
Aggiornamento 31 dicembre |
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Ancient human species made ‘last stand’ 100,000
years ago on Indonesian island,
di M. Price, "Science news", Dec. 18, 2019
When seafaring
modern humans ventured onto the island of Java
some 40,000 years ago, they found a
rainforest-covered land teeming with life—but
they weren’t the first humans to call the island
home. Their distant ancestor, Homo erectus, had
traveled to Java when it was connected to the
mainland via land bridges and lived there for
approximately 1.5 million years. These people
made their last stand on the island about
100,000 years ago, long after they had gone
extinct elsewhere in the world, according a new
study assigning reliable dates to previously
found H. erectus fossils. The finding suggests a
trace of H. erectus DNA could live on in modern
Southeast Asian populations, thanks to complex
intermingling among the diverse humans who have
lived in the region. The newly dated fossils
also bookend the existence of a remarkably
long-lived human species, says Patrick Roberts,
an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for
the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany,
who wasn’t involved with the study. “With this
date, the duration of Homo erectus occupation in
Southeast Asia is nearly three times as long as
our [own] species has been on the planet,” he
says. “There is no doubt it was successful.” H.
erectus arose in Africa about 1.9 million years
ago. These toolmakers with relatively large
brains migrated out of Africa and across Asia,
crossing into Java by land bridges about 1.6
million years ago, when savannalike open
woodland covered much of the land. Later, sea
levels rose, isolating these ancient Javans on
an island. Meanwhile, in Africa and mainland
Asia, H. erectus disappeared by about 500,000
years ago. (...) |
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Oxygen isotope analysis of Equus teeth evidences
early Eemian and early Weichselian
palaeotemperatures at the Middle Palaeolithic
site of Neumark-Nord 2, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany,
di K. Britton et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 226, 15 December 2019,
106029
Here we present
phosphate oxygen isotope (δ 18OPO4) data from
horse (Equus sp.) tooth enamel (bioapatite) from
early Eemian and early Weichselian find levels
at the archaeological site of Neumark-Nord 2,
Germany. Based on the relationship between
δ18OPO4 of bioapatite, body water, local
precipitation and air temperature, these data
are used to reconstruct palaeoclimatic
conditions contemporary to the different phases
of Neanderthal activity at the site. (...) |
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Is
this cave painting humanity’s oldest story?,
di E. Callaway, "Nature news", 11 DECEMBER 2019
A cave-wall
depiction of a pig and buffalo hunt is the
world’s oldest recorded story, claim
archaeologists who discovered the work on the
Indonesian island Sulawesi. The scientists say
the scene is more than 44,000 years old. The
4.5-metre-long panel features reddish-brown
forms that seem to depict human-like figures
hunting local animal species. Previously, rock
art found in European sites dated to around
14,000 to 21,000 years old were considered to be
the world’s oldest clearly narrative artworks.
The scientists working on the latest find say
that the Indonesian art pre-dates these. “I’ve
never seen anything like this before. I mean, we’ve
seen hundreds of rock art sites in this region,
but we’ve never seen anything like a hunting
scene,” says Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at
Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia,
whose team describes the finding in Nature on 11
December1. Other researchers say the discovery
is important because the animal paintings are
also the oldest figurative artworks — those that
clearly depict objects or figures in the natural
world — on record. But some aren’t yet convinced
by the claim the panel represents a single
‘scene’, or story. They suggest it might be a
series of images painted over the course of
perhaps thousands of years. “Whether it’s a
scene is questionable,” says Paul Pettitt, an
archaeologist and rock-art specialist at Durham
University, UK. (...)
·
World’s oldest hunting scene shows half-human,
half-animal figures—and a sophisticated
imagination, di M. Price, "Scince news", Dec.
11, 2019 |
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Territoriality and the organization of
technology during the Last Glacial Maximum in
southwestern Europe,
di J. Cascalheira, December 11, 2019 doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225828
- free access -
Climate changes
that occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
had significant consequences in human
eco-dynamics across Europe. Among the most
striking impacts are the demographic contraction
of modern humans into southern refugia and the
potential formation of a population bottleneck.
In Iberia and southern France transformations
also included the occurrence of significant
technological changes, mostly marked by the
emergence of a diverse set of bifacially-shaped
stone projectiles. The rapid dissemination of
bifacial technologies and the geographical
circumscription of specific projectile
morphologies within these regions have been
regarded as evidence for: (1) the existence of a
system of long-distance exchange and social
alliance networks; (2) the organization of human
groups into cultural facies with well-defined
stylistic territorial boundaries. However, the
degree and modes in which cultural transmission
have occurred within these territories, and how
it may have influenced other domains of the
adaptive systems, remains largely unknown. Using
southern Iberia as a case-study, this paper
presents the first quantitative approach to the
organization of lithic technology and its
relationship to hunter-gatherers’ territorial
organization during the LGM. Similarities and
dissimilarities in the presence of morphological
and metric data describing lithic technologies
are used as a proxy to explore modes and degrees
of cultural transmission. Statistical results
show that similarities in technological options
are dependent on the chronology and geographical
distance between sites and corroborate previous
arguments for the organization of LGM settlement
in Southern Iberia into discrete eco-cultural
facies. (...) |
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Identification of African-Specific Admixture
between Modern and Archaic Humans,
di J. D. Wall, A. Ratan, E. Stawiski, "The
American Journal of Human Genetics", vol 105,
issue 6, pp. 1254-1261, 05 december 2019
Recent work has
demonstrated that two archaic human groups (Neanderthals
and Denisovans) interbred with modern humans and
contributed to the contemporary human gene pool.
These findings relied on the availability of
high-coverage genomes from both Neanderthals and
Denisovans. Here we search for evidence of
archaic admixture from a worldwide panel of
1,667 individuals using an approach that does
not require the presence of an archaic human
reference genome. (...) |
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Early humans domesticated themselves, new
genetic evidence suggests,
di M. Price, "Science news", Dec. 4, 2019
When humans
started to tame dogs, cats, sheep, and cattle,
they may have continued a tradition that started
with a completely different animal: us. A new
study—citing genetic evidence from a disorder
that in some ways mirrors elements of
domestication—suggests modern humans
domesticated themselves after they split from
their extinct relatives, Neanderthals and
Denisovans, approximately 600,000 years ago.
“The study is incredibly impressive,” says
Richard Wrangham, a biological anthropologist at
Harvard University who was not involved in the
new work. It’s “a really beautiful test,” he
adds, of the long-standing idea that humans look
so different from our primate ancestors
precisely because we have become domesticated.
Domestication encompasses a whole suite of
genetic changes that arise as a species is bred
to be friendlier and less aggressive. In dogs
and domesticated foxes, for example, many
changes are physical: smaller teeth and skulls,
floppy ears, and shorter, curlier tails. Those
physical changes have all been linked to the
fact that domesticated animals have fewer of a
certain type of stem cell, called neural crest
stem cells. (...) |
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The Face of the Earliest
Human Ancestor, Revealed,
di K. Wong, 1 December 2019
Nearly 25 years
after scientists described the first fossil
traces of Australopithecus anamensis, this
unsung human ancestor is finally having its
moment. Researchers working in Ethiopia have
found a nearly complete cranium of this
long-vanished member of the hominin group, which
includes Homo sapiens and its close extinct
relatives. The fossil, dated to 3.8 million
years ago, reveals the never before seen face of
A. anamensis, a species previously known mainly
from jaws, teeth and a smattering of bones from
below the head. Traits evident in the specimen
hint that our family tree may need revising. By
some accounts, A. anamensis is the oldest
unequivocal hominin, with some fossils dating
from as far back as 4.2 million years ago. For
years it has occupied a key position in the
family tree as the lineal ancestor of
Australopithecus afarensis, which is widely
viewed as the ancestor of our own genus, Homo.
(...) |
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Neanderthal logistic mobility during MIS3:
Zooarchaeological perspective of Abric Romaní
level P (Spain),
di J. Marín et alii, "Quaternary Science
Reviews", Volume 225, 1 December 2019, 106033
Mobility
strategies of Neanderthal groups are studied
through the characterization and analysis of
archaeological sites and traditionally compared
to the types of settlements present-day
hunter-gatherer groups, based on their mobility
strategies. The faunal record of level P of
Abric Romaní is a unique source of information
for analysing the foraging behaviour developed
by Neanderthals during MIS3. The assemblage is
divided into two separate and well-defined
sublevels: Pa and Pb. Through the taphonomic
study of the remains and their spatial
distribution, it was possible to define the
characteristics of these human occupations.
(...) |
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A
multiproxy record of palaeoenvironmental
conditions at the Middle Palaeolithic site of
Abric del Pastor (Eastern Iberia),
di R. Connolly et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 225, 1 December 2019,
106023
This paper
presents a multiproxy palaeoenvironmental study
from Abric del Pastor (Alcoy, Spain), a rock
shelter which has yielded evidence for Middle
Palaeolithic human occupation. The sedimentary
sequence has been analysed for lipid biomarker
n-alkane abundances (ACL, CPI), compound
specific leaf wax δ2H and δ13C, and bulk organic
geochemistry (TOC, %N, %S), providing a record
of past climate and local vegetation dynamics.
Site formation processes have been reconstructed
through the application of soil micromorphology.
Analyses of anthracological, microvertebrate and
macrofaunal assemblages from selected subunits
are also presented here. (...) |
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Landscapes, environments and societies: The
development of culture in Lower Palaeolithic
Europe, di
R. Davis, N. Ashton, "Journal of Anthropological
Archaeology", Volume 56, December 2019, 101107
Identification of
cultural groups is rare in the early
Palaeolithic due to site formation processes
including taphonomy and the effect of raw
material and site function. This paper reviews a
critical period in Europe at about 400 ka (MIS
11) when we may be able to identify such groups.
This period, sees more sustained occupation and
evidence of new technologies, including bone and
wooden tools, hunting and fire-use. Importantly,
brain size had begun to approach modern capacity.
The fine-tuned record from Britain enables
correlation of sites and new models of human
behaviour to be developed. Millennial-scale
changes in material culture can now be
recognised, which can be interpreted as brief
incursions by different cultural groups into
Britain from mainland Europe. (...) |
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Rock art, performance and Palaeolithic cognitive
systems. The example of the Grand Panel
palimpsest of Cussac Cave, Dordogne, France,
di V. Feruglio et alii, Journal of
Anthropological Archaeology", Volume 56,
December 2019, 101104
This paper
investigates the cognitive role of the
palimpsest in cave art through the case of the
Cussac Cave Grand Panel, the main engraved
assemblage from this sepulchral and decorated
site dated from the Middle Gravettian period
(31,200–28,700 cal BP). The technical, thematic
and formal unity of this monumental panel yields
evidence of a short time-span for its creation.
The accurate study of the superimpositions in
situ and on a high resolution 3D model leads to
the conception of a Harris matrix like model. It
attests to a global structuring based on
privileged themes interactions (taxa
associations, animation and scale of depictions,
relative chronology). Considering Cussac Cave
Grand Panel palimpsest as a dynamic composition,
the paper discusses agency and practice of
accumulation in one place in Palaeolithic cave
art. In the perspective of “art as action” the
dynamic composition could be considered as a
performance which raises the question of the
audience. (...) |
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Social evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins:
Insights from hamadryas baboons and paleoecology,
di L. Swedell, T. Plummer, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 137, December 2019, 102667
Reconstructions of
hominin evolution have long benefited from
comparisons with nonhuman primates, especially
baboons and chimpanzees. The hamadryas baboon (Papio
hamadryas) is arguably one of the best such
models, as it exhibits both the male kin bonding
and the cross-sex pair bonding thought to have
been important in hominin evolution. Here we
link processes of behavioral evolution in
hamadryas baboons with those in a
Plio-Pleistocene hominin, provisionally
identified as Homo erectus (sensu lato) – a
pivotal species in that its larger body and
brain size and wider ranging patterns increased
female costs of reproduction, increasing the
importance of sociality. The combination of
these higher costs of reproduction and shifts in
diet and food acquisition have previously been
argued to have been alleviated either via
strengthening of male-female bonds (involving
male provisioning and the evolution of monogamy)
or via the assistance of older,
post-reproductive females (leading to
post-reproductive longevity in females, i.e.,
the grandmother hypothesis). (...) |
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A
new experimental methodology for assessing
adhesive properties shows that Neandertals used
the most suitable material available,
di P. R. B. Kozowyk, J. A. Poulis, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 137, December 2019,
102664
The use of
adhesives for hafting stone tools at least 191
ka was a major technological development. Stone
tools could be more securely attached to handles,
thus improving their efficiency and practicality.
To produce functional adhesives required
forethought and planning, as well as expertise
and knowledge of the resources available in the
landscape. This makes adhesives important in
discussions about Neandertal and early modern
human technological and mental capabilities.
However, we currently know very little about how
these early adhesive materials behaved under
different circumstances, or why certain
materials were used and others were not. Here we
present the results of controlled laboratory
bulk property tests (hardness, rheology and
thermogravimetric analysis) on replica
Paleolithic adhesives. (...) |
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Potential adaptations for bipedalism in the
thoracic and lumbar vertebrae of Homo sapiens: A
3D comparative analysis,
di K. Plomp et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 137, December 2019, 102693
A number of
putative adaptations for bipedalism have been
identified in the hominin spine. However, it is
possible that some have been overlooked because
only a few studies have used 3D and these
studies have focused on cervical vertebrae. With
this in mind, we used geometric morphometric
techniques to compare the 3D shapes of three
thoracic and two lumbar vertebrae of Homo
sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and
Pongo pygmaeus. The study had two goals. One was
to confirm the existence of traits previously
reported to distinguish the thoracic and lumbar
vertebrae of H. sapiens from those of the great
apes. The other was to, if possible, identify
hitherto undescribed traits that differentiate
H. sapiens thoracic and lumbar vertebrae from
those of the great apes. (...) |
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Subsistence strategies of Gravettian hunter–gatherers
in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: the
case of level E of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà),
di I. Rufí, L. Lloveras, J. Soler, N. Soler, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", volume 11, issue
12, december 2019, pp. 6663–6688
The Gravettian
covers a long period characterised by widely
fluctuating climatic conditions that led to a
diversity of subsistence strategies, which
extended from the Iberian Atlantic coast to
Siberia. Within this vast area, the northeast of
Iberia acted as a transitional territory,
between steppe–tundra in the northern regions
and Iberian wooded steppe to the south. Owing to
the small number of studies, subsistence during
the Gravettian period in this region is not as
yet well known. The Arbreda Cave site (Serinyà)
preserves the largest and most detailed
Palaeolithic stratigraphy of the Reclau Cave
complex, providing the most accurate information
about the changes that occurred from the Early
Upper Pleistocene to the Holocene in the
northeast Iberian Peninsula. Presented here is a
detailed archaeozoological and taphonomic study
of Iberian Middle Gravettian level E (c. 26–25
kyr 14C BP). Allowing for the possibility that
density-mediated biases and post-burial bone
attrition may have influenced the study, it
appears to confirm that the rich faunal
assemblage recovered at this level was primarily
due to anthropogenic activities. On the contrary,
the slight evidence of carnivore activity mainly
consists of small prey. (...) |
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Onshore and offshore
evidences for four abrupt “warming” episodes
during MIS 6 at the westernmost tip of
continental Europe: did they control the
migrations of Neanderthals?
di J. P. Lefort,
G. A. Danukalova, F. Eynaud, J. L. Monniera, "Quaternary
International", Volume 534, December 2019, Pages
103-115
The total shell
production typical of the Pupilla association in
the onshore site of Nantois (Brittany, France)
evidenced for the first time four brief, abrupt,
warm and humid episodes during the Upper Saalian
(MIS 6) loess deposition. These “warming” events
were also found in the marine deposits of the
Celtic Sea (MD03-2692 core). Comparison with the
variations of the sea-level, show that the
“warming” episodes were not only of regional
interest but corresponded to global events ruled
by precession and insolation cycles. (...) |
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Upper Paleolithic site Tuyana – a multi-proxy
record of sedimentation and environmental
history during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene
in the Tunka rift valley, Baikal region,
di A. A. Shchetnikov et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 534, December 2019, Pages
138-157
The complex study
of the 3.5-m thick section of the multi-genetic
sediments of the Late Paleolithic Tuyana site (Tunka
rift valley, Baikal region) resulted in a first
detailed record of the change in environment and
climate of the ancient humans’ habitation in the
Tunka rift valley in Late Pleistocene and
Holocene in the interval of >36 ka cal BP until
Late Holocene. Sedimentation processes in the
section are characterized by multiple
remobilizations. Redeposition traces are most
strongly expressed in МIS 3 sediments.
Apparently, an intensive transient removal of
slope sediments took place here at МIS 2. The
common tendency of the natural environment and
habitation conditions of the ancient humans in
the Tunka valley show domination of the open and
relatively dry tundra-steppe with areas of
forests vegetation in the end of MIS 3, mostly
dry steppes with limited forest-tundra and
tundra associations in MIS 2 with the spread of
boreal taiga in Holocene. (...) |
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The possible role of predator–prey dynamics as
an influence on early hominin use of burned
landscapes,
di S. Hoare, "Evolutionary Anthropology", Volume
28, Issue 6, November/December 2019, Pages
295-302
Foraging in burned
areas has been suggested to represent the
earliest stage in the use and control of fire by
early hominins. Recently burned areas offer
immediate foraging benefits including increased
search efficiency for high-ranked food items and
decreased hunting opportunities for ambush
predators. As such, they provide a triple‐bonus
(reduced risk from ambush, ease of terrestrial
travel and higher foraging returns) for some
primates. However, previous studies have not yet
accounted for other types of predators e.g.,
coursing (endurance predators that can pursue
prey over long distances) which were sympatric
with hominins and may also have exploited these
environments. (...) |
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Oldowayen et Acheuléen,
"L'Anthropologie",
Volume 123, Issues 4–5, Pages 669-786 (November–December
2019): -
Stratégie d’acquisition de la matière première
dans le site Oldowayen d’Ain Hanech (Étude
Expérimentale comparative),
di T. Merzouk, M. Rabhi
- An
alternative scenario for the first human
dispersal out of Africa,
di J. Agustí, D. Lordkipanidze
- Sur quelques
résultats d’études du Paléolithique inférieur au
bord de la mer d'Azov (Russie),
di V. E. Shchelinsky
- Le gisement
acheuléen en contexte de doline de Revelles
(Somme, France) et ses caractéristiques communes
à l’Acheuléen méridional,
di A. Lamotte et alii
- Why did the
Acheulean happen? Experimental studies into the
manufacture and function of Acheulean artifacts,
di N. Toth,
K. Schick
- Lithic
Technology, typology and cross-regional
comparison of Pleistocene lithic industries:
Comment on the earliest evidence of Levallois in
East Asia,
di Y. Li, E. Boëda, H. Forestier, Y. Zhou
- Comptes
rendus d’ouvrages,
di C. Roubet |
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Inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity
might be sufficient to account for Neanderthal
extinction,
di K. Vaesen, F. Scherjon, L. Hemerik, A.
Verpoorte, November 27, 2019 doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225117
- free access -
The replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically
Modern Humans has typically been attributed to
environmental pressure or a superiority of
modern humans with respect to competition for
resources. Here we present two independent
models that suggest that no such heatedly
debated factors might be needed to account for
the demise of Neanderthals. Starting from the
observation that Neanderthal populations already
were small before the arrival of modern humans,
the models implement three factors that
conservation biology identifies as critical for
a small population’s persistence, namely
inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity. Our
results indicate that the disappearance of
Neanderthals might have resided in the smallness
of their population(s) alone: even if they had
been identical to modern humans in their
cognitive, social and cultural traits, and even
in the absence of inter-specific competition,
Neanderthals faced a considerable risk of
extinction. Furthermore, we suggest that if
modern humans contributed to the demise of
Neanderthals, that contribution might have had
nothing to do with resource competition, but
rather with how the incoming populations
geographically restructured the resident
populations, in a way that reinforced Allee
effects, and the effects of inbreeding and
stochasticity. (...) |
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Anterior tooth-use behaviors among early modern
humans and Neandertals,
di K. L. Krueger, J. C. Willman, G. J. Matthews,
J. J. Hublin, A. Pérez-Pérez, November 27, 2019
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224573
- free access -
Early modern
humans (EMH) are often touted as behaviorally
advanced to Neandertals, with more sophisticated
technologies, expanded resource exploitation,
and more complex clothing production. However,
recent analyses have indicated that Neandertals
were more nuanced in their behavioral
adaptations, with the production of the
Châtelperronian technocomplex, the processing
and cooking of plant foods, and differences in
behavioral adaptations according to habitat.
This study adds to this debate by addressing the
behavioral strategies of EMH (n = 30) within the
context of non-dietary anterior tooth-use
behaviors to glean possible differences between
them and their Neandertal (n = 45) counterparts.
High-resolution casts of permanent anterior
teeth were used to collect microwear textures of
fossil and comparative bioarchaeological samples
using a Sensofar white-light confocal profiler
with a 100x objective lens. Labial surfaces were
scanned, totaling a work envelope of 204 x 276
μm for each individual. The microwear textures
were examined for post-mortem damage and
uploaded to SSFA software packages for surface
characterization. Statistical analyses were
performed to examine differences in central
tendencies and distributions of anisotropy and
textural fill volume variables among the EMH
sample itself by habitat, location, and time
interval, and between the EMH and Neandertal
samples by habitat and location. Descriptive
statistics for the EMH sample were compared to
seven bioarchaeological samples (n = 156) that
utilized different tooth-use behaviors to better
elucidate specific activities that may have been
performed by EMH. Results show no significant
differences between the means within the EMH
sample by habitat, location, or time interval.
Furthermore, there are no significant
differences found here between EMH and
Neandertals. Comparisons to the
bioarchaeological samples suggest both fossil
groups participated in clamping and grasping
activities. These results indicate that EMH and
Neandertals were similar in their non-dietary
anterior tooth-use behaviors and provide
additional evidence for overlapping behavioral
strategies employed by these two hominins.
(...) |
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The exploitation of rabbits for food and pelts
by last interglacial Neandertals,
di M. Pelletier et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 224, 15 November 2019,
105972
The exploitation
of small game, especially rabbits, by
Neandertals as sources of food or for
utilitarian purposes is no longer a subject of
debate given increasing evidence for such
practices in Europe from the Middle Paleolithic
onwards. Instead, focus is now on whether
rabbits were an occasional prey or were fully
integrated into the socio-economic system of
these human groups. Here we address this issue
based on a detailed analysis of rabbit remains
from the Mousterian deposits of Pié Lombard (Tourrettes-sur-Loup,
Alpes-Maritimes, France). Dated to the last
interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 5),
rabbit remains (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are the
most abundant species throughout the site's
Mousterian sequence. Our multi-aspect
taphonomical analysis combining mortality
profiles, skeletal-part representation, breakage
patterns, and bone surface modifications
revealed a high incidence of human involvement,
demonstrating the rabbit assemblage from Pié
Lombard to have been primarily accumulated by
Neandertals. (...) |
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Human origins in a southern African
palaeo-wetland and first migrations,
di E. K. F. Chan et alii, "Nature", volume 575,
issue 7781, 7 november 2019, pages 185–189
Anatomically
modern humans originated in Africa around 200
thousand years ago (ka). Although some of the
oldest skeletal remains suggest an eastern
African origin2, southern Africa is home to
contemporary populations that represent the
earliest branch of human genetic phylogeny. Here
we generate, to our knowledge, the largest
resource for the poorly represented and
deepest-rooting maternal L0 mitochondrial DNA
branch (198 new mitogenomes for a total of 1,217
mitogenomes) from contemporary southern Africans
and show the geographical isolation of L0d1’2,
L0k and L0g KhoeSan descendants south of the
Zambezi river in Africa. By establishing
mitogenomic timelines, frequencies and
dispersals, we show that the L0 lineage emerged
within the residual Makgadikgadi–Okavango
palaeo-wetland of southern Africa7,
approximately 200 ka (95% confidence interval,
240–165 ka). (...) |
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Disease transmission and introgression can
explain the long-lasting contact zone of modern
humans and Neanderthals,
di G. Greenbaum, W. M. Getz, N. A. Rosenberg, M.
W. Feldman, E. Hovers, O. Kolodny, "Nature
Communications", volume 10, Article number: 5003
(2019), 01 November 2019
- free access -
Neanderthals and
modern humans both occupied the Levant for tens
of thousands of years prior to the spread of
modern humans into the rest of Eurasia and their
replacement of the Neanderthals. That the
inter-species boundary remained geographically
localized for so long is a puzzle, particularly
in light of the rapidity of its subsequent
movement. Here, we propose that
infectious-disease dynamics can explain the
localization and persistence of the
inter-species boundary. We further propose, and
support with dynamical-systems models, that
introgression-based transmission of alleles
related to the immune system would have
gradually diminished this barrier to pervasive
inter-species interaction, leading to the
eventual release of the inter-species boundary
from its geographic localization. Asymmetries
between the species in the characteristics of
their associated ‘pathogen packages’ could have
generated feedback that allowed modern humans to
overcome disease burden earlier than
Neanderthals, giving them an advantage in their
subsequent spread into Eurasia. (...) |
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The Châtelperronian Neanderthals of Cova
Foradada (Calafell, Spain) used imperial eagle
phalanges for symbolic purposes,
di A. Rodríguez-Hidalgo et alii, "Science
Advances", 01 Nov 2019: Vol. 5, no. 11, eaax1984
- free access -
Evidence for the
symbolic behavior of Neanderthals in the use of
personal ornaments is relatively scarce. Among
the few ornaments documented, eagle talons,
which were presumably used as pendants, are the
most frequently recorded. This phenomenon
appears concentrated in a specific area of
southern Europe during a span of 80 thousand
years. Here, we present the analysis of one
eagle pedal phalange recovered from the
Châtelperronian layer of Foradada Cave (Spain).
Our research broadens the known geographical and
temporal range of this symbolic behavior,
providing the first documentation of its use
among the Iberian populations, as well as of its
oldest use in the peninsula. The recurrent
appearance of large raptor talons throughout the
Middle Paleolithic time frame, including their
presence among the last Neanderthal populations,
raises the question of the survival of some
cultural elements of the Middle Paleolithic into
the transitional Middle to Upper Paleolithic
assemblages and beyond. (...) |
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Experimental lithic tool displacement due to
long-term animal disturbance,
di B. J. Schoville, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", volume 11, issue 11,
november 2019, pages 5879–5891
Controlled
experiments in lithic technology tend to focus
on controlling the human component of lithic
tool manufacturing and use; however, animal
disturbance can move and alter artifacts in
non-random ways, thus altering the behavioral
meaning assigned to artifacts and their contexts.
The patterning visible in archeological debris
on a horizontal plane can provide evidence for
activity zones, pathways, and site formation
processes. While the effects of trampling actors
on the vertical displacement of artifacts have
shown that artifacts can be dramatically
displaced, the horizontal movement due to
trampling is relatively less studied,
particularly the effect over extended time
periods. (...) |
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Understanding Neanderthal technological
adaptation at Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Spain)
by measuring lithic raw materials performance
variability,
di A. Abrunhosa et alii, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", volume 11, issue
11, november 2019, pages 5949–5962
Navalmaíllo Rock
Shelter is an Upper Pleistocene archaeological
site in the Lozoya River Valley (Madrid, Spain)
with a quartz-based Mousterian lithic assemblage.
To understand the reasons behind an intense use
of quartz over flint and quartzite, a mechanical
experiment was carried out. Flakes from flint,
quartzite, and local quartz were tested under
controlled conditions and quantifiable variables.
The mechanical action consisted in a
standardised linear repetitive cutting protocol
over antler and pine wood. Results allowed to
differentiate flake resistance between raw
materials through mass and edge angle material
loss statistics. Results also showed that the
edges produced on flint are sharper allowing to
create deeper cuts, but the thin working edges
break more easily meaning that they would need a
higher maintenance by retouch. (...) |
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Journal of Human Evolution,
Volume 136,
November 2019
Indice:
- Feathers and
food: Human-bird interactions at Middle
Pleistocene Qesem Cave, Israel,
di R. Blasco, J.
Rosell, A. Sánchez-Marco, A. Gopher, R. Barkai
- Femoral neck
cortical bone distribution of dryopithecin apes
and the evolution of hominid locomotion,
di M. Pina, D. M.
Alba, S. Moyà-Solà, S. Almécija
- The deciduous
dentition of Homo naledi: A comparative study,
di S. E.
Bailey, J. K. Brophy, J. Moggi-Cecchi, L. K.
Delezene
- The cochlea
of the Sima de los Huesos hominins (Sierra de
Atapuerca, Spain): New insights into cochlear
evolution in the genus Homo,
di M.
Conde-Valverde et alii
- Structural
analysis of premolar roots in Middle Pleistocene
hominins from China,
di L. Pan, J.
Dumoncel, A. Mazurier, C. Zanolli
- A late
Miocene hominid partial pelvis from Hungary,
di C. V.
Ward, A. S. Hammond, J. M. Plavcan, D. R. Begun |
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How Australopithecus provided insight into human
evolution,
di D. Falk, "Nature news", 29 OCTOBER 2019
Australian-born
Raymond Dart had barely started his job as chair
of the anatomy department of the University of
the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa,
when he made a momentous discovery. Using his
wife’s knitting needles, he painstakingly
extracted a fossil (Fig. 1) from a chunk of rock
found in Taungs (now known as Taung), South
Africa. As he recalled1, “the rock parted … What
emerged was a baby’s face, an infant with a full
set of milk teeth … I doubt if there was any
parent prouder of his offspring than I was of my
‘Taungs baby’ on that Christmas of 1924.” Better
yet, the fossil fitted neatly with another type
of fossil, called an endocast, formed from
sediments accumulated inside the skull. The
endocast reflects brain-surface details stamped
on the braincase’s inner walls. These fossils
revealed a combination of ape-like and
human-like features never previously reported
together. Convinced that the specimen, called
the Taung Child, represented an extinct link
between humans and our ape ancestors, Dart
dispatched a report2 to Nature by mail boat. He
probably felt some trepidation because several
fellows of the Royal Society in London, who had
mentored and taught with him, considered the
human forerunner to be the British specimen
known as Piltdown Man (which was later exposed
as a hoax). Piltdown Man’s human-sized brain and
ape-like jaw contrasted with the Taung Child’s
ape-sized brain and human-like jaw and teeth. In
Dart’s view, the Taung Child looked more
primitive and older than the main existing
candidates for the earliest ancestral human
relative — Piltdown Man and Java Man (Homo
erectus) from Indonesia. Dart therefore
described the Taung Child as a ‘man-ape’ rather
than an ‘ape-man’, like Java Man, and named the
species Australopithecus africanus, which means
southern ape from Africa. (...) |
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Evidence for independent brain and neurocranial
reorganization during hominin evolution,
di J. L. Alatorre Warren
et alii,
"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
29 October 2019, vol. 116, n. 44
Human brains
differ substantially from those of great apes,
and equally important differences exist between
their braincases. However, it remains unclear to
which extent evolutionary changes in brain
structure are related to changes in braincase
structure. To study this question, we use
combined computed tomography (CT) and MRI head
data of humans and chimpanzees and quantify the
spatial correlations between brain sulci and
cranial sutures. We show that the human brain–braincase
relationships are unique compared to chimpanzees
and other great apes and that structural
rearrangements in the brain and in the braincase
emerged independently during human evolution.
These data serve as an important frame of
reference to identify and quantify evolutionary
changes in brain and braincase structures in
fossil hominin endocasts. (...) |
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Middle Paleolithic complex technology and a
Neandertal tar-backed tool from the Dutch North
Sea, di M.
J. L. Th. Niekus et alii, "Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences", 29 October
2019, vol. 116, n. 44
We report the
discovery of a 50,000-y-old Neandertal
tar-hafted flint tool found off the present-day
Dutch coastline. The production of birch tar
adhesives was a major technological development,
demonstrating complex Neandertal technology and
advanced cognitive ability. The rarity of Middle
Paleolithic adhesive finds makes each new
discovery crucial for improving our
understanding of Neandertal lifeways. We
demonstrate that birch tar was a routine part of
the Neandertal technological repertoire. In
addition, the complex know-how required for
adhesive production in northwestern Europe
during Marine Isotope Stage 4 and 3 was
maintained in small groups leading highly mobile
lives. This suggests a degree of task
specialization and supports the hypothesis that
ecological risk drives the development of
complex technology. (...) |
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Tar adhesives, Neandertals, and the tyranny of
the discontinuous mind,
di J. Zilhão, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", 29 October
2019, vol. 116, n. 44
Were the
builders of Stonehenge and the painters of
Altamira (Fig. 1) cognitively and behaviorally
like present-day humans? Did those prehistoric
people have language? In the absence of writing,
these never-asked questions cannot be answered
with direct evidence. However, we take it for
granted that, yes, they were, and they did. We
do so because we instinctively know that such
works require the capacity for abstract thought,
deep foresight, and sophisticated communication.
In current scientific discourse, this “complex”
cognition is set against the simpler modes that
can be observed in other species and are assumed
to also have characterized our nonhuman
ancestors.
(...) |
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Experts question study claiming to pinpoint
birthplace of all humans,
di A. Gibbons, "Science news", Oct. 28, 2019
A new genetic
study suggests all modern humans trace our
ancestry to a single spot in southern Africa
200,000 years ago. But experts say the study,
which analyzes the DNA of living people, is not
nearly comprehensive enough to pinpoint where
our species arose. “I’m persuaded that southern
Africa was an important area for human evolution,”
says population geneticist Aylwyn Scally of the
University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom
who was not involved with the work. But, he says,
studies of living people’s DNA can’t reveal the
precise location of our ancestors. “It would be
astonishing if all our genetic ancestry at this
time arose in one small homeland.”. Modern
humans arose in Africa at least 250,000 to
300,000 years ago, fossils and DNA reveal. But
scientists have been unable to pinpoint a more
specific homeland because the earliest Homo
sapiens fossils are found across Africa, and
ancient DNA from African fossils is scarce and
not old enough. (...) |
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Early hominins evolved within non-analog
ecosystems,
di J. Tyler Faith, J. Rowan, A. Du, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", 22 October
2019, vol. 116, n. 43
Testing ecological
hypotheses of human evolution requires an
understanding of the ancient plant and animal
communities within which our ancestors lived.
Though present-day ecosystems provide the
baseline for reconstructing the ecological
context of human evolution, the extent to which
modern ecosystems are representative of past
ones is unknown. Through analyses of a fossil
dataset spanning the last 7 Myr, we show that
eastern African communities of large-bodied
mammalian herbivores differed markedly from
those today until ~700,000 y ago. Because large
herbivores are ecosystem engineers and shape
biotic communities in ways that impact a wide
variety of species, this implies that the vast
majority of early human evolution transpired in
the context of ecosystems that functioned unlike
any known today. (...) |
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Genetic contributions to variation in human
stature in prehistoric Europe,
di S. L. Cox, C. B. Ruff, R. M. Maier, I.
Mathieson, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", 22 October
2019, vol. 116, n. 43
Measurements of
prehistoric human skeletal remains provide a
record of changes in height and other
anthropometric traits over time. Often, these
changes are interpreted in terms of plastic
developmental response to shifts in diet,
climate, or other environmental factors. These
changes can also be genetic in origin, but,
until recently, it has been impossible to
separate the effects of genetics and environment.
Here, we use ancient DNA to directly estimate
genetic changes in phenotypes and to identify
changes driven not by genetics, but by
environment. We show that changes over the past
35,000 y are largely predicted by genetics but
also identify specific shifts that are more
likely to be environmentally driven. (...) |
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Pleistocene landslides and mammoth bone deposits:
The case of Dolní Věstonice II, Czech Republic,
di J. Svoboda, O. Krejčí, V. Krejčí, A.
Dohnalová, S. Sázelová, J. Wilczyński, P. Wojtal,
"Geoarchaeology", Volume 34, Issue 6, November/December
2019, Pages 745-758
The formation of
extensive mammoth bone deposits is a
characteristic feature of the large Upper
Paleolithic settlements of the Moravian
Gravettian (approximately 30 ky cal BP). Some of
these were preferentially deposited in moist
locations, possibly for reasons of hygiene and
conservation. Here, we present a case of a
mammoth bone deposit located in a side gully
below the Dolní Věstonice II settlement, where
an earlier a Pleistocene landslide temporarily
created a shallow water basin. (...) |
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Human occupation of northern Europe in MIS 13:
Happisburgh Site 1 (Norfolk, UK) and its
European context: A response to Lewis et al.
(2019), di
P. L. Gibbard, P. D. Hughes, R. G. West, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 223, 1 November 2019,
105844
This comment concerns the article by Lewis et
al. (2019). We do not question the detail of the
Happisburgh site sequence, but the
stratigraphical significance, the regional
correlations and the age of certain localities
with which the Happisburgh 1 sequence is equated
by these authors. In particular we question the
correlation with sequences at Warren Hill (Three
Hills) and High Lodge in Suffolk since detailed
research has demonstrated that they are neither
the same age nor of the origin stated in the
original article. We also question the
correlation of disparate geological sequences on
the basis of their artefactual contents; an
approach long considered to be inappropriate.
(...) |
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Human occupation of Northern Europe in MIS 13: a
response to comments by Gibbard et al. (2019),
di S. G. Lewis, N. Ashton, P. G. Hoare, S.
