Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Teeth from a Female Burial in Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov,Northwestern Russia (c. 6200 cal BC) – Local Rarities or Transported Goods?

Tooth pendants of European elk, Eurasian beaver and brown bear are the most common artefact type in graves at Late Mesolithic Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov on Lake Onega, northwestern Russia. In one burial of a 20-35-year-old woman, 18 fragments of wild boar tooth pendants from at least five individuals were found. Wild boar was not a regular part of local fauna in the Mesolithic, and if these wild boars were hunted locally, they were very unusual game. These wild boar tooth pendants may also represent imported goods that came to Onega from a more southern area via exchange. It is also possible that the woman was not local but came from a region where wild boars were abundant and common game for Mesolithic people.     

Of Peaceable Kingdoms and Lawless Frontiers: Exploring the Relationship between History,Mythology and Gun Culture in the North American West

The United States is more violent than Canada and it always has been. Even in the face of mass shootings, most Americans remain culturally and politically resistant to the sorts of gun control measures that have long existed in Canada. America’s unique gun culture is embedded in the history, imagery, and especially the mythology of the American frontier. Canada had its own frontier experience and has its own history of gun ownership, but it does not have a parallel gun culture. This article presents a comparative analysis of post-Civil War/post-Confederation frontier history and mythology, and examines the construction of contrasting cultural narratives of America’s “Wild West” and Canada’s “Mild West.” It suggests that US–Canadian differences in gun laws and gun culture—even in the borderlands region of Alberta/Montana—are better explained by the countries’ two different frontier mythologies than by their actual western histories.     

《楝亭集》未收录的曹寅诗三首

清人邓汉仪《诗观二集》中辑录了曹寅诗三首,出于其未刊诗稿《野鹤堂草》,因诗稿迷失,《楝亭集》未收。     

基于海量点云数据的大雁塔三维重建

古建筑三维重建已成为历史遗迹保护与修复的重要内容。为了探讨三维激光扫描数据的获取流程、数据处理方法,以三维激光扫描获取的大雁塔海量点云数据为例,研究了古建筑三维重建中点云数据获取与处理的详细过程。联合Cyclone、AutoCAD和3D-Max软件的优点构建了大雁塔真实的横面、剖面、立面模型,其中重点研究了海量点云数据在Cyclone软件中分块建模的方法。结果表明:将拼接好的大雁塔海量点云数据分块建模,不仅加快了数据处理的速度,而且符合精度要求。在点云数据拼接时采用标靶拼接和同名点拼接相结合及测站间两两拼接之后再整体拟合平差的方法,减少了拼接中的误差,使每站拼接误差都不超过3cm。在建模过程中的墙体拟合是上万个点云经过平差计算得到,精度高达2mm。最后在3D-Max软件中组合、渲染和贴图,真实地构建了大雁塔三维立体模型。为古建筑数字化存档和后期的修缮工作提供了重要的依据。     

Plant exploitation and ethnopalynological evidence from the Wadi Teshuinat area (Tadrart Acacus,Libyan Sahara)

Pollen analyses of 13 archaeological sites in the Wadi Teshuinat area, in southwestern Fezzan, Libya, were synthesised to explore the potential contribution of palynological investigation to archaeological research in this area. During the Holocene, the sites were occupied by pre-Pastoral (hunter–gatherers) and Pastoral (pastoralists) cultures. Different pollen stratigraphies and floras characterised the diverse sites and the relevant cultural phases. Pollen data were reported by discussing the sites separately, and by combining them to interpret the regional data set. Emphasis was made on the anthropogenic pollen indicators and grasses, including large grass pollen grains (>40 μm), which were considered evidence of plant transport into the site. These were ethnobotanical markers, human-made evidence of plant harvesting by hunter–gatherers, or of animal breeding by pastoralists. The disappearance of some wild cereals was also observed, consistent with increasing climate dryness and land exploitation. Macroremains were used as a parallel tool to better understand plant exploitation in the region.     

