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Shchetnikov et al. recently obtained the first detailed record on the paleo-environment in the Tunka rift valley in the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. However, when dealing with archaeological data, Shchetnikov et al. (2019) have only presented their final conclusions and have not provided us with a comprehensive analysis of the assemblage itself, which is the reason provoking these comments.

Pollen-based vegetation, biodiversity, and biome reconstructions over the last 15,500 years from sediment core data at Mbi Crater in the Cameroon highlands (6.089273° N, 10.348549° E; 2015 m above sea level) are used to discuss the behavior of the lower edge of the Afromontane forest facing climate change. The data reveal that the post-glacial forest change gradually happened at Mbi and that the forest-wooded grassland ecotone was highly influenced by the climate variability related to the North Atlantic. The forest disruption and diversity loss intermittently occurred over the whole period, and their vegetation changes temporally match dry-cold events at the northern latitudes during the Younger Dryas, at 9.5–9.1 ka, 8.6–8.0 ka, 6.7–6.0 ka, 3.2 ka, and during the Little Ice Age (LIA). During the LIA, the mountain forest was subject to unprecedented levels of disturbance at all altitudes, unlike the seasonal lowland forests, which appears to have been only marginally affected.

International audience; While the emergence of the Acheulean is well documented in East Africa at ~1.7 Ma, subsequent developments are less well understood and to some extent controversial. Here, we provide robust evidence regarding the time period between 1.6 Ma and 1.2 Ma, based on an interdisciplinary approach to the stratigraphic sequences exposed in the Gombore gully of Melka Kunture, in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia. Throughout the Pleistocene, the environment differed significantly from elsewhere in Africa because of the elevation at 2000 m asl, the cooler and rainy climate, the Afromontane vegetation, the development of endemic animal species, and the recurrent impact of volcanic activity. At Gombore IB, dated ~1.6 Ma, remains of Homo erectus/ergaster have been discovered, associated with a rich early Acheulean assemblage. The techno-typological analysis of the lithic record from Gombore Iγ (~1.4 Ma) and Gombore Iδ (~1.3 Ma), where substantial areas have been excavated, and the contrasting evidence from Gombore OAM Test Pit C (~1.2 Ma), suggest that the scarcity or lack of large flakes and large cutting tools at the two earlier sites is possibly not just the outcome of sampling bias, but rather of the adaptation of H. erectus/ergaster to the local resources, in a relatively isolated environment. The sites of Gombore gully provide new evidence on the complex pattern of human evolution and adaptation in East Africa during the Lower Pleistocene.

Speleothem deposits in nowadays arid environments are important climate archives, as they indicate phases of enhanced precipitation and can precisely be dated by uranium-series dating. So far only very few of such archives have been found in the today hyper-arid Saharo-Arabian Desert (SAD). Therefore, the study at hand fills a gap that exists for speleothem climate archives in Northeast Africa. A new record from Saqia Cave (Central Eastern Desert, Egypt) documents for the first-time speleothem growth in Egypt for all sub-stages of MIS 5 and singular phases during MIS 6. Most important growth phases occur during periods of strong increase and maximum orbitally-forced northern hemisphere insolation, but also during phases of low insolation, which are in general attributed to aridity in North Africa. Here, at least semi-arid climate conditions are proposed for periods of low insolation during stadials of MIS 5. This suggests an impact of different possible sources of precipitation, apart from large scale shifts of the African monsoon, such as Red Sea Troughs, tropical plums and a larger spatial extent of the Mediterranean winter-rainfall zone. Concerning the spatial rainfall pattern in Egypt, we propose a considerable east to west rainfall gradient in Egypt for the Last Interglacial and suggest a stronger impact of variable moisture sources in the Eastern Desert near the Mediterranean and Red Sea in comparison to the more continental Western Desert of Egypt. This reveals more favorable pre-conditions for an enhanced land use potential in the past. Therefore, the more sustaining wetter climate in the Eastern Desert point to a recurring feasible dispersal corridor for Homo sapiens from the tropical climate into the temperate climate regime throughout MIS 5. Such a more humid climate provided an ideal basis for long-term, favorable environmental conditions east of the Nile Valley, creating a kind of contiguous landscape corridor that may have been attractive to humans and wildlife alike, linking the East African tropical climate regime with that of the temperate zone in Northeast Africa and Eurasia.

Ancient dental calculus represents one of the most recent and innovative sources of archaeobotanical record. Exploring this matrix, diet, past ecology, and ethnobotanical practices of antique communities may be elucidated. In the present case-study, the tartar of an Imperial Roman man, likely a salt worker, found in the necropolis of Castel Malnome (Rome, Latium, Italy) and affected by bilateral temporo-mandibular joint ankylosis, was investigated. Despite his rare and extremely disabling affection, this male individual reached adulthood thanks to the forced removal of the anterior teeth, which allowed him to eat. Starches of Poeae and Triticeae tribe were detected, although the largest amount of the granules appeared gelatinized, suggesting that maybe the inhumate consumed well-cooked and semi-liquid stuff, due to his non-functional masticatory activity. Urticaceae and clover pollen grains documented unintentional aspiration or voluntary use of these plants as ingredients for meals and therapeutic decoctions. Indeed, since Roman times, written sources have documented nettle as an anti-inflammatory remedy to treat joint and muscle pains. Finally, the identification of secondary metabolites ascribable to the Brassicaceae family, Artemisia L., and Ephedra L. genera, paves the way for hypothesizing the consumption of these Mediterranean species with several nutritional and nutraceutical properties. All this evidence opens a picture window onto the life of this man, which should be well integrated into his community and natural environment despite the functional impairment.

Dental calculus and other preserved microbiome substrates are an attractive target for dietary reconstruction in past populations through a variety of physical, chemical, and molecular means. Recently, studies have attempted to reconstruct diet from archaeological dental calculus using archaeogenetic techniques. While dental calculus may provide a relatively stable environment for DNA preservation, the detection of plants and animals possibly consumed by an individual through DNA analysis is primarily hindered by microbial richness and incomplete reference databases. Moreover, high genomic similarity within eukaryotic groups 1. Introduction 2. Materials and methods 3. Results 3.1. Effects of low read counts on damage patterns 3.2. Identification of dietary reads from synthetic datasets 3.3. Identification of dietary reads from real datasets 4. Discussion and conclusions 4.1. Checklist for authors and reviewers 4.1.1. Field/storage contamination 4.1.2. Is the laboratory methodology suitable for aDNA authentication? 4.1.3. Is the database and pipeline suitable? 4.1.4. Is the taxonomic resolution analyzed sufficient for reliable interpretation? 4.1.5. Have unexpected taxa been reported and evaluated? 4.1.6. Have laboratory controls been evaluated alongside samples? 4.1.7. Has evidence of aDNA authenticity been provided? 4.1.8. Is there other evidence supporting that dietary organisms were consumed?

