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Higham T, Frouin M, Douka K, Ronchitelli A, Boscato P, Benazzi S, Crezzini J, Spagnolo V, McCarty M, Marciani G, Falcucci A, Rossini M, Arrighi S, Dominici C, Devièse T, Schwenninger JL, Martini I, Moroni A, Boschin F. Chronometric data and stratigraphic evidence support discontinuity between Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens in the Italian Peninsula. Nat Commun 2024; 15:8016. [PMID: 39271648 PMCID: PMC11399134 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51546-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The process by which Palaeolithic Europe was transformed from a Neanderthal-dominated region to one occupied exclusively by Homo sapiens has proven challenging to diagnose. A blurred chronology has made it difficult to determine when Neanderthals disappeared and whether modern humans overlapped with them. Italy is a crucial region because here we can identify not only Late Mousterian industries, assumed to be associated with Neanderthals, but also early Upper Palaeolithic industries linked with the appearance of early H. sapiens, such as the Uluzzian and the Aurignacian. Here, we present a chronometric dataset of 105 new determinations (74 radiocarbon and 31 luminescence ages) from four key southern Italian sites: Cavallo, Castelcivita, Cala, and Oscurusciuto. We built Bayesian-based chronometric models incorporating these results alongside the relative stratigraphic sequences at each site. The results suggest; 1) that the disappearance of Neanderthals probably pre-dated the appearance of early modern humans in the region and; 2) that there was a partial overlap in the chronology of the Uluzzian and Protoaurignacian, suggesting that these industries may have been produced by different human groups in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University Biology Building, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, A-1030, Vienna, Austria.
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS) Forschungsverbund, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Marine Frouin
- Department of Geosciences and Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, 255 Earth and Space Science Building, Stony Brook, Long Island, NY, USA.
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University Biology Building, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS) Forschungsverbund, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Annamaria Ronchitelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Paolo Boscato
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università degli Studi di Bologna (UniBO), Via degli Ariani 1, 482121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Jacopo Crezzini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo 12, 50122, Florence, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Spagnolo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Centro Studi sul Quaternario ODV, Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio, 7, 52037, Sansepolcro, AR, Italy
| | - Maxine McCarty
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università degli Studi di Bologna (UniBO), Via degli Ariani 1, 482121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Armando Falcucci
- Department of Geosciences, Prehistory and Archaeological Sciences Research Unit, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matteo Rossini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Simona Arrighi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università degli Studi di Bologna (UniBO), Via degli Ariani 1, 482121, Ravenna, Italy
- Centro Studi sul Quaternario ODV, Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio, 7, 52037, Sansepolcro, AR, Italy
| | - Clarissa Dominici
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Thibaut Devièse
- CEREGE, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Collège de France, Technopôle de l'Arbois, 13545, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Jean-Luc Schwenninger
- Luminescence Laboratory, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX13QY, United Kingdom
| | - Ivan Martini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Centro Studi sul Quaternario ODV, Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio, 7, 52037, Sansepolcro, AR, Italy
| | - Francesco Boschin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena (UniSI), Strada Laterina, 8, 53100, Siena, Italy.
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2
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Richard M, Del Val M, Fewlass H, Sinet-Mathiot V, Lanos P, Pons-Branchu E, Puaud S, Hublin JJ, Moncel MH. Multi-method dating reveals 200 ka of Middle Palaeolithic occupation at Maras rock shelter, Rhône Valley, France. Sci Rep 2024; 14:20474. [PMID: 39227658 PMCID: PMC11372155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69380-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic, and its variability over time and space are key questions in the field of prehistoric archaeology. Many sites have been documented in the south-eastern margins of the Massif central and the middle Rhône valley, a migration path that connects Northern Europe with the Mediterranean. Well-dated, long stratigraphic sequences are essential to understand Neanderthals dynamics and demise, and potential interactions with Homo sapiens in the area, such as the one displayed at the Maras rock shelter ("Abri du Maras"). The site is characterised by exceptional preservation of archaeological remains, including bones dated using radiocarbon (14C) and teeth using electron spin resonance combined with uranium series (ESR/U-series). Optically stimulated luminescence was used to date the sedimentary deposits. By combining the new ages with previous ones using Bayesian modelling, we are able to clarify the occupation time over a period spanning 200,000 years. Between ca. 250 and 40 ka, the site has been used as a long-term residence by Neanderthals, specifically during three interglacial periods: first during marine isotopic stage (MIS) 7, between 247 ± 34 and 223 ± 33 ka, and then recurrently during MIS 5 (between 127 ± 17 and 90 ± 9 ka) and MIS 3 (up to 39,280 cal BP).
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Affiliation(s)
- Maïlys Richard
- Archéosciences Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France.
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain.
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Miren Del Val
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA), Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA), Leipzig, Germany
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, Pessac, France
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, CBMN, UMR 5248 and Bordeaux Proteome Platform, Bordeaux, France
| | - Philippe Lanos
- Archéosciences Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France
- Géosciences Rennes, UMR 6118 CNRS - Université de Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Edwige Pons-Branchu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE/IPSL UMR CEA/CNRS/UVSQ - Université Paris Saclay), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Simon Puaud
- Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire (UMR 6566 CReAAH), Rennes, France
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA), Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB, Collège de France, Université PSL, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Marie-Hélène Moncel
- Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, UMR 7194 CNRS-Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
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Ndiaye M, Lespez L, Tribolo C, Rasse M, Hadjas I, Davidoux S, Huysecom É, Douze K. Two new Later Stone Age sites from the Final Pleistocene in the Falémé Valley, eastern Senegal. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0294346. [PMID: 38547134 PMCID: PMC10977785 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The understanding of cultural dynamics at work at the end of the Final Pleistocene in West Africa suffers from a significant lack of excavated and dated sites, particularly in the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones. While the Later Stone Age shows varied behavioral developments in different parts of the continent, the chrono-cultural framework of this period remains largely unknown in West Africa. We report on archaeological, geomorphological, and chronological research on two Final Pleistocene Later Stone Age sites in the Falémé Valley, eastern Senegal. Optically stimulated luminescence ages place the site of Toumboura I-2017 between 17 ± 1 and 16 ± 1 ka and the Ravin de Sansandé site between 13 ± 1 ka and 12 ± 1.1 ka. The excavated lithics show typical Later Stone Age industries, characterized by chaînes opératoires of core reduction mainly producing flakes and bladelets as well as blades and laminar flakes. Segments dominate the toolkits but a few backed bladelets and end-scrapers on flake blanks were recognized. Local raw materials were used, with a preference for chert and quartz, as well as greywacke. These Later Stone Age lithic assemblages are the oldest known in Senegal so far and add to the small number of sites known in West Africa for this period, which are mainly located farther south, in sub-tropical ecozones. The Later Stone Age sites of the Falémé Valley are contemporaneous with typical Middle Stone Age technologies in Senegal dated to at least the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Our results thus provide new archaeological evidence highlighting the complex cultural processes at work during the Final Pleistocene in West Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matar Ndiaye
- Department of Human Sciences, Laboratory of Prehistory and Protohistory, Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (IFAN), University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Laurent Lespez
- Department of Geography, Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP), CNRS-UMR 8591, University Paris-Est Creteil, Meudon, France
| | - Chantal Tribolo
- Department of Archaeosciences Bordeaux, University Bordeaux-Montaigne, Pessac, France
| | - Michel Rasse
- Department of Geography, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée (ARCHÉORIENT), University Lumière - Lyon II, Lyon, France
| | - Irka Hadjas
- Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP), ETH-Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Davidoux
- Department of Geography, Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP), CNRS-UMR 8591, University Paris-Est Creteil, Meudon, France
| | - Éric Huysecom
- Laboratory of Archaeology of Africa & Anthropology (ARCAN), University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Katja Douze
- Laboratory of Archaeology of Africa & Anthropology (ARCAN), University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland
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4
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Smedley RK, Fenn K, Stanistreet IG, Stollhofen H, Njau JK, Schick K, Toth N. Age-depth model for uppermost Ndutu Beds constrains Middle Stone Age technology and climate-induced paleoenvironmental changes at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). J Hum Evol 2024; 186:103465. [PMID: 38064862 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania is part of a globally important archeological and paleoanthropological World Heritage Site location critical to our understanding of modern human evolution. The Ndutu Beds in the upper part of the geological sequence at Olduvai Gorge represent the oldest unit to yield modern Homo sapiens skeletal material and Middle Stone Age technology. However, the timing of the deposition of the Ndutu Beds is poorly constrained at present, which limits our understanding of the paleoenvironments critical for contextualizing H. sapiens and related technologies in the Olduvai Basin. Using a suite of 15 luminescence ages of sedimentary core samples, combined with Bayesian statistics, this study provides a new higher-resolution age-depth model for the deposition of the uppermost Upper Ndutu and Naisiuiu Beds cored by the Olduvai Gorge Coring Project. The luminescence and modeled ages are presented as ±1 σ uncertainties. The Ndutu Beds intersected by the Olduvai Gorge Coring Project cores are dated to between 117.1 ± 17.9 and 45.3 ± 4.2 ka (between 125.9 ± 26.5 and 45.8 ± 8.2 ka modeled ages), while a probable overlying layer of Naisiusiu Beds dates to 23.7 ± 10.9 to 12.1 ± 1.7 ka (25.7 ± 18.9 ka and 12.0 ± 3.4 ka modeled age). Time-averaged accretion rates are derived during this time: (1) initially low rates (<5 cm ka-1) from the bottom of the core at 117.1 ± 17.9 ka up to 95.3 ± 11.1 ka (125.9 ± 26.5 to 95.5 ± 23.3 ka modeled ages); (2) the middle section spanning between 95.3 ± 11.1 and 62.7 ± 5.7 ka (95.5 ± 23.3 to 61.9 ± 10.4 ka modeled ages) with mean rates above 15 cm ka-1; and (3) the last 62.7 ± 5.7 ka (61.9 ± 10.4 ka modeled age) where the accretion rate reduces to below 5 cm ka-1. This reduction can be explained by the evolution of the gorge system that was likely driven by subsidence of the Olbalbal depression and changes in climate, particularly precipitation and resulting lake and base level changes. Older Upper Ndutu and Lower Ndutu Beds are contained within proto-gorges within the modern gorge system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel K Smedley
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK.
