A Middle Palaeolithic wooden digging stick from Aranbaltza III, Spain

Aranbaltza is an archaeological complex formed by at least three open-air sites. Between 2014 and 2015 a test excavation carried out in Aranbaltza III revealed the presence of a sand and clay sedimentary sequence formed in floodplain environments, within which six sedimentary units have been identified. This sequence was formed between 137±50 ka, and includes several archaeological horizons, attesting to the long-term presence of Neanderthal communities in this area. One of these horizons, corresponding with Unit 4, yielded two wooden tools. One of these tools is a beveled pointed tool that was shaped through a complex operational sequence involving branch shaping, bark peeling, twig removal, shaping, polishing, thermal exposition and chopping. A use-wear analysis of the tool shows it to have traces related with digging soil so it has been interpreted as representing a digging stick. This is the first time such a tool has been identified in a European Late Middle Palaeolithic context; it also represents one of the first well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic wooden tool found in southern Europe. This artefact represents one of the few examples available of wooden tool preservation for the European Palaeolithic, allowing us to further explore the role wooden technologies played in Neanderthal communities

Atlas of Woody Plant Stems : Evolution Structure and Environmental Modifications

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Climate and site dependence of the annual growth of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) in the Northern Apennines, Italy

We focused our study on the relationship between ring width formation of silver fir and the climatic factors. Therefore, we collected material on two sites of the Northern Apennines at different altitudes, slopes and soil characteristics and compared tree ring width with meteorological data from a neighbouring station. The results are that the ring growth depends mainly on the winter mean temperature of the current year, the summer precipitation and the mean summer temperature of the preceding year. The influence of year mean temperature is more pronounced at high altitudes. The mean summer temperature and summer precipitation had a stronger effect on the growth year at lower altitudes and on the following year at higher altitudes

Aspect des houppiers et croissance des arbres au cours des dernieres decennies dans les regions frontalieres d'Allemagne, de France et de Suisse

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