Cartographic study of Aribalejo archaqeological site, Yecla, Murcia, Spain

En este trabajo se realizan una serie de estudios cartográficos acerca del yacimiento del Aribalejo, en Yecla, Murcia, así como de yacimientos cercanos.In this work, we do any catrographical studies about the archaeological site of Aribalejo, in Yecla, Murcia, Spain, and near sites.Depto. de GeografíaFac. de Geografía e HistoriaTRUEsubmitte

Estudio Osteoarqueológico de las poblaciones meosolíticas y neolíticas de la rivera del rio Sado y Muge, Portugal, y creación y aplicación de marcos referenciales metodológicos para el estudio de la cribra orbitalia y la deformación craneal intencionada.

En este trabajo se analizan los restos de colecciones antropológicas recuperadas en los yacimientos Mesolíticos y Neolíticos próximos a los ríos Sado y Muge, que se encuentran depositados actualmente en el Museo de Geología de Lisboa. Además, para la realización de este estudio, se creará un marco estadístico de referencia para el análisis de la Cribra Orbitalia, y uno geomorfométrico para el de las deformaciones craneales intencionadas

Micro-photogrammetric characterization of cut marks on bones

In the last few years, the study of cut marks on bone surfaces has become fundamental for the interpretation of archaeological sites and prehistoric butchery practices. Due to the difficulties in the correct identification of cut marks, many criteria for their description and classifications were suggested. This article presents an innovative methodology which supplements the microscopic study of cut marks. Despite the benefits of using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the two-dimensional identification of these marks, it has a number of drawbacks such as the high costs and, consequently, the limited sample studied. In this article, a low-cost technique for the analysis of cut mark micromorphology from a tri-dimensional perspective is introduced. It provides a high-resolution approach to cut mark characterisation such as morphology, depth, width, and angle estimation as well as section determination, measured directly on the marks on bones. Macro-photogrammetry records quantitative and qualitative information which can be statistically processed with standard multivariate and geometric morphometric tools

Pandora: A new morphometric and statistical software for analysing and distinguishing cut marks on bones

Cut mark studies have experienced a useful development in the last few years. These studies have allowed us to obtain important information about human prehistory spanning from the origin of meat consumption for chronologies around 2.5 Ma, the detection of human hunting behavior during the lower Pleistocene, or even to determine the uses of diverse raw materials on carcases. Amongst the different analyses applied to the study of cut marks, there has been an increasing interest in using morphometry in order to differentiate and characterize the raw materials with which the effectors were made. These techniques have proven to be extremely useful. Nevertheless, this 3D methodology demands the use of expensive equipment and does not allow using an extensive sample, making it a complex and problematic technique. Maté-González et al. (2015) considered an alternative technique, by combining different disciplines involving geometric morphometrics, photogrammetry and multivariate statistics (multidisciplinary methodology). Here, we try to continue with this work presenting Pandora, a new open software capable of analysing a useful amount of variables from a statistical and morphometric view, accelerating and simplifying the process

Flint and Quartzite: Distinguishing Raw Material Through Bone Cut Marks

Since the 1980s, several experimental analyses have been able to differentiate some lithic tool types and some of their raw materials according to the morphology of cut marks imprinted by such tools when used for butchering activities. Thus, metal tool use has been differentiated in contexts with an abundance of lithic tools, or even the use of hand axes has been documented in carcass processing, in contrast with simple unretouched or retouched flakes. As important as this information is, there are still other important aspects to be analysed. Can cut marks produced with different lithic raw material types be differentiated? Can cut marks made with different types of the same raw material type be characterized and differentiated? The objective of this study is to evaluate if cut marks resulting from the use of different flints and different quartzites are distinguishable from each other. In the present work, an experimental analysis of hundreds of cut marks produced by five types of flint and five varieties of quartzite was carried out. Microphotogrammetry and geometric–morphometric techniques were applied to analyse these cut marks. The results show that flint cut marks and quartzite cut marks can be characterized at the assemblage level. Different types of flint produced cut marks that were not significantly different from each other. Cut marks made with Olduvai Gorge quartzite were significantly different from those produced with a set comprising several other types of quartzites. Crystal size, which is larger in Olduvai Gorge quartzites (0.5 mm) than Spanish quartzites (177–250 μm), is discussed as being the main reason for these statistically significant differences. This documented intra-sample and inter-sample variance does not hinder the resolution of the approach to differentiate between these two generic raw material types and opens the door for the application of this method in archaeological contexts

FLK West (Lower Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania): a new early Acheulean site with evidence for human exploitation of fauna

