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Abstract: The first lithic refit studies were carried out at the end of 19th century, but the method was not considered an area of real interest to archaeology until quite recently. Today, lithic refitting is applied in a multitude of areas of enquiry including lithic technology, intra-site and inter-site spatial distribution, archaeostratigraphy and formation processes. In this paper, we present a refit study of the lithic materials recovered in the base of the NW sector of level TD10 at the site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). We aim to provide information about spatial distribution through identifying activity areas and the internal connections between those areas. Our work resulted in various refits whose connections reveal the movements of the pieces and/or knappers that once occupied the site. Our results also show the importance of studying the set of materials as a whole and the bias involved in analyzing only a small sample. The refits, connections and directions of movement allow us to infer areas in which an activity took place, but these results must be confirmed in future works covering the entire lithic assemblage of TD10. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Archaeological evidence regarding the presence of obsidian in levels that antedate the food production stage could have been the result of usage or intrusion of small obsidian artifacts from overlying Neolithic layers. The new obsidian hydration dates presented below employing the novel SIMS-SS method, offers new results of absolute dating concordant with the excavation data. Our contribution sheds new light on the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene exploitation of obsidian sources on the island of Melos in the Cyclades reporting dates c. 13th millennium - end of 10th millennium B.P. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Neandertals and their immediate predecessors are commonly considered to be the only humans inhabiting Europe in the Middle and early Late Pleistocene. Most Middle Pleistocene western European specimens show evidence of a developing Neandertal morphology, supporting the notion that these traits evolved at the extreme West of the continent due, at least partially, to the isolation produced by glacial events. The recent discovery of a mandible, BH-1, from Mala Balanica (Serbia), with primitive character states comparable with Early Pleistocene mandibular specimens, is associated with a minimum radiometric date of 113 + 72 − 43 ka. Given the fragmented nature of the hemi-mandible and the fact that primitive character states preclude assignment to a species, the taxonomic status of the specimen is best described as an archaic Homo sp. The combination of primitive traits and a possible Late Pleistocene date suggests that a more primitive morphology, one that does not show Neandertal traits, could have persisted in the region. Different hominin morphologies could have survived and coexisted in the Balkans, the “hotspot of biodiversity.” This first hominin specimen to come from a secure stratigraphic context in the Central Balkans indicates a potentially important role for the region in understanding human evolution in Europe that will only be resolved with more concentrated research efforts in the area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Our knowledge of early Australasian societies has significantly expanded in recent decades with more than 220 Pleistocene sites reported from a range of environmental zones and depositional contexts. The uniqueness of this dataset has played an increasingly important role in global debates about the origins and expression of complex behaviour among early modern human populations. Nevertheless, discussions of Pleistocene behaviour and cultural innovation are yet to adequately consider the effects of taphonomy and archaeological sampling on the nature and representativeness of the record. Here, we investigate the effects of preservation and sampling on the archaeological record of Sahul, and explore the implications for understanding early cultural diversity and complexity. We find no evidence to support the view that Pleistocene populations of Sahul lacked cognitive modernity or cultural complexity. Instead, we argue that differences in the nature of early modern human populations across the globe were more likely the consequence of differences in population size and density, interaction and historical contingency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper considers the transition from Howiesons Poort to post-Howiesons Poort technologies at the rock shelter site of Klein Kliphuis, South Africa. The transition at this site is shown to be gradual, with incremental changes in material selection and in the size and shapes of flakes and cores. Implements which appear to blend characteristics of those distinctive of the earlier and later industries appear briefly at the mid-point of the transition. The results suggest that there is unlikely to have been an occupational hiatus between the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort. Explanations for the Howiesons Poort phrased in terms of population expansion and contraction are also difficult to support. Technological changes at this time may relate to environmental variation, though the limited nature of terrestrial archives documenting changes in resource productivity necessitate that any such suggestion be made with caution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In 1995–1996 two isolated hominin lower incisors were found at the middle Pleistocene site of Boxgrove in England, with Lower Palaeolithic archaeology. Boxgrove 2 is a permanent lower right central incisor and Boxgrove 3 a permanent lower left lateral incisor. They were found separately, but close to one another and appear to belong to the same individual. The Boxgrove 1 tibia discovered in 1993 came from a different stratigraphic context and is thus believed to represent a different individual. This paper describes the morphology of the incisors, which is similar to other middle Pleistocene hominin specimens and, as with the tibia, suggests that they could be assigned to Homo heidelbergensis (recognising that the taxonomic status of this species is still a matter of debate). The incisors show substantial attrition associated with secondary dentine deposition in the pulp chamber and clearly represent an adult. They also show extensive patterns of non-masticatory scratches on the labial surfaces of both crown and root, including some marks which may have been made postmortem. The roots were exposed