Unique Artifacts Research Articles

Mobile Device Forensics Framework: A Toolbox to Support and Enhance This Process

Cybercrime is growing rapidly, and it is increasingly important to use advanced tools to combat it and support investigations. One of the battlefronts is the forensic investigation of mobile devices to analyze their misuse and recover information. Mobile devices present numerous challenges, including a rapidly changing environment, increasing diversity, and integration with the cloud/IoT. Therefore, it is essential to have a secure and reliable toolbox that allows an investigator to thwart, discover, and solve all problems related to mobile forensics while deciphering investigations, whether criminal, civil, corporate, or other. In this work, we propose an original and innovative instantiation of a structure in a forensic toolbox for mobile devices, corresponding to a set of different applications, methods, and best practice information aimed at improving and perfecting the investigative process of a digital investigator. To ensure scientific support for the construction of the toolbox, the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology was applied, which seeks to create new and unique artifacts, drawing on the strength and knowledge of science and context. The toolbox will help the forensic investigator overcome some of the challenges related to mobile devices, namely the lack of guidance, documentation, knowledge, and the ability to keep up with the fast-paced environment that characterizes the mobile industry and market. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-03-011 Full Text: PDF

Commemorative Albums of the Higher Communist Schools of the GDR in the 1950s (Based on Materials from the Personal Fund of Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences A. I. Lepeshkin)

Historic artifacts speak to the fact that various cultural forms existed in different historical periods. The recently discovered works presented in this article are unique artifacts of the cultural history of post-war Europe. Alexey Lepeshkin, who was a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union and a specialist in the field of Soviet public law, was presented with two commemorative albums of the higher communist schools of the GDR (1952). As of today, these albums are part of Lepeshkin’s personal fund, and are stored in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (f. No.2004). This article gives the first scientific account of these items. The complex study of commemorative albums is relevant due to the lack of research in the area of handwritten commemorative albums of that period. A comprehensive analysis of the historical and cultural context of the interaction among the socialist countries after the end of the Second World War as exemplified by the relations between Russia and Germany in the example of two commemorative albums of German communist institutions of higher education gives researchers an opportunity to bring these manuscripts into a wider cultural and political context. The genre of hand-made folklore albums has a number of distinctive features in both form and content. This article is devoted to a formal and meaningful description and analysis of these memorial artifacts, both in terms of the texts contained in them, and in terms of visual anthropological analysis of photographs, drawings, and calligraphic features. On the basis of this material, we can draw conclusions about the preservation of folklore pragmatics and forms of existence by such albums, regardless of the change in the social structure in Russian and German culture.

Bronze Art, Cultural Norms, and Group Identity: A Group of Late Western Zhou and Early Spring and Autumn He Vessels Analyzed in Their Temporal and Spatial Contexts

abstract: A new generation of scholars has called into question the homogeneous nature of Western Zhou culture and the sweeping imposition of this culture over a large region that covers much of present-day China. Our study contributes to this debate by focusing on a coherent group of bronze vessels dated to the end of the Western Zhou and beginning of the Spring and Autumn periods. He (盉) vessels with drum-shaped bodies, bird-like lids, and human-like legs are among the most unique and artistically innovative artifacts of this period. While these unique artifacts have been found in and near the center of the Western Zhou polity, they are not associated with the rituals of the royal house, but rather with those of other aristocratic lineages. We argue that the artistic style of the vessels was part of the culture developed around the royal Zhou house and in areas close to it, although it is not strictly representative of the royal culture of the Western Zhou, being instead associated with minor lineages. A multi-dimensional analysis of this group of vessels, addressing their geographical distribution, location within their archaeological context, and social associations, combined with an analysis of their decorative scheme and the inscriptions cast inside them, enables us to better understand the sociocultural landscape of this period. Our study suggests that diversity existed not only in remote border areas or among the lower strata of society, but also within the cultural core of the Western Zhou polity and among the highest echelons of the aristocracy. Such processes of diversification are associated with the development of local and regional identities and with the growth of the political independence of aristocratic lineages during the final years of the transition from the Western Zhou to the Spring and Autumn periods.