This paper presents a detailed taphonomic study of the faunal assemblage from FLK West (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania), a site with an Acheulean component that dates to 1.7 Ma. The faunal sample analysed here is distributed in different archaeological levels and is associated with a significant lithic accumulation including several large format tools and handaxes. The fauna indicates the proliferation of open environments similar to those found in other Bed II and late Bed I sites. Evidence of anthropogenic activity (e.g. defleshing activities and marrow consumption) has been identified in the form of cut and percussion marks. A photogrammetric and morphometric analysis suggests that these marks were produced with quartzite flakes and not with handaxes. Evidence of interaction with carnivores was also noted; tooth marks were observed on some bones. Such interaction indicates the existence of competition between humans and carnivores for the same ecological niche, and might lead us to reflect on the survival strategies of Lower Pleistocene hominins

On applications of micro-photogrammetry and geometric morphometrics to studies of tooth mark morphology: The modern Olduvai Carnivore Site (Tanzania)

Recent application of photogrammetric and geometric morphometric approaches to the study of cut marks on bones has yielded positive results in discriminating different types of tools and even some raw materials. Here, we apply this analytical technique to the study of carnivore tooth scores. The goal is twofold: on the one hand, we intend to differentiate carnivore types and on the other one, we show the application of this approach to a sample of tooth scores from long bones documented at the modern assemblage of the Olduvai Carnivore Site (OCS). Previous taphonomic work at OCS suggested that this bone assemblage constituted a good evidence of a carcass accumulation behavior by lions, followed by hyena ravaging. The application of these 3D techniques to the selected sample of tooth marks shows that lions, as well as spotted hyenas, did indeed impart marks on the OCS assemblage. This reinforces the dual nature of the assemblage and the implication of lions in its formation

Micro-photogrammetric and morphometric differentiation of cut marks on bones using metal knives, quartzite, and flint flakes

In a previous article, we presented an innovative method to analyze cut marks produced with metal tools on animal bones from a metrical and tridimensional perspective (Maté-González et al. 2015). Such analysis developed a low-cost alternative technique to traditional microscopic methods for the tridimensional reconstruction of marks, using their measurements and sections. This article presents the results of an experimental study to test this photogrammetric and morphometric method for differentiating cut marks generated with metal, flint, and quartzite flakes. The results indicate statistically significant differences among cut marks produced by these three types of raw material. These results encourage the application of this method to archeological assemblages in order to establish a link between carcass processing and lithic reduction sequences on different raw materials and also to define the kind of tools used during butchery

Risk of recurrence after discontinuing anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19- associated venous thromboembolism: a prospective multicentre cohort studyResearch in context

Background: The clinical relevance of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) after discontinuing anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19-associated VTE remains uncertain. We estimated the incidence rates and mortality of VTE recurrences developing after discontinuing anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19-associated VTE. Methods: A prospective, multicenter, non-interventional study was conducted between March 25, 2020, and July 26, 2023, including patients who had discontinued anticoagulation after at least 3 months of therapy. All patients from the registry were analyzed during the study period to verify inclusion criteria. Patients with superficial vein thrombosis, those who did not receive at least 3 months of anticoagulant therapy, and those who were followed for less than 15 days after discontinuing anticoagulation were excluded. Outcomes were: 1) Incidence rates of symptomatic VTE recurrences, and 2) fatal PE. The rate of VTE recurrences was defined as the number of patients with recurrent VTE divided by the patient-years at risk of recurrent VTE during the period when anticoagulation was discontinued. Findings: Among 1106 patients with COVID-19-associated VTE (age 62.3 ± 14.4 years; 62.9% male) followed-up for 12.5 months (p25-75, 6.3–20.1) after discontinuing anticoagulation, there were 38 VTE recurrences (3.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5–4.7%), with a rate of 3.1 per 100 patient-years (95% CI: 2.2–4.2). No patient died of recurrent PE (0%, 95% CI: 0–7.6%). Subgroup analyses showed that patients with diagnosis in 2021–2022 (vs. 2020) (Hazard ratio [HR] 2.86; 95% CI 1.45–5.68) or those with isolated deep vein thrombosis (vs. pulmonary embolism) (HR 2.31; 95% CI 1.19–4.49) had significantly higher rates of VTE recurrences. Interpretation: In patients with COVID-19-associated VTE who discontinued anticoagulation after at least 3 months of treatment, the incidence rate of recurrent VTE and the case-fatality rate was low. Therefore, it conceivable that long-term anticoagulation may not be required for many patients with COVID-19-associated VTE, although further research is needed to confirm these findings. Funding: Sanofi and Rovi, Sanofi Spain