Palaeolithic dog skulls at the Gravettian P?edmostí site, the Czech Republic

Whether or not the wolf was domesticated during the early Upper Palaeolithic remains a controversial issue. We carried out detailed analyses of the skull material from the Gravettian P?edmostí site, Czech Republic, to investigate the issue. Three complete skulls from P?edmostí were identified as Palaeolithic dogs, characterized by short skull lengths, short snouts, and wide palates and braincases relative to wolves. One complete skull could be assigned to the group of Pleistocene wolves. Three other skulls could not be assigned to a reference group; these might be remains from hybrids or captive wolves. Modifications by humans of the skull and canine remains from the large canids of P?edmostí indicate a specific relationship between humans and large canids.     

Luminescence dating studies of Ye?ilova Hoyuk

Ceramic findings collected from Ye?ilova Hoyuk located in Izmir were dated using the thermoluminescence dating technique. The area is of significant archaeological importance since it is the first prehistoric settlement in Izmir. Recent archeological observations suggest that human occupation of the region took place about 8500 years ago comparing to previously determined dates of 5000 years. Three samples collected from the same archaeological layer (Neolithic period) in Ye?ilova Hoyuk were dated using the thermoluminescence method. Archaeological doses (AD) were obtained by single aliquot regenerative dose method (SAR) for thermoluminescence (TL) using coarse grain quartz minerals extracted from samples. Thick and thin Al₂O₃:C thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD) were used to determine the annual dose rate. The archaeological doses were found to vary from 25.91±0.78 to 26.82±0.68 Gy, and the annual doses were found to be between 3.34±0.24 and 3.47±0.24 mGy/a. The ages obtained for the samples were determined to be 6000±830 BC, 5740±670 BC and 5460±740 years for samples ND1, ND2 and ND3, respectively, which supports the prediction of archeologist that the sampling layer dates from the Neolithic period.     

The Epipaleolithic (Iberomaurusian) from Grotte des Contrebandiers,Morocco

First identified 100 years ago, the Iberomaurusian is an Epipaleolithic industry that was described from a number of sites across western North Africa. One of these is Grotte des Contrebandiers (Smugglers’ Cave) in Morocco, where Abbé Jean Roche recovered Iberomaurusian materials in excavations in the late 1950s. Although the lithics were published in the early 1960s, subsequent changes in methods and in assessing the interpretive potential of lithic assemblages necessitated a restudy of these collections from Contrebandiers. This study led to a better understanding of the lithic types present and of the use of particular stone raw materials. Iberomaurusians emphasized lithic strategies that maximized use of fine-grained stone to the extent that pièces esquillées should be, among others, a defining criterion for this lithic industry.     

Changes in crop cultivation during the last five centuries before the Roman conquest: archaeobotanical investigation in the Clermont-Ferrand basin,Massif Central,France

For several decades, a growing number of protohistoric sites in Auvergne (Massif Central, France)—mostly excavated through preventive archaeology—have been subject to the collection of archaeobotanical analysis. This study presents the archaeobotanical results from ten La Tène sites dating from the last five centuries before the Roman conquest. In addition to providing an inventory of taxa, this paper concerns crops and crop cultivation methods. These results are interpreted in a wider context, dealing with crop husbandry, arable farming, storage and consumption practices. The sites are located in the Limagne plain within a 50-km radius around the city of Clermont-Ferrand. A total of 23,579 carpological remains were identified from 163 sediment samples totalizing a volume of 1096 l. Comparable to other sites in Gaul, the spectrum of cereals and pulses is restricted. Spelt (Triticum spelta), einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) are disappearing or becoming rare. A better control of agricultural techniques and increased yields is supposed during the ca. five centuries of the La Tène period. Mixed cultivation is hereby replaced by the sowing of monocrops. At the beginning of this period, farming systems are dominated by a polyculture of cereals and pulses. They become more specialized during the last two centuries before the Roman conquest; diversity of cereals and pulses is decreased.     

