The significance of the fossil hominid skull from Petralona,Greece

Evidence is accumulating that the hominid cranium found in the Petralona cave in 1960 is associated with cave deposits of middle Pleistocene age. If this is so, the fossil is the most complete middle Pleistocene cranium yet discovered and provides important morphological, metrical and radiographic information on the possible evolutionary transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens. The classification of the specimen is discussed and it is suggested that a grade system within Homo spaiens should be erected. The Petralona fossil would be allocated to Homo sapiens grade 1 rather than to Homo erectus or to a subspecies of Homo sapiens.     

First fossil pollen record of Auriculiidites Elsik, 1964 in Australia

Macphail, M.K. & Partridge, A.D., June 2012. First fossil pollen record of Auriculiidites Elsik, 1964 Elsik, W. C. 1964. A new sporomorph genus from eastern Peru. Pollen et Spores, 6: 601–604.  [Google Scholar] in Australia. Alcheringa 36, 283–286. ISSN 0311-5518.

Fossil auriculate pollen assigned to Auriculiidites Elsik is preserved in middle early Eocene estuarine facies near Strahan, on the west coast of Tasmania. This is the first record of this otherwise Late Cretaceous–Paleocene morphogenus in Australia and possibly the Southern Hemisphere. Auriculiidites is one of several, now tropical, taxa found at Strahan and underscores the area's importance in understanding the impact of early Eocene global warming at high latitudes.

Mike Macphail [mike.macphail@anu.edu.au], Department of Archaeology & Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia; Alan D. Partridge, Biostrata Pty. Ltd. 302 Waiora Rd., Macleod, Victoria 3085, Australia. Received 28.8.2011, revised 5.2.2012, accepted 16.2.2012.     

Early hominid behaviour and culture tradition: raw material studies in Bed II,Olduvai Gorge

Two studies involving an analysis of artefact raw material use in Bed II at Olduvai Gorge (1.6–1.4 myr) are reported. The first study shows evidence for the manufacture of chert artefacts at a factory site and the subsequent transport of selected whole flakes to another site for use. Early hominids are thus shown to have been capable of planning a sequence of activities involving raw material extraction, processing, selection and transport for an ultimate use. The transported artefacts are found accumulated at sites associated with animal bones, suggesting that hominids were a principal agent in site formation. The second study demonstrates that the attributes of the artefacts said to differentiate the Developed Oldowan B from the Early Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge are the result of differential raw material use.

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Résumé Deux études sur l'analyse de la matière première utilisée pour les outils du Bed II d'Olduvai Gorge (1.6–1.4 myr) sont présentées. La première étude prouve que les outils en chert étaient fabriqués dans un atelier de taille et que des éclats entiers étaient sélectionnés et transportés afin d'être utilisés sur un autre site. Ceci démontre que les anciens hominidés étaient capables de planifier une séquence d'activités comprenant l'extraction, le traitement, la sélection et le transport pour utilisation ultérieure, de la matière première. Les outils transportés sont retrouvés accumulés sur les sites, associés à des ossements d'animaux, ce qui suggère que les hominidés étaient les principaux responsables de la formation des sites. La deuxième étude démontre que les attributs des outils/objets sensés différencier l'Oldwayen développé B de l'Acheuléen ancien à Olduvai Gorge résultent d'une utilisation différente de la matière première.

     

Composite hunting technologies from the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene,Niah Cave,Borneo

Renewed archaeological investigation of the West Mouth of Niah Cave, Borneo has demonstrated that even within lowland equatorial environments depositional conditions do exist where organic remains of late glacial and early post-glacial age can be preserved. Excavations by the Niah Cave Research Project (NCP) (2000–2003) towards the rear of the archaeological reserve produced several bone points and worked stingray spines, which exhibit evidence of hafting mastic and fibrous binding still adhering to their shafts. The position of both gives strong indication of how these cartilaginous points were hafted and gives insight into their potential function. These artefacts were recovered from secure and ¹⁴C dated stratigraphic horizons. The results of this study have implications for our understanding the function of the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene bone tools recovered from other regions of Island Southeast Asia. They demonstrate that by the end the Pleistocene rainforest foragers in Borneo were producing composite technologies that probably included fishing leisters and potentially the bow and arrow.     

