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In this paper, we consider predators hunting on prey gathered in groups and in such way exhibiting the possibility of reducing the predators pressure. To model this feature, however, we depart from the Holling type II (HTII) response function, in that we assume that a sufficiently large set of prey could respond to individualistic attacks and therefore induce the predator to renounce. The basic idea is described at first in a simple two‐populations predator‐prey system. It is then expanded considering the generalist predators to deal with two prey. In the first case, both are gathered in herds, and in the second one, one of the two instead behaves individualistically. The net outcome is an enhanced survival for the prey with respect to both the herding cases without and with predators feeding satiation (i.e., using the HTII response). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioarchaeological research of bone growth patterns provides information on the health status and disease of past populations. Recent studies have pointed out the potential of metric analysis of nonadult vertebrae as indicators of stress during different stages of ontogeny, highlighting that most vertebral measurements present low sexual dimorphism, a stable and known pattern of growth and give useful information even in incomplete spines. The aims of this paper are first, to construct a vertebral growth profile for nonadults of a skeletal series of Patagonian Late Holocene hunter‐gatherers from Salitroso Lake (SAC); second, to compare it to the ones obtained in other archaeological and modern populations with different stress experiences; and third, building on this, to assess whether individuals with evidence of stress experienced in early development demonstrate different patterns in vertebral growth than those without. Two spinal dimensions are used: vertebral body height (VBH) and transverse diameter of the neural canal (TDNC) in a sample of 23 nonadult skeletons with ages previously estimated from dental and bone indicators. The vertebral dimensions of 20 adults between 18 and 35 years of age were also measured as reference information. Results show that the growth of the VBH is steady over the years and reaches adulthood size by approximately 16 years of age whereas TDNC dimensions do not experience marked fluctuations in size throughout life and adult dimensions are reached at approximately 4 years of age as expected. The vertebral growth pattern observed in SAC is similar to that obtained in other archaeological samples from very different settings but experiencing relatively high nutritional or pathological stress in early stages of life. However, it is markedly different, and systematically smaller, to the 20th century sample pattern, probably responding to a secular trend in the modern population with a more stable access to resources and medical treatment. Finally, SAC individuals with systemic stress markers do not tend to exhibit smaller vertebral dimensions than those without them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nenjiang River Basin, located in the northern part of Northeast China, is an important cultural region that has attracted much attention from academic communities. Previous studies demonstrated that hunting and gathering always dominate the subsistence for prehistoric populations in this region. Herein, we further investigate the evolution of dietary and economic strategies in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age occupations at the recently excavated Honghe site of the Nenjiang River Basin by means of a multidisciplinary approach incorporating zooarchaeological and stable isotope analysis. The results of zooarchaeological approaches indicate that the Honghe populations rely extensively on hunting and fishing during the Late Neolithic (4500–4000 cal BP), consistent with the results of previous studies. Interestingly, by the Bronze Age (3100–2400 cal BP), animal husbandry develops as one main economic strategy, corresponding to the probable decline of hunting and fishing, which is different from the previous reports. In addition, based on the results of stable isotopic approaches, C3 plants are always prominent diets for animals and humans from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, which signifies that crop agriculture does not appear to have been of primary importance during either of these eras, in contrast to the C4 agricultural tradition formed in the Neolithic Age of the southern part of Northeast China. The findings of this paper shed some more light on the evolution of human subsistence strategies in the Nenjiang River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Population growth has always played a key role in human mobility, even before the age of farming and husbandry. This paper explores population dynamics among early Holocene (∼9500–1700 cal BCE) hunter‐fisher‐gatherers in Southern Norway, focusing in particular on the Mesolithic‐Neolithic transition (4000/3900 cal BCE). Radiocarbon dates are calibrated and turned into summed probability distributions (SPDs). A heuristic linear method is used to calculate annual growth rates from the SPDs. Observed fluctuations in the SPDs are tested for significance by applying a Monte Carlo‐based simulation method. The paper finds evidence of a steady growth rate from the Boreal period until a sudden population trough at ∼4330–4300 cal BCE. The trough coincides with indications from the archaeological record of a dispersal