This study is aimed at the molecular characterisation of solid organic (food) residues preserved in an assemblage of vessels recovered from an indigenous settlement dating back to the Iron Age and... Show moreThis study is aimed at the molecular characterisation of solid organic (food) residues preserved in an assemblage of vessels recovered from an indigenous settlement dating back to the Iron Age and Roman period at Uitgeest – Groot Dorregeest (The Netherlands). Analytical thermal-fragmentation techniques such as Curie-point pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry and Direct Temperature-resolved Mass Spectrometry gave information about a wide range of compound classes as diverse as lipids, waxes, polynuclear aromatic compounds, oligosaccharides, small peptides and protein fragments, and a variety of thermally stable (more or less condensed) polymeric char structures. Multivariate analysis identified different chemotypes: groups of residues with comparable chemical characteristics. The biomolecular origin of these chemotypes was identified by comparison with experimentally charred reference materials and the application of complementary analytical techniques such as FTIR and 13C CP/MAS NMR. The chemotypes A1 and A2 consist of charred residues identified as starch-rich foods (mixed with either animal or plant products), chemotype C consists of protein-rich charred animal products without starch, chemotype B contains smoke condensates from wood fires, and chemotype D consists of special protein-rich and lipid-free foods or non-food products. Although many molecular characteristics of the original foods have been lost as a result of extensive thermal degradation and interpretation remains limited to general food groups, the results give valuable direct evidence of ancient diet and vessel-use. Show less
The Wenzi is a Chinese philosophical text that is traditionally ascribed to a disciple of Laozi, the alleged founder of Daoism. The text was read, discussed, quoted and admired by the lettered... Show moreThe Wenzi is a Chinese philosophical text that is traditionally ascribed to a disciple of Laozi, the alleged founder of Daoism. The text was read, discussed, quoted and admired by the lettered class in imperial China for centuries, until the Northern Song dynasty. From the Southern Song dynasty, however, the Wenzi was branded a forgery and consigned to near oblivion. The recent discovery of an age-old Wenzi manuscript, inked on bamboo strips, refueled interest in the text. In this combined study of the bamboo manuscript and received text, Van Els argues that the Wenzi was written in the early Former Han dynasty and thoroughly revised after the Latter Han dynasty. He also maintains that, given the drastic revision, the two Wenzi’s should be seen as distinct texts, not as different versions of one text, and he subsequently studies the date, authorship and philosophy of each Wenzi. The study is concluded with an analysis of the reception history of the revised text, with an emphasis on the dramatic change in its evaluation: from an admired authentic work to a worthless forgery. This analysis sheds light on changing views on authorship, originality, authenticity and forgery in Chinese history, both past and present. Show less
