Studien undersöker 14 djurfiguriner från Arne Furumarks utgrävning av den sena bronsåldersbosättningen Sinda på Cypern. Figurinerna detaljstuderas med syftet att vidare förstå Sindas socio-kulturella miljö. De grupperas utifrån liknande drag, för att sedan analyseras utifrån de influenser som genomsyrade tiden. Figurinerna jämförs även med de från andra platser för att se om det existerade ett lokalt formspråk i Sinda. Genomgående betraktas figurinerna utifrån teorierna att föremåls betydelse påverkas av sin kontext, och att ting och människa är sammanbundna. Gravkontexten betraktas som figurinernas primära kontext, i motsats till Furumarks tidigare slutsatser. Sindas figuriner skiljer sig från de på andra platser, i huvudsak genom deras naturtrogna drag, även om det finns förenande aspekter. Sindas förmodade fokus på djurhållning visar sig i vilka djur som är representerade; tjurarnas betydelse låg i huvudsak vid fertilitetssymbolism, och även de andra djuren har en koppling till jordbruk och djurhållning. Det påtagliga mykenska inflytande påverkade utformandet av den typ som alla Sindas figuriner tillhör, de så kallade buff painted bulls. / This study examines 14 animal figurines found in the late bronze age settlement of Sinda during Arne Furumark’s excavation. The figurines are studied in detail with the purpose of better understanding the socio-cultural environment of Sinda. The figurines are grouped by similar traits and is analyzed based on the influences and ideas of the time. They are also compared to figurines from other places, to see if there existed a locality in style in Sinda. Throughout, the figurines are understood from the theories of the human-thing relationship and that the context affect the purpose of an object. The grave context is understood as the objects’ primary context, as opposed to Furumarks earlier conclusions. Sinda’s figurines differ from those of other places, mainly due to their naturalistic traits, although there are uniting attributes. Sinda’s presumed focus on livestock is apparent in the represented animals; the bulls signified fertility, and the other animals depicted also had a connection to agriculture and livestock. The apparent Mycenaean influence affected the shaping and development of the type of figurine found in Sinda, the so-called buff painted bulls.

Salvage operations in Hohokam sites of the Colonial, Sedentary and Classic periods. Includes appendices on prehistoric maize and textiles.

Applications of lead and strontium isotope analysis were made on archaeological materials from three different contexts in both the Old and New Worlds. These materials comprised pre-Hispanic glaze painted ceramics from Arizona, U.S.A., glass beads from late first millennium AD Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria, and copper-based metals from early first millennium AD Kissi, Burkina Faso. All materials contain lead at major, minor, or trace concentrations, and lead isotope analysis was employed to determine a provenance for that lead. Strontium isotope analysis also was applied to glass beads from Igbo-Ukwu to determine provenance(s) for strontium found in the glass. Furthermore, application of elemental composition analysis was or had been employed on all samples for additional data comparisons within assemblages and with comparable archaeological materials.Results of these analyses determined, in most cases, regional provenance with high degrees of confidence for lead contained in the analyzed samples. Strontium and elemental composition analysis data also proved valuable in confirming the regional provenance of the raw glass used to produce the glass beads. Leads in the glaze paints from Arizona, which demonstrated a range of resources exploitation, were confidently restricted to a few regions for their procurement. Likewise leads in most glass beads from Igbo-Ukwu were confidently restricted to two main source regions, with a third strong contender also being identified. The elemental composition and strontium isotope data determined with confidence the production regions for the primary raw glasses used to make the glass beads. Finally, leads in copper-based metals from Burkina Faso also were restricted to a few regions, although some inconclusiveness in provenance determination was attributed to mixing of metals from difference sources.These results confirm the utility of heavy isotope analysis of archaeological materials for provenance determination. The combination of these data with elemental composition analyses further confirm the interpretive strength of combining independent but related sets of analytical data for exploring questions of archaeological provenance. With improvements in instrument technology and application in the past two decades, very high precision and high accuracy analyses can be made which eliminate some earlier concerns of heavy isotope applications in archaeology.

The creative process offers me an escape and tranquility worthy of sharing. When creating art, I reflect on the people, places, and things that move me. I convey my frame of mind through the brush to the canvas. The result is intense strokes of color that deliver clarity of emotion for others to experience. The intention of my work is to share a world that satisfies the eyes, mind, and soul. There is something about each piece that I hope will keep the viewer returning to absorb, contemplate, and enjoy.

