The Pyramids—Cement or Stone?

Several samples of pyramids from Giza were obtained. The samples were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, electron diffraction by X-rays, powder X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasmography, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and other techniques. Some scientists who have recently studied the pyramids have suggested that the pyramids were poured into place, stone by stone. The prevailing theory among Egyptologists is, of course, that the pyramids were built from blocks of natural stone. All of the results obtained during this study directly support the concept that the pyramids are made of limestone and are not cementitious in nature.     

The Evolution of the Vitruvian Recipes over 500 Years of Floor‐Making Techniques: The Case Studies of the Domus delle Bestie Ferite and the Domus di Tito Macro (Aquileia,Italy)

The paper reports the results of a research project aimed at the characterization of the floor bedding mortars of two Roman houses in Aquileia (north‐eastern Italy), the Domus delle Bestie Ferite and the Domus di Tito Macro. Seventy floor bedding mortars of the two domus were selected and almost half were fully minero‐petrographically characterized by means of optical microscopy operated in transmitted light (OM‐TL), X‐ray powder diffraction analyses coupled with quantitative phase analysis by means of the Rietveld method (XRPD‐QPA) and scanning electron microscopy with EDS microanalysis (SEM–EDS). The results indicate an evolution of the mortar preparation techniques over time in the mosaic of both houses. The materials are compared to the traditional Roman recipes for specific construction techniques.     

X-ray powder diffraction analysis of Late Holocene reservoir sediments

X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis of clays from anthropogenic Late Holocene reservoir sediments can provide a paleoclimatic proxy. Illite and smectite are climate sensitive clay minerals and their relative amounts correlate with climatic episodes. Relative percent composition of clays in Late Holocene reservoir sediment is diagnostic of different mineral source areas and their hydraulic transport processes, which are climate controlled. Climosequences of clay minerals from Late Holocene reservoir sediments are correlative with magnetic susceptibility records and provide a relatively simple and cost-effective tool for gaining insight into paleoclimate.     

Scattering problems of the SH Wave by Using the Null-Field Boundary Integral Equation Method

The scattering problem of seismic waves is an important issue for studying earthquake engineering. In this paper, the null-field boundary integral equation approach was used in conjunction with degenerate kernels and eigenfunction expansion to solve the SH-wave scattering problem of a circular or an elliptical-arc hill. The original problem is divided into subdomains by taking a free-body diagram. One region is an interior boundary value problem. The other is a canyon scattering problem. For the boundary value problem, not only a simply connected domain (elliptical-arc hill problem) but also a doubly connected domain (a circular-arc hill problem containing a circular tunnel or a circular inclusion) is considered. The canyon scattering problem may be addressed in an infinite domain with an artificial boundary of a full plane such that the degenerate kernel can be fully utilized. The null-field integral equation method is used to match boundary conditions. Numerical results are compared favorably with the available data.     

For Whom the Bells Fall: Metals from the Cenote Sagrado,Chichén Itzá

Bells of copper and copper alloys and gold–copper alloys were deposited in events at the Cenote Sagrado at Chichén Itzá, Mexico during the site's primary occupation (ad 750–1050) and in later centuries. Housed in three museums in the United States and Mexico, bells (n = 38) were evaluated for traces of fabrication and alteration using Vis–UV–IR optical microscopy. Bulk compositions were determined through p‐ED‐XRF. Phases and compositional variation by depth were characterized through XRD and RBS. The technological styles of bell groups were ascribed to communities of metallurgical practice, from West and Central Mexico to Costa Rica and Panama.     

Is X-ray diffraction able to distinguish between animal and human bones?

The possibility of determining the human or animal origin of bones from the lattice parameters of their inorganic bioapatite phase, when subjected to a high temperature treatment using the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, has been explored on a wide number of specimens. Forty-two animal bones were treated in a furnace at 1100 °C for 36 min and compared to 53 cremated human bones from a range of ancient necropolises. The X-ray diffraction patterns of bioapatite were simulated using both monoclinic P21/b and hexagonal P63/m structures to verify any occurrence of phase transformation and any difference in the lattice parameters due to the model. It was determined that the differences between the a-axis and c-axis of the monoclinic and hexagonal lattice were unimportant. Some outlying values were revealed to be caused by the presence of chlorine ions diffused into the apatite structure increasing its average unit cell values. Nevertheless, our results clearly show that in terms of lattice parameters the variability of human specimens are completely overlapped by the non-human variability making the use of XRD in order to distinguish animal from human bones questionable.     

湖北省鄂州五里墩出土孙吴时期“红色粉状物”的测试分析

利用X射线荧光（XRF）,红外光谱（FTIR）和X射线衍射（XRD）等方法对湖北省鄂州市五里墩M2墓葬出土孙吴时期的红色物质进行了分析,结果表面这种红色物质主要是超细的朱砂粉料与油脂等的混合物,结合考古资料推测可能是调制的古代化妆品;其制作工艺是：从矿石中选出朱砂,研磨成很细的粉状,加入油脂（或许还加入了白色的高岭土）调和成膏状。本研究结果不但为该墓葬分析提供重要考古信息,对古代朱砂质化妆品的相关研究也有借鉴和参考作用。     

Diffraction around a Semi-Parabolic Canyon in an Elastic Half-Space by Out-of-Plane SH-Waves,II: Rocking and Resultant Rotations

This paper is the second of the two papers, discussing the rocking and resultant component of rotations, with the torsional components of motions presented earlier in the first paper for the case of out-of-plane SH waves excitation on a semi-parabolic canyon. The rotational motions are gaining importance in recent years in the field of strong-motion seismology and earthquake engineering. Many previous papers on out-of-plane SH waves excitation presented the associated torsion rotational motions, when in fact there is also a rocking rotational component of motions. Both the rocking and torsion rotational motions, in as much as the translational motions, had shown to play an important role in structural responses, even though rotations are not incorporated into building design codes at present. Studying the rotational motions can thus help to a better understanding of the behavior of surface topographies that are in the vicinity of structures in the event of seismic excitation. This paper included, besides the additional rocking motions, also the resultant rotational motions combining torsion and rocking.     

Evidence for volcanic ash fall in the Maya Lowlands from a reservoir at Tikal,Guatemala

Powder X-ray diffraction and petrographic analyses of reservoir sediments from Tikal, Guatemala have identified significant quantities of decomposed volcanic ash in the form of smectite and euhedral bipyramidal quartz crystals. X-ray fluorescence trace element content analysis was used to eliminate distant Sahara-Sahel and Antilles sources. The Zr/Y and Ni/Cr ratios of reservoir sediment from Tikal are consistent with a source from Central American volcanism (e.g., Guatemalan and Salvadoran). AMS radiocarbon dating of the smectite and crystalline quartz-rich reservoir sediments show that volcanic ash fell during the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic Maya cultural periods. It may now be possible to develop an effective chronology of ash fall at Tikal and the greater Peten.     

A new calibration of the XRD technique for the study of archaeological burned human remains

A new calibration of human bones as a function of programmed temperature (200–1000 °C) and time (0, 18 and 60 min) is presented and discussed in order to investigate the issues related to the study of cremated bone remains by using the powder X-ray diffraction approach. The experimental results confirm the growth of hydroxylapatite crystallites as a function of the applied temperature, with a sigmoid behaviour that has been parameterized to the experimental data points. Particularly, it was observed that the thermal treatments for 60 min anticipate of about 100 °C the effects that are otherwise observed after the treatments for 0 min. The developed procedure was subsequently applied to cremated remains of various archaeological sites of Spain and supplied precise information not only about the temperature reached during the funerary rites, but also on the presumed duration for the cremation.