Parfitt, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume
223, 1 November 2019, 105851
In a recent paper
(Lewis et al., 2019) we reported the results of
geological and archaeological investigations at
Happisburgh Site 1. We also considered the
significance of the site for understanding the
human occupation of northern Europe during the
early Middle Pleistocene. In a comment on the
paper, Gibbard et al. (2019) raise a number of
issues concerning lithostratigraphic terminology,
the age of the deposits at Site 1, and the wider
regional context of the Site 1 archaeological
assemblage. (...) |
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Evidence of ritual breakage of a ground stone
tool at the Late Natufian site of Hilazon
Tachtit cave (12,000 years ago),
di L. Dubreuil, A. Ovadia, R. Shahack-Gross, L.
Grosman, October 16, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223370
- free access -
Destruction of
valuables is a common behavior in human history.
Ethnographic data show the polysemic, but
fundamentally symbolic, nature of this act. Yet,
research aimed at exploring symbolic destruction
in prehistoric societies has underlined the
difficulties in establishing unambiguous
evidence for such behaviour. We present here the
analysis of a basalt tool fragment which
provides evidence for intentional breakage
associated with ritual activity 12,000 years
ago. The tool fragment was part of a unique
assemblage of grave goods deposited in a burial
pit of a woman suggested to have been a shaman (Hilazon
Tachtit cave, Southern Levant). The
reconstruction of the artefact’s life history
through morphological, 3D, use wear, residue and
contextual analyses suggest that: 1) the
fragment was initially part of a shallow bowl
used for mixing ash or lime with water; 2) the
bowl was subsequently intentionally broken
through flaking along multiple axes; 3) The bowl
was not used after its breakage but placed in a
cache before the interment of the deceased,
accompanied with other special items. The broken
bowl fragment underlines the ritualistic nature
of the act of breakage in the Natufian society.
The research presented in this paper provides an
important window into Natufian ritual behaviour
during the critical period of transformation to
agricultural communities. In addition, our
results offer new insight into practices related
to intentional destruction of valuables
associated with death-related ceremonies at the
end of the Palaeolithic. (...) |
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Evidence for independent brain and neurocranial
reorganization during hominin evolution,
di J. L. Alatorre Warren, M. S. Ponce de León,
W. D. Hopkins, C. P. E. Zollikofer, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences-Early
edition", October 14, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1905071116
- free access -
Throughout hominin
evolution, the brain of our ancestors underwent
a 3-fold increase in size and substantial
structural reorganization. However, inferring
brain reorganization from fossil hominin
neurocrania (=braincases) remains a challenge,
above all because comparative data relating
brain to neurocranial structures in living
humans and great apes are still scarce. Here we
use MRI and same-subject spatially aligned
computed tomography (CT) and MRI data of humans
and chimpanzees to quantify the spatial
relationships between these structures, both
within and across species. Results indicate that
evolutionary changes in brain and neurocranial
structures are largely independent of each other.
The brains of humans compared to chimpanzees
exhibit a characteristic posterior shift of the
inferior pre- and postcentral gyri, indicative
of reorganization of the frontal opercular
region. Changes in human neurocranial structure
do not reflect cortical reorganization. Rather,
they reflect constraints related to increased
encephalization and obligate bipedalism,
resulting in relative enlargement of the
parietal bones and anterior displacement of the
cerebellar fossa. This implies that the relative
position and size of neurocranial bones, as well
as overall endocranial shape (e.g., globularity),
should not be used to make inferences about
evolutionary changes in the relative size or
reorganization of adjacent cortical regions of
fossil hominins. (...) |
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More data needed for claims about the earliest
Oldowan artifacts,
di Y. Sahle, T. Gossa, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", October 8,
2019, n. 116 (41), pp. 20259-20260
Recent claims
about early tool making and use have proved
controversial (1–4). In PNAS, Braun et al. (5)
report Oldowan artifacts from Ledi-Geraru,
Ethiopia. The claimed minimum age of 2.581 Ma
for these artifacts would, even if accurate,
imply a marginally older beginning for the
Oldowan than the ~2.58 Ma previously established
~35 km to the west at Gona (6). While the
Ledi-Geraru assemblage is a welcome addition to
the limited number of early Oldowan occurrences,
its bearing on our current understanding of the
earliest tools and their makers (6, 7) is
contingent on the accuracy of the inferred
chronological placement and technological
interpretations. (...) |
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Reply to Sahle and Gossa: Technology and
geochronology at the earliest known Oldowan site
at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia,
di D. R. Braun et alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", October 8,
2019, n. 116 (41), pp. 20261-20262
Sahle and Gossa
(1) identify 2 components of our paper with
which they disagree. Their concerns are based on
misunderstandings of our paleomagnetic data and
the published details of the Bokol Dora 1 (BD 1)
artifact assemblage. The normal paleomagnetic
sequence at BD 1 cannot represent the Reunion
subchron [2.128 to 2.148 Ma (2)]. This would
require one or more of the following scenarios:
1) The age of the Ali Toyta Tuff (ATT) is ~0.5
My too old. There is no evidence to support this
in the 40Ar/39Ar data; the 95% confidence
interval places a minimum age of 2.55 Ma on the
juvenile feldspar population. 2) The ATT
feldspars were reworked from older eruptions and
are unassociated with the vitric component.
Geochemical analyses of ~150 glass shards
demonstrate that the ATT has a single,
homogenous population (3) indicating no
incorporation of additional tephra. (...) |
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Early hominins evolved within non-analog
ecosystems,
di J. T. Faith, J. Rowan, A. Du, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences-Early
edition", October 7, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1909284116
- free access -
Present-day
African ecosystems serve as referential models
for conceptualizing the environmental context of
early hominin evolution, but the degree to which
modern ecosystems are representative of those in
the past is unclear. A growing body of evidence
from eastern Africa’s rich and well-dated late
Cenozoic fossil record documents communities of
large-bodied mammalian herbivores with
ecological structures differing dramatically
from those of the present day, implying that
modern communities may not be suitable analogs
for the ancient ecosystems of hominin evolution.
To determine when and why the ecological
structure of eastern Africa’s herbivore faunas
came to resemble those of the present, here we
analyze functional trait changes in a
comprehensive dataset of 305 modern and fossil
herbivore communities spanning the last ∼7 Myr.
We show that nearly all communities prior to
~700 ka were functionally non-analog, largely
due to a greater richness of non-ruminants and
megaherbivores (species >1,000 kg). The
emergence of functionally modern communities
precedes that of taxonomically modern
communities by 100,000s of years, and can be
attributed to the combined influence of
Plio-Pleistocene C4 grassland expansion and
pulses of aridity after ~1 Ma. Given the
disproportionate ecological impacts of
large-bodied herbivores on factors such as
vegetation structure, hydrology, and fire
regimes, it follows that the vast majority of
early hominin evolution transpired in the
context of ecosystems that functioned unlike any
today. Identifying how past ecosystems differed
compositionally and functionally from those
today is key to conceptualizing ancient African
environments and testing ecological hypotheses
of hominin evolution. (...) |
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Correction: Hafting of
Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central
Italy): New data from Fossellone and
Sant’Agostino caves,
The PLOS ONE Staff, October 3, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223714
An incorrect
version of Fig 1 was published in error.
Additionally, a Supporting Information file was
incorrectly included in the originally published
article. The publisher apologizes for these
errors. This article was republished on
September 27, 2019 to correct for these errors.
Please download this article again to view the
correct version. |
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A
Neanderthal from the Central Western Zagros,
Iran. Structural reassessment of the Wezmeh 1
maxillary premolar,
di C. Zanolli et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 135, October 2019, 102643
Wezmeh Cave, in
the Kermanshah region of Central Western Zagros,
Iran, produced a Late Pleistocene faunal
assemblage rich in carnivorans along with a
human right maxillary premolar, Wezmeh 1, an
unerupted tooth from an 8 ± 2 year-old
individual. Uranium-series analyses of the fauna
by alpha spectrometry provided age estimates
between 70 and 11 ka. Crown dimensions place the
tooth specimen at the upper limits of Late
Pleistocene human ranges of variation. Wezmeh 1
metameric position (most likely a P3) remains
uncertain and only its surficial morphology has
been described so far. Accordingly, we used
microfocus X-ray tomography (12.5 μm isotropic
voxel size) to reassess the metameric position
and taxonomic attribution of this specimen. We
investigated its endostructural features and
quantified crown tissue proportions. (...) |
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Lithic technology, chronology, and marine shells
from Wadi Aghar, southern Jordan, and Initial
Upper Paleolithic behaviors in the southern
inland Levant,
di S. Kadowaki et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 135, October 2019, 102646
The Initial Upper
Paleolithic (IUP) temporally overlaps with the
range expansion of Homo sapiens populations in
various parts of Eurasia and is often considered
a key archaeological phase for investigating
behavioral changes from the Middle Paleolithic.
This paper reports upon new data from IUP
occupations at Wadi Aghar, a rock shelter site
in the southern Levant. In combining the results
of radiometric dates and lithic analyses, we
clarify the chronological and cultural position
of Wadi Aghar assemblages in the Levantine IUP.
As for the records about mobility, on-site
activities, and resource procurement behaviors,
we present analyses of lithic use-wear,
tool-type composition, soil micromorphology, and
marine shells. The lithic analyses and the
optically stimulated luminescence (and
subsidiary radiocarbon) dating of the Wadi Aghar
materials suggest their chronocultural position
in the IUP (45–40 ka for Layers C–D1; 39–36 ka
for Layer B; possibly 50 ka for Layer D2),
providing the southernmost location for the IUP
in Eurasia. (...) |
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The shift from typical Western European Late
Acheulian to microproduction in unit ‘D’ of the
late Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Caune de
l’Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales, France),
di D. Barsky, A. M. Moigne, V. Poi, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 135, October 2019,
102650
Stratigraphic Unit
D levels of the Caune de l’Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales,
France), situated in the upper part of the
depositional sequence of Ensemble
Stratigraphique III (ES III), has yielded a rich
Acheulian archeopaleontological record dated to
the Middle Pleistocene. The site's infill, dated
from 690 to 90 ka, encloses a thick cultural
sequence comprising some of the oldest evidence
of Acheulian documented so far in Western Europe
(Unit P levels). The deposits contain successive
occupation layers with abundant faunal remains,
stone artifacts, and sometimes hominin remains
attributed to Homo erectus tautavelensis. The
Unit D levels are chronostratigraphically
positioned at the top of the ES III sequence,
accumulated at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)
12. The Unit D lithic assemblage shows no
evidence of Levallois knapping strategies.
(...) |
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A
revision of the conductive hearing loss in
Cranium 4 from the Middle Pleistocene site of
Sima de los Huesos (Burgos, Spain),
di M. Conde-Valverde et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 135, October 2019,
102663
Pathological
conditions have been previously documented in
the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos
hominins from northern Spain, and several of
these have clear behavioral implications. Within
this fossil assemblage, Cranium 4 shows
bilateral external auditory exostoses which have
been preliminarily interpreted as causing a
significant hearing loss in this individual. If
confirmed, this would be the oldest recorded
case of deafness in human history and could have
important implications for the antiquity of this
condition, as well as social interactions. To
further investigate this case, the current study
presents 3D reconstructions of the entire outer
and middle ear, based on computed tomography
scans of both temporal bones in Cranium 4. We
established the degree of stenosis in both
external auditory canals, showing that in both
cases the degree of stenosis is less than 52% of
the original cross-sectional area of each canal.
(...) |
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Innovative Neanderthals: Results from an
integrated analytical approach applied to backed
stone tools,
di D. Delpiano, A. Zupancich, M. Peresani,
"Journal of Archaeological Science", Volume 110,
October 2019, 105011
The production of
prepared backed artifacts during the Paleolithic
is recognized as an important step in the design
of stone tools for manual activities and the
development of human tool ergonomics. Backed
artifacts are generally identified as proxies of
so-called “modern” behavior, partly because they
tend to be associated with systematic hafting,
but mostly because they are widespread within
Middle Stone Age (MSA) or Early Upper
Paleolithic (EUP) assemblages attributed to
anatomically modern humans. However, in Europe
these tools were first manufactured by
Neanderthal groups associated with the
Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MAT)
techno-complex and Discoid and Levallois
technologies, using a range of flake blanks.
Investigating the reasons for this behavioral
leap forward can help to unravel the development
and diffusion of various aspects defining the
behavioral complexity of Paleolithic humans. In
this paper we present a detailed analysis of one
of the oldest and richest collections of
prepared backed items preserved in Europe.
(...) |
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Root caries on a Paranthropus robustus third
molar from Drimolen,
di I. Towle, A. Riga, J. D. Irish, I. Dori, C.
Menter, J. Moggi-Cecchi, "American Journal of
Physical Anthropology", Volume170, Issue2,
October 2019, Pages 319-323
Dental caries is
often perceived as a modern human disease.
However, their presence is documented in many
early human groups, various nonhuman primates
and, increasingly, our hominin ancestors and
relatives. In this study, we describe an
antemortem lesion on the root of a Paranthropus
robustus third molar from Drimolen, South
Africa, which likely represents another example
of caries in fossil hominins.
The molar, DNH 40, is dated to 2.0–1.5 Ma and
displays a lesion on the mesial root surface,
extending from the cementoenamel junction 3 mm
down toward the apex. The position and severity
of the lesion was macroscopically recorded and
micro-CT scanned to determine the extent of
dentine involvement. (...) |
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The Gravettian child mandible from El Castillo
Cave (Puente Viesgo, Cantabria, Spain),
di M. D. Garralda, J. M. Maíllo‐Fernández, T.
Higham, A. Neira, F. Bernaldo de Quirós,
"American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 170, Issue 3, November 2019, Pages
331-350
This article documents an incomplete child's
mandible found in H. Obermaier's excavation
campaign (in 1912) in El Castillo Cave, Spain.
This fossil was assigned to what was then
considered a phase of the “Aurignacian-delta”.
We exhaustively analyzed the original Obermaier
documents, with particular attention to those
corresponding to the year of the discovery. We
extracted a bone sample to radiocarbon date the
fossil directly. We also followed established
methods to measure, describe and compare the
mandible with other human remains. |
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European Upper Palaeolithic cultural taxa:
better off without them?,
di J. J. Shea, "Antiquity", Volume 93, Issue
371, October 2019, pp. 1359-1361 |
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House of cards: cultural taxonomy and the study
of the European Upper Palaeolithic,
di N. Reynolds, F. Riede, "Antiquity", Volume
93, Issue 371, October 2019, pp. 1350-1358
A fundamental
element of Upper Palaeolithic archaeological
practice is cultural taxonomy—the definition and
description of taxonomic units that group
assemblages according to their material culture
and geographic and chronological distributions.
The derived taxonomies, such as Aurignacian,
Gravettian and Magdalenian, are used as units of
analysis in many research questions and
interpretations. (...) |
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Cultural taxonomy for the
European Upper Palaeolithic: a wide-ranging
problem,
di E. M. L. Scerri, "Antiquity", Volume 93,
Issue 371, October 2019 , pp. 1362-1364 |
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Galisonian logic devices and data availability:
revitalising Upper Palaeolithic cultural
taxonomies,
di B. Marwick, "Antiquity", Volume 93, Issue
371, October 2019, pp. 1365-1367 |
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Reject or revive? The crisis of cultural
taxonomy in the European Upper Palaeolithic and
beyond, di
N. Reynolds, F. Riede, "Antiquity", Volume 93,
Issue 371, October 2019, pp. 1368-1370 |
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Investigating the use of Paleolithic perforated
batons: new evidence from Gough’s Cave (Somerset,
UK), di C.
Lucas, J. Galway-Witham, C. B. Stringer, S. M.
Bello, "Archaeological and Anthropological
Sciences", October 2019, Volume 11, Issue 10, pp
5231–5255
Perforated batons,
usually made from a segment of antler and formed
of a sub-cylindrical shaft and at least one
perforation, have been documented across Europe
from sites throughout the Upper Paleolithic and
Mesolithic. The function of perforated batons is
still debated. We present here three Magdalenian
perforated batons from the site of Gough’s Cave
(Somerset, UK); these are unique to Britain and
represent an important northern example of this
artifact type. Our technological analysis
revealed that the Gough’s Cave perforated batons
did not have a purely symbolic purpose, but were
clearly used as tools as demonstrated by
extensive use-wear on the perforations’ edges
and ancient fractures across both the distal
parts and the shafts. The reconstruction of the
chaîne opératoire suggests that the engraving of
the deep curved lines within the perforation of
each baton was a functional re-adjustment
following the significant distortion of the
perforation by use. (...) |
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A
Mousterian Engraved Bone: Principles of
Perception in Middle Paleolithic Art,
di D. Shaham, A. Belfer-Cohen, R. Rabinovich, N.
Goren-Inbar, "Current Anthropology", Volume 60,
Number 5, October 2019, pp. 708–716
The appearance of
art as a constant component of human culture is
attributed to several Upper Paleolithic
traditions. The record of earlier artistic
manifestations is rather scanty and
chronogeographically varied, although crucial
for studies of human behavioral evolution. Here
we describe an engraved bone from the Middle
Paleolithic site of Quneitra, depicting an image
similar to that of another artwork found in the
same layer. (...) |
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Bone marrow storage and delayed consumption at
Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave, Israel (420 to
200 ka), R.
Blasco et alii, "Science Advances", 09
Oct 2019: Vol. 5, no. 10, eaav9822
- free access -
Bone marrow and
grease constitute an important source of
nutrition and have attracted the attention of
human groups since prehistoric times. Marrow
consumption has been linked to immediate
consumption following the procurement and
removal of soft tissues. Here, we present the
earliest evidence for storage and delayed
consumption of bone marrow at Qesem Cave, Israel
(~420 to 200 ka). By using experimental series
controlling exposure time and environmental
parameters, combined with chemical analyses, we
evaluated bone marrow preservation. The
combination of archaeological and experimental
results allowed us to isolate specific marks
linked to dry skin removal and determine a low
rate of marrow fat degradation of up to 9 weeks
of exposure. This is the earliest evidence of
such previously unidentified behavior, and it
offers insights into the socio-economy of the
human groups who lived at Qesem and may mark a
threshold to new modes of Palaeolithic human
adaptation. (...) |
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Earliest occupation of the Central Aegean (Naxos),
Greece: Implications for hominin and Homo
sapiens’ behavior and dispersals,
di T. Carter et alii, "Science Advances",
16 Oct 2019: Vol. 5, no. 10, eaax0997
- free access -
We present
evidence of Middle Pleistocene activity in the
central Aegean Basin at the chert extraction and
reduction complex of Stelida (Naxos, Greece).
Luminescence dating places ~9000 artifacts in a
stratigraphic sequence from ~13 to 200 thousand
years ago (ka ago). These artifacts include
Mousterian products, which arguably provide
first evidence for Neanderthals in the region.
This dated material attests to a much earlier
history of regional exploration than previously
believed, opening the possibility of alternative
routes into Southeast Europe from Anatolia (and
Africa) for (i) hominins, potentially during sea
level lowstands (e.g., Marine Isotope Stage 8)
permitting terrestrial crossings across the
Aegean, and (ii) Homo sapiens of the Early Upper
Paleolithic (Aurignacian), conceivably by sea.
(...) |
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Utilization of mammoth resources and occupation
of the Dniester-Prut basin territory: The Upper
Palaeolithic site of Valea Morilor (Republic of
Moldova),
di L. Demay, T. Obadă, S. Péan, A. Prepeliţă, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 222, 15 October 2019,
105898
Within the East
European Plain, the Podolian Upland have been
heavily settled by palaeolithic human
populations. We focus here about the
extra-Carpathian area, particularly the
Prut-Dniester basin during Upper Pleniglacial,
to better understand Upper Palaeolithic cultures.
Moreover there are few sites related to the Last
Glacial Maximum. That is why the faunal material
from Valea Morilor could provide further
information. We study the use of natural
resources, in particular of animal origin, to
inform the strategies of occupation of the
territories, placed in their palaeoecological
framework. We use zooarchaeological methods to
determine the faunal spectrum, mortality
profiles of animals, their anatomical
representation in relation with taphonomic
processes and palaeoethnography to restore the
involvement of humanactivities. (...) |
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Drivers of Late Pleistocene human survival and
dispersal: an agent-based modeling and machine
learning approach,
di A. R. Vahdati et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 221, 1 October 2019,
105867
Understanding Late
Pleistocene human dispersals from Africa
requires understanding a multifaceted problem
with factors varying in space and time, such as
climate, ecology, human behavior, and population
dynamics. To understand how these factors
interact to affect human survival and dispersal,
we have developed a realistic agent-based model
that includes geographic features, climate
change, and time-varying vegetation and food
resources. To enhance computational efficiency,
we further apply machine learning algorithms.
Our approach is new in that it is designed to
systematically evaluate a large-scale
agent-based model, and identify its key
parameters and sensitivities. (...) |
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Neanderthals at the frontier? Geological
potential of southwestern South Scandinavia as
archive of Pleistocene human occupation,
di T. Kellberg Nielsen, S. Munch, K. Felix
Riede, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 221,
1 October 2019, 105870
Preservation and
exposure of sediments is a prerequisite for
finding archaeological traces. Regional
geological history plays a significant and
potentially biasing role in the reconstruction
of the biogeographical distribution of
Pleistocene hominins, particularly in previously
glaciated regions. Here we present a digital
geoarchaeological approach to a qualitative
assessment of this archaeological bias in
southwestern South Scandinavia. First, we
identify time periods where the region was
accessible and suitable for past humans. Our
results show that only the longer Pleistocene
interstadials offered terrestrial access in
combination with potentially suitable habitats.
Second, we present an extended digital
geoarchaeological prospection of lacustrine,
fluvial and palaeosol deposits and relict
landscape features. (...) |
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Erq el Ahmar Elephant Site
– A mammoth skeleton at a rare and controversial
Plio-Pleistocene site along the mammal migration
route out of Africa,
di R. Rabinovich et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 221, 1 October 2019,
105885
Early sites along
the Dead Sea Transform (southern Levant), among
them the Erq el Ahmar Elephant Site, are key
points in understanding hominin and mammal
migration out of Africa and into Eurasia. The
late Prof. Tchernov had begun an intensive
campaign to expose the faunal remains at the
site, but unfortunately was unable to conclude
his study. Based on interim reports and
geomorphological descriptions, we were aware of
numerous elephant remains found and left in
situ. The Erq el Ahmar Elephant Site is a
controversial site. There are those who see it
as the earliest Pleistocene hominin site in the
area, while others consider it a paleontological
site without any hominin involvement. We
returned to the site to try to resolve this
controversy. In a systematic excavation, we
succeeded in exposing the previously uncovered
elements, exposed more material and currently
better understand the deposition sequence.
(...) |
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The Middle/Later Stone Age transition and
cultural dynamics of late Pleistocene East
Africa, di
C. A. Tryon, "Evolutionary Anthropology", Volume
28, Issue 5, September/October 2019, Pages
267-282
The Middle to Later Stone Age (MSA/LSA)
transition is a prominent feature of the African
archeological record that began in some places
~30,000–60,000 years ago, historically
associated with the origin and/or dispersal of
“modern” humans. Unlike the analogous Middle to
Upper Paleolithic transition in Eurasia and
associated Neanderthal extinction, the African
MSA/LSA record remains poorly documented, with
its potential role in explaining changes in the
behavioral diversity and geographic range of
Homo sapiens largely unexplored. (...) |
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An
Early Upper Palaeolithic Stone Tool Assemblage
from Mughr El-Hamamah, Jordan: An Interim Report,
di J. J. Shea, A. J. Stutz, L. Nilsson-Stutz,
"Journal of Field Archaeology", Volume 44, 2019
- Issue 7, Pages 420-439
Mughr
el-Hamamah (Jordan) Layer B contains an Early
Upper Palaeolithic stone tool assemblage dating
to around 39–45 kya cal b.p. This assemblage is
unusual in that it samples human forager
activities around the ecotone between the
Transjordanian Plateau and the palaeo-lake (Lake
Lisan) that filled much of the Jordan Valley
during Late Pleistocene times. This paper
describes that assemblage, comparing it to other
Levantine Upper Palaeolithic assemblages of
equivalent antiquity. (...) |
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A
caccia con arco e frecce in Europa già 40.000
anni fa, di
F. Claudi, "Le Scienze", 27 settembre 2019
Gli esseri umani
vissuti in Europa tra 45.000 e 40.000 anni fa
circa cacciavano già con archi e frecce. Lo
rivela uno studio effettuati sui reperti della
Grotta del Cavallo, un importante sito
archeologico sulla costa del Salento, da una
collaborazione italo-giapponese, di cui fanno
parte l'Università di Siena e l'Università di
Bologna. Si tratta di un’importante scoperta
sulla tecnologia avanzata della cultura
Uluzziana, probabilmente la più antica di Homo
sapiens in Europa, che completa il quadro delle
ipotesi sulla colonizzazione del continente da
parte dei nostri antenati e sull'estinzione
dell'uomo di Neanderthal. La ricerca si è
concentrata su reperti già noti, 146 piccole
lame in pietra scheggiata a forma di mezzaluna,
di cui era ancora sconosciuto l'utilizzo. "In
questo studio abbiamo associato alla solita
analisi tipologica di queste semilune un’analisi
tecnico-funzionale dell’usura e delle fratture
che ricorrono frequentemente in questa
particolare tipologia di strumento litico”, ha
spiegato a “Le Scienze” Stefano Benazzi,
paleoantropologo dell’Università di Bologna e
coautore dell’articolo pubblicato su “Nature
Ecology & Evolution”. “I nostri colleghi
giapponesi hanno effettuato prove sperimentali,
riproducendo le semilune con lo stesso materiale
e montandole su frecce o sui cosiddetti
propulsori, aste che servivano sostanzialmente a
prolungare il braccio e a lanciare così i
proiettili con più forza”, ha sottolineato il
ricercatore. (...) |
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Hominin and animal activities in the
microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai
Mountains, Russia),
di M. W. Morley et alii, "Scientific
Reports", 26 September 2019, volume 9, Article
number: 13785 (2019) -
free access -
Denisova Cave in
southern Siberia uniquely contains evidence of
occupation by a recently discovered group of
archaic hominins, the Denisovans, starting from
the middle of the Middle Pleistocene. Artefacts,
ancient DNA and a range of animal and plant
remains have been recovered from the sedimentary
deposits, along with a few fragmentary fossils
of Denisovans, Neanderthals and a
first-generation Neanderthal–Denisovan offspring.
The deposits also contain microscopic traces of
hominin and animal activities that can provide
insights into the use of the cave over the last
300,000 years. Here we report the results of a
micromorphological study of intact sediment
blocks collected from the Pleistocene deposits
in the Main and East Chambers of Denisova Cave.
The presence of charcoal attests to the use of
fire by hominins, but other evidence of their
activities preserved in the microstratigraphic
record are few. The ubiquitous occurrence of
coprolites, which we attribute primarily to
hyenas, indicates that the site was visited for
much of its depositional history by
cave-dwelling carnivores. Microscopic traces of
post-depositional diagenesis, bioturbation and
incipient cryoturbation are observed in only a
few regions of the deposit examined here.
Micromorphology can help identify areas of
sedimentary deposit that are most conducive to
ancient DNA preservation and could be usefully
integrated with DNA analyses of sediments at
archaeological sites to illuminate features of
their human and environmental history that are
invisible to the naked eye. (...) |
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A
biface production older than 600 ka ago at
Notarchirico (Southern Italy) contribution to
understanding early Acheulean cognition and
skills in Europe,
di M. H. Moncel, C. Santagata, A. Pereira, S.
Nomade, J. J. Bahain, P. Voinchet, M. Piperno,
September 26, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218591
- free access -
For the past
decade, debates on the earliest evidence of
bifacial shaping in Western Europe have focused
on several key issues, such as its origin (i.e.,
local or introduced), or on what should define
the Acheulean culture. Whatever hypotheses are
proposed for its origin, the onset and
technological strategies for making Large
Cutting Tools (LCTs), including biface
production, are key issues and are often
associated with other behavioural changes, such
as increased core technology complexity. Current
archaeological patterns do not support the
existence of transitional industries. Rather,
the scant evidence suggests that biface
production associated with the management of
bifacial volume was widespread around 700 ka.
Among the earliest sites, the site of
Notarchirico in Southern Italy stands out as one
of the most significant examples. 40Ar/39Ar ages
and ESR dates recently provided a revised
chronology for the whole sedimentary sequence
and constrained the archaeological levels
between ca. 610 and 670 ka. Five archaeosurfaces
(A, A1, B, D and F) yielded LCTs, including
bifaces, during Marcello Piperno’s excavations
from 1980 to 1995. In light of this new
chronological framework, which is much shorter
than previously thought, we propose in this
contribution a revision of the bifaces by
applying the “chaine opératoire” method for the
first time (analysis of reduction processes).
Our goals are to assess biface production in
this early Western European locality and to
characterize the strategies applied at the site
throughout the sequence. A corpus of 32 tools
was selected from the A-A1, B, D and F
archaeosurfaces. The technological analysis
shows that hominins had the capacity to manage
bifacial volumes, when raw material quality was
adequate. Clear differences do not emerge
between the different levels in terms of shaping
modes or final forms. However, we demonstrate
that the oldest level (level F), with the
richest corpus, lacks flint and displays a
higher diversity of bifaces. This ability to
manage bifacial and bilateral equilibrium, as
well as the diversity of the morphological
results, is observed in a few
penecontemporaneous sites (700–600 ka), both in
the north-western and southern parts of Western
Europe. These patterns suggest that hominins
mastered well-controlled and diversified biface
production, combining intense shaping and
minimal shaping, and shared a common
technological background regardless of the
geographical area, and applied this technology
regardless of the available raw materials. The
degree of skill complexity of hominins in
Western Europe between 700 and 600 ka, the
current lack of evidence suggesting “gradual
industries” between core-and-flake series and
Acheulean techno-complexes, raise numerous
questions on the origin of new behaviours in
Western Europe, their mode of diffusion, and
their association with Homo heidelbergensis or
other Middle Pleistocene populations. (...) |
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One species, many origins,
23 september 2019
In a paper
published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, a
group of researchers argue that our evolutionary
past must be understood as the outcome of
dynamic changes in connectivity, or gene flow,
between early humans scattered across Africa.
Viewing past human populations as a succession
of discrete branches on an evolutionary tree may
be misleading, they said, because it reduces the
human story to a series of "splitting times"
which may be illusory. According to
archaeologist Dr. Eleanor Scerri and geneticists
Dr. Lounès Chikhi and Professor Mark Thomas, the
quest for a single original location for modern
humans is a wild goose chase. "People like us
began to appear sometime between 500,000 and
300,000 years ago," says Dr. Scerri, group
leader of the Pan-African Evolution Research
Group at the Max Planck Institute for the
Science of Human History and lead author of the
study. "That is something in the order of 8000
generations, a long time for early people to
move around and explore a big space. Their
movements, patterns of mixing and genetic
exchanges are what gave rise to us." (...) |
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First portrait of mysterious Denisovans drawn
from DNA,
"Nature news", 19 september 2019
For the first time,
scientists analysing the DNA of Denisovans — an
extinct group of hominins that was discovered
around a decade ago — have offered a glimpse of
what they might have looked like. Ever since
archaeologists uncovered the first fragmented
Denisovan remains in a Siberian cave,
researchers have scoured the globe for clues to
how the mysterious hominins looked. Denisova
Cave has yielded a few more small fossils,
mostly teeth. A jawbone from the Tibetan Plateau
added detail this year, as did information on a
missing finger bone that moved between labs in
Russia, California and Paris. But none of these
fossils is large or complete enough to
reconstruct many anatomical details. Now,
computational biologists have produced a rough
sketch of Denisovan anatomy based on epigenetic
changes — chemical modifications to DNA that can
alter gene activity. Their approach reveals that
Denisovans were similar in appearance to
Neanderthals but had some subtle differences,
such as a wider jaw and skull. “It does help to
paint a clearer picture of how they might have
looked. Just the idea that it’s possible to use
the DNA to predict morphology so well is very
impressive,” says Bence Viola, a
palaeoanthropologist at the University of
Toronto in Canada who has analysed Denisovan
remains, but was not involved in this research.
(...)
·
Reconstructing Denisovan Anatomy Using DNA
Methylation Maps, di D. Gokhman et alii,
"Cell", volume 179, issue 1, pp. 180-192, 19
september 2019 |
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Did a common childhood
illness take down the Neanderthals?,
19 september 2019
It is one of the
great unsolved mysteries of anthropology. What
killed off the Neanderthals, and why did Homo
sapiens thrive even as Neanderthals withered to
extinction? Was it some sort of plague specific
only to Neanderthals? Was there some sort of
cataclysmic event in their homelands of Eurasia
that lead to their disappearance? A new study
from a team of physical anthropologists and head
& neck anatomists suggests a less dramatic but
equally deadly cause. Published online by the
journal, The Anatomical Record, the study, "Reconstructing
the Neanderthal Eustachian Tube: New Insights on
Disease Susceptibility, Fitness Cost, and
Extinction"1 suggests that the real culprit in
the demise of the Neanderthals was not some
exotic pathogen. Instead, the authors believe
the path to extinction may well have been the
most common and innocuous of childhood illnesses
- and the bane of every parent of young children
- chronic ear infections. (...) |
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Reconstructing birth in Australopithecus sediba,
di N. M. Laudicina, F. Rodriguez, J. M. DeSilva,
September 18, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221871
- free access -
Hominin birth
mechanics have been examined and debated from
limited and often fragmentary fossil pelvic
material. Some have proposed that birth in the
early hominin genus Australopithecus was
relatively easy and ape-like, while others have
argued for a more complex, human-like birth
mechanism in australopiths. Still others have
hypothesized a unique birth mechanism, with no
known modern equivalent. Preliminary work on the
pelvis of the recently discovered 1.98
million-year-old hominin Australopithecus sediba
found it to possess a unique combination of Homo
and Australopithecus-like features. Here, we
create a composite pelvis of Australopithecus
sediba to reconstruct the birth process in this
early hominin. Consistent with other hominin
species, including modern humans, the fetus
would enter the pelvic inlet in a transverse
direction. However, unlike in modern humans, the
fetus would not need additional rotations to
traverse the birth canal. Further fetal rotation
is unnecessary even with a Homo-like pelvic
midplane expansion, not seen in earlier hominin
species. With a birth canal shape more closely
associated with specimens from the genus Homo
and a lack of cephalopelvic or shoulder
constraints, we therefore find evidence to
support the hypothesis that the pelvic
morphology of Australopithecus sediba is a
result of locomotor, rather than strictly
obstetric constraints. (...) |
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An
application of hierarchical Bayesian modeling to
better constrain the chronologies of Upper
Paleolithic archaeological cultures in France
between ca. 32,000–21,000 calibrated years
before present,
di W. E. Banks et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 220, 15 September 2019,
Pages 188-214
Investigations of
chronology play a key role in the majority of
archaeological research endeavors and are
particularly pertinent to examinations of
culture-environment relationships, especially
during periods characterized by rapid and marked
climatic variability and environmental
reorganization. Rigorous evaluations of
available data and robust methods are required
if one wishes to reconstruct reliable
chronologies, and this is especially the case
when examining periods that are associated with
a relatively few radiometric measurements. Such
is the case for the Upper Paleolithic
archaeological record documented in present-day
France from 32,000 to 21,000 calibrated years
BP. (...) |
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A
3.8-million-year-old hominin cranium from
Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia,
di Y. Haile-Selassie, S. M. Melillo, A. Vazzana,
S. Benazz, T. M. Ryan, "Nature", Volume 573
Issue 7773, 12 September 2019, pages 214–219
The cranial
morphology of the earliest known hominins in the
genus Australopithecus remains unclear. The
oldest species in this genus (Australopithecus
anamensis, specimens of which have been dated to
4.2–3.9 million years ago) is known primarily
from jaws and teeth, whereas younger species (dated
to 3.5–2.0 million years ago) are typically
represented by multiple skulls. Here we describe
a nearly complete hominin cranium from
Woranso-Mille (Ethiopia) that we date to 3.8
million years ago. We assign this cranium to A.
anamensis on the basis of the taxonomically and
phylogenetically informative morphology of the
canine, maxilla and temporal bone. (...) |
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Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium
from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia,
di B. Z. Saylor et alii, "Nature", Volume 573
Issue 7773, 12 September 2019, pages 220–224
A fossil hominin
cranium was discovered in mid-Pliocene deltaic
strata in the Godaya Valley of the northwestern
Woranso-Mille study area in Ethiopia. Here we
show that analyses of chemically correlated
volcanic layers and the palaeomagnetic
stratigraphy, combined with Bayesian modelling
of dated tuffs, yield an age range of 3.804 ±
0.013 to 3.777 ± 0.014 million years old (mean ±
1σ) for the deltaic strata and the fossils that
they contain. We also document deposits of a
perennial lake beneath the deltaic sequence.
(...) |
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The earliest evidence of Acheulian occupation in
Northwest Europe and the rediscovery of the
Moulin Quignon site, Somme valley, France,
di P. Antoine et alii, "Scientific
Reports", 11 September 2019, volume 9, Article
number: 13091 (2019) -
free access -
The dispersal of
hominin groups with an Acheulian technology and
associated bifacial tools into northern
latitudes is central to the debate over the
timing of the oldest human occupation of Europe.
