杭州萧山老虎洞遗址出土青铜工具的金相分析及腐蚀探讨

杭州萧山老虎洞东周遗址出土两件青铜工具,工具出土时已碎裂为数段,锈蚀状态严重。针对两件青铜工具的研究,主要从微观领域来探讨青铜工具的工艺技术及腐蚀特点,并通过建立电化学反应模型,运用电极电位差的理论,来试析电极电位对金相组织腐蚀的影响。同时提出在青铜修复时,可利用电极电位的原理来补配修复材料,以达到文物保护的目的。     

Functional analysis of prehistoric flint tools by high-power microscopy: A review of West European research

The present paper is a review of the functional analysis of prehistoric flint tool edges by means of high-power microscopy. The article, which focuses exclusively on West European research, discusses a series of methodological issues and problems related to the development and distinctiveness of the so-called wear polishes, produced by the various materials with which prehistoric stone tools came in contact. A selection of functional observations on tool use from the Upper Paleolithic, the Mesolithic, and the Neolithic periods is presented. The archaeological part of the review is concerned with two trends in functional analysis, namely, (1) controlled site-specific studies with different levels of foci and (2) thematic studies of particular tool types, e.g., endscrapers, burins, and unmodified débitage. Finally, problems concerning the interpretation of hafting and of multiple tool use are discussed.     

Lead pigments and related tools at Akrotiri,Thera, Greece. Provenance and application techniques

This paper refers to an investigation of finds that are associated with the raw materials and tools for the preparation or use of lead pigments at Akrotiri on Thera, Greece, during the Early, Middle and Late Cycladic Bronze Age (c. 3000–1600 BC). For the detection and the preliminary characterisation of remains of pigments that were found on stone tools, the in situ application of X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy proved to be invaluable. In order to identify the chemical composition of the pigments and to investigate their provenance from a geological perspective, quantitative X-Ray Diffraction analysis was conducted. A thorough visual macro and microscopic examination of the morphology of the materials permitted the determination of physical features (colour, homogeneity, grain size) as indicators of their nature or degree of processing. Based on the results of these analyses, the traces of lead oxides that were detected on the stone tools are associated with specific collections of litharge items discovered at the settlement of Akrotiri, and probably provide evidence of their earliest use in preparing pigments.     

What novice knappers have to learn to become expert stone toolmakers

The aim of this paper was to determine what technical gestures must be learned in order to produce stone tools. To identify these gestures, we compared the performance of expert knappers and complete novices. We hypothesised that the differences between novices and experts would indicate which technical gestures experts had learned to successfully produce stone tools. Participants were video recorded while attempting to produce a crude handaxe. The recordings were analysed according to ethological methods used to study animal and human behaviour. The knapping performance of each participant was segmented and scored into units in order to identify the technical gestures being used. The results showed considerable differences between experts and novices in three technical gestures: the type of percussion support, the position of the blank and the angle of blow. Therefore, these three technical gestures appear to be crucial in learning to knap stone at the level of bifacial stone toolmakers. By studying how modern knappers gradually master these three technical gestures we may begin to understand how stone knapping is acquired, how bifacial stone tools emerged and what cognitive challenges early handaxe makers had to face.     

西汉铁官“大器”问题探讨

西汉铁官作坊生产的"大器"是装有犁鐴的大型铁犁,是为了满足政府推行代田法,特制的一种耦犁,大多供应于政府组织生产的西北垦区等地。     

The Mesolithic Maritime Landscape on the North Coast of Ireland

A combination of reconstruction of the former coastline and field survey of previously unrecorded sites provides the basis for the study of the maritime landscape and maritime activities around Portrush on the north coast of Ireland during the Mesolithic period. Movements in relative sea‐level and geological events indicate significant change in environment and availability of resources, particularly flint, for the coastal community. Evidence suggests that most Early Mesolithic material, deposited close to the then shoreline, is presently under water. Remnants of the Late Mesolithic are fast disappearing as coastal erosion continues. © 2010 The Author     

Starch analysis reveals prehistoric plant translocations and shell tool use,Marquesas Islands,Polynesia

Starch analysis is proving particularly useful in tropical regions like the central Pacific where crop inventories are often dominated by starchy fruits and tubers and recovery of macrobotanical remains is rare. Analysis of 23 shell tools from the Marquesas Islands provides direct evidence for translocation of five traditional crop plants. Four taxa derive from the western Pacific, including Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit), Piper methysticum (kava), Colocasia esculenta (taro), and one or more species of Dioscorea (yam). The fifth taxon, the South American Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato), dates from the 14th century AD onward and constitutes the earliest record of this cultigen in the archipelago. The occurrence of sweet potato starch suggests that this crop plant may have been more important than usually is assumed, while the limited recovery of breadfruit starch, the main Marquesan food plant at western contact, requires further investigation. The starch residues also inform on tool use, demonstrating that shell tools ethnographically associated with specific crops (e.g., “breadfruit peelers”) had more generalised functions. This study is a further demonstration of the potential of starch analysis to provide important information on the history of crop introductions, on-site activities, and artefact use.     

Laboratory evidence of the use of metal tools at Machu Picchu (Peru) and environs

An interpretation of use-wear marks on metal artifacts is developed from the principles of metal cutting and brittle fracture and applied to surficial markings and microstructural damage on bronze tools from Machu Picchu and environs. Most of the tools have blunt edges, relatively low tin contents, and were not work hardened before use; they appear to have been designed for work that involved breaking chips from hard, brittle material. Use-wear marks on these tools are interpreted as due to sliding contacts and impacts with rock. One tool with a relatively sharp edge has a higher alloy content than those with blunt edges and has been work hardened; it appears to have been designed for cutting wood and use-wear markings suggest it was so used. A long bronze bar carries markings that suggest use by stonemasons. Many of the tools are broken and study of their microstructures shows that the bronze used has poor mechanical properties because of porosity and bands of sulphide inclusions.