Taphonomy and zooarchaeology of a high-altitude Upper Pleistocene faunal sequence from Hovk-1 Cave,Armenia

The Caucasus is a key region for the study of hominid evolution and Neanderthal ecology. Taphonomic and zooarchaeological studies of sites from this region are few and only focused on sites at low-to-mid altitude zones with evidence of relatively intensive hominid occupation. This study focused on the taphonomic and zooarchaeological characteristics of a high-altitude site from the Upper Pleistocene – Hovk-1 Cave – looking at diachronic change in both natural and cultural processes which shaped the faunal assemblage. Results best fit a model in which the bones of most large mammals, mainly ungulates (wild goat, Capra aegagrus and red deer, Cervus elaphus) and cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) accumulated naturally through pitfalls, with minimal input from human or carnivore activity. This accumulation is characterized by a high frequency of complete ungulate and carnivore bones, a bear assemblage which is dominated by young-adults and a wild goat assemblage that includes juvenile and young-adult individuals. Our taphonomic reconstruction serves as a point of reference for comparative studies of palaeoenvironments and human subsistence patterns of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Caucasus and broadens our perspective on hominid occupation and ecological adaptation in other high-altitude world regions.     

New Human Remains of Archaic Homo sapiens and Lower Palaeolithic Industries from Visogliano (Duino Aurisina, Trieste, Italy)

New human remains have been found during recent excavations conducted in the lower section of Visogliano dolina (Trieste, Italy). They are represented by teeth and a fragment of particularly robust mandible that for their morphological and morphometrical characters can be generically attributed to archaic Homo sapiens. The lithic industry is formed by flakes, carinated points, scrapers, choppers and chopping tools and is characteristic of the Italian Pebble Culture. Sediments, pollen and faunal remains indicate that this part of the deposit was formed during interglacial climatic conditions in the early, but not initial phase of Middle Pleistocene (isotopic stadium 13 or 11).     

Cut marks on the Middle Pleistocene elephant carcass of Áridos 2 (Madrid,Spain)

Áridos 1 and Áridos 2 (Madrid, Spain) are two Middle Pleistocene sites belonging to the isotopic stages 9–11. Both places contain partial carcasses of Elephas (Paleoxodon) antiquus associated to Acheulian stone tools. In this work, the taphonomic study of the elephant remains of Áridos 2 is presented. This study has documented several cut marks on different bones, which indicate bulk flesh and viscerae extraction by Middle Pleistocene hominins. Several arguments are provided to support that at least some of the cut marks were made with handaxes, further suggesting that some of these artifacts were butchering tools in this stage of human evolution. Although cut marks on elephant carcasses have been documented at some Middle Pleistocene sites, very few have been published in detail to allow consideration of their status as hominin-imparted marks. By doing so, the present study provides more evidence of large carcass exploitation by hominins during this period.     

Ionospheric conductivity dependence of the cross-polar cap potential difference and global Joule heating rate

We examine the extent to which the cross-polar cap potential difference ϕ and the global Joule heating rate, U, both determined by the magnetogram-inversion method (Kamideet al., 1981, J. geophys. Res. 86, 801), depend upon the assumed conductance models. For this purpose two statistically-determined conductance models developed by Siroet al. (1982, J. geophys. Res. 87, 8215) and ahn et al. (1983b, Planet. Space Sci. 31, 641), and a realistic conductance distribution estimated from bremsstrahlung X-ray image data (Ahnet al., 1989, J. geophys. Res. 94, 2565) have been used. As expected from earlier studies, U is less affected by the choice of conductance models than is ϕ. This is because U is a globally integrated quantity, and thus the local structures of the electric potential pattern do not affect it appreciably, whereas they are crucial in determining ϕ, which is defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum potential values usually found in the dawn and dusk sectors, respectively. A comparison between Uand ϕ based on the statistical conductance models and U and ϕ based on a realistic conductance distribution shows that there are considerable similarities, thus enabling us to use statistical conductance models as a first approximation in deriving such global quantities as the cross-polar cap potential difference and the global Joule heating rate in the study of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling. Several suggestions are made for improving the present available conductance models and some limitations (possibly intrinsic ones) are also discussed.     

