Thermoluminescence dates for the Middle Palaeolithic site of Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (France)

Thermoluminescence dating of heated flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (France) places an assemblage of Quina type Mousterian into MIS 4, while the overlying assemblage of Denticulate Mousterian which is followed by two layers with Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition are all assigned to MIS 3. TL dating is used to verify the mixed nature of deposits from which diagnostic Middle as well as Upper Palaeolithic tools were recovered. The TL ages are significantly different for samples from this layer and broadly agree with the archaeological attributions. While the study is generally limited by the low number of heated samples available, a correlation with a generalized chronostratigraphic sequence is possible by including proxy data from the faunal remains associated with the lithic assemblages in question. The Quina Mousterian in southwestern France, therefore, can be placed by chronometric dating methods in MIS 4 to MIS 3.     

Recent Prehistoric Field Research in Central Tunisia: Prehistoric Occupations in the Meknassy Basin

Recent field prospection and test excavations in the Meknassy Basin (Central Tunisia) has revealed many prehistoric sites covering almost all the phases of North African prehistory from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. Excavations at the Aïn El-Guettar Mousterian site has yielded a faunal assemblage dominated by bovids and equids. One human tooth was found in situ. The stratigraphic sequence contains charcoal-rich occupation layers with faunal, human and lithic finds. A level with an industry resembling the Aterian was found beneath a Mousterian layer. The excavations at Aïn Oum Henda 2 (Jebel Maloussi) provided many Middle Palaeolithic lithic artefacts, some of which are pedunculates. From the excavations of the Rammadiya El Oghrab (Jebel Bou Hedma) we recovered some bones of antelope, many fragments of ostrich egg shell (among them a worked disc), an enormous quantity of flint (tools and splinters) and of land snails. In spite of the scarcity of land snails and the absence of bone in the rammadiya of Jebel Bou Hedma 1, the site produced a beautiful flint collection including an arrowhead found on the surface, which led us to place the site in the Neolithic.     

Three-dimensional Distribution of Minerals in the Sediments of Hayonim Cave,Israel: Diagenetic Processes and Archaeological Implications

The mineral components of the sediments that accumulate in an archaeological site constitute a potentially rich source of information on the diagenesis, and in turn the archaeology of the site. This detailed three-dimensional study of the mineral assemblages in mainly the Mousterian sediments of Hayonim Cave incorporates more than 2100 infrared analyses performed on-site during the excavation, as well as diverse analyses in the laboratory. Three major mineral assemblages are identified: the calcite-dahllite (CD) assemblage, the assemblage comprising mainly montgomeryite, leucophosphite and siliceous aggregates (LMVS), and a highly altered sediment in which the clays have broken down and silica was released. The boundaries between these assemblages were mapped in detail. The overall picture is one of extreme heterogeneity with sharp variations occurring over distances of a few centimetres. The relation between the CD and LMVS assemblages shows that it is a product of post-depositional diagenesis, whereas the altered clay assemblage formed beneath an erosional unconformity. The CD and LMVS assemblages were derived primarily from an accumulation several metres thick of ash deposits produced by humans. Ash is thus shown to be a major component of the sediments of this cave. The distribution of the CD assemblage reflects to a large extent the locations of two active springs/seepages in the cave. The distribution of the CD assemblage also faithfully maps the distribution of bones in the cave, showing that their distribution is a function of preservational conditions and not human activities (Stineret al ., 2001). The conditions that produced the erosional unconformity, also resulted in severe alteration of the clays and other mineral components of these sediments. The erosion process and the fact that the thickness of this altered zone decreases towards the centre of the cave, indicates that the diagenetic driving force was probably climatic. The three-dimensional distributions of the mineral assemblages have a direct bearing on the dating of the cave by thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance.     