New evidence resulting from the rediscovery and
the dating of the historic site of Moulin
Quignon demonstrates that the first Acheulian
occupation north of 50°N occurred around 670–650
ka ago. The new archaeological assemblage was
discovered in a sequence of fluvial sands and
gravels overlying the chalk bedrock at a
relative height of 40 m above the present-day
maximal incision of the Somme River and dated by
ESR on quartz to early MIS 16. More than 260
flint artefacts were recovered, including large
flakes, cores and five bifaces. This discovery
pushes back the age of the oldest Acheulian
occupation of north-western Europe by more than
100 ka and bridges the gap between the
archaeological records of northern France and
England. It also challenges hominin dispersal
models in Europe showing that hominins using
bifacial technology, such as Homo
heidelbergensis, were probably able to overcome
cold climate conditions as early as 670–650 ka
ago and reasserts the importance of the Somme
valley, where Prehistory was born at the end of
the 19th century. (...) |
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Animal residues found on tiny Lower Paleolithic
tools reveal their use in butchery,
di F. Venditti, E. Cristiani, S.
Nunziante-Cesaro, A. Agam, C. Lemorini, R.
Barkai, "Scientific Reports", 10 September 2019,
volume 9, Article number: 13031 (2019)
- free access -
Stone tools
provide a unique window into the mode of
adaptation and cognitive abilities of Lower
Paleolithic early humans. The persistently
produced large cutting tools (bifaces/handaxes)
have long been an appealing focus of research in
the reconstruction of Lower Paleolithic survival
strategies, at the expenses of the small flake
tools considered by-products of the stone
production process rather than desired end
products. Here, we use use-wear, residues and
technological analyses to show direct and very
early evidence of the deliberate production and
use of small flakes for targeted stages of the
prey butchery process at the late Lower
Paleolithic Acheulian site of Revadim, Israel.
We highlight the significant role of small
flakes in Lower Paleolithic adaptation alongside
the canonical large handaxes. Our results
demonstrate the technological and cognitive
flexibility of early human groups in the Levant
and beyond at the threshold of the departure
from Lower Paleolithic lifeways. (...) |
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Birch tar production does not prove Neanderthal
behavioral complexity,
di P. Schmidt et alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", September
3, 2019, n. 116 (36), pp. 17707-17711
Birch tar
production by Neanderthals—used for hafting
tools—has been interpreted as one of the
earliest manifestations of modern cultural
behavior. This is because birch tar production
per se was assumed to require a cognitively
demanding setup, in which birch bark is heated
in anaerobic conditions, a setup whose inherent
complexity was thought to require modern levels
of cognition and cultural transmission. Here we
demonstrate that recognizable amounts of birch
tar were likely a relatively frequent byproduct
of burning birch bark (a natural tinder) under
common, i.e., aerobic, conditions. We show that
when birch bark burns close to a vertical to
subvertical hard surface, such as an adjacent
stone, birch tar is naturally deposited and can
be easily scraped off the surface. The burning
of birch bark near suitable surfaces provides
useable quantities of birch tar in a single work
session (3 h; including birch bark procurement).
(...) |
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Population structure of modern-day Italians
reveals patterns of ancient and archaic
ancestries in Southern Europe,
di A. Raveane et alii, "Science Advances",
04 Sep 2019: Vol. 5, no. 9, eaaw3492
- free access -
European
populations display low genetic differentiation
as the result of long-term blending of their
ancient founding ancestries. However, it is
unclear how the combination of ancient
ancestries related to early foragers, Neolithic
farmers, and Bronze Age nomadic pastoralists can
explain the distribution of genetic variation
across Europe. Populations in natural crossroads
like the Italian peninsula are expected to
recapitulate the continental diversity, but have
been systematically understudied. Here, we
characterize the ancestry profiles of Italian
populations using a genome-wide dataset
representative of modern and ancient samples
from across Italy, Europe, and the rest of the
world. Italian genomes capture several ancient
signatures, including a non–steppe contribution
derived ultimately from the Caucasus.
Differences in ancestry composition, as the
result of migration and admixture, have
generated in Italy the largest degree of
population structure detected so far in the
continent, as well as shaping the amount of
Neanderthal DNA in modern-day populations.
(...) |
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Morphology of the Denisovan phalanx closer to
modern humans than to Neanderthals,
di E. Andrew Bennett et alii, "Science
Advances", 04 Sep 2019: Vol. 5, no. 9, eaaw3950
- free access -
A fully sequenced
high-quality genome has revealed in 2010 the
existence of a human population in Asia, the
Denisovans, related to and contemporaneous with
Neanderthals. Only five skeletal remains are
known from Denisovans, mostly molars; the
proximal fragment of a fifth finger phalanx used
to generate the genome, however, was too
incomplete to yield useful morphological
information. Here, we demonstrate through
ancient DNA analysis that a distal fragment of a
fifth finger phalanx from the Denisova Cave is
the larger, missing part of this phalanx. Our
morphometric analysis shows that its dimensions
and shape are within the variability of Homo
sapiens and distinct from the Neanderthal fifth
finger phalanges. Thus, unlike Denisovan molars,
which display archaic characteristics not found
in modern humans, the only morphologically
informative Denisovan postcranial bone
identified to date is suggested here to be
plesiomorphic and shared between Denisovans and
modern humans. (...) |
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La funzione degli “small
tools” nell’ambito delle industrie litiche
scheggiate acheuleane della penisola italiana:
il caso studio del sito laziale di Fontana
Ranuccio (FR),
di F. Marinelli,
C. Lemorini, D. Zampetti, V. 11, N. 1 (2019)
- free access -
Studi recenti di contesti del Paleolitico
Inferiore Finale nel Vicino Oriente e in Europa
hanno dimostrato che le schegge di piccole
dimensioni (small tools) sono elementi
tecnologici rilevanti di questo periodo. È stato
dunque necessario rivisitare l’idea del
bifacciale come unico marcatore tecno-culturale
della fase cronologica e culturale denominata
Acheuleano. In questo articolo vogliamo
discutere il ruolo funzionale svolto dagli small
tools attraverso i risultati dell’analisi delle
tracce d’uso effettuata su questa categoria di
strumenti provenienti dal sito acheuleano di
Fontana Ranuccio (Frosinone) (...) |
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L’arte rupestre dei Monti Lepini: “vecchi dati”
e “nuove prospettive” di ricerca,
di V. Mironti, M. Vilmercati, D. A. Puddu, S.
Ruzza, F. S. Pianelli, R. Modesto, V. 11, N. 1
(2019) - free access -
Il presente lavoro vuole riassumere le evidenze
artistiche preistoriche già note nei Monti
Lepini, per poi fare accenno a una possibile
evidenza ancora inedita. Si cercheranno
similarità e differenze tra tali contesti, sia
dal punto di vista tipologico e morfologico, sia
per quanto riguarda le modalità di realizzazione
delle pitture. Ultimo passo sarà quello di
inserire tali evidenze in un più ampio ambito
nazionale ed internazionale, per tentare di
comprenderne una cronologia generale. Obiettivo
principale è riportare l’attenzione sulle
manifestazioni simboliche nei Monti Lepini e più
in generale nell’Italia Centrale, così da dare
un nuovo impulso alle ricerche archeologiche in
tal senso. (...) |
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La
scoperta dell’Arnalo dei Bufali (Sezze, LT):
documenti fotografici inediti dall’archivio
Blanc-Aguet,
di F. Altamura, A. Bertolini Blanc, G. Bertolini
Blanc, I. Lungo, M. Mussi, V. 11, N. 1 (2019)
- free access -
Si presentano in
questo contributo immagini inedite del riparo
Arnalo dei Bufali (Sezze, LT) e delle pitture
individuate sulle pareti interne. Le fotografie,
scattate da Carlo Alberto Blanc nel 1936, quando
il complesso archeologico venne scoperto e
studiato per la prima volta, sono attualmente
conservate presso l'archivio Blanc-Aguet, a
Roma. (...) |
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Préhistoire de la Russie,
"L'Anthropologie",
Volume 123, Issue 2, Pages 191-484 (April–August
2019): -
Le Paléolithique de la
Russie: l’apport des préhistoriens de
Saint-Petersbourg,
di S. Vasil’ev
-
Site du Paléolithique
inférieur de Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka dans la
péninsule de Taman, Kraï de Krasnodar, Russie,
di S. A.
Kulakov
-
The Oldowan site of Muhkai
II, layer 80 (northeastern Caucasus): Spatial
structure and cultural and chronological
attribution of the lithic assemblage,
di D. V.
Ozherelyev
-
Baïraki – un site du
Paléolithique inférieur sur le territoire de la
Plaine d’Europe orientale,
di N. K.
Anissutkine, А. L. Tchepalyga, S. I. Kolavenko
-
Découverte des sites du
Paléolithique inférieur au Nord de l’Arménie,
di E. V.
Belyaeva, V. P. Lyubin, V. G. Trifonov
-
Signification des
technologies bifaciales au Paléolithique moyen
des montagnes de l’Altaï,
di K. A. Kolobova,
A. V. Shalagina, V. P. Chabai, S. V. Markin, A.
I. Krivoshapkin
-
Signification des plus
anciennes industries microlithiques du
Kazakhstan, et ligne de Movius,
di M. Otte
-
Études géoarchéologiques
pluridisciplinaires des sites du Paléolithique
moyen de la Plaine Russe,
di A. K.
Otcherednoy et alii
-
Le site paléolithique de
Sémizbougou XI au Kazakhstan : nouvelle approche
de l’étude techno-typologique,
di E. A. Osipova,
O. A. Artyukhova
-
Les percuteurs en pierre
du site du Paléolithique moyen de Ketrosy,
couche 3,
di A. V. Larionova,
K. N. Stepanova
-
L’exploitation de la faune
par les groupes humains du Pléniglaciaire
supérieur à Eliseevichi 1 (Russie),
di L. Demay
et alii
-
Le site Paléolithique
supérieur de Yudinovo : résultats des recherches
archéologiques des années 2004–2016,
di G. A.
Khlopachev
-
Le site du Gravettien
récent, Kostenki 21 (Gmélinskaia) : les
résultats préliminaires des travaux
archéologiques de sauvetage des années 2013–2016,
di A. A.
Bessudnov
-
Nouveau site Paléolithique
supérieur ancien au nord de l’Asie Centrale,
di M. V.
Shunkov et alii
-
Denisova et les traditions
paléolithiques en Asie Centrale,
di M. Otte
-
La découverte d’un galet
gravé du Paléolithique final dans la région du
Haut Iénisséï (Sibérie du Sud),
di A. V. Polïakov,
S. A. Vasil’ev, E. Y. Girïa |
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Du nouveau à Menchecourt (Abbeville)
- nouvelles données stratigraphiques,
archéologiques, paléoenvironnementales et
géochronologiques pour un site paléolithique «
historique » de la vallée de la Somme (France),
di J. J. Bahai et alii, vol. 30/2 | 2019
: Volume 30 Numéro 2
Connu depuis le
xviiie siècle et exploré notamment par Jacques
Boucher de Perthes et Joseph Preswitch dans les
années 1840‑1860, le site de Menchecourt à
Abbeville a joué au xixe siècle un rôle
essentiel dans la reconnaissance de la
coexistence de l’Homme et d’espèces animales
disparues, fondement de la Préhistoire en tant
que science. Restée par la suite longtemps
inaccessible en raison de l’urbanisation de la
ville à la fin du xixe siècle et au cours du xxe
siècle, la localité a fait l’objet en 2014 d’une
opération d’archéologie préventive menée par l’INRAP
sur un terrain situé à proximité immédiate du
site historique. La séquence stratigraphique
mise au jour repose sur le substrat crayeux à
une altitude de + 2‑3 m NGF, soit + 14/15 m d’altitude
relative par rapport à l’incision maximale sous
le fond de vallée actuel. Elle comprend une
succession de niveaux fluviatiles et (ou)
fluvio-marins recouverts par une séquence de
couverture lœssique (loess et paléosols), très
proche de celle observée au xixe siècle.
(...) |
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Contexte paléoenvironnemental et chronologique
des occupations néandertaliennes de la grotte
des Ramandils (Port-La-Nouvelle, Aude, France):
apport des restes de grands mammifères,
di L. Rusch et alii, vol. 30/2 | 2019 :
Volume 30 Numéro 2
La grotte des
Ramandils (Port-La-Nouvelle, Aude, France) a
livré de nombreuses pièces d’industries
lithiques moustériennes, des dents humaines
ainsi que des restes fauniques (ongulés,
carnivores, lagomorphes, microvertébrés et
malacofaune) reflétant une grande diversité
spécifique en milieu côtier. L’étude des grands
mammifères, couplée aux récentes analyses
palynologiques de coprolithes, permet d’attribuer
l’ensemble du remplissage au Pléistocène
supérieur et plus précisément au stade
isotopique marin (SIM) 5, en accord avec les
datations radiométriques disponibles. L’analyse
de ces assemblages, en particulier pour les
ensembles stratigraphiques III et II, les plus
riches, a permis de reconstituer le cadre
paléoenvironnemental et paléoclimatique de ces
niveaux et de mettre en évidence une certaine
variété de paysages continentaux, liés à un
climat tempéré, influencé par une situation
côtière méditerranéenne. (...) |
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Le site préhistorique de
la Roche‑Cotard IV (Indre-et-Loire, France): une
séquence du pléistocene moyen et supérieur,
référence pour le val de Loire tourangeau,
di J. C. Marquet et alii, vol. 30/2 |
2019 : Volume 30 Numéro 2
Le site
préhistorique de La Roche-Cotard (LRC) se trouve
sur le versant de rive droite de la vallée de la
Loire, un peu en amont de Langeais, en
Indre-et-Loire. Le site a été rendu accessible
grâce à un important prélèvement de matériaux en
1846. La grotte principale (LRC I) a été
fouillée en 1912 : elle contenait une industrie
du Paléolithique moyen et des tracés digitaux y
ont été découverts en 1975 et validés en 2008.
La reprise des fouilles sur le site à partir de
2008 (locus LRC IV très proche de LRC I) a
permis de mettre en évidence une coupe puissante
de 11 mètres comprenant 22 couches distinctes
dont la partie inférieure comble un abri. La
stratigraphie combine, de bas en haut, des
apports karstiques de milieu souterrain, des
sables fluviatiles et éoliens issus de la vallée
de la Loire et gravitaires du versant. Des
indices d’occupation anthropique (industrie
lithique, os brûlés) attestent une occupation de
cet espace. (...) |
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Aspects of human physical and behavioural
evolution during the last 1 million years,
di J. Galway-Witham, J. Cole, C. Stringer,
Volume 34, Issue 6, August 2019, Pages 355-378
This paper reviews
some of the main advances in our understanding
of human evolution over the last 1 million years,
presenting a holistic overview of a field
defined by interdisciplinary approaches to
studying the origins of our species. We begin by
briefly summarizing the climatic context across
the Old World for the last 1 million years
before directly addressing the fossil and
archaeological records. The main themes in this
work explore (i) recent discoveries in the
fossil record over the last 15 years, such as
Homo naledi and Homo floresiensis; (ii) the
implications of palaeogenetics for understanding
the evolutionary history of, and relationships
between, Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo
sapiens; (...) |
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Intrastrata geochemical variability of a
Paleolithic bone assemblage: The case of
single-phase Gravettian site Jaksice II,
southern Poland,
di M. T. Krajcarz, J. Wilczyński, "Geoarchaeology",
Volume 34, Issue 5, September/October 2019,
Pages 581-591
Bone remains
constitute the portion of an archaeological
assemblage that may record a geochemical
signature of the depositional environment and
may be used as an indicator of the homogeneity
of the assemblage. However, the range of the
inner chemical variability inside a single
depositional bone assemblage has not been
sufficiently studied. In this study, the
chemical composition of 60 fossil bones
excavated from a single component Paleolithic
site was measured and the statistical
variability of the set established via
multivariate analysis. (...) |
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"Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", Volume 11, Issue
9, September 2019:
-
The challenges of applying
refitting analysis in the Palaeolithic
archaeology of the twenty-first century: an
actualised overview and future perspectives,
di F. Romagnoli, M. Vaquero
-
Explaining links from the
past: material distribution in Charco Hondo 2
Acheulian archeological site (Madrid, Spain),
di J.r Baena Preysler et alii
- Reconstructing
technology, mobility and land use via intra- and
inter-site refits from the Gravettian of the
Swabian Jura,
di A. Taller et
alii
-
An autumn at Pincevent (Seine-et-Marne,
France): refitting for an ethnographic approach
of a Magdalenian settlement,
di C. Karlin, M. Julien
-
Potentialities of the
virtual analysis of lithic refitting: case
studies from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic,
di D.
Delpiano, A. Cocilova, F. Zangrossi, M. Peresani
-
Lithic refitting and
intrasite artifact transport: a view from the
Middle Paleolithic,
di M. Vaquero
et alii
-
Technology of Early
Szeletian leaf point shaping: a refitting
approach,
di P. Neruda, Z.
Nerudová
-
Lithic refitting and the
analysis of Middle Palaeolithic settlement
dynamics: a high-temporal resolution example
from El Pastor rock shelter (Eastern Iberia),
di
J. Machado et alii
-
Lithic refits as a tool to
reinforce postdepositional analysis,
di E.
López-Ortega
-
Spatial and orientation
patterns of experimental stone tool refits,
di I. de la
Torre et alii
-
A bunch of refits: 497D
blade knapping assemblage of the Early Upper
Paleolithic in Cova Gran (Northeast Iberia),
di J.
Martínez-Moreno et alii
- Refitting bones to
reconstruct the diversity in Middle Palaeolithic
human occupations: the case of the Abric Romaní
site (Capellades, Barcelona, Spain),
di J. Rosell et alii
-
Conditioning of the raw
materials on discoid exploitation strategies
during the Early Middle Palaeolithic: the
example of Payre level D (South-East France),
di S. Daffara et alii
- Old stones’ song—second
verse: use-wear analysis of rhyolite and
fenetized andesite artifacts from the Oldowan
lithic industry of Kanjera South, Kenya,
di
C. Lemorini et alii |
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The skull of StW 573, a 3.67 Ma Australopithecus
prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves,
South Africa,
di R. J. Clarke, K. Kuman, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 134, September 2019, 102634
Here we present
the first full anatomical description of the
3.67 million-year-old Australopithecus skull StW
573 that was recovered with its skeleton from
the Sterkfontein Member 2 breccia in the
Silberberg Grotto. Analysis demonstrates that it
is most similar in multiple key morphological
characters to a group of fossils from
Sterkfontein Member 4 and Makapansgat that are
here distinguished taxonomically as
Australopithecus prometheus. This taxon
contrasts with another group of fossils from
those sites assigned to Australopithecus
africanus. The anatomical reasons for why these
groupings should not be lumped together (as is
frequently done for the South African fossils)
are discussed in detail. In support of this
taxonomy, we also present for the first time a
newly reconstructed palate of A. africanus (StW
576 from Sterkfontein Member 4), which has a
uniquely complete permanent dentition. (...) |
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Morphology of the Homo naledi femora from Lesedi,
di C. S. Walker et alii, "American
Journal of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 170, Issue 1, September
2019, Pages 5-23
The femoral
remains recovered from the Lesedi Chamber are
among the most complete South African fossil
hominin femora discovered to date and offer new
and valuable insights into the anatomy and
variation of the bone in Homo naledi. While the
femur is one of the best represented postcranial
elements in the H. naledi assemblage from the
Dinaledi Chamber, the fragmentary and commingled
nature of the Dinaledi femoral remains has
impeded the assessment of this element in its
complete state. Here we analyze and provide
descriptions of three new relatively well‐preserved
femoral specimens of H. naledi from the Lesedi
Chamber: U.W. 102a-001, U.W. 102a-003, and U.W.
102a-004. These femora are quantitatively and
qualitatively compared to multiple extinct
hominin femoral specimens, extant hominid taxa,
and, where possible, each other. (...) |
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Reevaluation of the body
mass estimate for the KNM-ER 5428 Homo erectus
talus,
di D. L. Cunningham, M. V. Rogers, D. J. Wescott,
R. C. McCarthy, "American Journal of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 170, Issue 1, September
2019, Pages 148-155
In this study, we
reexamined the body mass estimate for the Homo
erectus specimen KNM-ER 5428 based on talus
dimensions. Previous estimates of >90 kg for
this fossil are large in comparison to body mass
estimates for other H. erectus specimens. The
study sample consisted of tali and femora of 132
modern cadaver males from a documented body mass
skeletal collection. We recorded the talus
trochlear mediolateral (TTML) breadth and
femoral head diameter (FHD) for each modern
human specimen, and obtained KNM-ER 5428's TTML
values from the literature. We developed
regression formulae based on TTML using the body
mass estimated from FHD for the entire human
sample and for known body masses from a normal‐BMI
subsample, and then used these formulae to
calculate body mass for KNM-ER 5428. In addition,
we examined the range of body masses for
individuals with TTML measurements comparable to
KNM-ER 5428. (...) |
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Chronologic constraints on hominin dispersal
outside Africa since 2.48 Ma from the Zarqa
Valley, Jordan,
di G. Scardia et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 219, 1 September 2019,
Pages 1-19
Recent discoveries
constrain the presence of hominins in North
Africa since ca. 2.4 Ma and in China since ca.
2.1 Ma, providing a new temporal framework for
the earliest migration out of Africa. No
Paleolithic sites of such age exist in the
Levant, the natural corridor between Africa and
Asia. The Dawqara Formation in the Zarqa Valley,
Jordan, has been known since the early 1980s
because of the presence of artifacts at
different stratigraphic levels within its
fluvial sediments, consisting of choppers, cores,
and flakes. Although most of the artifacts
display signs of transport, they bear
unambiguous evidence of manufacture, and
document hominin presence in the Zarqa Valley
during the deposition of Dawqara Formation.
(...) |
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New clues about the late Early Pleistocene
peopling of western Europe: Small vertebrates
from The Bois-de-Riquet archeo-paleontological
site (Lézignan-La-Cèbe, southern France),
di I. Lozano-Fernández et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 219, 1 September 2019,
Pages 187-203
The different
archeostratigraphic units of the Bois-de-Riquet
site (Lézignan-la-Cèbe, southern France) have
yielded a range of stone tools in association
with rich large-mammal assemblages. The oldest
stone tools are from archeostratigraphic unit
US2, which was initially dated to <1.57 Ma and
with later, more detailed dating assigned to the
interval between 1.4 and 1.1 Ma. This paper
presents results from all small vertebrate
fossil remains recovered from US2. The faunal
list now comprises the arvicolines Allophaiomys
nutiensis, Mimomys savini, Stenocranius
gregaloides, Iberomys huescarensis and Terricola
arvalidens, the murids Apodemus sylvaticus and
Castillomys rivas, the hamster Allocricetus
bursae, the toad Epidalea calamita, the snake
Vipera sp. and an indeterminanble lizard (Lacertidae
indet.). (...) |
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A 3.8-million-year-old
hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia,
di Y. Haile-Selassie, S. M. Melillo, A. Vazzana,
S. Benazzi, T. M. Ryan, "Nature", 28 august 2019
- free access -
The cranial
morphology of the earliest known hominins in the
genus Australopithecus remains unclear. The
oldest species in this genus (Australopithecus
anamensis, specimens of which have been dated to
4.2–3.9 million years ago) is known primarily
from jaws and teeth, whereas younger species (dated
to 3.5–2.0 million years ago) are typically
represented by multiple skulls. Here we describe
a nearly complete hominin cranium from
Woranso-Mille (Ethiopia) that we date to 3.8
million years ago. We assign this cranium to A.
anamensis on the basis of the taxonomically and
phylogenetically informative morphology of the
canine, maxilla and temporal bone. This specimen
thus provides the first glimpse of the entire
craniofacial morphology of the earliest known
members of the genus Australopithecus. We
further demonstrate that A. anamensis and
Australopithecus afarensis differ more than
previously recognized and that these two species
overlapped for at least 100,000 years—contradicting
the widely accepted hypothesis of anagenesis.
(...)
·
Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium
from Woranso-Mille, EthiopiaBeverly Z. Saylor et
alii, "Nature", 28 august 2019
·
Rare 3.8-million-year-old skull recasts origins
of iconic ‘Lucy’ fossil,
"Nature News", 28 august 2019
·
Stunning ancient skull shakes up human family
tree, di M. Price, "Science News", Aug. 28, 2019
·
A face for Lucy's ancestor, "Science News",
August 28, 2019
·
Scoperto in Etiopia il più antico cranio di
Australopiteco, l'antenato di Lucy, "National
Geographic Italia", 29 agosto 2019
·
Il cranio dell'antenato di Lucy riscrive la
storia dei primi ominini, "Le Scienze", 29
agosto 2019 |
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Evidence of violence
behind human skull remains from the Palaeolithic,
19 August 2019
Analysis of the
fossilized skull of an Upper Palaeolithic man
suggests that he died a violent death, according
to a study by an international team from Greece,
Romania and Germany led by the Eberhard Karls
Universität Tübingen, Germany The skull, known
as the Cioclovina calvaria, was originally
uncovered in a cave in South Transylvania
(Romania) and is thought to be around 33,000
years old. Since its discovery, this fossil has
been extensively studied. Here, the authors
reassessed trauma on the skull - specifically a
large fracture on the right aspect of the
cranium which has been disputed in the past - in
order to evaluate whether this specific fracture
occurred at the time of death or as a postmortem
event. The authors conducted experimental trauma
simulations and inspected the fossil both
visually and virtually using computed tomography
technology. They found there were actually two
injuries at or near the time of death: a linear
fracture at the base of the skull, followed by a
depressed fracture on the right side of the
cranial vault. (...) |
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External auditory exostoses among western
Eurasian late Middle and Late Pleistocene humans,
di E. Trinkaus, M. Samsel, S. Villotte, August
14, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220464
- free access -
External auditory
exostoses (EAE) have been noted among the
Neandertals and a few other Pleistocene humans,
but until recently they have been discussed
primary as minor pathological lesions with
possible auditory consequences. An assessment of
available western Eurasian late Middle and Late
Pleistocene human temporal bones with
sufficiently preserved auditory canals (n = 77)
provides modest levels of EAE among late Middle
Pleistocene archaic humans (≈20%) and early
modern humans (Middle Paleolithic: ≈25%; Early/Mid
Upper Paleolithic: 20.8%; Late Upper Paleolithic:
9.5%). The Neandertals, however, exhibit an
exceptionally high level of EAE (56.5%; 47.8% if
two anomalous cases are considered normal). The
levels of EAE for the early modern humans are
well within recent human ranges of variation,
frequencies which are low for equatorial inland
and high latitude samples but occasionally
higher elsewhere. The Early/Mid Upper
Paleolithic frequency is nonetheless high for a
high latitude sample under interpleniglacial
conditions. Given the strong etiological and
environmental associations of EAE development
with exposure to cold water and/or damp wind
chill, the high frequency of EAE among the
Neandertals implies frequent aquatic resource
exploitation, more frequent than the
archeological and stable isotopic evidence for
Middle Paleolithic/Neandertal littoral and
freshwater resource foraging implies. As such,
the Neandertal data parallel a similar pattern
evident in eastern Eurasian archaic humans. Yet,
factors in addition to cold water/wind exposure
may well have contributed to their high EAE
frequencies. (...) |
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Middle Stone Age foragers
resided in high elevations of the glaciated Bale
Mountains, Ethiopia,
di G. Ossendorf et alii, "Science", 09
Aug 2019: Vol. 365, Issue 6453, pp. 583-587
Studies of early
human settlement in alpine environments provide
insights into human physiological, genetic, and
cultural adaptation potentials. Although Late
and even Middle Pleistocene human presence has
been recently documented on the Tibetan Plateau,
little is known regarding the nature and context
of early persistent human settlement in high
elevations. Here, we report the earliest
evidence of a prehistoric high-altitude
residential site. Located in Africa’s largest
alpine ecosystem, the repeated occupation of
Fincha Habera rock shelter is dated to 47 to 31
thousand years ago. The available resources in
cold and glaciated environments included the
exploitation of an endemic rodent as a key food
source, and this played a pivotal role in
facilitating the occupation of this site by Late
Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. |
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Elemental signatures of Australopithecus
africanus teeth reveal seasonal dietary stress,
di R. Joannes-Boyau et alii, Volume 572
Issue 7767, 1 August 2019, pp. 112–115
Reconstructing the
detailed dietary behaviour of extinct hominins
is challenging1—particularly for a species such
as Australopithecus africanus, which has a
highly variable dental morphology that suggests
a broad diet2,3. The dietary responses of
extinct hominins to seasonal fluctuations in
food availability are poorly understood, and
nursing behaviours even less so; most of the
direct information currently available has been
obtained from high-resolution trace-element
geochemical analysis of Homo sapiens (both
modern and fossil), Homo neanderthalensis4 and
living apes5. Here we apply high-resolution
trace-element analysis to two A. africanus
specimens from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South
Africa), dated to 2.6–2.1 million years ago.
Elemental signals indicate that A. africanus
infants predominantly consumed breast milk for
the first year after birth. A cyclical elemental
pattern observed following the nursing sequence—comparable
to the seasonal dietary signal that is seen in
contemporary wild primates and other mammals—indicates
irregular food availability. (...) |
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The older, the better? On the radiocarbon dating
of Upper Palaeolithic burials in Northern
Eurasia and beyond,
di Y. V. Kuzmin, "Antiquity", Volume 93, Issue
370, August 2019 , pp. 1061-1071
- free access -
The reliability of
radiocarbon dates for Palaeolithic human burials
is of utmost importance for prehistoric
archaeologists. Recently obtained dates for
several such burials in central Russia raise
important interrelated issues concerning site
taphonomy and the precise radiocarbon-dating
technique employed, with implications for the
‘true’ age of the burials. A critical review of
the dating of the Sungir and Kostenki burials
calls into question the reliability of employing
ultrafiltration or single amino acids for the
radiocarbon dating of Upper Palaeolithic bones.
(...) |
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Exploring karst landscapes: new prehistoric
sites in south-central Ethiopia,
di Y. Sahle et alii, "Antiquity", Volume
93, Issue 370, August 2019, e21
- free access -
Archaeological
reconnaissance and test excavation conducted in
south-central Ethiopia reveal the region's rich
Stone Age and Holocene archaeology. Ongoing
lithic, faunal and dating analyses aim to
understand chronological and behavioural
contexts of prioritised rockshelters as part of
a newly launched project. Speleothems in some of
the caves promise high-resolution palaeoclimatic
reconstruction. (...) |
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Lost in transition: the dietary shifts from Late
Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages in the North
Eastern Iberian Peninsula,
di X. Jordana, A. Malgosa, B. Casté, C. Tornero,
"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences",
August 2019, Volume 11, Issue 8, pp 3751–3763
The Late Antiquity
to the Early Middle age transition in the North
Eastern Iberian Peninsula was a historical
period of cultural, social and political changes.
Both Germanics and North African peoples settled
in this region in successive migratory waves.
The impact of these population movements on the
cultural habits of the local population has been
barely explored. This paper explores the dietary
changes of the population who were buried in the
necropolis of the Churches of Sant Pere de
Terrassa (Barcelona, Spain) during the Visigoth
(fifth to eighth centuries ad) and Carolingian
periods (ninth to tenth centuries ad). This
study investigates the δ13C and δ15N stable
isotopic values in bone collagen from 68 human
samples and 36 faunal remains in order to
improve the understanding of dietary changes
that occurred during this transition. The
results indicate a human diet based on C3-plants
and livestock sources. (...) |
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Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology:
phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, France,
di K. Wroth, D. Cabanes, J. M. Marston, V.
Aldeias, D. Sandgathe, A. Turq, P. Goldberg, H.
L. Dibble, "Archaeological and Anthropological
Sciences", August 2019, Volume 11, Issue 8, pp
4325–4346
The plant
component of Neanderthal subsistence and
technology is not well documented, partially due
to the preservation constraints of
macrobotanical components. Phytoliths, however,
are preserved even when other plant remains have
decayed and so provide evidence for Neanderthal
plant use and the environmental context of
archaeological sites. Phytolith assemblages from
Roc de Marsal, a Middle Paleolithic cave site in
SW France, provide new insight into the
relationship between Neanderthals and plant
resources. Ninety-seven samples from all
archaeological units and 18 control samples are
analyzed. Phytoliths from the wood and bark of
dicotyledonous plants are the most prevalent,
but there is also a significant proportion of
grass phytoliths in many samples. (...) |
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Calcium isotopic patterns in enamel reflect
different nursing behaviors among South African
early hominins,
di T. Tacail et alii, "Science Advances",
August 2019, Vol 5, Issue 8
Nursing is pivotal
in the social and biological evolution of
hominins, but to date, early-life behavior among
hominin lineages is a matter of debate. The
calcium isotopic compositions (δ44/42Ca) of
tooth enamel can provide dietary information on
this period. Here, we measure the δ44/42Ca
values in spatially located microsized regions
in tooth enamel of 37 South African hominins to
reconstruct early-life dietary-specific
variability in Australopithecus africanus,
Paranthropus robustus, and early Homo. Very low
δ44/42Ca values (<−1.4‰), indicative of milk
consumption, are measured in early Homo but not
in A. africanus and P. robustus. (...) |
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Poggetti Vecchi (Tuscany, Italy): A late Middle
Pleistocene case of human–elephant interaction,
di B. Aranguren et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages
32-60
A paleosurface
with a concentration of wooden-, bone-, and
stone-tools interspersed among an accumulation
of fossil bones, largely belonging to the
straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus,
was found at the bottom of a pool, fed by hot
springs, that was excavated at Poggetti Vecchi,
near Grosseto (Tuscany, Italy). The site is
radiometrically dated to the late Middle
Pleistocene, around 171,000 years BP. Notable is
the association of the artifacts with the
elephant bones, and in particular the presence
of digging sticks made from boxwood (Buxus sp.).
Although stone tools show evidence of use mainly
on animal tissues, indicating some form of
interaction between hominins and animals, the
precise use of the sticks is unclear. (...) |
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Femoral neck and shaft structure in Homo naledi
from the Dinaledi Chamber (Rising Star System,
South Africa),
di L. Friedl et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages 61-77
The abundant
femoral assemblage of Homo naledi found in the
Dinaledi Chamber provides a unique opportunity
to test hypotheses regarding the taxonomy,
locomotion, and loading patterns of this species.
Here we describe neck and shaft cross-sectional
structure of all the femoral fossils recovered
in the Dinaledi Chamber and compare them to a
broad sample of fossil hominins, recent humans,
and extant apes. Cross-sectional geometric (CSG)
properties from the femoral neck (base of neck
and midneck) and diaphysis (subtrochanteric
region and midshaft) were obtained through CT
scans for H. naledi and through CT scans or from
the literature for the comparative sample. The
comparison of CSG properties of H. naledi and
the comparative samples shows that H. naledi
femoral neck is quite derived with low
superoinferior cortical thickness ratio and high
relative cortical area. (...) |
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A multiscale stratigraphic
investigation of the context of StW 573 ‘Little
Foot’ and Member 2, Sterkfontein Caves, South
Africa,
di L. Bruxelles et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages
78-98
The Sterkfontein
Caves is currently the world's richest
Australopithecus-bearing site. Included in
Sterkfontein's hominin assemblage is StW 573
(‘Little Foot’), a near-complete
Australopithecus skeleton discovered in Member 2
in the Silberberg Grotto. Because of its
importance to the fossil hominin record, the
geological age of StW 573 has been the subject
of significant debate. Three main hypotheses
have been proposed regarding the formation and
age of Member 2 and by association StW 573. The
first proposes that Member 2 (as originally
defined in the type section in the Silberberg
Grotto) started to accumulate at around 2.58 Ma
and that the unit is contained within the
Silberberg Grotto. The second proposes that
Member 2 started forming before 3.67 ± 0.16 Ma
and that the deposit extends into the Milner
Hall and close to the base of the cave system.
The third proposes a ‘two-stage burial
scenario’, in which some sediments and StW 573
represent a secondary and mixed-age accumulation
reworked from a higher cave. (...) |
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Seasonal and habitat
effects on the nutritional properties of savanna
vegetation: Potential implications for early
hominin dietary ecology,
di O. C. C. Paine et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages
99-107
The African
savannas that many early hominins occupied
likely experienced stark seasonality and
contained mosaic habitats (i.e., combinations of
woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, etc.). Most
would agree that the bulk of dietary calories
obtained by taxa such as Australopithecus and
Paranthropus came from the consumption of
vegetation growing across these landscapes. It
is also likely that many early hominins were
selective feeders that consumed particular
plants/plant parts (e.g., leaves, fruit, storage
organs) depending on the habitat and season
within which they were foraging. Thus, improving
our understanding of how the nutritional
properties of potential hominin plant foods
growing in modern African savanna ecosystems
respond to season and vary by habitat will
improve our ability to model early hominin
dietary behavior. Here, we present nutritional
analyses (crude protein and acid detergent fiber)
of plants growing in eastern and southern
African savanna habitats across both wet and dry
seasons. (...) |
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New electron spin
resonance (ESR) ages from Geißenklösterle Cave:
A chronological study of the Middle and early
Upper Paleolithic layers,
di M. Richard et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages
133-145
Geißenklösterle
Cave (Germany) is one of the most important
Paleolithic sites in Europe, as it is
characterized by human occupation during the
Middle and early Upper Paleolithic. Aurignacian
layers prior to 37–38 ka cal BP feature both
musical and figurative art objects that are
linked to the early arrival in Europe of Homo
sapiens. Middle Paleolithic layers yielded
lithic artifacts attributed to Homo
neanderthalensis. Since human occupation at the
site is attributed to both Neanderthals and
modern humans, chronology is essential to
clarify the issues of Neanderthal disappearance,
modern human expansion in Europe, and the origin
of the Aurignacian in Western Europe. Electron
spin resonance (ESR) dating was performed on
fossil tooth enamel collected from the Middle
Paleolithic layers, which are beyond the
radiocarbon dating range, and from the nearly
sterile ‘transitional’ geological horizon (GH)
17 and the lower Aurignacian deposits, to
cross-check ESR ages with previous radiocarbon,
thermoluminescence and ESR age results. (...) |
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Understanding stone tool-making skill
acquisition: Experimental methods and
evolutionary implications,
di J. Pargeter, N. Khreisheh, D. Stout, "Journal
of Human Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019,
Pages 146-166
Despite its
theoretical importance, the process of stone
tool-making skill acquisition remains
understudied and poorly understood. The
challenges and costs of skill learning
constitute an oft-neglected factor in the
evaluation of alternative adaptive strategies
and a potential source of bias in cultural
transmission. Similarly, theory and data
indicate that the most salient neural and
cognitive demands of stone tool-making should
occur during learning rather than expert
performance. Unfortunately, the behavioral
complexity and extensive learning requirements
that make stone knapping skill acquisition an
interesting object of study are the very
features that make it so challenging to
investigate experimentally. Here we present
results from a multidisciplinary study of Late
Acheulean handaxe-making skill acquisition
involving twenty-six naïve participants and up
to 90 hours training over several months,
accompanied by a battery of psychometric,
behavioral, and neuroimaging assessments.
