The taphonomy and palaeoenvironmental implications of the small mammals from Karain Cave,Turkey

The small mammal accumulations in the Pleistocene deposits of Karain Cave are investigated to identify the predators and possible biases in the fossil assemblages. Seven small mammal assemblages are studied in chronological order from two chambers of the cave, the main chamber E and the side chamber B. The lowermost level within the whole sequence is Proto-Charentien, which corresponds to an early stage of the Middle Palaeolithic. The main part of the material belongs to Middle Palaeolithic layers. The most important aspect of the fossil record in the cave is the human occupation without any interruption through the Pleistocene to Holocene. The small mammal fossil evidence in the cave denotes the presence of opportunistic predators throughout the sequence with one exception, and these produce balanced samples of small mammal faunas in the habitat. The lack of bias in the small mammal faunas allow the interpretation of local environments, showing that partial steppe and arid conditions existed during deposition of the lowermost levels of the Middle Palaeolithic in Karain Cave and that these shifted into more temperate and wooded habitat in the upper levels. Evidence from the side chamber indicates some differences, with a more open grassy environment. In the Mediterranean part of Anatolia the temperate and moist conditions in the Middle Palaeolithic were superseded by more arid conditions in the Upper Palaeolithic, followed by a decrease in steppe conditions during the Epi-Palaeolithic period.     

Taphonomy and zooarchaeology of the Upper Palaeolithic cave of Dzudzuana,Republic of Georgia

We present the results of a detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of the faunal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic layers of Dzudzuana Cave, Republic of Georgia. This study presents the first carefully analysed Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblage from the southern Caucasus and thus serves as a significant point of reference for inter‐regional studies of Upper Palaeolithic subsistence in Eurasia. A series of intra‐site taphonomic comparisons are employed to reconstruct the depositional history of the bone assemblages within the different occupational phases at the site and to investigate subsistence, meat procurement and bone‐processing strategies. Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), aurochs (Bos primigenius) and steppe bison (Bison priscus) were the major prey species throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Their frequencies do not change significantly over time, and nor does bone preservation vary by layer. The assemblage is characterised by significant density‐mediated biases, caused by both human bone‐processing behaviours and in situ post‐burial bone attrition. Bone marrow extraction produced large numbers of unidentified bone fragments, many exhibiting green bone fractures. The density and size of bone assemblages and the extent of fragmentation indicate that Dzudzuana Cave was repeatedly occupied by Upper Palaeolithic foragers over many years. Skeletal part representation and butchery marks from all stages of carcass processing suggest that prey occasionally underwent field butchery. Intra‐site taphonomic comparisons highlight uniform patterns of cultural and economic behaviours related to food procurement and processing strategies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The black layer of Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures. Interpretation and archaeostratigraphic implications

Certain aspects of the formation processes of simple, flat archaeological combustion structures such as those present in the Middle Palaeolithic record remain unexplained. Such kind of combustion structures are commonly affected by postdepositional agents and often, their only distinct, well preserved component is a thin black lens on the ground. Hence, understanding the nature of this black lens is essential towards archaeological interpretation. From an interdisciplinary microstratigraphic approach, we present a case study in which for an entire experimental series of flat combustion structures the black layer represents the fire-altered topsoil on which the fire was made. Parallel analysis of archaeological Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures from the site of El Salt (Alicante, Spain) reveal similar patterns, leading to significant implications for archaeological interpretation. In the light of these results, special attention must be paid to the formation processes of flat Middle Palaeolithic combustion features, as black layers and the material contained in them are not necessarily linked with combustion but with preceding activities or events. In such cases, black layers represent intact remnants of occupation surfaces, concealing significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to the reconstruction of Middle Palaeolithic societies.     

