WHY PHOTOGRAPHY MATTERS TO THE THEORY OF HISTORY

Georges Didi-Huberman's study is concerned with epistemological and ethical questions that arise from visual representations of the Shoah, while Michael Fried's is concerned with the ontological possibilities explored by contemporary art photography. The books have two things in common: an argument against postmodern skepticism, and an insistence that photography has become a field in which questions of history, truth, and authenticity are being explored with particular acuity. Rather than reject even the possibility that photographs have something to tell us about the Shoah, Didi-Huberman shows that they can offer important insights into the difficulties and the possibilities of apprehending some aspects of the past.
Fried shows that contemporary photographic work has taken on the ambitions of high modernism by accepting the challenge of "to-be-seenness." Photography as a "historical practice" does not escape from the difficulties of evidence and of the "constructed" nature of historical understanding; photography functions neither as a pure trace of the past, nor as a mere invitation to spectacle.     

Metallurgical findings from a Viking Age chieftain’s farm in Iceland

The metalworking, metal import, and use of metal in medieval Iceland is still little understood. When the Scandinavian settlers colonized Iceland in the 9th c. AD, the island was found to contain no useful metal deposits save for bog iron, and the deforestation that followed the settlement resulted in a scarcity of wood. Only in the last decades have archaeological excavations begun to unravel how the first Icelanders dealt with this lack of resources. This paper presents the metallurgical findings from a Viking Age chieftain's farmstead at Hrísbrú in the Mosfell valley, located just outside Iceland’s present-day capital Reykjavik. The excavated metal objects had all been crafted with good workmanship employing technology similar to that used in mainland Scandinavia. However, most excavated metal finds show evidence of re-use, which together with the second-grade metal in some of the objects indicates a shortage of raw material that prompted the Icelandic colonizers to improvise and make do with whatever material was at hand.     

透光摄影在古书画修复与研究中的应用

透光摄影由常规可见光摄影发展而来，是针对中国古书画等能被可见光穿透的文物开发的一项无损摄影检测技术。通过实践发现透光摄影在古书画的修复与研究领域具有多项作用：观察书画命纸、背纸拼接等装裱情况；发现前人加固、补缀等修复痕迹；获取画面底稿内容；强化伤况视觉效果以便于分析文物伤况病害。透光摄影能够提供直观可靠的深层视觉信息，辅助修复人员了解文物内部状态，在古书画的修复与研究中发挥重要作用。     

云南曹溪寺华严三圣的X光照相检测及初步研究

云南省曹溪寺大雄宝殿内的华严三圣属于木雕造像,是宋代大理国时期的遗物。三尊造像造型庄严肃穆,雕刻精美,是国内宋代造像的代表。为了更好地了解和保护木雕造像,通过X光照相检测,获得了三尊木雕造像的制作工艺、历史修复痕迹和保存状况等信息,这些信息对保护文物具有重要的参考价值。本工作是对大型木雕造像进行X光照相检测的一次有益尝试。     

A Comparison of Radiological and Palaeopathological Diagnostic Criteria for Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna

Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is a common clinical finding in post-menopausal women, less often in men. The characteristic billowing symmetrical new bone formation is found on the endocranial surface of the skull and rarely causes any significant symptoms. In clinical medicine HFI is diagnosed from its X-ray appearance, whereas in palaeopathology it is diagnosed by direct observation of the skull. There are no standard palaeopathological criteria to diagnose HFI. In past populations HFI appears to be much less common than today, with modern prevalences of up to 70 per cent of women over 40 affected, compared with archaeological prevalences of between 1 and 4 per cent. This discrepancy has been attributed to a younger mean age at death in ancient populations. This study aims to test the hypothesis that the difference in prevalence may be due in part to the differential nature of diagnosis between the two disciplines. A sample of 85 skulls was X-rayed, and the presence of HFI was recorded using radiological criteria. Using this method the results showed a marked increase in the number of cases of HFI to 31 per cent in females in the ancient population. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 7 : 157–164 (1997) No. of Figures: 4. No. of Tables: 3. No. of References: 13.     

内蒙古阿尔寨石窟壁画制作工艺和颜料的分析研究

为了解阿尔寨石窟壁画的制作工艺和颜料成分,采用偏光显微镜分析、剖面分析,并结合X射线衍射分析对6个洞窟的23个样品进行了分析。为了进一步研究阿尔寨石窟壁画颜料,还通过偏光显微法对其他地区和年代的壁画颜料进行了对比研究。结果表明,其绘制方法是先用加有麦秸的粘土将洞窟壁面抹平,然后用石灰涂白。再施以彩绘。所使用的颜料为矿物质颜料,多为绿、白、红、蓝色等。其绿色颜料为氯铜矿,白色颜料为碳酸钙,红色颜料为朱砂和铅丹,蓝色颜料为石青。     

西周父盉的铸造技术特征及其保护处理

作者通过X光照相无损检测分析方法,搞清了西周癧父的现状;以及器物与体连接部位和盖内部的结构形貌,并主要介绍了该器物的铸造技术特征和保护处理方法。     

X光照相技术在文物及考古学研究中的应用

X光照相方法的无损特性,就决定了这一技术适合被用于研究物这一特殊对象。本通过具体实例介绍了X光照相技术在物及考古学研究中的应用：可以反映不同材质物的保存状况,揭示被锈蚀物覆盖的铭及纹饰,显示古代器物的工艺痕迹,有助于考古出土物线图的绘制等。     

Degradation of mud brick houses in an arid environment: a geoarchaeological model

A common assumption in Near Eastern tell archaeology is that the majority of sediments originate from degraded mud bricks. Little is known about the mechanism of mud brick wall degradation. Here we present a detailed macro- and microscopic ethnoarchaeological study of the degradation of a mud brick house and propose a comprehensive mechanism for tell formation processes in arid environments. The study took place in southern Israel by trenching a ca. 60 year old abandoned mud brick house, followed by extensive sediment sampling. Macroscopic observations showed that mud brick walls degrade by collapse of single bricks and/or collapse of intact wall parts, either inwards or outwards. In addition, infill sediments within the house and outside it, in close proximity to its walls, form alternating sedimentary layers of various colors and textures. The degraded mud brick material lost its distinctive macroscopic structure, which makes it impossible to accurately identify this material by field observations alone. Mineralogical and elemental analyses established the sources of the house infill sediments, namely mud bricks and wind blown sediments. Alternating layers mostly originate from mixing between degraded mud brick material and wind blown sediments. Micromorphological observations revealed microscopic mechanisms of mud brick degradation and include processes of mud slurry gravity flows, sediment coatings and infillings, wind abrasion of walls, small-scale puddling, and bioturbation. This study provides a working scheme for site formation of abandoned mud brick structures in arid environments. It provides a set of criteria by which it is possible to differentiate floors from post-abandonment sedimentary features and thus improves the reliability of activity area research.     

Petrographic and geochemical investigations of the late prehistoric ceramics from Sos Höyük,Erzurum (Eastern Anatolia)

Ceramics from the late prehistoric periods at Sos Höyük, in Eastern Anatolia, located along a thoroughfare that connects the Trans-Caucasus, Iran and central Anatolia, were subjected to petrographic and X-ray fluorescence analysis in order to characterise the clay groups, with a view to determining provenance and production patterns. Dominated by Kura-Araxes Ware, the data from the sequence at Sos Höyük were compared with the previous studies from the neighbouring regions to understand commonalities in pottery production. The analyses reveal a local production of vessels, most probably for household use. Although Sos Höyük potters shared similarities in the procurement pattern of raw clays and production technique with their neighbours, differences can be also recognized.