(...) |
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The long limb bones of the StW 573
Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein
Member 2: Descriptions and proportions,
di J. L. Heaton et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages
167-197
Due to its
completeness, the A.L. 288-1 (‘Lucy’) skeleton
has long served as the archetypal bipedal
Australopithecus. However, there remains
considerable debate about its limb proportions.
There are three competing, but not necessarily
mutually exclusive, explanations for the high
humerofemoral index of A.L. 288-1: (1) a
retention of proportions from an
Ardipithecus-like chimp/human last common
ancestor (CLCA); (2) indication of some degree
of climbing ability; (3) allometry. Recent
discoveries of other partial skeletons of
Australopithecus, such as those of
Australopithecus sediba (MH1 and MH2) and
Australopithecus afarensis (KSD-VP-1/1 and
DIK-1/1), have provided new opportunities to
test hypotheses of early hominin body size and
limb proportions. Yet, no early hominin is as
complete (>90%), as is the ∼3.67 Ma ‘Little Foot’
(StW 573) skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2.
Here, we provide the first descriptions of its
upper and lower long limb bones, as well as a
comparative context of its limb proportions. We
found that StW 573 possesses absolutely longer
limb lengths than A.L. 288-1, but both skeletons
show similar limb proportions. (...) |
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Hominin fire use in the Okote member at Koobi
Fora, Kenya: New evidence for the old debate,
di S. Hlubik et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 133, August 2019, Pages
214-229
Hominin fire use
in the early Pleistocene has been debated since
the early 1970s when consolidated reddened
sediment patches were identified at FxJj20 East
and Main, Koobi Fora, Kenya. Since then,
researchers have argued for evidence of early
Pleistocene fire use at a handful of
archaeological sites with evidence of combustion.
Some argue that morphological evidence of early
Homo erectus fossils indicates a dietary shift
to higher quality food sources, which could be
achieved by cooking. Others contend that fire
use does not become a regular behavior until
later, in the middle Pleistocene, when
archaeological sites begin to show regular
evidence for fire use. An early date for hominin
control of fire would help to explain the grade
changes seen with the appearance of H. erectus,
while a later date would mean that fire would
have had little influence on the early
development of the lineage. Early hominins would
have encountered fire regularly on the landscape,
increasing the possibility of hominins
interacting with and habituating to natural
landscape fire. (...) |
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Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia): A new
approach to formation processes and spatial
patterns of an Early Pleistocene Acheulean site,
di E. Mendez-Quintas et alii, "Journal of
Archaeological Science", Volume 108, August
2019, 104975
To assess the
integrity of Pleistocene archaeological sites is
crucial in the analysis of human behaviour. Most
of the Early Palaeolithic sites are in active
fluvial environments where it is necessary to
understand the degree of sedimentary disturbance.
The analysis of the formation processes through
geoarchaeological and geostatistical techniques
offers new tools to evaluate if the
archaeological assemblage is in autochthonous or
allochthonous position. Gombore II, ≈850 Ka,
within the archaeological and paleontological
complex of Melka Kunture (Ethiopia), extends
over estimated 1000 m2 and yielded a large
number of Acheulean artefacts, fossil mammal
bones and two fossil hominin remains. The
geomorphological setting and deposition patterns
of high-energy sedimentation in a fluvial
channelized environment are similar to those of
many other Early Palaeolithic African sites.
This is traditionally described as producing a
disturbed record, with the fortuitous
association of faunal remains and lithic
industry driven by fluvial processes. To assess
this hypothesis, we analyse here the formation
processes and the spatial patterning of the
remains. (...) |
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Neanderthals:
Ecology and Evolution,
"Quaternary Science Reviews", Edited by José S. Carrión, Carles Lalueza-Fox,
John Stewart, Volume 217, Pages 1-340 (1 August
2019): -
Neanderthals: Ecology and
evolution,
di J. S. Carrión, C. Lalueza-Fox, J. Stewart
-
Background to Neanderthal
presence in Western Mediterranean Europe,
di J. S. Carrión, M. J. Walker
-
Metric and morphological
comparison between the Arago (France) and
Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos (Spain) dental
samples, and the origin of Neanderthals,
di J. M.
Bermúdez de Castro et alii
-
Tempo and mode in the
Neandertal evolutionary lineage: A structuralist
approach to mandible variation,
di A. Rosas, M. Bastir, J. A. Alarcón
-
Distinct among
Neanderthals: The scapula of the skeleton from
Altamura, Italy,
di F. Di Vincenzo et alii
-
Virtual reconstruction and
re-evaluation of the Neanderthal frontal bone
from Carigüela Cave (Granada, Spain),
di J. M. Jiménez-Arenas et alii
-
Living to fight another
day: The ecological and evolutionary
significance of Neanderthal healthcare,
di P. Spikins et alii
-
Spy cave (Belgium)
Neanderthals (36,000y BP). Taphonomy and
peri-mortem traumas of Spy I and Spy II: Murder
or accident,
di Y. Fernández-Jalvo, P. Andrews
-
Late Neandertals in
central Italy. High-resolution chronicles from
Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario - Tuscany),
di A. Moroni et alii
-
Climate, environment and
human behaviour in the Middle Palaeolithic of
Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): The
evidence from charred plant and micromammal
remains,
di Y. Carrión Marcoe et alii
-
Neanderthal activity and
resting areas from stratigraphic unit 13 at the
Middle Palaeolithic site of Oscurusciuto (Ginosa
- Taranto, Southern Italy),
di V. Spagnolo et alii
-
The sequence at Carihuela
Cave and its potential for research into
Neanderthal ecology and the Mousterian in
southern Spain,
di J. S. Carrión et alii
-
Neanderthals and the cult
of the Sun Bird,
di S. Finlayson, G. Finlayson, F. Giles Guzman,
C. Finlayson
-
The consumption of
tortoise among Last Interglacial Iberian
Neanderthals,
di M. Nabais, J. Zilhão
-
Silvicolous Neanderthals
in the far West: the mid-Pleistocene
palaeoecological sequence of Bolomor Cave
(Valencia, Spain),
di J. Ochando et alii
-
The early use of fire
among Neanderthals from a zooarchaeological
perspective,
di J. Rosell, R. Blasco
-
Shellfish collection on
the westernmost Mediterranean, Bajondillo cave
(~160-35 cal kyr BP): A case of behavioral
convergence?,
di M. Cortés-Sánchez et alii
-
Following the last
Neanderthals: Mammal tracks in Late Pleistocene
coastal dunes of Gibraltar (S Iberian Peninsula),
di F. Muñiz et alii
-
Palaeoecological and
genetic evidence for Neanderthal power
locomotion as an adaptation to a woodland
environment,
di J. R. Stewart et alii
-
Was inter-population
connectivity of Neanderthals and modern humans
the driver of the Upper Paleolithic transition
rather than its product?,
di G. Greenbaum, D. E. Friesem, E. Hovers,
M. W. Feldman, O. Kolodny
-
For a cultural
anthropology of the last Neanderthals,
di L. Slimak |
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Population structure and the evolution of Homo
sapiens in Africa,
di R. G. Klein, "Evolutionary Anthropology",
Volume 28, Issue 4, July/August 2019, Pages
179-188
It has been
proposed that a multiregional model could
describe how Homo sapiens evolved in Africa
beginning 300,000 years ago. Multiregionalism
would require enduring morphological or
behavioral differences among African regions and
morphological or behavioral continuity within
each. African fossils, archeology, and genetics
do not comply with either requirement and are
unlikely to, because climatic change
periodically disrupted continuity and reshuffled
populations. As an alternative to
multiregionalism, I suggest that reshuffling
produced novel gene constellations, including
one in which the additive or cumulative effect
of newly associated genes enhanced cognitive or
communicative potential. (...) |
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Hybridization in human
evolution: Insights from other organisms,
di R. R. Ackermann et alii, "Evolutionary
Anthropology", Volume 28, Issue 4, July/August
2019, Pages 189-209
During the late
Pleistocene, isolated lineages of hominins
exchanged genes thus influencing genomic
variation in humans in both the past and present.
However, the dynamics of this genetic exchange
and associated phenotypic consequences through
time remain poorly understood. Gene exchange
across divergent lineages can result in myriad
outcomes arising from these dynamics and the
environmental conditions under which it occurs.
Here we draw from our collective research across
various organisms, illustrating some of the ways
in which gene exchange can structure genomic/phenotypic
diversity within/among species. (...) |
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Apidima Cave fossils
provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in
Eurasia,
di K. Harvati
et alii, "Nature", Volume 571 Issue 7766, 25
July 2019, pp. 500–504
Two fossilized
human crania (Apidima 1 and Apidima 2) from
Apidima Cave, southern Greece, were discovered
in the late 1970s but have remained enigmatic
owing to their incomplete nature, taphonomic
distortion and lack of archaeological context
and chronology. Here we virtually reconstruct
both crania, provide detailed comparative
descriptions and analyses, and date them using
U-series radiometric methods. Apidima 2 dates to
more than 170 thousand years ago and has a
Neanderthal-like morphological pattern. By
contrast, Apidima 1 dates to more than 210
thousand years ago and presents a mixture of
modern human and primitive features. (...)
·
Homo sapiens in Europa già 210.000 anni fa, "Le
Scienze", 11 luglio 2019
·
Skull fragment from Greek cave suggests modern
humans were in Europe more than 200,000 years
ago, di L. Wade, "Science News", Jul. 10, 2019 ·
Cranio scoperto in Grecia forse il più antico
fossile di Sapiens fuori dall’Africa, "National
Geographic Italia", 12 luglio 2019 |
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Rare dental trait provides morphological
evidence of archaic introgression in Asian
fossil record,
di S. E. Bailey, J. J. Hublin, S. C. Antón, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", July 23,
2019, n. 116 (30), pp. 14806-14807
The recently
described Denisovan hemimandible from Xiahe,
China [F. Chen et al., (2019) Nature 569,
409–412], possesses an unusual dental feature: a
3-rooted lower second molar. A survey of the
clinical and bioarchaeological literature
demonstrates that the 3-rooted lower molar is
rare (less than 3.5% occurrence) in non-Asian
Homo sapiens. In contrast, its presence in
Asian-derived populations can exceed 40% in
China and the New World. It has long been
thought that the prevalence of 3-rooted lower
molars in Asia is a relatively late acquisition
occurring well after the origin and dispersal of
H. sapiens. However, the presence of a 3-rooted
lower second molar in this 160,000-y-old fossil
hominin suggests greater antiquity for the
trait. Importantly, it also provides
morphological evidence of a strong link between
archaic and recent Asian H. sapiens populations.
This link provides compelling evidence that
modern Asian lineages acquired the 3-rooted
lower molar via introgression from Denisovans.
(...) |
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Provenance, modification and use of
manganese-rich rocks at Le Moustier (Dordogne,
France), di
A. Pitarch Martí, F. d’Errico, A. Turq, E.
Lebraud, E. Discamps, B. Gravina, July 17, 2019,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218568
- free access -
The use of
colouring materials by Neanderthals has
attracted a great deal of attention in recent
years. Here we present a taphonomic,
technological, chemical-mineralogical and
functional analysis of fifty-four manganese rich
lumps recovered during past and on-going
excavations at the lower rockshelter of Le
Moustier (Dordogne, France). We compare
compositional data for archaeological specimens
with the same information for twelve potential
geological sources. Morphometric analysis shows
that material from Peyrony’s excavations before
the First World War provides a highly biased
picture of the importance of these materials for
Mousterian groups. These early excavations
almost exclusively recovered large modified
pieces, while Mn-rich lumps from the on-going
excavations predominantly consist of small
pieces, only half of which bear traces of
modification. We estimate that at least 168
pieces were not recovered during early work at
the site. Neanderthals developed a dedicated
technology for processing Mn-rich fragments,
which involved a variety of tools and motions.
Processing techniques were adapted to the size
and density of the raw material, and evidence
exists for the successive or alternating use of
different techniques. Morphological, textural
and chemical differences between geological and
archaeological samples suggest that Neanderthals
did not collect Mn-rich lumps at the outcrops we
sampled. The association and variability in Mn,
Ni, As, Ba content, compared to that observed at
the sampled outcrops, suggests that either the
Le Moustier lumps come from a unique source with
a broad variation in composition, associating
Mn, Ni, As, Ba, or that they were collected at
different sources, characterized either by
Mn-Ni-As or Mn-Ba. In the latter case, changes
in raw material composition across the
stratigraphy support the idea that Neanderthal
populations bearing different stone tool
technologies collected Mn fragments from
different outcrops. Our results favour a use of
these materials for multiple utilitarian and
symbolic purposes. (...) |
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Environmental and climatic context of the
hominin occurrence in northeastern Italy from
the late Middle to Late Pleistocene inferred
from small-mammal assemblages,
di J. M. López-García, C. Berto, M. Peresani, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 216, 15 July 2019,
Pages 18-33
The environmental
and climatic evolution of the late Middle
Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene of the
northeastern Italy is determined for Marine
Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) to MIS 3 on the basis of
a study of the small-mammal (insectivore, bat
and rodent) assemblages. This paper provides a
synthesis of three previously published and one
unpublished sets of environmental and climatic
data from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic sites
of Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino, Grotta
minore di San Bernardino, De Nadale cave and
Fumane cave, all of which are located in
northeastern Italy. Using the habitat weighting
method and the bioclimatic model to reconstruct
the environment, temperature and rainfall, the
results show great variability in the landscape
and climate of the area. (...) |
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The bulb retouchers in the Levant: New insights
into Middle Palaeolithic retouching techniques
and mobile tool-kit composition,
di L. Centi, I. Groman-Yaroslavski, N. Friedman,
M. Oron, M. Prévost, Y. Zaidner, July 5, 2019,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218859
- free access -
In this paper we
describe two assemblages of flint retouchers or
“bulb retouchers” retrieved from Nesher Ramla
and Quneitra, two Middle Palaeolithic, open-air
sites in the Levant. The site of Nesher Ramla
yielded the largest assemblage of bulb
retouchers (n = 159) currently known, allowing a
detailed investigation of this poorly known
phenomenon. An extensive experimental program
and use-wear analysis enabled us to characterize
the different sets of traces related to the
retouching activity and to identify different
motions applied by the knappers in the course of
this action. In both sites, blanks used as bulb
retouchers were almost exclusively retouched
items, with a special emphasis on convergent
morphotypes in Nesher Ramla. The use of
retouched items as bulb retouchers is a common
trait over different time spans and geographical
areas. Our data suggests that bulb retouchers
were versatile, multi-purpose tools with a long
use-life, transported over long distances as
components of the hunter-gatherer mobile tool
kit. The high frequencies of bulb retouchers
within some archaeological units of Nesher Ramla
appear to be connected to the highly curated
nature of the lithic assemblages, in turn
reflecting a high mobility of the human groups
that produced them. (...) |
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Persistent Neanderthal occupation of the
open-air site of ‘Ein Qashish, Israel,
di R. Ekshtain et alii, June 26, 2019,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215668
- free access -
Over the last two
decades, much of the recent efforts dedicated to
the Levantine Middle Paleolithic has
concentrated on the role of open-air sites in
the settlement system in the region. Here focus
on the site of ‘Ein Qashish as a cases study.
Located in present-day northern Israel, the area
of this site is estimated to have been >1300 m2,
of which ca. 670 were excavated. The site is
located at the confluence of the Qishon stream
with a small tributary running off the eastern
flanks of the Mt. Carmel. At the area of this
confluence, water channels and alluvial deposits
created a dynamic depositional environment. Four
Archaeological Units were identified in a 4.5-m
thick stratigraphic sequence were dated by
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to
between—71 and 54 ka, and probably shorter time
span–~70-~60 ka. Here we present the diverse
material culture remains from the site (lithics,
including refitted sequences; modified limestone
pieces; molluscs; faunal remains) against their
changing paleogeographic backdrop. Skeletal
evidence suggests that these remains were
associated with Neanderthals. The large-scale
repeated accumulation of late Middle Paleolithic
remains in the same place on the landscape
provides a unique opportunity to address
questions of occupation duration and intensity
in open-air sites. We find that each occupation
was of ephemeral nature, yet presents a range of
activities, suggesting that the locale has been
used as a generalized residential site rather
than specialized task-specific ones. This role
of ‘Ein Qashish did not change through time,
suggesting that during the late Middle
Paleolithic settlement system in this part of
the southern Levant were stable. (...) |
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Hafting of Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central
Italy): New data from Fossellone and
Sant’Agostino caves,
di I. Degano, S. Soriano, P. Villa, L. Pollarolo,
J. J. Lucejko, Z. Jacobs, K. Douka, S.
Vitagliano, C. Tozzi, June 20, 2019, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213473
- free access -
Hafting of stone
tools was an important advance in the technology
of the Paleolithic. Evidence of hafting in the
Middle Paleolithic is growing and is not limited
to points hafted on spears for thrusting or
throwing. This article describes the
identification of adhesive used for hafting on a
variety of stone tools from two Middle
Paleolithic caves in Latium, Fossellone Cave and
Sant’Agostino Cave. Analysis of the organic
residue by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
shows that a conifer resin adhesive was used, in
one case mixed with beeswax. Contrary to
previous suggestions that the small Middle
Paleolithic tools of Latium could be used by
hand and that hafting was not needed since it
did not improve their functionality, our
evidence shows that hafting was used by
Neandertals in central Italy. Ethnographic
evidence indicates that resin, which dries when
exposed to air, is generally warmed by exposure
to a small fire thus softened to be molded and
pushed in position in the haft. The use of resin
at both sites suggests regular fire use, as
confirmed by moderate frequencies of burnt
lithics in both assemblages. Lithic analysis
shows that hafting was applied to a variety of
artifacts, irrespective of type, size and
technology. Prior to our study evidence of
hafting in the Middle Paleolithic of Italy was
limited to one case only. (...) |
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Mosaic evolution in
hominin phylogeny: meanings, implications, and
explanations,
di A. Parravicini, T. Pievani, "Journal of
Anthropological Sciences", Vol. 97 (2019), pp.
1-24 - free access -
In
paleoanthropological literature, the use of the
term “mosaic” (mosaic evolution, mosaic trait,
mosaic species, and so on) is becoming more and
more frequent. In order to promote a
clarification of the use of the concept in
literature, we propose here a classification in
three different meanings of the notion of mosaic
in human evolution: 1) morphological (inter-specific
and intra-specific) instability in a certain
phase of a branched phylogeny; 2) multiple
trajectories and versions of the same adaptive
trait in a branched phylogeny; 3) the trait
itself as a complex mosaic of sub-traits with
different phylogenetic stories (as is the case
in language). We argue that the relevance of
such mosaic patterns needs a macro-evolutionary
interpretation, which takes into consideration
the interaction between general selective
pressures (promoting different versions of the
same adaptation) and a cladogenetic approach in
which speciation played a crucial role, due to
ecological instability, habitat fragmentation,
and geographical dispersals in human evolution
(...). |
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Lithics of the North African Middle Stone Age:
assumptions, evidence and future directions,
di E. M. L. Scerri, E. E. Spinapolice, "Journal
of Anthropological Sciences", Vol. 97 (2019),
pp. 1-36 - free access
-
North Africa
features some of the earliest manifestations of
the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and fossils of our
species, Homo sapiens, as well as early examples
of complex culture and the long distance
transfer of exotic raw materials. As they are
elsewhere, lithics (i.e., stone tools) present
by far the most abundant source of information
on this cultural period. Given the importance of
North Africa in human origins, understanding the
character and distribution of MSA lithics is
therefore crucial, as they shed light on early
human behaviour and culture. However, the
lithics of the North African MSA are poorly
understood, and their technological variability
is frequently obfuscated by regionally specific
nomenclatures, often repeated without criticism,
and diverse methods of analysis that are often
incompatible. Characterising dynamic
technological innovations as well as apparent
technological stasis remains challenging, and
many narratives have not been tested
quantitatively. This significantly problematizes
hypotheses of human evolution and dispersals
invoking these data that extend beyond North
Africa. This paper therefore presents a
description of the lithics of the North African
MSA, including their technological
characteristics, chronology, spatial
distribution and associated research traditions.
A range of interpretations concerning early H.
sapiens demography in North Africa are then
re-evaluated in the light of this review, and
the role and power of lithic data to contribute
to such debates is critically assessed (...). |
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Approaching raw material functionality in the
Upper Magdalenian of Coímbre cave (Asturias,
Spain) through geometric morphometrics,
di J. Yravedra et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 517, 20 May 2019, Pages
97-106
Coímbre cave (Peñamellera
Alta, Asturias) is an Upper Palaeolithic site in
Northern Spain, spanning an occupation sequence
from the Gravettian to the Magdalenian periods.
The upper layers -layer I and II-, corresponding
to the Upper Magdalenian, register the highest
intensity of human activity. In this paper, we
analyse raw material functionality at the site
through the study of cut-marks found on bone
remains. At Coímbre, we have documented mainly
quartzite, followed by flint; other raw
materials are found in very low frequencies.
There are several types of local quartzite that
appear mainly as flaking debitage and stone
tools such as burins and scrappers. (...) |
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Who ate OH80 (Olduvai
Gorge, Tanzania)? A geometric-morphometric
analysis of surface bone modifications of a
Paranthropus boisei skeleton,
di J. Aramendi et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 517, 20 May 2019, Pages
118-130
Olduvai Gorge
(Tanzania) is one of the key areas for the study
of human origins, given the sheer abundance of
archaeological and paleontological sites
discovered. Several of these archaeological
sites have yielded numerous hominin fossils and
traces of their activities, thus offering
invaluable insights into the nature and origins
of human behavior. Nevertheless, certain
taphonomic discussions that have been of great
importance for the study of the South African
cave sites have remained unnoticed in East
Africa. One of these issues revolves around the
interpretation of Paranthropus as a common prey
of predators. In this paper, we analyze the
postcranial remains of OH80, a partial skeleton
of a Paranthropus boisei discovered at the BK
site (Bell Korongo, Bed II of Olduvai Gorge,
Tanzania) in 2010. Some of the specimens of this
skeleton have been reported to show surface
modifications tentatively associated to the
action of carnivores. Here, several pits
observed on OH80-12, the Paranthropus boisei
femur, were digitally reconstructed and analyzed
through geometric morphometrics to determine the
nature of the marks. (...) |
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Preliminary characterization of flint raw
material used on prehistoric sites in NW Belgium,
di G. Fiers et alii, "Geoarchaeology",
Volume 34, Issue 4, July/August 2019, Pages
400-412 - free access -
This study aims at
analyzing the mineralogical, chemical, and
structural characteristics of flint raw material
used for the production of prehistoric stone
tools in NW Belgium. Understanding these
characteristics is important to recognize their
value for tool making and even tool use during
prehistory. Due to its formation process, flint
is defined by a wide variety of internal
structures, chemical variations, and impurities.
Moreover, alteration processes cause additional
chemical and structural changes complicating the
study of this material. Archaeological artifacts
often display alteration features, mostly
expressed as patination or burning, leading them
to be regularly discarded from the functional
analysis of lithic tools. By not incorporating
these artifacts, our understanding of the
investigated assemblage is biased. It is
therefore important to investigate the influence
of flint characteristics on its weathering
behavior, and the impact of preservation of
prehistoric use-wear traces on flint artifacts.
The characteristics of flint raw material and
natural patination were studied using a
combination of different techniques, such as
macroscopic analysis, optical microscopy, X-ray
fluorescence, and high-resolution X-ray computed
tomography. This resulted in a detailed
description and distinction of the different
flint variants used on prehistoric sites in NW
Belgium and a good understanding of patination.
(...) |
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New insights on the Monte Fenera Palaeolithic,
Italy: Geoarchaeology of the Ciota Ciara cave,
di D. E. Angelucci et alii, "Geoarchaeology",
Volume 34, Issue 4, July/August 2019, Pages
413-429 - free access -
Monte Fenera is a
mostly carbonate hill at the southern border of
the Western Alps. It hosts several
archaeological sites, among them karstic caves
bearing evidence of Palaeolithic occupation.
These sites have a long history within Alpine
archaeology—having been explored since the 19th
century—but information on their stratigraphy,
chronology, and formation remains incomplete.
They are among the few cave-sites occupied
before the Alpine Last Glacial Maximum in the
area, and their study is crucial for
understanding human occupation and regional
environmental evolution during the Pleistocene.
Here we focus on Ciota Ciara, a cave formed in
Triassic dolostone, and in particular on the
Middle-to-Upper Pleistocene succession unearthed
at its south-western entrance since 2009. This
succession was analyzed by means of several
geoarchaeological methods including stratigraphy,
routine sediment analyses, and archaeological
micromorphology. Our study shows that sediment
accumulation was due to the repeated occurrence
of concentrated flow and runoff events from the
karstic system alternating with episodes of wall
disintegration and short phases of surface
stabilization. Post-depositional processes
include frost action, hydromorphism, and
diagenesis that have selectively affected the
archaeological remains. The results of the study
shed light on site formation and have relevance
for Pleistocene cave archaeology more widely in
the southern Western Alps. (...) |
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Blind test evaluation of consistency in
macroscopic lithic raw material sorting,
di A. Agam, L. Wilson, "Geoarchaeology", Volume
34, Issue 4, July/August 2019, Pages 467-477
- free access -
Most
archaeological lithic raw material studies
depend upon a macroscopic classification.
However, since the human eye is a limited tool,
some inconsistencies in classification may arise.
Thus, a process for evaluating and increasing
the reliability of macroscopic classification is
needed. We present the results of a blind test
designed to evaluate consistency in macroscopic
lithic materials analysis, based on
archaeological material taken from the Acheulo‐Yabrudian
site Qesem Cave (Israel), focusing on
interobserver error, aimed at identifying
consistencies and weaknesses within our own
study scheme. Twelve students, with various
degrees of experience and familiarity with the
Qesem material, sorted 100 randomly selected
flint pieces into flint types, based on a
previously established database, after a brief
tutorial process. In addition, the authors, LW
and AA, performed the same test. We then
compared the results, using LW's results as an
anchor. Our results show that experience affects
the consistency in classification, demonstrating
that it is an acquired skill. Furthermore, the
blind test allowed us to identify weaknesses
within the classification scheme. We suggest
that blind tests should be regularly used to
check accuracy and reproducibility of results
and to assess the definitions set by the analyst,
allowing fine-tuning and calibration of the
classification process. (...) |
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Isotopic equifinality and rethinking the diet of
Australopithecus anamensis,
di R. L. Quinn, "American Journal of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 169, Issue 3, July 2019,
Pages 403-421
Australopithecus
anamensis has comparable δ13Cenamel values to
Ardipithecus ramidus, and both have been
characterized as C3 feeders in open woodland
habitats similar to “savanna” chimps. Unlike Ar.
ramidus and “savanna” chimps, A. anamensis shows
a derived dentognathic morphology for tough
foods and a dental microwear pattern similar to
the C3–C4-mixed-feeding A. afarensis. Here I
test the hypothesis that changing the variables
(ε*enamel-diet, δ13CC3, δ13CC4 values) used to
calculate the percentage of dietary C4 foods
(%C4 diet) by 1–2‰ does not make a substantial
difference for hominin diet reconstructions [van
der Merwe, Masao, & Bamford, 2008, South African
Journal of Science 104:153–155].
I estimate vegetation structures for A.
anamensis with pedogenic carbonate and faunal
enamel δ13C values from the Pliocene Omo-Turkana
Basin (4.2–3.9 Ma). I recalculate A. anamensis'
%C4 diet based on new body size-dependent
estimates of the ε*enamel‐diet value and
alternative δ13CC3 and δ13CC4 values. (...) |
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Middle Palaeolithic occupations in central Saudi
Arabia during MIS 5 and MIS 7: new insights on
the origins of the peopling of Arabia,
di R. Crassard, Y. H. Hilbert, F. Preusser, G.
Wulf, J. Schiettecatte, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", July 2019, Volume 11,
Issue 7, pp. 3101–3120
Although Middle
Palaeolithic stratified and dated sites are
still rare in Arabia, recent archaeological,
palaeoenvironmental, population genetic,
geomatic and geochronological studies have
noticeably contributed to a re-evaluation of the
prehistory of the region. Here, we report the
discovery of a stratified open-air Middle
Palaeolithic site in central Saudi Arabia, a
novelty given the paucity of dated Pleistocene
lithic assemblages in the region. The site of
Umm al-Sha’al is located in the Rufa Graben
where a substantial number of Middle
Palaeolithic surface occurrences have been
reported. It contains artefacts produced using
Levallois technology, indicative of Middle
Palaeolithic human exploitation of locally
abundant quartzite raw material. The site
comprises two horizons with archaeological finds
dating to Marine Isotope Stages 5 and likely 7
or even older. (...) |
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Evaluating prepared core assemblages with
three-dimensional methods: a case study from the
Middle Paleolithic at Skhūl (Israel),
di K. L. Ranhorn et alii, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", July 2019, Volume
11, Issue 7, pp. 3225–3238
Levallois
technology is a hallmark of many Middle and Late
Pleistocene stone artifact assemblages, but its
definition has been much debated. Here we use
three-dimensional photogrammetry to investigate
the geometric variation among Levallois and
discoidal core technologies. We created models
of experimental and archaeological stone
artifact assemblages to quantitatively
investigate the morphologies of Levallois and
discoidal core technologies. Our results
demonstrate that technological characteristics
of Levallois technology can be distinguished
from discoidal variants by analyzing the
relative volumes and angles of the two flaking
surfaces. We apply these methods to a random
subset of Middle Paleolithic cores from Skhūl
(Israel) and show that, overall, the Skhūl
archaeological sample falls in range with the
experimental Levallois sample. (...) |
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Revisiting Mwulu’s Cave: new insights into the
Middle Stone Age in the southern African savanna
biome, di
P. de la Peña et alii, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", July 2019, Volume
11, Issue 7, pp. 3239–3266
In this paper, we
present a revised stratigraphy and results of
preliminary analyses of the archaeological
material from Mwulu’s Cave. This arises from two
excavation campaigns conducted in 2017, 71 years
after the site was initially investigated by
P.V. Tobias. This cave, located in Limpopo
Province (South Africa), preserves one of the
few known Middle Stone Age sequences in the
northeastern part of the country. Here, we
revisit the stratigraphic sequence of the site
and provide new analyses of sediments,
palynomorphs, phytoliths, ochre and lithics.
(...) |
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An
ABC Method for Whole-Genome Sequence Data:
Inferring Paleolithic and Neolithic Human
Expansions,
di F. Jay, S. Boitard, F. Austerlitz, "Molecular
Biology and Evolution", Volume 36, Issue 7, July
2019, Pages 1565–1579
Species generally
undergo a complex demographic history consisting,
in particular, of multiple changes in population
size. Genome-wide sequencing data are
potentially highly informative for
reconstructing this demographic history. A
crucial point is to extract the relevant
information from these very large data sets.
Here, we design an approach for inferring past
demographic events from a moderate number of
fully sequenced genomes. Our new approach uses
Approximate Bayesian Computation, a
simulation-based statistical framework that
allows 1) identifying the best demographic
scenario among several competing scenarios and
2) estimating the best-fitting parameters under
the chosen scenario. Approximate Bayesian
Computation relies on the computation of summary
statistics. (...) |
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Environmental and climatic context of the
hominin occurrence in northeastern Italy from
the late Middle to Late Pleistocene inferred
from small-mammal assemblages,
di J. Manuel López-García, C. Berto, M. Peresani,
"Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 216, 15
July 2019, Pages 18-33
The environmental
and climatic evolution of the late Middle
Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene of the
northeastern Italy is determined for Marine
Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7) to MIS 3 on the basis of
a study of the small-mammal (insectivore, bat
and rodent) assemblages. This paper provides a
synthesis of three previously published and one
unpublished sets of environmental and climatic
data from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic sites
of Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino, Grotta
minore di San Bernardino, De Nadale cave and
Fumane cave, all of which are located in
northeastern Italy. Using the habitat weighting
method and the bioclimatic model to reconstruct
the environment, temperature and rainfall, the
results show great variability in the landscape
and climate of the area. However, the various
layers from the studied sites in which the human
presence is more intense coincide with
landscapes dominated by woodland formations in
mild climatic conditions. (...) |
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Are there marrow cavities in Pleistocene
elephant limb bones, and was marrow available to
early humans? New CT scan results from the site
of Castel di Guido (Italy),
di G. Boschian, D. Caramella, D. Saccà, R.
Barkai, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume
215, 1 July 2019, Pages 86-97
CT-scan analyses
were carried out on limb bones of
straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon
antiquus) from the Middle Pleistocene site of
Castel di Guido (Italy), where bifaces made of
elephant bone were found in association with
lithics and a large number of intentionally
modified bone remains of elephants and other
taxa. CT-scans show that marrow cavities are
present within the limb bones of this taxon.
(...) |
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Journal of Human
Evolution, Volume 132, July 2019:
-
Homo naledi cranial
remains from the Lesedi chamber of the rising
star cave system, South Africa,
di D. J. de Ruiter, M. F. Laird, M. Elliott, P.
Schmid, J. Brophy, J. Hawks, L. R. Berger, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.019
- Dental microwear texture
analysis of Pliocene Suidae from Hadar and
Kanapoi in the context of early hominin dietary
breadth expansion,
di I. A. Lazagabaster, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.04.010
- Three-dimensional
geometric morphometric analysis of the first
metacarpal distal articular surface in humans,
great apes and fossil hominins,
di L. Galletta, N. B. Stephens, A. Bardo, T. L.
Kivell, D. Marchi, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.04.008
- Comparative description
and taxonomy of new hominin juvenile mandibles
from the Pliocene of Woranso-Mille (Central Afar,
Ethiopia),
di Y. Haile-Selassie, T. M. Ryan, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.04.005
- Upper Paleolithic
cultural diversity in the Iranian Zagros
Mountains and the expansion of modern humans
into Eurasia,
di E. Ghasidian, S. Heydari-Guran, M. Mirazón
Lahr, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.04.002
- Dental macrowear and
cortical bone distribution of the Neanderthal
mandible from Regourdou (Dordogne, Southwestern
France),
di L. Fiorenza, S. Benazzi, O. Kullmer, G.
Zampirolo, A. Mazurier, C. Zanolli, R.
Macchiarelli, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.005
- Earliest axial fossils
from the genus Australopithecus,
di M. R. Meyer, S. A. Williams, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.004 |
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Large ungulate mortality profiles and ambush
hunting by Acheulean-age hominins at
Elandsfontein, Western Cape Province, South
Africa, di
H. T. Bunn, "Journal of Archaeological Science",
Volume 107, July 2019, Pages 40-49
At Elandsfontein,
a Middle Pleistocene marsh deposit preserves an
abundance of mammalian fossils, along with a
partial cranium of Homo heidelbergensis and a
significant number of Acheulean stone tools.
Most of this material was collected from the
surface of eroding deposits in the 20th century,
and it seemed to derive from a combination of
hominin foraging activities and other, natural
processes. Prior archaeological research on the
fossil collection has emphasized natural,
carnivore-related mortality and accumulation of
large ungulates and downplayed the potential
role of hominin hunting or scavenging at the
marsh and more broadly at this time period in
human evolution (Klein et al., 2007). (...) |
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Archaeomagnetism of burnt cherts and hearths
from Middle Palaeolithic Amud Cave, Israel:
Tools for reconstructing site formation
processes and occupation history,
di C. Zeigen, R. Shaar, Y. Ebert, E. Hovers,
"Journal of Archaeological Science", Volume 107,
July 2019, Pages 71-86
Apart from
magnetostratigraphy, archaeomagnetism is rarely
used in Middle and Late Pleistocene sites. Here
we present detailed palaeomagnetic analyses of
cemented hearths and burnt chert items from Amud
Cave, Israel (68–55 ka) - two types of materials
common in Levantine Middle Palaeolithic cave
sites. Both materials are shown to be recorders
of the geomagnetic field and were used to
reconstruct either the ancient field direction (for
cemented hearths) or intensity (palaeointensity)
(for chert) at the time of the last burning or
shortly after. We test the utility of
palaeomagnetic data to further our understanding
of temporal aspects of occupations in the cave
by comparing the dispersion of the
palaeomagnetic data to the known characteristics
of geomagnetic secular variation in the Holocene.
We show that divergent palaeointensities can
help identify diachronic burning events,
suggesting different activity patterns in two
areas of the cave. Additionally, we used
palaeomagnetic directional vectors to
distinguish between a well-preserved hearth and
one that had been mixed prior to cementation.
