Using multivariate statistics and fuzzy logic system to analyse settlement preferences in lowland areas of the temperate zone: an example from the Polish Lowlands

The influence of relief, as well as other environmental features such as soils or the hydrological regime, on prehistoric settlement patterns is commonly accepted. Settlement patterns and preferences changed over time in different areas, so it is difficult to formulate general rules of human behaviour throughout history. In lowland areas of the temperate zone, which lack radical relief changes and have widespread access to water resources, specific settlement preferences and significant changes in these preferences are difficult to interpret.New methods developed to address the problem of the settlement transformations as a result of prehistoric settlement and economic processes using multivariate statistics have been adapted for the middle part of the Great Poland Lowland. In this region, data from the Polish Archaeological Record Project database have been used.Models of the dependence between geomorphological features and settlement intensity form the basis for estimating changes in prehistoric settlements. The degree of preference (or avoidance) is a nonparametric function of the number of archaeological sites observed in the area relative to the number of sites expected from a completely random pattern. The most crucial factors for settlement are distance to plateau edges, distance to water bodies, and the wetness index. The results show that the entire investigated area is more or less suitable for settlement, but the most occupied terrains are the areas near plateau edges.     

河北徐水东黑山遗址出土铁器的实验研究

本文对河北徐水东黑山遗址出土的66件战国至唐宋时期铁器样品进行了碳十四年代测定、金相组织观察和夹杂物成分分析,认为该遗址内出土的铁器制作年代集中于战国两汉时期,铁器的材质全为生铁和生铁制钢产品．采用了铸造、退火、炒钢、淬火以及可能存在的灌钢等工艺,同时该地区至少在汉代已能根据不同的材质和工艺制作不同的器物．本研究为深入认识战国两汉时期太行山东麓北段的钢铁技术提供了新的科学材料。     

The Challenges of Managing an Archaeological Heritage Site in a Declining Economy: The Case of Khami World Heritage Site in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper explores the case of the Khami archaeological site, whose degradation by the local communities in recent years was as a result of socio-economic problems caused by the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy combined with the inability of the Zimbabwean government to support the site. We argue that the negative attitude by the local communities towards the management of cultural heritage sites is embedded in the colonial history of the country, and has been driven by the socio-economic difficulties emanating from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy in recent years. We begin by explaining the history of Khami, its architecture, and the local communities residing around it. We then show and assert that the subsequent degradation of Khami and the landscape around it by the local communities is linked to the socio-economic problems of the country and poverty, which emanated from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy. In the end, we contend that the economic constraints are part of the reasons why the local communities have from time to time failed to respect the importance of protecting cultural heritage sites in the country.     

Mapping Sxwóxwiymelh: A Pre-contact Settlement in the Upper Fraser Valley,Southwestern British Columbia

Abstract

Maps and mapping are fundamental to archaeology. Archaeologists sometimes fail to recognize that the maps we use and create are fraught, like material culture, with interpretive complexities. These complexities arise from the fact that maps are created with social meaning dependent on the context in which the map was created and used. Here, we relate our experience with maps and mapmaking at the pithouse settlement of Sxwóxwiymelh, in southwestern British Columbia. We review the mapping history of the site, highlighting the contexts in which the maps were constructed and how they influenced subsequent interpretations of the site. We describe our deconstruction of these earlier maps and how we combined them to create a more accurate and detailed map that presented a rendition of the site as it was prior to significant modern development. This process of map deconstruction and construction allowed us to see several previously unknown details about the ancient settlement (e.g., house form, relative house size, and feature spacing) of Sxwóxwiymelh. In general, this process provides conceptual and practical lessons for incorporating previously collected map data into archaeological research.     

