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In recent decades, a significant number of Pleistocene (ca. 2.6 million years–10,000 years ago) open-air and cave sites yielding elephant or mammoth bones in direct association with hominin remains and/or lithic artifacts have been discovered in Eurasia, Africa and America. Many of them show strong evidence of acquisition and processing of proboscidean carcasses by early humans, leading scientists to interpret them as “elephant butchering sites”. Indeed, proboscidean exploitation by early Homo has been proposed to have been critical for Palaeolithic human lifeways, influencing not only their subsistence, but also other aspects of early human evolution and adaptations. The nature and degree of interactions between humans and elephants comprises an important field in palaeoanthropological studies since decades, but many questions remain still unanswered or partially explored. By bringing together research papers from the fields of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Palaeoanthropology, Palaeontology, Zooarchaeology, Geology, Ethnography and Nutrition Studies, the book systematically covers a diverse array of perspectives on elephant-human interactions across the world from the Pleistocene times until today. The volume includes 19 contributions and is organized into four thematic sections: 1) The Palaeolithic record, 2) A view of the evidence, 3) Elephants in past human nutrition, and 4) Ethnography – Human-elephant interactions in recent Africa. Collectively, the volume not only showcases the current state of knowledge, but also intends to provoke renewed interest for current and further research, and build an interdisciplinary and synthetic understanding of the significance of proboscideans throughout human evolution. The symposium and the volume "Human-elephant interactions: from past to present" were funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Lithics and cut-marked mammal bones, excavated from the paleo-lake Marathousa 1 (MAR-1) sediments in the Megalopolis Basin, southern Greece, indicate traces of hominin activity occurring along a paleo-shoreline ca. 444,000years (444ka) ago. However, the local environment and climatic conditions promoting hominin activity in the area during the MIS12 glacial remain largely unknown. In order to reconstruct the paleo-environment including paleo-lake levels and governing paleo-climatic factors on a high temporal resolution, we analyzed a 6-meter-long sediment sequence from the archeological site MAR-1 and a Bayesian age model was computed for a better age constrain of the different sedimentary units. A multiproxy approach was applied using ostracods, sponge spicules, diatoms, grain sizes, total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon and conventional X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results from the site represent a protected region surrounded by high mountains under the constant influence of water, either as a shallow partly anoxic water body surrounded by reed belts (>463–457ka

In this article, we describe an almost complete macaque mandible from the Middle Pleistocene locality Marathousa 1 in the Megalopolis Basin of southern Greece. The mandible belonged to a male individual of advanced ontogenetic age and of estimated body mass ~13 kg. Comparative metric analysis of its teeth permits its attribution to the Barbary macaque Macaca sylvanus, a species that was geographically widely distributed in Western Eurasia during the Plio-Pleistocene. The dental dimensions of the Marathousa 1macaque fit better within the variation of the Early Pleistocene M. s. florentina and the Middle to Late Pleistocene M. s. pliocena rather than with the extant representative M. s. sylvanus. Moreover, principal component analysis reveals a better match with M. s. pliocena. However, because no clear-cut diagnostic criteria have been defined to differentiate these European fossil subspecies, we attribute the Marathousa 1 specimen to M. s.cf.pliocena, in agreement with the chronology of the locality. Previously known only from the Early Pleistocene of Greece by some isolated teeth, this is the first record of Macaca in the Middle Pleistocene of the country and one of very few in the eastern sector of the peri-Mediterranean region. We discuss the presence of macaques in the paleolake environment of Marathousa 1, as well as their predation risks from both carnivores and hominins present at the locality.

