Uranium series dating reveals a long sequence of rock art at Altamira Cave (Santillana del Mar,Cantabria)

The rock art in Altamira Cave was the first ensemble of Palaeolithic parietal art to be identified scientifically (Sautuola, 1880). Due to the great thematic, technical and stylistic variety of the art in the cave, which constitutes one of the most complete Palaeolithic art ensembles, Altamira was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1985. Uranium-series dating has recently been applied to figures on the decorated ceiling in the cave. Several motifs are partly covered by thin layers of calcite precipitates, whose formation process is datable by this method. The results provide the date when the calcite formed, which gives a minimum age for the underlying depictions. These results confirm that the parietal art at Altamira was produced during a prolonged period of time, at least 20,000 years (between 35,000 and 15,200 years ago), and that part of the ensemble corresponds to the Aurignacian period.     

The first fossil avian egg from Brazil

Marsola, J.C.A., Grellet-Tinner, G., Montefeltro, F.C., Sayão, J.M., Hsiou, A.S. & Langer, M.C., 2014. The first fossil avian egg from Brazil. Alcheringa 38, 563–567. ISSN 0311-5518.

In contrast to the rich record of eggs from non-avian dinosaurs, complete eggs attributable to Mesozoic birds are relatively scarce. Nevertheless, several well-preserved specimens have been discovered over the last three decades revealing functional and phylogenetic characters that shed light on the breeding strategies of extinct birds. Here we report the first fossil avian egg from Brazil, which was discovered in Upper Cretaceous strata of São Paulo in the southeastern part of the country. The taxonomic identity and structural features of the biomineralized tissues were determined using a combination of Scanning Electron Microscopy, Wave Dispersion Energy analyses and Computed Tomography. These show that the 125.5-μm-thick shell of the 31.4?×?19.5?mm egg incorporates three structural layers of similar thickness with both prismatic and aprismatic boundaries. Close similarity between the Brazilian bird egg and those of enantiornithines from the Upper Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Río Colorado Subgroup) of Argentina advocates affinity with basal Ornithothoraces. Furthermore, coherency of their depositional contexts might imply a compatible preference for breeding and nesting environments.

Júlio Cesar de A. Marsola [juliomarsola@gmail.com], Annie Schmaltz Hsiou [anniehsiou@ffclrp.usp.br] and Max C. Langer [mclanger@ffclrp.usp.br], Laboratório de Paleontologia de Ribeirão Preto, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo state, 14040-901, Brazil. Gerald Grellet-Tinner [locarnolugano@gmail.com], Centro Regional de Investigaciones La Rioja—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Entre Ríos y Mendoza s/n, 5301 Anillaco, Argentina; Orcas Island Museum, PO Box 134, 181 North Beach Road, Eastsound, WA 98245. Felipe C. Montefeltro [felipecmontefeltro@gmail.com], Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Avenida 24A 1515, Rio Claro, São Paulo State, 13506-900, Brazil. Juliana M. Sayão [jmsayao@gmail.com], Laboratório de Diversidade do Nordeste, Núcleo de Biologia, Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Rua do Alto do Reservatório s/n, Bela Vista, Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco state, 52050-480, Brazil. Received 18.12.2013; revised 30.4.2014; accepted 18.5.2014.     

Thinking through “Vernacular Cosmopolitanisms”: Historical Archaeology in Senegal and the Material Contours of the African Atlantic

This article draws on recent archaeological research on coastal Senegal to examine how the concept of “vernacular cosmopolitanism” can contribute to scholarship about the construction of cultural hybridity in West Africa during the Atlantic era. It argues that Senegambia between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries was a vibrant theater of international exchanges, and that archaeological examinations of these processes can both assist our understanding of regional history and enrich discussions about the African diaspora, diasporic identities, French imperialism, and Atlantic modernity. The study of material experiences can also raise critical questions about our conceptual categories and limits to our understanding of the Atlantic past.     

Experimental characterization of the constitutive materials composing an old masonry vaulted tunnel of the Paris subway system

A significant proportion of the Paris metro tunnels comprise a masonry vault built out of stone blocks and mortar joints, and sidewalls and slabs made of unreinforced concrete. In order to provide the necessary data for future structural evaluation, an extensive laboratory testing programme has been conducted to characterize the materials of the tunnel separately, i.e., mortar, stone, and concrete. The tests, carried out on specimens taken from cores extracted from a 1930s tunnel, enabled to determine the mechanical properties, including direct tensile, shear strength, and mode I fracture energy, as well as the properties of the stone-mortar interface. Results show that the masonry mortar joints could reach 10 cm in width, and that blocks of stone varied in composition and porosity, thus producing a wide range of mechanical properties. The concrete was composed of large-sized aggregates and showed low stiffness and strength. Based on these experimental results, ratios between mechanical characteristics are hereby proposed. Perspectives on the use of this experimental data in a finite element model are then discussed.     

History and Characteristics of Construction Techniques Used in Traditional Timber Ottoman Houses

The aim of this article is to make a comprehensive review of the traditional timber house constructions in Turkey, which constitutes the majority of the existing Ottoman architectural legacy. After a short historical background focused on the Ottoman territory, the first section explores regional differences in the housing tradition, developed according to local features and defined by architectural features, material characteristics, and availability of materials. Derived from these regional differences, in the second section diversity in traditional timber construction systems in Turkey is described with special emphasis on the Ottoman h?m?? system. In this part, besides the discussion of the h?m?? technique which spread over Ottoman lands from the Balkans to Syria, the timber masonry and frame systems of the Eastern Black Sea Region and Thrace are presented in detail with visual support.