金沙遗址博物馆大气污染特征研究

为全面了解金沙遗址博物馆遗址区空气污染特征及污染物来源,在2019年秋季对遗址保护厅内外大气中细颗粒物(PM_2.5)和挥发性有机物(VOCs)进行了观测,并对各自化学组分进行了全面分析。结果发现:金沙遗址博物馆遗址保护厅内外PM_2.5污染严重,平均质量浓度分别为77.0μg/m³和94.6μg/m³;受人为影响程度的不同,室内昼夜差异明显强于室外。室外的OM、NO₃^-和SO₄^2-浓度高于室内,而室内的NH+4和典型的地壳元素(K⁺、Mg²⁺和Ca²⁺)浓度高于室外;受化学组成的影响,室内外PM_2.5分别呈碱性和酸性。地壳元素在整体元素中占据绝对主导,室内外占比分别可达82.8%和84.4%。通过富集因子分析得知Cu(室外)、Ag、Cd、Sb元素均达到了重度富集。室内外VOCs浓度几乎相同,分别为81.2×10^-9和81.3×10^-9,其中烷烃的贡献比例最高,分别为44%和46%;源自机动车、工业溶剂涂料使用、燃油挥发及生物质燃烧等人为源的VOCs物质在室外的浓度要明显高于室内。这些研究结果对于金沙遗址博物馆遗址区空气质量的全面了解、土遗址及其中文物的高质量保存和提供优质的参观环境具有重要意义。     

翁牛特旗大营子冶炼遗址研究

大营子冶炼遗址位于赤峰市翁牛特旗五分地镇大营子村南侧的大山的北坡上,包含东西两区冶炼遗存。东区冶炼遗存年代较早,至迟在公元前1 400年已开始冶炼活动。铅同位素、微量元素示踪研究显示大营子冶炼遗址东西两区均使用了来自林西县大井古铜矿的多金属共生矿石,直接冶炼铜砷锡三元青铜合金。大营子冶炼遗址东区冶炼遗存的年代测定,获得了迄今为止最早的夏家店上层文化年代测定结果,为探讨辽西地区青铜时代考古学文化的演变提供了新的科学证据。     

Sedimentological and archaeological fabrics in Palaeolithic levels of the South-Eastern Pyrenees: Cova Gran and Roca dels Bous Sites (Lleida, Spain)

The comparative study of sedimentary fabrics in relation to archaeological fabrics in various levels of the sites of Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic) and the Roca dels Bous (Middle Palaeolithic) has made it possible to analyse the formation dynamics of the deposits and determine the extent of disturbance of the archaeological levels by natural processes. To achieve this, diagrams and two- and three-dimensional indices were calculated from the azimuth and dip angle of natural clasts and artefacts. The results indicate that the sedimentary levels were formed mainly by planar fabric shape gravitational processes (low depositional angles), which differ notably from the archaeological fabrics they contain, characterised by a greater degree of isotropy. This difference in the fabrics would reflect human activity and indicates that the archaeological levels both in Cova Gran and Roca dels Bous have not been subject to significant natural modifications, and are preserved in situ.     

Pre-Clovis in Texas? A critical assessment of the “Buttermilk Creek Complex”

Lithic artifacts from the lowest strata of the Debra L. Friedkin site, located on Buttermilk Creek in central Texas, have been interpreted as an undisturbed pre-Clovis assemblage (Waters et al., 2011a). Stone tools and debitage were recovered from sediments stratified just below diagnostic Clovis artifacts and dated by OSL to between 13.2 and >15.5 cal kya. Invoking commonly observed cultural and natural site formation processes, we offer an alternative explanation of the “Buttermilk Creek Complex” as a Clovis assemblage in secondary association with the dated sediments.     

城市民族餐馆空间分布的区位选择及文化邻近性

民族餐馆是餐饮服务业的特殊形式,认识其行业性质及文化特性是理解民族餐馆空间分布的关键。本研究以郑州、开封和洛阳为案例,从市场区位选择、文化邻近、城市格局等多个维度,对城市民族餐馆分布进行了探索性分析。研究发现,城市民族餐馆分布在空间分布结构上呈等级扩散分布,其集聚核心大多位于城市传统商业服务业中心;商圈、大学、医院等人口密集区,是城市民族餐馆市场选择的重要区位。民族餐馆与城市商圈具有较高的空间重合度,与大学、医院等区位要素空间关系因城而异。商圈周边布局民族餐馆的概率较高;城市民族餐馆在少数民族居住生活区域高度集中,民族商业文化传统对民族餐馆分布具有向心集聚作用。本研究认为城市民族餐馆分布取决于城市发展格局、市场区位选择及文化邻近的综合作用,民族餐馆的分布概率因城市规模大小、区位地点差异及空间尺度而发生变化。