砣具配合解玉砂雕刻玉器纹饰的可能性分析

玉器是中国传统文化的标志性符号之一,但古代文献中关于玉器加工工艺的记载甚少。人们只能借助模拟实验和加工痕迹的显微分析,来解读古代玉器的制作工艺。至迟出现于商代的砣具,是一种旋转加工工具,它可显著提高玉器表面纹饰的加工效率。以往学界的主流观点是,利用砣具雕刻玉器表面纹饰(雕花)时,其锯片的硬度远低于玉石的硬度,必须添加解玉砂来辅助雕刻。然而,本文的模拟实验表明,即使不使用解玉砂,硬度低于玉石的铁锯片也能为玉器雕花;同时发现使用砣具配合解玉砂并不利于雕花操作,因此对于古代用砣具配合解玉砂来雕花的观点需要审慎解释。再者,古代也有硬度能达到或超过软玉(摩氏硬度为6-6.5)的钢,这种钢砣使用时更无需添加解玉砂。此外,显微分析表明,用现代金刚砂锯片雕花会留下独特的加工痕迹,应可作为鉴伪证据。     

Proboscidean DNA from Museum and Fossil Specimens: An Assessment of Ancient DNA Extraction and Amplification Techniques

Applications of reliable DNA extraction and amplification techniques to postmortem samples are critical to ancient DNA research. Commonly used methods for isolating DNA from ancient material were tested and compared using both soft tissue and bones from fossil and contemporary museum proboscideans. DNAs isolated using three principal methods served as templates in subsequent PCR amplifications, and the PCR products were directly sequenced. Authentication of the ancient origin of obtained nucleotide sequences was established by demonstrating reproducibility under a blind testing system and by phylogenetic analysis. Our results indicate that ancient samples may respond differently to extraction buffers or purification procedures, and no single method was universally successful. A CTAB buffer method, modified from plant DNA extraction protocols, was found to have the highest success rate. Nested PCR was shown to be a reliable approach to amplify ancient DNA templates that failed in primary amplification.     

Technical note: Terahertz imaging of ancient mummies and bone

Ancient mummified soft‐tissues are a unique source to study the evolution of disease. Diagnostic imaging of such historic tissues is of foremost interest in paleoanthropology or paleopathology, with conventional x‐ray and computed tomography (CT) being the gold‐standard. Longer wavelength radiation in the far‐infrared or Terahertz region allows diagnostic close‐to‐surface tissue differentiation of bone morphology while being harmless to human cells. The aim of this study is to show the feasibility and the morpho‐diagnostic impact of THz imaging of historic remains. Images of an artificially embalmed ancient Egyptian human mummy hand, an artificially embalmed ancient Egyptian mummified fish and a macerated human lumbar vertebra were obtained by THz‐pulse imaging and compared with conventional X‐ray and CT images. Although conventional x‐ray imaging provides higher spatial resolution, we found that THz‐imaging is well‐suited for the investigation of ancient mummified soft tissue and embalming‐related substances / wrappings. In particular, bone and cartilaginous structures can be well differentiated from surrounding soft‐tissues and bandage‐wrappings by THz imaging. Furthermore, THz‐pulse imaging also measures the time‐delay of the pulsed signal when passing through the sample, which provides supplementary information on the optical density of the sample that is not obtained by X‐ray and CT. Terahertz radiation provides a completely non‐invasive diagnostic imaging modality for historic dry specimens. We anticipate this modality also to be used for detection of hidden objects in historic samples such as funerary amulets still in situ in wrapped mummies, as well as potentially for the identification of spectral signatures from chemical substances, e.g., in embalming essences.. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Palaeomicrobiology: current issues and perspectives

Palaeomicrobiology is an emerging field that is devoted to the detection, identification and characterization of microorganisms in ancient remains. Data indicate that host-associated microbial DNA can survive for almost 20,000 years, and environmental bacterial DNA preserved in permafrost samples has been dated to 400,000-600,000 years. In addition to frozen and mummified soft tissues, bone and dental pulp can also be used to search for microbial pathogens. Various techniques, including microscopy and immunodetection, can be used in palaeomicrobiology, but most data have been obtained using PCR-based molecular techniques. Infections caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites have all been diagnosed using palaeomicrobiological techniques. Additionally, molecular typing of ancient pathogens could help to reconstruct the epidemiology of past epidemics and could feed into current models of emerging infections, therefore contributing to the development of appropriate preventative measures.     

