Aggiornamento 30 dicembre

- Space and time in the Upper Palaeolithic: Case studies from Western Europe, di L. Anderson, M. Lejay

- Moving with the Magdalenians: Examples from the camp sites of Monruz and Champréveyres (Switzerland), di M. I. Cattin

- (Re)occupation: Following a Magdalenian group through three successive occupations at Étiolles, di E. Caron-Laviolette, O. Bignon-Lau, M. Olive

- The Late Solutrean open-air site of Landry (Aquitaine, France). A preliminary spatio-temporal analysis, di M. Brenet, S. Guégan, É. Claud, M. Mesa, V. Pasquet

- A long and winding road: Towards a palethnograpic interpretation of the middle-Gravettian site of la Picardie (Indre-et-Loire, France), di L. Klaric, P. Bertran, G. Dumarçay, M. Liard

- Insights into Aurignacian daily life and camp organization: The open-air site of Régismont-le-Haut, di L. Anderson et alii

- Newly discovered Aurignacian engraved blocks from Abri Cellier: History, context and dating, di R. White et alii

The oldest human remains discovered in Poland are about 115,000 years old. They are finger bones of a Neanderthal child which were digested by a large bird, and found in a cave. Previously the oldest human remains from Poland were three Neanderthal teeth estimated to be 52,000 to 42,000 years old, from a different cave. The bones are small and very poorly preserved. DNA analysis is not possible, but Professor Pawel Valde-Nowak, from the Institute of Archeology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow says "we have no doubts that these are Neanderthal remains, because they come from a very deep layer of the cave, a few metres below the present surface. This layer also contains typical stone tools used by the Neanderthal." (...)

- Acheulean without handaxes? Assemblage variability at FLK West (Lowermost Bed II, Olduvai, Tanzania), di S. Y. Policarpo et alii

- Human deciduous teeth from the Middle Stone Age layers of Sibudu Cave (South Africa), di A. Riga et alii

- Assessing Neanderthal land use and lithic raw material management in Discoid technology, di D. Delpiano, K. Heasley, M. Peresani

- Paleo-oscillomics: inferring aspects of Neanderthal language abilities from gene regulation of neural oscillations, di E. Murphy, A. Benítez-Burraco

- Grotta del Cavallo (Apulia – Southern Italy). The Uluzzian in the mirror, di A. Moroni et alii

- New insights on Final Epigravettian funerary behavior at Arene Candide Cave (Western Liguria, Italy), di V. S. Sparacello et alii

- Late Pleistocene Neanderthal occupation of Western Mani: The evidence from the Middle Palaeolithic assemblages of Mavri Spilia, di C. Garefalakis, E. Panagopoulou, K. Harvati

- Geometric morphometric analysis and internal structure measurements of the Neanderthal lower fourth premolars from Kalamakia, Greece, di C. C. Bauer, S. Benazzi, A. Darlas, K. Harvati

- The Lower Palaeolithic site of Marathousa 1, Megalopolis, Greece: Overview of the evidence, di E. Panagopoulou et alii

- Lithic artifacts and bone tools from the Lower Palaeolithic site Marathousa 1, Megalopolis, Greece: Preliminary results, di V. Tourloukis et alii

- The small mammal fauna from the palaeolithic site Marathousa 1 (Greece), di C. Doukas, T. van Kolfschoten, K. Papayianni, E. Panagopoulou, K. Harvati

- Sedimentology and micromorphology of the Lower Palaeolithic lakeshore site Marathousa 1, Megalopolis basin, Greece, di P. Karkanas et alii

- Magnetostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic constraints on the Marathousa 1 Lower Palaeolithic site and the Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Megalopolis basin, Greece, di V. Tourloukis et alii

Archaeological findings, numerical human dispersal models and genome analyses suggest several time windows in the past 200 kyr (thousands of years ago) when anatomically modern humans (AMH) dispersed out of Africa into the Levant and/or Arabia. From close to the key hominin site of Omo-Kibish, we provide near continuous proxy evidence for environmental changes in lake sediment cores from the Chew Bahir basin, south Ethiopia. The data show highly variable hydroclimate conditions from 116 to 66 kyr BP with rapid shifts from very wet to extreme aridity. The wet phases coincide with the timing of the North African Humid Periods during MIS5, as defined by Nile discharge records from the eastern Mediterranean. The subsequent record at Chew Bahir suggests stable regional hydrological setting between 58 and 32 kyr (MIS4 and 3), which facilitated the development of more habitable ecosystems, albeit in generally dry climatic conditions. This shift, from more to less variable hydroclimate, may help account for the timing of later dispersal events of AMH out of Africa. (...)

Confrontando la forma dei crani dei Neanderthal e quella degli umani moderni, una complessa ricerca interdisciplinare è riuscita a risalire a differenze genetiche che influiscono su due strutture cerebrali che controllano in primo luogo il movimento ma che potrebbero aver avuto un riflesso anche sull'evoluzione del linguaggio (...)

East Africa has provided the earliest known evidence for Oldowan stone artifacts and hominin-induced stone tool cutmarks dated to ~2.6 million years (Ma) ago. The ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Here we report older stone artifacts and cutmarked bones excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit estimated to ~1.9 Ma ago, and the older to ~2.4 Ma ago. Hence, the Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa or a possible multiple-origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.

The article presents an original analysis which combines use-wear, 3D modelling and spatial analyses to experimental archaeology in order to investigate Early Upper Palaeolithic flint-knapping gestures and techniques involving the use of macro-lithic tools. In particular, the methodological framework proposed in this paper was applied to the study of Protoaurignacian and Aurignacian macro-tools from Fumane Cave (Verona, Italy). Combining spatial analysis and use wear investigation, both at low and high magnifications, permitted the identification and detailed description of the use-related traces affecting both the hammerstones and retouchers which, at Fumane Cave, were used at different stages during flint tool production. Several experimental activities were performed including core reduction, maintenance, and blank production together with different types of edge retouching. From a methodological perspective, the protocol of analysis permitted to codify specific traces and to produce quantitative data related to their geometry and distribution over the tool’s surface, according to the activities and gestures performed. The results obtained allowed a careful investigation of the function and the gestures associated to the use of the macro-lithic tools coming from the Protoaurignacian and Aurignacian levels of Fumane Cave while providing a methodological tool for interpreting different archaeological samples. (...)

After a tortuous 20-year-long excavation, a mysterious ancient skeleton is starting to give up its secrets about human evolution. The first of a raft of papers about ‘Little Foot’ suggests that the fossil is a female who showed some of the earliest signs of human-like bipedal walking around 3.67 million years ago. She may also belong to a distinct species that most researchers haven’t previously recognized. “It’s almost a miracle it’s come out intact,” says Robin Crompton, a musculoskeletal biologist at the University of Liverpool, UK, who has collaborated with the research team that excavated the skeleton. As well echoing the mythical ‘Bigfoot’, the nickname Little Foot comes from the small size of the foot bones that were among the first parts of the skeleton to be discovered. The first signs that there was an invaluable hominin specimen up for grabs came in 1994. Ronald Clarke, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) in Johannesburg, South Africa, was rifling through boxes of fossils at a field laboratory at the Sterkfontein caves, about 40 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. He realized that a handful of small bones in the collection belonged to an early hominin. He established that the bones were those of a species of Australopithecus — ape-like hominins that were present in Africa between about 4 million and 2 million years ago, before the human genus Homo rose to dominance. (...)

Lower thoracic widths and curvatures track upper pelvic widths and iliac blades curvatures in hominins and other primates (torso integration hypothesis). However, recent studies suggest that sexual dimorphism could challenge this assumption in Homo sapiens. We test the torso integration hypothesis in two modern human populations, both considering and excluding the effect of sexual dimorphism. We further assess covariation patterns between different thoracic and pelvic levels, and we explore the allometric effects on torso shape variation.
A sex‐balanced sample of 50 anatomically connected torsos (25 Mediterraneans, 25 Sub‐Saharan Africans) was segmented from computed tomography scans. We compared the maximum medio‐lateral width at seventh–ninth rib levels with pelvic bi‐iliac breadth in males and females within both populations. We measured 1,030 (semi)landmarks on 3D torso models, and torso shape variation, mean size and shape comparisons, thoraco‐pelvic covariation and allometric effects were quantified through 3D geometric morphometrics.
Females show narrow thoraces and wide pelves and males show wide thoraces and narrow pelves, although this trend is more evident in Mediterraneans than in Sub‐Saharans. Equal thoracic and pelvic widths, depths and curvatures were found in absence of sexual dimorphism. The highest strength of covariation was found between the lowest rib levels and the ilia, and allometric analyses showed that smaller torsos were wider than larger torsos.
This is the first study testing statistically the torso integration hypothesis in anatomically connected torsos. We propose a new and more complex torso integration model in H. sapiens with sexual dimorphism leading to different thoracic and pelvic widths and curvatures. These findings have important implications in hominin body shape reconstructions.

The risk to surface archaeological sites posed by heavy machinery has grown significantly, and stone-tool assemblages are particularly susceptible to alteration that may be difficult to recognise. Indeed, the impact of industrial machines on surface scatters of lithic material has not yet been explored. Here, an analytical experiment is used to explore the ways in which machine action can affect a test assemblage resembling a typical Stone Age scatter. The results demonstrate that while formal tool types are not easily replicated through machine action, the creation of assemblages that resemble archaeological debitage poses a much greater challenge for archaeologists.

Evidence of human activity and hominin remains are very scarce inland on the Iberian Peninsula. This fact raises the issue of the scarcity of evidence that Paleolithic Homo sapiens occupied this area outside of the littoral margins (Atlantic, Cantabrian, and Mediterranean coasts). Here, we comparatively describe a human right adult navicular bone recovered in the Cueva de los Torrejones site, located in the village of Tamajón (Guadalajara, Spain). This fossil was preliminarily established as belonging to Homo cf. neanderthalensis, due to the late Pleistocene faunal association, mainly because of the presence of Crocuta crocuta and Panthera pardus. The metrical and morphological study of the navicular T93-S3.27 from Cueva de los Torrejones clearly differentiates it from Neandertals and their ancestors, the hominins from Sima de los Huesos, allowing for this fossil to be taxonomically assigned with confidence as H. sapiens. The navicular from the Cueva de los Torrejones is absolutely and relatively medio-laterally narrow with a low wedging index as those of fossil and modern H. sapiens, and clearly different of Neandertals. The increased discoveries and publications of new naviculars belonging to genus Homo, together with the findings of P. pardus and C. crocuta in more recent chronologies in the Iberian Peninsula, are compatible with this reevaluation. We propose a probable chronology for this fossil between 12 and 15 ka and ca. 25 ka, based on the biostratigraphy and the oldest presence of H. sapiens in the Iberian Peninsula. This work confirms the human presence within the Iberian Peninsula during the Upper Paleolithic and reopens the question of the peopling of the inner Peninsula during this period.

Raw material provenance and procurement studies are an essential research line to infer landscape exploitation, mobility dynamics and territorial management among prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups. This paper proposes an original and intuitive method, the chert abundance ratio, aimed at quantifying lithic resource occurrence in the landscape while considering the geological natural factors of an area (chert-bearing formation extent, thickness, occurrence index, size and chert content). The resource availability can be statistically compared to any archaeological assemblage distribution to define the procurement strategies, whether generalist or selective, and the mobility patterns. The study area, the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, focused in the Prades Mountains, represents a regional scenario with high chert disposal shared by several Late Upper Palaeolithic occupations. The discrimination of the procurement areas is used as a parameter for outlining the foraging radius and the territorial range, contributing to an understanding of several aspects of the settlement, such as site functions, occupation length or intensity and group size.

Strontium, carbon, and nitrogen isotopes of human bone and tooth remains have been used to reconstruct residential mobility and diet of early medieval populations at Las Gobas from the sixth to eleventh centuries. Most non-local individuals correspond to the tenth to eleventh centuries and were mostly women and infants. This residential mobility coincided with the formation of Laño village and the abandonment of artificial cave settlement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen indicate an omnivorous homogenous diet based on terrestrial plant resources, with few animal-derived proteins from livestock. Millet consumption was restricted to an earlier period of time (seventh to ninth centuries); and in later periods (tenth to eleventh centuries), mainly C3 plants such as wheat and barley were consumed. In general, there were no dietary differences between individuals according to sex or age. Sex-related dietary differences have only been observed in the tenth to eleventh centuries, when females consumed a more vegetarian diet and less animal protein. The higher δ 15N values in infants reflect the weaning effect, while the differences in δ 15N values between young adult men and young adult women can be explained as a physiological factor related to pregnancy or different origins. In a comparison with contemporaneous medieval populations in the northern Iberian Peninsula, both δ 13C and δ 15N values suggest similar foodstuff resources and diet among Christian and Muslim populations.

In the hominin fossil record, pelvic remains are sparse and are difficult to attribute taxonomically when they are not directly associated with craniodental material. Here we describe the pelvic remains from the Dinaledi Chamber in the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, which has produced hominin fossils of a new species, Homo naledi. Though this species has been attributed to Homo based on cranial and lower limb morphology, the morphology of some of the fragmentary pelvic remains recovered align more closely with specimens attributed to the species Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus africanus than they do with those of most (but not all) known species of the genus Homo. As with A. afarensis and A. africanus, H. naledi appears to have had marked lateral iliac flare and either a weakly developed or non-existent acetabulocristal buttress or a distinct, albeit weakly developed, acetabulospinous buttress. At the same time, H. naledi has robust superior pubic and ischiopubic rami and a short ischium with a narrow tuberoacetabular sulcus, similar to those found in modern humans. The fragmentary nature of the Dinaledi pelvic assemblage makes the attribution of sex and developmental age to individual specimens difficult, which in turn diminishes our ability to identify the number of individuals represented in the assemblage. At present, we can only confidently say that the pelvic fossils from Rising Star represent at least four individuals based on the presence of four overlapping right ischial fossils (whereas a minimum of 15 individuals can be identified from the Dinaledi dental assemblage). A primitive, early Australopithecus-like false pelvis combined with a derived Homo-like true pelvis is morphologically consistent with evidence from the lower ribcage and proximal femur of H. naledi. The overall similarity of H. naledi ilia to those of australopiths supports the inference, drawn from the observation of primitive pelvic morphology in the extinct species Homo floresiensis, that there is substantial variation in pelvic form within the genus Homo. In the light of these findings, we urge caution in making taxonomic attributions—even at the genus level—of isolated fossil ossa coxae.

The suite of anatomical features contributing to the unique gripping capabilities of the modern human hand evolved alongside the proliferation of Lower Palaeolithic flaked tool technologies across the Old World. Experimental studies investigating their potential co-evolution suggest that the use of flakes, handaxes, and other stone tools is facilitated by manipulative capabilities consistent with the evolutionary trajectory of the hominin hand during this period. Grip analyses have provided important contributions to this understanding. To date, however, there has been no large-scale investigation of grip diversity during flaked stone-tool use, empirical comparative analyses of grip use frequencies, or examination of ergonomic relationships between grip choice and stone tool type and form. Here, we conduct four experimental studies, using replica Lower Palaeolithic stone tools in a series of actualistic and laboratory-based contexts, to record grip type and frequency of grip use during 1067 stone tool-use events by 123 individuals. Using detailed morphometric data recorded from each tool, we demonstrate how grip choice varies according to the type and form of stone tool used, and how these relationships differ between tool-use contexts. We identify 29 grip types across all tool-use events, with significant differences recorded in their frequency of use dependent on tool type, tool form, and the context of use. Despite the influence of these three factors, there is consistency in the frequent use of a limited number (≤4) of grip types within each experiment and the consistent and seemingly forceful recruitment of the thumb and index finger. Accordingly, we argue that there are deep-rooted, ergonomically-related, regularities in how stone tools are gripped during their use, that these regularities may have been present during the use of stone tools by Plio-Pleistocene hominins, and any subsequent selective pressures would likely have been focused on the first and second digit.

From its initial appearance at ~1.7 Ma, the Acheulean was prevalent through a vast chronological span of hominin behavioural evolution that lasted nearly 1.5 million years. The origins and production patterns of large bifacial cutting tools (‘LCTs’) – the marker of the Acheulean techno-complex – and the systematic changes in this behaviour through time are gaining increasing interest in paleoanthropology. Here we provide a synthesis of early Acheulean LCT variation in a landscape context by analysing assemblages from four different quasi-contemporaneous (~1.4 Ma) sites from the Koobi Fora Formation. We characterize this variation using both 3D geometric morphometric and descriptive approaches. The expansive lateral exposures of fluvial and lacustrine sediments, as well as the associated tephrostratigraphy of the Koobi Fora Formation provide the landscape context that enables these comparative analyses. Our study demonstrates that when multiple contemporaneous early Acheulean localities are analysed together, a broader picture of LCT variability is elucidated. Four sites at Koobi Fora appear to represent a single system of lithic economy, characterized by a discrete trajectory of changes in LCT size and shape. These sites have ranges of LCT forms which appear to represent different but overlapping stages on a single reduction trajectory. Certain sites exhibit the full reduction trajectory while others exhibit only fragments of this trajectory. Other inter-site lithic proxies further complement these patterns in LCT variability. We explore patterns of site function, mobility and hominin landscape use, all of which may be suggestive of a depth of planning in early Acheulean hominins wherein technological activities were undertaken in substantial anticipation of future needs.

Scapular anatomy of Paranthropus boisei from Ileret, Kenya, D. J. Green et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 125, December 2018, Pages 181-192

KNM-ER 47000A is a new 1.52 Ma hominin scapular fossil belonging to an associated partial skeleton from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya (FwJj14E, Area 1A). This fossil effectively doubles the record of Early Pleistocene scapulae from East Africa, with KNM-WT 15000 (early African Homo erectus) preserving the only other known scapula to date. KNM-ER 47000A consists of a complete glenoid cavity preserving a portion of the scapular spine and neck, the proximal half of the acromion, and a majority of the axillary border. A sufficient amount of anatomy is preserved to compare KNM-ER 47000A with scapulae of several Australopithecus species, extinct Homo, and living hominoids. The glenohumeral joint of KNM-ER 47000A is more laterally oriented than those of great apes and Australopithecus, aligning it closely with KNM-WT 15000 and modern humans. While this morphology does not imply a strong commitment to arboreality, its scapular spine is obliquely oriented—as in gorillas and some Australopithecus fossils—particularly when compared to the more horizontal orientation seen in KNM-WT 15000 and modern humans. Such a spine orientation suggests a narrow yet long infraspinous region, a feature that has been attributed to suspensory taxa. Accordingly, the morphology of KNM-ER 47000A presents conflicting behavioral implications. Nonetheless, a multivariate consideration of the available scapular traits aligns KNM-ER 47000A and Australopithecus with great apes, whereas KNM-WT 15000 resembles modern humans. The scapular morphology of KNM-ER 47000A is unique among fossil and extant hominoids and its morphological differences from KNM-WT 15000 strengthen the attribution of KNM-ER 47000 to Paranthropus boisei as opposed to early Homo. As the first evidence of scapular morphology in P. boisei, KNM-ER 47000A provides important new information on variation in hominin shoulder and upper limb anatomy from this critical period of hominin evolutionary history.

Current evidence suggests that some Neanderthal populations engaged in modern human-like forms of symbolic behavior, including: the extensive and systematic use of ochers and other prepared mineral pigments (i.e., paint; Dayet et al., 2014; Heyes et al., 2016); use of perforated shells and various other modified and unmodified objects and substances as ornaments (e.g., ‘jewelry’), including bird feathers (Finlayson et al., 2012) and claws (Radov cic et al., 2015); manufacture of elaborate structures of unknown purpose inside deep cave passages (Jaubert et al., 2016); and engraving of non-figurative markings on bones (Majkic et al., 2017) and cortical areas of flaked stone artifacts (Majkic et al., 2018), and also on immobile rock surfaces (i.e., at Gorham's Cave; RodríguezVidal et al., 2014). Scientific opinion is deeply divided over the meaning of these behaviorsdthe empirical evidence for which, in some instances, is not yet unanimously accepted. Indeed, the notion that even late-surviving Neanderthals had acquired aspects of cognitive ‘modernity’, either independently or through direct cultural contact (including interbreeding) with the first modern humans to enter Europe, remains a subject of lively debate.(...)

Current hypotheses regarding the disappearance of Neanderthals (NEA) in Europe fall into two main categories: climate change, and competition. Here we review current research and existing mathematical models that deal with this question, and we propose an approach that incorporates and permits the investigation of the current hypotheses. We have developed a set of differential equations that model population dynamics of anatomically modern humans (AMH) and NEA, their ecological relations to prey species, and their mutual interactions. The model allows investigators to explore each of the two main categories or combinations of both, as well as various forms of competition and/or interference within the context of competition. The model is designed to include a wide variety of hypotheses and associated archaeological evidence, not focused on a particular hypothesis regarding NEA extinction. It therefore provides investigators with a model to impartially examine various hypotheses (individually or in combination) regarding climatic effects, differential resource use, differences in birth/death rates and carrying capacities, competition, interference, disease, interbreeding, and cultural distinctions that might have led to the extinction of NEA. Moreover, the model accommodates the design of scenarios concerning—for example—population growth, hunting, competitive interactions, cultural differences, and climatic influences to investigate which concepts best explain the rapid disappearance of NEA. In addition, our model is a modification of the classical Lotka-Volterra model for a wide range of any two populations competing for a common resource. Specifically, our model explicitly includes the resource as an additional variable, a dependence of important population parameters on resource, as well as accommodates treating one of the populations as invasive.

Site-specific environmental and climatic records are crucial to our understanding of human behavior and cognition during the African Middle Stone Age. This is particularly true of the South African Middle Stone Age record with its enigmatic and relatively short lived Still Bay and Howieson's Poort industries. Existing environmental models for the South African Middle Stone Age are primarily contingent on global climatic data which are temporally, spatially, and/or stratigraphically separated from archaeological sites. The well-dated and extensive Middle Stone Age sequence of Sibudu provides a rare opportunity to gather the high-resolution on-site data which are sorely needed to evaluate behavior-environment links ‘on the ground.’ Stable carbon and oxygen isotope data were collected from faunal tooth enamel samples spanning the entire Sibudu sequence excavated by Wadley from >77 to ~38 thousand years ago (ka). Two periods of habitat change are identified at Sibudu. The pre-Still Bay (>73 ka) is characterized by more closed, likely forested, and mesic conditions than the rest of the sequence. Late and final Middle Stone Age industries (~48–38 ka) at Sibudu are associated with more open and likely drier conditions than earlier. No major environmental or habitat changes based on stable isotope data, however, are identified in the Sibudu record concordant with the Still Bay, Howieson's Poort, or post-Howieson's Poort techno-complexes. These results suggest that social and demographic changes were presumably as significant as environmental conditions, if not more so, in behavioral transitions at Sibudu.

Understanding hunting technology is pivotal in the study of adaptive and innovative forces that influenced the evolution of prehistoric societies. The manufacture, design and use of hunting weapons involve technical processes such as those of tool miniaturization, blank standardization and projection modes, but also influence broader demographic structures such as human subsistence strategies, territorial organization and socio-economic structures. Here we present a unique discovery from a newly discovered site at Les Prés de Laure (Var, France). Excavations revealed a multi-stratified open-air site with archaeological units that were rapidly buried by the alluvium of the Jabron River. In a Gravettian layer dated between 25 and 23.5 ka cal BP, within an area apparently dedicated to horse carcasses processing and consumption, 11 backed points were discovered in direct association with altered bone remains. Wear and residue analysis of the lithic backed points in combination with complementary experimental data converge to indicate that the find represents a bone point armed with lithic barbs and used as hunting weapon. This discovery provides new evidence for the manufacture and use of hunting weaponry in a Gravettian context and stimulates discussion on Paleolithic weapon function and design, offering a unique window into the characterization of prehistoric hunting strategies.

An apparently unique part of the Earlier Stone Age record of Africa are a series of bone tools dated to between ~2 and ~1 Ma from the sites of Olduvai in East Africa, and Swartkrans, Drimolen and Sterkfontein in South Africa. The South and East African bone tools are quite different, with the South African tools having a number of distinct characters formed through utilisation, whereas the East African tools are flaked tools that in some cases mirror stone tool production. The South African bone tools currently consists of 108 specimens from the three sites above. They have been interpreted as being used for digging into homogenous grained soil to access high quality food resources, or as a multi-purpose tools. It has generally been assumed that they were made by Paranthropus robustus, as this species is most often associated with bone tool bearing deposits, especially when high numbers occur. However, early Homo is also found at these sites. Here we report on two fossils from the Paranthopus robustus site of Kromdraai B, which has only yielded one stone tool to date, that have the same characteristic wear patterns as the bone tools identified at other sites. We also describe a small collection (N = 6) of the first stone tools recovered from the bone tool and Paranthropus and early Homo bearing site of Drimolen Main Quarry. These discoveries further increase the association between bone and stone tool technologies in the South African Earlier Stone Age. However, there remains no direct correlation between the occurrence of bone or stone tools and a particular species being found at the different sites. We then review the place of these bone tools within the South African archaeological record. They appear to be a consistent part of the South African record for around a million years or so between <~2.3 and >~0.8 Ma. While they change little over this time, they occur with both Oldowan and Acheulian assemblages.

In this paper the new excavations at Klasies River main site are introduced and the first results presented and linked with previous work, establishing a baseline for future reporting. Data from the earliest phase of the SAS member, comprising the basal SASU and SASL sub-members from caves 1 and 1A are discussed. A new U-Th date of 126.0 ± 1.5 ka on flowstone associated with fallen tufa material within the base of the SASU sub-member provides a maximum age for this part of the sequence. The lowermost SASU sub-member formed most likely around 100 000 years ago during a period associated with increased precipitation whereas the age of the underlying SASL sub-member is uncertain. The SASU sub-member contains in situ deposits that include hearths, in contrast to the underlying SASL sub-member that was subject to post depositional disturbance. Despite the different site formation processes the lithic industry of both sub-members is similar although quartz utilization is somewhat more prominent in the SASL sub-member. The main reduction strategy involves a parallel unidirectional convergent method to produce quartzite blade and point blanks with rare retouch. Relatively more browsing fauna and riparian species, indicating more closed environments, occur in the SASU layers. The older SASL sub-member, not previously described as an independent unit, contains relatively more grazers suggesting drier and more open habitats. It is vital to link evidence from coastal sites such as Klasies River to data from the interior to promote insight into modern human origins from a wider landscape perspective. The work of James Brink, to whom this paper is dedicated, is invaluable in developing this connection.

This paper provides an interpretation of the chronology of the Early Later Stone Age (Early LSA) in South Africa and Southern Namibia. The Early LSA tradition first appears in Africa at Border Cave between ~46 and 44ka, and in Southern Africa this tradition slowly appears to the west, replacing groups producing Middle Stone Age (MSA) technologies. In this region, the latest transformation from MSA to Early LSA occurs in southern Namibia between 25 and 23ka and perhaps in secluded areas in the interior as late as 21ka. The timing and causes of this dispersion are poorly understood. The transition from Early LSA technologies to the Robberg Industry appears to be a rapid sub-continental wide cultural transformation.

This paper presents the histological characterisation of a selection of worked bone artefacts from Middle Stone Age layers at Sibudu cave, South Africa. Histographic rendering is achieved using high-resolution Computed Tomography, which is non-destructive and facilitates three-dimensional histologic analysis. Excellent congruency in image quality was achieved with previous studies using this method. The results show that most of the artefact fragments contain mostly primary lamellar tissue, which is the bone tissue best adapted to withstand impact stresses. This indicates that bone with greater elastic properties was chosen. Histological characterisation allows the identification of animal taxa. Based on the sample analysed in this paper, Perissodactyla bone was used predominantly in the older layers at the site. Artiodactyla are represented throughout but appear far more frequently in the later (post-Howiesons Poort onwards) layers. Some of the Artiodactyla specimens have high proportions of Haversian tissue, reducing elasticity. The higher percentages of Haversian tissue in the post-Howiesons Poort artefacts relative to Holocene examples from southern Africa suggests that people may have started experimenting with bone from different animal taxa at this time and had not yet learned to eliminate the mechanically weaker secondary tissue. Apart from mechanical considerations, possible cultural constraints governing raw material selection is also explored. (...)

Beginning more than 1.5 million years ago, early humans made stone handaxes in a style known as the Acheulean - the longest lasting tool-making tradition in prehistory. New research led by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has documented an Acheulean presence in the Arabian Peninsula dating to less than 190,000 years ago, revealing that the Arabian Acheulean ended just before or at the same time as the earliest Homo sapiens dispersals into the region. Much attention has been given to understanding the spread of our own species, Homo sapiens, first within Africa and then beyond. However, less attention has been given to where diverse groups of close evolutionary cousins lived in Eurasia immediately prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens. Understanding this is critical because the spatial and temporal characteristics of such groups reveal the human and cultural landscape first encountered by our species on leaving Africa. (...)

I tanti incroci di Neanderthal e Homo sapiens, 27 novembre 2018

È assai improbabile che un unico incrocio tra Neanderthal ed esseri umani possa aver dato origine all'attuale distribuzione dei frammenti genetici neanderthaliani nel nostro DNA. Lo afferma una nuova analisi, effettuata anche grazie all'aiuto dell'apprendimento automatico, che supporta l'ipotesi di contatti e incroci molteplici avvenuti in epoche diverse (...)

Some of the world's oldest cave paintings have revealed how ancient people had relatively advanced knowledge of astronomy. The artworks, at sites across Europe, are not simply depictions of wild animals, as was previously thought. Instead, the animal symbols represent star constellations in the night sky, and are used to represent dates and mark events such as comet strikes, analysis suggests. They reveal that, perhaps as far back as 40,000 years ago, humans kept track of time using knowledge of how the position of the stars slowly changes over thousands of years. The findings suggest that ancient people understood an effect caused by the gradual shift of Earth's rotational axis. Discovery of this phenomenon, called precession of the equinoxes, was previously credited to the ancient Greeks. Around the time that Neanderthals became extinct, and perhaps before mankind settled in Western Europe, people could define dates to within 250 years, the study shows. The findings indicate that the astronomical insights of ancient people were far greater than previously believed. Their knowledge may have aided navigation of the open seas, with implications for our understanding of prehistoric human migration. Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Kent studied details of Palaeolithic and Neolithic art featuring animal symbols at sites in Turkey, Spain, France and Germany. (...)

It has long been proposed that pre-modern hominin impacts drove extinctions and shaped the evolutionary history of Africa’s exceptionally diverse large mammal communities, but this hypothesis has yet to be rigorously tested. We analyzed eastern African herbivore communities spanning the past 7 million years—encompassing the entirety of hominin evolutionary history—to test the hypothesis that top-down impacts of tool-bearing, meat-eating hominins contributed to the demise of megaherbivores prior to the emergence of Homo sapiens. We document a steady, long-term decline of megaherbivores beginning ~4.6 million years ago, long before the appearance of hominin species capable of exerting top-down control of large mammal communities and predating evidence for hominin interactions with megaherbivore prey. Expansion of C4 grasslands can account for the loss of megaherbivore diversity.

We present here a newly developed software package named Artifact GeoMorph Toolbox 3-D (AGMT3-D). It is intended to provide archaeologists with a simple and easy-to-use tool for performing 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis on 3-D digital models of archaeological artifacts. It requires no prior knowledge of programming or proficiency in statistics. AGMT3-D consists of a data-acquisition procedure for automatically positioning 3-D models in space and fitting them with grids of 3-D semi-landmarks. It also provides a number of analytical tools and procedures that allow the processing and statistical analysis of the data, including generalized Procrustes analysis, principal component analysis, a warp tool, automatic calculation of shape variabilities and statistical tests. It provides an output of quantitative, objective and reproducible results in numerical, textual and graphic formats. These can be used to answer archaeologically significant questions relating to morphologies and morphological variabilities in artifact assemblages. Following the presentation of the software and its functions, we apply it to a case study addressing the effects of different types of raw material on the morphologies and morphological variabilities present in an experimentally produced Acheulian handaxe assemblage. The results show that there are statistically significant differences between the mean shapes and shape variabilities of handaxes produced on flint and those produced on basalt. With AGMT3-D, users can analyze artifact assemblages and address questions that are deducible from the morphologies and morphological variabilities of material culture assemblages. These questions can relate to issues of, among others, relative chronology, cultural affinities, tool function and production technology. AGMT3-D is aimed at making 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis more accessible to archaeologists, in the hope that this method will become a tool commonly used by archaeologists. (...)

A short research history and current interpretations of evidence from Middle Paleolithic sites in Croatia are presented. Sites are situated in two main geographic regions, continental and Adriatic, divided by the Dinaric Mountains, providing two different landscapes for the adaptation of Mousterian people and their settlement system. Fossil human remains are discussed from both paleoanthropological and genetic perspectives within their archaeological framework. Interpretations of sites were based on analyses of both old and new archaeological collections (material recovered by recent excavations). Mousterian lithic material originated from three different types of sites: cave sites, open air sites and an underwater site. Research results are presented from various perspectives.

The recently discovered Vlakno Cave, situated in the central part of the island of Dugi Otok (Croatia), is one of the most prominent Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites along the eastern part of the Adriatic coast. Its uninterupted stratigraphy offers a rare opportunity to study the response of Pleistocene populations to a post-glacial environment. The artifact assemblage shows a gradual transition toward a typical Mesolithic assemblage, but with strongly pronounced Epigravettian traditions. Subtle changes within mostly uniform material culture are best seen in the ornamental assemblage, but similar patterns can be observed in subsistence strategies and lithic production. The Epigravettian deposits are dominated with the remains of red deer. Changes can be observed with the beginning of the Holocene, when marked diversification of mammalian taxa is accompanied with an increasing number of fish and molluscs remains.

Vindija cave is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Europe, containing a large sample of Neandertal skeletal remains associated with both a distinctive lithic industry and a rich faunal assemblage. Results of detailed faunal analyses from layers G3 and G1 are presented in this paper together with a taphonomic analysis of the hominin remains from these layers. Various agents of modification on the hominin and faunal samples were identified based on the presence of different marks on the bones. The data obtained from these analyses are used, together with assessment of the associated lithic industry, for a reconstruction of Neandertal behaviour in layers G3 and G1. The results of these analyses are critical for understanding the subsistence strategies of the Vindija Neandertals and for a comparison of their behaviour between different occupational levels. The picture of Neandertals as highly effective predators who occasionally defleshed human bones, possibly with the purpose of cannibalism, is reinforced by the results of this study. The Vindija Neandertals practiced broad exploitation of local lithic resources and modified their raw material acquisition strategy at the end of the Middle Paleolithic. Taken together, these results provide further support for the diversity of Neandertal behaviour in Europe.

The recent publication of a human cranium, dating to ca. 436–390 ka, from Gruta da Aroeira provides an important input to the debate about human evolution during the Middle Pleistocene in Europe and the origin of the Neanderthals. This cranium, chronologically located to Marine Isotope Stage 11c (MIS 11c), appears in association with Acheulean lithic tools and several faunal remains, among which cervids and equids are predominant. The small vertebrate assemblage associated with the Aroeira-3 cranium suggests an environment and a climate related to an open-woodland landscape and relatively mild and humid conditions, probably in connection with the end of MIS 11c. Moreover, comparison with other Middle Pleistocene Iberian sites with human remains suggests that these hominins lived in open forest areas during mild climatic substages.

Similar cranial trauma prevalence among Neanderthals and Upper Palaeolithic modern humans, di J. Beier, N. Anthes, J. Wahl, K. Harvati, "Nature", volume 563, pages 686–690 (2018), 14 November 2018

Neanderthals are commonly depicted as leading dangerous lives and permanently struggling for survival. This view largely relies on the high incidences of trauma that have been reported1,2 and have variously been attributed to violent social behaviour3,4, highly mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyles2 or attacks by carnivores5. The described Neanderthal pattern of predominantly cranial injuries is further thought to reflect violent encounters with large prey mammals, resulting from the use of close-range hunting weapons1. These interpretations directly shape our understanding of Neanderthal lifestyles, health and hunting abilities, yet mainly rest on descriptive, case-based evidence. Quantitative, population-level studies of traumatic injuries are rare. Here we reassess the hypothesis of higher cranial trauma prevalence among Neanderthals using a population-level approach—accounting for preservation bias and other contextual data—and an exhaustive fossil database. We show that Neanderthals and early Upper Palaeolithic anatomically modern humans exhibit similar overall incidences of cranial trauma, which are higher for males in both taxa, consistent with patterns shown by later populations of modern humans. Beyond these similarities, we observed species-specific, age-related variation in trauma prevalence, suggesting that there were differences in the timing of injuries during life or that there was a differential mortality risk of trauma survivors in the two groups. Finally, our results highlight the importance of preservation bias in studies of trauma prevalence.

The study of cut marks in archaeological contexts is of great importance for understanding the subsistence strategies of past human groups. Many authors have indicated differences to exist between the cut marks produced by different tools and when the same types of tool have been made from different raw materials. The present work examines the cut marks made during the experimental butchering of a red deer (Cervus elaphus) using simple quartz flakes, with those found on fossilised animal remains at the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter site (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) likely to have been made with similar flakes. The methodology followed was that of Domínguez-Rodrigo et al. (2009), which was originally designed to differentiate between cut marks and trampling marks, but which here was tested as a method of distinguishing between the raw materials from which cutting tools were made. The results were also compared to those made with other types of tool/raw material reported in the literature. The present results confirm the above ideas: the marks made experimentally by the quartz flakes are very similar to those seen on the faunal remains from the level F of Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter site, but different to those made by other tools or by flakes made from other materials. They also show, however, that different cut mark morphologies are largely independent of the size of the animal butchered, and of the anatomical element on which they appear.

Using morphological, stratigraphic, paleoecological and geoarcheological data, as well as radiocarbon datings, we reconstructed the evolution of the coastal plain of Mondragone, in the northern sector of the Campania Plain, during the last 40 kyr. The Late Pleistocene-Holocene morphodynamics of this coastland were mainly dictated by mutual interaction between tectonics, sea-level fluctuations, Quaternary volcanic eruptions, and subsidence. These processes also influenced the dynamics of prehistoric and proto-historic human populations. Actually, the discovery over the last 25 years of several archaeological sites referable to Upper Paleolithic-Early Iron Age as well as the recent finding of artifacts, fauna and, for the third time in Campania, of Neanderthal human remains in the Roccia San Sebastiano cave, demonstrates that the coastal plain of Mondragone had always hosted human settlements. This constant frequentation is confirmed by, both emerged and submerged, ruins of Roman age and Middle Ages, and the high level of urbanization of the modern town. The interpretation of four borehole stratigraphic sequences down to 22 m bgl, of microfossils analysis and sediment facies highlighted the succession of transition, from marine to freshwater, and continental paleoenvironments in this coastal plain. These wetlands developed in climatic conditions that varied from glacial (Würm) to postglacial phases. Some deposits are interpreted as marshy sediments accumulated in shallow, elongated ponds behind sandy beach or dunes, which existed almost up to the present. The reconstruction of landscape morphodynamic evolution shows that after the “super eruption” of the Campanian Ignimbrite (∼39 kyr BP) the physiography abruptly changed. A wide gulf characterized by gray tuff cliffs and facing northwest formed, along the littoral between the Garigliano and the Volturno river mouths during the volcanic stasis of the Phlegrean Fields, which lasted about ten thousand years after the violent ignimbrite eruption. In this period, the presence of Neanderthal and of a settlement in the Roccia San Sebastiano cave, at the foot of Mt. Massico, is proven by the findings of an excavation. Later (~20 kyr BP - Holocene), subsidence and sea-level rise activated strong erosion processes due to the postglacial marine ingression, with a consequent rapid shoreline recession and the genesis of transition environments. Finally, according to the results of previous multidisciplinary research carried out on other Campania coastal plains, adjacent or not to the studied area, distinct generations of post-Campanian Ignimbrite - Holocene coastal lakes (lagoons, ponds) and waterlogged environments (marshes, quagmires) were recognized, slightly below and at the current sea-level.

Marine faunal remains from Grotta d’Oriente (Favignana Island, NW Sicily) offer invaluable snapshots of human-coastal environment interaction in the central Mediterranean from the Late Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene. The long-term shellfish and fish records reflect human exploitation of coastal environments undergoing considerable reorganizations during the postglacial sea level rise and the progressive isolation of Favignana from mainland Sicily. We detected an intensification of marine resource exploitation between ~9.6 ka and ~7.8 ka BP, which corresponds with the isolation of Favignana Island and, later on, with the introduction of early agro-pastoral economy in this region. We suggest that a higher investment in marine resource exploitation by late foragers and early farmers in NW Sicily was also supported by an increase in marine productivity in the south Tyrrhenian Sea in the Middle Holocene.

Howiesons Poort (HP) sites, over the past decades, have provided exceptional access to anthropogenic remains that are enhancing our understanding of early modern human behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. Here, we analyse the technological and typological trends in the lithic record that form part of these behaviours, based on the HP sequence recently excavated at Klipdrift Shelter, located on the southern Cape coast of South Africa. This study contributes to enhance knowledge on the mechanisms of changes that occurred during the transition to the post-HP. Despite patterns of continuity observed, notably for core reduction methods, the seven successive lithic assemblages show significant changes in the typological characteristics and raw material selection but also in the relative importance of blade production over time. However, these changes are not necessarily synchronic and occur either as gradual processes or as abrupt technological shifts. Consequently, we cross-examine the association between the lithic phasing and other anthropogenic remains within the HP sequence at Klipdrift Shelter. We explore the implications of these patterns of changes in terms of cultural behaviours and population dynamics during the HP and we highlight the relationship between the different phases of the HP sequence at Klipdrift Shelter and those from other South African HP sites. (...)

I genomi che raccontano i primordi della storia umana in Africa, 03 novembre 2018

L'analisi genetica di alcuni gruppi etnici poco studiati sta aiutando i ricercatori a comprendere i movimenti delle popolazioni che vivevano in Africa decine di migliaia di anni fa, prima delle migrazioni che portarono i nostri antenati verso nord e verso l'Europa (...)