Age and the palaeoenvironment of the West Ukrainian palaeolithic: the case of Velykyi Glybochok multi-cultural site

The Velykyi Glybochok Palaeolithic site near Ternopil town (Podolia Upland) contains a set of cultural layers in a sequence of loess and fossil soils. Beside the archaeological study of stone assemblages, the profile was investigated using lithological, palaeopedological and geochemical methods, including stable carbon and oxygen isotopes composition of pedogenic carbonates, soils micromorphology and TL dating. Remnants of vertebrates' bones and mollusc shells were also distinguished. The oldest cultural layer III documented the presence of Palaeolithic people during the Penultimate Interglacial represented by fossil soil – cambisol in type, developed under dense vegetation cover. The cultural layer III B is connected with initial cambisol originated in a short period of open landscape vegetation with shrubs development, dated to the climatic amelioration during the time of Penultimate Glaciation. The Last Interglacial is represented by luvisol formation with two stages of illuviation, which shows forest type of vegetation. Materials of the cultural layer III A were dispersed in the soil irregularly and mixed with artifacts of cultural layer II. Artifacts of III, III A and III B cultural layers represent the Middle Palaeolithic “Dniesterian Mousterian culture with Levalloisian technique”. These of assemblage II represent the Upper Palaeolithic. Inside the recent soil at the top of the sequence, the Mesolithic cultural layer I is present. Velykyi Glybochok is the only multilayer site in Podolia with detailed information about geological position of particular cultural layers.     

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

The use of stone cutting tools opened a novel adaptive niche for hominins. Hence, it has been hypothesised that biomechanical adaptations evolved to maximise efficiency when using such tools. Here, we test experimentally whether biometric variation influences the efficiency of simple cutting tools (n = 60 participants). Grip strength and handsize were measured in each participant. 30 participants used flint flakes, while the other 30 used small (unhafted) steel blades. Variations in basic parameters of tool form (length, width, thickness, cutting edge length) were recorded for the 30 flint flakes. It was ensured that mean handsize and strength in each participant group were not significantly different to investigate the effect of tool variation. The experimental task required cutting through a 10 mm-diameter hessian rope. Cutting efficiency was measured using both ‘Number of cutting strokes required’ and ‘Total time taken’. Results show that both efficiency measures were significantly correlated with handsize using all 60 participants. However, no significant differences were found between the flake and blade groups in terms of mean efficiency. Nor was any significant relationship found between tool form parameters and efficiency in the flint flake group. We stress that our results do not imply that tool form has no impact on tool efficiency, but rather that – all other things being equal – biometric variation has a statistically significant influence on efficiency variation when using simple cutting tools. These results demonstrate that biomechanical parameters related directly to efficiency of use, may plausibly have been subject to selection in the earliest stone tool-using hominins.     

Ungulates and the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition at Grotte XVI (Dordogne, France)

Grotte XVI (Dordogne, France) contains a rich archaeological sequence that begins during the Mousterian and continues through the Magdalenian and includes Châtelperronian and early Aurignacian assemblages. Analyses of the ungulates from this site show no significant change in skeletal part representation, butchering intensity (as measured by cut mark numbers and placement), degree of bone fragmentation, and intensity of carnivore damage across the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition. Relative taxonomic abundances of ungulates change significantly from the Mousterian to the early Aurignacian, but these changes are consistent with climatic forcing and continue throughout the sequence. Only the Magdalenian ungulate assemblage is clearly distinct from all others when examined in terms of these variables, perhaps because of altered predator/prey ratios on the local landscape. Cave bear relative abundances decline precipitously across the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition; this decline may reflect increased human residence times and/or group sizes during this interval, just as Kurtén observed many years ago.     

Multi-method (TL and OSL), multi-material (quartz and flint) dating of the Mousterian site of Roc de Marsal (Dordogne,France): correlating Neanderthal occupations with the climatic variability of MIS 5–3

Roc de Marsal has yielded numerous remains of Mousterian occupations, including lithics, fauna and combustion features. It was made famous by the discovery of the skeleton of a Neanderthal child. Given the need to date the sequence, TL and OSL were applied on heated flints and quartz, and OSL on unheated quartz. Chronological results combined with palaeoenvironmental data – faunal remains and micromorphological features in the sediments from the cave, pollen proxies and faunal remains from the region – allowed us to place climate variations in southwest France on a numerical time scale. Denticulate Mousterian occupations were dated to the middle of MIS 4 (65–70 ka) and Quina layers either to the very end of MIS 4 or to MIS 3. Interestingly, a faunal pattern showing a mix of red deer, roe deer and reindeer was found to have occurred during MIS 4, which was shown to be consistent with data from other similar sites in southwest France.     