(...) |
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Earliest known Oldowan artifacts at >2.58 Ma
from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, highlight early
technological diversity,
di D. R. Braun et alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", June 11, 2019,
vol. 116, no. 24, pp. 11712-11717
The manufacture of
flaked stone artifacts represents a major
milestone in the technology of the human lineage.
Although the earliest production of primitive
stone tools, predating the genus Homo and
emphasizing percussive activities, has been
reported at 3.3 million years ago (Ma) from
Lomekwi, Kenya, the systematic production of
sharp-edged stone tools is unknown before the
2.58–2.55 Ma Oldowan assemblages from Gona,
Ethiopia. The organized production of Oldowan
stone artifacts is part of a suite of
characteristics that is often associated with
the adaptive grade shift linked to the genus
Homo. Recent discoveries from Ledi-Geraru (LG),
Ethiopia, place the first occurrence of Homo
∼250 thousand years earlier than the Oldowan at
Gona. Here, we describe a substantial assemblage
of systematically flaked stone tools excavated
in situ from a stratigraphically constrained
context [Bokol Dora 1, (BD 1) hereafter] at LG
bracketed between 2.61 and 2.58 Ma. (...)
·
I primi ominidi e la nascita dell'industria
litica, "Le Scienze", 04 giugno 2019 |
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The lineages of the first humans to reach
northeastern Siberia and the Americas,
"Nature news", 05 JUNE 2019
The far northeast of Siberia was the gateway to
the Americas for ancient humans, and today is
home to diverse cultures whose members speak
many languages. During the Late Pleistocene
period (the ice age that lasted from about
126,000 to 11,700 years ago), this area of
Siberia was connected to North America; the land
bridge and adjacent areas formed a region known
as Beringia. Hunter-gatherer populations seem to
have ranged widely across Siberia and into
Beringia, sustained by megafauna such as woolly
mammoths, and other animals. Writing in Nature,
Sikora et al. and Flegontov et al. examine the
genetic footprints of past peoples in
northeastern Siberia and northern North America,
to work out their relationships to modern
communities. Sikora and colleagues also examine
how these peoples were affected by climate
change over the past 40,000 years. Sikora et al.
analysed genomic data from 34 people from
ancient northeastern Siberia. Two individuals
were buried at Yana RHS in Russia — a
31,600-year-old archaeological site that
contains the earliest human remains found in the
far northeast of Siberia — and the others date
from 9,800 to 600 years ago. The Yana
individuals provide the only genomic data
gathered so far from northeastern Siberia before
the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, about 26,500 to
19,000 years ago), although there is evidence of
human occupation in central Siberia as early as
45,000 years ago (...) |
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The population history of northeastern Siberia
since the Pleistocene,
di M. Sikora, V. V. Pitulko, E. Willerslev,
"Nature", Volume 570, Issue 7760, 13 June 2019,
pp. 182–188 (2019)
Northeastern
Siberia has been inhabited by humans for more
than 40,000 years but its deep population
history remains poorly understood. Here we
investigate the late Pleistocene population
history of northeastern Siberia through analyses
of 34 newly recovered ancient genomes that date
to between 31,000 and 600 years ago. We document
complex population dynamics during this period,
including at least three major migration events:
an initial peopling by a previously unknown
Palaeolithic population of ‘Ancient North
Siberians’ who are distantly related to early
West Eurasian hunter-gatherers; the arrival of
East Asian-related peoples, which gave rise to
‘Ancient Palaeo-Siberians’ who are closely
related to contemporary communities from
far-northeastern Siberia (such as the Koryaks),
as well as Native Americans; and a Holocene
migration of other East Asian-related peoples,
who we name ‘Neo-Siberians’, and from whom many
contemporary Siberians are descended. Each of
these population expansions largely replaced the
earlier inhabitants, and ultimately generated
the mosaic genetic make-up of contemporary
peoples who inhabit a vast area across northern
Eurasia and the Americas (...) |
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Dental microwear texture analysis of Homo
sapiens sapiens: Foragers, farmers, and
pastoralists,
di C. W. Schmidt et alii, "American
Journal of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 169, Issue 2, June 2019,
Pages 207-226
The current study
seeks to determine if a sample of foragers,
farmers, and pastoralists are distinguishable
based on their dental microwear texture
signatures.
The study included a sample of 719 individuals
from 51 archeological sites (450 farmers, 192
foragers, 77 pastoralists). All were over age 12
and sexes were pooled. Using a Sensofar®
white-light confocal profiler we collected
dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) data
from a single first or second molar from each
individual. We leveled and cleaned data clouds
following standard procedures and analyzed the
data with Sfrax® and Toothfrax® software. The
DMTA variables were complexity and anisotropy.
Statistics included ANOVA with partial eta
squared and Hedges's g. We also performed a
follow-up K-means cluster analysis. (...) |
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Analyses of
Neanderthal introgression suggest that Levantine
and southern Arabian populations have a shared
population history,
di D. N. Vyas, C. J. Mulligan, "American Journal
of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 169, Issue 2, June 2019,
Pages 227-239
Modern humans are
thought to have interbred with Neanderthals in
the Near East soon after modern humans dispersed
out of Africa. This introgression event likely
took place in either the Levant or southern
Arabia depending on the dispersal route out of
Africa that was followed. In this study, we
compare Neanderthal introgression in
contemporary Levantine and southern Arabian
populations to investigate Neanderthal
introgression and to study Near Eastern
population history.
We analyzed genotyping data on >400,000
autosomal SNPs from seven Levantine and five
southern Arabian populations and compared these
data to those from populations from around the
world including Neanderthal and Denisovan
genomes. We used f4 and D statistics to estimate
and compare levels of Neanderthal introgression
between Levantine, southern Arabian, and
comparative global populations. We also
identified 1,581 putative
Neanderthal-introgressed SNPs within our dataset
and analyzed their allele frequencies as a means
to compare introgression patterns in Levantine
and southern Arabian genomes. (...) |
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Discoveries of quartzite artefacts on the
highest terrace: Early or Middle Pleistocene
occupation of the Rhône Valley?,
di M. H. Moncel et alii, "Antiquity",
Volume 93, Issue 369, June 2019, e14
Artefacts in
quartzite have been found in a unique
topographical location on the highest terrace of
the Rhône Valley in France. These discoveries
offer new opportunities for dating early
European occupations. |
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Micro-PIXE studies on prehistoric chert tools:
elemental mapping to determine Palaeolithic
lithic procurement,
di M. Sánchez de la Torre et alii, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", June 2019, Volume
11, Issue 6, pp. 2375–2383
This paper
contributes to an understanding of the distances
and choices involved in raw material procurement
strategies by Upper Palaeolithic communities
through a Pyrenean geo-archaeological case study.
Methodologically, it involved using Particle
Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) with a focused
proton beam to determine the concentration and
distribution of elements in geological samples
from three natural primary outcrops belonging to
two geological formations outcropping in the
French side of the Pyrenees. While it was not
possible to distinguish the formation through
reference to major and minor elements, some
variations were revealed at the trace elemental
level. With the aim to determine if these
elements were associated with the Si matrix or
to a specific inclusion, elemental maps were
acquired, and the elemental composition of the
identified inclusions were also determined.
(...) |
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The Middle Pleistocene site of Torralba (Soria,
Spain): a taphonomic view of the Marquis of
Cerralbo and Howell faunal collections,
di A. Pineda, P. Saladié, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", June 2019, Volume 11,
Issue 6, pp. 2539–2556
Since the first
excavation work carried out by Cerralbo
(1909–1913) at Torralba, the site has become a
reference point for the study of the earliest
settlers of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as
for the evaluation of the hunting and cognitive
abilities of Lower Paleolithic hominins. At
Torralba, the abundance of elephant has directed
the debate toward the link between these
carcasses and human groups. However, the faunal
record of Torralba is broader and includes
greater species diversity. This work describes a
taphonomic review of the macrofaunal materials
from the classic excavations (Cerralbo,
1909–1913; Howell, 1961–1963) housed in the
Museo Numantino de Soria, the Museo Nacional de
Ciencias Naturales of Madrid, and the Museo
Arqueológico Nacional of Madrid. Our results
show that other taxa, such as horse and bovid,
are also represented. Evidence of anthropic
activity on the bones is scarce. Carnivore
activity is documented mainly in the form of
tooth marks. (...) |
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First Geochemical ‘Fingerprinting’ of Balkan and
Prut Flint from Palaeolithic Romania: Potentials,
Limitations and Future Directions,
di L. Moreau et alii, "Archaeometry",
Volume 61, Issue 3, June 2019, Pages 521-538
Long-distance raw
material transfers across Romania prior to the
Last Glacial Maximum have previously been
inferred from either visual and/or petrographic
observations of East Carpathian sites. We
investigated the potential to ‘fingerprint’
flint from archaeological sites at Mitoc‐Malu
Galben and Bistricioara–Lutărie III in Eastern
Romania, using in situ high‐precision analyses
of 28 major, minor and trace elements determined
by laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma –
mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) in combination
with multivariate statistical analysis. (...) |
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Archaeology and the Origins of Human Cumulative
Culture: A Case Study from the Earliest Oldowan
at Gona, Ethiopia,
di D. Stout, M. J. Rogers, A. V. Jaeggi, S.
Semaw, "Current Anthropology", Volume 60, Number
3, June 2019
The capacity of
Homo sapiens for the intergenerational
accumulation of complex technologies, practices,
and beliefs is central to contemporary accounts
of human distinctiveness. However, the actual
antiquity and evolutionary origins of cumulative
culture are not known. Here we propose and
exemplify a research program for studying the
origins of cumulative culture using
archaeological evidence. Our stepwise approach
disentangles assessment of the observed fidelity
of behavior reproduction from inferences
regarding required learning mechanisms (e.g.,
teaching, imitation) and the explanation of
larger-scale patterns of change. It is
empirically grounded in technological analysis
of artifact assemblages using well-validated
experimental models. We demonstrate with a case
study using a toolmaking replication experiment
to assess evidence of behavior copying across
three 2.6 Ma Oldowan sites from Gona, Ethiopia.
(...) |
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"Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 131, June 2019:
-
The first Neanderthal
specimen from Serbia: Maxillary first molar from
the Late Pleistocene of Pešturina Cave,
di P.
Radović, J. Lindal, D. Mihailović, M. Roksandic,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.018
- Complete permanent
mandibular dentition of early Homo from the
upper Burgi Member of the Koobi Fora Formation,
Ileret, Kenya,
di F. E. Grine et alii, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.017
- Bovid mortality patterns
from Kanjera South, Homa Peninsula, Kenya and
FLK-Zinj, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: Evidence for
habitat mediated variability in Oldowan hominin
hunting and scavenging behavior,
di James S. Oliver, Thomas W. Plummer, Fritz
Hertel, Laura C. Bishop, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.009
- First metatarsal
trabecular bone structure in extant hominoids
and Swartkrans hominins,
di K. Komza, M. M. Skinner, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.003
- Wild chimpanzees
deprived a leopard of its kill: Implications for
the origin of hominin confrontational scavenging,
di M. Nakamura et alii, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.011
- Cooked starchy food in
hearths ca. 120 kya and 65 kya (MIS 5e and MIS
4) from Klasies River Cave, South Africa,
di C. Larbey, S. M. Mentzer, B. Ligouis, S. Wurz,
M. K. Jones, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.015
- Recycling for a purpose
in the late Lower Paleolithic Levant: Use-wear
and residue analyses of small sharp flint items
indicate a planned and integrated subsistence
behavior at Qesem Cave (Israel),
di F. Venditti, S. Nunziante-Cesaro, Y. Parush,
A. Gopher, R. Barkai, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.016
- New bracketing
luminescence ages constrain the Sima de los
Huesos hominin fossils (Atapuerca, Spain) to MIS
12,
di M. Demuro, L. J. Arnold, A. Aranburu, N.
Sala, J. L. Arsuaga, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.12.003
- Relevance of the eastern
African coastal forest for early hominin
biogeography,
di J. C. A. Joordens, C. S. Feibel, H. B. Vonhof,
A. S. Schulp, D. Kroon, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.012
- Genetic data and
radiocarbon dating question Plovers Lake as a
Middle Stone Age hominin-bearing site,
di M. Lombard et alii, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.014
- Corrigendum to “Dental
topography and the diet of Homo naledi” [Journal
of Human Evolution 118 (2018) 14–26],
di M. A. Berthaume, L. K. Delezene, K Kupczik,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.04.001.
- Does optimal foraging
theory explain the behavior of the oldest human
cannibals?,
di J. Rodríguez, Z. R. Guillermo, M. Ana,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.010
- Expanded character
sampling underscores phylogenetic stability of
Ardipithecus ramidus as a basal hominin,
di C. S. Mongle, D. S. Strait, F. E. Grine,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.006
- Relative fibular
strength and locomotor behavior in KNM-WT 15000
and OH 35,
di D. Marchi, C. M. Harper, H. Chirchir, C. B.
Ruff, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.02.005 |
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Teilhard de Chardin, human evolution and
“Piltdown Man”,
di J. Francis Thackeray, "Evolutionary
Anthropology", Volume 28, Issue 3, May/June
2019, Pages 126-132
Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin was a French Jesuit paleontologist,
priest, and philosopher. In the figures
published in articles in 1943 and 1951, he
attempted to draw a “plausible schematic
reconstruction of the natural connections
between fossil men” and a “phyletic composition
of the human group”. I draw attention to
Teilhard's reference to Eoanthropus (“Piltdown
Man”) in small print in his figure that was
first printed in 1943. Most suspiciously, there
is no reference to this (supposedly important)
genus in the associated text, nor is there any
reference whatsoever to “Piltdown Man” in the
article published in 1951. (...) |
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Living on the edge: Was demographic weakness the
cause of Neanderthal demise?,
di A. Degioanni, C. Bonenfant, S. Cabut, S.
Condemi, May 29, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216742
- free access -
The causes of
disappearance of the Neanderthals, the only
human population living in Europe before the
arrival of Homo sapiens, have been debated for
decades by the scientific community. Different
hypotheses have been advanced to explain this
demise, such as cognitive, adaptive and cultural
inferiority of Neanderthals. Here, we
investigate the disappearance of Neanderthals by
examining the extent of demographic changes
needed over a period of 10,000 years (yrs) to
lead to their extinction. In regard to such
fossil populations, we inferred demographic
parameters from present day and past
hunter-gatherer populations, and from
bio-anthropological rules. We used demographic
modeling and simulations to identify the set of
plausible demographic parameters of the
Neanderthal population compatible with the
observed dynamics, and to explore the
circumstances under which they might have led to
the disappearance of Neanderthals. A slight
(<4%) but continuous decrease in the fertility
rate of younger Neanderthal women could have had
a significant impact on these dynamics, and
could have precipitated their demise. Our
results open the way to non-catastrophic events
as plausible explanations for Neanderthal
extinction. (...) |
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The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition
occupations from Cova Foradada (Calafell, NE
Iberia), di
J. I. Morales et alii, May 16, 2019, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215832
- free access -
The
Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe
covers the last millennia of Neanderthal life
together with the appearance and expansion of
Modern Human populations. Culturally, it is
defined by the Late Middle Paleolithic
succession, and by Early Upper Paleolithic
complexes like the Châtelperronian (southwestern
Europe), the Protoaurignacian, and the Early
Aurignacian. Up to now, the southern boundary
for the transition has been established as being
situated between France and Iberia, in the
Cantabrian façade and Pyrenees. According to
this, the central and southern territories of
Iberia are claimed to have been the refuge of
the last Neanderthals for some additional
millennia after they were replaced by
anatomically Modern Humans on the rest of the
continent. In this paper, we present the
Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition sequence
from Cova Foradada (Tarragona), a cave on the
Catalan Mediterranean coastline. Archaeological
research has documented a stratigraphic sequence
containing a succession of very short-term
occupations pertaining to the Châtelperronian,
Early Aurignacian, and Gravettian. Cova Foradada
therefore represents the southernmost
Châtelperronian–Early Aurignacian sequence ever
documented in Europe, significantly enlarging
the territorial distribution of both cultures
and providing an important geographical and
chronological reference for understanding
Neanderthal disappearance and the complete
expansion of anatomically Modern Humans.
(...) |
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Chimpanzee extractive foraging with excavating
tools: Experimental modeling of the origins of
human technology,
di A. Motes-Rodrigo et alii, May 15,
2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215644
- free access -
It is hypothesized
that tool-assisted excavation of plant
underground storage organs (USOs) played an
adaptive role in hominin evolution and was also
once considered a uniquely human behavior.
Recent data indicate that savanna chimpanzees
also use tools to excavate edible USOs. However,
those chimpanzees remain largely unhabituated
and we lack direct observations of this behavior
in the wild. To fill this gap in our knowledge
of hominoid USO extractive foraging, we
conducted tool-mediated excavation experiments
with captive chimpanzees naïve to this behavior.
We presented the chimpanzees with the
opportunity to use tools in order to excavate
artificially-placed underground foods in their
naturally forested outdoor enclosure. No
guidance or demonstration was given to the
chimpanzees at any time. The chimpanzees used
tools spontaneously in order to excavate the
underground foods. They exhibited six different
tool use behaviors in the context of excavation:
probe, perforate, dig, pound, enlarge and shovel.
However, they still excavated manually more
often than they did with tools. Chimpanzees were
selective in their choice of tools that we
provided, preferring longer tools for excavation.
They also obtained their own tools mainly from
naturally occurring vegetation and transported
them to the excavation site. They reused some
tools throughout the study. Our new data provide
a direction for the study of variables relevant
to modeling USO extractive foraging by early
hominins. (...) |
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Archaic human remains from
Hualongdong, China, and Middle Pleistocene human
continuity and variation,
di X. J. Wu et
alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", May 14,
2019, vol. 116, no. 20, pp. 9820-9824
Middle to Late
Pleistocene human evolution in East Asia has
remained controversial regarding the extent of
morphological continuity through archaic humans
and to modern humans. Newly found ~300,000-y-old
human remains from Hualongdong (HLD), China,
including a largely complete skull (HLD 6),
share East Asian Middle Pleistocene (MPl) human
traits of a low vault with a frontal keel (but
no parietal sagittal keel or angular torus), a
low and wide nasal aperture, a pronounced
supraorbital torus (especially medially), a
nonlevel nasal floor, and small or absent third
molars. It lacks a malar incisure but has a
large superior medial pterygoid tubercle.
(...) |
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A
multidisciplinary approach to a unique
palaeolithic human ichnological record from
Italy (Bàsura Cave),
di M. Romano et alii, May 14, 2019, doi:
10.7554/eLife.45204 -
free access -
Based on the
integration of laser scans, sedimentology,
geochemistry, archeobotany, geometric
morphometrics and photogrammetry, here we
present evidence testifying that a Palaeolithic
group of people explored a deep cave in northern
Italy about 14 ky cal. BP. Ichnological data
enable us to shed light on individual and group
level behavior, social relationship, and mode of
exploration of the uneven terrain. Five
individuals, two adults, an adolescent and two
children, entered the cave barefoot and
illuminated the way with a bunch of wooden
sticks. Traces of crawling locomotion are
documented for the first time in the global
human ichnological record. Anatomical details
recognizable in the crawling traces show that no
clothing was present between limbs and the
trampled sediments. Our study demonstrates that
very young children (the youngest about 3 years
old) were active members of the Upper
Palaeolithic populations, even in apparently
dangerous and social activities. (...) |
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Assessment of complex
projectiles in the early Late Pleistocene at
Aduma, Ethiopia,
di Y. Sahle, A. S. Brooks, May 9, 2019, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216716
- free access -
Complex
projectiles—propulsion via mechanical aid—are
considered an important technological innovation,
with possible relevance for the successful
Out-of-Africa dispersal of our species.
Conclusive evidence for the beginning of this
technology, however, is lacking from the early
Late Pleistocene (ca. 130 to 70 thousand years
ago; ka). Given the extremely limited
applicability of relatively robust methods for
validating stone-tipped projectile use, such as
through fracture propagation velocity,
converging lines of circumstantial evidence
remain the best way to examine early complex
projectiles. We assess here suggestions for an
early Late Pleistocene origin of complex
projectiles in Africa. Results from both
previous and present independent approaches
suggest a trajectory in which complex
projectiles were likely adopted during the early
Late Pleistocene in eastern Africa. At Aduma
(Middle Awash, Ethiopia), morphometric, hafting,
and impact damage patterns in several lithic
point assemblages suggest a shift from simple
spear technologies (thrusting and/or hand-cast)
to complex projectiles. Broadly dated to 80–100
ka, lithic points from later phases of the Aduma
succession represent a particularly strong
candidate for projectile armatures most
comparable to ethnographically known
spearthrower darts, lending support for previous
suggestions and warranting further
investigations. (...) |
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Similarities and differences in the lifestyles
of populations using mode 3 technology in North
Africa and the south of the Iberian Peninsula,
di J. Ramos-Muñoz et alii, "Quaternary,
International", Volume 515, 10 May 2019, Pages
66-79
In the
geohistorical region of the Strait of Gibraltar,
which includes the south of the Iberian
Peninsula and North Africa, important research
has been carried out in recent years. This
research has allowed us to document the presence
of human groups as early as the Middle
Pleistocene. Classical anthropology refers to
these groups using various terms Homo
Neanderthalensis in the south of Europe and Homo
sapiens sapiens in North Africa). The current
records exhibit important similarities
concerning lithic technology (the so-called
‘Mode 3’, ‘Mousterian’ or ‘Middle Stone Age’),
and the exploitation of marine resources.
(...) |
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The early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les
Cendres (Alicante, Spain),
di V. Villaverde et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 515, 10 May 2019, Pages
92-124
This paper
presents a synthesis of the Early Upper
Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres. Points of
special attention are the sedimentary and
micromorphological characterisation of level XVI,
the analysis of the vegetal and animal resources
and their incidence on the economy of the
Gravettian human groups, and the
characterisation of the landscape during this
period. Furthermore, the paper offers important
information of the lithic and bone assemblages,
economic behaviour and radiocarbon dates of
sub-levels XVIA and XVIB, related to the
Gravettian, and XVIC and XVID, corresponding to
the Aurignacian. (...) |
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Hypercementosis of the Magdalenian human
mandibular teeth from El Mirón cave, Cantabria (Spain),
di R. García-González et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 515, 10 May 2019, Pages
150-158
Here we present a
detailed study of the aetiologic factors causing
hypercementosis in the mandibular teeth of the
Magdalenian human skeleton recovered from the
site of El Mirón cave in northern Spain. This
skeleton belongs to an adult female and is
referred as the “Red Lady” because the bones
were stained with red ochre. The analysis of the
cementum formation in the teeth of this
individual is compatible with a generalized
hypercementosis. We evaluate the aetiological
factors traditionally considered in
archaeological studies (attritional wear,
periodontal disease, idiopathic and systemic
disorders) and, for the first time, the
abrasiveness of the diet and the cultural wear.
(...) |
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Landscapes, climate change & forager mobility in
the Upper Paleolithic of northern Spain,
di G. A. Clark, C. M. Barton, L. G. Straus, "Quaternary
International", Volume 515, 10 May 2019, Pages
176-187
Numerous studies
have shown that the relative frequency of
retouched pieces can help to distinguish forager
mobility strategies amongst individual layers at
a single site and, potentially, at multiple
sites across regions (Riel-Salvatore & Barton,
2004; Riel-Salvatore et al., 2008; Barton &
Riel-Salvatore, 2014). We use this proxy measure
and other lines of evidence to evaluate Late
Pleistocene human land-use practices from 47
Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites in
northern coastal Spain. To monitor mobility
strategies we examine the proportion of
retouched pieces to total lithics, focusing on
backed pieces which probably served mostly as
replaceable inserts in organic armatures for
hunting weapons. Kuhn (1995) argued that
foragers at some distance from a residential
base would have had to rely on replaceable
elements for the tools and weapons they carried
with them. (...) |
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Time and space in the Western Paleolithic age,
di M. Otte, "Quaternary International", Volume
515, 10 May 2019, Pages 188-196
Articulating
cultural constructs in time and space and
associating them with molecular biology data
yield a consistent picture of European history
in the late Western prehistory (24–18,000 years).
A number of different African migrations
resulted in deep-seated acculturation of the
local ethnic populations, and these changes led
to the Magdalenian civilisation (Lascaux).
(...) |
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Ancient jaw gives elusive
Denisovans a face,
di A. Gibbons, "Science", 03 May 2019, Vol. 364,
Issue 6439, pp. 418-419
Thirty-nine years
ago, a Buddhist monk meditating in a cave on the
edge of the Tibetan Plateau found something
strange: a human jawbone with giant molars. Now,
almost 4 decades later, a groundbreaking new way
to identify human fossils based on ancient
proteins shows the jaw belonged to a Denisovan,
a mysterious extinct cousin of Neanderthals. The
jawbone is the first known fossil of a Denisovan
outside of Siberia's Denisova Cave in Russia and
gives paleoanthropologists their first real look
at the face of this lost member of the human
family. Together, the jaw's anatomy and the new
method of analyzing ancient proteins could help
researchers learn whether other mysterious
fossils in Asia are Denisovans. |
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Neanderthal communities in the heart of the
Iberian Peninsula: taphonomic and
zooarchaeological study of the Mousterian site
of Jarama VI (Guadalajara, Spain),
di A. J. Romero, J. C. Díez, D. Arceredillo, J.
García-Solano, J. F. Jordá-Pardo, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", May 2019, Volume
11, Issue 5, pp. 1713–1725
The Mousterian
site of Jarama VI (Guadalajara, Spain) has three
archaeological levels corresponding to the final
Middle Palaeolithic. Taphonomic and
zooarchaeological analyses have determined
important changes in the functionality of the
site in relation to the species consumed and the
nutrients that were sought. The first
occupations consisted of a long-term residential
camp with consumption and meat and skin
treatment actions at different seasons in a cold
environment. Level 2 represents an occupation
focused on the casual exploitation of plant
resources with minimal hunting of animals in
summer and autumn. (...) |
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Archeological bone injuries by lithic backed
projectiles: new evidence on bear hunting from
the Late Epigravettian site of Cornafessa rock
shelter (Italy),
di R. Duches et alii, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", May 2019, Volume 11,
Issue 5, pp. 2249–2270
Despite the
widespread application of high-resolution
quantitative methods in bone taphonomy, very few
studies have focused on projectile impact marks.
Therefore, in a previous work, we explored the
potential of 3D microscopy in distinguishing
bone hunting injuries from other taphonomic
marks, developing a widely applicable diagnostic
framework based on experimental data and focused
on Late Epigravettian projectiles. This paper
aims to continue that research by applying 3D
morphometrical analysis to zooarcheological bone
surfaces, in order to verify the validity and
feasibility of this method and evaluate the
reliability of the experimental record. Here, we
present the detailed analysis of a projectile
impact mark, found on a rib of Ursus arctos from
the Late Epigravettian site of Cornafessa rock
shelter. The injury, located on the rib’s
external surface, consists of a drag with
several flint fragments embedded. (...) |
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Temporal evidence shows Australopithecus sediba
is unlikely to be the ancestor of Homo,
di A. Du, Z. Alemseged, "Science Advances", May
2019: Vol. 5, no. 5, eaav9038
- free access -
Understanding the
emergence of the genus Homo is a pressing
problem in the study of human origins.
Australopithecus sediba has recently been
proposed as the ancestral species of Homo,
although it postdates earliest Homo by 800,000
years. Here, we use probability models to
demonstrate that observing an ancestor’s fossil
horizon that is at least 800,000 years younger
than the descendant’s fossil horizon is unlikely
(about 0.09% on average). We corroborate these
results by searching the literature and finding
that within pairs of purported hominin ancestor–descendant
species, in only one case did the
first-discovered fossil in the ancestor postdate
that from the descendant, and the age difference
between these fossils was much less than the
difference observed between A. sediba and
earliest Homo. Together, these results suggest
it is highly unlikely that A. sediba is
ancestral to Homo, and the most viable candidate
ancestral species remains Australopithecus
afarensis. (...) |
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Dental evolutionary rates and its implications
for the Neanderthal–modern human divergence,
di A. Gómez-Robles, "Science Advances", May
2019: Vol. 5, no. 5, eaaw1268
- free access -
The origin of
Neanderthal and modern human lineages is a
matter of intense debate. DNA analyses have
generally indicated that both lineages diverged
during the middle period of the Middle
Pleistocene, an inferred time that has strongly
influenced interpretations of the hominin fossil
record. This divergence time, however, is not
compatible with the anatomical and genetic
Neanderthal affinities observed in Middle
Pleistocene hominins from Sima de los Huesos (Spain),
which are dated to 430 thousand years (ka) ago.
Drawing on quantitative analyses of dental
evolutionary rates and Bayesian analyses of
hominin phylogenetic relationships, I show that
any divergence time between Neanderthals and
modern humans younger than 800 ka ago would have
entailed unexpectedly rapid dental evolution in
early Neanderthals from Sima de los Huesos.
These results support a pre–800 ka last common
ancestor for Neanderthals and modern humans
unless hitherto unexplained mechanisms sped up
dental evolution in early Neanderthals. (...)
·
Ci siamo separati prima del previsto dai
Neanderthal?, "Le Scienze", 16 maggio 2019 |
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Introduction of Late Pleistocene cultural
material of an intermediate region: Paleolithic
sites of Pion and Izeh plain between Central and
Southern Zagros, Southwest Iran,
di M. Jayez, K. Molla Mirzai, K. Aldin Niknami,
"Quaternary International", Volume 512, 10 April
2019, Pages 52-66
The final phase of
Late Pleistocene of Zagros Mountains has been
introduced as Upper Paleolithic cultural
material of Baradostian/Zagros Aurignacian, but
differences between UP lithic industry in
central and Southern Zagros has led to
definition of another techno-complex in Southern
Zagros named Rostamian. Another Late Paleolithic
industry is Zarzian Epipaleolithic which is
defined based on few absolute dating and
excavated sites in the region. The nature of
relationships and the territories of Late
Paleolithic hunter-gatherers in the region is
obscure. In this article an intermediate region
between central and Southern Zagros with Late
Paleolithic evidence is introduced based on
surface survey of Izeh and Pion Plains in
Southwestern Iran. Pion Plain in northwest of
Izeh was surveyed in 2008 aiming at identifying
the whole range of extant sites. 19 sites were
dated to Late Paleolithic based on their surface
lithic assemblages, and divided to minor and
major sites regarding their surface material
density and cultural deposits. (...) |
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The oldest osseous mining tools in Europe? New
discoveries from the chocolate flint mine in
Orońsko, site 2 (southern Poland),
di G. Osipowicz et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 512, 10 April 2019, Pages
82-98
This article
presents the results of the traceological,
experimental, physico-chemical and
archaeozoological analyses undertaken on bone
artefacts from one of the oldest known flint
mines, i.e. the chocolate flint mine in Orońsko,
Site 2, Poland. Based on typological and 11
radiocarbon measurements, the mine dates to the
end of the Alleröd period and the early Younger
Dryas. The results of the traceological and
chemical analyses demonstrate that the bone
artefacts were used as chisels/picks for
removing limestone and extracting lumps of
flint, which makes them some of the oldest known
osseous mining tools in Europe. (...) |
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Late Glacial environment and human settlement of
the Central Western Carpathians: A case study of
the Nowa Biała 1 open-air site (Podhale Region,
southern Poland),
di M. Łanczont et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 512, 10 April 2019, Pages
113-132
Nowa Biała 1 is a
unique site of the Federmesser culture in the
area of Carpathian Mountains, and also one of
the few Final Palaeolithic sites known from this
territory. From taxonomic point of view the
artefacts represent the Federmesser culture as
an element of Arch-backed points technocomplex
(APT) – well known from the European Plain and
practically quite unknown from the mountains
till now. Hunters’ camp, with the dwelling
structure and workshop, was situated on a
terrace of the Białka River close to its gorge,
and in the proximity of a rocky hill (the
Obłazowa Rock) – which itself was a great
observation spot. The cultural layer found in
the site was connected with an initial soil, the
presence of which was observed within the
aeolian loess-like deposits. Thie age of
pedogenic processes (based on OSL dating) was
undoubtedly younger than 14.7 ka and older than
11 ka. Radiocarbon dating suggests the Late
Allerød age of the site. (...) |
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Humanizing European
Paleolithic art: A new visual evidence of human/bird
interactions at L’Hort de la Boquera site (Margalef
de Montsant, Tarragona, Spain),
di I. Domingo et alii, "L'Anthropologie",
Volume 123, Issue 1, January–March 2019, Pages
1-18 - free access -
This paper reports
the discovery of a new example of portable art
in North-eastern Iberia dating to the Late Upper
Palaeolithic (12.250 ± 60 BP). The piece is
analysed in relation to the European
Palaeolithic art assemblage to determine its
significance and how it contributes to our
understandings of Palaeolithic artistic
practices. Both the motifs depicted (birds and
humans) and the patterns of composition (a
narrative scene) are unusual in Palaeolithic
assemblages. In addition, this new find
contributes to filling a geographic gap in the
artistic record as evidence of Palaeolithic art
is rare in Catalonia. The anatomical features of
one of the birds suggest that it is a crane, a
species that has been depicted in a limited
number of sites, as summarized in this paper.
Moreover, there are only three known example of
birds and humans interacting in a narrative
scene in Palaeolithic art. Exhibiting
innovations in media, subject matter and
compositional norms, this new find has the
potential to change the classic definition of
European Upper Palaeolithic art and integrate
the region in the artistic trends circulating
along Mediterranean Iberia during the Upper
Magdalenian. (...) |
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Coliboaia is not Chauvet,
di Marin Cârciumaru, Elena-Cristina Nițu, Paul
Bahn, "L'Anthropologie", Volume 123, Issue 1,
January–March 2019, Pages 19-38
- free access -
The decorated cave
of Coliboaia in Romania has been claimed to date
to the Aurignacian period, and to supply support
for the Aurignacian attribution of France's
Chauvet cave. In this paper, we examine the
evidence and show that neither the radiocarbon
dates obtained at Coliboaia nor the style and
content of its cave art correspond to the
Aurignacian period, and that comparisons with
Chauvet cave – itself badly dated and
erroneously attributed – are equally ill-founded.
We also show that both caves are in regions
which are bereft of Aurignacian occupation, and
neither cave contains any artefacts from the
period. (...) |
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L'attribution
culturelle des sculptures du Jura souabe selon
les documents des découvreurs,
di G. Jouve, "L'Anthropologie", Volume
123, Issue 1, January–March 2019, Pages 39-65
- free access -
The portable art
discovered in the caves of the Swabian Jura has
been dated to the Aurignacian for almost half a
century, following work by J. Hahn, but that was
not the opinion of the discoverers at the sites
of Vogelherd and Hohlenstein Stadel. The dating
of these figurines poses questions about the
first development of figurative art. This paper
examines the validity of the arguments presented
about radiometric ages of the finds comparing to
their stratigraphic locations. A varied
chronology for these artworks becomes clear: in
our view, some pieces from Vogelherd and Hohle
Fels date to the Gravettian, while others from
Vogelherd and Hohlenstein Stadel date to the
Magdalenian. The arguments in favour of the
Aurignacian do not hold up to critical
examination. (...) |
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Human behavior and Homo-mammal interactions at
the first European peopling: new evidence from
the Pirro Nord site (Apricena, Southern Italy),
di R. Chelli Cheheb et alii, "The Science
of Nature", June 2019, 106:16
Recent functional
and zooarchaeological studies conducted on the
archeological finds of Pirro Nord (PN13)
produced new, reliable data on early European
hominid subsistence activities. The age of the
site is estimated to be ~ 1.3–1.6 Ma, based on
bio-chronological data, and the archeological
excavation of the Pirro Nord 13 fissure led to
the discovery of more than 300 lithic artifacts
associated with thousands of vertebrate fossil
remains of the final Villafranchian (Pirro Nord
Faunal Unit). The analysis of the fossil faunal
remains allowed for the identification of
anthropogenic traces linked to the exploitation
of different animal carcass (cut marks and
intentional bone breakages). Use-wear traces
were also observed on some flint artifacts and
have been interpreted as the result of the
exploitation of animal resources by early
hominids and carnivores. (...) |
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The Late Pleistocene European badger Meles meles
from Grotta Laceduzza (Brindisi, Apulia,
Southern Italy): the analysis of the
morphological and biometric variability,
di B. Mecozzi, D. Coppola, D. A. Iurino, R.
Sardella, A. M. De Marinis, "The Science of
Nature", June 2019, 106:13
In the last
decades, many studies have focused on the
description of fossil badger materials from
Eurasia and several evolutionary hypotheses have
been proposed. Nevertheless, the debate on
taxonomy of the Late Villafranchian-Aurelian
European badgers is still far from being solved
and several species/subspecies were established
over time. Herein, we described for the first
time the craniodental and postcranial remains of
Meles meles from Grotta Laceduzza (Apulia,
Southern Italy), representing the largest sample
of this taxon in the European Pleistocene
record. Morphological and morphometric
comparisons with fossils coming from the
European Pleistocene sites were carried out;
morphometric data were also compared with those
of several extant populations of the European
badger. (...) |
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"PaleoAnthropology"
Journal 2019
- free access -
-
The rennes se suivant: A
Recurrent Image Association from the Magdalenian
Culture,
di A. Castelli
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Humans' Earliest Personal
Ornaments: An Introduction,
di D. E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, M. D. Bosch
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - A Review of Shells as
Personal Ornamentation during the African Middle
Stone Age,
di T. E. Steele, E. Álvarez-Fernández, E.
