Human perception of symmetry, raw material and size of Palaeolithic handaxes.

It has often been assumed that handaxes were crafted and used primarily by adult males (Hawkes et al. 1997; Kohn & Mithen 1999; Niekus et al. 2012). However, there is no clear scientific or ethnographic evidence to support this. This study aimed to assess modern perceptions of essential morphological traits, including symmetry, raw material and size of handaxes, with a view to ascertaining whether differences exist between males and females in different age groups in their perception of bifaces. A statistical analysis was performed on data gathered through questioning more than 300 individuals, including males and females, adults and subadults (divided into juveniles and children). The study showed that most people prefer symmetrical to asymmetrical handaxes. In particular, females demonstrated a statistically significant preference for symmetrical handaxes. Juveniles and children were significantly more attracted towards symmetrical bifaces than adults, and adult females prefer smaller tools. These results suggest new avenues for research into Palaeolithic tool manufacture and use

Pleistocene landscape evolution in the Avon valley, southern Britain: optical dating of terrace formation and Palaeolithic archaeology

This paper presents the first comprehensive Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating programme from a sequence of Pleistocene river terraces in the Avon valley (Wiltshire-Hampshire-Dorset), southern Britain. These results offer the most complete chronometric framework for Pleistocene landscape evolution and Palaeolithic occupation in the Avon valley, allowing for the first time: (1) an assessment of the timing of terrace formation and landscape evolution, (2) the dating of hominin presence in the area, and (3) an investigation of the relationship between terrace formation and Quaternary climatic change. Analysis of 25 samples collected from terraces 10 and 7 to 4 show that the middle Avon terraces formed in response to the main Pleistocene climatic oscillations (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 10, 8, 6) and that fluvial mechanisms changed through time, resulting in three different types of terrace architecture. The highest and oldest deposits are compound terraces deposited during the Early Pleistocene before the Mid Pleistocene Transition. The middle reach of the valley is characterised by well-developed strath terraces overlain with thick fluvial deposits, reflecting the greater degree of incision in response to the increased amplitude of climate cycles in the Middle Pleistocene. The youngest deposits in the confined modern floodplain represent cut-and-fill terraces deposited after MIS5e. The results indicate that the two main Palaeolithic sites in the area, Milford Hill and Woodgreen, date to between at least MIS 10 and 8 with a pre-MIS 10 human occupation at a third main site at Bemerton. This is significant because the sites date to a period previously associated with a decline in hominin presence in Britain. The dating of the Avon valley terrace sequence highlights the complex nature of terrace formation during the Pleistocene and the need to critically reassess the chronological understanding of these fluvial archives in southern Britain. This research demonstrates that with a detailed and multidisciplinary approach shifts in hominin landscape use can be discovered, providing new information on hominin behavioural change during the Pleistocene

Program okruglog stola - Javno i privatno u zdravstvu i ljekarništvu: Dvije logike, dvije etike?

This paper examines interactions between co-occupants of riverine niches in north-west Europe during the Late Upper Palaeolithic using both ecological and archaeological data. It is argued that consideration of both the Lateglacial record and autecology of eel, beaver and horse supports a reinterpretation of some famous but enigmatic panels of Magdalenian mobiliary art as representations of eel fishing, along with horse and beaver exploitation in disturbed riverine habitats. It is further suggested that this constitutes a humanly co-constructed niche in ecological, nutritional, and symbolic terms, which was also particularly advantageous for human well-being and social development in this time and place

60,000 years of interactions between Central and Eastern Africa documented by major African mitochondrial haplogroup L2

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup L2 originated in Western Africa but is nowadays spread across the entire continent. L2 movements were previously postulated to be related to the Bantu expansion, but L2 expansions eastwards probably occurred much earlier. By reconstructing the phylogeny of L2 (44 new complete sequences) we provide insights on the complex net of within-African migrations in the last 60 thousand years (ka). Results show that lineages in Southern Africa cluster with Western/Central African lineages at a recent time scale, whereas, eastern lineages seem to be substantially more ancient. Three moments of expansion from a Central African source are associated to L2: (1) one migration at 70-50 ka into Eastern or Southern Africa, (2) postglacial movements (15-10 ka) into Eastern Africa; and (3) the southward Bantu Expansion in the last 5 ka. The complementary population and L0a phylogeography analyses indicate no strong evidence of mtDNA gene flow between eastern and southern populations during the later movement, suggesting low admixture between Eastern African populations and the Bantu migrants. This implies that, at least in the early stages, the Bantu expansion was mainly a demic diffusion with little incorporation of local populations.This research received support from the European project “A European Initial Training Network on the History, Archaeology, and New Genetics of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (EUROTAST)” (EU project: 290344). PSo is supported by FCT (the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), European Social Fund, Programa Operacional Potencial Humano and the FCT Investigator Programme (IF/01641/2013). IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by FCT. This work is funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness FactorsCOMPETE and National Funds through FCT, under the project “PEst-C/SAU/LA0003/2013”. FCT/MEC supports CBMA through Portuguese funds (PIDDAC) - PEst-OE/BIA/UI4050/2014. NORTE-07-0162FEDER-00018 (Contributos para o reforço da capacidade do IPATIMUP enquanto actor do sistema regional de inovação) and NORTE-07-0162-FEDER-000067 (Reforço e consolidação da capacidade infraestrutural do IPATIMUP para o sistema regional de inovação), both supported by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), through FEDER funds under the Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN)