Middle Pleistocene hominins occupied Europe as early as 700 ka. Data on subsistence and adaptation to environment remain limited due to the small number of sites, especially from 700 to 500 ka. Current consensus suggests that Middle Pleistocene populations periodically peopled and depopulated areas of Europe in response to climatic fluctuations. Most occupations are located in the South, while the North-West was only occupied during favorable climatic periods. During this time, significant behavioral changes occur, such as bifacial technology and more complex modes of flaking. Further north in France, in the Loire basin, the site of la Noira has well-developed bifacial tools at around 700 ka, The site is located along a river with abundant millstone slabs which were flaked on the site suggesting it may have served partially as a lithic workshop. We employ use-wear and residue analysis (optical light and scanning electron microscopy) of stone tools to reconstruct early Acheulean hominin behavior. While the lithics are composed largely of retouched and unretouched debitage, large cutting tools (bifaces and cleavers) are also present. We demonstrate that la Noira was not only a lithic workshop, but that a broad range of resources were being used by the hominins at the site, including wood, plants, mammals, and possibly birds and fish. Finally, we compare our results with contemporary sites and suggest that, in the early European Acheulean, Middle Pleistocene hominins had detailed local environmental knowledge, and were able to adapt to a wide range of environments, including cool, temperate, and Mediterranean.

Climatic and environmental changes of the Middle Pleistocene in Europe provide the context for an important phase in the evolution and dispersal of early hominins. Pollen records from terrestrial and marine sediment sequences reveal patterns not usually visible in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from archaeological sites alone and show that hominin evolution took place against a background of marked environmental change as forests expanded and contracted in concert with global and regional climatic shifts. It is rare to find archaeological material in stratigraphically long and continuous palaeoenvironmental sequences, yet this is what is needed to enable particular phases of hominin evolution to be securely associated with climatic and environmental changes. At the well-known Middle Pleistocene archaeological site of Ceprano in Italy we have been able to produce a pollen record from the sedimentary unit directly below the stratum of the hominin remains. The new pollen data from Ceprano are presented here in full for the first time and provide a detailed picture of interglacial vegetation development during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13. This evidence contributes significantly to our knowledge of the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem responses to climatic change during this period and helps to further constrain the age of the hominin remains. New sites combining both archaeology and long, continuous high quality palaeoecological records would help clarify the relationship between hominin presence and palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions. In the meantime, better communication between the research communities can also go a long way to improving our understanding of the links between the two.

The aim of this work is to describe the taphonomic signatures of the Aroeira 3 cranium, with a specific focus on cranial breakage, comparing the cranium with other Middle and Upper Pleistocene hominin fossils in order to approximate the cause of death and the biological agencies and geologic processes involved in the taphonomic record of this specimen. Aroeira-3 was recovered from Acheulean layer X of Gruta da Aroeira (Portugal), dated to 390–436 ka.
Taphonomic analyses noted surface modifications employing standard methods. The cranial breakage pattern of Aroeira 3 was analyzed to assess the presence/absence of perimortem (fresh bone) and postmortem (dry bone) fractures and the possible causes of perimortem skull bone fractures.
Aroeira 3 presents substantial bone loss of the left supraorbital arch and the outer cranial table of the frontal squama. Most of the fractures present features consistent with postmortem injuries. The fracture to the posterior region of the parietal bone, however, displays features more usually present in perimortem bone fractures. No evidence of anthropogenic activity or of carnivore modification has been identified. None of the expected features of interpersonal conflict are observed. Finally, the bone loss in the frontal squama and the supraorbital arch could be attributed to different agencies, and a traumatic event cannot be totally ruled out as origin of the bone alteration.
Cannibalism, secondary treatment of the corpse and accumulation induced by carnivores can all be discarded, making an accident the most plausible explanation for the cranial fracture.

At the root of numerous archaeological research projects is a need to understand how mobility impacted the lives of our ancestors. Recent technological advances have made it easy for archaeologists to rely on Geographic Information Systems' least-cost path tools to identify the single easiest path to move between two points set in a realistically rugged landscape; however, least-cost path tools work on the assumption that the whole world is perfectly known, which does not represent human mobility accurately in all cases. Here, we present an agent-based least-cost path (AB-LCP) model, which does not make the assumption of complete landscape knowledge, and allows creating multiple anisotropic least-cost paths that take the traveler's local perspective and incomplete knowledge into consideration. We demonstrate the model's potential through a case study of the geographical distribution of Cantabrian (Spain) Lower Magdalenian engraved scapulae, which provides an interesting extension to current understanding of Magdalenian mobility, showcasing the flexibility and potential of this new LCP tool to study archaeological landscapes. The results of our study suggest that the studied engraved scapulae may have been created at El Castillo, and then brought to Altamira for transmission to other sites. The results show that El Castillo was strategically located on a bottleneck for coastal-to-plain mobility, whereas Altamira was located along social paths connecting other contemporaneous sites. This supports the already-accepted notion that both sites may have served for Upper Paleolithic population aggregation. However, our research builds on this idea by explaining why these two sites would have become so important. We suggest that Altamira was strategically placed near the boundary of inter-regional groups, thus taking the role as an aggregation site for unrelated populations, whereas El Castillo would have been used by the intra-regional group population to congregate during the summer and take advantage of the local mosaic of resources.

The size and shape of the Neandertal thorax has been debated since the first discovery of Neandertal ribs more than 150 years ago, with workers proposing different interpretations ranging from a Neandertal thoracic morphology that is indistinguishable from modern humans, to one that was significantly different from them. Here, we provide a virtual 3D reconstruction of the thorax of the adult male Kebara 2 Neandertal. Our analyses reveal that the Kebara 2 thorax is significantly different but not larger from that of modern humans, wider in its lower segment, which parallels his wide bi-iliac breadth, and with a more invaginated vertebral column. Kinematic analyses show that rib cages that are wider in their lower segment produce greater overall size increments (respiratory capacity) during inspiration. We hypothesize that Neandertals may have had a subtle, but somewhat different breathing mechanism compared to modern humans. (...)

· Il respiro profondo dei Neanderthal, "Le Scienze", 31 ottobre 2018

A new study, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, suggests that early hominin dispersals beyond Africa did not involve adaptations to environmental extremes, such as to arid and harsh deserts. The discovery of stone tools and cut-marks on fossil animal remains at the site of Ti's al Ghadah provides definitive evidence for hominins in Saudi Arabia at least 100,000 years earlier than previously known. Stable isotope analysis of the fossil fauna indicates a dominance of grassland vegetation, with aridity levels similar to those found in open savanna settings in eastern Africa today. The stable isotope data indicates that early dispersals of our archaic ancestors were part of a range expansion rather than a result of novel adaptations to new environmental contexts outside Africa. Studies of early and late dispersals of hominin populations beyond Africa are important for understanding the course of global human evolution and what it means to be human. Although the species that make up the genus Homo are often termed 'human' in academic and public discourse, this evolutionary group (or genus), which emerged in Africa around 3 million years ago, is highly diverse. Indeed, there is continuing debate as to what extent our own species Homo sapiens, which emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago, showed unique ecological plasticity in adapting to novel environments compared to other hominin members in the genus Homo. (...)

At the site of Steenbokfontein 9KR, virtually 80% of the lithic blanks presented retouch—an extreme proportion for Middle Stone Age assemblages. The high percentage of putative retouch led us to investigate whether post-depositional processes played a role in the preservation of the lithic assemblage. We designed and performed an experiment that reproduced all the archaeological conditions inferred from the site formation analyses to determine if the archaeological assemblage was trampled or retouched. We defined several qualitative attributes and studied both trampled and retouched experimental samples, and compared them to the archaeological material. We subsequently performed different statistical analyses and a correspondence analysis with all the macro qualitative attributes that we defined. We were then able to discern which attributes were the most eloquent variables and assess the usefulness of a multivariate analysis in discriminating between trampling and retouch.

The south of Iberia conserves an important group of Palaeolithic rock art sites. The graphisms have been mostly attributed to the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods, while the possibility that older remains exist has provoked extensive debate. This circumstance has been linked to both the cited periods, until recently, due to the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the extreme southwest of Europe as well as the non-existence of some of the early periods of Palaeolithic art documented in northern Iberia. This study presents the results of interdisciplinary research conducted in Las Ventanas Cave. These results enabled us to identify a new Palaeolithic rock art site. The technical, stylistic and temporal traits point to certain similarities with the range of exterior deep engravings in Cantabrian Palaeolithic rock art. Ventanas appears to corroborate the age attributed to those kinds of graphic expression and points to the early arrival of the Upper Palaeolithic in the south of Iberia. Importantly, the results provide information on the pre-Solutrean date attributed to trilinear hind figures. These findings challenge the supposed Neanderthal survival idea at one of the main late Middle Palaeolithic southern Iberian sites (Carigüela) and, due to the parallels between them and an engraving attributed to this period in Gibraltar, it raises the possibility of interaction between modern humans and Neanderthals in the extreme southwest of Europe. (...)

· Correction: Pre-Solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas Cave (Andalusia, Spain)

There are 26 bones in each foot (52 in total), meaning that roughly a quarter of the human skeleton consists of foot bones. Yet, early hominin foot fossils are frustratingly rare, making it quite difficult to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the human foot. Despite the continued paucity of hominid or hominin foot fossils from the late Miocene and early Pliocene, the last decade has witnessed the discovery of an extraordinary number of early hominin foot bones, inviting a reassessment of how the human foot evolved, and providing fresh new evidence for locomotor diversity throughout hominin evolution. Here, we provide a review of our current understanding of the evolutionary history of the hominin foot.

Aggiornamento 12 ottobre

Liang Bua, the type site of Homo floresiensis, is a limestone cave on the Indonesian island of Flores with sedimentary deposits currently known to range in age from about 190 thousand years (ka) ago to the present. Recent revision of the stratigraphy and chronology of this depositional sequence suggests that skeletal remains of H. floresiensis are between ~100 and 60 ka old, while cultural evidence of this taxon occurs until ~50 ka ago. Here we examine the compositions of the faunal communities and stone artifacts, by broad taxonomic groups and raw materials, throughout the ~190 ka time interval preserved in the sequence. Major shifts are observed in both the faunal and stone artifact assemblages that reflect marked changes in paleoecology and hominin behavior, respectively. Our results suggest that H. floresiensis and Stegodon florensis insularis, along with giant marabou stork (Leptoptilos robustus) and vulture (Trigonoceps sp.), were likely extinct by ~50 ka ago. Moreover, an abrupt and statistically significant shift in raw material preference due to an increased use of chert occurs ~46 thousand calibrated radiocarbon (14C) years before present (ka cal. BP), a pattern that continues through the subsequent stratigraphic sequence. If an increased preference for chert does, in fact, characterize Homo sapiens assemblages at Liang Bua, as previous studies have suggested (e.g., Moore et al., 2009), then the shift observed here suggests that modern humans arrived on Flores by ~46 ka cal. BP, which would be the earliest cultural evidence of modern humans in Indonesia.

This study provides a detailed reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental conditions that prevailed during one of the periods of modern human migration out of Africa and their occupation of the Eastern Mediterranean-Levant during the Late Middle Paleolithic-Early Upper Paleolithic. Tracing the past vegetation and climate within the Eastern Mediterranean-Levant region is largely based on a south-eastern Mediterranean marine pollen record covering the last 90 kyr (core MD-9509). The various palynomorphs were linked to distinct vegetation zones that were correlated to the two climate systems affecting the study area: the low-latitude monsoon system and the North Atlantic-Mediterranean climate system. The bioprovince palynological markers show that during the period between ∼56 and 44 ka, which covers the early part of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), there was an increase in transportation of pollen from Nilotic origin and a rise in dinoflagellate cyst ratios. These changes coincided with maximum insolation values at 65°N, which led to an enhancement in Nile River discharge into the Eastern Mediterranean following the intensification of the African monsoonal system. At the same time, the rise in Mediterranean arboreal pollen values (broadleaved, coniferous and deciduous temperate trees) is most likely driven by increased precipitation related to the intensification of the North Atlantic-Mediterranean climate system. The ∼56–44 ka wet event coincides with Dansgaard-Oeschger interstadials 14 and 12 and with a warming phase in the Levant, as evidenced by the melting of permafrost along the higher elevations of Mount Hermon. We suggest that African modern humans were able to cross the harsher arid areas due to the intensification of the monsoonal system during the first part of MIS 3, and inhabit the Eastern Mediterranean-Levant region where climatic conditions were favorable (wetter and warmer), even in the currently semiarid/steppe regions.

The Neanderthal body was more robust and energetically costly than the bodies of anatomically modern humans (AMH). Different metabolic budgets between competing populations of Neanderthals and AMH may have been a factor in the varied ranges of behavior and timelines for Neanderthal extinction that we see in the Paleolithic archaeological record. This paper uses an adaptation of the Lotka–Volterra model to determine whether metabolic differences alone could have accounted for Neanderthal extinction. In addition, we use a modeling approach to investigate Neanderthal fire use, evidence for which is much debated and is variable throughout different climatic phases of the Middle Paleolithic. The increased caloric yield from a cooked versus a raw diet may have played an important role in population competition between Neanderthals and AMH. We arrive at two key conclusions. First, given differences in metabolic budget between Neanderthals and AMH and their dependence on similar or overlapping food resources, Neanderthal extinction is likely inevitable over the long term. Second, the rate of Neanderthal extinction increases as the frequency of AMH fire use increases. Results highlight the importance of understanding the variable behaviors at play on a regional scale in order to understand global Neanderthal extinction. We also emphasize the importance of understanding the role of fire use in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition.

The discovery of a partial cranium at the site of Aroeira (Portugal) dating to 389–436 ka augments the current sample of Middle Pleistocene European crania and makes this specimen penecontemporaneous with the fossils from the geographically close Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos (SH) and Arago sites. A recent study of the cranium documented a unique combination of primitive and derived features. The Aroeira 3 cranium preserves the right temporal bone, including the petrosal portion. Virtual reconstruction of the bony labyrinth from μCT scans provides an opportunity to examine its morphology. A series of standard linear and angular measures of the semicircular canals and cochlea in Aroeira 3 were compared with other fossil hominins and recent humans. Our analysis has revealed the absence of derived Neandertal features in Aroeira 3. In particular, the specimen lacks both the derived canal proportions and the low position of the posterior canal, two of the most diagnostic features of the Neandertal bony labyrinth, and Aroeira 3 is more primitive in these features than the Atapuerca (SH) sample. One potentially derived feature (low shape index of the cochlear basal turn) is shared between Aroeira 3 and the Atapuerca (SH) hominins, but is absent in Neandertals. The results of our study provide new insights into Middle Pleistocene population dynamics close to the origin of the Neandertal clade. In particular, the contrasting inner ear morphology between Aroeira 3 and the Atapuerca (SH) hominins suggests a degree of demographic isolation, despite the close geographic proximity and similar age of these two sites.

Archaeologists have struggled for more than a century to explain why the first representational art of the Upper Palaeolithic arose and the reason for its precocious naturalism. Thanks to new data from various sites across Europe and further afield, as well as crucial insights from visual science, we may now be on the brink of bringing some clarity to this issue. In this paper, we assert that the main precursors of the first figurative art consisted of hand prints/stencils (among the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens) and a corpus of geometric marks as well as a hunting lifestyle and highly charged visual system for detecting animals in evocative environments. Unlike many foregoing arguments, the present one is falsifiable in that five critical, but verifiable, points are delineated.

The archaeological record of the early Upper Paleolithic on the central plain of Eastern Europe yields evidence for the repeated hunting of horses in small herds. Several major sites contain large bone beds that represent the butchered remains of a mare band. The bone beds are consistently associated with expedient tools, often made on local raw materials, that are typical of mass kill sites and carcass-processing areas in other settings (for example, North American Plains). Many of these sites may have been occupied by people related to the Aurignacian technocomplex, which otherwise is poorly represented on the central East European Plain, their industrial affiliation obscured by the profusion of expedient tools (often classified as Middle Paleolithic types) related to mass-processing of horse carcasses.

Early and Middle Pleistocene climate-environment conditions in Central Europe and the hominin settlement record, di M. Szymanek, M. A. Julien, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 198, 15 October 2018, Pages 56-75

This paper focuses on the interactions between hominin settlements and the palaeoecological contexts of the Early/Middle Pleistocene, in the central European lowlands and highlands. The palaeoenvironmental data from twenty-one natural sites with pollen, vertebrate and/or mollusc records (e.g. Voigstedt, Dethlingen, Ossówka) are compared and discussed in regard to seventeen localities with clear hominin occurrence (e.g. Kärlich, Stránská skála, Bilzingsleben, Vértesszölös, Schöningen). This contribution provides the first attempt of a large scale qualitative compilation of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data from key, multidisciplinary investigated late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene archaeological and non-archaeological sequences in Central Europe, mostly from MIS 22 to MIS 9. As such, this work is key for our understanding of the potential impact of climate-environment conditions upon hominin settlement dynamics vs. sites preservation in the region. Lower Palaeolithic hominin in Central Europe occupied a variety of environments, and despite the fragmentary nature of the record, warm and humid climate and partly forested landscapes appear as the most favourable conditions for hominin settlements. Prior to 0.5 Ma the record is however limited and the earliest hominin settlements of Central Europe appear largely unexplored in comparison to other European regions. During MIS 11-9, the increase of both natural and anthropogenic records seems to highlight the better sedimentary record from that time period in comparison to the previous ones, and lessens the assumption of an intensification of hominin settlement and increase of population during MIS 11-9 in Central Europe, such as proposed in Western Europe.

Progressive aridification in East Africa over the last half million years and implications for human evolution, di R. Bernhart Owen et alii, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences-Early edition", October 8, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1801357115

Evidence for Quaternary climate change in East Africa has been derived from outcrops on land and lake cores and from marine dust, leaf wax, and pollen records. These data have previously been used to evaluate the impact of climate change on hominin evolution, but correlations have proved to be difficult, given poor data continuity and the great distances between marine cores and terrestrial basins where fossil evidence is located. Here, we present continental coring evidence for progressive aridification since about 575 thousand years before present (ka), based on Lake Magadi (Kenya) sediments. This long-term drying trend was interrupted by many wet–dry cycles, with the greatest variability developing during times of high eccentricity-modulated precession. Intense aridification apparent in the Magadi record took place between 525 and 400 ka, with relatively persistent arid conditions after 350 ka and through to the present. Arid conditions in the Magadi Basin coincide with the Mid-Brunhes Event and overlap with mammalian extinctions in the South Kenya Rift between 500 and 400 ka. The 525 to 400 ka arid phase developed in the South Kenya Rift between the period when the last Acheulean tools are reported (at about 500 ka) and before the appearance of Middle Stone Age artifacts (by about 320 ka). Our data suggest that increasing Middle- to Late-Pleistocene aridification and environmental variability may have been drivers in the physical and cultural evolution of Homo sapiens in East Africa.

· L'influenza del clima sull'evoluzione culturale nel Paleolitico, "Le Scienze", 10 ottobre 2018

Modern humans inherited viral defenses from Neanderthals, 4-OCT-2018

Neanderthals mysteriously disappeared about 40,000 years ago, but before vanishing they interbred with another human species that was just beginning its global spread. As a result of these ancient trysts, many modern Europeans and Asians today harbor about 2 percent of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes. Curiously, some snippets of Neanderthal DNA pop up more often in modern human populations than others, leading scientists to wonder if their spread was propelled by chance or whether these frequently occurring genes confer some functional advantage. Stanford scientists have now found compelling evidence for the latter. "Our research shows that a substantial number of frequently occurring Neanderthal DNA snippets were adaptive for a very cool reason," said Dmitri Petrov, an evolutionary biologist at Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. "Neanderthal genes likely gave us some protection against viruses that our ancestors encountered when they left Africa." (...)

· Evidence that RNA Viruses Drove Adaptive Introgression between Neanderthals and Modern Humans, di D. Enard, D. A. Petrov, "Cell", volume 175, issue 2, pp. 360-371.E13, october 04, 2018

Tooth crown tissue proportions and enamel thickness in Early Pleistocene Homo antecessor molars (Atapuerca, Spain), di L. Martín-Francés et alii, October 3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203334 - free  access -

Tooth crown tissue proportions and enamel thickness distribution are considered reliable characters for inferring taxonomic identity, phylogenetic relationships, dietary and behavioural adaptations in fossil and extant hominids. While most Pleistocene hominins display variations from thick to hyper-thick enamel, Neanderthals exhibit relatively thinner. However, the chronological and geographical origin for the appearance of this typical Neanderthal condition is still unknown. The European late Early Pleistocene species Homo antecessor (Gran Dolina-TD6 site, Sierra de Atapuerca) represents an opportunity to investigate the appearance of the thin condition in the fossil record. In this study, we aim to test the hypothesis if H. antecessor molars approximates the Neanderthal condition for tissue proportions and enamel thickness. To do so, for the first time we characterised the molar inner structural organization in this Early Pleistocene hominin taxon (n = 17) and compared it to extinct and extant populations of the genus Homo from African, Asian and European origin (n = 355). The comparative sample includes maxillary and mandibular molars belonging to H. erectus, East and North African Homo, European Middle Pleistocene Homo, Neanderthals, and fossil and extant H. sapiens. We used high-resolution images to investigate the endostructural configuration of TD6 molars (tissue proportions, enamel thickness and distribution). TD6 permanent molars tend to exhibit on average thick absolute and relative enamel in 2D and 3D estimates, both in the complete crown and the lateral enamel. This condition is shared with the majority of extinct and extant hominin sample, except for Neanderthals and some isolated specimens. However, while the total crown percentage of dentine in TD6 globally resembles the low modern values, the lateral crown percentage of dentine tends to be much higher, closer to the Neanderthal signal. Similarly, the H. antecessor molar enamel distribution maps reveal a relative distribution pattern that is more similar to the Neanderthal condition (with the thickest enamel more spread at the periphery of the occlusal basin) rather than that of other fossil specimens and modern humans (with thicker cuspal enamel). Future studies on European Middle Pleistocene populations will provide more insights into the evolutionary trajectory of the typical Neanderthal dental structural organization. (...)

90,000 year-old specialised bone technology in the Aterian Middle Stone Age of North Africa, di A. Bouzouggar et alii, October 3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202021 - free  access -

The question of cognitive complexity in early Homo sapiens in North Africa is intimately tied to the emergence of the Aterian culture (~145 ka). One of the diagnostic indicators of cognitive complexity is the presence of specialised bone tools, however significant uncertainty remains over the manufacture and use of these artefacts within the Aterian techno-complex. In this paper we report on a bone artefact from Aterian Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits in Dar es-Soltan 1 cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It comes from a layer that can be securely dated to ~90 ka. The typological characteristics of this tool, which suggest its manufacture and use as a bone knife, are comparatively similar to other bone artefacts from dated Aterian levels at the nearby site of El Mnasra and significantly different from any other African MSA bone technology. The new find from Dar es-Soltan 1 cave combined with those from El Mnasra suggest the development of a bone technology unique to the Aterian. (...)

The Middle Pleistocene (MIS 12) human dental remains from Fontana Ranuccio (Latium) and Visogliano (Friuli-Venezia Giulia), Italy. A comparative high resolution endostructural assessment, di C. Zanolli et alii, October 3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189773 - free  access -

The penecontemporaneous Middle Pleistocene sites of Fontana Ranuccio (Latium) and Visogliano (Friuli-Venezia Giulia), set c. 450 km apart in central and northeastern Italy, respectively, have yielded some among the oldest human fossil remains testifying to a peopling phase of the Italian Peninsula broadly during the glacial MIS 12, a stage associated with one among the harshest climatic conditions in the Northern hemisphere during the entire Quaternary period. Together with the large samples from Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos, Spain, and Caune de l’Arago at Tautavel, France, the remains from Fontana Ranuccio and Visogliano are among the few mid-Middle Pleistocene dental assemblages from Western Europe available for investigating the presence of an early Neanderthal signature in their inner structure. We applied two- three-dimensional techniques of virtual imaging and geometric morphometrics to the high-resolution X-ray microtomography record of the dental remains from these two Italian sites and compared the results to the evidence from a selected number of Pleistocene and extant human specimens/samples from Europe and North Africa. Depending on their preservation quality and on the degree of occlusal wear, we comparatively assessed: (i) the crown enamel and radicular dentine thickness topographic variation of a uniquely represented lower incisor; (ii) the lateral crown tissue proportions of premolars and molars; (iii) the enamel-dentine junction, and (iv) the pulp cavity morphology of all available specimens. Our analyses reveal in both samples a Neanderthal-like inner structural signal, for some aspects also resembling the condition shown by the contemporary assemblage from Atapuerca SH, and clearly distinct from the recent human figures. This study provides additional evidence indicating that an overall Neanderthal morphological dental template was preconfigured in Western Europe at least 430 to 450 ka ago. (...)

Intragenus (Homo) variation in a chemokine receptor gene (CCR5), di K. C. Hoover, October 2, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204989 - free  access -

Humans have a comparatively higher rate of more polymorphisms in regulatory regions of the primate CCR5 gene, an immune system gene with both general and specific functions. This has been interpreted as allowing flexibility and diversity of gene expression in response to varying disease loads. A broad expression repertoire is useful to humans—the only globally distributed primate—due to our unique adaptive pattern that increased pathogen exposure and disease loads (e.g., sedentism, subsistence practices). The main objective of the study was to determine if the previously observed human pattern of increased variation extended to other members of our genus, Homo. The data for this study are mined from the published genomes of extinct hominins (four Neandertals and two Denisovans), an ancient human (Ust’-Ishim), and modern humans (1000 Genomes). An average of 15 polymorphisms per individual were found in human populations (with a total of 262 polymorphisms). There were 94 polymorphisms identified across extinct Homo (an average of 13 per individual) with 41 previously observed in modern humans and 53 novel polymorphisms (32 in Denisova and 21 in Neandertal). Neither the frequency nor distribution of polymorphisms across gene regions exhibit significant differences within the genus Homo. Thus, humans are not unique with regards to the increased frequency of regulatory polymorphisms and the evolution of variation patterns across CCR5 gene appears to have originated within the genus. A broader evolutionary perspective on regulatory flexibility may be that it provided an advantage during the transition to confrontational foraging (and later hunting) that altered human-environment interaction as well as during migration to Eurasia and encounters with novel pathogens. (...)

Is early silcrete heat treatment a new behavioural proxy in the Middle Stone Age?, di R. E. Stolarczyk, P. Schmidt, October 1, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204705 - free  access -

The South African Middle Stone Age (MSA) has in recent years become increasingly important for our understanding of the emergence of ‘modern human behaviours’. Several key innovations appeared in this context for the first time, significantly pre-dating their re-invention in the European Upper Palaeolithic. One of these innovations was heat treatment of stone to improve its quality for the production of stone tools. Heat treatment may even be the oldest well-documented technique used to intentionally alter the properties of materials in general. It is commonly thought of as requiring the skilled use of fire, a high degree of planning depth and complex cognitive abilities. However, to work on these fundamental concepts we need to analyse the techniques and procedures used to heat-treat and we need to understand what they imply. In this paper, we present a direct and expedient comparison between the technical complexities of four alternative heat treatment procedures by coding the behaviours required for their set-up in so-called cognigrams, a relatively new method for understanding complexity based on the problem-solution distance. Our results show that although the techniques significantly differ in complexity, the techniques used in the MSA fall within the range of complexities known from other MSA techniques. Heat treatment in above-ground fires, as it was practised during this period in South Africa, was even one of the most complex techniques at the time of its invention. Early heat treatment can therefore be considered an important behavioural proxy that may shed light on the behaviour and socioeconomic structure of past groups. The implications of this are highlighted by the ongoing debate about ‘modernity’, ‘behavioural flexibility’ and ‘complex cognition’ of early anatomically modern humans in Africa. (...)

Trabecular architecture and joint loading of the proximal humerus in extant hominoids, Ateles, and Australopithecus africanus, di T. L. Kivell, R. Davenport, J. J. Hublin, J. F. Thackeray, M. M. Skinner, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 167, Issue 2, October 2018, Pages 348-365

Several studies have investigated potential functional signals in the trabecular structure of the primate proximal humerus but with varied success. Here, we apply for the first time a “whole-epiphyses” approach to analysing trabecular bone in the humeral head with the aim of providing a more holistic interpretation of trabecular variation in relation to habitual locomotor or manipulative behaviors in several extant primates and Australopithecus africanus.
We use a “whole-epiphysis” methodology in comparison to the traditional volume of interest (VOI) approach to investigate variation in trabecular structure and joint loading in the proximal humerus of extant hominoids, Ateles and A. africanus (StW 328).
There are important differences in the quantification of trabecular parameters using a “whole-epiphysis” versus a VOI-based approach. Variation in trabecular structure across knuckle-walking African apes, suspensory taxa, and modern humans was generally consistent with predictions of load magnitude and inferred joint posture during habitual behaviors. Higher relative trabecular bone volume and more isotropic trabeculae in StW 328 suggest A. africanus may have still used its forelimbs for arboreal locomotion.
A whole‐epiphysis approach to analysing trabecular structure of the proximal humerus can help distinguish functional signals of joint loading across extant primates and can provide novel insight into habitual behaviors of fossil hominins.

Success of a flexible behavior. Considerations on the manufacture of Late Epigravettian lithic projectile implements according to experimental tests, di R.A. Duches, M. Peresani, P. Pasetti, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", October 2018, Volume 10, Issue 7, pp 1617–1643

It is generally recognized that the function and modality of hafting are the main factors influencing mental templates, and consequently, stone tool standardization. But what role do technical knowledge and traditions play? In this study, we investigate the interaction between mental templates and technological choices in the manufacture of Late Epigravettian projectile implements. The examined specimens come from different dwelling phases of the Dalmeri rock shelter (Italian Alps). Technological analyses suggest that lithic production systems gradually simplified their structure over time, implying a shift in technical investment from shaping on the core to a subsequent shaping on the derived flake blank. However, correlations between the dimensions and morphological features among the armatures from the different units suggest that mental templates remained unchanged throughout the Alleröd. Experimentation attests to the frequent combined application of different retouching techniques. Further, the variability in their arrangement denotes the absence of strict rules and the Epigravettian capability to recognize the most situationally suitable method. In the Dalmeri rock shelter, the standardization of lithic projectile implements is therefore a result of flexibility in retouching, framed in a production system characterized by a progressive simplification. A such rapidly produced and responsive technology must have been encouraged by Late Glacial climatic and environmental changes and the occupation of alpine territories previously inaccessible. Thus, the flexibility of technical behaviors turns out to be a key element in the transformation of Late Epigravettian societies during this period, enabling them to adapt and evolve in response to environmental, social, and economic changes.

Flake selection and scraper retouch probability: an alternative model for explaining Middle Paleolithic assemblage retouch variability, di S. C. Lin, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", October 2018, Volume 10, Issue 7, pp 1791–1806

It has been proposed that the relative abundance of retouched objects in Paleolithic assemblages can serve as a measure for artifact transport and by extension a proxy for site occupation duration. This approach is based on the assumption that retouch represents curatory effort for extending the service time of transported artifacts when raw material access is uncertain or limited, a condition that could arise when groups move frequently over long distances across the landscape. This paper proposes an alternative model that explains retouch as a probabilistic outcome of an expedient, on-site flake selection process. A simulation illustrates that the model is capable of producing assemblage retouch configurations akin to those commonly observed in Paleolithic settings. The simulation also indicates that the threshold applied by past individuals for selecting particular artifacts is an important parameter for explaining assemblage retouch variability. Using artifact weight as a proxy for flake selection criteria, several Middle Paleolithic assemblages exhibit patterns that support predictions made from the model simulation. Findings suggest that variation in scraper frequency among the studied assemblages can be accounted for by an interaction between the abundance of artifact production events and shifting artifact selection criteria, without appealing to higher-level behaviors of technological and mobility strategies.

First Insights into the Technique Used for Heat Treatment of Chert at the Solutrean Site of Laugerie-Haute, France, di P. Schmidt, A. Morala, "Archaeometry", Volume 60, Issue 5, October 2018, Pages 885-897

The earliest evidence of flint and chert heat treatment was found in the ~21.5–17 ka old European Solutrean culture. The appearance of pyrotechnology as part of the production of stone tools has important implications for our understanding of Upper Palaeolithic technological evolution and the specific adaptations during the last glacial maximum in Europe. However, the techniques and procedures used to heat-treat rocks during the Solutrean remain poorly understood. No direct archaeological evidence has so far been found and the most promising approach is to understand these techniques by determining the parameters with which flint and chert were heated at that time. In this study, we investigate the heating temperature of 44 heat-treated laurel-leaf points from Laugerie-Haute, using a non-destructive technique based on infrared spectroscopy. Our results document that most of the artefacts were heated to a narrow interval of temperatures between 250 °C and 300 °C. This indicates a standardized technique that allowed to created similar conditions during successive heating cycles. The implications of these results for our understanding of the technical complexity during the Solutrean must be discussed in the light of different heating techniques used at different places and periods.

Heat Treatment of Mineral Pigment During the Upper Palaeolithic in North-East Italy, di G. Cavallo, F. Fontana, S. Gialanella, F. Gonzato, M. P. Riccardi, R. Zorzin, M. Peresani, "Archaeometry", Volume 60, Issue 5, October 2018, Pages 1045-1061

The use of red ochre for utilitarian, symbolic and artistic purposes is widely documented in prehistoric contexts. The absence of adequate red-coloured raw materials influenced the development of technological activities aimed at modifying the original physiochemical properties of yellow ochre. The heat treatment of goethite to obtain hematite was investigated in the western sector of the Lessini Mountains in north-east Italy, where red ochre was found in the (Proto)Aurignacian levels at Fumane cave and in the Late Epigravettian sequence at Tagliente rockshelter. The combination of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proved that heat treatment was a common practice in the studied archaeological sites due to the scarce availability of suitable hematite-based material in the region.

Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy confirm ochre residues on 71 000-year-old bifacial tools from Sibudu, South Africa, di M. Wojcieszak, L. Wadley, "Archaeometry", Volume 60, Issue 5, October 2018, Pages 1062-1076

Micro-residue analysis of stone tools is generally performed with optical light microscopy and the visual observations are then compared with experimental, replicated pieces. This paper complements such archaeological research by providing physico-chemical evidence. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been used to confirm the presence of hematite on red-stained medial and proximal parts of 71 000-year-old Still Bay bifacial tools from Sibudu Cave. Our results confirm the conclusion from optical light microscopy that the tools were hafted with an ochre-loaded adhesive. However, we point to some instances when hematite residues are incidental or may be inclusions in the rock used to make the stone tools.

New Excavations at Border Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, di L. R. Backwell et alii, "Journal of Field Archaeology", Volume 43, 2018 - Issue 6

New excavations at Border Cave use high-resolution techniques, including FT-IR, for sediment samples and thin sections of micromorphology blocks from stratigraphy. These show that sediments have different moisture regimes, both spatially and chronologically. The site preserves desiccated grass bedding in multiple layers and they, along with seeds, rhizomes, and charcoal, provide a profile of palaeo-vegetation through time. A bushveld vegetation community is implied before 100,000 years ago. The density of lithics varies considerably through time, with high frequencies occurring before 100,000 years ago where a putative MSA 1/Pietersburg Industry was recovered. The highest percentage frequencies of blades and blade fragments were found here. In Members 1 BS and 1 WA, called Early Later Stone Age by Beaumont, we recovered large flakes from multifacial cores. Local rhyolite was the most common rock used for making stone tools, but siliceous minerals were popular in the upper members.

Technological Change and Economy in the Epipalaeolithic: Assessing the Shift from Early to Middle Epipalaeolithic at Kharaneh IV, di D. A. Macdonald, A. Allentuck, L. A. Maher, "Journal of Field Archaeology", Volume 43, 2018 - Issue 6

Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities in the Southern Levant exhibit numerous complex trends that suggest that the transition to the Neolithic was patchy and protracted. This paper explores the changing nature of occupation at the Epipalaeolithic site Kharaneh IV, Jordan, through an in-depth analysis of the lithic and faunal assemblages. Focusing on the analysis of a single deep sounding (unit AS42), we address how Kharaneh IV occupations link to the local landscape and environmental changes. As an aggregation site, Kharaneh IV represents an interesting locale to explore the changing nature of aggregation and social cohesion prior to the origins of agriculture, as well as changes in technology and subsistence between the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic. We explore the tempo and nature of transition from one archaeological culture to the next through changes in technology and how this reflects the people making and using tools, to understand how foragers adapted to a changing landscape.

A quantification of calcaneal lateral plantar process position with implications for bipedal locomotion in Australopithecus, di E. K. Boyle, E. J. McNutt, T. Sasaki, G. Suwa, B. Zipfel, J. M. DeSilva, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 123, October 2018, Pages 24-34

The evolution of bipedalism in the hominin lineage has shaped the posterior human calcaneus into a large, robust structure considered to be adaptive for dissipating peak compressive forces and energy during heel-strike. A unique anatomy thought to contribute to the human calcaneus and its function is the lateral plantar process (LPP). While it has long been known that humans possess a plantarly positioned LPP and apes possess a more dorsally positioned homologous structure, the relative position of the LPP and intraspecific variation of this structure have never been quantified. Here, we present a method for quantifying relative LPP position and find that, while variable, humans have a significantly more plantar position of the LPP than that found in the apes. Among extinct hominins, while the position of the LPP in Australopithecus afarensis falls within the human distribution, the LPP is more dorsally positioned in Australopithecus sediba and barely within the modern human range of variation. Results from a resampling procedure suggest that these differences can reflect either individual variation of a foot structure/function largely shared among Australopithecus species, or functionally distinct morphologies that reflect locomotor diversity in Plio-Pleistocene hominins. An implication of the latter possibility is that calcaneal changes adaptive for heel-striking bipedalism may have evolved independently in two different hominin lineages.

The Oldowan industry from Swartkrans cave, South Africa, and its relevance for the African Oldowan, di K. Kuman, M. B. Sutton, T. Rayne Pickering, J. L. Heaton, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 123, October 2018, Pages 52-69

The oldest recognized artifacts at the Swartkrans cave hominid-bearing site in South Africa have long been known to occur in the Lower Bank of Member 1, now dated with the cosmogenic nuclide burial method to ca. 1.8–2.19 Ma. However, the affinities of this industry have been debated due to small sample size. In this paper we present newly excavated material from the Lower Bank retrieved since 2005 in the Swartkrans Paleoanthropological Research Project. The sample is now large enough to confirm its affinity with the Oldowan industrial complex. The assemblage is highly expedient and core reduction strategies are largely casual. Although freehand flaking is present, the bipolar technique is most significant, even in non-quartz raw materials. The Swartkrans assemblage shows some significant contrasts with the Sterkfontein Oldowan, ca. 2.18 Ma, which can be explained by its closer proximity to raw material sources, its somewhat different geographic context, and its more expedient nature. The Swartkrans Oldowan now provides us with the first good indication of Oldowan variability in southern Africa, where only two sizeable assemblages have thus far been discovered. Comparisons are made with other sites across Africa that help to place this variability within our overall understanding of the Oldowan industrial complex.

Tooth fractures in the Krapina Neandertals, di M. G. Belcastro, V. Mariotti, A. Riga, B. Bonfiglioli, D. W. Frayer, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 123, October 2018, Pages 96-108

Dental fractures can be produced during life or post-mortem. Ante-mortem chipping may be indicative of different uses of the dentition in masticatory and non-masticatory activities related to variable diets and behaviors. The Krapina collection (Croatia, 130,000 years BP), thanks to the large number of teeth (293 teeth and tooth fragments) within it, offers an excellent sample to investigate dental fractures systematically. Recorded were the distribution, position and severity of the ante-mortem fractures according to standardized methods. High frequencies of teeth with chipping in both Krapina adults and subadults suggest that the permanent and deciduous dentition were heavily subjected to mechanical stress. This is particularly evident when the frequencies of chipping are compared with those in modern humans (Upper Paleolithic and historic samples) that we analysed using the same methods. The distribution of chipping in the Krapina sample (anterior teeth are more affected) and its position (labial) suggest a systematic use of the anterior teeth for non-masticatory tasks.

A partial Homo pelvis from the Early Pleistocene of Eritrea, di A. S. Hammond, S. Almécija, Y. Libsekal, L. Rook, R. Macchiarelli, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 123, October 2018, Pages 109-128

Here we analyze 1.07–0.99 million-year-old pelvic remains UA 173/405 from Buia, Eritrea. Based on size metrics, UA 173/405 is likely associated with an already described pubic symphysis (UA 466) found nearby. The morphology of UA 173/405 was quantitatively characterized using three-dimensional landmark-based morphometrics and linear data. The Buia specimen falls within the range of variation of modern humans for all metrics investigated, making it unlikely that the shared last common ancestor of Late Pleistocene Homo species would have had an australopith-like pelvis. The discovery of UA 173/405 adds to the increasing number of fossils suggesting that the postcranial morphology of Homo erectus s.l. was variable and, in some cases, nearly indistinguishable from modern human morphology. This Eritrean fossil demonstrates that modern human-like pelvic morphology may have had origins in the Early Pleistocene, potentially within later African H. erectus.

ZooMS identification of bone tools from the North African Later Stone Age, di A. Desmond et alii, "Journal of Archaeological Science", Volume 98, October 2018, Pages 149-157

This study applies peptide mass fingerprinting (also known as ‘ZooMS’) to bone tools from the North African Palaeolithic, as the first stage in a research programme aimed at understanding distinct phases within a bone tool chaîne opératoire. We report on the largest collection of bone tools from the North African Later Stone Age (LSA), from the cave site of Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons) in eastern Morocco. Their appearance at this site from c. 15,000 cal BP appears to coincide with other changes in human behaviour which led to increased sedentism, cemetery use, and intensive exploitation of certain food resources. As such, bone tools can provide insights into how such broad-scale cultural renegotiations may have been brokered technologically, independent of the lithic record. Here, we explore initial raw material selection and manufacture strategies through use of ZooMS, a technique that permits identification of specific animals from very small bone samples. We found that ZooMS is highly suitable for use on the Taforalt material, and that bone tool morphology and construction tracks closely with the original animal from which a tool was made. Our results indicate that the Iberomaurusian occupants of Taforalt embedded bone tools within culturally-mediated technological strategies, potentially involving other perishable materials.