Ce projet de recherche se propose d'analyser l'exceptionnel patrimoine archéologique de l'ancienne Volcei (l'actuelle cité de Buccino, dans la province de Salerne, Italie) dont les vestiges, découverts dans les années 1980 durant la reconstruction de la ville après le grand tremblement de terre qui frappa la Campanie et la Basilicate, montrent une fréquentation ininterrompue du site du VIIIème siècle avant J.C. au IIème siècle après J.C.. L'arc chronologique pris en compte s'étendra du VIIIème au Vème siècle avant J.C.Le travail consistera d'abord à étudier les vestiges découverts en contexte funéraire dans les structures d'habitat puis en suivant de manière diachronique les développements et les évolutions de la culture dite "nord-lucanienne", à chercher à mettre en évidente les dynamiques de contact entre les "indigènes" et les populations allogènes, ainsi que les processus fondamentaux qui ont conduit à la formation du peuple lucanien. / After the destructive earthquake that took place in 1980 in many localities of the Irpinia and the Basilicata, even the territory of the city of Buccino (Campania) former center of the ancient city of Volcei, was involved in the construction of new residentialblocs. During the reconstruction, the excavations of the Archeological Superintendence of Campania brought to light, all around of the hill on which the town is settled, about 270 burials dated from the mid VII and the III century BC. The study of the grave goods and burial practices as well as the analysis of the topography of the two necropolis area - in Braida and Santo Stefano localities - allowed us to get some important informations about the burials spatial organization, funeraryrituals, the material culture and about changes of the burial ritual after the arrival of the new population, of the Osco-Sabellian origin, in the delicate passage between V and IV century BC.

De nombreux objets en bois ancien posent des difficultés de conservation et de restauration. En plus des problèmes liés au vieillissement naturel du bois, la conservation et la restauration des panneaux peints sont des exercices délicats de mise en œuvre, à cause des phénomènes complexes d’échanges hydriques asymétriques entre la couche picturale et le revers du tableau. Les restaurateurs du patrimoine ont cherché à éliminer la courbure du panneau par humidification et pression progressive afin de renforcer et aplanir le panneau ; ou simplement, en termes d’acte de restauration, par amincissement par l'arrière du support du tableau puis collage sur un support rigide. Entre manipulations malheureuses et stockage dans des conditions non contrôlées, cela a eu pour conséquence l’écaillage et la perte partielle de la couche picturale de certains d’entre eux, sans oublier l’initiation de fissures. Ainsi, les objets du patrimoine que nous manipulons sont des témoins précieux à la fois d'un art, d'une époque et d'un comportement à long terme du matériau considéré. Nous nous sommes intéressés, dans un premier temps, à la compréhension plus fondamentale du vieillissement du bois. Pour cela nous avons traité hygro-thermiquement à 120degree C à différentes humidités et à 50degree par cycles d'humidité des échantillons de peuplier (Populus alba). Nous avons pu mettre en avant les processus physico-chimiques et également le phénomène de réversibilité des traitements hygro-thermiques. Puis, nous avons étudié le comportement d'une partie d'un panneau peint, afin d'étudier relation bois - couche préparatoire. Nos résultats montrent que les couches préparatoires ont un comportement hygromécanique bien différent les unes des autres, et qu'il est important de connaître la composition fine de ces couches avant de pouvoir analyser le comportement global du panneau peint. Enfin, nos travaux ont concerné l’étude expérimentale, basée sur des mesures de masse en continu et des mesures de champ de déformation par stéréo-corrélation, et la simulation du comportement hygromécanique d’un panneau de bois soumis à des fluctuations hygrothermiques. Nous avons pu découpler d'un point de vue expérimental les différents composants intervenant dans l'hygromécanique du panneau peint, et nous avons œuvré pour la mise en place d'un outil de simulation numérique pouvant rendre compte des phénomènes observés. Ce travail de thèse présente donc d’un point de vue fondamental le comportement d’un panneau de bois soumis à des variations d’humidité, en lien avec les acteurs de la préservation du patrimoine (conservateurs, restaurateurs, scientifiques spécialisés dans ce domaine...) dans le but de développer des outils d’aide à la décision. / Conservation or restoration of many ancient wooden artefacts such as panel paintings is made difficult. In addition by issues linked to wood ageing, but also by the delicate situations originaling from asymmetrical moisture transfer phenomena through surface layer and wooden substrate. Conservators have tried to eradicate panels curvatures by moistening and flattening by pressure ; or simply in term of restoration act, by panel thinning followed by gluing on a rigid support. Between fortunate handling and absence of environmental control, some paint layers flaked material was partially lost, cracks opened. Indeed, the artefacts from cultural heritage that we handle are the witness of ancient times and practices, and may provide keys to the understanding of long-term behaviour of wooden structures. First, we have focused on the basic understanding of wood aging, we have made hygro-thermal treatment at 120degree C for several humidities and at 50degree C by hydric cycles on poplar samples (Populus alba). We underlined physical and chemical process and the reversible effect of heat-treated wood. Then we studied the behaviour of a painted panel part, and the relation between wood and preparatory layer. Our work shows clearly that the hygromechanical behaviour of the preparatory layer is very dependent on its composition, and that it is important to know precisely the layer composition before being able to analyse the global behavior of a panel painting. Finally, our work concerned experimental and numerical study of hygromechanical behaviour of a wooden panel, based on continuous mass weighting and measurement of strain by stereo-correlation during hygrothermal fluctuations of the environment. We decoupled experimentally the different components occurring in hygromechanics of panel painting, and we worked to set up a numerical tool allowing the simulation of observed phenomena. This thesis presents, on a fundamental point of view, the wooden panel behavior under climatic fluctuations, linking with cultural conservator actors (such as curators, conservators, scientists from cultural heritage dots) in order to develop tools to decision help.

