梁“中大通二年”纪年摩崖的发现——栖霞寺千佛岩61号佛龛南梁纪年题名石刻

2000年在栖霞寺千佛岩窟区61号佛龛门楣上寻访到纪年题名石刻,此次发现提供了开凿于齐梁间的千佛岩石窟的准确竣工年代,纠正了过去石窟竣工于梁天监十年的说法,并为鉴定同类时代的佛龛提供了重要依据。     

Forensic Ar/Ar dating: a provenance study of Middle Stone Age obsidian artifacts from Ethiopia

Obsidian sourcing based on geochemistry is widely applied to reconstruct commerce patterns and dissemination of early hominid groups. Due to problems concerning potential intra-source variability or homogeneity of a geological source over large areas, parameters additional to this classical approach are desirable. Here we present the first ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar investigation of Middle Stone Age (MSA) obsidian artifacts (i.e. debitage pieces) for this purpose, as well as of potential geological obsidian sources from Ethiopia. With the present pilot study we demonstrate that ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology represents a reliable and powerful tool for archaeological provenance studies complementary to the geochemical approach and more recently applied techniques like fission track counting or Mössbauer spectroscopy. Two independent sets of debitage and potential source rock samples were dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. Debitage pieces from the Kulkuletti excavation site and obsidian samples from the nearby obsidian outcrop Worja (central Ethiopia) exhibit basically identical age ranges as well as similar Ca/K and Cl/K ratios, supporting the debitage/source rock relationship previously inferred on geochemical grounds. A second small set of geochemically characterized debitage samples from the Porc Epic cave and potential source rocks from an obsidian outcrop at Kone (Eastern Ethiopia) however have different ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages and Ca/K and Cl/K ratios. These results contradict the previous conclusion about a debitage/source rock relationship of the Porc Epic and Kone samples made on the basis of geochemistry [A. Negash, M.S. Shackley, Archaeometry 48 (2006) 1]. Additional sampling at the Kone outcrop as well as of other obsidian occurrences in the greater area is needed to unambiguously pinpoint the origin of these obsidian tools.     

石鼓制作年代综考

本文在石鼓文“秦文公年代说”的基础上,从石鼓颂诗产生的历史时期、对秦人“若石——神(鬼)”崇拜及文公时社会氛圈和习俗的分析、石鼓最初所在地与文公作“陈宝祠”地址的一致性、文字形体及其书写风格的考察四个方面,对石鼓制作年代作进一步考证,认为：石鼓是秦文公十九年(或略晚些时侯)秦人崇拜“若石”(即陨石)、祭奠先祖而作并刻诗。石鼓文属春秋早期秦文字。     

Thermoluminescence dating of a Stillbay–Howiesons Poort sequence at Diepkloof Rock Shelter (Western Cape,South Africa)

New excavations have been undertaken at Diepkloof Rock Shelter (DRS; South Africa) since 1999. It is one of the very few sites where Howiesons Poort and Stillbay assemblages can be collected from the same archaeological sequence. These Middle Stone Age techno-complexes are particularly interesting for their affinities with the much younger Later Stone Age facies, and their association with evidence for symbolic behaviour. Establishing their chronology is therefore particularly important for the understanding of the apparition and the evolution of the so-called “modern” behaviours. Data already available suggest ages ranging from 55 to 80 ka for the Howiesons Poort and from 70 to 80 ka for the Stillbay techno-complexes in several South African sites. The thermoluminescence dating undertaken at DRS on 22 stone samples originating from the entire stratigraphic record indicates intervals starting 10–50 ka earlier for these techno-complexes in this site. Possible caveats in the dating process are examined but to the best of our current knowledge must be rejected.     

