Early, intensive marine resource exploitation by Middle Stone Age humans at Ysterfontein 1 rockshelter, South Africa

Modern human behavioral innovations from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) include the earliest indicators of full coastal adaptation evidenced by shell middens, yet many MSA middens remain poorly dated. We apply ²³⁰Th/U burial dating to ostrich eggshells (OES) from Ysterfontein 1 (YFT1, Western Cape, South Africa), a stratified MSA shell midden. ²³⁰Th/U burial ages of YFT1 OES are relatively precise (median ± 2.7%), consistent with other age constraints, and preserve stratigraphic principles. Bayesian age–depth modeling indicates YFT1 was deposited between 119.9 to 113.1 thousand years ago (ka) (95% CI of model ages), and the entire 3.8 m thick midden may have accumulated within ∼2,300 y. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes of OES indicate that during occupation the local environment was dominated by C₃ vegetation and was initially significantly wetter than at present but became drier and cooler with time. Integrating archaeological evidence with OES ²³⁰Th/U ages and stable isotopes shows the following: 1) YFT1 is the oldest shell midden known, providing minimum constraints on full coastal adaptation by ∼120 ka; 2) despite rapid sea-level drop and other climatic changes during occupation, relative shellfish proportions and sizes remain similar, suggesting adaptive foraging along a changing coastline; 3) the YFT1 lithic technocomplex is similar to other west coast assemblages but distinct from potentially synchronous industries along the southern African coast, suggesting human populations were fragmented between seasonal rainfall zones; and 4) accumulation rates (up to 1.8 m/ka) are much higher than previously observed for dated, stratified MSA middens, implying more intense site occupation akin to Later Stone Age middens

Geoarchaeology and Heritage Management:Identifying and Quantifying Multi-Scalar Erosional Processes at Kisese II Rockshelter, Tanzania

Natural and anthropogenically induced soil erosion can cause serious loss of the archaeological record. Our work shows the value of multi-scalar geoarchaeological study when excavating and re-excavating rockshelters in a highly dynamic sedimentary environment where erosion is prominent. Here we present our work on Kisese II rockshelter, Tanzania, originally excavated in the 1950s and largely unpublished, that preserves an important Pleistocene-Holocene archaeological record integral to understanding the deep history of the Kondoa Rock-Art World Heritage Center. Unlike rockshelters in quiescent tectonic settings, like much of central Europe or South Africa, Kisese II exists in highly dynamic sedimentary environments associated with the active tectonics of the Great Rift Valley system exacerbated by human-induced environmental and climate change. We report on our 2017 and 2019 exploratory research that includes integrated regional-, landscape-, and site-scale geoarchaeological analyses of past and present sedimentary regimes and micromorphological analyses of the archaeological sediments. Historical records and aerial photographs document extensive changes in vegetation cover and erosional regimes since the 1920s, with drastic changes quantified between 1960 and 2019. Field survey points to an increased erosion rate between 2017 and 2019. To serve future archaeologists, heritage specialists, and local populations we combine our data in a geoarchaeological catena that includes soil, vegetation, fauna, and anthropogenic features on the landscape. At the site, micromorphological coupled with chronological analyses demonstrate the preservation of in situ Pleistocene deposits. Comparison of photographs from the 1956 and 2019 excavations show a maximum sediment loss of 68 cm in 63 years or >10% of >6-m-thick sedimentary deposit. In the studied area of the rockshelter we estimate ∼1 cm/yr of erosion, suggesting the ongoing removal of much of the higher archaeological sediments which, based on the coarse stratigraphic controls and chronology of the original Inskeep excavations, would suggest the loss of much of the archaeological record of the last ∼4000 years. These multi-scalar data are essential for the construction of appropriate mitigation strategies and further study of the remaining stratigraph

Early, intensive marine resource exploitation by Middle Stone Age humans at Ysterfontein 1 rockshelter, South Africa

Modern human behavioral innovations from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) include the earliest indicators of full coastal adaptation evidenced by shell middens, yet many MSA middens remain poorly dated. We apply 230Th/U burial dating to ostrich eggshells (OES) from Ysterfontein 1 (YFT1, Western Cape, South Africa), a stratified MSA shell midden. 230Th/U burial ages of YFT1 OES are relatively precise (median ± 2.7%), consistent with other age constraints, and preserve stratigraphic principles. Bayesian age-depth modeling indicates YFT1 was deposited between 119.9 to 113.1 thousand years ago (ka) (95% CI of model ages), and the entire 3.8 m thick midden may have accumulated within ∼2,300 y. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes of OES indicate that during occupation the local environment was dominated by C3 vegetation and was initially significantly wetter than at present but became drier and cooler with time. Integrating archaeological evidence with OES 230Th/U ages and stable isotopes shows the following: 1) YFT1 is the oldest shell midden known, providing minimum constraints on full coastal adaptation by ∼120 ka; 2) despite rapid sea-level drop and other climatic changes during occupation, relative shellfish proportions and sizes remain similar, suggesting adaptive foraging along a changing coastline; 3) the YFT1 lithic technocomplex is similar to other west coast assemblages but distinct from potentially synchronous industries along the southern African coast, suggesting human populations were fragmented between seasonal rainfall zones; and 4) accumulation rates (up to 1.8 m/ka) are much higher than previously observed for dated, stratified MSA middens, implying more intense site occupation akin to Later Stone Age middens