Paleo-oncology: the role of ancient remains in the study of cancer

Paleo-oncology is the study of carcinomas and sarcomas in ancient human populations and their hominid precursors. These populations are informative concerning the possible influences on cancer of morphologic and functional evolution, diet, lifestyle, and other environmental factors. The prevalence of cancer in ancient populations might have differed from that in modern humans, because of substantial differences in tobacco and alcohol use, diet, life expectancy, and the availability of treatment. The available physical data concerning cancer in antiquity includes evidence of its existence in animal fossils and ancient humans and their precursors. The difficulties of paleo-oncologic research include a limited soft tissue record. In evaluating cancer in ancient remains, one must also deal with the problem of pseudopathology: whether an observed tissue change is all antemortem pathologic lesion or a postmortem artifact. Future archeological discoveries and the application of improved diagnostic techniques may enable paleo-oncology to make further contributions to our understanding of cancer.     

软锤石片辨识的实验史及争议

在打制石器中,软锤法能够更有效地控制石片形态,是古人类认知与技术水平提升的一个重要标志。传统认为,使用软锤法打下的石片具有打击泡散漫、台面处有唇等特征。随着针对性实验的开展,上述石片特征已经不再被认为仅是软锤剥片所致,而是打制过程中如打击角度、背缘角等诸多因素共同作用的结果,通过石片特征区分软、硬锤存在很大争议。本文旨在梳理学术界对软锤法的认知过程和系统实验历史。根据国际上大量的实验可知,目前的实验以燧石、黑曜石为主要石料,根据石片特征区分软、硬锤尚存在很大争议,石片特征的产生可能受锤的质地、石料、打制者、打击角度等多种因素的影响,因此,不宜仅凭个别石片特征判断遗址中存在软锤剥片。在对具体考古材料的技术分析中,需综合考量整个石器打制过程中涉及到的多种因素,有必要建立一个汇集实验数据与遗址出土石片相关特征的数据库,为打制技术与技法分析提供更为丰富的对比材料。     

A genetic investigation of Korean mummies from the Joseon Dynasty

Two Korean mummies (Danwoong-mirra and Yoon-mirra) found in medieval tombs in the central region of the Korean peninsula were genetically investigated by analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) and the ABO gene. Danwoong-mirra is a male child mummy and Yoon-mirra is a pregnant female mummy, dating back about 550 and 450 years, respectively. DNA was extracted from soft tissues or bones. mtDNA, Y-STR and the ABO gene were amplified using a small size amplicon strategy and were analyzed according to the criteria of ancient DNA analysis to ensure that authentic DNA typing results were obtained from these ancient samples. Analysis of mtDNA hypervariable region sequence and coding region single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) information revealed that Danwoong-mirra and Yoon-mirra belong to the East Asian mtDNA haplogroups D4 and M7c, respectively. The Y-STRs were analyzed in the male child mummy (Danwoong-mirra) using the AmpFlSTR^® Yfiler^TM PCR Amplification Kit and an in-house Y-miniplex plus system, and could be characterized in 4 loci with small amplicon size. The analysis of ABO gene SNPs using multiplex single base extension methods revealed that the ABO blood types of Danwoong-mirra and Yoon-mirra are AO01 and AB, respectively. The small size amplicon strategy and the authentication process in the present study will be effectively applicable to future genetic analyses of various forensic and ancient samples.     