一件海外回流石棺床之我见

2004年,中国文物信息咨询中心征集到一件流失海外多年的石棺床,随后入藏首都博物馆。本文首次对这件石棺床进行了详细的介绍,并与同类石棺床的结构、画像风格、年代进行了比较研究,同时还对带有屏风、双阙结构石棺床的定名和使用功能进行了探讨。     

Settlement history in the eastern Rub al-Khali: Preliminary Report of the Dubai Desert Survey (2006–2007)

Regional archaeological survey in desert areas of Dubai, U.A.E., has identified numerous archaeological sites in this rapidly changing landscape. Subsurface geophysical surveys have been undertaken in concert with surface collection and test excavation to document the extent and chronology of each site. Contrary to expectations that deserts were permanently abandoned following the end of the mid-Holocene pluvial phase around 4000 BC, two sites, Al-Ashoosh and Saruq al-Hadid, show evidence of substantial occupation during the late third and early first millennia respectively. These findings suggest that the Rub al-Khali supported human settlement much later than is generally thought, challenging traditional understandings of the region's cultural and environmental histories.     

中国中东部新石器中晚期玉文化遗址分布的时空特征

新石器中晚期(8000～3000a B.P.)玉器从石器中分出形成相对独立的玉文化.玉文化遗址是玉文化保留至今的载体,本文通过田野考古资料结合陆地卫星遥感图像分析技术探讨我国中东部各流域玉文化遗址的时空分布特征,得出如下结论:(1)玉文化扩散包括扩展扩散和迁移扩散两种形式;(2)玉文化扩散具有纬度扩散性、经度扩散性和垂...     

A new method to remove copper corrosion stains from stone surfaces

This paper reports on a methodological study carried out in order to propose a cleaning procedure to remove stains produced by bronze corrosion products on surface of limestone (namely travertine); the procedure is effective and more environmentally friendly than the methods commonly used today. Several copper complexing or chelating agents were considered, including three amino acids and compared with some ion exchange resins. After a first laboratory phase on pure copper products and on artificially stained quarry samples, the optimized procedure was tested on the pedestal of a bronze statue in the Sapienza campus, in Rome. Colorimetry and ICP/OES were used to evaluate the efficiency of the cleaning procedure.     

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

The use of stone cutting tools opened a novel adaptive niche for hominins. Hence, it has been hypothesised that biomechanical adaptations evolved to maximise efficiency when using such tools. Here, we test experimentally whether biometric variation influences the efficiency of simple cutting tools (n = 60 participants). Grip strength and handsize were measured in each participant. 30 participants used flint flakes, while the other 30 used small (unhafted) steel blades. Variations in basic parameters of tool form (length, width, thickness, cutting edge length) were recorded for the 30 flint flakes. It was ensured that mean handsize and strength in each participant group were not significantly different to investigate the effect of tool variation. The experimental task required cutting through a 10 mm-diameter hessian rope. Cutting efficiency was measured using both ‘Number of cutting strokes required’ and ‘Total time taken’. Results show that both efficiency measures were significantly correlated with handsize using all 60 participants. However, no significant differences were found between the flake and blade groups in terms of mean efficiency. Nor was any significant relationship found between tool form parameters and efficiency in the flint flake group. We stress that our results do not imply that tool form has no impact on tool efficiency, but rather that – all other things being equal – biometric variation has a statistically significant influence on efficiency variation when using simple cutting tools. These results demonstrate that biomechanical parameters related directly to efficiency of use, may plausibly have been subject to selection in the earliest stone tool-using hominins.     

Experiments with Lithic Tools: Understanding Starch Residues from Crop Harvesting

Stone knives were used widely in Neolithic East Asia, presumably in the harvesting of grain crops, but their function has not been clearly understood due to the lack of study of residues from these tools. To address this issue, starch grain analysis was employed to study the residues on the surface of ancient stone knives and large amounts of starches were recovered. The sources of these starches, however, were not well understood, because harvesting of crops involves the cutting of stems rather than direct contact with starchy seeds. To determine whether harvesting could deposit these types of residues, we designed a simulation experiment using stone flakes to harvest ears of wheat, rice and foxtail millet, then analysed the residues on both the flakes and in the plant tissues. A large number of starch grains were found in the stems, including both typical morphotypes from seeds and newly described types that occur only in stems, which can be used as indicators of harvesting. Our study demonstrates that starch grains from residues on the surfaces of archaeological stone knives can indicate not only that the tools were used to harvest ears, but also the type of crops harvested.