Comments on archaeology into the 1990s

This article focuses on the complexity of Early Bronze Age weapon depositions. While some of the deposited weapons have been disabled by intentional breakage, others seem to be more or less unused. A plausible explanation for the variability is that the surrender of lethal weapons to land or water was a means of coping with their power or agency – their individuality. We suggest that weapons, in their capacity as extensions of warriors’ bodies, may have substituted for humans in ritual depositions. The metalworkers also come into play, due to their capacities in the processes of making weapons and shaping weapon technologies. Although we consider the three depositions that we discuss to relate to rituals on the occasion of warfare, we are not aiming for a uniform explanation. In the same way as the patterned human behaviour of a ritual is a means of subsuming individual events into a greater order, so a focus on general patterns may subsume the complexity of the past by ignoring the many different events leading to, e.g., the deposition of metalwork. Far from seeing these perspectives as contradictory, we try to use three well-documented individual cases to shed light on the variability within the pattern.     

Approaches to violent death: a case study from early medieval Cambridge

This paper examines one of a number of weapon‐injury victims from the cemetery at Church End in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge (Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust/Archaeological Solutions site HAT358), which was in use from the late Anglo‐Saxon period until after the Norman Conquest. Drawing on precedents set by forensic studies, palaeopathology and more traditional spatial cemetery analysis, assertions are made about the nature of the attack and its context. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Skeletal trauma in the burials from the royal church of St. Mary in medieval Oslo

The considerable collection of skeletal remains from the royal Church of St. Mary (c.1050–1540 AD) in Oslo constitutes part of The Schreiner Collection at the Department of Anatomy, University of Oslo. The remains reveal a high incidence of skeletal trauma, especially injuries caused by sharp‐edged weapons and extensive violence. Evidence of sharp force trauma was primarily observed on the crania. There were a surprisingly few injuries on postcranial skeletal elements. The injuries were mostly observed on middle‐aged and older men, but also on women and subadults. Some of these injuries may be linked to the civil wars in Norway during the 12th and 13th centuries. In most cases, the trauma distribution pattern suggests standardized fighting techniques. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cranial traumatic injuries caused by weapons in Tokugawa Japan

Weapon‐related traumas on human skeletons provide us with direct evidence of violence in archaeological and forensic contexts. The purposes of this study are to describe the weapon‐related traumas on Edo‐period (AD 17th–19th centuries) human skeletons from the Hitotsubashi site (Tokyo, Japan), to examine their presence, distribution and variability, and finally to better understand violence during that period. The specimens observed here are two adult males exhibiting eight traumas: five sharp‐force traumas caused by edged blades (62.5%) and three blunt‐force traumas with radiating fractures (37.5%). The frequency of individuals with traumas is 1.0% out of 207 individuals and 3.3% out of 64 adult males. The traumas found on the Hitotsubashi crania are distinguishable from those on the medieval crania in terms of low traumatic frequency. These observations shed new light on the life and death situations of the Edo inhabitants from osteoarchaeological perspectives. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

晚清政府关于外国教会在华持有武装政策述论

关于外国教会在华持有武装问题,晚清政府实行的是有限禁止政策。这种政策由不同层次的基本政策和具体政策构成。造成这种政策的表面原因是《大清律例》自身的法律弹性和近代中外大局下的政教互动关系,根本原因还是晚清时期国力孱弱,政府无能。实施这种政策的目的是为了实现社会控制、维持中外相安、借用先进技术三个方面。该政策从1853年起步,至1908年成形,实施到1912年清政府灭亡结束。其中,以1901年为界,分为前后两个阶段。两阶段相比较,政策呈现出类型由简单而丰富、内容由粗疏而详明、执行由松弛而严格的三大特征。     

Getting to the point: Evolutionary change in prehistoric weaponry

The evolution of prehistoric weaponry remains an open question in North American archaeology. The traditional model argues for an early use of the throwing spear followed by the spearthrower and bow and arrow. A major difficulty in testing this model is, identifying the functional variables that characterize different weaponry. The evolution of prehistoric weaponry is reexamined here from an evolutionary perspective where projectile points are considered part of the complete weapon system and variation within that system is identified. The engineering of four weapon systems, the thrusting spear, throwing spear, spearthrower, and bow, are examined to identify those point variables that enhance the success of the system. These variables are then measured on a 9000-year sequence of projectile points from northwestern Wyoming to examine time/space patterns. The patterns reveal that the spearthrower was in use prior to 7500 years ago.     

Weapon injuries in the 12th century Crusader garrison of Vadum Iacob Castle,Galilee

This project analyses the wounds sustained by those defending the Crusader castle of Vadum Iacob, which is to the north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. To our knowledge this is the first Crusader castle garrison to be excavated and studied, and consequently gives unique information concerning medieval battle wounds. The Muslim forces of Saladin stormed the castle in August 1179. The skeletal remains of five of the garrison who were killed during the siege and the execution which followed have been studied, providing a vivid portrait of what it must have been like in the last hours as the castle surrendered. Multiple sword and arrow wounds were noted, and arrowheads were still in situ at the time of their deaths. All the soldiers appear to have been stripped of their armour and then dumped together with corpses of horses that died in the battle. We explore the nature and anatomical location of the wounds in the context of medieval Islamic weapons, battlefield tactics and the defensive armour of the Crusaders. Despite the limited number of soldiers discovered, the unique nature of this site makes the findings of great significance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

三晋兵器铭文中的“冶事”与“冶人”

三晋兵器铭文中旧或释为"冶吏"、"冶史"的词当释为"冶事"。"冶事"是以冶为职事的意思。"冶事"可能是冶的别称。反映三级督造制度的三晋兵器铭文中,最后一级还有称"冶人"的。"冶人"是冶的别称。     

《考工记》“戈体已倨已句二病”新探

戈体援与胡夹角之大小直接关系到戈、戟的使用功效,其变化是戈、戟形制演变的一个重要方面。《考工记》指出了援与胡夹角过大或过小对戈、戟功能的危害,并提出"倨句外博"的技术要求。本文运用力学分析的方法,对"戈体已倨已句二病"进行阐述,并对已有注释进行分析。《考工记》"戈体已倨已句"是指戈的两种功用对其形制的要求。也是对青铜戈、戟形制演变规律的技术总结。     

论日本关东军的武器流向

有关日本关东军的武器装备流向,史学界一直没有明确的说法。前苏联方面有4种相关数字,但这些数字有笔误和夸大的成分。从东北解放军武器增多的数量和时间来分析,可以看出投降关东军的武器装备有支援中共、散落民间和运往前苏联的三个流向。