Coordinated 14C and 230Th dating of Kitchen Cave rockshelter, Gambier (Mangareva) Islands, French Polynesia: Comparing 230Th coral dates with Bayesian model ages

Establishing the timing of human colonization of the eastern Pacific and developing cultural chronologies within the island groups of Eastern Polynesia has relied primarily on 14C dating. Despite advancements in 14C dating, however, uncertainties introduced during calibration to calendar ages remain large relative to the tempo of human settlement of the eastern Pacific and ensuing Polynesian cultural development. 230Th dating of coral abraders, a common artifact in Polynesian archaeological sites, can potentially provide more precise ages. We report a high-precision chronology for the Kitchen Cave rockshelter on Kamaka Island in the Mangareva (Gambier) Islands, based on parallel series of 13 14C AMS dates on short-lived plant materials and 19 230Th dates on Acropora coral abraders and non-utilized Acropora coral branches. The 230Th coral dating results are highly consistent with ages from 14C dating, except in two cases where corals younger than expected occupied what are most likely intrusive contexts. Moreover, because the 14C and 230Th dating techniques are largely independent, obtaining consistent results via the two techniques increases confidence in the resulting chronology. A reliable 230Th date of 860 ± 5 CE for a coral from the basal layer of the cultural sequence, whose deposition cannot readily be explained by natural processes, raises the possibility of an early Polynesian visit to Kamaka Island some centuries prior to initiation of permanent occupation in the 11th to 13th centuries. These results confirm that 230Th dating of Acropora branch coral abraders can be applied to other sites in the Pacific with a high degree of confidence.Dating of the coral specimens from site KAM-1 was supported by National Science Foundation Archaeometry award #1521153, and by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. E.M.N. was partially supported by a Berkeley Fellowship. The field research was funded by a grant from the U. S. National Science Foundation (Grant No. CNH-1313830), and by additional funds from the University of California, Berkeley

Fucino palaeolake multiproxy data from F1-F3 core (Holocene - 190 ka)

Here we present a multi-proxy record from palaeolake Fucino (Abruzzo, Central Italy), acquired during the F1-F3 drilling campaign. This is the first continuous and high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record in the central Mediterranean region continuously spanning over the last two glacial-interglacial cycles and providing an independent chronology. The record consists of a core composite resulting from two parallel and adjacent core series (F1 and F3). Cores were analysed via high resolution XRF scanning and through geochemical, mineralogical and grain-size analyses on discrete samples. Selected XRF elemental counts (Ca, Ti and Zr), Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Organic and Inorganic Carbon (TOC, TIC), X-ray powder diffraction and grain-size data are used to develop proxies for local environmental processes strictly dependent on the hydro-climatic regime of the Central Mediterranean region. The chronology of the record is based on 17 radioisotopically dated tephra layers interbedded within the sedimentary succession. 14C and 40Ar/39Ar age points are interpolated with the bayesian age modelling package Bacon allowing a robust assessment of age uncertainties

The earliest Ethiopian wolf: implications for the species evolution and its future survival.

In 2017, a hemimandible (MW5-B208), corresponding to the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), was found in a stratigraphically-controlled and radio-isotopically-dated sequence of the Melka Wakena paleoanthropological site-complex, on the Southeastern Ethiopian Highlands, ~ 2300 m above sea level. The specimen is the first and unique Pleistocene fossil of this species. Our data provide an unambiguous minimum age of 1.6-1.4 Ma for the species' presence in Africa and constitutes the first empirical evidence that supports molecular interpretations. Currently, C. simensis is one of the most endangered carnivore species of Africa. Bioclimate niche modeling applied to the time frame indicated by the fossil suggests that the lineage of the Ethiopian wolf faced severe survival challenges in the past, with consecutive drastic geographic range contractions during warmer periods. These models help to describe future scenarios for the survival of the species. Projections ranging from most pessimistic to most optimistic future climatic scenarios indicate significant reduction of the already-deteriorating territories suitable for the Ethiopian Wolf, increasing the threat to the specie's future survival. Additionally, the recovery of the Melka Wakena fossil underscores the importance of work outside the East African Rift System in research of early human origins and associated biodiversity on the African continent