The high-resolution biochemical records (SRXRF, ICP-MS and FTIR analyses) of bottom sediments were used for the reconstruction of clastic flux into Lake Baikal via the Barguzin River as moisture and glacier indexes from 1631 ka BP. According to the obtained data, proxies of a high supply of clastic flux by the river are high: the content of feldspar and LREE/HREE, Rb/Sr and Th/Mo ratios. We sampled a sediment core extremely close to the estuary of the Barguzin River. It seems that the water budget of the Baikal tributaries dramatically reduced ca. 34–30 ka BP, and the lake water level was minimum (less than 35–40 m compared to the present) for the last 34 ka. The lake water level has gradually increased from ca. 30 to 25–23 ka BP, and it was likely linked with the activity of the East Asia Monsoon. The very contrasting changes in chemical and mineralogical records were ca. 29.5 ka BP, and these changes were very likely associated with the Heinrich-3; however, there were no significant changes in the records around the Heinrich-2. Our records revealed some intensification of the clastic flux of the Barguzin River into the Barguzin Bay ca. 25–23 ka BP. The Baikal event ca. 21.5–22.5 ka BP was characterized by a sharp reduction of the influx of clastic material into the Barguzin Bay. The time span of 19.5–18 ka BP was the last time that the Barguzin River inflow increased during the Late Pleistocene. This increase in the water budget was at arid regional conditions, and we assumed it could occur due to the contribution of meltwater from glaciers of the Barguzin Ridge. It is most likely that at the regional Late Pleistocene/Holocene transition (around 12–13 ka BP), a rapid rise of the water budget of the Barguzin River occurred, while the lake level was not high, and the sediments deposited from 12(13)–16.5 ka BP could be directly eroded by a kill of the Barguzin River. In general, the obtained records show that an increase in the water budget of the Barguzin River was gradual. The duration of high inflow into the Barguzin Bay was ca. 1.5 ka, while the reductions of this inflow were dramatic.

The vicinity of the Rozprza archaeological site (central Poland) has been the area of a series of palaeoecological studies tracking the environmental history of the Luciąża River valley up to ca. 13,200 cal. BP. Numerous subfossil palaeomeanders of different sizes have been discovered in the valley floor. Here, we present the first results of multiproxy research on the paleo-oxbow lake fill, one of the oldest in the region. The wide range of palaeoecological analyses resulted in reconstructions of vegetation history, climatic, hydrological and habitat changes. The studied oxbow was an aquatic ecosystem with diverse invertebrate fauna until the end of Younger Dryas when it transformed into a limno-telmatic habitat. The sediment composition indicates active denudation processes and several episodes of turbulent hydrological conditions. Such an increased river activity could have caused flooding, resulting in an allochthonous matter supply to the oxbow lake in Late Vistulian. Environmental changes were strictly related to the regional features of the catchment, the transformation of soils, and the hydrogeological conditions. The chironomid- and pollen-inferred climatic reconstructions indicate periods of high and low continentality. The chironomid record indicates relatively cool summer conditions in the Allerød, especially ca. 13,000 cal. BP, possibly related to the Gerzensee Oscillation. On the other hand, a distinct increase of summer temperatures in Younger Dryas (up to 16 °C) was recorded. Such a situation was also confirmed in some other studies from the region, suggesting that it might be the effect of some specific, local palaeoclimatic conditions. Fundator badań: Fundator badań: Optional.empty

The Kuril Islands stretch southwest from Kamchatka, Russia, to Hokkaido, Japan and separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the northern Pacific Ocean. A series of transgressions and regressions linked to variations in climatically affected global ice volume are among the most important drivers of Holocene environmental changes in the region. Despite a long research history, reconstructions of the Holocene palaeoenvironment are sparse with inconsistent interpretations, arising from insufficient dating control, different temporal resolutions, and specific local geographical features, such as high tectonic activity and the isolated nature of the area. We have investigated a 550 cm lake sediment section from Iturup Island, the largest among the Kuril Islands. The 6600 year old sediment section was studied using sedimentological, geochemical, chironomid, diatom, and pollen analyses to reconstruct environmental and climatic changes and sea level fluctuations (transgression – regression stages). During the warm late phase of the Middle Holocene (6600–4400 cal BP) an open bay or lagoon with shallow overgrown littorals existed at the sampling site. The cooling between 5600 and 4400 cal BP can be correlated with Neoglacial cooling. The cool period between 4200 and 3200 cal BP was a transition towards the formation of a freshwater lagoon and can be related to a decline of the Japan Late Jomon transgression (Sakaguchi, 1983). Between 3200 and 2800 cal BP the lagoon separated from the marine environment in response to a further sea level decrease during the Japan Latest Jomon cold stage and regression. The following increase in the share of broad-leaved pollen indicated a slight warming (Yayoi transition stage) that was interrupted by a short-term cooling spell between 1500 and 1400 cal BP (cold Japan Kofun stage). The period between ca 1100 and 800 cal BP can be related to the European Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) or relatively dry Japan Nara-Heian-Kamakura warm stage. The Little Ice Age cooling and Edo regression were evident after ca 800 cal BP. Modern warming however is not well seen in the investigated core.

Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability in the late Holocene (last 4000 years) is of great interest as the arid phase of ISM and cultivation of kharif (rainy season) crops started in this period. The present study aims to revisit the available speleothem records to study ISM rainfall variations and possible controlling factors in different Indian regions viz., core monsoon zone (CMZ), peninsular, the Himalaya, and the Bay of Bengal in the last 4000 years. The late Holocene encompasses notable global warm periods viz., Medieval Climate Anomaly, Roman Warm Period (RWP) & Minoan Warm Period, and cold periods viz., Dark Age cold period and Little Ice Age (LIA). ISM rainfall declines until the middle of RWP in all the regions. The decline is linked with the southward migration of the Intertropical convergence zone caused by the northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Though the Solar insolation follows the same trend, all the records show large variability with the disappearance of the declining trend around the middle of RWP. This change coincided with the reversal in the north Atlantic Sea surface temperature (SST) trend, northern hemisphere temperature, and abrupt changes in the southeastern Indian Ocean SST. This period also witnessed high El-Nino Southern Oscillation activities. This synergy of ISM variations in the characterized zones falls apart during the pre-LIA with a slight increasing (decreasing) trend in CMZ and Bay of Bengal (peninsular and Himalayan). The spatially variable response of ISM rainfall in recent centuries might be caused by the interaction between internal variability and external forcing and also by anthropogenic-induced warming and aerosol forcing.

Paleoclimatic constraints from mountain ranges separating major climate systems are important in understanding past climatic changes. Using the present-day glacial geomorphology combined with the GlaRe model, the last glacial maximum (LGM) of seven representative valley glaciers of the Pir Panjal Range (PPR), Kashmir Himalaya was reconstructed. The Range lies at the interface of the tropical and temperate climates in the NW Himalayas. The glacier reconstructions showed that the glaciers in the Range advanced ~10 km down the present-day cirque margins and attained a thickness of more than 200 m during the LGM. Using six different methods, the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) changes in the selected valleys of the PPR were estimated for which the LGM was reconstructed. ELA depressions calculated for the LGM vary from 374 m to 416 m with a mean of 395 m. The weighted average ELA of the Range lies at an altitude of 3922 m a.s.l showing a general increasing trend from SE to NW of the Range. The published chronology of the loess deposits, a proxy for glacial aridity, shows the evidence of significant glacial advances starting around 350 kya in the valley, which is consistent with the evidence of both the pre- and post-LGM advances observed in this study. The presence of extensive glacier features all across the PPR and the presence of a few small heavily debris-covered glaciers in the Range points towards the rapid deglaciation in the area.

