Different staining substances were used in decorative and therapeutic tattoos in a 1000-year-old Peruvian mummy

From a 1000-year-old mummy, found unwrapped in the sand of the desert at Chiribaya Alta in Southern Peru, two different kinds of tattoos were investigated: decorative tattoos displaying different animals and symbolic ciphers were present on the extremities and tattooed circles on the neck region.     

Direct evidence of the use of beehive products in pre-Roman Sardinia

Written sources and iconographic evidence suggest that honey and beehive products, used in culinary, medicinal, and technological functions since pre-Neolithic times, were likely known and used in Phoenician and Punic Sardinia. The role of these resources is nonetheless poorly understood because no direct evidence survives on a macroscopic level. Significant advances in the knowledge about beeswax and beehive products processing in the past have been offered in recent decades by organic residue analyses (ORA), an approach that enables the characterisation of surviving chemical compounds or suites of compounds that provide information relating to human activity in the past. The relatively recalcitrant nature of lipid compounds comprising beeswax means that this commodity is among the products that can be unambiguously identified through ORA. Here we present and discuss the results of analyses undertaken on 368 pottery sherds from Phoenician and Punic Sardinia (eighth to third century BCE). These analyses offer direct evidence for the presence of beehive products on the island, suggesting the use of honey for culinary purposes in pots, and possibly connecting one specific vessel category with beeswax decanting during beekeeping and honey production processes. Our results also now clearly illustrate the widespread use of beehive products in pre-Roman Sardinia.     

故宫博物院旧藏漆器文物中漆灰材质的科学研究

漆灰的修复是漆器文物修复工作的重要组成部分。为揭示故宫博物院旧藏漆器3种典型漆灰的材料构成及特点,以及为漆器修复工作提供科技支持,研究结合X射线荧光光谱、微区X射线衍射、红外光谱、纤维显微镜观测、热裂解-气相色谱/质谱联用等技术,综合分析了3种典型漆灰所含无机及有机原材料。研究结果表明：明代古梅花蕉叶式琴漆灰所用无机材料是动物角灰或骨灰及少量黏土,胶结材料则由中国大漆及少量植物油组成;清代黑漆描金大宝座漆灰的无机材料为含有方解石的黏土,胶结材料为熟桐油、猪血的混合物,此外,样品中还含有麻类纤维,为宝座木胎与漆灰层之间所裱麻布,宝座漆灰不但能提供平整髹漆表面,而且还对麻布有加固定型作用;清代黑漆地填金字张廷玉书圣训天伦对联漆灰的无机材料为黏土,胶结材料则为熟桐油、猪血的混合物。研究所用分析方法体系可实现漆灰原材料,特别是有机胶结材料的准确识别。3种典型漆灰的选材特点与中国古代漆器,特别是明清时期家具、器物制作用料传统相吻合,研究结果可直接应用于漆器文物修复方案的制定。     

三种含Cu、As绿色颜料的拉曼光谱研究

分析和确认古代颜料的成分是文物研究中的一项重要工作。为对四个来自不同地区的含Cu、As元素的绿色颜料进行鉴别,应用拉曼光谱仪并辅助以扫描电镜能谱分析仪(SEMEDX)和X射线衍射仪(XRD)进行研究。结果表明其分别为墨绿砷铜矿、氯砷钠铜石以及巴黎绿。对其来源分别进行了讨论,因巴黎绿在国内青铜修复和古建彩画当中的大量应用,过去对于含有Cu、As的绿色颜料通常鉴定为巴黎绿。墨绿砷铜矿和氯砷钠铜石为在文物彩绘中新发现的两种矿物颜料,为绿色颜料的鉴定提供了新的思路。     

Retrograde P–T evolution and high temperature–low pressure fluid circulation in relation to late Hercynian intrusions: a mineralogical and fluid inclusion study of the Charroux-Civray plutonic complex (north-western Massif Central, France)

The calc‐alkaline plutonic complex from Charroux‐Civray (north‐western part of the French Massif Central) displays multiphase hydrothermal alteration. Plutonic rocks, as well as early retrograde Ca–Al silicate assemblages, which have crystallized during cooling and uplifting of the plutonic series, are affected by multiphase chlorite–phengite–illite–carbonate alteration linked to intense pervasive fluid circulation through microfractures. The petrographic study of alteration sequences and their associated fluid inclusions in microfissures of the plutonic rocks, as well as in mineral fillings of the veins, yields a reconstruction of the P–T–X evolution of the Hercynian basement after the crystallization of the main calc‐alkaline plutonic bodies. This reconstruction covers the uplift of the basement to its exposure and the subsequent burial by Mesozoic sediments. Cooling of the calc‐alkaline plutonic series started at solidus temperatures (～650°C), at a pressure of about 4 kbar (1 bar = 10⁵ N m^?2), as indicated by magmatic epidote stability, hornblende barometry and fluid inclusion data. Cooling continued under slightly decreasing pressure during uplift down to 2–3 kbar at 200–280°C (prehnite–pumpellyite paragenesis). Then, a hot geothermal circulation of CO₂‐bearing fluids was induced within the calc‐alkaline rocks leading to the formation of greisen‐like mineralizations. During this stage, temperatures around 400–450°C were still high for the inferred depths (～2 kbar). They imply abnormal heat flows and thermal gradients of 60–80°C km^?1. The hypothesis of the existence of one large or a succession of smaller peraluminous plutons at depth, supported by geophysical data, suggests that localized heat flows were linked to concealed leucogranite intrusions. As uplift continued, greisen mineralization was subsequently affected by the chlorite–phengite–dolomite assemblage, correlated with aqueous and nitrogen‐bearing fluid circulations in the temperature range of 400–450°C. In a later stage, a continuous temperature decrease at constant pressure (～0.5 kbar) led to the alteration of the dolomite–illite–chlorite type in the 130–250°C temperature range.     

