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During the Early to Middle Pleistocene, Java was inhabited by hominid taxa of great diversity. However, their seasonal dietary strategies have never been explored. We undertook geochemical analyses of orangutan (Pongo sp.), Homo erectus and other mammalian Pleistocene teeth from Sangiran. We reconstructed past dietary strategies at subweekly resolution and inferred seasonal ecological patterns. Histologically controlled spatially resolved elemental analyses by laser-based plasma mass spectrometry confirmed the preservation of authentic biogenic signals despite the effect of spatially restricted diagenetic overprint. The Sr/Ca record of faunal remains is in line with expected trophic positions, contextualizing fossil hominid diet. Pongo sp. displays marked seasonal cycles with ~3 month-long strongly elevated Sr/Ca peaks, reflecting contrasting plant food consumption presumably during the monsoon season, while lower Sr/Ca ratios suggest different food availability during the dry season. In contrast, omnivorous H. erectus shows low and less accentuated intra-annual Sr/Ca variability compared to Pongo sp., with δ13C data of one individual indicating a dietary shift from C4 to a mix of C3 and C4 plants. Our data suggest that H. erectus on Java was maximizing the resources available in more open mosaic habitats and was less dependent on variations in seasonal resource availability. While still influenced by seasonal food availability, we infer that H. erectus was affected to a lesser degree than Pongo sp., which inhabited monsoonal rain forests on Java. We suggest that H. erectus maintained a greater degree of nutritional independence by exploiting the regional diversity of food resources across the seasons.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1516(1), 197-211 (2022). doi:10.1111/nyas.14865, In epithelia, claudin proteins are important components of the tight junctions as they determine the permeability and specificity to ions of the paracellular pathway. Mutations in CLDN10 cause the rare autosomal recessive HELIX syndrome (Hypohidrosis, Electrolyte imbalance, Lacrimal gland dysfunction, Ichthyosis, and Xerostomia), in which patients display severe enamel wear. Here, we assess whether this enamel wear is caused by an innate fragility directly related to claudin-10 deficiency in addition to xerostomia. A third molar collected from a female HELIX patient was analyzed by a combination of microanatomical and physicochemical approaches (i.e., electron microscopy, elemental mapping, Raman microspectroscopy, and synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence). The enamel morphology, formation time, organization, and microstructure appeared to be within the natural variability. However, we identified accentuated strontium variations within the HELIX enamel, with alternating enrichments and depletions following the direction of the periodical striae of Retzius. These markings were also present in dentin. These data suggest that the enamel wear associated with HELIX may not be related to a disruption of enamel microstructure but rather to xerostomia. However, the occurrence of events of strontium variations within dental tissues might indicate repeated episodes of worsening of the renal dysfunction that may require further investigations., Published by New York Acad. of Sciences, New York, NY

Ancient shoreline–shelf depositional systems are influenced by an unusually wide array of geological, biological and hydrodynamic processes, with sediment transport and deposition primarily determined by the interaction of river, wave (including storm) and tidal processes, and changes in relative sea level. Understanding the impact of these processes on shoreline–shelf morphodynamics and stratigraphic preservation remains challenging. Numerical modelling integrated with traditional facies analysis provides an increasingly viable approach, with the potential to quantify, and thereby improve understanding of, the impact of these complex coastal sedimentary processes. An integrated approach is presented here that focuses on palaeotidal modelling to investigate the controls on ancient tides and their influence on sedimentary deposition and preservation – one of the three cornerstones of the ternary process classification scheme of shoreline-shelf systems. Numerical tidal modelling methodology is reviewed and illustrated in three palaeotidal model case studies of different scales and focus. The results are synthesised in the context of shoreline–shelf processes, including a critique and modification of the process-based classification scheme. The emphasis on tidal processes reflects their global importance throughout Earth’s history. Ancient palaeotidal models are able to highlight and quantify the following four controls on tidal processes: (1) the physiography (shape and depth) of oceans (1000s km scale) determines the degree of tidal resonance; (2) the physiography of ocean connections to partly enclosed water bodies (100–1000s km scale) determines the regional-scale flux of tidal energy (inflow versus outflow); (3) the physiography of continental shelves influences shelf tidal resonance potential; and (4) tides in relatively local-scale embayments (typically 1–10s km scale) are influenced by the balance of tidal amplification due to funnelling, shoaling and resonance effects versus frictional damping. In deep time, palaeogeographic and palaeobathymetric uncertainty can be accounted for in palaeotidal models by performing sensitivity analyses to different scenarios, across this range of spatial scales. These tidal process controls are incorporated into an updated predictive decision tree for determining shoreline–shelf process regime in terms of the relative interaction of wave, fluvial and tidal processes. The predictive decision tree considers the effects of basin physiography, shelf width and shoreline morphology on wave, fluvial and tidal processes separately. Uncertainty and ambiguity in applying the widely used three-tier process classification scheme are reduced by using the decision tree in conjunction with a proposed two-tier classification of process regime that is limited to primary and secondary processes. This two-tier classification scheme is illustrated in the three case studies, showing how integration of numerical modelling with facies analysis of the preserved stratigraphic record improves confidence in prediction of tide-influenced shoreline-shelf process regimes. Wider application of this approach will further improve process-based classifications and predictions of modern and ancient shoreline–shelf systems.