The central equatorial Indian Ocean (CEIO) is influenced by both, summer and winter monsoon and is known for cross basin exchange of water between the Arabian Sea (AS) and the Bay of Bengal (BoB). Here, we present planktic foraminiferal assemblage record from a sediment core (SSD-044/GC-01, 5°N; 77°E) from the CEIO, which is in the pathway of this cross-basin water exchange, in order to reconstruct changes in upper water column structure during the last 43 ka, at millennial year timescales. Our data displays an increase in ratio of mixed layer eutrophic to mixed layer oligotrophic foraminifer species from MIS (Marine Isotope Stage) 3 to MIS 2 which further decreased sharply during the last deglaciation and remained low thereafter. This trend matches well with the sedimentary Corg content which is interpreted as a productivity signal, in line with other studies from this region. Furthermore, the relative abundance of thermocline foraminifer species displayed highest values during MIS 3, a decrease through the MIS 2, a sharp decrease through the early deglaciation and an increase thereafter into the Holocene. Our records suggest that the increased productivity at this site seems to be fed by nutrient injection from nutricline to the photic zone which manifests in a corresponding increase in thermocline foraminifera species. The nutrient injection to the photic zone maybe a result of increased vertical/convective mixing due to increased flow of cooler/high-salinity BoB water probably caused by decreased freshening of the BoB during glacials. Furthermore, our data suggests a warm, stratified upper water column and low surface nutrient (oligotrophic) conditions during the last deglaciation and the Holocene.

Sea surface temperature (SST) variation in the Persian Gulf (PG) is investigated based on Mg/Ca ratio measured in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides tests from a sediment core spanning the past 5000 years recovered from west of the Strait of Hormoz. The Mg/Ca SST data indicate a 3 °C fluctuation range with an overall temperature increase trend since the mid-Holocene. The average SST of the PG in the intervals of 5–4.2, 4.2–3, 3–1.8, 1.8–1 and 1 cal kyr BP to present, was 26.1, 26.8, 25.8, 26.3 and 26.7 °C, respectively. SST increase trend in the PG is attributed to seasonally opposing insolation changes led to northern hemisphere extra-tropics cooling and tropics warming. The short spells of decreased (increased) SST indicate a high correlation with an increase (decrease) in terrigenous silt deposited in the PG, representing humid (dry) climate conditions in the Middle East. Likely, northward migration of the Inter-tropical convergence zone during the warmer episodes of the mid to late Holocene results in a change to a drier climatic regime in S Iran. Although Arabian Sea SST has a considerable role in SST variations in the PG, however, SST of this landlocked water body is mainly controlled by a continental climate.

The considerable intensification of human activity in the second and first centuries BC in Central Europe was related to the sudden appearance of a network of large fortified towns, which are known as oppida. Bibracte was one of the most important oppida in France, but knowledge about the evolution of its hinterland is still incomplete. This article addresses the evolution of the landscape surrounding this oppidum. Our research was based on a study of sedimentary profiles sampled around the archaeological site and examined by physical, geochemical and palaeoecological analyses. Sediment sequences indicate that the earliest human-induced erosion associated with geomorphological change occurred in the 4th–1st century BC. Geochemical results indicate ancient mining and metallurgy in the catchment during the same time. Palaeoecological proxies from the same period point to a mosaic of an open cultural landscape with locally suppressed forest vegetation and prevailing pastoralism. Anthropogenic impact resurged in the 11th–13th centuries AD and was associated with livestock grazing and rye (Secale cereale) cultivation. Thereafter, the reconstructed human impact from the 15th century AD onwards was probably related to forest management focused on timber floating as well as to the cultivation of chestnut (Castanea sativa) and hemp (Cannabis sativa).

The Azraq oasis in the Eastern Desert of Jordan has produced considerable stone artefacts attributed to the early Palaeolithic, yet relatively few data are available regarding the chronology and palaeoenvironmental contexts of the remains. In this study, we present stratigraphic, sedimentological, and micropalaeontological analyses of the Late Acheulean site SM1 located within the former Shishan Marsh, which we combine with geochronological and sedimentological data from 13 neighbouring geological exposures to reconstruct landscape evolution at the western margin of the Shishan Marsh. We then discuss the Late Quaternary palaeolandscapes of the Greater Azraq Oasis Area over the past c. 350 ka. Our work demonstrates that the central Azraq Basin experienced three local wetting-drying cycles since the late Middle Pleistocene that would have dramatically shifted the quantity and distribution of freshwater resources, ranging from expansive wetland landscapes to desert refugia characterised by isolated spring pools—changes that would have significantly impacted the mobility decisions and settlement patterns of Palaeolithic inhabitants. Our study highlights that developing long-term records of human-environment dynamics in arid environments requires a mosaic approach to palaeoenvironmental reconstruction that is nested within a well-developed understanding of landscape evolution.

In the granitic part of the eastern Massif Central (France), the Gourd des Ailleres (GDA) mire provides one of the only Late-Glacial and Early Holocene sequences with a continuous sedimentation since the Oldest Dryas around 16000 years calibrated Before Present (16 ka cal. BP). Bioclimatic and hydrological changes were reconstructed based on sedimentological parameters, as well as by means of plant and animal macrofossils, pollen, and diatoms analyses through time. The environmental history of this site started with a small lake formed behind a moraine-dam. The multi-proxy study of the sedimentary sequence demonstrated that the coldest conditions took place around 14.3 ka cal. BP, at the very end of the Oldest Dryas. The Bolling period (14.2–13.9 ka cal. BP) was obviously warmer than the Allerod period (13.9–12.8 ka cal. BP) in the Monts du Forez Mountains. However, both chronozones presented a short cooling phase: the Intra Bolling Cold Period (IBCP) and the Intra Allerod Cold Period (IACP), respectively. The Older Dryas (14–13.9 ka cal. BP) was identified for the first time in this region based on pollen and diatom indicators. Thereafter, the Younger Dryas (12.9–11.7 ka cal. BP) was characterised by major temperature fluctuations. Windy conditions prevailed as indirectly demonstrated by the high frequency of Aulacoseira diatoms in the sequence. The onset of the Holocene was dated to 11.7 ka cal. BP. Peat-forming processes started thereafter due to the quick postglacial warming and the former GDA lake finally evolved into a limnogenous mire at the end of the Preboreal (10.4 ka cal. BP).

Site preservation and associated terrain characteristics are among the major agents controlling the spatial distribution and discoverability of late Quaternary archaeological sites. However, site expectancy in extensive areas can be determined using a combination of geoarchaeological investigation and digital spatial analysis. In that sense a prediction model, respectively the result of a Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), is presented to highlight areas with a high potential to contain Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Eastern Mediterranean and bordering arid margins. Based on detailed on-site analysis in the Wadi Sabra region, with its many sites and the location of other well-known sites in the southern Levant, eight individual parameters, aspect (cardinal point), elevation, geomorphology, hydrogeology, drainage network, slope inclination, vegetation, and a terrain ruggedness index (TRI) are evaluated and tested for significance. The statistical results confirm a significant divergence of the spatial distribution of Upper Palaeolithic sites from the distribution of natural terrain position factors. This allows for a definition of parameter classes with a high site expectancy and their use in a predictive model. For the results map, the site expectancy factors determined in this way were intersected with each other, thus enabling a distinction between areas with a high and low site occurrence probability. The accuracy of the presented result is assessed by the implementation of another MCDA pass based on an independent dataset of archaeological survey sites and compared to the original. Both datasets complement each other and can show the potential for further investigations with more numerous site datasets as well as more detailed spatial information. A local classification based on high-resolution elevation information and field data is evaluated for the Wadi Sabra, Southern Jordan, which can confirm yet further specify the result from the MCDA.

