古诗、乐府考辨

诗、乐同源,合而不同;诗与乐府,并存不悖。汉乐府曲辞分为二途,一者采诗被乐,率多闾巷风谣;一者文人之辞,其中郊庙之辞,大半《诗》颂四言,故称诗而已矣。而文人五言虽杂乐府之中,然与民谣殊类,又异郊庙之辞,后世遂称古诗,姑且以为分别;魏晋以下文士所拟,大率其辞之流,于是概称古诗,且与乐府对举,以专后者之名,竟以汉世为宗。究之古诗、乐府,初则其义相即,并无截然分界,唯以后人所见,方有判然之别,而其对举互异,要归民间采诗与文人所作,二者分途,卒成两体。     

Antifungal activity of some plant extracts and essential oils against fungi-infested organic archaeological artefacts

The determination of the antifungal activities of nine kinds of powdered plant extracts and five essential oils was studied in vitro against four of the most common fungal species (Aspergillus flavus, A. versicolor, Penicillium sp. and P. purpurogenum), which were isolated from different organic materials from archaeological artefacts such as papyrus and linen. The essential oils showed greater efficacy than the powdered plant extracts, where thyme and lemongrass oils were the most potent. Also, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of these oils were determined. Furthermore, their chemical components were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. In vivo, studies were performed using biodeteriorated samples for applying treatment, in which the microbiological test revealed that both oils can eradicate both tested fungi completely after exposure time, ranging from two weeks for papyrus samples to 14 weeks for linen. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and colorimeter were used to assess the treatment process, leading to the final results, which suggest that the essential oils could be useful sources of fungicidal preparations for the disinfection of biodeteriorated linen and papyrus artefacts. Nevertheless, further studies are strongly recommended to introduce these sources into practical use in preventive conservation.     

Taphonomy and sample size estimation in paleoethnobotany

This paper investigates how to gain quantitative comparability of macroscopic plant remains by estimating sample sizes representative to each population. First, this study reviews taphonomic pathways of plant remains to clarify how far we can draw cultural implications from the retrieved remains. The target population is defined here as the deposited assemblage, that is, plants that were deposited into the soil matrix. Through time, the deposited assemblage becomes reduced to the fossil assemblage, which is subject to being sampled (sampled population). The relation between the sampled population and samples is a statistical issue. A systematic recovery and a well-designed sampling strategy can help maintaining the same degree of representativeness of samples to the sampled population. The paper thus focuses on a statistical measure that estimates the sample sizes, based on a relative error and a confidence level of a small number of pilot samples. Data for the test is the plant remains recovered from the Nam River sites in south-central Korea, dating to the Early and Middle Mumun periods (3400-2400 BP). This measure ensures that quantitative differences between the plant remains in the two samples were due to real differences between the populations from which they were drawn rather than due only to variation within a single population. Thus this method strengthens cultural interpretations on quantitative differences in plant remains.     

A systematic approach to the recovery and identification of starches from carbonised deposits on ceramic vessels

Starch granules are being successfully recovered from an increasing range of artefacts. Here we present the recovery of starches from carbonised ceramic ‘foodcrusts’ from late Mesolithic–early Neolithic residues at the site of Neustadt in northern Germany. A method for investigating background loading of residues with contaminant starches is proposed by comparing interior ‘foodcrusts’ versus exterior ‘sooting’, for the purposes of eliminating samples with insignificant quantities of grains from subsequent identification procedures. The classification of starches to plant taxon is traditionally achieved by manual observations and measurement of nominal and ratio morphological variables. Here, we present a method for the automated classification of granules, using software developed in-house. The results show that when multiple granules are considered, the species selected as modern reference examples can be classified to high levels of specificity. When applied to the archaeological samples we show that wild plant resources persist in importance across the transition to agriculture, with high proportions of granule forms consistent with acorn (Quercus sp.) occurring in all samples. Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) types are less well-represented suggesting it was not an important food in the context of pottery, and may have been over-represented in the repertoire of hunter–gatherer resources. Cereals are not represented in any of the samples, supporting the notion that their adoption may have been a slow process, occurring more gradually than for other domesticated foods, or that they were not initially processed in ceramic vessels.     

河南新密古城寨城址出土植物遗存分析

古城寨城址始建于龙山时代晚期,并且在二里头、二里岗、殷墟时期一直延用。我们在古城寨城址龙山到殷墟时期的土样中收集到了粟、黍、小麦和藜四种农作物炭化种子。通过种子数量的统计分析,认定当时的农业是典型的以粟为主的早期旱作农业,并且农业生产水平较为发达,农业在整个社会经济中占有重要的地位。     

The architecture of Permian glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive organs

McLoughlin, S. & Prevec, R. 20 September 2019. The architecture of Permian glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive organs. Alcheringa XX, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

