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Late Neanderthal subsistence strategies and
cultural traditions in the northern Iberia
Peninsula: Insights from Prado Vargas, Burgos,
Spain, di
M. Navazo Ruiz et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 254, 15 February 2021,
106795 In
order to better understand the causes and
geographic patterns of Neanderthal demise it is
necessary to broaden the focus of existing
Neanderthal studies to include new sites from
understudied regions, particularly those
containing multi-level fossil and lithic records,
and to improve regional-scale Neanderthal
extinction frameworks using multiple dating
techniques. To this end, we present an
interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy,
chronology, pollen, fauna, lithic technology and
human remains of the last Neanderthal level (Level
N4) of Prado Vargas – a cave in northern Iberia,
whose geographic location and chronology are
ideal for investigating possible socio-economic
and climatic influences on Neanderthal decline.
Level N4 has yielded a rich Late Mousterian
palimpsest indicative of repeated seasonal
occupations, as well as a deciduous Neanderthal
tooth, confirming the presence of children at
the site. (...) |
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Nehandertals' gut
microbiota and the bacteria helping our health,
5-FEB-2021
Neanderthals' gut
microbiota already included some beneficial
micro-organisms that are also found in our own
intestine. An international research group led
by the University of Bologna achieved this
result by extracting and analysing ancient DNA
from 50,000-year-old faecal sediments sampled at
the archaeological site of El Salt, near
Alicante (Spain). Published in Communication
Biology, their paper puts forward the hypothesis
of the existence of ancestral components of
human microbiota that have been living in the
human gastrointestinal tract since before the
separation between the Homo Sapiens and
Neanderthals that occurred more than 700,000
years ago. "These results allow us to understand
which components of the human gut microbiota are
essential for our health, as they are integral
elements of our biology also from an
evolutionary point of view" explains Marco
Candela, the professor of the Department of
Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the University of
Bologna, who coordinated the study. "Nowadays
there is a progressive reduction of our
microbiota diversity due to the context of our
modern life: this research group's findings
could guide us in devising diet- and
lifestyle-tailored solutions to counteract this
phenomenon". (...) |
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Short-term occupations at high elevation during
the Middle Paleolithic at Kalavan 2 (Republic of
Armenia),
di A. Malinsky-Buller et alii, 4 February
2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245700
- open access -
The Armenian
highlands encompasses rugged and environmentally
diverse landscapes and is characterized by a
mosaic of distinct ecological niches and large
temperature gradients. Strong seasonal
fluctuations in resource availability along
topographic gradients likely prompted
Pleistocene hominin groups to adapt by adjusting
their mobility strategies. However, the role
that elevated landscapes played in
hunter-gatherer settlement systems during the
Late Pleistocene (Middle Palaeolithic [MP])
remains poorly understood. At 1640 m above sea
level, the MP site of Kalavan 2 (Armenia) is
ideally positioned for testing hypotheses
involving elevation-dependent seasonal mobility
and subsistence strategies. Renewed excavations
at Kalavan 2 exposed three main occupation
horizons and ten additional low densities lithic
and faunal assemblages. The results provide a
new chronological, stratigraphical, and
paleoenvironmental framework for hominin
behaviors between ca. 60 to 45 ka. The evidence
presented suggests that the stratified
occupations at Kalavan 2 locale were repeated
ephemerally most likely related to hunting in a
high-elevation within the mountainous steppe
landscape. (...) |
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Les dents de Néandertal
découvertes il y a 110 ans à Jersey nous
étonnent encore!
03/02/2021
C’est entre 1910
et 1911, sur le site de La Cotte de St Brelade (île
de jersey) que l’anthropologue Robert Ranulph
Marett entame des fouilles. Son équipe met au
jour des restes de faune (mammouth et renne
principalement) ainsi que plus de 15 000 outils
en silex. La preuve d’un habitat récurrent est
apportée par la découverte de traces de foyers (silex
chauffés) et surtout de dents d’hominidés. Au
total, 13 dents sont attribuées par les
chercheurs à Néandertal. En 1916, Robert R.
Marett publie les résultats des fouilles (The
Site, Fauna, and Industry of La Cotte de St.
Brelade, Jersey 1916). Ponctuellement, en
fonction de l’évolution des techniques, les
artefacts de la grotte de la Cotte bénéficient
par la suite de nouvelle études. En 1994, les
silex chauffés sont datés par thermoluminescence
à 238 000 ans pour les plus anciens. En 2013,
les sédiments contenant les dents sont datés par
la méthode OSL (luminescence stimulée
optiquement) entre - 48 000 et -100 000 ans.
