试论邳州梁王城遗址发现的西周墓葬——兼论铜山丘湾社祀遗迹的年代

本文将邳州梁王城遗址发现的西周墓葬分为三期,年代分别相当于西周早期、西周中期及西周晚期早段,初步建立苏鲁豫皖交界地带西周时期墓葬的分期年代标尺。西周墓葬随葬陶器群具有浓厚的殷墟文化遗风,并首次发现商系文化的男女合葬墓。根据全新材料及全新认识,铜山丘湾社祀遗迹的年代应属西周,该遗迹年代的改定,对于深入认识西周"殷社"的考古学面貌具有重要的学术意义。     

夏商周断代工程中的多学科合作

《夏商周断代工程》是由人社会科学和自然科学的专家联合实施的系统工程,以多学科合作方式联合研究攻关,取得了一系列重要成果。1)根据考古系列样品的年代测定,得出考古学的^14C年代框架。2)依古献的天象记录,天计算定出懿王元年为公元前899年：武王克商年为公元前1046年;武丁登基年为公元前1250年;均与^14C测年结果相合。3)根据西周青铜器铭的纪时词语,排出金历谱,在年代框架内排出西周王年表。4)根据殷墟的甲骨和化分期,商后期的周祭祀谱,武丁年代和献记载,在年代框架内排出商后期王年的大致情况。5)商前期主要根据郑州商城和偃师商城的考古分期与年代测定,结合献,估定夏商分界的年代。6)夏代主要是根据二里头化分期和年代测定,王城岗化分期和年代测定,以及结合献和参考夏代的五星连珠、仲康日食等的天推算,估定夏代的始年。     

长沙楚墓年代学研究述评

从学术史的视角可以清晰地看出,长沙楚墓一直对楚墓、楚文化、楚国历史研究有重要的影响和价值。就墓葬本身的研究而言,长沙楚墓在二十世纪五六十年代曾经作为楚文化区小型楚墓断代的年代学标尺,而楚墓的年代研究是一切相关研究的基石。本文就学术界自五十年代以来对长沙楚墓研究的重要成果进行逐一分析,找到了导致湖南(长沙)楚墓年代认识错误的症结所在。笔者也将再以专文探讨长沙楚墓年代以及相关历史专题。     

The volcanic eruption of Thera and its effect on the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations

Since Professor Sp. Marinatos linked the eruption of Thera with the destruction of Cretan sites, difficulties have been met in reconciling the dates of the two incidents which, based on pottery, were c. 1520 BC and 1450 BC, respectively, giving a “time gap” of 70 years. None of the mechanisms proposed for the Cretan site destructions-tsunamis, ash fallout, earthquakes, civil disturbances or invasion can be reconciled with the magnitude of the simultaneous site destructions. Therefore, an alternative theory is proposed that the Cretan holocaust was caused by “nuées ardentes” emanating from Thera. It is postulated that these were released through a “split” in the cone wall, of limited area, generating a high velocity jet of tephra fluidized in a red hot gas stream. Such a jet is immensely destructive and lethal, causing death by pulmonary oedema. The shape (like a blowtorch) and course of the ash fallout, as measured by deep sea cores, shows that these nuées ardentes passed over the eastern part of Crete, causing severe destruction and depopulation. The geological record confirms that tephra deposits from such Peléan eruptions have travelled for 160km, or more, and that normally the main eruption is preceded by a preliminary one of lesser intensity, with a time gap ranging from 51 to 203 years. Settlements on or at the base of the volcano would have been abandoned at the time of the preliminary eruption/earthquakes (c. 1520 BC). A time gap of 70 years would be reasonable, fitting with the Cretan catastrophe around 1450 BC. In the meantime, reoccupation had commenced, but was terminated by the final eruption. Apparently, Knossos on the periphery of the blast was severely damaged by fire (possibly again in LM II) and rebuilt, being finally destroyed in late LM IIIB. During this time span some “blurring” of pottery dating may be attributed to recovery and use of pottery “heirlooms”. The nuée ardente theory explains the simultaneous destruction of sites by fire and blast, the Cretan depopulation, as well as the time gap. In general ¹⁴C results confirm the dates proposed. So far tephra deposits have not been identified on Crete itself, but grains of it have been found at Pyrgos. It is suggested that cores from lake bottoms should be examined for the area, and that Cretan soil samples should be checked for tephra particles by employing the flotation technique, used in mining, for separating them.     