| | - Kaja Fenn
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK
| | - Ian G Stanistreet
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK; The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA
| | - Harald Stollhofen
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91504, Germany
| | - Jackson K Njau
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47408, USA
| | - Kathy Schick
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA
| | - Nicholas Toth
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA
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Abbas M, Lai Z, Jansen JD, Tu H, Alqudah M, Xu X, Al-Saqarat BS, Al Hseinat M, Ou X, Petraglia MD, Carling PA. Human dispersals out of Africa via the Levant. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi6838. [PMID: 37792942 PMCID: PMC10550223 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Homo sapiens dispersed from Africa into Eurasia multiple times in the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The route, across northeastern Africa into the Levant, is a viable terrestrial corridor, as the present harsh southern Levant would probably have been savannahs and grasslands during the last interglaciation. Here, we document wetland sediments with luminescence ages falling in the last interglaciation in the southern Levant, showing protracted phases of moisture availability. Wetland sediments in Wadi Gharandal containing Levallois artifacts yielded an age of 84 ka. Our findings support the growing consensus for a well-watered Jordan Rift Valley that funneled migrants into western Asia and northern Arabia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Abbas
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
| | - Zhongping Lai
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
| | - John D. Jansen
- GFU Institute of Geophysics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Hua Tu
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
| | - Mohammad Alqudah
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, 211163 Irbid, Jordan
| | - Xiaolin Xu
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
| | - Bety S. Al-Saqarat
- School of Science, Geology Department, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | | | - Xianjiao Ou
- School of Geography and Tourism, Jiaying University, Meizhou 514015, China
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane 4111, Australia
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Paul A. Carling
- The State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection (SKLGP), Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610059, China
- Geography & Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
- Lancaster Environment Centre, University of Lancaster, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
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Marquet JC, Freiesleben TH, Thomsen KJ, Murray AS, Calligaro M, Macaire JJ, Robert E, Lorblanchet M, Aubry T, Bayle G, Bréhéret JG, Camus H, Chareille P, Egels Y, Guillaud É, Guérin G, Gautret P, Liard M, O'Farrell M, Peyrouse JB, Thamó-Bozsó E, Verdin P, Wojtczak D, Oberlin C, Jaubert J. The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286568. [PMID: 37343032 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Here we report on Neanderthal engravings on a cave wall at La Roche-Cotard (LRC) in central France, made more than 57±3 thousand years ago. Following human occupation, the cave was completely sealed by cold-period sediments, which prevented access until its discovery in the 19th century and first excavation in the early 20th century. The timing of the closure of the cave is based on 50 optically stimulated luminescence ages derived from sediment collected inside and from around the cave. The anthropogenic origin of the spatially-structured, non-figurative marks found within the cave is confirmed using taphonomic, traceological and experimental evidence. Cave closure occurred significantly before the regional arrival of H. sapiens, and all artefacts from within the cave are typical Mousterian lithics; in Western Europe these are uniquely attributed to H. neanderthalensis. We conclude that the LRC engravings are unambiguous examples of Neanderthal abstract design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Claude Marquet
- Unité mixte de recherche 7324, CItés, TERritoires, Environnement et Sociétés, Laboratoire Archéologie et Territoires, Université de Tours, Tours, France
- Equipe d'accueil 6293, GéoHydrosytèmes COntinentaux, Faculté des sciences et techniques, Université de Tours, Tours, France
| | | | | | - Andrew Sean Murray
- Department Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde, Denmark
- Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Morgane Calligaro
- Unité mixte de recherche Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique, Musée de l'Homme, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Jacques Macaire
- Equipe d'accueil 6293, GéoHydrosytèmes COntinentaux, Faculté des sciences et techniques, Université de Tours, Tours, France
| | - Eric Robert
- Unité mixte de recherche Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique, Musée de l'Homme, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France
| | | | - Thierry Aubry
- Côa Parque, Fundação para a Salvaguarda e Valorização do Vale do Côa, Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal
- Centro de Arqueologia Universidade de Lisboa, Facultade de Letras, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Grégory Bayle
- Unité mixte de recherche 7324, CItés, TERritoires, Environnement et Sociétés, Laboratoire Archéologie et Territoires, Université de Tours, Tours, France
- Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, Pantin, France
| | - Jean-Gabriel Bréhéret
- Equipe d'accueil 6293, GéoHydrosytèmes COntinentaux, Faculté des sciences et techniques, Université de Tours, Tours, France
| | - Hubert Camus
- PROTEE association, Villeneuve-les Maguelone, France
| | - Pascal Chareille
- Equipe d'accueil 6298, Centre Tourangeau d'Histoire et d'étude des Sources, Faculté des Arts et Sciences Humaines, Tours, France
| | - Yves Egels
- Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques, Institut Géographique National, Marne la Vallée, France
| | - Émilie Guillaud
- Unité mixte de recherche 7209, Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Guérin
- Unité mixte de recherche 6118, Géosciences Rennes, Université de Rennes, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Rennes, France
| | - Pascale Gautret
- Unité mixte de recherche 7327, Institut des Sciences de la terre, Université d'Orléans, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, Orléans, France
| | - Morgane Liard
- Laboratoire de Géographie Physique et Environnementale, Université Clermont-Auvergne, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Magen O'Farrell
- Unité mixte de recherche 5199, De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, Université de Bordeaux, GPR Hman Past, Pessac, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Peyrouse
- Unité mixte de recherche 7041, équipe Archéologies Environnementales, Archéologie et Sciences de l'Antiquité, Nanterre, France
| | | | - Pascal Verdin
- Unité mixte de recherche 7264, Gestion des REssources Naturelles, Environnements et Sociétés, Cultures et Environnements: Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen-Age, Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Nice, France
- Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, Nîmes, France
| | - Dorota Wojtczak
- Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science, University of Basel, Basel, Suisse
| | - Christine Oberlin
- Centre de Datation par le RadioCarbone, Unité mixte de recherche 5138 Archéologie et Archéométrie, Villeurbanne, France Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jacques Jaubert
- Unité mixte de recherche 5199, De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, Université de Bordeaux, GPR Hman Past, Pessac, France
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Zhang J, Tsukamoto S. A simplified multiple aliquot regenerative dose protocol to extend the dating limit of K-feldspar pIRIR signal. RADIAT MEAS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2022.106827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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8
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Frouin M, Douka K, Dave AK, Schwenninger JL, Mercier N, Murray AS, Santaniello F, Boschian G, Grimaldi S, Higham T. A refined chronology for the Middle and early Upper Paleolithic sequence of Riparo Mochi (Liguria, Italy). J Hum Evol 2022; 169:103211. [PMID: 35753141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Riparo Mochi rock shelter, located on the Ligurian coast of Italy, is one of the most important early Upper Paleolithic sites on the Mediterranean rim. Its ∼10-m-deep stratigraphy comprises a Mousterian sequence, followed by various development stages of the Upper Paleolithic. A series of radiometric dates on marine shells bearing traces of human modification has provided a chronological framework for the final Mousterian and the Proto-Aurignacian of the site. Based on modeling results, the end of the Mousterian was dated between 44.0 and 41.8 ka cal BP (68% probability) and the beginning of the Proto-Aurignacian between 42.7 and 41.6 ka cal BP (68% probability). However, these estimates were based on a limited number of radiocarbon ages in the Mousterian levels. Here, we report new dating of the Mochi sequence using luminescence techniques, along with new radiocarbon measurements. The combination of these results using a Bayesian modeling approach allows for the first time the establishment of a more precise timing for the Mousterian occupation at the site. We show that Mousterian groups were already present at Riparo Mochi by at least 65 ka and continued to occupy the site for another 20 ka. The transition to the earliest Upper Paleolithic at the site is centered around 44.3-41.1 ka (95.4% probability), providing our best age estimate for the beginning of the Early Upper Paleolithic and the establishment of modern human groups in the Balzi Rossi. The sequence continues upward with a more evolved Aurignacian phase and a Gravettian phase starting at ∼26 ka or earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Frouin
- Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, 255 Earth and Space Sciences Building (ESS), Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA; Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 1-2 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom.