A Social History of the Irish and British Mesolithic, Special Issue, "Journal of World Prehistory", Volume 31, Issue 3, September 2018

Palaeolithic occupation of the Anatolian High Plateau during a cold period: An MIS 6 aged artifact from the Avlamış Valley, Eskişehir, NW Turkey, di F. Ocakoğlu et alii, "Geoarchaeology", Volume 33, Issue 5, September/October 2018, Pages 605-619

In the Avlamış Valley, 10 km north of Eskişehir (NW Anatolia), an undamaged triangular Levallois flake was encountered in a paleosol, 430 cm beneath the ground surface. The artifact has a minimal dorsal retouch on the right margin, and there is a light beige partial patina on the ventral surface. Based on the technological investigations, this artifact was made using the centripetal recurrent Levallois technique. An observation of the trench walls revealed the triple nature of the stratigraphy: an upper gravelly sand (Unit-1), an underlying reddish‐brown pebbly paleosol (Unit-2), and a lowermost dominantly pink, finer-grained deposit (Unit-3) where the artifact was retrieved. Optically stimulated luminescence ages indicate a strong influence of global marine isotopic stages (MIS) on the trench stratigraphy, with the deposit hosting the artifact dating to 148 ± 20 ka (MIS 6 cold period). The available pollen data from the same stratigraphic level verified an open steppe landscape with some arboreal plant cover during deposition. This is the first stratigraphically dated Middle Palaeolithic artifact from NW Anatolia, and one of the few in the whole country, thus igniting further discussion about the ways Pleistocene hominins adapted to cold and arid environmental conditions.

Social Structure Facilitated the Evolution of Care-giving as a Strategy for Disease Control in the Human Lineage, di S. E. Kessler, T. R. Bonnell, J. M. Setchell, C. A. Chapman, "Scientific Reports", 27 September 2018, volume 8, Article number: 13997 (2018) - free  access -

Humans are the only species to have evolved cooperative care-giving as a strategy for disease control. A synthesis of evidence from the fossil record, paleogenomics, human ecology, and disease transmission models, suggests that care-giving for the diseased evolved as part of the unique suite of cognitive and socio-cultural specializations that are attributed to the genus Homo. Here we demonstrate that the evolution of hominin social structure enabled the evolution of care-giving for the diseased. Using agent-based modeling, we simulate the evolution of care-giving in hominin networks derived from a basal primate social system and the three leading hypotheses of ancestral human social organization, each of which would have had to deal with the elevated disease spread associated with care-giving. We show that (1) care-giving is an evolutionarily stable strategy in kin-based cooperatively breeding groups, (2) care-giving can become established in small, low density groups, similar to communities that existed before the increases in community size and density that are associated with the advent of agriculture in the Neolithic, and (3) once established, care-giving became a successful method of disease control across social systems, even as community sizes and densities increased. We conclude that care-giving enabled hominins to suppress disease spread as social complexity, and thus socially-transmitted disease risk, increased. (...)

Evidence for precision grasping in Neandertal daily activities, di F. A. Karakostis et alii, "Science Advances", 26 Sep 2018: Vol. 4, no. 9, eaat2369 - free  access -

Neandertal manual activities, as previously reconstructed from their robust hand skeletons, are thought to involve systematic power grasping rather than precise hand movements. However, this interpretation is at odds with increasing archeological evidence for sophisticated cultural behavior. We reevaluate the manipulative behaviors of Neandertals and early modern humans using a historical reference sample with extensive genealogical and lifelong occupational documentation, in combination with a new and precise three-dimensional multivariate analysis of hand muscle attachments. Results show that Neandertal muscle marking patterns overlap exclusively with documented lifelong precision workers, reflecting systematic precision grasping consistent with the use of their associated cultural remains. Our findings challenge the established interpretation of Neandertal behavior and establish a solid link between biological and cultural remains in the fossil record. (...)

Impact of climate change on the transition of Neanderthals to modern humans in Europe, di M. Staubwasser, V. Drăgușin, B. P. Onac, S. Assonov, V. Ersek, D. L. Hoffmann, D. Veres, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences", September 11, 2018, 115 (37), pp. 9116-9121 - free  access -

A causality between millennial-scale climate cycles and the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in Europe has tentatively been suggested. However, that replacement was diachronous and occurred over several such cycles. A poorly constrained continental paleoclimate framework has hindered identification of any inherent causality. Speleothems from the Carpathians reveal that, between 44,000 and 40,000 years ago, a sequence of stadials with severely cold and arid conditions caused successive regional Neanderthal depopulation intervals across Europe and facilitated staggered repopulation by modern humans. Repetitive depopulation–repopulation cycles may have facilitated multiple genetic turnover in Europe between 44,000 and 34,000 years ago. (...)

An abstract drawing from the 73,000-year-old levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa, di C. S. Henshilwood, F. d’Errico, K. L. van Niekerk, L. Dayet, A. Queffelec, L. Pollarolo, "Nature", volume 562, pages 115–118 (2018), 13 September 2018

Abstract and depictive representations produced by drawing—known from Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia after 40,000 years ago—are a prime indicator of modern cognition and behaviour. Here we report a cross-hatched pattern drawn with an ochre crayon on a ground silcrete flake recovered from approximately 73,000-year-old Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Our microscopic and chemical analyses of the pattern confirm that red ochre pigment was intentionally applied to the flake with an ochre crayon. The object comes from a level associated with stone tools of the Still Bay techno-complex that has previously yielded shell beads, cross-hatched engravings on ochre pieces and a variety of innovative technologies. This notable discovery pre-dates the earliest previously known abstract and figurative drawings by at least 30,000 years. This drawing demonstrates the ability of early Homo sapiens in southern Africa to produce graphic designs on various media using different techniques.

· World’s oldest drawing is Stone Age crayon doodle, "Nature News", 12 SEPTEMBER 2018

· Somiglia a un hashtag il più antico disegno di Homo sapiens, "Le Scienze", 13 settembre 2018

· These red crayon markings may be the first known human drawing, di M. Price, "Science", Sep. 12, 2018

The genome of the offspring of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father, di V. Slon et alii, "Nature", volume 561, pages 113–116 (2018), 6 September 2018

Neanderthals and Denisovans are extinct groups of hominins that separated from each other more than 390,000 years ago1,2. Here we present the genome of ‘Denisova 11’, a bone fragment from Denisova Cave (Russia)3 and show that it comes from an individual who had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. The father, whose genome bears traces of Neanderthal ancestry, came from a population related to a later Denisovan found in the cave4,5,6. The mother came from a population more closely related to Neanderthals who lived later in Europe2,7 than to an earlier Neanderthal found in Denisova Cave8, suggesting that migrations of Neanderthals between eastern and western Eurasia occurred sometime after 120,000 years ago. The finding of a first-generation Neanderthal–Denisovan offspring among the small number of archaic specimens sequenced to date suggests that mixing between Late Pleistocene hominin groups was common when they met.

Aggiornamento 31 agosto

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of eastern Africa has a long history of research and is accompanied by a rich fossil record, which, combined with its geographic location, have led it to play an important role in investigating the origins and expansions of Homo sapiens. Recent evidence has suggested an earlier appearance of our species, indicating a more mosaic origin of modern humans, highlighting the importance of regional and inter-regional patterning and bringing into question the role that eastern Africa has played. Previous evaluations of the eastern African MSA have identified substantial variability, only a small proportion of which is explained by chronology and geography. Here, we examine the structure of behavioural, temporal, geographic and environmental variability within and between sites across eastern Africa using a quantitative approach. The application of hierarchical clustering identifies enduring patterns of tool use and site location through the MSA as well as phases of significant behavioural diversification and colonisation of new landscapes, particularly notable during Marine Isotope Stage 5. As the quantity and detail of technological studies from individual sites in eastern Africa gathers pace, the structure of the MSA record highlighted here offers a roadmap for comparative studies.

Middle Pleistocene unit TD10 of the Gran Dolina site is nearly four metres thick and is divided into four subunits (TD10.1, TD10.2, TD10.3, TD10.4). To date, the upper two subunits (TD10.1 and TD10.2) have been completely excavated and have been studied from zooarchaeological, taphonomic and occupational perspectives. The top of the sequence (Upper TD10.1), however, has not undergone these types of studies until now. In this paper we report the results of our analyses of the anatomical profiles, age, and the anthropogenic and carnivore-induced modifications in this assemblage. Methods employed to evaluate sequential scenarios (carnivore to hominin; hominin to carnivore; carnivore to hominin to carnivore) have led to contradictory results. We conclude that the formation of Upper TD10.1 is the product of the overlap of independent events (hominin only and carnivore only), with limited commensalism between the two agents. The type of accumulation is consistent with the characteristics of an accumulative palimpsest generated by different actors. Unlike those documented in the lower levels of TD10 (TD10.1BB and TD10.2BB), hominin occupations in this part of the sequence were very brief. This scenario completes the picture of the types of occupations that took place during the end of Middle Pleistocene at Gran Dolina. In short, level TD10 was the site of three types of occupation by Middle Pleistocene hominins: a kill/butchering site in TD10.2BB, a long-term residential camp in TD10.1BB, and finally, logistical and short-term occupations in Upper TD10.1.

The incomplete cranium discovered at the Zlatý kůň site in the Bohemian Karst is a rare piece of skeletal evidence of human presence in Central Europe during the Late Glacial period. The relative position of cranial fragments was restored and missing parts of the cranium were virtually reconstructed using mirroring and the Thin-plate splines algorithm. The reconstruction allowed us to collect principal cranial measurements, revise a previous unfounded sex assignment and explore the specimen’s morphological affinity. Visual assessment could not reliably provide a sexual diagnosis, as such methods have been developed on modern populations. Using a population-specific approach developed on cranial measurements collected from the literature on reliably sexed European Upper Palaeolithic specimens, linear discriminant analysis confirmed previous assignment to the female sex. However, caution is necessary with regard to the fact that it was assessed from the skull. The Zlatý kůň specimen clearly falls within the range of Upper Palaeolithic craniometric variation. Despite the shift in cranial variation that accompanied the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Zlatý kůň skull exhibits a morphological affinity with the pre-LGM population. Several interpretations are proposed with regard to the complex population processes that occurred after the LGM in Europe. (...)

Two speleothem stable isotope records from East-Central Europe demonstrate that Greenland Stadial 12 (GS12) and GS10—at 44.3–43.3 and 40.8–40.2 ka—were prominent intervals of cold and arid conditions. GS12, GS11, and GS10 are coeval with a regional pattern of culturally (near-)sterile layers within Europe’s diachronous archeologic transition from Neanderthals to modern human Aurignacian. Sterile layers coeval with GS12 precede the Aurignacian throughout the middle and upper Danube region. In some records from the northern Iberian Peninsula, such layers are coeval with GS11 and separate the Châtelperronian from the Aurignacian. Sterile layers preceding the Aurignacian in the remaining Châtelperronian domain are coeval with GS10 and the previously reported 40.0- to 40.8-ka cal BP [calendar years before present (1950)] time range of Neanderthals’ disappearance from most of Europe. This suggests that ecologic stress during stadial expansion of steppe landscape caused a diachronous pattern of depopulation of Neanderthals, which facilitated repopulation by modern humans who appear to have been better adapted to this environment. Consecutive depopulation–repopulation cycles during severe stadials of the middle pleniglacial may principally explain the repeated replacement of Europe’s population and its genetic composition. (...)

Carbonate-rich archaeological artefacts are difficult to identify and correlate between them and with raw materials of such heterogeneous geological sources, especially when only non-invasive analysis is possible. A novel combination of X-ray and neutron-based non-invasive analysis is implemented and used for the first time to study prehistoric stone idols and vessels, contributing to culture identity, mobility and interaction in the recent Prehistory of Southern Iberia. Elemental composition was obtained by prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) and external beam particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE); homogeneity of the stone artefacts and the presence/absence of internal fractures were obtained by neutron radiography (NR). These atomic and nuclear techniques, simultaneously used for complementary chemical information, have been demonstrated to be of great value as they provide non-destructive compositional information avoiding sample preparation, crucial in so singular and rare objects. The obtained results, especially of PGAA, are very promising and useful in general assessments of provenance. The stone artefacts show signs of both nearby and long-distance procurement, as well as of unknown attribution.

The ecological and selective forces that sparked the emergence of Homo's adaptive strategy remain poorly understood. New fossil and archaeological finds call into question previous interpretations of the grade shift that drove our ancestors' evolutionary split from the australopiths. Furthermore, issues of taphonomy and scale have limited reconstructions of the hominin habitats and faunal communities that define the environmental context of these behavioral changes. The multiple ~1.5 Ma track surfaces from the Okote Member of the Koobi Fora Formation at East Turkana provide unique windows for examining hominin interactions with the paleoenvironment and associated faunas at high spatiotemporal resolution. These surfaces preserve the tracks of many animals, including cf. Homo erectus. Here, we examine the structure of the animal community that inhabited this landscape, considering effects of preservation bias by comparing the composition of the track assemblage to a skeletal assemblage from the same time and place. We find that the track and skeletal assemblages are similar in their representation of the vertebrate paleocommunity, with comparable levels of taxonomic richness and diversity. Evenness (equitability of the number of individuals per taxon) differs between the two assemblages due to the very different circumstances of body fossil versus track preservation. Both samples represent diverse groups of taxa including numerous water-dependent species, consistent with geological interpretations of the track site environments. Comparisons of these assemblages also show a pattern of non-random hominin association with a marginal lacustrine habitat relative to other vertebrates in the track assemblage. This evidence is consistent with behavior that included access to aquatic foods and possibly hunting by H. erectus in lake margins/edaphic grasslands. Such behaviors may signal the emergence of the adaptative strategies that define our genus.

Many hypotheses regarding the paleobiology of the earliest possible hominins, Orrorin tugenensis and Ardipithecus ramidus, are dependent upon accurate body mass estimates for these taxa. While we have previously published body mass predictions for Orrorin and Ardipithecus, the accuracies of those estimates depend on the assumption that the postcranial skeletal dimensions and body masses of these taxa followed scaling patterns that were similar to those observed in modern humans. This assumption may not be correct because certain aspects of postcranial morphology in Orrorin and Ardipithecus differ from modern humans, and suggest that their overall body plans might be unique but more similar to modern non-human great apes than to modern humans. Here we present individual body mass predictions for O. tugenensis and Ar. ramidus assuming that they followed postcranial scaling patterns similar to those of chimpanzees. All estimates include individual prediction intervals as measures of uncertainty. In addition, we provide equations for predicting body mass from univariate postcranial measurements based on the largest sample (n = 25) yet compiled of common chimpanzee skeletons with known body masses, which is vital for calculating prediction intervals for individual fossils. Our results show that estimated body masses in Orrorin and Ardipithecus are generally larger when derived from a chimpanzee-like scaling pattern compared to estimates that assume a human-like pattern, though the prediction intervals of the two sets of estimates overlap. In addition, the more complete of the two known Orrorin femora has an overall scaling pattern that is more similar to common chimpanzees than to modern humans, supporting the application of a non-human great ape comparative model. Our new estimates fall near the male (Ardipithecus) average and in between the male and female averages (Orrorin) for wild-caught common chimpanzees. If a chimpanzee-like pattern of scaling between postcranial dimensions and body mass did exist in these earliest hominins, our results suggest the large body masses found in some early australopiths were already present in taxa near the origins of our lineage, and perhaps also in the Pan-Homo last common ancestor.

A new species of Homo, Homo naledi, was described in 2015 based on the hominin skeletal remains from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. Subsequent craniodental comparative analyses, both phenetic and cladistic, served to support its taxonomic distinctiveness. Here we provide a new quantitative analysis, where up to 78 nonmetric crown and root traits of the permanent dentition were compared among samples of H. naledi (including remains from the recently discovered Lesedi Chamber) and eight other species from Africa: Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus boisei, Paranthropus robustus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Middle Pleistocene Homo sp., and Pleistocene and Holocene Homo sapiens. By using the mean measure of divergence distance statistic, phenetic affinities were calculated among samples to evaluate interspecific relatedness. The objective was to compare the results with those previously obtained, to assess further the taxonomic validity of the Rising Star hominin species. In accordance with earlier findings, H. naledi appears most similar dentally to the other African Homo samples. However, the former species is characterized by its retention and full expression of features relating to the main cusps, as well as the root numbers, with a near absence of accessory traits—including many that, based on various cladistic studies, are plesiomorphic in both extinct and extant African hominins. As such, the present findings provide additional support for the taxonomic validity of H. naledi as a distinct species of Homo.

The Krapina costal sample was studied by Gorjanović-Kramberger in the early twentieth century. He pointed out unique features in the sample such as the rounder rib cross-section, which was recently confirmed in other Neanderthal specimens. Round rib cross-sections are characteristic of Homo ergaster, suggesting this may be plesiomorphic for Pleistocene Homo, but it is unknown whether Homo antecessor also had this rib shape. Furthermore, the influence of allometry on the cross-sectional shape of ribs is still unknown. The large costal sample from Krapina allows us to address these issues. We quantified cross-section morphology at the midshaft throughout a closed curve of one landmark and nine sliding semilandmarks in the Krapina costal remains (n = 7), as well as in other Neanderthals (n = 50), H. antecessor (n = 3) and modern humans, both fossil (n = 12) and recent (n = 160). We used principal components analysis and mean comparisons to explore interspecific differences, regression analysis to investigate allometry, and partial least squares analysis to examine covariation of cross-section shape and overall rib morphology. Neanderthal cross-sections tended to be larger than those of recent humans except for the Krapina and Tabun remains. Regarding shape, inter-group differences were found only in the diaphragmatic thorax, where Neanderthal and H. antecessor ribs were statistically significantly rounder than those of modern humans. Allometry accounted for covariation of size on shape, but the Neandertal and modern human trajectories had different slopes. While our results based on the Krapina costal sample are similar to previous findings, we also make several new insights: 1) the cross-section morphology observed in Neanderthals was probably present in H. antecessor, albeit less marked; 2) the distinct roundness of Neanderthal cross-sections is not related to size; 3) rounder cross-sections are correlated with ribs presenting less curvature in cranial view and a low degree of torsion in recent humans. These results are important for the interpretation of fragmentary Neanderthal costal remains, and the fact that the differences are marked only in the diaphragmatic thorax could have implications for breathing kinematics.

This study describes three incudes recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. All three bones were recovered during sieving of excavated sediments and likely represent three Homo naledi individuals. Morphologically and metrically, the Dinaledi ossicles resemble those of chimpanzees and Paranthropus robustus more than they do later members of the genus Homo, and fall outside of the modern human range of variation in several dimensions. Despite this, when overall size is considered, the functional lengths in H. naledi and P. robustus are very similar to those predicted for a human with a similar-sized incus. In this sense, both taxa seem to show a relatively elongated functional length, distinguishing them from chimpanzees. The functional length in H. naledi is slightly longer in absolute terms than in P. robustus, suggesting H. naledi may already show a slight increase in functional length compared with early hominins. While H. naledi lacks the more open angle between the long and short processes found in modern humans, considered a derived feature within the genus Homo, the value in H. naledi is similar to that predicted for a hominoid with a similar-sized incus. Principal components analysis of size-standardized variables shows H. naledi falling outside of the recent human range of variation, but within the confidence ellipse for gorillas. Phylogenetic polarity is complicated by the absence of incus data from early members of the genus Homo, but the generally primitive nature of the H. naledi incudes is consistent with other primitive features of the species, such as the very small cranial capacity. These ossicles add significantly to the understanding of incus variation in hominins and provide important new data on the morphology and taxonomic affinities of H. naledi.

Changes in long bone strength associated with the onset of bipedal walking in humans have been previously documented in a longitudinal growth sample. However, it is unclear if this transition can be detected using archaeological, cross-sectional data, which likely encompass more cultural and biological variation than a single dataset of living children. Focusing on variation in cross-sectional polar second moment of area, we evaluate the ratios of femoral, tibial, and humeral strength in seven temporally diverse samples of individuals from birth to the age of eighteen years (n = 501), with subsequent comparisons to immature Late Pleistocene fossils. Using these samples, we determine whether changes related to the developmental onset of bipedality can be detected in a large, multi-population sample, test for differences in long bone strength ratios among Holocene groups that may indicate developmental differences in the onset of walking, and determine whether immature Late Pleistocene samples follow the same patterns as modern humans. Despite great variation within the Holocene sample, clear changes in these ratios are apparent around the age of the onset of walking. Humeral-to-femoral strength increases briefly prior to the age of one, with a sharp decline in relative humeral strength thereafter until age four. A similar pattern is apparent in the ratio of humeral/tibial and femoral/tibial strength. While the general pattern is consistent across all human groups sampled, these ratios vary by skeletal population, which seems to be closely related to variation in tibial length among samples. Although the extremely small fossil sample makes differences difficult to interpret, Neandertals also differ from both Late Pleistocene and Holocene modern humans in their strength ratios. Further research in this area may provide additional information about the skeletal impact of the onset of walking in the past and in additional fossil taxa.

A female who died around 90,000 years ago was half Neanderthal and half Denisovan, according to genome analysis of a bone discovered in a Siberian cave. This is the first time scientists have identified an ancient individual whose parents belonged to distinct human groups. The findings were published on 22 August in Nature. “To find a first-generation person of mixed ancestry from these groups is absolutely extraordinary,” says population geneticist Pontus Skoglund at the Francis Crick Institute in London. “It’s really great science coupled with a little bit of luck.” The team, led by palaeogeneticists Viviane Slon and Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, conducted the genome analysis on a single bone fragment recovered from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Russia. This cave lends its name to the ‘Denisovans’, a group of extinct humans first identified on the basis of DNA sequences from the tip of a finger bone discovered2 there in 2008. The Altai region, and the cave specifically, were also home to Neanderthals. (...)

· This ancient bone belonged to a child of two extinct human species, di G. Vogel, "Science news", Aug. 22, 2018

· Scoperta la "prima figlia" di padre Denisova e madre Neanderthal, "Le Scienze", 22 agosto 2018

Stone tools reveal modern human-like gripping capabilities 500,000 years ago, 20-aug-2018

This research is the first to link a stone tool production technique known as 'platform preparation' to the biology of human hands. Demonstrating that without the ability to perform highly forceful precision grips, our ancestors would not have been able to produce advanced types of stone tool like spear points. The technique involves preparing a striking area on a tool to remove specific stone flakes and shape the tool into a pre-conceived design. Platform preparation is essential for making many different types of advanced prehistoric stone tool, with the earliest known occurrence observed at the 500,000-year-old site of Boxgrove in West Sussex (UK). (...)

Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens, AMH) began spreading across Eurasia from Africa and adjacent Southwest Asia about 50,000–55,000 years ago (ca. 50–55 ka). Some have argued that human genetic, fossil, and archaeological data indicate one or more prior dispersals, possibly as early as 120 ka. A recently reported age estimate of 65 ka for Madjedbebe, an archaeological site in northern Sahul (Pleistocene Australia–New Guinea), if correct, offers what might be the strongest support yet presented for a pre–55-ka African AMH exodus. We review evidence for AMH arrival on an arc spanning South China through Sahul and then evaluate data from Madjedbebe. We find that an age estimate of >50 ka for this site is unlikely to be valid. While AMH may have moved far beyond Africa well before 50–55 ka, data from the region of interest offered in support of this idea are not compelling.

Flores Island, Indonesia, was inhabited by the small-bodied hominin species Homo floresiensis, which has an unknown evolutionary relationship to modern humans. This island is also home to an extant human pygmy population. Here we describe genome-scale single-nucleotide polymorphism data and whole-genome sequences from a contemporary human pygmy population living on Flores near the cave where H. floresiensis was found. The genomes of Flores pygmies reveal a complex history of admixture with Denisovans and Neanderthals but no evidence for gene flow with other archaic hominins. Modern individuals bear the signatures of recent positive selection encompassing the FADS (fatty acid desaturase) gene cluster, likely related to diet, and polygenic selection acting on standing variation that contributed to their short-stature phenotype. Thus, multiple independent instances of hominin insular dwarfism occurred on Flores.

· La storia evolutiva dei moderni pigmei di Flores, "Le Scienze", 03 agosto 2018

Compatible ecological niche signals between biological and archaeological datasets for late-surviving Neandertals, di R. C. Bible, A. Townsend Peterson, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 166, Issue 4, August 2018, Pages 968-974

To assess ecological niche similarity for biological and archaeological samples representing late-surviving Neandertals in Europe to evaluate the validity of combining these two types of data in ecological niche modeling analyses.
Tests of niche conservatism were used to assess niche similarity and niche identity of samples of morphologically diagnostic Neandertal remains and Middle Paleolithic (MP) archaeological sites dating to the time period leading up to Neandertal extinction. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions for the Pre‐H4 (43.3–40.2 ky cal BP) were used as environmental space analyses.
Null hypotheses of niche similarity and identity of the two types of samples could not be rejected.
As primary and secondary evidence of Neandertal occurrence during the Pre‐H4 show high levels of niche similarity and identity, combining the two types of occurrence data to create larger samples for niche analyses is justified without the concern that different environmental signals could complicate future research.

Investigating interrelationships between Lower Palaeolithic stone tool effectiveness and tool user biometric variation: implications for technological and evolutionary changes, di A. J. M. Key, S. J. Lycett, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", August 2018, Volume 10, Issue 5, pp 989–1006

Lower Palaeolithic hominins are thought to have been dependent upon stone tools during the acquisition and processing of food resources. Hence, it is hypothesized that the evolutionary advantages provided by efficient stone tool use may have selected for anatomical changes observed in the hand during this period. Similarly, hominin manipulative capabilities are suggested to have been of consequence to Lower Palaeolithic technological choices and tool use capabilities. The extent and character of these relationships are not, however, fully understood and it is not known whether these hypothesized co-evolutionary and co-dependent relationships are consistent across varying technological and task-type conditions. Here, six key biometric parameters of the hand are investigated in terms of their statistical relationship with cutting efficiency using both flakes and handaxes over extended periods of use and in multiple types of cutting task. Results indicate that both handaxe and flake cutting efficiencies are significantly related with biometric variation of individual tool users, relationships between biometric parameters and efficiency are consistent across extended durations but vary dependent upon task-type conditions, manipulative strength is the most significant biometric trait in terms of predicting flake efficiency, while hand size is the strongest predictor of handaxe cutting efficiency. These results demonstrate the long-term impact that stone tool use likely had on the evolution of hominin biometric variation during the Lower Palaeolithic, while also highlighting the variable influence of different tool use contexts. Most notably, results indicate that the onset of the Acheulean may have been dependent, a priori, upon hand dimensions that are close to the modern human range, and that prior to the appearance of this anatomy, handaxe use would have been an impractical (i.e. inefficient) tool use behaviour compared to the use of flakes.

The 1-million year old quartz assemblage from Pont-de-Lavaud (Centre, France) in the European context, di J. Despriée, M. H. Moncel, M. Arzarello, G. Courcimault, P. Voinchet, J. J. Bahain, C. Falguères, "Journal of Quaternary Science", Volume 33, Issue 6, August 2018, Pages 639-661

The Pont-de-Lavaud site, located in the Centre Region of France (Creuse Valley), yielded a quartz lithic assemblage composed of a few hundred artefacts with cores, pebble tools, flakes and flake‐tools, mixed with several thousand debris items and pebbles. The archaeological site is covered by a fossil fluvial deposit from the Creuse River (sheet I, with a relative altitude of + 90/105 m), dated by Electron Spin Resonance at the site itself to around 1 Ma. We will focus in this paper on the lithic assemblage with clear anthropogenic features to describe the technological strategies applied to quartz pebbles, with the help of experiments. The core technology is based on short ‘chaînes opératoires’ on local quartz aimed at producing pointed end-products on pebbles and flakes. The methods and techniques include both the bipolar technique on an anvil and direct percussion with a hard hammer. The reduction sequences were strongly conditioned by the morphology and the physical characteristics of the raw material. Few flakes are retouched. The Pont-de-Lavaud lithic assemblage is one example of the diversity of the 1-Ma European industries. The assemblage shows techno-cultural behavioural variability at this period and adaptation to raw material constraints. Comparisons with series where the use of quartz is widespread demonstrate the ability of hominins to use stones of varying quality and to adapt technology to the raw material in zones located beyond the 45th parallel north.

Active percussion tools from the Oldowan site of Barranco León (Orce, Andalusia, Spain): The fundamental role of pounding activities in hominin lifeways, di S. Titton et alii, "Journal of Archaeological Science", Volume 96, August 2018, Pages 131-147

Dated to 1.4 Mya, the Barranco León site (Orce, Andalusia, Spain) is currently the oldest and richest late Lower Pleistocene stone tool assemblage discovered so far in Europe. Archeological and paleontological remains are found clearly associated in lacustrine deposits traversed by a small channel. This paper provides new data about the lithic assemblage from level D, focusing on the abundant active percussion implements that form a part of the highly divers set of limestone macro-tools unique to this assemblage. Morpho-technological and experimental analysis of these tools allows us to hypothesize about the kinds of activities that might have been carried out by hominins at this site. Experimental work allows us to define percussive trace morphologies and to identify new types of percussion tools in the collection, beyond those of classical, ellipsoidal morphology. Analysis of the stone surfaces used for active percussion demonstrates that, while some of the tools could have been used for stone knapping, other hammer morphologies are not well adapted for this kind of activity. The morphology of the tools and the type of percussion damage displayed on their active surfaces provide criteria with which to widen the activity range of the hominins that used them. This study of the percussion instruments from Barranco León contributes essential data with which to buttress the growing interest in the macro component of Oldowan stone toolkits African and Eurasian sites and their possible uses.

Human-like hip joint loading in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus, di T. M. Ryan et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 12-24

Adaptations indicative of habitual bipedalism are present in the earliest recognized hominins. However, debate persists about various aspects of bipedal locomotor behavior in fossil hominins, including the nature of gait kinematics, locomotor variability across different species, and the degree to which various australopith species engaged in arboreal behaviors. In this study, we analyze variation in trabecular bone structure of the femoral head using a sample of modern humans, extant non-human hominoids, baboons, and fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, and the genus Homo. We use μCT data to characterize the fabric anisotropy, material orientation, and bone volume fraction of trabecular bone to reconstruct hip joint loading conditions in these fossil hominins. Femoral head trabecular bone fabric structure in australopiths is more similar to that of modern humans and Pleistocene Homo than extant apes, indicating that these australopith individuals walked with human-like hip kinematics, including a more limited range of habitual hip joint postures (e.g., a more extended hip) during bipedalism. Our results also indicate that australopiths have robust femoral head trabecular bone, suggesting overall increased loading of the musculoskeletal system comparable to that imposed by extant apes. These results provide new evidence of human-like bipedal locomotion in Pliocene hominins, even while other aspects of their musculoskeletal systems retain ape-like characteristics.

Reconstruction, endocranial form and taxonomic affinity of the early Homo calvaria KNM-ER 42700, di S. Neubauer et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 25-39

When first described, the small calvaria KNM-ER 42700 from Ileret, Kenya, was considered a late juvenile or young adult and assigned to Homo erectus. However, this species attribution has subsequently been challenged because the specimen's neurocranial shape differs substantially from that of H. erectus adults. Here, (1) we describe the postmortem damage and deformation that could have influenced previous shape analyses, (2) present digital reconstructions based on computed tomographic scans correcting for these taphonomic defects, and (3) analyze the reconstructed endocranial shape and form, considering both static allometry among adults and ontogenetic allometry. To this end, we use geometric morphometrics to analyze the shape of digital endocasts based on landmarks and semilandmarks. Corroborating previous studies of the external surface, we find that the endocranial shape of KNM-ER 42700 falls outside the known adult variation of H. erectus. With an endocranial volume estimate between 721 and 744 ml, size cannot explain its atypical endocranial shape when static allometry within H. erectus is considered. However, the analysis of ontogenetic allometry suggests that it may be a H. erectus individual that is younger than previously thought and had not yet reached adult endocranial shape. Future work should therefore comprehensively review all cranial indicators of its developmental age, including closure of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis. An alternative hypothesis is that KNM-ER 42700 represents an as yet unidentified species of early Homo. Importantly, KNM-ER 42700 should not be included in the adult hypodigm of H. erectus.

Patterns of lateral enamel growth in Homo naledi as assessed through perikymata distribution and number, di D. Guatelli-Steinberg et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 40-54

Perikymata, incremental growth lines visible on tooth enamel surfaces, differ in their distribution and number among hominin species, although with overlapping patterns. This study asks: (1) How does the distribution of perikymata along the lateral enamel surface of Homo naledi anterior teeth compare to that of other hominins? (2) When both perikymata distribution and number are analyzed together, how distinct is H. naledi from other hominins? A total of 19 permanent anterior teeth (incisors and canines) of H. naledi were compared, by tooth type, to permanent anterior teeth of other hominins: Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, Paranthropus boisei, Homo ergaster/Homo erectus, other early Homo, Neandertals, and modern humans, with varying sample sizes. Repeated measures analyses of the percentage of perikymata per decile of reconstructed crown height yielded several statistically significant differences between H. naledi and other hominins. Canonical variates analysis of percentage of perikymata in the cervical half of the crown together with perikymata number revealed that, in 8 of 19 cases, H. naledi teeth were significantly unlikely to be classified as other hominins, while exhibiting least difference from modern humans (especially southern Africans). In a cross-validated analysis, 68% of the H. naledi teeth were classified as such, while 32% were classified as modern human (most often southern African). Of 313 comparative teeth use for this analysis, only 1.9% were classified as H. naledi. What tends to differentiate H. naledi anterior tooth crowns from those of most other hominins, including some modern humans, is strongly skewed perikymata distributions combined with perikymata numbers that fall in the middle to lower ranges of hominin values. H. naledi therefore tends toward a particular combination of these features that is less often seen in other hominins. Implications of these data for the growth and development of H. naledi anterior teeth are considered.

Mandibular ramus shape variation and ontogeny in Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis, di C. E. Terhune, T. B. Ritzman, C. A. Robinson, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 55-71

As the interface between the mandible and cranium, the mandibular ramus is functionally significant and its morphology has been suggested to be informative for taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses. In primates, and particularly in great apes and humans, ramus morphology is highly variable, especially in the shape of the coronoid process and the relationship of the ramus to the alveolar margin. Here we compare ramus shape variation through ontogeny in Homo neanderthalensis to that of modern and fossil Homo sapiens using geometric morphometric analyses of two-dimensional semilandmarks and univariate measurements of ramus angulation and relative coronoid and condyle height. Results suggest that ramus, especially coronoid, morphology varies within and among subadult and adult modern human populations, with the Alaskan Inuit being particularly distinct. We also identify significant differences in overall anterosuperior ramus and coronoid shapes between H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis, both in adults and throughout ontogeny. These shape differences are subtle, however, and we therefore suggest caution when using ramus morphology to diagnose group membership for individual specimens of these taxa. Furthermore, we argue that these morphologies are unlikely to be representative of differences in masticatory biomechanics and/or paramasticatory behaviors between Neanderthals and modern humans, as has been suggested by previous authors. Assessments of ontogenetic patterns of shape change reveal that the typical Neanderthal ramus morphology is established early in ontogeny, and there is little evidence for divergent postnatal ontogenetic allometric trajectories between Neanderthals and modern humans as a whole. This analysis informs our understanding of intraspecific patterns of mandibular shape variation and ontogeny in H. sapiens and can shed further light on overall developmental and life history differences between H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis.

A new tephrochronology for early diverse stone tool technologies and long-distance raw material transport in the Middle to Late Pleistocene Kapthurin Formation, East Africa, di N. Blegen, B. R. Jicha, S. McBrearty, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 75-103

The Middle to Late Pleistocene (780–10 ka) of East Africa records evidence of significant behavioral change, early fossils of Homo sapiens, and the dispersals of our species across and out of Africa. Studying human evolution in this time period thus requires an extensive and precise chronology relating behavioral evidence from archaeological sequences to aspects of hominin biology and evidence of past environments from fossils and geological sequences. Tephrochronology provides the chronostratigraphic resolution to achieve this through correlation and dating of volcanic ashes. The tephrochronology of the Kapthurin Formation presented here, based on tephra correlations and 40Ar/39Ar dates, provides new ages between 395.6 ± 3.5 ka and 465.3 ± 1.0 ka for nine sites showing diverse blade and Levallois methods of core reduction. These are >110 kyr older than previously known in East Africa. New 40Ar/39Ar dates provide a refined age of 222.5 ± 0.6 ka for early evidence of long-distance (166 km) obsidian transport at the Sibilo School Road Site. A tephra correlation between the Baringo and Victoria basins also provides a new date of ~100 ka for the Middle Stone Age site of Keraswanin. By providing new and older dates for 11 sites containing several important aspects of hominin behavior and extending the chronology of the Kapthurin Formation forward by ~130,000 years, the tephrochronology presented here contributes one of the longest and most refined chronostratigraphic frameworks of Middle through Late Pleistocene East Africa. This tephrochronology thus provides the foundation to understand the process of modern human behavioral evolution as it relates to biological and paleoenvironmental circumstances.

The effect of ontogeny on estimates of KNM-WT 15000's adult body size, di D. L. Cunningham, R. R. Graves, D. J. Wescott, R. C. McCarthy, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 119-127

The Homo erectus specimen KNM-WT 15000 has played a critical role in our understanding of body size evolution. New interpretations suggest that KNM-WT 15000 had a younger age-at-death and a more rapid ontogenetic trajectory than previously suggested. Recent fossil discoveries and new interpretations suggest a wide range of body size and shape variation in H. erectus. Based on these new insights, we argue that KNM-WT 15000's adult stature and body mass could have been much smaller than has been traditionally presented in the literature. Using chimpanzee and modern human growth trajectories, we bracketed the range of possibilities for KNM-WT 15000's adult body size between 160.0 and 177.7 cm (5′3″–5′10″) for stature and 60.0 and 82.7 kg (132–182 lbs.) for body mass. These estimates put KNM-WT 15000 near the mean rather than among the largest known H. erectus specimens.

Inter-ray variation in metatarsal strength properties in humans and African apes: Implications for inferring bipedal biomechanics in the Olduvai Hominid 8 foot, di B. A. Patel et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 147-165

When measured as a ratio of mean midshaft diameter to bone length, the OH 8 fossil hominin foot exhibits a metatarsal (Mt) robusticity pattern of 1 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 2, which differs from the widely perceived “common” modern human pattern (1 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2); African apes generally exhibit a third pattern (1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5). Largely because of the relative ranking of Mt2 and Mt5, OH 8 metatarsals structurally resemble the pattern exhibited by bipedal humans more than the pattern of quadrupedal and climbing African apes. Considering only these three phenotypes, however, discounts the potentially important functional implications of variation in modern human (and African ape) metatarsal robusticity patterns, suggesting that they are not useful for interpreting the specific biomechanics of a bipedal gait in fossils (i.e., whether it was modern human-like or not). Using computed tomography scans to quantify metatarsal midshaft cross-sectional geometry in a large sample of Homo (n=130), Gorilla (n=44) and Pan (n=80), we documented greater variation in metatarsal robusticity patterns than previously recognized in all three groups. While apes consistently show a 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 pattern in our larger sample, there does not appear to be a similarly precise single “common” human pattern. Rather, human metatarsals converge towards a 1 > 4/5 > 2/3 pattern, where metatarsals 4 and 5, and metatarsals 2 and 3, often “flip” positions relative to each other depending on the variable examined. After reassessing what a “common” human pattern could be based on a larger sample, the previously described OH 8 pattern of 1 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 2 is only observed in some humans (<6%) and almost never in apes (<0.5%). Although this suggests an overall greater similarity to (some) humans than to any ape in loading of the foot, the relatively rare frequency of these humans in our sample underscores potential differences in loading experienced by the medial and lateral columns of the OH 8 foot compared to modern humans.

Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa, di A. Beaudet et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 121, August 2018, Pages 204-220

The Sterkfontein Caves site is one of the richest early hominin fossil localities in Africa. More specifically, the fossiliferous deposits within the lower-lying Jacovec Cavern have yielded valuable hominin remains; prominent among them is the Australopithecus partial cranium StW 578. Due to the fragmentary nature of the braincase, the specimen has not yet been formally assigned to a species. In this context, we employ microtomography to quantify cranial thickness and composition of StW 578 in order to assess its taxonomic affinity. As comparative material, we investigate 10 South African hominin cranial specimens from Sterkfontein (StW 505, Sts 5, Sts 25, Sts 71), Swartkrans (SK 46, SK 48, SK 49) and Makapansgat (MLD 1, MLD 10, MLD 37/38), attributed to either Australopithecus or Paranthropus, as well as 10 extant human and 10 extant chimpanzee crania. Thickness variation in and structural arrangement of the inner and outer cortical tables and the diploë are automatically assessed at regular intervals along one parasagittal and one coronal section. Additionally, topographic cranial vault thickness distribution is visualized using color maps. Comparisons highlight an absolutely and relatively thickened condition of the StW 578 cranial vault versus those of other South African Plio-Pleistocene hominins. Moreover, in StW 578, as well as in the Australopithecus specimens Sts 5 and Sts 71 from Sterkfontein, the diploic layer contributes substantially to cumulative vault thickness (i.e., >60%). Within the comparative sample investigated here, StW 505 and Sts 71 from Sterkfontein Member 4, both attributed to Australopithecus, most closely resemble StW 578 in terms of cranial vault thickness values, tissue proportions, and two- and three-dimensional distributions. Including additional Plio-Pleistocene Australopithecus and Paranthropus crania from South and East Africa in future studies would further help establish morphological variability in these hominin taxa.