In recent years, a significant number of Pleistocene localities with evidence of proboscidean exploita- tion by humans has been discovered, substantial- ly enriching our knowledge on Homo subsistence strategies and megafauna acquisition. In this study, we provide a synthesis of the evidence for Pro- boscidea-Homo interactions in Early and Middle Pleistocene open-air sites of western Eurasia with direct (e.g., presence of cut marks, proboscidean bone artifacts, fractures for marrow extraction) and indirect (e.g., association and refitting of lithic ar- tifacts, use-wear analysis) evidence of exploitation. Sex and ontogenetic age of butchered proboscide- ans are recorded, in order to assess possible human preferences. Furthermore, we investigate the role of large carnivores focusing on important renew- als in the carnivore guilds, and their significance in terms of carrion availability for scavenging and human-carnivore competition for access to food resources. By applying an ecomorphological/be- havioral approach, we examine the large carnivore community structure and dynamics, with empha- sis in the hunting strategies of large predators. Ad- ditionally, we aim to infer their possible role in the changes of early human subsistence strategies fo- cusing on proboscidean acquisition, and to explore the role of humans within the predatory guild. The ecological adaptations of the two common Middle Pleistocene proboscideans in Europe, the Europe- an straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus and the steppe mammoth Mammuthus trogonthe- rii, are also evaluated. Finally, we discuss various aspects of the Homo bio-cultural evolution during the period under study, including developments in material culture and relevant inferences about hu- man social behavior. The symposium and the volume "Human-elephant interactions: from past to present" were funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Genus Mammuthus Brookes, 1828 TYPE SPECIES. ��� Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach, 1799), fixed as type species by Garutt et al. 1990 (see also Reich et al. 2007 and Lister 2017)., Published as part of Konidaris, George E., Kostopoulos, Dimitris S. & Koufos, George D., 2020, Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) from Apollonia- 1 (Mygdonia Basin, Northern Greece) and its importance within the Early Pleistocene mammoth evolution in Europe, pp. 69-91 in Geodiversitas 42 (6) on page 72, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a6, http://zenodo.org/record/3708332, {"references":["GARUTT V. E., GENTRY A. & LISTER A. M. 1990. - Mammuthus Brookes, 1828 (Mammalia, Proboscidea): proposed conservation, and Elephas primigenius Blumenbach, 1799 (currently Mammuthus primigenius): proposed designation as the type species of Mammuthus, and designation of a neotype. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 47 (1): 38 - 44. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. part. 2651","REICH M., GEHLER A., MOL D. & LISTER A. 2007. - The rediscovery of type material of Mammuthus primigenius (Mammalia: Proboscidea). Abstracts of the IVth International Mammoth Conference, Yakutsk: 190 - 191.","LISTER A. M. 2017. - On the type material and evolution of North American mammoths. Quaternary International 443: 14 - 31."]}

Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) LECTOTYPE. ��� Cranium with M3, IGF-1054 (Natural History Museum, Geology and Paleontology Section, University of Florence, Italy), designated by Dep��ret & Mayet (1923: 126). TYPE LOCALITY. ��� Upper Valdarno (Italy)., Published as part of Konidaris, George E., Kostopoulos, Dimitris S. & Koufos, George D., 2020, Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) from Apollonia- 1 (Mygdonia Basin, Northern Greece) and its importance within the Early Pleistocene mammoth evolution in Europe, pp. 69-91 in Geodiversitas 42 (6) on page 72, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a6, http://zenodo.org/record/3708332, {"references":["NESTI F. 1825. - Lettere sopra alcune ossa fossili del Valdarno non per anco descritte sulla nuiva specie di elefante fossile del Valdarno. Presso Sebastiano Nistri, Pisa, 24 p.","DEPERET C. & MAYET L. 1923. - Les elephants pliocenes. Deuxieme partie: Monographie des elephants pliocenes d'Europe et de l'Afrique du Nord. Annales de l'Universite de Lyon. Nouvelle serie, I, Sciences, Medecine 42: 89 - 224."]}