Hallett-Desguez
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Location, Location,
Location: Investigating Perforation Locations in
Tritia gibbosula Shells at Ksâr ‘Akil (Lebanon)
Using Micro-CT Data,
di M. D. Bosch, L. Buck, A. Strauss
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Marine and Freshwater Shell
Exploitaiton in the Early Upper Paleolithic:
Re-Examination of the Assemblages from Fumane
Cave (NE Italy),
di M. Peresani, M. Forte, E. Quaggiotto, A.
Colonese, M. Romandini, C. Cilli, G. Giacobini
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - 40,000 Years of Ochre
Utilization in Timor-Leste: Powders, Prehensile
Traces, and Body Painting,
di M. C. Langley, S. O'Connor
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Upper Paleolithic Explorers:
The Geographic Sources of Shell Beads in Early
Upper Paleolithic Assemblages in Israel,
di D. E. Bar-Yosef Mayer
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Living Among Personal
Ornaments During the Magdalenian: Some
Reflections About Perforated Marine Shells in
Cantabrian Spain,
di E. Álvarez-Fernandez, I. Barrera, M. José
Fernández-Gómez
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Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Settlement Dynamic and
Beadwork: New Insights on Late Upper Paleolithic
Craft Activities,
di S. Rigaud, S. Costamagno, J. M. Pétillon, P.
Chalard, V. Laroulandie, M. Langlais
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Personal Adornments and
Objects of Ornamentation: Two Case Studies From
Hunter-Gatherer Burials in France (La Vergne)
and Argentine (Arroyo Seco II),
di L. Laporte, C. Dupont
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Bead Making in Aboriginal
Australia From the Deep Past to European Arrival:
Materials, Methods, and Meanings,
di J. Balme, S. O'Connor
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Cultural Implications of
Uniformity in Ornament Assemblages: Paleolithic
and Mesolithic Ornaments from Franchthi Cave,
Greece,
di C. Perlès
-
Special Issue: Early
Personal Ornaments - Taking Beads Seriously:
Prehistoric Forager Ornamental Traditions in
Southeastern Europe,
di D. Borić, E. Cristiani |
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Paleolithic artifact deposits at Wadi Dabsa,
Saudi Arabia: A multiscalar geoarchaeological
approach to building an interpretative framework,
di R. H. Inglis et alii, "Geoachaeology",
Volume34, Issue3, May/June 2019, Pages 272-294
Surface artifacts
dominate the archaeological record of arid
landscapes, particularly the Saharo‐Arabian belt,
a pivotal region in dispersals out of Africa.
Discarded by hominins, these artifacts are key
to understanding past landscape use and
dispersals, yet behavioral interpretation of
present‐day artifact distributions cannot be
carried out without understanding how
geomorphological processes have controlled, and
continue to control, artifact preservation,
exposure and visibility at multiple scales. We
employ a geoarchaeological approach to
unraveling the formation of a surface assemblage
of 2,970 Palaeolithic and later lithic artifacts
at Wadi Dabsa, Saudi Arabia, the richest
locality recorded to date in the southwestern
Red Sea coastal region. Wadi Dabsa basin, within
the volcanic Harrat Al Birk, contains extensive
tufa deposits formed during wetter conditions.
(...) |
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Isolated teeth from La Ferrassie: Reassessment
of the old collections, new remains, and their
implications,
di Gaël Becam et alii, "American
Journal of
Physical Anthropology", Volume169, Issue1, May
2019, Pages 132-142
We provide the
description and comparative analysis of six new
teeth from the site of La Ferrassie. Our goal is
to discuss their taxonomic attribution, and to
provide an updated inventory of Neandertal and
modern human remains from La Ferrassie in their
associated archeological context.
We use external and internal anatomy, classic
morphometrics, and geometric morphometrics. The
teeth from La Ferrassie are compared to several
samples of contemporary Neandertals and upper
Paleolithic modern humans and to recent modern
humans. (...) |
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Efficacy of diffeomorphic surface matching and
3D geometric morphometrics for taxonomic
discrimination of Early Pleistocene hominin
mandibular molars,
di J. Braga et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 130, May 2019, Pages 21-35
Morphometric
assessments of the dentition have played
significant roles in hypotheses relating to
taxonomic diversity among extinct hominins. In
this regard, emphasis has been placed on the
statistical appraisal of intraspecific variation
to identify morphological criteria that convey
maximum discriminatory power. Three-dimensional
geometric morphometric (3D GM) approaches that
utilize landmarks and semi-landmarks to quantify
shape variation have enjoyed increasingly
popular use over the past twenty-five years in
assessments of the outer enamel surface (OES)
and enamel–dentine junction (EDJ) of fossil
molars. Recently developed diffeomorphic surface
matching (DSM) methods that model the
deformation between shapes have drastically
reduced if not altogether eliminated potential
methodological inconsistencies associated with
the a priori identification of landmarks and
delineation of semi-landmarks. As such, DSM has
the potential to better capture the geometric
details that describe tooth shape by accounting
for both homologous and non-homologous (i.e.,
discrete) features, and permitting the
statistical determination of geometric
correspondence. (...) |
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Temporal shifts in the distribution of murine
rodent body size classes at Liang Bua (Flores,
Indonesia) reveal new insights into the
paleoecology of Homo floresiensis and associated
fauna, di
E. G. Veatch et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 130, May 2019, Pages 45-60
- free access -
Liang Bua, the
type locality of Homo floresiensis, is a
limestone cave located in the western part of
the Indonesian island of Flores. The relatively
continuous stratigraphic sequence of the site
spans the past ~190 kyr and contains ~275,000
taxonomically identifiable vertebrate skeletal
elements, ~80% of which belong to murine rodent
taxa (i.e., rats). Six described genera are
present at Liang Bua (Papagomys, Spelaeomys,
Hooijeromys, Komodomys, Paulamys, and Rattus),
one of which, Hooijeromys, is newly recorded in
the site deposits, being previously known only
from Early to Middle Pleistocene sites in
central Flores. Measurements of the proximal
femur (n = 10,212) and distal humerus (n = 1186)
indicate five murine body size classes ranging
from small (mouse-sized) to giant (common
rabbit-sized) are present. The proportions of
these five classes across successive
stratigraphic units reveal two major changes in
murine body size distribution due to significant
shifts in the abundances of more open
habitat-adapted medium-sized murines versus more
closed habitat-adapted smaller-sized ones. One
of these changes suggests a modest increase in
available open habitats occurred ~3 ka, likely
the result of anthropogenic changes to the
landscape related to farming by modern human
populations. The other and more significant
change occurred ~60 ka suggesting a rapid shift
from more open habitats to more closed
conditions at this time. The abrupt reduction of
medium-sized murines, along with the
disappearance of H. floresiensis, Stegodon
florensis insularis (an extinct proboscidean),
Varanus komodoensis (Komodo dragon), Leptoptilos
robustus (giant marabou stork), and Trigonoceps
sp. (vulture) at Liang Bua ~60–50 ka, is likely
the consequence of these animals preferring and
tracking more open habitats to elsewhere on the
island. If correct, then the precise timing and
nature of the extinction of H. floresiensis and
its contemporaries must await new discoveries at
Liang Bua or other as yet unexcavated sites on
Flores. (...) |
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Brain size growth in
Australopithecus,
di Z. Cofran, "Journal of Human Evolution",
Volume 130, May 2019, Pages 72-82
Postnatal growth
is one of the proximate means by which humans
attain massive adult brain size. Humans are
characterized by the maintenance of prenatal
brain growth rates into the first postnatal year,
as well as an overall extended period of growth.
The evolution of this pattern is difficult to
assess due to its relatively brief duration and
the underrepresentation of well-preserved fossil
individuals who died during this short period.
In this study, I use Monte Carlo methods to
reconstruct postnatal brain growth rates in
Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus
africanus, based on estimates of neonatal brain
size and of likely brain size and age at death
of infant specimens (A.L. 333-105, DIK-1-1, and
Taung). Neonatal brain size is reconstructed
from the empirical scaling relationship among
catarrhines which humans follow, and
conservative estimates of fossils' chronological
ages and brain sizes are drawn from the
literature. Simulated distributions of these
values are used to calculate average annual
rates (ARs) of brain growth and proportional
size change from birth (PSC), which are compared
to resampled statistics from humans, chimpanzees
and gorillas of known age and sex. (...) |
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Mandibular molar root and pulp cavity morphology
in Homo naledi and other Plio-Pleistocene
hominins,
di K. Kupczik, L. K. Delezene, M. M. Skinner,
"Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 130, May
2019, Pages 83-95
The
craniomandibular morphology of Homo naledi shows
variable resemblances with species across Homo,
which confounds an easy assessment of its
phylogenetic position. In terms of skull shape,
H. naledi has its closest affinities with Homo
erectus, while mandibular shape places it closer
to early Homo. From a tooth crown perspective,
the smaller molars of H. naledi make it distinct
from early Homo and H. erectus. Here, we compare
the mandibular molar root morphology of six H.
naledi individuals from the Dinaledi Chamber to
those of African and Eurasian Plio-Pleistocene
fossil hominins (totalling 183 mandibular first,
second and third molars). The analysis of five
root metric variables (cervical plane area, root
length, root cervix volume, root branch volume,
and root surface area) derived from microCT
reconstructions reveals that the molar roots of
H. naledi are smaller than those of Homo habilis,
Homo rudolfensis, and H. erectus, but that they
resemble those of three Homo sp. specimens from
Swartkrans and Koobi Fora in size and overall
appearance. (...) |
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Saharan green corridors and Middle Pleistocene
hominin dispersals across the Eastern Desert,
Sudan, di
M. Masojć et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 130, May 2019, Pages 141-150
The Sahara Desert
episodically became a space available for
hominins in the Pleistocene. Mostly, desert
conditions prevailed during the interpluvial
periods, which were only periodically
interrupted by enhanced precipitation during
pluvial or interglacial periods. Responding to
Quaternary climatic changes, hominin dispersal
was channeled through vegetated corridors. This
manuscript introduces a recently discovered
group of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age sites
far from the Nile Valley in the Eastern Desert
(Sudan), referred to as Eastern Desert Atbara
River (EDAR). The ~5 m stratigraphy of the area
is divided into three units (Units I–III)
bounded by erosion surfaces. Each contains
archaeological horizons. The EDAR area has rich
surface sites with Acheulean horizons under the
surface, singular finds of hand-axes within
stratigraphic context in exposures, and large
Acheulean sites partly exposed and destroyed by
the gold mining activity. (...) |
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The costal skeleton of the Regourdou 1
Neandertal,
di A. Gómez-Olivencia et alii, "Journal
of Human Evolution", Volume 130, May 2019, Pages
151-171
The morphology and
size of the Neandertal thorax is a subject of
growing interest due to its link to general
aspects of body size and shape, including
physiological aspects related to bioenergetics
and activity budgets. However, the number of
well-preserved adult Neandertal costal remains
is still low. The recent finding of new
additional costal remains from the Regourdou 1
(R1) skeleton has rendered this skeleton as one
of the most complete Neandertal costal skeletons
with a minimum of 18 ribs represented, five of
which are complete or virtually complete. Here
we describe for the first time all the rib
remains from R1 and compare them to a large
modern Euroamerican male sample as well as to
other published Neandertal individuals. The
costal skeleton of this individual shows
significant metric and morphological differences
from our modern human male comparative sample.
(...) |
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Human occupation of northern Europe in MIS 13:
Happisburgh Site 1 (Norfolk, UK) and its
European context,
di S. G. Lewis et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 211, 1 May 2019, Pages
34-58 The
timing, environmental setting and archaeological
signatures of an early human presence in
northern Europe have been longstanding themes of
Palaeolithic research. In the space of 20 years,
the earliest record of human occupation in
Britain has been pushed back from 500 ka (Boxgrove)
to 700 ka (Pakefield) and then to >800 ka (Happisburgh
Site 3). Other sites also contribute to this
record of human occupation; a second locality at
Happisburgh, referred to as Site 1, attests to
human presence at around 500 ka (MIS 13). This
paper provides the first comprehensive account
of research undertaken at Happisburgh Site 1
since 2000. The early human landscape and
depositional environment was that of a river
floodplain, where an active river channel, in
which a grey sand was deposited, was abandoned,
forming a floodplain lake, with marginal marsh/swamp
environments, which was infilled with organic
mud. This succession is sealed by Middle
Pleistocene glacial deposits. An assemblage of
199 flint flakes, flake tools and cores was
recovered from the grey sand and organic mud.
(...) |
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Biggest Denisovan fossil yet is the first found
outside Siberian cave,
"Nature news", 01 MAY 2019
Scientists have
uncovered the most complete remains yet from the
mysterious ancient-hominin group known as the
Denisovans. The jawbone, discovered high on the
Tibetan Plateau and dated to more than 160,000
years ago, is also the first Denisovan specimen
found outside the Siberian cave in which the
hominin was found a decade ago — confirming
suspicions that Denisovans were more widespread
than the fossil record currently suggests. The
research marks the first time an ancient human
has been identified solely through the analysis
of proteins. With no usable DNA, scientists
examined proteins in the specimen’s teeth,
raising hopes that more fossils could be
identified even when DNA is not preserved. “This
is fantastic work,” says Katerina Douka, an
archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for
the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany,
who runs a separate project aiming to uncover
Denisovan fossils in Asia. “It tells us that we
are looking at the right area.” (...) |
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The African ape-like foot of Ardipithecus
ramidus and its implications for the origin of
bipedalism,
di T. Cody Prang, Apr 30, 2019
- free access -
The ancestral condition from which humans
evolved is critical for understanding the
adaptive origin of bipedal locomotion. The 4.4
million-year-old hominin partial skeleton
attributed to Ardipithecus ramidus preserves a
foot that purportedly shares morphometric
affinities with monkeys, but this interpretation
remains controversial. Here I show that the foot
of Ar. ramidus is most similar to living
chimpanzee and gorilla species among a large
sample of anthropoid primates. The foot
morphology of Ar. ramidus suggests that the
evolutionary precursor of hominin bipedalism was
African ape-like terrestrial quadrupedalism and
climbing. The elongation of the midfoot and
phalangeal reduction in Ar. ramidus relative to
the African apes is consistent with hypotheses
of increased propulsive capabilities associated
with an early form of bipedalism. This study
provides evidence that the modern human foot was
derived from an ancestral form adapted to
terrestrial plantigrade quadrupedalism. (...) |
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Archaic human remains from Hualongdong, China,
and Middle Pleistocene human continuity and
variation,
di Xiu-Jie Wu et alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences-Early",April
29, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902396116
Human evolution through the Middle to the Late
Pleistocene in East Asia has been seen as
reflecting diverse groups and discontinuities
vs. a continuity of form reflecting an evolving
population. New Middle Pleistocene (~300,000 y
old) human remains from Hualongdong (HLD),
China, provide further evidence for regional
variation and the continuity of human biology
through East Asian archaic humans. The HLD 6
skull is notable for its low and wide
neurocranial vault and pronounced brow ridge,
but less projecting face and modest chin. Along
with the isolated teeth, the skull provides
morphologically simple teeth with reduced or
absent third molars. The remains foreshadow
changes evident with modern human emergence, but
primarily reinforce Old World continuity through
Middle to Late Pleistocene humans. (...) |
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Insights into the timing,
intensity and natural setting of Neanderthal
occupation from the geoarchaeological study of
combustion structures: A micromorphological and
biomarker investigation of El Salt, unit Xb,
Alcoy, Spain,
di L. Leierer, M. Jambrina-Enríquez, A. V.
Herrera-Herrera, R. Connolly, C. M. Hernández,
B. Galván, C. Mallol, April 24, 2019, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214955
- free access -
Middle Paleolithic
lithic and faunal assemblages throughout Eurasia
reflect short-term Neanderthal occupations,
which suggest high group mobility. However, the
timing of these short-term occupations, a key
factor to assess group mobility and territorial
range, remains unresolved. Anthropogenic
combustion structures are prominent in the
Middle Paleolithic record and conceal
information on the timing and intensity and
natural setting of their associated human
occupations. This paper examines a concentration
of eleven combustion structures from unit Xb of
El Salt, a Middle Paleolithic site in Spain
through a geoarchaeological approach, in search
of temporal, human impact and paleoenvironmental
indicators to assess the timing, intensity and
natural setting of the associated human
occupations. The study was conducted using
micromorphology, lipid biomarker analysis and
compound specific isotope analysis. Results show
in situ hearths built on different diachronic
topsoils rich in herbivore excrements and
angiosperm plant residues with rare
anthropogenic remains. These data are suggestive
of low impact, short-term human occupations
separated by relatively long periods of time,
with possible indicators of seasonality. Results
also show an absence of conifer biomarkers in
the mentioned topsoils and presence of conifer
charcoal among the fuel residues (ash),
indicating that fire wood was brought to the
site from elsewhere. A microscopic and molecular
approach in the study of combustion structures
allows us to narrow down the timescale of
archaeological analysis and contributes valuable
information towards an understanding of
Neanderthal group mobility and settlement
patterns. (...) |
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Mobility and social
identity in the Mid Upper Paleolithic: New
personal ornaments from Poiana Cireșului (Piatra
Neamț, Romania),
di E. C. Nițu, M. Cârciumaru, A. Nicolae, O.
Cîrstina, F. Ionuț Lupu, M. Leu, April 24, 2019,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214932
- free access -
Most of the
Paleolithic art and ornaments discovered in
Romania come from the site of Poiana Cireșului.
Four Paleolithic layers have been studied at
this site—the oldest one belongs to the Early
Gravettian period between 30 ka and 31 ka BP.
The ornaments discovered in this layer include
perforated shells from three species of mollusks:
freshwater Lithoglyphus naticoide and
Lithoglyphus apertus as well as Homalopoma
sanguineum (an exclusively Mediterranean species).
Poiana Cireșului is one of the very few
Gravettian sites where perforated Homalopoma
sanguineum shells were found, and the importance
of this discovery is stressed even more by the
very long distance between the site and the
nearest source located over 900 km away. This
find suggests the connection of communities here
with the Mediterranean area as well as a
possible movement of populations from the south
of the continent to the east of the Carpathians
with significant implications in understanding
human group mobility and the origin of the Early
Gravettian in this area. Furthermore, Poiana
Cireșului is the only Gravettian settlement
where Lithoglyphus naticoides shells were used.
The unique association of perforated shells—not
found in any other Gravettian settlement—contributes
to the identity of the Paleolithic community of
Poiana Cireșului through their ornaments.
(...) |
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Le
tante famiglie dei Denisova,
15 aprile 2019
Il DNA delle
popolazioni attuali di isole del Sudest asiatico
e di Papua Nuova Guinea porta le tracce di
diversi rami filogenetici dell'uomo di Denisova,
la misteriosa specie umana i cui primi resti
fossili sono stati scoperti anni fa nella grotta
dei Monti Altai, in Siberia. Le simulazioni,
inoltre, indicano che uno dei rami denisoviani
si sarebbe estinto 30.000 anni fa e si
tratterebbe quindi degli ominidi arcaici
sopravvissuti più a lungo tra quelli noti finora
(...) |
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Need for social skills helped shape modern human
face,
15-APR-2019
The modern human face is distinctively different
to that of our near relatives and now
researchers believe its evolution may have been
partly driven by our need for good social skills.
As large-brained, short-faced hominins, our
faces are different from other, now extinct
hominins (such as the Neanderthals) and our
closest living relatives (bonobos and
chimpanzees), but how and why did the modern
human face evolve this way? A new review
published in Nature Ecology and Evolution and
authored by a team of international experts,
including researchers from the University of
York, traces changes in the evolution of the
face from the early African hominins to the
appearance of modern human anatomy. (...)
·
The evolutionary history of the human face,
"Nature Ecology & Evolution", volume 3, pages
726–736 (2019) |
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Multiple Denisovan-related ancestries in Papuans,
11-APR-2019
The findings are based on a new study led by
Murray Cox from Massey University in New Zealand
and made possible by sampling efforts led by
Herawati Sudoyo from the Eijkman Institute for
Molecular Biology in Jakarta, Indonesia. The
data were collected and analyzed by an
international team of researchers, including
Mark Stoneking from the Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology. Taken together with
previous work - which has pointed to a third
Denisovan lineage in the genomes of modern
Siberians, Native Americans, and East Asians -
the evidence "suggests that modern humans
interbred with multiple Denisovan populations,
which were geographically isolated from each
other over deep evolutionary time," the
researchers write. (...)
·
Multiple Deeply Divergent Denisovan Ancestries
in Papuans, "Cell", April 10, 2019 |
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A new species of Homo from
the Late Pleistocene of the Philippines,
di F. Détroit, A. Salvador Mijares, J. Corny, G.
Daver, C. Zanolli, E. Dizon, E. Robles, R. Grün,
P. J. Piper, "Nature", volume 568, pages 181–186
(2019), 10 April 2019
A hominin third
metatarsal discovered in 2007 in Callao Cave (Northern
Luzon, the Philippines) and dated to 67 thousand
years ago provided the earliest direct evidence
of a human presence in the Philippines. Analysis
of this foot bone suggested that it belonged to
the genus Homo, but to which species was unclear.
Here we report the discovery of twelve
additional hominin elements that represent at
least three individuals that were found in the
same stratigraphic layer of Callao Cave as the
previously discovered metatarsal. These
specimens display a combination of primitive and
derived morphological features that is different
from the combination of features found in other
species in the genus Homo (including Homo
floresiensis and Homo sapiens) and warrants
their attribution to a new species, which we
name Homo luzonensis. (...)
·
Unknown human relative discovered in Philippine
cave, "Nature news", 10 APRIL 2019
·
Scoperta una nuova specie umana estinta nelle
Filippine, "Le Scienze", 11 aprile 2019
·
New species of ancient human unearthed in the
Philippines, "Science news", Apr. 10, 2019
·
New species of ancient human unearthed,
"Science", 12 Apr 2019: Vol. 364, Issue 6436,
pp. 108
·
Scoperta una nuova specie umana nelle Filippine,
11 aprile 2019 |
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Woolly mammoths and Neanderthals may have shared
genetic traits,
April 8, 2019
A new Tel Aviv University study suggests that
the genetic profiles of two extinct mammals with
African ancestry -- woolly mammoths,
elephant-like animals that evolved in the arctic
peninsula of Eurasia around 600,000 years ago,
and Neanderthals, highly skilled early humans
who evolved in Europe around 400,000 years ago
-- shared molecular characteristics of
adaptation to cold environments. (...) |
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Rocks, teeth, and tools:
New insights into early Neanderthal mobility
strategies in South-Eastern France from lithic
reconstructions and strontium isotope analysis,
di M. H. Moncel, P. Fernandes, M. Willmes, H.
James, R. Grün, April 3, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214925
- free access -
Neanderthals had
complex land use patterns, adapting to
diversified landscapes and climates. Over the
past decade, considerable progress has been made
in reconstructing the chronology, land use and
subsistence patterns, and occupation types of
sites in the Rhône Valley, southeast France. In
this study, Neanderthal mobility at the site of
Payre is investigated by combining information
from lithic procurement analysis (“chaîne
evolutive” and “chaîne opératoire” concepts) and
strontium isotope analysis of teeth (childhood
foraging area), from two units (F and G). Both
units date to the transition from Marine Isotope
Stage (MIS) 8 to MIS 7, and show similar
environmental conditions, but represent
contrasting occupation durations. Level Gb (unit
G) represents a long-term year-round use, in
contrast to short-term seasonal use of the cave
in level Fb (unit F). For both levels, lithic
material and food were generally collected from
a local to semi-local region. However, in level
Gb, lithic materials were mainly collected from
colluviums and food collected in the valley,
whereas in level Fb, lithic procurement focused
primarily on alluvial deposits and food was
collected from higher elevation plateaus. These
procurement or exchange patterns might be
related to flint availability, knapping
advantages of alluvial flint or occupation
duration. The site of Payre is located in a
flint rich circulation corridor and the movement
of groups or exchanges between groups were
organized along a north-south axis on the
plateaus or towards the east following the river.
The ridges were widely used as they are rich in
flint, whereas the Rhône Valley is not an
important source of lithic raw materials.
Compared to other western European Middle
Palaeolithic sites, these results indicate that
procurement strategies have a moderate link with
occupation types and duration, and with lithic
technology. The Sr isotope ratios broadly match
the proposed foraging areas, with the Rhône
Valley being predominantly used in unit G and
the ridges and limestone plateaus in unit F.
While lithic reconstructions and childhood
foraging are not directly related this suggests
that the three analysed Neanderthals spend their
childhood in the same general area and supports
the idea of mobile Neanderthals in the Rhône
Valley and neighbouring higher elevation
plateaus. The combination of reconstructing
lithic raw material sources, provisioning
strategies, and strontium isotope analyses
provides new details on how Neanderthals at
Payre practised land use and mobility in the
Early Middle Palaeolithic. (...) |
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Expanding the horizons of Palaeolithic rock art:
the site of Romualdova Pećina,
di A. Ruiz-Redondo et alii, "Antiquity",
Volume 93, Issue 368, April 2019 , pp. 297-312
Rock art is key
for understanding European Palaeolithic
societies. Long thought to have been restricted
to South-west Europe, recent discoveries on the
Balkan Peninsula have expanded significantly the
geographic distribution of Upper Palaeolithic
figurative rock art, calling into question the
idea of its limited distribution. This article
presents the first example of figurative cave
art discovered in the Balkan region, at
Romualdova Pećina (‘Romuald's Cave’) in Croatia,
discussing its chronology and relevance in the
context of recent research in Pleistocene art. |
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The shining piece of the puzzle: evidence of
plant use in the Late Palaeolithic,
di I. Sobkowiak-Tabaka, B. Kufel-Diakowska, "Archaeological
and Anthropological Sciences", April 2019,
Volume 11, Issue 4, pp 1373–1389
The Late Glacial
site Lubrza 10 yielded new archaeological and
use-wear data for discussing the development of
plant-based technologies long before the
occupation of the European Lowlands by Neolithic
societies. More than 4000 Federmesser and
Swiderian lithic artefacts were collected from
the site, which is located on sandy kames
adjacent to former water bodies. Use-wear
analysis showed that abandoned tools were
engaged in the activities well recognised as
Palaeolithic ones, such as hunting, working hide,
bone and other soft and hard materials.
Microscopic observations have also produced some
of the earliest evidence of processing non-woody
plants in the North European Plain. There is a
considerable number of artefacts with plant-like
polish. (...) |
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A
probable genetic origin for pitting enamel
hypoplasia on the molars of Paranthropus
robustus,
di I. Towle, J. D. Irish, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 129, April 2019, Pages 54-61
We report the
frequencies of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH)
and, specifically, pitting enamel hypoplasia (PEH)
defects in the teeth of Paranthropus robustus,
for comparison with four other South African
hominin species and three extant nonhuman
primate species. Unlike LEH, the lesser known
PEH is characterized by multiple circular
depression defects across a tooth crown and is
often difficult to interpret in terms of
developmental timing and etiology. Teeth in all
samples were examined macroscopically with type,
position and number of defects recorded.
Frequencies of teeth with LEH vary among hominin
species, but the differences in PEH are
considerable. That is, P. robustus has much
higher rates of pitting defects, with 47% of
deciduous teeth and 14% of permanent teeth
affected, relative to 6.7% and 4.3%,
respectively, for all other hominin teeth
combined; none of the extant primate samples
evidences comparable rates. (...) |
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Brain size and organization in the Middle
Pleistocene hominins from Sima de los Huesos.
Inferences from endocranial variation,
di E. M. Poza-Rey et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 129, April 2019, Pages
67-90
The Sima de los
Huesos (SH) endocranial sample includes 16
complete or partial endocasts corresponding to
European Middle Pleistocene hominins. Different
anatomical and molecular studies have
demonstrated that these hominins are
phylogenetically related to Neanderthals, thus
making them the earliest unquestionable
representatives of the Neanderthal lineage. The
description of endocranial variation in this
population is fundamental to shedding light on
the evolution of the Neanderthal brain. In this
contribution, we analyze and describe
endocranial variation in this sample, including
aspects related to brain size (endocranial
volume and encephalization) and brain
organization (through qualitative descriptions
and quantitative analyses). Our results indicate
that the SH hominins show a transitional state
between a primitive hominin endocranial
configuration (which is found in Homo erectus
and non-SH Middle Pleistocene Homo) and the
derived configurations found in Neanderthals and
modern humans, without a clear anticipation of
classic Neanderthal endocranial traits. (...) |
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Ardipithecus ramidus postcrania from the Gona
Project area, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia,
di S. W. Simpson et alii, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 129, April 2019, Pages
1-45
Functional
analyses of the 4.4 Ma hominin Ardipithecus
ramidus postcrania revealed a previously unknown
and unpredicted locomotor pattern combining
arboreal clambering and a form of terrestrial
bipedality. To date, all of the fossil evidence
of Ar. ramidus locomotion has been collected
from the Aramis area of the Middle Awash
Research Project in Ethiopia. Here, we present
the results of an analysis of additional early
Pliocene Ar. ramidus fossils from the Gona
Project study area, Ethiopia, that includes a
fragmentary but informative partial skeleton
(GWM67/P2) and additional isolated manual
remains. While we reinforce the original
functional interpretations of Ar. ramidus of
having a mixed locomotor adaptation of
terrestrial bipedality and arboreal clambering,
we broaden our understanding of the nature of
its locomotor pattern by documenting better the
function of the hip, ankle, and foot. (...) |
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Quantifying lithic surface alterations using
confocal microscopy and its relevance for
exploring the Châtelperronian at La
Roche-à-Pierrot (Saint-Césaire, France),
di A. Galland, A. Queffelec, S. Caux, J. G.
Bordesa, "Journal of Archaeological Science",
Volume 104, April 2019, Pages 45-55
Post-depositional
modifications or alterations of the surface of
lithics artefacts have been characterised at
both macroscopic and microscopic scales by means
of qualitative criteria. Here we introduce a new
methodology for the study of surface alterations
based on roughness measurements using confocal
microscopy. This new approach allows for a
quantified and reproducible distinction between
various states of alteration among geological
samples and archaeological material from a level
attributed to the Châtelperronian at La
Roche-à-Pierrot (Saint-Césaire, France). This
site, perhaps best known for discovery of
Neanderthal remains in a level attributed to the
Châtelperronian, plays a critical role in
questions concerning the emergence of the Upper
Palaeolithic and its relation to the appearance
of anatomically modern humans in Western Europe.
(...) |
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Impact of the last interglacial climate change
on ecosystems and Neanderthals behavior at Baume
Moula-Guercy, Ardèche, France,
di A. R. Defleur, E, Desclaux, "Journal of
Archaeological Science", Volume 104, April 2019,
Pages 114-124
Earth's climate
experienced a major warming during the last
interglacial period (Eemian, MIS 5e, LIG 128 to
114 ky). The rapid climate change altered
ecosystems causing a geographical redistribution
of flora and fauna. Due to the scarcity of
archaeological sites representing this period,
the effect of these events on the behavior of
Neanderthal hunter-gatherers in Western Europe
has been poorly understood. New evidence from a
wellpreserved archaeological layer (XV) at Baume
(cave) Moula-Guercy in Southeastern France,
attributed to the optimum Eemian Interglacial,
unparalleled on the European continent, allows
us to consider the challenges Neanderthals faced
as these new ecosystems and ecological
communities formed. (...) |
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Comparative analysis of Middle Stone Age
artifacts in Africa (CoMSAfrica),
di M. Will et alii, "Evolutionary
Anthropology", Volume28, Issue2, March/April
2019, Pages 57-59
No abstract is
available for this article.
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Paleomedicine and the use of plant secondary
compounds in the Paleolithic and Early Neolithic,
di K. Hardy, "Evolutionary Anthropology",
Volume28, Issue2, March/April 2019, Pages 60-71
Reconstructing
plant use before domestication is challenging
due to a lack of evidence. Yet, on the small
number of sites with assemblages, the wide range
of different plant species cannot be explained
simply in terms of nutrition. Assemblages from
the Lower Paleolithic to the Early Neolithic
were examined to investigate the relative edible
and medicinal properties of the plants. The
assemblages contain a mixture of edible species,
plants that are both edible and medicinal, and
plants with only medicinal properties. The
proportion of medicinal plants at all sites is
well above the natural average and increases
over time. (...) |
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Going big versus going small: Lithic
miniaturization in hominin lithic technology,
di J. Pargeter, J. J. Shea, "Evolutionary
Anthropology", Volume28, Issue2, March/April
2019, Pages 72-85
Lithic
miniaturization was one of our Pleistocene
ancestors' more pervasive stone tool production
strategies and it marks a key difference between
human and non‐human tool use. Frequently equated
with “microlith” production, lithic
miniaturization is a more complex, variable, and
evolutionarily consequential phenomenon
involving small backed tools, bladelets, small
retouched tools, flakes, and small cores. In
this review, we evaluate lithic
miniaturization's various technological and
functional elements. We examine archeological
assumptions about why prehistoric stoneworkers
engaged in processes of lithic miniaturization
by making small stone tools, small elongated
tools, and small retouched and backed tools.
(...) |
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Color Me Heated? A Comparison of Potential
Methods to Quantify Color Change in
Thermally-Altered Rocks,
di S. Evjenth Bentsen, S. Wurz, "Journal of
Field Archaeology", Volume 44, 2019 - Issue 4,
01 Apr 2019
This study
investigates and compares methods to quantify
color changes in quartzite rocks after repeated
heating episodes. We collected quartzite samples
from the southern Cape coast, South Africa, and
heated them three times in experimental fires.
We recorded the colors of the samples before and
after heating using visual observation, Munsell
color notations, Munsell color notations
converted to RGB values, and digital image
analysis. The methods are also tested on
potentially heated and potentially unheated
archaeological samples from Klasies River main
site, South Africa. (...) |
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Radiocarbon dating and isotope analysis on the
purported Aurignacian skeletal remains from
Fontana Nuova (Ragusa, Italy),
di G. Di Maida, M. A. Mannino, B. Krause-Kyora,
T. Zetner Trolle Jensen, S. Talamo, March 20,
2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213173
- free access -
Proving voyaging
at sea by Palaeolithic humans is a difficult
archaeological task, even for short distances.
In the Mediterranean, a commonly accepted sea
crossing is that from the Italian Peninsula to
Sicily by anatomically modern humans,
purportedly of the Aurignacian culture. This
claim, however, was only supported by the
typological attribution to the Aurignacian of
the lithic industries from the insular site of
Fontana Nuova. AMS radiocarbon dating undertaken
as part of our research shows that the faunal
remains, previously considered Aurignacian,
actually date to the Holocene. Absolute dating
on dentinal collagen also attributes the human
teeth from the site to the early Holocene,
although we were unable to obtain ancient DNA to
evaluate their ancestry. Ten radiocarbon dates
on human and other taxa are comprised between
9910–9700 cal. BP and 8600–8480 cal. BP,
indicating that Fontana Nuova was occupied by
Mesolithic and not Aurignacian hunter-gatherers.
Only a new study of the lithic assemblage could
establish if the material from Fontana Nuova is
a mixed collection that includes both late Upper
Palaeolithic (Epigravettian) and Mesolithic
artefacts, as can be suggested by taking into
account both the results of our study and of the
most recent reinterpretation of the lithics.
Nevertheless, this research suggests that the
notion that Aurignacian groups were present in
Sicily should now be revised. Another outcome of
our study is that we found that three specimens,
attributed on grounds both of morphological and
ZooMS identifications to Cervus elaphus, had
δ13C values significantly higher than any
available for such species in Europe. (...) |
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The mammoth cycle. Hunting
with ivory spear-points in the Gravettian site
of Pavlov I (Czech Republic),
di V. Borgia, "Quaternary International", Volume
510, 20 March 2019, Pages 52-64
Around 30.000 to
25.000 years ago, the Pavlov hills (Fig. 1:1–2)
in Southern Moravia were frequently inhabited,
leaving evidence of one of the richest and most
diverse Palaeolithic settlements in the world.
The Gravettian groups that frequented the sites
of Pavlov, Dolní Věstonice, Milovice, and
Předmostí left traces not only of their
subsistence economy, but also of their symbolic
and spiritual lives, as testified to by many
artistic objects, renowned ceramic figurines,
and human remains (Svoboda, 1994; Oliva, 2007;
Svoboda et al., 2013; Svoboda et al., 2015).
This phase of the Central/Eastern European
Palaeolithic is characterized by an intensive
interaction between man and mammoth, as shown by
the large number of mammoth remains found in
most sites.
Mammoths were exploited as a food supply and for
their bones and ivory, in some circumstances
also used as a combustible (Gvozdover, 1953;
Scheer, 2001; Khlopachev, 2011). In the site of
Pavlov I, the manufacturing of animal hard
material involved the working of bone, antler,
and ivory, with a strict connection between raw
material and the typology of tools, as observed
in most European Palaeolithic sites (Tejero et
al., 2012). While most domestic tools, such as
awls and needles, were made with bone, the
spear-points in Pavlov I were made exclusively
with mammoth ivory (if we exclude a possible
point made with antler – Brühl, 2005, p. 276).
Yet the opposite is not true, as many other
objects – mainly bevelled tools (spatulae) and
pestles – were made with ivory (Svoboda, 1994).