of hunter‐fisher‐gatherers from Southern Scandinavia to Norway. The dispersal was likely an effect of lowered habitat suitability and social stress caused by population pressure among Southern Scandinavian hunter‐fisher‐gatherers. In Southern Norway, the proxy data show that the trough enabled a subsequent 'boom' in population and the emergence of regional technological innovations that define the Mesolithic‐Neolithic transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extra‐site activities of hunter‐gatherers and artifact curation between functionally different camps raise the issue of items a site lacks. This issue is usually addressed using the fractal properties of raw material. The model presented in this paper simultaneously considers the qualitative and quantitative (exponential) properties of missing artifacts. Our model was tested on Federmesser and Swiderian materials from the site of Lubrza 10, Western Poland. The obtained results confirm the utility of this model application to comparative analysis of assemblages coming from different sites and their structural units and identification of their function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first petrographic study of pottery made by hunter–gatherer societies that inhabited the eastern Pampa–Patagonia transition regions (Buenos Aires province, Argentina), between c.1900 and 400 radiocarbon‐years bp. The data show that the potters maintained technical choices during this period as part of a technological tradition. With this common knowledge, local fabric recipes coexisted linked to the regularity of the use of raw materials in accordance with the geology of the research area. Furthermore, the finding of archaeological clay doughs would indicate the in situ production of vessels in the residential contexts of these pre‐Hispanic populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Contexts producing unusual deposits have long been recognized on later prehistoric settlements. These can include complete or shattered pots; complete animal and/or human skeletons, skulls or articulating segments; or unusually large quantities of material culture. Interpretation has tended to follow theoretical fashions, but the intentions and meanings behind these strange deposits are still poorly understood. This paper approaches the subject through a macro‐scale analysis, looking at 230 sites in one region over c.1550 years, from the Middle Bronze to the Middle Iron Ages. This regional, diachronic study has found patterns in settlement deposition that are specific to certain periods. Sometimes, these recurring patterns appear to be immediately functional practices, although in most instances recurrent depositional themes have been argued to have specific ritual intent and to be relatable to wider aspects of social organization and the archaeological record. This study also suggests that hillforts witnessed increased levels of deposition of a range of different material. The analysis provides new perspectives on this important aspect of later prehistoric archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five decades ago, Usategi Cave (Basque Country) yielded a small Gravettian series that included an Isturitz-type bone point. This paper presents the first 14C dates for the assemblage and new data obtained by the study of the lithic raw materials, a high proportion of which came from north of the Pyrenees. The discussion of this new information leads to the hypothesis that the occupants of the cave were a group that travelled from the continental Basque Country across the Pyrenean mountain passes and the Ebro basin to procure flint from the nearest outcrop at Urbasa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the results of the 2016–2019 study of the residence of the noble Ciołek family, in Żelechów (Mazovia, eastern Poland). The complex, located on a marshy and overgrown terrain, was recently discovered through the Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data analysis. The site was surveyed using three geophysical methods: magnetometry (fluxgate gradiometer); electrical resistivity (two level twin‐probe profiling); ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) (450‐MHz antenna). The data allowed to formulate hypotheses on the layout of the complex, its functions, phases and used building materials, which were verified by simultaneously conducted archaeological excavations. Adopted interdisciplinary approach resulted in the comprehensive exploration of the large defensive residence and the reconstruction of its phases with only a minor use of the intrusive archaeological excavation method. The examination of written records and dendrochronological and numismatic analyses allowed to date the complex to the 15th–17th century as well as to verify some hypotheses formulated based on the geophysical data. The presented study gives an impulse for transdisciplinary geophysical, archaeological and historical exploration of rarely identified and scarcely researched noble residences on the border between two medieval administrative regions—Mazovia and Lesser Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Gravettian, Arbreda Cave was frequently occupied by hunter‐gatherer communities. Within this period, the archeological levels E (Iberian Middle Gravettian) and D (Final Gravettian), dated to ca. 26–20 kyr 14C BP, are of particular interest, since fieldwork carried out during the 1980s revealed dense accumulations of archeological materials with remarkable concentrations of burnt remains. The