Yunnan Archaeology

Iron production at the Zhujiazui site of the late Tang dynasty in Ezhou, South China

This study investigates iron production at the Zhujiazui site in Ezhou, Hubei Province, dating to the late 8th to the early 10th century AD. Macroscopic classification, metallographic analysis, and SEM-EDS examination of slags and iron artifacts were combined with reassessment of...

Beyond replication: Technological transmission and adaptive organization of modern human populations during the terminal Pleistocene at Fenghuangling, North China

How technological knowledge is transmitted and transformed remains a central topic in human evolution and behavioral ecology. During the Last Glacial Maximum and the subsequent deglaciation, climatic instability and associated demographic shifts provide an ideal window for unders...

In Situ Cellulose Removal from Wood: A Novel Strategy for Preparing Simulated 80,000-Year-Old Waterlogged Archaeological Wood

Abstract Waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW), characterized by extensive degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose with concomitant relative lignin enrichment, represents a vital yet vulnerable class of cultural heritage materials. Due to the scarcity of archaeological wood sp...

Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China

More than a decade of multidisciplinary research has identified a collection of cranial, facial and dental remains of Denisovans from across Asia, providing insight into their cranial capacity, appearance, diet and evolutionary history. However, our understanding of their spatiot...

A possible iron-dominated catalytic oxidation mechanism in waterlogged archaeological wood from the Mengxihe Palaeolithic site

In marine shipwrecks, wood degradation is described by the sulfur-iron model, in which pyrite forms during burial and then oxidizes to sulfuric acid after excavation. Whether this model applies to freshwater environments remains unclear. Here, we analyzed waterlogged archaeologic...