Pottery Use-Alteration as an Indicator of Socioeconomic Status: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Gamo of Ethiopia

The use of a pottery vessel leaves markers on the ceramic wall that can inform archaeologists how the vessel functioned in the past. At present, archaeologists have little information for understanding how use-alteration reflects the complex nature of ceramic function and socioeconomic status. I conducted a 2-year ethnoarchaeological research project among the Gamo people of southwestern Ethiopia, who continue to produce and use pottery on a daily basis. This research indicates that interior surface attrition occurs primarily on pottery vessels used in wealthy households because of fermentation processes from high-status foods. Thus, the Gamo example suggests that there is a relationship between ceramic use-alteration and household socioeconomic status.     

浅谈新石器时代出土陶器的考古修复

根据陶器质地、火候的差异使用不同的粘接剂是陶器修复的关键;补配材料及作色材料的应用得当,将使出土陶器再现当年风采。     

Pottery Production, Distribution, and Consumption—The Contribution of the Physical Sciences

The study of the life cycle of pottery, from the selection of raw materials and the production stage through distribution and use to ultimate discard, can make a valuable contribution to archaeological research. The aim of the present paper is to provide a summary and critical assessment of the particular contribution of the physical sciences to the reconstruction and interpretation of this life cycle, in large part through the presentation of selected case studies. The topics covered include the reconstruction of the technology used in pottery production, through a combination of microscopy, radiography, and chemical analysis; the investigation of the extent of craft specialization and the organization of pottery production; the reconstruction of pottery distribution from its production center, using thin-section petrography and chemical analysis, and the interpretation of these data in terms of exchange and trade; the reconstruction of the consumption stage or uses to which pottery was put, from the study of surface wear, organic residues, and performance characteristics; and a discussion of the reasons for the introduction of pottery and for the different technological choices made in pottery production. Throughout, the importance of considering the overall environmental, technological, economic, sociopolitical, cultural–ideological and historical context in which the pottery was produced, distributed, and consumed is emphasized. The paper is concerned, almost-exclusively, with unglazed earthenware spanning prehistory through to circa 1500 AD.     

河曲坪头遗址龙山时期陶器及其制陶原料的化学成分分析

为了对山西省忻州市河曲坪头遗址出土的龙山时期的陶器以及制陶原料中的粘土原料的种类和来源进行相关探讨,利用ICP-OES对出土的陶器、坯料,以及遗址附近采集的土样进行了化学成分测试,并使用SPSS软件对分析结果进行了降维处理和主成分分析。结果显示:坪头遗址不同质地的陶器陶土原料相同,只是在钙含量方面存在细微差异。制作陶器所用的粘土原料很可能取自附近的红色古土壤层。该遗址是古人在当地制作陶器的一个场所。     

潮湿彩绘陶加固材料对比研究及应用

针对考古出土的彩绘陶存在脆弱易毁、难以保存的问题,选择明胶和水性氟碳作为潮湿彩绘陶片的加固材料,采用不同浓度的加固材料对4种颜色彩绘陶片进行加固,并对加固前后的强度、色差以及光泽度进行检测和对比,结果表明较为理想的浓度选择为明胶在1%左右,水性氟碳浓度在20%左右。同时,对有底层和无底层两种类型的彩绘陶片进行加固对比实验,发现经明胶加固及老化后,有底层试样的色差和光泽度变化比无底层试样小;经水性氟碳加固后,有底层试样的色差和光泽度变化比无底层试样小,但老化后,则相反。在实践应用时,选用这两种材料对盱眙出土的一组潮湿彩绘陶进行了抢救性加固保护,都取得理想的效果。     

清雕漆描金宝座材料与工艺研究

为了了解清雕漆描金宝座的材料和工艺,对胎体制作切片进行了显微镜观察,确定了其种属;采用傅里叶红外光谱分析法分析了红漆,图谱与桐油很相近,由此可确定调漆工艺中加入了桐油。另外,结合文献,初步复原了此宝座的髹漆工艺。此研究对宝座以后的保护及清代家具及漆器的制作工艺具有参考价值。     