Geophysical surveys in the Lakes Tazenat, Aydat, Chambon and Lacassou combined with a multiproxy study of sediment cores highlight Late Holocene abrupt environmental changes in the northern part of the French Massif Central (FMC). Dating landslide-induced dust layers and subaqueous slope failures impacting lake basin sedimentary fills suggest regional triggering by palaeo-earthquakes (cluster of events) either in the Puy-de-Sancy volcano area, or along the regional Limagne fault. In the present study, a cluster of palaeo-earthquakes occurring in the Sancy area between AD 1243 and 1270 are documented in the Lakes Montcineyre, Chauvet, Pavin and Guery, as well as by the formation of Lake Lacassou following the last emplacement of the Dent du Marais landslide in the Chaudefour glacial valley around AD 1250 ± 30. Former cluster of earthquakes occurring near the Limagne fault between AD 580 and 650 are evidenced in Lake Tazenat and in maar Lake Pavin. Lake Pavin present lake-level was similarly favoured by the cluster of earthquakes between AD 1243 and 1270 and the occurrence of a slump and an outburst flood event resulting in the bypassing of a palaeo-outlet. Holocene earthquakes near the Limagne fault are suggested in maar Lake Tazenat by coeval mass wasting deposits (MWDs) around 2250 ± 50 cal. BP and around 2730 ± 30 cal. BP. A landslide-induced dust layer dated between 2760 and 2520 cal. BP at the transition from paludal to lacustrine deposits in the Chaudefour glacial valley is suggesting that the formation of Lake Chambon resulted from a first emplacement of the Dent du Marais landslide. Radionuclides and radiocarbon dating in Lake Tazenat suggest variable sedimentation rates over the last millennia due to: (i) floods during the Little Ice Age, (ii) coeval MWDs at the basin edges and an erosive turbidite in the central basin between AD 575 and 625, and (iii) lake eutrophication since AD 1945. More gravity cores are needed to directly sample and date the youngest generation of coeval MWDs detected on seismic profiles in order to test the impact in this lake of the cluster of major historical earthquakes in the FMC between AD 1450 and 1490 near the Limagne fault.

We review palaeoenvironmental proxies and combinations of these relevant for understanding hunter-gatherer niche construction activities in pre-agricultural Europe. Our approach consists of two steps: (1) identify the possible range of hunter-gatherer impacts on landscapes based on ethnographic studies; (2) evaluate proxies possibly reflecting these impacts for both the Eemian (Last Interglacial, Middle Palaeolithic) and the Early–Middle Holocene (Mesolithic). We found these paleoenvironmental proxies were not able to unequivocally establish clear-cut differences between specific anthropogenic, climatic and megafaunal impacts for either time period in this area. We discuss case studies for both periods and show that published evidence for Mesolithic manipulation of landscapes is based on the interpretation of comparable data as available for the Last Interglacial. If one applies the ‘Mesolithic’ interpretation schemes to the Neanderthal record, three common niche construction activities can be hypothesised: vegetation burning, plant manipulation and impact on animal species presence and abundance. Our review suggests that as strong a case can be made for a Neanderthal impact on landscapes as for anthropogenic landscape changes during the Mesolithic, even though the Neanderthal evidence comes from only one high-resolution site complex. Further research should include attempts (e.g. by means of modelling studies) to establish whether hunter-gatherer impact on landscapes played out at a local level only versus at a larger scale during both time periods, while we also need to obtain comparative data on the population sizes of Last Interglacial and Holocene hunter-gatherers, as these are usually inferred to have differed significantly.

The question of where Proto-Tupí-Guaraní (PTG) was spoken has been a point of considerable debate. Both northeastern and southwestern Amazonian homelands having been proposed, with evidence from both archaeology and linguistic classification playing key roles in this debate. In this paper we demonstrate that the application of linguistic migration theory to a recent phylogenetic classification of the Tupí-Guaraní family lends strong support to a northeastern Amazonian homeland.

Piggyback basins are common and well-studied features of thrust belts, but they are also known to form in front of advancing ice sheets. However, these glacitectonically developed basins and their syn-glacitectonic fillings have so far received little attention. Here, we present a detailed study of a cliff section on Jasmund peninsula, SW Baltic Sea, where syn-kinematic deposits of Late Weichselian age (MIS2) accumulated in a piggyback basin. Sedimentological analyses, including micromorphology and field studies, resulted in a distinction of at least five tectono-depositional sequences of syn-glacitectonic basin fills. The sediment record indicates a stepwise evolution of the basin, controlled by propagating thrust faults and the resulting thrust-bound ridge morphology. A fast-changing depositional environment with glacifluvial, glacilacustrine, alluvial fan and fan delta depositional systems, show a rapid transformation of the overall morphology of the study area. The main controlling factors are the propagating thrust faults (determining anticline and syncline orientations) and the advancing ice margin, which caused sudden changes or even temporal obstruction of the meltwater drainage system. The proposed stages of basin evolution illustrate the dynamic formation and stepwise syn-tectonic fill of piggyback basins in glacitectonic complexes. Our evolutionary model will increase our understanding of basin fills on glacitectonic thrust- and fold-belts that were formed by approaching ice sheets in ice-marginal settings.

As one of the most important margin seas around the west Pacific, the eastern China seas are important sink for terrigenous materials and forms multiple geology structures. So research the composition and spatial distribution of sediments could help us to understand the dynamics mechanism of the marine sedimentary environment, further to comprehend the land-sea interaction process. Based on high spatial resolution sediment survey in the eastern China seas, the distribution diagram of the sediment types was compiled to reveal the space regularities of sediment. In this study, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method was used to identify the controlling factors that are the main controls of the sediment distribution in the study area, which revealed three factors (F1, F2 and –F1) representing grain size categories of >5.75φ, 4.25–5.75φ and 1.50–3.00φ, respectively. F1 represents fine sediments (>5.75φ), -F1 represents coarse sediments (1.50–3.00φ), and F2 represents intermediate-sized sediments (4.25–5.75φ). The sediment transport patterns of the different grain size categories in the eastern China seas are discussed in the context of a comprehensive analysis of sediment grain size composition, material sources, flow patterns, and other factors. The results show that fine-grained sediments represent a “distant” sink of terrigenous material that formed in a stable and low-energy sedimentary environment. The coarse sediment deposits were formed in the late Pleistocene when the hydrodynamic conditions were relatively strong, and the intermediate-sized sediments were distributed in an area with a high concentration of suspension representative of mid-strength hydrodynamic conditions.

Lateglacial and Holocene sandy aeolian sequences with palaeosol horizons located in different sedimentary zones in western-central Poland were analysed in order to establish their regional stratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental significance. Results of sedimentological, geomorphological and absolute dating methods from 3 representative profiles from an extraglacial zone (Leszczyca site), a glaciomarginal zone (Barczyglow site) and a glaciated zone (Godzieba site) are presented. A compilation of 31 luminescence dates from aeolian sands and 7 14C-dates from palaeosols formed the basement for establishing the stratigraphic position of the analysed deposits. The obtained results were correlated with reference to Greenland ice-core chronology, which has the best resolution for the Northern Hemisphere. In the extraglacial zone, aeolian deposition started in the Oldest Dryas and continued throughout the Older Dryas (main phase of dune built) with limited deposition in the Younger Dryas and finished in Preboreal. Aeolian deposition was interrupted by pedogenic processes in the Bolling and Allerod interstadials as well as in the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition. Whereas in the glaciomarginal zone aeolian deposition started in the Younger Dryas and continued to the Early Boreal with a weakly expressed pedogenic process in the Early Preboreal. In the glaciated zone, aeolian deposition took place in the Younger Dryas. At the Barczyglow and Godzieba sites palaeosols of the Roman Period and 19th century were detected, covered by aeolian sands. The Subatlantic aeolian episodes were induced by human activity and registered forest fires. Identified periods of aeolian activity and pedogenic processes were correlated with other profiles from central and western Europe.

Pollen, sediment texture, moisture, organic/inorganic carbon content and geochemical analyses of a 1.2m in-depth sediment profile from upper Tundabhuj Lake in the Parvati Valley show that the region supported alpine-scrub vegetation. The forest elements largely consisted of Betula and its broad-leaved allies viz., Quercus, Corylus and Carpinus interspersed with meadow grasses, Asteraceae, Impatiens, etc. under a warm and moderately humid climate from around 17,100 to 14,700 cal yr BP. Additionally, the increase in organic carbon, enrichment of immobile elements (TiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3) and moderate values of the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA = ~72) reinforce the warm and moderately humid climate in the catchment. Subsequently, at around 14,700 to 10,600 cal yr BP, an increase in alpine-scrub vegetation dominated by Betula, Corylus and Carpinus was observed. The enrichment of (TiO2, Ni and Cr) and slightly higher CIA values (72–78) indicated relatively more humid conditions than earlier climatic conditions. The climate turned cold and dry between 10,600 and 5400 cal yr BP as deduced from the abrupt reduction in the alpine-scrubs and meadow constituents. During this period immobile elements (Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, and Cr) also decreased. In contrast, mobile elements (CaO, Na2O, Sr, and Ba) increased along with a gradual decrease in CIA (minimum at 42.5 cm) and organic carbon content supporting cold and dry climatic conditions. From around 5400 until ~1600 cal yr BP, the region saw a return of alpine-scrubs and conifers, indicating a relatively warm and humid climate. Increasing CIA values, organic carbon, and concentration of immobile elements also reaffirm relatively warm and humid climatic conditions. In the most recent phase (around 1600 cal yr BP to present), the climate deteriorated as reflected by the depletion of Betula and broad-leaved associates and an increase in dry elements such as Juniperus and Ephedra. The decrease in CIA values, organic carbon and immobile elements (TiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3) substantiate this observation.

We present a multiproxy record of grain size and stable carbon isotope from the Lilaur lake, Ganga Basin, India to understand the history of lake formation linked to changes in Indian monsoon precipitation during ~13714 to 3073 calibrated year before Present (cal yr BP). A comparison is made between Lilaur lake proxy record with those from other parts of South Asia as well as North Atlantic to understand extent and causes of monsoon variability and its influence on the fauna and flora of the region. Chronology of lake core was constrained using AMS 14C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates. This study suggests a transition from river to lake during ~5800 to 5189 cal yr BP which is supported by reduced precipitation with weakening of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). This river to lake transition culminated in a severe arid phase during 4250 to 4050 cal yr BP (4.2 ka event), corresponding to enhanced El Nino activity, southward shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, and aridification of India when the ISM was weak.

This study comprises the investigation of the complex and deformed Late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in western Latvia composed of sandy sediments that are protruded by large-scale clayey silt diapirs and covered by glaciotectonically disturbed discontinuous patches of the Late Weichselian till. We use detailed measurements by ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) combined with borehole data and sedimentological investigations at the Baltic Sea cliffs to map and characterize the large-scale deformation structures and discontinuous till patches. We distinguish the intriguing and previously not detected characteristics of the spatial distribution pattern of discontinuous till layer represented as elongated, up to 150 m long and up to 50 m wide patches, parallel to the seacoast and perpendicular to the latest ice flow direction. The upper surface of till patches is flat and not inclined in any direction that is partially explainable by the postglacial erosion of the Baltic Ice Lake. The possible locations of diapirs inland are drawn from GPR data. We relate the formation of observed large-scale deformations to subglacial diapirism induced by the ice loading of the advancing Apriķi Ice Tongue: clayey silt sediments become loaded and overpressurized, and flowed upwards intruding into the overlying sandy sediments. The initial deposition and deformation of till layer could have been affected by the diapirism process and preferred accretion of till in inter diapir spaces. We demonstrate that the geophysical methods can greatly supplement traditional geological investigations in the field revealing characteristics of deformed sediment sequences that are not recognizable from the outcrop data only and thus can have significant implications on the interpretation of deformation processes.

For the palaeo-ecological development and interpretation of the macrofauna (Bivalvia and Gastropoda) of the Eemian Sea in the southwestern Baltic Sea region (NE Germany), up to date studies and summarising assessments are largely missing. With the main goal of revising the Eemian marine fauna, the authors have undertaken numerous new samplings in recent years. This study begins by focusing on the Warnow Bay in today's Warnow valley near Rostock. In addition to examining older data from the literature, the sandpit at Schwaan and drillings of the State Geological Survey from Boitin, Reez and Rostock were studied. Parallel to this, was also undertaken pollen analyses. Despite hundreds of drillings from the region of the former Warnow Bay, evidence of the marine Eemian was relatively rare. Apparently the sandy sediments were reworked and redistributed by glaciotectonic, glaciofluvial and fluvial processes during the Weichselian glaciation. There is as yet no definite proof of autochthonous marine sediments. They are predominantly shallow-marine sands several meters thick which are found mostly at a depth of about 30–20 m b.s.l. but more rarely also relatively close to the surface in opencast mining or cliff sections. The sands are rich in marine mollusc fauna of which 29 species have been identified so far and which also include Lusitanian specimens such as Acanthocardia paucicostata, Lucinella divaricata or Polititapes senescens. Account was also taken of accompanying marine fauna such as barnacles and echinoderms. In addition, the sediments contain fresh water molluscs also including the interglacial indicator species Belgrandia germanica.

Detailed knowledge of the periglacial flora is essential to assess the vegetation dynamics in deglaciated regions of northern and north eastern Europe, previously covered by the ice sheet of the Late Weichselian Glaciation. Therefore, the territory of Belarus, which stretches in the periglacial zone of the Last Glaciation and the most part of which was free of ice during the Last Glacial maximum, is off particular importance in analysing the postglacial floral establishment and the subsequent vegetation dynamics in this part of the continent. In this study, results of palaeobotanical (pollen and plant macrofossil), lithological (measurements of magnetic susceptibility, MS) and isotopic (14C) investigations were obtained to fill the existing gap in reconstructing the peculiarities of the terrestrial and aquatic vegetation dynamics throughout the Lateglacial - Early Holocene period in the central Belarus. The investigated sediment profile, comprising organically enriched gyttja at 13,400–13,100 cal yr BP, carbon enriched and sandy gyttja at 13,100–9700 cal yr BP and unconsolidated mud after 9500 cal yr BP, provides clear evidence proving the flourishing of a pine-birch predominated forest with occasional spruce stands during the Allerod in area. Three occasions of change in the vegetation structure were noted within the Younger Dryas, i.e. 12,900–12,700 cal yr BP, 12,200–12,000 cal yr BP and 11,900–11,700 cal yr BP, suggesting negative climatic excursion taken place in area and facilitating flourishing of a Picea-predominating forest that culminated at about 12,300 and 12,000 cal yr BP. Pollen record suggests the Early Holocene vegetation shifts occurring at about 11,300–11,200 cal yr BP, 10,800–10,600 cal yr BP and 10,300–10,100 cal yr BP evidence the general response to the global-scale climatic events i.e. Preborael Oscillation or “10,2 ka” while fluctuations triggered by local or regional-scale climatic events have been identified as well. About 10,800–10,700 cal yr BP, formation of the forest with an increasing representation of thermophilous taxa (Ulmus, Tilia, Quercus) started in area.