(...) |
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The expansion of the Acheulian to the
Southeastern Ethiopian Highlands: Insights from
the new early Pleistocene site-complex of Melka
Wakena, di
E. Hovers et alii, "Quaternary Science
Reviews", Volume 253, 1 February 2021, 106763
Current models of
early hominin biological and cultural evolution
are shaped almost entirely by the data
accumulated from the East African Rift System (EARS)
over the last decades. In contrast, little is
known about the archaeological record from the
high-elevation regions on either side of the
Rift. Melka Wakena is a newly discovered
site-complex on the Southeastern Ethiopian
Highlands (SEH) (>2300 m above mean sea level)
just east of the central sector of the Main
Ethiopian Rift (MER), where eight archaeological
and two paleontological localities were
discovered to date. Nine archaeological horizons
from three localities were tested so far, all
dated to the second half of the early
Pleistocene (~1.6
to >0.7 Ma). All the lithic assemblages belong
to the Acheulian technocomplex. (...) |
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Investigating
relationships between technological variability
and ecology in the Middle Gravettian (ca. 32–28
ky cal. BP) in France,
di A. Vignoles et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 253, 1 February 2021,
106766
The French Middle
Gravettian represents an interesting case study
for attempting to identify mechanisms behind the
typo-technological variability observed in the
archaeological record. Associated with the
relatively cold and dry environments of GS.5.2
and 5.1, this phase of the Gravettian is
characterized by two lithic typo-technical
entities (faciès in French): the Noaillian (defined
by the presence of Noailles burins) and the
Rayssian (identified by the Raysse method of
bladelet production).
The two faciès have partially overlapping
geographic distributions, with the Rayssian
having a more northern and restricted geographic
extension than the Noaillian. Their
chronological relationship, however, is still
unclear, and interpretations of their dual
presence at many sites within the region of
overlap are not yet consensual. (...) |
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Exploring late Paleolithic and Mesolithic diet
in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy through
multiple proxies,
di G. Oxilia et alii, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 174, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages
232-253 - open access -
The analysis of
prehistoric human dietary habits is key for
understanding the effects of paleoenvironmental
changes on the evolution of cultural and social
human behaviors. In this study, we compare
results from zooarchaeological, stable isotope
and dental calculus analyses as well as lower
second molar macrowear patterns to gain a
broader understanding of the diet of three
individuals who lived between the end of the
Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene (ca.,
17–8 ky cal BP) in the Eastern Alpine region of
Italy.
We analyze individuals buried at the sites of
Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Riparo Villabruna,
and Mondeval de Sora (Belluno). The three
burials provide a unique dataset for
diachronically exploring the influence of
climatic changes on human subsistence strategies.
(...) |
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Prevalence of cranial
trauma in Eurasian Upper Paleolithic humans,
di J. Beier, N. Anthes, J. Wahl, K. Harvati,
"American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 174, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages
268-284 - open access -
This study
characterizes patterns of cranial trauma
prevalence in a large sample of Upper
Paleolithic (UP) fossil specimens (40,000–10,000
BP).
Our sample comprised 234 individual crania (specimens),
representing 1,285 cranial bones (skeletal
elements), from 101 Eurasian UP sites. We used
generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to
assess trauma prevalence in relation to age‐at‐death,
sex, anatomical distribution, and between pre‐
and post‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) samples,
while accounting for skeletal preservation.
(...) |
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Comparative morphometric analyses of the
deciduous molars of Homo naledi from the
Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa,
di J. K. Brophy, J. Moggi-Cecchi, G. J. Matthews,
S. E. Bailey, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 174, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages
299-314
The purpose of
this study is to help elucidate the taxonomic
relationship between Homo naledi and other
hominins.
Homo naledi deciduous maxillary and mandibular
molars from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa
were compared to those of Australopithecus
africanus, Australopithecus afarensis,
Paranthropus robustus, Paranthropus boisei,
early Homo sp., Homo erectus, early Homo
sapiens, Upper Paleolithic H. sapiens, recent
southern African H. sapiens, and Neanderthals by
means of morphometric analyses of crown outlines
and relative cusp areas. The crown shapes were
analyzed using elliptical Fourier analyses
followed by principal component analyses (PCA).