Stability of phytoliths in the archaeological record: a dissolution study of modern and fossil phytoliths

Opaline phytoliths are important microfossils used in archaeological and ecological research. Relatively little is known about the stability of phytoliths after burial. Under alkaline pH conditions they can dissolve, and mechanical disturbances can cause a loss of their more delicate appendages. Here we present an experimental study of phytolith stability (combination of solubility and abrasion). Modern and fossil phytoliths were extracted from wheat using new methods to minimize dissolution, and by burning in an oven. These assemblages were placed in a solution buffered to pH 10 and maintained under constant temperature and shaking conditions. The silicon concentrations in the solution were monitored once a week for 5 weeks. The phytolith morphologies in each assemblage were determined at the outset of the experiment and after 5 weeks. The results show that there are differences in stability between various assemblages. Modern inflorescence wheat phytolith assemblages are more unstable than those from leaves/stems. Burnt assemblages are less stable than unburnt assemblages, and a fossil phytolith assemblage about 3000 years old is more stable than the modern wheat assemblages. The results also show that individual phytolith morphotypes have different stabilities, and as a result of dissolution and abrasion, some morphotypes may resemble others. This study further shows that archaeological and/or paleo-environmental interpretation of phytolith assemblages may change with the assemblage’s state of preservation.     

First fossil pollen record of the Northern Hemisphere species Aglaoreidia cyclops Erdtman, 1960 in Australia

Sánchez Botero, C.A., Oboh-Ikuenobe, F.E. & Macphail, M.K., 2013. First fossil pollen record of the Northern Hemisphere species Aglaoreidia cyclops Erdtman, 1960 in Australia. Alcheringa 37, 1–5. ISSN 0311-5518.

Aglaoreidia cyclops Erdtman, 1960 is a fossil pollen species associated with upper Eocene to lower Oligocene freshwater deposits in Europe and North America. Specimens preserved in upper Eocene lignites near Norseman, Western Australia, are the first record of this Northern Hemisphere species both in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. This new report widens the biogeographic distribution originally considered for this species. The stratigraphical and environmental characteristics of A. cyclops also make it an excellent stratigraphic indicator of upper Eocene freshwater deposits in Western Australia.

Carlos A. Sánchez Botero [casmwc@mail.mst.edu], Francisca E. Oboh-Ikuenobe [ikuenobe@mst.edu] Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 129 McNutt Hall, Rolla, MO 65409, USA; Mike Macphail [mike.macphail@anu.edu.au] Department of Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Received 12.10.2012; revised 6.3.2013; accepted 7.3.2013.     

Mobility, competition, and Plio-Pleistocene hominid foraging groups

Evidence for carcass access times and levels of early hominid mobility is synthesized using studies of carnivore ethology and theories of interspecific competition to arrive at tentative conclusions about the organization of Plio-Pleistocene hominid foraging groups. The model presented suggests that group foraging tactics, in combination with high mobility, are central to successful confrontational scavenging (interference competition), whereas individual foraging tactics and high mobility are central to successful nonconfrontational scavenging (exploitative competition). In contrast, group or individual foraging tactics and low mobility characterize the acquisition of fresh carcasses in low-competition contexts. Individual foraging tactics and low mobility are employed in response to extreme competition over marginal resources. Preliminary tests with data from Bed I Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora suggest that Plio-Pleistocene hominids, like other large-bodied predators, employed flexible foraging tactics involving changes in group size and levels of mobility to gain access to carcasses in both low-and high-competition contexts.     

New fossil helorid wasps (Hymenoptera,Proctotrupoidea) from the Early Cretaceous of China

Li, L., Shih, C. & Ren, D., February 2017. New fossil helorid wasps (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from the Early Cretaceous of China. Alcheringa 41, 474–486. ISSN 0311-5518

Two new genera with two new species, Bellohelorus fortis and Novhelorus macilentus, and one new species, Protocyrtus parilis, within an established genus are described. Laiyanghelorus erymnus is re-described based on well-preserved specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at Huangbanjigou Village, Beipiao City, Western Liaoning Province, China. Three taxonomic changes are proposed: Liaoropronia Zhang & Zhang is transferred from Roproniidae to Heloridae, and Novhelorus saltatrix (Shi, Zhao, Shih & Ren) and Spherogaster beipiaoensis (Shi, Zhao, Shih & Ren) are recombined. In addition, Gurvanhelorus mongolicus Rasnitsyn is tentatively considered a synonym of Protocyrtus validus Zhang & Zhang. A key to all genera of Heloridae is provided. All described helorid fossils with their distribution and geological age are summarized. Key forewing characters are compared for all fossil species to show the interspecific venational differences, which highlight a high level of genus-level diversity among Mesozoic helorids.

Longfeng Li [fenger4499@163.com], Chungkun Shih* [chungkun.shih@gmail.com] and Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, PR China. *Also affiliated with Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA. Received 20.4.2016; revised 19.9.2016; accepted 11.11.2016.     

Relative frequency of butchering cutmarks produced by obsidian and flint: an experimental approach

An experimental approach was used to determine how stone tool materials affect the frequency of observed cutmarks. Five whitetail deer were butchered by an expert butcher using flint and obsidian tools and the skeletons were prepared and analyzed. The authors found that the deer butchered with obsidian tools generally displayed fewer incidents of cutmarks than their flint-butchered counterparts. Consideration of this variable may prove to be important to archaeologists attempting to answer questions of specialization or when making comparisons of cutmark data between sites.     