archeozoological and taphonomic studies conducted with faunal remains recovered from both levels have provided essential information about subsistence activities; however, the concentrations of these remains have not been subjected to spatial distribution analysis. In recent decades, spatial analysis has become a key tool for deciphering the formation dynamics of archeological levels, as well as for offering valuable clues with which to understand the relation of the occupants with the morphology of the site cavities. The aims of this paper are to pinpoint the principal activity areas of both Gravettian levels of Arbreda Cave focusing on the location of main hearth‐related assemblages and to interpret these activity areas in terms of the use of the space by hunter‐gatherer groups. To achieve these goals, our research has been based on the processing of archeozoological and taphonomic data obtained in recent studies applying different spatial statistics methods, including techniques of density analysis and spatial correlation. Furthermore, for each level, the results obtained from the geostatistical approaches are supplemented by a detailed taphonomic analysis of the complete assemblage of remains recovered from the principal hearth‐related square. Finally, in each case, an accurate analysis of the burnt remain assemblage of each square provides further elucidation of the large amount of combusted remains in the area. The study reveals that hunter‐gatherer communities established themselves in particular areas of the cave, close to the north wall and beneath the existing roof of the rock shelter. The dense accumulations of different remains found in these areas has enabled us to hypothesize about its hearth‐related origin, where hearths would have been settled and marrow exploitation activities would have been carried out around them. Furthermore, the high rate of breakage and charred and calcined remains and a relatively high percentage of burnt spongy bones indicate that bones were used as fuel to supplement firewood. On the whole, the low level of space organization complexity of levels E and D main activity areas supports a seasonal pattern of occupation during the Iberian Middle Gravettian and Final Gravettian periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teeth fusion is a developmental anomaly characterized by the union of two and, more rarely, three adjacent teeth. The fusion is caused by the physical pressure between two adjacent teeth during their development due to congenital, inherited, acquired or idiopathic factors. Nowadays, fused teeth occur with a frequency ratio between 0.1% and 1% in permanent dentition and 0.5% and 2.5% in primary dentition, and with an equal distribution between males and females. Fused teeth are a rare clinical finding, so there are not standardized clinical protocols and each case should be treated independently. This condition is rare in archaeological populations, likely due to taphonomic processes that cause the lack of information, as well as for the general low occurrence of the defect itself. In the European archaeological literature, there are no reports of two permanent fused teeth so far. Therefore, the present paper represents the first case study of two fused permanent incisors in the past Europe populations as this anomaly has been recognized in an adult man buried in the Longobard cemetery of Guidizzolo (VI–VII century A.D., northern Italy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interment of stillborn infants in later medieval burial grounds stands at odds with Catholic Church Law, which forbade the inclusion of unbaptised children within consecrated ground. When perinatal remains occur within graveyards, their interpretation can be problematic. Did they live to be baptised, or do such examples represent clandestine burials? Historical documents indicate that some parents disobeyed the Church and secretly buried their offspring within consecrated ground. Proving such actions in the archaeological record, however, is another matter. This paper therefore investigates the discovery of a perinatal burial (Sk953) within a rural graveyard at Poulton in Cheshire, England, placed in a small household box. A multifaceted approach was used to interpret the varying strands of evidence. These comprised church law, the birth, container, orientation of the corpse, local topography, date of burial, and status of the graveyard when the infant was interred. The authors interpret the evidence as characteristic of a clandestine burial, and a rare expression of grief and love visible in the archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Athol Chase was an anthropologist committed to the benefits of cross-disciplinary research. His thesis was influenced considerably by his supervisor John von Sturmer (Chase and von Sturmer, 1973), who subsequently facilitated Athol's initial engagements with Aboriginal communities in Cape York Peninsula. His co-authored paper with plant ecologist Ross Hynes (Hynes and Chase, 1982; see also Chase, 1989) introduced a significant and original theorisation of plant usage in Cape York Peninsula. With colleague David Thompson, he continued to produce commissioned anthropological work for native title cases, until and after his retirement from formal university employment in 2001 (e.g. Chase and Thompson, 2004; Thompson and Chase, 2014). [Extracted from the article]