The absolute and relative cusp areas were
obtained in ImageJ and compared using PCA and
cluster analyses. (...) |
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Assessing complexity in hominid dental evolution:
Fractal analysis of great ape and human molars,
di H. Cano-Fernández, A. Gómez-Robles, "American
Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 174,
Issue 2, February 2021, Pages 352-362
Molar crenulation
is defined as the accessory pattern of grooves
that appears on the occlusal surface of many
mammalian molars. Although frequently used in
the characterization of species, this trait is
often assessed qualitatively, which poses
unavoidable subjective biases. The objective of
this study is to quantitatively test the
variability in the expression of molar
crenulation in primates and its association with
molar size and diet.
The variability in the expression of molar
crenulation in hominids (human, chimpanzee,
gorilla, and orangutan) was assessed with
fractal analysis using photographs of first,
second and third upper and lower molars. After
this, representative values for 29 primate
species were used to evaluate the correlation
between molar complexity, molar size, and diet
using a phylogenetic generalized least squares
regression. (...) |
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Archaeological and experimental studies of
splintered pieces in the Central Asian Upper
Paleolithic,
di K. A. Kolobova et alii, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", Volume 13, Issue
2, February 2021
In Paleolithic
archaeology, there are two dichotomous
perspectives on so-called splintered pieces, or
pieces esquillées, in which, depending upon
archaeological context and the availability and
quality of lithic of raw material, such pieces
are considered bipolar cores or tools for
processing organic materials. Here, we discuss
for the first time functionality, reduction
models, and modes of using Upper Paleolithic
pièces esquillées from two Central Asian regions:
the Tian Shan Mountains of eastern Uzbekistan
and the Yenisey Valley of Siberian Russia. By
applying attributive, experimental, scar-pattern,
and use-wear analyses, we determined that these
artifacts derived from two widely separated
regions are tools for processing hard organic
materials, which were rotated often during use.
Reconstructed reduction sequences indicate that
the morphological appearance of the implements
was affected by the working processes associated
with contact between the hammer and the organic
material being processed. (...) |
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First large-scale provenance study of pigments
reveals new complex behavioural patterns during
the Upper Palaeolithic of south-western Germany,
di E. C. Velliky, B. L. MacDonald, M. Porr, N.
J. Conard, "Archaeometry", Volume 63, Issue 1,
February 2021, Pages 173-193
- open access -
The use of red
iron-based earth pigments, or ochre, is a key
component of early symbolic behaviours for
anatomically modern humans and possibly
Neanderthals. We present the first ochre
provenance study in Central Europe showing
long-term selection strategies by inhabitants of
cave sites in south-western Germany during the
Upper Palaeolithic (43–14.5 ka). Ochre artefacts
from Hohle Fels, Geißenklösterle and Vogelherd,
and local and extra-local sources, were
investigated using neutron activation analysis (NAA),
X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM). The results show that local
ochre sources were continuously and
systematically accessed for c.29 500 years, with
periodic events of long‐distance (about >
300 km) ochre acquisition during the Aurignacian
(c.35–43 ka), suggesting higher mobility than
previously suspected. The results reveal
previously unknown long-term, complex
spatio-temporal behavioural patterns during the
earliest presence of Homo sapiens in Europe.
(...) |
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The 40,000-Year-Old Female Figurine of Hohle
Fels: Previous Assumptions and New Perspectives,
di M. K. Stannard, M. C. Langley, "Cambridge
Archaeological Journal", Volume 31, Issue 1,
February 2021, pp. 21-33
- open access -
As the earliest
image of a human being and the oldest piece of
figurative art, the female figurine of Hohle
Fels remains a significant discovery for
understanding the development of symbolic
behaviour in Homo sapiens. Discovered in
southwestern Germany in 2008, this mammoth-ivory
sculpture was found in several fragments and has
always been assumed to be complete, never owning
a head. In place of a head, there is instead a
small loop that would allow her to be threaded,
possibly to be worn as a pendant. Several
hypotheses have been put forward as to her
original use context, ranging from representing
a fertility goddess to a pornographic figure.
