Landscape transformations at the dawn of agriculture in southern Syria (10.7–9.9 ka cal. BP): plant-specific responses to the impact of human activities and climate change

In southwest Asia, the accelerated impact of human activities on the landscape has often been linked to the development of fully agricultural societies during the middle and late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period (around 10.2–7.9 ka cal. BP). This work contributes to the debate on the environmental impact of the so-called Neolitisation process by identifying the climatic and anthropogenic factors that contributed to change local and regional vegetation at the time when domesticated plants appeared and developed in southern Syria (around 10.7–9.9 ka cal. BP). In this work a multidisciplinary analysis of plant microremains (pollen and phytoliths) and macroremains (wood charcoal) is carried out along with stable carbon isotope discrimination of wood charcoals in an early PPNB site (Tell Qarassa North, west of the Jabal al-Arab area). Prior to 10.5 ka cal. BP, the results indicate a dynamic equilibrium in the local and regional vegetation, which comprised woodland-steppe, Mediterranean evergreen oak-woodlands, wetland vegetation and coniferous forests. Around 10.5–9.9 ka cal. BP, the elements that regulated the vegetation system changed, resulting in reduced proportions of arboreal cover and the spread of cold-tolerant and wetlands species. Our data show that reinforcing interaction between the elements of the anthropogenic (e.g. herding, fire-related activities) and climatic systems (e.g. temperature, rainfall) contributed to the transformation of early Holocene vegetation during the emergence of fully agricultural societies in southern Syria

Lagomorph Remains at Prehistoric Sites in Israel and Southern Sinai.

This paper presents a study of lagomorph (Lepus capensis) bone assemblages from nine southern Levantine prehistoric sites, namely Hayonim Terrace, Hayonim Cave, Kebara Cave, Nahal Hemar Cave, Netiv Hagdud and Ohalo II and southern Sinai (Abu Madi I, Ujrat-el-Mehed and Wadi Tbeiq), over a period spanning the Middle Palaeolithic to the pre-pottery Neolithic B. Since the Middle Pleistocene the cape hare (Lepus capensis) has been the only species of lagomorph known from this region. A taphonomic analysis is given for the various sites. The density of bones identified as from Lepus capensis, taken as the ratio of either the NISP or the MNI to the excavation volume, was greatest at Hayonim Terrace and layer В of Hayonim Cave, of the Natufian period, for both measures. These results confirm previous work which showed a modest increase in the proportion of lagomorph remains relative to rodents from certain pre-Natufian sites, but a quantum increase during the Natufian period. As the hare is highly agile, trapping and/or netting techniques may have been in use from the Natufian period onwards, and cordage remains found in the early Upper Epipalaeolithic site of Ohalo II indicate that this would have been possible. In this paper we argue that a widening in the spectrum of food consumption is one ultimate consequence of sedentism, an event which took place in the southern Levant at the dawn of the Natufian. The shift from ephemeral and/or seasonal occupation to a prolonged habitation of relatively large communities in the earliest Natufian had a far reaching impact on the proximate environment, leading people to exploit new resources that included smaller-sized mammals (mainly hares), birds (among which partridges are dominant), reptiles and land snails, as well as to practice cultural control on gazelles.Cet article présente une étude d'os de lagomorphes (Lepus capensis) provenant de neuf sites préhistoriques du Levant Sud : Hayonim Terrace, Hayonim Cave, Kebara Cave, Nahal Hemar Cave, Netiv Hagdud et Ohalo II ainsi que du Sinaï (Abu Madi I, Ujrat-el-Mehed and Wadi Tbeiq), couvrant une période allant du Paléolithique moyen au PPNB. Depuis le Pléistocène Moyen le Lièvre du Cap (Lepus Capensis) est la seule espèce de lagomorphe connue dans cette région. Une analyse taphonomique est donnée pour les différents sites. La densité des os identifiés comme ceux de Lepus capensis, calculée d'après le ratio du NISP ou du MNI au volume fouillé, est la plus élevée à Hayonim Terrace et dans le niveau В de la grotte ď Hayonim du Natoufien pour les deux mesures. Ces résultats confirment des travaux antérieurs qui montraient d'une part une faible augmentation de la proportion des restes de lagomorphes par rapport aux rongeurs de certains sites pré-natoufiens, d'autre part une augmentation quantitative pendant le Natoufien. Comme le Lièvre est très agile, des pièges et/ou des filets ont peut-être été utilisés à partir du Natoufien. Les restes de cordage trouvés sur le site ď Ohalo II (début de l'épipaléolithique récent) indiquent cette possibilité. Ici nous proposons l'hypothèse que l'élargissement du spectre des espèces consommées est une des dernières conséquences de la sédentarisation, événement qui prit place au Levant Sud au début du Natoufien. Le passage de l'occupation éphémère et/ou saisonnière à un séjour prolongé de communautés assez importantes au début du Natoufien a eu une répercussion durable sur l'environnement proche. Cette situation a amené les populations à exploiter de nouvelles ressources incluant des petits mammifères (lièvres principalement), des oiseaux (parmi lesquels dominent les perdrix), des reptiles et des escargots mollusques terrestres, ainsi qu'à effectuer un contrôle des mouvements des gazelles.Bar-El Theodora, Tchernov Eitan. Lagomorph Remains at Prehistoric Sites in Israel and Southern Sinai.. In: Paléorient, 2000, vol. 26, n°1. pp. 93-109