Plio-Pleistocene hominins from South Africa remain poorly understood. Here, we focus on how Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus exploited and—in part—partitioned their environment. Specifically, we explore the extent to which first maxillary molar roots (M1) are oriented and thus, by proxy, estimate the direction of loads habitually exerted on the chewing surface. Landmark-based shape analysis of M1 root reconstructions of 26 South African hominins and three East African Paranthropus boisei suggest that A. africanus may have been able to dissipate the widest range of laterally directed loads. Paranthropus robustus and P. boisei, despite having overlapping morphologies, differ in aspects of root shape/size, dento-cranial morphologies, microwear textures and C4 food consumption. Hence, while Paranthropus monophyly cannot be excluded, equivalence of dietary niche can. The South African hominins occupied distinct ecological niches, whereby P. robustus appears uniquely adapted to dissipate antero-posteriorly directed loads. (...)

- Gravettian tear-drop-shaped beads

- Acquérir l’ivoire vrai et lui donner forme : contraintes pratiques et techniques

- Le mammouth dans l’art paléolithique

- Tusks and tools – Experiments in carving mammoth ivory

- Essai d’archéologie expérimentale pour la production de perles à perforation double aurignaciennes

- Marqueur d’identification à micro-échelle de l’ivoire de mammouth dans les objets préhistoriques

- Ivory Ornaments of the Aurignacian in Western Europe: Case studies from France and Germany

- Les objets en ivoire du Jura souabe

- Les statuettes en ivoire gravettiennes d’Europe occidentale

- Qu’est-ce que l’Ivoire ?

- Des armes en ivoire de mammouth : deux cas particuliers

- Perles rectangulaires gravettiennes : apport de la démarche expérimentale

- L’homme-lion d’Hohlenstein – Stadel

- Note sur des outils cylindriques en ivoire,

- Les statuettes féminines en ivoire des faciès gravettiens et post-gravettiens en Europe centrale et orientale : modes de fabrication et de représentation

- L’exploitation de l’ivoire de Mammouth au Paléolithique

- Objets d’ivoire – Archives de vie

In 2006, six isolated hominin teeth were excavated from Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits at the Magubike rockshelter in southern Tanzania. They comprise two central incisors, one lateral incisor, one canine, one third premolar, and one fourth premolar. All are fully developed and come from the maxilla. None of the teeth are duplicated, so they may represent a single individual. While there is some evidence of post-depositional alteration, the morphology of these teeth clearly shares features with anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Both metric and non-metric traits are compared to those from other African and non-African dental remains. The degree of biological relatedness between eastern and southern African Stone Age hunter-gatherers has long been a subject of interest, and several characteristics of the Magubike teeth resemble those of the San of southern Africa. Another notable feature is that the three incisors are marked on the labial crown by scratches that are much coarser than microwear striations. These non-masticatory scratches on the Magubike teeth suggest that the use of the front teeth as tools included regularly repeated activities undertaken throughout the life of the individual. The exact age of these teeth is not clear as ESR and radiocarbon dates on associated snail shells give varying results, but a conservative estimate of their minimum age is 45,000 years. (...)

Montane pine forests reached the northeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula 50,000 years ago, 30-JUL-2018

A study conducted by the UAB and the IPHES confirms a continuous presence of montane coniferous forests from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast from 50,000 to 15,000 years ago, demonstrating their resilience to the extreme and ever changing climate conditions of the period. Carbon analysis of the Cova Gran de Santa Linya, in Lleida's Pre-Pyrenees region, indicates that there were abundant Scots pine forests which were used as the main source of firewood by the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens inhabiting the area. The analysis of charcoal from the hearths of the Cova Gran settlement, located in Les Avellanes-Santa Linya, Lleida at 385 metres above sea level, confirms that montane forests of the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula covered the Pyrenees and reached the Mediterranean coast some 50,000 to 15,000 years ago, with a large predominance of montane pine trees and most probably Scots pine. The study also allowed researchers to obtain detailed information on the type of firewood preferred by Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens, who successively inhabited the Pyrenean shelter during this period. (...)

Homo sapiens developed a new ecological niche that separated it from other hominins, 30-JUL-2018

Critical review of growing archaeological and palaeoenvironmental datasets relating to the Middle and Late Pleistocene (300-12 thousand years ago) hominin dispersals within and beyond Africa, published today in Nature Human Behaviour, demonstrates unique environmental settings and adaptations for Homo sapiens relative to previous and coexisting hominins such as Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus. Our species' ability to occupy diverse and 'extreme' settings around the world stands in stark contrast to the ecological adaptations of other hominin taxa, and may explain how our species became the last surviving hominin on the planet. The paper, by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Michigan suggests investigations into what it means to be human should shift from attempts to uncover the earliest material traces of 'art', 'language', or technological 'complexity' towards understanding what makes our species ecologically unique. In contrast to our ancestors and contemporary relatives, our species not only colonized a diversity of challenging environments, including deserts, tropical rainforests, high altitude settings, and the palaeoarctic, but also specialized in its adaptation to some of these extremes. (...)

Acheulean technology and landscape use at Dawadmi, central Arabia, di C. Shipton et alii, July 27, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200497 - free  access -

Despite occupying a central geographic position, investigations of hominin populations in the Arabian Peninsula during the Lower Palaeolithic period are rare. The colonization of Eurasia below 55 degrees latitude indicates the success of the genus Homo in the Early and Middle Pleistocene, but the extent to which these hominins were capable of innovative and novel behavioural adaptations to engage with mid-latitude environments is unclear. Here we describe new field investigations at the Saffaqah locality (206–76) near Dawadmi, in central Arabia that aim to establish how hominins adapted to this region. The site is located in the interior of Arabia over 500 km from both the Red Sea and the Gulf, and at the headwaters of two major extinct river systems that were likely used by Acheulean hominins to cross the Peninsula. Saffaqah is one of the largest Acheulean sites in Arabia with nearly a million artefacts estimated to occur on the surface, and it is also the first to yield stratified deposits containing abundant artefacts. It is situated in the unusual setting of a dense and well-preserved landscape of Acheulean localities, with sites and isolated artefacts occurring regularly for tens of kilometres in every direction. We describe both previous and recent excavations at Saffaqah and its large lithic assemblage. We analyse thousands of artefacts from excavated and surface contexts, including giant andesite cores and flakes, smaller cores and retouched artefacts, as well as handaxes and cleavers. Technological assessment of stratified lithics and those from systematic survey, enable the reconstruction of stone tool life histories. The Acheulean hominins at Dawadmi were strong and skilful, with their adaptation evidently successful for some time. However, these biface-makers were also technologically conservative, and used least-effort strategies of resource procurement and tool transport. Ultimately, central Arabia was depopulated, likely in the face of environmental deterioration in the form of increasing aridity. (...)

Correction: Acheulean technology and landscape use at Dawadmi, central Arabia, di C. Shipton et alii, September 7, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203488

· Our ancestors may have left Africa hundreds of thousands of years earlier than thought, di A. Gibbons, "Science news", Jul. 11, 2018

La nostra specie ha avuto origine in Africa, ma non ha avuto un’unica culla. È invece il frutto del rimescolamento di popolazioni affini che, rimaste separate per lungo tempo in una molteplicità di regioni del continente africano hanno sviluppato caratteri fisici e culturali diversi per poi dar vita a una varietà di meticciati. È la conclusione a cui è giunto un consorzio internazionale di ricercatori che ha effettuato una metanalisi sul complesso di dati paleoantropologici, genetici, archeologici raccolti dalle diverse discipline interessate all’origine della nostra specie. Lo studio è stato pubblicato su “Trends in Ecology and Evolution”. L’origine della nostra specie è ancora controversa, ma molti ricercatori hanno ipotizzato che i primi esseri umani moderni abbiano avuto origine da un’unica popolazione ancestrale relativamente numerosa, al cui interno sarebbe avvenuto un continuo e intenso scambio di geni e tecnologie, come quelle per la produzione di manufatti in pietra. (...)

The textbook narrative of human evolution casts Homo sapiens as evolving from a single ancestral population in one region of Africa around 300,000 years ago. However, in a commentary published July 11 in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, an interdisciplinary group of researchers concludes that early humans comprised a subdivided, shifting, pan-African meta-population with physical and cultural diversity. This framework better explains existing genetic, fossil, and cultural patterns and clarifies our shared ancestry. "In the fossil record, we see a mosaic-like, continental-wide trend toward the modern human form, and the fact that these features appear at different places at different times tells us that these populations were not well connected," says Eleanor Scerri, a British Academy postdoctoral fellow in archaeology at the University of Oxford and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. "This fits with a subdivided population model in which genetic exchanges are neither random nor frequent. This allows us to start detailing the processes that shaped our evolutionary history." Explaining this poor connectivity was a series of shifting rivers, deserts, forests, and other physical barriers separating these subpopulations, as highlighted in the ecological record. "These barriers created migration and contact opportunities for groups that may previously have been separated, and later fluctuation might have meant populations that mixed for a short while became isolated again," says Scerri. (...)

A scientific consortium led by Dr. Eleanor Scerri, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford and researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, has found that human ancestors were scattered across Africa, and largely kept apart by a combination of diverse habitats and shifting environmental boundaries, such as forests and deserts. Millennia of separation gave rise to a staggering diversity of human forms, whose mixing ultimately shaped our species. While it is widely accepted that our species originated in Africa, less attention has been paid to how we evolved within the continent. Many had assumed that early human ancestors originated as a single, relatively large ancestral population, and exchanged genes and technologies like stone tools in a more or less random fashion. In a paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution this week, this view is challenged, not only by the usual study of bones (anthropology), stones (archaeology) and genes (population genomics), but also by new and more detailed reconstructions of Africa's climates and habitats over the last 300,000 years. (...)

From the Oldowan to the Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania), "Journal of Human Evolution", edited by Ignacio de la Torre, Lindsay J McHenry, Jackson K Njau, Volume 120, Pages 1-422 (July 2018):


- From the Oldowan to the Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania – An introduction to the special issue

- Tephrochronology of Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and placement of the Oldowan–Acheulean transition

- Bed II Sequence Stratigraphic context of EF-HR and HWK EE archaeological sites, and the Oldowan/Acheulean succession at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

- The paleoecology of Pleistocene birds from Middle Bed II, at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and the environmental context of the Oldowan-Acheulean transition

- Paleoecology of the Serengeti during the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: The mammal and fish evidence

- Large mammal diets and paleoecology across the Oldowan–Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania from stable isotope and tooth wear analyses

- Is there a Developed Oldowan A at Olduvai Gorge? A diachronic analysis of the Oldowan in Bed I and Lower-Middle Bed II at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

- A hidden treasure of the Lower Pleistocene at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: The Leakey HWK EE assemblage

- New excavations at the HWK EE site: Archaeology, paleoenvironment and site formation processes during late Oldowan times at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

- Dietary traits of the ungulates from the HWK EE site at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania): Diachronic changes and seasonality

- The carnivorous feeding behavior of early Homo at HWK EE, Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

- Oldowan technological behaviour at HWK EE (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

- The contexts and early Acheulean archaeology of the EF-HR paleo-landscape (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

- Site formation processes of the early Acheulean assemblage at EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

- Technological behaviour in the early Acheulean of EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

- Hominin raw material procurement in the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge

- Pounding tools in HWK EE and EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania): Percussive activities in the Oldowan-Acheulean transition

Aggiornamento 10 luglio

Bridging prehistoric caves with buried landscapes in the Swabian Jura (southwestern Germany), di A. Barbieri et alii, "Quaternary International",  Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 23-43

The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispersal of modern humans into central Europe, owing to the presence of numerous cave sites in the region that contain stratigraphic sequences spanning the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, despite the relatively complete sequences contained within these caves, previous studies hypothesize that phases of erosion have influenced the preservation of Upper Paleolithic deposits, particularly those dating to the Gravettian. Furthermore, these same studies suggest that during the Late Glacial and Holocene, colluvial sediments subsequently covered these unconformities. In this paper we present a dataset that helps us evaluate how geomorphological processes active at the regional scale around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have impacted the preservation of the archaeological record within the cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys. To this end we applied and integrated a variety of methods, including geophysical prospection, coring, micromorphology, Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and radiocarbon dating. Our results show that alternating phases of soil formation, hillside denudation, river valley incision and floodplain aggradation have been the major processes active in Lone and Ach valleys throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. These processes impacted the formation histories of the caves in the two valleys, thereby significantly influencing how we interpret the archaeological record of the region. In particular our data support the hypothesis arguing for the erosion of Gravettian-aged deposits (which are dated between 29.000 and 27.000 14C BP) from the caves of Bockstein, Hohle Fels and possibly Hohlenstein-Stadel. Shortly after this erosive phase, increased depositional rates of loess nearly free of gravel and reworked soils marked in both the Ach and Lone valleys a shift towards colder and drier conditions corresponding with the LGM. Deteriorating climate likely forced Gravettian groups to abandon the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian recolonization of the region took place in a cool interstadial (13.500–12.500 14C BP) that was followed by a period of climate deterioration with minor phases of erosion in the caves and bedrock denudation. Towards the beginning of the Holocene the accumulation of frost debris (Bergkies) at the cave entrances marked the cessation of erosion within the caves.

Formation processes at sites with high-resolution sequences in the Crimean Middle Paleolithic: The Kabazi V rock shelter and the open-air site of Kabazi II compared, di T. Uthmeier, V. Chabai, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 44-67

Several Paleolithic sites in the Crimea are characterized by long stratigraphic sequences with numerous thin in-situ archaeological horizons. In this case study, we compare two neighboring sites at Kabazi Mountain, parts of whose sequences are contemporaneous, for similarities and differences in their site formation processes during OIS 3. At Kabazi II, 15 m of mainly colluvial sediments accumulated behind a huge limestone block. Differences in the dynamics of the colluvial sedimentation led to archaeological horizons preserved in situ and assemblages moving downslope into the excavation area. Periods of stability due to vegetation cover upslope made soil formation processes possible. Kabazi V is a buried rock shelter with a different sedimentological setting. Here, sediments were built up by the dissolution of soft nummulitic limestone and influenced by running water, and are in part sandwiched between massive rock fall. Despite the differences in site type, the deposits of both sites are characterized by autochthonous (“inside”) and allochthonous (“outside”) deposits. In both cases, the preservation of deposits is due to their protection by large rock fall. Mean annual sedimentation rates show that the archaeological resolution of the sequences is more a consequence of recurrent human use over long periods than of high absolute sedimentation rates. The average time elapsing in each case between the archaeological layers indicates that the base camp of Kabazi V was more frequently used by Neanderthals than the kill-and butchering site of Kabazi II. This suggests long-term persistence of the site catchment criteria applied at Kabazi Mountain, and an important role for base camps in the Crimean Middle Paleolithic perception of landscape.

Chronology and formation processes of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic deposits of Ifri n'Ammar using multi-method luminescence dating and micromorphology, di N. Klasen et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 89-102

The existence of an early Upper Palaeolithic culture at the transition from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Upper Palaeolithic in North African cave sites is currently under debate. We studied Ifri n‘Ammar in North-East Morocco, which is one of the oldest settlement sites of anatomically modern humans (AMH) in the Maghreb and contains several sediment layers which are attributed to Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations. In order to investigate processes of sediment accumulation and postdepositional alteration, we studied thin sections from these levels. According to micromorphological analysis, aeolian input considerably contributed to sediment accumulation and postdepositional mixing by bioturbation occurred. We compared multiple and single-grain quartz and multiple-grain feldspar luminescence dating of three samples from corresponding sediment layers to achieve a comprehensive chronology. The single-grain dose distributions scatter strongly and the source of the scatter is unclear. We used an arithmetic mean to calculate the equivalent doses. Archaeological evidence and age control from radiocarbon dating was essential to interpret the data. Quartz and feldspar multiple-grain luminescence ages are between 15 and 80 ka. The central part of the profile shows an intermediate accumulation, which lacks specified lithic artefacts. This supports the idea of an occupational gap between Middle and Upper Palaeolithic layers.

New chronological constraints for Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 6/5-3) cave sequences in Eastern Transylvania, Romania, di D. Veres, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 103-114

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition is one of the crucial periods of change in the prehistory of Europe due to the full emergence, continent-wide, of modern human lithic technologies, and detrimental of Neanderthal survival. Knowledge about the transition is growing, however, the evidence for cultural and technological developments for the Middle Palaeolithic in the Carpathian – Lower Danube Basin is still rather sparse. Here we discuss latest findings arising from a chronological investigation of Middle Palaeolithic assemblages within the Varghis karst, Eastern Transylvania, Romania. Combining our first chronological results with information from previous excavations, we can distinguish two main stages of habitation (albeit Middle Palaeolithic lithics and faunal remains appear scattered throughout the investigated profile) within the Abri 122 rock shelter. In order to augment the typological cultural considerations, we applied direct radiocarbon dating on bones and charcoal from within the occupation layers. Radiocarbon dating of bones suggests that the Middle Palaeolithic sequence is older than the upper dating limit of the method, whereas direct luminescence ages on the lowermost productive horizon and immediately above it indicate surprisingly old ages of ca. 106–141 ka (OSL – optically stimulated) or 99–174 ka (IRSL – infrared stimulated). Multiple-protocol dating of charcoal found within the two habitation layers produced ages >38 14C ka BP, also suggesting that the lowermost lithic-rich horizon pertains to the Middle Palaeolithic industries. Overall, the recovered lithics, currently forming one of the most significant collections for Romania, are fully consistent with two main habitation phases connected to Middle Palaeolithic cultural affinities. The occurrence of a volcanic ash layer within Ursului Cave and originating from the Ciomadul volcanic complex (Carpathians) is first reported here. Recently dated to ~ ≥ 43 (−50) ka, it might represent an important marker horizon, providing that it is identified within other Palaeolithic cave assemblages.

Multi-proxy archaeological investigations of a Middle Palaeolithic occupation context in Eastern Transylvania, Romania, di M. Cosac et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 115-130

Until recently, the cave-based Middle Palaeolithic in Romania offered almost exclusively archaeological collections without chronological control, the limited number of radiocarbon samples reported usually lacking a precise archaeological context. In an effort to improve such limitations, we initiated an interdisciplinary research of the archaeological profile Abri 122 – Varghis (Vârghiş) Gorges (Romania), a site that so far produced the most important Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblage in the Carpathian region. Initial archaeological research in the karst system of Varghis Gorges dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. For the most part, the archaeological collections recovered, although consistent, remained unpublished. The lithic analysis presented here discusses one of the richest such collections, hosted in the Székely National Museum and recovered from Abri 122 site during previous excavations, complemented by our own survey during last years. It appears that the main raw material used for tool making was quartzite, followed by lydite, opal, and volcanic rocks. Blank production seems to have favored medium to large size flakes, irrespectively of the chosen raw material. Alongside partially retouched flakes and blades, the formal tools category includes sidescrapers, endscrapers, unifacial and bifacial points. Unlike the majority of the unmodified quartzite blanks, formal tools are mainly made of lydite/opal and basalt/andesite. Albeit the archaeological material appears scattered throughout the entire vertical span, two main clusters of lithics are apparent in the newly surveyed profile. The recovered faunal remains belong to herbivores such as Bos/Bison and Capra, canids (Canis lupus) and cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). Several bone items show traces of defleshing and intentional use. Establishing a reliable chronological framing for the archaeological sequence at Abri 122 proved rather challenging. While radiocarbon dating was complicated by scarcity of collagen in bone remains and age of samples at or beyond the upper limit of the method, the upper span of the Middle Palaeolithic assemblages at Abri 122 likely reaches into Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Optically (OSL) and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of silt-sized grains indicate ages of >100 ka for the lowermost cluster of lithics/bones. These ages must be regarded as maximum ages for the Middle Palaeolithic assemblage at Abri 122.

Reconstructing prehistoric settlement models and land use patterns on Mt. Damota/SW Ethiopia, di R. Vogelsang, K. P. Wendt, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 140-149

Although high-altitude mountain habitats are often regarded as unfavorable for human occupation (e.g. Aldenderfer 2014); on the other hand tropical highlands in Africa are suggested as potential refugia during times of environmental stress (e.g. Basell 2008; Brandt et al. 2012). Archaeological investigations on Mount Damota (2908 m a.s.l.), located on the boundary between the Southwest Ethiopian Highlands to the west and the southern Main Ethiopian Rift valley to the east, yielded a large number of archaeological sites from the Middle Stone Age period until historical times. In this paper we try to reconstruct settlement models for the late Pleistocene and Holocene occupation in this area and speculate about potential land use patterns. Such complex topics demand a landscape archaeological approach that includes open-air sites and rock-shelters. The results from our excavations at Mochena Borago Rock-shelter and evidence from open-air-sites that were recorded during intensive surveys on the slopes and plateau of the mountain, allow a first reconstruction of the settlement history of the area.

The Aurignacian way of life: Contextualizing early modern human adaptation in the Carpathian Basin, di T. C. Hauck et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 150-166

The culture and dispersal of early modern humans are top priorities of many research agendas. While the debate primarily centers on genetics, dispersal trajectories and points of earliest presence, the context (climate, landscape, demography, culture) of the colonizing process is usually considered in a coarse-grained manner or even ignored. To understand the context of human dispersal and to decipher relevant push and pull factors requires the consideration of multiple environmental proxies and the research on different geographic scales. In this paper, we present the Late Quaternary Carpathian Basin as a specific context area of early modern human dispersal into Europe. The multitude of Early Upper Paleolithic sites in this region suggests that it was part of a major dispersal corridor along the Danube and its catchment area some 40,000 years ago. The Aurignacian land-use model describes the interaction of early modern humans with their environment. One important parameter is the specific distribution of archaeological sites that exemplifies their boundedness to specific eco-zones. To reconstruct the latter, paleo-environmental proxies and archaeological data are examined together in regional vector models and in a GIS based landscape archaeology approach. In the final section, we present the Carpathian Basin as an idiosyncratic habitat that mirrors the dynamics and complexity of early modern human adaptation.

Early Upper Paleolithic surface collections from loess-like sediments in the northern Carpathian Basin, di W. Chu et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 167-182

The way in which modern humans first entered Europe has been a recent focus of Upper Paleolithic research. A leading theory posits that the Danube served as a conduit for migration from Southeastern into Central and Western Europe. However, a challenge to this has been the scarcity of Early Upper Paleolithic sites along the Middle Danube (Carpathian) Basin. Though several sites with Early Upper Paleolithic features (Szeletian, Aurignacian) are known from surface prospections, few have been archeologically investigated in detail. Here, our aim is to elucidate this long-standing deficiency by evaluating two unknown and three known sites from the northern Carpathian Basin in Hungary and Slovakia through a series of “keyhole” excavations. The objectives were to see if in situ stratified material still existed and to characterize the sites’ archeological assemblages and sedimentological contexts. To do this, field observations supplemented by granulometry were employed to determine if the surrounding sedimentary matrix was eolian loess and/or if it had been mixed with underlying older deposits. The results indicate that the lithics represent Early Upper Paleolithic assemblages that experienced post-depositional mixing. However, two sites (Seňa I, Nagyréde 1) showed more nuanced site formation processes and may contain in situ artifacts warranting further exploration. These studies highlight the importance of including sedimentological research into archeological investigations, because the paucity of sites may not simply mean a lack of human occupation, but can indicate a dynamic geomorphological evolution of the Pleistocene landscape that may have erased past traces of human settlements through insufficient sedimentation. The results provide new insights into the Early Upper Paleolithic settlement and the sedimentary dynamics of the Carpathian Basin ultimately leading to a greater understanding of the early modern human settlement patterns in Europe.

Reconstruction of LGM faunal patterns using Species Distribution Modelling. The archaeological record of the Solutrean in Iberia, di M. de Andrés-Herrero, D. Becker, Gerd-Ch Weniger, "Quaternary International", Volume 485, 20 August 2018, Pages 199-208

This paper focuses on analyzing the links between archaeological sites and their environments by calculating the catchment areas of Solutrean sites in Iberia and the habitat suitability for the different hunted species in each site. This research uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for calculating the catchment areas and Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) for reconstructing potential distributions of prey species. The results of this modelling for the Solutrean sites were then compared to a database on faunal remains. The SDM results show differences between northern and southern Iberia in the habitat suitability for some species. There are also visible differences between the faunal record and in the subsistence strategies in both areas, which can be linked to the climatic and topographic conditions inferred by means of site catchment analysis and the SDM.

A 3D form comparative analysis of the Neandertal glenoid fossa in the context of the genus Homo, di F. J. Rodriguez-Perez et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 481, 10 July 2018, Pages 91-100

Morphological differences between the Neandertal and modern human glenoid fossa are mostly attributed to functional factors. However, the intimate relationship between the pectoral girdle and the shape of the thorax on which it rests calls for a structural analysis of the morphology of the glenoid fossa. Using both 3D Geometric Morphometric techniques and classical osteometry we carry out an analysis of the morphology of Neandertal scapular glenoid fossa, considering the effects that independent parameters such as allometry, sexual dimorphism and laterality could exert on the glenoid fossa shape. We also discuss how the morphological configuration of the thorax together with other functional factors could explain some of the differences between Neandertals and H. sapiens, and we assess the morphological evolution of this structure in the context of the genus Homo. To this end, 3DGM methods were applied in a comparative framework including the new SD-2101 + specimen from the Sidrón site (Spain) dated to 49,000 years ago, other Neandertal, Homo sapiens, KNM-WT 15000 (Homo ergaster/erectus) and Pan troglodytes specimens. A total of 75 sliding semilandmarks were used to collect the morphology of the glenoid fossa. Morphological comparison and variability were assessed through principal component analysis. Our results confirm the metric and morphological features of the Neandertal scapular glenoid fossa and point to a multifactorial effect in the glenoid morphology. We also detect a morphological trait of the Neandertal glenoid fossa that has not been reported previously: the projection of the upper part of the ventral border shared with modern humans and influenced by structural factors related to the configuration of the rib cage and shoulder. These results are consistent with the evolutionary framework of the hominin glenoid fossa, with some morphological changes being caused by functional factors, and others by structural factors such as the configuration of the thorax.

Palaeoecological implications of Neanderthal occupation at Unit Xb of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Spain) during MIS 3 using small mammals proxy, A. Fagoaga et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 481, 10 July 2018, Pages 101-112

Nearly 250 small mammal remains from Unit Xb of El Salt Middle Palaeolithic site have been studied in order to reconstruct the palaeoecological conditions during a phase of Neanderthal occupation in this locality at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka. A total of 7rodents (Microtus arvalis, M. agrestis, M. (Terricola) duodecimcostatus, Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae, Arvicola sapidus, Eliomys quercinus and Apodemus sylvaticus), 4 insectivores (Erinaceus cf. europaeus, Crocidura sp., Sorex sp. and Talpidae indet.) and 1 lagomorph (Oryctolagus cf. cuniculus) have been identified. Applying the Mutual Ecogeographic Range and Habitat Weighting methods, Unit Xb may correspond to a relatively cold (−3.3 °C in comparison with present values) and slightly more humid (+113.3 mm in comparison with present values) period. The environment was mainly composed of open woodlands (58%) followed by dry (20%) and humid (14%) meadows. These results suggest that supramediterranean conditions were present in the surroundings of the site at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka instead of mesomediterranean conditions present today.

An international team of scientists reports the oldest unambiguous hunting lesions documented in the history of humankind. The lesions were found on skeletons of two large-sized extinct fallow deer killed by Neandertals about 120,000 years ago around the shores of a small lake (Neumark-Nord 1) near present-day Halle in the eastern part of Germany. The study was led by Professor Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser of the Department of Ancient Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and was now published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. The study constitutes a significant step forward in our knowledge of the Neandertal niche. It demonstrates how Neandertals obtained their prey, first and foremost in terms of their much debated hunting equipment while also shedding light on their hunting skills. (...)

Pleistocene paleosol development and paleoenvironmental dynamics in East Africa: A multiproxy record from the Homo-bearing Aalat pedostratigraphic succession, Dandiero basin (Eritrea), di F. Scarciglia et alii, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 191, 1 July 2018, Pages 275-298

The climatic changes during the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition are a key to understand the ecosystem dynamics that involved the Homo erectus-ergaster distribution. The Aalat pedostratigraphic succession represents a continental archive in the African Rift Valley (Eritrea), where remains of Homo around 1 Ma were identified. High-resolution magnetostratigraphy dated this succession between the base of the Jaramillo subchron and the lower Brunhes chron. Despite the present arid, desert climate, the Aalat section records a persistence of water-driven, fluvio-lacustrine environments, which suggests a major tectonic control on sedimentation, although climate changes are clearly overprinted. Macro- and micromorphological, physico-chemical, mineralogical and geochemical features, up to now poorly available for Pleistocene paleosols in East Africa, depict a poor to moderate degree of development, although calcic and petrocalcic/petrogypsic horizons at different stratigraphic heights indicate phases of geomorphic stability. The concurrent alternation of these horizons with iron-stained layers suggests cyclical changes from dry to wet conditions, which fit well with aeolian dust fluxes and marine isotope stages of glacials and interglacials at higher latitudes. Stable isotope data are consistent with these climatic cycles and suggest a succession of monsoonal and non-monsoonal conditions. The Homo erectus settlement lasted apparently for a short time span, because a long, high-discharge fluvial sedimentation (and/or an aridity phase at the base of the fluvial facies) could have made the area less suitable for human settling and could have hindered preservation of fossils and artifacts.

Plant use in the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic: Food, medicine and raw materials, di K. Hardy, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 191, 1 July 2018, Pages 393-405

There is little surviving evidence for plant use in the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic periods yet the evidence there is, clearly indicates the importance of plants in the diet, as medicines and as raw materials. Here, the current evidence for plants is summarised, and the way this can be used to enrich perceptions of the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic are explored. The evidence for plant food fits well with basic nutritional requirements while the presence of medicinal plants correlates with plant-based self-medication by animals. Many plant-based technologies are likely to have developed early in the Palaeolithic. Though investigating this is challenging due to a lack of evidence, the extensive evidence for use of plant materials as tools by chimpanzees provides a broad backdrop. The ecological knowledge carried by all hominins would have provided a safety net when moving into new regions, while varying levels of neophobia would have enabled adaptation to new environments as hominin populations moved and climates changed. Recent plant use among traditional societies in high latitudes shows that even in locations with reduced biodiversity, plant resources can fulfil essential dietary requirements.

La Cala (southern Italy) is an important prehistoric cave site containing a clastic sedimentary infill recording evidence of an almost constant human occupation from the Mousterian to the Copper Age. However, a cultural gap (estimated to be approx. 10.5–6.2 ka) has been identified between the Evolved Gravettian and the Evolved Epigravettian. This study presents a sedimentological and allostratigraphic study of the cave clastic infill. The succession at La Cala can be subdivided into four allostratigraphic units (CC1–4 in stratigraphic order), each one bounded by major erosional surfaces. The most prominent erosional surface (UN1), which separates unit CC1 from CC2, has a channel-like geometry and is directly overlaid by cross-stratified sediments, suggesting deposition in an underground stream setting. This documents an important hydrological change in the cave drainage with the development of an important phase of sediment erosion. The erosional surface UN1 stratigraphically marks the cultural time-gap revealed by the archaeological excavations, suggesting that this hiatus may be due to the erosion of sediments rather than to a lack in human occupation. This study confirms the importance of cave clastic sediments in archaeological cave sites as a helpful tool for refining the timeframe of human presence.

The functional and evolutionary implications of primitive retentions in early hominin feet have been under debate since the discovery of Australopithecus afarensis. Ontogeny can provide insight into adult phenotypes, but juvenile early hominin foot fossils are exceptionally rare. We analyze a nearly complete, 3.32-million-year-old juvenile foot of A. afarensis (DIK-1-1f). We show that juvenile A. afarensis individuals already had many of the bipedal features found in adult specimens. However, they also had medial cuneiform traits associated with increased hallucal mobility and a more gracile calcaneal tuber, which is unexpected on the basis of known adult morphologies. Selection for traits functionally associated with juvenile pedal grasping may provide a new perspective on their retention in the more terrestrial adult A. afarensis.

· La vita sugli alberi della "bambina di Lucy", "Le Scienze", 05 luglio 2018

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful method for detecting micro-residues on stone tools. To further develop techniques for determining stone tool function, we devised a methodology using Raman microscopy to analyse in situ micro-residues before conventional usewear study. We analysed 18 stone artefacts collected in situ from Denisova Cave in Siberia, where excellent organic residue preservation is expected. We report here details of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids identified on eight stone tools from the Middle Palaeolithic levels. The spatial distribution of smeared fatty acids shows strong correlation with spatial distributions of usewear (particularly use-polish, but also striations, edge rounding and scarring) on each tool, demonstrating that these micro-residues are likely associated with prehistoric tool contact with animal tissue. We compared Raman spectra and the types, abundance and distribution of micro-residues on the Denisova Cave artefacts with those on modern experimental stone tools (with known function). The results provide further support for Middle Palaeolithic processing of animal tissue and probable skin scraping at Denisova Cave.

- New perspectives on Acheulean and Acheulean-like adaptations

- The Rietputs 15 site and Early Acheulean in South Africa

- Early Acheulean organised core knapping strategies ca. 1.3 Ma at Rietputs 15, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

- Handaxes in South Africa: Two case studies in the early and later Acheulean

- The Acheulean in South Africa, with announcement of a new site (Penhill Farm) in the lower Sundays River Valley, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

- Mesowear study of ungulates from the early Pleistocene site of ‘Ubeidiya (Israel) and the implications for early Homo dispersal from Africa

- Linking environmental changes with human occupations between 900 and 400 ka in Western Europe

- Ambrona revisited: The Acheulean lithic industry in the Lower Stratigraphic Complex

- Well-dated fluvial sequences as templates for patterns of handaxe distribution: Understanding the record of Acheulean activity in the Thames and its correlatives

Scientists for the first time have grown Neanderthal "minibrains" in lab dishes. A team led by geneticist Alysson Muotri at the University of California, San Diego, reported at a conference that with the help of the genome editor CRISPR they modified a stem cell to have a Neanderthal version of a gene that is involved with brain development in modern humans. They coaxed these stem cells to grow into pea-size "organoids" with cells that make up the cortex, the front part of the brain. The Neanderthal organoids differed in shape and function from ones made identically with the intact modern human gene.

Over the past 30 years, understanding of Homo sapiens evolution has advanced greatly. Most research has supported the theory that modern humans had originated in Africa by about 200,000 years ago, but the latest findings reveal more complexity than anticipated. They confirm interbreeding between H. sapiens and other hominin species, provide evidence for H. sapiens in Morocco as early as 300,000 years ago, and reveal a seemingly incremental evolution of H. sapiens cranial shape. Although the cumulative evidence still suggests that all modern humans are descended from African H. sapiens populations that replaced local populations of archaic humans, models of modern human origins must now include substantial interactions with those populations before they went extinct. These recent findings illustrate why researchers must remain open to challenging the prevailing theories of modern human origins.

In light of changing views regarding the identity and evolutionary positions of Europe's Lower Palaeolithic hominins, a re-consideration of the hominin occupation of north-west Europe from c. 1 million years ago (mya) to c. 400 thousand years ago (kya) is timely. A change in the scale and character of the overall European Palaeolithic record around c. 800–600 kya has been well documented and argued over since the mid-1990s. Hominin expansion into the European north-west, potentially from southern Europe, Africa or south-western Asia, has been linked to the introduction of a new lithic technology in the form of the biface. We evaluate three potential drivers for this northern range expansion: changing palaeo-climatic conditions, the emergence of an essentially modern human life history, and greater hominin behavioural plasticity. Our evaluation suggests no major changes in these three factors during the c. 800–600 kya period other than enhanced behavioural plasticity suggested by the appearance of the biface. We offer here a model of hominin occupation for north-west Europe termed the ‘punctuated long chronology’ and suggest that the major changes in the European Lower Palaeolithic record that occur at a species-wide level may post-date, rather than precede, the Anglian Glaciation (marine isotope stage (MIS) 12). (...)

Dentine morphology of Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos lower molars: Evolutionary implications through three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis, di H. Hanegraef et alii, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 166, Issue 2, June 2018, Pages 276-295

This study aims to explore the affinities of the Sima de los Huesos (SH) population in relation to Homo neanderthalensis, Arago, and early and contemporary Homo sapiens. By characterizing SH intra-population variation, we test current models to explain the Neanderthal origins.
Three-dimensional reconstructions of dentine surfaces of lower first and second molars were produced by micro-computed tomography. Landmarks and sliding semilandmarks were subjected to generalized Procrustes analysis and principal components analysis.
SH is often similar in shape to Neanderthals, and both groups are generally discernible from Homo sapiens. For example, the crown height of SH and Neanderthals is lower than for modern humans. Differences in the presence of a mid-trigonid crest are also observed, with contemporary Homo sapiens usually lacking this feature. Although SH and Neanderthals show strong affinities, they can be discriminated based on certain traits. SH individuals are characterized by a lower intra-population variability, and show a derived dental reduction in lower second molars compared to Neanderthals. SH also differs in morphological features from specimens that are often classified as Homo heidelbergensis, such as a lower crown height and less pronounced mid-trigonid crest in the Arago fossils.
Our results are compatible with the idea that multiple evolutionary lineages or populations coexisted in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, with the SH paradigm phylogenetically closer to Homo neanderthalensis. Further research could support the possibility of SH as a separate taxon. Alternatively, SH could be a subspecies of Neanderthals, with the variability of this clade being remarkably higher than previously thought.

Mechanical implications of the mandibular coronoid process morphology in Neandertals, di A. Marom, Y. Rak,  "American Journal of Physical Anthropology",Volume 166, Issue 2, June 2018, Pages 401-407

Among the diagnostic features of the Neandertal mandible are the broad base of the coronoid process and its straight posterior margin. The adaptive value of these (and other) anatomical features has been linked to the Neandertal's need to cope with a large gape. The present study aims to test this hypothesis with regard to the morphology of the coronoid process.
This admittedly simple, intuitive hypothesis was tested here via a comparative finite-element study of the primitive versus modified state of the coronoid process, using two-dimensional models of the mandible.
Our simulations demonstrate that a large gape has an unfavorable effect on the primitive state of the coronoid process: the diagonal, almost horizontal, component of the temporalis muscle resultant (relative to the long axis of the coronoid process) bends the process in the sagittal plane. Furthermore, we show that the modification of the coronoid process morphology alone reduces the process' bending in a wide gape increasing the compression to tension ratio.
These results provide indirect evidence in support of the hypothesis that the modification of the coronoid process in Neandertals is necessary for enabling their mandible to cope with a large gape.

The unique Solutrean laurel-leaf points of Volgu: heat-treated or not?, di P. Schmidt, L. Bellot-Gurlet, H. Floss, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 363, June 2018, pp. 587-602

The laurel-leaf points of the Volgu cache found in eastern France rank among the most remarkable examples of skilled craftsmanship known from the Solutrean period of the Upper Palaeolithic. In addition to pressure flaking, heat treatment may have helped in the making of the points, as both have been previously described in association with Solutrean assemblages. This study presents the results of an infrared spectroscopic analysis of seven artefacts from the Volgu cache conducted to test this assumption. The findings show that heat treatment was not universally applied to this particular tool type, meaning that we must rethink the reasons why such a technique was used.

Portable art and personal ornaments from Txina-Txina: a new Later Stone Age site in the Limpopo River Valley, southern Mozambique, di N, Bicho et alii, Volume 92, Issue 363 June 2018 , e2

This paper reports on preliminary fieldwork at the Later Stone Age site of Txina-Txina in Mozambique. Excavation yielded a long stratigraphic sequence, a large lithic assemblage, a unique decorated gastropod shell fragment and two ostrich eggshell beads—the first of their type recovered from a Stone Age context in Mozambique.

Searching for Lazy People: the Significance of Expedient Behavior in the Interpretation of Paleolithic Assemblages, di M. Vaquero, F. Romagnoli, "Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory", June 2018, Volume 25, Issue 2, pp 334–367

A quick glance at the evolution of lithic assemblages throughout prehistory highlights a great variability in the time and effort invested in technological activities. This variability has been related to differences in the technological organization of human groups, giving rise to the distinction proposed by Binford between curated and expedient technologies. Curation has been the subject of much discussion with regard to its definition and archaeological implications, but expediency has received comparatively less interest from researchers. Nevertheless, expedient technologies are ubiquitous in the archaeological record and represent a large proportion of prehistoric lithic assemblages, even becoming clearly dominant in certain chronological and/or regional contexts. The aim of this paper is to characterize expedient technologies as low-cost strategies that can be identified in all the stages of the lithic production sequence, from raw material provisioning to tool manufacture. However, we will focus our attention on core reduction technologies, emphasizing the consequences of distinguishing between expedient and formal reduction strategies. Finally, some implications of expediency in archaeological interpretation will be discussed, focusing on the significance of expedient technologies in the cultural ascription of lithic assemblages.

The Danube Corridor Hypothesis and the Carpathian Basin: Geological, Environmental and Archaeological Approaches to Characterizing Aurignacian Dynamics, di W. Chu, "Journal of World Prehistory", June 2018, Volume 31, Issue 2, pp 117–178

Early Upper Paleolithic sites in the Danube catchment have been put forward as evidence that the river was an important conduit for modern humans during their initial settlement of Europe. Central to this model is the Carpathian Basin, a region covering most of the Middle Danube. As the archaeological record of this region is still poorly understood, this paper aims to provide a contextual assessment of the Carpathian Basin’s geological and paleoenvironmental archives, starting with the late Upper Pleistocene. Subsequently, it compiles early Upper Paleolithic data from the region to provide a synchronic appraisal of the Aurignacian archaeological evidence. It then uses this data to test whether the relative absence of early Upper Paleolithic sites is obscured by a taphonomic bias. Finally, it reviews current knowledge of the Carpathian Basin’s archaeological record and concludes that, while it cannot reject the Danube corridor hypothesis, further (geo)archaeological work is required to understand the link between the Carpathian Basin and Central and Southeastern Europe.

