The Carving Technology of the Handle‐Shaped Artefacts from Yinxu (c.1300–1046 bc) in China

The handle‐shaped artefact is a special jade object of the Three Dynasties (c.2000–200 bc ) period. The manufacturing technology and function of the handle‐shaped artefacts are widely questioned. In this paper, two handle‐shaped artefacts from Yinxu (c.1300–1046 bc ) are tested by digital microscope, Raman spectrometer and scanning electron microscope. The results indicate that the handle‐shaped artefacts might be made in four steps, namely rough shape cutting, edge reforming, handle making and single‐side polishing. It also suggests that the handle‐shaped artefacts might be used as sacrificial offerings, but not as hairpins or handles.     

Phenetics,cladistics, and the search for the Alaskan ancestors of the Paleoindians: a reassessment of relationships among the Clovis,Nenana, and Denali archaeological complexes

Clovis, Nenana, and Denali are the earliest well-documented archaeological complexes in the New World. Clovis has been found at sites throughout the lower 48 states of the USA and in parts of Canada but not in Alaska, whereas Nenana and Denali have been found in Alaska but not elsewhere in North America. In 1991, Goebel and colleagues reported phenetic analyses of tool types from Clovis, Nenana, and Denali. They found that Nenana clustered more closely with Clovis than with Denali, and concluded from this that Nenana was likely ancestral to Clovis. Goebel et al.'s study has been cited frequently since it was published, and their conclusions have been widely accepted. Here we explain why analyses of the type performed by Goebel et al. are problematic and also demonstrate empirically that their results are dependent on the algorithm and distance measure used. We then reanalyze their dataset with a technique from biology called cladistics. Cladistics has replaced phenetics as the method of choice for reconstructing evolutionary relationships in biology, because it is more objective. The results of this analysis differ from those obtained by Goebel and colleagues. The results strongly suggest that Denali and Clovis are in fact more closely related to each other than either is to Nenana.     

The origin of black pigmentation in a sample of Mexican prehispanic human bones

The study of black patches and spots in prehispanic bones of Tlatelolco and Tlapacoya is presented. The chosen characterization techniques, X-ray Fluorescence, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, Infrared Spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography are complementary and they all conclude that the bone black pigment is constituted, mainly, by amorphous carbon and some mineral inclusions. Gas Chromatography and Infrared Spectroscopy show that the pigment is constituted by organic compounds as aromatic hydrocarbons, mainly bitumen. An explanation on how the spots were formed is proposed.     

Application of a new typological approach to classifying denticulate and notched tools: the study of two Mousterian lithic assemblages

Identifying tools by means of morphological attributes are widely used in lithic studies to categorize retouched artifacts from different archaeological periods. This procedure has facilitated the exchange of information between separate researchers and has improved the comparison of different assemblages. In these classifications, denticulates and notched tools have been regularly interpreted as analogues and chronologically unvaried in different and vast territories. Based on the definitions developed by Bordes, the denticulate category has become a catchall for any kind of tool bearing concavities. In this paper a new quantitative approach to the classification of denticulates and notched tools is proposed. The new methodology is based on measuring the length of notches and their distribution on the perimeter of the blank. Analyzing the lithic series of the Abric Romaní rock-shelter (Spain) and Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino (Italy) led to the identification of 11 redundant forms: eight denticulates and three notched tools. Moreover, the application of Kuhn’s Geometric Index of Unifacial Reduction brought local manufacturing trends to light, calling into question the presumed geographical uniformity of these categories of artifacts.     

也谈刀形端刃器的命名问题

刀形端刃器的名称学术界历来说法不一,但刀形端刃器是迄今最能体现这种器物特征的合理名称。     

The origins of two purportedly pre-Columbian Mexican crystal skulls

The well-known life-size rock crystal skull in the British Museum was purchased in 1897 as an example of genuine pre-Columbian workmanship, but its authenticity has been the subject of increasing speculation since the 1930s. This paper is concerned with the history, technology and material of the skull and another larger white quartz skull, donated recently to the Smithsonian Institution. Manufacturing techniques were investigated, using scanning electron microscopy to examine tool marks on the artefacts, and compared with Mesoamerican material from secure contexts. A Mixtec rock crystal goblet and a group of Aztec/Mixtec rock crystal beads show no evidence of lapidary wheels. They were probably worked with stone and wood tools charged with abrasives, some of which may have been as hard as corundum. Textual evidence for Mexican lapidary techniques during the early colonial period, supported by limited archaeological evidence, also indicates a technology without the wheel, probably based on natural tool materials. In contrast, the two skulls under consideration were carved with rotary wheels. The British Museum skull was worked with hard abrasives such as corundum or diamond, whereas X-ray diffraction revealed traces of carborundum (SiC), a hard modern synthetic abrasive, on the Smithsonian skull. Investigation of fluid and solid inclusions in the quartz of the British Museum skull, using microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, shows that the material formed in a mesothermal metamorphic environment equivalent to greenschist facies. This suggests that the quartz was obtained from Brazil or Madagascar, areas far outside pre-Columbian trade networks. Recent archival research revealed that the British Museum skull was rejected as a modern artefact by the Museo Nacional de Mexico in 1885, when offered for sale by the collector and dealer, Eugène Boban. These findings led to the conclusion that the British Museum skull was worked in Europe during the nineteenth century. The Smithsonian Institution skull was probably manufactured shortly before it was bought in Mexico City in 1960; large blocks of white quartz would have been available from deposits in Mexico and the USA.     

石器分类中的多重划分原则

近几年来,在我国旧古器考古学界出现了非常喜人的新局面。随着改革开放的发展和中外学术交流的加强,西方的类型学体系和类型学思想被逐渐大量介绍进来（陈淳,１９９４;林圣龙,１９９３、１９９４、１９９６;黄慰文,１９９３）①②③④⑤,同时我国学术界就我国和我...     

一种用于纺织品保护领域的便携式绕网设备

为提供一种用于纺织品保护的便携式绕网机,以绕网机为研究对象,通过查阅文献,梳理了绕网机的发展源流与技术特征,按照传动方式分类可分为手动绕网机、电动绕网机,按照机械结构可分为立式绕网机、卧式绕网机。早期绕网机受技术条件制约,机械结构复杂,编织精度低、质量较重,不便于携带,制约了其使用环境。本研究采用三维建模技术对其绕网机的结构进行设计,结合机械力学原理,对机械材料进行优化配置,设计一种具有操作简便、编织精度高、运行稳定、移动携带便捷等优点绕网设备,以应对复杂条件下纺织品文物保护的需要。     

Experiments with Lithic Tools: Understanding Starch Residues from Crop Harvesting

Stone knives were used widely in Neolithic East Asia, presumably in the harvesting of grain crops, but their function has not been clearly understood due to the lack of study of residues from these tools. To address this issue, starch grain analysis was employed to study the residues on the surface of ancient stone knives and large amounts of starches were recovered. The sources of these starches, however, were not well understood, because harvesting of crops involves the cutting of stems rather than direct contact with starchy seeds. To determine whether harvesting could deposit these types of residues, we designed a simulation experiment using stone flakes to harvest ears of wheat, rice and foxtail millet, then analysed the residues on both the flakes and in the plant tissues. A large number of starch grains were found in the stems, including both typical morphotypes from seeds and newly described types that occur only in stems, which can be used as indicators of harvesting. Our study demonstrates that starch grains from residues on the surfaces of archaeological stone knives can indicate not only that the tools were used to harvest ears, but also the type of crops harvested.     

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.