The Palaeolithic of the Bosphorus Region NW Turkey

Abstract

A survey of open-air sites in NW Turkey identified 16 Palaeolithic sites. Analysis of nearly 2000 lithics identified Lower, Middle, and Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) components. The Lower Palaeolithic is represented by a core-chopper/flake assemblage at one site and an assemblage with small bifaces at another. Middle Palaeolithic assemblages similar to the typical Balkan Mousterian were found at most sites, and an EUP assemblage similar to the Balkan Aurignacian was found on the Black Sea coast. Later Upper Palaeolithic cultures, e.g., Gravettian or Epigravettian, were not found. Palaeolithic sites were also not found in Turkish Thrace west of Büyük Çekmece, and a palaeoenvironmental barrier, perhaps a channel connecting the Marmara and Black Seas, may have existed before the Bosphorus was opened in the Holocene. A difference in the distribution of Lower-Middle Palaeolithic sites and EUP sites was also noted. EUP sites are clustered on the Black Sea coast while earlier sites are found in the interior and on the shores of the Sea of Marmara. This change in settlement pattern may support a hypothesis of cultural change between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and perhaps the replacement hypothesis for the peopling of Europe by early modern humans.     

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.     

A spotted hyaena den in the Middle Palaeolithic of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory,Apulia, Southern Italy)

The Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory, Apulia, Southern Italy) is one of the most important in the Mediterranean area: It comprises the whole Upper Palaeolithic cultural sequence known for the region, as well as Early Middle Palaeolithic and Lower Palaeolithic levels. These earlier phases are best represented in a collapsed room located outside the present-day cave (the so called “external rock shelter”). In this area, a new excavation, started in 2004, brought to light Middle Palaeolithic animal remains associated with evidence of spotted hyaena (SU 64 and 53). The spatial distribution analysis of remains from SU 53 revealed the presence of a bone accumulation area and a wider dispersal of hyaena coprolites. Three main ungulate species (aurochs, fallow deer and red deer) as well as carnivores (spotted hyaena, wolf, fox, wild cat and lynx) and lagomorphs have been identified. The majority of aurochs remains are located in the main accumulation; among these specimens, a complete metatarsal connected with three tarsal bones has been found; a talus and a complete tibia, probably belonging to the same limb, have also been identified. The multidisciplinary study carried out in this paper highlights a specific bone accumulation and scattering pattern in a spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) den. In addition, taphonomy of lagomorph remains indicates the presence of other depositional agents.     

Buried soils in the context of geoarchaeological research—two examples from Germany and Ethiopia

Pedology is a discipline with a wide range of applications in geology, geomorphology, archaeology, geoarchaeology and geography. Especially paleopedology aims are to answer questions about climatic changes, rates of pedogenic processes, pedostratigraphy, suitability of former surface soils and human occupation. In combination to other disciplines, pedology aims to advance geoscientific methods at different scales, and during the last decades, (paleo)pedological research increasingly touched archaeological fields whereby soil research was mostly somehow included in geoarchaeology. When the term ‘archaeopedology’ was introduced in the 1940s, researchers were already aware of the importance of the subject ‘soil’ as being a key figure when answering questions of site formation history, cultural chronology and environmental change. The present paper aims to reintroduce this term to the scientific community and to accentuate the importance of buried soils within geoarchaeological research. Shown by two different studies, one from Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Ueckermünder Heide/Germany and one from ancient Yeha/Ethiopia the archaeopedological approach highlights the importance of pedological research on- and off-site excavations by clearly bridging a gap between archaeology, geoarchaeology and (paleo)pedology.     

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.     

Methodological issues raised by laser particle size analysis of deposits mapped as Clay-with-flints from the Palaeolithic site of Dickett's Field,Yarnhams Farm,Hampshire, UK

Lower and Middle Palaeolithic stone-tools, evidence of the earliest occupation of Britain, are frequently to be found in association with deposits mapped as Clay-with-flints which cap the highest Chalk downland hilltops and plateaux of southern England. These superficial deposits exhibit great lithological variability, i.e. Clay-with-flints sensu lato (including Plateau Drift), Clay-with-flints sensu stricto, loess and waterlain brickearths, on both a local and regional geographical scale. Field observations suggest that particular facies of the Clay-with-flints deposits, in addition to the presence of solution features, may be implicated in the retention of Palaeolithic artefacts on these high-levels. Detailed interpretation of sedimentological analyses is therefore required to identify a ‘preservation potential correlation for Palaeolithic sites on deposits mapped as Clay-with-flints’. Much of what is generally known about the sedimentology of these deposits is found in literature where the classic sieve and sedimentation methods (pipette or hydrometer) have been adopted to determine quantitatively particle size distribution of soils. Refinement in particle-size methodologies of the fine fraction, through the introduction of laser diffraction granulometry, makes it difficult to compare laser research results with published data based on the use of the sieve-sedimentation methods. This presents problems when attempting to use the available data for both intra and inter Palaeolithic site analysis. Our objective was to find suitable limits for the clay, silt and sand fractions to enable calibration between the sieve-sedimentation methods and laser diffraction granulometry (which underestimates the clay fraction). The resultant methodologies, described here, allow such calibrations to be made with confidence. By applying these methodologies, geologists, soil scientists, geomorphologists, archaeologists and other workers can access important comparative sedimentological data that would otherwise not be available for interpretation of the depositional context of the sediments/soils and any artefacts they may contain. Samples from the Palaeolithic site of Dickett's Field, Yarnhams Farm, Holybourne, Hampshire, provided the focus of this work.     

