Lapa das boleiras rockshelter: stratigraphy and formation processes at a paleoamerican site in Central Brazil

Lapa das Boleiras rockshelter, a Paleoamerican archaeological site in Central Brazil, was intensely occupied by humans from 10,000 ¹⁴C BP (11.8 cal kyr BP), until approximately 7500 ¹⁴C BP (8.4 cal kyr BP). In this paper we present some interpretations about the formation processes operating on the site. One of our main conclusions is that the bulk of accumulated sediments at the site is of anthropogenic origin: they are constituted by volumetrically significant quantities of plant ash remains, what is somewhat unexpectedly in view of prevailing models about the lifestyle of Paleoamerican hunter–gatherers in South America. The evidence we discuss below is also consistent with paleoenvironmental data that suggest a dry period during the mid-Holocene in the region, probably leading to a decrease in human occupation [Araujo, A.G.M., Neves, W., Piló, L.B., Atui, J.P., 2005. Holocene dryness and human occupation in Brazil during the ‘Archaic Gap’. Quaternary Research 64, 298–307]. We surmise that both factors underpin a surprising reduction in sediment accumulation at the site during the mid-Holocene.     

Application of non-adult Bayesian dental age assessment methods to skeletal remains: the Spitalfields collection

The aim of this study was to test with non-adult skeletons the quality of a recently published dental age assessment method based on Bayes' theorem. The test sample consisted of dental X-rays from 16 individuals (range 2.6–15.1 years) recovered from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, for which age-at-death and sex were known. The training sample consisted of dental X-rays from 1346 girls and 1040 boys (range 1.9–16.0 years). Bayesian dental age assessment method was alternatively used with dependent and independent assumptions; the dependent Bayesian method (DBM) and independent Bayesian method (IBM), respectively. Moreover, both DBM and IBM were used alternatively with sex-specific standards and with non-sex-specific standard. Due to the training sample age distribution, both methods are efficient between 5.0 and 14.0 years. Whatever the method or the sex standard used, when dental age was different from chronological age, the discrepancy did not exceed one age group of one year. DBM produced tighter dental age 100% confidence intervals than IBM for the majority of assessments. The observed stability between results produced according to the type of sex standard used (i.e. sex-specific or non-sex-specific), and the number of teeth studied (range 4–7), is worthy of note for both archaeological and forensic contexts.     

铜同位素分析法在考古研究中的应用探讨

最新地球化学研究发现,自然界不同地质条件和成矿环境中的铜同位素组成存在显著差异。根据铜矿中铜同位素变化规律,考古学家已将铜同位素作为一种新的示踪剂应用于考古探源研究之中。文章介绍了铜同位素地球化学的最新发展、考古应用原理、实验方法及相关的考古应用实例。认为尽管自然界铜同位素的变化较为复杂且铜同位素地球化学还处于形成发展阶段,但铜同位素分析法在含铜器物的产地研究中已显示出了较好的应用前景。随着铜同位素地球化学研究的深入及分析技术的进一步提高,铜同位素分析法将会在考古研究中发挥更大的作用。     

三维激光扫描在文物考古中应用述评

对文物和遗址遗存进行精确描述和测绘一直是文物保护和考古发掘工作中的一个重要内容。相较于传统测绘方法,三维激光扫描具有快速、准确、无需接触文物表面等优势,已被广泛采用于文物保护和考古发掘工作中。本文对三维激光扫描的原理和工作流程进行简要介绍,并对其近期在文物保护和考古工作中的应用情况做出综述和评论。     

浙江旧石器考古综述

从2002年开始,浙江进行了一系列旧石器考古调查与发掘,成果表明古人类在浙江活动频繁、从早更新世晚段开始一直延续到晚更新世的某一阶段,持续时间很长。石制品的组合大多数归属于南方主工业,但也表现出了一些小流域的特色。从目前所发现旧石器地点分析,浙江旧石器考古研究的前景广阔。     

Artifacts that speak for themselves: Sounds underfoot in Mesoamerica

Previously overlooked in archaeological research, natural sounds emitted from the underground affect humans and culture. In this paper, it is suggested that noises generated by subterranean ground movement, water, wind, and wildlife are a reason why residents in Mesoamerica perceive caves, waterholes, limestone sinks, and mountains as sacred. Too, a mental grasp of the sounds, conceptualized as anthropomorphized voices and music, may have been employed as an ideological basis for authority in Maya society. Support is shown using examples of ethnohistory, ethnography, and archaeology. Called for is the systematic collection and study of underground sounds, as artifacts, to define the noises as possible use determinants in ritual venues and settlement sites. Their potential importance as early warning devices for destructive agents in the natural environment suggests that an understanding of the noises and their regard by residents in the region could contribute to theory-building in anthropology, particularly in issues of human-environment relations, and sociocultural development.     

旧石器时代石斧的认知考古学研究

艺术应始于人类的早期石斧，手斧的性择标识理论似乎解答了手斧的所有问题，但对该理论还有待更进一步的验证。     

An overview of Caribbean and Latin-American cultural heritage studies

Abstract

This review analyzes, through three recently published books that talk about cultural heritage in Latin America, how the Cultural Heritage Studies have allowed us to understand the current situation in the region characterized by the growing tendency to promote declarations of heritage as part of a plan for the use of culture as a resource for sustainable development. Likewise, those books analyze how responses from local communities are generated to hegemonic definitions of heritage, which indicates that cultural heritage in Latin America is not something given but something in constant construction and dispute.