Identifying anthropogenic features at Seoke (Botswana) using pXRF: Expanding the record of southern African Stone Walled Sites.

Numerous and extensive 'Stone Walled Sites' have been identified in southern African Iron Age landscapes. Appearing from around 1200 CE, and showing considerable variability in size and form, these settlements are named after the dry-stone wall structures that characterize them. Stone Walled Sites were occupied by various Bantu-speaking agropastoral communities. In this paper we test the use of pXRF (portable X-ray fluorescence analysis) to generate a 'supplementary' archaeological record where evident stratigraphy is lacking, survey conditions may be uneven, and excavations limited, due to the overall site size. We propose herein the application of portable X-ray fluorescence analysis (pXRF) coupled with multivariate exploratory analysis and geostatistical modelling at Seoke, a southern African SWS of historical age (18th century CE). The aim of the paper is twofold: to explore the potential of the application of a low cost, quick, and minimally invasive technique to detect chemical markers in anthropogenic sediments from a Stone Walled Site, and to propose a way to analyse the results in order to improve our understanding of the use of space at non-generalized scales in such sites

The timing of the deglaciation in the Atlantic Iberian mountains:Insights from the stratigraphic analysis of a lake sequence in Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

Understanding the environmental response to the last glacial termination in regions located in transitional climate zones such as the Atlantic Iberian mountains is crucial to estimate potential changes in regions affected by current glacial melting. We present an 8.5 m-long, solid last deglaciation and Holocene chronostratigraphic record including detailed sediment analysis from Lake Peixão, a pro-glacial lake in the Serra da Estrela (Central Portugal). The age–depth model relies on a Bayesian approach that includes 16 AMS 14C dates and 210Pb–137CS measurements, robustly dating the lake formation at 14.7 ± 0.32 cal. ka BP. This chronological reconstruction shows an average sedimentation rate of ca. 0.07 cm yr−1 (15 yr cm−1), enabling proxy analyses at decadal timescales. The sediment sequence is composed of five lithological units: (U1) coarse and unsorted fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits; (U2) massive fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (863–790 cm below surface [bsf]; 14.7 ± 0.32–13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP); (U3) water current fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (790–766 cm bsf; 13.8 ± 0.12–12.9 ± 0.29 cal. ka BP); (U4) laminated/banded lacustrine deposits characterized by terrigenous deposits from ice-covered lake periods and episodic events of ice and snow melting (766–752 cm bsf; 12.9 ± 0.29–11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP); and (U5) massive muddy lacustrine deposits (752–0 cm bsf; 11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP–present). The occurrence of U2 to U4 deposits defines the transition from glacial cold (U1) to net warm postglacial conditions (U5). These climate transitions are marked by changes in sediments and the presence of very low sedimentation rate periods, possibly related to the Intra-Allerød Cold Period and the coldest phase of the Younger Dryas. Our results support the previously proposed timing of the retreat of the Serra da Estrela glaciers ca. 13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP. The robust chronology of Lake Peixão highlights the potential of Iberian pro-glacial lakes for dating deglaciation processes and will lead to unprecedented decadal-to-centennial timescale palaeoclimate reconstructions in this region since the last glacial–interglacial transition

The timing of the deglaciation in the Atlantic Iberian mountains: Insights from the stratigraphic analysis of a lake sequence in Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