This thesis examines the legacy of Spiritualism in the Victorian and Edwardian eras of British history through the perspectives of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the famous Sherlock Holmes books and an avid Spiritualist. The period of Doyle’s life in which he delved headfirst into Spiritualism was kickstarted by influential women. This project demonstrateshow Doyle’s involvement in the Spiritualist movement provides a lens for exploring larger themes, particularly gender roles and the intersection of science and religion.The author argues that Doyle’s life serves as a perfect perspective for this episode of British cultural history due to his fame and that his writings on the subject have shaped the historiography of Spiritualism.&nbsp

Objectives\ud The Pleistocene taxon Paranthropus robustus was established in 1938 following the discovery at Kromdraai B, South Africa, of the partial cranium TM 1517a and associated mandible TM 1517b. Shortly thereafter, a distal humerus (TM 1517g), a proximal ulna (TM 1517e), and a distal hallucial phalanx (TM 1517k) were collected nearby at the site, and were considered to be associated with the holotype. TM 1517a‐b represents an immature individual; however, no analysis of the potentially associated postcranial elements has investigated the presence of any endostructural remnant of recent epiphyseal closure. This study aims at tentatively detecting such traces in the three postcranial specimens from Kromdraai B.\ud \ud Materials and Methods\ud By using μXCT techniques, we assessed the developmental stage of the TM 1517b's C‐M3 roots and investigated the inner structure of TM 1517g, TM 1517e, and TM 1517k.\ud \ud Results\ud The M2 shows incompletely closed root apices and the M3 a half‐completed root formation stage. The distal humerus was likely completely fused, while the proximal ulna and the distal hallucial phalanx preserve endosteal traces of the diaphyseo‐epiphyseal fusion process.\ud \ud Discussion\ud In the hominin fossil record, there are few unambiguously associated craniodental and postcranial remains sampling immature individuals, an essential condition for assessing the taxon‐specific maturational patterns. Our findings corroborate the original association of the craniodental and postcranial remains representing the P. robustus type specimen. As with other Plio‐Pleistocene hominins, the odonto‐postcranial maturational pattern of TM 1517 more closely fits an African great ape rather than the extant human pattern.

The early onset of weaning in modern humans has been linked to the high nutritional demand of brain development that is intimately connected with infant physiology and growth rate. In Neanderthals, ontogenetic patterns in early life are still debated, with some studies suggesting an accelerated development and others indicating only subtle differences vs. modern humans. Here we report the onset of weaning and rates of enamel growth using an unprecedented sample set of three late (���70 to 50 ka) Neanderthals and one Upper Paleolithic modern human from northeastern Italy via spatially resolved chemical/isotopic analyses and histomorphometry of deciduous teeth. Our results reveal that the modern human nursing strategy, with onset of weaning at 5 to 6 mo, was present among these Neanderthals. This evidence, combined with dental development akin to modern humans, highlights their similar metabolic constraints during early life and excludes late weaning as a factor contributing to Neanderthals��� demise