Bronze Art, Cultural Norms, and Group Identity: A Group of Late Western Zhou and Early Spring and Autumn He Vessels Analyzed in Their Temporal and Spatial Contexts

A new generation of scholars has called into question the homogeneous nature of Western Zhou culture and the sweeping imposition of this culture over a large region that covers much of present-day China. Our study contributes to this debate by focusing on a coherent group of bronze vessels dated to the end of the Western Zhou and beginning of the Spring and Autumn periods. He (盉) vessels with drum-shaped bodies, bird-like lids, and human-like legs are among the most unique and artistically innovative artifacts of this period. While these unique artifacts have been found in and near the center of the Western Zhou polity, they are not associated with the rituals of the royal house, but rather with those of other aristocratic lineages. We argue that the artistic style of the vessels was part of the culture developed around the royal Zhou house and in areas close to it, although it is not strictly representative of the royal culture of the Western Zhou, being instead associated with minor lineages. A multi-dimensional analysis of this group of vessels, addressing their geographical distribution, location within their archaeological context, and social associations, combined with an analysis of their decorative scheme and the inscriptions cast inside them, enables us to better understand the socio-cultural landscape of this period. Our study suggests that diversity existed not only in remote border areas or among the lower strata of society, but also within the cultural core of the Western Zhou polity and among the highest echelons of the aristocracy. Such processes of diversification are associated with the development of local and regional identities and with the growth of the political independence of aristocratic lineages during the final years of the transition from the Western Zhou to the Spring and Autumn periods. KEYWORDS: homogeneous culture, ritual and identity, bronze art, he vessels, winged animal and human figurines, Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods

Full 3-D modulation transfer function estimation of tomosynthesis system using modified Richardson-Lucy deconvolution.

Tomosynthesis systems are three-dimensional (3-D) medical imaging devices that operate over limited acquisition angles using low radiation dosages. To measure the spatial resolution performance of a tomosynthesis system, the modulation transfer function (MTF) is widely used as a quantitative evaluationmetric. We previously introduced a method to estimate the full 3-D MTF of a cone-beam computed tomography system using two-dimensional (2-D) Richardson-Lucy (RL) deconvolution with Tikhonov-Miller regularization. However, this method can not be applied directly to estimate the 3-D MTF of a tomosynthesis system, since the unique artifacts (i.e., shadow artifacts, spreading tails, directional blurring, and high-level noise) of the system produce several errors that lower the estimation performance. Varying positions of the negative pixels due to shadow artifacts and spreading tails cause inconsistent deconvolution performances at each of the directional projections, and the severe noise in the reconstructed images cause noise amplification during estimation. This work proposes several modifications to the previous method to resolve the inconsistent performance and noise amplification errors to increase the full 3-D MTF estimationaccuracy. Three modifications were introduced to the 2-D RL deconvolution to prevent estimation errors and improve MTF estimation performance: non-negativity relaxation function, cost function to terminate the iterative process of RL deconvolution, and regularization strength for noise control. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed modifications, we reconstructed sphere phantoms from simulation and experimental tomosynthesis studies in the iso-center and offset-center positions as well as estimated the full 3-D MTFs using the previous and proposed methods. We compared the 3-D render images, central plane images, and center profiles of the estimated 3-D MTFs and calculated the full widths at half and tenth maximum for quantitativeevaluation. The previous method cannot estimate the full 3-D MTF of a tomosynthesis system; its inaccurate negative pixel relaxation produces circular-shaped errors, and the mean squared error based simple cost function for termination causes inconsistent estimation at each directional projection to diminish the clear edges of the low-frequency drop and missing sample regions. Noise amplification from lack of noise regularization is also seen in the previous method results. Compared to the previous method, the proposed method shows superior estimation performance at reducing errors in both the simulation and experimental studies regardless of object position. The proposed method preserves the low-frequency drop, missing sample regions from the limited acquisition angles, and missing cone region from the offset-center position; the estimated MTFs also show FWHM and FWTM values close to those of the ideal MTFs than with the previousmethod. This work presents a method to estimate the full 3-D MTF of a tomosynthesis system. The proposed modifications prevent circular-shaped errors and noise amplification due to the geometry for limited acquisition angles and high noise levels. Compared to our previous method, the proposed scheme show better performance for estimating the 3-D MTF of the tomosynthesissystem.