(...) |
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Provenance study on prehistoric obsidian objects
found in Romania (Eastern Carpathian Basin and
its neighbouring regions) using Prompt Gamma
Activation Analysis,
di Z. Kasztovszky et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 510, 20 March 2019, Pages
76-87
Macroscopic
characteristics, such as hardness, relatively
easy workability, transparency, translucency,
and shiny black colour of the Carpathian 1 (C1)
type obsidian, which is one significant variety
of the Carpathian obsidians made, it highly
valuable in the Prehistoric times. It was
transported several hundreds of kilometres away
from the geological source, becoming wide-spread
in the Eastern part of the Carpathian Basin as
well. Seventy-two pieces of Prehistoric (Neolithic
to Bronze Age) obsidian artefacts (tools, arrow
heads, chips and fragments) found in different
parts of Romania (Transylvania, Banat and
Muntenia) have been investigated by
non-destructive prompt-gamma activation analyses.
The aim of the study was to determine the
provenance of their raw materials. The
geochemical composition of the artefacts showed
high similarity with that of the obsidian
samples collected at outcrops from the Slovakian
side of the Tokaj Mountains. Based on
characteristic major and trace element
concentrations, most of the studied Romanian
obsidian artefacts are characterized as C1 type
obsidians. (...) |
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New chronological framework (MIS 13–9) and
depositional context for the lower Palaeolithic
sites north-west of Rome: Revisiting the early
hominin in central Italy,
di P. Ceruleo, M. F. Rolfo, F. Marra, C.
Petronio, L. Salari, M. Gatta, "Quaternary
International", Volume 510, 20 March 2019, Pages
119-132
The Paleolithic period in central Italy is
currently undergoing an extensive revision due
to a significant chronological re-examination of
many archaeological sites. Recently, several
lower Palaeolithic sites 20 km NW of Rome
previously dated within MIS 9 (335–300 ka) (i.e.
La Polledrara di Cecanibbio, Torre in Pietra,
Castel di Guido, Malagrotta and four sites along
Via Aurelia) have been geochronologically
reassessed between 412 and 325 ka. These sites,
in which abundant fauna, artifacts and hominin
remains have been found, are remarkably well
preserved. A combination of geological factors
and the peculiar geodynamic conditions of this
region, where tectonics, volcanism and
glacio-eustatic forcing worked in concert,
allowed for the exceptional conservation of the
remains In this paper we provide a review of
these sites and analyze their depositional
contexts, showing that rapid filling of the
fluvial incisions during glacial terminations,
combined with sudden emplacement of volcanic
deposits, caused the sealing of the
archaeological materials accumulated at the
bottom of the paleo-valleys. (...) |
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A
dispersal of Homo sapiens from southern to
eastern Africa immediately preceded the
out-of-Africa migration,
di T. Rito, D. Vieira, M. Silva, E. Conde-Sousa,
L. Pereira, P. Mellars, M. B. Richards, P.
Soares, "Scientific Reports", volume 9, Article
number: 4728 (2019)
- free access -
Africa was the
birth-place of Homo sapiens and has the earliest
evidence for symbolic behaviour and complex
technologies. The best-attested early flowering
of these distinctive features was in a glacial
refuge zone on the southern coast 100–70 ka,
with fewer indications in eastern Africa until
after 70 ka. Yet it was eastern Africa, not the
south, that witnessed the first major
demographic expansion, ~70–60 ka, which led to
the peopling of the rest of the world. One
possible explanation is that important cultural
traits were transmitted from south to east at
this time. Here we identify a mitochondrial
signal of such a dispersal soon after ~70 ka –
the only time in the last 200,000 years that
humid climate conditions encompassed southern
and tropical Africa. This dispersal immediately
preceded the out-of-Africa expansions,
potentially providing the trigger for these
expansions by transmitting significant cultural
elements from the southern African refuge.
(...) |
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Reconnaissance of Prehistoric Sites in the Red
Sea Coastal Region of the Sudan, NE Africa,
di A. Beyin, P. R. Chauhan, A. Nassr, "Journal
of Field Archaeology", Volume 44, 2019 - Issue
3, 14 Mar 2019
This paper reports
results of a recent Stone Age-focused
archaeological survey in the Red Sea coastal
region of the Republic of Sudan, northeast
Africa. Bifaces (handaxes) are the most
conspicuous artifact class encountered during
the survey and are characteristic of the
Acheulean technocomplex. Other recorded artifact
types include points, scrapers, and prepared
core products referable to the Nubian and
recurrent Levallois methods. Most of the
artifact-bearing localities lie landward—outside
of the coastal margin—thus, the evidence does
not signify direct coastal adaptation per se.
Our preliminary findings suggest that multiple
Pleistocene-age hominin settlements tied to a
terrestrial niche existed in the region.
(...) |
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Neandertal-like traits visible in the internal
structure of non-supranuchal fossae of some
recent Homo sapiens: The problem of their
identification in hominins and phylogenetic
implications,
di W. Nowaczewska, M. Binkowski, A. M. Kubicka,
J. Piontek, A. Balzeau, March 12, 2019, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213687
- free access -
Although recently
the internal structure of the non-supranuchal
fossa of Homo sapiens has been described and
compared to that observed in the Neandertal
suprainiac fossa, until now it has not been
examined in any modern human children. In this
study, the internal structure of this fossa in
the occipital bones of three children (two aged
3‒4 years and one aged 5 years ± 16 months) and
one adult individual representing recent Homo
sapiens from Australia was analysed and compared
to that of the Neandertal suprainiac fossa. In
order to analyse the internal composition of the
fossae of the examined specimens, initially,
high-resolution micro-CT datasets were obtained
for their occipital bones; next, 3D topographic
maps of the variation in thickness of structural
layers of the occipital bones were made and 2D
virtual sections in the median region of these
fossae were prepared. In the fossa of one
immature individual, the thinning of the diploic
layer characteristic of a Neandertal suprainiac
fossa was firmly diagnosed. The other
Neandertal-like trait, concerning the lack of
substantial thinning of the external table of
the bone in the region of the fossa, was
established in two individuals (one child and
one adult) due to the observation of an
irregular pattern of the thickness of this table
in the other specimens, suggesting the presence
of an inflammatory process. Our study presents,
for the first time, Neandertal-like traits (but
not the whole set of features that justifies the
autapomorphic status of the Neandertal supraniac
fossa) in the internal structure of
non-supranuchal fossae of some recent Homo
sapiens. We discuss the phylogenetic
implications of the results of our analysis and
stress the reasons that use of the 3D
topographic mapping method is important for the
correct diagnosis of Neandertal traits of the
internal structure of occipital fossae. (...) |
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Morphology, pathology, and the vertebral posture
of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal,
di M. Haeusler, E. Trinkaus, C. Fornai, J.
Müller, N. Bonneau, T. Boeni, N. Frater, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", March 12,
2019, n. 116 (11), pp. 4923-4927
Fully upright and
balanced posture is one of the hallmarks of
humanity, and it has long been seen as present
among all members of the genus Homo. However,
recent considerations of Neandertal vertebrae
have concluded that these late archaic humans,
who were both behaviorally and phylogenetically
close to ourselves, lacked fully developed
spinal curvatures and must therefore have had
precarious postures. Reassessment and virtual
reconstruction of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1
Neandertal skeletal remains provides direct
anatomical evidence that he, and by extension
other Neandertals, possessed the usual human
lower back and neck curvature (lordosis). It is
therefore time to move beyond making Neandertals
less human and focus on the subtle shifts in
Late Pleistocene human biology and behavior. |
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Exceptionally high δ15N values in collagen
single amino acids confirm Neandertals as
high-trophic level carnivores,
di K. Jaouen et alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", March
12, 2019, n. 116 (11), pp. 4928-4933
- free access -
Identifying past hominin diets is a key to
understanding adaptation and biological
evolution. Bone collagen isotope studies have
added much to the discussion of Neandertal
subsistence strategies, providing direct
measures of diet. Neandertals consistently show
very elevated nitrogen isotope values. These
values have been seen as the signature of a
top-level carnivore diet, but this
interpretation was recently challenged by a
number of additional theories. We here apply
compound-specific isotope analysis of carbon and
nitrogen in bone collagen single amino acids of
two Neandertals. These Neandertals had the
highest nitrogen isotope ratios of bulk collagen
measured so far, and our study confirms that
these values can be most parsimoniously
explained by a carnivorous diet. (...) |
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The area surrounding the world-famous
geoarchaeological site Mal'ta (Baikal Siberia):
New data on the chronology, archaeology, and
fauna, di
F. Khenzykhenova et alii, "Quaternary
International", Volume 509, 10 March 2019, Pages
17-29 New
investigations performed on the area around the
famous Palaeolithic site of Mal'ta (Baikal
Siberia) shed new light on the complete sequence
of the deposits enclosing the site. Changes in
the human habitat are traced through MIS 5 to
MIS 2; the initial cluster of artefacts and
faunistic remains of MIS 3 age is found in situ.
Cultural layers of older age have been newly
discovered The full faunal biodiversity,
including three mollusc species, one fish
species, three bird species, two species of
Eulipotyphla, three Lagomorpha species, fourteen
rodents and four large mammal species, has been
established within time intervals corresponding
to MIS 5, MIS 3, and MIS 2. |
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Early Palaeolithic evidence from the Euphrates
River basin, Eastern Turkey,
di D. V. Ozherelyev, V. G. Trifonov, H. Çelik,
Ya. I. Trikhunkov, P. D. Frolov, A. N. Simakova,
"Quaternary International", Volume 509, 10 March
2019, Pages 73-86
Early Palaeolithic
finds older than Acheulean were unknown in
Eastern Anatolia until recently. During
exploratory works carried out by a joint
Russian-Turkish expedition in the Euphrates
River basin (2014–2016), several stratified
Early Palaeolithic localities were found. Lithic
finds are represented by choppers, picks,
retouched tools, and flakes. A similar stone
tool industry has been found in the Caucasus
(Armenia, Dagestan). In addition to the
archaeological typological dating of lithic
tools in eastern Turkey, geomorphological,
stratigraphic, paleontological, and
paleomagnetic records also confirm the Early
Pleistocene age of the localities. Some of these
sites are dated to before the Olduvai subchron,
i.e., ~2 Ma. |
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Genomic evidence for shared common ancestry of
East African hunting-gathering populations and
insights into local adaptation,
di L. B. Scheinfeldt et alii, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", March
5, 2019, n. 116 (10), pp. 4166-4175
African populations have been underrepresented
in human genomics research yet are important for
understanding modern human origins and the
genetic basis of adaptive traits. Here we
analyze a genome-wide dataset in 840 ethnically
and geographically diverse Africans. We find
that geographically distant hunter-gatherer
populations from East Africa share unique common
ancestry and we see strong signatures of local
adaptation near genes that play a role in immune
response, as well as lipid and glucose
metabolism. |
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Arrillor cave (Basque Country, northern Iberian
Penisula). Chronological, palaeo-environmental
and cultural notes on a long Mousterian sequence,
di M. J. Iriarte-Chiapusso, R. Wood, A. Sáenz de
Buruaga, "Quaternary International", Volume 508,
1 March 2019, Pages 107-115
The number of
research projects focusing on the Middle
Palaeolithic in the north of the Iberian
Peninsula has increased considerably in recent
decades (Montes and Lasheras, 2005). Although
the Upper Palaeolithic is still the most studied
period within Palaeolithic research, Mousterian
sequences are also playing a major role in
understanding the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic
transition. The research project carried out in
Arrillor Cave is framed within this context and,
together with other important archaeological
sequences (Sidrón, Esquilleu, Covalejos, El
Castillo, Lezetxiki, etc.), it is contributing
significant data on the spatial and temporal
relationships between Neanderthals and the first
modern humans (Higham et al., 2014). Arrillor
cave is in the Basque Mountains (Fig. 1), in
Gorbea Natural Park (geographic coordinates – X:
521.057; Y: 4.761.540 and Z: 710 m a.s.l.). This
mountain range, wich highest peak is Mt. Gorbea
is placed in the watershed between the Bay of
Biscay to the north and the Ebro Valley to the
south. Significantly, the Zigoitia valley, where
Arrillor is located, belongs to the river basin
draining to the south (Murua, Álava) (...) |
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The Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in
Northwest Italy: new evidence from Riparo
Bombrini (Balzi Rossi, Liguria, Italy),
di B. Holt, "Quaternary International", Volume
508, 1 March 2019, Pages 142-152
We report here
preliminary results from four seasons of
excavation at the rockshelter of Riparo Bombrini
(2002–2005). Three markedly separate horizons
were uncovered: the deepest, comprising Levels
M1-7, yielded abundant Mousterian lithics and
faunal remains. A second macro-unit,
corresponding to Levels MS1-2, is only a few
decimeters thick and is characterized by the
presence of large limestone blocks from partial
collapse of the shelter's vault. The scarcity of
material and presence of carnivore coprolites
suggest sporadic human occupation. The third
macro-unit, constituted by Levels A1-3 and
following immediately above Levels MS1-2,
contains a rich Proto-Aurignacian industry,
including Dufour bladelets, bone tools, abundant
ochre, numerous decorative objects (mainly
perforated shells) and widespread use of exotic
raw material. New AMS dates and stratigraphic
and sedimentological evidence indicate that the
appearance of the Proto-Aurignacian at Bombrini
dates to around 41 ky cal BP, in a phase of
climatic degradation, paralleling the conditions
observed for the transition at other northern
Italian sites. (...) |
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Mousterian inside the upper Paleolithic? The
last interval of El Esquilleu (Cantabria, Spain)
sequence,
di J. Baena Preysler, E. Carrión Santafé, C.
Torres Navas, M. Vaquero Rodríguez, "Quaternary
International", Volume 508, 1 March 2019, Pages
153-163
El Esquilleu cave
provides one of the most interesting Mousterian
sequences in recent decades. The upper part of
its stratigraphic sequence has provided
significant lithic materials with preliminary
dating that places human occupation during the
Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Both the regional
chronological context and the dating question
preliminary interpretations are based on the
radiocarbon results for the last
lithostratigraphic unit in the El Esquilleu
sequence. In this paper, we present a
techno-typological approach of the last section
of the sequence (levels 3, 4, and 5) (...) |
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Reconsidering prehistoric chert catchment
sources: new data from the Central Pyrenees
(Western Europe),
di M. Sánchez de la Torre, F. Xavier Le
Bourdonnec, B. Gratuze, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", March 2019, Volume
11, Issue 3, pp 947–957
In the framework
of a postdoctoral project to geochemically
characterise Pyrenean cherts, a new marine chert
outcrop in the Central Pyrenees has been defined.
This new discovery, called the Buala outcrop,
and its flysch chert type, provide new
information about marine chert sources in the
Pyrenean chain, leading us to reconsider
prehistoric chert procurement in this area.
Until now, two geological formations from the
Central Pyrenees were considered as potential
sources for a type of marine chert usually
appearing in the Magdalenian record of several
Pyrenean sites: Montgaillard flysch cherts and
Montsaunès cherts. With both formations
presenting similar characteristics, it was only
through the use of geochemical methods that
differences were recently established as
reported by Sánchez de la Torre et al. This
paper presents the new marine flysch chert
outcrop of Buala. (...) |
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Neanderthal selective hunting of reindeer? The
case study of Abri du Maras (south-eastern
France), di
C. Daujeard et alii, "Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences", March 2019, Volume
11, Issue 3, pp 985–1011
Monospecific
exploitation of reindeer by Neanderthals is a
common behaviour in the Upper Pleistocene of
Western Europe. However, reindeer-dominated
assemblages have largely been reported from
regions of northern Germany and south-western
France, with few examples noted in south-eastern
France, where faunal assemblages yield most of
the time a variety of other large ungulates such
as red deer, horse and diverse bovids. Here, we
present multi-strand (bio- and eco-)
archaeological datasets from the site of Abri du
Maras (level 4.1), situated at the mouth of the
Ardèche and Rhône rivers, a new example of a
reindeer-dominated Neanderthal site in
south-eastern France. Dated to the beginning of
the MIS 3, the zooarchaeological assemblage is
dominated by reindeer (88% of the NISP,
representing 16 individuals) but also includes
horse, bison, giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus),
red deer, ibex and lagomorphs. (...) |
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A
Critical Reassessment of Cultural Taxonomies in
the Central European Late Palaeolithic,
di F. Sauer, F. Riede, "Journal of
Archaeological Method and Theory", March 2019,
Volume 26, Issue 1, pp 155–184
- free access -
In the analysis of
archaeological relationships and processes, a
uniform classification of the dataset is a
fundamental requirement. To achieve this, a
standardised taxonomic system, as well as
consistent and valid criteria for the grouping
of sites and assemblages, must be used. The
Central European Late Palaeolithic (ca.
12,000–9700 cal BC) has a long research history
and many regionally and temporally specific
units—groups and cultures—are recognised. In
this paper, we examine the complex taxonomic
landscape of this period and critically analyse
the use of typological, functional and economic
criteria in the definition of selected groups.
We subject three different archaeological
taxonomic units, the Bromme culture from Denmark,
the Fürstein group from Switzerland and the
Atzenhof group from Germany, to particularly
detailed scrutiny and highlight that the
classificatory criteria used in their definition
are inconsistent across units and most likely
unsuitable for circumscribing past sociocultural
units. We suggest a comprehensive re-examination
of the overarching taxonomic system for the Late
Palaeolithic, as well as a re-evaluation of the
methodologies used to delineate sociocultural
units in the Palaeolithic. (...) |
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Tracing Fire in Early European Prehistory:
Microcharcoal Quantification in Geological and
Archaeological Records from Molise (Southern
Italy), di
V. Lebreton et alii, "Journal of
Archaeological Method and Theory", March 2019,
Volume 26, Issue 1, pp 247–275
Fire control and
conservation is a major innovation of early
prehistory. It is evidenced on Early
Palaeolithic sites in western Eurasia dating to
between 400 and 300 ka. In southern Italy, a
large group of open-air Acheulean sites, dated
from 680 to 300 ka, attests to the early
settlement and long-standing human occupation of
the region since the Early-Middle Pleistocene.
To date, these sites have yielded no evidence
for early fire use. This observation raises the
question of charcoal fragmentation and
dispersion in the context of open-air sites. In
order to diagnose early fire use on Palaeolithic
sites, a protocol for the quantification of
microcharcoal has been standardised. (...) |
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The Mental Template in Handaxe Manufacture: New
Insights into Acheulean Lithic Technological
Behavior at Boxgrove, Sussex, UK,
di P. García-Medrano, A. Ollé, N. Ashton, M. B.
Roberts, "Journal of Archaeological Method and
Theory", March 2019, Volume 26, Issue 1, pp
396–422
The morphological
variability of large cutting tools (LCT) during
the Middle Pleistocene has been traditionally
associated with two main variables: raw material
constraints and reduction intensity. Boxgrove —
c.500 ka — is one of the most informative sites
at which to analyze shaping strategies and
handaxe morphological variability in the
European Middle Pleistocene, because of the
large number of finished handaxes, and the
presence of complete operational chains. We
focused on the entire handaxe and rough-out
sample from Boxgrove-Q1/B with the aim of
assessing the role of raw material
characteristics — size, form, and homogeneity of
nodules — in the shaping process, and to
ascertain if they represent real constraints in
the production of handaxes. Additionally, given
the large number of handaxes and the intensity
of the thinning work at Boxgrove, we also aimed
to determine if reduction intensity affected the
final shape to the degree that some authors have
previously postulated. The methodology combines
traditional technological descriptions, metrical
analysis, and experimental reproduction of
shaping processes together with geometric
morphometry and PCA. The conclusions we draw are
that the Q1/B handaxe knapping strategies were
flexible and adapted to the characteristics of
the blanks. These characteristics affected the
reduction strategy but there is no clear
relationship between initial nodule or blank
morphology and final handaxe shape. (...) |
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Midden or Molehill: The Role of Coastal
Adaptations in Human Evolution and Dispersal,
di M. Will, A. W. Kandel, N. J. Conard, "Journal
of World Prehistory", March 2019, Volume 32,
Issue 1, pp 33–72
Coastal
adaptations have become an important topic in
discussions about the evolution and dispersal of
Homo sapiens. However, the actual distribution
and potential relevance of coastal adaptations (broadly,
the use of coastal resources and settlement
along shorelines) in these processes remains
debated, as is the claim that Neanderthals
exhibited similar behaviors. To assess both
questions, we performed a systematic review
comparing coastal adaptations of H. sapiens
during the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) with
those of contemporaneous Neanderthals during the
European Middle Paleolithic. In both species,
systematic use of marine resources and coastal
landscapes constitutes a consistent behavioral
signature over ~ 100,000 years (MIS 6–3) in
several regions of Africa and Europe. We found
more similarities than differences between
Neanderthals and modern humans, with remaining
disparities all in degree rather than kind. H.
sapiens exploited a wider range of marine
resources—particularly shellfish—more
intensively. MSA shellfish-bearing sites are
also more often associated with intense
occupations on coastal landscapes, and more
evidence of complex material culture such as
shell beads. (...) |
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New evidence of broader diets for archaic Homo
populations in the northwestern Mediterranean,
di E. Morin et alii, "Science Advances",
march 2019, vol. 5, issue 3
- free access -
Investigating diet
breadth is critical for understanding how
archaic Homo populations, including Neanderthals,
competed for seasonally scarce resources. The
current consensus in Western Europe is that
ungulates formed the bulk of the human diet
during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, while
small fast prey taxa were virtually ignored.
Here, we present a multisite taphonomic study of
leporid assemblages from Southern France that
supports frequent exploitation of small fast
game during marine isotope stages 11 to 3. Along
with recent evidence from Iberia, our results
indicate that the consumption of small fast game
was more common prior to the Upper Paleolithic
than previously thought and that archaic
hominins from the northwestern Mediterranean had
broader diets than those from adjacent regions.
Although likely of secondary importance relative
to ungulates, the frequent exploitation of
leporids documented here implies that human diet
breadths were substantially more variable within
Europe than assumed by current evolutionary
models. (...) |
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Seasonal scheduling of shellfish collection in
the Middle and Later Stone Ages of southern
Africa, di
E. Loftus et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 128, March 2019, Pages 1-16
This study
assesses the seasonal scheduling of shellfish
harvesting among hunter-gatherer populations
along the southernmost coast of South Africa,
based on a large number of serial oxygen isotope
analyses of marine mollusk shells from four
archaeological sites. The south coast of South
Africa boasts an exceptional record of coastal
hunter-gatherer occupation spanning the Holocene,
the last glacial cycle and beyond. The
significance of coastal adaptations, in this
region in particular, for later modern human
evolution has been prominently debated.
Shellfishing behaviors are an important focus
for investigation given the dietary and
scheduling implications and the abundant
archaeological shell remains in numerous sites.
Key to better understanding coastal foraging is
whether it was limited to one particular season,
or year-round. Yet, this has proven very
difficult to establish by conventional
archaeological methods. This study reconstructs
seasonal harvesting patterns by calculating
water temperatures from the final growth
increment of shells. Results from two Later
Stone Age sites, Nelson Bay Cave (together with
the nearby Hoffman's Robberg Cave) and
Byneskranskop 1, show a pronounced cool season
signal, which is unexpected given previous
ethnographic documentation of summer as the
optimal season for shellfishing activities and
inferences about hunter-gatherer scheduling and
mobility in the late Holocene. (...) |
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Neandertal foot remains from Regourdou 1 (Montignac-sur-Vézère,
Dordogne, France),
di A. Pablos et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 128, March 2019, Pages 17-44
Regourdou is a
well-known Middle Paleolithic site which has
yielded the fossil remains of a minimum of two
Neandertal individuals. The first individual (Regourdou
1) is represented by a partial skeleton while
the second one is represented by a calcaneus.
The foot remains of Regourdou 1 have been used
in a number of comparative studies, but to date
a full description and comparison of all the
foot remains from the Regourdou 1 Neandertal,
coming from the old excavations and from the
recent reanalysis of the faunal remains, does
not exist. Here, we describe and comparatively
assess the Regourdou 1 tarsals, metatarsals and
phalanges. They display traits observed in other
Neandertal feet, which are different from some
traits of the Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca)
hominins and of Middle Paleolithic, Upper
Paleolithic and recent modern humans. (...) |
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Do
a few tools necessarily mean a few people? A
techno-morphological approach to the question of
group size at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel,
di G. Herzlinger, N. Goren-Inbar, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 128, March 2019, Pages
45-58
The question of
Paleolithic group size has been addressed by
scholars in many disciplines applying different
methods. In our study we apply a novel
analytical approach in an attempt to assess the
group size of hominins that occupied the
Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel (GBY).
Within this framework, we subjected the handaxe
assemblages from several archaeological horizons
at the site to a morpho-technological analysis.
The analysis combined high-resolution
three-dimensional geometric morphometric
analysis with typo-technological attribute
analysis to assess the inter- and
intra-assemblage morpho-technological
variability. The analysis was also applied to an
experimental handaxe assemblage produced by an
expert knapper. The results of the analysis show
high morphological homogeneity coupled with high
technological variability in each of the
archaeological assemblages. This pattern is
highly indicative of the work of expert knappers,
as is also suggested by the comparison between
the archaeological and experimental assemblages.
(...) |
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Radiocarbon dates and Bayesian modeling support
maritime diffusion model for megaliths in Europe,
di B. Schulz Paulsson, "Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences", February
26, 2019, n. 116 (9), pp. 3460-3465
- free access -
For thousands of
years, prehistoric societies built monumental
grave architecture and erected standing stones
in the coastal regions of Europe (4500–2500
calibrated years BC). Our understanding of the
rise of these megalithic societies is
contentious and patchy; the origin for the
emergence of megalithic architecture in various
regions has been controversial and debated for
over 100 y. The result presented here, based on
analyses of 2,410 radiocarbon dates and highly
precise chronologies for megalithic sites and
related contexts, suggests maritime mobility and
intercultural exchange. We argue for the
transfer of the megalithic concept over sea
routes emanating from northwest France, and for
advanced maritime technology and seafaring in
the megalithic Age. (...) |
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The ecomorphology of southern African rodent
incisors: Potential applications to the hominin
fossil record,
di O. C. C. Paine, J. N. Leichliter, N. Avenant,
D. Codron, A. Lawrence, M. Sponheimer, February
20, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205476
- free access -
The taxonomic
identification of mammalian fauna within fossil
assemblages is a well-established component of
paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However,
many fragmentary specimens recovered from fossil
sites are often disregarded as they can be
difficult to identify with the precision
required for taxonomic methods. For this reason,
the large numbers of isolated rodent incisors
that are often recovered from hominin fossil
bearing sites are generally regarded as offering
little interpretive value. Ecomorphological
analysis, often referred to as a “taxon-free”
method, can potentially circumvent this problem
by focusing on the adaptive, rather than the
taxonomic significance of rodent incisor
morphology. Here, we determine if the morphology
of the upper incisors of modern southern African
rodents reflects dietary behavior using
discriminant function analysis. Our model
suggests that a strong ecomorphological signal
exists in our modern sample and we apply these
results to two samples of isolated incisors from
the hominin fossil bearing sites, Sterkfontein
and Swartkrans. (...) |
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Specialized rainforest hunting by Homo sapiens
~45,000 years ago,
di O. Wedage et alii, "Nature
Communications", volume 10, Article number: 739
(2019) - free access -
Defining the
distinctive capacities of Homo sapiens relative
to other hominins is a major focus for human
evolutionary studies. It has been argued that
the procurement of small, difficult-to-catch,
agile prey is a hallmark of complex behavior
unique to our species; however, most research in
this regard has been limited to the last 20,000
years in Europe and the Levant. Here, we present
detailed faunal assemblage and taphonomic data
from Fa-Hien Lena Cave in Sri Lanka that
demonstrates specialized, sophisticated hunting
of semi-arboreal and arboreal monkey and
squirrel populations from ca. 45,000 years ago,
in a tropical rainforest environment.
Facilitated by complex osseous and microlithic
technologies, we argue these data highlight that
the early capture of small, elusive mammals was
part of the plastic behavior of Homo sapiens
that allowed it to rapidly colonize a series of
extreme environments that were apparently
untouched by its hominin relatives. (...) |
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Archaeobiology during
Greenland Stadial 2 in northern Spain, ca.
22,000-15,000 cal BP.
Edited by Esteban Álvares-Fernández, Miriam
Andrés, Rodrigo Portero, "Quaternary
International", Volume 506, Pages 1-80 (20
February 2019):
- Archaeobiology during
greenland stadial 2 in northern Spain,
ca. 22-15 Kyr CAL BP,
di E. Álvarez-Fernández, M. Andrés, R. Portero
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Vegetal landscape and
firewood supply strategies in N Spain at the
Greenland Stadial 2,
di P. Uzquiano
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Palaeoenvironmental
dynamics in the Cantabrian Region during
Greenland stadial 2 approached through pollen
and micromammal records: State of the art,
di N. Garcia-Ibaibarriaga, A. Suárez-Bilbao, M.
J. Iriarte-Chiapusso, A. Arrizabalaga, X.
Murelaga
-
Biotic resources in the
Lower Magdalenian at Cova Rosa (Sardeu, Asturias,
Cantabrian Spain),
di E. Álvarez-Fernández et alii
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The persistence of red
deer (Cervus elaphus) in the human diet during
the Lower Magdalenian in northern Spain:
Insights from El Cierro cave (Asturias, Spain),
di R. Portero, M. Cueto, J. F. Jordá Pardo, J.
Bécares Pérez, E. Álvarez-Fernández
-
The exploitation of hunted
resources during the Magdalenian in the
Cantabrian region. Systematization of butchery
processes at Coímbre cave (Asturias, Spain),
di P. López-Cisneros, J. Yravedra, D.
Álvarez-Alonso, G. Linares-Matás
-
Lagomorph exploitation
during the Upper Palaeolithic in the Northern
Iberian Peninsula. New evidence from Coímbre
Cave (Asturias, Spain),
di J. Yravedra et alii
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The Cantabrian Lower
Magdalenian striated hinds on scapulae: Towards
a new definition of a graphic morphotype,
di O. Rivero, D. Garate, S. Salazar, I.
Intxaurbe |
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Symbolic Territories
Prehistory.
Edited by
Emmanuelle Honoré, Claire Lucas, Stephane
Petrognani, Eric Robert, "Quaternary
International", Volume 503, Part B, Pages
189-284 (5 February 2019):
- Discussing the relevance
and scope of ‘Symbolic territories’ for
Prehistory,
di E. Honoré, C. Lucas, S. Petrognani, E. Robert
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The lifeworld of
hunter-gatherers and the concepts of territory,
di G. Sauvet
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Signs associated with
figurative representations Aurignacian. Examples
from Grotte Chauvet and the Swabian Jura,
di J. Igarashi, H. Floss
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Symbolic territories in
pre-Magdalenian art?,
di S. Petrognani, E. Robert
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The symbolism of breast-shaped beads from Dolní
Věstonice I (Moravia, Czech Republic),
di M. Lázničková-Galetová
-
An approach to
Palaeolithic networks: The question of symbolic
territories and their interpretation through
Magdalenian art,
di O. Fuentes, C. Lucas, E. Robert
-
See how they fly! Some
considerations on symbolic transfers and
territories at the end of Upper Palaeolithic,
di E. Man-Estier, P. Paillet |
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Homes for Hunters? Exploring the Concept of Home
at Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Upper Paleolithic
Europe and Epipaleolithic Southwest Asia,
di L. A. Maher, M. Conkey, "Current Anthropology",
Volume 60, Number 1, February 2019
In both Southwest
Asia and Europe, only a handful of known Upper
Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic sites attest to
aggregation or gatherings of hunter-gatherer
groups, sometimes including evidence of hut
structures and highly structured use of space.
Interpretation of these structures ranges
greatly, from mere ephemeral shelters to places
“built” into a landscape with meanings beyond
refuge from the elements. One might argue that
this ambiguity stems from a largely functional
interpretation of shelters that is embodied in
the very terminology we use to describe them in
comparison to the homes of later farming
communities: mobile hunter-gatherers build and
occupy huts that can form campsites, whereas
sedentary farmers occupy houses or homes that
form communities. Here we examine some of the
evidence for Upper Paleolithic and
Epipaleolithic structures in Europe and
Southwest Asia, offering insights into their
complex “functions” and examining perceptions of
space among hunter-gatherer communities.
(...) |
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Lashed by the wind: short-term Middle
Palaeolithic occupations within the
loess-palaeosoil sequence at Monte Netto (Northern
Italy), di
D. Delpiano, M. Peresani, S. Bertola, M.
Cremaschi, A. Zerboni, "Quaternary
International", Volume 502, Part A, 26 January
2019, Pages 137-147
The final Middle
Palaeolithic of northern Italy is almost
exclusively known based on pluristratified sites
in caves or rock shelter, which attest a certain
technological variability within the Mousterian
through the adoption of different knapping
methods focused on the production of flakes or
blades. The almost total lack of specialized
and/or short-term open-air sites framed at this
stage contributes to create a fragmentary and
incomplete picture with regard to the last
Neanderthal occupation of the area. For this
reason, the Monte Netto site, an isolated hill
at the northern margin of the Po Plain and at
the foot of the Prealps, represents a key
deposit to investigate this phase. Along the
loess-palaeosoil sequence, investigated from a
geochronological and pedological point of view,
frequentations by Mousterian Neanderthal groups
are attested at two different times, of which
the most consistent is: associated to sediments
dated to 44,400 ± 5.4 ky BP. (...) |
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Chronology of the Late Pleistocene
archaeological sequence at Vanguard Cave,
Gibraltar: Insights from quartz single and
multiple grain luminescence dating,
di N. Doerschner, "Quaternary International",
Volume 501, Part B, 20 January 2019, Pages
289-302
Vanguard Cave is
an archaeological site located on the shoreline
of the Rock of Gibraltar at the south-western
extreme of the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of
a limestone cave system facing the adjacent
Governor's Beach on the south-eastern coast of
Gibraltar and has been filled to the roof with
more than 17 m of sedimentary deposits. Due to
its long stratified sequence, comprising rich
palaeoenvironmental and faunal records as well
as multiple Palaeolithic occupation layers,
Vanguard Cave provides valuable information for
our understanding of human behaviour and
dispersal across south-eastern Iberia in general
and particularly about the strategic role of the
promontory of Gibraltar for past human
populations. The development of a reliable
absolute chronology for the sedimentary sequence
at Vanguard Cave is therefore of great
importance in this context. In this study, we
applied optically-stimulated luminescence dating
to sand-sized quartz grains from the uppermost
∼4 m of the Vanguard Cave deposits, as well as
from the Hyaena Cave sediments – a small niche
adjacent to the main cave chamber. We use
single-grain and multiple-grain dating to
clarify the depositional history of the
sedimentary sequence, as well as to assess the
reliability of the two dating approaches and
their potential for future chronological studies
at the site. (...) |
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Lo
sviluppo infantile delle forme arcaiche di Homo,
17 gennaio 2019
L'analisi dei
resti del giovane di Xujiayao, un fossile
scoperto in Cina e attribuito a una specie di
Homo arcaica non meglio definita, indica uno
sviluppo dentale molto simile a quello dei
bambini di oggi. Il risultato indica che già
all'epoca, tra 104.000 e 248.000 anni fa, i
nostri antenati avevano caratteristiche moderne,
come una dipendenza prolungata dei piccoli dagli
adulti, una prima riproduzione ritardata e una
notevole longevità (...) |
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Aggiornamento 18 febbraio |
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Corema album archaeobotanical remains in western
Mediterranean basin. Assessing fruit consumption
during Upper Palaeolithic in Cova de les Cendres
(Alicante, Spain),
di C. M. Martínez-Varea et alii, "Quaternary
Science Reviews", Volume 207, 1 March 2019,
Pages 1-12
Information about
plant gathering by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers
in Europe is scarce because of the problems of
preservation of plant remains in archaeological
sites and due to the lack of application of
archaebotanical analysis in many of them.
Botanical macroremains –wood charcoal, seeds,
fruits, leaves, etc. - provide information not
only about palaeoeconomy of hunter-gatherers,
but also about climate, landscape and vegetation
dynamics. In Gravettian and Solutrean levels of
Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain), Corema
album pyrenes (Empetraceae or crowberries
family) have been identified. On the contrary,
wood charcoal of this species has not been
documented among the remains of firewood
(...) |
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Hominin vertebrae and upper limb bone fossils
from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003
excavations),
di T. Rayne Pickering, J. L. Heaton, R. J.
Clarke, D. Stratford, "American Journal of
Physical Anthropology", Volume 168, Issue 3,
March 2019, Pages 459-480
We employed
taphonomic methods to describe postmortem damage
observed on the fossils. We used osteometric
tools and measurements to generate quantitative
descriptions, which were added to qualitative
descriptions of the fossils. These observations
were then interpreted using published data on
the same skeletal elements from extant and
extinct hominoid taxa (...) |
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Variation among the Dmanisi hominins: Multiple
taxa or one species?,
di G. P. Rightmire, A. Margvelashvili, D.
Lordkipanidze, "American Journal of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 168, Issue 3, March 2019,
Pages 481-495
There is
continuing controversy over the number of taxa
documented by the Dmanisi hominins. Variation
may reflect age and sex differences within a
single population. Alternatively, two (or more)
distinct species may be present. Our null
hypothesis states that just one population is
represented at the site.
We assess the likely sources of variation in
endocranial capacity, craniofacial and
mandibular morphology, and the expression of
characters related to aging and sex dimorphism.
We use the coefficient of variation and a
modified version of Levene's test for equal
variances to compare trait variation at Dmanisi
with that in fossil hominins and modern Homo
sapiens from Africa (...) |
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Ages-at-death distribution of the early
Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblage from
Drimolen (South Africa),
di A. Riga, T. Mori, T. Rayne Pickering, J.
