Examination of Late Palaeolithic archaeological sites in northern Europe for the preservation of cryptotephra layers

We report the first major study of cryptotephra (non-visible volcanic ash layers) on Late Palaeolithic archaeological sites in northern Europe. Examination of 34 sites dating from the Last Termination reveals seven with identifiable cryptotephra layers. Preservation is observed in minerogenic and organic deposits, although tephra is more common in organic sediments. Cryptotephra layers normally occur stratigraphically above or below the archaeology. Nearby off-site palaeoclimate archives (peat bogs and lakes <0.3 km distant) were better locations for detecting tephra. However in most cases the archaeology can only be correlated indirectly with such cryptotephras. Patterns affecting the presence/absence of cryptotephra include geographic position of sites relative to the emitting volcanic centre; the influence of past atmospherics on the quantity, direction and patterns of cryptotephra transport; the nature and timing of local site sedimentation; sampling considerations and subsequent taphonomic processes. Overall, while tephrostratigraphy has the potential to improve significantly the chronology of such sites many limiting factors currently impacts the successful application

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

La figuration animale en ambre du gisement Federmesser de Weitsche, Basse-Saxe (Allemagne) et son contexte archéologique : les résultats de la fouille de 1996

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Seit 1994 werden auf einem Oberflächenfundplatz der Federmesser- Gruppen in der nordeuropäischen Tiefebene bei Weitsche in Niedersachsen (Deutschland) Bernsteinbruchstucke geborgen. Die bis 1996 untersuchte Flache erfabt 2/3 einer Anhäufung von Feuersteinartefakten, zu der wahrscheinlich kalzinierte Knochen aus einer Feuerstelle gehören. Die Verbreitung der Bernsteinbruchstücke pabt in das Bild dieses archàologischen Befundes. Sie lassen sich zu einer noch unvollstàndigen Tierskulptur zusammensetzen, die zeitlich und kulturell zwischen den KunstäuBerungen des vorhergehenden Magdalénien und den Bernsteinfiguren des nordeuropäischen Mesolithikums vermittelt.RESUME Depuis 1994 plusieurs fragments d'ambre ont été découverts sur un site de surface attribué à la tradition des groupes à Federmesser situé dans la Grande Plaine de l'Europe du Nord à Weitsche en Basse-Saxe (Allemagne). L'espace fouillé jusqu'en 1996 représente les deux tiers d'une concentration d'artefacts en silex en liaison probable avec les os calcinés d'un foyer. La répartition des fragments d'ambre est en relation avec cette occupation archéologique. Une fois reconstitués, ces fragments représentent la sculpture d'un animal qui, chronologiquement et culturelle- ment, occupe une position intermédiaire entre les représentations artistiques du Magdalénien et les animaux en ambre attribués au Mésolithique du Nord de l'Europe.Veil Stephan, Breest Klaus. La figuration animale en ambre du gisement Federmesser de Weitsche, Basse-Saxe (Allemagne) et son contexte archéologique : les résultats de la fouille de 1996. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 94, n°3, 1997. pp. 387-392

Multiproxy analyses of stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the late Palaeolithic Grabow floodplain site, northern Germany

Changing river courses and fluctuations of the water table were some of the most fundamental environmental changes that humans faced during the Late Glacial, particularly as these changes affected areas intensively used for settlement and resource exploitation. Unfortunately, only a few stratigraphies have been documented in the North European plain that show the interaction between river development, vegetation history, and occupation by Late Palaeolithic humans. Here, we present the results of detailed stratigraphical studies (pedology, archaeology, chrono-, tephra-, and palynostratigraphy) at the Federmesser site Grabow 15 located in the broad Elbe River valley. The research aimed to produce a model of site formation based on a multiproxy approach, relating the local evidence to the palaeoenvironmental and settlement history of the wider region. After deposition of fluvial sands during the Late Pleniglacial in a braided setting, the river course developed locally toward a meandering system at the transition from the Older Dryas to the Allerød, while periodic flooding led to the deposition of floodplain sediments during the early Allerød. The floodplain was settled by people of the earliest “Federmessergruppen,” who are believed to have chosen this open floodplain area along the river for collecting and processing amber of local origin. Their artifacts became embedded in the aggrading floodplain sediments. In the late Allerød, floodplain sedimentation ceased and a Fluvisol-type soil developed, indicating a trend toward geomorphic stability. The Fluvisol was then covered by silty floodplain sediments due to a rising water level during the late Younger Dryas resulting in the cessation of human occupation in the area. Subsequent organic-rich Late Glacial/Holocene sediments preserved the settlement remains to the present