Early medieval slave‐trading in the archaeological record: comparative methodologies

Efforts to identify archaeological indicators of slave‐trading have highlighted four main criteria: shackles, fortified settlements, currency, and burials. However, little effort has been made to examine these indicators together for the early medieval period. By comparing finds, studies, and methodologies from the two major slave‐trading regions of Britain and Ireland and Slavic east central Europe, it becomes clear that these so‐called ‘indicators’ for slave‐trading are inconclusive, and textually attested slave‐trading can remain archaeologically invisible. To better understand slave‐trading in the seventh to eleventh centuries, historians and archaeologists should instead focus on its context within general trade.     

First record of the trace fossil Protovirgularia from the Middle Permian of southeastern Gondwana (southern Sydney Basin,Australia)

LUO, M. &; SHI G.R., February 2017. First record of the trace fossil Protovirgularia from the Middle Permian of southeastern Gondwana (southern Sydney Basin, Australia). Alcheringa 0, 000–000. ISSN 0311-5518.

This study reports the first examples of well-preserved chevronate trails referable to Protovirgularia longespicata De Stefani, 1885 Stefani, DE.C., 1885. Studi paleozoologici sulle creta superiore e media dell' Apennino settentionale. Atti della Reale Accademia dea Lincei, Memorie 22, 101?134. [Google Scholar] from the early Middle Permian (Roadian) upper Wandrawandian Siltstone of the southern Sydney Basin, southeastern Australia. The highly meandering trace with closely spaced, papillate chevrons is interpreted to have been produced by the locomotion-feeding behaviour of certain protobranch bivalves in an offshore environment. The dense trails occurring on the upper bedding planes of pebbly siltstone may represent a gregarious lifestyle, where junior and senior individuals of the trace-maker bivalves coexisted while moving within sediments. The Wandrawandian Protovirgularia also represents the first known occurrence of this ichnotaxon from a glaciomarine environment in the Permian eastern Gondwana. The global record of Protovirgularia occurrences suggests that these trails had a wide environmental distribution since the Cambrian, and there is no obvious difference in the environmental distribution of Protovirgularia after the Permian?Triassic transition.

Mao Luo [m.luo@deakin.edu.au] and G.R. Shi [guang.shi@deakin.edu.au], Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, VIC 3125, Australia.     

Circum-mortem damage to some ancient African hominid crania: a taphonomic and evolutionary essay

Close examination of three early hominid crania from Africa yields taphonomic information long after they were excavated, and can contribute information relevant to their dating and taxonomic status. The condition of the bone and breaks and markings are reviewed in the Florisbad, Saldanha and Broken Hill (Kabwe) crania, indicating animal biting while the bone was still fresh in the first and last of these specimens. However, the damage to the base of the Kabwe cranium indicates that there may also have been breakage by hominids, including scorings near the margin of the squamous suture. No tooth marks are observed on the Saldanha cranium, but a depressed fracture and other lesions indicate hominid damage to fresh bone. Postmortem weathering indicates cranial thickness even greater than the original measurements, which implies a more primitive evolutionary status for Saldanha than for Kabwe. This view is supported by other morphological evidence, and suggests a considerably earlier date for Saldanha and a classification asHomo erectus.

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Résumé L'examen à fond de trois crânes d'hominidés anciens de l'Afrique fournit des données taphonomiques longtemps après la fouille, et peut livrer informations quant à leur date et à leur statut taxonomique. L'état de l'os et les cassures et d'autres traces sont étudiés dans les crânes de Florisbad, Saldanha et Broken Hill (Kabwe); dans ceux de Florisbad et de Broken Hill on constate que l'os a été mordu par des animaux lorsqu'il était encore frais. Cependant les dégâts à la base du crâne de Kabwe—y compris des stries près du bord de la suture squameuse—indiquent qu'il peut aussi avoir été cassé par des hominidés.Il n'y a pas de traces de morsures sur le crâne de Saldanha, mais on y observe une fracture aplatie et d'autres lésions qui indiquent que l'os frais a été endommagé par des hominidés. A cause des altérations survenues après la mort, on constate que le crâne original était même plus épais que les premières mésures l'indiquaient, ce qui implique un statut évolutionnaire plus primitif pour Saldanha que pour Kabwe. Cette idée, renforcée par d'autres indices morphologiques, suggère que Saldanha est beaucoup plus ancien que l'on ne croyait, et doit être classifié commeHomo erectus.

