Modern Human Origins—Distinguishing the Models

Four models of modern human origins were described and discussed by Aiello (Aiello, L. (1993) American Anthropologist 95: 73–96. She distinguished them as the African Replacement Model, the African Hybridization and Replacement Model, the Assimilation Model, and the Multiregional Model. All of these models have been modified and refined following further research and development by their proponents, but this is now leading to some confusion in testing the models. Whereas developments of the African Replacement Model have often been given distinct names, quite different versions of the Multiregional Model are still referred to under the original name. New ways of distinguishing the models are proposed, and the suggestion is made that some versions of the Multiregional Model should now be subsumed under the Assimilation Model, while others could perhaps be known under the term Multiregional Model 2.Quatre modèles représentant les origines de l'homme moderne furent décrits et discutés par Aiello (1993): le Modèle Africain de Remplacement (African Replacement Model), le Modèle Africain d'Hybridisation et de Remplacement (African Hybridization and Replacement Model), le Modèle d'Assimilation (Assimilation Model) et le Modèle Multirégional (Multiregional Model). Suite à de nouvelles recherches et de nouveaux développements, chacun de ces modèles a été modifié et affiné par ses partisans, ce qui, à ce jour, a mené à une certaine confusion lorsqu'il s'agit de tester ces modèles. Alors que les développements issus du Modèle Africain de Remplacement ont souvent reçu des noms à part, plusieurs variantes, toutes plutôt différentes les unes des autres, du Modèle Multirégional ne sont toujours connues que par leur nom d'origine. Ici je présente de nouvelles propositions ayant comme but de faciliter la distinction entre différents modèles. Je propose également que certaines variantes du Modèle Multirégional devraient à présent être comprises dans le Modèle d'Assimilation, tandis que d'autres pourraient peut-être prendre le nom de Modèle Multirégional 2 (Multiregional Model 2).     

Heroes and Invaders: Gay and Lesbian pride parades and the public/private distinction in New Zealand media accounts

Public space is constructed as heterosexual space in at least two senses. First, heterosexuality in public is regarded as unproblematic, whereas lesbian and gay identities are policed by subtle or overt means. Second, heterosexuality is not obviously marked in public. In this article these positions are used as a starting point to investigate the complexities of the relationships between heterosexuality, homosexuality and the public and private spheres. Much of the discussion takes as its basis the media coverage of New Zealand's lesbian and gay pride parades. Recent heterosexist discourse in New Zealand implies that gay men and lesbians are leaving the private sphere and are forcing a politicisation of both the public sphere and the metaphorical space of the private, heterosexual mind. A discursive inversion occurs whereby the homosexual subject becomes powerful and tyrannous, and the heterosexual is coerced and oppressed. Crucial to such discourse is a mobilisation of the conservative tendencies of liberalism, and an attendant denial of the privileged position granted to heterosexuality .     

Pigments from the Middle Palaeolithic levels of Es-Skhul (Mount Carmel,Israel)

Discovery of pigments at Middle Palaeolithic sites is of interest in the context of the ongoing debate about the tempo and mode of the emergence of modern human behaviour. Here we analyse four previously undescribed fragments of pigmental material from Es-Skhul shelter, layer B, Israel, McCown excavations, identified at the Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, London. One of them is still partially embedded in the hard breccia characteristic of this layer. Inspection of breccia fragments from layer B has led to the identification of small pieces of red and orange pigmental material still enclosed in large clasts, further corroborating the attribution of the larger pieces analysed in this study to layer B. The four objects are studied using optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray micro-diffraction (μ-XRD), Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission Spectrometry (PIXE), and Proton-Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE). The specimens display various hues of yellow, orange, red, and one of them presents a gradual variation of shade from yellow to dark orange. SEM/EDX analysis identifies two specimens (Skhul 1 and 2) as being composed of iron-rich calcium phosphate, the third (Skhul 3) of potassium-rich clay with titanium-rich iron oxide inclusions, and the fourth (Skhul 4) of pure iron oxide crystals. TEM/EDX and μ-XRD analysis demonstrate that three pieces (Skhul 1, 2 and 4) were heated to at least 300 °C, a process that has partially or completely dehydrated goethite into haematite and changed their pristine yellow colour into orange or red. Skhul 3 shows no sign of heating, suggesting that its haematite content has a geological origin. The different mineral composition of the pieces suggests that they must come from a variety of sources. This implies that the associated collection strategies included the selection of materials that differed not only with respect to colour but also with respect to other physical and chemical properties. Although no formal proof exists that these lumps of pigmental material were deliberately heated, results obtained are consistent with this explanation.     

The 74 ka Toba super-eruption and southern Indian hominins: archaeology,lithic technology and environments at Jwalapuram Locality 3

Hominins living in southern India 74,000 years ago faced a deteriorating environment, as the global climate moved from interglacial into full glacial conditions. At the same time, South Asian populations witnessed the widespread deposition of tephra from the Sumatran Toba super-eruption, the largest explosive volcanic event of the past two million years. Here we report new data on the lithic technology and environmental context for a southern Indian site with hominin occupation in association with Toba tephra deposits: Jwalapuram Locality 3 in the Jurreru Valley. Sedimentological and isotopic studies demonstrate that a cooling trend was in effect in this part of southern India prior to the eruption, and that thick deposits of ash in the Jurreru Valley supported grassland communities before more wooded conditions were re-established. Detailed technological analyses of an expanded lithic sample from Locality 3 suggest cultural continuity after the eruptive event, and comparisons with lithic core technologies elsewhere indicate that Homo sapiens cannot be ruled out as the creator of these Middle Palaeolithic assemblages.     

羊城争艳——广州车展最值得关注新车

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