The Beginnings of Word Order Change in the Arabic Dialects of Southern Iran in Contact with Persian: A Preliminary Study of Data from Four Villages in Bushehr and Hormozgan

This preliminary study explores the hypothesis that Arabic dialects spoken on the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf exhibit the beginnings of contact-induced shift in word order from VO to OV. Although the basic VO order is still stable, there is some variation even in this very limited data set. Specifically two phenomena point to a change in progress: clause-final copulae and auxiliaries that are placed after the lexical verb, lending further evidence to the observation that a clause-final copula is an areal feature of western Asia. The study also investigates semantic and pragmatic factors that influence word order choice, pointing to a strong effect of information structure in terms of narrow focus and theme-rheme partition. Furthermore, the study also reveals an effect of semantic role, specifically as far as the preferred placement of goals and recipients in post-verbal position is concerned.     

南越国时期汉越文化的并存与融合

岭南文化是以古越文化为基础,在中原先进的汉文化诸因素的强烈冲击和影响下发展而成的。南越国时期汉越文化的并存与融合是当时历史发展的必然趋势。     

金元时期晋东南地区寺院间互动——以高平金峰寺为例

山西晋城市高平市金峰寺保存的元代碑刻为我们揭示了金元时期这一地区寺院间的互动情况。金峰寺的始建和位于高平城内的崇果院有关,后两寺互为甲乙,成为上下院。因修习同一法门,可从碑文"法眷"寺院的记载中得知金峰、崇果二寺和当地其它寺院的交往。又因助缘寺院修建、撰写碑记等事,二寺还与另一些寺院有联系,这些存在关联的寺院之间直线距离多不超过20千米。寺院互动主要由僧人建立、维系和发展,是金元时期寺僧人际网络和活动范围的反映,也有因地方官员和村民的疏请而建立的联系。     

关于南朝陵墓神道石兽的名称问题

关于南朝陵墓神道石刻中的石兽的名称,研究者说法不一。通过相关文献以及考古资料的进一步收集和分析,可以认为帝陵石兽中的单角兽称天禄、双角兽称辟邪,王侯墓所用无角兽称狮子(或可因其生有双翼而称翼狮)是比较可取的说法。     

Pollen analysis of a soil sample associated with a Greek cult statue as a guide to provenance

A Classical Greek cult statue of a Goddess, “Aphrodite”, currently on display in the J. Paul Getty Museum has recently been reclaimed by the Italian government. The statue is thought to have been sculpted between 425 and 400 B.C. in southern Italy or Sicily, but its provenance is obscure. Soil incorporated into the true right arm socket of the acrolithic statue at the time of burial was pollen analyzed to provide information on its geographic origin. Since palynomorphs are often not well preserved in soils, a preliminary study was undertaken to investigate preservation and abundance of palynomorphs to determine the potential benefits of undertaking further analyses. Although concentration was low, the soil contained sufficient pollen and spores to determine the environment in the vicinity of the burial site of the statue. The landscape had been cleared of natural arboreal vegetation and intensively cultivated. Juglans regia and cereals were cultivated, and pastoralism may have been practiced. A specific geographic location could not be inferred without comparative soil analyses.     

南宋建康城居住空间布局研究

建康城是南宋时期的留都,城市地位仅次于京师临安,对其空间布局进行研究可以为城市发展提供稀缺资源和文化启迪。南宋建康城内的居住空间存在一个由区域中心出现——新街道出现(表现为新的街道名出现)——新坊设立(表现为新的坊名的出现)的过程,这一现象深刻的反映了当时城市经济及其文化内涵的变迁。     

山西襄汾县陶寺城址发现陶寺文化中期大型夯土建筑基址

2005～2007年,根据中华文明探源工程(第一、第二阶段)相关课题的工作安排,要求在陶寺城址继续发掘,探索宫殿区布局和区划。陶寺大遗址保护规划的制定工作,同样迫切要求我们确定陶寺城址是否存在宫殿区,以及宫殿区所在位置、规模等比较明确的信息。因此,寻找宫殿     

The application of microfossils in assessing the provenance of chalk used in the manufacture of Roman mosaics at Silchester

Microfossils recovered from chalk tesserae in mosaics from the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, modern Silchester, southern England, are used to suggest a provenance for the source-rock. The microfossils include foraminifera characteristic of late Cretaceous (Campanian) foraminiferal biozone BGS20 (quadrata macrofaunal biozone) and foraminiferal subzone BGS21i (basal mucronata macrofaunal biozone). Calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the same tesserae are poorly preserved, preventing precise age determination, but confirm an age of Santonian to Campanian. As indurated chalk beds of this age are not normally present in the stratigraphically higher chalks of southern England, it is probable that calcretised chalk, formed by secondary calcification beneath Palaeogene rock cover, was used to manufacture the tesserae. This suggestion is supported by a comparative analysis of chalk tesserae from the Norden Roman site in Dorset. Although the provenance of the chalk in some of the Silchester tesserae can be placed only within a broad geographical area of downland in southern England, others may have originated in the Dorchester–Swanage area, some 100 km to the southwest of Silchester, or the Portsdown area of southern Hampshire. None of the tesserae have been constructed from chalk found near Silchester.     

AMS C dating the Protoaurignacian/Early Aurignacian of Isturitz,France. Implications for Neanderthal–modern human interaction and the timing of technical and cultural innovations in Europe

This paper presents new AMS radiocarbon dating results of six ungulate bones from the current excavation of Isturitz Cave, France, layer C 4c4. The assemblage from this layer exhibits a suite of traits closely aligned with the Early Aurignacian, but with some aspects that bear strong similarities with the Protoaurignacian, with possible in situ technological transformation. Accurate and precise dating of the late Middle Palaeolithic and the early Upper Palaeolithic periods is critical to our understanding of the possible relationship between final Neanderthals and early modern humans in Europe. As such, a rigorous set of sample selection and evaluation protocols was developed and used in this research. Among these, only cutmarked bones were selected and a total of 31 targets were made, giving a weighted average of 37,180 ± 420 BP for this assemblage and providing a terminus ante quem for the ornaments, decorated artefact and amber pendants beneath it. The implications and importance of these results to debates concerning the chronological relationship between the Châtelperronian, Protoaurignacian and Early Aurignacian and associated debates regarding hominin dispersal, interaction and the timing of technical and cultural innovations are discussed.