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Journal article
Bitumen from the Dead Sea in Early Iron Age Nubia
Bitumen has been identified for the first time in Egyptian occupied Nubia, from within the town of Amara West, occupied from around 1300 to 1050 BC. The bitumen can be sourced to the Dead Sea using biomarkers, evidencing a trade in this material from the eastern Mediterranean to Nubia in...Fulcher, Kate ; Stacey, Rebecca ; Spencer, Neal
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Book
Model of a Summer Camp
The Model of a Summer Camp is a fascinating object with a range of stories to tell. Originating in the Sakha (Yakutia) region of far northeastern Russia, it depicts a yhyakh celebration – a festival of huge cultural importance to the region. This concise book takes a detailed look at...Argounova-Low, Tatiana ; Brown, Alison K. ; Jansari, Sushma
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Journal article
Datura quids at Pinwheel Cave, California, provide unambiguous confirmation of the ingestion of hallucinogens at a rock art site
Proponents of the altered states of consciousness (ASC) model have argued that hallucinogens have influenced the prehistoric making of images in caves and rock shelters. However, the lack of direct evidence for the consumption of hallucinogens at any global rock art site has undermined the ASC model. We present the... -
Book chapter
Sex and sensitivities: exhibiting and interpreting Shunga at the British Museum
For much of the British Museum's long history it has had a difficult relationship with sex, sexuality, and gender diversity. Most museums and galleries have been reticent to display publicly, or meaningfully interpret, objects that explicitly reflect these themes, or which challenge society’s heteronormative ideals. The museum’s special exhibition program...Frost, Stuart
British Museum, interpretation, exhibitions, shunga, gender, sexuality, and visitor research
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Journal article
Investigating Asian colourants in Chinese textiles from Dunhuang (7th-10th century AD) by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry – towards the creation of a mass spectra database
A broad palette of natural dyes is often mentioned with reference to dyed textiles from ancient China. However, few scientific works address the problem of correctly identifying these dyes, often referring simply to unidentified sources. The aim of this work was the creation of a database of mass spectra of...Tmaburini, Diego
HPLC-MS, Tandem mass spectra, Asian dyes, Chinese textiles, Dunhuang Silk Road
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Journal article
The morphological affinity of the Early Pleistocene footprints from Happisburgh, England, with other footprints of Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene age
Fossil hominin footprints provide a direct source of evidence of locomotor behavior and allow inference of other biological data such as anthropometrics. Many recent comparative analyses of hominin footprints have used 3D analytical methods to assess their morphological affinities, comparing tracks from different locations and/or time periods. However, environmental conditions...Hominins; fossilized footprints; geometric morphometrics; foot anatomy; functional morphology
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Journal article
The WEAP method: a new age in the analysis of the Acheulean handaxes
This paper presents a unified methodology to describe critical features in lithic assemblages, in order to better interpret the Middle Pleistocene hominin occupation of western Europe, in the context of the Western European Acheulean Project (WEAP). This project aims to characterise the Acheulean technology of the western side of Europe...Middle Pleistocene; Acheulean handaxes; typology; chaîne opératoire; geometric; morphometrics
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Journal article
Early Levallois core technology between Marine Isotope Stage 12 and 9 in Western Europe
Early Levallois core technology is usually dated in Europe to the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 and particularly from the beginning of MIS 8 to MIS 6. This technology is considered as one of the markers of the transition from lower to Middle Paleolithic or from Mode 2... -
Journal article
Ethnobotany of Hawaiian figure sculpture
Anecdotal theories about traditional uses of Polynesian woods in relation to social and religious practices were tested using comparative wood identification. The woods used to make 135 figure carvings from the Hawaiian archipelago were identified and compared with 23 figure carvings from elsewhere in Polynesia (especially Tahiti and the Marquesas)....Rudall, Paula J. ; Cartwright, Caroline
ethnobotany, Polynesia, and wood anatomy
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Journal article
