良渚文化玉璧制作工艺初探

中国江南水乡文化博物馆馆藏有16件出土良渚文化玉璧,通过其制作工艺进行研究,结果表明良渚文化玉璧的制作需要经过开料、成形、钻孔、打磨和抛光等各道工序。开料采用线切割的方式;外缘的成形是先将片状玉料切割成方形,然后逐渐倒角、磨圆;中孔由管钻借助解玉砂对钻而成;打磨有粗磨、细磨之分,打磨工具本身含有固定的砂粒;抛光用的是细小的散砂。     

Lysis at the anterior vertebral body margin: evidence for brucellar spondylitis?

Recently, palaeopathologists have begun to diagnose brucellosis in skeletal remains from minor lytic lesions located on the anterior margins of one or some few vertebral bodies, taking these lesions to represent brucellar epiphysitis. However, review of the literature indicates that these lesions have been sporadically noted for some time by palaeopathologists and various different interpretations have been placed upon them. In view of this, a study of these vertebral marginal lesions (VML) was undertaken in a large series of archaeological skeletons from England, with the aim of characterising their morphology and frequency and shedding light upon their causes. In the study material, VML were found only in the lumbar spine, where they occurred with a prevalence of approximately 4%. It was argued that VML are consistent with two principal alternative diagnoses: brucellosis and traumatic anterior disc herniation. Differentiating these possibilities for the VML in the study material was difficult, but the balance of the evidence seemed to favour traumatic anterior disc herniation as the more likely cause. It is concluded that VML should not be used to identify the presence of brucellosis in skeletal remains unless there is further evidence, in the form of additional skeletal lesions or biomolecular evidence for residual brucella bacterial DNA, to support such a diagnosis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some types of vertebral pathologies in the Argar Culture (Bronze Age,SE Spain)

A collection of 1825 vertebrae belonging to 105 individuals from several Argaric Culture sites (Bronze Age, SE of Spain) were studied. Several pathologies that could provide information about activity patterns were analysed, including spondylolysis, compression fractures and Schmorl's nodes. Spondylolysis appears exclusively in men. Compression fractures seem to be more related to age (osteoporosis) and are more frequent in women, but without statistical significance. Schmorl's nodes affect a large number of the individuals studied, with a slight predominance in men; there are no differences by age. The results obtained were compared with the available archaeological and anthropological information, which shows a clear division of activities by sex in the Argaric population. The validity of studying these pathologies as activity patterns is discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

昆山少卿山遗址新发现的良渚玉璧刻符

2009年昆山市文物管理所在1997年少卿山遗址灰坑(M9)出土品当中,于破碎玉璧残片上发现两枚刻符,其中一枚杆状立鸟形刻符在以往所发现的刻符形态中从未出现。良渚玉器刻符在历年田野考古发掘中鲜少发现,此次发现的两枚刻符不仅保留有清晰的层位关系,其所属单位的遗迹现象及伴出物也较为丰富,对于该灰坑(M9)地性质的再认识意义重大。此次杆状立鸟形刻符的发现,还为良渚时期鸟形以及立鸟形态器具使用情况的研究,提供了组合形态方面的重要佐证。     

Schmorl's nodes in a post‐medieval skeletal sample from Klostermarienberg,Austria

The prevalence and distribution pattern of Schmorl's nodes (SNs) were studied in a post‐medieval skeletal sample (n = 473) from the 16^th–18^th century cemetery of Klostermarienberg, Austria. The reasons for the prevalence and distribution pattern of SNs in this sample are discussed with regard to their aetiology. SNs were correlated with age and sex as well as with degenerative spinal joint disease such as vertebral osteophytosis (VO) and apophyseal osteoarthritis (OA). SNs were most commonly found in the lower thoracic region, in agreement with other studies. Males were more affected than females by SNs, especially in the lower thoracic region. SNs show a completely different distribution pattern to VO and OA. Additionally, there was no relationship found between SNs and ageing. Observed differences in the prevalence of SNs in the vertebral column and between the sexes suggest that mechanical factors may be responsible. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The prevalence of,and the relationship between some spinal diseases in a human skeletal population from London

The prevalence of osteoarthritis, osteophytosis, intervertebral disc disease and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) was determined in a group of skeletons excavated from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields. Age-specific prevalence rates were calculated from the group of skeletons for which age at death was known from intact coffin plates. Osteoarthritis of the facet joints occurred most frequently in the cervical and upper thoracic regions and was also common in the lower lumbar spine. The disease was more frequently bilateral in the lumbar spine than in upper regions. Osteophytes were common in the thoracic and lumbar spines, whereas intervertebral disc disease was confined almost completely to the cervical region. Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis seemed to be underrepresented in this group, but was more common in males than in females. Age correlated significantly with all the conditions except DISH. Multiple regression analysis was carried out using each of the conditions as the dependent variable in turn. Age accounted for more of the variance than any of the other conditions added as independent variables.