Modelling spatial heterogeneity and nonstationarity in artifact-rich landscapes

In this paper we consider a crucial issue for survey archaeology: how we identify and make sense of the heterogeneous and often inter-dependent behaviours and processes responsible for apparent archaeological patterns across the landscape. We apply two spatial statistical tools, kriging and geographically weighted regression, to develop a model that addresses the spatial heterogeneity and spatial nonstationarity present in the pottery distributions identified by our intensive survey of the Greek island of Antikythera. Our modelling results highlight a clear spatial structure underlying different scales of pottery density as well as locally varying relationships between pottery densities and several environmental variables. This allows us to develop further testable hypotheses about long-term settlement and land-use patterns on Antikythera, including more explicit models of community organisation, and of the relationship between the island's geomorphological structure and its history of past human activity.     

Determining Olmec maize use through bulk stable carbon isotope analysis

Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis on absorbed organic residues in ceramics can be an effective method for discerning patterns of maize use when the ceramics come from relatively uniform archaeological contexts. The bulk stable carbon isotope method is faster and less costly than the more commonly used compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis. Moreover, the bulk stable carbon isotope method can determine the presence of C4 plant carbon in samples in which organic compounds have degraded. Bulk stable carbon isotope analysis was used to discern patterns of maize (Zea mays mays) use among a sample of 24 ceramic sherds from an Early Franco Period feasting deposit (ca. cal 650 B.C.) at the Olmec site of San Andrés, La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico. A comparison of the δ 13C results of different categories of ceramics showed that proportionally more maize was used in luxury beverage service wares than in utilitarian vessels, suggesting that maize-based beverages were prominent in this probable elite feasting episode.     

Indications of embalming in Roman Greece by physical,chemical and histological analysis

The partially mummified remains of a high-status female (ca. 1700 BP, Thessaloniki, Greece) were found inside a Roman-type marble sarcophagus containing a lead coffin. The individual was positioned on a wooden pallet, wrapped in bandages, and covered with a gold-embroidered purple silk cloth. Besides the clothes, remnants of soft tissue as well as the individual's original hair style and eyebrows were exceptionally well preserved. In addition to the macroscopic examination, microscopic and biochemical analyses were undertaken. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were applied to examine the tissue preservation and probable mechanisms of mummification. The presence of chemical components, such as sesquiterpenes, triterpenoids, and diterpenoids, originating from coniferous and pistacia resins, myrrh, and other spices, verify ancient information on preparation methods of the dead in Greek and Roman times. These chemical components are thought to have played a prominent role in the mummification mechanism in this particular case. The potential effect of the lead coffin in the mummification process was also examined. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis failed to detect lead penetration into the tissues, suggesting that the coffin played a limited role in the preservation of soft tissue.     

Change in chemical composition of early Islamic glass excavated in Raya,Sinai Peninsula,Egypt: on-site analyses using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer

The Raya port (eighth to 12th centuries) on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, was one of the important port cities for the Red Sea trade. We performed on-site analyses of Islamic glass vessels (used in eighth to 11th centuries) mainly from this site in Egypt using a portable XRF spectrometer. The aim of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of the chemical compositions of early Islamic glass vessels by comparing their archaeological date and typology. In the early Islamic period, glass objects were mainly produced from natron as the soda source. Among the natron glass analyzed in this study, glass vessels with low titanium and iron and high strontium contents, which were probably produced in the Syria–Palestine region, were excavated in the eighth century layer. From the ninth century layer, a large number of samples with high levels of calcium, titanium and iron, probably produced in Egypt, were found. It should be noted that a large number of glass vessels with this chemical composition were found at the Raya site, because this type of glass was rarely reported from other Islamic sites. We finally concluded that this type of glass seems to be produced under a fixed recipe, although some samples contain a colorant or decolorized materials.     

Evidence for inter-island transport of heirlooms: luminescence dating and petrographic analysis of ceramic inhaling bowls from Carriacou,West Indies

Ceramic snuffing tubes and inhaling bowls used for ingesting hallucinogenic substances are known from several islands in the West Indies, but their chronological distribution is often vague. A partial inhaling bowl found at the site of Grand Bay on Carriacou in deposits dating between ca. A.D. 1000–1200, along with two other unprovenienced specimens from the local museum, were dated using luminescence (TL and OSL) to determine their antiquity. Surprisingly, the dates had a weighted average of 400 ± 189 B.C., making them several hundred years older than all ¹⁴C assays from the island; however, they do overlap in age with similar artifacts found on Puerto Rico and Vieques Island over 750 km away. Additional luminescence dating of two stylistically distinct Suazan ceramic sherds excavated from stratified deposits at Grand Bay fall within the expected ceramic and radiocarbon chronology. These data, coupled with petrographic analysis of the specimens, suggests that they were not made using local materials. Instead, they appear to have been transported to the island, possibly hundreds of years later, as heirlooms. This may be the first evidence for inter-island transport of drug paraphernalia in the Caribbean.     

试论协商民主何以成为可能——基于理性分析的视角

20世纪后20年,一种新型的民主理论一协商民主在西方政治学界开始兴起、发展,并成为人们讨论和研究的焦点。作为一种可能的新型民主,从理性分析的视角来看,协商民主能够化解自由与秩序的矛盾,维护社会的平等和正义,能够在公开的理性下实现政治的合法性,解决现有民主制度的困境与挑战。     

殷周贵族行车礼俗探析

殷周时期贵族行车十分讲究。他们在享受生活和权力的同时 ,逐渐在行车过程中形成了一些特殊礼俗。从对道路的严格管理及专路专用 ,到行车时保持的一些特殊礼俗 ,诸如繁妆其车 ,乘车的尊序 ,登石上车以及对车器独特的养护方法等 ,都直接或间接地向我们展示了这一时期礼制秩序下社会生活的一个侧面。     

灵宝西坡遗址动物骨骼的收集与整理

本文介绍了河南灵宝西坡遗址动物骨骼的收集与整理过程 ,并重点对收集方法和埋藏因素对动物遗存的影响作了评估。结果表明 ,自然和生物因素对骨骼埋藏过程的影响较小 ,而人为因素的影响比较显著。不同的收集方法对出土骨骼的绝对数量和重量有直接影响 ,但用相对比例分析主要动物的骨骼发现率 ,能够减小不同收集方法造成的差异     

论旅游影响态度尺度在我国的适用性

进入20世纪90年代以来,旅游影响以及居民对旅游发展认知态度的研究开始逐渐聚焦于研究尺度与研究方法上,旅游影响态度尺度就是在这种背景下被开发出的一种用以测量目的地居民对旅游发展态度的工具。尽管在国外它已经引起学术界的广泛关注,但是国内还鲜有学者对此进行研究。因此,本文以实证研究的方式,在中国广西的阳朔地区进行实地调查,并采用因子分析的方法对数据进行了分析,以验证西方学者所提出的旅游影响态度尺度在我国的适用性。     

旅游地域结构的量化研究--以湖南省为例

运用景观生态学的空间格局指数定量分析旅游资源空间分布格局,采用门限自回归模型模拟旅游客源市场的时间变化特征,运用模糊聚类分析方法对入境旅游客源市场进行分类,并以湖南为例作实证研究。