Marine electrical resistivity tomography for shipwreck detection in very shallow water: a case study from Agropoli (Salerno,southern Italy)

A marine electric resistivity survey was carried out over a submerged beach along the Agropoli shore (Salerno, Italy) to detect buried objects of archaeological interest below the sandy seabed. We found a shipwreck, a military vessel that probably sunk during the Salerno landing operations of the allied forces in the Second World War. Resistivity data provide information on the vertical and horizontal extension of the shipwreck, which is characterized by very low calculated resistivity values (about 2–5 ohm m). Such values differ significantly from the sand and the bedrock values (5–40 ohm m). Although the presence of the shipwreck is clearly visible from geoelectric data, the joint application of electric, magnetic and multibeam bathymetric techniques reduces the ambiguities inherent in each method. As shown in the Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and confirmed by the Digital Elevation Model (obtained from the processing of bathymetric data), the shipwreck extends more than 30 m in NE–SW direction and it is about 13 m wide. The global extension of the relic is consistent with the magnetic data, that are characterized by a magnetic anomaly with an amplitude of about 1800 nT and similar dimension, as inferred from the estimation of source boundaries obtained from the computation of the analytic signal. The results of our survey encourage the use of marine geoelectrical methods for the detection of buried archaeological targets, particularly in locations where the use of seismic prospecting is not effective (e.g. very shallow water with sandy sea-bottoms). The integration of different geophysical methods allows to better define the extension, depth and thickness of buried objects, suggesting that such an approach is the most effective for underwater archaeological investigations.     

ESR Dating of the Last Interglacial Mousterian at Karaïn Cave, Southern Turkey

We have obtained ESR ages on 18 teeth from archaeological levels AH16-AH27 exposed at the east profile in compartment E at Karaïn Cave. This sequence exhibits a transition in lithic assemblage from a Classic Charentian to a Karaïn (Zagros-type) Mousterian between levels AH27 and AH25, and two calcite-cemented soils at levels AH22 and AH16 which have been interpreted as climatic warm phases. Since we found no systematic increase in tooth ages with depth, we assigned this sequence a mean early uptake (EU) age of 108 ± 23 ka and mean linear uptake (LU) age of 121 ± 27 ka, on the basis of 37 subsamples from 16 teeth. In this site, the precision of individual tooth ages suffered little from the problems associated with uranium uptake. However, this advantage was offset due to uncertainties arising from the rather inhomogeneous nature of the enclosing strata which contained various sizes of limestone blocks with intervening sediment. This led to difficulties in ascribing a precise annual gamma radiation dose to individual teeth in such a "lumpy" gamma radiation field. Considerable scattering of the individual tooth ages occurred mainly because the annual gamma dose comprised greater than 50% of the total annual dose to the individual teeth. On the basis of the ESR dating results, we infer that deposition of the two different lithic assemblages and both the penultimate and the final climatic warm phases at Karaïn probably occurred during oxygen isotope stage 5. We also conclude that these lithic assemblages are significantly different than contemporaneous Levantine Mousterian industries which occur about 700 km to the southeast.     

Age of the final Middle Palaeolithic and Uluzzian levels at Fumane Cave,Northern Italy,using C,ESR, U/Th and thermoluminescence methods

This article presents and discusses the chronological layout of the final Mousterian and Uluzzian levels of Fumane Cave in northern Italy using ¹⁴C, ESR and TL methods. Given its complex sedimentary and cultural succession, Fumane is a key site to assess the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Southern Europe and to explore Neanderthal behaviour and to compare it with the first Aurignacians. Large ranges defined by the ESR and TL dates cover the radiocarbon ages for units from A11 to A4, respectively, from 42.8 to 32.5 ka BP become progressively younger in agreement with the stratigraphy, despite high dispersions within the same unit. Our estimates using chronometric data seem to support the hypothesis that the sequence may cover almost 10,000 radiocarbon yr and that from comparison with the sedimentological and palaeoecological data, the late Middle Palaeolithic and the early Upper Palaeolithic at Fumane occur in sediments formed under moderately cool to mild climatic conditions correlated to the Hengelo-Interstadial, shifting towards cooler and drier conditions. Finally, comparisons between the Fumane data set and other sites in the North-Adriatic region are discussed.     