Mammuthus meridionalis vestinus (Azzaroli in Ambrosetti, Azzaroli, Bonadonna & Follieri, 1972) (Figs 2-4) HOLOTYPE. ��� Skeleton including the skull with the m3/M3 (Spanish Fortress, L���Aquila, Italy). TYPE LOCALITY. ��� Madonna della Strada (Scoppito, L���Aquila, Italy). LOCALITY. ��� Apollonia-1 (Mygdonia Basin, Macedonia, Greece). AGE. ��� Late Villafranchian (Early Pleistocene). MATERIAL EXAMINED. ��� Right maxilla fragment with DP2-DP3, APL-225; right M3 fragment, APL-686A; left M3 fragment, APL- 686B; right hemi-mandible with m3, APL-716; left m3, APL-687. DESCRIPTION The right maxilla fragment APL-225 preserves the DP2 and DP3 (Fig. 2). The DP2 has rectangular shape and is formed of four, only slightly worn plates, with the posterior one attached to the third one. Cementodonty is present, but weak. The still not completely erupted DP3 consists of eight mostly unworn plates, which are parallelsided and separated. The tooth presents a weak lingual curvature. In lingual view, the first two plates are slightly inclined relative to the occlusal surface, whereas the rest are almost vertical. APL-686B (Fig. 3 A-C) is identified as upper molar based on the obtuse angle that is formed between the occlusal surface to the vertical plane of the lamellae, and on the rootward tilt for the last 6-7 lamellae (Lister et al. 2013). It represents the third (last) molar due to the tapering form at the posterior end of the crown (Lister et al. 2012). The plates were found loose and isolated in the sediment, and they were subsequently glued together. Preserved are thirteen plates, although at least one more should have been anteriorly, increasing thus the PN to possibly 14. The tooth is curved at the lingual side. In labial and lingual views, the plates are slightly inclined relative to the horizontal occlusal surface, and they are rather straight. The only complete enamel loop is the anterior-most preserved one. The enamel loops at the anterior part of the tooth are parallelsided, separated, perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth, and their lateral sides are rounded and evenly directed (not curving anteriorly or posteriorly). Apical digitations (appearing on the occlusal surface as rounded loops) are present at the third and fourth preserved lamellae. The fourth lamella, which is at an early wear stage, shows four subequal rings. The enamel folding is weak. The last eight plates are ovoid of wear.APL-686A corresponds to a fragmented upper molar and preserves only four plates. It was found close to APL-686B and represents possibly its right counterpart. The hemi-mandible APL-716 preserving the m3 (see below) lacks the anterior part of the ventral border of the corpus, the condyle and the coronoid process (Fig. 4). The mandibular symphysis is not well-preserved, but its preserved dorsal surface is straight and steeply directed downwards. In lateral and medial views, the hemi-mandible is relatively short and deep. The corpus is moderately swollen and more evident in the medial side. In lateral view, the depth of the corpus is higher at the level of the anterior part of the m3. The lateral side of the ramus is flat. Corpus and ramus form obtuse angle due to the posterior inclination of the ramus. The rostral margin of the ramus is positioned at a minor obtuse angle, but almost vertical, to the alveolar planum. Two anterior mental foramina (AMF) are located at the posterior border of the symphysis, at the level of the anterior end of the m3, and a large medial mental foramen (MMF) is present approximately at the same level as the AMF. Measurements [in mm; according to Beden (1983)], are A = (220); B = (120); C = 260; F = 150 and J = (225). The molar on the hemi-mandible APL-716 (Fig. 4) is considered as the third one due the long antero-posterior dimension (length) and the narrowing of the crown towards the posterior end. The anterior part is worn down to a dentine platform and the original plate number can only be estimated, due to the wear of the enamel loops. However, the rostral part of the anterior root is visible, indicating that no substantial loss should had happened due to wear, which resulted possibly in the loss of only the anterior talon (Lister & Sher 2015). Therefore, the number of plates is estimated as 12, plus a platelet/talonid at the posterior end. The shape of the molar is elliptic, being wider in the middle, and with a minor curvature at the labial side. In