A First Approach to Links between Animals and Life on Board Sailing Vessels (1500–1800)

Long voyages required serious logistics. Onboard meat supplies were analysed from animal remains found in shipwrecks. Here we present a bibliographical synthesis of results obtained from the study of 33 published shipwrecks in order to assess the importance of the presence of animals aboard and to underline questions still unanswered. © 2011 The Author     

甲骨卜辞“疋”地考

甲骨卜辞中有个地名"疋"。通过甲骨文材料、传世文献资料、出土器物综合分析,"疋"的地望在陕西省汉中盆地中东部的城固、洋县一带,其核心区域在湑水河下游两岸的平原地带。"城洋铜器群"可能是古"疋国"的文化遗物。     

Cremated Human Remains Deposited in Two Phases: Evidence from the Necropolis of the Tuileries Site (Lyon,France: 2nd Century AD)

A small 2nd century AD necropolis was discovered at site N°16–28 Tuileries Street, in the 9th district of Lyon. This funerary ensemble included two secondary funerary structures, one containing cremation residues and the other an ossuary. Together, the structures have spatial, stratigraphic and anthropological particularities, which can be used to establish the relative chronology of certain funerary gestures applied to a single individual. Here, we insist on the necessity of detailed anthropological analyses, which allowed us to reestimate the minimum number of individuals, reconsider the relationship between the two different structures and postulate a new interpretation of the funerary gestures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Old wood’ effect in radiocarbon dating of prehistoric cremated bones?

Numerous reports of successful radiocarbon dating of cremated bones have emerged during the last decade. The success of radiocarbon dating cremated bones depends on the temperature during burning and the degree of recrystallisation of the inorganic bone matrix. During cremation bones undergo major morphological and mineralogical changes which have raised some interesting questions and discussion on the origin of the carbon source in archaeologically cremated bones. Recent laboratory experiments reveal that the properties of the combustion atmosphere play a significant role regarding the source carbon in cremated bones. Thus radiocarbon dating cremated bones is potentially dating the wood used for the cremation fire. Here we compare a high precision radiocarbon dated human bone with an associated dendrochronological age from an oak coffin. We find that the age discrepancy between the dendrochronological age and the cremated bone of 73 ± 26 ¹⁴C yr is best accounted for by the so called ‘old wood’ effect.     

Identification of dermestid pupal chambers on Southern Levant human bones: inference for reconstruction of Middle Bronze Age mortuary practices

Unique bone damage identified on Middle Bronze Age human skeletal material from the Southern Levant provided important information about the processes of modification and the possible funerary practices resulting in such damage. By comparing archaeological remains with recent skeletal material and by using computed tomography (CT) scans and 3D imaging techniques, the damage is interpreted as pupal chambers created by dermestid beetles. Using skeletal remains from two Middle Bronze Age sites, Jericho Tomb E1 and Munhata Tomb 641, we then discuss how the bores and tunnels left by dermestid beetles on human bones might constitute an interpretative key to the funerary practices of Middle Bronze Age collective burials.     

郑州商城出土骨刻文与中国古代的“舞雩”祈雨之祀

殷墟甲骨文中已有关于求雨的"雩祭"了,此后历代相沿,可谓源远流长。早商时期郑州商城遗址出土的两例骨刻文"■■"和"■■"形近而义同,它们可能就是这种雩祭的原型。在郑州商城遗址发现这类祈雨的文字资料,这和郑州商城所在的地理环境及其当时一度干旱缺水的气候条件都有一定的关系。     

Charcoal scarcity in Epigravettian settlements with mammoth bone dwellings: the taphonomic evidence from Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Fuel management during the Paleolithic periods is an important issue to understand past human subsistence. Numerous Palaeolithic sites relate an abundance of burnt bones in hearths and an absence or scarcity of wood charcoals, which leads studies to focus on burnt bone remains and the use of bones in hearths. Few works take into account the micro-residues of wood charcoals which can still be present in hearth areas and excavated sediments. We studied the Epigravettian site with mammoth bone dwellings of Mezhyrich (Ukraine) previously characterized by its high content of burnt bones and an “absence” of wood charcoal during the so-called mammoth steppe. The presence or absence and proportions of both wood charcoals and burnt bones were quantified in macro-, meso- and microscale sediment size fractions by an image analysis method. Our results show that excavations during field-works at Mezhyrich give only a partial image of the original anthracological record and that most charcoal materials are lost with standard archaeological and anthracological approaches. The scarcity of charcoals in this site was possibly due to an important mass reduction accentuated by the addition of bones in hearths. By applying our protocol we recovered a significant amount of wood charcoals which provides the first ¹⁴C dates from charcoals at Mezhyrich. Numerous charcoals are identified contributing subsequent information about vegetation, environment and burning practices. They indicate, by comparison with pollen data already collected, the presence of forest patches in a mammoth steppe landscape, which might have influenced the collecting behavior of Epigravettian populations.     

殷墟龟腹甲新缀三则

本文新缀龟腹甲三则,并分别作了说明与考释。内容涉及商代农业、田猎、祭祀、丧葬等诸多方面,其中第二则缀合,更为历组卜辞时代提前说提供了强有力的支持。     

卜辞所见商代自然崇拜中的火

本文主要研究了殷墟卜辞中一些与"火"有关的内容.例如"好火",凡对人类有益的自然现象称为"好",《尚书》中有"好风"、"好雨"."火"是阳精,古人认为阳气盛会降雨.卜辞中还有"执火",与祭祀活动有关."火"也会给人类造成极大危害,商王曾占卜火灾.     

Extinct species identification from late middle Pleistocene and earlier Upper Pleistocene bone fragments and tools not recognizable from their osteomorphological study by an enhanced proteomics protocol

Ancient preserved molecules offer the opportunity of gaining a deeper knowledge on their biological past. However, the development of a proteomic workflow remains a challenge. The analysis of fossils must involve a low quantity of material to avoid damaging the samples. In this study an enhanced proteomic protocol was applied to 5-milligram samples of about 130,000-year-old mammalian bones ranging from the end of the Middle Pleistocene up to the earlier Upper Pleistocene, excavated from Scladina Cave (Sclayn, Belgium). Using sequence homology with modern sequences, a biological classification was successfully achieved and the associated taxonomic ranks to each bone were identified consistently with the information gained from osteomorphological studies and palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary data. Amino acid substitutions on collagens were identified, thus providing new information on extinct species sequences and helping in taxonomy-based clustering. Considering samples with no osteomorphological information, such as two fragments of bone retouchers, proteomics successfully identified the families providing paleontologists new information on these objects. Combining osteomorphology studies and amino acid variations identified by proteomics, one of the retouchers was potentially identified as belonging to the Ursus spelaeus species.