Variation in human bone bioerosion during the Late Eneolithic/Bronze Age in Moravia (Czech Republic): A novel approach to BSE-SEM image quality and quantity assessment

Human bones from Late Eneolithic graves and Bronze Age settlement pits in Moravia (Czech Republic) were studied to reconstruct their post-mortem histories based on the distribution of their microbial destruction. Backscattered electrons in a scanning electron microscope (BSE-SEM) were used for visual assessment of bioerosion. Visual data from the histological analysis were transformed into quantitative data using the Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) toolkit. The results show that the presence of bioerosion is different between the two groups of samples. The bones from settlement pits display extensive bioerosion whereas the bones from graves display no or arrested bioerosion. The absence of bioerosion in graves is most probably linked with tomb burials of Corded Ware Culture. Given the tombs are frequently not preserved archaeologically, the state of bone bioerosion may serve as an indicator of their existence.     

A journey to Mars: John Dewey’s lectures and inquiry in China

ABSTRACT

Instead of the framework of influence–acceptance commonly used in previous studies, the author uses new sources to reexamine John Dewey’s visit to China from the perspective of interactive experience. This study presents Dewey’s lectures in China as the result of interrelationships among a variety of elements – Columbia University, different hosts and audiences, the media, all levels of the Chinese government, the domestic situation in the United States, the international situation, and Dewey’s expectations and work – against the general background of China’s New Culture Movement and new educational reforms. Dewey’s speeches on democracy, science, and new education were remarkably successful in the first year of his visit to China, but began to meet with resistance from some students beginning in June 1920. Because of the Red Scare in the United States, Dewey had to stay in China. In the second year of his visit, he gave warmly welcomed lectures on the same topics in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong Provinces. With a deeper understanding of China, Dewey not only identified himself with reform plans but also began to pay more attention to China’s economic problems. His inquiry into the problems confronting China is a good example of what he advocated in his lectures: seeing democracy, science, and new education as a way of thinking and carrying out actions and making intellectual choices while moving forward.     

浙江宁波镇海鱼山遗址Ⅰ期发掘简报

鱼山遗址位于浙江省宁波市镇海区九龙湖镇河头村,东距现海岸线直线距离约7.3公里。2013至2014年,宁波市文物考古研究所等单位对其进行了Ⅰ期发掘,分别发现河姆渡文化、良渚文化、商周和唐宋等四个不同时期的文化遗存。其中河姆渡文化二、三期,良渚文化晚期和商周时期堆积之间的自然淤泥层,对于研究沿海地区史前至商周时期文化面貌、人地关系等基础性问题提供了一批重要资料。     

“江苏省兴化、东台市蒋庄遗址考古成果专家论证会”会议纪要

2016年2月"江苏省兴化、东台市蒋庄遗址考古成果专家论证会"对位于江苏兴化、东台的蒋庄遗址进行了实地考察并就相关问题展开讨论。专家们认为:大规模的良渚文化墓地是蒋庄遗址最重要的发现,说明了良渚文化已经扩张到长江以北,有助于学界更新对良渚文化的认识;蒋庄遗址葬制葬俗多样、人骨保存完好、随葬玉器等级较高,为良渚文化的研究提供了新的实物资料。蒋庄墓地的年代框架还需要通过进一步的科研工作来确认,未来的遗址保护工作还需要地方政府给予积极的配合。     

早期越国都邑初探--关于古城遗址及龙山墓群的思考

越国建都会稽之前的早期越国都邑在何地有说在诸暨,也有说在萧山。根据太湖南岸,尤其是安吉古城遗址及其周围的古墓群等考古调查资料,结合史书关于吴越两国疆界及吴越罸李、夫椒两次战争等相关史料研究分析,早期越国都邑应该在古钱塘江以北的太湖南岸,秦汉时期的鄣郡郡治所在地,今安吉古城。     

论"白家庄期"商文化

分布和影响地域广袤的"白家庄期"商文化,因时代接近于商代中期而在商文化中具有承前启后的地位.有关考古新发现显示,"白家庄期"商文化本身可以区分为三个不同的时间段.在其所代表的历史阶段中,郑州商城的衰颓与小双桥商都的兴建形成了鲜明对照.这一现象出现的历史背景是,有关文献所记商王朝此时所面临的内忧外患局面以及仲丁迁隞历史事件的发生.     

河南渑池县仰韶村遗址考古勘探报告

为配合仰韶村国家考古遗址公园建设,2019年3~5月,河南省文物考古研究院等单位对河南渑池仰韶村遗址进行了系统性考古勘探工作。遗址包含仰韶文化和龙山文化时期的聚落,主要遗迹有壕沟、房址等,基本搞清了遗址的范围,仰韶、龙山时期的聚落规模、面积、重要遗迹分布、聚落布局和功能分区等情况,对该遗址的聚落形态及发展演变等有了较全面的认识。     

“The Old New-Intellectuals” in the May Fourth New Cultural Movement*

During the May Fourth New Cultural Movement, three debates on new/Western and old/Chinese cultures were respectively carried out between the journal New Youth and Lin Qinnan, Chen Duxiu and Du Yaquan, as well as Zhang Dongsun and Fu Sinian. New Youth, Chen Duxiu and Zhang Dongsun were regarded as the “new school,” whereas their opponents “the old new-intellectuals.” The difference between them lies in their attitudes towards traditions instead of their new or old knowledge. After three heated debates, New Youth won a total victory in big cities, because the so-called “urban youths” needed a radical cultural reform plan and a simple guide for action. On the contrary, “town youths” who lived in small cities and towns did not care about the attitudinal difference of two sides. They paid more attention to absorbing new knowledge from both sides and were more sympathetic to tradition.     

Resisting the sacred canopy over U.S. ways of war

This article explores the “omnipotent sacrificial sacred canopy” in US war-culture. I argue that sacrificial linguistic habits and patterns of logic in the US successfully discipline citizens, such that the violence of our current wars remains mystified, and clear analysis of the wars' true costs is disabled. Rather than attempt to arrive at one universal theory of sacrifice to analyze and better understand sacrificial US war-culture, I demonstrate that diverse theoretical methods of analysis better help us to understand the pluralistic nuances and permutations of these smothering dynamics. I further argue that increased awareness of the sacrificial sacred canopy over war and militarism in the US finally must lead to self-examination on the part of Christians regarding the way in which sacrificial civil religious admonishments regarding war merge with and are mutually reinforced by theological and ecclesial soteriological habits of Christians in the US Lastly, I advocate a two-fold approach for addressing this disturbing and destructive reality in the nation.     

Caretakers of the Earth: integrating Canadian Aboriginal perspectives on culture and sustainability into local plans

Abstract

While still contested in most jurisdictions, a consensus on the four-pillar approach to sustainable development is slowly emerging. This perspective attempts to integrate the environmental, social, economic and cultural elements of a community into local sustainability planning processes and has been widely adopted in Canada as the basis of Integrated Community Sustainability Plans. However, Aboriginal perspectives have generally been marginalised in such efforts, largely because Aboriginal peoples take a more holistic approach to both sustainability and culture than Western-educated planners and decision makers. This article examines current approaches and methodologies adopted by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in Canada to integrate culture in sustainability planning and presents several case studies that examine the application of medicine wheel and other Aboriginal integrative worldviews to community sustainability planning. It discusses whether Aboriginal perspectives on culture can provide an alternative narrative that will advance our understanding of culture’s role in community sustainability and counteract the monocultural perspectives that are the legacy of colonialism throughout the world.