Seeking black. Geochemical characterization by PIXE of Palaeolithic manganese-rich lumps and their potential sources, di P. Martí, F. d'Errico, "Journal of Anthropological Archaeology", Volume 50, June 2018, Pages 54-68

Lumps of mineral pigments are the more widespread archaeological remains found at Mousterian sites that may have been used by Neanderthals for symbolic activities. The characterisation of their chemical composition is essential to identify behavioural consistencies in their selection, transformation, and use, reconstruct changes through time in Neanderthals cultural practices, and discuss the emergence of symbolic cultures. In the Dordogne department of France, hundreds of black lumps, often bearing traces of intentional modification, were recovered at Middle (MP) and Upper Palaeolithic (UP) sites. In this paper we apply particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) to a representative sample of black lumps recovered at three MP and four UP sites as well as eight geological outcrops from this region with the aim of using major, minor, and trace elements content to identify potential sources and explore intra- and inter-site variability in the use of black colouring matter. Results suggest that MP and UP communities systematically searched for and surveyed Mn-rich formations to collect Mn-rich lumps. Differences in composition indicate that archaeological lumps were collected at a number of different outcrops, not sampled in the present study. A higher compositional variability is observed at UP compared to MP sites with single cultural layers. This suggests that UP modern humans may have, in some cases, exploited a wider range of Mn-rich sources than Mousterian Neanderthals.

Hominin cranial remains from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, represent multiple individuals of the species Homo naledi. This species exhibits a small endocranial volume comparable to Australopithecus, combined with several aspects of external cranial anatomy similar to larger-brained species of Homo such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Here, we describe the endocast anatomy of this recently discovered species. Despite the small size of the H. naledi endocasts, they share several aspects of structure in common with other species of Homo, not found in other hominins or great apes, notably in the organization of the inferior frontal and lateral orbital gyri. The presence of such structural innovations in a small-brained hominin may have relevance to behavioral evolution within the genus Homo. (...)

The Levantine Aurignacian is a unique phenomenon in the local Upper Paleolithic sequence, showing greater similarity to the West European classic Aurignacian than to the local Levantine archaeological entities preceding and following it. Herewith we highlight another unique characteristic of this entity, namely, the presence of symbolic objects in the form of notched bones (mostly gazelle scapulae) from the Aurignacian levels of Hayonim Cave, Lower Galilee, Israel. Through both macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the items, we suggest that they are not mere cut marks but rather are intentional (decorative?) human-made markings. The significance of this evidence for symbolic behavior is discussed in its chrono-cultural and geographical contexts. Notched bones are among the oldest symbolic expressions of anatomically modern humans. However, unlike other Paleolithic sites where such findings were reported in single numbers, the number of these items recovered at Hayonim Cave is sufficient to assume they possibly served as an emblem of the Levantine Aurignacian.

Great apes provide a point of reference for understanding the evolution of locomotion in hominoids and early hominins. We assessed the extent to which great apes use diagonal sequence, diagonal couplet gaits, like other primates, the extent to which gait and posture vary across great apes, and the role of body mass and limb proportions on ape quadrupedal kinematics.
High-speed digital video of zoo-housed bonobos (Pan paniscus, N = 8), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, N = 13), lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla, N = 13), and orangutans (Pongo spp. N = 6) walking over-ground at self-selected speeds were used to determine the timing of limb touch-down, take-off, and to measure joint and segment angles at touch-down, midstance, and take-off.
The great apes in our study showed broad kinematic and spatiotemporal similarity in quadrupedal walking. Size-adjusted walking speed was the strongest predictor of gait variables. Body mass had a negligible effect on variation in joint and segment angles, but stride frequency did trend higher among larger apes in analyses including size-adjusted speed. In contrast to most other primates, great apes did not favor diagonal sequence footfall patterns, but exhibited variable gait patterns that frequently shifted between diagonal and lateral sequences.
Similarities in the terrestrial walking kinematics of extant great apes likely reflect their similar post-cranial anatomy and proportions. Our results suggest that the walking kinematics of orthograde, suspensory Miocene ape species were likely similar to living great apes, and highlight the utility of videographic and behavioral data in interpreting primate skeletal morphology.

Ancient DNA analysis has shown that present-day humans of Eurasian ancestry are more similar to Neandertals than are present-day humans of sub-Saharan African ancestry, reflecting interbreeding after modern humans first left Africa. We use craniometric data to test the hypothesis that the crania of recent modern humans show the same pattern.
We computed Mahalanobis squared distances between a published Neandertal centroid based on 37 craniometric traits and each of 2,413 recent modern humans from the Howells global data set (N = 373 sub-Saharan Africans, N = 2,040 individuals of Eurasian descent).
The average distance to the Neandertal centroid is significantly lower for Eurasian crania than for sub-Saharan African crania as expected from the findings of ancient DNA (p < 0.001). This result holds when examining distances for separate geographic regions of humans of Eurasian descent (Europeans, Asians, Australasians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders). Most of these results are also seen when examining distances partitioning size and shape variation.
Our results show that the genetic difference in Neandertal ancestry seen in the DNA of present-day sub-Saharan Africans and Eurasians is also found in patterns of recent modern human craniometric variation.

New archaeozoological and taphonomic analysis on macro-and megafauna remains from the lower palaeolithic site of Ficoncella (Tarquinia, central Italy), di F. Boschin, R. Rocca, D. Aureli, "Quaternaire", vol. 29/1 | 2018 : Volume 29 Numéro 1

The site of Ficoncella is located to the north of Rome (Central Italy). It is an alluvial context where animal bones and lithic remains were buried over a short space of time in a floodplain environment during the Lower Palaeolithic. The main faunal evidence is represented by parts of a straight-tusked elephant carcass, but remains belonging to other ungulate species were also identified e.g. cervid and equid bones, as well as diaphysis fragments belonging to small and middle-sized ungulates. The use-wear analysis of lithic implements revealed traces related to action on materials of soft to medium hardness. These could be the result of carcass processing, although direct interaction between hominins and animals has not as yet been established. New taphonomic and zooarchaeological data are presented in this paper. Cervids and equid bones, as well as diaphysis fragments belonging to small and middle-sized ungulates, were identified. A shaft portion shows green bone fractures and an impact notch. Some bone flakes were identified among the fragments attributed to megafauna. The current results show that the site of Ficoncella was buried over a short space of time in a floodplain environment. This new analysis allows us to identify a broader range of Hominin activities at the site.

Paléolithiques moyen et supérieur à Buraca Escura (Redinha, Pombal, Portugal): comparaisons taphonomique et archéozoologique, di D. Arceredillo, J. B. Peyrouse, T. Aubry, "Quaternaire", vol. 29/1 | 2018 : Volume 29 Numéro 1

The cave of Buraca Escura was occupied during Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Human occupations were seasonal (spring, summer) and of short durations. They are associated with many birds (corvid dominant), diversified carnivores (Lynx, Canis, Crocuta dominant) and a rich herbivore’ bone accumulations, especially composed of ibex. The objective of this study is to present a comparative study between the main chronocultural phases in order to consider differences and/or similarities about the presence and degree of exploitation of ungulates and into the use of the cave, from multiple agents.

Late neandertals and the exploitation of small mammals in northern Italy: fortuity, necessity or hunting variability?, di M. Romandini et alii, "Quaternaire", vol. 29/1 | 2018 : Volume 29 Numéro 1

This work reviews the anthropogenic exploitation of small mammals during a crucial time span for the reconstruction of human behavior at the dawn of the Middle - Upper Palaeolithic boundary in the Northern Mediterranean region. Data are sourced from faunal assemblages recovered in the final Mousterian levels of Grotta di Fumane (A5-A6 complex) and the Late Mousterian levels of Riparo Tagliente (levels 35 and 36) and Grotta di San Bernardino (units II and IV), in the North of Italy. As a whole, these records mostly comprise ungulates, rather than bird and carnivore bones, and derive from primary accumulation processes more than from post-depositional activities or direct carnivore actions. Broadly, the taphonomic analyses reveal the presence of human modifications referable to different butchering activities on almost all of the ungulates. Small mammal bones are present throughout the late MP sequences in variable quantities, with canids and rodents represented in each of the assemblages. This work highlights new qualitative taphonomic records produced by humans within a large area that reveal Neandertals’ exploitation of small mammals as game. At Grotta di Fumane, foxes have been butchered in order to exploit fur and meat. Similarly, at Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino and Riparo Tagliente some large rodents bear cut-marks related to the same purposes. Krapina Cave is the only other Mousterian site containing evidence of small game explotation (beaver and marmot) that is in close geographical proximity to the caves analyzed here.

The magdalenian fauna from Roc-aux-Sorciers, a sculpted rock shelter (Vienne, France). Main archaeozoological results, di P. Valensi, N. Boulbes, "Quaternaire", vol. 29/1 | 2018 : Volume 29 Numéro 1

The Roc-aux-Sorciers site, on the townland of Angles-sur-l’Anglin, contains two localities with cave art: Abri Bourdois and Cave Taillebourg. The site is well-known on account of the Middle Magdalenian carved frieze in Abri Bourdois. Excavations by Suzanne de Saint-Mathurin from 1947 to 1964 revealed several occupation levels contemporaneous with the parietal art in Abri Bourdois and Cave Taillebourg. This study focuses on the large mammal remains from these former excavations. The faunal association comprises 20 species, and is characterized by the presence of two dominant species: the reindeer and the horse, followed by two secondary species in terms of abundance: the Saiga antelope and the bison. This site is one of the rare decorated Magdalenian rock shelters with occupation remains associated with the parietal art. The archaeozoological study combines different approaches and brings to light the complex relations between the Magdalenians and fauna. Some species, such as the reindeer, are only a source for basic necessities (food, skin, tendons, and antlers). Others have a more symbolic connotation and are only depicted in parietal art (ibex) or used for portable art or decorative objects (mammoth and carnivores). Lastly, the horse is a symbolic animal and a food source. During the Middle Magdalenian, the Roc-aux-Sorciers could correspond to a residential camp where human groups used the site during long periods of the year, or even for more than a year. This points to semi-sedentary Magdalenian populations with differential resource management during different seasons.

Paleobiology as a clue to paleolithic taphonomy: the case of reindeer hunting in Moldova, di R. Croitor, "Quaternaire", vol. 29/1 | 2018 : Volume 29 Numéro 1

The article proposes an interpretation of hunting strategy of Late Paleolithic hunters from Moldova based on demographic structure of reindeer remains (sex ratio and proportion of juvenile remains) and reindeer paleobiology and ecology. The obtained results demonstrate a flexible strategy of game procurement of Paleolithic hunters ensuring the optimal energy investment/ food gain ratio. The hunting strategy was influenced by prey ecology, seasonal biological cycle, paleogeographic conditions, prey availability, cultural traditions, and available human resources.

Preliminary results from application of GIS to study the distribution of select taphonomic agents and their effects on the faunal remains from 3 colluvium level of Isernia La Pineta, di S. Channarayapatna, G. Lembo, C. Peretto, U. Thun Hohenstein, "Quaternaire", vol. 29/1 | 2018 : Volume 29 Numéro 1

Prehistoric human occupation at the early Middle Pleistocene, Palaeolithic open-air site of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy) is evidenced by an impressive repertoire of lithic tools and faunal remains recovered from four archaeosurfaces, identified in two sectors of the excavation set area within a complex stratigraphic series. Having been extensively excavated, well-documented and inter-disciplinarily researched for over four decades, these archaeosurfaces were ideal for and subjected to GIS-based spatial studies. In the faunal context, maps were designed and developed to analyse the frequency, density and distribution of osseous remains, different species determined and their representative skeletal parts for archaeosurfaces 3c, 3a and 3S10. Recently, 3 colluvium became prominent for its first human remain discovery, a deciduous incisor (dated to 583- 561 ka by 40Ar/39Ar). Updated archaeozoological and taphonomic analyses of this level’s assemblage revealed the dominance of large ungulates. Systematic and intentional carcass utilisation process for nutrition-rich parts by hominins is supported by evidence of anthropic marks, fractures and notches in certain places. Alterations caused by natural agents included trampling, erosion, exfoliation, evidences of different stages of weathering and deposition of concretions as part of their post-depositional history. This paper, hence, aims to make initial attempts of further spatial queries through 2D maps for 3 colluvium faunal remains in conjunction with additional taphonomy variables like weathering, erosion and exfoliation to see if any patterns regarding their effect, emerge. Results show areas of intermittent dense and sparse concentrations of altered and unaltered remains. It is inferred that fewer remains, less distributed in the central part of the excavated area, probably remained exposed to the impact of these taphonomic factors longer than the higher quantity of remains, more densely distributed in the southern, south western and south eastern part which otherwise experienced quicker burial.

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The manual pressures of stone tool behaviors and their implications for the evolution of the human hand, di E. M. Williams-Hatala et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 119, June 2018, Pages 14-26

It is widely agreed that biomechanical stresses imposed by stone tool behaviors influenced the evolution of the human hand. Though archaeological evidence suggests that early hominins participated in a variety of tool behaviors, it is unlikely that all behaviors equally influenced modern human hand anatomy. It is more probable that a behavior's likelihood of exerting a selective pressure was a weighted function of the magnitude of stresses associated with that behavior, the benefits received from it, and the amount of time spent performing it. Based on this premise, we focused on the first part of that equation and evaluated magnitudes of stresses associated with stone tool behaviors thought to have been commonly practiced by early hominins, to determine which placed the greatest loads on the digits. Manual pressure data were gathered from 39 human subjects using a Novel Pliance® manual pressure system while they participated in multiple Plio-Pleistocene tool behaviors: nut-cracking, marrow acquisition with a hammerstone, flake production with a hammerstone, and handaxe and flake use. Manual pressure distributions varied significantly according to behavior, though there was a tendency for regions of the hand subject to the lowest pressures (e.g., proximal phalanges) to be affected less by behavior type. Hammerstone use during marrow acquisition and flake production consistently placed the greatest loads on the digits collectively, on each digit and on each phalanx. Our results suggest that, based solely on the magnitudes of stresses, hammerstone use during marrow acquisition and flake production are the most likely of the assessed behaviors to have influenced the anatomical and functional evolution of the human hand.

Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche, di R. C.Power et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 119, June 2018, Pages 27-41

The ecology of Neanderthals is a pressing question in the study of hominin evolution. Diet appears to have played a prominent role in their adaptation to Eurasia. Based on isotope and zooarchaeological studies, Neanderthal diet has been reconstructed as heavily meat-based and generally similar across different environments. This image persists, despite recent studies suggesting more plant use and more variation. However, we have only a fragmentary picture of their dietary ecology, and how it may have varied among habitats, because we lack broad and environmentally representative information about their use of plants and other foods. To address the problem, we examined the plant microremains in Neanderthal dental calculus from five archaeological sites representing a variety of environments from the northern Balkans, and the western, central and eastern Mediterranean. The recovered microremains revealed the consumption of a variety of non-animal foods, including starchy plants. Using a modeling approach, we explored the relationships among microremains and environment, while controlling for chronology. In the process, we compared the effectiveness of various diversity metrics and their shortcomings for studying microbotanical remains, which are often morphologically redundant for identification. We developed Minimum Botanical Units as a new way of estimating how many plant types or parts are present in a microbotanical sample. In contrast to some previous work, we found no evidence that plant use is confined to the southern-most areas of Neanderthal distribution. Although interpreting the ecogeographic variation is limited by the incomplete preservation of dietary microremains, it is clear that plant exploitation was a widespread and deeply rooted Neanderthal subsistence strategy, even if they were predominately game hunters. Given the limited dietary variation across Neanderthal range in time and space in both plant and animal food exploitation, we argue that vegetal consumption was a feature of a generally static dietary niche.

Microwear textures of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus molars in relation to paleoenvironment and diet, di A. Peterson, E. F.Abella, F. E. Grine, M. F.Teaford, P. S. Ungar, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 119, June 2018, Pages 42-63

The importance of diet in primate ecology has motivated the use of a variety of methods to reconstruct dietary habits of extinct hominin taxa. Dental microwear is one such approach that preserves evidence from consumed food items. This study is based on 44 specimens of Australopithecus africanus from Makapansgat and Sterkfontein, and 66 specimens of Paranthropus robustus from Swartkrans, Kromdraai and Drimolen. These samples enable examination of potential differences between the two assemblages of A. africanus, and among the various assemblages of P. robustus in relation to the paleoenvironmental reconstructions that have been proffered for each fossil site. Sixteen microwear texture variables were recorded for each specimen from digital elevation models generated using a white-light confocal profiler. Only two of these differ significantly between the Makapansgat and Sterkfontein samples of A. africanus. None of the microwear texture variables differs significantly among the samples of P. robustus. On the other hand, P. robustus has significantly higher values than A. africanus for 11 variables related to feature complexity, size, and depth; P. robustus exhibits rougher surfaces that comprise larger, deeper features. In contrast, A. africanus has smoother, simpler wear surfaces with smaller, shallower and more anisotropic features. As for possible habitat differences among the various sites, only a relatively small number of subtle differences are evident between the specimens of A. africanus from Makapansgat and Sterkfontein, and there are none among the specimens of P. robustus from various deposits. As such, it is reasonable to conclude that, while subtle differences in microwear textures may reflect differences in background habitats, the wear fabric differences between P. robustus and A. africanus are most reasonably interpreted as having been driven by dietary differences.

Reconstruction of the burial position of two hominin skeletons (Australopithecus sediba) from the early Pleistocene Malapa cave site, South Africa, di A. Val, L. R. Backwell, P. H. G. M. Dirks, F. d'Errico, L. R. Berger, "Geoarchaeology", Volume 33, Issue 3, May/June 2018, Pages 291-306

The Malapa site has yielded unusually abundant and well preserved fossils of Australopithecus sediba. While some elements were found in situ during excavation, others were recovered ex situ from blocks of clastic, calcified sediments collected around the site. We have refitted the ex situ elements from Facies D, the sedimentary unit represented by a single debris flow from which most of the Au. sediba remains were collected, with the elements recovered in situ. Results confirm that the fossils in this unit can securely be attributed to two near‐complete skeletons of a juvenile male (MH1), which initially lay in the upper, laminated part of Facies D, and an adult female (MH2), deposited in the lower part of this facies. We propose a description of peri- and postmortem events based on the location and orientation of the fossils, using for the first time a 3D reconstruction of the postulated position in which the two hominins were deposited. Macro-and microscopic modifications of bone surfaces, and degree of preservation confirm that the individuals were washed into the deposit as articulated—or semi-articulated—complete bodies, which were subaerially exposed for some time, and had reached natural mummification before being deposited within a debris flow.

Sediment micromorphology and site formation processes during the Middle to Later Stone Ages at the Haua Fteah Cave, Cyrenaica, Libya, di R. H. Inglis, C. French, L. Farr, C. O. Hunt, S. C. Jones, T. Reynolds, G. Barker, "Geoarchaeology", Volume 33, Issue 3, May/June 2018, Pages 328-348

Understanding the timing, conditions, and characteristics of the Middle to Later Stone Age (MSA/LSA) transition in North Africa is critical for debates regarding the evolution and past population dynamics of Homo sapiens, especially their dispersals within, out of, and back into, Africa. As with many cultural transitions during the Palaeolithic, our understanding is based predominantly on archaeological and paleoenvironmental records preserved within a small number of deep cave sediment sequences. To use such sequences as chronological cornerstones we must develop a robust understanding of the formation processes that created them. This paper utilizes geoarchaeological analyses (field observations, sediment micromorphology, bulk sedimentology) to examine site formation processes and stratigraphic integrity during the MSA/LSA at the Haua Fteah cave, Libya, one of North Africa's longest cultural sequences. The depositional processes identified vary in mode and energy, from eolian deposition/reworking to mass colluvial mudflows. These changing processes impact greatly on the interpretation of the paleoenvironmental and archaeological records, not least in identifying potential colluvial sediment deposition and reworking in layers identified as containing the MSA/LSA transition. This study highlights the importance of developing geoarchaeological analyses of cultural sequences to fully unravel the limitations and potential of their contained archaeological and paleoenvironmental records.

Whether a refugium, a transit area, or both, the Balkan Peninsula played a crucial role in the population dynamics of Europe during prehistory. However, the Balkans Peninsula is poorly represented in the European archaeological record. This article presents the newly discovered Middle Palaeolithic stone tool assemblage from the Uzun Mera site in the eastern Republic of Macedonia. Following fieldwork that included diverse methods in survey and excavation, as well as techno-economical and taphonomic assessment of the recovered stone tools, Uzun Mera is reported here as a typical Middle Palaeolithic assemblage that follows the pattern of a highly variable Balkan complex. The quality of the raw material reflects a highly selective approach, resulting in relatively low lithological variability where small blocks of raw material used for knapping are still present on site. These results contribute to better understanding the Palaeolithic of the Balkans and inform the population process in a region where little investigation has been previously conducted.

Although there is a consensus that there were wet periods (greening events) in the Sahara in the past, the spatial extent and the timing of these greening events are still in dispute, yet critical to our understanding of the early human dispersal out of Africa. Our U-series dates of speleothems from the Northeastern Sahara (Wadi Sannur cave, Egypt) reveal that the periods of speleothem growth were brief and restricted to the interglacial Marine Isotope Stages MIS 5.5, MIS 7.3, and the early MIS 9 with a remarkable absence of the Holocene deposition of speleothems. These growth periods of Wadi Sannur cave speleothems correspond to periods of high rainfall and spread of vegetation (green Sahara). Distinct low δ18O values of speleothems indicate a distal moisture source that we interpret to be the Atlantic Ocean. These two lines of evidence from the Wadi Sannur speleothems thus suggest that maximal northward shifts in the West African monsoon system occurred during the growth periods of the speleothems, leading to greening of the Sahara, facilitating human migration into Eurasia. The periods of speleothem growth at Wadi Sannur cave are contemporaneous with important archeological events: (1) the earliest occurrence of the Middle Stone Age assemblages and Homo sapiens in North Africa (Jebel Irhoud), suggesting wide spread of greening conditions over the East–West transect of the Sahara, (2) the sharp technological break between the Acheulo-Yabrudian and the Mousterian industries, and (3) the arrival of Homo sapiens in Levant, indicating a key role of the Sahara route in early human dispersal out of Africa.

The oldest Stone Age occupation of coastal West Africa and its implications for modern human dispersals: New insight from Tiémassas, di K. Niang, J. Blinkhorn, M. Ndiaye, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 188, 15 May 2018, Pages 167-173

Examinations of modern human dispersals are typically focused on expansions from South, East or North Africa into Eurasia, with more limited attention paid to dispersals within Africa. The paucity of the West African fossil record means it has typically been overlooked in appraisals of human expansions in the Late Pleistocene, yet regions such as Senegal occur in key biogeographic transitional zones that may offer significant corridors for human occupation and expansion. Here, we report the first evidence for Middle Stone Age occupation of the West African littoral from Tiémassas, dating to ~44 thousand years ago, coinciding with a period of enhanced humidity across the region. Prehistoric populations mainly procured raw material from exposed Ypresian limestone horizons with Levallois, discoidal and informal reduction sequences producing flake blanks for retouched tools. We discuss this mid-Marine Isotope Stage 3 occupation in the context of the site's unique, ecotonal position amongst Middle Stone Age sites across West Africa, and its significance for Later Stone Age colonization of near coastal forests in the region. The results also support previous suggestions for connections between Middle Stone Age populations in West Africa and the Maghreb, for which the coastline may also have played a significant role.

Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000–37,000 years ago, after modern humans entered Europe. It was a complex process of population interactions that included cultural exchanges and admixture between Neandertals and dispersing groups of modern humans. In Europe Neandertals are always associated with the Mousterian while the Aurignacian is associated with modern humans only. The onset of the Aurignacian is preceded by “transitional” industries which show some similarities with the Mousterian but also contain modern tool forms. Information on these industries is often incomplete or disputed and this is true of the Uluzzian. We present the results of taphonomic, typological and technological analyses of two Uluzzian sites, Grotta La Fabbrica (Tuscany) and the newly discovered site of Colle Rotondo (Latium). Comparisons with Castelcivita and Grotta del Cavallo show that the Uluzzian is a coherent cultural unit lasting about five millennia, replaced by the Protoaurignacian before the eruption of the Campanian Ignimbrite. The lack of skeletal remains at our two sites and the controversy surrounding the stratigraphic position of modern human teeth at Cavallo makes it difficult to reach agreement about authorship of the Uluzzian, for which alternative hypotheses have been proposed. Pending the discovery of DNA or further human remains, these hypotheses can only be evaluated by archaeological arguments, i.e. evidence of continuities and discontinuities between the Uluzzian and the preceding and succeeding culture units in Italy. However, in the context of “transitional” industries with disputed dates for the arrival of modern humans in Europe, and considering the case of the Châtelperronian, an Upper Paleolithic industry made by Neandertals, typo-technology used as an indicator of hominin authorship has limited predictive value. We corroborate previous suggestions that the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition occurred as steps of rapid changes and geographically uneven rates of spread. (...)

Can chimpanzee vocalizations reveal the origins of human language? May 8, 2018

Fossil primates provide important clues about human evolution, but the sounds they made and the soft tissue involved in making those sounds weren't preserved. So chimpanzees can provide important points of comparison for inferring the sorts of sounds our early ancestors may have made. (...)

Pleistocene North African genomes link Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African human populations, di  M. van de Loosdrecht et alii, "Science", 04 May 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6388, pp. 548-552

North Africa is a key region for understanding human history, but the genetic history of its people is largely unknown. We present genomic data from seven 15,000-year-old modern humans, attributed to the Iberomaurusian culture, from Morocco. We find a genetic affinity with early Holocene Near Easterners, best represented by Levantine Natufians, suggesting a pre-agricultural connection between Africa and the Near East. We do not find evidence for gene flow from Paleolithic Europeans to Late Pleistocene North Africans. The Taforalt individuals derive one-third of their ancestry from sub-Saharan Africans, best approximated by a mixture of genetic components preserved in present-day West and East Africans. Thus, we provide direct evidence for genetic interactions between modern humans across Africa and Eurasia in the Pleistocene.

Assessing the significance of Palaeolithic engraved cortexes. A case study from the Mousterian site of Kiik-Koba, Crimea, di A. Majkić, F. d’Errico, V. Stepanchuk, May 2, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195049 - free  access -

Twenty-Seven Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites from Europe and the Middle East are reported in the literature to have yielded incised stones. At eleven of these sites incisions are present on flint cortexes. Even when it is possible to demonstrate that the engravings are ancient and human made, it is often difficult to distinguish incisions resulting from functional activities such as butchery or use as a cutting board, from those produced deliberately, and even more difficult to identify the scope of the latter. In this paper we present results of the analysis of an engraved cortical flint flake found at Kiik-Koba, a key Mousterian site from Crimea, and create an interpretative framework to guide the interpretation of incised cortexes. The frame of inference that we propose allows for a reasoned evaluation of the actions playing a role in the marking process and aims at narrowing down the interpretation of the evidence. The object comes from layer IV, the same layer in which a Neanderthal child burial was unearthed, which contains a para-Micoquian industry of Kiik-Koba type dated to between c.35 and 37 cal kyr BP. The microscopic analysis and 3D reconstruction of the grooves on the cortex of this small flint flake, demonstrate that the incisions represent a deliberate engraving made by a skilled craftsman, probably with two different points. The lines are nearly perfectly framed into the cortex, testifying of well controlled motions. This is especially the case considering the small size of the object, which makes this a difficult task. The production of the engraving required excellent neuromotor and volitional control, which implies focused attention. Evaluation of the Kiik-Koba evidence in the light of the proposed interpretative framework supports the view that the engraving was made with a representational intent. (...)

Hominin skeletal part abundances and claims of deliberate disposal of corpses in the Middle Pleistocene, di C. P. Egeland, M. Domínguez-Rodrigo, T. Rayne Pickering, C. G. Menter, J. L. Heaton, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences", May 1, 2018. 115 (18). 4601-4606

Humans are set apart from other organisms by the realization of their own mortality. Thus, determining the prehistoric emergence of this capacity is of significant interest to understanding the uniqueness of the human animal. Tracing that capacity chronologically is possible through archaeological investigations that focus on physical markers that reflect “mortality salience.” Among these markers is the deliberate and culturally mediated disposal of corpses. Some Neandertal bone assemblages are among the earliest reasonable claims for the deliberate disposal of hominins, but even these are vigorously debated. More dramatic assertions center on the Middle Pleistocene sites of Sima de los Huesos (SH, Spain) and the Dinaledi Chamber (DC, South Africa), where the remains of multiple hominin individuals were found in deep caves, and under reported taphonomic circumstances that seem to discount the possibility that nonhominin actors and processes contributed to their formation. These claims, with significant implications for charting the evolution of the “human condition,” deserve scrutiny. We test these assertions through machine-learning analyses of hominin skeletal part representation in the SH and DC assemblages. Our results indicate that nonanthropogenic agents and abiotic processes cannot yet be ruled out as significant contributors to the ultimate condition of both collections. This finding does not falsify hypotheses of deliberate disposal for the SH and DC corpses, but does indicate that the data also support partially or completely nonanthropogenic formational histories.

Integrated geochronology of Acheulian sites from the southern Latium (central Italy): Insights on human-environment interaction and the technological innovations during the MIS 11-MIS 10 period, di A. Pereira et alli, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 187, 1 May 2018, Pages 112-129

We have explored the multimethod approach combining 40Ar/39Ar on single crystal, ESR on bleached quartz, and ESR/U-series on teeth to improve the age of four neighbours “Acheulian” sites of the Frosinone Province (Latium, Italy): Fontana Ranuccio, Cava Pompi (Pofi), Isoletta, and Lademagne. Ages obtained by the three methods are in mutual agreement and confirm the potential of dating with confidence Middle Pleistocene sites of Italy using these methods. At Fontana Ranuccio, the 40Ar/39Ar age (408 ± 10 ka, full external error at 2σ) obtained for the archaeological level (unit FR4) and geochemical analyses of glass shards performed on the Unit FR2a layer allow us to attribute the studied volcanic material to the Pozzolane Nere volcanic series, a well-known caldera-forming event originated from the Colli Albani volcanic district. These new data ascribe the Fontana Ranuccio site, as well as the eponym faunal unit, to the climatic optimum of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11. Ages obtained for the Cava Pompi, Isoletta, and Lademagne sites cover a relatively short period of time between 408 ka and 375 ka, spanning MIS 11 climatic optimum to the MIS 11–10 transition. Analysis of small collections of lithic industries, bifacial tools, and small cores technologies from Isoletta, Lademagne, and the neighbour site of Ceprano-Campogrande shows common technical strategies for the period comprised between MIS 11 and MIS 9 (410–325 ka), such as the elaboration of flaked elephant bone industries found over the whole Latium region. However, some features found only in the Frosinone province area, like large-sized bifaces, suggest particular regional behaviours. The presence of one Levallois core in the oldest layer of Lademagne (i.e. > 405 ± 9 ka) suggests a punctual practice of this technology, also proposed as early as MIS 10/11 in the neighbour site of Guado San Nicola (Molise) in central Italy.

Cranial measures and ancient DNA both show greater similarity of Neandertals to recent modern Eurasians than to recent modern sub-Saharan Africans, di J. H. Relethford, F, H. Smith, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 166, Issue 1, May 2018

Ancient DNA analysis has shown that present-day humans of Eurasian ancestry are more similar to Neandertals than are present-day humans of sub-Saharan African ancestry, reflecting interbreeding after modern humans first left Africa. We use craniometric data to test the hypothesis that the crania of recent modern humans show the same pattern.
We computed Mahalanobis squared distances between a published Neandertal centroid based on 37 craniometric traits and each of 2,413 recent modern humans from the Howells global data set (N = 373 sub-Saharan Africans, N = 2,040 individuals of Eurasian descent).
The average distance to the Neandertal centroid is significantly lower for Eurasian crania than for sub‐Saharan African crania as expected from the findings of ancient DNA (p < 0.001). This result holds when examining distances for separate geographic regions of humans of Eurasian descent (Europeans, Asians, Australasians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders). Most of these results are also seen when examining distances partitioning size and shape variation.
Our results show that the genetic difference in Neandertal ancestry seen in the DNA of present‐day sub‐Saharan Africans and Eurasians is also found in patterns of recent modern human craniometric variation.

Brief communication: Dental microwear and diet of Homo naledi, di P. S. Ungar, L. R. Berger, "American Journal of Physical Anthropology", Volume 166, Issue 1, May 2018

A recent study of dental chipping suggested that Homo naledi teeth were exposed to “acute trauma” on a regular basis during life, presumably from the consumption of grit-laden foods. This follows debate concerning the etiology of dental chips in South African hominin teeth that dates back more than half a century. Some have argued that antemortem chips result from consumption of hard foods, such as nuts and seeds or bone, whereas others have claimed that exogenous grit on roots and tubers are responsible. Here we examine the dental microwear textures of H. naledi, both to reconstruct aspects of diet of these hominins and to assess the possibility that hard foods (gritty or otherwise) are the culprits for the unusually high antemortem chip incidence reported.
We made high-resolution replicas of original molars and found that ten individuals preserve antemortem wear. These were scanned by white‐light scanning confocal profilometry and analyzed using scale-sensitive fractal analysis. Resulting data were compared with those published for other fossil hominins and extant non-human primates.
Our results indicate that H. naledi had complex microwear textures dominated by large, deep pits. The only known fossil hominin with higher average texture complexity is Paranthropus robustus, and the closest extant primates in a comparative baseline series appear to be the hard-object feeder, Cercocebus atys, and the eurytopic generalist, Papio ursinus.
This study suggests that H. naledi likely consumed hard and abrasive foods, such as nuts or tubers, at least on occasion, and that these might well be responsible for the pattern of chipping observed on their teeth.

Mammoth resources for hominins: from omega-3 fatty acids to cultural objects, di J. L. Guil-Guerrero et alii, "Journal of Quaternary Science", Volume 33, Issue 4, May 2018, Pages 455-463

The mammoth is assessed here both for its cultural significance as well as a source of dietary n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids in Palaeolithic societies. For this, we analysed fats from several frozen mammoths found in the permafrost of Siberia (Russian Federation) and conducted a comprehensive literature review on the relationships of hominins with mammoths throughout the Stone Age. Different mammoth samples were included in this study, all very close to the Upper Palaeolithic. All samples were analysed by gas liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas liquid chromatography-flame ionization detection. Hominins consumed mammoths throughout the Palaeolithic, while remains of this animal were used as building materials as well as to fabricate different tools and decorative objects, and thus it is possible to link cultural development and mammoth consumption. Based on the fatty acid profiles found, fat samples from two mammoths were in apparently good preservation, yielding α-linolenic acid percentages very close to values found in extant elephants, thus allowing an assessment of their feasibility as a source of essential fatty acids for Palaeolithic hunters. As demonstrated in this work, mammoths constituted a cultural resource in addition to contributing to fulfilling the n-3 fatty acid needs of Palaeolithic hominins in Europe.

- Dental topography and the diet of Homo naledi, di Michael A. Berthaume, Lucas K. Delezene, Kornelius Kupczik

- A new fossil cercopithecid tibia from Laetoli and its implications for positional behavior and paleoecology, di Myra F. Laird, Elaine E. Kozma, Amandus Kwekason, Terry Harrison

- Basicranium and face: Assessing the impact of morphological integration on primate evolution, di Dimitri Neaux et alii

- The biting performance of Homo sapiens and Homo heidelbergensis, di Ricardo Miguel Godinho et alii

- Carrying capacity, carnivoran richness and hominin survival in Europe, di Jesús Rodríguez, Ana Mateos

- Hominin hand bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations), di Travis Rayne Pickering, Jason L. Heaton, Ron J. Clarke, Dominic Stratford

- L’utilisation de l’obsidienne au Paléolithique supérieur dans le nord-ouest de la Roumanie

- Le Paléolithique supérieur de la basse vallée de la Bistriţa (Moldavie roumaine): Buda et Lespezi, nouvelles recherches

- Steppe bison hunting in the Gravettian of Buda (lower Bistriţa Valley, eastern Romania)

- Le Gravettien et l’Épigravettien de l’Est de la Roumanie: une réévaluation

- Parures et objets d’art du Gravettien récent de Poiana Cireșului-Piatra Neamț (Roumanie)

- Coliboaia, art rupestre aurignacien en Roumanie

- The Iron Gates Mesolithic – a brief review of recent developments

Ramification is the term used to classify branched productive sequences in which a functional item (the flake) was exploited as a productive item (the core). This technological behaviour was present in Europe and the Levant beginning in the Lower and Early Middle Palaeolithic, but ramified productions were intensely developed in the Late Middle Palaeolithic. Traditionally, ramification has been interpreted as a well-structured behaviour, implying its integration into the provisioning strategies of past humans. This viewpoint has significant implications for the understanding of technological evolution in Neanderthals, suggesting specific cognitive and socio-economic capacities. Ramified procedures were characterised by high flexibility due to the versatile patterns of the core-on-flake and are described in the literature as corresponding to several different knapping concepts and technical procedures. This research aimed to describe the role of ramification in the Late Middle Palaeolithic. We analysed two assemblages from the Abric Romaní site (located in the north-east part of the Iberian Peninsula) characterised by informal, expedient technologies. The focus was on the spatial and temporal fragmentation of the ramified sequences based on the identification of single technical events. The reduction of the scale of analysis and the resulting implementation of temporal resolution of the stone tool assemblages in such expedient contexts allowed us to understand ramification from an innovative perspective, setting aside our bias toward well-defined productive methods associated with preconceived economic and mobility patterns. The results showed that ramification reflected a range of behaviours, implying a variety of planning proficiency, economic strategies and social interactions. This means that ‘ramified production’ is not meaningful unless is linked with a detailed description of human choices and an understanding of temporal and spatial relationships between knapping events. Furthermore, the results showed that, to approach behavioural issues, we as researchers must change our unitary vision of assemblages and enlarge the scope of categories to which we apply that vision.

Searching for a Stone Age Odysseus, di A. Lawler, "Science", 27 Apr 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6387, pp. 362-363

Archaeologists assumed until a decade ago that humans skirted the shores of the Mediterranean Sea before the dawn of agriculture some 10,000 years ago. Only then did they set out across its wine-dark seas on voyages reflected in Homer's story of the adventurous sailor Odysseus. So when excavators in 2010 claimed to have found stone tools on the Greek island of Crete dating back at least 130,000 years, they made a big splash. Their colleagues were astonished—but also skeptical. Since then, by exploring that site and others, researchers have quietly built up a convincing case for early seafaring in the Mediterranean, and, even more surprisingly, that at least some of these adventurers were Neandertal. The finds strongly suggest that the urge to go to sea—and the cognitive and technological means to do so—predates modern humans.

Reconstructing the Neanderthal brain using computational anatomy, di T. Kochiyama et alii, "Scientific Reports", volume 8, Article number: 6296 (2018), 26 April 2018, doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24331-0 - free  access -

The present study attempted to reconstruct 3D brain shape of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens based on computational neuroanatomy. We found that early Homo sapiens had relatively larger cerebellar hemispheres but a smaller occipital region in the cerebrum than Neanderthals long before the time that Neanderthals disappeared. Further, using behavioural and structural imaging data of living humans, the abilities such as cognitive flexibility, attention, the language processing, episodic and working memory capacity were positively correlated with size-adjusted cerebellar volume. As the cerebellar hemispheres are structured as a large array of uniform neural modules, a larger cerebellum may possess a larger capacity for cognitive information processing. Such a neuroanatomical difference in the cerebellum may have caused important differences in cognitive and social abilities between the two species and might have contributed to the replacement of Neanderthals by early Homo sapiens. (...)

· Un cervello diverso. E H. sapiens prese il sopravvento, "Le Scienze", 27 aprile 2018

Neandertals, Stone Age people may have voyaged the Mediterranean, di A. Lawler, "Science News", Apr. 24, 2018

Odysseus, who voyaged across the wine-dark seas of the Mediterranean in Homer’s epic, may have had some astonishingly ancient forerunners. A decade ago, when excavators claimed to have found stone tools on the Greek island of Crete dating back at least 130,000 years, other archaeologists were stunned—and skeptical. But since then, at that site and others, researchers have quietly built up a convincing case for Stone Age seafarers—and for the even more remarkable possibility that they were Neandertals, the extinct cousins of modern humans. The finds strongly suggest that the urge to go to sea, and the cognitive and technological means to do so, predates modern humans, says Alan Simmons, an archaeologist at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas who gave an overview of recent finds at a meeting here last week of the Society for American Archaeology. “The orthodoxy until pretty recently was that you don’t have seafarers until the early Bronze Age,” adds archaeologist John Cherry of Brown University, an initial skeptic. “Now we are talking about seafaring Neandertals. It’s a pretty stunning change.” (...)

Ever since scientists realized that humans evolved from a succession of primate ancestors, the public imagination has been focused on the inflection point when those ancestors switched from ape-like shuffling to walking upright as we do today. Scientists have long been focused on the question, too, because the answer is important to understanding how our ancestors lived, hunted and evolved. A close examination of 3.6 million year old hominin footprints discovered in Laetoli, Tanzania suggests our ancestors evolved the hallmark trait of extended leg, human-like bipedalism substantially earlier than previously thought. "Fossil footprints are truly the only direct evidence of walking in the past," said David Raichlen, PhD, associate professor at the University of Arizona. "By 3.6 million years ago, our data suggest that if you can account for differences in size, hominins were walking in a way that is very similar to living humans. While there may have been some nuanced differences, in general, these hominins probably looked like us when they walked." (...)

