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Seghi F, Sorrentino R, Bailey SE, Piccirilli E, Vazzana A, Bortolini E, Higgins OA, Marciani G, Orlando MA, Spinapolice EE, Moroni A, Benazzi S. Morphological and morphometric study of the hominin dental casts from Grotta-Riparo di Uluzzo C (Apulia, southern Italy). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 185:e24998. [PMID: 39032165 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 06/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/22/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Grotta-Riparo di Uluzzo C (Apulia, southern Italy) is a pivotal site for investigating the evolution of the Middle Paleolithic and the earliest phases of the Upper Paleolithic in southern Italy, as the extensive stratigraphic record of this site includes a thick Mousterian sequence followed by the Uluzzian. Here, we investigate the taxonomic affinity of seven unpublished deciduous human teeth retrieved from the site of Uluzzo C in 1960. MATERIALS AND METHODS The teeth are represented by seven plaster dental casts, which are housed at the Museo Civico di Paleontologia e Paletnologia in Maglie (Lecce, Apulia). The location of the original specimens remains unknown, rendering these casts the only human remains evidence yielded by Uluzzo C to date. Based on occlusal-view photographs and digital models of the casts, we examined the external morphology and morphometry of the teeth, comparing them to Homo sapiens and H. neanderthalensis samples. Through geometric morphometric methods and statistical analyses, we analyzed the crown outline of the deciduous molars. RESULTS The teeth show morphological and morphometric features that are variably found in H. neanderthalensis, H. sapiens, or both. Specifically, crown outline analysis shows that all molars fall within H. neanderthalensis variability, except for Uluzzo 853 (lower right deciduous first molar), which falls within H. sapiens variability. DISCUSSION This study provides the first taxonomic assessment of the hominin teeth from Uluzzo C. The results contribute additional insights into the Paleolithic peopling of southern Italy during a crucial period marked by the persistence of post-Tyrrhenian Neanderthal techno-complexes and the arrival of H. sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Seghi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Shara E Bailey
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, USA
| | - Erica Piccirilli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Owen A Higgins
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillofacial Sciences, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, R.U. of Prehistory and Anthropology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Medica A Orlando
- Museo Civico di Paleontologia e Paletnologia "Decio de Lorentiis", Maglie, Lecce, Italy
| | - Enza E Spinapolice
- Department of Ancient World Studies, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, R.U. of Prehistory and Anthropology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
- Centro Studi sul Quaternario, Sansepolcro, Arezzo, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
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Rathmann H, Vizzari MT, Beier J, Bailey SE, Ghirotto S, Harvati K. Human population dynamics in Upper Paleolithic Europe inferred from fossil dental phenotypes. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn8129. [PMID: 39151011 PMCID: PMC11328903 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn8129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 08/18/2024]
Abstract
Despite extensive archaeological research, our knowledge of the human population history of Upper Paleolithic Europe remains limited, primarily due to the scarce availability and poor molecular preservation of fossil remains. As teeth dominate the fossil record and preserve genetic signatures in their morphology, we compiled a large dataset of 450 dentitions dating between ~47 and 7 thousand years ago (ka), outnumbering existing skeletal and paleogenetic datasets. We tested a range of competing demographic scenarios using a coalescent-based machine learning Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) framework that we modified for use with phenotypic data. Mostly in agreement with but also challenging some of the hitherto available evidence, we identified a population turnover in western Europe at ~28 ka, isolates in western and eastern refugia between ~28 and 14.7 ka, and bottlenecks during the Last Glacial Maximum. Methodologically, this study marks the pioneering application of ABC to skeletal phenotypes, paving the way for exciting future research avenues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes Rathmann
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
- Paleoanthropology Section, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Maria T Vizzari
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Judith Beier
- Paleoanthropology Section, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools," University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Shara E Bailey
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Silvia Ghirotto
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Katerina Harvati
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
- Paleoanthropology Section, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools," University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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Hofman-Kamińska E, Merceron G, Bocherens H, Boeskorov GG, Krotova OO, Protopopov AV, Shpansky AV, Kowalczyk R. Was the steppe bison a grazing beast in Pleistocene landscapes? ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240317. [PMID: 39144492 PMCID: PMC11321853 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240317] [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: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
The history and palaeoecology of the steppe bison (Bison priscus) remain incompletely understood despite its widespread distribution. Using dental microwear textural analysis (DMTA) and vegetation modelling, we reconstructed the diet and assessed the habitat of steppe bison inhabiting Eurasia and Alaska since the Middle Pleistocene. During the Late Pleistocene, steppe bison occupied a variety of biome types: from the mosaic of temperate summergreen forest and steppe/temperate grassland (Serbia) to the tundra biomes (Siberia and Alaska). Despite the differences in the identified biome types, the diet of steppe bison did not differ significantly among populations in Eurasia. DMTA classified it as a mixed forager in all populations studied. The DMTA of Bb1 bison-a recently identified genetically extinct sister-clade of Bison bonasus-was typical of a highly grazing bovid species and differed from all B. priscus populations. The results of the study temper the common perception that steppe bison were grazers in steppe habitats. The dietary plasticity of the steppe bison was lower when compared with modern European bison and may have played an important role in its extinction, even in the stable tundra biome of eastern Siberia, where it has survived the longest in all of Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilia Hofman-Kamińska
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Stoczek 1, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
| | - Gildas Merceron
- PALEVOPRIM lab, UMR 7262 CNRS & University of Poitiers, Bat. B35—TSA-51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Forschungsbereich Paläobiologie, Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology (HEP), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, Germany
| | - Gennady G. Boeskorov
- The Geological Museum of the Diamond and Precious Metals Geology Institute, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lenina 39, Yakutsk677007, Russia
- Mammoth Fauna Research Department, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Lenina Prospekt 33, Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)677007, Russia
| | - Oleksandra O. Krotova
- Stone Age Archaeology Department, Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 12 Volodymyr Ivasyuk avenue, Kyiv04210, Ukraine
| | - Albert V. Protopopov
- Mammoth Fauna Research Department, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Lenina Prospekt 33, Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)677007, Russia
| | - Andrei V. Shpansky
- Department of Paleontology and Historical Geology, Tomsk State University, Lenina prospekt 36, Tomsk634050, Russia
| | - Rafał Kowalczyk
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Stoczek 1, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
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Gilligan I, d’Errico F, Doyon L, Wang W, Kuzmin YV. Paleolithic eyed needles and the evolution of dress. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadp2887. [PMID: 38941472 PMCID: PMC11212769 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp2887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024]
Abstract
Eyed needles are among the most iconic of Paleolithic artifacts, traditionally seen as rare indicators of prehistoric clothing, particularly tailoring. However, recent finds across Africa and Eurasia show that other technologies like bone awls also facilitated the creation of fitted garments. Nonetheless, the advent of delicate eyed needles suggests a demand for more refined, efficient sewing. This refinement may signify two major developments: the emergence of underwear in layered garment assemblages, and/or a transition in adornment from body modification to decorating clothes, as humans covered themselves more completely for thermal protection. Archaeological evidence for underwear is limited, but the Upper Paleolithic saw an increase in personal ornaments, some sewn onto clothing. Eyed needles may mark a pivotal shift as clothes acquired the social functions of dress, decoupling clothing from climate and ensuring its enduring presence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Gilligan
- School of Humanities, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Francesco d’Errico
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR5199, Pessac 33615, France
- University of Bergen, Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, Bergen 5020, Norway
| | - Luc Doyon
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR5199, Pessac 33615, France
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Yaroslav V. Kuzmin
- Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
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5
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Aldeias V, Stahlschmidt MC. Sediment DNA can revolutionize archaeology-if it is used the right way. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317042121. [PMID: 38900796 PMCID: PMC11214044 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317042121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vera Aldeias
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, Universidade do Algarve, Faro8005-139, Portugal
| | - Mareike C. Stahlschmidt
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna1010, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna1010, Austria
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Falcucci A, Arrighi S, Spagnolo V, Rossini M, Higgins OA, Muttillo B, Martini I, Crezzini J, Boschin F, Ronchitelli A, Moroni A. A pre-Campanian Ignimbrite techno-cultural shift in the Aurignacian sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12783. [PMID: 38834616 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59896-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The Aurignacian is the first European technocomplex assigned to Homo sapiens recognized across a wide geographic extent. Although archaeologists have identified marked chrono-cultural shifts within the Aurignacian mostly by examining the techno-typological variations of stone and osseous tools, unraveling the underlying processes driving these changes remains a significant scientific challenge. Scholars have, for instance, hypothesized that the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption and the climatic deterioration associated with the onset of Heinrich Event 4 had a substantial impact on European foraging groups. The technological shift from the Protoaurignacian to the Early Aurignacian is regarded as an archaeological manifestation of adaptation to changing environments. However, some of the most crucial regions and stratigraphic sequences for testing these scenarios have been overlooked. In this study, we delve into the high-resolution stratigraphic sequence of Grotta di Castelcivita in southern Italy. Here, the Uluzzian is followed by three Aurignacian layers, sealed by the eruptive units of the CI. Employing a comprehensive range of quantitative methods-encompassing attribute analysis, 3D model analysis, and geometric morphometrics-we demonstrate that the key technological feature commonly associated with the Early Aurignacian developed well before the deposition of the CI tephra. Our study provides thus the first direct evidence that the volcanic super-eruption played no role in this cultural process. Furthermore, we show that local paleo-environmental proxies do not correlate with the identified patterns of cultural continuity and discontinuity. Consequently, we propose alternative research paths to explore the role of demography and regional trajectories in the development of the Upper Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando Falcucci
- Department of Geosciences, Prehistory and Archaeological Sciences Research Unit, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Simona Arrighi
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Spagnolo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Matteo Rossini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Owen Alexander Higgins
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Brunella Muttillo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Ivan Martini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Jacopo Crezzini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Francesco Boschin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Annamaria Ronchitelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy
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7
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Saltré F, Chadœuf J, Higham T, Ochocki M, Block S, Bunney E, Llamas B, Bradshaw CJA. Environmental conditions associated with initial northern expansion of anatomically modern humans. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4364. [PMID: 38777837 PMCID: PMC11111671 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48762-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability of our ancestors to switch food sources and to migrate to more favourable environments enabled the rapid global expansion of anatomically modern humans beyond Africa as early as 120,000 years ago. Whether this versatility was largely the result of environmentally determined processes or was instead dominated by cultural drivers, social structures, and interactions among different groups, is unclear. We develop a statistical approach that combines both archaeological and genetic data to infer the more-likely initial expansion routes in northern Eurasia and the Americas. We then quantify the main differences in past environmental conditions between the more-likely routes and other potential (less-likely) routes of expansion. We establish that, even though cultural drivers remain plausible at finer scales, the emergent migration corridors were predominantly constrained by a combination of regional environmental conditions, including the presence of a forest-grassland ecotone, changes in temperature and precipitation, and proximity to rivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédérik Saltré
- Global Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia.
