Japanese archaeology in the 1990s

As scientific archaeology takes hold in Japan, our understanding of the nature and content of Japanese prehistory is changing radically. All of the period boundaries of Japanese prehistory are being rewritten, and many new “archaeologies” are growing up around particular scientific techniques. New publications in English give greater access to archaeological thinking in Japan, while Japanese publications focus on ever-narrowing aspects of prehistoric lifeways. Policy changes are giving archaeologists more access to the imperial tombs, and rescue teams are under less obligation to “save everything” as selective preservation is instituted.     

Viking age horse graves from Kaunas region (Middle Lithuania)

Balts' territories have one peculiarity—large amounts of horse bones are found in burial grounds. This phenomenon is typical to the Prussians (5th–11th centuries) and Lithuanians (Kaunas region 8th–11th centuries) Horse burials of the 8th–11th centuries reflect the archaeological culture of Middle Lithuania most significantly. Several horse burial types have been defined on the basis of individuals; osteological signs and the archaeological data of the horse remains. A typical horse grave is when the whole horse was buried. Sometimes only a head or a head with forelegs, or scattered horse remains are found in a burial. The large number of burial grounds with an abundance of horse graves testifies to a very expressive ritual of horse offering in the Balts' region. On the basis of the data obtained, we determined that mostly 4–10 year old horses were buried in the grounds of Middle Lithuania. From the bone measurements, it has been determined that the length of metacarpals ranges between 180 and 216 mm (the average length 193.1±0.99 mm); the length of metatarsals between 218 and 253 mm (average length 233.9±0.73 mm).These data demonstrate that horses of different types were buried in Marvelė and Veršvai burial grounds (wither height 120–136 cm). A certain number of the larger horses (wither height 136–144 and 153 cm; length of metacarpals 210–222 mm) might not have belonged to local breeds. We have come to the conclusion that the most similar horse skeletons (according to the osteometric data) were found in Latvia. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wild galliform and gruiform birds (Aves,Galliformes and Gruiformes) in the archaeological record of Bulgaria

A total of 453 bones (294 of galliform and 159 of gruiform birds) from 28 archaeological sites are considered here, 34 per cent of the total ornithoarchaeological wild bird finds collected in Bulgaria so far. They cover a period from the Early Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Eleven species (six galliform and five gruiform), 87.5 and 45.5 per cent, respectively, of the Holocene avifauna of both orders, have been identified. One species, Tetrao tetrix, has totally disappeared and three others, Grus grus, Otis tarda and O. tetrax, now breed beyond the borders of Bulgaria and the Balkans. Some of the sites of the large gamefowl species indicate their wider distribution in the past. Phasianus colchicus is present as early as the Eneolithic period. The wild galliform and gruiform species were important as a source of meat for the local population up to the Middle Ages, in spite of widespread breeding of domestic poultry. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

晚期层叠式城市建筑遗址考古发掘中的地层学及相关问题

晚期层叠式城市建筑遗址的地层堆积和埋藏方式不同于其他类遗址,尤其与早期遗址差别很大,因而在发掘的方法上有一些特殊的要求。本文主要围绕考古地层学基本理论在此类遗址发掘中的运用展开讨论,兼谈其他一些相关问题。     

从三峡地区与东部平原的对比看考古学文化中的环境因素

三峡地区与东部平原的不同地理环境,导致了峡区和平原地区的考古学文化的差异。古代人类对不同地理环境适应的结果,是反映在考古学文化中的环境因素。     

湖北丹江口市玉皇庙遗址调查简报

玉皇庙遗址位于湖北省丹江口市境内,现为丹江口水库中一小岛。1995年,文物工作者对南水北调工程文物调查时发现该遗址。在遗址采集新石器时代和周代遗物。新石器时代遗物与青龙泉和大寺遗址、朱家台遗址和乱石滩遗址等出土的同期遗物相近。周代遗物与官山河两岸早年发现的同期遗物相似。     

Near infrared spectroscopy as a tool for archaeological wood characterization

Archaeological wood, as most of natural materials, is slowly decomposing on the archaeological site due to various biological factors. Rapid and accurate estimation of the degradation level is extremely important for optimal restoration and conservation. The goal of this research was to verify the effectiveness of Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for archaeometry. The important advantage of the NIR spectroscopy is its accuracy, simplicity and ability to perform very high number of tests without needs of any destruction to the workpiece. Five oak pieces of the archaeological wood collected from waterlogged sites in Poland have been used. Cellulose and lignin contents, as well as crystallinity and the degree of polymerization were measured with standard reference methods and compared to the contemporary wood. The near infrared spectra represent all the physical/chemical changes of the wood due to waterlogging. This technique was successfully validated in rapid estimation of the cellulose and lignin contents. The method explored in this research might be a novel tool assisting experts in evaluation of the degradation state of archaeological and historical wooden materials.     

重庆万州区青龙嘴墓地考古发掘简报

本发掘报告较为系统地介绍了2001年下半年度三峡库区青龙嘴墓地的发掘情况。本次发掘的主要是东汉到南朝时期的砖室墓和土坑墓,共22座,出土各种文物近400件,器物种类比较齐全,类型丰富,为研究长江流域同时期的考古学文化提供了一批重要的实物资料,同时对研究南北方文化的交流具有重要的参考价值。     

在“南水北调中线工程考古发现与研究学术研讨会”上的讲话

本文为作者代表中国考古学会在"南水北调中线工程考古发现与研究学术研讨会"上的讲话:一、为什么要保护好文物;二、考古学在文物保护中的位置;三、考古学如何在文物保护中发挥作用;四、此次会议取得的成果。     

Windward Sailing Capabilities of Ancient Vessels

Weatherliness is widely considered to have been an important ability for ancient sailing vessels, yet little firm experimental or theoretical data on the matter is available. However, by drawing on a variety of sources of model-test data and trials of full-scale replicas, it is possible to establish a general picture of what might have been possible. It appears that while ancient sailing vessels may have been capable of modest windward performance in moderate conditions and with a freshly-cleaned hull, this capability quickly disappeared as the hull became fouled and/or the wind and sea conditions deteriorated.
© 2008 The Author