Pleistocene hominins as a resource for carnivores. A c. 500,000-year-old human femur bearing tooth-marks in North Africa (Thomas Quarry I, Morocco)

In many Middle Pleistocene sites, the co-occurrence of hominins with carnivores, who both contributed to faunal accumulations, suggests competition for resources as well as for living spaces. Despite this, there is very little evidence of direct interaction between them to-date. Recently, a human femoral diaphysis has been recognized in South-West of Casablanca (Morocco), in the locality called Thomas Quarry I. This site is famous for its Middle Pleistocene fossil hominins considered representatives of Homo rhodesiensis. The bone was discovered in Unit 4 of the Grotte à Hominidés (GH), dated to c. 500 ky and was associated with Acheulean artefacts and a rich mammalian fauna. Anatomically, it fits well within the group of known early Middle Pleistocene Homo, but its chief point of interest is that the diaphyseal ends display numerous tooth marks showing that it had been consumed shortly after death by a large carnivore, probably a hyena. This bone represents the first evidence of consumption of human remains by carnivores in the cave. Whether predated or scavenged, this chewed femur indicates that humans were a resource for carnivores, underlining their close relationships during the Middle Pleistocene in Atlantic Morocco

Plio-Pleistocene time evolution of the 100-ky cycle in marine paleoclimate records

To constrain theories for the dynamical evolution of global ice mass through the late Neogene, it is important to determine whether major changes in the record were gradual or rapid. Of particular interest is the evolution of the near 100-ky ice age cycle in the middle Pleistocene. We have applied a new technique based on multiple taper spectrum analysis which allows us to model the time evolution of quasi-periodic signals. This technique uses both phase and amplitude information, and enables us to address the question of abrupt versus gradual onset of the 100-ky periodicity in the middle Pleistocene

Stratigraphic units of the Apulian Tavoliere plain (Southern Italy): Chronology, correlation with marine isotope stages and implications regarding vertical movements

The geologic study of the Apulian Tavoliere plain (Apulia region, southern Italy) is extremely difficult due to the scarcity of outcrops and fauna that could be used for dating. The survey in progress of the 1:50,000 scale geological sheet no. 409 “Zapponeta” (including the coastal zone of the Apulian Tavoliere) has prompted us to tackle this problem by using a large set of borehole data and the AAR dating method applied to ostracod shells, which are capable of colonizing all types of environment as long as there is water. This alternative approach has allowed us to recognise nine stratigraphic units or synthems and, for the first time in this area, to date them, and to find a correlation between them and the cycles of sea level variation. The recognised stratigraphic units are: the Coppa Nevigata sands (NEA; middle Pleistocene: MIS 17–16), argille subappennine unit (ASP; middle Pleistocene: MIS 15–13), the Coppa Nevigata synthem (NVI; middle Pleistocene: MIS 11), the Amendola subsynthem (MLM1; middle Pleistocene: MIS 11), an undifferentiated continental unit (UCI; middle Pleistocene: MIS 8–7), the Foggia synthem (TGF; middle–late Pleistocene: MIS 6), the Carapelle and Cervaro streams synthem (RPL; late Pleistocene: MIS 5–3), and the Inacquata farm synthem (NAQ; Holocene). Within the RPL unit, a buried Cladocora caespitosa bioherm referable to MIS 5.5, lacking in warm fauna, and in which the coral is embedded in clay has been found in some boreholes. This is the first finding of Tyrrhenian deposits with C. caespitosa along the Italian Adriatic coast; the presence of this coral in clayey sediments, a very uncommon occurrence, strengthens the hypothesis that the major fossil reefs grew in coastal waters that were characterised by alluvial inputs of fine sediments, higher turbidity, and higher temperature than today. In addition, on the basis of the current evidence, some consideration about the fauna of the MIS 5.5 layer allows us to hypothesise that the Adriatic Sea underwent a more moderate warming compared to that of the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Instead, the finding in the NVI unit of a tropical lagoonal deposit with stromatolites referred to MIS 11 proves that the warming in this stage was undoubtedly greater than that of MIS 5.5. The MM4 borehole, which goes through the MIS 5 layers of the RPL unit, made it possible to recognise two marine phases during MIS 5: the first is referable to the MIS 5.5–5.3 interval, and the second to MIS 5.1. MIS 5.2 is marked by land emersion, whereas no evidence of land emersion between MIS 5.5 and 5.3 has been found. Also for the first time in this area, uplifting and subsiding areas have been recognised and the vertical movements assessed. In general, the data suggest that the Garganic Apulian foreland and the Amendola highland experienced an uplift, while the central-southern part of the study area, belonging to the Apulian Tavoliere plain, suffered a subsidence with rates increasing from north–northwest to south–southeast. In particular, the finding of the MIS 5.5 buried layer with C. caespitosa has allowed us to fill a gap in the data regarding the recent tectonic movements along the Adriatic coast (Ferranti et al., 2006). This feature proves that there has been a recent subsidence event since MIS 5.5 in the coastal area of the Apulian Tavoliere plain

The glacial diversion of the Que and Bulgobac Rivers, western Tasmania.