Yet none of these theses have ever suggested
that she once had a head. Here we explore
whether the female figurine of Hohle Fels was
designed as a two-part piece, with the head made
of perishable material culture, possibly woven
plant or animal fibres; or that the artefact is
a broken and reworked figurine with the head
simply never found. By exploring the possibility
that this figurine did originally have a second
part—a head—we investigate issues surrounding
the role of women and children in the Swabian
Aurignacian. (...) |
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Characterization and sources of Paleolithic–Mesolithic
ochre from Coves de Santa Maira (Valencian
Region, Spain),
di J. E, Aura Tortosa, G. Gallello, C. Roldán,
G. Cavallo, A. Pastor, S. Murcia-Mascarós, "Geoarchaeology",
Volume 36, Issue 1, January/February 2021, Pages
72-91 The
origin of iron-oxide materials found at
Paleolithic and Neolithic sites in the Spanish
Mediterranean region is a pivotal issue that has
not yet been explored. The aim of this study is
to investigate the exploitation of local ochre
sources during the different archaeological
phases identified at the site of Coves de Santa
Maira (Valencian Region, Eastern Spain). A
sampling strategy and a methodological approach
were developed. Lumps of ochre and raw materials
were sampled from the archaeological site and
its surroundings. The archaeological materials
studied are from the occupational phases dated
to between 15 and 6 ka cal BP, whereas the raw
materials sampled from the surroundings of the
cave are red fine-grained and earthy-grained
sedimentary materials and Late Triassic (Keuper)
clays. (...) |
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Archaeological Survey in Guadalajara: Human
Occupation in Central Spain during the Late
Pleistocene,
di A. Burke et alii, "Journal of Field
Archaeology", Volume 46, 2021 - Issue 1
The central Meseta
is a high plateau located in the heart of the
Iberian Peninsula. Abundant evidence of Lower
and Middle Palaeolithic occupations of the
region contrasts with scarce evidence of a human
presence during the early Upper Palaeolithic. On
this basis, it has been suggested that climatic
downturns triggered the temporary abandonment,
or near abandonment, of the central Meseta
during the Last Glacial period. We conducted
three archaeological surveys in Guadalajara
province, located in the southern part of the
region, in 2009, 2010, and 2017. (...) |
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Biomechanics of the human thumb and the
evolution of dexterity,
di F. A. Karakostis, D. Haeufle, I.
Anastopoulou, G. Hotz, V. Tourloukis, K. Harvati,
28 January 2021, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.04
- open access -
Systematic tool
production and use is one of humanity’s defining
characteristics, possibly originating as early
as >3 million years ago. Although heightened
manual dexterity is considered to be
intrinsically intertwined with tool use and
manufacture, and critical for human evolution,
its role in the emergence of early culture
remains unclear. Most previous research on this
question exclusively relied on direct
morphological comparisons between early hominin
and modern human skeletal elements, assuming
that the degree of a species’ dexterity depends
on its similarity with the modern human form.
Here, we develop a new approach to investigate
the efficiency of thumb opposition, a
fundamental component of manual dexterity, in
several species of fossil hominins. Our work for
the first time takes into account soft tissue as
well as bone anatomy, integrating virtual
modeling of musculus opponens pollicis and its
interaction with three-dimensional bone shape
form. (...) |
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An
integrated study discloses chopping tools use
from Late Acheulean Revadim (Israel),
di F. Venditti, A. Agam, J. Tirillò, S.
Nunziante-Cesaro, R. Barkai, 19 January 2021,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245595
- open access -
Chopping tools/choppers
provide one of the earliest and most persistent
examples of stone tools produced and used by
early humans. These artifacts appeared for the
first time ~2.5 million years ago in Africa and
are characteristic of the Oldowan and Acheulean
cultural complexes throughout the Old World.
Chopping tools were manufactured and used by
early humans for more than two million years
regardless of differences in geography, climate,
resource availability, or major transformations
in human cultural and biological evolution.
Despite their widespread distribution through
time and space in Africa and Eurasia, little
attention has been paid to the function of these
items, while scholars still debate whether they
are tools or cores. In this paper, we wish to
draw attention to these prominent and ubiquitous
early lithic artifacts through the investigation
of 53 chopping tools retrieved from a specific
context at Late Acheulean Revadim (Israel). We
combined typo-technological and functional
studies with a residue analysis aimed at
shedding light on their functional role within
the tool-kits of the inhabitants of the site.
Here we show that most of the chopping tools
were used to chop hard and medium materials,
such as bone, most probably for marrow
extraction. (...) |
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Neanderthal foraging in freshwater ecosystems: A
reappraisal of the Middle Paleolithic
archaeological fish record from continental
Western Europe,
di E. Guillaud et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 252, 15 January 2021,
106731
The prevalence of large game found in
association with Middle Paleolithic tools has
traditionally biased our ideas of Neanderthal
subsistence practices. Studies document the
exploitation of small mammals, birds, and plants
by Neanderthals, whereas data on aquatic
resources are still scarce and data on fish are
almost non-existent. This article presents a
review of fish remains from 11 Middle
Palaeolithic fish bone assemblages from well
contextualized sites in Belgium, France and
Spain. It explores the nature of the evidence in
order to determine whether Neanderthal fished
and if so, whether fishing was a casual,
opportunistic activity or a systematic practice.