THE INFLUENCE OF CHINA AND JAPAN ON EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE AND ART AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Europe turned to Eastern cultures at the stage of oversaturation with its own traditions or at the stage of finding ways out of the crisis in the cultural and artistic life of society. Obviously, the fascination with Chinese cultural traditions - first at the mundane level, and later at the level of art and architecture - during the Baroque and Rococo period testified to the oversaturation that gradually grew in the Baroque and Rococo styles, and therefore the appeal to China became a hidden attempt to find something fundamentally new, non-standard. It is quite clear that without a deep understanding of the foundations of ancient Chinese culture, such citation of Chinese motifs in art and in the architecture of country palaces and park pavilions turned them into simplified theatrical scenery.
 In the same way, the same fascination with Japanese culture in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries took place against the background of increasing crisis phenomena in society, when the processes of secularization intensified against the background of the industrial revolutions and the rise to the forefront of the bourgeois class, and that is why Japanese culture with its philosophy of Taoism and Buddhism, which penetrated into all spheres of social life, into art and architecture, was perceived as a desirable way out of stagnation. At the same time, once again, external forms were copied, which were transformed on local soil without a deep understanding of the philosophical and religious background.
 It should be noted the impact on European culture of the opening in 1897 of the unique temple complex of Dunhuang. As a result of the unstable situation in China during the reign of the Qing Dynasty, many unique artifacts from the Dunhuang sanctuaries were bought for nothing by Europeans and ended up in museums in Europe. This caused another stage of interest in Chinese culture and architecture. The use of aesthetic properties of traditional Chinese and Japanese culture made it possible to enrich the figurative concept of European Art Nouveau. The painting techniques of Art Nouveau period originate from the characteristic painting techniques of China and Japan. However, there is a difference in the influence of Eastern cultures on the art and architecture of Art Nouveau period: if in art such analogies can be traced quite clearly, in architecture at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, this influence was a much more complex phenomenon than the "Chinoiserie" style of the 18th century: Art Nouveau architects did not literally reproduce Chinese and Japanese buildings, but instead creatively rethought the principles of their formation, layout, function and decoration.

The symbolism of the mask in the theatrical art of the West and East

The article examines the ancient and unique culture of the mask, analyzes the features of its perception, understanding and interpretation in different theatrical traditions of the West and East (ancient Greek tragedy, comedy dell'arte, Chinese no-si theater, Peking opera, etc.). Particular attention is paid to how the mask is interpreted and used, based on tradition, to create and enhance stage effects and deepen meaningful symbolism in modern performances. The relevance of this work lies in the typology and classification of common and distinctive characteristics of similar, but at the same time unique artifacts of various theatrical cultures of the East and West on the example of the use of masks in productions in the past and present. Addressing this topic can help to establish intercultural ties, facilitate intercultural communication and reduce the degree of civilizational contradictions in a multipolar world. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the results of processing the original selection of case studies, scientific publications and literary sources. The purpose of the study is to search for the features of the perception and understanding of masks in various theatrical systems. To achieve this attitude, the history of masks in different countries, their semantics are analyzed, in particular, the ancient Chinese thermal culture and the ancient Greek theater, as well as the Italian comedy dell'arte are compared. In conclusion, we note that in different theatrical systems, the mask has unique symbols and uses. Thus, it reveals the complex and contradictory human nature, reveals the unknown and people's fear of reality, embodies and expresses emotions, provides the rhythm and sharpness of the development of the drama, deepens the meaning of ongoing events.

When neuro-robots go wrong: A review.