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a joint disease characterized by the detachment or separation of an articular cartilage fragment and subchondral bone in joint epiphyses. It has been diagnosed in archaeological skeletons worldwide but scarcely studied in hunter‐gatherer skeletal remains. The aim of this paper is to analyse the variation of OCD in skeletons of past populations that lived in Southern Patagonia during the Late Holocene, which can be useful to improve our understanding about the effects of the mechanical demands in hunter‐gatherers. The overall prevalence observed in this sample (40.5%), higher than the data reported for current populations and mostly located in the shoulder of young and middle adult males of terrestrial and maritime hunter‐gatherers, suggests that physical activity involved in both economic strategies would have played an important role in the development of OCD. The contact with European colonizers does not seem to have produced differences in the prevalence of OCD, although more dated skeletons are needed to test this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavation of KHB‐1 archaeological site was part of the Joint Hadd Project [Joint Hadd Project is a project operating in the Ja'lān region since 1985, born under the collaboration between ISIAO (Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, Rome), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris) and the University of Bologna] carried out in the Ja'lān region, along the coast of the Sultanate of Oman. Different phases of occupation with significant structural evidences were identified within the deposit: an early short‐term occupation in the 7th millennium, followed by a longer, extended period of occupation during the 4th millennium by a community of hunter‐gatherers, with some evidence of animal husbandry. The material culture recovered from KHB‐1, which includes architectural remains, provides new insights on the cultures of this region, highlighting a need for further excavations and analysis. This paper will illustrate the stratigraphic sequence and the main features recovered at KHB‐1, followed by a discussion on the two main periods of occupation which will help shed a light on the site function and more broadly provide key insights on mobility, economy, and material culture of Ja'lān in the beginning of 7th and along the 4th millennium B.C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holocene relative shore level (RSL) changes and Stone Age palaeogeography of Hiiumaa Island are reconstructed using airborne LiDAR elevation data, sedimentological and archaeological proxies as well as GIS‐based landscape modelling. Altogether, 38 RSL index and limiting points are used in modelling and presented in the current paper. The highest raised shorelines of the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea, mapped at the elevations of 47 and 26 m a.s.l., formed around 10.3 and 7.4 cal. ka BP, respectively. The reconstructed RSL curve reveals a 20‐m drainage of Ancylus Lake followed by a land‐uplift‐driven 3‐m regression during the Initial Litorina Sea period. RSL rise during the Litorina Sea transgression remained below 4 m and its maximum was reached later than proposed previously, discarding therefore the idea of highly diachronous Litorina culmination in the eastern Baltic Sea. During the period 7.4–6.0 cal. ka BP,RSL fall was about 4.3 mm a−1, and afterwards in average at about 1 mm‐1 less suggesting deceleration in isostatic rebound. suggesting deceleration in isostatic rebound. Palaeogeographical reconstructions show that during its earliest occupation at about 7.6 cal. ka BP less than 1% of the terrain of Hiiumaa was above the sea level and that wind‐protected SE exposed shores were the most preferred campsite locations of Late Mesolithic and Neolithic settlers. These campsites are located successively at lower elevations following the shoreline retreat and show repeated use of this coastal area between 7.6 and 4.6 cal. ka BP. Due to the spread of the Corded Ware culture around 4.8–4.0 cal. ka BP the settlements of Hiiumaa Island and many other coastal areas of the eastern Baltic moved from the coast to more suitable places for agriculture and animal husbandry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithic assemblages recovered from sites located in the eastern Pampa–Patagonia transition include a great diversity of raw materials, some from neighbouring regions, such as the Humid and Dry Pampa subregions and Northpatagonia. Lithic raw material assignments to specific procurement areas were preliminarily proposed based on macroscopic characterizations. The aim of the paper is to present the results obtained from the petrographic thin sections of archaeological artefacts from Middle and Late Holocene sites recorded at the study area. The analyses corroborate most of the macroscopic determinations, and more detailed knowledge of the acquisition areas of these raw materials was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on two accumulations of horse bones at the Stránská skála IV site, dated from around the Last Glacial Maximum (Epigravettian). Osteological material was subjected to taxonomical and taphonomical analyses. The results confirmed the prevalence of horses, and quantitative analyses indicated a minimum of 10 individuals, which is the approximate size of a herd. The taphonomical analyses did not confirm any traces of human activities, but on the basis of skeletal part representation in combination with other site features, we interpret this site as a human opportunistic killing/hunting site. This interpretation was supplemented by approximate