古代文物表面常见天然有机物的显微共聚焦拉曼光谱研究

为了鉴别文物表面常见的天然有机物,采用显微共聚焦拉曼光谱技术采集了古代常用的蛋白类、多糖类、脂肪酸类、树脂类4类6种有代表性的天然有机物的拉曼光谱。通过对皮胶、桃胶、蜂蜡、棕榈蜡、达玛树脂和琥珀标准样品的拉曼光谱分析,发现蛋白类的特征振动峰位于1657cm-1、1305~1252cm-1、1033cm-1及1003cm-1附近;多糖类的特征振动峰位于1463cm-1、1328cm-1、1258cm-1、1088cm-1、977cm-1等;蜡类的特征振动峰位于1470~1350cm-1区间,1659cm-1、1303cm-1、1636 cm-1及1610cm-1;树脂类的特征振动峰位于1660~1650cm-1区间和1460~1440cm-1区间。在对6种天然有机物光谱特征分析的基础上,得出了使用拉曼光谱法可实现古代文物表面常见天然有机物种类鉴别的结论。     

The Intentional Use of Lead–tin Orange in Indian Islamic Glazes and Its Preliminary Characterization

We describe the historical appearance, composition and texture of a little‐known orange pigment in 17th‐century northern India. The pigment shares similarities with lead–tin yellow type II, but has between 6 and 7 wt% zinc oxide instead of silica as a minor element in its structure, in addition to the dominant lead and tin oxide. The consistency of its occurrence and composition across several important and highly decorated monuments and relatively wide chronological and geographical ranges of use indicate the controlled and intentional production of this pigment. We propose to use the name lead–tin orange for this material, indicating its similarity to lead–tin yellow but highlighting its independent character and distinct colour.     

The technological development of stonepaste ceramics from the Islamic Middle East

The microstructures and chemical compositions of stonepaste bodies from the Islamic Middle East, typically produced from a mixture of ten parts crushed quartz, one part crushed glass and one part white clay, are investigated using analytical scanning electron microscopy. For comparison, replicate stonepaste bodies are produced in the laboratory at firing temperatures in the range 900–1200 °C, and are similarly examined. The stonepaste bodies are divided into four primary microstructural groups that reflect the increasing reaction during firing of the glass fragments with the clay and quartz particles. The observed microstructures are then used to assess the geographical and chronological variations in the production technology of stonepaste ceramics from Egypt, Syria, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkey, spanning the period from 11th to 17th centuries AD.     

重庆忠县翠屏山崖墓群出土晋代金银器的分析研究

利用微聚焦能量色散X射线荧光光谱仪(EDXRF)、拉曼光谱仪(RS)、X射线电子能谱仪(XPS)等无损分析法,对重庆忠县翠屏山崖墓出土金银器的基体成分、表面腐蚀物成分以及其物相结构进行了系统的分析测试。结果表明:两个金器样品的含金量均高达90%,纯度较高。此外,还含有一定含量的银、铜、锌、镍、铷等杂质元素;银器中,大多数样品含银量高达97.38~98.85%,同时还含有少量硫、铬、镍、锌、金等杂质元素;银器表面附着的黑色的腐蚀物,经鉴定为Ag2S,红褐色腐蚀物的物相结构为Cu2O;值得关注的是,有一个银器样品含银95.2%,含铜3.19%,应为铜银合金,此结果对于探讨我国古代银铜合金技术发展与演变的研究,具有非常重要的意义。     

拉曼光谱技术在仿古玉鉴别中的应用

由热处理法可制得软玉的仿古效果,为古玉的科学鉴定提供理论依据,为此使用拉曼光谱对三组不同颜色的软玉原料及经不同温度热处理所得的样品进行了研究。实验结果表明:经热处理法得到的仿古玉样品的拉曼谱图同未经热处理的软玉原料的拉曼谱图相比在位移上有显著差异。未经热处理的软玉原料在252～395cm~(-1)拉曼位移带的数个谱峰在经热处理得到的仿古玉的谱图中会集中显示为324～327cm~(-1)和389～395cm~(-1)处的两个拉曼峰,在666～668cm~(-1)和1019～1027cm~(-1)处的谱峰会稍向低频方向漂移至662～665cm~(-1)和1007～1010cm~(-1), 510～526cm~(-1)处的拉曼峰会变钝,926cm~(-1)处的谱峰几乎消失,而1304～1310cm~(-1)处的拉曼峰则是经热处理法得到的仿古玉才具有的。因此,1304～1310cm~(-1)处的拉曼峰可作为鉴别经热处理法得到的仿古玉的特征峰。