New age constraints for hominid footprints found on Jeju Island,South Korea

In 2004 numerous hominid footprints, along with diverse animal footprints, were found in the Late Quaternary strata of Jeju Island, South Korea. However, the age of the sediments in which the footprints were found is still controversial. Previous age estimates included radiocarbon ages of ca. 15,000 yr BP (Late Pleistocene) and quartz optically stimulated luminescence ages of ca. 7000 yr BP (mid-Holocene). In this study we report on 11 AMS ¹⁴C dating results from a new set of samples collected from the footprint-bearing strata and from associated sediments. Despite some variations and age reversal, all samples collected from the footprint-bearing strata yielded ¹⁴C ages of late Pleistocene. These ages are comparable with previous radiocarbon dating results. Furthermore, the presence of the proboscidean footprints attributable to woolly mammoths in the footprint-bearing strata supports the radiocarbon dating results. Based on the new radiocarbon dates and the presence of the alleged mammoth footprints, the age of the hominid footprints found at Jeju Island is thought to be late Pleistocene (about 19,000–25,000 cal yr BP). Therefore, this is the second discovery of hominid footprints dated to the Pleistocene age in Asia, and the first to be discovered in Korea.     

Significance of Claraia from the Late Permian of South Guizhou,China

Recently collectée material of two Claraia taxa, Claraia zhiyunica Yang et al, 2001 and Claraia sp. nov. from the Late Permian of South China, are described. Late Permian Claraia species are compared with those from the Early Triassic, and the survival of Claraia across the mass extinction period across the Permian- Triassic boundary (PTB) is discussed.     

A new Jungle-fowl from the Pleistocene of Europe

The domesticated Red Jungle-fowl G. gallus is believed to have been dispersed by man from India during the Holocene. The distal end of a radius from the Ipswichian Interglacial deposits at Crayford, Kent, was indistinguishable from that of the wild form of Red Jungle-folw. A coracoid from the early Middle Pleistocene of N Norfolk was also very similar to that species but showed differences comparable with those found between different species of Gallus. At least one species referable to Gallus is known from the Pliocene of South-eastern Europe. Extrapolating from zoogeographical speciation patterns it would be possible for a Gallus species to have evolved through Pleistocene speciation in the European region. The species might have become extinct during a glaciation or have been exterminated by early man. A new species Gallus europaeus is described with the coracoid as a holotype, and the radius from Kent is tentatively referred to it.     

The application of 3D‐microprofilometry as a tool in the surface diagnosis of fossil and sub‐fossil vertebrate hard tissue. An example from the Pliocene Upper Laetolil Beds,Tanzania

Non‐contact optical 3D‐profiling instruments are often used in the study of surface modifications on fossil mammalian bone. The advantage of optical laser scanning for the study of fossil and sub‐fossil bone is its non‐contact nature, allowing the investigation of fragile and poorly preserved surfaces. The high resolution and fast measuring rate of this method make it an alternative to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation if topography is to be visualized. This study analyses clusters of incisions in a suid humeral fragment from the Pliocene Upper Laetolil Beds. The marks show a characteristic crest structure that is also frequently found in mandible marks produced by the Australian termite species Mastotermes darwiniensis. The marks from the Laetolil Beds are, therefore, interpreted as also being caused by insect mandible action. An as yet unknown large insect species capable of modifying bone with their mandibles is thus postulated in the palaeohabitat represented by the hominid‐bearing Upper Laetolil Beds. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Provenience,age and associations of archaic Homo sapiens crania from Lake Eyasi,Tanzania

Fifty years ago, an ethnographic expedition found primitive human fossils at Lake Eyasi, Tanzania. Subsequent emphasis has centered almost exclusively on cranial morphology, neglecting the discovery site and associated finds. Fauna has been deemed “essentially modern” and racemization dates suggest a late Pleistocene age for the hominid remains; these assessments have been advanced as consistent with a “terminal Middle Stone Age” antiquity. Based on recent observations at the site and new sediment analyses, a provisional sequence is now proposed: an earlier formation, the Eyasi Beds, is distinguished from later Pleistocene deposits, the Mumba Beds, the latter being partially calibrated by uranium series and radiocarbon dates. This evidence indicates that the Eyasi Beds, the probable source of the human fossils, are older than 130,000 years, and the fauna may include seven extinct large mammal species. Documented Eyasi Beds artifacts are mostly unspecialized Middle Stone Age types; no typological or technical features suggest later MSA specializations or innovations foreshadowing Later Stone Age industries. A series of core tools from the lakeshore suggests an industry of Sangoan aspect. All lines of evidence from the locality contradict the young amino acid racemization dates; artifacts and fauna, including archaic Homo sapiens remains, are of probable Middle Pleistocene age.     