Archives of oral biology 119, 104879 (1-40) (2020). doi:10.1016/j.archoralbio.2020.104879, Objectives: Dental hard tissues contain trace elements of both dietary and environmental origin. One objective was to demonstrate that a longitudinal record of synchronous Sr incorporation into enamel and dentine can be retrieved from museum specimens of once-free-living endangered species. Further objectives were to quantify sudden fluctuations in Sr concentration and estimate the extent of Sr overprinting back into dentine and enamel formed prior to the time of Sr ingestion.Materials and Methods: Daily incremental markings were used to determine rates and times of tooth formation and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence of the same polished ground sections to image Sr distribution in a male and a female orangutan canine. The X-ray beam was monochromatised to 17.0 keV and focused to 500x500 nm$^2$. Scans were performed at either 25.0 or 5.0 µm resolution.Results: Baseline Sr levels ranged between 215-750 ppm. Multiple short, intense Sr labels reaching 750-1,625 ppm occurred randomly throughout 15-22 years of tooth formation. In dentine, Sr concentration increased gradually away from the EDJ, while in enamel, it reduced towards the enamel surface. Using daily incremental markings, Sr overprinting into earlier formed dentine and enamel was estimated to be ~12-45 days. There was no evidence of Sr overprinting by maturational ameloblasts.Conclusions: A good record of growth and trace element incorporation into tooth tissues can be retrieved from museum specimens. Short, intense Sr labels were equally well time-resolved in enamel and dentine and could be distinguished from more diffuse background levels. Enamel maturation appears to have no quantifiable effect., Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]

Estuaries, and the varied ecosystems they support, are affected by human action in many ways. One of the fundamental environmental questions pertaining to estuaries is how material is mixed into ambient waters and transported within and beyond the estuary. Characterizing transport and mixing is essential for tackling local environmental questions, such as gauging the water-quality impacts of a wastewater outfall, or how dredging may alter estuarine circulation. In many estuaries the dominant physical dispersion mechanism is shear dispersion. A fundamental and idealized approach to the scalar transport problem is undertaken, in which canonical shear dispersion regimes are augmented with a new, intermediate regime. This mode of shear dispersion, in which the longitudinal variance of the plume increase with the square of time, is likely to occur in channel-shoal basins where bathymetric transitions can create sheared velocity profiles. A key tool in the engineer's arsenal for pursuing studies of scalar transport is the numerical model, but care must be taken to separate physical mixing effects from numerical artifacts. Unstructured models are particularly well-suited to estuarine problems as the grid can be adapted to complex local topography, but the numerical errors of these models can be difficult to characterize with standard methods. An in-depth error analysis reveals a strong dependence of numerical diffusion on the orientation of the grid relative to the flow. Flexible grid generation methods allow for optimizing the grid in light of this dependence, and can decrease across-flow numerical diffusion by a factor of two.The most far-reaching impact of our actions, though, must certainly be global climate change. A period of rising sea level is being ushered in by climate change, and the final research-oriented chapter seeks to further our understanding of how rising sea levels will affect basin-scale tidal dynamics. Numerical and analytic approaches show that as basins get deeper tidal amplification becomes more effective and tidal range increases. The crux of the analysis, though, is the inclusion of inundation within these scenarios. Inundated areas dissipate incident tidal energy, countering the added amplification due to basins becoming deeper. The net effect, in the case of San Francisco Bay, is that tidal amplification under sea level rise actually decreases, such that a particular rise in mean higher high water in thecoastal ocean is predicted to raise mean higher high water within the bay by a lesser amount.