This research provided a model of genesis of soils in North-West Siberia connecting the stages of their development to the main environmental changes over the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. The “soil memory” showed that the studied soils had a complex polygenetic origin. A gleyed paleosol with signs of solifluction found at a depth of 2 m was most probably formed during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 that is the Karginsky interstadial. The following stage, i.e., MIS2 – the Sartanian cryochron was characterized by the eolian sedimentation of silty material. In the Late Sartanian, new soil formation began in the silty parent material, with a strong platy cryogenic aggregation and grain size sorting. The warmer and more humid climate in the early Holocene induced clay illuviation and allowed for the formation of the argic horizon. Finally, the modern climatic conditions have caused ooidal cryogenic aggregation within upper horizons, however recent frost action has not been as strong as it was during the previous cold stage. Additionally, the modern pedogenesis included spodic and stagnic processes as well as clay mineral transformation. We suppose that such a model of soil evolution could be extrapolated to the northern Cis-Ural region, but not to the west in the Baltic region, where the dynamics of pedogenesis were different.

Recent studies along the southern Baltic Sea coast have revealed sedimentary records of catastrophic storm surges that significantly exceed the magnitude of storms documented by instrumental measurements. The present study aimed to apply heavy mineral analysis for storm surge deposits along coasts of Gulf of Gdansk (southern Baltic), as well as for contemporary marine, beach, dune and coastal plain sediments, to test the applicability of the method and to provide new insights into the depositional processes and sediment sources of the storm deposits. The transparent, 0.125–0.25 mm heavy mineral fraction (>2.85 g/cm3) in 118 sediment samples was investigated, and the results were subjected to multivariate statistical analyses (cluster, PCA, LDA). Storm deposits showed higher concentrations of heavy minerals comprising enrichment in garnet, zircon, and rutile. General heavy mineral assemblage depended on regional provenance and primary sediment sources. However, flooding regime (overwash or inundation) played a key role in selective hydrodynamic sorting of grains and mineralogical composition of storm deposits. Interpretation of deposits formed in inundation regime was more certain than deposits formed in overwash regime. In the latter case, deposits showed more similarities to adjacent mineral provinces. Statistical analyses proofed that heavy minerals together with other sedimentological descriptors may be a promising proxy for recognition of deposits related to defined sedimentary environment or identification of particular sedimentological process, e.g. event layers resulted from storm surges.

A landslide, Ashegong, blocked the Garang River, a tributary of the Yellow River on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Six optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples were collected from ~35-m-thick lacustrine sediments of the landslide-dammed lake deposited on the bank of Garang River in this study. Samples yielded 40.3 ± 2.7 ka at the top of the lacustrine section and 21.8 ± 1.4 ka at the base of lacustrine layer, which indicated that the dammed lake last approximate 18.5 ka. This landslide dammed lake forming at 40.3 ± 2.7 ka, appeared to be associated with the wetter conditions and extensive rainfall affected by paleomonsoon during marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 3 on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The blockage by Ashegong landslide had a vital role in shaping river network such as causing the river diversion. Understanding the geomorphic process of landslide damming event is benefit for reflecting paleoclimatic change, tectonic uplift, forecast and mitigate hazards in mountainous area.

Relative humidity (RH), an important climatic element influencing tree growth, is also crucial in assessing the General Circulation Models (GCMs) on global warming. However, in the absence of a relatively long record of RH in the Himalayan region, precise modelling of the climate change related processes and their impacts on this region are not well established. Here we present a new RH reconstruction for the pre-monsoon months (February–May) starting from 1800 C.E. using the tree-ring width data of subtropical Pinus roxburghii (chir-pine) from Pithoragarh, Western Himalaya, India. We found significant positive correlation between tree growth and pre-monsoon RH (n = 67, r = +0.569, p

To investigate the evolution of sediment provenances and transport processes in the central Bay of Bengal (BoB) since the Last Glacial Maximum, we present a comprehensive study on the grain size, clay minerals, rare earth elements, and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)14C analyses of the core BoB-24 sediments. Six AMS14C dates were obtained from planktonic foraminiferal Neogloboquedrina dutertrei (N. dutertrei) extracted from the core to reconstruct a reliable age model. The assemblage of clay minerals and the (La/Yb)UCC–δEu relationship indicated that the core contained a mixture of sediments from the Himalayas and Indian Peninsula. These results showed that the Himalayas were the main source of erosional materials during 25–6.5 ka BP, whereas those from the Indian Peninsula increased since the mid-Holocene. Between 25 ka BP and 12 ka BP, the sea level was relatively low, and a large amount of terrigenous detrital material were directly transported from the Himalayas and the Tibet Plateau to the study area by submarine canyons, forming a deposition center on the Bengal Fan. Between 12 ka BP and 6.5 ka BP, the sea level gradually rose and the Indian summer monsoon gradually strengthened, whereas the sedimentation rate and the amount of material transported from the Ganges–Brahmaputra River decreased greatly; the deposition center transferred from the Bengal Fan to the shelf of the BoB. Since 6.5 ka BP, the sea level has risen, reaching its present position. A high sea level and a strengthened East Indian Coastal Current resulted in an increase of material contribution from India, while the deposition center was on the shelf of the BoB. Overall, this study confirmed that both sea level fluctuations and variations of the Indian summer monsoon controlled the evolution of sediment provenances in the central BoB and transfer of the deposition center from the Bengal Fan to the continental shelf. This typical sedimentary pattern observed in the northeastern Indian Ocean improves our general understanding of past land–sea interactions.

Intensification in the procurement of small game, including different taxa of birds, has been proposed as one of the indicators of dietary shifts occurring in western Mediterranean regions during the Upper Palaeolithic as a consequence of both increased human hunting pressures and environmental change. In this paper, avian remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic levels of Arbreda Cave (Serinya, northeast Iberia) are analysed. Our results evidence a high diversity of bird taxa in most levels, with the presence of a minimum of 50 species, including birds that inhabit a variety of biotopes such as cliffs, rivers and wetlands, and open grassland, along with coniferous and mixed forests. Taphonomic analysis of the bird bones from all levels indicates a mixed origin for the material, humans being one of the agents responsible for the accumulations. The results show that birds were caught for consumption. However, wing feathers and phalanges were also extracted, probably for ornamental or ceremonial purposes. A significant number of tooth/beak-marked bones and digested remains also evidence the participation of different species of raptors and, to a lesser degree, of small terrestrial carnivores in creating these assemblages. Finally, some birds died naturally and were then incorporated into the archaeological record. This study contributes to the discussion of the importance of the exploitation of birds by hunter-gatherers during the Upper Palaeolithic in the region.