Two Sides to Every Story: Bout Coupé Handaxes Revisited

Bout coupé handaxes are widely considered to be a cultural and typological marker for the Middle Palaeolithic in Britain, and are traditionally dated to around the end of the Last Interglacial or the beginning of the Devensian glaciation. Much debate has surrounded the typological validity of this form, but relatively little attention has been paid to the stratigraphical integrity of the sample. This paper takes a fresh look at the bout coupé problem using a select sample of better provenanced pieces and employs the most current chronological frameworks. We conclude that there is a temporally restricted bout coupé phenomenon in the British Isles, but contrary to previous claims these handaxes cannot be regarded as an unequivocal marker for the Mousterian and nor do they belong to the early Upper Pleistocene. Rather the bout coupé phenomenon marks the recolonization of Britain by Neanderthal populations during OIS 3 (59–41 ka). This further suggests a bipartite division of the British Middle Palaeolithic, each period having a quasi-distinctive lithic signature.     

Reindeer Hunting in the Upper Palaeolithic: Sex Ratios as a Reflection of Different Procurement Strategies

This paper is a first attempt to investigate the variability in reindeer-procurement strategies in Upper Palaeolithic sites by means of sex ratios, as reflected by osteometrical data. For this purpose the “Variability Size Index” method is employed. The idea behind the analysis is that sex ratios in reindeer (but also in red deer and in bovids) were mainly determined—as they are in modern populations—by the reproductive biology of the animals and not by environmental conditions. Thus, any deviations from these ratios must be explained in terms of behavioural/cultural variables. The faunal material for the study comes from sites in southwest France, Switzerland and southern Germany. During the Upper Palaeolithic females dominate in all assemblages, but a clear variability can be seen: some sites show sex ratios similar to those found in Palaeolithic carnivore dens, whereas other sites show somewhat higher frequencies of bulls. The variation in the sex ratios of reindeer among Upper Palaeolithic sites cannot be explained by either their chronological position or topographical location, but it is more probably a result from seasonal differences in reindeer-procurement. Thus generalizations about the exploitation of reindeer or other prey species based on results of a single site or layer of a site will mask the variability in the subsistence strategies which existed either during the Upper Palaeolithic or, at a finer scale, even during the Magdalenian.     

The Definition of Spatial Units in Middle Palaeolithic Sites: The Hearth-Related Assemblages

This paper deals with hearth-related accumulations in Middle Palaeolithic sites. Spatial behaviour is a key to understanding the cultural capabilities of ancient hominids. Ethnoarchaeological and archaeological research has shown that hearth-related assemblages are a basic feature in the spatial behaviour of modern and prehistoric hunter–gatherers. In this paper, we propose a methodology for analysing archaeological accumulations and study a series of hearth-related assemblages from the Abric Romanı́ Middle Palaeolithic site (Capellades, Spain). We also analyse the degree of contemporaneity between the different activity episodes documented at each archaeological accumulation. Our results suggest that the characteristics of domestic areas in this site are not substantially different from those observed in ethnoarchaeological contexts and Upper Palaeolithic sites.     