Investigating the use of Paleolithic perforated batons: new evidence from Gough’s Cave (Somerset, UK)
Perforated batons, usually made from a segment of antler and formed of a sub-cylindrical shaft and at least one perforation, have been documented across Europe from sites throughout the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. The function of perforated batons is still debated. We present here three Magdalenian perforated batons from the... -
Book chapter
Change and transformation: Picasso the printmaker
An analysis of Picasso's activities as a printmaker being dependent on his proximity to printers and their workshops at different periods during his career.Hincelin, Emmanuelle ; Andres, Violette ; Lloyd, Christopher ; Philippot, Emilia ; Robinson, William H. …
collaboration, Picasso, printmaking, and printers
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Book
Statues in Context: Production, Meaning and (Re)Uses
Moving beyond typological and stylistic discourses on Egyptian statuary, the papers gathered here seek to explore the architectural, cultic and production contexts of statuary, to shed light on religious or cultural practices, and the political or economic agenda behind the display or hiding of these sculptures. How and why were...Masson-Berghoff, Aurélia
archaeology, Egyptology, statues, Egyptian sculptures, and Egyptian bronzes
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Journal article
Museological approaches to the management of digital research and engagement: The African Rock Art Image Project
The African Rock Art Image Project at the British Museum has documented and disseminated c. 24,000 digital images of rock art from throughout the continent, donated by the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA). The images were registered into the British Museum’s permanent collection and treated as objects in their...Anderson, Helen ; Galvin, Elizabeth ; de Torres Rodriguez, Jorge
archaeology, Museum studies, and Africa
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Journal article
The palm tree ryal of Mary Queen of Scots revisited
An investigation of the unusual design of this coin, a tortoise climbing up a palm tree.Cook, Barrie ; Archibald, Marion
palm tree, coinage, tortoise, ryal, and Mary Queen of Scots
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Journal article
The potential of triterpenoids as chemotaxonomic tools to identify and differentiate genuine, adulterated and archaeological balsams
Plant exudates have been extensively used in the past for different applications related to their olfactory, physical or medical properties. Their identification in archaeological samples relies, notably, on the characterisation of chemotaxonomic molecular markers but is often hampered by the severe alteration of their typical genuine molecular signature due to...Courel, Blandine ; Adam, Pierre ; Schaeffer, Philippe
Styrax, Liquidambar, Myroxylon, GC/MS, 6‑oxygenated oleanolic acid, 3-epi oleanolic acid
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Journal article
Twisted handaxes in Middle Pleistocene Britain and their implications for regional-scale cultural variation and the deep history of Acheulean hominin groups
A better understood chronological framework for the Middle Pleistocene of Britain has enabled archaeologists to detect a number of temporally-restricted assemblage-types, based not on ‘culture historical’ schemes of typological progression but on independent dating methods and secure stratigraphic frameworks, especially river-terrace sequences. This includes a consistent pattern in the timing...White, Mark ; Ashton, Nick ; Bridgland, David
ovate handaxes, social networks, Middle Pleistocene, hominin settlement, and Acheulean
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Journal article
Establishing the production chronology of the iconic Japanese woodblock print ‘Red Fuji’
First printed in 1831, ‘Red Fuji’ by Hokusai is one the most iconic Japanese woodblock prints and thousands of impressions were printed from its original set of woodblocks, often in different colour schemes and using different printing effects for different editions. The aim of our research was to systematically study...Korenberg, Capucine ; Derrick, Michele ; Pereira-Pardo, Lucía ; Matsuba, Ryoko
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Journal article
From site to museum: a critical assessment of collection history on the formation and interpretation of the British Early Palaeolithic record
The British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic record makes an important contribution to understanding the early occupation of northern Europe, in particular, through the detailed, systematic and multidisciplinary excavations of key sites. However, it is the historic collections, amassed by a large number of collectors over a 100-year period from the...Harris, Claire R.E. ; Ashton, Nick ; Lewis, Simon G.