A novel clade of cysteinyl leukotriene scavengers in soft ticks

Inflammation is an important vertebrate defense mechanism against ecto-parasites for which ticks have evolved numerous mechanisms of modulation. AM-33 and TSGP4, related lipocalins from the soft ticks Argas monolakensis and Ornithodoros savignyi bind cysteinyl leukotrienes with high affinity as measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. This was confirmed in a smooth muscle bioassay that measured contraction of guinea pig ileum induced by leukotriene C(4) where both proteins inhibited contraction effectively. Conservation of this function in two diverse soft tick genera suggests that scavenging of cysteinyl leukotrienes evolved in the ancestral soft tick lineage. In addition soft ticks also evolved mechanisms that target other mediators of inflammation that include scavenging of histamine, serotonin, leukotriene B(4), thromboxane A(2), ATP and inhibition of the complement cascade. Inhibitors of blood-coagulation and platelet aggregation were also present in the ancestral soft tick lineage. Because histamine and cysteinyl leukotrienes are mainly produced by mast cells and basophils, and these cells are important in the mediation of tick rejection reactions, these findings indicate an ancient antagonistic relationship between ticks and the immune system. As such, modulation of the hemostatic system as well as inflammation was important adaptive responses in the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle in soft ticks.     

Hybridization screening of very short PCR products for paleoepidemiological studies of Chagas' disease

Single strands of very short PCR products can be covalently immobilized to a slide and then easily detected by probe hybridization. In this work, the PCR product was a 70-nucleotide segment of ancient DNA, representing a portion of repeat mini-circle DNA from the kinetoplast of Trypanosoma cruzi, the infectious agent of Chagas' disease (American Trypanosomiasis). The target segment was initially established to be present in soft tissue samples taken from four "naturally" mummified Andean bodies using PCR followed by cloning and sequencing. Hybridization screening of the covalently immobilized PCR products positively identified products from 25 of 27 specimens of different tissues from these four mummies. The method appears to be ideal for the purpose of screening a large number of specimens when the target PCR product is very short.     

Tumors of bone and soft tissue in ancient Egypt and Nubia: a synopsis of the detected cases

The most recent compilation of previously diagnosed tumors in ancient Egyptian anthropological material is already eight years old. The intention of this study is to integrate subsequently discovered cases of bone and soft tissue tumors into this list. A structuring of the compilation as in a modern register of tumors will be thereby attempted; that is, a collection of all significant available information (provenience, sex, age, historical period, author(s) and year of publication, diagnosis, possible former diagnosis, cross grading) including that found in the relevant bibliography, for a comprehensive and timely paleopathology and history of diseases. Interpretation of the results should follow only with great caution, as the diagnoses in a number of cases, particularly those of malign tumors, require additional precise methodological clarification.     

Comparative mitochondrial and nuclear quantitative PCR of historical marine mammal tissue,bone, baleen,and tooth samples

The use of historical and ancient tissue samples for genetic analysis is increasing, with ever greater numbers of samples proving to contain sufficient mitochondrial and even nuclear DNA for multilocus analysis. DNA yield, however, remains highly variable and largely unpredictable based solely on sample morphology or age. Quantification of DNA from historical and degraded samples can greatly improve efficiency of screening DNA extracts prior to attempting sequencing or genotyping, but requires sequence‐specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) based assays to detect such minute quantities of degraded DNA. We present two qPCR assays for marine mammal DNA quantification, and results from analysis of DNA extracted from preserved soft tissues, bone, baleen, and tooth from several cetacean species. These two assays have been shown to amplify DNA from 26 marine mammal species representing 12 families of pinnipeds and cetaceans. Our results indicate that different tissues retain different ratios of mitochondrial to nuclear DNA, and may be more or less suitable for analysis of nuclear loci. Specifically, historical bone and tooth samples average 60‐fold higher ratio of mitochondrial DNA to nuclear DNA than preserved fresh soft tissue, and the ratio is almost 8000‐fold higher in baleen.     