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
| | - Joël Chadœuf
- UR 1052, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), Montfavet, France
| | - Thomas Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, University Biology Building, Carl Djerassi Platz 1, A-1030, Wien, Austria
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
| | - Monty Ochocki
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, University Biology Building, Carl Djerassi Platz 1, A-1030, Wien, Austria
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
| | - Sebastián Block
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544-1003, USA
| | - Ellyse Bunney
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia
| | - Bastien Llamas
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
- National Centre for Indigenous Genomics, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Indigenous Genomics, Telethon Kids Institute, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia
| | - Corey J A Bradshaw
- Global Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
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8
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Yaworsky PM, Nielsen ES, Nielsen TK. The Neanderthal niche space of Western Eurasia 145 ka to 30 ka ago. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7788. [PMID: 38565571 PMCID: PMC10987600 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57490-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Neanderthals occupied Western Eurasia between 350 ka and 40 ka ago, during the climatically volatile Pleistocene. A key issue is to what extent Neanderthal populations expanded into areas of Western Eurasia and what conditions facilitated such range expansions. The range extent of Neanderthals is generally based on the distribution of Neanderthal material, but the land-altering nature of glacial periods has erased much of the already sparse material evidence of Neanderthals, particularly in the northern latitudes. To overcome this obstacle species distribution models can estimate past distributions of Neanderthals, however, most implementations are generally constrained spatially and temporally and may be artificially truncating the Neanderthal niche space. Using dated contexts from Neanderthal sites from across Western Eurasia, millennial-scale paleoclimate reconstructions, and a spatiotemporal species distribution model, we infer the fundamental climatic niche space of Neanderthals and estimate the extent of Neanderthal occupation. We find that (a.) despite the long timeframe, Neanderthals occupy a relatively narrow fundamental climatic niche space, (b.) the estimated projected potential Neanderthal niche space suggests a larger geographic range than the material record suggests, and (c.) that there was a general decline in the size of the projected potential Neanderthal niche from 145 ka ago onward, possibly contributing to their extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Yaworsky
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, Building 4216, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark.
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Emil S Nielsen
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, Building 4216, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Trine K Nielsen
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, Building 4216, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Moesgaard Museum, Moesgård Allé 15, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark
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9
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Pederzani S, Britton K, Trost M, Fewlass H, Bourgon N, McCormack J, Jaouen K, Dietl H, Döhle HJ, Kirchner A, Lauer T, Le Corre M, McPherron SP, Meller H, Mylopotamitaki D, Orschiedt J, Rougier H, Ruebens K, Schüler T, Sinet-Mathiot V, Smith GM, Talamo S, Tütken T, Welker F, Zavala EI, Weiss M, Hublin JJ. Stable isotopes show Homo sapiens dispersed into cold steppes ~45,000 years ago at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:578-588. [PMID: 38297139 PMCID: PMC10927559 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02318-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
The spread of Homo sapiens into new habitats across Eurasia ~45,000 years ago and the concurrent disappearance of Neanderthals represents a critical evolutionary turnover in our species' history. 'Transitional' technocomplexes, such as the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ), characterize the European record during this period but their makers and evolutionary significance have long remained unclear. New evidence from Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany, now provides a secure connection of the LRJ to H. sapiens remains dated to ~45,000 years ago, making it one of the earliest forays of our species to central Europe. Using many stable isotope records of climate produced from 16 serially sampled equid teeth spanning ~12,500 years of LRJ and Upper Palaeolithic human occupation at Ranis, we review the ability of early humans to adapt to different climate and habitat conditions. Results show that cold climates prevailed across LRJ occupations, with a temperature decrease culminating in a pronounced cold excursion at ~45,000-43,000 cal BP. Directly dated H. sapiens remains confirm that humans used the site even during this very cold phase. Together with recent evidence from the Initial Upper Palaeolithic, this demonstrates that humans operated in severe cold conditions during many distinct early dispersals into Europe and suggests pronounced adaptability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Pederzani
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarkers Laboratory (AMBI Lab), Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.
| | - Kate Britton
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Manuel Trost
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Ancient Genomics Lab, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Nicolas Bourgon
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Jeremy McCormack
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Klervia Jaouen
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, UMR 5563, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Holger Dietl
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Hans-Jürgen Döhle
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - André Kirchner
- State Authority for Mining, Energy and Geology of Lower Saxony (LBEG), Hannover, Germany
| | - Tobias Lauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Terrestrial Sedimentology, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mael Le Corre
- Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
- CNRS, UMR 7209 Archéozoologie et Archéobotanique-Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (MNHN-CNRS), Paris, France
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chair of Paleoanthropology, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Jörg Orschiedt
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Hélène Rougier
- Department of Anthropology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, USA
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karen Ruebens
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chair of Paleoanthropology, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, Pessac, France
| | - Geoff M Smith
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Thomas Tütken
- Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elena I Zavala
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chair of Paleoanthropology, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
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10
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Smith GM, Ruebens K, Zavala EI, Sinet-Mathiot V, Fewlass H, Pederzani S, Jaouen K, Mylopotamitaki D, Britton K, Rougier H, Stahlschmidt M, Meyer M, Meller H, Dietl H, Orschiedt J, Krause J, Schüler T, McPherron SP, Weiss M, Hublin JJ, Welker F. The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:564-577. [PMID: 38297138 PMCID: PMC10927544 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Recent excavations at Ranis (Germany) identified an early dispersal of Homo sapiens into the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Here we integrate results from zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, sediment DNA and stable isotopes to characterize the ecology, subsistence and diet of these early H. sapiens. We assessed all bone remains (n = 1,754) from the 2016-2022 excavations through morphology (n = 1,218) or palaeoproteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (n = 536) and species by proteome investigation (n = 212)). Dominant taxa include reindeer, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros and horse, indicating cold climatic conditions. Numerous carnivore modifications, alongside sparse cut-marked and burnt bones, illustrate a predominant use of the site by hibernating cave bears and denning hyaenas, coupled with a fluctuating human presence. Faunal diversity and high carnivore input were further supported by ancient mammalian DNA recovered from 26 sediment samples. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from 52 animal and 10 human remains confirm a cold steppe/tundra setting and indicate a homogenous human diet based on large terrestrial mammals. This lower-density archaeological signature matches other Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician sites and is best explained by expedient visits of short duration by small, mobile groups of pioneer H. sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoff M Smith
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Kent, UK.