     

Butchering,sharing, and the archaeological record

Richard Gould has recently advocated certain methodological positions he considers to be appropriate to the field of archaeology. These positions have been placed in critical contrast to propositions which this author allegedly advocates with regard to archaeological method and theory. This paper seeks to correct Gould's representation of this author's views and to place in a broader perspective the suggestions which he has offered to the field for consideration.     

Avian taphonomy: observations at two Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) breeding colonies and their implications for the fossil record

Actualistic studies on vertebrate taphonomy have centred on mammals, and to a much lesser extent on flying birds. Members of the Spheniscidae are anatomically specialized making it problematic to make direct inferences from previous taphonomic work. Modern bone assemblages from two Spheniscus magellanicus breeding colonies on the southern Atlantic coast of continental Patagonia, Argentina, were surveyed on foot along linear transects, and features were determined that are useful in interpreting the fossil record. Present day bone accumulations have specific properties resulting from penguin anatomy and osteology as well as from the composition of the vertebrate community and regional environmental conditions. Most salient are the high spatial density of bones, the dominance of Spheniscidae remains over those of other vertebrates, the high percentage of disarticulated bones, the predominance of limb bones, the low frequencies of carnivore bone modifications, and the abundance of fractured bones. Many of these features observed in the modern assemblages can be identified in fossil avian bone deposits.     

Archaeological,Historical, and Ethnographic Approaches to the Study of Sewn Boats: past,present, and future

Sewn‐plank vessels have been a pervasive form of ship construction since antiquity. This paper provides an introductory overview of the current state of the field of sewn‐plank studies, with a particular focus on the Indian Ocean. It describes the basic function of sewn‐plank techniques, and then discusses textual references and historical approaches to the topic. The relevant archaeological evidence is reviewed, and prior ethnographic work relating to the topic is outlined. It summarizes numerous experimental sewn‐plank reconstructions that have been undertaken and concludes with a discussion of the current directions of the field and suggestions for the future.     

Transition from hunting to animal husbandry in Southern,Western and Eastern Finland: new dated osteological evidence

The beginning of animal husbandry in Finland is one of the most debated topics in Finnish archaeology. For this study a total of 69 bone materials from archaeological sites in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland, dating from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Metal Period, were analysed: 52 represented identifiable animal bones. These data were complemented with those from previously analysed bone materials. A total of 19 domestic animal bones were radiocarbon-dated to determine their connection with a particular cultural period. However, 13 of them proved to belong to the historical and not the prehistoric period, emphasizing the importance of radiocarbon-dating and context awareness when interpreting prehistoric bone materials. Among the radiocarbon-dated material were the oldest dated sheep, cattle and horse bones in Finland. The oldest radiocarbon-dated domestic animal bone in Finland, from sheep or goat, derives from the Late Stone Age Kiukainen Culture site, while cattle and horse bones date to the Bronze Age. This is later than expected. However, the available material does not exclude the possibility that some animal husbandry was practised in Finland earlier. Nevertheless, domestic animal bones are rare in samples dated to the cultural periods studied, while hunting and fishing represented important subsistence activities.     

The first fossil record of Nandeva Wiedenbrug,Reiss & Fittkau (Diptera: Chironomidae) in early Eocene Fushun amber from China

Gi?ka, W., Zakrzewska, M., Baranov, V., Wang, B. &; Stebner, F., May 2016. The first fossil record of Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss &; Fittkau (Diptera: Chironomidae) in early Eocene Fushun amber from China. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

The first fossil representative of the extant chironomid genus Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss &; Fittkau, 1998 Wiedenbrug, S., Reiss, F. &; Fittkau, E.J., 1998. Nandeva, gen. nov., a new genus of Chironomini (Insecta, Diptera, Chironomidae). Spixiana 21, 59–68. [Google Scholar] is described based on a specimen found in early Eocene (50–53 Ma) Fushun amber from China. The adult male of Nandeva pudens sp. nov. has the long RM vein as a continuation of M and R₄₊₅, the bare squama, the strongly reduced anal area of the wing and hypopygial characters typical of extant species of the genus. Following the systematic concept based on adult male morphology and characters examinable in fossil specimens, we present N. pudens as a possible member of the Tanytarsini, arguing that Nandeva is part of this tribe or a possible sister group to the tribe. This is the first record of Nandeva from the Palaearctic region.

Wojciech Gi?ka [wojciech.gilka@biol.ug.edu.pl] University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; Marta Zakrzewska [marta.zakrzewska@biol.ug.edu.pl] University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; Viktor Baranov* [baranov@igb-berlin.de] Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany; Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Frauke Stebner [frauke.stebner@uni-bonn.de] University of Bonn, Steinmann-Institute, Section Palaeontology, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany. *Also affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Geography Department, Rudower Chaussee 16, 12489 Berlin, Germany. ?Also affiliated with Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Beijing 100101, PR China.     

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.