Ancient fingerprints from Beit Nattif: studying Late Roman clay impressions on oil lamps and figurines

The Functional Analysis of Clay Figurines of the Neolithic Period

In general, the figurines belonging to the Neolithic (the New Stone Age) have rarely been under functional analysis. Nevertheless, three studies undertaken on the figurines unearthed from some places in the Middle East have presented some classifications for them, and attempted to study different results in terms of their application (Voight, M., 1983, pp.186-192). The first one is the publishe...

Determining the Sex of Infanticide Victims from the Late Roman Era through Ancient DNA Analysis

Infanticide has since time immemorial been an accepted practice for disposing of unwanted infants. Archaeological evidence for infanticide was obtained in Ashkelon, where skeletal remains of some 100 neonates were discovered in a sewer, beneath a Roman bathhouse, which might have also served as a brothel. Written sources indicate that in ancient Roman society infanticide, especially of females,...

On the acoustics of ancient Greek and Roman theaters.

The interplay of architecture and acoustics is remarkable in ancient Greek and Roman theaters. Frequently they are nowadays lively performance spaces and the knowledge of the sound field inside them is still an issue of relevant importance. Even if the transition from Greek to Roman theaters can be described with a great architectural detail, a comprehensive and objective approach to the two ty...

Clay Minerals from the Perspective of Oil and Gas Exploration

No Oil for the Lamps of China?

The ubiquitous Made in China stickers and labels on consumer products remind us daily of China’s incredible economic rise. The world is accustomed to this powerful phenomenon and seems to expect that China’s economy will grow at 10 percent annually for at least another decade. Such remarkable economic progress has lifted millions of Chinese out of poverty and also substantially benefited the gl...