Understanding the environmental response to the last glacial termination in regions located in transitional climate zones such as the Atlantic Iberian mountains is crucial to estimate potential changes in regions affected by current glacial melting. We present an 8.5 m-long, solid last deglaciation and Holocene chronostratigraphic record including detailed sediment analysis from Lake Peixao, a pro-glacial lake in the Serra da Estrela (Central Portugal). The age-depth model relies on a Bayesian approach that includes 16 AMS C-14 dates and Pb-210-(CS)-C-137 measurements, robustly dating the lake formation at 14.7 +/- 0.32 cal. ka BP. This chronological reconstruction shows an average sedimentation rate of ca. 0.07 cm yr(-1) (15 yr cm(-1)), enabling proxy analyses at decadal timescales. The sediment sequence is composed of five lithological units: (U1) coarse and unsorted fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits; (U2) massive fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (863-790 cm below surface [bsf]; 14.7 +/- 0.32-13.8 +/- 0.12 cal. ka BP); (U3) water current fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (790-766 cm bsf; 13.8 +/- 0.12-12.9 +/- 0.29 cal. ka BP); (U4) laminated/banded lacustrine deposits characterized by terrigenous deposits from ice-covered lake periods and episodic events of ice and snow melting (766-752 cm bsf; 12.9 +/- 0.29-11.7 +/- 0.15 cal. ka BP); and (U5) massive muddy lacustrine deposits (752-0 cm bsf; 11.7 +/- 0.15 cal. ka BP-present). The occurrence of U2 to U4 deposits defines the transition from glacial cold (U1) to net warm postglacial conditions (U5). These climate transitions are marked by changes in sediments and the presence of very low sedimentation rate periods, possibly related to the Intra-Allerod Cold Period and the coldest phase of the Younger Dryas. Our results support the previously proposed timing of the retreat of the Serra da Estrela glaciers ca. 13.8 +/- 0.12 cal. ka BP. The robust chronology of Lake Peixao highlights the potential of Iberian pro-glacial lakes for dating deglaciation processes and will lead to unprecedented decadal-to-centennial timescale palaeoclimate reconstructions in this region since the last glacial-interglacial transition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The timing of the deglaciation in the Atlantic Iberian mountains: Insights from the stratigraphic analysis of a lake sequence in Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

Understanding the environmental response to the last glacial termination in regions located in transitional climate zones such as the Atlantic Iberian mountains is crucial to estimate potential changes in regions affected by current glacial melting. We present an 8.5 m-long, solid last deglaciation and Holocene chronostratigraphic record including detailed sediment analysis from Lake Peix˜ao, a pro-glacial lake in the Serra da Estrela (Central Portugal). The age–depth model relies on a Bayesian approach that includes 16 AMS 14C dates and 210Pb–137CS measurements, robustly dating the lake formation at 14.7 ± 0.32 cal. ka BP. This chronological reconstruction shows an average sedimentation rate of ca. 0.07 cm yr 1 (15 yr cm 1), enabling proxy analyses at decadal timescales. The sediment sequence is composed of five lithological units: (U1) coarse and unsorted fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits; (U2) massive fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (863–790 cm below surface [bsf]; 14.7 ± 0.32–13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP); (U3) water current fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (790–766 cm bsf; 13.8 ± 0.12–12.9 ± 0.29 cal. ka BP); (U4) laminated/banded lacustrine deposits characterized by terrigenous deposits from ice-covered lake periods and episodic events of ice and snow melting (766–752 cm bsf; 12.9 ± 0.29–11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP); and (U5) massive muddy lacustrine deposits (752–0 cm bsf; 11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP–present). The occurrence of U2 to U4 deposits defines the transition from glacial cold (U1) to net warm postglacial conditions (U5). These climate transitions are marked by changes in sediments and the presence of very low sedimentation rate periods, possibly related to the Intra-Allerød Cold Period and the coldest phase of the Younger Dryas. Our results support the previously proposed timing of the retreat of the Serra da Estrela glaciers ca. 13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP. The robust chronology of Lake Peix˜ao highlights the potential of Iberian pro-glacial lakes for dating deglaciation processes and will lead to unprecedented decadal-to-centennial timescale palaeoclimate reconstructions in this region since the last glacial–interglacial transition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a lower to middle Permian terrestrial composite succession from the Catalan Pyrenees : Implications for the evolution of tetrapod ecosystems in equatorial Pangaea