A large collection of goose bones was recovered from excavations at Wheatcroft Farm, Bradwell, Norfolk. The goose bones were of particular interest due to the large quantity present and the presence of medullary bone in some of the specimens. All of the goose bones derived from two 11th-12th century contexts found in close association with a grain drying kiln and related sunken structure. The majority of the bones came from a single posthole. Evidence from body part representation, butchery marks and the occurrence of medullary bone is examined. Domestic geese are common on medieval sites in England and the element distribution and butchery marks are suggestive of waste from carcass preparation for cooking, with the meatiest elements largely having been removed. It seems possible that goose ‘crowns’ were being prepared and then cooked in or close to the kiln. The presence of medullary bone is unusual due to the more seasonal laying behaviour of geese compared to chickens and is examined in detail.

There is an inherent contradiction in the position of birds within the Ghassulian culture of the Late Chalcolithic Southern Levant. Whilst they are almost completely absent from the zooarchaeological record, they appear as the second most common animal representation within Ghassulian iconography, with only caprids appearing more often. This has led some scholars to posit that birds played a significant role within the spiritual life of the Chalcolithic. This paper will re-examine this avian iconography, through a collation, exploration, and re-evaluation of each object, emphasising their specific context and integrating their interpretation with both biological/ecological and/or zooarchaeological evidence where possible. Through this type of examination, we can not only shed light on the meaning of these avian images, but hopefully on the role of birds within the societies of the Late Chalcolithic. The study collates and examines each piece of avian material culture uncovered from the Late Chalcolithic: the bird fresco from Building 78 and a painted pottery sherd, both found at Teleilat Ghassul; the avian standard, ‘crown’ no. 7, and the decorated horn-like vessels from Nahal Mishmar; the ritual ostrich egg deposits from Gilat; a possible bird sculpture on an ossuary; bird-shaped ivory pins from Abu Matar and Shiqmim; the bird-shaped vessels from Palmahim; and two unstratified objects: a vessel with sculpted birds on the rim and two avian sculptures. Due to the ritual function and/or context of this avian material culture, it is clear that avian imagery had meaning within Ghassulian spiritual thought. Previous scholars have linked this to an Inanna-like fertility deity, but the objects do not provide enough evidence for this connection. Instead, through historical and ethnographic parallels, I propose a more abstract interpretation of these avian images as symbols of spiritual liminality, i.e. crossing the boundary between the mortal and the spiritual.

The site of Bouchain is the first recent Neolithic site excavated in northern France. The four excavation campaigns have revealed an activity zone on the bank of a palaeochannel of the Scheldt river. The fauna comprising 1892 bone remains buried in a waterlogged sediment is very well preserved revealing surface modifications including cutting, breakage and cooking. Wild mammals and birds are important components of the subsistence strategy summing up to 43% of vertebrate remains. Fowling constitutes 15% of exploited wild resources with a focus on waterfowl, primarily mallard. No equivalent pattern of fowling could be found in the final Neolithic nor in the middle Neolithic sites of the regional context. The closest subsistence strategies to the one of Bouchain was found in the Netherlands within contemporaneous sites where hunting for mammals and waterfowl played a major role in the diet.

This paper examines an artefact type of unknown function, found in several places across medieval England. These artefacts are mostly made from goose radii, but other species, such as chicken and hare, are also known. The worked radii have often been interpreted as being related to writing, but a closer examination suggests that they are more likely to be awls.

Riparo Dalmeri is an Epigravettian high altitude rock shelter, seasonally occupied for specialized ibex hunting. Its occupation pattern indicates the mobility of human groups from the lowlands to the mountains, in order to exploit a territory which is inaccessible during the winter. This work presents the results of the taphonomic study carried out on the bird bone assemblages from Riparo Dalmeri, where birds play a secondary role as an economic resource, when compared to the intense seasonal exploitation of ibex. Despite its small size, the bird bone assemblage still provides valuable ecological information as well as information about anthropic traces connected with food exploitation and other resources. The most common human modifications detected on the bird bones are those related to butchery: stone tool cut-marks, fresh bone fracture, peeling, crushing, wrenching, and, more rarely, notches or chop-marks. Localized burning traces have also been detected.

Bird bones are rare finds in Bronze Age excavations in Greece, though, the presence of bird representations in art of the same period is remarkable. This paper examines this paradox from a zooarchaeological perspective. It records and presents the osteological evidence for bird exploitation by Bronze Age communities in Greece and examines the characteristics of the bird bone assemblages, emphasizing the need for nuance and methodological rigor in interpreting these data. This evidence is then viewed against the contemporary birds’ representations record from the same area. From such a comparative approach, a number of similarities and differences emerge regarding the intensity of human-bird interactions, the preferred bird types or the significance of particular types of birds across the study area. Further study of these discrepancies may offer a better understanding of the role of birds in Bronze Age Aegean.

This paper examines archaeological bird bones from Viljandi – one of the strongest centres in prehistoric and medieval Estonia – and covers material from the Late Iron Age to Early Modern Period, c. 950–1700. Over 5000 bird bones were analysed in this study. Our main aim was to explore the role of birds in people's diet and its relevance to social status, but also to explore the birds' habitats and environmental background, including commensalism and seasonal occurrence. This study highlighted differences between the four areas of Viljandi – the prehistoric rural settlement, historic castle, town, and suburb. We discuss diachronic trends in the utilisation of birds in these areas, largely determined by the 13th century Baltic Crusades and the transition from the Prehistoric to the Middle Ages, but also by population expansion and the social divergence that followed. In Prehistory, we witnessed more chicken exploitation, while wild birds seem to have played a smaller role. In the Historic Period, on the contrary, the utilised species are more diverse – probably to manifest social status. The main use of birds was for meat, eggs, and other products. Some species might have been used for hawking.

Boves Castle, located in northern France, was occupied between the 9th and 16th centuries AD. Under excavation since 1996, this high-status site has yielded more than six tons of faunal remains. Until now, archaeozoological studies have focused on the early occupation of the site (10th and 11th centuries AD), revealing specific supply and consumption strategies, widely based around birds. Aside from the very large amount of domestic fowl, Boves Castle is distinguished by the number and diversity of wild birds from various environments, including wetland, coastal, forested and anthropized areas. However, the special feature of this site is the importance of freshwater birds, especially large waders, which remained a status symbol until modern times in this region. On the basis of this outstanding example, and other high-status sites from the same region, we aim to discuss the importance and status of various domestic and game bird categories in northern France during the High Middle Ages. We will also address the subject of controlled hunting areas around castles and other high-status consumer sites, for a better understanding of the link between power and consumption during the medieval period.

The soil burial context of a bird bone assemblage is affected by many different taphonomic factors. In this pilot study, we examined the potential effects of soil shrink-swell on white-tailed dove (Zenaida asiatica) bones experimentally buried in three soils of different clay contents. We predicted that bones buried in high clay soils would experience the most damage from soil shrink-swell. Dove wing and leg bones were buried and exposed to 60 days and eight episodes of cyclic soil shrink-swell. We recovered all bones (humeri, ulnae, radii, femora, and tibiotarsi) and found 77.1% of them to exhibit damage. Significant damage occurred among the humeri, ulnae, radii, and femora buried in high clay soil, supporting our prediction. Each bone experienced at least one of the 10 fracture types we recorded. We found the greatest damage in humeri, for which all experienced damage from pitting. The humeri sample also displayed eight fracture types across bone portions and landmarks. Our pilot study is exploratory and meant to provide information useful for further experimentation with additional bird bones using whole carcasses and excised specimens placed in additional positions and soil conditions.

