Search

Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a developmental defect of enamel affecting the first permanent molars and often the incisors and affecting approximately 13% of the current population worldwide. Here, we aim to highlight potential differential diagnoses of MIH in archaeological collections (taphonomic discoloration, amelogenesis imperfecta, fluorosis, rachitic teeth, etc.). Causative factors of dental discolourations are identified through a literature review. In an archaeological context, the sediments contained in the burial soil can lead to tooth discoloration. Taphonomic staining of the dentition may have a similar appearance to enamel hypomineralisation, and thus is a confounding factor that has the potential to cause miscalculation of the true prevalence of MIH within archaeological collections. Some rare medieval cases are reported in the modern literature but without microanalysis, misdiagnosis is possible. The aetiological factors of MIH are unknown but probably follow the multifactorial model involving systemic medical and genetic factors. Systematic detection and diagnosis of MIH during anthropological studies is therefore of great interest. The hypotheses that only contemporary agents are causative factors of MIH could be refuted by the discovery of individuals living before medication or pollutants. The identification of MIH in a group of individuals also provides information regarding the health status of a population and reflects stress occurring during the period of mineralisation of the first permanent molars after secretion of the enamel matrix. Taphonomic alterations of archaeological remains prevent MIH diagnosis. MIH diagnosis can be difficult in archaeological series and further non-destructive methods (microtomography, elemental analyses, etc.) are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reconstruct the etiology of a perimortem injury observed on a Neolithic – Chalcolithic cranium (5060 – 4400 yrs cal. BP). A cranium of an old adult male individual belonging to a collective burial from Cova Foradada site (Calafell, Tarragona, Spain). The cranium was analyzed macroscopically and microscopically using micro-CT scan. The fracture on the right parietal bone presents characteristics of perimortem trauma. The morphology of the point of impact allows for the interpretation of this fracture as a result of impact by an object with a straight and sharp edge. In addition, the same cranium presents two healed antemortem injuries. The object that most likely caused the cranial fracture was a stone adze. The blow occurred from behind the individual, possibly by a right-handed attacker. The potential to link cranial fractures with specific tools increases our understanding of interpersonal violence during the Neolithic. It is not possible to infer if this cranial injury was related to a large-scale intergroup confrontation or an intragroup violent event. To investigate additional similar sites in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula to better characterize the fracture pattern caused by stone axes and adzes as well as other objects used as weapons during the Neolithic – Chalcolithic ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stratigraphic, sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental features reflected in cavities in the Catalan Coastal Ranges of NE Iberia (Can Sadurní and Guineu caves) characterize the periods of pronounced climatic and human complexity that occurred c. 13.0–6.0 cal ka BP. This includes the stages of the Younger Dryas and Mid/Early Holocene, the latter being one of the periods of so-called Rapid Climatic Changes (RCCs). These caves, like others in Mediterranean contexts, are the result of an old duct originating in the saturated zone of the karst system and open to the outside; recording a succession of different detrital and anthropic episodes of the Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic communities. From this study it can be seen that paleoclimatic events do not always present clear signals in the karst records, especially c. 12.7–7.4 cal ka BP, corresponding to the Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic. It is characterized by a stratigraphic discontinuity in which there are phases with predominantly detrital sedimentation alternating with hiatus intervals. Detrital sedimentation formed by fine material colluvium with gravitational movements or solifluction processes in fresh and humid conditions. It appears in the following chronological intervals: 12.7–12.2 cal ka BP, 11.5/11.1–10.7/10.4 cal ka BP and 8.2–8.0 cal ka BP (less humid). Hiatus phases are represented in the rest of the sequence up to c. 7.4 cal ka BP. From the sedimentary point of view these stages of hiatus are indicative of phases of stability or lack of episodes with seasonal contrasts; a fact that would cause interruptions to detrital deposition in the interior of the caves. In contrast, in the period c. 7.4 to 6.0 cal ka BP, attributed to the Middle and Early Neolithic, there is a certain stratigraphic continuity. From the sedimentary point of view it is distinguished by a variability of processes that responds to accumulative episodes of short duration characteristic of morphogenesis of the slopes in an arid Mediterranean environment, identified in our records as RCCs, ( c . 7.4–7.2 cal ka BP- Cardial Neolithic; c . 6.8–6.3 cal ka BP-Early Postcardial Middle Neolithic and c. 6.2–5.7 cal ka BP- Late Postcardial Middle Neolithic) alternating with episodes of stability, more humid and coinciding with a better sedimentary record of the pastoral activity in the cavities during Epicardial and Late Cardial Neolithic ( c . 7.1–6.7 cal ka BP) and Postcardial Middle Neolithic ( c. 6.6–5.9 cal ka BP). It is during this period that Holocene climate variability has better resolution in caves in the Catalan Coastal Ranges of NE Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate over hominid–carnivore interactions during the Pleistocene has been mainly approached from a human perspective, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of the evolution of human cultural capabilities in the different periods. Regarding the European Middle Palaeolithic, it is most commonly concluded that Neanderthals were clearly superior to carnivores in the context of competitive relationships, with respect to both prey and the occupied space. Therefore, the presence of some human groups in the environments usually inhabited by carnivores could be perceived, from an ecological point of view, as a disturbance in the balance of the ecosystems. In order to assess the ecological impact of these human groups, the present study analyses the Unit III of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3; Moià, Barcelona, Spain) through a comparison of palaeoecological and archaeological data. The site is located in the highlands between the two main rivers connecting the central region of Catalonia with the Mediterranean coast: the Llobregat and the Ter. Palynological and paleontological data indicate a cold landscape dominated by woodlands and some wet meadows. The high vertebrate diversity recorded in this stratigraphic unit suggests an environment marked by a balanced predator–prey dynamic, which may have been interrupted by the occasional presence of small human groups. According to the archaeological data, these human groups tended to predate the same prey as did carnivores, which may have generated a certain perturbation in the system. However, the small size of the groups and the brevity of their visits to Teixoneres Cave seem to have minimised the perturbation, allowing the environment to recover its original balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]