Interpreting melanin-based coloration through deep time: a critical review

Colour, derived primarily from melanin and/or carotenoid pigments, is integral to many aspects of behaviour in living vertebrates, including social signalling, sexual display and crypsis. Thus, identifying biochromes in extinct animals can shed light on the acquisition and evolution of these biological traits. Both eumelanin and melanin-containing cellular organelles (melanosomes) are preserved in fossils, but recognizing traces of ancient melanin-based coloration is fraught with interpretative ambiguity, especially when observations are based on morphological evidence alone. Assigning microbodies (or, more often reported, their ‘mouldic impressions’) as melanosome traces without adequately excluding a bacterial origin is also problematic because microbes are pervasive and intimately involved in organismal degradation. Additionally, some forms synthesize melanin. In this review, we survey both vertebrate and microbial melanization, and explore the conflicts influencing assessment of microbodies preserved in association with ancient animal soft tissues. We discuss the types of data used to interpret fossil melanosomes and evaluate whether these are sufficient for definitive diagnosis. Finally, we outline an integrated morphological and geochemical approach for detecting endogenous pigment remains and associated microstructures in multimillion-year-old fossils.     

DNA damage and DNA sequence retrieval from ancient tissues.

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to determine the amounts of eight oxidative base modifications in DNA extracted from 11 specimens of bones and soft tissues, ranging in age from 40 to >50 000 years. Among the compounds assayed hydantoin derivatives of pyrimidines were quantitatively dominant. From five of the specimens endogenous ancient DNA sequences could be amplified by PCR. The DNA from these specimens contained substantially lower amounts of hydantoins than the six specimens from which no DNA could be amplified. Other types of damage, e.g. oxidation products of purines, did not correlate with the inability to retrieve DNA sequences. Furthermore, all samples with low amounts of damage and from which DNA could be amplified stemmed from regions where low temperatures have prevailed throughout the burial period of the specimens.     

海洋中药牡蛎肉的现代临床实验研究进展．

牡蛎作为一种广泛分布的海洋药用动物,其软体部分及其提取物在其药理研究、临床应用、药用价值等方面获得了广泛研究。牡蛎肉营养丰富,含有多种不饱和脂肪酸和糖类,尤其是锌的舍量较高。在对鹌鹑、小鼠、兔子等多种实验动物的体内实验及多种肿瘤细胞的体外增殖实验中发现,牡蛎肉较突出的作用为降血糖血脂,抗血栓,抗氧化,免疫增强,抗肿瘤,保肝护肝等。本文对其古籍记载,化学成分和临床实验研究进行了综述,为进一步深入地研究和拓宽其临床应用范围提供了坚实的科学依据。     

A reconstruction of the lophophore of Devonian rhynchonellids (Brachiopoda) by using X-Ray micro-CT

The X-ray microtomographic study has revealed contrast inclusions (possibly iron compounds) in several shells of Devonian (Emsian–Famennian) rhynchonellids (Brachiopoda) from Transcaucasia. Judging by the location of inclusions, they may correspond to soft tissues of lophophores. The spire-shaped inclusion in the shell of the holotype of the Late Devonian Sharovaella mirabilis Pakhnevich, 2012 has typical features of spirolophe and is interpreted as a part of one of lophophore spires. This find suggests that in the Late Devonian the spirolophe already existed in rhynchonellids. The dorsoventrally directed spirolophous lophophore is an ancient conservative feature of the order Rhynchonellida.     

Fungal diversity and deterioration in mummified woods from the ad Astra Ice Cap region in the Canadian High Arctic

Non-permineralized or mummified ancient wood found within proglacial soil near the ad Astra Ice Cap (81°N, 76°W), Ellesmere Island, Canada was investigated to ascertain the identification of the trees, current morphological and chemical characteristics of the woods and the fungi within them. These woods, identified as Betula, Larix, Picea and Pinus, were found with varying states of physical and chemical degradation. Modern microbial decomposition caused by soft rot fungi was evident and rDNA sequencing of fungi obtained from the samples revealed several species including Cadophora sp., Exophiala sp., Phialocephala sp., as well as others. Analytical ¹³C-labeled tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis showed the lignin from the ancient wood was in a high degree of preservation with minor side chain alteration and little to no demethylation or ring hydroxylation. The exposure of these ancient woods to the young soils, where woody debris is not usually prevalent, provides carbon and nutrients into the polar environment that are captured and utilized by unique decay fungi at this Arctic site.     