Moggi-Cecchi, C. G. Menter, "American Journal of
Physical Anthropology", Volume 168, Issue 3,
March 2019, Pages 632-636
A prevailing
hypothesis in paleoanthropology is that early
Pleistocene hominin bones were accumulated in
South African caves by carnivores, which used
those shelters, and the trees surrounding them,
as refuge and feeding sites. We tested this
hypothesis at the site of Drimolen, by comparing
its hominin age-at-death distribution to that of
the nearby and roughly contemporaneous site of
Swartkrans (...) |
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Close companions: Early evidence for dogs in
northeast Jordan and the potential impact of new
hunting methods,
di L. Yeomans, L. Martin, T. Richter, "Journal
of Anthropological Archaeology", Volume 53,
March 2019, Pages 161-173
Current evidence
suggests domestications of the dog were
incipient developments in many areas of the
world. In southwest Asia this process took place
in the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian
(~14,500–11,600 cal BP) with the earliest
evidence originating from the Mediterranean zone
of the southern Levant. This paper presents new
data for the importance of early domestic dogs
to human groups in the region beyond this ‘core’
area where the Late Pleistocene and Early
Holocene environment is usually thought of as
less favourable for human occupation (...) |
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Population dynamics and socio-spatial
organization of the Aurignacian: Scalable
quantitative demographic data for western and
central Europe,
di I. Schmidt, A. Zimmermann, February 13, 2019,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211562
- free access -
Demographic
estimates are presented for the Aurignacian
techno-complex (~42,000 to 33,000 y calBP) and
discussed in the context of socio-spatial
organization of hunter-gatherer populations.
Results of the analytical approach applied
estimate a mean of 1,500 persons (upper limit:
3,300; lower limit: 800) for western and central
Europe. The temporal and spatial analysis
indicates an increase of the population during
the Aurignacian as well as marked regional
differences in population size and density.
Demographic increase and patterns of
socio-spatial organization continue during the
subsequent early Gravettian period. We introduce
the concept of Core Areas and Extended Areas as
informed analytical spatial scales, which are
evaluated against additional chronological and
archaeological data. Lithic raw material
transport and personal ornaments serve as
correlates for human mobility and connectedness
in the interpretative framework of this study.
Observed regional differences are set in
relation with the new demographic data. Our
large-scale approach on Aurignacian population
dynamics in Europe suggests that past
socio-spatial organization followed socially
inherent rules to establish and maintain a
functioning social network of extremely low
population densities. The data suggest that the
network was fully established across Europe
during the early phase of the Gravettian, when
demographic as well as cultural developments
peaked (...) |
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Defining and
Characterizing Archaeological Quartzite:
Sedimentary and Metamorphic Processes in the
Lithic Assemblages of El Habario and El Arteu (Cantabrian
Mountains, Northern Spain),
di A. Prieto, I. Yusta, A. Arrizabalaga, "Archaeometry",
Volume 61, Issue 1, February 2019, Pages 14-30
- free access -
Quartzite was the
second most-often used lithic raw material in
Europe in the Palaeolithic. However, this rock
has not been characterized fully from the geo-archaeological
point of view. This study characterizes, defines
and determines types of quartzite in northern
Spain through a methodology that integrates
petrography, digital image processing and X-ray
fluorescence. As a methodological foundation for
the characterization of the material, it aims to
open the possibility of discovering mechanisms
of mobility, selection and management of
quartzite by prehistoric societies. The types
determined, based on the petrogenesis of the
material, enable a better understanding of the
archaeological sites of El Arteu and El Habario
in the context of northern Spain in the Middle
Palaeolithic (...) |
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Were Acheulean Bifaces Deliberately Made
Symmetrical? Archaeological and Experimental
Evidence,
di C. Shipton, C. Clarkson, R. Cobden,
"Cambridge Archaeological Journal", Volume 29,
Issue 1, February 2019, pp. 65-79
Acheulean bifaces
dominate the archaeological record for 1.5
million years. The meaning behind the often
symmetrical forms of these tools is the topic of
considerable debate, with explanations ranging
from effectiveness as a cutting tool to sexual
display. Some, however, question whether the
symmetry seen in many Acheulean bifaces is
intentional at all, with suggestions that it is
merely the result of a bias in hominin
perception or an inevitable consequence of
bifacial flaking. In this paper we address the
issue of intention in biface symmetry. First, we
use transmission chain experiments designed to
track symmetry trends in the replication of
biface outlines (...) |
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Subsistence strategies throughout the African
Middle Pleistocene: Faunal evidence for
behavioral change and continuity across the
Earlier to Middle Stone Age transition,
di G. M. Smith, K. Ruebens, S.
Gaudzinski-Windheuser, T. E. Steele, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 127, February 2019,
Pages 1-20
The African Middle
Pleistocene (781–126 ka) is a key period for
human evolution, witnessing both the origin of
the modern human lineage and the lithic turnover
from Earlier Stone Age (ESA) Acheulean bifacial
tools to Middle Stone Age (MSA) prepared core
and point technologies. This ESA/MSA transition
is interpreted as representing changing
landscape use with greater foraging distances
and more active hunting strategies. So far,
these behavioral inferences are mainly based on
the extensive stone tool record, with only a
minor role for site-based and regional faunal
studies. To provide additional insights into
these behavioral changes, this paper details a
pan-African metastudy of 63 Middle Pleistocene
faunal assemblages from 40 sites (...) |
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New data for the Early
Upper Paleolithic of Kostenki (Russia),
di R. Dinnis et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 127, February 2019, Pages
21-40
Several questions remain regarding the timing
and nature of the Neanderthal-anatomically
modern human (AMH) transition in Europe. The
situation in Eastern Europe is generally less
clear due to the relatively few sites and a
dearth of reliable radiocarbon dates. Claims
have been made for both notably early AMH and
notably late Neanderthal presence, as well as
for early AMH (Aurignacian) dispersal into the
region from Central/Western Europe. The
Kostenki-Borshchevo complex (European Russia) of
Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) sites offers
high-quality data to address these questions.
Here we revise the chronology and cultural
status of the key sites of Kostenki 17 and
Kostenki 14. The Kostenki 17/II lithic
assemblage shares important features with
Proto-Aurignacian material, strengthening an
association with AMHs (...) |
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Excavation, reconstruction and taphonomy of the
StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus skeleton
from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa,
di R. J. Clarke, "Journal of Human Evolution",
Volume 127, February 2019, Pages 41-53
The first known
fossil of an adult Australopithecus was the
crushed cranium TM 1511 found by Robert Broom at
Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa, on the 17th of
August, 1936 (Broom, 1936). It had been blasted
out of the concrete-like cave infill by lime
miners. The deposit proved so rich in fossil
faunal remains that Broom continued to
investigate that quarry location, and in ensuing
years he recovered many more Australopithecus
fossils (Broom and Schepers, 1946). At that time,
Broom (1936) considered that the Sterkfontein
fossils were of Upper Pleistocene age. It was
not until January 1945 that a fossil from a
lower cavern would suggest to him that
Sterkfontein dated to the Pliocene. This
happened when the French prehistorian Abbe
Breuil took to Broom the anterior portion of an
occluding upper and lower dentition of a hyaena
which had been given to Breuil by Dr Helmut Kurt
Silberberg, owner of a Johannesburg art gallery.
Silberberg had collected the fossil around 1942
from a lower cave at Sterkfontein, now named
after him as the Silberberg Grotto (Tobias,
1979) (...) |
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The meta-group social network of early humans: A
temporal–spatial assessment of group size at FLK
Zinj (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania),
di M. Domínguez-Rodrigo, L. Cobo-Sánchez, J.
Aramendi, A. Gidna, "Journal of Human Evolution",
Volume 127, February 2019, Pages 54-66
Humans are the
only primates that maintain regular inter-group
relationships and meta-group social networks
that enable the inter-group flow of individuals.
This is the basis of the band/tribe concept in
the anthropology of modern foragers. The present
work is a theoretical approach to the
development of analytical tools to understand
group size and the temporal scale of site
occupation in the archaeological record. We
selected FLK Zinj as one of the oldest examples
of a taphonomically-supported anthropogenic site
in which both variables (group size and time)
could be modelled using a combination of modern
forager regression estimates from their camp
sizes and estimates derived from the combined
use of modern African foragers' meat consumption
rates per day per capita during the dry season
and minimum estimates of flesh yields provided
by the carcass parts preserved at FLK Zinj. This
approach provides the basis for a testable
hypothesis which should be further tested in
other Oldowan sites (...) |
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The bony labyrinth of StW 573 (“Little Foot”):
Implications for early hominin evolution and
paleobiology,
di A. Beaudet et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 127, February 2019, Pages
67-80
Because of its exceptional degree of
preservation and its geological age of ~3.67 Ma,
StW 573 makes an invaluable contribution to our
understanding of early hominin evolution and
paleobiology. The morphology of the bony
labyrinth has the potential to provide
information about extinct primate taxonomic
diversity, phylogenetic relationships and
locomotor behaviour. In this context, we
virtually reconstruct and comparatively assess
the bony labyrinth morphology in StW 573. As
comparative material, we investigate 17 southern
African hominin specimens from Sterkfontein,
Swartkrans and Makapansgat (plus published data
from two specimens from Kromdraai B), attributed
to Australopithecus, early Homo or Paranthropus,
as well as 10 extant human and 10 extant
chimpanzee specimens (...) |
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New permanent teeth from
Gran Dolina-TD6 (Sierra de Atapuerca). The
bearing of Homo antecessor on the evolutionary
scenario of Early and Middle Pleistocene Europe,
di M. Martinón-Torres et alii, "Journal
of Human Evolution", Volume 127, February 2019,
Pages 93-117
Here we analyze
the unpublished hominin dental remains recovered
from the late Early Pleistocene Gran
Dolina-TD6.2 level of the Sierra de Atapuerca (northern
Spain), as well as provide a reassessment of the
whole TD6.2 hominin dental sample. Comparative
descriptions of the outer enamel surface (OES)
and the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) are
provided. Overall, the data presented here
support the taxonomic validity of Homo
antecessor, since this species presents a unique
mosaic of traits. Homo antecessor displays
several primitive features for the genus Homo as
well as some traits exclusively shared with
Early and Middle Pleistocene Eurasian hominins
(...) |
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One size does not fit all: Group size and the
late middle Pleistocene prehistoric archive,
di A. Malinsky-Buller, E. Hovers, "Journal of
Human Evolution", Volume 127, February 2019,
Pages 118-132
The role of
demography is often suggested to be a key factor
in both biological and cultural evolution.
Recent research has shown that the linkage
between population size and cultural evolution
is not straightforward and emerges from the
interplay of many demographic, economic, social
and ecological variables. Formal modelling has
yielded interesting insights into the complex
relationship between population structure,
intergroup connectedness, and magnitude and
extent of population extinctions. Such studies
have highlighted the importance of effective (as
opposed to census) population size in
transmission processes. At the same time, it
remained unclear how such insights can be
applied to material culture phenomena in the
prehistoric record, especially for deeper
prehistory. In this paper we approach the issue
of population sizes during the time of the Lower
to Middle Paleolithic transition through the
proxy of regional trajectories of lithic
technological change, identified in the
archaeological records from Africa, the Levant,
Southwestern and Northwestern Europe (...) |
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Lithic raw material acquisition and use by early
Homo sapiens at Skhul, Israel,
di R. Ekshtain, C. A. Tryon, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 127, February 2019, Pages
149-170
The site of Skhul in Israel has featured
prominently in discussions about the early
presence of Homo sapiens outside of Africa since
its excavation in the 1930s. Until now,
attention has been primarily focused on the
site's fossil hominins and evidence for symbolic
behavior in the form of burials and rare
artifacts such as pierced shells and pigment
objects. We present here the results of renewed
analysis of the lithic artifacts from Skhul
drawn from archival collections in the United
States, United Kingdom, and Israel (...) |
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On
the shape of things: A geometric morphometrics
approach to investigate Aurignacian group
membership,
di L. Doyon, "Journal of Archaeological
Science", Volume 101, January 2019, Pages 99-114
The manufacture of
composite projectile technology requires the
production and assemblage of tightly fitted
parts designed to fulfill a number of distinct
functions. Each part combines a number of
techno-functional units, and various processes
may be responsible for the shape variability of
these units. In order to investigate the
relative contribution of each process to the
overall variability of a projectile implement,
one must identify the point of demarcation
between its techno-functional units. In the
present paper, the concept of shape modularity
is introduced to precisely identify this locus.
The application of geometric morphometrics and
shape modularity to the study of two Aurignacian
osseous projectile point types, i.e., split- and
massive-based points, reveals interesting
patterns (...) |
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Geometric morphometrics and finite elements
analysis: Assessing the functional implications
of differences in craniofacial form in the
hominin fossil record,
di P. O'Higgins, L. C. Fitton, R. M. Godinho,
"Journal of Archaeological Science", Volume 101,
January 2019, Pages 159-168
The study of
morphological variation in the hominin fossil
record has been transformed in recent years by
the advent of high resolution 3D imaging
combined with improved geometric morphometric
(GM) toolkits. In parallel, increasing numbers
of studies have applied finite elements analysis
(FEA) to the study of skeletal mechanics in
fossil and extant hominoid material. While FEA
studies of fossils are becoming ever more
popular they are constrained by the difficulties
of reconstruction and by the uncertainty that
inevitably attaches to the estimation of forces
and material properties. Adding to these
modelling difficulties it is still unclear how
FEA analyses should best deal with species
variation (...) |
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Humeral anatomy of the KNM-ER 47000 upper limb
skeleton from Ileret, Kenya: Implications for
taxonomic identification,
di M. R. Lague et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 126, January 2019, Pages
24-38
KNM-ER 47000 is a fossil hominin upper limb
skeleton from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya
(FwJj14E, Area 1A) that includes portions of the
scapula, humerus, ulna, and hand. Dated to ~1.52
Ma, the skeleton could potentially belong to one
of multiple hominin species that have been
documented in the Turkana Basin during this time,
including Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and
Paranthropus boisei. Although the skeleton lacks
associated craniodental material, the partial
humerus (described here) preserves anatomical
regions (i.e., distal diaphysis, elbow joint)
that are informative for taxonomic
identification among early Pleistocene hominins.
In this study, we analyze distal diaphyseal
morphology and the shape of the elbow region to
determine whether KNM-ER 47000 can be
confidently attributed to a particular species
(...) |
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Cross-sectional properties of the humeral
diaphysis of Paranthropus boisei: Implications
for upper limb function,
di M. R. Lague et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 126, January 2019, Pages
51-70 A
~1.52 Ma adult upper limb skeleton of
Paranthropus boisei (KNM-ER 47000) recovered
from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya (FwJj14E,
Area 1A) includes most of the distal half of a
right humerus (designated KNM-ER 47000B).
Natural transverse fractures through the
diaphysis of KNM-ER 470000B provide unobstructed
views of cortical bone at two sections typically
used for analyzing cross-sectional properties of
hominids (i.e., 35% and 50% of humerus length
from the distal end). Here we assess
cross-sectional properties of KNM-ER 47000B and
two other P. boisei humeri (OH 80-10, KNM-ER
739). Cross-sectional properties for P. boisei
associated with bending/torsional strength (section
moduli) and relative cortical thickness (%CA;
percent cortical area) are compared to those
reported for nonhuman hominids, AL 288-1 (Australopithecus
afarensis), and multiple species of fossil and
modern Homo (...) |
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Hominin diversity and high environmental
variability in the Okote Member, Koobi Fora
Formation, Kenya,
di R. Bobe, S. Carvalho, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 126, January 2019, Pages
91-105
The newly described partial skeleton of
Paranthropus boisei KNM-ER 47000 as well as the
FwJj14E Ileret footprints provide new evidence
on the paleobiology and diversity of hominins
from the Okote Member of the Koobi Fora
Formation at East Turkana about 1.5 Ma. To
better understand the ecological context of the
Okote hominins, it is necessary to broaden the
geographical focus of the analysis to include
the entire Omo-Turkana ecosystem, and the
temporal focus to encompass the early
Pleistocene. Previous work has shown that
important changes in the regional vegetation
occurred after 2 Ma, and that there was a peak
in mammalian turnover and diversity close to 1.8
Ma. This peak in diversity included the Hominini,
with the species P. boisei, Homo habilis, Homo
rudolfensis, and Homo erectus co-occurring at
around 1.8 Ma (...) |
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The endocast of StW 573 (“Little Foot”) and
hominin brain evolution,
di A. Beaudet et alii, "Journal of Human
Evolution", Volume 126, January 2019, Pages
112-123
One of the most crucial debates in human
paleoneurology concerns the timing and mode of
the emergence of the derived cerebral features
in the hominin fossil record. Given its
exceptional degree of preservation and
geological age (i.e., 3.67 Ma), StW 573 (‘Little
Foot’) has the potential to shed new light on
hominin brain evolution. Here we present the
first detailed comparative description of the
external neuroanatomy of StW 573. The endocast
was virtually reconstructed and compared to ten
southern African hominin specimens from
Makapansgat, Malapa, Sterkfontein and Swartkrans
attributed to Australopithecus and Paranthropus.
We apply an automatic method for the detection
of sulcal and vascular imprints. The endocranial
surface of StW 573 is crushed and plastically
deformed in a number of locations (...) |
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Interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern
humans: Remarks and methodological dangers of a
dental calculus microbiome analysis,
di P. Charlier, F. Gaultier, G. Héry-Arnaud,
"Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 126,
January 2019, Pages 124-126
Since at least the
1980s, it has been known that archaeological
dental calculus contains preserved cellular
structures of oral bacteria, but it was only
recently discovered that it is also a robust and
long-term reservoir of well-preserved DNA (Adler
et al., 2013). Advances in ancient DNA now
enable direct comparisons between ancient and
modern oral microbial communities. Recently,
Weyrich et al. (2017) suggested that preserved
dental calculus could be a useful source of
information for the reconstruction of
Neanderthal behavior, diet, or disease. The
authors succeeded in deeply sequencing five
Neanderthal individual dental calculus samples,
retrieving in three of them (one individual did
not provide any genetic data, another was
omitted because of possible contamination with
modern humans) 93.76% of bacterial sequences,
5.91% archaeal sequences, 0.27% eukaryotic
sequences, and 0.06% viral sequences.
Shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from these
specimens brought to light regional differences
in Neanderthal ecology: For instance, at Spy
Cave, Belgium, a heavily meat-based diet (including
woolly rhinoceros and mouflon) was evident,
which is characteristic of a steppe environment,
whereas at El Sidrón Cave, Spain, no meat eating
was detected, but mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss
were eaten, reflecting forest gathering. Weyrich
et al. (2017) suggested that differences in diet
were linked to an overall shift in the oral
microbiota, and proposed that meat consumption
may have contributed to substantial variation
within Neanderthal microbiota (...) |
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Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova
Cave in southern Siberia,
di Z. Jacobs et alii, "Nature", Volume
565, Issue 7741, 31 January 2019, pp. 594–599
The Altai region
of Siberia was inhabited for parts of the
Pleistocene by at least two groups of archaic
hominins—Denisovans and Neanderthals. Denisova
Cave, uniquely, contains stratified deposits
that preserve skeletal and genetic evidence of
both hominins, artefacts made from stone and
other materials, and a range of animal and plant
remains. The previous site chronology is based
largely on radiocarbon ages for fragments of
bone and charcoal that are up to 50,000 years
old; older ages of equivocal reliability have
been estimated from thermoluminescence and
palaeomagnetic analyses of sediments, and
genetic analyses of hominin DNA. Here we
describe the stratigraphic sequences in Denisova
Cave, establish a chronology for the Pleistocene
deposits and associated remains from optical
dating of the cave sediments, and reconstruct
the environmental context of hominin occupation
of the site from around 300,000 to 20,000 years
ago.
·
Le tante occupazioni della grotta di Denisova,
"Le Scienze", 31 gennaio 2019 |
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Age estimates for hominin fossils and the onset
of the Upper Palaeolithic at Denisova Cave,
di K. Douka et alii, "Nature", Volume 565, Issue 7741, 31 January 2019, pp. 640–644
Denisova Cave
in the Siberian Altai (Russia) is a key site for
understanding the complex relationships between
hominin groups that inhabited Eurasia in the
Middle and Late Pleistocene epoch. DNA sequenced
from human remains found at this site has
revealed the presence of a hitherto unknown
hominin group, the Denisovans1,2, and
high-coverage genomes from both Neanderthal and
Denisovan fossils provide evidence for admixture
between these two populations3. Determining the
age of these fossils is important if we are to
understand the nature of hominin interaction,
and aspects of their cultural and subsistence
adaptations. Here we present 50 radiocarbon
determinations from the late Middle and Upper
Palaeolithic layers of the site. We also report
three direct dates for hominin fragments and
obtain a mitochondrial DNA sequence for one of
them. We apply a Bayesian age modelling approach
that combines chronometric (radiocarbon, uranium
series and optical ages), stratigraphic and
genetic data to calculate probabilistically the
age of the human fossils at the site. Our
modelled estimate for the age of the oldest
Denisovan fossil suggests that this group was
present at the site as early as 195,000 years
ago (at 95.4% probability). All Neanderthal
fossils—as well as Denisova 11, the daughter of
a Neanderthal and a Denisovan4—date to between
80,000 and 140,000 years ago. The youngest
Denisovan dates to 52,000–76,000 years ago.
Direct radiocarbon dating of Upper Palaeolithic
tooth pendants and bone points yielded the
earliest evidence for the production of these
artefacts in northern Eurasia, between 43,000
and 49,000 calibrated years before present (taken
as AD 1950). On the basis of current
archaeological evidence, it may be assumed that
these artefacts are associated with the
Denisovan population. It is not currently
possible to determine whether anatomically
modern humans were involved in their production,
as modern-human fossil and genetic evidence of
such antiquity has not yet been identified in
the Altai region. |
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Modern humans replaced Neanderthals in southern
Spain 44,000 years ago,
30-JAN-2019
A study carried
out in Bajondillo Cave (in the town of
Torremolinos, in the province of Malaga) by an
international team made up of researchers from
Spain, Japan and the U.K. revealed that modern
humans replaced Neanderthals 44,000 years ago.
This study, published today in the journal
Nature Ecology and Evolution and in which
University of Cordoba and University of Granada
scientists participated, demonstrates that
replacing Neanderthals for modern humans in
southern Iberia is an early, not late,
occurrence, in the context of Western Europe.
That is to say it happened 5,000 years before
previously thought up until now. Western Europe
is a key area for dating when modern humans
replaced Neanderthals. The first ones are
associated with Mousterian industries (named
after a Neanderthal archaeological site in Le
Moustier, France), and the second ones with
Aurignacians (named after another French
archaeological site in Aurignac) that followed.
To date, radiocarbon dating available in Western
Europe dated the end of this replacement around
39,000 years ago, even though in the southern
part of the Iberian Peninsula Mousterian
industries (and for that matter, Neanderthal
ones) continued to exist and would until 32,000
years ago. In this area there is no evidence of
the early Aurignacians that is documented in
Europe (...) |
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Archaic humans moved into
Siberian cave 100,000 years earlier than thought,
30 January 2019
Over the course of
five years, multi-disciplinary teams of
scientists from the UK, Russia, Australia,
Canada and Germany worked on a detailed
investigation to date the archaeological site of
Denisova cave. Situated in the foothills of
Siberia's Altai Mountains, it is the only site
in the world known to have been occupied by both
archaic human groups (hominins) at various times.
Two new studies published in Nature now put a
timeline on when Neanderthals and their
enigmatic cousins, the Denisovans, were present
at the site and the environmental conditions
they faced before going extinct. Denisova cave
first came to worldwide attention in 2010, with
the publication of the genome obtained from the
fingerbone of a girl belonging to a group of
humans not previously identified in the
palaeoanthropological record; the Denisovans.
Further revelations followed on the genetic
history of Denisovans and Altai Neanderthals,
based on analysis of the few and fragmentary
hominin remains. Last year, a bone fragment
yielded the genome of the daughter of
Neanderthal and Denisovan parents - the first
direct evidence of interbreeding between two
archaic hominin groups (...) |
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Nessun ultimo rifugio per i Neanderthal in
Europa, 28
gennaio 2019
I primi esseri
umani moderni sarebbero giunti nella penisola
iberica fra 45.000 e 43.000 anni fa, ovvero
prima – non dopo – l’arrivo nel resto d’Europa.
Questa nuova datazione potrebbe implicare che
quella parte del continente europeo non sia
stata per i Neanderthal il rifugio che, come
invece finora ritenuto, avrebbe permesso loro di
sopravvivere molto più a lungo rispetto agli
altri neanderthaliani europei. È lo scenario
ricostruito da Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo dell’Instituto
Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra e colleghi,
sulla base di una nuova datazione dei reperti
scoperti nella grotta di Bajondillo, vicino a
Malaga. Lo studio è pubblicato su “Nature
Ecology and Evolution”. La scomparsa dei
Neanderthal in quasi tutta l’Europa occidentale
è di solito fatta risalire a circa 39.000 anni
fa, con l’eccezione delle regioni meridionali
della penisola iberica, dove sembrava che la
transizione dalla cosiddetta cultura musteriana
(caratterizzata da tecniche di scheggiatura
della pietra tipicamente associate ai
Neanderthal) a quella aurignaziana (con tecniche
di scheggiatura più sofisticate, tipiche degli
esseri umani moderni), fosse avvenuta circa
32.000 anni fa (...) |
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External ballistics of Pleistocene hand-thrown
spears: experimental performance data and
implications for human evolution,
di A. Milks, D. Parker, M. Pope, "Scientific
Reports", volume 9, Article number: 820 (2019),
25 January 2019 - free
access -
The appearance of weaponry - technology designed
to kill - is a critical but poorly established
threshold in human evolution. It is an important
behavioural marker representing evolutionary
changes in ecology, cognition, language and
social behaviours. While the earliest weapons
are often considered to be hand-held and
consequently short-ranged, the subsequent
appearance of distance weapons is a crucial
development. Projectiles are seen as an
improvement over contact weapons, and are
considered by some to have originated only with
our own species in the Middle Stone Age and
Upper Palaeolithic. Despite the importance of
distance weapons in the emergence of full
behavioral modernity, systematic experimentation
using trained throwers to evaluate the
ballistics of thrown spears during flight and at
impact is lacking. This paper addresses this by
presenting results from a trial of trained
javelin athletes, providing new estimates for
key performance parameters. Overlaps in
distances and impact energies between
hand-thrown spears and spearthrowers are
evidenced, and skill emerges as a significant
factor in successful use. The results show that
distance hunting was likely within the
repertoire of hunting strategies of Neanderthals,
and the resulting behavioural flexibility
closely mirrors that of our own species
(...) |
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New remains discovered at site of famous
Neanderthal ‘flower burial’,
di E. Culotta, "Science News", 22 Jan. 2019
For tens of
thousands of years, the high ceilings, flat
earthen floor, and river view of Shanidar Cave
have beckoned to ancient humans. The cave, in
the Zagros Mountains of northern Iraq, once
sheltered at least 10 Neanderthals, who were
unearthed starting in the 1950s. One skeleton
had so many injuries that he likely needed help
to survive, and another had been dusted with
pollen, suggesting someone had laid flowers at
the burial. The rare discovery ushered in a new
way of thinking about Neanderthals, who until
then had often been considered brutes. “Although
the body was archaic, the spirit was modern,”
excavator Ralph Solecki wrote of Neanderthals,
in Science, in 1975. But some scientists doubted
the pollen was part of a flower offering, and
others questioned whether Neanderthals even
buried their dead. In 2014, researchers headed
back to Shanidar to re-excavate, and found
additional Neanderthal bones. Then, last fall,
they unearthed another Neanderthal with a
crushed but complete skull and upper thorax,
plus both forearms and hands. From 25 to 28
January, scientists will gather at a workshop at
the University of Cambridge in the United
Kingdom to discuss what the new finds suggest
about Neanderthal views of death. Science caught
up with archaeologist and team co-leader
Christopher Hunt of Liverpool John Moores
University in the United Kingdom to learn more. |
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Livre: Sur les pas Lucy.
Expéditions en Ethiopie, di Raymonde
Bonnefille-Editions Odile Jacob
Voici le récit de Raymonde Bonnefille, une des
rares femmes à avoir participé aux expéditions
archéologiques et paléontologiques en Éthiopie
dans les années 1970. Ses recherches ont été
capitales pour la connaissance du milieu dans
lequel vivaient les hommes préhistoriques. Son
témoignage unique nous fait vivre de l’intérieur
cette aventure scientifique qui aboutit à la
découverte de la plus célèbre australopithèque,
Lucy. Vie quotidienne sur un chantier de
prospection, travail de terrain avec les équipes
scientifiques française et américaine… cette
plongée passionnante nous emmène au cœur des
grandes expéditions internationales dans les
paysages du Rift est-africain, qui contribuèrent
de façon si remarquable à la connaissance des
origines de l’Homme (...) |
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A
surprisingly early replacement of Neanderthals
by modern humans in southern Spain,
21-JAN-2019
A new study of
Bajondillo Cave (Málaga) by a team of
researchers based in Spain, Japan and the UK,
coordinated from the Universidad de Sevilla,
reveals that modern humans replaced Neanderthals
at this site approximately 44,000 years ago. The
research, to be published in Nature Ecology and
Evolution, shows that the replacement of
Neanderthals by modern humans in southern Iberia
began early, rather than late, in comparison to
the rest of Western Europe. Western Europe is a
key area for understanding the timing of the
replacement of Neanderthals by early modern
humans (AMH). Typically in Western Europe, late
Neanderthals are associated with stone tools
belonging to Mousterian industries (named after
the Neanderthal site of Le Moustier in France),
while the earliest modern humans are associated
with succeeding Aurignacian industries (named
after the French site of Aurignac). The final
replacement of Neanderthals by AMH in western
Europe is usually dated to around 39,000 years
ago. However, it's claimed that the southern
Iberian region documents the late survival of
the Mousterian, and therefore Neanderthals, to
about 32,000 years ago, with no evidence for the
early Aurignacian found elsewhere in Europe
(...) |
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First evidence that ancient Europeans were
hunting mammoths,
19 January 2019
About 25,000 years
ago, ice age hunters in what is now Poland threw
a light spear known as a javelin at a mammoth.
Now, the discovery in Kraków (Poland) of that
javelin, still embedded in the mammoth's rib,
has revealed a major surprise: the first
evidence that ice age people in Europe used
weapons to hunt the giant beasts. The find comes
from one of the largest clusters of mammoth
bones in Europe. As a result of many years of
excavations, archaeologists have discovered the
remains of at least 110 mammoths from approx.
25,000 years ago. "Among tens of thousands of
bones I came across a damaged mammoth rib. It
turned out that a fragment of a flint arrowhead
was stuck in it. This is the first such find
from the Ice Age in Europe!" - said Dr. Piotr
Wojtal from the Institute of Systematics and
Evolution of Animals PAS in Kraków. The analyses
are conducted jointly with Dr. Jarosław
Wilczyński. Wojtal reminds that the scientific
community has been discussing for years how our
ancestors killed mammoths. According to some
researchers, these animals were killed by
trickery - chasing them to the pits or towards
bluffs, from which they would fall. Others say
that people focused on weaker or sick animals.
Some think that mammoths were hunted. "We
finally have a 'smoking gun', the first direct
evidence of how these animals were hunted" -
notes the archaeozoologist. So far, similar
finds are known only from two Siberian sites
(...) |
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Approximate Bayesian computation with deep
learning supports a third archaic introgression
in Asia and Oceania,
di M. Mondal, J. Bertranpetit, O. Lao, "Nature
Communications", volume 10, Article number: 246
(2019), 16 January 2019
- free access -
Since anatomically modern humans dispersed Out
of Africa, the evolutionary history of Eurasian
populations has been marked by introgressions
from presently extinct hominins. Some of these
introgressions have been identified using
sequenced ancient genomes (Neanderthal and
Denisova). Other introgressions have been
proposed for still unidentified groups using the
genetic diversity present in current human
populations. We built a demographic model based
on deep learning in an Approximate Bayesian
Computation framework to infer the evolutionary
history of Eurasian populations including past
introgression events in Out of Africa
populations fitting the current genetic evidence.
In addition to the reported Neanderthal and
Denisovan introgressions, our results support a
third introgression in all Asian and Oceanian
populations from an archaic population. This
population is either related to the
Neanderthal-Denisova clade or diverged early
from the Denisova lineage. We propose the use of
deep learning methods for clarifying situations
with high complexity in evolutionary genomics
(...)
·
Antichi fantasmi umani nel DNA moderno, "Le
Scienze", 11 febbraio 2019 |
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Neandertal features of the
deciduous and permanent teeth from Portel-Ouest
Cave (Ariège, France),
di G. Becam, T. Chevalier, "American Journal of
Physical Anthropology", Volume 168, Issue 1,
January 2019, Pages 45-69
We describe 14
unpublished and nine published teeth from the
Mousterian level of Portel-Ouest (Ariège,
France), dated to 44 ka. In a comparative
context, we explore the taxonomical affinities
of those teeth with Neandertals and modern
humans which are both known to exist at that
time. We further make some paleobiological
inferences about this human group.
The comparative analysis of Neandertals and
modern humans is based on nonmetric traits at
the outer enamel surface and the enamel–dentine
junction, crown diameters and three‐dimensional
(3D) enamel thickness measurements of lower
permanent teeth. The crown and roots are
explored in detail based on the μCT-scan data to
identify the multiple criteria involved in the
paleobiological approach (...) |
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Morphological trends in
arcade shape and size in Middle Pleistocene Homo,
di S, Stelzer, S. Neubauer, J. J. Hublin, F.
Spoor, P. Gunz, "American Journal of Physical
Anthropology", Volume 168, Issue 1, January
2019, Pages 70-91
Middle Pleistocene
fossil hominins, often summarized as Homo
heidelbergensis sensu lato, are difficult to
interpret due to a fragmentary fossil record and
ambiguous combinations of primitive and derived
characters. Here, we focus on one aspect of
facial shape and analyze shape variation of the
dental arcades of these fossils together with
other Homo individuals.
Three-dimensional landmark data were collected
on computed tomographic scans and surface scans
of Middle Pleistocene fossil hominins (n = 8),
Homo erectus s.l. (n = 4), Homo antecessor
(n = 1), Homo neanderthalensis (n = 13), recent
(n = 52) and fossil (n = 19) Homo sapiens. To
increase sample size, we used multiple
multivariate regression to reconstruct
complementary arches for isolated mandibles, and
explored size and shape differences among
maxillary arcades (...) |
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Morphometric analysis of
shape differences in Windover and Point Hope
archaic human mandibles,
di S. Boren, D. Slice, G. Thomas, "American
Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 168, Issue 1, January 2019, Pages 119-130
The mandible can
provide valuable information on both the life
history and genetic makeup of Archaic human
populations. The following analysis tests two
hypotheses: (a) that there are significant
differences in morphology in mandibular shape
between the genders amongst Archaic North
American Homo sapiens and (b) that there is a
significant difference in variance in mandibular
shape between Archaic Windover and Point Hope.
A sample made from mandible specimens taken from
both populations is subjected to Principal
Component Analyses (PCA). The component scores
from the PCAs are subjected to both a
Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (mancova)
and a general Multivariate Analysis of Variance
(manova) to determine whether significant
differences in variance exist between the sexes
and the populations (...) |
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A
Neandertal foot phalanx from the Galería de las
Estatuas site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain),
di A. Pablos, A. Gómez-Olivencia, J. L. Arsuaga,
"American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 168, Issue 1, January 2019, Pages 222-228
The Galería de las
Estatuas site (GE), a new Mousterian site at the
Sierra de Atapuerca site complex (Spain), has
revealed a Late Pleistocene detrital sequence
with at least five lithostratigraphic units.
These units have yielded evidence of Mousterian
occupations with sporadic carnivore activity,
and have provided datings of 80–112 ka BP using
single-grain optically stimulated luminescence.
This places the sequence at the end of MIS5 and
beginning of the MIS4. We described here a
complete adult human distal foot phalanx (GE-1573) recovered during the 2017 field season in the
interface between lithostratigraphic units 3 and
4 (107–112 ka BP) in the GE-I test pit (...) |
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One small step: A review of Plio-Pleistocene hominin foot evolution,
di J. DeSilva, E. McNutt, J. Benoit, B. Zipfel,
"American Journal of Physical Anthropology",
Volume 168, Issue S67, Supplement: Yearbook of
Physical Anthropology, January 2019, Pages
63-140 - free access -
Bipedalism is a
hallmark of being human and the human foot is
modified to reflect this unique form of
locomotion. Leonardo da Vinci is credited with
calling the human foot “a masterpiece of
engineering and a work of art.” However, a
scientific approach to human origins has
revealed that our feet are products of a long,
evolutionary history in which a mobile, grasping
organ has been converted into a propulsive
structure adapted for the rigors of bipedal
locomotion. Reconstructing the evolutionary
history of foot anatomy benefits from a fossil
record; yet, prior to 1960, the only hominin
foot bones recovered were from Neandertals. Even
into the 1990s, the human foot fossil record
consisted mostly of fragmentary remains. However,
in the last two decades, the human foot fossil
record has quadrupled, and these new discoveries
have fostered fresh new perspectives on how our
feet evolved. In this review, we document
anatomical differences between extant ape and
human foot bones, and comprehensively examine
the hominin foot fossil record. Additionally, we
take a novel approach and conduct a cladistics
analysis on foot fossils (n = 19 taxa; n = 80
characters), and find strong evidence for mosaic
evolution of the foot, and a variety of
anatomically and functionally distinct foot
forms as bipedal locomotion evolved. (...) |
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Index
di antiqui |
Sommario
bacheca |
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