The decline of Magan and the rise of Dilmun: Umm an-Nar ceramics from the burial mounds of Bahrain, c.2250–2000 BC

This article outlines some general aspects of the Magan and Dilmun trade and goes on to examine the Umm an-Nar pottery discovered in the tombs of the Early Dilmun burial mounds of Bahrain. These ceramics are of particular interest because they indirectly testify to Dilmun's contact with Magan in the late third millennium. In this article, thirty vessels of seven morphological types are singled out. By comparison with the material published from the Oman peninsula the Bahrain collection is tentatively dated to c. 2250–2000 BC. The location of the Umm an-Nar pottery within the distribution of burial mounds reveals that its import was strongly associated with the scattered mounds of Early Type. It is demonstrated that the frequency of Umm an-Nar pottery declined just as the ten compact cemeteries emerged c. 2050 BC. The observed patterns are seen as a response to the decline of Magan and the rise of Dilmun.     

三国时期墓葬特征述论

三国时期墓葬制度是从"汉制"向"晋制"的转变过渡时期。这一时期墓葬形制同东汉时期相比有较大的改变,突出表现在曹魏和东吴地区。随葬器物组合方面基本沿用东汉晚期,但又出现了一些新器型。此外各区域间的墓葬文化表现出频繁交流的特点。综合以上诸要素可知"晋制"的形成主要源自于中原地区的曹魏墓葬,突出表现在墓葬形制和葬俗方面,同时东吴墓葬中的随葬品种类亦被中原地区所接纳,成为西晋墓中典型的器物组合。     

Bone weight: new reference values based on a modern Portuguese identified skeletal collection

Skeletal weight and/or weight of the different bones of the human skeleton are currently used in a wide range of applications such as archaeological cremations and forensics. Still, few reference values are available that compare the mean weights for the different skeletal parts. In this paper we present new reference values for total skeletal weight, including the weight of the different skeletal bones based on a modern Portuguese Identified Skeletal Collection (CEI) curated in the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Coimbra (Portugal). The mean weight of the entire skeleton for the CEI pooled sample is 3323.8 ± 779.6 g. Sex and age differences were investigated. As expected, males display heavier bones, at a statistically significant level. The mean weight of the male skeletons is 3850 g, and 2797.6 g for the female sample. Age differences were found, especially for the female samples in the 29–39 versus 50–59 and/or >60 age groups, probably as a consequence of age‐related bone loss in post‐menopausal women. For the male sample, no clear age‐related trend was observed but for the unexpected result that the second highest bone weight recorded is in the oldest age group (>60 years). This could result from high mechanical loadings and thus greater bone robusticy and amount of cortical bone. The percentage of weight of the different parts of the skeleton was also calculated. These new values can be quite useful in the study of very fragmentary and/or commingled human remains, recovered from historic or forensic contexts, since the complete identification, by side, of the remains is not necessary. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

宋代的石藏葬制

宋代石藏葬制的发端一般被认为是治平四年(1067)英宗永厚陵,仔细查考文献可知,此时实以石椁作为变通形式。真正在皇堂内设置地下石藏,始自元丰三年(1080)慈圣光献皇后陵。而在此之前,熙宁八年(1075)韩琦墓已首次特诏构筑石藏。此后,又有少数与皇帝关系特别密切的王爵及对朝政起重要作用的宰臣得以使用。通过排比北宋后期帝陵、后陵、特制亲王宰臣墓、亲王墓资料,发现在墓室尺寸、石藏尺寸、石门有无等方面都构成了比较明显的等级差别。在考虑宋代墓葬等级问题时,除了地上设施诸因素需要纳入考察视野外,对于特制墓例地下形制的独特之处也要给予充分的注意。     

海岱地区商周腰坑葬俗再检视

海岱地区腰坑葬俗并未随着商王朝的覆灭而走向衰亡,反而在东周时期进入又一兴盛期.海岱地区不同区域腰坑葬俗的传播有早晚之别,并存在不同的区域波动.各区域内腰坑墓腰坑形制及墓向的选择,其背后蕴含着不同人群的丧葬文化传统.腰坑置器葬俗最早出现于商末的鲁北地区,随后在胶东和鲁北地区先后盛行,并存在区域间的相互影响.     

Kyordyughen Site,Ymyiakhtakh Culture,Yakutia: An Interpretation of Burial Rite

A series of radiocarbon dates for the Late Neolithic burial at Kyordyughen, Yakutia, support its association with the Ymyiakhtakh culture. The article proposes a new interpretation of the burial rite in the context of the site. Possible reasons for the disruption of the burial are presented. The presence of the dismembered remains of another body may indicate the practice of human sacrifice. The emergence of warriors as a social group is discussed, and the question is raised as to whether such a group might have been present in the Late Neolithic societies of northeast Asia on the basis of evidence favoring social differentiation with regard to military status.     

From site formation to social structure in prehistoric Thailand

Abstract

The archaeological record in mainland Southeast Asia from ca. 2000 b.c. to the formation of early states in the mid-first millennium a.d. is built on excavations in mounded settlements that incorporate habitation, industrial, and mortuary remains. For most sites, formation processes are not readily identified. have presented a new view of the social organization of the Southeast Asian “metal age” based on a reinterpretation of mortuary and settlement data, founded on their premise that the dead were interred in, under, or in conjunction with domestic residences rather than dedicated cemeteries. They argue that such house societies were instruments for remarkably long-term occupation of individual settlements by heterarchic, non-violent supravillage affiliative social groupings. A detailed examination of the evidence for such residential burial suggests a lack of convincing evidence until the Iron Age. Moreover, new dating programs have shortened the prehistoric sequence, leading to more rapid and intense social changes than hitherto suspected.     

Abundant Gifts of Stone and Bone

An abundance of points, flakes, bones, shells, and bodies is considered sufficient to raise the hypothesis that these offerings and their places constitute a type of fertility shrine. This paper documents several possible lithic and bone-offering places in eastern North America, among them Allumettes Island, Quebec; Tick Creek Cave, Missouri; James Creek, West Virginia; and Pen Point, South Carolina. Perhaps the most significant Late Archaic shrine marked by an abundance of points, deer bones, and human burials is Indian Knoll, Kentucky. The proposed fertility or increase rite practiced was that for a hunt god.     

Determination of warfare and interpersonal conflict in the protohistoric period: a case study from Mississippi

Analysis of a bundle burial of a young male recovered from 22OK905, a late prehistoric/protohistoric site located near Starkville, Mississippi, is discussed. AMS dating of the burial places it between AD 1640 and AD 1814, a time when Native American and European conflicts are well documented. One interesting finding is the presence of cut marks on the frontal bone of this individual. These marks were determined to be the result of scalping rather than defleshing marks associated with secondary burial treatment. Comparisons of bone element frequency among several bundle burials suggest that this individual died away from his village and the body was later collected for burial. A second study indicates that a stone tool may have been used to scalp the victim. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.