Firing temperature determination and thermoluminescence dating of a brick with cuneiform characters found in the ruins of Ancient Babylon

Este artigo tem por objetivo estudar um tijolo com inscrições em caracteres cuneiformes cujas sentenças estão praticamente completas. Estudos tipológicos correspondentes aos relatos históricos sugerem que o tijolo foi manufaturado no século VI a.C., durante a dinastia de Nabucodonosor II, grande monarca da Babilônia. A amostra foi estudada através da difração de raios X (DRX), ressonância paramagnética de elétron (RPE), termoluminescência (TL) e técnicas de análise por ativação instrumental com nêutrons (AAIN). Os resultados demonstraram que o tijolo tem 2350 anos de idade (± 40) e queima menor que 400o C.This paper aims to study a brick with inscriptions in cuneiform characters in  which the sentences are almost complete. Typological studies in agreement with historical records suggest that the tablet was manufactured in the 6th century  BCE during the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar II, Great King of Babylon. The  sample was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), thermoluminescence (TL), and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) techniques. The results showed that the brick is 2350 years old (± 40) and its firing temperature was lower than 400 °C

Neutrons, radiation and archaeology: a multianalytical case study of Incised Rim Tradition ceramics in Central Amazon

Este trabalho é um estudo arqueométrico interdisciplinar envolvendo material cerâmico arqueológico da Amazônia Central, proveniente de dois sítios de grandes dimensões, Lago Grande e Osvaldo, na região de confluência dos rios Negro e Solimões. Procurou-se testar a hipótese de uma rede de trocas entre os antigos habitantes desses sítios, focando em trocas materiais e/ou tecnológicas. Essa hipótese tem implicações para teorias de ocupação da Amazônia Central pré-colonial que procuram relativizar o papel das dificuldades ambientais da floresta tropical como fator limitante para a emergência da complexidade social na região. A caracterização físico-química de fragmentos cerâmicos e argilas próximas aos sítios foi realizada por meio de: análise por ativação com nêutrons instrumental (INAA) para determinação da composição química elementar; espectroscopia de ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (EPR) para determinação da temperatura de queima; difração de raios X (XRD) para determinação da composição mineralógica; e datação de cerâmicas por luminescência opticamente estimulada (OSL). Estudos mostraram que a área dos sítios foi ocupada por culturas produtoras das fases cerâmicas Manacapuru e Paredão, da Tradição Borda Incisa, em torno dos séculos V-X d.C. e VII-XII d.C., respectivamente. Os resultados de INAA foram analisados por métodos estatísticos multivariados, que possibilitaram definir dois grupos químicos de cerâmicas para cada sítio, para os quais não se observaram variações significativas na temperatura de queima e composição mineralógica. A partir do cruzamento com dados arqueológicos, a superposição entre pares de grupos foi interpretada como correlata da existência de uma rede de trocas pretérita, embora não tenha sido possível definir se ela teria ocorrido apenas entre Lago Grande e Osvaldo. Pelo contrário, sugeriu-se, pela comparação de dois grupos químicos de cerâmicas, que Lago Grande participava de uma rede mais extensa de trocas.This thesis is an interdisciplinary archaeometric study involving archaeological ceramic material from two large archaeological sites in Central Amazon, namely Lago Grande and Osvaldo, on the confluence region of Negro and Solimões rivers. It was tested a hypothesis about the existence of an exchange network between the former inhabitants of those sites, focusing on material and/or technological exchange. That hypothesis has implications for archaeological theories of human occupation of the pre-colonial Central Amazon, which try to relativise the role of ecological difficulties of the tropical forest as a limiting factor for the emergence of social complexity in the region. The physical-chemical characterization of potsherds and clay samples near the sites was carried out by: instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) to determine the elemental chemical composition; electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to determine the firing temperature; X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the mineralogical composition; and dating by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Previous studies showed that Osvaldo and Lago Grande were occupied by people which produced pottery classified in the Manacapuru and Paredão phases, subclasses of the Incised Rim Tradition, around the 5-10th and 7-12th centuries BC, respectively. INAA results were analyzed by multivariate statistical methods, whereby two chemical groups of pottery were defined for each archaeological site. Significant variation in firing temperatures and mineralogical composition were not identified for such groups. By integration of the results with archaeological data, the superposition between pairs of chemical groups was interpreted as a correlate of an ancient exchange network, although it was not possible to define if it existed exclusively between Lago Grande and Osvaldo. On the contrary, it was suggested that Lago Grande participated in a more extensive exchange network by comparison of two chemical groups

Exploring the Evolution of a Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy with Smoothed-particle Hydrodynamics Simulations. I. Stellar Feedback