Book reviews

Stuart Robson (ed.). The Wédhatama: an English translation. [v], 60 pp. Leiden: KITLV Press, 1990. (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde. Working Papers, 4.) Guilders 25.

Bernard Sellato. Nomades et sédentarisation à Bornéo: histoire économique et sociale. 293 pp. Paris: Éditions de I'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, [1989]. (Études Insulindiennes/Archipel, 9.) Fr. 180.     

New ontogenetic information on Duyunaspis duyunensis Zhang & Qian in Zhou et al., 1977 (Trilobita,Corynexochida) from the Cambrian and its possible sexual dimorphism

Lei, Q.P., September .2015. New ontogenetic information on Duyunaspis duyunensis Zhang & Qian in Zhou et al., 1977 (Trilobita, Corynexochida) from the Cambrian and its possible sexual dimorphism. Alcheringa 40, XXX–XXX. ISSN 0311-5518.

The hypostomal condition and the complete ontogenetic development of Duyunaspis duyunensis Zhang & Qian in Zhou et al., 1977 are restudied on the basis of abundant specimens from the Balang Formation (Cambrian, Qiandongian) in Zila Village, Paiwu Township, Huayuan County, Hunan Province. The relatively complete ontogenetic series (degree 0 to 9) provides new evidence that the holaspis of this species has nine rather than seven thoracic segments as proposed by McNamara et al. (2006). Comparisons between Duyunaspis duyunensis and two associated species, Arthricocephalus chauveaui and Changaspis elongata, support its placement in the Subfamily Oryctocarinae. Moreover, based on observations of a large number of specimens, the presence of an anterior indentation on the pygidial end is possibly representative of sexual dimorphism.

Qianping Lei [cicelyapple@126.com], Natural Department, Changzhou Museum, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213022, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China.     

Revision and two new species of Itaphlebia (Nannochoristidae: Mecoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia,China

Cao, Y., Shih, C., Bashkuev, A. & Ren, D., September 2015. Revision and two new species of Itaphlebia (Nannochoristidae: Mecoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. Alcheringa 40, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two new species of Itaphlebia Sukatsheva, 1985, Itaphlebia longiovata and I. amoena (Nannochoristidae Tillyard, 1917), are described and illustrated from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Previously described Middle Jurassic nannochoristid genera, Chrysopanorpa Ren in Ren et al., 1995 and Protochoristella Sun, Ren & Shih, 2007b, together with Stylopanorpodes and Netropanorpodes Sun, Ren & Shih, 2007a (originally assigned to Mesopanorpodidae) are revised and considered to be synonyms of Itaphlebia. The following tentative species synonymies are proposed: Protochoristella formosa and Stylopanorpodes eurypterus = Itaphlebia ruderalis (Ren in Ren et al., 1995), comb. nov.; Netropanorpodes sentosus = I. jeniseica Novokshonov, 1997a, syn. nov.; and Protochoristella polyneura = I. multa Novokshonov, 1997a, syn. nov. Netropanorpodes decorosus is transferred to Itaphlebia. These new species, new material and the new combinations broaden the diversity of the Itaphlebia in mid-Mesozoic ecosystems and provide new characters enabling amendment of the generic diagnosis.

YiZi Cao [easycaoyinzi@aliyun.com], ChungKun Shih [chungkun.shih@gmail.com] and Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing, PR China 100048; Alexei Bashkuev [fossilmec@gmail.com], Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya st. 123, Moscow 117997, Russia.     

Ceramic style analysis in archaeology and ethnoarchaeology: Bridging the analytical gap

A refitting study with a sample of sherds from Broken K Pueblo indicates that at least some of the “patterning” in the assemblage identified by Hill (1970, Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona 18) results from unrecognized whole vessels and large conjoinable sherds. It is argued that contemporary stylistic analyses are based on many of the same analytical methods employed in the Broken K study and that research findings of ethnoarchaeology are rarely applied in the analysis of prehistoric ceramics. Despite archaeologists' increasing awareness of formation processes, spurred by ethnoarchaeological research, analytic methods that identify and take into account the effects of these processes on archaeological ceramic assemblages are underdeveloped. Suggestions are offered to resolve this problem, for both archaeological and ethnoarchaeological ceramic analysis, that may permit archaeologists to discover in prehistoric assemblages the same types of relationships identified in systemic assemblages.     