| | - Karen Ruebens
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Elena Irene Zavala
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, Pessac, France
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Ancient Genomics Lab, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Sarah Pederzani
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarker Lab, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Klervia Jaouen
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Toulouse, France
| | - Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Kate Britton
- Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
| | - Hélène Rougier
- Department of Anthropology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Mareike Stahlschmidt
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Holger Dietl
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Jörg Orschiedt
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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11
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Schmidt P, Iovita R, Charrié-Duhaut A, Möller G, Namen A, Dutkiewicz E. Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadl0822. [PMID: 38381827 PMCID: PMC10881035 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Ancient adhesives used in multicomponent tools may be among our best material evidences of cultural evolution and cognitive processes in early humans. African Homo sapiens is known to have made compound adhesives from naturally sticky substances and ochre, a technical behavior proposed to mark the advent of elaborate cognitive processes in our species. Foragers of the European Middle Paleolithic also used glues, but evidence of ochre-based compound adhesives is unknown. Here, we present evidence of this kind. Bitumen was mixed with high loads of goethite ochre to make compound adhesives at the type-site of the Mousterian, Le Moustier (France). Ochre loads were so high that they lowered the adhesive's performance in classical hafting situations where stone implements are glued to handles. However, when used as handheld grips on cutting or scraping tools, a behavior known from Neanderthals, high-ochre adhesives present a real benefit, improving their solidity and rigidity. Our findings help understand the implications of Pleistocene adhesive making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Schmidt
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Applied Mineralogy, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Radu Iovita
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Armelle Charrié-Duhaut
- Laboratoire de spectrométrie de masse des interactions et des systèmes (LSMIS), Strasbourg University, CNRS, CMC UMR, Strasbourg 7140, France
| | - Gunther Möller
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Abay Namen
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
| | - Ewa Dutkiewicz
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Berlin, Germany
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12
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Kadowaki S, Wakano JY, Tamura T, Watanabe A, Hirose M, Suga E, Tsukada K, Tarawneh O, Massadeh S. Delayed increase in stone tool cutting-edge productivity at the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in southern Jordan. Nat Commun 2024; 15:610. [PMID: 38326315 PMCID: PMC10850154 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44798-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the lithic cutting-edge productivity has long been recognized as a quantifiable aspect of prehistoric human technological evolution, there remains uncertainty how the productivity changed during the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition. Here we present the cutting-edge productivity of eight lithic assemblages in the eastern Mediterranean region that represent a chrono-cultural sequence including the Late Middle Paleolithic, Initial Upper Paleolithic, the Early Upper Paleolithic, and the Epipaleolithic. The results show that a major increase in the cutting-edge productivity does not coincide with the conventional Middle-Upper Paleolithic boundary characterized by the increase in blades in the Initial Upper Paleolithic, but it occurs later in association with the development of bladelet technology in the Early Upper Paleolithic. Given increasing discussions on the complexity of Middle-Upper Paleolithic cultural changes, it may be fruitful to have a long-term perspective and employ consistent criteria for diachronic comparisons to make objective assessment of how cultural changes proceeded across conventional chrono-cultural boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiji Kadowaki
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
| | - Joe Yuichiro Wakano
- School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, Nakano 4-21-1, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, 164-8525, Japan
| | - Toru Tamura
- Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8567, Japan
| | - Ayami Watanabe
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Masato Hirose
- Laboratory of Archaeology, Kiso Regional Union, Nagano, 399-6101, Japan
| | - Eiki Suga
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Tsukada
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Oday Tarawneh
- Department of Antiquities, Third Circle, Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan
| | - Sate Massadeh
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Third Circle, Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan
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13
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Banks WE. Stone tools in northern Europe made by Homo sapiens 45,000 years ago. Nature 2024; 626:264-265. [PMID: 38297042 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-00072-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
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14
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Mylopotamitaki D, Weiss M, Fewlass H, Zavala EI, Rougier H, Sümer AP, Hajdinjak M, Smith GM, Ruebens K, Sinet-Mathiot V, Pederzani S, Essel E, Harking FS, Xia H, Hansen J, Kirchner A, Lauer T, Stahlschmidt M, Hein M, Talamo S, Wacker L, Meller H, Dietl H, Orschiedt J, Olsen JV, Zeberg H, Prüfer K, Krause J, Meyer M, Welker F, McPherron SP, Schüler T, Hublin JJ. Homo sapiens reached the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Nature 2024; 626:341-346. [PMID: 38297117 PMCID: PMC10849966 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06923-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe is associated with the regional disappearance of Neanderthals and the spread of Homo sapiens. Late Neanderthals persisted in western Europe several millennia after the occurrence of H. sapiens in eastern Europe1. Local hybridization between the two groups occurred2, but not on all occasions3. Archaeological evidence also indicates the presence of several technocomplexes during this transition, complicating our understanding and the association of behavioural adaptations with specific hominin groups4. One such technocomplex for which the makers are unknown is the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ), which has been described in northwestern and central Europe5-8. Here we present the morphological and proteomic taxonomic identification, mitochondrial DNA analysis and direct radiocarbon dating of human remains directly associated with an LRJ assemblage at the site Ilsenhöhle in Ranis (Germany). These human remains are among the earliest directly dated Upper Palaeolithic H. sapiens remains in Eurasia. We show that early H. sapiens associated with the LRJ were present in central and northwestern Europe long before the extinction of late Neanderthals in southwestern Europe. Our results strengthen the notion of a patchwork of distinct human populations and technocomplexes present in Europe during this transitional period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Chair of Paleoanthropology, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Ancient Genomics Lab, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Elena Irene Zavala
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Hélène Rougier
- Department of Anthropology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Arev Pelin Sümer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mateja Hajdinjak
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Geoff M Smith
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Karen Ruebens
- Chair of Paleoanthropology, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, Bordeaux, France
| | - Sarah Pederzani
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarker Lab, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Elena Essel
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Florian S Harking
- Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Huan Xia
- College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jakob Hansen
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - André Kirchner
- Department of Soil Protection and Soil Survey, State Authority for Mining, Energy and Geology of Lower Saxony (LBEG), Hannover, Germany
| | - Tobias Lauer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Terrestrial Sedimentology, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mareike Stahlschmidt
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Hein
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
- Historical Anthropospheres Working Group, Leipzig Lab, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Bologna University, Bologna, Italy
| | - Lukas Wacker
- Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Harald Meller
- Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, Halle, Germany
| | - Holger Dietl
- Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, Halle, Germany
| | - Jörg Orschiedt
- Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, Halle, Germany
| | - Jesper V Olsen
- Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hugo Zeberg
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kay Prüfer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Chair of Paleoanthropology, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France.
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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15
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Parfitt SA, Bello SM. Bone tools, carnivore chewing and heavy percussion: assessing conflicting interpretations of Lower and Upper Palaeolithic bone assemblages. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231163. [PMID: 38179084 PMCID: PMC10762443 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231163] [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: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The use of bone tools by early humans has provided valuable insights into their technology, behaviour and cognitive abilities. However, identifying minimally modified or unshaped Palaeolithic osseous tools can be challenging, particularly when they are mixed with bones altered by natural taphonomic processes. This has hampered the study of key technical innovations, such as the use of bones, antlers and teeth as hammers or pressure-flakers to work (knap) stone tools. Bones chewed by carnivores can resemble osseous knapping tools and have sometimes been mistaken for them. In this paper, we review recent advances in the study of osseous knapping tools with a focus on two Palaeolithic sites in the UK, the Acheulean Horse Butchery Site at Boxgrove and the Magdalenian site of Gough's Cave, where knapping tools were mis-attributed to carnivore chewing. These osseous knapping tools are investigated using microscopy, high-resolution imaging and comparisons with experimental knapping tools. This allows for new insights into human behaviour at these sites and opens fresh avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon A. Parfitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- Centre of Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Silvia M. Bello
- Centre of Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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16
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Abrams G, Devièse T, Pirson S, De Groote I, Flas D, Jungels C, Jadin I, Cattelain P, Bonjean D, Mathys A, Semal P, Higham T, Di Modica K. Investigating the co-occurrence of Neanderthals and modern humans in Belgium through direct radiocarbon dating of bone implements. J Hum Evol 2024; 186:103471. [PMID: 38043357 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Grégory Abrams
- Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, B-9000, Gent, Belgium; Scientific Department, Espace Muséal d'Andenne, B-5300, Andenne, Belgium; Faculty of Archaeology, Archaeological Sciences, Bio-Archaeology, Leiden University, 2333 CC, Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Thibaut Devièse
- Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, BP80-13545, Aix-en-Provence, cedex 4, France.
| | - Stéphane Pirson
- Direction scientifique et technique, Agence wallonne du Patrimoine, B-5100, Namur, Belgium
| | - Isabelle De Groote
- Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, B-9000, Gent, Belgium; School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
| | - Damien Flas
- Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Préhistoire Europe Afrique, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, 13097, Aix-en-Provence, cedex 2, France; Department of Prehistory, University of Liège, B-4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Cécile Jungels
- Scientific Department, Préhistomuseum, B-4400, Flémalle, Belgium; Les Chercheurs de la Wallonie, B-4400, Flémalle, Belgium
| | - Ivan Jadin
- Operational Direction Earth and History of Life, Quaternary Environments & Humans, Anthropology & Prehistory, Royal Belgium Institute of Natural Sciences, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Pierre Cattelain
- Department of Prehistory, University of Liège, B-4000, Liège, Belgium; Cedarc-Musée du Malgré-Tout, B-5670, Belgium; Centre de Recherches en Archéologie et Patrimoine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, B-1150, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Dominique Bonjean
- Scientific Department, Espace Muséal d'Andenne, B-5300, Andenne, Belgium
| | - Aurore Mathys
- Biological Collection and Data Management, Royal Museum for Central Africa, B-3080, Tervuren, Belgium; Scientific Heritage Service, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium; Art, Archaeology and Heritage Unit, University of Liège, B-4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Patrick Semal
- Scientific Heritage Service, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Thomas Higham
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kévin Di Modica
- Scientific Department, Espace Muséal d'Andenne, B-5300, Andenne, Belgium
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17
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Bennett EA, Parasayan O, Prat S, Péan S, Crépin L, Yanevich A, Grange T, Geigl EM. Genome sequences of 36,000- to 37,000-year-old modern humans at Buran-Kaya III in Crimea. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:2160-2172. [PMID: 37872416 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02211-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Populations genetically related to present-day Europeans first appeared in Europe at some point after 38,000-40,000 years ago, following a cold period of severe climatic disruption. These new migrants would eventually replace the pre-existing modern human ancestries in Europe, but initial interactions between these groups are unclear due to the lack of genomic evidence from the earliest periods of the migration. Here we describe the genomes of two 36,000-37,000-year-old individuals from Buran-Kaya III in Crimea as belonging to this newer migration. Both genomes share the highest similarity to Gravettian-associated individuals found several thousand years later in southwestern Europe. These genomes also revealed that the population turnover in Europe after 40,000 years ago was accompanied by admixture with pre-existing modern human populations. European ancestry before 40,000 years ago persisted not only at Buran-Kaya III but is also found in later Gravettian-associated populations of western Europe and Mesolithic Caucasus populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Andrew Bennett
- Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Oğuzhan Parasayan
- Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Human Evolutionary Genetics Unit, Paris, France
| | - Sandrine Prat
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Musée de l'Homme, Palais de Chaillot, Paris, France
| | - Stéphane Péan
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Paris, France
| | - Laurent Crépin
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Paris, France
| | - Alexandr Yanevich
- Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Thierry Grange
- Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
| | - Eva-Maria Geigl
- Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
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18
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Morley MW, Moffat I, Kotarba-Morley AM, Hernandez VC, Zerboni A, Herries AIR, Joannes-Boyau R, Westaway K. Why the geosciences are becoming increasingly vital to the interpretation of the human evolutionary record. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1971-1977. [PMID: 38036632 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02215-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Advanced geoscience techniques are essential to contextualize fossils, artefacts and other archaeologically important material accurately and effectively. Their appropriate use will increase confidence in new interpretations of the fossil and archaeological record, providing important information about the life and depositional history of these materials and so should form an integral component of all human evolutionary studies. Many of the most remarkable recent finds that have transformed the field of human evolution are small and scarce, ranging in size from teeth to strands of DNA, recovered from complex sedimentary environments. Nevertheless, if properly analysed, they hold immense potential to rewrite what we know about the evolution of our species and our closest hominin ancestors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
| | - Ian Moffat
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Anna M Kotarba-Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- School of Humanities, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Vito C Hernandez
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Andrea Zerboni
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra 'A. Desio', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Andy I R Herries
- Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kira Westaway
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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19
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Rybin EP, Belousova NE, Derevianko AP, Douka K, Higham T. The Initial Upper Paleolithic of the Altai: New radiocarbon determinations for the Kara-Bom site. J Hum Evol 2023; 185:103453. [PMID: 37931353 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
The Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) is one of the most important phases in the recent period of the evolution of humans. During a narrow period in the first half of Marine Isotope Stage 3 laminar industries, accompanied by developed symbolism and specific blade technology, emerged over a vast area, replacing different variants of the Middle Paleolithic. In western Eurasia, the earliest appearance of IUP technology is seen at the Boker Tachtit site, dated ca. 50 ka cal BP. The earliest evidence of IUP industries in the Balkans and Central Europe, linked to the spread of Homo sapiens, has been dated to around 48 ka cal BP. A key area of IUP dispersals are the mountains and piedmont of southern Siberia and eastern Central Asia. One of the reference assemblages here is Kara-Bom, an open-air site in the Siberian Altai. Three major settlement phases are distinguished in the sediment sequence. In this paper, we present the results of new radiocarbon determinations and Bayesian models. We find that the latest phase of the IUP, Upper Paleolithic 1 ('UP1') is bracketed between 43 and 35 ka cal BP (at 95.4% probability). The earliest IUP phase, 'UP2', begins to accumulate from ca. 49 ka cal BP and ends by ca. 45 ka cal BP. The Middle Paleolithic 'MP2' assemblages all fall prior to 50 ka cal BP. We can detect a spatial distribution of dates from the geographic core of the IUP beyond the Altai where it appears around 47-45 ka cal BP. The current distribution of dates suggests a west-east dispersal of the IUP technocomplex along the mountain belts of Central Asia and South Siberia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgeny P Rybin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAET SB RAS): 17, Acad. Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Natalia E Belousova
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAET SB RAS): 17, Acad. Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - Anatoly P Derevianko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAET SB RAS): 17, Acad. Lavrentiev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Djerassiplatz 1, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Tom Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Djerassiplatz 1, University of Vienna, Vienna 1030, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna 1030 Vienna, Austria.