Archives of oral biology 104, 90 - 102 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.archoralbio.2019.05.024, Objectives: Our first objective was to review the evidence describing the appearance and microstructure of theneonatal line in human deciduous teeth and to link this with known changes in neonatal physiology occurring atand around birth. A second objective was to explore ways to improve identification of the neonatal line bymapping the pre- and postnatal distribution of Ca, Sr and Zn in deciduous cuspal enamel and superimposingthese maps onto transmitted light micrographs that included a clear true section of the neonatal line.Materials and methods: We used synchrotron X-ray fluorescence to map elemental distributions in pre- andpostnatal enamel and dentine. Two deciduous canines and 5 deciduous molars were scanned with an X-ray beammonochromatised to 17.0 keV at either 10.0, 2.5 or 1.0 μm resolution and 10 ms integration time.Results: Calcium maps distinguished enamel and dentine but did not clearly demarcate tissues formed pre- orpostnatally. Strontium maps reflected presumed pre- and postnatal maternal serum levels and what are likely tobe diet-dependent regions of Sr enrichment or depletion. Prenatal Zn maps, particularly for dentine, mirrorelevated levels in the fetus and in colostrum during the first few days of life.Conclusions: The neonatal line, enamel dentine junction and surface enamel were all Zn-rich. Within the neonatalline Zn may be associated with increased crystallinity but also with caries resistance, both of which havebeen reported previously. Elemental mapping may improve the identification of ambiguous NNLs and so beuseful in forensic and archaeological studies., Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]

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The largest uncertainty in human’s contribution to climate change from land use is the fate of carbon that was below ground in pre-modified forests. We produced high-resolution 3D models of the rarely measured zone near the base of large, mature trees by using photogrammetry. The models led to equations linking the easy-to-measure trunk diameter and ground slope to attributes such as tree buttress shape, humus mound, wood and hollow area, and root volume. The equations can be used for carbon accounting. The 3D models are irreplaceable, being for increasingly rare, large trees, and may be useful to other scientific endeavours., There is high uncertainty in the contribution of land-use change to anthropogenic climate change, especially pertaining to below-ground carbon loss resulting from conversion of primary-to-secondary forest. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and coarse roots are concentrated close to tree trunks, a region usually unmeasured during soil carbon sampling. Soil carbon estimates and their variation with land-use change have not been correspondingly adjusted. Our aim was to deduce allometric equations that will allow improvement of SOC estimates and tree trunk carbon estimates, for primary forest stands that include large trees in rugged terrain. Terrestrial digital photography, photogrammetry and GIS software were used to produce 3D models of the buttresses, roots and humus mounds of large trees in primary forests dominated by Eucalyptus regnans in Tasmania. Models of 29, in situ eucalypts were made and analysed. 3D models of example eucalypt roots, logging debris, rainforest tree species, fallen trees, branches, root and trunk slices, and soil profiles were also derived. Measurements in 2D, from earlier work, of three buttress ‘logs’ were added to the data set. The 3D models had high spatial resolution. The modelling allowed checking and correction of field measurements. Tree anatomical detail was formulated, such as buttress shape, humus volume, root volume in the under-sampled zone and trunk hollow area. The allometric relationships developed link diameter at breast height and ground slope, to SOC and tree trunk carbon, the latter including a correction for senescence. These formulae can be applied to stand-level carbon accounting. The formulae allow the typically measured, inter-tree SOC to be corrected for not sampling near large trees. The 3D models developed are irreplaceable, being for increasingly rare, large trees, and they could be useful to other scientific endeavours.

Interface 15(138), 20170626 (2018). doi:10.1098/rsif.2017.0626, Cementum and the incremental markings it contains have been widely studied as a means of ageing animals and retrieving information about diet and nutrition. The distribution of trace elements in great ape and fossil hominin cementum has not been studied previously. Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) enables rapid scanning of large tissue areas with high resolution of elemental distributions. First, we used SXRF to map calcium, phosphorus, strontium and zinc distributions in great ape dentine and cementum. At higher resolution, we compared zinc and strontium distributions in cellular and acellular cementum in regions where clear incremental markings were expressed. We then mapped trace element distributions in fossil hominin dentine and cementum from the 1.55–1.65 million year old site of Koobi Fora, Kenya. Zinc, in particular, is a precise marker of cementum increments in great apes, and is retained in fossil hominin cementum, but does not correspond well with the more diffuse fluctuations observed in strontium distribution. Cementum is unusual among mineralized tissues in retaining so much zinc. This is known to reduce the acid solubility of hydroxyapatite and so may confer resistance to resorption by osteoclasts in the dynamic remodelling environment of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone., Published by The Royal Society, London