方兴未艾的古代DNA的研究

保留在古代生物遗骸中的遗传物质DNA是一种重要的遗传资源。古代DNA的研究对于了解包括人类在内的各种生物的起源、进化和迁徙有重要意义。古代DNA的研究有其自身的特点,并且已经取得一系列重要成就。本文综述古代DNA研究的历史、方法和进展。 Abstract：DNA present in ancient samples can be recovered,amplified and analysed.It opens a new window for genetic analysis in many different disciplines,such as anthropology,archaeology,human population genetics,animal and plant evolutionary taxonomy and forensic science.In general,ancient DNA is rare in quantity,damaged in quality.To ensure the reproducibility and reliability of the results,great cares should be taken,such as various measurements against contamination and phylogenetic analysis of ancient DNA sequences.In this paper we review recovery,amplification and analysis of ancient DNA,also discuss the guidelines to ensure the authenticity of ancient DNA and the recent advances in ancient DNA study.     

Partial uracil–DNA–glycosylase treatment for screening of ancient DNA

The challenge of sequencing ancient DNA has led to the development of specialized laboratory protocols that have focused on reducing contamination and maximizing the number of molecules that are extracted from ancient remains. Despite the fact that success in ancient DNA studies is typically obtained by screening many samples to identify a promising subset, ancient DNA protocols have not, in general, focused on reducing the time required to screen samples. We present an adaptation of a popular ancient library preparation method that makes screening more efficient. First, the DNA extract is treated using a protocol that causes characteristic ancient DNA damage to be restricted to the terminal nucleotides, while nearly eliminating it in the interior of the DNA molecules, allowing a single library to be used both to test for ancient DNA authenticity and to carry out population genetic analysis. Second, the DNA molecules are ligated to a unique pair of barcodes, which eliminates undetected cross-contamination from this step onwards. Third, the barcoded library molecules include incomplete adapters of short length that can increase the specificity of hybridization-based genomic target enrichment. The adapters are completed just before sequencing, so the same DNA library can be used in multiple experiments, and the sequences distinguished. We demonstrate this protocol on 60 ancient human samples.     

Optimizing specimen processing for ancient soft tissue specimens

Abstract

Despite many reports concerning processing of ancient soft tissues, scant attention has been paid to optimizing procedures for processing soft tissues that have been altered by taphonomic processes. To determine the best procedures, we investigated the rehydration solution, time of exposure to the solutions, fixative solution and exposure to heat. Processes were evaluated based on the minimum section thickness, degree of tissue fragmentation, definition of tissue architecture and penetration of stains. We found that in desiccated samples, tissue architecture was optimized by using Ruffer's solution for rehydration and Schaffer's solution as fixative, because these tissues require water restoration within the tissues due to their compacted character. Heating enhanced penetration of dyes in these specimens, which improved diagnosis. Saponified tissues that had suffered extensive decomposition were more labile and required slow water uptake. The best histological sections were obtained using Sandison's solution followed by fixation with formaldehyde and avoiding heat. To obtain the best results with paleohistological specimens, the procedure must be determined by the condition of the sample and by accounting for the nature of its damage.     

Cryptic contamination and phylogenetic nonsense

Ancient human DNA has been treated cautiously ever since the problems related to this type of material were exposed in the early 1990s, but as sequential genetic data from ancient specimens have been key components in several evolutionary and ecological studies, interest in ancient human DNA is on the increase again. It is especially tempting to approach archaeological and anthropological questions through this type of material, but DNA from ancient human tissue is notoriously complicated to work with due to the risk of contamination with modern human DNA. Various ways of authenticating results based on ancient human DNA have been developed to circumvent the problems. One commonly used method is to predict what the contamination is expected to look like and then test whether the ancient human DNA fulfils this prediction. If it does, the results are rejected as contamination, while if it does not, they are often considered authentic. We show here that human contamination in ancient material may well deviate from local allele frequencies or the distributions to be found among the laboratory workers and archaeologists. We conclude that it is not reliable to authenticate ancient human DNA solely by showing that it is different from what would be expected from people who have handled the material.