Hiding to eat: the role of carnivores in the early Middle Pleistocene from the TD8 level of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca,Burgos, Spain)

Damage generated by large and small carnivores is common in many Middle Pleistocene sites. However, identifying the predator that produces the faunal accumulations is often a difficult task. In order to recognize the main type of carnivore that acts on a faunal assemblage, a combination of several characteristics should be taken into account: taxonomic and skeletal element representation, age profiles, carnivore damage (location, frequencies and dimensions of tooth-marks, bone breakage and digested bones), degree of fragmentation and frequencies of coprolites. But, adding environmental characteristics and the ethology of non-human predators/scavengers is also important. All these aspects are applied to the faunal assemblage from the TD8 level of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). Paleomagnetic data combined with ESR and U-series place the TD8 level at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, specifically circa 700 kyr ago. The TD8 level contains a large faunal accumulation primarily composed of ungulate skeletal elements, and to a lesser extent carnivore remains. This assemblage is characterized by an overrepresentation of fallow deer (Dama vallonetensis), a skeletal profile biased towards cranial remains and limb bones, diversity of ages at death, a high proportion of carnivore damage and tooth-marks of large size, and an absence of human activity. According to these data, the accumulation seems to have been produced primarily by large carnivores, possibly hyenas. This observation does not rule out the possible occasional activity by other carnivores. Nevertheless, the characteristics of the TD8 assemblage do not correlate entirely with those traditionally used to define carnivore dens. In TD8, there are (1) no immature carnivore remains (remains of just one young Mosbach wolf); (2) scarce traces related to the end stages of consumption and some anatomical connexions; (3) few coprolites; (4) high proportion of adult ungulates and; (5) high quantities of whole bones and epiphyses. From this perspective, the TD8 faunal assemblage seems to correspond to a succession of carnivore occupations that allows the development of a suite of features to identify the activities of several species of predators that may have used the cave in different ways and durations. This study aims to emphasize the importance of these analyzes in order to know the behaviour of different non-human predators/scavengers in the European Middle Pleistocene sites.     

Toward Hybrid Modeling and Automatic Planimetry for Graphic Documentation of the Archaeological Heritage: The Cortina Family Pantheon in the Cemetery of Valencia

ABSTRACT

The current trend toward the hybrid methodology of combining terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) with close-range and UAV-assisted photogrammetry is becoming the most effective method for the complete capture of archaeological sites. In this article, we consider three objectives in this regard: first, to check an integration procedure, based on different capture techniques, to obtain the best possible complete digital model in different situations related to size, lighting, and occlusions. Second, a “laser scanning with the help of photogrammetry” strategy for the operation with the different data sources, which allows to adapt the processes of photogrammetric orientation, cloud registration, and automatic texturing, to the characteristics of each capture model. Finally, to present the digital edition of these models through automatic technical projections and realistic visualizations, to show their ability to interpret their geometry or share their knowledge, respectively.     

Increasing returns to scale in the towns of early Tudor England

Abstract

Urban agglomeration economies make cities central to theories of modern economic growth. There is historical evidence for the presence of Smithian growth and agglomeration effects in English towns c.1450-1670, but seminal assessments deny the presence of agglomeration effects and productivity gains to Early Modern English towns. This study evaluates the presence of increasing returns to scale (IRS) in aggregate urban economic outputs—the empirical signature of feedbacks between Smithian growth and agglomeration effects—among the towns of 16th century England. To do so, we test a model from settlement scaling theory against the 1524/5 Lay Subsidy returns. Analysis of these data indicates that Tudor towns exhibited IRS—a finding that is robust to alternative interpretations of the data. IRS holds even for the smallest towns in our sample, suggesting the absence of town size thresholds for the emergence of agglomeration effects. Spatial patterning of scaling residuals further suggests regional demand-side interactions with Smithian-agglomeration feedbacks. These findings suggest the presence of agglomeration effects and Smithian growth in pre-industrial English towns. This begs us to reconsider the economic performance of Early Modern English towns, and suggests that the qualitative economic dynamics of contemporary cities may be applicable to premodern settlements in general.