nutritional yield analysis, and the outcome was nearly 1,160 kg of meat. The absence of traces of human activity may be explained by the extensive activity of other taphonomic agents described. Their identification plays a key role in the interpretation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present an analysis of the exploitation of medium‐sized deer in the lower Paraná wetland by pre‐Columbian hunter‐gatherers. To achieve this goal, we developed an osteometric frame of reference for the proper identification of hunted medium‐sized deer, and the sex and age of captured individuals. An analysis of 13 archaeofaunal assemblages showed that Ozotoceros bezoarticus ("pampas deer") was the medium‐sized deer that was hunted with exclusivity. The presence of Mazama gouazoubira ("brown brocket deer"; "gray brocket deer"), which could have been another potentially hunted medium‐sized deer, is absent from the record, although this area is indicated as being its southernmost distribution range in South America. These results restrict the distribution of this species to a more northern sector of this large wetland. The hunted individuals of O. bezoarticus are all older than 2 years of age, and preferentially males, although some methodological bias could be influencing these results. Issues related to sex‐age selectivity in capturing these animals are discussed according to the development of conservation strategies for local resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biogeographic model used to describe human peopling of southern Mendoza, central western Argentina, proposed an intensification process activated by an increase in population growth rate during the Late Holocene. During this process, high‐ranked resources at the surroundings of residential camps were depleted, and hunter–gatherers broadened their diet by incorporating a larger number of low‐ranked prey and domesticated plant resources. In this paper, we evaluate an alternative hypothesis, focusing on zooarchaeological data from the Diamante River basin. The results show that faunal resource intensification does not appear to have occurred in the Diamante River basin during the Late Holocene. Faunal consumption in Diamante River basin mainly reflects the local fauna in each ecological zone. The data do not show a lack of higher ranked resources. We suggest it is more likely that the demographic increase was not significant enough to cause an impact on the faunal resources. The archaeological evidence should be improved and analysed in smaller scales to continue with the intensification debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous researches have examined the zooarchaeological record to understand changes in human diet in central western Argentina through time. This research has focused on variations in the relative abundance of large prey in archaeofaunal contexts. The observed changes were explained by a decrease in residentialmobility, forced by both the intensification in the use of resources and the introduction of the first domesticated plants ca. 2000 years BP. In this paper, we revised archaeofaunal interpretations by taking into account zooarchaeological assemblages and human isotope records within the biogeographical distributions of prey in the region. Our results demonstrate that faunal diversity in zooarchaeological assemblages has a stronger correlation with the natural distribution of resources (especially with altitude) than with chronology, as was proposed previously. However, archaeofaunal information, including human isotopic data, suggests that a decrease in residential mobility, postulated in a previous paper, took place, modifying the expected diversity distribution throughout the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how changes in sea level and biome distribution may have affected the habitats occupied by hunter-gatherers in East Asia. Using a model-based reconstruction of changing sea level from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to present day, our analysis reveals that the exposure of a large continental shelf during the LGM sea level lowstand created a wealth of wooded, estuarine, and coastal biomes that could have been exploited intensively by Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. Models explaining hunter-gatherer subsistence changes and migrations in this period should take into account the large area that has been lost to rising sea level since the LGM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the Late Palaeolithic settlement of south-eastern Italy at the close of the Pleistocene. The Late Palaeolithic assemblages of the region have been studied previously from a rigid typological stance, with various schemes put forward suggesting evolution of the assemblages through different stages of an Epigravettian tradition, while the potential role of social and economic factors in shaping the various industries has been ignored. This paper shows how the Late Palaeolithic occupation of the region should be considered in relation to the former existence of an extensive coastal plain and to the sea-level rise which submerged it. Factors such as the availability of lithic raw material and the alternative strategies by which it was procured, the particular activities in which the tools were used and the role of the sites within a larger land use system were clearly crucial to assemblage composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an abstract of the study `Dental Variation and Population Structure: New Views of Middle Archaic Hunter-Gatherers in the Eastern Woodlands' by J.F. Powell.

