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Settlements and dwellings related to pastoral communities in mountainous areas speak to the adaptation strategies of people to this specific environment. This paper describes unprecedented archaeological features found in the Nuratau Mountains of Uzbekistan, dated between the 18th-early 20th centuries AD, and interpreted as living places of pastoralist groups. Preliminary statistical and spatial analyses provide information on the intra- and inter-site organization and the settlement patterns of these communities. We document some variability in patterns of social and spatial organization of the dwellings and campsites and we discuss the interweaving of the ecological and cultural factors governing the settlement systems. When studied as both physical structures and social spaces, the Nuratau campsites contribute to highlight the choices made by pastoral communities in the past and to investigate the integration of human activities in mountain landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Middle Paleolithic in Eurasia, the production of deliberate, abstract engraving on bone or stone materials is a rare phenomenon. It is now widely accepted that both anatomically modern humans and hominins that predate them have produced deliberate engravings associated with symbolic behavior. Within the Levantine Middle Paleolithic context, only five examples of intentional engravings are known thus far. In this paper, we present an aurochs bone fragment that bears six deep, sub-parallel incisions, recovered at the open-air Middle Paleolithic site of Nesher Ramla in Israel. The item, found in an anthropogenic accumulation of artifacts in Unit III of the site, was dated to early Marine Isotope Stage 5 (ca. 120 ka). Unit III is a stratigraphically well-defined layer that is characterized by intense on-site knapping activities with predominance of the centripetal Levallois reduction method and by intense exploitation of aurochs and tortoises. This paper presents a multidisciplinary study of the bone and the incisions, including zooarchaeological, macro- and microscopic analyses, Scanning Electron Microscope analysis and experimental replications. The macroscopic and microscopic attributes of the incisions, and the comparisons with experimental material exclude a taphonomic or utilitarian origin of the incisions. The study indicates that the engravings were most likely produced by a right-handed individual in a single working session. The morphology and characteristics of the incisions, especially the presence of longitudinal polish and striations in one of the incisions, suggest that they were made by a flint artifact, likely retouched. The engraved bone from Unit III at Nesher Ramla is one of the oldest deliberate abstract manifestations produced by Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age hominins and the oldest known so far in the Levant. As such, it has major implications for our understanding of the emergence and early stages of the development of human symbolic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The technological systems and subsistence strategies of Middle Pleistocene hominins in South-East Europe are insufficiently understood due to the scarcity of well-preserved, excavated assemblages. In this paper, we present first results from the study of the lithic and bone artifacts unearthed at the Lower Palaeolithic site Marathousa 1 (MAR-1), Megalopolis, Greece. The context of the site represents a depositional environment close to a lakeshore, where rapid burial in a very fine-grained matrix ensured extraordinary conditions for preservation. Lithic artifacts occur in spatial and stratigraphic association with remains of the elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus as well as other mammals. Bones, including those of elephants, show clear anthropogenic flaking scars, cut-marks and fracture patterns indicating deliberate breakage and modification by early humans. The MAR-1 lithic assemblage is composed of small-sized debitage, retouched tools, a few small and exhausted cores, as well as a large number of debris and retouch products, such as chips and resharpening flakes. Currently, there are no indications of Acheulean bifacial debitage, large cutting tools are missing, and a key aspect of the material refers to its 'microlithic' character. The scarcity of cores and primary flakes indicates a fragmented reduction sequence and complex discard patterns that require further investigation. On the basis of the on-going analysis of lithic material from three field seasons, we discuss aspects of assemblage composition and the role of raw material types, the main technological and typological traits of the industry, as well as the potential contribution of the MAR-1 assemblage in broader discussions about Middle Pleistocene lithic techno-complexes and subsistence strategies in Eurasia. Finally, we briefly present a small sample of bone artifacts, which suggest that hominin exploitation of the animal carcasses was not restricted to marrow extraction and bone processing for nutritional needs, but included also the knapping of bones, potentially with the aim of using the knapped products as tools. The MAR-1 archaeological record compares well with other important Eurasian sites yielding 'small tool assemblages', such as Ficoncella, La Polledrara, Bilzingsleben, Schöningen and Vértesszőlős, some of which, like MAR-1, have provided evidence of elephant or other mega-fauna exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the occurrence of pedogenic carbonates in loess/paleosol sequences of northern and northeastern Iran, there is no information about stable isotope geochemistry of pedogenic carbonates in these regions. This paper presents the first stable isotope data on pedogenic carbonates in loess derived soils of northeastern Iran, southern Eurasian loess belt. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope values of pedogenic carbonates in different landforms were measured using mass spectrometry. Based on climatic data, there is no possibility for soil leaching and pedogenic carbonate formation under the present arid conditions. Stable oxygen and carbon isotopic data suggest two separate periods of carbonate formation. These periods are characterized by either lower or higher temperatures during post glacial than today and paleoecological conditions dominated by C 3 and C 4 plants, respectively. Hemispheric correlation of loess deposits based on isotopic data of pedogenic carbonates shows a strong positive correlation for the post glacial carbonates nodules of northeastern Iran and European Russia. This suggests a similar mechanism of carbonate formation and also the impact of Westerlies in these regions. We present the first quantitative isotopic data for paleoenvironment of northeastern Iran. However, more quantitative investigations about the Holocene and the last interglacial paleoenvironments of northeastern Iran are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of crops that are of global importance today, including wheat ( Triticum spp) and barley ( Hordeum vulgare ), were domesticated in Southwest Asia between 10,000 and 11,000 years ago and subsequently spread through the Old World, into Europe, North Africa and eastwards across Eurasia. Their routes of expansion have been a focus of debate and are increasingly being revealed by widespread dating of archaeobotanical remains from across Eurasia. Of particular interest is work by Zhao (2009) who proposed three routes for the spread of wheat into China: firstly, across the Eurasian Steppe, second by sea from India to the east coast of Eurasia and third, along the Hexi Corridor, which forms part of the Silk Road in western China. Molecular genetic analysis of cereal landraces have also elucidated routes of expansion of cereal cultivation and, in addition, have revealed how crops adapted to changing environments as they moved away from their centres of domestication. Genes involved in flowering time genes have been a particular focus of these studies, including the photoperiod response gene Ppd-H1 in barley, which controls flowering in response to increasing day-lengths in the spring. In this paper we present a phylogeographic analysis of Old World landrace and wild barley, through the analysis of a portion of the Ppd-H1 DNA sequence. We discuss the geographic distribution of different haplotypes of this gene across Eurasia in the light of Zhao (2009)'s three routes and what it potentially reveals about trans-Eurasian pathways of contact between early farming communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neolithic is a key topic in the study of Old World prehistory but how the Neolithic is defined varies between regions. In East Asia the invention of pottery is often seen as marking the start of the Neolithic. In contrast to this ‘eastern’ perspective, in western parts of Eurasia it is the presence of agriculture that usually defines the onset of a Neolithic way of life. This paper adopts a comparative perspective, examining the origins and development of pottery, agriculture and sedentary life in East Asia and Southwest Asia. We suggest that a comparative perspective indicates that some of the most enduring themes of Neolithic studies need to be reconsidered, namely: (1) the idea of a Neolithic package consisting of a number of associated traits (including, among other things, agriculture, sedentary sites, and pottery) that developed and spread together, (2) the notion of the Neolithic as a revolutionary event marking a sharp break from the preceding Palaeolithic period, and (3) the enduring impact of the Neolithic on later periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper is an endeavor to summarize the evidence for various dispersals of hominins into Eurasia, while avoiding the commonly held assumptions that these events, whether short or continuous, were triggered by climatic conditions or were part of dispersals of other mammals. Non-continuous archaeological records from well-explored regions are used as the basis for the hypothesis that lineage extinctions resulted from physical, technical and social failures to adapt to new and demanding environments, as well as from the aggressive behavior of “free riders”. The late development of altruism and social cohesion, at the level of group and kin-selection, delayed occupation of regions suitable for the survival of Early and Middle Pleistocene hominins. Only intra- and inter-group behavioral changes of forager bands, accompanied by technological innovations and/or inventions, as well as efficient forms of systematic teaching of survival skills, facilitated the colonization of larger areas, whether empty or already inhabited. Besides Eurasia and Sahul, all of the above enabled the crossing of the ecological “northern boundary”, leading to later migrations into the Americas. Each of the dispersals had its own, particular history, and even if many details are still missing from the archaeological record, the emerging picture is much more complex than was assumed a decade ago. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The African origin of our species has essentially been accepted as a scientific fact, but evolutionary advantages connected with the reasons and circumstances of modern human dispersal remain widely unexplained or controversial. Consequently, this paper provides an overview of the natural and cultural context of earliest AMH (Anatomically Modern Humans). According to the locations and dating of AMH fossils, the focus is on E-Africa, NE-Africa and the Middle East within a time range from 200 ka to 70 ka. At least three different “contextual areas” appear to have existed at the time, two of them in E-Africa and NE-Africa, dominated by “Bifacial-plus-Levallois” technology, and the third one in the Middle East, mostly connected with an “only-Levallois” technology. A comparison with some non-AMH sites from Eurasia displays similarity of technological principles between artifact assemblages from African AMH sites and Eurasian non-AMH (early Neanderthal) sites on the one hand, and dissimilarity between African AMH sites and Middle Eastern AMH sites on the other hand. This is particularly surprising if environmental contexts are taken into account – tropical in Africa and glacial in Eurasia. Thus, compared to their archaic neighbors (particularly early Neanderthals), earliest modern humans currently seem to lack any specific “cultural fingerprint” and their demographic success may not be explained by behavioral superiority alone. The idea of a small group of early AMH people migrating out of Africa, enabled by cultural superiority over their neighbors appears highly questionable in the light of archaeological evidence. Moreover, the concept of virtual “migration routes” deserves a revision if ethnodemographic evidence about spatial behavior of hunter-gatherers is taken into account. The proposed concept of “contextual areas” serves as a methodological alternative, comprising linked cultural and environmental features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although the Pleistocene human dispersal is one of the most intriguing issues of paleoanthropology, large sectors along possible migratory pathways are ill-defined or poorly documented. This paper examines the geological, geomorphological, climatic and environmental conditions that could have determined hominin transit from their motherland in the East Africa Rift Valley toward the circummediterranean regions or Arabian Peninsula. For their choice between these two alternatives, the Danakil Depression (Afar Rift) immediately north of the Ethiopian Rift Valley was a strategic area. They could reach the Mediterranean Sea through a northern route along the Nile River valley, the trans-Sahara megalake or riverine belts, or else navigate an eastern route into the Arabian Peninsula after crossing the Bab el Mandeb Straits. It is assumed all of these pathways were possible during convenient geological, climatic and/or sea-level conditions. Hominins had three additional choices once they arrived at the Mediterranean Sea shores with Eurasia as their final destination. The Levant corridor was the easiest because walkable and almost always under favorable conditions. Two other possibilities were the Sicily Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar. These sea arms are located in two extremely active settings of the Mediterranean Sea and were at their embryonic stage during the Early Pleistocene. Because large-scale deformations of the sea floor were associated to prolonged sea-level lowstands, these two sea arms could have been passable. Similar considerations apply to the Bab el Mandeb Straits region. For the trans-Mediterranean and the trans-Red Sea routes of dispersal, the environmental conditions and the submarine and terrestrial topographical features that could have made sea transit possible even without land bridges are underscored. To track the dispersal relations between Northern Africa and Eurasia, three schematic maps are presented to show the distribution of the archeological and paleoanthropological sites currently regarded as reliably dated. They document three groups of dates: between 2.0 and 1.5 Ma, 1.4 and 0.7 Ma, and 0.6 and 0.1 Ma. Their distribution is matched with coeval paleoclimatic proxies such as marine oxygen isotope stages, aeolian dust in the Atlantic Ocean, and sapropels levels and dust fluxes in the Eastern Mediterranean. Dispersal was temporally arranged into cycles of four major exodus waves (2.0–1.6 Ma, 1.4–1.2 Ma, 1.0–0.8 Ma, and 0.6–0.1 Ma) controlled by climatic and environmental changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]