Maps hiding in plain sight

Early Chinese elites were defined by their aristocratic control of land. That control came directly from the emperor and was documented on bronze ritual vessels, which were handed down from generation to generation. The land grant boundaries were defined using decorative symbols inscribed on bronze, and Western Zhou vessels containing these symbols were used to resolve land disputes. Methodical analysis comparing the inscriptions and symbols, combined with an understanding of early Chinese cartography and etymology, allows the bronze vessel land grants to be decoded.

The Restoration and Conservation of a Bronze Artefact

The bronze vessel is dated from the Imperial Roman age, during the first and second centuries. [...]

Bronze Vessels: Style, Assemblages, and Innovations of the Western Zhou Period

This chapter, by employing securely dated vessels, discusses stylistic characteristics of three phases of Western Zhou bronzes in the Zhou metropolitan centers in the Wei River Valley in Central Shaanxi and Luoyang area in Henan. The assemblage of bronze vessels in tombs and caches is also discussed in order to understand Zhou ancestral sacrifices and ritual practices and their changes from the Early to Middle and Late Western Zhou periods. The Zhou interaction with local communities through regional states and military posts beyond the center also stimulated the rise of exotic bronze vessel types inspired by local ceramic traditions.

EXPLORATION OF THE OLD RUS’ RURAL CRAFT AND LIVING SETTLEMENTS IN KYIV REGION ON THE RIGHT BANK OF DNIEPER

In 2017 the archaeological exploration in the zone of construction of the transmission line in the Makariv district of Kyiv region took place. Three sites — Nalyvaikivka 1 (second half of the 10th — 11th, 12th—13th centuries), Farm 2 (2nd—1st millennium BC) and Farm 3 (11th century) were excavated. The total area of excavation was 165 m2. The settlement Nalyvaykivka 1 is located in the area with high wetlands and had the necessary conditions for the extraction of iron and forestry — extraction of tar, charcoal and harvesting. The site Nalivaykivka 1 was the Medieval industrial rural settlements. The site Nalyvaykivka 1 contains a lot of artifacts related to iron production. They represent the different stages of the metallurgical process. Fragments of furnace for iron production have been found. The specific design of the metallurgical furnace was ascertained. The location near ore deposits (the iron-mining center in the Kolonshchyna region) and near the powerful product market (Kyiv) led to the craft character of the settlement. Probably it was part of the group of settlements pecialized in the production and primary processing of iron. The materials of the Ferma 3 settlement confirm the high economic level of the rural district of Kyiv region in comparison with the material culture of the Old Rus cities. There were no any archaeological objects excavated at the settlement. But in the cultural layer the interesting finds were recorded: the bi-conical shape whorl made of pink shale; the small iron knife with a straight back, the blade separated from the shank ledge; the anvil (?) will slip; the iron arrowhead with broken edge; iron bits; bronze vessel; metallurgical slag; shale fragment of pink; iron awl. The presence of Byzantine amphorae, glass bracelets, bronze vessels, items of military or hunting equipment testifies to the active trade and craft relations of rural and urban population of Kyiv Rus.

Female bu rials of the Kichigi no I cemetery in the framework of the bu rial rite of the South Ural early nomads

The article concerns female burials in the Early Iron Age cemetery Kichigino I. In total, 10 kurgans were investigated. The mounds contained burials dated from 7th to 2nd—4th centuries BC. At least seven women were buried in the kurgans. There were burials of varying degree of preservation. Five burials were provided with anthropological identification. The age of the buried at the time of death is from 25—35 to 45—55 years old. Grave goods included numerous ornaments, including gold jewelry, ritual and domestic items and weaponry. Three burials from mound 3, all related to the Early Sarmatian period (4th century BC), were especially interesting in terms of grave goods. Large quiver sets of arrows with bronze heads were found in two graves (pits 3 and 4). Items of the high social status (gold ornaments in the animal style, bronze vessel and ritual things) were discovered in grave 5. In general, female burials from the cemetery Kichigino I fit well into the context of the funeral ritual of the Southern Ural early nomads both in terms of grave goods and the way of disposal of the dead.

Wool Textiles from the Roman Period at the Site of Grudna, Poland

In October 2012, the Conservation Laboratory of the Institute of Archaeology at the NCU in Toruń received soil samples excavated from a kurgan in Grudna, Złotów commune, dated to the Roman period. No human remains were reported inside the grave chamber apart from some elements of grave goods: a glass bead, a clay spindle whorl, three iron nails, fragments of a bone pin, bronze and iron chest fittings, and a bronze vessel with a stamp of Pubius Cipius Polybius, who was active around the first half of the 1st century AD. In result of a cleaning treatment removing all soil impurities, tiny textile fragments were obtained, which were, interestingly, made of woollen fibres in sprang technique, while some of them imitated gauze (known in later periods) but were manufactured in a plain 1/1 weave. Technological analysis of the fibres revealed their high quality with average fibre thickness ranging from 8 to 18 μm. Insufficient material base for these textiles in Poland does not give a convincing answer to a basic question of whether it was an import or local production. Studies on the subject performed by European researchers, most notably J. Maik, indicate local or North European production. Hopefully, more light will be shed on this problem by further comparative studies.