Reconstructing Neolithic groups in Sarawak,Malaysia through lead and strontium isotope analysis

Heavy stable isotope analysis of mid-late Holocene Neolithic burials from Sarawak (Malaysia) identifies groups not apparent in mortuary treatment or inferred subsistence. Isotope ratios of strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and lead (²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb) from adult tooth enamel show distinct groups at Niah Cave's West Mouth organized by dietary catchment. Two roughly contemporary sites, Gua Sireh and Lobang Angin, are included to assess regional heterogeneity in northern Borneo. Heavy stable isotope ratios for humans differ from sampled modern plants and archaeological fauna from West Mouth, and suggest a non-local origin for some of the West Mouth human remains. Distinct heavy isotope ratios characterize all three sites and show regional differentiation broadly consistent with geological expectations. Results supplement paleodiet and morphological analyses and have implications for clarifying Niah Cave mortuary use during the mid-late Holocene. Further and more precise geographic placement will follow through additional landscape sampling for strontium and lead isotope values.     

重庆大足石刻舒成岩砂岩本体表面风化产物研究

针对重庆大足舒成岩摩崖造像和岩体富集灰尘部位出现的粉化伴随着层状剥落现象,采用X-射线衍射仪(XRD)、X-射线荧光光谱仪(XRF)、傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FTIR)、环境扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和X-射线光电子谱(XPS)对岩石、岩体风化产物与灰尘样品进行了组成结构表征研究。研究发现灰尘和有害气体干沉降过程中酸性物质能够导致砂岩中钙质胶结物发生溶解,伴随着各种盐类结晶应力,导致岩石表层发生风化。研究成果为西南地区石窟寺保护提供了重要参考数据。     

The micromammalian fauna from Border Cave,Kwazulu, South Africa

The micromammalian fauna from Border Cave is analysed in terms of community composition and structure. Changes in these aspects are interpreted as indicative of changes in vegetation and climate in the vicinity of the cave during the period of deposition. It would appear that vegetation comprised relatively extensive forest or thick bush and dense grass during wetter phases and fairly open savanna woodland, even open grassland, during drier periods. Variation through time in mean mandibular size in two species of Crocidura (musk shrew) was different both in the two species and from what was expected. It now seems likely that the size change constitutes a response to complex phenomena and not simply to changes in temperature. Comparison with the Boomplaas A sequence indicates that the same general pattern of change is reflected at both sites but that there was a greater amplitude of change at Boomplaas A and that ¹⁸O stage 4 was dry at this site but wet at Border Cave. Evidence for periodic changes in the distribution of various species, and in some cases the mutually exclusive occurrence of ecologically equivalent species, has implications for the zoogeography of the species involved. In particular, the occurrence of Pelomys fallax (creek rat) in the lower half of the sequence is of interest in view of its present distribution 600 + km north of Border Cave.     

The Anthropogenic Use of Firewood During the European Middle Pleistocene: Charcoal Evidence from Levels XIII and XI of Bolomor Cave,Eastern Iberia (230–160 ka)

Human control of fire is a widely debated issue in the field of Palaeolithic archaeology, since it involved significant technological innovations for human subsistence. Although fire evidence has been the subject of intense debate regarding its natural or anthropogenic nature, most authors agree that combustion structures represent the most direct evidence of human control of fire. Wood charcoal fragments from these contexts represent the fuel remains that result from humans’ collection of firewood, which means they can reveal significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to our understanding of Middle Palaeolithic societies. In this work, we present anthracological data derived from combustion structure 2 (level XIII, ca. 230?ka, MIS 7) and combustion structure 4 (level XI, ca. 160?ka, MIS 6) from Bolomor Cave, which are chronologically among the earliest combustion structures found in Europe. The present work discusses how the presence of black pine and / or scots pine in both levels sheds light on the characterisation of the local landscape. Additional analyses focussing on the pre- and post-depositional processes affecting charcoal preservation point to biodegradation patterns. The aim of this work is to provide the first discussion concerning the anthracological data derived from Bolomor Cave in order to contribute to the general debate regarding the use of fire during the European Middle Pleistocene.     

麦积山石窟131窟壁画材质及制作工艺研究

麦积山石窟保存的大量壁画是研究石窟壁画艺术与佛教文化的珍贵实物资料。利用悬浮沉淀法、纤维形貌观察法,结合X射线荧光、X射线衍射、激光粒度分析、拉曼光谱等检测方法对麦积山131窟壁画残块地仗层及其添加物、颜料层进行科学检测分析。分析结果表明:131窟壁画地仗层使用的黏土应该是麦积山周边稍远地区的天然细质黄土,且粗、细泥层中均人为添加有砂粒,但粗泥层中添加砂粒较细泥层更多、颗粒较大且颗粒度不均匀。粗泥层中添加纤维为麦衣、麦秆,细泥层添加麻纤维。壁画烟熏污染物主要显色物质为燃料燃烧产生的炭黑,红色颜料主要是铅丹、朱砂、铁红,白色底色层的成分是方解石。研究结果不仅为探讨麦积山石窟壁画材质与制作工艺提供了基础数据,而且对后期壁画的保护修复也具有一定的指导意义。     

Stone age predation on large African bovids

Crown height measurements are used to establish age distributions for several species of larger bovids represented in faunal samples from the Middle Stone Age (earlier Upper Pleistocene) deposits of the Klasies River Mouth Caves and the Later Stone Age (later Upper Pleistocene/Holocene) deposits of Nelson Bay Cave, South Africa. There are no obvious differences between the sites in the age distributions of the species they share, but there are significant differences in age distributions among species. Two basic patterns are apparent. In the first, characterizing the blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus), roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus), Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), and giant buffalo (Pelorovis antiquus), the archaeological samples contain numerous very young animals and relatively few prime-age adults. At least in the buffalo samples, there is also a fair representation of old adults. In the second pattern, characterizing the bastard hartebeest (Damaliscus dorcas or D. niro) and especially of the eland (Taurotragus oryx), prime adults are far more prominent relative to younger and older age groups. The first pattern is similar to the natural pattern of attritional mortality that probably characterizes all healthy, stable populations of free-ranging large ungulates, while the second is more reminiscent of the age structure of live herds. The first pattern may reflect hunting focused on individual animals, particularly those whose age made them most vulnerable, while the second may reflect the susceptibility of certain species to driving, so that whole groups could be killed in traps in which differences in age had no meaning.