About 100,000 years ago, ancient humans started etching lines and hashtag patterns onto red rocks in a South African cave. Such handiwork has been cited as the first sign our species could make symbols—distinct marks that stand for some meaning—and thus evidence of a sophisticated mind. But a new study, reported here this week at Evolang, a biannual conference on the evolution of language, finds that these markings and others like them lack key characteristics of symbols. Instead, they may have been more for decoration or enjoyment. To come to this conclusion, Kristian Tylén, a cognitive scientist at Aarhus University in Denmark, and his team of cognitive scientists and archaeologists took a closer look at dozens of etched red ochre stones found in the cave, known as Blombos Cave. Some scientists have called the markings early forms of art and even evidence of symbolic behavior, such as full-blown language. Tylén’s group also looked at a set of ostrich egg shells with engraved lines, parallel lines, and ladderlike images found at another site in South Africa. The markings date to between about 52,000 to 109,000 years ago, after the birth of our species but before widespread artistic expression such as cave paintings of animals. (...)

Body size downgrading of mammals over the late Quaternary, di F. A. Smith, R. E. Elliott Smith, S. K. Lyons, J. L. Payne, "Science", 20 Apr 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6386, pp. 310-313

Since the late Pleistocene, large-bodied mammals have been extirpated from much of Earth. Although all habitable continents once harbored giant mammals, the few remaining species are largely confined to Africa. This decline is coincident with the global expansion of hominins over the late Quaternary. Here, we quantify mammalian extinction selectivity, continental body size distributions, and taxonomic diversity over five time periods spanning the past 125,000 years and stretching approximately 200 years into the future. We demonstrate that size-selective extinction was already under way in the oldest interval and occurred on all continents, within all trophic modes, and across all time intervals. Moreover, the degree of selectivity was unprecedented in 65 million years of mammalian evolution. The distinctive selectivity signature implicates hominin activity as a primary driver of taxonomic losses and ecosystem homogenization. Because megafauna have a disproportionate influence on ecosystem structure and function, past and present body size downgrading is reshaping Earth’s biosphere.

· L'Out of Africa e la riduzione delle dimensioni dei mammiferi terrestri, "Le Scienze", 20 aprile 2018

Chronological reassessment of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and Early Upper Paleolithic cultures in Cantabrian Spain, di A. B. Marín-Arroyo et alii, April 18, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194708 - free  access -

Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9–45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3–40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6–33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed <1,000 years, with the caveat that no diagnostic human remains have been found with the latest Mousterian, Châtelperronian or earliest Aurignacian in Cantabrian Spain. (...)

L'evoluzione del volto dagli ominidi all'uomo moderno, 10 aprile 2018

La vistosa riduzione delle dimensioni dell'arcata sopraccigliare negli esseri umani moderni rispetto agli ominidi arcaici sarebbe legata allo sviluppo di una vita sociale più articolata: la maggiore mobilità delle sopracciglia permessa dall'appiattimento dell'arcata consente infatti di comunicare gli stati emotivi in modo molto più sottile. E' questa la conclusione a cui sono giunti ricercatori dell'Università di New York e dell'Università dell'Algarve a Faro, in Portogallo, che illustrano la loro ricerca su "Nature Ecology & Evolution". Per spiegare la vistosa differenza fra l'arcata sopraccigliare di Homo sapiens e quella dei suoi predecessori sono state avanzate delle ipotesi di tipo funzionale. Secondo una di queste, un'arcata massiccia avrebbe avuto un ruolo di protezione del cranio dai possibili danni dovuti a una masticazione con mascelle potenti come quelle degli antichi ominidi. Secondo un'altra, invece, avrebbe risolto i problemi di volumetria facciale dovuti a differenze di crescita e di velocità di crescita delle strutture ossee della calotta cranica e del viso. (...)

Human finger bone points to an early exodus out of Africa, di M. Price, "Science News", Apr. 9, 2018

For more than a decade, a team of archaeologists and anthropologists scoured the Arabian Desert for evidence that some of the earliest members of our species once traversed these formerly green lands. Now, they may have it. An ostensibly modern human finger bone uncovered in Saudi Arabia in 2016 has been dated to about 88,000 years old, making it the oldest directly dated fossil of our species found outside Africa or its immediate vicinity in the eastern Mediterranean. The discovery supports the idea that early modern humans spread into Eurasia earlier and more often than many previously believed. Although some say it’s hard to identify our species, Homo sapiens, by a single bone, the findings appear unimpeachable, says John Shea, an anthropologist at the State University of New York in Stony Brook who studies human origins, but wasn’t involved in the study. “This isn’t one of those cases where someone dashed off into the field, found something after a day or two of fieldwork, and then ran to the media with it,” he says. “They earned this find the old-fashioned way: hard work.” (...)

Il primo Homo sapiens d'Arabia, 09 aprile 2018

È solo una piccola falange di 3,2 centimetri di lunghezza, ma significa molto per la ricostruzione della nostra storia. È il più antico fossile di Homo sapiens scoperto finora al di fuori dell’Africa e del Medio Oriente. È stato trovato ad Al Wusta, nel deserto del Nefud, in un'area centro-settentrionale dell'Arabia Saudita, e suggerisce che le prime migrazioni della nostra specie verso l’Eurasia furono più estese di quanto ritenuto. Huw Groucutt del Max-Planck-Institut per la scienza della storia umana a Jena, in Germania, e colleghi hanno descritto il reperto su “Nature Ecology & Evolution”. Sul fossile, gli autori hanno effettuato scansioni tridimensionali con una tecnica tomografica, poi hanno confrontato i risultati con quelli relativi ad altre ossa dello stesso tipo, appartenuti a primati non umani, ad antichi ominidi, come l’uomo di Neanderthal, e a H. sapiens. Le analisi finali hanno confermato che l’osso è di un individuo della nostra specie. (...)

Blade and bladelet production at Hohle Fels Cave, AH IV in the Swabian Jura and its importance for characterizing the technological variability of the Aurignacian in Central Europe, di G. Bataille, N. J. Conard, April 9, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194097 - free  access -

Hohle Fels Cave in the Ach Valley of Southwestern Germany exhibits an Aurignacian sequence of 1 m thickness within geological horizons (GH) 6–8. The deposition of the layers took place during mild and cold phases between at least 42 ka (GI 10) and 36 ka calBP (GI 7). We present below a technological study of blade and bladelet production from AH IV (GH 7) at Hohle Fels. Our analyses show that blade manufacture is relatively constant, while bladelet production displays a high degree of variability in order to obtain different blanks. Knappers used a variety of burins as cores to produce fine bladelets. The results reveal a new variant of the Aurignacian in the Swabian Jura primarily characterized by the production of bladelets and microliths from burin-cores. The artefacts from the Swabian Aurignacian are technologically and functionally more diverse than earlier studies of the Geißenklösterle and Vogelherd sequences have suggested. The technological analyses presented here challenge the claim that the typo-chronological system from Southwestern Europe can be applied to the Central European Aurignacian. Instead, we emphasize the impact of technological and functional variables within the Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura. (...)

Environmental dynamics during the onset of the Middle Stone Age in eastern Africa, di R. Potts et alii, "Science", 06 Apr 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6384, pp. 86-90

Development of the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) before 300,000 years ago raises the question of how environmental change influenced the evolution of behaviors characteristic of early Homo sapiens. We used temporally well-constrained sedimentological and paleoenvironmental data to investigate environmental dynamics before and after the appearance of the early MSA in the Olorgesailie basin, Kenya. In contrast to the Acheulean archeological record in the same basin, MSA sites are associated with a markedly different faunal community, more pronounced erosion-deposition cycles, tectonic activity, and enhanced wet-dry variability. Aspects of Acheulean technology in this region imply that, as early as 615,000 years ago, greater stone material selectivity and wider resource procurement coincided with an increased pace of land-lake fluctuation, potentially anticipating the adaptability of MSA hominins.

Long-distance stone transport and pigment use in the earliest Middle Stone Age, di  A. S. Brooks et alii, "Science", 06 Apr 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6384, pp. 90-94

Previous research suggests that the complex symbolic, technological, and socioeconomic behaviors that typify Homo sapiens had roots in the middle Pleistocene <200,000 years ago, but data bearing on human behavioral origins are limited. We present a series of excavated Middle Stone Age sites from the Olorgesailie basin, southern Kenya, dating from ≥295,000 to ~320,000 years ago by argon-40/argon-39 and uranium-series methods. Hominins at these sites made prepared cores and points, exploited iron-rich rocks to obtain red pigment, and procured stone tool materials from ≥25- to 50-kilometer distances. Associated fauna suggests a broad resource strategy that included large and small prey. These practices imply notable changes in how individuals and groups related to the landscape and to one another and provide documentation relevant to human social and cognitive evolution.

Chronology of the Acheulean to Middle Stone Age transition in eastern Africa, di A. L. Deino et alii, "Science", 06 Apr 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6384, pp. 95-98

The origin of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) marks the transition from a highly persistent mode of stone toolmaking, the Acheulean, to a period of increasing technological innovation and cultural indicators associated with the evolution of Homo sapiens. We used argon-40/argon-39 and uranium-series dating to calibrate the chronology of Acheulean and early MSA artifact–rich sedimentary deposits in the Olorgesailie basin, southern Kenya rift. We determined the age of late Acheulean tool assemblages from 615,000 to 499,000 years ago, after which a large technological and faunal transition occurred, with a definitive MSA lacking Acheulean elements beginning most likely by ~320,000 years ago, but at least by 305,000 years ago. These results establish the oldest repository of MSA artifacts in eastern Africa.

Bone industry of the Lower Magdalenian in Cantabrian Spain: The square-section antler points of El Cierro Cave, di J. Tapia et alii, "Quaternary International", Volume 472, Part A, 5 April 2018, Pages 13-22

El Cierro Cave (Asturias, Northern Spain) has been a key site in the regional periodization of the Upper Palaeolithic in the Cantabrian region since its excavation by Jordá-Cerdá in the late 1950s. Lithic and bone artefacts from the Lower Magdalenian layers in this cave have been studied by several scholars from a typological standpoint, discussing their relationship and continuity with the preceding Solutrean occupations in the same cave. This paper analyses red deer antler artefacts from El Cierro, dated in the Lower Madgalenian. The ensemble was retrieved during the 1977–1979 excavations, and the new fieldwork undertaken since 2012 has confirmed the chronological and stratigraphic context of its origin. Within the production sequence of antler spear points, a particular procedure was followed to obtain the most characteristic tools of that period: the square-section antler points.

Our tree-climbing human ancestors could walk upright like us, study of chimps and other primates shows, di A. Gibbons, "Science News", Apr. 2, 2018

With their opposable toes and flat feet, early human ancestors have often been portrayed as weird walkers, swaying from side to side or rolling off the outside edges of their feet. Now, a new study finds that this picture of awkward upright locomotion is wrong: Early members of the human family, or hominins, were already walking upright with an efficient, straight-legged gait some 4.4 million years ago. The study helps settle a long-standing debate about how quickly our ancestors developed a humanlike gait, and shows that ancient hominins didn’t have to sacrifice climbing agility to walk upright efficiently. For years, some paleoanthropologists argued that hominins like the famous 3.1-million-year-old Lucy weren’t graceful on the ground because they retained traits for climbing trees, such as long fingers and toes. In one famous experiment, researchers donned extra-long shoes—one critic called them clown shoes—to mimic walking with longer toes. The scientists stumbled over their long feet and concluded that early hominins would have been just as clumsy. But other researchers argued that natural selection would have quickly favored adaptations for efficient walking given the dangers on the ground, even while hominins were still scurrying up trees. (...)

The antiquity of bow-and-arrow technology: evidence from Middle Stone Age layers at Sibudu Cave, di L. Backwell, J. Bradfield, K. J. Carlson, T. Jashashvili, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 362 April 2018 , pp. 289-303

The bow and arrow is thought to be a unique development of our species, signalling higher-level cognitive functioning. How this technology originated and how we identify archaeological evidence for it are subjects of ongoing debate. Recent analysis of the putative bone arrow point from Sibudu Cave in South Africa, dated to 61.7±1.5kya, has provided important new insights. High-resolution CT scanning revealed heat and impact damage in both the Sibudu point and in experimentally produced arrow points. These features suggest that the Sibudu point was first used as an arrowhead for hunting, and afterwards was deposited in a hearth. Our results support the claim that bone weapon tips were used in South African hunting long before the Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic.

Symmetry is its own reward: on the character and significance of Acheulean handaxe symmetry in the Middle Pleistocene, di M. White, F. Foulds, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 362 April 2018 , pp. 304-319

Bilateral symmetry in handaxes has significant implications for hominin cognitive and socio-behavioural evolution. Here the authors show that high levels of symmetry occur in the British Late Middle Pleistocene Acheulean, which they consider to be a deliberate, socially mediated act. Furthermore, they argue that lithic technology in general, and handaxes in particular, were part of a pleasure-reward system linked to dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain. Making handaxes made Acheulean hominins happy, and one particularly pleasing property was symmetry.

Illuminating the cave, drawing in black: wood charcoal analysis at Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, di I. Théry-Parisot et alii, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 362 April 2018 , pp. 320-333

The Grotte Chauvet is world renowned for the quality and diversity of its Palaeolithic art. Fire was particularly important to the occupants, providing light and producing charcoal for use in motifs. Charcoal samples were taken systematically from features associated with the two main occupation phases (Aurignacian and Gravettian). Analysis showed it to be composed almost entirely of pine (Pinus sp.), indicating the harsh climatic conditions at this period. No distinction in wood species was found between either the two occupation episodes or the various depositional contexts. The results throw new light on the cultural and palaeoenvironmental factors that influenced choices underlying the collection of wood for charcoal production.

The Palaeolithic of Seimarreh Valley in the Central Zagros, Iran, di M. Zeynivand et alii, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 362 April 2018 , e1

Over the past few decades, Iran has frequently been considered the connecting bridge between South-western, South-eastern, Central and Eastern Asia, and a significant migration path for Pleistocene human dispersals (Bar-Yosef 1994; Biglari & Shidrang 2006; Vahdati Nasab et al. 2013). Most studies of Palaeolithic Iran have been carried out by foreign archaeologists, and have concentrated on the Central Zagros (e.g. Braidwood et al. 1961; Hole & Flannery 1967; Mortensen 1993). Although Iranian archaeologists (e.g. Biglari et al. 2000; Roustaei et al. 2004) have followed the same trend in recent decades, there are still unknown prehistoric sites throughout this region. The Seimarreh Valley is one of the least known regions of the Central Zagros, particularly in terms of prehistoric archaeology; compared to other regions, such as Mahidasht and Chamchal, the Seimarreh Valley has been mostly neglected. A survey of the Valley by Zeynivand in 2011 identified a complex of caves and rockshelters containing Palaeolithic artefacts. Consequently, more sites were identified in 2015 after a new approach to surveying was adopted. This provided new data indicating the importance of the Seimarreh Valley during the Pleistocene era. (...)

A possible Late Pleistocene forager site from the Karaburun Peninsula, western Turkey, di Ç. Çilingiroğlu et alii, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 362 April 2018 , e2

Since 2015, the ‘Karaburun Archaeological Survey’ project (KASP) has been generating data on the early prehistory of western Anatolia. A complete lack of information concerning Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene foragers from western Anatolia—and the general scarcity throughout Turkey—creates a data gap that hinders our understanding of forager lifeways or potential forager-farmer encounters in this vast region. The main aim of the KASP is to produce data from pre-Neolithic foragers, and to contribute to the currently debated topics of Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean prehistory. Through the implementation of pedestrian survey methods that record archaeological material from all periods, the project is designed to discover year-round settlements or mounds, as well as evidence for small-scale activity or campsites. In 2016, pedestrian survey along the south-eastern coastline of the Karaburun Peninsula recorded a 0.3ha site (site 35) with a relatively intense distribution of human-made chipped stones over Triassic limestone bedrock (Erdoğan et al. 1990). Located on a west–east oriented slope, the chipped stones extended for approximately 80m along the shore (Figure 1). The area had good surface visibility with partial covering of evergreen shrubs (Figure 2). A team of nine people surveyed the area in 2m transects, collecting over 300 lithics. The only other archaeological find recovered was a corroded Byzantine-era coin. (...)

- Global perspectives on the impact of drastic environmental changes in hunter-gatherer technologies

- Ecological risk, demography and technological complexity in the Late Pleistocene of northern Malawi: implications for geographical patterning in the Middle Stone Age

Technological adaptation and the emergence of Levallois in Central Europe: new insight from the Markkleeberg and Zwochau open-air sites in Germany

- Human adaptations to climatic change in Liguria across the Middle–Upper Paleolithic transition

- Testing the impact of environmental change on hunter-gatherer settlement organization during the Upper Paleolithic in western Iberia

- Human response to habitat suitability during the Last Glacial Maximum in Western Europe

The Pleistocene–Holocene Transition in Cantabrian Spain: current reflections on culture change

Aggiornamento 2 aprile

What’s the point? Retouched bladelet variability in the Protoaurignacian. Results from Fumane, Isturitz, and Les Cottés, di A. Falcucci, M. Peresani, M. Roussel, C. Normand, M. Soressi, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", April 2018, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp 539–554

The Protoaurignacian is considered a cultural proxy for one of the first expansions of anatomically modern humans across Europe. The stabilization of bladelet industries that characterizes this techno-complex is therefore often used as supporting evidence for the break from previous stone knapping traditions and also for the increase of human mobility through wider territories. Despite the cultural importance that bladelets have gained, a careful inter-regional comparison, stressing similarities and differences, has not yet been attempted. Moreover, the use of traditional typologies has blurred the morpho-metrical variability that characterizes lamellar tools. Here, a study has been carried out on retouched bladelets from three pivotal sites: Fumane (northeast Italy), Isturitz (southwest France), and Les Cottés (northern France). By using morphological, dimensional, and retouching attributes, and by evaluating the statistical significance of the main differences, the first detailed analysis of the variability of retouched bladelets within the Protoaurignacian has been documented. The results indicate that the features that best discriminate the bladelet assemblages are the presence and the relative variability of bladelets with convergent retouch, although a reassessment of existing studies and new methodological approaches are required to test the latter hypothesis. Throughout this paper, we demonstrate the merits of using a unified classification of retouched bladelets for comparing behavior in between groups distant in space. We hope that this paper will be a new incentive to develop unified taxonomies for the study of Early Upper Paleolithic lithics in Western Eurasia.

Identifying handedness at knapping; an analysis of the scatter pattern of lithic remains, di A. Bargalló, M. Mosquera, C. Lorenzo, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", April 2018, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp 587–598

Determining hand laterality during human evolution is important in order to identify brain hemispheric lateralization for motor tasks and, indirectly, to gain information on the complex cognitive functions of the human brain. In this paper, we present a new method for inferring handedness from lithic evidence. The study is based on an analysis of the scatter patterns of lithic remains from stone-knapping episodes. An experimental programme was carried out by 14 knappers (eight right-handed and six left-handed), ranging from individuals that had never even struck two pebbles together to individuals who were quite familiar with prehistoric tools and had some degree of practice. The results of the experiment show that the material scatter patterns of right- and left-handed knappers at group level are different, but they do overlap at certain intervals. At the individual level, the probability of falsely ascribing left- and right-handedness has also been estimated. In addition, we have adapted this method to be applied to the archaeological record. In this case, only well-preserved knapping events with no post-depositional alterations can be used to assign left- or right-handed knappers, with the former being more reliably detected than the latter.

Reassessment of the Lower Paleolithic (Acheulean) presence in the western Tien Shan, di K. A. Kolobova, D. Flas, A. I. Krivoshapkin, K. K. Pavlenok, D. Vandenberghe, M. De Dapper, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", April 2018, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp 615–630

Kulbulak (Uzbekistan) is among the most important Paleolithic sites in Central Asia. Based on excavations from the 1960s to the 1980s, a stratigraphic sequence yielding 46 archeological horizons of the Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic has been described. The lowermost 22 layers were at that time defined as Acheulean, both in cultural and chronological aspects. Based on these previous works, Kulbulak has thus often been cited as one of the rarest occurrences of Lower Paleolithic and Acheulean in the region. However, this attribution was debatable. New excavations at Kulbulak in 2007–2010 provided new material and the first reliable dates that permitted us to tackle this issue. Moreover, a reappraisal of the lithic collections and documents from previous excavations was also conducted. These new data clearly indicate the absence of Acheulean or even Lower Paleolithic at Kulbulak. On the contrary, the lithic assemblages from this site only correspond to Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods. The lowermost layers are particularly interesting due to the presence of an early industry with blade and bladelet technology.

Lithic use-wear analysis of the Early Gravettian of Vale Boi (Cape St. Vicente, southern Portugal): insights into human technology and settlement in southwestern Iberia, di J. Marreiros, J. Gibaja, N. Bicho, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", April 2018, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp 631–645

During the Upper Paleolithic, lithic variability is one of the most important keys to recognize hunter-gatherer behavior, technology, ecology, and social dynamics. The origin and expansion of Gravettian populations in Eurasia has been seen as one of the most critical episodes in human evolution, argued to be the first clear evidence of the so-called polymorphism among modern human populations. In the case of southern Iberian Peninsula, recent data have shown a new regional and diachronic organization for the Gravettian occupation in this region. Therefore, the interpretation of such variability is one of the most important questions, and functional analysis is a fundamental proxy to recognize human technological, settlement and ecological adaptations as major factors for this polymorphism. This study focused on lithic use-wear analysis of the Early Gravettian of Vale Boi (southern Portugal), in order to understand lithic technological organization and variability within and between occupations at the site. Results show similar patterns between assemblages, showing that different materials were worked at the site, although showing reduced time of work, low variability and percentage of pieces used. Unlike other Gravettian contexts in southern Iberia, the Early Gravettian from Vale Boi is characterized by some variability of backed points, marked by the predominance of bipointed double-backed bladelets. Functional analysis of the Early Gravettian lithic industries of Vale Boi provide a new insight to interpret human technology and settlement strategy during the onset of Upper Paleolithic industries in western Eurasia.

Cross-sectional properties of the lower limb long bones in the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos sample (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain), di L. Rodríguez, J. M. Carretero, R. García-González, J. L. Arsuaga, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 117, April 2018, Pages 1-12

The recovery to date of three complete and five partial femora, seven complete tibiae, and four complete fibulae from the Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos site provides an opportunity to analyze the biomechanical cross-sectional properties in this Middle Pleistocene population and to compare them with those of other fossil hominins and recent modern humans. We have performed direct comparisons of the cross-sectional geometric parameters and reduced major axis (RMA) regression lines among different samples. We have determined that Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos (SH) fossils have significantly thicker cortices than those of recent modern humans for the three leg bones at all diaphyseal levels, except that of the femur at 35% of biomechanical length. The SH bones are similar to those of Neandertals and Middle Pleistocene humans and different from Homo sapiens in their diaphyseal cross-sectional shape and strength parameters. When standardized by estimated body size, both the SH and Neandertal leg bones have in general greater strength than those of H. sapiens from the early modern (EMH), Upper Paleolithic (UP), and recent populations (RH). The Sima de los Huesos human leg bones have, in general terms, an ancestral pattern similar to that of Pleistocene humans and differing from H. sapiens.

La Ferrassie 1: New perspectives on a “classic” Neandertal, di A. Gómez-Olivencia et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 117, April 2018, Pages 13-32

The La Ferrassie 1 (LF1) skeleton, discovered over a century ago, is one of the most important Neandertal individuals both for its completeness and due to the role it has played historically in the interpretation of Neandertal anatomy and lifeways. Here we present new skeletal remains from this individual, which include a complete right middle ear ossicular chain (malleus, incus, and stapes), three vertebral fragments, and two costal remains. Additionally, the study of the skeleton has allowed us to identify new pathological lesions, including a congenital variant in the atlas, a greenstick fracture of the left clavicle, and a lesion in a mid-thoracic rib of unknown etiology. In addition, we have quantified the amount of vertebral pathology, which is greater than previously appreciated. We have complemented the paleopathological analysis with a taphonomic analysis to identify any potential perimortem fractures. The taphonomic analysis indicates that no surface alteration is present in the LF1 skeleton and that the breakage pattern is that of bone that has lost collagen, which would be consistent with the intentional burial of this individual proposed by previous researchers. In this study, we used CT and microCT scans in order to discover new skeletal elements to better characterize the pathological lesions and to quantify the fracture orientation of those bones in which the current plaster reconstruction did not allow its direct visualization, which underlines the broad potential of imaging technologies in paleoanthropological research. A century after its discovery, LF1 is still providing new insights into Neandertal anatomy and behavior.

Geißenklösterle Cave, located in the Ach Valley of the Swabian Alb and one of six Swabian cave sites recently named as a UNESCO World Heritage site, has a long history of archaeological research resulting in a detailed record of human occupation. Sometime around 45,000 years ago Neanderthals seemingly vanished from the Swabian landscape, and after a period of mostly geogenic deposit at Geißenklösterle Cave we find deposits containing characteristically Aurignacian artifacts dating to as early as 42,500 years ago. These Aurignacian groups brought with them complex symbolic expression and communication including bone and ivory beads, musical instruments, and animal and human figurines. This study examines the climatic context of this depopulation through a taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of the rodent and insectivore remains associated with these periods and provides a relatively unbiased climatic record for the period of ∼45,000–36,000 years ago in this region. Taphonomic analysis indicates that primarily the European eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) were responsible for accumulating the material, and allows us to quantify the potential taxonomic bias resulting from predator behaviour which includes a preference for voles, particularly the water vole (Arvicola terrestris). Additionally, rare taxa (which include species of murids and soricids) may have been present in greater quantities than our sample implies. The assemblage from Geißenklösterle Cave is dominated by the field and common vole (Microtus arvalis/agrestis), the narrow-headed vole (Microtus gregalis), and the root/tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus). Overall, the Middle Paleolithic landscape included significant woodland and forested areas while a high proportion of species restricted to cold tundra environments likely indicate punctuated cold and arid periods. The signal from the nearly geogenic layer overlying the Middle Paleolithic material includes a moderate shift in the proportion of cold tundra adapted species, suggesting that the tundra expanded leading up to the Neanderthal depopulation, but no period of drastic climatic change is recognizable. The Aurignacian was significantly colder and drier than the preceding period, with cold tundra expansion reaching its apex (for the time period studied). Based on these results the Swabian landscape first encountered by Aurignacian groups was significantly less hospitable than that known to the earlier Middle Paleolithic populations. These results correlate well with past paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on sedimentary, botanical, and faunal assemblages. There is no evidence in the small mammal record that climatic pressure drove Neanderthals from the Ach Valley, instead it seems likely they enjoyed a more temperate environment than later Aurignacian groups. Ongoing work focused on greater resolution of these climatic oscillations at similarly well-dated Swabian sites will shed further light on the timing and speed of this climatic shift and the response of the biological communities affected, including early human groups.

The effect of post-depositional processes on the formation of Plio-Pleistocene sites at Olduvai Gorge is the subject of considerable debate, due mainly to its implications for the behavioral interpretation of the Beds I and II assemblages. In light of this debate, here we contribute to the discussion that investigates the role of water flow in site formation at Olduvai. This is achieved by assessing the artifact size and shape ranges of lithic assemblages excavated by Mary Leakey from both Oldowan (FLK North Levels 3 and 1, FLK Zinj, FLK North Levels 6-1, Sandy Conglomerate and Deinotherium, HWKE Level 1) and early Acheulean (TK Lower and Upper Floor) sites. We apply grain size and shape statistical techniques to these stone tool assemblages in order to classify sites according to patterns in artifact dimensions. These patterns are then compared to those produced during experimental flaking, thus providing a referential framework against which the archaeological assemblages can be interpreted. Artifact size distribution results show pronounced differences between the archaeological and experimental assemblages. Most of the archaeological assemblages are characterized by a bimodal size trend that is opposed to the dominantly unimodal distribution seen in the flaking experiments. The few archaeological assemblages where the distribution is predominantly unimodal (TF Lower Floor, TK Upper Floor and FLK Zinj) also show a significant underrepresentation of smaller artifacts, when compared to the experimental distributions. Overall, the comparison of archaeological materials with experimental results enables a more accurate assessment of the impact of natural processes over the Bed I and II assemblages, and further, it helps to refine our understanding of taphonomic and behavioral contexts for the Oldowan and early Acheulean sites at Olduvai Gorge.

Reconstructing the genetic history of late Neanderthals, di M. Hajdinjak, Q. Fu, J. Kelso, "Nature", volume 555, pages 652–656 (29 March 2018)

Although it has previously been shown that Neanderthals contributed DNA to modern humans1,2, not much is known about the genetic diversity of Neanderthals or the relationship between late Neanderthal populations at the time at which their last interactions with early modern humans occurred and before they eventually disappeared. Our ability to retrieve DNA from a larger number of Neanderthal individuals has been limited by poor preservation of endogenous DNA3 and contamination of Neanderthal skeletal remains by large amounts of microbial and present-day human DNA3,4,5. Here we use hypochlorite treatment6 of as little as 9 mg of bone or tooth powder to generate between 1- and 2.7-fold genomic coverage of five Neanderthals who lived around 39,000 to 47,000 years ago (that is, late Neanderthals), thereby doubling the number of Neanderthals for which genome sequences are available. Genetic similarity among late Neanderthals is well predicted by their geographical location, and comparison to the genome of an older Neanderthal from the Caucasus2,7 indicates that a population turnover is likely to have occurred, either in the Caucasus or throughout Europe, towards the end of Neanderthal history. We find that the bulk of Neanderthal gene flow into early modern humans originated from one or more source populations that diverged from the Neanderthals that were studied here at least 70,000 years ago, but after they split from a previously sequenced Neanderthal from Siberia2 around 150,000 years ago. Although four of the Neanderthals studied here post-date the putative arrival of early modern humans into Europe, we do not detect any recent gene flow from early modern humans in their ancestry.

· Gli ultimi Neanderthal e noi, "Le Scienze", 23 marzo 2018

A Middle Palaeolithic wooden digging stick from Aranbaltza III, Spain, di J. Rios-Garaizar et alii, March 28, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195044 - free  access -

Aranbaltza is an archaeological complex formed by at least three open-air sites. Between 2014 and 2015 a test excavation carried out in Aranbaltza III revealed the presence of a sand and clay sedimentary sequence formed in floodplain environments, within which six sedimentary units have been identified. This sequence was formed between 137–50 ka, and includes several archaeological horizons, attesting to the long-term presence of Neanderthal communities in this area. One of these horizons, corresponding with Unit 4, yielded two wooden tools. One of these tools is a beveled pointed tool that was shaped through a complex operational sequence involving branch shaping, bark peeling, twig removal, shaping, polishing, thermal exposition and chopping. A use-wear analysis of the tool shows it to have traces related with digging soil so it has been interpreted as representing a digging stick. This is the first time such a tool has been identified in a European Late Middle Palaeolithic context; it also represents one of the first well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic wooden tool found in southern Europe. This artefact represents one of the few examples available of wooden tool preservation for the European Palaeolithic, allowing us to further explore the role wooden technologies played in Neanderthal communities. (...)

Germany was covered by glaciers 450,000 years ago, 23-MAR-2018

The timing of the Middle Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles and the feedback mechanisms between climatic shifts and earth-surface processes are still poorly understood. This is largely due to the fact that chronological data of sediment archives representing periglacial, but also potentially warmer climate periods, are very sparse until now. "The Quaternary sediments in central Germany are perfect archives to understand the climate shifts that occurred in the region during the last 450,000 years", says co-author Tobias Lauer, a geochronologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. "This is because all sediments representing the ice advances and retreats of Scandinavian glaciers into Europe are preserved here." The sediments in the region, and especially in the area around the city Leipzig, are extremely well documented due to tens of thousands of drillings over the past few decades and open pits related to brown-coal mining. Especially relevant are the river deposits of local rivers like the Weisse Elster and the Saale, which are preserved between the moraines of the so-called "Elsterian" and "Saalian" ice advances. "Especially the timing of the first major glaciation has been highly debated within the scientific community during the last few decades", says Lauer. "By dating the river deposits systematically we found that the first ice coverage of central Germany during the Elsterian glaciation (named after the river Elster) occurred during marine isotope stage 12, likely about 450,000 years ago, which is 100,000 years earlier than previously thought." To obtain these dates the researchers used luminescence dating, a technology that determines how long ago mineral grains were last exposed to sunlight or heat. (...)

L'antico incrocio fra umani moderni e di Denisova, 19 marzo 2018

Gli esseri umani moderni hanno convissuto e si sono incrociati, oltre che con i Neanderthal, anche con un'altra specie umana arcaica, quella degli uomini di Denisova, dei quali si sa ancora pochissimo. In particolare, il mescolamento fra umani moderni e denisovani sarebbe avvenuto in due distinte occasioni, entrambe precedenti all'incrocio fra umani moderni e Neanderthal. La scoperta, fatta da un gruppo di ricercatori dell'Università di Washington a Seattle e pubblicata su "Cell", è avvenuta grazie a un nuovo metodo di analisi per il confronto di interi genomi di popolazioni diverse. I dati relativi all'uomo di Denisova derivano da un unico insieme di fossili arcaici trovati nelle montagne dell'Altai, in Siberia, il cui genoma è stato pubblicato nel 2010. In seguito, sono stati rapidamente identificati segmenti di DNA di ascendenza denisovana in diverse popolazioni moderne dell'Oceania, ma anche dall'Asia orientale e meridionale. Le tracce più significative di un'ascendenza dai Denisova sono state riscontrate fra i Papua, che arrivano al 5 per cento del genoma, contro il 2 per cento delle popolazioni eurasiatiche. (...)

New understanding of Kenyan paleoenvironments opens window on human evolution in the area, March 16, 2018

The sediments of the newly named Oltulelei Formation in the Olorgesailie Basin were deposited after a 180,000 year period of erosion and represent the time interval between ~320,000 and ~36,000 years ago. They preserve important evidence for human evolution, but "this only makes sense when we understand the geology of the enclosing rocks," says lead author Behrensmeyer, "particularly the age of the strata and the nature of the paleoenvironments associated with archeological and fossil sites." For example, if there are two archeological sites with different types of artifacts in different strata some distance apart, it takes geological investigation to say which is older and which is younger. "This is obviously critical to understanding the evolution of technology." Behrensmeyer used traditional section measuring and mapping to document the strata across three different sub-basins, then analyzed and correlated hundreds of section logs with the help of new computer-based methods. This research also involved intensive laboratory work using 40Ar/39Ar absolute dating (by coauthor Alan Deino) of the volcanic tephras to pin down the ages of the strata and the archeological sites. The team, including co-author (and Olorgesailie project leader) Richard Potts, then worked together to integrate the geology, the ages, and the archeological sites. (...)

Advances in human behaviour came surprisingly early in Stone Age, di J. Tollefson, "Nature news", 15 MARCH 2018, Nature 555, 424-425 (2018), doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-03244-y

Early humans in eastern Africa crafted advanced tools and displayed other complex behaviours tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought, according to a trio of papers published on 15 March in Science. Those advances coincided with — and may have been driven by — major climate and landscape changes. The latest evidence comes from the Olorgesailie Basin in Southern Kenya, where researchers have previously found traces of ancient relatives of modern human as far back as 1.2 million years ago. Evidence collected at sites in the basin suggests that early humans underwent a series of profound changes at some point before roughly 320,000 years ago. They abandoned simple hand axes in favour of smaller and more advanced blades made from obsidian and other materials obtained from distant sources. That shift suggests the early people living there had developed a trade network — evidence of growing sophistication in behaviour. The researchers also found gouges on black and red rocks and minerals, which indicate that early Olorgesailie residents used those materials to create pigments and possibly communicate ideas. (...)

Environmental dynamics during the onset of the Middle Stone Age in eastern Africa, di R. Potts et alii, Science 15 Mar 2018, DOI: 10.1126/science.aao2200

Development of the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) before 300 thousand years ago (ka) raises the question of how environmental change influenced the evolution of behaviors characteristic of early Homo sapiens. We use temporally well-constrained sedimentological and paleoenvironmental data to investigate environmental dynamics before and after the appearance of the early MSA in the Olorgesailie Basin, Kenya. In contrast to the Acheulean archeological record in the same basin, MSA sites are associated with a dramatically different faunal community, more pronounced erosion-deposition cycles, tectonic activity, and enhanced wet-dry variability. As early as 615 ka, aspects of Acheulean technology in this region imply that greater stone material selectivity and wider resource procurement coincided with an increased pace of land-lake fluctuation, potentially anticipating the adaptability of MSA hominins.

· Signs of symbolic behavior emerged at the dawn of our species in Africa, di A. Gibbons, "Science News", Mar. 15, 2018

· I comportamenti complessi precedono Homo sapiens, "Le Scienze", 15 marzo 2018

Dating human occupation and adaptation in the southern European last glacial refuge: The chronostratigraphy of Grotta del Romito (Italy), di S. Blockley et alii, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 184, 15 March 2018, Pages 5-25

Grotta del Romito has been the subject of numerous archaeological, chronological and palaeoenvironmental investigations for more than a decade. During the Upper Palaeolithic period the site contains evidence of human occupation through the Gravettian and Epigravettian periods, multiple human burials, changes in the pattern of human occupation, and faunal, isotopic and sedimentological evidence for local environmental change. In spite of this rich record, the chronological control is insufficient to resolve shifts in subsistence and mobility patterns at sufficiently high resolution to match the abrupt climate fluctuations at this time. To resolve this we present new radiocarbon and tephrostratigraphic dates in combination with existing radiocarbon dates, and develop a Bayesian age model framework for the site. This improved chronology reveals that local environmental conditions reflect abrupt and long-term changes in climate, and that these also directly influence changing patterns of human occupation of the site. In particular, we show that the environmental record for the site, based on small mammal habitat preferences, is chronologically in phase with the main changes in climate and environment seen in key regional archives from Italy and Greenland. We also calculate the timing of the transitions between different cultural phases and their spans. We also show that the intensification in occupation of the site is chronologically coincident with a rapid rise in Mesic Woody taxa seen in key regional pollen records and is associated with the Late Epigravettian occupation of the site. This change in the record of Grotta del Romito is also closely associated stratigraphically with a new tephra (the ROM-D30 tephra), which may act as a critical marker in environmental records of the region.

The silence of the layers: Archaeological site visibility in the Pleistocene-Holocene transition at the Ebro Basin, di A. Alday et alii, "Quaternary Science Reviews", Volume 184, 15 March 2018, Pages 85-106

The Ebro Basin constitutes one of the most representative territories in SW Europe for the study of prehistoric societies during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The correlation of palaeoenvironmental and geomorphological proxies obtained from sedimentary records with chronologically well-constrained reference archaeological sites has allowed defining this time frame precisely, such that three main pilot areas haven been broadly depicted: the Alavese region, the Pre-Pyrenees and the Bajo Aragón. Overall, the human imprint in the Ebro Basin was rare during the Upper Palaeolithic, but more visible from the Upper Magdalenian (14500–13500 cal BP) to Neolithic times (up to 5500 cal BP). Local environmental resources were continuously managed by the prehistoric communities in the different areas of study. In fact, the Ebro Basin acted during those millennia as a whole, developing the same cultural trends, industrial techniques and settlement patterns in parallel throughout the territory. However, some gaps exist in the 14C frequency curve (SCDPD curve). This is partially related to prehistoric sites in particular lithologies and geological structures that could have partly been lost by erosional processes, especially during the Early Holocene. In addition, this gap also parallels the reconstructed climate trend for the Pre-Pyrenean and the Bajo Aragón areas, which are defined by high frequencies of xerophilous flora until ca. 9500 cal BP, suggesting that continental climate features could have hampered the presence of well-established human communities in inland regions. The interdisciplinary research (archaeology, geomorphology and palaeoclimatology) discussed in this paper offers clues to understand the existence of fills and gaps in the archaeological record of the Ebro Basin, and can be applied in other territories with similar geographic and climate patterns.

The major archaeological site of Valle Giumentina (Abruzzo) contains a well-dated Lower Palaeolithic pedosedimentary sequence that provides an excellent opportunity to study the relationships among soil weathering, volcanism and climate change at the glacial/interglacial and submillennial timescales in central Italy and the Mediterranean area during the Middle Pleistocene, as well as the human-environment interactions of some of the earliest settlements in central southern Europe. High-resolution analyses of geochemistry and magnetic susceptibility revealed the presence of eleven palaeosols, ten of which (S2-S11) were formed between 560 and 450 ka based on 40Ar/39Ar dating of sanidine in tephras, i.e. spanning marine isotope stages (MIS) 14-12. The evolution of the major and trace element composition suggests that the palaeosols were mainly formed by in situ weathering of the parent material. The major phases of soil weathering occurred during the MIS 13 interglacial period (S8 and S6) as well as during episodes of rapid environmental change associated with millennial climatic oscillations during the MIS 14 and 12 glaciations (S11 and S2, respectively). Although global forcing such as orbital variations, solar radiation, and greenhouse gas concentrations may have influenced the pedogenic processes, the volcanism in central Italy, climate change in the central Mediterranean, and tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Valle Giumentina basin also impacted and triggered the formation of most palaeosols, which provided subsistence resources for the Lower Palaeolithic human communities. This study highlights the importance of having high-resolution palaeoenvironmental records with accurate chronology as close as possible to archaeological sites to study human-environment interactions.

The Sterkfontein Caves after Eighty Years of Paleoanthropological Research: The Journey Continues, di D. J. Stratford, "American Anthropologist", Volume 120, Issue 1, March 2018 - free  access -

The Sterkfontein Caves, the richest Australopithecus-bearing site in the world, occupies a crucial position in the history of South African scientific inquiry and has been pivotal to the development of the field of paleoanthropology. The site is physically and culturally embedded in the foundations of Johannesburg and is recognized as being one of the world's most important cultural heritage resources. The year 2016 was the eightieth anniversary of the discovery of the first adult Australopithecus by Robert Broom at Sterkfontein in 1936, a find that inspired three generations of paleoanthropological research throughout South Africa's Cradle of Humankind. Since this discovery, through fortune or dedicated research efforts, Sterkfontein has provided some of the most crucial clues to the complexities of our evolutionary past. In an auspicious year, 150 years since Robert Broom's birth, eighty years since Broom's discovery, and fifty years since Tobias's inauguration of a new Sterkfontein research program, this article presents a brief review of the history of research at Sterkfontein and its role in the development of the field of paleoanthropology. In light of this juncture, this article contributes two consolidated resources: a literature archive and a consolidated record of excavation‐diary entries since 1967. (...)