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya ; The research projects "Evolució dels ecosistemes amb faunes de vertebrats 1411 del Permià i el Triàsic de Catalunya" (ref. 2014/100606), "Evolució dels ecosistemes 1412 durant la transició Paleozoic-Mesozoic a Catalunya" (ref. CLT009/18/00066) and "El 1413 final d'una Era i el sorgiment dels ecosistemes moderns: les faunes de vertebrats del 1414 Carbonífer al Triàsic de Catalunya (ref. ARQ001SOL-167-2022 - CLT0009_22_000020) 1415 based at the ICP and financially supported by the Departament de Cultura (Generalitat de 1416 Catalunya) ; The Geology PhD program of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Tetrapod diversity in Permian terrestrial ecosystems of southwestern Europe is poorly recorded by bone specimens, but it is better represented by an important tetrapod ichnological record that is relevant to our understanding of vertebrate communities in equatorial Pangaea. Herein, two tetrapod ichnoassociations from three new ichnosites, within Cisuralian and Guadalupian volcanosedimentary terrestrial successions (the Lower Red Unit and the Upper Red Unit deposits) of the Castellar de n'Hug sub-basin (Catalan Pyrenees, NE Iberian Peninsula) are presented. Tetrapod ichnology in combination with stratigraphic and facies analyses permit a characterisation of these ecosystems. The sedimentary deposits show an evolution from fluvial meandering systems to playa-lake floodplains, denoting increased aridification and seasonality under a monsoonal regime. The ichnofossil record shows how tetrapod assemblages shifted from a prevalence of non-amniotes and eureptiles to a dominance of therapsids, eureptiles and parareptiles. The reported ichnotaxa are distributed in two ichnoassociations. The first preserves Batrachichnus, Dromopus, Hyloidichnus, Characichnos and an indeterminate tetrapod morphotype, whereas the second is defined by the presence of Dromopus, Hyloidichnus, Brontopus antecursor and Pachypes. The stratigraphically older ichnoassociation, preserved in volcaniclastic and fluvial deposits, presents features of the early Erpetopus biochron, whereas the stratigraphically younger one, preserved in playa-lake deposits, is constrained to the Brontopus sub-biochron. Biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic data suggest a late Cisuralian to middle Guadalupian age for the whole succession. The ichnoassemblage highlights a palaeobiogeographical connection between the Pyrenean Basin and other peri-Tethyan basins, which allows us to expand our knowledge about the palaeoecology and palaeobiodiversity of the Cisuralian to Guadalupian terrestrial ecosystems

Correction: Identifying anthropogenic features at Seoke (Botswana) using pXRF: Expanding the record of southern African Stone Walled Sites.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250776.]

The timing of the deglaciation in the Atlantic Iberian mountains: insights from the stratigraphic analysis of a lake sequence in Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

Understanding the environmental response to the last glacial termination in regions located in transitional climate zones such as the Atlantic Iberian mountains is crucial to estimate potential changes in regions affected by current glacial melting. We present an 8.5 m-long, solid last deglaciation and Holocene chronostratigraphic record including detailed sediment analysis from Lake Peix˜ao, a pro-glacial lake in the Serra da Estrela (Central Portugal). The age–depth model relies on a Bayesian approach that includes 16 AMS 14C dates and 210Pb–137CS measurements, robustly dating the lake formation at 14.7 ± 0.32 cal. ka BP. This chronological reconstruction shows an average sedimentation rate of ca. 0.07 cm yr 1 (15 yr cm 1), enabling proxy analyses at decadal timescales. The sediment sequence is composed of five lithological units: (U1) coarse and unsorted fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits; (U2) massive fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (863–790 cm below surface [bsf]; 14.7 ± 0.32–13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP); (U3) water current fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (790–766 cm bsf; 13.8 ± 0.12–12.9 ± 0.29 cal. ka BP); (U4) laminated/banded lacustrine deposits characterized by terrigenous deposits from ice-covered lake periods and episodic events of ice and snow melting (766–752 cm bsf; 12.9 ± 0.29–11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP); and (U5) massive muddy lacustrine deposits (752–0 cm bsf; 11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP–present). The occurrence of U2 to U4 deposits defines the transition from glacial cold (U1) to net warm postglacial conditions (U5). These climate transitions are marked by changes in sediments and the presence of very low sedimentation rate periods, possibly related to the Intra-Allerød Cold Period and the coldest phase of the Younger Dryas. Our results support the previously proposed timing of the retreat of the Serra da Estrela glaciers ca. 13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP. The robust chronology of Lake Peix˜ao highlights the potential of Iberian pro-glacial lakes for dating deglaciation processes and will lead to unprecedented decadal-to-centennial timescale palaeoclimate reconstructions in this region since the last glacial–interglacial transition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio