Chemical analyses of organic residues in archaeological pottery from Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland – evidence for dairying in the late Neolithic

Fatty acids distribution and stable isotope ratios (bulk δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C of individual fatty acids) of organic residues from 30 potsherds have been used to get further insights into the diet at the Late Neolithic (3384–3370 BC) site of Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland. The results are compared with modern equivalents of animal and vegetable fats, which may have been consumed in a mixed ecology community having agrarian, breeding, shepherd, gathering, hunting, and fishing activities. The used combined chemical and isotopic approach provides valuable information to complement archaeological indirect evidence about the dietary trends obtained from the analysis of faunal and plant remains. The small variations of the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values within the range expected for degraded animal and plant tissues, is consistent with the archaeological evidence of animals, whose subsistence was mainly based on C₃ plants. The overall fatty acid composition and the stable carbon isotopic compositions of palmitic, stearic and oleic acids of the organic residues indicate that the studied Arbon Bleiche 3 sherds contain fat residues of plant and animal origin, most likely ruminant (bovine and ovine). In several vessels the presence of milk residues provides direct evidence for dairying during the late Neolithic in central Europe.     

The origins of two purportedly pre-Columbian Mexican crystal skulls

The well-known life-size rock crystal skull in the British Museum was purchased in 1897 as an example of genuine pre-Columbian workmanship, but its authenticity has been the subject of increasing speculation since the 1930s. This paper is concerned with the history, technology and material of the skull and another larger white quartz skull, donated recently to the Smithsonian Institution. Manufacturing techniques were investigated, using scanning electron microscopy to examine tool marks on the artefacts, and compared with Mesoamerican material from secure contexts. A Mixtec rock crystal goblet and a group of Aztec/Mixtec rock crystal beads show no evidence of lapidary wheels. They were probably worked with stone and wood tools charged with abrasives, some of which may have been as hard as corundum. Textual evidence for Mexican lapidary techniques during the early colonial period, supported by limited archaeological evidence, also indicates a technology without the wheel, probably based on natural tool materials. In contrast, the two skulls under consideration were carved with rotary wheels. The British Museum skull was worked with hard abrasives such as corundum or diamond, whereas X-ray diffraction revealed traces of carborundum (SiC), a hard modern synthetic abrasive, on the Smithsonian skull. Investigation of fluid and solid inclusions in the quartz of the British Museum skull, using microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, shows that the material formed in a mesothermal metamorphic environment equivalent to greenschist facies. This suggests that the quartz was obtained from Brazil or Madagascar, areas far outside pre-Columbian trade networks. Recent archival research revealed that the British Museum skull was rejected as a modern artefact by the Museo Nacional de Mexico in 1885, when offered for sale by the collector and dealer, Eugène Boban. These findings led to the conclusion that the British Museum skull was worked in Europe during the nineteenth century. The Smithsonian Institution skull was probably manufactured shortly before it was bought in Mexico City in 1960; large blocks of white quartz would have been available from deposits in Mexico and the USA.     

重庆忠县洞天堡墓地出土西汉青铜钫的腐蚀研究

为了解重庆洞天堡墓地出土青铜器的保存状况、腐蚀产物种类和埋藏环境特征等,并探索其锈蚀成因,为即将进行的保护修复工作提供科学的依据,利用三维视频显微镜、激光共聚焦拉曼光谱仪和扫描电子显微镜等对重庆忠县洞天堡墓地出土青铜钫残片进行微观形貌观察和锈蚀物结构成分分析,并利用X射线荧光和微生物分析技术对青铜钫附着土壤进行成分和微生物分析。结果表明:该青铜钫锈蚀物含孔雀石、白铅矿、铅钒、磷氯铅矿、砷铅矿和赤铜矿等;外层锈蚀存在磷和氯元素富集现象;土壤中的磷、硫和氯等元素向青铜器迁移,青铜器中铜、锡和铅元素因腐蚀向土壤中流失;附着土富含多种真菌类微生物,促进了磷氯铅矿和砷铅矿的形成。     

马鞍山朱然墓漆砚的实验研究

漆砚是砚台中较为特别的一种,漆木砚、漆砂砚等都是漆砚的不同种类,具有不同的工艺特征。早期漆砚的髹漆工艺较为简单,至明清时期的漆砂砚工艺为漆砚发展的巅峰。为探索古代漆砚工艺,利用显微CT、包埋剖面观察、拉曼光谱和红外光谱,对三国时期朱然墓出土的漆砚进行研究。实验结果表明,这件砚台为大漆直接髹涂在木胎上,砚堂和砚盒的外观颜色为大漆自然色,砚堂边的红色颜料为朱砂,在砚堂漆层中并未发现诸如金刚砂或石英粉之类的研磨颗粒物。该砚台在考古报告中记录为"漆砂砚",漆砂砚工艺仅见于明清时期文献记载,典型特征是用大漆调和颗粒研磨物作为砚堂。因此,三国朱然墓的这件砚台不具备漆砂砚特征,或称之为漆砚更为适宜。同时,本研究的实验结果可为两汉时期的漆砚研究提供参考。     