Hunting behavior and Neanderthal adaptability in the Late Pleistocene site of Pech-de-l'Azé I

The late Mousterian of Acheulian tradition (MTA) site of Pech-de-l'Azé 1 shows a very particular stratigraphic sequence characterized by numerous elements not usually found in Mousterian contexts such as avifauna exploitation and the use of hundreds of mineral pigments. Recent zooarchaeological and skeletochronological analyses provide new insights into the evolution of subsistence behaviors and settlement patterns of the Neanderthals that inhabited the shelter. Due to changes in hunting season, Neanderthals adapted their hunting strategies, exploiting various red deer populations which presented very different behavior. The evolution in the seasonal occupation of the shelter may have been the results of major modifications of its (series of roof collapsed) which induced a shrank in inhabitable space., which forced the Mousterians to adjust the way they used the cavity to its characteristics in order to optimize its exploitation. The conclusions underline the excellent adaptability of the Neanderthals to their physical environment.     

Probing dietary change of the Kwädąy Dän Ts'ìnchį individual,an ancient glacier body from British Columbia: II. Deconvoluting whole skin and bone collagen δC values via carbon isotope analysis of individual amino acids

The remains of the Kwäd?y Dän Ts'ìnch? individual, a frozen male human, were recovered from a retreating glacier within the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in British Columbia in August 1999. In order to provide information on both the geographical origin of this individual and low long he spent in the remote interior region prior to his death, molecular analysis and compound-specific carbon isotope analyses were performed on individual amino acids purified from his skin and bone. Gas chromatographic quantification of constituent amino acids of both tissues revealed a molecular distribution characteristic of collagen, dominated by glycine and to a lesser extent proline, hydroxyproline and alanine. Chiral gas chromatography indicated that protein preservation in both tissues was exceptional. Carbon isotope analysis of a faunal assemblage from an earlier prehistoric site from southern British Columbia provided reference dietary amino acid δ¹³C values for terrestrial (deer and domestic dog) and marine species (salmon and sealion), showing clear separation in all amino acids, particularly glycine which was extremely ¹³C-enriched in the marine animals. The distinction between terrestrial and marine organisms was increased by exploring Δ¹³C_{Glycine-Phenylalanine} values (6.6 ± 0.6‰ and 15.0 ± 2.1‰, respectively), which were higher in the latter by approximately 8‰, mirroring the increased δ¹⁵N_{Bulk collagen} values observed for the marine animals (R² = 0.78; p < 0.001). The Kwäd?y Dän Ts'ìnch? individual's bone had a similarly elevated Δ¹³C_{Glycine-Phenylalanine} value of 15.6 ± 1.0‰, indicating his extreme reliance on marine dietary resources throughout early life. The skin amino acid δ¹³C values were consistently lower than those observed for bone, with a concurrently lower Δ¹³C_{Glycine-Phenylalanine} value of 12.7 ± 0.9‰. The shift between the carbon isotope composition of bone (long-term diet) and skin amino acids (short-term diet) confirmed a sudden divergence away from marine food sources in the last months of life, consistent with his discovery 80 km inland.     

Stone tools for the hunt: points with impact scars from a Middle Paleolithic site in southern Italy

We present the find of impact scars on six Middle Paleolithic points from the rock shelter site of Oscurusciuto in southern Italy, dated to MIS 3. We review our knowledge of hunting weapons in the European Middle Paleolithic, the available evidence for the use of Mousterian points as spear tips and the interpretations of impact scars. Our identifications are based on comparisons to similar scars observed on experimental material and archaeological material of known function, made of the same raw materials (cryptocrystalline varieties of silica) as the points from the Oscurusciuto site. The scarce evidence available prior to our work suggested that at least some Mousterian points were used to tip hand-delivered spears already by MIS 6 (i.e. between 186 and 127 ka). The evidence from Oscurusciuto confirm that Neanderthals in Western Europe sometimes used Mousterian points to tip spears to hunt large and medium size mammals, like the fauna present at the Oscurusciuto site. The significance of this sample is not diminished by its small size, as indicated by a discussion of the factors that influence the frequencies of impact scars in different archaeological samples and a review of comparable evidence from residential sites of similar and younger ages.     