Microwear study of quartzite artefacts: preliminary results from the Middle Pleistocene site of Payre (South-eastern France), di A. Pedergnana, A. Ollé, A. Borel, M. H. Moncel, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", March 2018, Volume 10, Issue 2, pp 369–388

Preliminary functional results obtained from the quartzite assemblage of the Early Middle Palaeolithic site of Payre (South-eastern France) are presented. In an area rich in flint, hominins at Payre also collected quartzite in their local environment, specifically along the Rhône River banks. Although the Payre lithic assemblage is largely composed of flint, quartzite was introduced in the site mainly as large cutting tools knapped outside. This fact pointed out an apparently highly differential treatment of the raw material types available in the region. A major concern is to understand the reason why. Is there any functional reason for the introduction of those artefacts, perhaps to perform specific activities related to the toughness of quartzite? Or is there any functional differentiation among the various raw materials? Use-wear analysis is a useful tool for better understanding human technological choices and strategies of lithic raw material management. Before attempting to extensively apply use-wear analysis on the quartzite assemblage, we analysed a limited sample to evaluate the general surface preservation. A specific experimental programme with the same local quartzite was carried out in order to provide a reliable comparative reference for interpreting use-wear evidence on archaeological implements. Methodological difficulties related to use-wear analysis applied to quartzite artefacts are also discussed. Both Optical light microscopy (OLM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were employed in this study; however, interpretations were elaborated considering principally SEM micro-graphs. The analysis of the archaeological material showed a good state of preservation of the surfaces with a low incidence of post-depositional alterations. The documented use-wear allowed us to identify the active edges, the kinematics and, more rarely, the worked material. Chopping activities were documented on two large artefacts suggesting a specific utility of those tools.

Assemblage variability and bifacial points in the lowermost Sibudan layers at Sibudu, South Africa, di M. Will, N. J. Conard, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", March 2018, Volume 10, Issue 2, pp 389–414

Building on the important work of Lyn Wadley at Sibudu, archeologists from the University of Tübingen have excavated the upper stratigraphic units of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) sequence down to the Howiesons Poort (HP). Here, we present the main results from lithic analyses of the lowest part of the Sibudan sequence to assess its overall variability and taxonomic status. Based on the new findings, we also discuss the implications for archeological systematics and the cultural evolution of modern humans in MIS 3 from a more general perspective. The Sibudan deposits encompass over 20 archeological horizons that span a 1.2-m-thick, well-stratified sequence whose base and top have been dated to ∼58 ka (MIS 3). In contrast to the upper stratigraphic units, the lower Sibudan assemblages that we analyzed here show much higher use of local sandstone, quartz, and quartzite. These older units are characterized by frequent use of expedient core reduction methods, bipolar reduction of locally available quartz and quartzite, less retouch of blanks, and lower find densities. Tongati and Ndwedwe tools, which feature abundantly in the upper part of the Sibudan sequence, are entirely absent, as are unifacial points. Instead, notched and denticulated tools are common. Surprisingly, knappers manufactured small bifacial points, mainly made from quartz, by means of alternating shaping in the course of the oldest occupations. The results highlight the great diversity of human technological behavior over even short periods during the MSA, raising important questions about the mechanisms of behavioral change, cultural taxonomy, appropriate scales of lithic analyses, and the relationship between the HP and the Sibudan. Our findings further erode the old idea that bifacial technology in southern Africa is limited to the Still Bay. Research is increasingly showing that bifacial points come and go in different forms and contexts of African Late Pleistocene technology, impeding their use as chrono-cultural markers.

Beyond art: The internal archaeological context in Paleolithic decorated caves, di M. Á. Medina-Alcaide, D. Garate-Maidagan, A. Ruiz-Redondo, J. L. Sanchidrián-Torti, "Journal of Anthropological Archaeology", Volume 49, March 2018, Pages 114-128  - free  access -

The inner zones of caves are those areas unreached by sunlight that remain in complete darkness and require artificial light if humans are to occupy them. They are characterized by a high degree of humidity and scarcely varying annual temperature. In general, such areas are inimical to prolonged and stable human settlement in comparison to areas closer to cave entrances. The latter have been used as places of more prolonged occupation, where many different activities were carried out (permanent and sporadic settlement, hunting refuges, etc.). Despite this, throughout the Upper Paleolithic (UP), and also occasionally in the Middle Paleolithic (Jaubert et al., 2016a), people entered these interior spaces, at least from time to time. Questions remain regarding the reasons for a human presence in inner zones, the dating of this presence, and methods of access. The integrated study of archaeological remains found inside the caves enables these questions to be addressed. (...)

Inner tooth morphology of Homo erectus from Zhoukoudian. New evidence from an old collection housed at Uppsala University, Sweden, di C. Zanolli et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 116, March 2018, Pages 1-13

Locality 1, in the Lower Cave of the Zhoukoudian cave complex, China, is one of the most important Middle Pleistocene paleoanthropological and archaeological sites worldwide, with the remains of c. 45 Homo erectus individuals, 98 mammalian taxa, and thousands of lithic tools recovered. Most of the material collected before World War II was lost. However, besides two postcranial elements rediscovered in China in 1951, four human permanent teeth from the ‘Dragon Bone Hill,’ collected by O. Zdansky between 1921 and 1923, were at the time brought to the Paleontological Institute of Uppsala University, Sweden, where they are still stored. This small sample consists of an upper canine (PMU 25719), an upper third molar (PMU M3550), a lower third premolar crown (PMU M3549), and a lower fourth premolar (PMU M3887). Some researchers have noted the existence of morpho-dimensional differences between the Zhoukoudian and the H. erectus dental assemblage from Sangiran, Java. However, compared to its chrono-geographical distribution, the Early to Middle Pleistocene dental material currently forming the Chinese-Indonesian H. erectus hypodigm is quantitatively meager and still poorly characterized for the extent of its endostructural variation. We used micro-focus X-ray tomography techniques of virtual imaging coupled with geometric morphometrics for comparatively investigating the endostructural conformation (tissue proportions, enamel thickness distribution, enamel-dentine junction morphology, pulp cavity shape) of the four specimens stored in Uppsala, all previously reported for their outer features. The results suggest the existence of time-related differences between continental and insular Southeast Asian dental assemblages, the Middle Pleistocene Chinese teeth apparently retaining an inner signature closer to the likely primitive condition represented by the Early Pleistocene remains from Java, while the Indonesian stock evolved toward tooth structural simplification.

Lahar inundated, modified, and preserved 1.88 Ma early hominin (OH24 and OH56) Olduvai DK site, di I. G. Stanistreet et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 116, March 2018, Pages 27-42

Archaeological excavations at the DK site in the eastern Olduvai Basin, Tanzania, age-bracketed between ~1.88 Ma (Bed I Basalt) and ~1.85 Ma (Tuff IB), record the oldest lahar inundation, modification, and preservation of a hominin “occupation” site yet identified. Our landscape approach reconstructs environments and processes at high resolution to explain the distribution and final preservation of archaeological materials at the DK site, where an early hominin (likely Homo habilis) assemblage of stone tools and bones, found close to hominin specimens OH24 and OH56, developed on an uneven heterogeneous surface that was rapidly inundated by a lahar and buried to a depth of 0.4–1.2 m (originally ~1.0–2.4 m pre-compaction). The incoming intermediate to high viscosity mudflow selectively modified the original accumulation of “occupation debris,” so that it is no longer confined to the original surface. A dispersive debris “halo” was identified within the lahar deposit: debris is densest immediately above the site, but tails off until not present >150 m laterally. Voorhies indices and metrics derived from limb bones are used to define this dispersive halo spatially and might indicate a possible second assemblage to the east that is now eroded away. Based upon our new data and prior descriptions, two possibilities for the OH24 skull are suggested: it was either entrained by the mudflow from the DK surface and floated due to lower density toward its top, or it was deposited upon the solid top surface after its consolidation. Matrix adhering to material found in association with the parietals indicates that OH56 at least was relocated by the mudflow.

Craniomandibular form and body size variation of first generation mouse hybrids: A model for hominin hybridization, di K. A. Warren et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 116, March 2018, Pages 57-74

Hybridization occurs in a number of mammalian lineages, including among primate taxa. Analyses of ancient genomes have shown that hybridization between our lineage and other archaic hominins in Eurasia occurred numerous times in the past. However, we still have limited empirical data on what a hybrid skeleton looks like, or how to spot patterns of hybridization among fossils for which there are no genetic data. Here we use experimental mouse models to supplement previous studies of primates. We characterize size and shape variation in the cranium and mandible of three wild-derived inbred mouse strains and their first generation (F1) hybrids. The three parent taxa in our analysis represent lineages that diverged over approximately the same period as the human/Neanderthal/Denisovan lineages and their hybrids are variably successful in the wild. Comparisons of body size, as quantified by long bone measurements, are also presented to determine whether the identified phenotypic effects of hybridization are localized to the cranium or represent overall body size changes. The results indicate that hybrid cranial and mandibular sizes, as well as limb length, exceed that of the parent taxa in all cases. All three F1 hybrid crosses display similar patterns of size and form variation. These results are generally consistent with earlier studies on primates and other mammals, suggesting that the effects of hybridization may be similar across very different scenarios of hybridization, including different levels of hybrid fitness. This paper serves to supplement previous studies aimed at identifying F1 hybrids in the fossil record and to introduce further research that will explore hybrid morphologies using mice as a proxy for better understanding hybridization in the hominin fossil record.

Early stage blunting causes rapid reductions in stone tool performance, di A. Key, M. R. Fisch, M. I. Eren, "Journal of Archaeological Science", Volume 91, March 2018, Pages 1-11

Palaeolithic stone technologies have never been investigated in terms of how sharpness influences their ability to cut. In turn, there is little understanding of how quickly stone cutting edges blunt, how past populations responded to any consequent changes in performance, or how these factors influenced the Palaeolithic archaeological record. Presented here is experimental data quantitatively detailing how variation in edge sharpness influences stone tool cutting performance. Significant increases in force (N) and material displacement (mm) requirements occur rapidly within early stages of blunting, with a single abrasive cutting stroke causing, on average, a 38% increase in the force needed to initiate a cut. In energetic terms, this equates to a 70% increase in work (J). Subsequent to early stages of blunting we identify a substantial drop in the impact of additional edge abrasion. We also demonstrate how edge (included) angle significantly influences cutting force and energy requirements and how it co-varies with sharpness. Amongst other conclusions, we suggest that rapid reductions in performance due to blunting may account for the abundance of lithic artefacts at some archaeological sites, the speed that resharpening behaviours altered tool forms, and the lack of microscopic wear traces on many lithic implements.

Middle and Later Stone Age chronology of Kisese II rockshelter (UNESCO World Heritage Kondoa Rock-Art Sites), Tanzania, di C. A. Tryon et alii, February 28, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192029  - free  access -

The archaeology of East Africa during the last ~65,000 years plays a central role in debates about the origins and dispersal of modern humans, Homo sapiens. Despite the historical importance of the region to these discussions, reliable chronologies for the nature, tempo, and timing of human behavioral changes seen among Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) archaeological assemblages are sparse. The Kisese II rockshelter in the Kondoa region of Tanzania, originally excavated in 1956, preserves a ≥ 6-m-thick archaeological succession that spans the MSA/LSA transition, with lithic artifacts such as Levallois and bladelet cores and backed microliths, the recurrent use of red ochre, and >5,000 ostrich eggshell beads and bead fragments. Twenty-nine radiocarbon dates on ostrich eggshell carbonate make Kisese II one of the most robust chronological sequences for understanding archaeological change over the last ~47,000 years in East Africa. In particular, ostrich eggshell beads and backed microliths appear by 46–42 ka cal BP and occur throughout overlying Late Pleistocene and Holocene strata. Changes in lithic technology suggest an MSA/LSA transition that began 39–34.3 ka, with typical LSA technologies in place by the Last Glacial Maximum. The timing of these changes demonstrates the time-transgressive nature of behavioral innovations often linked to the origins of modern humans, even within a single region of Africa. (...)

The complexity of Neanderthal technology, di J. F. Hoffecker, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences", February 27, 2018. 115 (9), pp. 1959-1961

A fundamental irony of Paleolithic (or “Old Stone” Age) archaeology is that it concerns a period of human history when most artifacts probably were made from wood. This is suggested by the heavy use of wood as raw material among recent or ethnographic hunter-gatherers and supported by the repeated discovery of microscopic traces of wood-working on the edges of Paleolithic stone tools. The technological significance of wood is further amplified in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic by limited use of bone, antler, and ivory (relative to the Upper Paleolithic and recent hunter-gatherers). Aranguren et al. report a set of wooden artifacts from a 170,000-y-old Middle Paleolithic occupation in central Italy. The artifacts, which were preserved in calcareous mudstone deposited along a lake margin, include roughly 40 pieces of modified boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), interpreted as “digging sticks.” They are associated with some unmodified pieces of wood, about 200 stone artifacts, and the remains of large mammals, primarily an extinct elephant. No human remains were found at the site (Poggetti Vecchi), but it is confidently attributed to the Neanderthals based on the dating (electron spin resonance and U-series minimum dates). Until the 1990s, wooden artifacts recovered from Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites were so rare that they existed more as curiosities than objects of study. The most widely known examples were sharpened pieces of Taxus or yew from Clacton-on-Sea in southeast England and Lehringen in northern Germany, both interpreted as spears, and several objects, including a possible digging stick, from Kalambo Falls in Zambia. In 1992, traces or “pseudomorphs” of wood fragments, including some possible modified pieces, were reported from a late Middle Paleolithic context at Abric Romani near Barcelona.

Wooden tools and fire technology in the early Neanderthal site of Poggetti Vecchi (Italy), di  B. Aranguren et alii, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences", February 27, 2018. 115 (9), pp. 2054-2059

Excavations for the construction of thermal pools at Poggetti Vecchi (Grosseto, Tuscany, central Italy) exposed a series of wooden tools in an open-air stratified site referable to late Middle Pleistocene. The wooden artifacts were uncovered, together with stone tools and fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Paleoloxodon antiquus. The site is radiometrically dated to around 171,000 y B.P., and hence correlated with the early marine isotope stage 6 [Benvenuti M, et al. (2017) Quat Res 88:327–344]. The sticks, all fragmentary, are made from boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and were over 1 m long, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. They have been partially charred, possibly to lessen the labor of scraping boxwood, using a technique so far not documented at the time. The wooden artifacts have the size and features of multipurpose tools known as “digging sticks,” which are quite commonly used by foragers. This discovery from Poggetti Vecchi provides evidence of the processing and use of wood by early Neanderthals, showing their ability to use fire in tool making from very tough wood.

La Ferrassie 1, le néandertalien parle encore…, "Hominidés", 26/2/2018

LF1, le célèbre squelette fossile découvert en 1909 a été complété et réétudié par une équipe dirigée par Antoine Balzeau (Musée de l’homme, CNRS) et Asier Gómez-Olivencia chercheur Ikerbasque de l’université du pays basque. (...)

On the sources and uses of obsidian during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Poland, di R. E. Hughes, D. H. Werra, Z. Sulgostowska, "Quaternary International", Volume 468, Part A, 27 February 2018, Pages 84-100

Eighty-six obsidian artifacts from twenty Paleolithic and Mesolithic archaeological sites in Poland were analyzed using non-destructive energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis and assigned to parent geological obsidian source (chemical type). Results of the study— the first country-wide survey of its kind—support the conclusion that the geological source of obsidian remained largely unchanged for thousands of years, that obsidian use appears to have been minimal throughout the Paleolithic and Mesolithic regardless of distance to source, that obsidian artifacts were used to perform the same functions as their non-obsidian (flint and radiolarite) counterparts, and that the distinct visual properties of volcanic glass may have contributed to its recognition as unique and exotic in different social contexts.

Europe's first artists were Neandertals, di T. Appenzeller, "Science", 23 Feb 2018, Vol. 359, Issue 6378, pp. 852-853

Once seen as brute cavemen, Neandertals have gained stature as examples of sophisticated technology and behavior have turned up in their former territory across Europe. But few researchers imagined these vanished cousins of modern humans engaging in one of the most haunting practices in prehistory: creating paintings—vehicles for symbolic expression—in the darkness of caves. Now, archaeologists may have to accept that Neandertals were the original cave artists. A team of dating experts and archaeologists reports in Science that simple creations—the outline of a hand, an array of lines, and a painted cave formation—from three caves in Spain all date to more than 64,800 years ago, at least 20,000 years before modern humans reached Europe. Shells from a fourth Spanish cave, pigment-stained and pierced as if for use as body ornaments, are even older, a team including some of the same researchers reports in a second paper, in Science Advances.

U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art, di D. L. Hoffmann et alii, "Science", 23 Feb 2018: Vol. 359, Issue 6378, pp. 912-915

The extent and nature of symbolic behavior among Neandertals are obscure. Although evidence for Neandertal body ornamentation has been proposed, all cave painting has been attributed to modern humans. Here we present dating results for three sites in Spain that show that cave art emerged in Iberia substantially earlier than previously thought. Uranium-thorium (U-Th) dates on carbonate crusts overlying paintings provide minimum ages for a red linear motif in La Pasiega (Cantabria), a hand stencil in Maltravieso (Extremadura), and red-painted speleothems in Ardales (Andalucía). Collectively, these results show that cave art in Iberia is older than 64.8 thousand years (ka). This cave art is the earliest dated so far and predates, by at least 20 ka, the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which implies Neandertal authorship.

· Neanderthals were artistic like modern humans, study indicates, "EurekaAlert!", 22 feb 2018

· Neanderthals thought like we do, "EurekaAlert!", 22 feb 2018

· Neanderthals were artistic like modern humans, "ScienceDaily", February 22, 2018

· Néandertal auteur de peintures pariétales il y a 64 000 ans ? "Hominidés", 27/2/2018

· E' opera dei Neandertal l'arte rupestre più antica, "National Geographic", 23 febbraio 2018

Il primo pensiero simbolico è dei Neanderthal, 23 febbraio 2018

“Oggi scriviamo un nuovo capitolo della preistoria”. Così Diego Angelucci, geoarcheologo dell’Università di Trento, ha commentato il risultato raggiunto con i colleghi di una collaborazione internazionale, dimostrando che l'uomo di Neanderthal, contrariamente a quanto ritenuto finora, era capace di comportamento simbolico. Decorava infatti le pareti delle grotte già 65.000 anni fa, e usava conchiglie a scopo ornamentale almeno 115.000 anni fa, cioè in epoche molto precedenti all'arrivo di Homo sapiens in Europa. Cuore della ricerca, che viene ora descritta in due articoli apparsi su “Science” e “Science Advances”, è una tecnica radiometrica al torio-uranio, utilizzata da Dirk Hoffmann del Max-Planck-Institut per la Biologia evoluzionistica di Lipsia, in Germania, per datare con grande precisione i reperti scoperti negli ultimi anni in varie grotte della Spagna. Il pensiero simbolico è ritenuto una delle caratteristiche più squisitamente umane, e si riteneva che fosse nato con Homo sapiens, l'uomo anatomicamente moderno. Lo raccontano l’utilizzo ornamentale di conchiglie marine perforate e di sostanze coloranti circa 70.000 anni fa, scoperte in Africa, e la produzione di arte mobile e arte rupestre in Europa circa 40.000 anni fa. (...)

· Ma allora i Neanderthal sapevano disegnare?, di C. De Luca, "Galileo", 23 febbraio 2018

Wooden tools hint at Neanderthal fire use, 23 February 2018

Archaeologists unearthed pieces of several wooden digging sticks from a plain at the foot of a low hill in Tuscany (Italy) where 171,000 years ago the shore of a lake was surrounded by grasslands and marshes - home to large grazing mammals, including the straight-tusked elephants whose bones litter the site. If you're a hunter-gatherer, the digging stick is your foraging multi-tool: about a meter long, one end rounded to offer a handle and the other tapered almost to a point; useful for digging up roots and tubers, hunting burrowing animals, or pounding and grinding herbs. Neanderthals of Middle Pleistocene Italy created and used digging sticks that would be familiar to modern hunter-foragers, like the Bindibu of Australia, Hadza of Tanzania, and San of southern Africa. In most modern hunter-gatherer cultures, digging sticks are women's tools. The finds date to a period when Neanderthals roamed the hills of southern Italy. Archaeologists excavating the site in 2012 found 39 broken pieces of the sticks, along with an assortment of stone tools. Of the 39 fragments, only about four pointed tips and six rounded handles survived, along with 31 pieces of shafts. Four of the handles and all of the tips had been broken during the tools' lifetimes. (...)

Did humans speak through cave art? Ancient drawings and language's origins, February 21, 2018

More precisely, some specific features of cave art may provide clues about how our symbolic, multifaceted language capabilities evolved, according to a new paper co-authored by MIT linguist Shigeru Miyagawa. A key to this idea is that cave art is often located in acoustic "hot spots," where sound echoes strongly, as some scholars have observed. Those drawings are located in deeper, harder-to-access parts of caves, indicating that acoustics was a principal reason for the placement of drawings within caves. The drawings, in turn, may represent the sounds that early humans generated in those spots. In the new paper, this convergence of sound and drawing is what the authors call a "cross-modality information transfer," a convergence of auditory information and visual art that, the authors write, "allowed early humans to enhance their ability to convey symbolic thinking." The combination of sounds and images is one of the things that characterizes human language today, along with its symbolic aspect and its ability to generate infinite new sentences. "Cave art was part of the package deal in terms of how homo sapiens came to have this very high-level cognitive processing," says Miyagawa, a professor of linguistics and the Kochi-Manjiro Professor of Japanese Language and Culture at MIT. "You have this very concrete cognitive process that converts an acoustic signal into some mental representation and externalizes it as a visual." (...)

Ancient society buried disabled children like kings, 21 February 2018

About 34,000 years ago, a group of hunters and gatherers buried the dead bodies of two boys, roughly 10- and 12-years-old, head to head in a long slender grave filled with riches, including more than 10,000 mammoth ivory beads, more than 20 armbands, about 300 pierced fox teeth, 16 ivory mammoth spears, carved artwork, deer antlers, and two human lower leg bones laid across the boys' chests. In contrast, the remains of a roughly 40-year-old man had far fewer treasures: about 3,000 mammoth ivory beads, 12 pierced fox canines, 25 mammoth ivory arm bands, and a stone pendant. (...)

Giant handaxes and prehistoric Europeans, 21 February 2018

An exceptionally high density of 'giant' handaxes has been uncovered at the Porto Maior site, in the Miño River basin of northwest Spain - the first such discovery outside Africa. The excavation of river sediments revealed about 3700 stone artefacts, 290 of which were used in the assemblage studied by the researchers, primarily composed of Large Cutting Tools (LCTs) - 'giant' handaxes about 18 centimetres long. Characteristic of so-called Acheulean technology due to their distinctive shape, the handaxes were not made on-site, but brought from elsewhere. Results indicate that the lithic tool-bearing deposits date to between 293,000 and 205,000 years ago, raising questions about the origin and mobility of prehistoric populations in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, between 773,000 and 125,000 years ago. (...)

The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows that the trend was caused primarily by evolution of larger brains within populations of individual species, but the introduction of new, larger-brained species and extinction of smaller-brained ones also played a part. "Brain size is one of the most obvious traits that makes us human. It's related to cultural complexity, language, tool making and all these other things that make us unique," said Andrew Du, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago and first author of the study. "The earliest hominins had brain sizes like chimpanzees, and they have increased dramatically since then. So, it's important to understand how we got here." Du began the work as a graduate student at the George Washington University (GW). His advisor, Bernard Wood, GW's University Professor of Human Origins and senior author of the study, gave his students an open-ended assignment to understand how brain size evolved through time. Du and his fellow students, who are also co-authors on the paper, continued working on this question during his time at George Washington, forming the basis of the new study. (...)

The faunal remains from Bundu Farm and Pniel 6: Examining the problematic Middle Stone Age archaeological record within the southern African interior, di J. M. Hutson, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part B, 18 February 2018, Pages 178-193

Open-air and interior sites are not prominently featured among models of Middle Stone Age (MSA) subsistence behavior in southern Africa. Thus, the current view of MSA subsistence reflects adaptations interpreted predominantly from coastal rockshelter locations. An attempt to address this gap is presented here with the analysis of the faunal assemblages from Bundu Farm and Pniel 6, two early MSA open-air sites located well within the interior of southern Africa in the Northern Cape, South Africa. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic signatures of the Bundu Farm assemblage suggest some primary access to animal carcasses, while the same measures imply secondary scavenging by early MSA hominins at Pniel 6. A number of other open-air interior sites include similarly ambiguous evidence for the role of hunting and/or scavenging in hominin subsistence during the MSA. Due to the lack of archaeological surveys directed at finding open-air sites and several taphonomic factors that disproportionately obscure indications of hominin behavior in open-air settings, the archaeological records between open-air interior sites and coastal rockshelter sites are fundamentally incomparable. From an ecological perspective, MSA subsistence was a product of behavioral adaptations to environmental factors and resource availability, the influences of which were likely different between interior and coastal ecosystems. Much like historical hunter-gathers of the region, MSA hominins inhabiting the more marginal environments within the southern African interior may have relied more heavily on gathered plant foods rather than hunting for subsistence.

The scene of a spectacular feast (part II): Animal remains from Dolní Věstonice II, the Czech Republic, di P. Wojtal, J. Wilczyński, K. Wertz, J. A. Svoboda, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part B, 18 February 2018, Pages 194-211

Studies of the archaeological and paleontological materials from Dolní Věstonice II provide insight into the lives of humans nearly 30,000 years ago. Bones of small animals (birds, hares, foxes) and medium animals (wolf, reindeer, wolverine) dominate at the site, but there are also bones of large mammals (bears, cave lion, horse and mammoth), showing that the prey spectrum of the hunters was wide. The large total number of animal remains supports the suggestion that these were accumulated during a relatively long human occupation of the site, perhaps lasting months or even years. In Moravia early Gravettian hunting strategy was less specialized than in later periods (e.g., at Milovice I). Large (mammoth, horse), medium (reindeer), and small animals (birds and hares) were important components of the diet and also used as raw materials. The carnivores – wolf, wolverine, foxes – were certainly important prey, not only for their hides but also for use in tool production and the creation of ornaments. Pavlovians also hunted even the larger carnivores (bears and lion).

Lessons from Ginsberg: An analysis of elephant butchery tools, di J. A. M. Gingerich, D. J. Stanford, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part B, 18 February 2018, Pages 269-283

Actualistic studies have contributed greatly to our understanding of the past. In this paper, we analyze six stone bifaces used to butcher a 23 year-old African Elephant. Detailed records from this study allow us to illustrate how stone tool reduction is not necessarily a linear process, especially when attempting to use metrics to quantify the amount of reduction over time. Through long-term use of stone tools in butchery, we show that overall reduction was minimal even with successive resharpening events. The utility of these tools raise questions about the role of large bifaces in both Paleoindian and other hunter-gatherer contexts where bifaces may have been used as butchery or long-life tools. Our results suggest that bifaces are superior tools for maintaining an effective cutting edge during prolonged use. These findings may further explain the use of large bifaces among Paleoindian and other foraging populations.

Sapienza Università di Roma - Scoperte orme di bambino risalenti a 700 mila anni fa in un sito archeologico in Etiopia, 16 febbraio 2018

I siti con impronte umane più antichi di 300.000 anni si contano nel mondo sulle dita di una sola mano e anche per questo la recente scoperta in Etiopia aumenta in modo significativo le nostre conoscenze. Si tratta di un livello improntato, perfettamente datato, perché direttamente coperto da un tufo vulcanico di 700.000 anni fa, di Gombore II-2 sito che è parte di Melka Kunture, una località dell’alto bacino del fiume Awash, a 2.000m slm. Qui da anni si svolgono le campagne di ricerca di uno dei Grandi scavi di ateneo, finanziato da Sapienza e dal Ministero Affari Esteri. La zona scavata corrisponde ad un’area intensamente frequentata, ai margini di una piccola pozza d'acqua in cui probabilmente si abbeveravano, oltre agli ominidi, anche animali prossimi agli attuali gnu e gazzelle, nonché uccellini, equidi e suidi; anche gli ippopotami hanno lasciato tracce dei loro passaggi. Le impronte delle varie specie si intersecano tra di loro, e si sovrappongono a tratti a quelle degli esseri umani, individui in parte adulti e in parte di 1, 2 e 3 anni. In particolare uno di questi bambini in tenera età propriamente non camminava, ma era in piedi e si dondolava: la sua è l'impronta di un piede che calpesta ripetutamente il suolo, rimanendo appoggiato sui talloni. Ha quindi lasciato impressa una serie di piccole dita (più di cinque) in parte sovrapposte dalla ripetizione del movimento. (...)

Assessing site formation and assemblage integrity through stone tool refitting at Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal): A Middle Paleolithic case study, di M. Deschamps, J. Zilhão, February 16, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192423 - free  access -

We use stone tool refitting to assess palimpsest formation and stratigraphic integrity in the basal units of the Gruta da Oliveira archeo-stratigraphic sequence, layers 15–27, which TL and U-series dating places in late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 or early MIS 4. As in most karst contexts, the formation of this succession involved multiple and complex phenomena, including subsidence, bioturbation, carnivore activity and runoff as agents of potential post-depositional disturbance. During phases of stabilization, such as represented by layers 15, 21 and 22, the excavated area was inhabited and refits corroborate that post-depositional displacement is negligible. Layers 23–25 and 16–19 correspond to subdivisions that slice thick geological units primarily formed of material derived from the cave’s entrance via slope dynamics. Refit links are consistent with rapid fill-up of the interstitial spaces found in the Karren-like bedrock (for layers 23–25), or left between large boulders after major roof-collapse events (for layers 16–19). Layers 26 (the “Mousterian Cone”) and 27 are a “bottom-of-hourglass” deposit underlying the main sedimentary body; the refits show that this deposit consists of material derived from layers 15–25 that gravitated through fissures open in the sedimentary column above. Layer 20, at the interface between two major stratigraphic ensembles, requires additional analysis. Throughout, we found significant vertical dispersion along the contact between sedimentary fill and cave wall. Given these findings, a preliminary analysis of technological change across the studied sequence organized the lithic assemblages into five ensembles: layer 15; layers 16–19; layer 20; layers 21–22; layers 23–25. The lower ensembles show higher percentages of flint and of the Levallois method. Uniquely at the site, the two upper ensembles feature bifaces and cleavers. (...)

Palaeolithic art at Grotta di Cala dei Genovesi, Sicily: a new chronology for mobiliary and parietal depictions, di G. di Maida, M. García-Diez, A. Pastoors, T. Terberger, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 361 February 2018, pp. 38-55

Unusually for a Palaeolithic cave, the Grotta di Cala dei Genovesi on the island of Levanzo, off the west coast of Sicily, Italy, has yielded evidence of both parietal and mobiliary art. Developments in dating techniques since the excavations of the 1950s now allow the age of the mobiliary art—an engraved aurochs—to be determined. At the same time, stylistic comparison of the parietal art at Grotta di Cala dei Genovesi with other broadly contemporaneous sites that demonstrate well-documented cave art allows a relative chronology to be proposed. The two methods taken together enable a direct chronological comparison to be made between the production of parietal and mobiliary art at this important cave site.

What lies beneath . . . Late Glacial human occupation of the submerged North Sea landscape, di L. Amkreutz et alii, "Antiquity", Access Volume 92, Issue 361 February 2018 , pp. 22-37 - free  access -

Archaeological evidence from the submerged North Sea landscape has established the rich diversity of Pleistocene and Early Holocene ecosystems and their importance to hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies. Comparatively little of this evidence, however, dates to the Late Glacial, the period when Northern Europe was repopulated by colonising foragers. A human parietal bone and a decorated bovid metatarsus recently recovered from the floor of the North Sea have been dated to this crucial transitional period. They are set against the background of significant climatic and environmental changes and a major technological and sociocultural transformation. These discoveries also reaffirm the importance of continental shelves as archaeological archives. (...)

Kara-Bom: new investigations of a Palaeolithic site in the Gorny Altai, Russia, di  N. E. Belousova et alii, "Antiquity", Volume 92, Issue 361 February 2018 , e1 - free  access -

New archaeological investigations at the key Palaeolithic Russian site of Kara-Bom have further characterised its stratigraphy through analysis of the rich lithic complex recovered. This evidence both complements and supplements our understanding of central and northern Asian Initial Upper Palaeolithic populations. (...)

Frontiers and route-ways from Europe: the Early Middle Palaeolithic of Britain, di N. Ashton, C. R. E. Harris, S. G. Lewis, "Journal of Quaternary Science", Volume 33, Issue 2, February 2018

Britain has a rich and well-documented earlier Palaeolithic record, which provides a unique resource to investigate population dynamics and the cultural and geographical links with north-west Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. This paper examines a newly enhanced dataset for the distribution of finds locations and their geological context. Using artefact types as proxies for different populations it contrasts the Lower Palaeolithic and Early Middle Palaeolithic records. New methods are devised to mitigate for the clear bias towards handaxes in collection history. Taking account of this bias, the results suggest differences in distribution between Lower Palaeolithic and Early Middle Palaeolithic populations, with the latter more heavily concentrated in the lower reaches of large southern and eastern rivers. Drawing on recent studies on the palaeogeography of the Channel and southern North Sea Basin, the paper suggests that this restricted distribution reflects short-lived occupation by small groups of early Neanderthals in late MIS 8, who eventually became locally extinct because of isolation caused by rising sea levels in the first warm sub‐stage of MIS 7.

A volumetric technique for fossil body mass estimation applied to Australopithecus afarensis, di C. A. Brassey, T. G. O'Mahoney, A. T. Chamberlain, W. I. Sellers, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 115, February 2018, Pages 47-64

Fossil body mass estimation is a well established practice within the field of physical anthropology. Previous studies have relied upon traditional allometric approaches, in which the relationship between one/several skeletal dimensions and body mass in a range of modern taxa is used in a predictive capacity. The lack of relatively complete skeletons has thus far limited the potential application of alternative mass estimation techniques, such as volumetric reconstruction, to fossil hominins. Yet across vertebrate paleontology more broadly, novel volumetric approaches are resulting in predicted values for fossil body mass very different to those estimated by traditional allometry. Here we present a new digital reconstruction of Australopithecus afarensis (A.L. 288-1; ‘Lucy’) and a convex hull-based volumetric estimate of body mass. The technique relies upon identifying a predictable relationship between the ‘shrink-wrapped’ volume of the skeleton and known body mass in a range of modern taxa, and subsequent application to an articulated model of the fossil taxa of interest. Our calibration dataset comprises whole body computed tomography (CT) scans of 15 species of modern primate. The resulting predictive model is characterized by a high correlation coefficient (r2 = 0.988) and a percentage standard error of 20%, and performs well when applied to modern individuals of known body mass. Application of the convex hull technique to A. afarensis results in a relatively low body mass estimate of 20.4 kg (95% prediction interval 13.5–30.9 kg). A sensitivity analysis on the articulation of the chest region highlights the sensitivity of our approach to the reconstruction of the trunk, and the incomplete nature of the preserved ribcage may explain the low values for predicted body mass here. We suggest that the heaviest of previous estimates would require the thorax to be expanded to an unlikely extent, yet this can only be properly tested when more complete fossils are available.

Evaluating morphometric body mass prediction equations with a juvenile human test sample: accuracy and applicability to small-bodied hominins, di C. S. Walker et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 115, February 2018, Pages 65-77

Body mass is an ecologically and biomechanically important variable in the study of hominin biology. Regression equations derived from recent human samples allow for the reasonable prediction of body mass of later, more human-like, and generally larger hominins from hip joint dimensions, but potential differences in hip biomechanics across hominin taxa render their use questionable with some earlier taxa (i.e., Australopithecus spp.). Morphometric prediction equations using stature and bi-iliac breadth avoid this problem, but their applicability to early hominins, some of which differ in both size and proportions from modern adult humans, has not been demonstrated. Here we use mean stature, bi-iliac breadth, and body mass from a global sample of human juveniles ranging in age from 6 to 12 years (n = 530 age- and sex-specific group annual means from 33 countries/regions) to evaluate the accuracy of several published morphometric prediction equations when applied to small humans. Though the body proportions of modern human juveniles likely differ from those of small-bodied early hominins, human juveniles (like fossil hominins) often differ in size and proportions from adult human reference samples and, accordingly, serve as a useful model for assessing the robustness of morphometric prediction equations. Morphometric equations based on adults systematically underpredict body mass in the youngest age groups and moderately overpredict body mass in the older groups, which fall in the body size range of adult Australopithecus (∼26–46 kg). Differences in body proportions, notably the ratio of lower limb length to stature, influence predictive accuracy. Ontogenetic changes in these body proportions likely influence the shift in prediction error (from under- to overprediction). However, because morphometric equations are reasonably accurate when applied to this juvenile test sample, we argue these equations may be used to predict body mass in small-bodied hominins, despite the potential for some error induced by differing body proportions and/or extrapolation beyond the original reference sample range.

Lower limb articular scaling and body mass estimation in Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins, di C. B. Ruff, M. Loring Burgess, N. Squyres, J. A. Junno, E. Trinkaus, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 115, February 2018, Pages 85-111

Previous attempts to estimate body mass in pre-Holocene hominins have relied on prediction equations derived from relatively limited extant samples. Here we derive new equations to predict body mass from femoral head breadth and proximal tibial plateau breadth based on a large and diverse sample of modern humans (avoiding the problems associated with using diaphyseal dimensions and/or cadaveric reference samples). In addition, an adjustment for the relatively small femoral heads of non-Homo taxa is developed based on observed differences in hip to knee joint scaling. Body mass is then estimated for 214 terminal Miocene through Pleistocene hominin specimens. Mean body masses for non-Homo taxa range between 39 and 49 kg (39–45 kg if sex-specific means are averaged), with no consistent temporal trend (6–1.85 Ma). Mean body mass increases in early Homo (2.04–1.77 Ma) to 55–59 kg, and then again dramatically in Homo erectus and later archaic middle Pleistocene Homo, to about 70 kg. The same average body mass is maintained in late Pleistocene archaic Homo and early anatomically modern humans through the early/middle Upper Paleolithic (0.024 Ma), only declining in the late Upper Paleolithic, with regional variation. Sexual dimorphism in body mass is greatest in Australopithecus afarensis (log[male/female] = 1.54), declines in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus (log ratio 1.36), and then again in early Homo and middle and late Pleistocene archaic Homo (log ratio 1.20–1.27), although it remains somewhat elevated above that of living and middle/late Pleistocene anatomically modern humans (log ratio about 1.15).

Corbey et al. (2016) propose that the Acheulean handaxe was, at least in part, under genetic control. An alternative perspective is offered here, focusing on the nature of the Acheulean handaxe and the archaeological record, and re-emphasizing their status as cultural artefacts. This is based on four main arguments challenging the proposals of Corbey et al. Firstly, handaxes do not have to track environmental variation to be a cultural artefact, given their role as a hand-held butchery knife or multi-purpose tool. Secondly, while handaxe shapes do cluster around a basic bauplan, there is also significant variability in the Acheulean handaxe record, characterized by site-specific modal forms and locally expressed, short-lived, idiosyncratic traits. Critically, this variability occurs in both time and space, is multi-scalar, and does not appear to be under genetic control. Thirdly, handaxes were produced in social contexts, within which their makers grew up exposed to the sights and sounds of artefact manufacture. Finally, the localized absences of handaxes at different times and places in the Lower Paleolithic world is suggestive of active behavioral choices and population dynamics rather than genetic controls.

Aggiornamento 11 febbraio

Developing FTIR Microspectroscopy for the Analysis of Animal-Tissue Residues on Stone Tools, di G. Monnier, E. Frahm, B. Luo, K. Missal, "Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory", March 2018, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp 1–44

The analysis of microscopic residues on stone tools provides one of the most direct ways to reconstruct the functions of such artifacts. However, new methods are needed to strengthen residue identifications based upon visible-light microscopy. In this work, we establish that reflectance Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM) can be used to document IR spectra of animal-tissue residues on experimental stone tools. First, we present a set of reflectance FTIRM standards for the most commonly identified animal-tissue residues on stone tools: skin, meat, fat, hair, blood, feather barbules, fish scales, and bone. We provide spectral peak assignments for each residue and demonstrate that high-quality reflectance FTIRM spectra can be generated under ideal circumstances. Second, we document the spectra for these residues when they are located on a stone substrate such as flint or obsidian. We discuss procedures for correcting spectra that are affected by specular reflection and explain the effects of spectral interference from the stone. Our results show that reflectance FTIRM is sensitive to small intra-sample differences in composition. This means that it will record the effects of decomposition in ancient residues. The methodological developments we present here will help lithic residue analysts incorporate in situ reflectance FTIRM into their analysis protocols to strengthen identifications.

Sequential Incisions on a Cave Bear Bone from the Middle Paleolithic of Pešturina Cave, Serbia, di A. Majkić, F. d’Errico, S. Milošević, D. Mihailović, V. Dimitrijević, "Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory", March 2018, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp 69–116

We present the detailed analysis of a cervical vertebra from a cave bear, found at Pešturina cave, Serbia, in a Mousterian archaeological level dated by radiocarbon at 43.5–44.6 kyr cal BP, and by ESR to between 93.5 and 102.5 kyr BP. Identified as a portion of the cranial articular facet, the fragment displays ten subparallel grooves. The microscopic study of these grooves and other surface modification present on the bone fragment, conducted with multifocus optical and confocal microscopes and complemented by a taphonomic analysis of the associated faunal assemblage, supports the hypothesis that the incisions were made by humans. Results are used to critically examine ambiguities implicit in the analysis and interpretation of early engravings, a category of material culture that has been playing a key role in the identification of early instances of symbolically mediated behavior.