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20
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Mylopotamitaki D, Harking FS, Taurozzi AJ, Fagernäs Z, Godinho RM, Smith GM, Weiss M, Schüler T, McPherron SP, Meller H, Cascalheira J, Bicho N, Olsen JV, Hublin JJ, Welker F. Comparing extraction method efficiency for high-throughput palaeoproteomic bone species identification. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18345. [PMID: 37884544 PMCID: PMC10603084 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44885-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
High-throughput proteomic analysis of archaeological skeletal remains provides information about past fauna community compositions and species dispersals in time and space. Archaeological skeletal remains are a finite resource, however, and therefore it becomes relevant to optimize methods of skeletal proteome extraction. Ancient proteins in bone specimens can be highly degraded and consequently, extraction methods for well-preserved or modern bone might be unsuitable for the processing of highly degraded skeletal proteomes. In this study, we compared six proteomic extraction methods on Late Pleistocene remains with variable levels of proteome preservation. We tested the accuracy of species identification, protein sequence coverage, deamidation, and the number of post-translational modifications per method. We find striking differences in obtained proteome complexity and sequence coverage, highlighting that simple acid-insoluble proteome extraction methods perform better in highly degraded contexts. For well-preserved specimens, the approach using EDTA demineralization and protease-mix proteolysis yielded a higher number of identified peptides. The protocols presented here allowed protein extraction from ancient bone with a minimum number of working steps and equipment and yielded protein extracts within three working days. We expect further development along this route to benefit large-scale screening applications of relevance to archaeological and human evolution research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France.
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Florian S Harking
- Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Zandra Fagernäs
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ricardo M Godinho
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Geoff M Smith
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Kent, UK
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - João Cascalheira
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Nuno Bicho
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Jesper V Olsen
- Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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21
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Shichi K, Goebel T, Izuho M, Kashiwaya K. Climate amelioration, abrupt vegetation recovery, and the dispersal of Homo sapiens in Baikal Siberia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi0189. [PMID: 37738346 PMCID: PMC10516500 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi0189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
The dispersal of Homo sapiens in Siberia and Mongolia occurred by 45 to 40 thousand years (ka) ago; however, the climatic and environmental context of this event remains poorly understood. We reconstruct a detailed vegetation history for the Last Glacial period based on pollen spectra from Lake Baikal. While herb and shrub taxa including Artemisia and Alnus dominated throughout most of this period, coniferous forests rapidly expanded during Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events 14 (55 ka ago) and 12 to 10 (48 to 41 ka ago), with the latter presenting the strongest signal for coniferous forest expansion and Picea trees, indicating remarkably humid conditions. These abrupt forestation events are consistent with obliquity maxima, so that we interpret last glacial vegetation changes in southern Siberia as being driven by obliquity change. Likewise, we posit that major climate amelioration and pronounced forestation precipitated H. sapiens dispersal into Baikal Siberia 45 ka ago, as chronicled by the appearance of the Initial Upper Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Shichi
- Shikoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kochi, Japan
| | - Ted Goebel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Masami Izuho
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Japan
| | - Kenji Kashiwaya
- Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
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22
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Vidal-Cordasco M, Terlato G, Ocio D, Marín-Arroyo AB. Neanderthal coexistence with Homo sapiens in Europe was affected by herbivore carrying capacity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi4099. [PMID: 37738342 PMCID: PMC10516502 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi4099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
It has been proposed that climate change and the arrival of modern humans in Europe affected the disappearance of Neanderthals due to their impact on trophic resources; however, it has remained challenging to quantify the effect of these factors. By using Bayesian age models to derive the chronology of the European Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition, followed by a dynamic vegetation model that provides the Net Primary Productivity, and a macroecological model to compute herbivore abundance, we show that in continental regions where the ecosystem productivity was low or unstable, Neanderthals disappeared before or just after the arrival of Homo sapiens. In contrast, regions with high and stable productivity witnessed a prolonged coexistence between both species. The temporal overlap between Neanderthals and H. sapiens is significantly correlated with the carrying capacity of small- and medium-sized herbivores. These results suggest that herbivore abundance released the trophic pressure of the secondary consumers guild, which affected the coexistence likelihood between both human species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Vidal-Cordasco
- Grupo I+D+i EvoAdapta (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avd, Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - Gabriele Terlato
- Grupo I+D+i EvoAdapta (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avd, Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - David Ocio
- Mott MacDonald Ltd., 22 Station Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ana B. Marín-Arroyo
- Grupo I+D+i EvoAdapta (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avd, Los Castros 44, 39005 Santander, Spain
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23
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Gicqueau A, Schuh A, Henrion J, Viola B, Partiot C, Guillon M, Golovanova L, Doronichev V, Gunz P, Hublin JJ, Maureille B. Anatomically modern human in the Châtelperronian hominin collection from the Grotte du Renne (Arcy-sur-Cure, Northeast France). Sci Rep 2023; 13:12682. [PMID: 37542146 PMCID: PMC10403518 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39767-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Around 42,000 years ago, anatomically modern humans appeared in Western Europe to the detriment of indigenous Neanderthal groups. It is during this period that new techno-cultural complexes appear, such as the Châtelperronian that extends from northern Spain to the Paris Basin. The Grotte du Renne (Arcy-sur-Cure) is a key site for discussing the biological identity of its makers. This deposit has yielded several Neanderthal human remains in its Châtelperronian levels. However, the last inventory of the paleoanthropological collection attributed to this techno-complex allowed the identification of an ilium belonging to a neonate (AR-63) whose morphology required a thorough analysis to assess its taxonomic attribution. Using geometric morphometrics, we quantified its morphology and compared it to that of 2 Neanderthals and 32 recent individuals deceased during the perinatal period to explore their morphological variation. Our results indicate a morphological distinction between the ilia of Neanderthals and anatomically modern neonates. Although AR-63 is slightly outside recent variability, it clearly differs from the Neanderthals. We propose that this is due to its belonging to an early modern human lineage whose morphology differs slightly from present-day humans. We also explore different hypotheses about the presence of this anatomically modern neonate ilium among Neanderthal remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Gicqueau
- Univ. de Toulouse Jean Jaurès, CNRS, Ministère de La Culture, TRACES, UMR5608 CNRS, F-31058, Toulouse, France.
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR5199, F-33600, Pessac, France.
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionnary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Alexandra Schuh
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Juliette Henrion
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
| | - Bence Viola
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Caroline Partiot
- Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAI) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Franz Klein-Gasse 1, 1190, Wien/Vienna, Austria
- Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Eco-Anthropologie, UMR7206, F-Paris, France
| | - Mark Guillon
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
- Inrap, Boulevard de Verdun, F-76120, Le Grand Quevilly, France
| | | | | | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionnary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire Internationale de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, F-75231, Paris, France
| | - Bruno Maureille
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR5199, F-33600, Pessac, France.
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24
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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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25
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Rigaud S, Rybin EP, Khatsenovich AM, Queffelec A, Paine CH, Gunchinsuren B, Talamo S, Marchenko DV, Bolorbat T, Odsuren D, Gillam JC, Izuho M, Fedorchenko AY, Odgerel D, Shelepaev R, Hublin JJ, Zwyns N. Symbolic innovation at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic in Eurasia shown by the personal ornaments from Tolbor-21 (Mongolia). Sci Rep 2023; 13:9545. [PMID: 37308668 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36140-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Figurative depictions in art first occur ca. 50,000 years ago in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Considered by most as an advanced form of symbolic behavior, they are restricted to our species. Here, we report a piece of ornament interpreted as a phallus-like representation. It was found in a 42,000 ca.-year-old Upper Paleolithic archaeological layer at the open-air archaeological site of Tolbor-21, in Mongolia. Mineralogical, microscopic, and rugosimetric analyses points toward the allochthonous origin of the pendant and a complex functional history. Three-dimensional phallic pendants are unknown in the Paleolithic record, and this discovery predates the earliest known sexed anthropomorphic representation. It attests that hunter-gatherer communities used sex anatomical attributes as symbols at a very early stage of their dispersal in the region. The pendant was produced during a period that overlaps with age estimates for early introgression events between Homo sapiens and Denisovans, and in a region where such encounters are plausible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solange Rigaud
- CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, UMR5199 PACEA Bâtiment B2 Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 33615, Pessac, France.
| | - Evgeny P Rybin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090.