Population estimation is an important task in all wildlife conservation. Such estimations are often difficult in low-density species such as big carnivores. The painted dog (Lycaon pictus) is an endangered species and the first aim of IUCNs action plan is to assess the size and the distribution of the remaining population. This study is the first step towards a quantitative method to distinguish painted dog footprints from footprints of feral domestic dogs and hyaenas. Footprint photographs were collected and digitally processed and total pad area and angles between the digits and backpad of the paw were measured. Both the pad area and the angles show a statistically significant difference between the species. However, further analysis shows that there is no significant difference in pad area between painted dog females and domestic dog males. Size of the pads alone is therefore not suitable as a measure to determine the species from an unknown footprint. The angles between backpad and digits seem to be more suitable to distinguish between species. Therefore, a combination of pad size and the angle between backpad and digits might be useful to estimate the species from an unknown footprint in the field.

This dissertation examines the cultural, political, and artistic role of polychrome wall painting from funerary contexts in South Italy during the critical period that spans the crisis of Greek hegemony and the consolidation of Roman power. Numerous painted tombs were built between the late fifth and the early second centuries BCE for local as well as Greek elite groups across Southern Italy. I investigate the ways in which the wall paintings, with their colors, iconographies, and technical features were both the expression of indigenous cultures and local artistic trends, and a part of a wider and more complex phenomenon, that is the diffusion of funerary wall painting in the Mediterranean during the late Classical and Hellenistic period. Why did polychromy become a crucial component in articulating funerary space in South Italy towards the end of the fifth century BCE, and how did this experience develop in the regions of Campania, Lucania, and Apulia, respectively? Ever since the South Italian painted tombs were discovered in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, scholars have interpreted their decoration as ideal representations of the deceased, their funerary ceremony, or their journey to the Underworld. They have focused on the relationship between the images and the individual deceased buried in the tomb or the restricted group of their family/clan. In my study, I seek to restore the polysemic character of the wall paintings. Each chapter analyzes the paintings from a different perspective and with a particular methodological approach, combining archaeological, anthropological, topographic, historical, and artistic evidence. I argue that the tombs with their painted decoration served to build and articulate collective memory, elaborating a message which was supposed to address the local community. I propose that the figural scenes depicted on the tomb walls staged ritual activities and initiation ceremonies which marked the life of the whole community. I also reconsider the artistic development of funerary painting in Southern Italy, showing that this phenomenon did not derive from globalizing trends of "Hellenization" or "Romanization", as has often been suggested, but it was intimately connected to indigenous artistic traditions and local or regional socio-political dynamics. / The Classics

Many smooth, highly specular coatings such as automotive paints are subjected to considerable performance demands as the customer expectations for appearance of coatings are continually increasing. Therefore it is vital to develop robust methods to monitor surface quality online. An automated visual assessment of specular coated surface that would not only provide a cost effective and reliable solution to the industries but also facilitate the implementation of a real-time feedback loop. The scope of this thesis is a subset of the inspection technology that facilitates real-time close loop control of the surface quality and concentrates on one common surface defect the seed defect. This machine vision system design utilizes surface reflectance models as a rational basis. Using a single high-contrast image the height of the seed defect is computed; the result is obtained rapidly and is reasonably accurate approximation of the actual height.

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