Archaeometric analysis of ceramic production in Tiwanaku state (c.500–1000 ce): An exploratory study

The chemical and mineralogical characterization of seven ceramic fragments produced within Tiwanaku state (c.500–1000 ce ) is reported. The instrumental techniques used included X‐ray elemental and mineralogical chemical analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning and light microscopy. The results indicate there are several clay types, although they show similarities, such as the use of a plant‐based temper. The red colour of the decoration is hematite, and manganese oxides such as jacobsite are present in the black. The white colour is a mixture of gypsum and clay, and the orange is a mixture of hematite and clay. The use of colours, the quality of the clays and the temperatures reached during pottery firing point to expertise in ceramic production and to complex decision‐making processes. The multi‐elemental archaeometric approach documented here could become an important tool to shed a light on ancient ceramic technology and the internal variance of Tiwanaku pottery.     

明代苏州宗族形态探研

明人追求通过修谱与祠祭表达祖先崇拜和宗族共同体的意识。明人的祖先祭祀,依据祭祖地点,可以划分为墓祭、家祭、祠祭。娄坚《徐氏宗谱序》分析了明代江南故家大族与谱牒不盛的问题,认为吴人不能聚族在于习俗的鄙、奢所造成的,强调通过宗族建设移风易俗。明代族谱更加盛行,表现出强烈的以谱法接济宗法的观念。苏州士大夫发扬光大了宋代范仲淹设置义田、义庄的传统,以此赡族进行宗族建设,官府倡导并保护义田与义庄,形成了不同于其他地区宗族形态的特色。明代苏州处于宗族组织化的新阶段。     

解放太原战役期间中国共产党与阎锡山集团民众动员之比较

解放太原战役期间战争双方均需在当地动用大量民力、物资,民众动员起着至关重要的作用。中国共产党与阎锡山集团往复争斗近十五年,彼此已相当熟悉,二者的动员模式、技术极其相似,但实践效果却判若两途。通过比较双方在政治宣传、民众保障、组织发动、思想教育等方面的动员活动,可见中国共产党的民众动员更贴合人们的需求,能够获得民众的自觉支持;反观阎锡山方面却是官民区隔、上下离心,浩大的动员声势常流于表面。二者迥异的组织能力和政党文化影响了实际动员效果。太原战役期间双方在动员中呈现的差异不啻是当时国共之别的重要缩影,也折射出左右两党最终胜败的内在原因。     

Bringing Chinese Law in Line with Western Standards? Problematizing “Chinese” and “Western” in the Late Qing Debate over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing

This article examines the intense debates over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing (Da-Qing xin xinglü) in the National Assembly (Zizheng yuan) during the Qing empire’s New Policy Reform (1901–11). The focus is on the conflict between those who drafted and supported the new code and those who expressed reservations, especially over reform of the laws on filial piety and fornication. The issue of reconfiguring the family and social order through law was closely related to the overarching agenda of twentieth century legal reform in China—making an empire that “ruled through the principle of filial piety” into a modern nation-state that had direct relationships with its citizens. More importantly, an analysis of the late Qing debate over family law enables this article to problematize such concepts as “Chinese” and “Western” during this crucial moment of China’s empire-to-nation transformation. It showcases the paradox of China’s modern-era reforms—a contradiction between imposing Western-inspired order with a largely indigenous logic and maintaining existing sociopolitical order in the name of preserving national identity.     

近代中国邮政空间的“国进民退”

近代中国邮政空间主要是以民信局、国营邮政、侨批等多种企业实体构成。清朝邮政成立后即开始蚕食小额民间资本支持下的民信局经营空间,而基于对1936年《中华民国邮政舆图》的数字化工作发现,历经40余年经营,国营邮政基本整合了全国范围内的邮政空间,也基本完成了本领域的“国进民退”。在此过程中,国营邮政审慎模仿民信局的经营方式,使用多种创新经营策略,除了在大中城市内部和城市之间构建了便捷快速的邮政网络空间,更借助邮政代办的方式以极低的成本将营业网络“下沉”到铁路和公路无法覆盖的农村地区,较好地与传统农村“定期市”网络完成耦合,基本达到了通商处必通邮的效果。国营邮政点和邮路集聚所形成的“邮政聚集区”也成为一种显著的近代化外在空间表征,同时成为界定所谓“核心—边缘”结构的系统可信、定量可验证的空间指标。     