| | - Arina M Khatsenovich
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Alain Queffelec
- CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, UMR5199 PACEA Bâtiment B2 Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 33615, Pessac, France
| | - Clea H Paine
- Archaeology Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, Kirkwall, UK
| | - Byambaa Gunchinsuren
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", University of Bologna, Via Selmi, 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Daria V Marchenko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Tsedendorj Bolorbat
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
| | - Davaakhuu Odsuren
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
| | | | - Masami Izuho
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan
| | - Alexander Yu Fedorchenko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Lavrentiev Ave., Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | | | - Roman Shelepaev
- V.S. Sobolev's Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Ak. Koptyug Avenue 3, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Zwyns
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California-Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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26
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Tobler R, Souilmi Y, Huber CD, Bean N, Turney CSM, Grey ST, Cooper A. The role of genetic selection and climatic factors in the dispersal of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2213061120. [PMID: 37220274 PMCID: PMC10235988 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213061120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolutionarily recent dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa (OoA) and across Eurasia provides a unique opportunity to examine the impacts of genetic selection as humans adapted to multiple new environments. Analysis of ancient Eurasian genomic datasets (~1,000 to 45,000 y old) reveals signatures of strong selection, including at least 57 hard sweeps after the initial AMH movement OoA, which have been obscured in modern populations by extensive admixture during the Holocene. The spatiotemporal patterns of these hard sweeps provide a means to reconstruct early AMH population dispersals OoA. We identify a previously unsuspected extended period of genetic adaptation lasting ~30,000 y, potentially in the Arabian Peninsula area, prior to a major Neandertal genetic introgression and subsequent rapid dispersal across Eurasia as far as Australia. Consistent functional targets of selection initiated during this period, which we term the Arabian Standstill, include loci involved in the regulation of fat storage, neural development, skin physiology, and cilia function. Similar adaptive signatures are also evident in introgressed archaic hominin loci and modern Arctic human groups, and we suggest that this signal represents selection for cold adaptation. Surprisingly, many of the candidate selected loci across these groups appear to directly interact and coordinately regulate biological processes, with a number associated with major modern diseases including the ciliopathies, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegenerative disorders. This expands the potential for ancestral human adaptation to directly impact modern diseases, providing a platform for evolutionary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Tobler
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Yassine Souilmi
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
- Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Christian D. Huber
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Nigel Bean
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
- School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Chris S. M. Turney
- Division of Research, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW2007, Australia
| | - Shane T. Grey
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW2052, Australia
- Transplantation Immunology Group, Translation Science Pillar, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW2010, Australia
| | - Alan Cooper
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
- Blue Sky Genetics, Ashton, SA5137, Australia
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27
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Demidenko YE, Škrdla P. Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician Industry and South Moravian Sites: a Homo sapiens Late Initial Upper Paleolithic with Bohunician Industrial Generic Roots in Europe. JOURNAL OF PALEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGY 2023; 6:17. [PMID: 37250589 PMCID: PMC10202755 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-023-00142-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
This article re-examines the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) industry, a well-known Early Upper Paleolithic complex in northern Europe. It is widely thought that the LRJ was produced by late Neanderthals and that its industrial roots are in late Middle Paleolithic industries with bifacial leaf points in north-western Europe. On the basis of evidence from four recently excavated open-air sites in southern Moravia (Czech Republic) (Líšeň/Podolí I, Želešice III/Želešice-Hoynerhügel, Líšeň I/Líšeň-Čtvrtě, and Tvarožná X/Tvarožná, "Za školou"), combined with findings from two cave sites in Bohemia (Nad Kačákem Cave) and southern Moravia (Pekárna Cave) and critical re-examination of the LRJ sites and materials from other areas, we propose that the LRJ should actually be considered a late Initial Upper Paleolithic industry. Its initial dates are just before Heinrich Event 4 (HE-4) and the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption, c. 42-40 ka cal BP. We further propose that LRJ assemblages were produced by Homo sapiens, and that its roots are in the Bohunician industry. The LRJ originated as a result of a gradual technological transition, centering on the development of Levallois points into Jerzmanowice-type blade-points. It is also suggested that the LRJ industry first appeared in Moravia, in central Europe, and spread along with its makers (Homo sapiens) across the northern latitudes of central and western Europe. Accordingly, the IUP "Bohunician package" did not disappear in Europe but gave rise to another IUP industry successfully adapted for the then steppe-tundra belts in northern Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri E. Demidenko
- Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Kossuth Square 6, Berehove, 902 00 Ukraine
| | - Petr Škrdla
- Archeologický Ústav AV ČR, Brno V.V.I., Čechyňská 363/19, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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Schmidt P, Koch TJ, Blessing MA, Karakostis FA, Harvati K, Dresely V, Charrié-Duhaut A. Production method of the Königsaue birch tar documents cumulative culture in Neanderthals. ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2023; 15:84. [PMID: 37228449 PMCID: PMC10202989 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-023-01789-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Birch tar is the oldest synthetic substance made by early humans. The earliest such artefacts are associated with Neanderthals. According to traditional interpretations, their study allows understanding Neanderthal tool behaviours, skills and cultural evolution. However, recent work has found that birch tar can also be produced with simple processes, or even result from fortuitous accidents. Even though these findings suggest that birch tar per se is not a proxy for cognition, they do not shed light on the process by which Neanderthals produced it, and, therefore, cannot evaluate the implications of that behaviour. Here, we address the question of how tar was made by Neanderthals. Through a comparative chemical analysis of the two exceptional birch tar pieces from Königsaue (Germany) and a large reference birch tar collection made with Stone Age techniques, we found that Neanderthals did not use the simplest method to make tar. Rather, they distilled tar in an intentionally created underground environment that restricted oxygen flow and remained invisible during the process. This degree of complexity is unlikely to have been invented spontaneously. Our results suggest that Neanderthals invented or developed this process based on previous simpler methods and constitute one of the clearest indicators of cumulative cultural evolution in the European Middle Palaeolithic. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01789-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Schmidt
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Applied Mineralogy, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tabea J. Koch
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matthias A. Blessing
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - F. Alexandros Karakostis
- DFG Centre for Advanced Studies “Words, Bones, Genes, Tools”, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Paleoanthropology, Institute for Archaeological Sciences and Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katerina Harvati
- DFG Centre for Advanced Studies “Words, Bones, Genes, Tools”, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Paleoanthropology, Institute for Archaeological Sciences and Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Veit Dresely
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt – State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Armelle Charrié-Duhaut
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Des Interactions Et Des Systèmes (LSMIS), Strasbourg University, CNRS, UMR 7140, Strasbourg, CMC France
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29
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Essel E, Zavala EI, Schulz-Kornas E, Kozlikin MB, Fewlass H, Vernot B, Shunkov MV, Derevianko AP, Douka K, Barnes I, Soulier MC, Schmidt A, Szymanski M, Tsanova T, Sirakov N, Endarova E, McPherron SP, Hublin JJ, Kelso J, Pääbo S, Hajdinjak M, Soressi M, Meyer M. Ancient human DNA recovered from a Palaeolithic pendant. Nature 2023:10.1038/s41586-023-06035-2. [PMID: 37138083 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06035-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Artefacts made from stones, bones and teeth are fundamental to our understanding of human subsistence strategies, behaviour and culture in the Pleistocene. Although these resources are plentiful, it is impossible to associate artefacts to specific human individuals1 who can be morphologically or genetically characterized, unless they are found within burials, which are rare in this time period. Thus, our ability to discern the societal roles of Pleistocene individuals based on their biological sex or genetic ancestry is limited2-5. Here we report the development of a non-destructive method for the gradual release of DNA trapped in ancient bone and tooth artefacts. Application of the method to an Upper Palaeolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave, Russia, resulted in the recovery of ancient human and deer mitochondrial genomes, which allowed us to estimate the age of the pendant at approximately 19,000-25,000 years. Nuclear DNA analysis identifies the presumed maker or wearer of the pendant as a female individual with strong genetic affinities to a group of Ancient North Eurasian individuals who lived around the same time but were previously found only further east in Siberia. Our work redefines how cultural and genetic records can be linked in prehistoric archaeology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Essel
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Elena I Zavala
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ellen Schulz-Kornas
- Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Periodontology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maxim B Kozlikin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Benjamin Vernot
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael V Shunkov
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Anatoly P Derevianko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS) Research Network, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ian Barnes
- Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Marie-Cécile Soulier
- Maison de la Recherche, Université de Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, CNRS UMR 5608 TRACES, Toulouse, France
| | - Anna Schmidt
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Merlin Szymanski
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tsenka Tsanova
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chemistry "Giacomo Ciamician", Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Nikolay Sirakov
- National Institute of Archaeology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | | | | | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Janet Kelso
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Svante Pääbo
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mateja Hajdinjak
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marie Soressi
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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30
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Malegori C, Sciutto G, Oliveri P, Prati S, Gatti L, Catelli E, Benazzi S, Cercatillo S, Paleček D, Mazzeo R, Talamo S. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging to map collagen content in prehistoric bones for radiocarbon dating. Commun Chem 2023; 6:54. [PMID: 37041241 PMCID: PMC10090164 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00848-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Many of the rarest prehistoric bones found by archaeologists are enormously precious and are considered to be part of our cultural and historical patrimony. Radiocarbon dating is a well-established technique that estimates the ages of bones by analysing the collagen still present. However, this method is destructive, and its use must be limited. In this study, we used imaging technology to quantify the presence of collagen in bone samples in a non-destructive way to select the most suitable samples (or sample regions) to be submitted to radiocarbon dating analysis. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) that was connected to a camera with hyperspectral imaging (HSI) was used along with a chemometric model to create chemical images of the distribution of collagen in ancient bones. This model quantifies the collagen at every pixel and thus provides a chemical mapping of collagen content. Our results will offer significant advances for the study of human evolution as we will be able to minimise the destruction of valuable bone material, which is under the protection and enhancement of European cultural heritage and thus allow us to contextualise the valuable object by providing an accurate calendar age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Malegori
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, Viale Cembrano 4, I-16148, Genova, Italy.
| | - Giorgia Sciutto
- University of Bologna, Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", Ravenna Campus, Via Guaccimanni, 42, 48121, Ravenna, Italy.
| | - Paolo Oliveri
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, Viale Cembrano 4, I-16148, Genova, Italy.