A fundamental question regarding the evolution of dwarf spheroidal galaxies is the identification of the key physical mechanisms responsible for gas depletion. Here, we focus on the study of stellar feedback in isolated dwarf spheroidal galaxies by performing numerical simulations using a modified version of the smoothed-particle hydrodynamics code GADGET-3. The Milky Way satellite Leo II (PGC 34176) in the Local Group was considered as our default model dwarf galaxy. The parameter space for the stellar feedback models was explored to match observational constraints of Leo II, such as residual gas mass, total mass within the tidal radius, star formation history, final stellar mass, stellar ages, and metallicity. Additionally, we examined the impact of the binary fraction of stars, initial mass function, dark matter halo mass, and initial gas reservoir. Many simulations revealed recent star formation quenching due to stellar feedback. In general, the gas depletion, expected star formation history, total mass of stars, and total mass within the tidal radius were adequately reproduced in the simulations when compared to observational estimates. However, there were discrepancies in the distribution of stellar ages and metallicities, which suggested that the cosmic gas infall would play a more complex role in our dwarf spheroidal galaxy than captured by a monolithic infall scenario. Our results suggest that currently quenched dwarf galaxies may not necessarily need to evolve within clusters or groups and that stellar feedback alone could be a sufficient factor in shaping at least some of these galaxies as we observe them today

Parameterizing the Outflow from a Central Black Hole in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies: A 3D Hydrodynamic Simulation

International audienceLarge galaxies harbor massive central black holes and their feedback exerts a substantial impact on their evolution. Recently, observations have suggested that dwarf galaxies might host black holes in their centers, but with lower masses (intermediate-mass black holes-IMBHs). The impact of IMBHs on the evolution of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), however, has so far not been properly analyzed. In this work, we investigate the effects of an outflow from an IMBH on gas dynamics in dSphs by means of noncosmological, three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, letting the galactic gas distribution evolve over 3 Gyr under the influence of the IMBH's outflow and supernova feedback. All simulations have a numerical resolution of 20.0 pc cell-1. Two scenarios are considered to infer differences in the propagation of the outflow, one with a homogeneous interstellar medium (ISM) and another one with inhomogeneities caused by supernova feedback. A minimal initial speed and a minimal initial density are required for the outflow to propagate, with the values depending on the conditions of the medium. In an unperturbed medium, the outflow propagates freely in both directions with the same velocity (lower than the initial one), removing a small fraction of gas from the galaxy (the exact fraction depends on the initial physical conditions of the outflow). However, in an inhomogeneous ISM, the impact of the outflow is substantially reduced, and its contribution to the removal of gas from the galaxy is almost negligible

Comparison of INAA elemental composition data between Lago Grande and Osvaldo archaeological sites in the central Amazon: a first perspective

In this work, 50 ceramic fragments from the Lago Grande and 30 from the Osvaldo archaeological site were compared to assess elemental similarities. The aim is to perform a preliminary comparison between the sites, which are located in the central Amazon, Brazil. The analytical technique employed to obtain the ceramics elemental composition was instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The data set obtained was explored by the multivariate statistical techniques of cluster, principal component and discriminant analysis. The analyzed elements were: Na, Lu, U, Yb, La, Th, Cr, Cs, Sc, Fe, Eu, Ce and Hf. The results showed the existence of at least two compositional groups for Lago Grande and Osvaldo. Each compositional group of Osvaldo archaeological site matches with one group of Lago Grande. Correlated with the archaeological background, the results suggest commercial or cultural exchange in the region, which is an indicative of socio-cultural interactions between those sites.Sao Paulo Research Foundation-FAPESP-Brazil [2010/07659-0

TL, OSL and C-14 dating results of the sediments and bricks from mummified nuns' grave

This paper presents the results of TL and OSL dating of soil and fragments of bricks from a grave, which was occupied by two mummified nuns, found at "Luz" Monastery, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The TL and OSL ages were compared to C-14 dating ones obtained from bone collagens of the mummies. The majority of the ages is related to the eighteenth century. The gamma-ray spectroscopy was used to evaluate natural radioisotope concentrations in the samples, and by using these concentrations the annual dose rates, from 3.0 to 5.3 Gy/kyr, were obtained. Neutron activation analysis was performed and the radioisotope contents results are in agreement with those obtained by gamma-ray spectroscopy. The contents of U, Th and Ce elements were higher than those found in usual sediments.<br>Este artigo apresenta os resultados de datação por TL e OSL de solos, e fragmentos de tijolos de um túmulo, que foi ocupado por duas freiras mumificadas encontradas no Mosteiro da "Luz", localizado no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. As idades encontradas por TL e OSL foram comparadas às obtidas a partir de C-14 dos colágenos contidos em amostras de osso das múmias. A maioria das idades obtidas são do século XVIII. A espectroscopia de radiação-gama foi utilizada para avaliar concentrações de radioisótopos naturais nas amostras e para calcular as taxas de dose anual que resultaram em 3,0 a 5,3 Gy/kano. As concentrações radioativas são próximas daquelas obtidas através de Análise por Ativação de Nêutrons. Os conteúdos de elementos U, Th e Ce são superiores aos encontrados na maioria dos sedimentos