The L2 norm of the deviation between the measured and computed transient displacement field in a test weld

The transient displacement field caused by an arc weld was measured experimentally with an Aramis stereo-camera. The transient displacement field was also predicted using a computational weld mechanics program called VrWeld for ten different sets of model parameters. The objective was to identify the effect of model parameters on the deviation between experimental data and the data computed by computational weld mechanics. For each set of model parameters, the L2 normof the difference between the experimental and computed displacement fields was computed for each of the 800 time steps. The structure being welded was a 50 × 600 × 10 mm stringer fillet welded to a 300 × 600 × 10 mm low alloy steel plate. The displacement field was measured on the 'back' surface of the plate. A robot made the metal-inert-gas weld. The parameters varied in the ten models included welding current, width of the power density d

An integrative systematic revision and biogeography of Rhynchocalamus snakes (Reptilia, Colubridae) with a description of a new species from Israel

[Background] The colubrid snakes of the genus Rhynchocalamus are seldom studied and knowledge of their ecology and life history is scarce. Three species of Rhynchocalamus are currently recognized, R. satunini (from Turkey eastwards to Iran), R. arabicus (Yemen and Oman), and R. melanocephalus (from the Sinai Peninsula northwards to Turkey). All are slender, secretive, mainly nocturnal and rare fossorial snakes. This comprehensive study is the first to sample all known Rhynchocalamus species in order to review the intra-generic phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of the genus.[Methods] We revised the systematics of Rhynchocalamus using an integrative approach and evaluated its phylogeography. The phylogenetic position within the Colubridae and the phylogenetic relationships within the genus were inferred using 29 individuals belonging to the three known species, with additional sampling of two other closely-related genera, Muhtarophis and Lytorhynchus. We analysed three mitochondrial (12S, 16S, cytb) and one nuclear (c-mos) gene fragments. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods; the latter method also used to provide the first time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the genus. We generated a nuclear network and carried out a topology test and species delimitation analysis. Morphological comparisons were used to differentiate among species and to describe a new species from Israel. The studied material was comprised of 108 alcohol-preserved specimens, 15 photographs, and data from the literature for the examination of 17 mensural, 14 meristic, and two categorical characters.[Results] The molecular results support Rhynchocalamus as monophyletic, and as having split from its sister genus Lytorhynchus during the Late Oligocene. The three recognized species of Rhynchocalamus comprise four independently evolving groups. The molecular results reveal that the genus began to diverge during the Middle Miocene. We revealed that the best-studied species, R. melanocephalus, is paraphyletic. A population, formally ascribed to this species, from the Negev Mountain area in southern Israel is phylogenetically closer to R. arabicus from Oman than to the northern populations of the species from Israel, Syria and Turkey. Herein we describe this population as a new species: Rhynchocalamus dayanae sp. nov.[Discussion] We identify four species within Rhynchocalamus: R. satunini, R. arabicus, R. melanocephalus, and R. dayanae sp. nov., the latter, to the best of our knowledge, is endemic to southern Israel. The onset of Rhynchocalamus diversification is very old and estimated to have occurred during the Middle Miocene, possibly originating in the Levant region. Radiation probably resulted from vicariance and dispersal events caused by continuous geological instability, sea-level fluctuations and climatic changes within the Levant region.This work was funded by grant CGL2015-70390-P from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (co-funded by FEDER - EU). Karin Tamar is supported by the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies, Tel-Aviv University, 6997801 Tel-Aviv, Israel.Peer reviewe

Dental wear and cultural behavior in Middle Paleolithic humans from the Near East

Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs) may have lived in close proximity in the Near East region during Middle Paleolithic times. Although functional morphological analyses suggest a marked behavioral contrast between these two human groups, new dental micro- and macro-wear studies, together with new archaeological data, have revealed some similarities in ecology and dietary habits. In this study, we analyze the tooth wear patterns of Neanderthals and AMH from Middle Paleolithic sites of Israel and Northern Iraq, using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis (OFA) method to virtually reconstruct the jaw movements responsible for the creation of the occlusal wear areas. We particularly focus on para-facets, a distinctive type of wear which has been previously described in the dentition of historic and modern hunter-gatherers. The analysis reveals a similarity in para-facet frequency between early Near Eastern Neanderthals and AMH, and a significant difference with other Pleistocene human groups. The absence of antagonist occlusal contacts in the lower teeth and the occlusal compass analysis suggest that para-facet formation is not related to normal mastication but to nonmasticatory activities. Thus, the identification of these nonmasticatory wear areas on the molars of early Near Eastern Neanderthals and AMH may indicate analogous tooth-tool uses for daily task activities. These may have emerged independently or could be interpreted as indirect evidence of cultural interactions between these two groups