Neuro-robots are a class of autonomous machines that, in their architecture, mimic aspects of the human brain and cognition. As such, they represent unique artifacts created by humans based on human understanding of healthy human brains. European Union's Convention on Roboethics 2025 states that the design of all robots (including neuro-robots) must include provisions for the complete traceability of the robots' actions, analogous to an aircraft's flight data recorder. At the same time, one can anticipate rising instances of neuro-robotic failure, as they operate on imperfect data in real environments, and the underlying AI behind such neuro-robots has yet to achieve explainability. This paper reviews the trajectory of the technology used in neuro-robots and accompanying failures. The failures demand an explanation. While drawing on existing explainable AI research, we argue explainability in AI limits the same in neuro-robots. In order to make robots more explainable, we suggest potential pathways for future research.

Commemorative Albums of Communist Schools of the GDR in the 1950s (Based on Materials from the Personal Fund of Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences A. I. Lepeshkin)

Historic artifacts speak to the fact that in various historic periods there existed various cultural forms. Recently discovered artifacts presented in this article are unique artifacts of post-war Europe. Alexey Ilyich Lepeshkin who was a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Science and a specialist in the field of soviet public law was presented with two commemorative albums of the Higher Communist Schools of the GDR (1952). As of today, these albums are part of A. I. Lepeshkin’s personal fund, and are stored in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Science (f.No.2004). This article gives the first scientific account of these items. The complex study of commemorative albums is topical due to the lack of research in the very area of handwritten commemorative albums of that period. A comprehensive analysis of the historical and cultural context of the interaction among the socialist countries after the end of the Second World War exemplified by the relations between Russia and Germany in the example of two commemorative albums of German communist institutions of higher education gives researchers an opportunity to bring these manuscripts into a wider cultural and political context. The genre of hand-made folklore albums has a number of distinctive features in both their form and content. The article is devoted to a formal and meaningful description and analysis of these memorial artifacts both in terms of the texts contained in them, and in terms of visual anthropological analysis of photographs, drawings, and calligraphy features. Based on the presented material, we can draw conclusions about the preservation of folklore pragmatics and forms of existence by such albums, regardless of the change in the social structure in Russian and German culture.

Знатный кангюец на охоте

The publication is devoted to the discovery, historical, cultural and artistic interpretation of unique artifacts of the art of carving on the horn dated by the time of the state of Kangju I in the 1st century BC — 2nd century AD. from South Kazakhstan. For the first time in the archeology of Kazakhstan, in the catacomb burial of the Kylyshzhar burial ground, two median horn overlays were found on the handle of the “M”-shaped reflexive bow with subjects of social and semantic-ritual content, made by highly artistic carving (engraving) on the horn. One of them reflects the hunting scene of a noble Kangju man. It depicts a rider-nomad of oriental appearance in the pose of a low-seated jockey on a horse-mare, who shoots from a bow, hunting argali driven by a long pursuit. The shooter has the regalia of power, is armed with a bow and its auxiliary attributes (reserve bow, solidly lit quiver with a set of combat arrows). Another plot shows a group of argali hunted by a ‘bear-lion’, a mythical polymorphic creature: the animals tend to elude this ‘beast’, which grabbed one individual in a throw and is readyto devour it. Both compositions are united by hunting into a single sacred action, in which a person (a horse rider with high authority in the society of nomads with a status close to a deity) and a mythical ‘bear-lion’ (also a deity) participate — as characters endowed with special social and religious functions — in the hunt for argali, the animals that embody the global deity farn (hvarnah) among the Iranian-speaking peoples of Central Asia and South Kazakhstan. The archaeological finds that accompany the these plates, as well as the chrono-indicators presented by similar historical and cultural content of the plots, the technique of making artifacts from horn, bone, allow us to determine the chronology of products within the 1st century BC — 2nd century AD.