The first issue to address is whether
archaeological fish remains at any given site
represent human activity or not. Our study tests
that assertion while enhancing our understanding
of the diversity of food alternatives available
to Neanderthals at any given site, and their
ability to adapt to them. (...) |
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Continuity of the Middle Stone Age into the
Holocene,
di E. M. L. Scerri et alii, "Scientific
Reports", Volume 11, Article number: 70 (2021),
11 January 2021 - open
access -
The African Middle
Stone Age (MSA, typically considered to span ca.
300–30 thousand years ago [ka]), represents our
species’ first and longest lasting cultural
phase. Although the MSA to Later Stone Age (LSA)
transition is known to have had a degree of
spatial and temporal variability, recent studies
have implied that in some regions, the MSA
persisted well beyond 30 ka. Here we report two
new sites in Senegal that date the end of the
MSA to around 11 ka, the youngest yet documented
MSA in Africa. This shows that this cultural
phase persisted into the Holocene. These results
highlight significant spatial and temporal
cultural variability in the African Late
Pleistocene, consistent with genomic and
palaeoanthropological hypotheses that
significant, long-standing inter-group cultural
differences shaped the later stages of human
evolution in Africa. (...) |
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Earliest Olduvai hominins exploited unstable
environments ~ 2 million years ago,
di J. Mercader, P. Akuku, M. Petraglia, "Nature
Communications", Volume 12, Article number: 3
(2021), 07 January 2021
- open access -
Rapid
environmental change is a catalyst for human
evolution, driving dietary innovations, habitat
diversification, and dispersal. However, there
is a dearth of information to assess hominin
adaptions to changing physiography during key
evolutionary stages such as the early
Pleistocene. Here we report a multiproxy dataset
from Ewass Oldupa, in the Western
Plio-Pleistocene rift basin of Olduvai Gorge (now
Oldupai), Tanzania, to address this lacuna and
offer an ecological perspective on human
adaptability two million years ago. Oldupai’s
earliest hominins sequentially inhabited the
floodplains of sinuous channels, then
river-influenced contexts, which now comprises
the oldest palaeolake setting documented
regionally. Early Oldowan tools reveal a
homogenous technology to utilise diverse,
rapidly changing environments that ranged from
fern meadows to woodland mosaics, naturally
burned landscapes, to lakeside woodland/palm
groves as well as hyper-xeric steppes. Hominins
periodically used emerging landscapes and
disturbance biomes multiple times over 235,000
years, thus predating by more than 180,000 years
the earliest known hominins and Oldowan
industries from the Eastern side of the basin.
(...) |
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Prehistoric ivory items from Siberia,
7 January 2021
The skill of ivory
softening was used more than 12,000 years ago to
make tools - or decorations - that still puzzle
modern science. A dozen solid elongated ivory
bars crafted from softened ivory, and several
figurines made from spongy parts of large
mammoth bones, and resembling various animals
were found at the Afontova Gora-2 archeological
site by river Yenisey in Krasnoyarsk (Russia).
The finds were made in early 2000, but were
re-examined recently by Dr Evgeny Artemyev who
said that the figurines can be either Ice Age
toys made by people who populated this area of
the modern-day Siberia, or a form of primeval
art. "When you look at them at different angles,
they resemble different types of animals. It is
possible that this is the new form of
Palaeolithic art," the archeologist said.
(...) |
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Interconnected Magdalenian
societies as revealed by the circulation of
whale bone artefacts in the Pyreneo-Cantabrian
region,
di A. Lefebvre
et alii, "Quaternary Science Reviews",
Volume 251, 1 January 2021, 106692
Coastal
adaptations of Palaeolithic foragers along the
north Atlantic seaboard have received renewed
attention in the last decade and include growing
evidence for exploitation of whale bone by Late
Glacial Magdalenian groups to the north of the
Pyrenees. Here we present a systematic revision
of Magdalenian osseous industries from the
Cantabrian region designed to explore whether
this phenomenon was more widely shared by
hunter-gatherer groups along the Atlantic coast
of the northern Iberian Peninsula. Fifty-four
whale bone objects were identified from 12 of
the 64 sampled sites. Essentially represented by
large, finished weapon elements (projectile
points), these objects are primarily associated
with the middle phase of the Cantabrian
Magdalenian, and overlap slightly with the
beginning its upper and probably the end of its
lower phases. (...) |
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High-resolution late
Middle Pleistocene paleoclimatic record from the
Galería Complex, Atapuerca archaeological site,
Spain - An environmental magnetic approach,
di M. F. Bógalo et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 251, 1 January 2021,
106721
The Galería Complex is a cave sediment
succession at the Atapuerca paleoanthropological
site (Burgos, Spain) that offers detailed
environmental information about the late Middle
Pleistocene, especially the period between
marine oxygen isotope stages MIS10 and MIS7.
