female eagle owl and its young, indicates repetitive use of the same place during several years. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE SYNTAX OF OBJECTS AND THE REPRESENTATION OF HISTORY: SPEAKING OF SLAVERY IN NEW YORK

The representation of history continues to evolve in the domain of museum exhibitions. This evolution is informed in part by the creation of new display methods—many of which depart from the traditional conventions used to achieve the "museum effect"—in part by an increased attention to the museum-visitor relationship. In this context the ethical force of bearing witness, at times a crucial aspect of the museum experience, has emerged as a particularly compelling issue. In seeking to represent and address atrocity, injustice, and the abrogation of human rights, museums have the potential to become "sites of conscience" and to encourage "historical consciousness." Through a series of three exhibitions devoted to slavery, the New-York Historical Society demonstrated how such sites can be constructed and how objects can be deployed to represent extreme or "limit cases." In this review/essay I investigate and interrogate these exhibitions, looking closely at the use of objects as a source of "indirect testimony" (Marc Bloch) and at the "dialogical situation" (Paul Ricoeur) that might arise in an encounter among objects, exhibit narratives, and visitors. Thinking in terms of point of view, I look at the variety of rhetorical platforms from which objects speak in these exhibitions; thinking in terms of syntax, I look at the effects of ordering and of the radical juxtaposition of objects; thinking in terms of irony, I look at the provocations of double-voiced narratives and at how objects are used to support those historical sentences.