A pulse of mid-Pleistocene rift volcanism in Ethiopia at the dawn of modern humans

The Ethiopian Rift Valley hosts the longest record of human co-existence with volcanoes on Earth, however, current understanding of the magnitude and timing of large explosive eruptions in this region is poor. Detailed records of volcanism are essential for interpreting the palaeoenvironments occupied by our hominin ancestors; and also for evaluating the volcanic hazards posed to the 10 million people currently living within this active rift zone. Here we use new geochronological evidence to suggest that a 200 km-long segment of rift experienced a major pulse of explosive volcanic activity between 320 and 170 ka. During this period, at least four distinct volcanic centres underwent large-volume (>10 km3) caldera-forming eruptions, and eruptive fluxes were elevated five times above the average eruption rate for the past 700 ka. We propose that such pulses of episodic silicic volcanism would have drastically remodelled landscapes and ecosystems occupied by early hominin populations

The greening of Arabia: multiple opportunities for human occupation of the Arabian peninsula during the Late Pleistocene inferred from an ensemble of climate model simulations

Climate models are potentially useful tools for addressing human dispersals and demographic change. The Arabian Peninsula is becoming increasingly significant in the story of human dispersals out of Africa during the Late Pleistocene. Although characterised largely by arid environments today, emerging climate records indicate that the peninsula was wetter many times in the past, suggesting that the region may have been inhabited considerably more than hitherto thought. Explaining the origins and spatial distribution of increased rainfall is challenging because palaeoenvironmental research in the region is in an early developmental stage. We address environmental oscillations by assembling and analysing an ensemble of five global climate models (CCSM3, COSMOS, HadCM3, KCM, and NorESM). We focus on precipitation, as the variable is key for the development of lakes, rivers and savannas. The climate models generated here were compared with published palaeoenvironmental data such as palaeolakes, speleothems and alluvial fan records as a means of validation. All five models showed, to varying degrees, that the Arabia Peninsula was significantly wetter than today during the Last Interglacial (130 ka and 126/125 ka timeslices), and that the main source of increased rainfall was from the North African summer monsoon rather than the Indian Ocean monsoon or from Mediterranean climate patterns. Where available, 104 ka (MIS 5c), 56 ka (early MIS 3) and 21 ka (LGM) timeslices showed rainfall was present but not as extensive as during the Last Interglacial. The results favour the hypothesis that humans potentially moved out of Africa and into Arabia on multiple occasions during pluvial phases of the Late Pleistocene

Tropical forests and the genus Homo

Tropical forests constitute some of the most diverse and complex terrestrial ecosystems on the planet. From the Miocene onward, they have acted as a backdrop to the ongoing evolution of our closest living relatives, the great apes, and provided the cradle for the emergence of early hominins, who retained arboreal physiological adaptations at least into the Late Pliocene. There also now exists growing evidence, from the Late Pleistocene onward, for tool-assisted intensification of tropical forest occupation and resource extraction by our own species, Homo sapiens. However, between the Late Pliocene and Late Pleistocene there is an apparent gap in clear and convincing evidence for the use of tropical forests by hominins, including early members of our own genus. In discussions of Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene hominin evolution, including the emergence and later expansion of Homo species across the globe, tropical forest adaptations tend to be eclipsed by open, savanna environments. Thus far, it is not clear whether this Early-Middle Pleistocene lacuna in Homo-rainforest interaction is real and representative of an adaptive shift with the emergence of our species or if it is simply reflective of preservation bias.For financial support, we acknowledge the Natural Environmental 314 ARTICLE Research Council (no. 1322282 to PR), the Boise Fund (to PR), the European Research Council (no. 206148 to NB, no. 617627 to JS, no. 295719 to MP), and the Leakey Foundation (to JLT)

New lower Palaeolithic finds from the Axe valley Dorset

The Axe Valley has long been known for its Palaeolithic finds, particularly from the site at Broom. While research has continued at Broom, other sites have also been investigated in the valley as part of the English Heritage-managed and ALSF funded project “Palaeolithic Rivers of South West Britain” (PRoSWeB). This project was completed in March 2007. Since then, research focussing on the Quaternary geology and Palaeolithic archaeology of the southwest region has been continued at selected locations by Prof. Tony Brown (University of Southampton), Dr Laura Basell (University of Oxford) and Dr Phil Toms (University of Gloucestershire), with assistance from Dr Ramues Gallois and Dr Richard Scrivener (formerly British Geological Survey)