A historical account of research on glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive structures reveals starkly contrasting interpretations of their architecture and homologies from the earliest investigations. The diversity of interpretations has led to the establishment of a multitude of genera for these fossil organs, many of the taxa being synonymous. We identify a need for taxonomic revision of these genera to clearly demarcate taxa before they can be used effectively as palaeobiogeographic or biostratigraphic indices. Our assessment of fructification features based on extensive studies of adpression and permineralized fossils reveals that many of the character states for glossopterids used in previous phylogenetic analyses are erroneous. We interpret glossopterid fertiligers to have been borne in loose strobili in which individual polysperms represent fertile cladodes of diverse morphologies subtended by a vegetative leaf or bract. Polysperms within the group are variously branched or condensed with ovule placement ranging from marginal to abaxial, in some cases occurring on recurved branchlets or in cupule-like structures. Glossopterid polysperms of all types are fringed by one or two ranks of wing-like structures that may represent the remnants of megasporophylls that were, ancestrally, developed on the fertile axillary shoot. Glossopterid fertiligers have similarities to the condensed bract/ovuliferous scale complexes of conifer cones, but comparisons with Mesozoic seed-ferns are hindered by insufficient data on the arrangement and homologies of the ovule-bearing organs of the latter group. Nevertheless, glossopterid polysperms differ from the ovuliferous organs of Mesozoic seed-ferns by longitudinal versus transverse folding, respectively.

Stephen McLoughlin* [steve.mcloughlin@nrm.se], Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden; Rose Prevec [r.prevec@am.org.za], Department of Earth Sciences, Albany Museum, 40 Somerset Street, Makhanda, 6139, Eastern Cape, South Africa, and Department of Botany, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Makhanda, 6140, Eastern Cape, South Africa.     

Late Epipaleolithic hunters of the central Taurus: Faunal remains from Direkli Cave,Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Newly initiated research at Direkli cave is helping to define an initial understanding of Epipaleolithic hunter‐gatherer traditions in the central Taurus region of southern Turkey. Detailed analysis of the Direkli faunal assemblage suggests that in the late Epipaleolithic the cave functioned as a short‐term logistical camp used to intercept wild goats (Capra aegagrus) in the high peaks around the cave, primarily in the late summer and fall. In addition, hunters opportunistically exploited deer and a variety of other small taxa, including tortoise, in the forested vicinity of the site. Evidence for low intensity and seasonal occupation of the cave indicates that Epipaleolithic foragers in the region were highly mobile, utilised a wide range of resources, but primarily scheduled use of the cave in order to exploit high ranked wild goat resources. This represents the first window into the nature of foraging systems just prior to the emergence of agricultural economies in this important region of Turkey. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What goes in does not always come out: The impact of the ruminant digestive system of sheep on plant material,and its importance for the interpretation of dung-derived archaeobotanical assemblages

Abstract

On archaeological sites where livestock dung was a major fuel source, plant material that survives digestion intact may well be preserved in the remnants of dung-fuelled fires. Preserved plant remains which were derived from dung relate to the diet of animals, and thus provide a way of investigating the agro-pastoral economies of the past. In order to improve our understanding of the taphonomic processes to which plant material is exposed to during digestion, we applied archaeobotanical methods to the analysis of dung from sheep fed a known diet of cereal and wild plant material. Two clear patterns emerge from these investigations. First, cereal material (grain or chaff) survives digestion poorly and was rarely found in the dung analysed. Second, large proportions of seeds of various wild species survive digestion in an identifiable form, probably due to their small size and/or protective coating. These findings are crucial for reliable interpretation of dung-derived plant material in archaeological settings.     

北京老山汉墓植物遗存及相关问题分析

本文主要依据2001年北京老山汉墓中出土的植物遗存(果实、种子)的鉴定,提出在西汉时期的燕国(北京)食用和种植的旱生农作物为黍、粟、大豆和大麻,至少在当时小麦和水稻并未成为先民们的经济生活中的重要组成.参考墓中"黄肠题凑"用材属种和地处西山前缘,其时段大致可以对应的颐和园昆明湖底沉积物中较高时间分辨率的孢粉分析、炭屑资料的统计,可以大体得知,在西汉时期的北京西山地区的自然植被虽遭到砍伐或火烧(薪柴)的人为性影响,但就总体上看,当时西山地区仍覆盖着主要由栎、椴、梣、栗、胡桃、榆、朴等组成的暖温带落叶阔叶林和油松林,当时的历史气候应是北京地区3000年以来最为温暖和湿润的气候期,在山前湿地(湖泊、沼泽)发育,水生植物丰富.因此,本文资料有助于讨论北京地区自然环境的变化和人为活动的影响.     

中国古代文明和国家起源研究中的几个问题

近年来新出土的《容成氏》等战国竹书,在增加和扩充史料的同时,我们也应意识到它们依然是有其局限性的,重建上古史还得靠以考古学为基础的多学科的结合。而考古学本身也有自己的局限性,它也需要借鉴人类学的理论以及技术的、经济的、环境的、人口学的等等知识。将酋邦理论、社会分层理论与聚落形态学理论相结合是研究的趋势和方向,但理论贵在创新。因而,结合中国考古新发现,从中国的材料出发,创建出符合中国历史实际的理论,才是最上乘的文明和国家起源研究。依据近年来对山西襄汾陶寺和河南新密古城寨的考古发现,将早期文明与初始国家出现的时间,划定在龙山文化时代,应该说是有着充分事实依据的。与此相关,将中国古代的国家形态划分为邦国—王国—帝国,要比称之为古国—方国—帝国,更约定俗成更合理一些。