Collecting, UK, Museum, Early Palaeolithic, and Handaxes
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Journal article
Developing a systematic approach to determine the sequence of impressions of Japanese woodblock prints: the case of Hokusai’s ‘Red Fuji’
Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints were mass-produced in the Edo Period and early impressions of a given print are generally of higher quality and more sought after by connoisseurs than late impressions. The present publication presents an innovative approach that combines the classical method of examining line quality with a systematic... -
Journal article
Identification, geochemical characterisation and significance of bitumen among the grave goods of the 7th century mound 1 ship-burial at Sutton Hoo (Suffolk, UK)
The 7th century ship-burial at Sutton Hoo is famous for the spectacular treasure discovered when it was first excavated in 1939. The finds include gold and garnet jewellery, silverware, coins and ceremonial armour of broad geographical provenance which make a vital contribution to understanding the political landscape of early medieval...Burger, Pauline ; Stacey, Rebecca J. ; Bowden, Stephen A. ; Hacke, Marei ; Parnell, John
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Journal article
Harold-as-Aeneas? The influence of the Aeneid on a rescue scene in the Bayeux Tapestry
This article examines a particular scene in the Bayeux Tapestry where Earl Harold of Wessex rescues Normans from the River Couesnon (Brittany/Normandy) in reference to a similar scene in the Aeneid. It considers the qualities of the 'heroes' in both scenes - Harold and Aeneas - and considers the a...Rollason, Nikki K. ; Michael, Lewis
art, Aeneas, Harold of Wessex (Harold II), Aeneid, and Bayeux Tapestry
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Journal article
Ancient encaustic: An experimental exploration of technology, ageing behaviour and approaches to analytical investigation
The composition of the ancient wax-based painting technique known as encaustic has long been the subject of debate. Ancient sources provide few details of the technology, and modern understanding of the medium is restricted to theoretical interpretation and experimental observation. In this multi-analytical collaborative study, a number of analytical approaches... -
Journal article
Archaeology at ras Muari: Sonari, a Bronze Age fisher-gatherers settlement at the Hab River mouth (Karachi, Pakistan).
This paper describes the results of the surveys carried out along Ras Muari (Cape Monze, Karachi, Sindh) by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Lower Sindh and Las Bela in 2013 and 2014. The surveyed area coincides with part of the mythical land of the Ichthyophagoi, mentioned by the classical chroniclers.... -
Journal article
Fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy and multispectral imaging for the non-invasive investigation of Asian colourants in Chinese textiles from Dunhuang (7th-10th century AD)
The archaeological complex of Dunhuang (northwestern Gansu, China) is considered a pearl on the Silk Road and the content of its caves revolutionised oriental studies. The British Museum hosts a significant number of textiles and textile fragments from the site. Although mostly catalogued and studied from the point of view...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne
Dunhuang, Asian dyes, Silk road textiles, Multispectral imaging, and FORS
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Journal article
Historical formulations of lake pigments and dyes derived from lac: A study of compositional variability
“Lac” is a term referring to a pink-red-purple organic colourant derived from an insect and used as a lake pigment or a dye. Although historical sources indicate extensive usage, findings in historical samples remain scarce and are based on the detection of laccaic acids A and B, which are the...lac; shellac; historical recipes; photo-induced luminescence; HPLC-MSPCA
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Book chapter
Systems of value in Vanuatu: reflections on the Ambae textile complex
This chapter discusses the diverse forms of value attached to plaited pandanus textiles on Ambae, an island in the south-western Pacific nation of Vanuatu. I explore their cultural and historical contexts and show the dynamic nature of textiles both as types or categories, and as individual items. Textiles are made...Bolton, Lissant
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Book
The Interface between Science and Conservation
This publication examines the increasingly important role of the conservation scientist. Conservation science, where scientists develop an understanding of why and how museum objects deteriorate, and research into methods and materials for arresting that deterioration, has become a specialism in its own right. The importance of adequate communication between the...Bradley, Susan
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Journal article