Chemical and Pedological Delimiting of Deeply Stratified Archaeological Sites in Frozen Ground

Abstract

Delimiting and testing deeply stratified archaeological sites in frozen ground is facilitated by drilling and analyzing soil cores. After a test grid of the proposed area has been surveyed, a lightweight, portable diamond drill is used to sample those subareas selected through the use of (1) surface clues, (2) test-pit data, and (3) knowledge of standard site patterns of the cultures represented. Gross core analysis demonstrates soil profile continuities and discontinuities throughout the site. Munsell colours, thicknesses and gross inclusions of soil levels are recorded before thawing of the cores. Most cultural and human chemical residues are studied following thawing and dissection of the cores. The locations of bone, lithics, and human waste in frozen arctic and alpine soils and possibly in augured southern soils aid in vertical and horizontal site delimitation. Small samples of archaeologically important trace chemicals such as bone apatite and phosphorous can be taken for field analysis. Reflected fluorescence caused by ultraviolet light on apatite in buried bone may be measured spectrophotometrically by lowering an appropriate probe in the drill hole and plotting light intensity with depth of levels. Primary application of soil-core studies is pedological.     

Solifluction-induced modifications of archaeological levels: simulation based on experimental data from a modern periglacial slope and application to French Palaeolithic sites

The taphonomic study of Petit-Bost, Croix-de-Canard and Cantalouette II, three Palaeolithic sites that were recently discovered near Périgueux and Bergerac (Dordogne, France) in a colluvial context, has enlightened the difficulty of adequately appreciating the relative role of cultural and natural processes in site spatial patterning. Periglacial solifluction was thought to have played a significant role in site formation. Because the nature of the modifications induced by solifluction was still poorly understood, a simulation was made using data of soil movement recorded at La Mortice (French Southern Alps, 3100 m in elevation) in a modern periglacial environment. The results show that, for a knapping location, the first steps of deformation are typified both by a downslope translation of the location center and by an anisotropic diffusion of the artifacts. The knapping spot becomes elongated along the slope, with a dense relic concentration of artifacts in the upslope portion. This type of pattern has been obtained after 100–200 years of simulated displacement according to the climatic and soil conditions that characterise the La Mortice site. The ultimate stages of deformation show that the artifact distribution tends to homogenise on larger surfaces and resemble a random distribution. The ability of the simulated patterns to closely fit those observed in archaeological contexts is evaluated at three sites from Southwestern France. At Petit-Bost, the hypothesis of limited solifluction explains accurately the association of both cultural (artifact concentrations) and natural (artifact preferred orientation) features. At Croix-de-Canard, long-term solifluction can be proposed. By contrast, the simulated patterns do not describe the structures observed on the steeper slopes at Cantalouette II, where the knapping spot transforms into distinct solifluction lobes.     

ESR dating of the Donggutuo Palaeolithic site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China

The fluvio-lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin, northern China, provide important terrestrial archives about Palaeolithic settlements and, therefore, about early human occupation in high northern latitude in East Asia. Here we present detailed ESR dating of the Donggutuo Palaeolithic site, located in this basin. Four levels A, B, C and E of the Donggutuo archaeological layer yield ESR ages ranging from 1060±129 ka to 1171±132 ka with a mean of 1119±132 ka. The ages are consistent with the paleomagnetic data, which show that the Donggutuo Palaeolithic site lies just below the onset of the Jaramillo normal subchron (0.99–1.07 Ma). Furthermore, our results indicate that the reliable ESR dating range of bleached quartz using Ti-Li centre can be effectively extended to 1100 ka and the Ti-Li centre was zeroed before the last deposition, which requires improvement of the understanding of the bleaching mechanism conditions.     

The Neronian and the historical structure of cultural shifts from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in Mediterranean France

