New investigations at Shanidar Cave, Iraqi Kurdistan

Shanidar Cave (36º50’ N, 44º13’ E) in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, approximately 740m above sea level (Figure 1), has iconic status in Palaeolithic archaeology following excavations by Ralph Solecki between 1952 and 1960 (Solecki 1963, 1971). It is central to debates about Neanderthal burials and behaviour, the origins of the Upper Palaeolithic and issues of Neanderthal–Modern Human interaction and succession

A new view from La Cotte de St Brelade, Jersey

Did Neanderthal hunters drive mammoth herds over cliffs in mass kills? Excavations at La Cotte de St Brelade in the 1960s and 1970s uncovered heaps of mammoth bones, interpreted as evidence of intentional hunting drives. New study of this Middle Palaeolithic coastal site, however, indicates a very different landscape to the featureless coastal plain that was previously envisaged. Reconsideration of the bone heaps themselves further undermines the ‘mass kill’ hypothesis, suggesting that these were simply the final accumulations of bone at the site, undisturbed and preserved in situ when the return to a cold climate blanketed them in wind-blown loess

The influence of phase angle, strain range and peak cycle temperature on the TMF crack initiation behaviour and damage mechanisms of the nickel-based superalloy, RR1000

Thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) tests including 0°, 90°, -90°, 45° -135° and -180°, phasing (φ) between mechanical loading and temperature were undertaken on a polycrystalline nickel-based superalloy, RR1000. Mechanical loading was employed through strain control whilst 300-700 °C and 300-750°C thermal cycles were achieved with induction heating and forced air cooling. Mechanical strain ranges from 0.7 to 1.4% were employed. Results show that, for the strain ranges tested, TMF life is significantly affected by the employed phase angle. Furthermore the strain range and peak cycle temperature used has a substantial influence on the significance of dominant damage mechanisms, and resultant life. Various metallographic examination techniques have outlined that the dominant damage mechanisms are creep deformation at higher temperatures and early cracking of oxide layers at lower temperatures