Let them eat cake? Status-based differences in diet in medieval Denmark

The goal of this research is to explore status-based differences in diet of the peasants, monks and elites interred at the medieval Cistercian monastery of Øm Kloster. In order to accomplish this task bone samples were taken from 98 individuals from the monastery for the stable isotopic analysis of carbon and nitrogen found in both bone collagen and apatite. Significant differences were found in the diet of these three groups. Elites demonstrated significantly enriched δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values and had the smallest δ¹³C_coll-ap spacing in comparison to the peasant and monastic population. Although there were no changes in the diet of the elite or peasant population through time, the monastic diet shifted from resembling the diet of the peasant population early in the period to more closely matching that of the elites at the close of the period, although small sample size precluded the significance testing of this shift. This research suggests that social status played a considerable role in the types and quantity of food resources available to a given individual in society and that there were some socially based differences in the medieval Danish diet.     

金代私学教育

私学是金代教育的重要组成部分,也是金代官学的一种必要补充。金代"学而优则仕"的传统学习观念和人才选拔思想,辽、宋的私学传统以及私人刊刻、印卖书籍的普遍现象,构成金代私学发展的重要因素。在长期的发展过程中,依据教学内容、创办者、办学目的的不同,金代私学分为家学、女真贵族官僚家塾、学者自设私塾、官宦私塾和自学等五大类型。与其他朝代私学相比,金代私学具有类型多样化、设置早于官学、教育对象比官学更加广泛等自身特色。金代私学对于金代文化知识的传播和发展,科学文化教育的普及、交流,以及各民族文化素质的提高,均起到重要的促进作用。     

Investigating the likelihood of a reservoir offset in the radiocarbon record for ancient Egypt

Some radiocarbon dates for ancient Egypt have been significantly offset from the established historical chronology (see Bonani et al., 2001). In this paper, short-lived plant species collected in Egypt between 1700 and 1900 AD were used to investigate the possibility that the radiocarbon record had been influenced by reservoir effects. AMS radiocarbon measurements were made on 66 known-age samples, resulting in an average offset from expected values of 19 years. The implications of this minor discrepancy on the likelihood of a reservoir process are discussed, and the agreement of the data with recent models of radiocarbon seasonality is also considered.     

洪保生平事迹及坟寺初考

洪保墓出土的寿藏铭是对其生平事迹及郑和下西洋史料的重要补充。据寿藏铭及相关文献记载,从永乐元年到宣德八年的30年内,洪保曾经一次奉使西域、七次奉使西洋,与郑和、王景弘同列为宣德六年下西洋之正使太监。此外,据记载下西洋船队中确有五千料宝船,至正统六年洪保依然活跃在政坛。洪保墓地所在坟寺即宁海寺。     

辽金人的忠孝观

忠孝是中国古代伦理的重要内容 ,中国传统文化的组成部分。契丹、女真早期本无忠孝观念。辽金建立后 ,随着社会的发展 ,儒学的传播 ,统治者的倡导 ,民族的融合等 ,忠孝观念逐渐形成和发展起来。忠孝在辽金及后来元人那里 ,超越了民族、地区和国别的畛域 ,人们对外族、邻国、敌国乃至前朝的忠臣孝子同样表现出尊重和崇敬。 1 0 - 1 3世纪 ,忠孝已成为汉、契丹、女真、蒙古等各民族一致认同的伦理道德观念和行为规范 ,从而体现了中国传统文化的历史继承性和强大凝聚力。     

孙殿起《贩书偶记》的史料价值

从表面上看,《贩书偶记》只是书商出身的文献家孙殿起先生在经营古书时编录的一部图书目录,但它在著录图书之时,对与各图书相关的重要信息或多或少地作了一些抄录,这些信息包括撰者的生平传记、著述情况、书籍本身的刊刻、序跋等等,尽管零零总总,却有着十分重要的史料价值。     

Boat-based foraging and discontinuous prehistoric red abalone exploitation along the California coast

Temporally and spatially discontinuous pulses of heavy prehistoric exploitation of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) have been documented along the southern and central California coast. This article examines the very late (post-950 cal BP) appearance of numerous red abalone processing sites on the Monterey Peninsula in central California. We test three prominent explanations offered for the sudden onset of red abalone processing sites: trophic cascades resulting from human predation on sea otters, logistical foraging by inland residents, and changes in sea surface temperature. A trophic cascade appears to have occurred but does not fully explain the nature or timing of the phenomenon in the region.     

Evidence of early medieval soda ash glass in the archaeological site of San Genesio (Tuscany)

The early medieval period marks an important turning point in the history of glassmaking, since it comprises the transition period between the mineral-based silica-soda-lime glass of the Roman tradition and the plant ash-based glass. With the aim of expanding the knowledge on the glass recipes and technologies of this period, 37 glass samples were analyzed, originating from the archaeological excavations of San Genesio (Tuscany) and dated from the fourth to the eleventh century. The major and minor element concentrations were measured with SEM-EDX, while the trace elements were quantified with LA-ICP-MS. The results were compared with published compositions of glass samples of similar age in order to highlight differences and similarities. The results offer a very interesting view on the glass circulation in the religious/residential/manufacturing center of San Genesio in the early medieval period. Most of the glass has a typical late-Roman composition, but some glass fragments are identified as soda ash glass. These are among the earliest medieval ash-fluxed glasses ever found in the Italian peninsula.