Further evidence for a 6-h tide above Arecibo

Since the publication of results suggesting the existence of a 6-h tide in the E region above Arecibo [(Tonget al., 1988) J. geophys. Res.93, 10047–10051], much more data has been collected and analyzed. In particular, the time-height trajectories of middle and upper E region Tidal Ion Layers (TILs) for early January 1989 closely resemble those from early January 1981, which first revealed the presence of a 6-h quasi-periodic intermediate layer structure. Further, the January 1989 observations form an ‘overture’ to the March–May 1989 AIDA (Arecibo Initiative in Dynamics of the Atmosphere) campaign, which yielded a total of 28 days of additional data regarding TIL motion. Interestingly, the AIDA data set is dominated, above about 120 km altitude, by sporadic intermediate layers [(mathewset al., 1993) J. atmos. terr. Phys.55, 447–457] and certainly does not show the consistent 6-h period TIL feature seen in the two January data sets. In reviewing all data collected over the past 10 yr and the extensive 1989 observations in particular, we conclude that the basic TIL structure is controlled by two separate tidal wind patterns. We refer to these as the normal pattern and the ‘deep-winter’ pattern. The normal pattern includes the combination of diurnal and semidiurnal tides, while the deep-winter pattern has an additional 6-h tidal component. The deep winter pattern remains unexplained, but we suggest that the 6-h periodicity, which appears to be phase locked with the semidiurnal tide, is generated via in situ non-linear frequency doubling of the semidiurnal tide. The January 1989 results also manifest a TIL structure, below 100 km altitude, which has not been previously reported.     

Lithostratigraphy of Border Cave, KwaZulu, South Africa: a Middle Stone Age sequence beginning c. 195,000 b.p.

Border Cave is well-known for its Middle Stone Age (MSA) sequence and associated hominids, as well as for the earliest demonstrable Later Stone Age (LSA) (c. 38,000 b.p.) strata in southern Africa. Detailed lithostratigraphic and sedimentological study permits identification of 8 Pleistocene sedimentary cycles, including 6 major cold phases and 2 intervening weathering horizons. The 2 youngest cold phases are associated with the LSA and have 8 ¹⁴C dates 38,600-13,300 b.p. By gauging sedimentation rates in finer and coarser sediments, duration of sedimentary breaks, and allowing for differential compaction, the excellent radiocarbon framework provided by 28 available ¹⁴C dates can be extrapolated to the 6 cold intervals and 2 palaeosols that are older than 50,000 b.p. These clearly span oxygenisotope stages 4, 5 and 6, placing the base of the MSA deposits at c. 195,000 b.p., Homo sapiens sapiens at c. 90,000–115,000 b.p. and the sophisticated, microlithic “Howieson's Poort” industry at 95,000 b.p. These results require radical reassessment of the age and nature of the MSA complex and of the earliest evolution of anatomically-modern people.     

Testing the “shift in the balance of power” hypothesis at Swartkrans, South Africa: Hominid cave use and subsistence behavior in the Early Pleistocene

C.K. Brain documented two interesting patterns in the Pleistocene faunas of Swartkrans Cave, South Africa: (1) The earliest depositional units, Members 1 and 2, preserve high numbers of hominid fossils, while the numbers drop sharply in the more recent Member 3. (2) Burned bone specimens, which seem to have been altered in fires tended by hominids, appear for the first time in Member 3. It was suggested that mastery of fire provided a “shift in the balance of power”, allowing hominids to carry out activities in the cave for the first time unmolested by predators. A lack of butchered bones in Members 1 and 2 and their presence in Member 3 provided support for the hypothesis. However, we have now identified butchered bones in all three units. Further, our findings reveal a lack of variability in butchery patterns through time at Swartkrans; in all cases hominids appear to have been proficient carcass foragers. The real “shift” at Swartkrans does not appear to be one of eventual hominid dominance over carnivores, but rather one of a predominance of leopards at Swartkrans in Member 1 times to the alternating presence of leopards and hyenas in Members 2 and 3. Consistent leopard presence in Member 1 seems to have discouraged hominid activity in the vicinity of the cave. In contrast, by the time Members 2 and 3 were forming hominids may have temporarily used the cave, taking advantage of those periods of carnivore absence.     

