El yacimiento kárstico del Pleistoceno Superior de la Cueva del Camino en el Calvero de la Higuera (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid)

Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Taphonomic Criteria for Identifying Iberian Lynx Dens in Quaternary Deposits

For decades, taphonomists have dedicated their efforts to assessing the nature of the massive leporid accumulations recovered at archaeological sites in the northwestern Mediterranean region. Their interest lying in the fact that the European rabbit constituted a critical part of human subsistence during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. However, rabbits are also a key prey in the food webs of Mediterranean ecosystems and the base of the diet for several specialist predators, including the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). For this reason, the origin of rabbit accumulations in northwestern Mediterranean sites has proved a veritable conundrum. Here, we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomic study of more than 3000 faunal and 140 coprolite remains recovered in layer IIIa of Cova del Gegant (Catalonia, Spain). Our analysis indicates that this layer served primarily as a den for the Iberian lynx. The lynxes modified and accumulated rabbit remains and also died at the site creating an accumulation dominated by the two taxa. However, other agents and processes, including human, intervened in the final configuration of the assemblage. Our study contributes to characterizing the Iberian lynx fossil accumulation differentiating between the faunal assemblages accumulated by lynxes and hominins

First Early Hominin from Central Africa (Ishango, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Despite uncontested evidence for fossils belonging to the early hominin genus Australopithecus in East Africa from at least 4.2 million years ago (Ma), and from Chad by 3.5 Ma, thus far there has been no convincing evidence of Australopithecus, Paranthropus or early Homo from the western (Albertine) branch of the Rift Valley. Here we report the discovery of an isolated upper molar (#Ish25) from the Western Rift Valley site of Ishango in Central Africa in a derived context, overlying beds dated to between ca. 2.6 to 2.0 Ma. We used µCT imaging to compare its external and internal macro-morphology to upper molars of australopiths, and fossil and recent Homo. We show that the size and shape of the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) surface discriminate between Plio-Pleistocene and post-Lower Pleistocene hominins, and that the Ishango molar clusters with australopiths and early Homo from East and southern Africa. A reassessment of the archaeological context of the specimen is consistent with the morphological evidence and suggest that early hominins were occupying this region by at least 2 Ma

Potential exposure to Zika virus for foreign tourists during the 2016 Carnival and Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

LIM01-HCFMUSPHSP/ UNIFESPCNPqFAPESPMinistry of Health (Fundo Nacional de Saude)DengueTools under Health theme of Seventh Framework Programme of the European CommunityDengueTools: innovative tools and strategies for the surveillance and control of dengueUniv Sao Paulo, Sch Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilHosp Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFlorida Int Univ, CIARA, Miami, FL 33199 USAUmea Univ, Epidemiol & Global Hlth, Umea, SwedenLee Kong Chian Sch Med, Nanyang, SingaporeNanyang Technol Univ, Singapore 639798, SingaporeLondon Sch Hyg & Trop Med, London WC1, EnglandHosp Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 2012/18463-4Ministry of Health (Fundo Nacional de Saude: 27835/2012DengueTools under Health theme of Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community: 282589DengueTools: innovative tools and strategies for the surveillance and control of dengueWeb of Scienc