Historical newsreel “Liberation of Soviet Belarus”: from a political order to a folk screen saga

The article presents the results of a study of one of the most significant works of the Belarusian non-fiction cinema – the historical full-length documentary film “The Liberation of Soviet Belarus”, created by Vladimir Korsh-Sablin and Mikola Sadkovich. Previously unknown archival documents of 1943–1945 are introduced into scientific circulation, the content of unique artifacts is analyzed – the script application and the manuscript of the announcer’s text of this iconic film. New information about the evolution of the screenplay and drama concept of the film “Liberation of Soviet Belarus” is given. In the process of reconstruction of the most important stages of work on the film, the date of its actual completion and release in wide distribution has been specified. The organizational and production priorities of documentary cinematography of the final stage of the Great Patriotic War were subjected to in-depth study.

Seismic-risk Mitigation for Brittle Museum Exhibits

A strong ML5.5 earthquake, that struck Zagreb in March 2020 caused significant damage to many buildings in the city centre and several museums had to be temporarily closed or relocated. However, what is sometimes being overlooked, are the many valuable museum collections that were severely damaged or irreparably destroyed due to the excessive seismic vibrations. Mainly due to a lack of financial resources and inadequate spatial conditions and capacities, even the most valuable and unique artifacts in Croatian museums are often insufficiently seismically protected. The paper addresses seismic risk mitigation for sculptures and other brittle artworks that are particularly sensitive to strong seismic accelerations. In contrast to the traditional rigid securing of protected objects, a novel technique, namely base isolation, benefits from their partially unrestrained sliding movement, which accommodates the ground vibrations. Although it has proven effective for many valuable sculptures around the world, it is however, extremely costly and mostly out of reach of the limited financial resources of the Croatian cultural sector. The experiences of the Zagreb museums and the implemented protection mechanisms before and after the March 2020 earthquake are being examined, with the aim of discussing feasible solutions that suit local means and circumstances.

Electric Fence Artifact on Ambulatory EEG and Review of Common EEG Electrical Artifacts

ABSTRACT Ambulatory electroencephalogram (AEEG) can be a cost-effective and valuable alternative to in-patient long-term EEG monitoring. A potential benefit of AEEG is that it allows monitoring in the patient’s unique home environment. While this can be more affordable and convenient for the patient, it can also present unique challenges for the reviewer. Unlike long-term monitoring in an epilepsy unit, the AEEG recording occurs in a less controlled environment and most often without immediate EEG technical assistance during the recording. As a result, unique EEG artifacts can occur with AEEG. Their recognition and correct interpretation are crucial for proper EEG analysis. This report presents a case of a patient who underwent a 72-hour AEEG to evaluate symptoms initially concerning for subclinical seizures. During the AEEG recording, the patient had a tactile encounter with an electric fence. This tactile event resulted in a unique, not previously reported, pattern clouding an otherwise normal study. By conducting a brief review of the most common non-physiologic environmental artifacts encountered in modern EEG monitoring, we aim to emphasize the importance of patient education to prevent artifactual pollution. This knowledge can facilitate planning and help avoid environmental influences that may create artifacts when recording in an uncontrolled setting.

Multianalytical Characterization of Unique Copper Model Tools from Dark Age of Ancient Egyptian History

The article focused on the multi analytical characterization of unique copper model tools date back to the dynasty Xth, 1st intermediate period (c.2134-2050). The studied set consists of twenty-five objects that were excavated in the tomb of KHENNU AND APA-EM-SA-F (289) in the south of Memphis, Saqqara. Different microscopes were used to examine the morphology and stratigraphy of the corrosion product layers. Stereomicroscope was used to examine the corrosion phases on the surface objects. Metallographic microscopy was used to investigate the microstructure of the metal core as well as the morphology and stratigraphy of the corrosion product layers. Scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray analysis was used to identify the elemental composition of the objects. X-ray diffraction was used to analyze the corrosion phases formed on surface’s artifacts, while raman spectroscopy was carried out to identify the internal corrosion layers. The results revealed that that burial environment and long–term storage in an uncontrolled environment together caused a progressive stage of corrosion of the studied artifacts. The formed corrosion layers consists of the external layer, an under surface layer and internal corrosion products in the center of the cross-sectios. The surface and internal corrosion products were identified as Cuprite, Paratacamite, Nantokite, Atacamite, Malachite and Chalconatronite. Also, the results revealed that the metallic core consists of copper metal without any further alloying elements. Finally, the study presented suitable treatment and conservation strategies of these unique artifacts or such cases, and shows a safe fixing procedure using a sewing technique via transparent inert threads to display the set objects.