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, A-1030, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Aditi Krishna Dave
- Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Schnarrenbergstrasse 94-96, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Schwenninger
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 1-2 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Archéosciences Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS - Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l'archéologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Andrew S Murray
- The Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University and DTU Physics, DTU Risø Campus, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Fabio Santaniello
- Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
| | - Stefano Grimaldi
- Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento, Trento, Italy; Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Anagni, Italy
| | - Thomas Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, A-1030, Vienna, Austria; Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
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9
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Gao J, Hou G, Xiao Y, E C, Wei H, Sun Y, Sun M, Xue H, Wende Z, Jin S, Chen X. Vegetation History and Survival Patterns of the Earliest Village on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:903192. [PMID: 35646006 PMCID: PMC9134012 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.903192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The upper Yellow River valley in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is an important corridor for prehistoric migration to the hinterland plateau. However, most studies have focused on the Neolithic Age, with limited evidence for earlier periods. The Shalongka (SLK) site on the northeastern QTP spans the Epipaleolithic to Bronze Age and contains cultural deposits, so provides a good basis for unraveling the evolutionary history of the human-land relationship. In this study, we sampled the 420-cm-thick section T1406E at the SLK site and undertook lithologic stratigraphic description and analysis of grain size, redness, magnetic susceptibility, geochemical elements, pollen and charcoal. Dating control was provided by accelerated mass spectrometry 14C and optically stimulated luminescence methods. Results show that SLK site was affected by the local fluvial sedimentary environment. The absolute dating results of the SLK site have revealed that humans occupied the site during the Epipaleolithic (8.5-7.3 cal ka BP), Yangshao culture (5.9-5.1 ka) and Qijia Culture (4.1-3.9 cal ka BP). Pollen analysis showed that the humans lived in a landscape that was predominated by forest-steppe. Consolidating with multidisciplinary evidence, we learned that Epipaleolithic sites were occupied by microlithic hunter-gatherers and comprised by relatively fixed seasonal central campsites, and their mobility was significantly decreased from the early to late period. Subsequently, farmers of the Yangshao culture migrated from the low elevation (Chinese Loess Plateau) to the upper Yellow River valleys on the QTP and founded the earliest settlement villages (~5.9 ka) on the QTP. People of the Qijia culture adopted diversified survival strategies under the settled lifestyle. In all, we infered that SLK site may play an important role in the communication and integration between different people and cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Gao
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Guangliang Hou
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, People's Government of Qinghai Province and Beijing Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Yongming Xiao
- Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Xining, China
| | - Chongyi E
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, People's Government of Qinghai Province and Beijing Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Haicheng Wei
- Key Laboratory of Comprehensive and Highly Efficient Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
| | - Yongjuan Sun
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, People's Government of Qinghai Province and Beijing Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Manping Sun
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Hongpan Xue
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Zhuoma Wende
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Sunmei Jin
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Xiaoliang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
- Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
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10
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Testing the natural limits of infrared radiofluorescence dating of the Luochuan loess-palaeosol sequence, Chinese Loess Plateau. RADIAT MEAS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2022.106797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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11
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Kumar R, Frouin M, Gazack J, Schwenninger JL. OxGamma: A MATLAB based application for the analysis of gamma-ray spectra. RADIAT MEAS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2022.106761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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12
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Advancing dosimetry for Dating Environmental Materials: Development of an ultra-sensitive beta dosimeter system and potential for beta autoradiography. RADIAT MEAS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2022.106760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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13
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Cancellieri E, Bel Hadj Brahim H, Ben Nasr J, Ben Fraj T, Boussoffara R, Di Matteo M, Mercier N, Marnaoui M, Monaco A, Richard M, Mariani GS, Scancarello O, Zerboni A, di Lernia S. A late Middle Pleistocene Middle Stone Age sequence identified at Wadi Lazalim in southern Tunisia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3996. [PMID: 35304482 PMCID: PMC8933421 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07816-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The late Middle Pleistocene, starting at around 300 ka, witnessed large-scale biological and cultural dynamics in hominin evolution across Africa including the onset of the Middle Stone Age that is closely associated with the evolution of our species—Homo sapiens. However, archaeological and geochronological data of its earliest appearance are scarce. Here we report on the late Middle Pleistocene sequence of Wadi Lazalim, in the Sahara of Southern Tunisia, which has yielded evidence for human occupations bracketed between ca. 300–130 ka. Wadi Lazalim contributes valuable information on the spread of early MSA technocomplexes across North Africa, that likely were an expression of large-scale diffusion processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuele Cancellieri
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | | | - Jaafar Ben Nasr
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Kairouan, Kairouan, Tunisia
| | - Tarek Ben Fraj
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.,Laboratoire de Cartographie Géomorphologique des Milieux, des Environnements et des Dynamiques (CGMED), Université de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | | | - Martina Di Matteo
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Archéosciences-Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France
| | - Marwa Marnaoui
- Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Kairouan, Kairouan, Tunisia
| | - Andrea Monaco
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Maïlys Richard
- Archéosciences-Bordeaux, UMR 6034 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France.,Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Guido S Mariani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Olivier Scancarello
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Zerboni
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra "A. Desio", Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Savino di Lernia
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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14
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Ben Arous E, Philippe A, Shao Q, Richter D, Lenoble A, Mercier N, Richard M, Stoetzel E, Tombret O, El Hajraoui MA, Nespoulet R, Falguères C. An improved chronology for the Middle Stone Age at El Mnasra cave, Morocco. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261282. [PMID: 35148324 PMCID: PMC8836329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
North African coastal Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites are key to study the development and expansion of early H. sapiens. El Mnasra cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco (Témara region) is a crucial site associated with MSA archaeological materials considered advanced cognitive hallmarks of behavioural innovation, such as numerous Nassariidae perforated shells, hematite pigments, bones industry and coastal resources exploitation. We provide new trapped-charges dates (OSL and combined US-ESR ages). Our Bayesian modelling strengthens the new lithostratigraphic interpretation of the cave stratigraphic units (US) and we propose an updated chronostratigraphic model for the Middle Stone Age archaeo-sequence of El Mnasra Cave. We confirm a human presence between 124-104 ka, earlier than what the previous OSL and US-ESR data showed. Our time range intervals allowed us to also extend the age of the MSA occupations considerably to the MIS 4/3 (~62-30 ka), marked by the disappearance of the Nassariidae perforated shells. Outstandingly, our model pushed back the age of the largest record of Nassariidae perforated shells and placed the age of their use by the Aterian groups at El Mnasra from the MIS 5d-5b (~115-94 ka).