The end of the Middle Palaeolithic period can be considered a key moment in the history of humanity, characterized by profound changes in traditional Palaeolithic societies. Whatever the reasons for this historical change, it seems well established that it took place within a particularly dynamic phase of these societies, when Upper Palaeolithic technical processes were already emerging. The analysis of recent Mousterian industries in Mediterranean France highlights certain points of inflection, which presage new ways of life. The analysis of key sites demonstrates important transformations within the last Neanderthal societies, with a gradual rearticulation of Mousterian technical systems around the production of blades and points and with profound changes in the relationship of the craftsman with his tools. Even if they are typical of the late Mousterian more generally, these technically distinctive industries have such distinct chronological, territorial and cultural characteristics that they can be referred to by a specific name, the “Néronien” (Neronian). Stratigraphically speaking, this group of assemblages – at the crossroads of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic – appears in some important regional sequences just before the appearance of the first “true” Upper Palaeolithic industries (the Protoaurignacian). However, this Neronian doesn't represent the end of the Middle Palaeolithic period in the Rhône valley. The final Moustérien of this region is actually marked by deep breakdowns of the traditional balances in the human groups. This second point of inflection could characterize a true destabilization of Mousterian societies. There is an interesting parallelism between the historical paths of the Castelperronian in the arch of the Massif Central and the Neronian in the Rhône valley. It also highlights the mosaic nature of the profound cultural changes that occurred at the end of the Middle Palaeolithic.     

云冈石窟顶部土层水盐分布特征研究

可溶盐是石质文物风化的重要原因,其聚集、运移与水密不可分。石窟顶部土层中的盐是云冈石质文物内部盐分的重要来源,因而研究石窟顶部土层中的水盐分布特征对未来减小可溶盐在石质文物内部的聚集具有十分重要的意义。本研究对云冈石窟顶部不同位置、不同深度土层的饱和渗透系数、含水率、孔隙比、可溶盐含量进行了系统的分析测试,并结合取土位置的坡度和植被覆盖率,研究了云冈石窟顶部土层中水盐分布特征。结果表明:植被覆盖率越高,土体含水量越高;坡度越大,土体含水率越低;土体孔隙比与饱和渗透系数呈线性关系。植被覆盖率、坡度及土体的渗透性能是影响石窟顶部土层水盐分布的主要原因。     

Evidence from the Yana Palaeolithic site,Arctic Siberia,yields clues to the riddle of mammoth hunting

It has become commonplace to talk about humans hunting mammoths, and overhunting is thought to have been one of the causes of the mammoth extinction. However, definite evidence of mammoth kills by humans remains surprisingly scarce. Here we show convincing evidence of mammoth hunting in the Siberian Arctic between 29 000 and 27 000 ¹⁴C years BP. Our data set, from the Yana Upper Palaeolithic site (Siberian Arctic), includes the following: fragments of lithic points and ivory shaft embedded in two mammoth scapulae; two identical holes made by projectiles in a mammoth scapula and a pelvic bone; mammoth tongue bones found in the cultural layer far away from the main mammoth bone accumulation, indicating the consumption of fresh mammoth meat; and a narrow mammoth bone size distribution, implying hunting selection based on animal size. The data suggest that Palaeolithic Yana humans hunted mammoths sporadically, presumably when ivory was needed for making tools. Such non-intensive hunting practiced by humans over millennia would not be fatal to a sustainable mammoth population.     

Soils and vegetation history of abandoned enclosures in the New Forest,Hampshire, England

Soil profiles buried beneath earth banks of five abandoned enclosures, ranging in age from late Bronze Age to early 19th century AD, were compared with unburied profiles inside and outside the enclosures. Soil particle size analyses and micromorphological studies show that the banks were constructed of mixed topsoil and subsoil from adjacent ditches; on some banks the soil has begun to podzolize. At the two oldest sites (Dark Hat and Long Slade Bottom, which are late Bronze or Iron Age) the soils within the enclosures were homogenized, probably by occasional cultivation for cereal growing. At Dark Hat an ironpan has developed on the upper surface of a layer compacted by smearing during cultivation. The later enclosures, at Burley Moor (Anglo-Saxon), East Boldre (mediaeval) and Hatchet Gate (early 19th century AD), were probably used entirely for pasture. Pollen assemblages from the buried soils and overlying banks, and chemical comparisons of the buried soils with profiles inside and outside the enclosures together provide new evidence for a history of soil and vegetation changes over the past 2500–3500 years. Heathland vegetation associated with podzolic soils existed on plateau gravels before the late Bronze Age, but on other parent materials heath vegetation and acidic soils with incipient podzolization appeared only in later periods. The present patchy vegetation pattern of mainly deciduous woodland with open areas of ferny grassland and heath seems to have persisted since before the late Bronze Age. The most obvious human influences on the vegetation during the last 2000 years have been periodic temporary use of open areas and woodland clearings for protected grazing.