Mortality curves for horses from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Bau de l'Aubesier (Vaucluse, France): methodological, palaeo-ethnological, and palaeo-ecological approaches

A new methodology for estimating the age of death of horse, based on the degree of hypsondonty, has been established using the dental material of Equus mosbachensis, Equus cf. taubachensis, and Equus sp., which were hunted from the Mousterian levels of the Bau de l'Aubesier at Monieux (Vaucluse, France). Our model is based on a regression analysis of curvilinear type, and allows the precise determination of age classes intervals and the distribution of estimated ages, by systematically taking into account the standard deviation. These estimates were tested from all the paired teeth of horses belonging to the same individuals, from the sites of Bau de l'Aubesier and of Jaurens at Nespouls (Corrèze, France).The age structures of the horses of Bau de l'Aubesier were compared in the different levels of the sequence with their frequencies, survival rates, and mortality rates corresponding to as many curves as often used in population ecology and demographics. The different age classes of a present-day natural African population (Equus burchelli boehmi), the individuals having died accidentally in the National Park of Akagera (Rwanda) following a bush fire, provide an interesting comparative catastrophic model with regard to the population dynamics, and permit us to evaluate the impact of Neandertals on the Equidae fossils of Bau de l'Aubesier. Our assemblage clearly indicates in the lower layers, a systematic selection of adult horses, as opposed to the upper sequence where juveniles and adults dominate. Ecological factors, such as seasonal migratory phenomena and herd gathering, which characterise many large size species are also tackled and could explain the high proportion of adults in French Middle Palaeolithic sites where horses were preferentially hunted.     

Taphonomy at Hermies,France: A Mousterian Knapping Site in a Loessic Context

Abstract

The recent excavation of Hermies, a Mousterian (Middle Palaeolithic) flintknapping site in northern France, sheds light on natural alteration of a lithic assemblage in a loessic sediment. An extensive, well preserved stratigraphic zone grades into a more disturbed area. During excavation we recorded taphonomic indicators such as the dip and strike of in situ pieces, the scattering of artifacts and refitting of broken specimens, and microscopic alteration, principally natural, of flakes. While the composition of the lithic assemblage is less sensitive to erosion than we would expect, the vertical and horizontal dispersion of finds at Hermies is related to natural processes active in the lower and wetter parts of the site. Of particular note is that the dispersion can be associated with polish produced by the natural growth of roots rather than by human use. Some “tools”conventionally identified as denticulaters and notches display no use-wear, and we suggest they were created accidentally by processes such as shock, trampling, and crushing within dense clusters of debitage. This correlation of debitage clusters with increased presence of notches and denticulates is reported from many open-air Mousterian sites; since these two tool forms define the Denticulate Mousterian facies, some reevaluation of those facies is necessary.     

New radiometric ages for the Early Upper Palaeolithic type locality of Brno-Bohunice (Czech Republic): comparison of OSL,IRSL, TL and C dating results

New radiometric data are reported from the recent excavation of the type locality of the Early Upper Palaeolithic entity of the Bohunician. Recently obtained radiocarbon (¹⁴C) data on charcoal are compared with new Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of sediment. OSL ages were determined on sediment from the archaeological occupation at Brno-Bohunice, as well as from the over- and underlying loessic sediments. Multiple techniques were applied, which all gave congruent results. While a dual protocol (post IR-OSL) failed the quality criteria tests, ages were obtained by Multiple-Aliquot-Additive-Dose (MAAD) on polymineral material and Single-Aliquot-Regeneration (SAR) on fine grain quartz extract as well as on polymineral material. Fading tests show significant loss of Infrared Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL) after storage for 3 and 12 months for one sample, but little or no fading for others. The resulting (uncorrected) age estimates are smaller than those on quartz by OSL methods. The latter are considered to be more reliable estimates of the sedimentation age of these deposits. The measured OSL doses do not show a simple distribution and the lowest 5% was used for age calculation to represent the most likely sedimentation age. The quartz from the loess overlying the archaeological layer is OSL dated to 30.9 ± 3.1 ka, while the sediment for the paleosol which contains the archaeological layer gave an age of 58.7 ± 5.8 ka. The attribution of this paleosol to the Hengelo interstadial is therefore questionable. However, if the Hengelo interstadial is correlated with the Dansgaard/Oeschger (D/O) event 12, statistical agreement within 2-σ is achieved. The OSL result for the archaeological layer is in accordance with a weighted average TL date on heated flint artifacts of 48.2 ± 1.9 ka from this layer as well as calibrated radiocarbon data (CalPal Hulu 2007) from nearby locations. However, radiocarbon data on charcoal samples obtained during excavation at Brno-Bohunice 2002 provide age estimates between 30 and 40 ka ¹⁴C-years, which translate to approximately (33) 35–44 ka on the calendric time scale according to the Hulu 2007 model. For the underlying loess a depositional age of 104.3 ± 10.6 ka was obtained by OSL. The presented OSL ages indicate that a simple correlation of soil sequences between sites within a region has to be verified by chronometric dating.     