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Affiliation(s)
- Eslem Ben Arous
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human Evolution, Jena, Germany
- Geochronology and Geology Programme, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Anne Philippe
- Laboratoire de Mathématiques Jean Leray, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Qingfeng Shao
- Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, China
| | - Daniel Richter
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arnaud Lenoble
- De la Préhistoire à l’Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, CNRS, Université Bordeaux, MCC, UMR 5199 PACEA, Pessac, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, Pessac, France
| | - Maïlys Richard
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, Pessac, France
- Abteilung für Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Emmanuelle Stoetzel
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE, UMR 7209), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, Paris, France
| | | | - Roland Nespoulet
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Christophe Falguères
- Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194)—Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
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15
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Slimak L, Zanolli C, Higham T, Frouin M, Schwenninger JL, Arnold LJ, Demuro M, Douka K, Mercier N, Guérin G, Valladas H, Yvorra P, Giraud Y, Seguin-Orlando A, Orlando L, Lewis JE, Muth X, Camus H, Vandevelde S, Buckley M, Mallol C, Stringer C, Metz L. Modern human incursion into Neanderthal territories 54,000 years ago at Mandrin, France. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabj9496. [PMID: 35138885 PMCID: PMC8827661 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj9496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Determining the extent of overlap between modern humans and other hominins in Eurasia, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, is fundamental to understanding the nature of their interactions and what led to the disappearance of archaic hominins. Apart from a possible sporadic pulse recorded in Greece during the Middle Pleistocene, the first settlements of modern humans in Europe have been constrained to ~45,000 to 43,000 years ago. Here, we report hominin fossils from Grotte Mandrin in France that reveal the earliest known presence of modern humans in Europe between 56,800 and 51,700 years ago. This early modern human incursion in the Rhône Valley is associated with technologies unknown in any industry of that age outside Africa or the Levant. Mandrin documents the first alternating occupation of Neanderthals and modern humans, with a modern human fossil and associated Neronian lithic industry found stratigraphically between layers containing Neanderthal remains associated with Mousterian industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Slimak
- CNRS, UMR 5608, TRACES, Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès, 5 Allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
- Corresponding author. (L.S.); (C.Z.)
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600 Pessac, France
- Corresponding author. (L.S.); (C.Z.)
| | - Tom Higham
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, University Biology Building, Djerassiplatz 1, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Marine Frouin
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, 255 Earth and Space Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Jean-Luc Schwenninger
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Lee J. Arnold
- School of Physical Sciences, Environment Institute, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Martina Demuro
- School of Physical Sciences, Environment Institute, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, University Biology Building, Djerassiplatz 1, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische, Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Norbert Mercier
- CNRS, UMR 5060, Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux and Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 33607 Pessac, France
| | - Gilles Guérin
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212 CEA CNRS UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hélène Valladas
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212 CEA CNRS UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Pascale Yvorra
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Min. Culture, UMR 7269, LAMPEA, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, BP 647, 5 rue du Château de l’Horloge, F-13094, Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2, France
| | - Yves Giraud
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Min. Culture, UMR 7269, LAMPEA, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, BP 647, 5 rue du Château de l’Horloge, F-13094, Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2, France
| | | | - Ludovic Orlando
- CNRS, UMR 5288, CAGT, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Jason E. Lewis
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | | | - Hubert Camus
- PROTEE-EXPERT, 4 rue des Aspholdèles, 34750 Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, France
| | - Ségolène Vandevelde
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212 CEA CNRS UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Université Paris 1–Panthéon-Sorbonne, Équipe Archéologies Environnementales, UMR 7041, ArScAn, Équipe Archéologies Environnementales, 21 allée de l’Université, 92023 Nanterre Cedex, France
| | - Mike Buckley
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Carolina Mallol
- Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarkers Laboratory (AMBI Lab), Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Departamento de Geografía e Historia, UDI Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Chris Stringer
- Centre for Human Evolution Research (CHER), Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Laure Metz
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Min. Culture, UMR 7269, LAMPEA, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, BP 647, 5 rue du Château de l’Horloge, F-13094, Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2, France
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut, 215 Glenbrook Road, U-4098, Storrs, CT 06269-4098, USA
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16
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Rodrigues K, Huot S, Keen-Zebert A. Exploring the application of blue and red thermoluminescence for dating volcanic glasses. RADIAT MEAS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2022.106731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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17
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Distribution of natural beta dose to individual grains in sediments. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL SCIENCE ACADEMY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s43538-021-00057-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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18
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Marques R, Prudêncio MI, Russo D, Cardoso G, Dias MI, Rodrigues AL, Reis M, Santos M, Rocha F. Evaluation of naturally occurring radionuclides (K, Th and U) in volcanic soils from Fogo Island, Cape Verde. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-021-07959-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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19
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The absolute chronology of Boker Tachtit (Israel) and implications for the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in the Levant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2014657118. [PMID: 34161257 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014657118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) is a crucial lithic assemblage type in the archaeology of southwest Asia because it marks a dramatic shift in hominin populations accompanied by technological changes in material culture. This phase is conventionally divided into two chronocultural phases based on the Boker Tachtit site, central Negev, Israel. While lithic technologies at Boker Tachtit are well defined, showing continuity from one phase to another, the absolute chronology is poorly resolved because the radiocarbon method used had a large uncertainty. Nevertheless, Boker Tachtit is considered to be the origin of the succeeding Early Upper Paleolithic Ahmarian tradition that dates in the Negev to ∼42,000 y ago (42 ka). Here, we provide 14C and optically stimulated luminescence dates obtained from a recent excavation of Boker Tachtit. The new dates show that the early phase at Boker Tachtit, the Emirian, dates to 50 through 49 ka, while the late phase dates to 47.3 ka and ends by 44.3 ka. These results show that the IUP started in the Levant during the final stages of the Late Middle Paleolithic some 50,000 y ago. The later IUP phase in the Negev chronologically overlaps with the Early Upper Paleolithic Ahmarian of the Mediterranean woodland region between 47 and 44 ka. We conclude that Boker Tachtit is the earliest manifestation of the IUP in Eurasia. The study shows that distinguishing the chronology of the IUP from the Late Middle Paleolithic, as well as from the Early Upper Paleolithic, is much more complex than previously thought.