KOLEKSI RAFFLES DARI JAWA: BUKTI DARI EROPA TENTANG SEBUAH PERADABAN
Stamford Raffles was promoted to Lieutenant Governor of Java when the island was captured from the Dutch by the British East India Company in 1811 as part of the Napoleonic wars in Europe. During Raffles’ years on Java, he collected substantial cultural materials, including theatrical objects, musical instruments, coins and...Green, Alexandra
Collecting history, Art history, Colonialism, and Stamford Raffles
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Journal article
Raffles’ collections from Java: European evidence of civilisation
Stamford Raffles was promoted to Lieutenant Governor of Java when the island was taken from the Dutch by the British East India Company in 1811 as part of the Napoleonic wars in Europe. During Raffles’ years on Java, he collected substantial cultural materials, among others are; theatrical objects, musical instruments,...Green, Alexandra
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Book chapter
The Roman pottery from Kab Marfu’a
This article looks at a pottery assemblage from the emerald processing site of Kab Marfu'a in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Dating primarily between the second and fourth centuries AD, it is functionally unusual, comprising a high percentage of imported amphorae and vessels for storage and pouring.Tomber, Roberta
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Book chapter
Beyond the boundaries of the Periplus: the Persian Gulf route in the supply to Myos Hormos and Berenike
This article compares the quantity of Parthian and Sassanian pottery found at the Egyptian Red Sea ports of Myos Hormos and Berenike. It demonstrates greater interconnections during the Sassanian period than the Parthian, correlating to the rise in international importance of the Sassanian empire.Tomber, Roberta
Parthian pottery, Myos Hormos, Red Sea, Sassanian pottery, Berenike, and Persian Gulf
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Journal article
Trends in Myanmar wall paintings from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries
Wall paintings in Myanmar have a long history. Extant remains date as far back as the eleventh century, and murals continue to be produced today. This paper is based on the survey of more than 150 temples in the central zone of Myanmar, exploring the imagery to consider its role...Green, Alexandra
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Journal article
Detection of opium alkaloids in a Cypriot base-ring juglet
A method has been developed for extracting poppy alkaloids from oily matrices, specifically lipid residues associated with archaeological ceramics. The protocol has been applied to fresh and artificially aged poppyseed oil and to residue from a Late Bronze Age Cypriot juglet in the collections of the British Museum. The juglet...Smith, Rachel K. ; Stacey, Rebecca J. ; Bergström, Ed ; Thomas-Oates, Jane
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Journal article
Emissions from MDF: governing factors and mitigation strategies
Many museums use elements, such as baseboards and inserts, made of medium density fibreboard (MDF) inside showcases. MDF is manufactured by bonding wood fibres with a resin. It emits volatile compounds that can be harmful to a wide range of museum objects, including formaldehyde. There is currently no entirely effective...Korenberg, Capucine ; Bertolotti, Giulia
MDF, showcases, VOCs; pollutants, wood, barrier film, and fibreboard; sealant
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Book
Making Change: The Decimalisation of Britain’s Currency
On a grey, drizzly Monday, 15 February 1971, Britain went decimal. Ten years in the planning, ‘D-Day’ upended a currency system that had been unchanged for more than a millennium. A national effort requiring cooperation at every level of society, many expected decimalisation to be a disaster. This is the...Hockenhull, Tom
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Book chapter
The coffin of Takabuti
Description of coffin belonging to ancient Egyptian mummy of a woman named Takabuti, dating to the 25th Dynasty.Taylor, John
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Book chapter
A technical study of the Royal Clock Salt
The cameo heads on the base of the Clock Salt were examined using digital microscopy. . It was possible to take high-magnification images of the heads and use them for investigating potential materials from which they might have been created. The aim was to discover whether they were made from...Meek, Andrew ; Cooke, Oliver ; Shearman, Fleur ; Ling, Denise ; Cartwright, Caroline …
digital microscopy, marine shell cameos, and scientific research
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Book chapter
The Macabi Island wooden sculptures
Scientific identification using scanning electron microscopy revealed that wood from the algarrobo tree had been selected for making the iconic Macabi Island sculpturesCartwright, Caroline
scanning electron microscopy, Macabi Island, and wood anatomy