The avifauna of the early Epipalaeolithic site of Ohalo II (19 400 years BP), Israel: species diversity,habitat and seasonality

The early Epipalaeolithic site of Ohalo II offers evidence that, some 19 400 years BP, prehistoric people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee exploited birds in large numbers as a food source and for the decorative value of their feathers and claws. The superb preservation of even the most delicate fauna at this site enabled an extensive analysis of a type rarely possible with avian remains of this antiquity. Certain types of birds were obtained preferentially, although a broad variety of avifauna was taken; preliminary analysis of some 488 identifiable bone fragments indicates that 16 families, 40 genera, and 68 different species are represented in the archaeological assemblage. As might be expected from a lakeshore site, the remains of waterfowl abound. The most diversity within a family occurs among the Anatidae, with ten genera and 22 species; however, the most frequently occurring birds are those of the family Podicipidae, or grebes, which account for approximately one-third of the assemblage. Species common to a variety of other environments are found in significant numbers as well (namely the Accipitridae). Large birds dominate the assemblage and the number of species represented by each family is disproportionate to the numerical frequency of those species at present, with passeriformes relatively poorly represented. The regular migration pattern of birds today broadly indicates that the site was occupied during the months of September–November and February–April. There are, however, a number of species that appear in this region today only from December through to March, which might indicate a longer, semi-permanent encampment. A biseasonal, or perhaps extended winter occupation pattern at Ohalo II seems to support a shift away from the generalized foraging economy of hunter–gatherers and to indicate the onset of planned intensive collecting, thus foreshadowing the initial steps toward sedentism. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bird remains from the archaeological site of Guinea (El Hierro,Canary Islands)

The first data on bird hunting by the ancient people from El Hierro island are given here. Ninety-three bones have been examined from a cave situated in the archaeological site of Guinea. The majority of the bones are broken, burned and some of them have cuts showing human exploitation. There are species that have been eaten from the lower levels to the present day (Calonectris diomedea, Columba sp. and Corvus corax), one species that does not now live on El Hierro (cf. Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), and an extinct species (Coturnix gomerae). © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大雁塔盐害及劣化模拟试验研究

易溶盐富集是陕西西安大雁塔砖体表面风化、结构破坏、强度衰减的主要原因。为分析盐害对大雁塔砖体结构、强度的影响机理,采用以饱和硫酸钠溶液为介质,对大雁塔砖体进行易溶盐结晶循环模拟劣化试验。在Na₂SO₄反复结晶、溶解过程中,测定试样的质量、波速及单轴抗压强度等指标,分析其变化规律。结果表明,在盐害作用下,试验砖体表现出与塔体表面类似的风化破坏现象;Na₂SO₄晶体在试样孔隙内不断发育,晶体挤压效应导致孔隙率增大,内部结构破损;质量、波速、单轴抗压强度随循环的次数呈先增加后减小的变化规律。砖体对盐害耐受力约为砖体质量的0.5%。     

The bioerosion of bird bones

This study presents a synthesis of the evidence for modern archaeological, and palaeontological bioerosion of vertebrate tissue. It describes the first evidence for the bioerosion of modern, archaeological and fossil bird bones. A new form of bone bioerosion, known as Hackett tunnels, is defined. The bioerosion of vertebrate tissue by cyanobacteria and algae in modern marine and lacustrine environments is also described. Archaeological evidence indicates that the destruction of bone by bioerosion occurs in other terrestrial environments, such as cave deposits and middens. Bone from marine and lacustrine environments that appears to be macroscopically well preserved can have large amounts of microscopic fabric destruction. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The origins of agriculture in North-West Africa: macro-botanical remains from Epipalaeolithic and Early Neolithic levels of Ifri Oudadane (Morocco)

This research aims to shed light on the early stages of agricultural development in Northern Africa through the analysis of the rich macro-botanical assemblages obtained from Ifri Oudadane, an Epipalaeolithic–Early Neolithic site from North-East Morocco. Results indicate the presence of domesticated plants, cereals (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum monococcum/dicoccum, Triticum durum and Triticum aestivum/durum) and pulses (Lens culinaris and Pisum sativum) in the Early Neolithic. One lentil has been dated to 7611 ± 37 cal BP representing the oldest direct date of a domesticated plant seed in Morocco and, by extension, in North Africa. Similarities in both radiocarbon dates and crop assemblages from Early Neolithic sites in Northern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula suggest a simultaneous East to West maritime spread of agriculture along the shores of the Western Mediterranean. Wild plants were abundantly collected in both the Epipalaeolithic and the Early Neolithic periods pointing to the important role of these resources during the two periods. In addition to fruits and seeds that could have been consumed by both humans and domesticated animals, fragments of esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima) rhizomes have been identified. This is a western Mediterranean native plant that may have been used as a source of fibres for basketry.