A description of the structural determination procedures of a gap junction channel at 3.5 Å resolution

The structural determination procedures of a gap junction channel at 3.5 Å resolution are described, including the preparation of crystals, intensity data collection, data processing, phasing and structural refinement

Delayed increase in stone tool cutting-edge productivity at the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in southern Jordan

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

Lithic Technology and Chronology of Initial Upper Paleolithic Assemblages at Tor Fawaz, Southern Jordan

The Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) is a key chrono-cultural concept in our understanding of the cultural and population dynamics at the transition from the Middle Paleolithic to Upper Paleolithic period. This paper presents technological and chronological analyses of lithic assemblages from a rockshelter site at Tor Fawaz in the Jebel Qalkha area, southern Jordan, to provide accurate dating and detailed recognition of the IUP variability in the Levant. We present integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and dung spherulite analyses to evaluate formation and postdepositional processes of archaeological remains through high-resolution micro-contextual studies. As a result, the Tor Fawaz assemblages show general similarity to those of Boker Tachtit Level 4, Tor Sadaf A¿B, and Wadi Aghar C¿D1 that represent the late phase of the IUP in the southern Levant. Based on the detailed recognition of site-formation processes, we suggest ca. 45¿36 ka as the age of IUP occupations at Tor Fawaz. More specifically, the IUP occupations at Tor Fawaz and Wadi Aghar, a nearby IUP site in the same area, may represent slightly different phases that show a lithic technological trend paralleling the IUP sequence at Tor Sadaf in southern Jordan, and possibly post-date Boker Tachtit Level 4. We also discuss the issue of partial chronological overlap between the late IUP and the Ahmarian and also argue for the geographically different trends in cultural changes from the late IUP to the Ahmarian.This research was supported by the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (grant numbers 16H06409, 16H06410, 20H00026). MP’s work has been funded by the European Union’s MICROARCHEODUNG project (under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No H2020-MSCA-IF-2015–702529) at the University of Reading, UK