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Masojć M, Kim JY, Krupa-Kurzynowska J, Sohn YK, Ehlert M, Michalec G, Cendrowska M, Andrieux E, Armitage SJ, Szmit M, Dreczko E, Kim JC, Kim JS, Lee GS, Moska P, Jadain MA. The oldest Homo erectus buried lithic horizon from the Eastern Saharan Africa. EDAR 7 - an Acheulean assemblage with Kombewa method from the Eastern Desert, Sudan. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248279. [PMID: 33755675 PMCID: PMC7989774 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although essential for reconstructing hominin behaviour during the Early Palaeolithic, only a handful of Acheulean sites have been dated in the Eastern Sahara region. This is due to the scarcity of sites for this time period and the lack of datable material. However, recent excavations in the Atbara region (Sudan) have provided unique opportunities to analyse and date Acheulean stone tools. We report here on EDAR 7, part of a cluster of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites that were recently discovered in the Eastern Desert Atbara River (EDAR) region, located in the Eastern Desert (Sudan) far from the Nile valley. At EDAR 7, a 3.5 metre sedimentary sequence was excavated, allowing an Acheulean assemblage to be investigated using a combination of sedimentology, stone tool studies and optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL). The site has delivered a complete Acheulean knapping chaine opératoire, providing new information about the Saharan Acheulean. The EDAR 7 site is interpreted as a remnant of a campsite based on the co-occurrence of two reduction modes: one geared towards the production of Large Cutting Tools (LCTs), and the other based on the flaking of small debitage and production of flake tools. Particularly notable in the EDAR 7 assemblage is the abundance of cleavers, most of which display evidence of flake production. Implementation of giant Kombewa flakes was also observed. A geometric morphometric analysis of hand-axes was conducted to verify a possible Late Acheulean assemblage standardisation in the Nubian Sahara. In addition, the analysis of micro-traces and wear on the artefacts has provided information on the use history of the Acheulean stone tools. Sediment analyses and OSL dating show that the EDAR 7 sequence contains the oldest Acheulean encampment remains in the Eastern Sahara, dated to the MIS 11 or earlier. This confirms that Homo erectus occupied the EDAR region during Middle Pleistocene humid periods, and demonstrates that habitable corridors existed between the Ethiopian Highlands, the Nile and the Red Sea coast, allowing population dispersals across the continent and out of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirosław Masojć
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
| | - Ju Yong Kim
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Joanna Krupa-Kurzynowska
- Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of
Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Young Kwan Sohn
- Department of Geology and Research Institute of Natural Science,
Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea
| | - Maciej Ehlert
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
- Archeolodzy.org Foundation, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Marzena Cendrowska
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
- Archeolodzy.org Foundation, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Eric Andrieux
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London,
United Kingdom
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, United
Kingdom
| | - Simon J. Armitage
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London,
United Kingdom
- SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen,
Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Ewa Dreczko
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
| | - Jin Cheul Kim
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Sung Kim
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Gwang-Soo Lee
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Piotr Moska
- Institute of Physics, Division of Geochronology and Isotope Research of
the Environmental, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice,
Poland
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Douze K, Lespez L, Rasse M, Tribolo C, Garnier A, Lebrun B, Mercier N, Ndiaye M, Chevrier B, Huysecom E. A West African Middle Stone Age site dated to the beginning of MIS 5: Archaeology, chronology, and paleoenvironment of the Ravin Blanc I (eastern Senegal). J Hum Evol 2021; 154:102952. [PMID: 33751962 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The Ravin Blanc I archaeological occurrence, dated to MIS 5, provides unprecedented data on the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of West Africa since well-contextualized archaeological sites pre-dating MIS 4/3 are extremely rare for this region. The combined approach on geomorphology, phytolith analysis, and OSL date estimations offers a solid framework for the MSA industry comprised in the Ravin Blanc I sedimentary sequence. The paleoenvironmental reconstruction further emphasizes on the local effects of the global increase in moisture characterizing the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene as well as the later shift to more arid conditions. The lithic industry, comprised in the lower part of the sequence and dated to MIS 5e, shows core reduction sequences among which Levallois methods are minor, as well as an original tool-kit composition, among which pieces with single wide abrupt notches, side-scrapers made by inverse retouch, and a few large crudely shaped bifacial tools. The Ravin Blanc I assemblage has neither a chronologically equivalent site to serve comparisons nor a clear techno-typological correspondent in West Africa. However, the industry represents an early MSA technology that could either retain influences from the southern West African 'Sangoan' or show reminiscences of the preceding local Acheulean. A larger-scale assessment of behavioral dynamics at work at the transition period between the Middle to Upper Pleistocene is discussed in view of integrating this new site to the global perception of this important period in the MSA evolutionary trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Douze
- Laboratory of Archaeology and Population in Africa, Anthropology Unit, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1205 Genève, Switzerland.
| | - Laurent Lespez
- Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP), CNRS-UMR 8591, Department of Geography, University Paris-Est Creteil, 1 Place Aristide Briand, 920195 Meudon, France
| | - Michel Rasse
- Laboratory Archéorient, CNRS-UMR 5133, Maison de L'Orient et de La Méditerranée, University of Lyon II, 7 Rue Raulin, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Chantal Tribolo
- Research Institute on Archaeological Materials-Centre of Research on Physics Applied to Archaeology (IRAMAT-CRP2A), CNRS-UMR 5060, University Bordeaux-Montaigne, Esplanade des Antilles, F-33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Aline Garnier
- Laboratory of Physical Geography (LGP), CNRS-UMR 8591, Department of Geography, University Paris-Est Creteil, 1 Place Aristide Briand, 920195 Meudon, France
| | - Brice Lebrun
- Research Institute on Archaeological Materials-Centre of Research on Physics Applied to Archaeology (IRAMAT-CRP2A), CNRS-UMR 5060, University Bordeaux-Montaigne, Esplanade des Antilles, F-33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Research Institute on Archaeological Materials-Centre of Research on Physics Applied to Archaeology (IRAMAT-CRP2A), CNRS-UMR 5060, University Bordeaux-Montaigne, Esplanade des Antilles, F-33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Matar Ndiaye
- Laboratory of Prehistory and Protohistory, Institut Fondamental D'Afrique Noire, University of Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, 33 Route de La Corniche Ouest, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Benoît Chevrier
- Laboratory of Archaeology and Population in Africa, Anthropology Unit, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
| | - Eric Huysecom
- Laboratory of Archaeology and Population in Africa, Anthropology Unit, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
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Vichaidid T, Danworaphong S. Dating the historical old city walls of Songkhla Thailand using thermoluminescence technique. Heliyon 2021; 7:e06166. [PMID: 33665408 PMCID: PMC7907221 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The Old Historical Wall, located in Bo Yang, Songkhla Province, Thailand, is an archaeological icon believed to have been constructed during the reign of Rama III, as indicated in the royal archives, around 1837–1840 CE. However, the recorded age is the result of unofficial documentation. The establishment was based on speculation from circumstantial evidence and local stories. The wall is made of bricks that underwent a heating process before being used for the construction. We therefore propose the use of the thermoluminescence technique for dating the wall. The samples include brick rubble from three excavation sites next to the wall. To determine the age, we estimate the radiation dose rate and the accumulated dose for each sample. The dose rate of the sample is determined using gamma spectroscopy with a high-purity germanium detector. For the accumulated dose, we employ the additive dose method using Co-60 with a dose range of 0–100 Gy. Glow curves are then deconvoluted using the general-order kinetics model. The results yield three superposition glow peaks at three different temperature ranges. Plateau tests are also carried out to find a proper temperature for dating purposes. Comparing the plateau test and the result of deconvolution, we find that the glow curve temperature suitable for dating was within 200–310 °C. The accumulated doses are then evaluated using the area under the curve of the peak temperature. The date is then determined as the ratio between the accumulated dose and the dose rate. The results indicate that the age is approximately 174–192 years, so that the wall was built around 1827–1841 CE, with one standard deviation interval. The duration is in agreement with the recorded age of the wall inscribed in the country's historical archives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tidarut Vichaidid
- Division of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, 94000, Thailand
| | - Sorasak Danworaphong
- Division of Physics, School of Science, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
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Baly L, Quesada I, Murray A, Martin G, Espen P, Arteche R, Jain M. Modeling the charge deposition in quartz grains during natural irradiation and its influence on the optically stimulated luminescence signal. RADIAT MEAS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2021.106564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Heydari M, Guérin G, Zeidi M, Conard NJ. Bayesian luminescence dating at Ghār-e Boof, Iran, provides a new chronology for Middle and Upper Paleolithic in the southern Zagros. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102926. [PMID: 33429259 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Ghār-e Boof is a Paleolithic cave site in Iran well known for its rich early Upper Paleolithic Rostamian assemblages. The site is located on the edge of the Dasht-e Rostam plain in the southern Zagros. Recent excavations by the members of the Tübingen-Iranian Stone Age Research Project at Ghār-e Boof also recovered well-stratified Middle Paleolithic assemblages. Here, we provide the first detailed luminescence chronology for the Middle and Upper Paleolithic of the site. More generally, our work is the first luminescence chronology for a Middle and Upper Paleolithic site in the Zagros Mountains region in Iran. The luminescence ages for the Upper Paleolithic of Ghār-e Boof agree with published 14C dates. We applied Bayesian models specifically designed for luminescence dating using the R package 'BayLum' to incorporate the well-established stratigraphic constraints, as well as the published 14C ages with our optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages to improve the precision of the chronological framework. The Bayesian chronology shows a significantly improved precision of the OSL ages in particular for the upper part of the sequence where 14C ages were available. The Bayesian OSL ages for the Rostamian horizons, archaeologicalhorizon (AH) III (a-b-c), and AH IV, fall in the range of 37-42 ka (68% credible interval [CI]). Moreover, we determined a series of dates between 45 and 81 ka (68% CI) for the Middle Paleolithic strata from AH IVd to AH VI. Our results point to a demographic shift in the populations responsible for the Middle Paleolithic and the Rostamian within three millennia. This major technological change accompanied by the rise of symbolic artifacts such as personal ornaments, may or may not reflect a replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans. While we are confident that the Rostamian was made by modern humans, available information does not allow us to be sure who made the local Middle Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Heydari
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607, Pessac Cedex, France.