SDN-Based Detection of Self-Propagating Ransomware: The Case of BadRabbit

In the last decade, many ransomware attacks had the ability to spread within local networks or even outside them. At the same time, software defined networking (SDN) has provided a major boost to networks by transferring intelligence from network devices to a programmable logically centralised controller. The latter can be programmed to be compatible with the requirements of a wide range of networks and environments in a straightforward manner. This has motivated researchers to design SDN-based security solutions against threats targeting traditional networks and systems. This article investigates the use of SDN to detect and mitigate the risk of self-propagating ransomware. The infamous BadRabbit ransomware has been used for the proof of concept. To achieve this, an extensive analysis of BadRabbit was performed to identify its characteristics and understand its behaviour at both the infected device level and at the network level. As a result, several unique artifacts were extracted from BadRabbit, which could facilitate its detection. These artifacts were relied upon to design an SDN-based intrusion detection and prevention system. Our system comprises five modules, namely deep packet inspection, ARP scanning detection, packet header inspection, honeypot, and SMB checker. The first two modules have been inspired by other works and have been included for comparison with the existing solutions. Three other modules rely on novel SDN-based methods for ransomware detection. We have also evaluated the efficiency and the performance of our system in terms of detection time, CPU utilisation, as well as TCP and ping latency. Finally, the proposed approach has also been tested for other ransomware families, such as WannaCry and NotPetya. Our experimental results show that the system is effective in terms of detecting self-propagating ransomware and outperforms other proposed approaches.

Artificial intelligence in image reconstruction: The change is here.

Innovations in CT have been impressive among imaging and medical technologies in both the hardware and software domain. The range and speed of CT scanning improved from the introduction of multidetector-row CT scanners with wide-array detectors and faster gantry rotation speeds. To tackle concerns over rising radiation doses from its increasing use and to improve image quality, CT reconstruction techniques evolved from filtered back projection to commercial release of iterative reconstruction techniques, and recently, of deep learning (DL)-based image reconstruction. These newer reconstruction techniques enable improved or retained image quality versus filtered back projection at lower radiation doses. DL can aid in image reconstruction with training data without total reliance on the physical model of the imaging process, unique artifacts of PCD-CT due to charge sharing, K-escape, fluorescence x-ray emission, and pulse pileups can be handled in the data-driven fashion. With sufficiently reconstructed images, a well-designed network can be trained to upgrade image quality over a practical/clinical threshold or define new/killer applications. Besides, the much smaller detector pixel for PCD-CT can lead to huge computational costs with traditional model-based iterative reconstruction methods whereas deep networks can be much faster with training and validation. In this review, we present techniques, applications, uses, and limitations of deep learning-based image reconstruction methods in CT.

Design and Construction of a Multipurpose Device for Doming and Punching

Metal work comes along with a lot of techniques which doming is not an exception. Doming techniques use doming block and punches to create metal domes for production of unique artifacts. These doming blocks and punches come in a shape of half round. The challenge has always been getting different shapes of domes and their corresponding punches to give a variety and creativity in design of metal works and the energy one needs to give, a lot of hammer blows to be able to achieve the domed metal. This project or research seeks to design and construct a multipurpose portable device or machine for doming and punching. The portable device is going to be operated manually (mechanically), which means without electricity which is bedeviled by power fluctuations in most African countries, the device could still be operated with the needed efficiency and technique. The tip of the device is adjustable so it can be changed to get the desired shape the operator wants. There is a disc-like plate that corresponds to the tips or the punches. The device is designed to have a small cabinet of which the punches can be kept. It is designed to have a handle hanged by it side of which pressure or force is applied to create the impression or the punches desired. The material used for this device is iron the metal working technique used is welding. This study made use of quantitative research design by using descriptive and studio-based research. Findings revealed that it is possible to get domes of different shapes and sizes with their corresponding punches which can easily be used to achieve various domed designs to foster creativity in design and fabrication of metal art works. This device is designed and constructed to help metal students of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science have variety of shapes as regards doming and punching as a technique of metal work. The study recommends that metal art students and practitioners alike should make use of this device to augment the technique of metal art. Again, it is recommended that apart from the device being operated mechanically, power options such as gas could be tried so that human effort could be minimized.