Previous studies have reconstructed the
chronology and detailed the environmental
development of this key succession. We introduce
rock magnetic climate proxies from the
sedimentary units of the Galería succession that
we correlate with the global climate record as
represented by the marine oxygen isotope record.
The cave sediment sequence consists of five
infilling phases, four of which were sampled at
high resolution across a 5 m thick composite
profile. (...) |
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Assessment of physiological disturbances during
pre- and early postnatal development based on
microscopic analysis of human deciduous teeth
from the Late Epipaleolithic site of Shubayqa 1
(Jordan),
di H. Kierdorf, C. Witzel, E. Bocaege, T.
Richter, U. Kierdorf, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 174, Issue 1, January 2021, Pages 20-34
To study pre- and
early postnatal tooth formation and to analyze
the effects of physiological disturbances on
enamel and dentin formation in deciduous teeth
of infants from the Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian)
site Shubayqa 1.
Ten deciduous teeth from six infants (ages at
death between 21 and 239 days) were analyzed by
light and scanning electron microscopy.
Marked prism cross-striations and an abnormal
wavy course of the prisms were recorded in pre.
and postnatal enamel of all analyzed teeth.
Single or multiple accentuated incremental lines
were observed in prenatal enamel of nine teeth
and in postnatal enamel of eight teeth. (...) |
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Virtually estimated endocranial volumes of the
Krapina Neandertals,
di Z. Cofran, M. Boone, M. Petticord, "American
Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 174,
Issue 1, January 2021, Pages 117-128
The Krapina rock
shelter has yielded a large assemblage of early
Neandertals. Although endocranial volume (ECV)
has been estimated for four individuals from the
site, several published values that appear in
the literature warrant revisiting.
We used virtual methods, including high‐resolution
surface models of fossils and 3D geometric
morphometrics, to reconstruct endocasts and
estimate ECV for five Krapina crania. We
generated 10 reconstructions of each endocast to
quantify missing data uncertainty. To assess the
method and our ECV estimates, we applied these
techniques to the Spy II Neandertal, and
estimated ECV of a human reference endocast
simulating the missing data of the Krapina
fossils. (...) |
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Explanations of variability in Middle Stone Age
stone tool assemblage composition and raw
material use in Eastern Africa,
di J. Blinkhorn, M. Grove, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", Volume 13, Issue 1,
January 2021 - open
access -
The Middle Stone
Age (MSA) corresponds to a critical phase in
human evolution, overlapping with the earliest
emergence of Homo sapiens as well as the
expansions of these populations across and
beyond Africa. Within the context of growing
recognition for a complex and structured
population history across the continent, Eastern
Africa remains a critical region to explore
patterns of behavioural variability due to the
large number of well-dated archaeological
assemblages compared to other regions.
Quantitative studies of the Eastern African MSA
record have indicated patterns of behavioural
variation across space, time and from different
environmental contexts. Here, we examine the
nature of these patterns through the use of
matrix correlation statistics, exploring whether
differences in assemblage composition and raw
material use correlate to differences between
one another, assemblage age, distance in space,
and the geographic and environmental
characteristics of the landscapes surrounding
MSA sites. (...) |
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From forest to settlement: Magdalenian
hunter-gatherer interactions with the wood
vegetation environment based on anthracology and
intra-site spatial distribution,
di B. Mas, E. Allué, E. S. Alonso, M. Vaquero,
"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences",
Volume 13, Issue 1, January 2021
- open access -
This study aims to
provide anthracological data on forest
transformations on the north-eastern Iberian
Peninsula during the transition from the last
glacial GS-2a to the last isotopic event of
interstadial GI-1. We present a complete
anthracological sequence from Molí del Salt (Vimbodí
i Poblet, Tarragona, NE Iberian Peninsula), a
site assigned to the Late Upper Palaeolithic.