| | - Guillaume Guérin
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607, Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Mohsen Zeidi
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Germany
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Chevrier B, Lespez L, Lebrun B, Garnier A, Tribolo C, Rasse M, Guérin G, Mercier N, Camara A, Ndiaye M, Huysecom E. New data on settlement and environment at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa: Interdisciplinary investigation at Fatandi V, Eastern Senegal. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0243129. [PMID: 33296412 PMCID: PMC7725507 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The end of the Palaeolithic represents one of the least-known periods in the history of western Africa, both in terms of its chronology and the identification of cultural assemblages entities based on the typo-technical analyses of its industries. In this context, the site of Fatandi V offers new data to discuss the cultural pattern during the Late Stone Age in western Africa. Stratigraphic, taphonomical and sedimentological analyses show the succession of three sedimentary units. Several concentrations with rich lithic material were recognized. An in situ occupation, composed of bladelets, segments, and bladelet and flake cores, is confirmed while others concentrations of lithic materials have been more or less disturbed by erosion and pedogenic post-depositional processes. The sequence is well-dated from 12 convergent OSL dates. Thanks to the dating of the stratigraphic units and an OSL date from the layer (11,300-9,200 BCE [13.3-11.2 ka at 68%, 14.3-10.3 ka at 95%]), the artefacts are dated to the end of Pleistocene or Early Holocene. Palaeoenvironmental data suggest that the settlement took place within a mosaic environment and more precisely at the transition between the open landscape of savanna on the glacis and the plateau, and the increasingly densely-wooded alluvial corridor. These humid areas must have been particularly attractive during the dry season by virtue of their rich resources (raw materials, water, trees, and bushes). The Fatandi V site constitutes the first stratified site of the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in Senegal with both precise geochronological and palaeoenvironmental data. It complements perfectly the data already obtained in Mali and in the rest of western Africa, and thus constitutes a reference point for this period. In any case, the assemblage of Fatandi V, with its bladelets and segments and in the absence of ceramics and grinding material, fits with a cultural group using exclusively geometric armatures which strongly differs from another group characterized by the production of bifacial armatures, accompanied in its initial phase by ceramics (or stoneware) and grinding material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoît Chevrier
- Archéologie et Peuplement de l’Afrique, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Laurent Lespez
- Department of Geography, University Paris Est Créteil, LGP-CNRS UMR 8591, Créteil, France
| | - Brice Lebrun
- Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Aline Garnier
- Department of Geography, University Paris Est Créteil, LGP-CNRS UMR 8591, Créteil, France
| | - Chantal Tribolo
- Centre de recherche en physique appliquée à l’archéologie, UMR 5060 CNRS Institut de recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, Pessac, France
| | - Michel Rasse
- UMR 5133 CNRS Archéorient, University Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Guillaume Guérin
- Centre de recherche en physique appliquée à l’archéologie, UMR 5060 CNRS Institut de recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, Pessac, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Centre de recherche en physique appliquée à l’archéologie, UMR 5060 CNRS Institut de recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, Pessac, France
| | - Abdoulaye Camara
- Archaeology laboratory, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Matar Ndiaye
- Archaeology laboratory, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Eric Huysecom
- Archéologie et Peuplement de l’Afrique, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Fang F, Grün R. ESR thermochronometry of Al and Ti centres in quartz: A case study of the Fergusons Hill-1 borehole from the Otway Basin, Australia. RADIAT MEAS 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2020.106447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Tudyka K, Bluszcz A, Poręba G, Miłosz S, Adamiec G, Kolarczyk A, Kolb T, Lomax J, Fuchs M. Increased dose rate precision in combined α and β counting in the μDose system - a probabilistic approach to data analysis. RADIAT MEAS 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2020.106310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Daujeard C, Falguères C, Shao Q, Geraads D, Hublin JJ, Lefèvre D, Graoui ME, Rué M, Gallotti R, Delvigne V, Queffelec A, Arous EB, Tombret O, Mohib A, Raynal JP. Earliest African evidence of carcass processing and consumption in cave at 700 ka, Casablanca, Morocco. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4761. [PMID: 32179824 PMCID: PMC7075909 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61580-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, in Africa, evidence for animal processing and consumption in caves routinely used as living spaces is only documented in the late Middle Pleistocene of the North and South of the continent and postdates the Middle Pleistocene in East Africa. Here we report the earliest evidence in a North-African cave (Grotte des Rhinocéros at Casablanca, Morocco) of cut, percussion and human gnawing marks on faunal remains directly associated with lithic knapping activities in the same space and in a well-documented stratified context. Ages for this Acheulean site are provided by the dating of herbivorous teeth to 690–720 ka and 520–550 ka (lower and upper sets) by combined Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and U-series techniques. Traces of butchery on gazelle, alcelaphin, and zebra bones demonstrate that hominins had primary access to herbivore carcasses. Hominins brought and consumed meat in the cave, as documented by herbivore bones bearing human tooth marks concentrated in a circumscribed area of the excavation. In Africa, this site provides the earliest evidence for in situ carcass processing and meat-eating in cave, directly associated with lithic production and demonstrates the recurrent use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins of a North African cave site 400 000 years before that by Homo sapiens at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco).
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Daujeard
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France.
| | - Christophe Falguères
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Qingfeng Shao
- College of Geography Science, Nanjing Normal University, 1, Wenyuan Road, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Denis Geraads
- CR2P-UMR 7207, CNRS, MNHN, Sorbonne Universités, CP 38, 8 rue Buffon, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Collège de France, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005, Paris, France
| | - David Lefèvre
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France
| | - Mohssine El Graoui
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP), Madinat al-Irfane, les Instituts - Hay Riyad, B.P. 6828, 10100, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Mathieu Rué
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France.,Paléotime SARL, 6173 avenue JS Achard-Picard, 38250, Villard-de-Lans, France
| | - Rosalia Gallotti
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France.,Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Vincent Delvigne
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France.,Service de Préhistoire, Université de Liège, place du XX août, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Alain Queffelec
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Eslem Ben Arous
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Abderrahim Mohib
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP), Madinat al-Irfane, les Instituts - Hay Riyad, B.P. 6828, 10100, Rabat, Morocco.,Direction provinciale de la Culture, Avenue Mohammed V, quartier administratif, Kénitra, Morocco
| | - Jean-Paul Raynal
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France
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Determining the Age of Terrace Formation Using Luminescence Dating-A Case of the Yellow River Terraces in the Baode Area, China. Methods Protoc 2020; 3:mps3010017. [PMID: 32093279 PMCID: PMC7189655 DOI: 10.3390/mps3010017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Dating fluvial terraces has long been a challenge for geologists and geomorphologists, because terrace straths and treads are not usually directly dated. In this study, the formation ages of the Yellow River terraces in the Baode area in China were determined by dating fluvial deposits overlying bedrock straths using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques. Seven terraces (from the lowest terrace T1 to the highest terrace T7) in the study area were recognized, and they are characterized by thick fluvial terrace deposits overlaid by loess sediments. Twenty-five samples from nine terrace sections were dated to about 2–200 ka. The OSL ages (120–190 ka) of the fluvial samples from higher terraces (T3–T6) seem to be reliable based on their luminescence properties and stratigraphic consistency, but the geomorphologic and stratigraphic evidence show that these ages should be underestimated, because they are generally similar to those of the samples from the lower terrace (T2). The formation ages of the terrace straths and treads for the T1 terrace were deduced to be about 44 ka and 36 ka, respectively, based on the deposition rates of the fluvial terrace deposits, and the T2 terrace has the same strath and tread formation age of about 135 ka. The incision rate was calculated to be about 0.35 mm/ka for the past 135 ka, and the uplift rate pattern suggests that the Ordos Plateau behaves as a rigid block. Based on our previous investigations on the Yellow River terraces and the results in this study, we consider that the formation ages of terrace straths and treads calculated using deposition rates of terrace fluvial sediments can overcome problems associated with age underestimation or overestimation of strath or fill terraces based on the single age of one fluvial terrace sample. The implication is that, for accurate dating of terrace formation, terrace sections should be systematically sampled and dated.
