The Transition from Prehistory to the Historic Period in the Upper Mun Valley

The Early Historic Period in the Mun Valley occupies a critical three centuries, from A.D. 500 to A.D. 800, a period often known as that of Zhenla, a name derived from early Chinese accounts. This article first describes early findings of fieldwork designed to illuminate the prehistory of the upper Mun Valley, a period which covers approximately two millennia, with initial settlement now dated between 1500 and 1000 B.C. It then considers the nature of the transition to the complex polities of Zhenla. This involves a combination of archaeological and documentary evidence. Sources for the latter are rare for the Mun Valley, but by broadening the area considered, it is possible to integrate archaeological and historical sources in order to portray the intensifying social changes which characterize the Early Historic Period. It is suggested that most of the Mun Valley was occupied by Khmer speakers during the Iron Age, people responsible for the transition to increasingly centralized polities of the Early Historic Period. In the upper reaches of the Mun catchment, and in the Chi Valley to the north, the late prehistoric inhabitants spoke Mon. They had close affinities with the Dvaravati polities of Central Thailand. If confirmed, this hypothesis would indicate a series of local trends towards increasing social complexity which we can recognize in the early epigraphic record.     

Cohabitants,Captives, or Trade: The Early Late Woodland Non-Weaver Ceramic Assemblage at the Marseton #2 Weaver Village in Mercer County,Illinois

The Marseton #2 site is a Weaver ring midden in the Mississippi Valley of Mercer County, Illinois, that was buried by a catastrophic flood event a few centuries after the site had been abandoned. Analysis of the more than 740,000 ceramic items from the village provides insights as to Weaver interactions with other non-Weaver early Late Woodland groups of the region. While the presence of non-Weaver ceramics at the village might represent trade items, or vessels manufactured by potters peacefully or forcibly brought to the site, it is suggested that a non-Weaver household producing Levsen-like ceramics was coexisting at Marseton #2 alongside multiple Weaver households.     

Chronicle of an early demise,surname extinction in the fifteenth and the seventeenth centuries

It has been amply demonstrated that individuals' reproductive capability is the key explanatory phenomenon for understanding onomastic disappearance during the early modern period. This article analyzes the evolution and consequences of surname extinction in a specific population: Catalonia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In this article two aspects are examined. First, the observed disappearance of surnames is estimated through historical data collected in the Llibres d'Esposalles (Marriage Books) from 1481 to 1600 at Barcelona Cathedral. Second, the estimated natural extinction of those surnames registered in 1481 is forecast by applying a statistical branching process.     

从三分到归一:唐朝前中期岭南政治地理格局的变迁

岭南僻处南疆,地理复杂。隋末大乱之时,地方势力纷纷割据,唐初和平统一岭南后,采取羁縻政策,以原有势力为基础设管州的"都府"。而在都府之上,朝廷以广州、桂州、交州为中心置"统府",以点控面,有效地维护了岭南地区的稳定。但是这种层层管理的"统府三分格局",到高宗乾封二年发生突变,随着邕府和容府的建立,原统府消失,遂形成并立的"五府格局"。可是,最迟8世纪初,唐朝设立岭南五府经略使,统一管理整个岭南的军事。在此前后,岭南选补使、岭南按察使、岭南采访使等陆续出现,在人事、监察、民政等领域,对岭南道全境实施管辖权。因此,"盛唐"的岭南道,表现出明显的"归一"趋势。     

Oldest Australian vespertilionid (Microchiroptera) from the early Miocene of Riversleigh,Queensland

An upper molar of a small bat, here described from an early Miocene freshwater lime-stone deposit at Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland, is the oldest record in Australia of the microchiropteran family Vespertilionidae. The new taxon is referred to the cosmopolitan genus Leuconoe, but it does not appear to be closely related to the two extant Australian species of this genus.     

Tracing the origin of Chinese early white porcelain in the late sixth century—evidence from Xing kiln

As the criterion used by archaeologists for determining early white porcelain is quite ambiguous, the origin of Chinese white porcelain remains a point of disagreement. In this study, we systematically investigate 61 typical Xing porcelains of the late Northern dynasties to the early Sui dynasty (550–600 CE) using spectrophotometer, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and analyze the differences between early white porcelain and celadon of Xing kiln in terms of their whiteness and raw materials characteristic. The results show that early white porcelain is a new type of ware that differs from celadon, which can be distinguished by whiteness, with a whiteness greater than 8% being early white porcelain and a whiteness less than 8% being celadon. It is assumed that the ancient potters created the whiter wares based on celadon by improving the glaze and selecting new raw materials for the body, but the production of this type of ware was short lived and subsequently refined in the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE) owing to the limited improvement in whiteness.     

New Architectural Models and Building Tradition: A Dialogue in Early Modern Sardinia – The Jesuit Church in Sassari

Architecture in early modern Sardinia is characterized by a strong continuity with previous practices. In the second half of the 16th century, new models join the Gothic building tradition, linked in particular to trends in military engineering and Classicism of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Jesuit church in Sassari offers an interesting example of the intertwining of these architectural modes, which originated with a sudden change of leadership at the site. Giovan Maria Bernardoni, an Italian Jesuit architect, initially modeled the church after the Gesù in Rome, and it was partially built under his direction. After his departure from Sardinia, local master builders finished the construction, following the Gothic tradition and possibly some external influences. This article analyzes the church, particularly focusing on the challenges presented by its articulated vaulting system completed between 1587 and 1609.     

明初大运河南旺分水枢纽水工技术考

明朝初年,国脉皆仰东南,为解决南方粮财物的北运问题,宋礼和白英受命组织修建了大运河山东段南旺分水枢纽。该枢纽主要包括引汶济运、导泉补源、设立水柜和置闸节流四个组成部分。其中,引汶济运是工程之重点,包括戴村坝、小汶河、南旺分水以及配套工程等四个子系统。这些水利设施组成一个和谐的系统工程,保证了该段运河的水量稳定充足,从而实现了大运河500余年的正常通行。南旺分水枢纽代表了我国古代运河水工的最高科学技术成就,堪称世界水利史上的一大经典范例。     

The Architectural Reuse of Roman Marble and Stone Spolia in the Early Medieval Monte Sorbo Church (Sarsina,Central Italy)

We present the results of a multi‐method archaeometric study concerning the architectural elements reused in Monte Sorbo church (Sarsina, central Italy) between the eighth and ninth centuries AD . The provenance study has focused on classical marbles and stones, which clearly do not originate from the local Apennine geological formations and are thought to come from extra‐regional sources. A large fraction of the tested marbles is from Asia Minor, coming from both the Proconnesian district on Marmara Island and, probably, the Hasançavuslar site near Ephesus (Greco scritto). Of the four remaining marbles investigated, one is from the Carrara district and three are from different Greek quarrying areas, such as Mount Pentelikon (Athens) and the Thasos and Paros islands. The data also highlight the reuse of decorated gravestones made of Pietra di Aurisina as architectonic elements. This limestone is a fossiliferous carbonate stone outcropping in the Trieste Karst region (north‐eastern Italy), which was exploited by both the Romans and the Byzantines. The assignment of all of the columns of the central nave to the same source area provides an argument in favour of their provenance from a single monument, which was probably located in Sarsina or Ravenna, with the ‘colourful taste’ that is typical of the late Antonine and Severian periods.