Egyptian Scarabs Discovered on Kuwait’s Failaka Island and Similar Finds from the Gulf Region

Over the course of the last three decades, Ancient Egyptian scarabs have been discovered on Failaka Island off Kuwait, as well as at other sites in the Arabian Gulf. A scarab is the most expressive amulet of the cultural identity of ancient Egypt, revealing its influence and its cultural diffusion in the ancient world. Therefore, this paper discusses the reasons for the presence of such exotic products on the island and also answers the question about their origin. Were Failaka scarabs locally manufactured? What is their connection to the Levant? Are they a testimony to the interconnection between ancient Egypt and Arabia?     

Gazelle bone marrow yields and Epipalaeolithic carcass exploitation strategies in the southern Levant

We measure the bone marrow yields of mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) carcasses to reconstruct gazelle exploitation strategies during the Epipalaeolithic periods in the southern Levant. We present experimentally derived data on the bone marrow content of seven fresh gazelle carcasses, determine the range of marrow yields among individuals of different sexes and seasons of death, and compare the new data to gazelle skeletal element abundances from five Epipalaeolithic assemblages from Israel. We found extensive variation in marrow fat content among individual gazelles. Animals with the highest marrow yields were killed in the spring while animals killed in the early autumn had lower fat contents. Nevertheless, our results suggest that gazelle marrow provided a reliable, albeit small fat resource for prehistoric foragers in all seasons. Strong relationships between bone fragmentation and marrow content demonstrate that Epipalaeolithic people preferentially processed bones with high marrow yields.     

内地移民与汉代南部边疆交趾地区的统一

自汉武帝元鼎六年(公元前111年),开置交趾、九真、日南三郡,交趾地区就成为汉帝国多民族统一国家整体中不可分割的有机组成部分。此后300余年间,两汉中央王朝之所以能够始终维持对这一地区稳固的郡县统治,不仅因为她于此实施有效的行政管理,合理经营,也与通过各种途径徙居交趾的内地移民有着重大的关系。随着大量内地移民落籍交趾三郡,同时伴随移民而带来的中原内地文化在南部边疆的全面传播,及其对当地土著文化的整合,为交趾地区统一于两汉王朝奠定了广泛而深厚的社会基础,创造了良好的文化条件,促进了该地区与中原内地整体发展的不断加强,从而使交趾三郡成为汉帝国不可分割的南部边疆。内地移民是汉代南部边疆开发的生力军,是交趾三郡统一于汉王朝多民族国家整体的主要社会基础。     

Obsidian provenance analyses at Göytepe,Azerbaijan: Implications for understanding Neolithic socioeconomies in the southern Caucasus

This study presents a provenance analysis of the Neolithic obsidian assemblages from the early to mid‐sixth millennium bc settlement at Göytepe, Azerbaijan. The study is unique in that (1) it involves a complete, non‐selected obsidian assemblage (901 artefacts) from one particular area of the site; (2) the material is derived from a well‐stratified sequence of 10 securely radiocarbon‐dated architectural levels; and (3) the use of an extraordinarily wide range of sources (more than 20) was identified by provenance analysis using energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence. The results reveal a previously unknown diachronic change in obsidian use in the region, suggesting the occurrence of significant socioeconomic changes during the Late Neolithic of the southern Caucasus.     

中缅边界问题研究述略

中缅边界问题是近代中国的历史遗留问题。从1885年清政府开始和英国交涉中缅边界问题,到1961年中华人民共和国和缅甸政府互换《中华人民共和国和缅甸联邦边界条约》批准书,这一问题的解决历时70多年。《中华人民共和国和缅甸联邦边界条约》是新中国成立以后     

沿海铁路建设与苏北鲁南地区的发展

交通条件的改善对支撑区域经济发展和构建最优的空间结构起着重要的作用,其中各种交通方式的优化组合和区域发展主轴线的构建对驱动区域经济的快速发展更有着决定性的意义。本文以苏北和鲁南地区为例,借沿海铁路建设带来的发展契机,通过对该地区交通网络演变规律和发展现状的分析,探讨了当前制约该地区发展的关键因素,并结合空间结构理论,给出了促进该地区经济发展的具体思路。     

The application of ancient DNA analysis to identify neolithic caprinae: a case study from the site of Hatoula,Israel

The evidence for wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) in archaeological sites from the southern Levant is examined through the application of ancient DNA analysis to specimens from the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic A (8300–7500 uncal. BC) site of Hatoula, Israel. The results indicate that at least one of the bones from this site, previously identified as sheep, is in fact goat. To date this is the earliest faunal sample to have yielded DNA in the region. This study highlights the problems in applying morphological criteria to distinguish between caprine species, and illustrates how ancient DNA analysis can serve as a powerful tool in resolving questions of species attribution. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于区位进入理论的苏南产业向苏北转移的动因及模式分析

从苏南地区产业向苏北地区转移的基本特征入手:苏北地区承接产业转移的能力不断提升、从项目类型看,工业项目仍占较大比重、特大规模产业转移有了新突破、共建开发区成效显著以及产业转移结构日趋优化等。借鉴Hayter区位进入理论的分析框架,从心理距离、承接区域政策、承接产业转移的环境等方面分析了苏南产业向苏北转移的空间进入壁垒,从专业化优势、竞争力优势等角度分析了苏南产业向苏北转移的空间进入优势。认为苏南产业大规模向苏北转移是进入壁垒和进入优势两方面因素共同作用的结果。总结了渐进式产业转移的五种模式:资源利用型、节约成本型、拓展市场型、优势延伸型以及园区对接型,并就如何加快地区产业转移进程提出了对策。     

Foraging,Farming, and Social Complexity in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A Review and Synthesis

The transition from foraging to farming of the Neolithic periods is one of, if not, the most important cultural processes in recent human prehistory. Integrating previously published archaeological materials with archaeological research conducted since 1980, the first half of this essay synthesizes our current understanding of archaeological data for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (ca. 11,700–ca. 8400 B.P.) of the southern Levant, generally defined as including southern Syria and Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Autonomous Authority, Jordan, and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt. The second half of the essay explores how these data inform archaeologists about the processes by which social differentiation emerged, the nature of regional and interregional connections, and the mechanisms and processes by which the transition from foraging to food production first occurred in the Neolithic.     

Changing growing conditions for crops during the Near Eastern Bronze Age (3000–1200 BC): the stable carbon isotope evidence

The analysis of carbon isotope discrimination (Δ¹³C) in crop plant remains from seven Bronze Age sites in northern Mesopotamia and the Levant shows clear differences in water availability between the different geographic areas and throughout the different periods (3000–1200 BC). Amongst the different moisture variables modelled precipitation minus evaporation (P-E—using a macrophysical climate model (MCM)) results in very high correlation (0.74) with Δ¹³C values in barley, supporting the significance of climate parameters (effective moisture) in carbon fixation in this species. The comparison of Δ¹³C values of different crops in different periods confirms increased aridity during the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1600 BC), compared to the later Early Bronze Age (2700–2000 BC) particularly in the north-eastern Syrian territory with generally lower Δ¹³C values during the Middle Bronze Age, as has been documented in palaeoclimate proxies, and in agreement with the MCM. Standard deviation in Δ¹³C values from grains or seeds of one species originating from different samples of an individual site may be understood as variability in moisture conditions during the grain-filling period around the considered location. Large standard deviations occur preferably in sites with low mean annual precipitation (e.g. at Emar) and suggest that in these sites, at least some of the crops were irrigated.