The chicken (Gallus domesticus) originates from the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), a bird found in south and south-east Asia. The timing of the initial domestication, as well as its spread to western Asia and Europe, are still unclear. In Italy, the species was likely to have been introduced in the early Iron Age, though the precise chronology of this event is hitherto unconfirmed. By the 6th – 5th century BC, chicken remains occur at several Italian sites. Probably, the bird was originally raised for its symbolic value rather than for food, as its presence in early and mid-Iron Age cultic archaeological contexts suggests. We have re-analysed remains identified as ‘chicken’ from a cinerary hut urn found at Montecucco in central Italy during a 19th century archaeological investigation, to verify identification and establish an ante quem date for the introduction of the chicken in Italy. The analysis of these remains, combined with a review of additional zooarchaeological and iconographic evidence, has allowed us to push back the date of the earliest presence of this bird in Italy to at least the first half of the 9th century BC. This has also relevance for our understanding of the dynamics of chicken diffusion in the rest of Europe.

Red junglefowl are regarded as the primary wild ancestor of domestic fowl and are thought to have been domesticated in multiple regions. The osteological microevolution of red junglefowl and domestic fowl during domestication, especially at the earliest stage, has still not been thoroughly investigated, despite the fact that a proper understanding of this process is required to chart the progress of domestication. In this paper, the major long bones of the modern wild red junglefowl, captive red junglefowl in cages, and domestic fowl from various breeds were measured and the data were compared using t-tests and analysis of covariance. The results showed that captive red junglefowl were generally smaller than wild red junglefowl but the distal part of tibiotarsus was relatively thicker in the former. In addition, parts of the wing bone were thinner in captive red junglefowl than in wild red junglefowl. Assuming the morphological difference between extant wild and captive red junglefowl is analogous to that between ancient wild and captive red junglefowl, these differences suggest that body size reduction and other morphological changes occurred in the earliest stage of the domestication process. These results will be useful for estimating the progress of domestication in red junglefowl archaeological remains and making comparisons with domestic fowl bones.

Central Anatolia is one of the earliest areas to practice agriculture outside of the Fertile Crescent. This makes it an important case study in how the shift to agriculture affected the use of wild resources, in this case birds. The Pinarbasi site, located next to a major wetlands area on the Konya Plain in central Anatolia, has components from the 14th-12th millennia, 10th-9th millennia, and 7th millennium cal BC – spanning the Epipaleolithic to the Ceramic Neolithic. While agriculture is present in the region during the middle (10th-9th millennia) occupation, the Pinarbasi people remained foragers. The 7th millennium occupation is contemporary with the later levels at agricultural Catalhoyuk and very likely derives from seasonal use by task groups from that site. Not surprisingly given its location, waterbirds dominate throughout all these periods. Although the Epipaleolithic (14th-12th millennia) use of the site consists of a palimpsest of brief visits while the 10th-9th millennia occupation was permanent, the bird assemblages are very similar. However, the proportion of waterbirds reduces considerably in the 7th millennium. In contrast to the bird assemblage at nearby Catalhoyuk, which is weighted toward wings probably reflecting the extensive use of feathers, the Pinarbasi bird bones are spread fairly evenly through the body at all periods, suggesting that birds were taken primarily for food. This is true even in the 7th millennium assemblage, linked to Catalhoyuk; these Catalhoyuk people made quite different use of birds away from the site. Pinarbasi also differs from Catalhoyuk in the selection of waterbirds: whereas geese outnumber ducks in the contemporary levels at Catalhoyuk, geese are quite scarce at Pinarbasi in all periods, although proportionately slightly more common in the 7th millennium. More strikingly, ducks, which dominate the earlier assemblages, decrease sharply. With 7th millennium occupation during spring and fall migrations when geese and ducks should have been abundant, this does not appear to be a seasonal effect. Birds seem to have been less important to the shepherds and hunters visiting Pinarbasi than they were to the earlier foragers: farming reoriented relations to the landscape.

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.

Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous spores recovered from the depths of 2140 m to 2031.3 m in the CSDP-2 Borehole in the southern Yellow Sea are systematically documented to characterize palynological associations for the stratigraphic correlation. The taxonomic study identifies 96 species belonging to 48 genera, including a re-examination of 33 previously described and indeterminate species. Three palynological associations are established for the Wutong Formation in the CSDP-2 Borehole. In ascending order, these are the late Famennian Aneurospora asthenolabrata–Geminospora lemurata (AL) Association from the proposed Guanshan Member, the latest Famennian Cymbosporites circinatus–Asperispora acuta (CA) Association from the lower part of the proposed Leigutai Member, and the Tournaisian Auroraspora macra–Lophozonotriletes involutus (MI) Association of the upper part of the latter member. The AL and CA associations are correlated with the palynological assemblages in the Guanshan Member, and those in the lower to middle parts of the Leigutai Member of the Wutong Formation that outcrops in the suburbs of Nanjing and southern Jiangsu. The MI Association is similar to those derived from the uppermost beds of the subsurface Wutong Formation and is dated as early Tournaisian.

The Levantine Middle Paleolithic period displays significant archaeological variability across a series of cave and open-air sites encompassing ca. 200,000 years. Faunal remains are an important source of knowledge regarding hunting and mobility patterns but have mostly been studied in the deep stratigraphic sequences of the Levantine caves. This research addresses questions of hunting, carcass transport, butchery patterns and use of space as they occurred at the Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nesher Ramla in central Israel. The site is an eight-meter-thick sequence within a karst sinkhole, dating to MIS6/5. We conducted the first detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological study at the site, focusing on a sample from Unit III, which is a thin layer with dense lithics and faunal remains, combustion features, manuports, and ochre. Our results reveal an anthropogenic accumulation that is dominated by aurochs, equid, and tortoise remains. The large ungulates’ (aurochs) skeletal-element representation is biased in favor of meat- and fat-rich body parts, coupled with abundant evidence of dismemberment, filleting and marrow extraction. These parts were imported to the sinkhole for processing and consumption. Tortoises are abundant. The lithic assemblages exhibit high frequency of retouched tools and low typological diversity and are characterized by high visibility of personal toolkit components. Coupled with use-wear analysis that suggests low spectrum of activities and massive occurrence of hammerstones, anvils and manuports, these characteristics indicate that the Unit III occupation represents an intensive camp centering on aurochs processing and butchering.

This paper communicates the results of a detailed use-wear analysis of flint tools from Unit III of Nesher Ramla, central Israel, an open-air Middle Paleolithic site, dated to Marine Isotope Stage 5. The analyzed sample consists of 966 artifacts that represent major techno-typological categories; scrapers, tools with a lateral tranchet blow, naturally backed knives and other Middle Paleolithic artifact types. Most tools were associated with bone working activities, mainly scraping and cutting, suggesting both consumption and non-consumption-related practices. Results also suggest extensive butchering activities, but other applications are less common, especially the underrepresentation of armature, and plant and hide working is noteworthy. All in all, these patterns suggest a narrow range of activities. Most tools were used by their sharp edge, while the retouched edges bore weak use-related patterns. It is assumed that in some cases, the retouch served to facilitate the grip. The most widely used tools in Nesher Ramla were the naturally backed knives that according to technological studies were one of the goals of knapping at Nesher Ramla. Tools with a lateral tranchet blow, representing a cultural marker of the Nesher Ramla inhabitants, show evidence of multiple use of both retouched and non-retouched edges shaped by the lateral blow. Hafting traces are relatively rare in the analyzed sample.