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When considering the pan-African process of human evolution in the Pleistocene it is important to review our understanding of climate on a regional scale, including heterogeneity due to regional variability in the relative strengths of forcing mechanisms. Research in the Kuruman Hills at the southern edge of the Kalahari in South Africa has recently provided new insights into the complexity and distinctiveness of southern African palaeoclimate. Here we compare these records, obtained from Kathu Pan, Wonderwerk Cave, and Mamatwan Mine, focusing on the presence of water bodies from c. 2 million years before present to the end of the Pleistocene. Through the synthesis of multiple proxies we create a picture of localized water availability as it would have affected hominin adaptation. These records are then framed within a larger discussion of regional climate and environmental change. The emerging record from the southern Kalahari suggests that the distribution of zones of rainfall seasonality varied significantly throughout the Pleistocene and a hominin presence is particularly found in association with wetter phases which supported lakes, springs and pans.

PREMISE Understanding the adaptive capacities of species over long timescales lies in examining the revived recent and millennia old resting spores buried in sediments. We show for the first time the revival, viability and germination rate of resting spores of the diatom Chaetoceros deposited in sub-seafloor sediments from three ages (recent: 0-80 years; ancient: ~1250 (Medieval Climate Anomaly) and ~6600 (Holocene Thermal Maximum) calendar year before present. METHODS Recent and ancient Chaetoceros spores were revived to examine their viability and germination rate. Light and scanning electron microscopy and Sanger sequencing was done to identify the species. KEY RESULTS We show that ~6600 cal. year BP old Chaetoceros resting spores are still viable and the vegetative reproduction in recent and ancient resting spores vary. The time taken to germinate is three hours to 2-3 days in both recent and ancient spores, but the germination rate of the spores decreased with increasing age. The germination rate of the recent spores was ~41% while that of the ancient spores were ~31% and ~12% for the ~1250 and ~6600 cal. year BP old resting spores. Based on the morphology of the germinated vegetative cells we identified the species as Chaetoceros muelleri var. subsalsum. Sanger sequences of nuclear and chloroplast markers identified the species as Chaetoceros muelleri. CONCLUSIONS We identify a unique model system, Chaetoceros muelleri var. subsalsum and show that recent and ancient resting spores of the species buried in sediments in the Baltic Sea can be revived and used for long-term evolutionary studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Investigating the precise timing of regional-scale climate changes during glacial terminations and the interglacial periods that follow is key to unraveling the mechanisms behind these global climate shifts. Here, we present a high-precision time series of climate changes in the Austrian Alps that coincide with the later portion of Termination III (TIII), the entire penultimate interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7), Termination IIIa (TIIIa), and the penultimate glacial inception (MIS 7–6 transition). Using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry techniques, we have constructed a uranium-series chronology with relative age uncertainties averaging 1.7 ‰ (2σ) for our study period (247 to 191 thousand years before present, ka). Results reveal the onset of warming in the Austrian Alps associated with TIII at 242.5 ± 0.2 ka and the duration of MIS 7e warming between 241.8 and 236.7 (±0.6) ka. An abrupt shift towards higher δ18O values at 216.8 ka marks the onset of regional warming associated with TIIIa. Two periods of high δ18O values (greater than −10 ‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB)) between 215.9–213.3 and 204.3–197.5 (±0.4) ka coincide with interglacial substages MIS 7c and 7a, respectively. Multiple fluorescent inclusions suggest a partial retreat of the local Alpine glacier during peak obliquity forcings at 214.3 ± 0.4 ka. Two newly collected stalagmites from Spannagel Cave (SPA146 and 183) provide high-resolution replications of the latter portion of the MIS 7a-to-6e transition. The resulting multi-stalagmite record reveals important chronological constraints on climate shifts in the Austrian Alps associated with MIS 7 while offering new insight into the timing of millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic realm leading up to TIII and TIIIa.

The Late Pleistocene has been characterised by frequent and intense climatic oscillation, well recorded in the Caverna Generosa cave deposits. In this work, micromorphological analyses have been performed on samples from the cave where the stratigraphy is particularly well exposed and complete, in order to obtain temporal and spatial information on climate- and human-related processes during MIS3 and 4. The older layers (more than 50 ka BP - Before Present - old) record a very cold time interval, where ice did not melt during the warmer season, and with little or no vegetation outside the cave. During this cold stage, probably, humans spent a short period in the cave, using bones to light the fire and, later, cave bears dug their hibernation beds in the innermost room. Subsequently (between 50 ka BP and 40 ka BP) a relatively brief climatic amelioration should have occurred, leading to the onset of ice melting during the summer season. Between 40 ka BP and 30 ka BP, loess deposited in the cave entrance, indicating cold and arid conditions in the area. After loess deposition, recovered wet conditions have re-established with freeze and thawing processes influencing the sediments.

Archaeological and ancient DNA studies revealed that Shandong, a multi-culture center in northern coastal China, was home to ancient populations having ancestry related to both northern and southern East Asian populations. However, the limited temporal and geographical range of previous studies have been insufficient to describe the population history of this region in greater detail. Here, we report the analysis of 86 complete mitochondrial genomes from the remains of 9500 to 1800-year-old humans from 12 archaeological sites across Shandong. For samples older than 4600 years before present (BP), we found haplogroups D4, D5, B4c1, and B5b2, which are observed in present-day northern and southern East Asians. For samples younger than 4600 BP, haplogroups C (C7a1 and C7b), M9 (M9a1), and F (F1a1, F2a, and F4a1) begin to appear, indicating changes in the Shandong maternal genetic structure starting from the beginning of the Longshan cultural period. Within Shandong, the genetic exchange is possible between the coastal and inland regions after 3100 BP. We also discovered the B5b2 lineage in Shandong populations, with the oldest Bianbian individual likely related to the ancestors of some East Asians and North Asians. By reconstructing a maternal genetic structure of Shandong populations, we provide greater resolution of the population dynamics of the northern coastal East Asia over the past nine thousand years.

Excavated from 2009 to 2019 by the Tübingen-Armenian Paleolithic Project, Aghitu-3 Cave is the only stratified Upper Paleolithic site in Armenia. Sedimentary deposits range from 39,000 to 24,000 calibrated years before present (ka cal BP). The main Paleolithic occupations occurred during the accumulation of Archaeological Horizon (AH) VI between 36 and 32 ka cal BP and AH III between 29 and 24 ka cal BP. AH VI was deposited under warm and humid conditions, while AH III shows evidence for cooler and drier conditions. Here we report the results of a comprehensive zooarchaeological study aimed at characterizing early modern human hunting behavior in the Armenian Highlands. Our results indicate a focus on adult goats and equids. Bird remains are present, but we found no evidence of human exploitation. Carcass transport strategies appear more selective than those inferred for other assemblages in the region, suggesting that foragers at Aghitu-3 were exploiting larger hunting territories. Finally, we present the results of a pilot microwear and mesowear study on caprine teeth. The latter found evidence for a highly abrasive grazing diet, which in turn suggests that occupation during the formation of AH III took place in spring or summer.