3400 years of agricultural engineering in Mesoamerica: lama-bordos of the Mixteca Alta,Oaxaca, Mexico

The origins of early Mesoamerican agricultural techniques are not well established. Our charcoal-derived radiocarbon chronology dates cross-valley check dams, or lama-bordos, buried by up to 11.5 m of sediment in arroyos near Coixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. Now it is clear that people in highland Mexico built lama-bordos at least 3400–3500 years ago, several hundred years earlier than previously dated engineering systems in Mesoamerica. Lama-bordo systems evolved as intensively and extensively managed landscapes coeval with climate shifting to more arid conditions. They provide clear examples of human-produced stratigraphy and artificial landscapes (stair-stepped valleys). More importantly, these lama-bordo systems signal a major cultural tipping point toward sedentary agricultural life and solidify our understanding of the Neolithic transition in Mesoamerica.     

Late Holocene subsistence and social integration in Sierras of Córdoba (Argentina): the South-American ostrich eggshells evidence

Zooarchaeological research carried out on South-American ostrich eggshells from late pre-Hispanic site Arroyo Talainín 2 (ca. 1100–300 BP, Sierras of Córdoba, Argentina) is presented in this paper. The resource importance has been assessed focusing mainly on its economic and political dimensions for social-unit integration rather than its classical use as a seasonal indicator. Eggshells taxonomic identification was performed by quantifying shell-pore density, and determining two Rheidae species: greater rhea (Rhea americana) and lesser rhea (Rhea pennata). High frequencies of burned eggshell fragments indicate an unequivocal association between this resource and the human occupations recorded at this site. Regional-scale data suggests that egg consumption took place disassociated from the main-residential camps. These locations were rock-shelters occupied by small-dispersed household groups or large-group food processing and consumption sites such as Arroyo Talainín 2. Thus, a flexible approach for a food-consumption study is required to account for its spatial dimension. Only a regional-scale archaeological research will allow advances to be made in our understanding of the subsistence patterns and socio-political organization of late pre-Hispanic human societies.     

蔡襄《行书自书诗》卷后“匡山凷翁”题跋小考

故宫博物院藏《行书自书诗》卷是蔡襄行书代表作,卷后有历代题跋多则,其中款署为"匡山凷翁"的一跋,前人向对作者未有详论。本文通过此卷前后题跋以及相关文献记载,考证出此跋作者为明初人吴勤,因受当时的收藏者管讷的邀请而书此题跋。通过对"匡山凷翁"身份的揭示,可以更清晰地了解此卷在明初的流传轨迹,对此间书画鉴藏史的研究或有裨益。