Our results suggest a continuous forest cover
transformation throughout the inter-GI-1. Forest
opening was determined by the retreat of Pinus
sylvestris type, which was dominant during the
Late Pleistocene, in relation to the continuous
expansion of Juniperus sp. Likewise, our results
suggest a progressive increase in the diversity
of cold- and drought-resistant mesophilic taxa,
which would have begun with the more temperate
climatic conditions occasioned by the positive
isotopic oscillations of GI-1. (...) |
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Specialized aquatic resource exploitation at the
Late Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II, Israel,
di N. D. Munro, A. N. Petrillo, L. Grosman,
"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences",
Volume 13, Issue 1, January 2021
This paper
investigates aquatic resource exploitation at
the Late Natufian site (ca. 12,000 cal. BP) of
Nahal Ein Gev II located 2 km east of the Sea of
Galilee. Aquatic game, here fish and waterfowl,
were an important component of the diverse small
game resources that became important in the Late
Epipaleolithic in Southwest Asia. We
characterize local adaptations to the aquatic
habitat and their economic and social
implications at Nahal Ein Gev II. Taxonomic
abundance and diversity, body-part
representation, and fish body-size were
investigated to evaluate the contribution of
aquatic resources to human diets and butchery
and transport strategies. Our results show that
the residents of Nahal Ein Gev II were highly
selective of the aquatic resources they captured
and transported home. (...) |
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Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian chronology and
palaeoenvironments at Kůlna Cave, Moravia, Czech
Republic,
di H. Reade et alii, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", Volume 13, Issue 1,
January 2021 - open
access -
Kůlna Cave is the
only site in Moravia, Czech Republic, from which
large assemblages of both Magdalenian and
Epimagdalenian archaeological materials have
been excavated from relatively secure stratified
deposits. The site therefore offers the
unrivalled opportunity to explore the
relationship between these two archaeological
phases. In this study, we undertake radiocarbon,
stable isotope (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur),
and ZooMS analysis of the archaeological faunal
assemblage to explore the chronological and
environmental context of the Magdalenian and
Epimagdalenian deposits. Our results show that
the Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian deposits can
be understood as discrete units from one another,
dating to the Late Glacial between c. 15,630
cal. BP and 14,610 cal. BP, and c. 14,140 cal.
BP and 12,680 cal. BP, respectively. Stable
isotope results (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) indicate that
Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian activity at Kůlna
Cave occurred in very different environmental
settings. (...) |
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Evolutionary History of Endogenous Human
Herpesvirus 6 Reflects Human Migration out of
Africa, di
A. Aswad et alii, "Molecular Biology and
Evolution", Volume 38, Issue 1, January 2021,
Pages 96–107 - open
access -
Human herpesvirus
6A and 6B (HHV-6) can integrate into the
germline, and as a result,
~70
million people harbor the genome of one of these
viruses in every cell of their body. Until now,
it has been largely unknown if 1) these
integrations are ancient, 2) if they still occur,
and 3) whether circulating virus strains differ
from integrated ones. Here, we used
next-generation sequencing and mining of public
human genome data sets to generate the largest
and most diverse collection of circulating and
integrated HHV-6 genomes studied to date. In
genomes of geographically dispersed, only
distantly related people, we identified clades
of integrated viruses that originated from a
single ancestral event, confirming this with
fluorescent in situ hybridization to directly
observe the integration locus. (...) |
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Early anthropogenic use of hematite on
Aurignacian ivory personal ornaments from Hohle
Fels and Vogelherd caves, Germany,
di E. C. Velliky et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 150, January 2021,
102900
The Aurignacian (ca. 43–35 ka) of southwestern
Germany is well known for yielding some of the
oldest artifacts related to symbolic behaviors,
including examples of figurative art, musical
instruments, and personal ornaments. Another
aspect of these behaviors is the presence of
numerous pieces of iron oxide (ocher); however,
these are comparatively understudied, likely
owing to the lack of painted artifacts from this
region and time period. Several Aurignacian-aged
carved ivory personal ornaments from the sites
of Hohle Fels and Vogelherd contain traces of
what appear to be red ocher residues. We
analyzed these beads using a combination of
macroanalytical and microanalytical methods,
including scanning electron microscopy equipped
with energy dispersive spectroscopy and Raman
spectroscopy. (...) |
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A
Middle Pleistocene abrading tool from Tabun
Cave, Israel: A search for the roots of abrading
technology in human evolution,
di R. Shimelmitz, I. Groman-Yaroslavski, M.