聚醋酸乙烯酯乳液的表征、性能及其在彩绘类文物保护中的应用

聚醋酸乙烯酯(PVAc)乳液是常见的彩绘类文物保护材料。采用激光粒度仪、热重/差热分析、红外光谱、X-射线衍射、扫描电镜、透射电镜等表征了PVAc乳液的粒径以及胶膜的热稳定性、结构和形貌;采用粘度计、表面张力仪、pH计、电导率仪等研究了乳液浓度与其粘度、表面张力、pH、电导率的关系;通过冻融、室温-高温放置、离心分离研究了乳液的稳定性;同时用PVAc乳液对模拟起甲和酥碱的壁画进行了修复。结果表明,PVAc乳液粒径呈双峰分布,小粒子的平均粒径为380 nm,大粒子的平均粒径为5.85μm;乳液胶膜为非结晶物质,胶膜热重的最终质量残留为1.54%,335℃出现放热峰。PVAc乳液的电导率随浓度的增大而增大,pH随浓度的增大而下降;相同温度下表面张力随浓度的增大而基本呈现低浓度下降,高浓度上升的趋势。相同浓度下,表面张力随温度升高而无显著变化,表明PVAc乳液的表面张力受温度变化影响不大。相同温度下,乳液粘度随浓度的增大而增大;相同浓度下,乳液的粘度随温度的升高而降低。冻融、离心分离和不同温度下静置发现,该乳液出现分层。用该乳液对模拟起甲和酥碱壁画修复后,再分别老化20个循环和12个循环,发现颜料层再次空鼓、起甲。综合分析,说明实验中所使用的该种PVAc稳定性和抗老化能力较弱,在修复彩绘类文物中应慎重选择PVAc的种类,综合考虑PVAc的使用浓度、环境因素对其性能的影响,以达到最佳使用效果。     

The Santa María pottery of El Bolsón valley (Catamarca,Argentina): Compositional characterization and implications on the elaboration processes,ca. 1000–1600 ce

The results obtained from the multi-analytic compositional characterization of ceramic pastes and paints of the Santa María style, from the El Bolsón valley (Belén Department, Catamarca Province, Argentina), are presented here. This pottery style had a wide regional distribution in Northwestern Argentina between ca. 1000 and1600 ce and is characterized by its complex iconography painted in black, cream and red. The analyses show that the containers correspond to the technical tradition of using grog temper and suggest that its manufacture involved a double firing process. This reveals a new practice for the time.     

Micro-CT-assisted determination of the shattering and non-shattering phenotypes of charred rice spikelet bases from archaeological sites: a new methodological approach

The selection of a non-shattering phenotype is a pivotal change in the process of rice domestication. However, current research is heavily restricted by the preservation conditions of macro-plant remains in early and middle Neolithic sites, as very limited well-preserved rice spikelet bases could be retrieved. We present a non-destructive method based on micro-computed tomographic (CT) scanning, which could provide detailed visualization of the internal structures of charred spikelet bases and efficiently discriminate the shattering and non-shattering phenotypes of rice spikelet bases according to the abundance of fusiform echinate phytoliths. It could be widely applied in different contexts, especially those poorly preserved specimens and tempers in pottery sherds, greatly improving our knowledge of rice domestication.     

Results of micrometallographic analysis of metalworking tools in graves of metallurgists in Moravia/Czech Republic

The number of finds relating to metalworking, without evidence of mining and processing facilities, is very limited. In Final Eneolith graves of specialized metallurgists that have occurred, they contain a metal-founding or metalsmithing toolkit, whose origins were from eastern Europe (the Maykop, Yamnaya Culture). Such metallurgical tools may have reached central Europe as part of the so-called Yamnaya Package before the onset of the Bee Beaker Culture (BBC); and unlike the Pontic region, these two types of metallurgy separated here. There are found an accumulation of metallurgists' graves in Moravia, where the complete metalworking toolkit is deposited in a predefined place in richly furnished male graves with a distinctive funerary architecture that exhibit a clear relationship to the grave goods. EDX-analysis detected a high content of metals (Cu, Ag, Au, Au–Ag alloy) on all working surfaces of stone tools, grinders, and boar tusks used for the final treatment of their metal products. This makes us believe that the used artefacts were laid as symbolical objects in the graves of these craftsmen who perfectly knew these advanced technologies. Due to their knowledge, their social significance gradually rose and finally reached the level of social elites, who were usually buried in a spectacular manner, including the quantity of grave goods (Überausstattung) and the pars pro toto deposition in one part of the finds.