In Northwestern Patagonia, many archaeological sites can be found that testify human occupation by hunter-gatherer groups during the Holocene period. The general purpose of archaeological research in this area is to obtain information on the movements of these groups between the dry steppe and the different sectors in the forests. This paper reports on the results of the first spectroscopic analysis of samples from the archaeological excavation of two hunter-gatherer regions in Northern Patagonia (Traful Lake and Manso River areas). Thirty samples of rock art fragments, grinding tools, shell, raw pigment material, as well as painted ceramics and beads were examined with micro-Raman spectroscopy, complemented with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Micro-Raman analysis revealed mostly the use of haematite (Fe2O3) as the red chromophore. The presence of associated minerals and silicates indicated that clay-like material (ochre) was used, instead of pure haematite. Although not fully conclusive, Raman spectroscopic results tend to indicate that in some samples haematite might be formed by heating iron-containing ochres. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces research at the Mlambalasi rock shelter in the Iringa Region of southern Tanzania. The deposits are composed of a historic and Iron Age occupation, a microlithic Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA), and then a macrolithic Late Pleistocene LSA. Middle Stone Age deposits are also present on the slope in front of the rock shelter. Excavations in A.D. 2002, 2006, and 2010 yielded fragmentary human remains as well as pottery, iron, stone tools, faunal bone, and glass and ostrich eggshell beads. Among the human remains, four individuals are present: two adults and a juvenile were found in the same LSA context, and another adult associated with the Iron Age/historic period. The most complete skeleton is an adult of indeterminate sex that was found in situ in an LSA deposit. Charcoal in proximity to the bone was AMS radiocarbon dated to 12,925 cal BC (OxA-24620), which is consistent with radiocarbon dates on giant land snail shells from above and below the remains. The skeleton exhibits a series of pathological changes such as extensive dental wear and carious lesions, as well as damage most likely caused by termites, post-mortem. The most striking aspect of this individual is its small size; stature and body mass estimations place it in the range of historic Khoesan from southern Africa. Consequently, this research adds to the discourse regarding the existence of small-bodied people in the East African LSA. Findings from this new skeletal sample will contribute to studies of human biology and variation in Africa during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Recent research into prehistoric subsistence among the sea nomad societies of the Beagle Channel region of southern South America have shown that there were temporal changes in the utilization of animal resources between the Middle and the Late Holocene. A relative increase in the utilization of fish and birds has been noted in the Late Holocene, together with changes in the selection of bird and fish taxa. The most important change was the appearance of sites in high topographic locations where special activities were recorded that were related to the intensive exploitation of Phalacrocoracidae and the increase in the utilization of Procellariiformes. In this paper, we examine the characteristics of these later assemblages in order to explore possible explanations for the changes in the use of birds. The cut marks on the bones were distinguished in order to differentiate the activities involved. The results indicate that in the Late Holocene there was no differential pattern of cormorant butchering between those sites where special tasks took place and general activity sites. It was also shown that the increase in Procellariiformes was linked mainly to subsistence rather than technological factors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrozamia seeds have long been considered an important economic resource to Australian hunter-gatherers. As a result of limited ecological data during the 1970's-1980's, seed production in Macrozamia spp. has been conceptualised as low yield and irregular, but easily stimulated through pyrogenic manipulation to produce high yield, regular resource gluts. This paper reviews and synthesises ecological data on Macrozamia ecology and seed production collated over the last few decades to argue that current archaeological conceptions of Macrozamia seed production and reproductive responses to fire are flawed, and to further consider how these resources were used in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to quantify the changes in activity patterns of early farming populations in the Levant through the musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) of the upper limb as seen in skeletal remains. The transition to an agricultural way of life resulted in higher loads on the upper limb in Neolithic populations compared to the Natufian hunter-gatherer populations that preceded them. The MSM pattern for males and females indicates a gender-based division of labor both in the Natufian and the Neolithic. It may also suggest that people in the Neolithic period were engaged in different (new) activities and occupations compared to the Natufian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]