Building an Experimental Comparative Reference Collection for Lithic Micro-Residue Analysis Based on a Multi-Analytical Approach, di A. Pedergnana, A. Ollé, "Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory", March 2018, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp 117–154

Residue analysis applied to stone tools is a useful aid for better understanding their past function and, by extension, reconstructing early human behaviour. However, if the nature of residues found on the lithic tools is misinterpreted, so will be our understanding of their archaeological context. As a consequence, correctly identifying residues in the domain of lithic studies is of paramount importance. With this main goal in mind, we analysed different experimental materials likely to have been involved in daily tasks in the prehistoric context (e.g. bone, wood, meat). Microscopic analyses were then carried out using two (comparable) techniques: Optical Light Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Also, energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (EDX or EDS) was applied to the experimental samples to determine their elemental composition. Advantages and disadvantages of both microscopic methods and their implications for correct residue identification are discussed. The distribution of residues on lithic surfaces is also considered. This study resulted in the construction of a data-set including both photographic material and EDX spectra for each residue analysed. The main result is that, compared to OLM scanning, SEM analyses highly improves the accuracy of residue identification.

Core Use-Life Distributions in Lithic Assemblages as a Means for Reconstructing Behavioral Patterns, di M. J. Douglass, S. C. Lin, D. R. Braun, T. W. Plummer, "Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory", March 2018, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp 254–288

Artifacts with varying use-lives have different discard rates and hence are represented unequally among archaeological assemblages. As such, the ability to gauge the use-lives of artifacts is important for understanding the formation of archaeological assemblage variability. In lithic artifacts, use-life can be expressed as the extraction of utility, or work potential, from existing stone volume. Using experimental data and generalized linear modeling, this study develops models of artifact use-life on cores in the form of reduction intensity. We then apply these models to two archaeological case studies to (a) reconstruct the reduction intensities of archaeological cores and (b) investigate the survivorship curves of these archaeological cores across the reduction continuum using the Weibull function. Results indicate variation in core reduction and maintenance with respect to raw material properties and place use history and implicate evolutionary differences between Early Stone Age hominins and Holocene modern humans.

The Grotta del Cavallo contains one of the most important stratification of Mousterian, Uluzzian and Final Epigravettian tecnocomplexes; its chronology is of paramount importance for understanding the timing of the transition between Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in the Mediterranean region as well as the demise of the Neanderthal and the dispersal of the first anatomically modern humans through Europe. Within the stratigraphy of the cave three different volcanic ash layers occur (layer G, Fa and C-II). They are located in the middle section of the Mousterian (layer G), in between the Mousterian and Uluzzian layers (layer Fa) and on top of the Uluzzian horizons (layer C-II). The three tephra layers were chemically fingerprinted and correlated to well-known and precisely dated widespread Late Pleistocene tephra markers. Specifically, layer G, Fa and C-II were correlated to the X-6 (108.7 ± 0.9 ka), Y-6 (45.5 ± 1.0 ka) and Campanian Ignimbrite (39.85 ± 0.14 ka), respectively. These findings provide robust chronological points allowing to conclude that: (i) the Mousterian occupation of the cave took place after the fall of the sea level following the MIS 5e high-stand; (ii) the Mousterian-Uluzzian boundary can be dated to 45.5 ± 1.0 ka and climatostratigraphically firmly placed at the transition between the Greenland Interstadial 12 (GI12)-Greenland Stadial 12 (GS12); (iii) the Uluzzian lasted for at least five millennial spanning the GS12-GI9 period and ended at beginning of the Heinrich Event 4.

It has always been difficult to account for the evolution of certain human characters such as language, empathy, and altruism via individual reproductive success. However, the striatum, a subcortical region originally thought to be exclusively motor, is now known to contribute to social behaviors and “personality styles” that may link such complexities with natural selection. We here report that the human striatum exhibits a unique neurochemical profile that differs dramatically from those of other primates. The human signature of elevated striatal dopamine, serotonin, and neuropeptide Y, coupled with lowered acetylcholine, systematically favors externally driven behavior and greatly amplifies sensitivity to social cues that promote social conformity, empathy, and altruism. We propose that selection induced an initial form of this profile in early hominids, which increased their affiliative behavior, and that this shift either preceded or accompanied the adoption of bipedality and elimination of the sectorial canine. We further hypothesize that these changes were critical for increased individual fitness and promoted the adoption of social monogamy, which progressively increased cooperation as well as a dependence on tradition-based cultural transmission. These eventually facilitated the acquisition of language by elevating the reproductive advantage afforded those most sensitive to social cues.

Panid, gorillid, and hominid social structures appear to have diverged as dramatically as did their locomotor patterns as they emerged from a late Miocene last common ancestor (LCA). Despite their elimination of the sectorial canine complex and adoption of bipedality with its attendant removal of their ready access to the arboreal canopy, Australopithecus was able to easily invade novel habitats after florescence from its likely ancestral genus, Ardipithecus sp. Other hominoids, unable to sustain sufficient population growth, began an inexorable decline, culminating in their restriction to modern refugia. Success similar to that of earliest hominids also characterizes several species of macaques, often termed “weed species.” We here review their most salient demographic features and find that a key element is irregularly elevated female survival. It is reasonable to conclude that a similar feature characterized early hominids, most likely made possible by the adoption of social monogamy. Reduced female mortality is a more probable key to early hominid success than a reduction in birth space, which would have been physiologically more difficult.

Luminescence dating at the stratified prehistoric site of Attirampakkam, India, has shown that processes signifying the end of the Acheulian culture and the emergence of a Middle Palaeolithic culture occurred at 385±64 thousand years ago (ka), much earlier than conventionally presumed for South Asia. The Middle Palaeolithic continued at Attirampakkam until 172±41 ka. Chronologies of Middle Palaeolithic technologies in regions distant from Africa and Europe are crucial for testing theories about the origins and early evolution of these cultures, and for understanding their association with modern humans or archaic hominins, their links with preceding Acheulian cultures and the spread of Levallois lithic technologies. The geographic location of India and its rich Middle Palaeolithic record are ideally suited to addressing these issues, but progress has been limited by the paucity of excavated sites and hominin fossils as well as by geochronological constraints1,8. At Attirampakkam, the gradual disuse of bifaces, the predominance of small tools, the appearance of distinctive and diverse Levallois flake and point strategies, and the blade component all highlight a notable shift away from the preceding Acheulian large-flake technologies9. These findings document a process of substantial behavioural change that occurred in India at 385±64 ka and establish its contemporaneity with similar processes recorded in Africa and Europe. This suggests complex interactions between local developments and ongoing global transformations. Together, these observations call for a re-evaluation of models that restrict the origins of Indian Middle Palaeolithic culture to the incidence of modern human dispersals after approximately 125 ka.

· Indizi in India di una cultura "moderna" di 385.000 anni fa, "Le Scienze", 01 febbraio 2018

Between continuity and discontinuity: An overview of the West African Paleolithic over the last 200,000 years, di B.Chevrier, É. Huysecom, S.Soriano, M. Rasse, L. Lespez, B. Lebrun, C. Tribolo, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part A, 1 February 2018, Pages 3-22

In Paleolithic settlement models for Africa, West Africa has been neglected, if not entirely ignored, due to an obvious lack of research in the region but also of the availability of reliable and precise chronostratigraphic data. However, since 1997 research conducted at Ounjougou (Mali) has significantly updated our view of the West African Middle Stone Age with the establishment of the first archaeological and chronostratigraphic sequence and use of a comprehensive geomorphological approach. This site complex has provided most of the data for MIS 5 to 3, but in order to document MIS 2, one must turn to the Falémé Valley (Senegal), where data is now available from research conducted since 2011. Complemented with other scattered data from West Africa, it is now possible to propose a nearly continuous techno-cultural history for the Upper Pleistocene, supplemented by substantive evidence from the Early Holocene. We can now demonstrate significant diversity in lithic production systems, the probable times of their appearance and disappearance, and their very rapid rate of change. The Middle Stone Age in West Africa thus reflects a unique techno-cultural mosaic and technological history, very different from that observed in the Sahara and North Africa.

Filling in the gap – The Acheulean site Suhailah 1 from the central region of the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE, di K. Bretzke, E. Yousif, S. Jasim, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part A, 1 February 2018, Pages 23-32

There is abundant evidence for an Acheulean occupation from many parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The archaeological record, however, features a significant gap in SE Arabia. Here we report new evidence for an Acheulean occupation from site Suhailah 1 (SHL 1) located in the interior of the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE. We present the lithic assemblage recovered during systematic field work in 2014. Results of our study include the documentation of the co-existence of bifacial and core technologies as well as a dominance of scrapers and bifaces in the tool assemblage. Based on comparisons with stratified and well dated assemblages from Jebel Faya about 50 km south of Suhailah we argue that the occupation of the site likely dates to the late Middle Pleistocene. One important implication of the discovery of Acheulean artifacts in SE Arabia is related to the question of the origin of the bifacial technology seen in the MIS 5e assemblages at Jebel Faya, which are thought to represent an early expansion of modern humans out of Africa. Our analysis shows that the Acheulean bifacial technologies from SHL 1 and from Jebel Faya cannot easily be linked developmentally, given typological differences and at least one additional occupation phase separating SHL 1 from the early Late Pleistocene occupation at Faya. We also observe typological differences among the SHL 1 tool assemblage and Acheulean assemblages from western and central Saudi Arabia. Given the scattered record of Acheulean sites in Arabia in addition to very little chronometric data, causes for these differences are difficult to assess and chronological as well as socioeconomic and environmental reasons have to be considered. We are still at the beginning of systematic research about the Paleolithic of Arabia. The intensification of research in the region over the past decade, however, provides promising possibilities for future research.

The central Levantine corridor: The Paleolithic of Lebanon, di S. El Zaatari, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part A, 1 February 2018, Pages 33-47

Throughout history and prehistory, the Levant has played the role of a land-bridge connecting continents and human populations and cultures. This role began with the early expansions of hominins out of Africa during the Lower Pleistocene and continued through the Middle and Upper Pleistocene when the region was occupied alternatingly (and possibly at times simultaneously) by Neandertals and anatomically modern humans dispersing from Europe and Africa respectively. At the end of the Pleistocene, the Levant formed a corridor through which modern humans crossed into Europe. Yet, even though the Levant is an extremely important region for paleoanthropological research, major gaps in such research in this region remain. Unlike its southern part, the Paleolithic record of an important area of its central part, i.e., Lebanon, remains virtually unexplored, with the exception of a handful of surveys and small number of excavated sites. In spite of their relative paucity, these surveys have identified hundreds of potential sites spanning all periods of the Paleolithic. Moreover, the few excavations illustrate the importance of Lebanese sites in enhancing our understanding of later human evolution. The site of Ksar Akil, for example, holds evidence for some of the earliest associations of modern human fossils with early -and possibly also Initial- Upper Paleolithic assemblages. This paper presents a summary of the Lebanese Paleolithic record.

The Palaeolithic record of Greece: A synthesis of the evidence and a research agenda for the future, di V. Tourloukis, K. Harvati, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part A, 1 February 2018, Pages 48-65

The Palaeolithic record of Greece remains highly fragmented and discontinuous in both space and time. Nevertheless, new surveys and excavations, along with the revisiting of known sites or old collections, and the conduction of lithic and faunal laboratory analyses, have altogether enriched the Greek Palaeolithic dataset with important new evidence and novel interpretations. The goal of this paper is threefold: 1) to critically review the most important aspects of the Greek Pleistocene archaeological record, from the Lower to the Upper Palaeolithic; 2) to provide a synthesis of current knowledge about the Palaeolithic of Greece and in the framework of broader discussions in human evolution research; and 3) to put in prospect the Greek record by addressing a research agenda for the future. The review of the evidence shows that Palaeolithic research in Greece has expanded its focus not only geographically but also temporally: it now includes investigations at previously under-studied areas, such as the insular settings of the Aegean and Ionian Seas, as well as formerly overlooked targets, such as Lower Palaeolithic open-air sites. The synthesis and discussion which follows offers a state-of-the-art perspective on how the primary Palaeolithic data can be assessed within local or regional geomorphic, paleoenvironmental and chronological contexts; here, our focus is on spatio-temporal discontinuities, trends in subsistence strategies and lithic technology, as well as potentially emerging biogeographical patterns. Finally, we highlight the complex topography and mosaic landscapes of the Greek peninsula in order to address two major themes for a future research agenda: the potential role of Greece as a glacial refugium, and how the Greek record could contribute to our knowledge of early hominin mobility patterns.

Revising the hypodigm of Homo heidelbergensis: A view from the Eastern Mediterranean, di M. Roksandic, P. Radović, J. Lindal, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part A, 1 February 2018, Pages 66-81

The hominin mandible BH-1 from the Middle Pleistocene cave of Mala Balanica suggested the possibility that human populations in this part of the continent were not subject to the process of Neanderthalization observed in the west. We review the paleoanthropological evidence from the Central Balkans in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean geographic entity. The current hominin fossil record of the early Middle Pleistocene in the region suggests that Europe was inhabited by two different populations: a population in the west of the continent with derived Neanderthal morphology; and a more variable population in the east characterized by a combination of plesiomorphous and synapomorphous traits. We suggest that – in order to continue using the nomenclature of Homo heidelbergensis – the current hypodigm needs to be revised to include only the specimens from the latter group.

How to survive the glacial apocalypse: Hominin mobility strategies in late Pleistocene Central Asia, di M. Glantz, A. Van Arsdale, S. Temirbekov, T. Beeton, "Quaternary International", Volume 466, Part A, 1 February 2018, Pages 82-92

Previous research concerning the biogeography of hominin populations in Central Asia indicates persistence across interglacial/glacial sequences. Hominin groups are present on the landscape during the coldest episodes of the Last Glacial Period. Moreover, the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (IAMC) likely served as a geographic conduit for human groups that found refuge in the foothill regions of the Altai Mountains as well as those of the southwestern horn of the Tien Shan; this conduit can be construed as the stage upon which hominin admixture occurred. The present study broadens the geographic focus of previous work to include the steppe and steppe/desert zones immediately adjacent to the biologically productive foothills of the IAMC. Using an ecological threshold model, four abiotic variables that best predict hominin site locations are analyzed to examine differences in fundamental niche structure when the IAMC foothills are compared to the adjacent steppic zones. Our null hypothesis is that the foothills and adjacent steppe present similar abiotic profiles. Our results, however, indicate significant differences between these regions, suggesting the foothills would have presented hominins with a more attractive landscape in both glacial and interglacial time periods than the steppe. Counterintuitively, these differences are actually more extreme during interglacial time periods. This preliminary model of hominin-environment interactions serves as a useful example for the ways by which mid-scale hominin dispersal trajectories are mapped and interpreted.

Siberia and neighboring regions in the Last Glacial Maximum: did people occupy northern Eurasia at that time?, di Y. V. Kuzmin, S. G. Keates, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", February 2018, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 111–124

An updated analysis of Paleolithic sites in Siberia and the Urals 14C-dated to the coldest phase of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), with its timespan currently determined as ca. 23,000–19,000 BP (ca. 27,300–22,900 cal BP), is presented. It is demonstrated that people continuously occupied the southern and central parts of Siberia and the Russian Far East (up to 58° N latitude), and perhaps sporadically settled regions located even further north, up to 70° N, throughout the LGM. This is in accord with our previous data, but is now based on a larger dataset, and also on a paleoecological analysis of the major pre-LGM archaeological sites in Siberia and the Urals north of 58° N. It is clear that Paleolithic people in northern Eurasia were able to cope with the treeless tundra environment well in advance of the LGM, at least at ca. 34,000–26,000 BP (ca. 38,500–30,000 cal BP). Therefore, a high degree of adaptation to cold conditions allowed people to survive in Siberia during the LGM.

Unraveling a Neanderthal palimpsest from a zooarcheological and taphonomic perspective, di M. J. Gabucio et alii, "Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences", February 2018, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 197–222

Practically all archeological assemblages are palimpsests. In spite of the high temporal resolution of Abric Romaní site, level O, dated to around 55 ka, is not an exception. This paper focuses on a zooarcheological and taphonomic analysis of this level, paying special attention to spatial and temporal approaches. The main goal is to unravel the palimpsest at the finest possible level by using different methods and techniques, such as archeostratigraphy, anatomical and taxonomical identification, taphonomic analysis, faunal refits and tooth wear analysis. The results obtained are compared to ethnoarcheological data so as to interpret site structure. In addition, activities carried out over different time spans (from individual episodes to long-term behaviors) are detected, and their spatial extent is explored, allowing to do inferences on settlement dynamics. This leads us to discuss the temporal and spatial scales over which Neanderthals carried out different activities within the site, and how they can be studied through the archeological record.

Magdalenian Children: Projectile Points, Portable Art and Playthings, di M. C. Langley, "Oxford Journal of Archaeology", Volume 37, Issue 1, February 2018, Pages 3–24 - free  access -

Children, no doubt, were a significant component of Upper Palaeolithic societies. Despite this fact, however, serious identification and consideration of material culture which may have belonged to children – at least at one time during their use-life – have not been undertaken. This situation extends to the best represented and most intensively studied of the European Palaeolithic techno-complexes, the Magdalenian (c.21,000–14,000 cal BP), and consequently, we know very little about the children of this enigmatic people. As play, including object play, is a ‘true cultural universal’, we can be certain that Magdalenian children integrated objects into their games, with these playthings later incorporated into the archaeological record. Through examining ethnographic accounts of recent hunter-gatherer children and reconsidering archaeological assemblages in light of these data, this paper suggests that Magdalenian playthings probably included full-sized adult weapon tips and – more significantly – pieces of what archaeologists term ‘art mobilier’. (...)

Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), and Neanderthals were potential competitors for environmental resources (shelters and food) in Europe. In order to reinforce this view and contribute to the ongoing debate on late Neanderthal behavior, we present evidence from zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of bear bone remains discovered at Rio Secco Cave and Fumane Cave in northeast Italy, an extended geographic area north of the Adriatic Sea. The remains from both caves come from layers dated to 49-42 ky cal. BP, and suggest close interactions between humans and bears, with data not only limited to the association of Mousterian lithic artifacts with numerous bear remains, but also the detection of clearly preserved traces of human modification such as cut and percussion marks, which enable a reconstruction of the main steps of fur recovery and the butchering process. Examples of Neanderthal bear exploitation are extremely sporadic in Europe, and Grotta Rio Secco and Grotta Fumane can be considered rare cases of remain accumulations generated by the human predation of bears of varied age classes during or near the end of hibernation. All of this evidence suggests that bears had a strategic role in the nomadic economy of Neanderthal hunting groups.

To date, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa are dated to around 90,000 to 120,000 years ago at the Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh. A maxilla and associated dentition recently discovered at Misliya Cave, Israel, was dated to 177,000 to 194,000 years ago, suggesting that members of the Homo sapiens clade left Africa earlier than previously thought. This finding changes our view on modern human dispersal and is consistent with recent genetic studies, which have posited the possibility of an earlier dispersal of Homo sapiens around 220,000 years ago. The Misliya maxilla is associated with full-fledged Levallois technology in the Levant, suggesting that the emergence of this technology is linked to the appearance of Homo sapiens in the region, as has been documented in Africa.

In many parts of the Mediterranean Basin, the Late Glacial was a dramatic time in terms of demographic, cultural, and technological change. One region that illustrates this especially well is southern Greece, where Upper Paleolithic lifeways transitioned to the Mesolithic with the onset of the Holocene. Previous archaeological research in this area has documented an intensification of meat resources as foragers widened their diet breadth to include more low-return prey animals, eventually shifting their focus to the Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, we synthesize and expand on these previous analyses by combining new data from Kephalari Cave with two other published sites in the Argolid (Peloponnese), Franchthi Cave and Klissoura Cave 1. These three sites provide an ideal case study for examining changes in meat procurement strategies because they have overlapping Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic chronologies and are located within about 45 km of one another. We consider each of the sites within their local environmental contexts, including the contraction of the coastal plain and moving shorelines after the Last Glacial Maximum. Changes in the composition of ungulate prey track local environmental and ecological conditions. The use of low-return species supports an overall picture of resource intensification in the region over time. At Klissoura, the most inland of the three sites, small terrestrial prey increases over the course of the Upper Paleolithic, particularly in the Late Glacial, and until the site was abandoned in the Mesolithic. At both Franchthi and Kephalari, small game are abundant in all Upper Paleolithic layers, but there is no overall trend. However, fishing appears in the Upper Paleolithic (most likely the Gravettoid phase) of Kephalari and during the Epigravettian at Franchthi. Fishing increases dramatically in later layers at both sites. At Franchthi, this trend culminates in open-water fishing of large-bodied tunny in the Upper Mesolithic. Interestingly, the use of Klissoura declined at about the time that fishing became a critical part of the economy at Franchthi, and possibly Kephalari. These subsistence shifts reflect a combination of factors, including growing human populations on a regional level and local responses that included changes in mobility patterns and site use, and more diverse toolkits, as well as changes in Pleistocene shorelines that brought an additional ecosystem closer to two of the sites. These internal and external factors allowed foragers in southern Greece to successfully move into a new ecological niche at the end of the Pleistocene.

This paper builds on recent research on the abrupt cooling event known as GS1 (Younger Dryas) from ca. 12.9 to 11.7 ka cal. BP. These studies have indicated the diversity of local responses to this period between different regions across Europe. Research has indicated both responses and lack of responses of humans to this event in different regions. In accordance with this research, this paper argues that it is necessary to move away from global models of human responses to the analysis of regional scales. We argue that it is necessary to consider the evolutionary dynamics that predated the GS1 cooling event before identifying its potential impact. This paper focuses on this aspect of the problem by considering evidence from three mountainous areas: the Pyrenees, the northern French Alps and Jura, and lastly southern and Apuan Alps. Recently studied sites are considered with specific attention to lithic industries. Our analysis focuses on (1) the identifiable changes in each industry and (2) the relationship with pre-existing cultural and technological dynamics. The analysis has produced two main results. First, there was a tendency towards a decrease in the standardization of blanks, especially in blades, which was common to the different areas. This change, however, predated GS1 and can therefore not be associated with cooling at the start of GS1. Second, the Northern Alps and Jura, in contrast to the two other areas, seems to reveal a break from the lithic technological traditions that occurred around 12.9 ka cal BP or the early stages of GS1. These results enable a discussion of the different mechanisms that can explain differential regional responses to GS1.

Diverse landscapes and ecosystems stretching across Europe led to diverse hunter-gatherer cultural records during the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. In response to abrupt climatic forcing, starting around the Late Glacial Maximum and followed by climatic events such as the Bølling–Allerød and the Younger Dryas in the Terminal Pleistocene, archaeological data pertaining to cultural and behavioral shifts of hunter-gatherers continue to be explored on a regional and pan-regional scale. Here we present an initial summary, which includes new and published data on faunal analyses from multiple open air sites that span the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene, dated between the Late Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (20,000–6000 uncal 14C BP) in the southern steppe of Eastern Europe. For this area, this is the first study to compile the cultural and faunal data with geo-referenced localization and radiometric dates of the archaeological sites. Taken together, faunal assemblages from the Epigravettian are characterized by low diversity and are often dominated by one species of large game, including bison and equids, whereas the Mesolithic diet is characterized by higher inter-site variability subsisting on large ungulate and greater emphasis on freshwater resources. This study contributes to the general knowledge concerning the last phases in the evolution of the Eurasian hunter-gatherers.

A review of the cultural evidence from northern coastal Atlantic Spain (a.k.a., Vasco-Cantabria) spanning the late Last Glacial and early Postglacial (from Greenland Interstadial 1 to the mid-Holocene) reveals that some changes may have been related to major climate/environmental changes, while others may be attributed to demographic factors that caused possible resource overexploitation and to historical factors such as the long-term availability of Neolithic domesticates and technology in adjacent regions. The culmination of the warming trend of the Last Glacial Interstadial in the Allerød seems to have been of particular importance in the transition from the classic Upper Magdalenian (with its rupestral and portable art and complex stone and bone technologies) to the Azilian, despite continuity in the main game species and in the process of subsistence intensification. The Younger Dryas, on the other hand, seems to have had little immediate direct repercussion in this region, as the Azilian continued, straddling the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. On the other hand, the climatically non-dramatic Preboreal-Boreal boundary seems to have seen the abrupt, marked break between the “Epimagdalenian” Azilian and the Asturian coastal shell midden Mesolithic in the western sector of the region. This contrasted with greater technological continuity (albeit with similarities to the Sauveterrian tradition in adjacent SW France) in the Mesolithic of the Basque Country, with no archeological indications that the 8.2 cal kya event had important consequences in this region. Then, some 15 centuries later, came the sudden, but centuries-delayed appearance of Neolithic domesticates and ceramics on the Atlantic side of the Cantabrian Cordillera originating from sources in the Mediterranean environments of the upper Ebro basin and/or southern France. This major lifeway change was possibly finally accepted, within a still mixed economy, in the face of the overexploitation of wild food resources. The “neolithization” of Vasco-Cantabria was finally underway by c. 6.6 cal kya, quickly leading to new human-land relationships characterized by mainly ovicaprine pastoralism, apparently limited cereal agriculture, continued foraging, recolonization of the montane interior and the construction of modest megalithic monuments.

This paper aims to update the information available on the lithic assemblage from the entire sequence of TD6 now that the most recent excavations have been completed, and to explore possible changes in both occupational patterns and technological strategies evidenced in the unit. This is the first study to analyse the entire TD6 sequence, including subunits TD6.3 and TD6.1, which have never been studied, along with the better-known TD6.2 Homo antecessor-bearing subunit. We also present an analysis of several lithic refits found in TD6, as well as certain technical features that may help characterise the hominin occupations. The archaeo-palaeontological record from TD6 consists of 9,452 faunal remains, 443 coprolites, 1,046 lithic pieces, 170 hominin remains and 91 Celtis seeds. The characteristics of this record seem to indicate two main stages of occupation. In the oldest subunit, TD6.3, the lithic assemblage points to the light and limited hominin occupation of the cave, which does, however, grow over the course of the level. In contrast, the lithic assemblages from TD6.2 and TD6.1 are rich and varied, which may reflect Gran Dolina cave’s establishment as a landmark in the region. Despite the occupational differences between the lowermost subunit and the rest of the deposit, technologically the TD6 lithic assemblage is extremely homogeneous throughout. In addition, the composition and spatial distribution of the 12 groups of lithic refits found in unit TD6, as well as the in situ nature of the assemblage demonstrate the high degree of preservation at the site. This may help clarify the nature of the Early Pleistocene hominin occupations of TD6, and raise reasonable doubt about the latest interpretations that support the ex situ character of the assemblage as a whole. (...)

The article gives an analytical overview of paleoanthropological finds from Palaeolithic Caucasus. Archaeological studies show that in the Early Pleistocene, the region was extensively inhabited. The path of the first settlers ran along the Western Caspian and possibly the Eastern Black Sea regions. This way was probably a transit on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a natural refuge where natural resources allowed people to exist for a relatively long time. Further evolutionary process, according to the paleoanthropological remains, was associated with Western Asia, as well as with Western Europe. However, the emergence of Homo sapiens in the Caucasus was most likely due to the migration of sapiens forms from the African continent around 100 thousand years ago.

The ‘technological hypothesis’ proposes that gestural language evolved in early hominins to enable the cultural transmission of stone tool-making skills, with speech appearing later in response to the complex lithic industries of more recent hominins. However, no flintknapping study has assessed the efficiency of speech alone (unassisted by gesture) as a tool-making transmission aid. Here we show that subjects instructed by speech alone underperform in stone tool-making experiments in comparison to subjects instructed through either gesture alone or ‘full language’ (gesture plus speech), and also report lower satisfaction with their received instruction. The results provide evidence that gesture was likely to be selected over speech as a teaching aid in the earliest hominin tool-makers; that speech could not have replaced gesturing as a tool-making teaching aid in later hominins, possibly explaining the functional retention of gesturing in the full language of modern humans; and that speech may have evolved for reasons unrelated to tool-making. We conclude that speech is unlikely to have evolved as tool-making teaching aid superior to gesture, as claimed by the technological hypothesis, and therefore alternative views should be considered. For example, gestural language may have evolved to enable tool-making in earlier hominins, while speech may have later emerged as a response to increased trade and more complex inter- and intra-group interactions in Middle Pleistocene ancestors of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens; or gesture and speech may have evolved in parallel rather than in sequence. (...)

Worcestershire, like the majority of the West Midlands, is not considered a focal point for the study of Palaeolithic archaeological remains, with much of the focus occurring in the east and south-east of England. Despite this, discoveries of Palaeolithic artefactual and palaeoenvironmental remains within the county, and the wider West Midlands, have shown that the area has the potential to be productive and assist in national and international research aims for the period. Palaeolithic research is usually carried out by specialists in Quaternary science and the resulting reports are difficult for non-specialists to access. The result is that Palaeolithic archaeology is often poorly represented within Historic Environment Records and unavailable to Local Planning Authority archaeological advisors in an accessible format. It is challenging in the context of National Planning Policy Framework to justify archaeological interventions as proportionate and reasonable when the archaeology is evidenced in the form of a few artefacts from poorly understood geological contexts. This article describes a Historic England-funded project which aimed to address this issue and ensure evidence of this date can be incorporated within Historic Environment Records in a way that can be interpreted and used by non-specialists, and will be of particular use to those involved in development management.

We here present a comparative study of the Montmaurin-LN Middle Pleistocene mandible (Haute-Garonne, France). This mandible, of which its right and left molar series are preserved in situ, was found in La Niche cave (Montmaurin’s karst system) in 1949, and was first attributed to the ‘Mindel-Riss’ interglacial (= MIS 9 to 11) based on its geological context. Later studies based on geological and faunal evidence have attributed the Montmaurin-LN mandible to MIS 7. Following a detailed morphological and metric comparative study of the mandible in the 1970s, it was interpreted in the light of a still limited fossil record and the prevailing paradigm back then. Waiting for geochronological studies in the forthcoming years, here we review the main morphological and metrical features of this mandible and its molars, which have been reassessed in the framework of a remarkably enlarged Pleistocene fossil record since the mandible was first described, and our current, more in-depth understanding of human evolution in Europe. Using a selection of mandibular features with potential taxonomic signal we have found that the Montmaurin-LN mandible shares only a few derived traits with Neandertals. Our analyses reveal that this mandible is more closely related to the ancient specimens from the African and Eurasian Early and Middle Pleistocene, particularly due to the presence of primitive features of the Homo clade. In contrast, the external morphology of the molars is clearly similar to that of Neandertals. The results are assessed in the light of the present competing hypotheses used to explain the European hominin fossil record. (...)

Our updated review of sites bearing hominin remains and/or tools from Europe, including new findings from the Balkans, still indicates that the only compelling evidence of main hominin presence in these regions was only since ~0.9 million years ago (Ma), bracketed by the end of the Jaramillo geomagnetic polarity subchron (0.99 Ma) and the Brunhes-Matuyama polarity chron boundary (0.78 Ma). This time window straddled the late Early Pleistocene climate transition (EPT) at the onset of enhanced glacial/interglacial activity that reverberated worldwide. Europe may have become initially populated during the EPT when, possibly for the first time in the Pleistocene, vast and exploitable ecosystems were generated along the eustatically emergent Po-Danube terrestrial conduit. These newly formed settings, characterized by stable terrestrial lowlands with open grasslands and reduced woody cover especially during glacial/interglacial transitions, are regarded as optimal ecosystems for several large Galerian immigrant mammals such as African and Asian megaherbivores, possibly linked with hominins in a common food web, to expand into en route to Europe. The question of when hominins first arrived in Europe thus places the issue in the context of changes in climate, paleogeography and faunal associations as potential environmental drivers and controlling agents in a specific time frame, a key feature of the Galerian migration hypothesis.

- Insights from carnivore community composition on the paleoecology of early Pleistocene Eurasian sites: Implications for the dispersal of hominins out of Africa

- Geo-chronological context of the open-air Acheulian site at Nahal Hesi, northwestern Negev, Israel

- A contribution to late Middle Paleolithic chronology of the Levant: New luminescence ages for the Atlit Railway Bridge site, Coastal Plain, Israel

- Beach deposits containing Middle Paleolithic archaeological remains from northern Israel

- Flint workshop affiliation: Chronology, technology and site-formation processes at Giv'at Rabbi East, Lower Galilee, Israel

- The toolkit in the core: There is more to Levallois production than predetermination

- Rethinking Emireh Cave: The lithic technology perspectives

- The Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic of Sefunim Cave, Israel

- Epipaleolithic shell beads from Damascus Province, Syria

- Engraved flint nodules from the Levantine middle Epipaleolithic: Neve David revisited

- Revisiting Rolling stones: The procurement of non-local goods in the Epipaleolithic of the Near East

- Ungulate skeletal element profiles: A possible marker for territorial contraction and sedentism in the Levantine Epipaleolithic

- Middle to Late Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer encampments at the Ashalim site, on a linear dune-like morphology, along dunefield margin water bodies

- Quaternary sedimentology and prehistory on the Mediterranean coastal plain of Israel

Neandertal femora are particularly known for having a marked sagittal femoral curvature. This study examined femoral curvature in Neandertals in comparison to a modern human population from Belgium by the use of three-dimensional (3D) quadric surfaces modeled from the bone surface. 3D models provide detailed information and enabled femoral curvature to be analyzed in conjunction with other morphological parameters.
3D models were created from CT scans of 75 modern human femora and 7 Neandertal femora. Quadric surfaces (QS) were created from the triangulated surface vertices in all areas of interest (neck, head, diaphyseal shaft, condyles) extracted from previously placed anatomical landmarks. The diaphyseal shaft was divided into five QS shapes and curvature was measured by degrees of difference between QS shapes. Each bone was placed in a local coordinate system enabling each bone to be analyzed in the same way.
The use of 3D quadric surface fitting allowed the distribution of curvature with similarly curved femora to be analyzed and the different patterns of curvature between the two groups to be determined. The Neandertals were shown to have a higher degree of femoral curvature and a more distal point of femoral curvature than the modern human population from Belgium.
Morphological aspects of the Neandertal femur are different from this modern human population although mainly seem unrelated to femoral curvature. The relative lack of correlations with other femoral bony morphological factors suggests femoral curvature variations may be related to other aspects. (...)

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition was a process of cultural and biological replacement, considered a turning point in human evolutionary history. Various hypotheses have been used to explain the disappearance of Neanderthals from Eurasia. However, very few studies have explicitly examined the causative role of demography on Neanderthal and anatomically modern humans (AMH) interaction. Here we use an integrative method based on computational modelling and the analysis of archaeological data to construct an agent based model that explores the influence of demographic variables (birth and death rates) and mobility (home range size) on the bio-cultural interaction between AMH and Neanderthals during the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic on the Iberian Peninsula (50 ka to 30 ka BP). Our simulation results are consistent with the current radiocarbon framework for the disappearance of Neanderthals in this region. This suggest that the extinction of Neanderthals could be explained by inter-specific differences in demographic behaviour and mobility patterns compared with AMH.

El arte prehistórico ha sido utilizado como una prueba de la visita de extraterrestres durante la prehistoria. La teoría de los Antiguos Astronautas forma parte de una prehistoria esotérica cuyos orígenes se remontan al siglo XIX. El discurso de esta teoría fue popularizado por Von Däniken en los años sesenta del siglo pasado y ha sido recientemente planteada en la película de Ridley Scott Prometheus (2012) en donde aparecen los caballos de Chauvet. ¿Qué hacen los caballos de Chauvet en una película de alienígenas? En el presente estudio investigamos las principales ideas de la prehistoria esotérica en relación con el arte prehistórico para intentar comprender el enorme éxito de esta teoría en la mentalidad colectiva. (...)

New Neandertal wrist bones from El Sidrón, Spain (1994–2009), di T. L. Kivell et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 114, January 2018, Pages 45-75 - free  access -

Twenty-nine carpal bones of Homo neanderthalensis have been recovered from the site of El Sidrón (Asturias, Spain) during excavations between 1994 and 2009, alongside ~2500 other Neandertal skeletal elements dated to ~49,000 years ago. All bones of the wrist are represented, including adult scaphoids (n = 6), lunates (n = 2), triquetra (n = 4), pisiforms (n = 2), trapezia (n = 2), trapezoids (n = 5), capitates (n = 5), and hamates (n = 2), as well as one fragmentary and possibly juvenile scaphoid. Several of these carpals appear to belong to the complete right wrist of a single individual. Here we provide qualitative and quantitative morphological descriptions of these carpals, within a comparative context of other European and Near Eastern Neandertals, early and recent Homo sapiens, and other fossil hominins, including Homo antecessor, Homo naledi, and australopiths. Overall, the El Sidrón carpals show characteristics that typically distinguish Neandertals from H. sapiens, such as a relatively flat first metacarpal facet on the trapezium and a more laterally oriented second metacarpal facet on the capitate. However, there are some distinctive features of the El Sidrón carpals compared with most other Neandertals. For example, the tubercle of the trapezium is small with limited projection, while the scaphoid tubercle and hamate hamulus are among the largest seen in other Neandertals. Furthermore, three of the six adult scaphoids show a distinctive os-centrale portion, while another is a bipartite scaphoid with a truncated tubercle. The high frequency of rare carpal morphologies supports other evidence of a close genetic relationship among the Neandertals found at El Sidrón. (...)

The easternmost Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) from Jinsitai Cave, North China, di Feng Li et alii, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 114, January 2018, Pages 76-84  - free  access -

The dispersal of Neanderthals and their genetic and cultural interactions with anatomically modern humans and other hominin populations in Eurasia are critical issues in human evolution research. Neither Neanderthal fossils nor typical Mousterian assemblages have been reported in East Asia to date. Here we report on artifact assemblages comparable to western Eurasian Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) at Jinsitai, a cave site in North China. The lithic industry at Jinsitai appeared at least 47–42 ka and persisted until around 40–37 ka. These findings expand the geographic range of the Mousterian-like industries at least 2000 km further to the east than what has been previously recognized. This discovery supplies a missing part of the picture of Middle Paleolithic distribution in Eurasia and also demonstrates the makers' capacity to adapt to diverse geographic regions and habitats of Eurasia. (...)

The biomechanical significance of the frontal sinus in Kabwe 1 (Homo heidelbergensis), di R. M. Godinho, P. O'Higgins, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 114, January 2018, Pages 141-153 - free  access -

Paranasal sinuses are highly variable among living and fossil hominins and their function(s) are poorly understood. It has been argued they serve no particular function and are biological ‘spandrels’ arising as a structural consequence of changes in associated bones and/or soft tissue structures. In contrast, others have suggested that sinuses have one or more functions, in olfaction, respiration, thermoregulation, nitric oxide production, voice resonance, reduction of skull weight, and craniofacial biomechanics. Here we assess the extent to which the very large frontal sinus of Kabwe 1 impacts on the mechanical performance of the craniofacial skeleton during biting. It may be that the browridge is large and the sinus has large trabecular struts traversing it to compensate for the effect of a large sinus on the ability of the face to resist forces arising from biting. Alternatively, the large sinus may have no impact and be sited where strains that arise from biting would be very low. If the former is true, then infilling of the sinus would be expected to increase the ability of the skeleton to resist biting loads, while removing the struts might have the opposite effect. To these ends, finite element models with hollowed and infilled variants of the original sinus were created and loaded to simulate different bites. The deformations arising due to loading were then compared among different models and bites by contrasting the strain vectors arising during identical biting tasks. It was found that the frontal bone experiences very low strains and that infilling or hollowing of the sinus has little effect on strains over the cranial surface, with small effects over the frontal bone. The material used to infill the sinus experienced very low strains. This is consistent with the idea that frontal sinus morphogenesis is influenced by the strain field experienced by this region such that it comes to lie entirely within a region of the cranium that would otherwise experience low strains. This has implications for understanding why sinuses vary among hominin fossils. (...)

Using the covariation of extant hominoid upper and lower jaws to predict dental arcades of extinct hominins, di S. Stelzer, P. Gunz, S. Neubauer, F. Spoor, "Journal of Human Evolution", Volume 114, January 2018, Pages 154-175 - free  access -

Upper and lower jaws are well represented in the fossil record of mammals and are frequently used to diagnose species. Some hominin species are only known by either their maxillary or mandibular morphology, and in this study, we explore the possibility of predicting their complementary dental arcade shape to aid the recognition of conspecific specimens in the fossil record. To this end, we apply multiple multivariate regression to analyze 3D landmark coordinates collected on associated upper and lower dental arcades of extant Homo, Pan, Gorilla, Pongo, and Hylobates. We first study the extant patterns of variation in dental arcade shape and quantify how accurate predictions of complementary arcades are. Then we explore applications of this extant framework for interpreting the fossil record based on two fossil hominin specimens with associated upper and lower jaws, KNM-WT 15000 (Homo erectus sensu lato) and Sts 52 (Australopithecus africanus), as well as two non-associated specimens of Paranthropus boisei, the maxilla of OH 5 and the Peninj mandible. We find that the shape differences between the predictions and the original fossil specimens are in the range of variation within genera or species and therefore are consistent with their known affinity. Our approach can provide a reference against which intraspecific variation of extinct species can be assessed. We show that our method predicts arcade shapes reliably even if the target shape is not represented in the reference sample. We find that in extant hominoids, the amount of within-taxon variation in dental arcade shape often overlaps with the amount of between-taxon shape variation. This implies that whereas a large difference in dental arcade shape between two individuals typically suggests that they belong to different species or even genera, a small shape difference does not necessarily imply conspecificity. (...)