The hunted hunter: the capture of a lion (Panthera leo fossilis) at the Gran Dolina site,Sierra de Atapuerca,Spain

Many Pleistocene caves and rock shelters contain evidence of carnivore and human activities. For this reason, it is common to recover at these sites faunal remains left by both biological agents. In order to explain the role that carnivores play at the archaeological sites it is necessary to analyse several elements, such as the taxonomical and skeletal representation, the age profiles, the ratio of NISP to MNI, the anthropogenic processing marks on the carcasses (location and purpose of cutmarks and burning and bone breakage patterns), carnivore damage (digested bones, location and frequencies of toothmarks and bone breakage), length of the long bones, frequencies of coprolites and vertical distribution of the faunal remains, inter alia. From this, the documentation of carnivores in a faunal assemblage with a clear anthropogenic component can be understood from three main phenomena: (1) the carnivores as accumulators and the use of the site as a den; (2) carnivores as scavengers of hominid refuse and; (3) carnivores as hominids’ prey. Of these three phenomena, the last one is the least documented at the Middle Pleistocene sites. From this perspective, here we present the case of the anthropogenic use of a lion (Panthera leo fossilis) from level TD10-1 of Gran Dolina (MIS 9, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). The lion bone remains show signs of direct interaction between this big cat and human groups that occupied Gran Dolina in these chronologies. From this perspective, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of the role developed by large carnivores in the anthropogenic contexts and to provide data on human use of these predators at the European Middle Pleistocene sites.     

Neoextrania,a replacement name for Extrania Sun & Wang, 1985 (Ostracoda), preoccupied by Extrania Qian in Qiu et al., 1983 (Trilobita)

Donovan, S.K. & Hoek Ostende, L.W. van den., September 2012. Neoextrania, a replacement name for Extrania Sun & Wang, 1985 (Ostracoda), preoccupied by Extrania Qian in Qiu et al., 1983 (Trilobita). Alcheringa 36, 431. ISSN 0311-5518.

The early Palaeozoic trilobite Extrania Qian in Qiu et al., 1983, is a senior homonym of the Devonian ostracod Extrania Sun & Wang, 1985. Neoextrania nom. nov. is proposed for the homonymous ostracod.     

Book reviews

The Indonesian Tragedy by Brian May, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978, pp. xvii, 438. £8.95.

Comment fut tranchée la liane céleste, et autres textes de littévature orale bunaq (Timor, Indonésie), edited by Claudine Friedberg from the collection and translations of Louis Berthe, Paris: Société d'Études Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France (Langues et Civilisations à Tradition Orale 25), 1978; pp. 294, 8 plates, 2 maps and several figures in the text.     

Observed and calculated F2 peak heights and derived meridional winds at mid-latitudes over a full solar cycle

The peak height of the F2 layer, hmF2, has been calculated using the ‘servo’ model of Rishbeth et al. [(1978), J. atmos. terr. Phys. 40, 767], combined with the hedin et al. [(1988), J. geophys. Res. 93, 9959] neutral wind model. The results are compared with observed values at noon and midnight derived from ionosonde measurements at two mid-latitude stations, Boulder and Wallops Island, over a full solar cycle. The reduced height of the F2 layer, zmF2, is also computed for the same period using the observed hmF2 values and the MSIS-86 model. Day-night, seasonal, and solar cycle variations in zmF2 are attributed to neutral composition changes and winds. Anomalously low values of hmF2 and zmF2 during summer both at solar minimum and during the solar cycle maximum in magnetic activity may be associated with increases in the molecular to atomic ion concentration ratio. Under these circumstances the F2 peak may lie significantly below the O⁺ peak height calculated by the servo model. Neutral meridional winds at Wallops Island are derived from the servo model using the observed hmF2 values and the calculated O⁺ ‘balance height’. It is shown that if the anomalously low hmF2 values are used, unrealistically large poleward winds are derived, which are inconsistent with both theory and observations made using other techniques. For most conditions the F2 peak is clearly an O⁺ peak, and daily mean winds at hmF2 derived from the servo model are consistent with the hedin et al. (1988) wind model. Unexpectedly, the results do not show an abrupt transition in the thermospheric circulation at the equinoxes. Diurnal curves of the servo model winds reveal a larger day-night difference at solar minimum than at solar maximum.