The application of biometry and LA-ICP-MS to provenance isolated bones: a study of hominin remains from Oumm Qatafa Cave,Judean Desert

Three hominin phalanges were recently identified in old faunal collections attributed to the Late Acheulean (Layer D2) dated to ca. 213 Kya, from Oumm Qatafa Cave (Judean Desert), a site excavated in 1928–1949. In terms of general appearance (colour, patina and adhering sediment), these specimens resembled the fauna with which they were found, but the likelihood of stratigraphic problems especially in old excavations, the presence of 4th millennium b.c. burials in the topmost Layer A at the site and the absence of any mention of Late Acheulean hominin remains in publications relating to the site prompted us to verify that the phalanges were indeed in situ. Osteometric examination showed the phalanges to be indistinguishable from those of Middle Paleolithic Levantine anatomically modern humans (AMHS) as well as Upper Paleolithic and recent populations, thus contributing little to the resolution of their provenance. To further investigate this issue, we compared the elemental composition of the phalanges to that of fauna from the same and overlying archaeological layers using non-destructive laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The results showed a close resemblance in elemental composition between the phalanges and fauna from Layer D2, implying that they are in situ. This would indicate either an early occurrence of AMHS in the region or the presence of an ancestral archaic Homo. We propose that LA-ICP-MS offers a useful minimally invasive method for provenancing isolated human and faunal remains.     

Age 55 or better: active adult communities and city planning

Active adult, age-restricted communities are significant to urban history and city planning. As communities that ban the permanent residence of children under the age of nineteen with senior zoning overlays, they are unique experiments in social planning. While they do not originate the concept of the common interest community with its shared amenities, the residential golf course community, or the gated community, Sun Cities and Leisure Worlds do a lot to popularize those physical planning concepts. The first age-restricted community, Youngtown, AZ, opened in 1954. Inspired by amenity-rich trailer courts in Florida, Del Webb added the “active adult” element when he opened Sun City, AZ, in 1960. Two years later, Ross Cortese opened the first of his gated Leisure Worlds. By the twenty-first century, these “lifestyle” communities had proliferated and had expanded their appeal to around 18 percent of retirees, along with influencing the design of intergenerational communities.     

10,000 years of human predation and size changes in the owl limpet (Lottia gigantea) on San Miguel Island,California

To investigate potential human impacts on California Channel Island shellfish stocks over the past 10,000 years, we measured 1718 owl limpet shells from 19 archaeological components on San Miguel Island. Inhabiting the middle intertidal zone of Pacific Coast rocky shores, owl limpets are slow-growing mollusks that can live for 30 years and reach lengths of over 100 mm. Recent ecological studies indicate that owl limpets are highly susceptible to heavy human predation, which results in reduced mean shell sizes among Lottia populations along the coasts of Alta and Baja California. On San Miguel Island, we identified a significant trans-Holocene reduction in mean owl limpet size, beginning more than 6500 years ago and accelerating at least 4400 years ago. Fluctuations in limpet size show no clear correlation with changes in sea surface temperature and marine productivity, suggesting that increased predation by growing human populations was primarily responsible for the reduction in Lottia size over time. Our results provide further evidence that prehistoric peoples significantly influenced nearshore fisheries long before the development of the commercial and industrialized fisheries of historic times.