Pigment analysis in Bronze Age Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean painted plaster by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) was used in the examination of Bronze Age painted plaster samples from several sites in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. The elemental content of paint materials was determined in most cases leading to the identification of the pigment used in agreement with data from analyses of the same samples with other established techniques. The analyses demonstrate that a virtually non-destructive technique such as LIBS provides sufficient data for the elemental characterisation of painting materials while in parallel has the capability for routine, rapid analysis of archaeological objects enabling the quick characterisation or screening of different types of artefacts. This certainly shows an important way forward in technological studies of fragile and scarce archaeological material.     

Tracing sickle blade levels of wear and discard patterns: a new sickle gloss quantification method

Although sickle blades gloss is known to form during the harvest, which is a dynamic process and although it is known to be a type of wear which is the outcome of the repetitive encounters between the sickle blades working edges and plant stems; there is no common way to quantify its intensity. Since there is no consensus over a specific scale that will enable the estimation of the amount of wear, based on the quantification of gloss brightness intensity. In this paper we propose a new measurement system which is based on the projection of laser (He–Ne) beam on glossed sickle blades and an analysis of the reflected images. The results form a relative scale from which it is possible to infer on the sickle blades level of wear, and to create discard models.     

九连墩战国编钟形声复原研究

文物界修复编钟残件的传统方法是对编钟先矫形后胶接或钎焊,使用这种方法可以做到"形似",但无法获得良好的声音.为同时能获得良好的声音,通过对矫形定位、焊接方法、焊接材料、修复声弓等修复环节进行研究,采用激光焊接技术修复九连墩出土的破损双音编钟.修复结果表明,不仅复原了编钟的外观尺寸和形貌特征,而且在音频、音品方面恢复了双音编钟的乐钟特征,实现了破损双音编钟的形、声复原.研究成果可为古代金属乐器的形、声复原提供了一套全新的技术路线和工艺流程.     

Reaping bare fields: a response to Stemp et al

In 2010 we have described in JAS a novel method for quantifying sickle gloss. Independently, Goodale et al. (2010) published another method for quantifying gloss based on a different method. Recently, the methods of both teams have been criticized by Stemp et al. We argue below that the critique is lacking and that the method we devised, laser He–Ne measurement, is a way to quantify sickle blade gloss that enables an objective estimate of the intensity of sickles use. The system is not expensive and is time efficient.     

南京堂子街太平天国壁画再保护

为了使已经经历过保护修复的14幅南京堂子街太平天国时期的壁画能够更好地保存和展览,在全面的现场调查和修复资料收集的基础上,对壁画实施了现场预保护、搬迁以及实验室保护修复。采取了比较成熟的保护材料Paraloid B72、Primal AC33对壁画进行加固回贴;并将蒸汽清洗、激光清洗引入到壁画的表面清理中;同时改善了灌浆材料;采用了贴木浆纸、预先刷涂乙醇等改良工艺。在上述措施的综合使用下,壁画再次保护修复后效果良好。此保护修复方法可对类似需要再保护的壁画提供借鉴。     

A Speleothem Record of Early British and Roman Mining at Charterhouse,Mendip, England

The laser ablation ICP–MS transect of a speleothem from GB Cave, close to Charterhouse, Mendip Hills, UK, records Pb variations over the past 5 ka. The speleothem record correlates well with the known historical record of lead mining in the district, the principal features of which include: the Roman lead mining peak; the Dark Ages cessation; gradual, episodic revival up to the late 16th century peak; the 17th century collapse and subsequent recovery; and the final short‐lived burst at the end of the 19th century. This correlation supports the assumption that the pre‐Roman lead record also derives from local mining. Thus, this record is the first example of quantifying ancient human mining activity through trace element signature of a speleothem. This record also provides the first solid evidence of significant pre‐Roman mining activity in the Charterhouse region, and the first solid dating of that activity. This pre‐Roman mining can be divided into three main peaks dated to 1800–1500 bc , 1100–800 bc and 350–0 bc .     