The geochronological potential of isoleucine epimerisation in cassowary and megapode eggshells from archaeological sites

Our research demonstrates that the extent of isoleucine epimerisation (A/I) in fragments of avian eggshells provides geochronological information in archaeological contexts. In the archaeological sequence of Hay Cave, northern Queensland, Australia, there is an excellent correspondence between the A/I values of Australian brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) eggshells (n = 99) and independent geochronological control (n = 16 radiocarbon ages including 4 on eggshell calcite). The A/I values identify three phases of deposition during the Holocene at Hay Cave. In contrast to the Alectura eggshell A/I values, a poor correspondence was observed between the A/I values of cassowary (Casuarius) eggshells from Toé (n = 35) and Kria caves (n = 23) (Ayamaru Plateau, Papua) and the depths from which the specimens were recovered in these stratified sequences. Given coherent archaeofauna trends and radiocarbon chronologies (n = 8 and 2 eggshell calcite radiocarbon ages at Toé and Kria, respectively) with respect to depth, the variable A/I values are not explicable in terms of mixing. Rather, the variability is most likely due to exposure of the eggshells to the high temperatures of campfires. Despite the variability, eggshells with relatively low A/I values amongst specimens recovered from similar depths (and therefore presumably least influenced by high temperatures) exhibit a gradual increase in A/I with respect to depth, as expected in a stratified deposit. From this observation it is suggested that the identification of heated eggshells will increase confidence in geochronological information provided by A/I. These studies illustrate the complications that arise from campfire-induced acceleration of amino acid racemisation and emphasise that although this phenomenon is common, it is not universally encountered in archaeological contexts.     

Flint procurement strategies in the Late Lower Palaeolithic recorded by in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be in Tabun and Qesem Caves (Israel)

The in situ produced cosmogenic beryllium isotope, ¹⁰Be, in flint artifacts from different layers in prehistoric caves can provide information on flint procurement. The buildup of ¹⁰Be in a flint matrix is related to the exposure time of the flint to cosmic rays. Although this exposure history can be complex, the ¹⁰Be content of flint assemblages can show whether the raw material was obtained from shallow mining and/or surface collection as opposed to sediments two or more meters below the surface. Flint artifact assemblages from two Palaeolithic caves in Israel, Tabun and Qesem, were analyzed.In Tabun cave the flint artifacts from Lower Layer E (Acheulo-Yabrudian, around 400 000–200 000 yr) contain very small amounts of ¹⁰Be, which is consistent with flint procured from sediments two or more meters deep. Artifacts from above and below Tabun Lower Layer E show a more complex distribution, as do artifacts from all layers of Qesem cave (Acheulo-Yabrudian). This is probably due to the fact that they were surface collected and/or mined from shallow (less than 2 m) depths. We show here that artifact assemblages have different concentrations of ¹⁰Be, indicating different raw material procurement strategies.     

Histomorphometric analysis of bone tissue from a neolithic skeleton

The histomorphometric analysis of neolithic bone tissue from the radiomorphometricly unaffected 9th thoracic vertebral body of a 20–25 year old man showed significantly elevated bone volume in comparison to the contemporary findings (BV/TV, 28.72% versus 20%). Also the number of trabeculae was clearly higher (Tb.N.: 17.7 cm versus 5.4 cm). The mean width (Tb.Th.) of the plate-shaped trabeculae was 160 μm and 180 μm. Thus, they were significantly wider than current normal findings of 120 μm. These results show a structural, obviously multifactual caused degeneration of spongy bone within the last 6200 years, representing a relatively short period in relation to evolutionary criteria. With regards to the irretrievable loss of preserved bone substance the indication to histomorphometric diagnostic has to be restricted; tissue sampling is only to happen after the carrying-out of all possible non-invasive methods of investigation as well as a comprehensive photo and film documentation. Observing these conditions further fundamental findings for the evolution of bone tissue can be expected through histomorphometry.