| | - Silvia Prati
- University of Bologna, Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", Ravenna Campus, Via Guaccimanni, 42, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Lucrezia Gatti
- University of Bologna, Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", Ravenna Campus, Via Guaccimanni, 42, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Emilio Catelli
- University of Bologna, Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", Ravenna Campus, Via Guaccimanni, 42, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Silvia Cercatillo
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Dragana Paleček
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rocco Mazzeo
- University of Bologna, Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", Ravenna Campus, Via Guaccimanni, 42, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
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31
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Marín-Arroyo AB, Terlato G, Vidal-Cordasco M, Peresani M. Subsistence of early anatomically modern humans in Europe as evidenced in the Protoaurignacian occupations of Fumane Cave, Italy. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3788. [PMID: 36882431 PMCID: PMC9992387 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30059-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Documenting the subsistence strategies developed by early modern humans is relevant for understanding the success of their dispersal throughout Eurasia. Today, we know that there was not a single colonization event and that the process was progressive while coping with the MIS3 abrupt climatic oscillations. Modern humans expanded into the continent by adapting to different topographic situations and by exploiting resources in diverse ecological niches. The northern part of Italy is one of the first European regions where early modern humans are documented. Here, we present the subsistence regimen adopted by the Protoaurignacian groups in two different levels in Fumane Cave based on archaeozoological data. New radiocarbon dates confirm an overlap between Uluzzian and Protoaurignacian occupations, around 42 and 41,000 cal BP, and reveal that modern humans occupied the cave from GI10 to GS9, the last level coinciding with the Heinrich Event 4. The data indicate seasonal site occupations during late spring/summer and that prey exploitation was focused mostly on ibex and chamois, killed in nearby areas. The whole faunal assemblage suggests the presence of early modern humans in a cold environment with mostly open landscapes and patchy woodlands. The estimation of net primary productivity (NPP) in Fumane, compared with other contemporaneous Italian sites, reflects how the NPP fluctuations in the Prealpine area, where Fumane is located, affected the biotic resources in contrast to known Mediterranean sites. From a pan-European perspective, the spatiotemporal fluctuation of the NPP versus the subsistence strategies adopted by Protoaurignacian groups in the continent supports rapid Homo sapiens dispersal and resilience in a mosaic of environments that were affected by significant climate changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana B Marín-Arroyo
- Grupo de I+D+I EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain.
| | - Gabriele Terlato
- Grupo de I+D+I EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain.
| | - Marco Vidal-Cordasco
- Grupo de I+D+I EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones durante la Prehistoria), Dpto. Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de Los Castros 44, 39005, Santander, Spain
| | - Marco Peresani
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.,Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan, Italy
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32
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Orlando L. The genomic history of ice-age Europeans. Nature 2023; 615:41-42. [PMID: 36859577 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-00371-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
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Pomeroy E. Review: The different adaptive trajectories in Neanderthals and Homo sapiens and their implications for contemporary human physiological variation. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 280:111420. [PMID: 37001690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Neanderthals are our one of our closest evolutionary cousins, but while they evolved in Eurasia, we (anatomically modern humans, AMH) originated in Africa. This contrasting evolutionary history has led to morphological and genetic distinctions between our species. Neanderthals are characterised by a relatively stocky build, high body mass, proportionally wide bodies and shorter limbs, a bell-shaped ribcage with a wide pelvis, and a long, low cranial vault compared with AMH. Classic readings of Neanderthal morphology link many of these traits to cold climate adaptations, however these interpretations have been questioned and alternative hypotheses including behavioural factors, dietary adaptations, locomotor specialisations, evolutionary history and neutral evolutionary processes have been invoked. Compared with AMH, Neanderthals may have been adapted for strength and power rather than endurance and may have consumed a diet high in animal products. However, reviewing these hypotheses highlights a number of limitations in our understanding of contemporary human physiology and metabolism, including the relationship between climate and morphology in AMH and Neanderthals, physiological limits on protein consumption, and the relationship between gut morphology and diet. As various relevant factors are clearly linked (e.g. diet, behaviour, metabolism, morphology, activity), ultimately a more integrated approach may be needed to fully understand Neanderthal biology. Variation among contemporary AMHs may offer, with caveats, a useful model for understanding the evolution of both Neanderthal and modern human characteristics, which in turn may further deepen our understanding of variability within and between contemporary humans. Neanderthals; Anatomically modern humans; morphology; climate adaptation; power adaptations; metabolism; diet; physiology; endurance running.
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Talamo S, Kromer B, Richards MP, Wacker L. Back to the future: The advantage of studying key events in human evolution using a new high resolution radiocarbon method. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280598. [PMID: 36791053 PMCID: PMC9931112 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280598] [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: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Radiocarbon dating is the most widely applied dating method in archaeology, especially in human evolution studies, where it is used to determine the chronology of key events, such as the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in Europe. However, the method does not always provide precise and accurate enough ages to understand the important processes of human evolution. Here we review the newest method developments in radiocarbon dating ('Radiocarbon 3.0'), which can lead us to much better chronologies and understanding of the major events in recent human evolution. As an example, we apply these new methods to discuss the dating of the important Palaeolithic site of Bacho Kiro (Bulgaria).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahra Talamo
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Bernd Kromer
- Institute for Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Lukas Wacker
- Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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35
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Hoffecker JF, Elias SA, Scott GR, O'Rourke DH, Hlusko LJ, Potapova O, Pitulko V, Pavlova E, Bourgeon L, Vachula RS. Beringia and the peopling of the Western Hemisphere. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222246. [PMID: 36629115 PMCID: PMC9832545 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Did Beringian environments represent an ecological barrier to humans until less than 15 000 years ago or was access to the Americas controlled by the spatial-temporal distribution of North American ice sheets? Beringian environments varied with respect to climate and biota, especially in the two major areas of exposed continental shelf. The East Siberian Arctic Shelf ('Great Arctic Plain' (GAP)) supported a dry steppe-tundra biome inhabited by a diverse large-mammal community, while the southern Bering-Chukchi Platform ('Bering Land Bridge' (BLB)) supported mesic tundra and probably a lower large-mammal biomass. A human population with west Eurasian roots occupied the GAP before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and may have accessed mid-latitude North America via an interior ice-free corridor. Re-opening of the corridor less than 14 000 years ago indicates that the primary ancestors of living First Peoples, who already had spread widely in the Americas at this time, probably dispersed from the NW Pacific coast. A genetic 'arctic signal' in non-arctic First Peoples suggests that their parent population inhabited the GAP during the LGM, before their split from the former. We infer a shift from GAP terrestrial to a subarctic maritime economy on the southern BLB coast before dispersal in the Americas from the NW Pacific coast.
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Affiliation(s)
- John F. Hoffecker
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA,Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, 622 Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Scott A. Elias
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - G. Richard Scott
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Dennis H. O'Rourke
- Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, 622 Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Leslea J. Hlusko
- Human Evolution Research Center, University of California-Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720-3140, USA,Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Olga Potapova
- Pleistocene Park Foundation, Philadelphia, PA 19006, USA,Department of Mammoth Fauna Studies, Academy of Sciences of Sakha, Yakutsk, Russia,The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, Hot Springs, SD 57747, USA
| | - Vladimir Pitulko
- Institute of the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, Dvortsovaya nab., 18, 191186 St Petersburg, Russia,Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences, 3, Universitetskaya nab., St Petersburg 199034, Russian Federation
| | - Elena Pavlova
- Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, 38 Bering Street, 199397 St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Lauriane Bourgeon
- Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, 1930 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
| | - Richard S. Vachula
- Department of Geosciences, Auburn University, 2050 Beard Eaves Coliseum, Auburn, AL 36849-5305, USA
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36
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Keeling BA, Quam R, Martínez I, Arsuaga JL, Maroto J. Reassessment of the human mandible from Banyoles (Girona, Spain). J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103291. [PMID: 36493597 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Since the discovery of a human mandible in 1887 near the present-day city of Banyoles, northeastern Spain, researchers have generally emphasized its archaic features, including the lack of chin structures, and suggested affinities with the Neandertals or European Middle Pleistocene (Chibanian) specimens. Uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating suggest the mandible dates to the Late Pleistocene (Tarantian), approximately ca. 45-66 ka. In this study, we reassessed the taxonomic affinities of the Banyoles mandible by comparing it to samples of Middle Pleistocene fossils from Africa and Europe, Neandertals, Early and Upper Paleolithic modern humans, and recent modern humans. We evaluated the frequencies and expressions of morphological features and performed a three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis on a virtual reconstruction of Banyoles to capture overall mandibular shape. Our results revealed no derived Neandertal morphological features in Banyoles. While a principal component analysis based on Euclidean distances from the first two principal components clearly grouped Banyoles with both fossil and recent Homo sapiens individuals, an analysis of the Procrustes residuals demonstrated that Banyoles did not fit into any of the comparative groups. The lack of Neandertal features in Banyoles is surprising considering its Late Pleistocene age. A consideration of the Middle Pleistocene fossil record in Europe and southwest Asia suggests that Banyoles is unlikely to represent a late-surviving Middle Pleistocene population. The lack of chin structures also complicates an assignment to H. sapiens, although early fossil H. sapiens do show somewhat variable development of the chin structures. Thus, Banyoles represents a non-Neandertal Late Pleistocene European individual and highlights the continuing signal of diversity in the hominin fossil record. The present situation makes Banyoles a prime candidate for ancient DNA or proteomic analyses, which may shed additional light on its taxonomic affinities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A Keeling
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, SUNY, New York, USA.