Weinstein-Evron, D. Rosenberg, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 150, January 2021, 102909
During the
reanalysis of the finds from Jelinek's and
Ronen's excavations at Tabun Cave, Israel, we
encountered a cobble bearing traces of
mechanical alterations similar to those recorded
on grinding tools. However, the artifact derives
from the early layers of the Acheulo-Yabrudian
complex of the late Lower Paleolithic (ca. 350
ka), a time with no evidence for grinding or
abrasion. Accordingly, we sought to determine
whether the traces on the artifact can be
attributed to purposeful human action. We
conducted a detailed use-wear analysis of the
cobble and implemented an experimental program,
gaining positive results for the hypothesis of
purposeful human practice. (...) |
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Olduvai's oldest Oldowan,
di H.
Stollhofen et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 150, January 2021, 102910
Previously,
Olduvai Bed I excavations revealed Oldowan
assemblages <1.85 Ma, mainly in the eastern
gorge. New western gorge excavations locate a
much older ~2.0
Ma assemblage between the Coarse Feldspar
Crystal Tuff (~2.015
Ma) and Tuff IA (~1.98
Ma) of Lower Bed I, predating the oldest eastern
gorge DK assemblage below Tuff IB by
~150
kyr. We characterize this newly discovered
fossil and artifact assemblage, adding
information on landscape and hominin resource
use during the
~2.3–2.0
Ma period, scarce in Oldowan sites. Assemblage
lithics and bones, lithofacies boundaries, and
phytolith samples were surveyed and mapped.
Sedimentological facies analysis,
tephrostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic
principles were applied to reconstruct
paleoenvironments and sedimentary processes of
sandy claystone (lake), sandstone (fluvial), and
sandy diamictite (debris flow) as principal
lithofacies. Artifacts, sized, weighed,
categorized, were examined for petrography,
retouch, and flake scar size. (...) |
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Quantifying differences in hominin flaking
technologies with 3D shape analysis,
di W. Archer et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 150, January 2021, 102912
Genetic and
climate-driven estimates of past population
dynamics are increasingly influential in broader
models of hominin migration and adaptation, yet
the contribution of stone artifact variability
remains more contentious. Scientists are
increasingly recognizing the potential of
unretouched stone flakes (‘flakes’) in exploring
existing models of hominin behavioral evolution.
This is because flakes (1) were produced by all
stone tool manufacturing groups in the past, (2)
are abundant from the inception of the
archaeological record up into the ethnographic
present, and (3) preserve under most conditions.
The statistical tools of 3D geometric
morphometrics capture detailed approximations of
flake form that are challenging to document with
conventional artifact analyses. (...) |
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Quantifying accessibility to Palaeolithic rock
art: Methodological proposal for the study of
human transit in Atxurra Cave (Northern Spain),
di I. Intxaurbe et alii, "Journal of
Archaeological Science", Volume 125, January
2021, 105271
The systematic
evaluation of accessibility to different sectors
in caves with Palaeolithic rock art is crucial
to interpret the contexts of prehistoric human
activity that took place inside them, especially
if focused on the areas that are harder to reach.
3D models have been employed in a GIS to process
spatial information, calculate numerical cost
values and estimate optimal transit routes or
needed times to reach several sectors inside a
cave, based on morphological features and
movement types. These have been obtained through
empirical observations and experimental
archaeology. (...) |
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Geochronology of a long Pleistocene sequence at
Kilombe volcano, Kenya: from the Oldowan to
Middle Stone Age,
di S. Hoare et alii, "Journal of
Archaeological Science", Volume 125, January
2021, 105273
We report a newly
extended stratigraphic sequence with associated
Palaeolithic sites from the area of the extinct
Kilombe volcano in central Kenya. The extended
archaeological sequence runs from Oldowan finds,
through the Acheulean, and up to the Middle
Stone Age. The sedimentary sequences within the
Kilombe caldera and south flanks of the mountain
have been dated through 40Ar/39Ar measurements
and palaeomagnetic studies. A series of
40Ar/39Ar values date the geological sequence
from 2.493 ± 0.095 Ma, near the beginning of the
Lower Pleistocene, through to 0.118 ± 0.030 Ma
near the Middle to Upper Pleistocene transition.
It includes the first entirely new area of
Oldowan localities in East Africa south of
Ethiopia for thirty years, and the first in a
rugged mountainous setting. (...) |
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Index
di antiqui |
Sommario
bacheca |
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