The Wavy Line and the Dotted Wavy Line Pottery in the Prehistory of the Central Nile and the Sahara-Sahel Belt

The two type-sites of the Khartoum Mesolithic and Khartoum Neolithic (Khartoum Hospital and Shaheinab), in Central Sudan, were excavated at the end of the 1950s. The ceramics recovered from these sites, characterized by wavy line and dotted wavy line decoration, formed a cornerstone for identifying Mesolithic–Neolithic components along the Central Nile and across the Sahara-Sahel Belt. Moreover, they formed a model for an evolutionary sequence, and suggested a level of cultural uniformity for the Nilo-Sahara-Sahel Belt from the eighth to the fourth millennia BC. This paper examines these and other related issues.L'hôpital de Khartoum et Shaheinab, qui se situe au centre du Soudan, sont les deux sites archéologiques principaux de la civilisation mésolithique et néolithique. Ces deux sites furent découverts et excavés au cours des années 1950s. Les céramiques découvertes dans ces deux sites se caractérisent par leurs lignes continues et ondoyantes, et d'autres ondoyantes mais discontinues. Ces céramiques représentent la pierre angulaire pour les caractéristiques de la période mésolithiqueet néolithique dans le centre de la vallée du Nile et á travers la zone du Sahara-Sahel. De plus, elles ont constitué un modèle pour l'évolution et ont suggéré une certaine uniformité culturelle entre la vallée du Nile, le Sahara et le Sahel de huitième au quatrième millénaires avant J.-C. Cette recherche traite donc de ces points et d'autres aspects s'y rapportant.     

永安遗址两座砖雕墓的考古发掘

2006年吉林省考古研究所在永安遗址发掘两座彩绘圆形砖雕墓葬。从墓葬结构和出土文物判断其年代大致为晚唐五代时期。这两座墓葬的发掘为研究唐宋时期砖雕墓葬提供了新的实物资料。     

Subsistence practices and pottery use in Neolithic Jordan: molecular and isotopic evidence

This paper presents direct evidence of subsistence practices and pottery use at a Late Neolithic site at al-Basatîn, northern Jordan. Measurable concentrations of C_16:0 and C_18:0 were recovered from 8 of 10 archaeological pottery fragments through use of a microwave-assisted silica gel and aminopropyl solvent protocol developed for the isolation and concentration of free fatty acids in marine sediments. Subsequent isotopic analysis of the surviving C_16:0 and C_18:0 saturated fatty acids revealed ∂¹³C ratios consistent with those of adipose fats of ruminant and non-ruminant animals pastured on lands adjacent to the Jordan Valley. The high recovery of diagnostic compounds from the al-Basatîn material is discussed in context of a wider examination of the initial development and use of pottery in the Fertile Crescent, and the emerging debate concerning the efficacy of stable carbon isotope values in characterizing organic residues embedded in pottery fragments recovered from the earliest ceramic horizons in the Middle East and Europe.     

徐州狮子山汉楚王陵彩绘陶俑的保护研究

为对徐州狮子山出土的彩绘陶俑进行保护,我们对陶俑本体进行了分析,采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）对陶俑表面进行微观形貌分析;X射线荧光光谱仪（XRF）分析化学成分;通过岩相分析,并结合XRD分析、热重和差示热分析（TG-DSC）从而推测陶俑的烧成温度;电子能谱仪（EDS）对彩绘表面颜料的进行成分分析。在此基础上,采用7种化学材料进行对比实验,对外观、颜色光泽度变化、固化物形成期、防水接触角、吸湿等温线、吸水率、抗压强度进行了观察和分析,同时,还进行了紫外光耐老化试验。试验表明,氟橡胶不仅有较好的渗透率和膜层外观及相对较强的抗压能力的优点,而且还有较好的耐老化性能。经过对狮子山出土的一尊彩绘陶俑利用氟橡胶进行保护后10多年的观察,陶俑的表面色泽、防水与接触角、颜料表面的固结强度等状态保持良好。因此,在保护彩绘陶俑方面,氟橡胶是值得考虑的一种材料。