| | - Rolf Quam
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, SUNY, New York, USA; Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA; Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ignacio Martínez
- Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Francisco Javier Muñiz, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Calle Paraguay 2155, Primer piso, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 1121, Argentina
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julià Maroto
- Grup d'Arqueologia i Prehistòria, Universitat de Girona, pl. Ferrater Mora, 1, 17071 Girona, Spain
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Slimak L. The three waves: Rethinking the structure of the first Upper Paleolithic in Western Eurasia. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0277444. [PMID: 37134082 PMCID: PMC10155996 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The Neronian is a lithic tradition recognized in the Middle Rhône Valley of Mediterranean France now directly linked to Homo sapiens and securely dated to 54,000 years ago (ka), pushing back the arrival of modern humans in Europe by 10 ka. This incursion of modern humans into Neandertal territory and the relationships evoked between the Neronian and the Levantine Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) question the validity of concepts that define the first H. sapiens migrations and the very nature of the first Upper Paleolithic in western Eurasia. Direct comparative analyses between lithic technology from Grotte Mandrin and East Mediterranean archeological sequences, especially Ksar Akil, suggest that the three key phases of the earliest Levantine Upper Paleolithic have very precise technical and chronological counterparts in Western Europe, recognized from the Rhône Valley to Franco-Cantabria. These trans-Mediterranean technical connections suggest three distinct waves of H. sapiens expansion into Europe between 55-42 ka. These elements support an original thesis on the origin, structure, and evolution of the first moments of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe tracing parallel archaeological changes in the East Mediterranean region and Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Slimak
- CNRS, UMR 5288, Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
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Djakovic I, Key A, Soressi M. Optimal linear estimation models predict 1400-2900 years of overlap between Homo sapiens and Neandertals prior to their disappearance from France and northern Spain. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15000. [PMID: 36229473 PMCID: PMC9561710 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19162-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent fossil discoveries suggest that Neandertals and Homo sapiens may have co-existed in Europe for as long as 5 to 6000 years. Yet, evidence for their contemporaneity at any regional scale remains highly elusive. In France and northern Spain, a region which features some of the latest directly-dated Neandertals in Europe, Protoaurignacian assemblages attributed to Homo sapiens appear to ‘replace’ Neandertal-associated Châtelperronian assemblages. Using the earliest and latest known occurrences as starting points, Bayesian modelling has provided indication that these occupations may in fact have been partly contemporaneous. The reality, however, is that we are unlikely to ever identify the ‘first’ or ‘last’ appearance of a species or cultural tradition in the archaeological and fossil record. Here, we use optimal linear estimation modelling to estimate the first appearance date of Homo sapiens and the extinction date of Neandertals in France and northern Spain by statistically inferring these ‘missing’ portions of the Protoaurignacian and Châtelperronian archaeological records. Additionally, we estimate the extinction date of Neandertals in this region using a dataset of directly-dated Neandertal fossil remains. Our total dataset consists of sixty-six modernly produced radiocarbon determinations which we recalibrated using the newest calibration curve (IntCal20) to produce updated age ranges. The results suggest that the onset of the Homo sapiens occupation of this region likely preceded the extinction of Neandertals and the Châtelperronian by up to 1400–2900 years. This reaffirms the Bayesian-derived duration of co-existence between these groups during the initial Upper Palaeolithic of this region using a novel independent method, and indicates that our understanding of the timing of these occupations may not be suffering from substantial gaps in the record. Whether or not this co-existence featured some form of direct interaction, however, remains to be resolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Djakovic
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Alastair Key
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK
| | - Marie Soressi
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Silvestrini S, Lugli F, Romandini M, Real C, Sommella E, Salviati E, Arrighi S, Bortolini E, Figus C, Higgins OA, Marciani G, Oxilia G, Delpiano D, Vazzana A, Piperno M, Crescenzi C, Campiglia P, Collina C, Peresani M, Spinapolice EE, Benazzi S. Integrating ZooMS and zooarchaeology: New data from the Uluzzian levels of Uluzzo C Rock Shelter, Roccia San Sebastiano cave and Riparo del Broion. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275614. [PMID: 36227961 PMCID: PMC9560625 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study we explore the potential of combining traditional zooarchaeological determination and proteomic identification of morphologically non-diagnostic bone fragments (ZooMS) collected from the Uluzzian levels of three Italian sites: Uluzzo C Rock Shelter, Roccia San Sebastiano cave, and Riparo del Broion. Moreover, we obtained glutamine deamidation ratios for all the contexts analysed during routine ZooMS screening of faunal samples, giving information on collagen preservation. We designed a selection protocol that maximizes the efficiency of the proteomics analyses by excluding particularly compromised fragments (e.g. from taphonomic processes), and that aims to identify new human fragments by favouring bones showing morphological traits more similar to Homo. ZooMS consistently provided taxonomic information in agreement with the faunal spectra outlined by traditional zooarchaeology. Our approach allows us to delineate and appreciate differences between the analysed contexts, particularly between the northern and southern sites, related to faunal, environmental, and climate composition, although no human remains were identified. We reconstructed the faunal assemblage of the different sites, giving voice to morphologically undiagnostic bone fragments. Thus, the combination of these analyses provides a more complete picture of the faunal assemblage and of the paleoenvironment during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Silvestrini
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Federico Lugli
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Matteo Romandini
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Cristina Real
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Eduardo Sommella
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, Salerno, Italy
| | - Emanuela Salviati
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, Salerno, Italy
| | - Simona Arrighi
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Unità di Ricerca di Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Carla Figus
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Marciani
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Unità di Ricerca di Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Gregorio Oxilia
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Davide Delpiano
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Marcello Piperno
- Museo Civico Archeologico Biagio Greco, Mondragone, Caserta, Italy
| | - Carlo Crescenzi
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, Salerno, Italy
| | - Pietro Campiglia
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, Salerno, Italy
| | - Carmine Collina
- Museo Civico Archeologico Biagio Greco, Mondragone, Caserta, Italy
| | - Marco Peresani
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
- Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano, Italy
| | - Enza Elena Spinapolice
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
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After the blades: The late MIS3 flake-based technology at Shuidonggou Locality 2, North China. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274777. [PMID: 36223341 PMCID: PMC9555678 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274777] [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: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Contrasting with the predominance of blade-based assemblages in the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic, the large-scale persistence of a core-and-flake technology remains one of the defining features of Late Pleistocene lithic technology in East Asia. In North China, Shuidonggou is an exceptional site where both technologies are documented, therefore, it is an important archaeological sequence to understand regional technological evolution during the Marine Isotopic Stage 3. Blade technology first occurred at Shuidonggou Locality 1 and 2 around 41 ka cal BP while core-and-flake assemblages were widespread in North China. However, systematic technological studies on assemblages postdating 34 ka cal BP have not been conducted to examine whether the blade technology appeared and disappeared over a short yet abrupt episode, or persists and integrates into other forms in the region. Here, we conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses to reconstruct lithic productions on the assemblages at Shuidonggou Locality 2, dated after 34 ka cal BP. Our results show that there is a total absence of laminar elements in stone artifacts dated to 34–28 ka cal BP at Shuidonggou. Instead, we observe a dominance of an expedient production of flakes in the younger assemblages, illustrating a rapid return to flake-based technology after a relatively brief episode of stone blade production. Combining archaeological, environmental, and genetic evidence, we suggest that this technological ‘reversal’ from blades back to core and flake technology reflect population dynamics and adaptive strategies at an ecological interface between East Asian winter and summer monsoon.
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41
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Oxilia G, Bortolini E, Marciani G, Menghi Sartorio JC, Vazzana A, Bettuzzi M, Panetta D, Arrighi S, Badino F, Figus C, Lugli F, Romandini M, Silvestrini S, Sorrentino R, Moroni A, Donadio C, Morigi MP, Slon V, Piperno M, Talamo S, Collina C, Benazzi S. Direct evidence that late Neanderthal occupation precedes a technological shift in southwestern Italy. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 179:18-30. [PMID: 36790758 PMCID: PMC9541503 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES During the middle-to-upper Paleolithic transition (50,000 and 40,000 years ago), interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens varied across Europe. In southern Italy, the association between Homo sapiens fossils and non-Mousterian material culture, as well as the mode and tempo of Neanderthal demise, are still vividly debated. In this research, we focus on the study of two human teeth by using 3D geometric morphometric approaches for a reliable taxonomical attribution as well as obtaining new radiometric dates on the archeological sequence. MATERIAL AND METHODS This work presents two lower deciduous molars uncovered at Roccia San Sebastiano (Mondragone-Caserta, Italy), stratigraphically associated with Mousterian (RSS1) and Uluzzian (RSS2) artifacts. To obtain a probabilistic attribution of the two RSS teeth to each reference taxa group composed of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, we performed and compared the performance of three supervised learning algorithms (flexible discriminant analysis, multiadaptive regression splines, and random forest) on both crown and cervical outlines obtained by virtual morphometric methods. RESULTS We show that RSS1, whose Mousterian context appears more recent than 44,800-44,230 cal BP, can be attributed to a Neanderthal, while RSS2, found in an Uluzzian context that we dated to 42,640-42,380 cal BP, is attributed to Homo sapiens. DISCUSSION This site yields the most recent direct evidence for a Neanderthal presence in southern Italy and confirms a later shift to upper Paleolithic technology in southwestern Italy compared to the earliest Uluzzian evidence at Grotta del Cavallo (Puglia, Italy).
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyInstitució Milà i Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades, CSICBarcelonaSpain
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Siena, U. R. Preistoria e AntropologiaSienaItaly
| | | | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Matteo Bettuzzi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”University of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | | | - Simona Arrighi
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Siena, U. R. Preistoria e AntropologiaSienaItaly
| | - Federica Badino
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,CNR Institute of Environmental Geology and GeoengineeringMilanItaly
| | - Carla Figus
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Federico Lugli
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Chemical and Geological SciencesUniversity of Modena and Reggio EmiliaModenaItaly
| | - Matteo Romandini
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Sara Silvestrini
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Siena, U. R. Preistoria e AntropologiaSienaItaly
| | - Carlo Donadio
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Naples Federico IINaplesItaly
| | - Maria Pia Morigi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”University of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Viviane Slon
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Evolutionary GeneticsLeipzigGermany,Tel Aviv University, Department of Anatomy and Anthropology and Department of Human Molecular Genetics and BiochemistrySackler Faculty of MedicineTel AvivIsrael,Tel Aviv University, The Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory ResearchTel AvivIsrael
| | | | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Chemistry “G. Ciamician”University of BolognaBolognaItaly,Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
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Aurignacian dynamics in Southeastern Europe based on spatial analysis, sediment geochemistry, raw materials, lithic analysis, and use-wear from Românești-Dumbrăvița. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14152. [PMID: 35986053 PMCID: PMC9391429 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15544-5] [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: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The Aurignacian is one of the first cultural-technological traditions commonly associated with the expansion of Homo sapiens in Europe. Early Homo sapiens demographics across the continent are therefore typically inferred using the distribution of Aurignacian assemblages. Western Romania has been used as a tie-point to connect the well-researched lithic assemblages from the eastern Mediterranean and Western Europe through its early Homo sapiens fossils. However, Romania’s archeological record remains underexplored thereby hindering our ability to directly connect better understood regions through time and space. Here we report on excavations from the open-air Middle/Upper Paleolithic site of Românești-Dumbrăvița I in southwestern Romania. Three stratified Paleolithic assemblages were extensively excavated within a 1-m-thick eolian-deposited sequence. Spatial, geochemical, raw material, techno-typological, and use-wear analysis of the site reveal patterns of artifact configuration, resource exploitation, fire history, knapping objectives, and functionality. Taken together, Românești-Dumbrăvița I is the first well-contextualized archeological site in close spatiotemporal proximity to many early, well-preserved human fossils and in East-Central Europe.