Lapis lazuli usage for blue decoration of polychrome painted glazed pottery: a recurrent technology during the Middle Ages in Apulia (Southern Italy)

Seven fragments of atypical proto-majolica from the archaeological site of Siponto (Manfredonia, Foggia) were analysed by chemical and physical methods. All fragments have blue, brown and yellow painted decorations. Raman microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersed Spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) investigations identified the blue pigment to lapis lazuli. We previously identified this mineral in the blue coloration of the tin–lead glaze of proto-majolica finds at other Medieval sites in Apulia (Castel Fiorentino and Lucera). The discovery of the fragments from Siponto, in spite of their peculiar technological-decorative features, proves that the use of lapis lazuli as a ceramic pigment was not an isolated occurrence, but was quite common in the Middle Ages in the production of typologically heterogeneous ceramics in Southern Italy.     

Uranium-series dating rock art in East Timor

At many sites throughout the world rock art paintings have been covered by naturally deposited calcite laminations, which we demonstrate can be individually dated by recently improved uranium-series methods. Here we report the application of multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to measure the ages for carbonate coatings that bracket red pigment at Lene Hara cave, East Timor, which could be evidence of human painting. These analyses establish the feasibility of dating milligram samples of finely layered calcite deposits associated with archaeological evidence of human occupation. In addition to confirming an age of less then 6300 years for the visible red paintings on the carbonate surface we also report a substantially older age of 24,000 to 29,300 years for a similar, older red pigment lamination providing possible evidence for an earlier painting episode.     

Mineralogical and Chemical Characterization of Roman Slag from the Archaeological Site of Castra (Ajdovščina,Slovenia)

This study deals with the mineralogical and chemical characterization of archaeometallurgical material from the Roman archaeological site of Castra (Ajdov??ina, western Slovenia). Samples were initially analysed via optical microscopy and X‐ray powder diffraction, with the composition of individual phases then determined using scanning electron microscopy coupled with electron‐dispersive spectroscopy, and Raman microspectroscopy. Chemical investigation was carried out by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy to measure the major element content. The results showed that the slag originated from iron smithing operations, with calcium‐rich olivines, as well as wuestite and leucite, the most abundant phases. The investigated slags were also found to be characterized by significantly high lime levels, which probably promoted the formation of the calcium‐rich olivines.     

The rarest blue: An exceptional find of lapis lazuli in the polychromy of a funerary portrait from ancient Palmyra

The current interdisciplinary study of a funerary portrait has provided the first identification of a blue pigment on Palmyrene sculpture. The exceptional attestation of lapis lazuli on the examined portrait confirms the use of this highly valuable semiprecious stone in ancient polychromy, which was previously thought to be a later addition to the painter's palette. Considering that the archaeological record contains numerous minor objects carved from lapis lazuli, there are astonishingly few known instances of its use as a pigment. This Palmyrene discovery is only the third known example from Antiquity.     

Responses of South African Agate and Chalcedony When Heated Experimentally,and the Broader Implications for Heated Archaeological Minerals

Here we present a database of responses by South African agate and chalcedony to heat treatment. This will assist analyses of heated stone tools not only in South African archaeological sites, but wherever heated agate and chalcedony pieces were knapped. The minerals are abundant worldwide. To replicate potential heating methods during the Stone Age we placed some minerals in a wood fire, some under coals, and others were buried in sediments beneath fires. Thermal responses include lustrous flaked surfaces, pot lid fractures, semi-circular internal fractures, rough internal surfaces, and crazing. Aerobic heating is implied by pot lid fractures. To explain the thermal responses we analyzed the minerals using X-ray fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, and carbon and sulfur analyses. Our chalcedony contains more water and impurities than agate, making it more vulnerable to thermal damage. Our method of combining field experiments with chemical analyses has global applications even though we expect that mineral components of agate and chalcedony will vary slightly in different parts of the world.     

唐张臣和墓彩绘陶质文物的拉曼光谱和X衍射分析

利用拉曼光谱和X衍射方法,对张臣和墓彩绘陶质文物颜料及胎体进行分析,结果表明各种颜料保存基本完好,为以后科学保护修复这批彩绘陶质文物提供了科学依据。同时也证明,在样品量极少的情况下,利用拉曼光谱和X衍射等方法可有效鉴别古代颜料的种类及文物胎体的成分。