Excavation and Study of Skeletal Remains from a World War I Mass Grave

This study presents the excavation and multidisciplinary analysis of seven skeletons recovered in a World War I Mass Grave on the mountains of the Veneto Region, Italy. While it is not a rare phenomenon to these mountainous areas involved in the First Conflict, it is exceptional, on these mountains, to find a mass grave with soldiers in primary burials. Stratigraphic excavation was the mean used for recovery, along with 3D laser scanning documentation. Every skeleton but one was found complete and in anatomical connection. Four soldiers lay in the prone position; two subjects were lying on their side. Identification of the nationality was performed for two of the subjects, who both of whom had personal effects such as a badge for military vaccinations and religious medals. What remained of their uniforms gave clues about their Italian nationality. The entomological analysis conducted on fly puparia discovered close to the bones revealed that the bodies had not been buried immediately. The skeletons were biologically profiled by sex, age, height and ancestry. An accurate study of pathology and stress markers was carried on, as well as on skeletal trauma in order to establish the type of trauma and ammunition involved. The remains belonged altogether to seven Italian male soldiers ages between 18 and 35. Various kinds of stress markers revealed occupational (enthesopathies) and metabolic stress: several signs of cribra cranii and of cribra orbitalia were registered. The study of the injuries revealed a surprising variety of types of lesions, mostly lethal: a few subjects were struck by a shrapnel grenade; one soldier was killed by a grenade explosion. Two of the soldiers were probably executed, instead: this conclusion reached on the basis of gunshot holes (9 mm) in their skulls, and by the position of the injuries. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combining photogrammetry and laser scanning for the recording and modelling of the Late Intermediate Period site of Pinchango Alto,Palpa, Peru

This paper describes the 3D modelling of Pinchango Alto, Peru, based on a combination of image and range data. Digital photogrammetry and laser scanning allow archaeological sites to be recorded efficiently and in detail even under unfavourable conditions. In 2004 we documented Pinchango Alto, a typical site of the hitherto poorly studied Late Intermediate Period on the south coast of Peru, with the aim of conducting spatial archaeological analyses at different scales. The combined use of a mini helicopter and a terrestrial laser scanner, both equipped with a camera, allowed a fast yet accurate recording of the site and its stone architecture. In this paper we describe the research background, the 3D modelling based on different image and range data sets, and the resulting products that will serve as a basis for archaeological analysis.     

Hohokam and Patayan interaction in southwestern Arizona: evidence from ceramic compositional analyses

Ceramic raw material use is one line of evidence for prehistoric territorial boundaries and social interaction. In this paper, we characterize the raw materials used by Hohokam and Patayan potters along the western Hohokam frontier, using data from oxidation analysis, laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma spectrometry, and petrographic analysis. The sample includes 150 sherds from three sites (AZ Z:1:29[ASM], AZ Z:1:30[ASM], and BMGR-02-F-04) south of Gila Bend, Arizona. Similar Lower Gila River sediments were used for Hohokam and Patayan ceramics during the period A.D. 700–1150. Patayan potters apparently used clay sources from an area dominated by Hohokam settlements, and their ceramics were transported at least 50 km into the desert interior, perhaps representing seasonal movements between the river and the desert.     

LA-ICP-MS analysis of quartzite from the Upper Gunnison Basin,Colorado

We report the results of LA-ICP-MS analysis of 402 quartzite samples representing 48 collection loci in the Upper Gunnison Basin (UGB), Colorado and determine the extent to which the sources can be geochemically discriminated from one another using this non-destructive technique. The ability to differentiate among the sources would open the door to provenance studies of the quartzite chipped-stone tools and debitage that constitute 95% or more of most of the 3000-plus prehistoric site assemblages documented in the UGB. Our samples represent prehistorically quarried and non-quarried quartzite sources, including outcrop (primary) and gravel (secondary) deposits. The results reveal spatial and chronological trends in quartzite elemental composition that can be exploited for provenance determinations of quartzite artifacts from UGB sites, albeit using an assemblage-based sourcing strategy that differs from the familiar approach of “matching” obsidian artifacts to their statistically likeliest geological source. We offer a preliminary version of a sourcing protocol for UGB quartzite.