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43
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Lubart T. Creativity Today. EUROPEAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Todd Lubart
- Université Paris Cité and Université Gustave Eiffel, LaPEA, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
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44
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Initial Upper Paleolithic bone technology and personal ornaments at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria). J Hum Evol 2022; 167:103198. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Bayle P, Armand D, Bessou M, Cochard D, Couture C, Deguilloux M, Ferrier C, Haget C, Jaubert J, Knüsel C, Martins S, Pubert É, Rottier S, Souron A, Beauval C, Caillo A, Dutailly B, Girault T, Hesry M, Lacrampe‐Cuyaubère F, Ledevin R, Masset C, Mesa‐Saborido M, Mora P, Muth X, Pinson R, Thibeault A, Thomas M, Vanderesse N, Bordes J. Enhancing the learning of evolutionary anthropology skills by combining student‐active teaching with actual and virtual immersion of Master's students in fieldwork, laboratory practice, and dissemination. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8825. [PMID: 35441006 PMCID: PMC9012909 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8825] [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] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Higher education in evolutionary anthropology involves providing students with in‐depth knowledge of biological and cultural heritage sites and collections that are frequently inaccessible. Indeed, most sites, fossils, and archaeological remains can be visited or manipulated only rarely and solely by specialists with extensive experience. Owing to the development of 3D and medical imaging techniques, this fragile heritage is now more widely accessible, and in a dynamic way. However, exclusive adoption of virtual teaching and learning has a negative impact on student engagement and, naturally, on exchanges with instructors, and thus cannot be used without some reservations. In the ITAP (Immersion dans les Terrains de l’Anthropologie biologique et de la Préhistoire) project of the higher education STEP (Soutien à la Transformation et à l’Expérimentation Pédagogiques) transformation program at the University of Bordeaux, we combine student‐active teaching with Master's students fully immersed in ongoing fieldwork, laboratory study, and dissemination of research results in order to develop more individually shaped learning curricula and to foster both professional and new interdisciplinary skills. Here, we present examples of experiments conducted in the ITAP project using both authentic and virtual collections of archaeological, experimental, and reference materials that help to break down the barriers between research activities and higher education, as well as providing a more general appraisal of the appropriate use of virtual tools in higher education by combining them with real‐life situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscilla Bayle
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | - Maryelle Bessou
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | - David Cochard
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | | | | | - Cathy Haget
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | - Jacques Jaubert
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | - Stéphanie Martins
- Mission d'Appui à la Pédagogie et à l'Innovation University of Bordeaux Bordeaux France
| | - Éric Pubert
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | - Antoine Souron
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | - Arnaud Caillo
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | - Bruno Dutailly
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
- UMS 3657 CNRS, Archéovision Bordeaux Montaigne University Pessac France
| | - Thomas Girault
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | - Malo Hesry
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | - Ronan Ledevin
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | | | - Pascal Mora
- UMS 3657 CNRS, Archéovision Bordeaux Montaigne University Pessac France
| | | | - Raphaël Pinson
- UMR5199 CNRS, MC, PACEA University of Bordeaux Pessac France
| | | | - Marc Thomas
- UMR 5608 CNRS, TRACES University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès Toulouse France
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Vallini L, Marciani G, Aneli S, Bortolini E, Benazzi S, Pievani T, Pagani L. Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:evac045. [PMID: 35445261 PMCID: PMC9021735 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The population dynamics that followed the Out of Africa (OoA) expansion and the whereabouts of the early migrants before the differentiation that ultimately led to the formation of Oceanian, West and East Eurasian macropopulations have long been debated. Shedding light on these events may, in turn, provide clues to better understand the cultural evolution in Eurasia between 50 and 35 ka. Here, we analyze Eurasian Paleolithic DNA evidence to provide a comprehensive population model and validate it in light of available material culture. Leveraging on our integrated approach we propose the existence of a Eurasian population Hub, where Homo sapiens lived between the OoA and the broader colonization of Eurasia, which was characterized by multiple events of expansion and local extinction. A major population wave out of Hub, of which Ust'Ishim, Bacho Kiro, and Tianyuan are unadmixed representatives, is broadly associated with Initial Upper Paleolithic lithics and populated West and East Eurasia before or around 45 ka, before getting largely extinct in Europe. In this light, we suggest a parsimonious placement of Oase1 as an individual related to Bacho Kiro who experienced additional Neanderthal introgression. Another expansion, started before 38 ka, is broadly associated with Upper Paleolithic industries and repopulated Europe with sporadic admixtures with the previous wave (GoyetQ116-1) and more systematic ones, whereas moving through Siberia (Yana, Mal'ta). Before these events, we also confirm Zlatý Kůň as the most basal human lineage sequenced to date OoA, potentially representing an earlier wave of expansion out of the Hub.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Serena Aneli
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Italy
- Department of Public Health Sciences and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Luca Pagani
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Italy
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia
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47
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The intrusive nature of the Châtelperronian in the Iberian Peninsula. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265219. [PMID: 35353845 PMCID: PMC8967055 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple factors have been proposed to explain the disappearance of Neandertals between ca. 50 and 40 kyr BP. Central to these discussions has been the identification of new techno-cultural complexes that overlap with the period of Neandertal demise in Europe. One such complex is the Châtelperronian, which extends from the Paris Basin to the Northern Iberian Peninsula between 43,760–39,220 BP. In this study we present the first open-air Châtelperronian site in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, Aranbaltza II. The technological features of its stone tool assemblage show no links with previous Middle Paleolithic technology in the region, and chronological modeling reveals a gap between the latest Middle Paleolithic and the Châtelperronian in this area. We interpret this as evidence of local Neandertal extinction and replacement by other Neandertal groups coming from southern France, illustrating how local extinction episodes could have played a role in the process of disappearance of Neandertals.
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48
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Roksandic M, Radović P, Lindal J, Mihailović D. Early Neanderthals in contact: The Chibanian (Middle Pleistocene) hominin dentition from Velika Balanica Cave, Southern Serbia. J Hum Evol 2022; 166:103175. [PMID: 35339947 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Neanderthals are Eurasian fossil hominins whose distinctive morphology developed in the southwestern corner of Europe and later spread throughout the continent, reaching Southwest Asia before the Late Pleistocene and spreading into Central Asia by 59-49 ka. The timing, tempo, and route of the Neanderthal movements eastward are poorly documented. The earliest probable evidence of Neanderthals in Asia comes from Karain E Cave (Anatolia, Turkey), dated to 250-200 ka. We present four Chibanian (Middle Pleistocene) hominin specimens, representing at least two individuals, from Velika Balanica Cave (Serbia): a permanent upper third molar (BH-2), a deciduous upper fourth premolar (BH-3) refitted to a poorly preserved maxillary fragment with the permanent first molar in the alveolus (BH-4), and a permanent upper central incisor (BH-5). We provide descriptions of the teeth, as well as a comparative analysis of the well-preserved M1 (BH-4), including assessments of cusp angles, relative occlusal polygon area, relative cusp base areas, two- and three-dimensional enamel thickness, and taurodontism. Morphology of both the occlusal surface and the enamel dentine junction of the M1 indicates that the maxillary fragment and associated dP4 belonged to an early Neanderthal child. The heavily worn I1 and M3 are consistent with the Neanderthal morphology, although they are less distinct taxonomically. These Chibanian remains with provenance from layer 3a are constrained by two thermoluminescence dates: 285 ± 34 ka and 295 ± 74 ka. They represent the earliest current evidence of Neanderthal spread into the Eastern Mediterranean Area. We discuss these findings in light of recent direct evidence for cultural connections between Southwestern Asia and Southeast Europe in the Chibanian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Roksandic
- Department of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada; Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, 432 Fletcher Argue Building, 15 Chancellor Circle, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada; Fellow, DFG Center for Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', University of Tübingen, 23 Rümelinstrasse, Room 603a, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Predrag Radović
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 18-20 Čika Ljubina Belgrade, 11000, Serbia; National Museum Kraljevo, 2 Trg Svetog Save, Kraljevo, 36000, Serbia
| | - Joshua Lindal
- Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, 432 Fletcher Argue Building, 15 Chancellor Circle, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Dušan Mihailović
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 18-20 Čika Ljubina Belgrade, 11000, Serbia
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49
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Zhang P, Zhang X, Zhang X, Gao X, Huerta-Sanchez E, Zwyns N. Denisovans and Homo sapiens on the Tibetan Plateau: dispersals and adaptations. Trends Ecol Evol 2022; 37:257-267. [PMID: 34863581 PMCID: PMC9140327 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that both archaic Denisovans and Homo sapiens occupied the Tibetan Plateau earlier than expected. Genetic studies show that a pulse of Denisovan introgression was involved in the adaptation of Tibetan populations to high-altitude hypoxia. These findings challenge the traditional view that the plateau was one of the last places on earth colonized by H. sapiens and warrant a reappraisal of the population history of this highland. Here, we integrate archaeological and genomic evidence relevant to human dispersal, settlement, and adaptation in the region. We propose two testable models to address the peopling of the plateau in the broader context of H. sapiens dispersal and their encounters with Denisovans in Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peiqi Zhang
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Xinjun Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Xiaoling Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 10044, China
| | - Xing Gao
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 10044, China
| | - Emilia Huerta-Sanchez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Nicolas Zwyns
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Insititute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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50
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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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