Novellierung des Bundesnaturschutzgesetzes vom 3. April 2002

Bereits das Ma? der übereinstimmung ist auch für den unbefangenen Betrachter ein Hinweis auf das Fehlen wirklicher überraschungen. Das Gesetz stellt sich als Destillat der naturschutzfachlichen Diskussion der letzten Jahrzehnte dar und bringt keine wirklich grunds?tzlichen ?nderungen mit sich. Vorherrschend ist eine St?rkung der Programms?tze, neben wenigen Verbesserungen auf der Vollzugsebene. Kernstücke der ?nderung sind die Neufassung der Leitbestimmungen (§§ 1, 2 BNatSchG), die Einführung eines l?nderübergreifenden Biotopverbunds (§ 3 BNatSchG), die Normierung von Grunds?tzen guter fachlicher Praxis in der Landwirtschaft (§ 5 Abs. 1 BNatSchG), die St?rkung der Landschaftsplanung (§§ 12ff. BNatSchG), die Neufassung der Eingiffsregelung (§§ 19ff. BNatSchG) sowie die St?rkung der Beteiligungsrechte anerkannter Naturschutzvereine in Verbund mit der bundesgesetzlichen Einführung der Verbandsklage. Diese Aspekte der Neuregelung werden im folgenden dargestellt.     

Characterisation of the raw metal sources used for the production of copper and copper-based objects with copper isotopes

Copper isotopes can be successfully used to determine the origin of copper or bronze artefacts from either primary or supergene sulphide or hydrocarbonate ores. In conjunction with lead isotopes, they provide information on the origin and type of the metal ore. We demonstrate this in this paper from the combination of literature and own data on metal ores and artefacts (coins and ingots). Low-temperature hydrocarbonates (esp. malachite and azurite) do not fractionate the copper isotopes amongst each other and have identical lead isotopes. Substantial fractionation of copper isotopes, however, occurs between copper sulphides and hydrocarbonates (malachite, azurite) such that the ⁶⁵Cu isotope is always enriched in the oxidised relative to the sulphide phase with a clear distinction between the two ore types. Expressed in the δ⁶⁵Cu notation, we assigned supergene sulphides to values less than −0.4‰ down to negative values of −2‰ and more, primary sulphides to a range between −0.4 and +0.3‰ and hydrocarbonates to positive values higher than +0.3‰. We have applied these boundaries to copper coins and ingots from the time of the Roman emperors with known ages from Augustus up to 250 AD. The deposit fields of the metal used for the production of the coins were previously identified from the lead isotope ratios to lie in the Southwest and the Central South of Spain. From the combination of the lead and copper isotopes and the exact time constrains, we could develop a picture of the change in mining activities in Spain involving continued mining sulphide ore deposits and, indicated by positive δ⁶⁵Cu values as proxies for malachite and azurite, the opening of new mines in various time slots. This first application shows that copper isotopes will become the most important tool in archaeometallurgy to distinguish between the exploitation of deeper-seated primary and supergene sulphide ores and shallower, secondary hydrocarbonate ores. This will become especially relevant for archaeometric questions regarding the distinction between occasional and intentionally produced alloys.     

Erhalt der biologischen Vielfalt—ein Instrument zur Armutsminderung?

Vor dem Hintergrund, daß Pflanzen, Tiere und Mikroorganismen seit Jahrtausenden von Menschen als Nahrungsund Rohstoffquelle genutzt werden, greift die in der öffentlichen und politischen Diskussion teilweise stattfindende Gleichsetzung von Erhalt der Biodiversität mit Naturschutz oder Artenschutz zu kurz. So hat sich die Völkergemeinschaft im Rahmen des Übereinkommens über die biologische Vielfalt (CBD) angesichts ihrer zentralen Funktion für das globale Überleben und ihrer Gefährdung auf eine deutlich umfassendere Definition von Biodiversität festgelegt: Neben der Vielfalt von Tieren und Pflanzen werden auch die genetischen Codes und die verschiedenen Lebensräume eingeschlossen. Auch die Stoßrichtung der Konvention geht deutlich über die eines altruistischen Naturschutzes hinaus: Soziale und ökonomische Zielsetzungen werden formuliert, da der Erhalt der biologischen Vielfalt vor allem der Sicherung menschlicher Lebensgrundlagen dient. Inzwischen sind 187 Staaten und die Europäische Union der Konvention beigetreten. Deutschland hat sich als Vertragsstaat verpflichtet, die Entwicklungsstaaten bei der Erreichung der Ziele zu unterstützen.