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Carter T, Contreras DA, Holcomb J, Mihailović DD, Karkanas P, Guérin G, Taffin N, Athanasoulis D, Lahaye C. Earliest occupation of the Central Aegean (Naxos), Greece: Implications for hominin and Homo sapiens' behavior and dispersals. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaax0997. [PMID: 31663021 PMCID: PMC6795523 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We present evidence of Middle Pleistocene activity in the central Aegean Basin at the chert extraction and reduction complex of Stelida (Naxos, Greece). Luminescence dating places ~9000 artifacts in a stratigraphic sequence from ~13 to 200 thousand years ago (ka ago). These artifacts include Mousterian products, which arguably provide first evidence for Neanderthals in the region. This dated material attests to a much earlier history of regional exploration than previously believed, opening the possibility of alternative routes into Southeast Europe from Anatolia (and Africa) for (i) hominins, potentially during sea level lowstands (e.g., Marine Isotope Stage 8) permitting terrestrial crossings across the Aegean, and (ii) Homo sapiens of the Early Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian), conceivably by sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristan Carter
- Department of Anthropology and School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton L8S 4L9, Canada
| | - Daniel A. Contreras
- Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Justin Holcomb
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory of Archaeological Science, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Athens 10676, Greece
| | | | - Panagiotis Karkanas
- Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory of Archaeological Science, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Athens 10676, Greece
| | - Guillaume Guérin
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060–CNRS/Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 33600 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Ninon Taffin
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060–CNRS/Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 33600 Pessac Cedex, France
| | | | - Christelle Lahaye
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR 5060–CNRS/Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 33600 Pessac Cedex, France
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Autzen M, Murray A, Guérin G, Baly L, Ankjærgaard C, Bailey M, Jain M, Buylaert JP. Luminescence dosimetry: Does charge imbalance matter? RADIAT MEAS 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Discher M, Mauz B, Martin L, Durcan JA, King GE, Tsakalos E, Christodoulakis J, Lang A. Calculating or simulating the dose rate? A comparison. RADIAT MEAS 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2018.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Bailiff I. An examination of beta dose attenuation effects in coarse grains located in sliced samples. RADIAT MEAS 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2018.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Porraz G, Val A, Tribolo C, Mercier N, de la Peña P, Haaland MM, Igreja M, Miller CE, Schmid VC. The MIS5 Pietersburg at '28' Bushman Rock Shelter, Limpopo Province, South Africa. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202853. [PMID: 30303992 PMCID: PMC6179383 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past few decades, a diverse array of research has emphasized the precocity of technically advanced and symbolic practices occurring during the southern African Middle Stone Age. However, uncertainties regarding the regional chrono-cultural framework constrain models and identification of the cultural and ecological mechanisms triggering the development of such early innovative behaviours. Here, we present new results and a refined chronology for the Pietersburg, a techno-complex initially defined in the late 1920's, which has disappeared from the literature since the 1980's. We base our revision of this techno-complex on ongoing excavations at Bushman Rock Shelter (BRS) in Limpopo Province, South Africa, where two Pietersburg phases (an upper phase called '21' and a lower phase called '28') are recognized. Our analysis focuses on the '28' phase, characterized by a knapping strategy based on Levallois and semi-prismatic laminar reduction systems and typified by the presence of end-scrapers. Luminescence chronology provides two sets of ages for the upper and lower Pietersburg of BRS, dated respectively to 73±6ka and 75±6ka on quartz and to 91±10ka and 97±10ka on feldspar, firmly positioning this industry within MIS5. Comparisons with other published lithic assemblages show technological differences between the Pietersburg from BRS and other southern African MIS5 traditions, especially those from the Western and Eastern Cape. We argue that, at least for part of MIS5, human populations in South Africa were regionally differentiated, a process that most likely impacted the way groups were territorially and socially organized. Nonetheless, comparisons between MIS5 assemblages also indicate some typological similarities, suggesting some degree of connection between human groups, which shared similar innovations but manipulated them in different ways. We pay particular attention to the end-scrapers from BRS, which represent thus far the earliest documented wide adoption of such tool-type and provide further evidence for the innovative processes characterizing southern Africa from the MIS5 onwards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Porraz
- CNRS, UMR 7041, ArScAn-AnTET, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Paris, France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Aurore Val
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Chantal Tribolo
- CNRS, UMR 5060, IRAMAT-CRP2A, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bordeaux, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- CNRS, UMR 5060, IRAMAT-CRP2A, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bordeaux, France
| | - Paloma de la Peña
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Magnus M. Haaland
- Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Early Sapience Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Christopher E. Miller
- Centre for Early Sapience Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences & Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Viola C. Schmid
- CNRS, UMR 7041, ArScAn-AnTET, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Paris, France
- Abteilung für Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Williams TJ, Collins MB, Rodrigues K, Rink WJ, Velchoff N, Keen-Zebert A, Gilmer A, Frederick CD, Ayala SJ, Prewitt ER. Evidence of an early projectile point technology in North America at the Gault Site, Texas, USA. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaar5954. [PMID: 30009257 PMCID: PMC6040843 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar5954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
American archeology has long been polarized over the issue of a human presence in the Western Hemisphere earlier than Clovis. As evidence of early sites across North and South America continues to emerge, stone tool assemblages appear more geographically and temporally diverse than traditionally assumed. Within this new framework, the prevailing models of Clovis origins and the peopling of the Americas are being reevaluated. This paper presents age estimates from a series of alluvial sedimentary samples from the earliest cultural assemblage at the Gault Site, Central Texas. The optically stimulated luminescence age estimates (~16 to 20 thousand years ago) indicate an early human occupation in North America before at least ~16 thousand years ago. Significantly, this assemblage exhibits a previously unknown, early projectile point technology unrelated to Clovis. Within a wider context, this evidence suggests that Clovis technology spread across an already regionalized, indigenous population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. Williams
- Prehistory Research Project, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
- Corresponding author. (T.J.W.); (M.B.C.); (K.R.)
| | - Michael B. Collins
- Prehistory Research Project, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
- Corresponding author. (T.J.W.); (M.B.C.); (K.R.)
| | - Kathleen Rodrigues
- Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89503, USA
- Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA
- Corresponding author. (T.J.W.); (M.B.C.); (K.R.)