Taming the control of chronology in ancient agricultural structures in the Calchaqui Valley,Argentina. Non-traditional data sets

The absolute chronology of the agricultural soil from organic matter has always been difficult to measure due to several reasons. In our work on the Prehispanic agriculture in the Calchaqui Valley – Argentina, however, an absolute chronology is necessary to distinguish the Inca prevalence of the previous agricultural structure. Instead of looking for a new dating methodology, we have used the 14C method trying to eliminate the error sources typical of soils. Thus, we have dated new types of agricultural structures, with the assumption that they would have worked as archaeological “seals”. In the present paper we show that the dating of the beginning of the use of the Prehispanic agricultural systems has been successful.     

Prehistory in the northwest tropical Pacific: The Caroline,Mariana, and Marshall Islands

The earliest identified settlement is in the Marianas, dated to about 3500 B.P., while the other islands in the region appear to be settled from about 2000 B.P. onward. The archaeological remains reveal diverse approaches to island living. While Nan Madol and Leluh in the eastern Carolines are major architectural achievements, a discussion of these sites does not detract, for example, from the terrace systems of Palau or the lattestone groups of the southern Marianas. Of equal interest is the settlement of atolls and their recently recognized potential for preservation of stratified deposits. As information allows, each island or group is considered on an individual basis in order to allow for each specific island context to be assessed. This is described within the broader themes of architecture, chronology, environment, material culture, settlement pattern, social organization, and subsistence. In conclusion, the current standing of prehistory in the region is outlined in relation to early settlement, environment, social organization, chronology, settlement pattern studies, portable material culture, subsistence, and atolls. Finally, suggestions for the future are made.     

Pastoral Neolithic Settlement at Luxmanda,Tanzania

The later Holocene spread of pastoralism throughout eastern Africa profoundly changed socio-economic and natural landscapes. During the Pastoral Neolithic (ca. 5000–1200 B.P.), herders spread through southern Kenya and northern Tanzania—areas previously occupied only by hunter-gatherers—eventually developing the specialized forms of pastoralism that remain vital in this region today. Research on ancient pastoralism has been primarily restricted to rockshelters and special purpose sites. This paper presents results of surveys and excavations at Luxmanda, an open-air habitation site located farther south in Tanzania, and occupied many centuries earlier, than previously expected based upon prior models for the spread of herding. Technological and subsistence patterns demonstrate ties to northerly sites, suggesting that Luxmanda formed part of a network of early herders. The site is thus unlikely to stand alone, and further surveys are recommended to better understand the spread of herding into the region, and ultimately to southern Africa.     

5. CONTROVERSIAL CHRONOLOGIES: THE TEMPORAL DEMARCATION OF HISTORIC EVENTS

In everyday language and in historiography, influential events are commonly described as “historic” but are rarely defined from a theoretical standpoint. Discussing temporal demarcations of events by scholars—in particular William H. Sewell Jr.'s foundational study of the Storming of the Bastille—this article considers the contemporary urge to define the event's temporal boundaries to better evaluate the alleged importance of certain events in history. Rather than perpetuating the constructivist idea that any event possesses a fundamentally interpretable character, it crafts a theoretical definition of the historic event that distinguishes between its flexible fringes and its rather stable core. Fixing an event as an anchor point on the timeline of history is thus presented as a process that provokes political, social, and—last but not least—financial controversies. As this article shows with examples from the history of revolutions reaching from the late eighteenth century to the early twenty‐first century, such epoch‐making events are essentially shaped by their flexible beginning and ending points. Although the cores of these events remain strikingly stable, their temporal fringes become objects of highly controversial discussions.     

On the Identification of Ænon

Abstract

Combined archaeological data from the Central Jordan Valley indicates that small agricultural villages and a few public buildings occupied the area during the first half of the 10^th century BC, all grouped along well-organised irrigation systems. A regional conflagration ended the occupation around 950 BC, after which most of the Central Jordan Valley was deserted for approximately one century. This occupational gap coincided with a period of decreased precipitation. During this arid phase the area was visited by mobile groups who used the summits of the settlement mounds for animal holding and sparse industrial activities. According to the topographical list of Shoshenq I, there were at least four settlements in the Central Jordan Valley: Adamah, Succoth, Penuel and Mahanaim. These places were apparently important enough in c. 925 BC for the Egyptians to neutralise them. But where are the remains of these settlements? This study deals with the intriguing disjunction between archaeological and textual evidence.