Genetic characterization of an archaeological sheep assemblage from South Africa’s Western Cape

The Neolithic Revolution, constituting a shift from food acquisition to food production, came to Africa as it did to most of the rest of the world: through processes of transmission rather than through de novo innovation. In contrast with other regions the pastoral management of cattle, sheep and goats was widespread in Africa thousands of years before settled agricultural communities or the use of domesticated plants were in evidence ( 46, 35 and 10). We report here the discovery of haplogroup B in the first genetic analysis of an African archaeological sheep assemblage.     

Joint geophysical measurements to investigate the Rossano of Vaglio archaeological site (Basilicata Region,Southern Italy)

A high resolution geophysical survey was carried out in the archaeological site of Rossano di Vaglio (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy), where an important ancient sanctuary is located. It was built during the IV century B.C. and devoted to the goddess Mephitis. The sanctuary rises in an area affected by a multiple and retrogressive rototraslational landslide, historically and presently subject to reactivation. The main objective of this work was the identification of buried structures of archaeological interest in an area designated by the Archaeological Superintendence of the Basilicata Region. The study was performed by means of the use of high resolution geophysical surveys. In particular, we made use of the joint application of three highly sensitive and non-invasive geophysical techniques, namely the Geoelectrical, the Magnetic and the Ground Probing Radar (GPR) methodologies. In such a way, we obtained two important results: first, we provided the archaeologists with information about the limits of the areas to be excavated; second, we could verify in real time the reliability of the geophysical results. The experimental results showed four main magnetic anomalies in the area of study, in agreement with the GPR results obtained for the same target. Finally, a partial excavation test of the investigated area revealed a buried building structure, located in correspondence of an anomaly identified by means of the geophysical prospecting.     

略谈宋代官窑瓷器研究中存在的问题

宋代官窑是中国古陶瓷研究中的重要内容之一。长期以来,由于对相关历史文献的理解不同以及考古发掘的局限性,致使在宋代官窑瓷器研究中存在许多悬而未决的问题,诸如何为北宋官窑,北宋朝廷是否在都城汴京设置过官窑,北宋官窑是否就是汝窑,河南汝州张公巷窑是否是北宋官窑,南宋修内司官窑的称谓是否准确,南宋官窑是否只有郊坛下官窑一处,何为文献上所说的内窑,老虎洞窑是修内司官窑还是文献上所说的续窑,等等。本文在对专家学者们对上述问题的看法进行疏理的基础上,指出对宋代官窑瓷器的研究离不开传世宋代官窑瓷器、现代科学技术手段和考古发掘资料,只有将这三者结合起来开展综合研究,才能最终解决上述问题。     

晋南已发现的西周国族初析

山西南部地区陆续发现了多处西周墓地,著名的有曲沃县天马-曲村晋国墓地及北赵晋侯墓地,黎城西关、浮山桥北、绛县横水墓地等。由于缺少全面系统的分析,研究者普遍将这些遗存均作为西周封国的遗存看待。该文通过考古资料、历史渊源和地理环境等方面的综合研究,认为对这些墓地尚不宜一概而论,他们实际存在着国与族的差别,即诸侯国、封国以及采邑的差异。从族群来源上讲有来自关中地区姬周系统的虞、晋、杨等诸侯或封国,也有出自晋南古族帝尧后裔黎国,还有源自殷商遗民的先国,以及出于戎狄文化系统的倗氏。只有更清楚的区分出众多西周墓地所属是国还是族的差别,才能较好的认识周王朝对晋南统治的格局。     

抗日根据地时期的女性离婚问题——以晋西北(晋绥)高等法院25宗离婚案为中心的考察

中共晋西北抗日民主政权建立后即颁布《晋西北婚姻暂行条例》,对女性离婚权予以法律上的肯定。一批农村妇女以情感、经济等原因向丈夫提出离婚,根据地婚姻观念或离婚现象呈现出与以往不同的景观。由于离婚案件频频发生,影响了中共抗战大局,中共中央于1943年发表关于各抗日根据地妇女工作方针的四三决定,修正过去激进的婚姻变革路线,以将妇女关注的重点由婚姻问题转向生产建设并缓解根据地两性之间日益紧张的矛盾。这种策略性的政策转变引起法院对待离婚案件的处理发生演变,即不同时期性质相同或相近之案件,其审理结果迥然相异。这亦说明婚姻变革须立足于现实的客观实际。     

崔骃、班固赋、颂作年献疑

陆侃如先生<中古文学系年>将崔驷<大将军临洛观赋>系于永元四年四月初,认为崔驷<西征赋>系<北征颂>之误,值得商榷.通过对这两篇作品的探讨,还可对傅毅卒年、崔驷离开窦宪军幕返乡时间作出相对明确的断定.通过考察影日藏弘仁本<文馆词林>中所收崔驷<四巡颂>中<南巡颂>,可得出崔驷<南巡颂>与班固<南巡颂>的作年相同的结论.在此基础上,又可进一步推定班固丁忧去官的大致时间.     

Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Movements in Southern Kyushu, Japan

From the late Pleistocene to early Holocene in Japan, subtropical and temperate forest elements moved northwards. This affected human choices and access to food sources. More settled patterns of living spread northwards gradually, and northern hunting-gathering-fishing people began cultivating vegetables and cereal crops. This poster reports the presence of ancient starch residues on stone artefacts in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu. The oldest residues recovered are dated by context to about 30,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. If such residues can be identified, it may be possible to detect a hypothesized early phase of tropical plant movement northwards during warmer climate peaks in the late terminal Pleistocene, as well as during the long period of Holocene warming that followed. As an initial step towards identification, the morphological characteristics and condition of the starch granules are described and compared to those of other sites in early Japan.     

Remote sensing techniques for reconstructing a vast Neolithic settlement in Southern Italy

The combined application of remote sensing techniques is often the most effective way for deepening the knowledge on very large archaeological sites (several hectares). In particular, geophysics and aerial photography could yield very detailed information on buried structures not only outlining their location but also, in many cases, defining their planimetry. Moreover, the accurate geocoding of different data sets and the use of GIS for their integration allow to extract the most comprehensive information from a combined study.     

A cultural proxy for drought: ritual burning in the Iron age of Southern Africa

In traditional Bantu-speaking societies in southern Africa, drought is caused by breaches in rules of pollution. At times of severe drought (3–5 consecutive seasons), rainmakers ascend special hills to perform special rituals. The archaeological signature of this unique activity forms a cultural proxy for drought. New research shows that burnt daga structures also correlate with high δ¹⁵N values for small stock. Burnt structures thus form a new component to the proxy. According to the ethnography, farmers implicated in the cause burnt their grain bins, and sometimes houses, as a ritual of cleansing. The dating of these structures provides a revised climatic sequence for the plateau portion of the summer rainfall region. Among other new results, there was a drought at the end of the Mapungubwe period (ca. AD 1300). At about AD 1650, droughts associated with the arrival of maize caused people to stop growing it as food for a while.     

略论金代山西文人与地域文学的发展及原因

金代山西地域文学的发展历程可分为三个阶段:一是从金太祖到海陵王迁都之前(1115-1153),是金代山西地域文学的复苏期。二是海陵王迁都之后到章宗朝(1153-1209),是金代山西文学的发展期。三是从卫绍王到金亡(1209-1234),是金代山西文学的繁荣期。金代山西地域文学在金末迎来鼎盛局面主要有三方面的因素:一是中原文化重心的北移;二是"壬辰北渡"时期山西士人的回归;三是金末山西文人的忠国意识与使命感。