| | - William Jack Rink
- School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Nancy Velchoff
- Prehistory Research Project, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
| | - Amanda Keen-Zebert
- Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89503, USA
| | - Anastasia Gilmer
- SWCA Environmental Consultants Inc., 200 West 22nd Street #220, Lombard, IL 60148, USA
| | | | - Sergio J. Ayala
- Prehistory Research Project, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
| | - Elton R. Prewitt
- Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, R7500, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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Smith EI, Jacobs Z, Johnsen R, Ren M, Fisher EC, Oestmo S, Wilkins J, Harris JA, Karkanas P, Fitch S, Ciravolo A, Keenan D, Cleghorn N, Lane CS, Matthews T, Marean CW. Humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba eruption about 74,000 years ago. Nature 2018. [DOI: 10.1038/nature25967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Guibert P, Christophe C, Urbanová P, Guérin G, Blain S. Modeling incomplete and heterogeneous bleaching of mobile grains partially exposed to the light: Towards a new tool for single grain OSL dating of poorly bleached mortars. RADIAT MEAS 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2017.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Autzen M, Guérin G, Murray A, Thomsen K, Buylaert JP, Jain M. The effect of backscattering on the beta dose absorbed by individual quartz grains. RADIAT MEAS 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2017.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Tillier AM, Sirakov N, Guadelli A, Fernandez P, Sirakova S, Dimitrova I, Ferrier C, Guérin G, Heidari M, Krumov I, Leblanc JC, Miteva V, Popov V, Taneva S, Guadelli JL. Evidence of Neanderthals in the Balkans: The infant radius from Kozarnika Cave (Bulgaria). J Hum Evol 2017; 111:54-62. [PMID: 28874274 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Revised: 06/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Excavations conducted by a Bulgarian-French team at Kozarnika Cave (Balkans, Bulgaria) during several seasons yielded a long Paleolithic archaeological sequence and led to the discovery of important faunal, lithic, and human samples. This paper aims to describe the unpublished radius shaft of an infant who died approximately before the sixth month postnatal that was recovered from layer 10b, which contained East Balkan Levallois Mousterian with bifacial leaf points. The layer was dated between 130 and 200 ka (large mammals biochronology) and between 128 ± 13 ka and 183 ± 14 ka (OSL), i.e. OIS6. Here we show that, given the scarcity of Middle Pleistocene infant remains in general, and Middle Paleolithic human remains from this part of Eastern Europe in particular, the study of the Kozarnika specimen is of special interest. We discuss its place in the Middle Pleistocene European hominine record and substantiate the hypothesis of early Neanderthal presence in the eastern Balkans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Marie Tillier
- PACEA-UMR5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Bâtiment B8, CS50023, 33615 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Nikolay Sirakov
- National Institute of Archaeology with Museum-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2, Saborna Street, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Aleta Guadelli
- National Institute of Archaeology with Museum-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2, Saborna Street, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria; PACEA-UMR5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Bâtiment B18, CS50023, 33615 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Philippe Fernandez
- LAMPEA-UMR7269 CNRS, MMSH, 5 Rue du Château de L'Horloge, BP 647, 13094 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2, France
| | - Svoboda Sirakova
- National Institute of Archaeology with Museum-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2, Saborna Street, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Irena Dimitrova
- New Bulgarian University, Department of Archaeology, Building 2, Room 219, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Catherine Ferrier
- PACEA-UMR5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Bâtiment B18, CS50023, 33615 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Guillaume Guérin
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR5060 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de L'archéologie, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Maryam Heidari
- IRAMAT-CRP2A, UMR5060 CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de L'archéologie, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cedex, France
| | | | - Jean-Claude Leblanc
- TRACES-UMR5608 CNRS, Université de Toulouse le Mirail, Maison de La Recherche, 5, Allées Antonio Machado, 31048 Toulouse Cedex 1, France
| | | | - Vasil Popov
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Stanimira Taneva
- National Institute of Archaeology with Museum-Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2, Saborna Street, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Jean-Luc Guadelli
- PACEA-UMR5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Bâtiment B18, CS50023, 33615 Pessac Cedex, France.
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Frouin M, Lahaye C, Valladas H, Higham T, Debénath A, Delagnes A, Mercier N. Dating the Middle Paleolithic deposits of La Quina Amont (Charente, France) using luminescence methods. J Hum Evol 2017; 109:30-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2015] [Revised: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Schmidt C, Tchouankoue JP, Nkouamen Nemzoue PN, Ayaba F, Nformidah-Ndah SS, Nformi Chifu E. New thermoluminescence age estimates for the Nyos maar eruption (Cameroon Volcanic Line). PLoS One 2017; 12:e0178545. [PMID: 28558057 PMCID: PMC5448780 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Nyos maar is located in the Cameroon Volcanic Line and generates a multitude of primary and secondary hazards to the local population. For risk assessment and hazard mitigation, the age of the Nyos maar eruption provides some vital information. Since previous dating efforts using a range of techniques resulted in vastly varying eruption ages, we applied thermoluminescence (TL) methods to obtain independent and direct chronological constraints for the time of maar formation. Target minerals were granitic quartz clasts contained in pyroclastic surge deposits. Thermoluminescence plateau results prove that heat and/or pressure during the phreatomagmatic eruption was sufficient to reset the inherited luminescence signal of granitic bedrock quartz. Parallel application of three TL measurement protocols to one of the two samples gave consistent equivalent doses for the quartz ultra-violet emission. Despite the robustness of our dose estimates, the assessment of the dose rate was accompanied by methodological challenges, such as estimation of the original size distribution of quartz grains in the pyroclastic deposits. Considering results from additional laboratory analyses to constrain these uncertainties, we calculate an average maximum TL age of 12.3 ± 1.5 ka for the Nyos maar eruption. Based on these new data, a more solid risk assessment can be envisaged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Schmidt
- Chair of Geomorphology & BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | | | | | - Félicité Ayaba
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon
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Across the Gap: Geochronological and Sedimentological Analyses from the Late Pleistocene-Holocene Sequence of Goda Buticha, Southeastern Ethiopia. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0169418. [PMID: 28125597 PMCID: PMC5268652 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 12/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Goda Buticha is a cave site near Dire Dawa in southeastern Ethiopia that contains an archaeological sequence sampling the late Pleistocene and Holocene of the region. The sedimentary sequence displays complex cultural, chronological and sedimentological histories that seem incongruent with one another. A first set of radiocarbon ages suggested a long sedimentological gap from the end of Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 to the mid-Holocene. Macroscopic observations suggest that the main sedimentological change does not coincide with the chronostratigraphic hiatus. The cultural sequence shows technological continuity with a late persistence of artifacts that are usually attributed to the Middle Stone Age into the younger parts of the stratigraphic sequence, yet become increasingly associated with lithic artifacts typically related to the Later Stone Age. While not a unique case, this combination of features is unusual in the Horn of Africa. In order to evaluate the possible implications of these observations, sedimentological analyses combined with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) were conducted. The OSL data now extend the radiocarbon chronology up to 63 ± 7 ka; they also confirm the existence of the chronological gap between 24.8 ± 2.6 ka and 7.5 ± 0.3 ka. The sedimentological analyses suggest that the origin and mode of deposition were largely similar throughout the whole sequence, although the anthropic and faunal activities increased in the younger levels. Regional climatic records are used to support the sedimentological observations and interpretations. We discuss the implications of the sedimentological and dating analyses for understanding cultural processes in the region.
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Dosimetric study of sediments at the beta dose rate scale: Characterization and modelization with the DosiVox software. RADIAT MEAS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Guérin G, Combès B, Lahaye C, Thomsen KJ, Tribolo C, Urbanova P, Guibert P, Mercier N, Valladas H. Testing the accuracy of a Bayesian central-dose model for single-grain OSL, using known-age samples. RADIAT MEAS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Duval M, Campaña I, Guilarte V, Miguens L, Iglesias J, González Sierra S. Assessing the uncertainty on particle size and shape: Implications for ESR and OSL dating of quartz and feldspar grains. RADIAT MEAS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Freiesleben T, Sohbati R, Murray A, Jain M, al Khasawneh S, Hvidt S, Jakobsen B. Mathematical model quantifies multiple daylight exposure and burial events for rock surfaces using luminescence dating. RADIAT MEAS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Smedley R, Duller G, Roberts H. Bleaching of the post-IR IRSL signal from individual grains of K-feldspar: Implications for single-grain dating. RADIAT MEAS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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