Blood writing as extraordinary artifact and agent for socioreligious change

This paper explores blood written texts, particularly Buddhist scriptures, as unique artifacts of sanctity. It also examines the extraordinary uses of blood in premodern times and how people have negotiated socioreligious relationships in their production of blood writings, which were seen as a product of meticulous, controlled ritual practice, an act of asceticism par excellence. We typically think of written text as a means to an end, an expression of ideas and knowledge that privilege the written word as the carrier of message, something to be read and understood. However, Buddhist “blood writing” challenges these received notions of how meaning is communicated; blood writings are far more than carriers of a message. When we view these documents, when we experience their material presence and, at the same time, understand their extraordinary mode of production, we have a unique opportunity to appreciate the socioreligious significance of such texts in the premodern world of East Asia.

Unity and diversity turko-mongol world: Kultobe settlement as a crossroads of religions and cultures

The culture and art of the Turkic-Mongolian world is one of the deepest subjects of the humanities, which again and again take the attention of researchers. The historical vicissitudes, which was formed over many centuries, contributed to spread Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam in the Great Steppe. We can see it in unique art artifacts and architectural structures. This article is devoted to unity and diversity study of the Turkic-Mongolian world, based on the example of the Kultobe settlement, which is presented by the authors as the oldest peculiar crossroads of religions and cultures. The Kultobe settlement, during scientific years and archaeological research by the Kazakh Research Institute of Culture, truly unique material evidence (architectural objects and artifacts) was discovered, which allows us to speak of this unique monument of archeology as one of the “crossroads” of religions and cultures in the Turkic-Mongolian world. The Kultobe settlement and later Yasi, a spiritual and religious place, developed -Turkic Sufism. The famous Sufi and poet K.A.Yasawi lived and preached here. The work was prepared under the state assignment of the Altai State University, project №748715Ф.99.1.ББ97АА00002 “The Turkic-Mongolian world of the “Greater Altai”: unity and diversity in history and modernity.”

Characterization of Insect Stains Deposited by Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on Shirt Fabrics.

Despite the fact that necrophagous flies are known to alter bloodstains and create unique artifacts, no research has occurred to date that has examined the characteristics of insect stains on textiles or fabrics. This study represents the first effort to characterize artifacts produced by adult Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy deposited on a range of shirt fabrics that varied in type, color, orientation, and yarn tension. In general, artifact morphology on any type of fabric was distorted in comparison to those observed on smooth and/or nonporous surfaces in previous studies. Consequently, distinction of artifact type could only be made broadly as digestive artifacts and transfer patterns, in which the latter was predominantly detected as tarsal tracks. None of the artifacts displayed satellite stains typical of human bloodstains found on textiles. Wicking was evident on all fabrics but was most pronounced with dri wick and jersey knit polyester in comparison to cotton knit. Digestive artifacts on any colored fabric, but especially with green and yellow shirt samples, resembled the reported color, size, and morphology of bloodstains generated in laboratory studies on a range of fabrics. Unique digestive artifacts were also detected as small, black, and nearly spherical. These defecatory stains did not appear to wet or wick into any of the fabrics. Digestive artifacts and tarsal tracks differentially interacted with front face stitch loops of clothing fabrics to yield distinct stain patterns. The implications of these observations in reference to bloodstain pattern analysis at crime scenes are discussed.