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The Latest Miocene succession of the Baccinello-Cinigiano Basin in southern Tuscany (Italy) recorded a faunal turnover documenting the extinction of an older, insular, endemic faunal complex characterised by the extinct ape Oreopithecus bambolii and the setting of a new, continental, European faunal complex including the colobine monkey Mesopithecus . A similar turnover pattern (Late Miocene ape/Latest Miocene Cercopithecidae) is generally observed in Late Miocene continental successions of Eurasia, from Spain to central Europe, Southwest Europe, the near East, and Southwest Asia. Abundant literature reports that the Late Miocene Eurasian hominoid primate distribution closely tracks the climatic/environmental changes occurring during the 12–9 Ma interval, until their extinction in western Europe. In the primate record, the dispersion of Cercopithecidae and the contraction of hominids is interpreted as an event depicting a pattern of “continentalisation” in the Old World. The sedimentary succession of the Baccinello-Cinigiano basin, one of the longest continuous vertebrate-bearing continental successions in the Neogene Italian record, contributes to the debate on this hypothesis. This paper provides an overview of the main characteristics of the sedimentary succession, the chronological constraints (biochronology, radiometric datings, magnetostratigraphy), and the palaeoenvironmental evolution as derived from palaeobiological approaches and from the study of stable carbon and oxygen isotope contents along the entire sedimentary succession. The 2 myr geological history of the Baccinello Cinigiano Basin, which documents the evolutionary history of Oreopithecus and associated faunas, does not have a direct relation with the event of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The evolutionary history of Baccinello-Cinigiano Basin and its palaeontological record have been mainly driven by the regional tectonism and palaeogeographic changes that affected the northern Tyrrhenian regions in Late Miocene (Latest Tortonian–Messinian) times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rodents are among the most useful proxies for reconstructing the ecology and environment of the Quaternary. The present paper focuses on a series of fossil rodent assemblages from northeastern Iberia of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 128–11.7 ka BP) and the beginning of the Holocene (< 11.7 ka BP). Descriptive and multivariate statistical methods have been applied to expand what is known about the species involved and their palaeoecological implications. The results show the importance of the three predominant species: Microtus arvalis , Microtus agrestis and Apodemus sylvaticus . A transition in the ecological conditions is shown in the studied area during the course of this interval: from open environments and cooler climatic conditions to more forested landscapes and temperate conditions. The beginning of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene share similarities, and both differ clearly from the end of the Late Pleistocene, showing the singular nature of the environmental conditions of Marine Isotope Stage 2 in the northeastern sector of the Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate changes, sea-level variations, volcanism and human activity have influenced the environment of the southwest Pacific Islands during the Holocene. The high-resolution palynological analysis presented here concerns two specific levels (main lithological changes) of a well-dated Holocene core, Tfer06, collected from Emaotfer Swamp, Efate Island (Vanuatu). Our aim is to understand the role of climatic variability and human activities in shaping vegetation during these changes. Between 3790–3600 cal yr BP, the development of vegetation marked by disturbance is a marker of an increase in sustained El Niño events, also observed in many Asian-West Pacific areas. Between 1500–900 cal yr BP, the increase in introduced taxa and in microcharcoal particles is interpreted as human impact. In a forthcoming paper, the ongoing high-resolution palynological analysis of the whole core will be compared and integrated into regional palaeoecological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evaluation of the first early human settlement of northern Europe is closely bound up with issues of climate change, human social and technical capability, and sampling visibility. The finds from Dmanisi (1.7 Ma) suggest that small-brained early Homo with simple technologies was able to colonise temperate regions, and it is unlikely that Europe presented insuperable problems compared with Georgia; or that hominids who colonised the South of Europe in favourable conditions could not advance to the north within a few thousand years. Consideration of the geological record, however, shows how much has been lost: apart from large areas currently under sea, evidence of past rivers such as the proto-Thames and Bytham helps measure the extent of erosion, much of it caused by glacial planing. Fire history, in terms of controlled fire use, appears in northern Europe by isotope stage 11, when it is widespread across the continent. Beeches Pit is a prime example indicating fire control, and social activity around fires and in fire management. Fire is however puzzlingly absent from many sites, including those of OIS13. The paper considers the alternative possibilities: that fire use was introduced through an increase in human social/intellectual capability around OIS 11, and that sampling limitations greatly reduce our chances of seeing it on earlier sites. To cite this article: J.A.J. Gowlett, C. R. Palevol 5 (2006) . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]