in life on their labial sides by a large dehiscence, extending almost to the root apex. This is demonstrated by deposits of calculus, polishing, and scratching on the exposed surfaces. The dehiscence may have been caused by repeated trauma to the gingivae or remodelling of the tooth-supporting tissues in response to large forces applied to the front of the dentition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A 0.6-m-long horizontal core from a stalagmite in the entrance area of Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, a National Heritage Site, has provided a 35ka record of environmental change. A pollen sequence from the stalagmite, and two animal dung deposits, is longer and more detailed for the end of the Pleistocene than previous palynological reports from the southern Kalahari region. This pollen record closely matches information from spring peats at Wonderkrater in Northern Province indicating that speleothem pollen can provide reliable paleovegetation data. The δ18O and δ13C records resemble those from Cold Air Cave in Northern Province and parallel variations in Greenland Ice Sheet GISP2 paleotemperature. This indicates that past climate changes in southern Africa were linked to changes in global atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns possibly triggered by conditions in the North Atlantic region. The Wonderwerk data suggest wetter conditions at ca. 33ka, from 23 to 17ka, and from 4ka to present. Conditions were drier 17–13ka, when microstromatolitic carbonate was deposited on the flank of the stalagmite, and possibly also during depositional hiatuses from 33 to 23ka and 13 to 4ka. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Data of high resolution for reconstructions of archaeological site formation processes can be obtained only by the use of precise excavation methods and comprehensive recovery techniques using fine-mesh water screening, followed by meticulous sorting and quantitative studies of all the small organic components from the screens. These methods are generally used at human occupation sites, but are not often employed at paleontological or mixed human-carnivore sites. At the site of Bois Roche, an Upper Pleistocene hyena den, we have used these meticulous recovery techniques in combination with absolute dating, geoarchaeological observations, taphonomic analyses, studies of microvertebrates and pollen analysis. Correlation of the site environmental data from pollen and microvertebrate assemblages with the vegetation record of a deep-sea core taken in the Bay of Biscay have allowed us to constrain the ages provided by ESR dating of bovid teeth and to reconstruct the physical environment of the site with a degree of confidence rarely achieved by the use of fossil remains from archaeological sites alone. Prior to our excavations, the site was interpreted as containing a mixed assemblage with evidence of hyena activities and human occupation in situ. Quantitative analysis of the small organic components present in large quantities in the sediments (deciduous hyena teeth, coprolite fragments, digested small bone fragments) prove, more than all other lines of evidence, that hyenas were in residence at Bois Roche, thus providing diagnostic criteria for distinguishing between occasional visitors and the main inhabitants of mixed human-carnivore sites. The analytical procedures presented in this paper have a value beyond the significance of the Bois Roche site because they can be applied to other sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

From a detailed analysis of published and unpublished sources, we constructed a digitized three-dimensional, stratigraphically-controlled excavation grid of Zhoukoudian Locality 1 in order to assess the spatial relationships of the excavated materials. All 15 fossil Homo erectus loci were mapped on the grid. Meter cubes were used in excavation starting in 1934, and Loci H through O, established between 1934 and 1937, were mapped to within 1 m3vertical and horizontal provenience. Loci A through G, established between 1921 and 1933, were excavated in the northernmost part of Locality 1 by unmapped quarrying, but their stratigraphic levels were recorded. We could localize Loci A through G on the grid system by utilizing locations of remaining walls, stratigraphic sections, excavation reports, excavation maps, and photographs. Loci contained skeletal elements of Homo erectus individuals scattered over areas of the cave floor of up to 9 m in diameter. Scoring of taphonomic damage on the Homo erectus sample, as observed on casts and originals, demonstrates that 67% of the hominid sample shows bite marks or other modifications ascribed to large mammalian carnivores, particularly the large Pleistocene cave hyena, Pachycrocuta brevirostris. Virtually all of the remaining Homo erectus skeletal assemblage shows breakage consistent with this taphonomic pattern of fragmentation. Bioturbation by digging carnivores is the most likely explanation for a fragment of Homo erectus Skull XI discovered 1 m below its other conjoined portions in Locus L. Carbon on all the Homo erectus fossils from Locus G, a circumscribed area of 1-meter diameter, earlier taken to indicate burning, cooking, and cannibalism, is here interpreted as detrital carbon deposited under water, perhaps the result of hyaenid caching behavior. Locus G records the close stratigraphic and horizontal association of stone artifacts with Homo erectus and other vertebrate skeletal elements, an association that is seen at other loci as well. Layer 4 of the excavation contains equid cranial bone previously interpreted to have been burned while fresh. We here document that Locus B Homo erectus, including Skull I, is stratigraphically associated with this evidence, but at some 10–12 m distance. Even though the presence of wood-stoked fires and hearths is not supported by geochemical results, evidence of fire at Locality 1 in the form of burned bone is confirmed. Contextual relationships of fossil skeletal elements, relationships of carnivore damage and stone tool cutmarks on bone, and evidence of the burning of fresh bone associated with Homo erectus and stone tools support a model of transient hominid scavenging aided by the use of fire at the large hyenid den that became Zhoukoudian Locality 1. Although the original excavation catalogue from Locality 1, as well as a significant number of fossils and stone artifacts, were lost during World War II, catalogue numbers on the many surviving specimens can be used to locate fossils and artifacts within the three-dimensional grid provided in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]