lingual view, the plates are slightly inclined relative to the occlusal surface. In labial view, the tooth shows a slight depression at the middle. Cement deposition is strong on the occlusal surface, as well as on the labial, lingual and posterior sides; however, the enamel is high above the cement. The enamel loops (five complete at the anterior part) are parallel-sided and separated. Anteriorly, the loops are oblique relative to the long axis of the tooth and become perpendicular to that at the posterior end. Apical digitations are few and present posteriorly. The enamel folding is undulating and present at the entire length of the enamel figure. The lateral sides of the enamel figures are rounded and directed anteriorly, stronger on the lingual side. The identification of the APL-687 (Fig. 3 D-F) as a third lower molar is based on the significant preserved length despite the advanced dental wear (a condition possible only in the last molars when the forward progression of them has been terminated), and on the presence of a single root; the anterior first and second roots had been lost, and therefore a substantial part of the original anterior end of the tooth is missing (Lister et al. 2012; Lister & Sher 2015). The tooth preserves seven visible plates, whereas at least one more should be added in the anterior part, where the dentine is confluent. Due to its strong wear, the original plate number, as well as the crown height, cannot be estimated. The lamellar frequency, measured at the base of the crown, results in a low value (Table 1), because of the divergence of the plates towards the base in elephantids (Lister & Sher 2015). The shape of the molar is almost parallel-sided. In labial and lingual views, the tooth shows a slight depression at the middle. Cement covers the regions between the enamel loops as well as the labial, lingual and posterior sides. At the anterior-medial part of the tooth, complete enamel loops are present, which are parallel-sided with anterior and posterior median swellings that are slightly offset from the long axis of the molar (asymmetry). The enamel loops are separated, albeit in some lamellae they are almost in contact, and are oblique relative to the long axis of the tooth. The lateral sides of the enamel figures are rounded. Apical digitations are present on the two distal plates; the last plate, which is at an early wear stage shows four subequal rings. The enamel folding is regular, more intense than APL-716, due to the advanced stage of wear (Van Essen 2011); it is present at the entire length of the enamel figure. Age at death The ontogenetic age is estimated using the dental-wear-based age criteria for the extant African savannah elephant Loxodonta africana provided by Laws (1966). The m3 APL-716 (Fig. 4) falls within Laws��� group XXV, which corresponds to the average age of 49 in African Equivalent Years (AEY). Recent revisions on Laws��� age assignments propose that this age group corresponds to an upper limit of 50 AEY with 70+ longevity for the African elephant (Stansfield 2015; Haynes 2017). Mammuthus meridionalis had a significantly larger body size than extant African elephants, and due to the general positive scaling of longevity to body size across mammals, also probably had a longer total lifespan (Eisenberg 1990; Maiorana 1990); therefore, a slightly older true age is expected for APL-716. When the formula of Blueweiss et al. (1978) (longevity in days proportional to body mass in grams 0.17) is applied, assuming a longevity of 70 years and a body mass of 6.0 tonnes for males of L. africana, and an average body mass of 11.0 tons for M. meridionalis (Larramendi 2016), a longevity of approximately 77.5 years can be hypothesized for the latter. Consequently, the estimated upper limit of the ontogenetic age for APL-716 is 47 �� 77.5/70 = 52 years. Accordingly, the estimated upper limit of the ontogenetic age for the m3 APL- 687 (Laws��� group XXVII; Fig. 3 D-F) is 66-73 years, for the M3 APL-686B (Laws��� group XX; Fig. 3 A-C) is 37 years and for the maxilla APL-225 (Laws��� group II; Fig. 2) is c. 1 year., Published as part of Konidaris, George E., Kostopoulos, Dimitris S. & Koufos, George D., 2020, Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) from Apollonia- 1 (Mygdonia Basin, Northern Greece) and its importance within the Early Pleistocene mammoth evolution in Europe, pp. 69-91 in Geodiversitas 42 (6) on pages 72-74, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a6, http://zenodo.org/record/3708332, {"references":["AMBROSETTI P., AZZAROLI A., BONADONNA F. P. & FOLLIERI M. 1972. - A scheme of Pleistocene chronology for the Tyrrhenian side of Central Italy. Bollettino della Societa Geologica Italiana 91: 169 - 184.","LISTER A. M., DIRKS W., ASSAF A., CHAZAN M., GOLDBERG P., APPLBAUM Y. H., GREENBAUM N. & HORWITZ L. K. 2013. - New fossil remains of Elephas from the southern Levant: implications for the evolutionary history of the Asian elephant. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 386: 119 - 130. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. palaeo. 2013.05.013","LISTER A. M., DIMITRIJEVIC V., MARKOVIC Z., KNEZEVIC S. & MOL D. 2012. - A skeleton of \" steppe \" mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii (Pohlig )) from Drmno, near Kostolac, Serbia. Quaternary International 276 - 277: 129 - 144. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. quaint. 2012.03.021","BEDEN M. 1983. - Family Elephantidae, in HARRIS J. M. (ed.), Koobi Fora Research Project. Volume 2: The Fossil Ungulates: Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Suidae. Clarendon Press, Oxford: 40 - 129.","LISTER A. M. & SHER A. V. 2015. - Evolution and dispersal of mammoths across the Northern Hemisphere. Science 350: 805 - 809. https: // doi. org / 10.1126 / science. aac 5660","VAN ESSEN H. 2011. - Tracing Transitions. An Overview of the Evolution and Migrations of the Genus Mammuthus Brookes, 1828 (Mammalia, Proboscidea). PhD dissertation, Leiden University, Leiden, 270 p.","LAWS R. M. 1966. - Age criteria for the African elephant, Loxodonta a. africana. East African Wildlife Journal 4: 1 - 37. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1365 - 2028.1966. tb 00878. x","STANSFIELD F. J. 2015. - A novel objective method of estimating the age of mandibles from African elephants (Loxodonta africana africana). PLoS ONE 10: e 0124980. https: // doi. org / 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0124980","HAYNES G. 2017. - Finding meaning in mammoth age profiles. Quaternary International 443 (A): 65 - 78. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. quaint. 2016.04.012","EISENBERG J. F. 1990. - The behavioural / ecological significance of body size in the Mammalia, in DAMUTH J. & MACFADDEN B. J. (eds), Body Size in Mammalian Paleobiology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 25 - 37.","MAIORANA V. C. 1990. - Evolutionary strategies and body size in a guild of mammals, in DAMUTH J. & MACFADDEN B. J. (eds), Body Size in Mammalian Paleobiology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 69 - 102.","BLUEWEISS L., FOX H., KUDZMA V., NAKASHIMA D., PETERS R. & SAMS S. 1978. - Relationships between body size and some life history parameters. Oecologia 37: 257 - 272. https: // doi. org / 10.1007 / BF 00344996","LARRAMENDI A. 2016. - Shoulder height, body mass, and shape of proboscideans. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61: 537 - 574. https: // doi. org / 10.4202 / app. 00136.2014"]}

Konidaris, George E., Kostopoulos, Dimitris S., Koufos, George D. (2020): Mammuthus meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) from Apollonia- 1 (Mygdonia Basin, Northern Greece) and its importance within the Early Pleistocene mammoth evolution in Europe. Geodiversitas 42 (6): 69-91, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a6

Presented here are the deinotheriid dental and postcranial remains from the Late Miocene localities Pikermi and Halmyropotamos (Greece). The study and comparison of the available juvenile dental material from Pikermi with other relevant specimens from Europe showed that it belongs to the huge-sized Deinotherium proavum (=D. gigantissimum). Additionally, several postcranial specimens from Pikermi, as well as from Halmyropotamos, present deinotheriid features, which distinguish them from elephantoids, and permit their attribution also to D. proavum. This species is known from the Turolian and represents the terminal evolutionary stage of the European deinotheres. Its presence in Pikermi and Halmyropotamos is compatible with the middle Turolian (MN 12) age of the localities. Additionally, the taxonomy of European deinotheres is discussed, as well as the biostratigraphical and geographical distribution of D. proavum. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.