Glacier ice diverted the courses of the upper Que and Bulgobac Rivers from a direct route to the Pieman River through the Que Gorge to the Huskisson River. The diversion probably occurred in the Early Pleistocene but the drainage pattern established was maintained and perhaps accentuated by further glaciation during the Middle Pleistocene. The modern drainage pattern is a palimpsest of that which existed by late Middle Pleistocene times

New insight into the Pleistocene deposits of Monte delle Piche, Rome, and remarks on the biochronology of Hippopotamus (Mammalia, Hippopotamidae) and Stephanorhinus etruscus (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Italy

Several large mammal assemblages have been collected in the Roman basin since the XIX century, but they usually lack any stratigraphic datum or details about the fossiliferous localities. In this work, the stratigraphic provenance of large mammal remains discovered at Monte delle Piche (Rome) is investigated. The systematic revision of these specimens allows the recording of the presence of Hippopotamus sp., Stephanorhinus sp. and Stephanorhinus etruscus. On the basis of micropalaeontological analysis performed on sediment sampled from the studied specimens and considering the stratigraphy of the area, two fossiliferous levels are recognised at Monte delle Piche. The remain of the hippopotamus was collected in fluvial gravels and sand deposits, in which the presence of Cyprideis is also recorded. This deposit is chronologically related to the latest Early-early Middle Pleistocene. Hippopotamus was present in Italy and Western Europe from the latest Villafranchian to MIS 4/3. The mandible of S. etruscus was collected in marine deposits along with abundant foraminifera and ostracods, which correlate with the late Early Pleistocene. Stephanorhinus etruscus occurred in Western Europe at the beginning of the Villafranchian, and it was documented until the end of the Villafranchian in Italy and until the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in the Iberian Peninsula

Middle Pleistocene Till Lithostratigraphy in South Bedfordshire and the Hitchin Gap

A revised lithostratigraphy and glacial history of north Hertfordshire and south Bedfordshire is based upon detailed textural data in the clay to fine gravel fraction, carbonate content, small clast lithological data and macrofabrics, derived from laboratory and field analyses of tills from 30 sites. These include four deep boreholes sunk within the Hitchin Gap. A range of statistical procedures was used, including multivariate analysis of the petrographic properties, enabling the identification of tills from two separate incursions into the Gap. A further till-type was identified in south Bedfordshire indicating an ice advance from the northwest/NNW extending at least as far east as Milton Bryan. Statistical comparison with tills in the neighbouring Vale of St. Albans suggested the presence of the Ware Member till within the Gap. Two hypotheses are suggested to explain variations in lithological content of tills north of the Chalk scarp. The first envisages ice entering the study area along the different trajectories suggested by Fish and Whiteman (2001). During the early part of the glaciation, ice reaching the west of the study area would approach from the north, crossing a shorter distance over Chalk bedrock and collecting less chalk and flint than ice moving into the eastern part of the study area. The second hypothesis invokes an incursion of ice from a northwest - NNW direction into the west of the study area, depositing a chalk-free till. This is subsequently assimilated by ice from the northeast, resulting in the final deposition of a homogeneous mixture of debris from the two advances, with a lower chalk content than tills found to the east. The outcome of either of these scenarios is a till with a low acid-soluble content and low flint/quartz ratio in the west of the study area, as found during this work. Within the Hitchin Gap, a lobe of ice, probably an early part of the northeasterly advance, deposited a lower till. This is considered to be earlier than the Ware Member till and has more variable lithological characteristics and a finer matrix that the higher tills. The latter are mainly melt-out, flow or slumped tills with occasional instances of lodgement and deformation. They represent in situ wasting of dead ice within the Gap. Surface tills in the Gap form a continuum with tills to the north and comprise mainly deformation tills, deposited by the final northeasterly re-advance of ice responsible for widespread coverage of the region, with the exception of the Chiltern Hills southwest of Hitchin. No evidence is found of more than one lithostratigraphic unit of till outside the Hitchin Gap

Steppes, savannahs, forests and phytodiversity reservoirs during the Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula

A palaeobotanical analysis of the Pleistocene floras and vegetation in the Iberian Peninsula shows the existence of patched landscapes with Pinus woodlands, deciduous and mixed forests, parklands (savannah-like), shrublands, steppes and grasslands. Extinctions of Arctotertiary woody taxa are recorded during the Early and Middle Pleistocene, but glacial refugia facilitated the survival of a number of temperate, Mediterranean and Ibero-North African woody angiosperms. The responses of Iberian vegetation to climatic changes during the Pleistocene have been spatially and temporarily complex, including rapid changes of vegetation in parallel to orbital and suborbital variability, and situations of multi-centennial resilience or accommodation to climatic changes. Regional characteristics emerged as soon as for the Middle Pleistocene, if not earlier: Ericaceae in the Atlantic coast indicating wetter climate, thermo-mediterranean elements in the south as currently, and broad-leaf trees in the northeastern. Overall, steppe landscapes and open Pinus woodlands prevailed over many continental regions during the cold spells of the Late Pleistocene. The maintenance of a high phytodiversity during the glacials was linked to several refuge zones in the coastal shelves of the Mediterranean and intramountainous valleys. Northern Iberia, especially on coastal areas, was also patched with populations of tree species, and this is not only documented by palaeobotanical data (pollen, charcoal) but also postulated by phylogeographical models

Early-Middle Pleistocene benthic turnover and oxygen isotope stratigraphy from the Central Mediterranean (Valle di Manche, Crotone Basin, Italy): data and trends

Ostracod faunal turnover and oxygen isotope data (foraminifera) along the Valle di Manche (VdM) section are herein compiled. Specifically, the material reported in this work includes quantitative palaeoecological data and patterns of ostracod fauna framed within a high-resolution oxygen isotope stratigraphy (δ18O) from Uvigerina peregrina. In addition, the multivariate ostracod faunal stratigraphic trend (nMDS axis-1 sample score) is calibrated using bathymetric distributions of extant molluscs sampled from the same stratigraphic intervals along the VdM section. Data and analyses support the research article “Dynamics of benthic marine communities across the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary in the Mediterranean region (Valle di Manche, Southern Italy): biotic and stratigraphic implications” Rossi et al. [1]

Filling the gap. Human cranial remains from Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia; ca. 850 ka) and the origin of Homo heidelbergensis

African archaic humans dated to around 1,0 Ma share morphological affinities with Homo ergaster and appear distinct in cranio-dental morphology from those of the Middle Pleistocene that are referred to Homo heidelbergensis. This observation suggests a taxonomic and phylogenetic discontinuity in Africa that ranges across the Matuyama/Brunhes reversal (780 ka). Yet, the fossil record between roughly 900 and 600 ka is notoriously poor. In this context, the Early Stone Age site of Gombore II, in the Melka Kunture formation (Upper Awash, Ethiopia), provides a privileged case-study. In the Acheulean layer of Gombore II, somewhat more recent than 875±10 ka, two large cranial fragments were discovered in 1973 and 1975 respectively: a partial left parietal (Melka Kunture 1) and a right portion of the frontal bone (Melka Kunture 2), which probably belonged to the same cranium. We present here the first detailed description and computer-assisted reconstruction of the morphology of the cranial vault pertaining to these fossil fragments. Our analysis suggest that the human fossil specimen from Gombore II fills a phenetic gap between Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis. This appears in agreement with the chronology of such a partial cranial vault, which therefore represents at present one of the best available candidates (if any) for the origin of Homo heidelbergensis in Africa

Development of a geological model useful for the study of the natural hazards in urban environments. An example from the eastern sector of Rome (Italy)

Detailed knowledge of the subsoil setting is an extremely important issue for a correct risk reduction policy, especially when dealing with urban areas hosting cultural heritage, which enhance risk conditions even at low geo-hazard levels, as in the case of Rome. In general, the reliability of risk assessments related to geo-hazards is strictly dependent on the resolution of the reference geological model. The study presented here exemplifies an integrated methodology aimed at refining the knowledge of the geological setting in unique urban environments, such as the city of Rome, where canonical approaches are limited by the scarcity of outcrops and ad-hoc geognostic surveys may be expensive and time-consuming. The methodology used in the study is based on a critical review of available geological, stratigraphic, archeological and historical-archival data. The integration of such data, properly stored, managed and analysed in a GIS environment, made it possible to: i) better frame the geological setting of a wide sector of the eastern part of Rome; and, in particular, ii) focus on buried natural morphologies (i.e. valleys) strongly modified by progressive urbanisation that determined their filling with huge thickness of backfills, which often represent a critical geotechnical issue. A detailed geological model was thus developed. The model shows slight but significant differences with respect to already available official maps, emphasising the need for carrying out in-depth analyses of already existing data from different sources, in order to collect thematic data to be used for effective land management policies