A cost-effective regularly structured three-dimensional (3D) printed grid phantom was developed to enable the quantification of machine-related magnetic resonance (MR) distortion. This phantom contains reference features, “point-like” objects, or vertices, which resulted from the intersection of mesh edges in 3D space. 3D distortions maps were computed by comparing the locations of corresponding features in both MR and computer tomography (CT) data sets using normalized cross correlation. Results are reported for six MRI scanners at both 1.5 T and 3.0 T field strengths within our institution. Mean Euclidean distance error for all MR volumes in this study, was less than 2 mm. The maximum detected error for the six scanners ranged from 2.4 mm to 6.9 mm. The conclusions in this study agree well with previous studies that indicated that MRI is quite accurate near the centre of the field but is more spatially inaccurate toward the edges of the magnetic field.

International audience; The chronology of dental development and life history of primitive catarrhines provides a crucial comparative framework for understanding the evolution of hominoids and Old World monkeys. Among the extinct groups of catarrhines are the pliopithecoids, with no known descendants. Anapithecus her-nyaki is a medium-size stem catarrhine known from Austria, Hungary and Germany around 10 Ma, and represents a terminal lineage of a clade predating the divergence of hominoids and cercopithecoids, probably more than 30 Ma. In a previous study, Anapithecus was characterized as having fast dental development. Here, we used non-destructive propagation phase contrast synchrotron micro-tomography to image several dental microstructural features in the mixed mandibular dentition of RUD 9, the ho-lotype of A. hernyaki. We estimate its age at death to be 1.9 years and describe the pattern, sequence and timing of tooth mineralization. Our results do not support any simplistic correlation between body mass and striae periodicity, since RUD 9 has a 3-day periodicity, which was previously thought unlikely based on body mass estimates in Anapithecus. We demonstrate that the teeth in RUD 9 grew even faster and initiated even earlier in development than suggested previously. Permanent first molars and the canine initiated 49 and 38 days prenatally, respectively. These results contribute to a better understanding of dental development in Anapithecus and may provide a window into the dental development of the last common ancestor of hominoids and cercopithecoids.

The characterization and quantification of human dental enamel microstructure, in both permanent and deciduous teeth, allows us to document crucial growth parameters and to identify stressful events, thus contributing to the reconstruction of the past life history of an individual. Most studies to date have focused on the more accessible post-natal portion of the deciduous dental enamel, even though the analysis of prenatal enamel is pivotal in understanding fetal growth, and reveals information about the mother’s health status during pregnancy. This contribution reports new data describing the prenatal enamel development of 18 central deciduous incisors from the Imperial Roman necropolis of Velia (I-II century CE, Salerno, Italy). Histomorphometrical analysis was performed to collect data on prenatal crown formation times, daily secretion rates and enamel extension rates. Results for the Velia sample allowed us to derive a new regression formula, using a robust statistical approach, that describes the average rates of deciduous enamel formation. This can now be used as a reference for pre-industrial populations. The same regression formula, even\ud when daily incremental markings are difficult to visualize, may provide a clue to predicting the proportion of infants born full term and pre-term in an archaeological series.

In 1912, palaeontologist Arthur Smith Woodward and amateur antiquarian and solicitor Charles Dawson announced the discovery of a fossil that supposedly provided a link between apes and humans: Eoanthropus dawsoni (Dawson's dawn man). The publication generated huge interest from scientists and the general public. However, ‘Piltdown man's’ initial celebrity has long been overshadowed by its subsequent infamy as one of the most famous scientific frauds in history. Our re-evaluation of the Piltdown fossils using the latest scientific methods (DNA analyses, high-precision measurements, spectroscopy and virtual anthropology) shows that it is highly likely that a single orang-utan specimen and at least two human specimens were used to create the fake fossils. The modus operandi was found consistent throughout the assemblage (specimens are stained brown, loaded with gravel fragments and restored using filling materials), linking all specimens from the Piltdown I and Piltdown II sites to a single forger—Charles Dawson. Whether Dawson acted alone is uncertain, but his hunger for acclaim may have driven him to risk his reputation and misdirect the course of anthropology for decades. The Piltdown hoax stands as a cautionary tale to scientists not to be led by preconceived ideas, but to use scientific integrity and rigour in the face of novel discoveries.