湖北襄阳法龙付岗墓地发掘简报

本报道了湖北襄阳法龙村付岗墓地的9座墓葬及出土的32件陶器和7件铜器。该墓地的时代为战国晚期至西汉早期。发掘认为,付岗墓地可能是邹湾遗址的公共平民墓地。     

小邾国媵器随葬于本国贵族墓地原因探析

小邾国与胙国是姻亲国,邾友父鬲是小邾君为其嫁为胙国夫人的女儿制的媵器,本应随其女儿陪嫁到胙国,而却随葬在小邾国贵族基地.邾友父鬲和1号墓的年代为春秋早期,胙国被灭也在春秋早期.二者年代相同,绝非偶然巧合.其原因应与胙国灭亡的重大变故有关.当时邾友父的女儿很可能未及出嫁胙国就灭亡了,也可能已经出嫁到胙国,在南燕兼并胙国时为避难而逃回到母国,同时也把媵器带到了娘家,或仅仅是把媵器转移到了小邾国,后因胙国灭亡,媵器便留在了母国,为其兄弟亦即第二代小邾君所得,到第二代小邾君或其夫人去世时,便把这些媵器随葬在墓中.如果此说不妄,则又可反证胙国灭亡的更为具体的年代.     

An African-Type Healer/Diviner and His Grave Goods: A Burial from a Plantation Slave Cemetery in Barbados, West Indies

An adult male buried in the late 1600s or early 1700s and excavated from a plantation slave cemetery in Barbados had the cemetery's richest assortment of grave goods: an iron knife, several types of metal jewelry, an earthenware pipe, and a necklace of money cowries, fish vertebrae, dog canine teeth, European glass beads, and a large carnelian bead probably from India. Most of these artifacts are unique to New World African descendant sites. The individual was probably an African-type diviner/healer whose high status in the slave community is reflected in his relatively elaborate artifact inventory.     

西司马墓地与殷遗民

西司马墓地中部偏西的82座墓葬,从出土器物、葬制葬俗来看,年代应为西周早期,最早可到武王时期,最晚不出成王时期,墓主应是殷遗民。其中西向墓和南向墓应分属两族,二者在墓葬形态和财富上有着较为明显的差异。西司马殷遗民墓地很可能就是武王时期迁徙殷遗民政策的结果。     

从顾家坡墓地的发掘看史前时代文化交叉地带的部落冲突

顾家坡墓地是湖北省第一次完整揭露的一处史前时代的墓地 ,共发现墓葬 2 37座 ,时代为大溪文化晚期到屈家岭文化时期 (距今约 5 30 0年～ 4 6 0 0年 )。通过研究作者注意到 :一定数量的多人二次合葬墓 ;6 0 %左右的男性随葬有石钺 ,有的还同时随葬有骨镞 ,却没有见到石质生产工具用于随葬的情形 ;有的人可能是弓箭的受害者 ;可能存在猎头的现象。综合以上现象 ,以及与周围地区大致同时代的墓地的对比 ,作者认为 ,部落冲突的现象在史前时代是确实存在的 ,而文化交叉地带的部落冲突又远远激烈于文化中心地带。     

Cold-worked and annealed bronze objects and relevant motif techniques in the Chinese Bronze Age: Analysis of bronze sheets found at Songjia cemetery in Shaanxi,China

Six thin Chinese bronze chariot accessory sheets from Songjia cemetery in Shaanxi province were dated to the late Western Zhou dynasty (ninth to eighth centuries bce ) and analysed for their elemental composition and motif techniques. The objects were cold worked and annealed with embossed motifs and carved lines. This is the only case of cold working and annealing with embossed motifs and carved lines in China; these techniques may have come from or been influenced by other cultures. These findings are important for revealing the development of the cold-working, annealing techniques and relevant motif techniques in China.     

A Note on the Demographic and Health Pattern of a Historical Sleeping Sickness Cemetery at Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital,Maun, Botswana

A part of a historical cemetery used to bury victims of sleeping sickness in Maun, Botswana, was recently uncovered by a water supply improvement construction project. The cemetery had become obliterated from the surface and from the memories of the people resulting in the use of the land for residential purposes. Twelve skeletons were excavated along the water supply trench and have since been buried at one of the new village cemeteries. There were eight males, two females and two individuals of unknown sex. They were young adults ranging in age from 18 to 35 years at the time of death. Dental modifications were used to estimate the cultural identities of two individuals. Some of the remains had been buried with body clothing such as belts and necklaces. Poor dental health was most probably associated with poor nutrition and poor oral hygiene among the population. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Activity Reconstruction of Post‐Medieval Dutch Rural Villagers from Upper Limb Osteoarthritis and Entheseal Changes

The first objective of this study is to reconstruct levels and types of physical activity and associated sexual and social differences using human skeletal remains from the predominately 19th century Dutch cemetery of Middenbeemster. For most individuals, life in the Beemster centred around dairy farming and was heavily based on manual labor, with a purported higher class of wealthier individuals performing less manual labor. Two skeletal markers of activity are examined in the upper limb of late young adult and middle‐aged adults of both sexes (26–49 years, n = 69): osteoarthritis (OA) and entheseal changes (EC). Results support the hypothesis that the majority of the population engaged in high levels of physical activity; however, a group with a clearly lower or different pattern of activity, possibly representing a higher, less active class, was not discernible. This may be due to a low number of less active individuals in the analysed sample and/or the heterogeneity of occupations and activities. A gendered division of labour was evident in the EC data with males having more pronounced muscle attachments in almost all sites, especially the biceps brachii, used primarily in lifting. Females had more pronounced triceps brachii, which may be due to activities that required pushing or pulling with the elbow in a flexed position. The prevalence and severity of OA did not differ between the sexes. While this could be interpreted to indicate men and women engaged in a similar level of strenuous activity, hormonal and anatomical differences limit the strength of the comparison. The second objective of this study is to evaluate the concordance of OA and EC as activity markers. The correlation between OA and EC is very low, illustrating their variable and complex etiologies. Etiological factors need further research for OA and EC to become more reliable activity markers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mandibular Fracture and Dislocation in a Case Study from the Jewish Cemetery of Lucena (CÓRDOBA), in South Iberian Peninsula (8th–12th ad)

The skeletal remains of an adult female have been exhumed in an 11th century tomb in the mediaeval Jewish cemetery of Ronda Sur, in the city of Lucena (Córdoba, Spain). Examination of the skull and mandible revealed evidences of bilateral condylar fracture and dislocation. Lesions were observed macroscopically and radiology was used as a complementary method of scrutiny, especially in cases of unclear observation. Irregular morphology of the condyles and coronoid processes, shallow glenoid fossa, altered and abnormal joint surfaces anterior to the glenoid fossa, and reduced height of both ascending rami were observed. Ante‐mortem tooth loss, slight wear of occlusal surface and asymmetrical occlusal deposit of dental calculus were found. Radiologically, degenerative changes in the condyles and reparative bone in both coronoid processes have been identified. Dislocation of the condyles and lack of adequate treatment probably led to disruption of masticatory patterns and related structures, such as muscle attachments, articular disc and ligaments. Bilateral remodelled fracture and the altered appearance of the joint structures could probably mean that the individual survived the injury by several years. This type of fracture could be the consequence of direct blow to the mental or submental region that was transmitted in a direction that raised the mandible, causing the condylar head to collide directly with the mandibular fossa. Very few mandibular fractures in ancient skulls have been described in Spain, and this case is the first example found in a Spanish archaeological skeletal assemblage. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.