Metallurgical analysis of copper artifacts from Cahokia

Copper artifacts from Cahokia Mounds, Illinois were analyzed from a materials science perspective to shed light on techniques used by Mississippian copper workers to deform nuggets of native copper into thin sheets. Eight small copper pieces from a copper-working site at Cahokia’s Mound 34 were subjected to metallographic examination. Replication experiments thereafter recreated features of the artifacts under controlled conditions. It is concluded that copper sheets were thinned through repeated cycles of hammering and annealing performed at temperatures achievable in an open wood fire. The welding of sheets to create multilayered objects was not observed in any artifacts and could not be accomplished experimentally. Additionally, a possible cutting method used on some artifacts was identified.     

射线成像技术与商周青铜器铸接

商周青铜器生产基于独特的泥范块范法铸造技术体系,分铸铸接是实现铸件大型化和复杂化的主要途径。但直到20世纪中叶,盖滕斯才关注到这一问题。他起先采用剖切器物的方式认识铸接,又于60年代使用X射线照射成像,并使之成为古器物的常规检测方式,但结果常受器形局限。80年代起工业计算机断层扫描(CT)被用于青铜器检测,该技术不仅突破了X射线照射成像的局限,还带来了更多新的发现。新千年在日本和中国分别对青铜器做了大量检测,仅青铜铸接方面即有半环接榫、柱状销钉、铸焊等一系列新发现。本文简要回顾对青铜铸接的认识历史,揭示认知手段的变化,凸显射线成像的价值,强调问题意识和原创理论、方法和手段的重要性。     

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

The use of stone cutting tools opened a novel adaptive niche for hominins. Hence, it has been hypothesised that biomechanical adaptations evolved to maximise efficiency when using such tools. Here, we test experimentally whether biometric variation influences the efficiency of simple cutting tools (n = 60 participants). Grip strength and handsize were measured in each participant. 30 participants used flint flakes, while the other 30 used small (unhafted) steel blades. Variations in basic parameters of tool form (length, width, thickness, cutting edge length) were recorded for the 30 flint flakes. It was ensured that mean handsize and strength in each participant group were not significantly different to investigate the effect of tool variation. The experimental task required cutting through a 10 mm-diameter hessian rope. Cutting efficiency was measured using both ‘Number of cutting strokes required’ and ‘Total time taken’. Results show that both efficiency measures were significantly correlated with handsize using all 60 participants. However, no significant differences were found between the flake and blade groups in terms of mean efficiency. Nor was any significant relationship found between tool form parameters and efficiency in the flint flake group. We stress that our results do not imply that tool form has no impact on tool efficiency, but rather that – all other things being equal – biometric variation has a statistically significant influence on efficiency variation when using simple cutting tools. These results demonstrate that biomechanical parameters related directly to efficiency of use, may plausibly have been subject to selection in the earliest stone tool-using hominins.     

Edge Angle as a Variably Influential Factor in Flake Cutting Efficiency: An Experimental Investigation of Its Relationship with Tool Size and Loading

Simple flake cutting tools were utilized across broad chronological and geographical ranges during prehistory. Fundamental to their functional utility is the presence of a relatively acute working edge. The acuteness of this ‘edge angle’ is widely hypothesized to be a primary determinant of cutting efficiency and, subsequently, of potential consequence to prehistoric peoples. However, the influence of the cutting edge angle in flake tools on the ability (efficiency) of tool users to cut through objects has not been empirically investigated under explicitly stated experimental conditions. Moreover, no consideration has been given to whether this relationship is dependent upon the size of the tool. Here, the influence that edge angle exerts on human stone tool users is examined experimentally in terms of efficiency during a cutting task, while also considering the relationship between edge angle, loading (i.e., the force applied) and overall flake size. The results demonstrate that there is a highly significant relationship between more acute working edges and increased cutting efficiency in the smallest flake tools tested. Above a certain flake‐size threshold, however, the working edge angle has no influence on cutting efficiency because larger flakes appear to facilitate the application of greater working loads by tool users. These results have important implications for potential flake selection criteria by prehistoric peoples, especially in relation to utility, function and the changing effects of edge angle through a sequence of retouch.     

河曲坪头遗址新石器时代房址的现场保护与提取

为了配合基本建设,做好抢救性的文物保护工作,对考古发掘的河曲坪头遗址房址进行保护,采取了千斤顶升降、滚动轴使切割块发生位移等先进的方法,最大限度地减少了因切割而造成的文物破坏,最终顺利完成了出土房址的搬迁保护工作。同时对搬迁过程中的一些细节进行了讨论,所用的方法可为今后同类性质的文物保护提供经验。     

有关吉州窑黑釉剪纸贴花工艺的思考

瓷器剪纸贴花工艺始创于唐代,其与当时流行的薄片饰物有着密切的联系,与宋代吉州窑的同类装饰并不同源。宋代吉州窑瓷器上的剪纸贴花主要是受该地区发达的纺织印染、造纸刻书,乃至剪纸业的影响而来的,风格独特．其中一些特殊的宗教纹样则是为该地区的宗教机构设计烧制的。吉州窑是我国宋代著名的民间窑场,其产品以装饰手法的丰富多样而别具特色,黑釉剪纸贴花工艺即是其中代表性的一种。长期来对于瓷器剪纸贴花的始创年代,工艺渊源．宋代为何只有吉州窑流行剪纸贴花技法,以及剪纸贴花纹样是否与当地的社会习俗相关等问题,一直是笔者颇为关注的课题,本文试图就此类问题的思考作一简述。     

The Lower Palaeolithic on the northern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula (Sierra de Atapuerca,Ambrona and La Maya I): a technological analysis of the cutting edge and weight of artefacts. Developing an hypothetical model

This article analyses the relationship between the weight and cutting edge of lithic artefacts from the main Lower Palaeolithic sites on the northern plateau (Meseta) of the Iberian Peninsula. The weight and cutting edge of a tool determine its cutting ability and the amount of force it is capable of, making them extremely important aspects of study to further our understanding of the potential capacity for human intervention in the environment. However, the analysis of these features has not received much attention in the ongoing debate on the Palaeolithic era in Europe. This study argues that the quantitative and qualitative technological analysis of these two aspects is of fundamental importance in determining the potential of lithic assemblages.     

河北磁县北宋墓葬壁画保护与修复浅谈

本次修复对象是北宋早期的墓葬壁画,该壁画的出土为弥补邯郸乃至河北宋代早期墓葬壁画实物资料提供了珍贵资料,具有重要的学术研究价值。对该壁画的保护修复,不同于以往揭取或整体提取的方法,该壁画采用切割砖体的方法。该方法能较好保留文物结构上的完整,保护了壁画的安全,也为后期的二次修复提供了可操作空间。