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Isotopic analysishas become one of the most popular arenas of archaeological science, in part due to itsversatilityto uncover intriguing insights from a range of organic and inorganic archaeological materials. However, alongside an increase in popularity, the field has seen the rise of dissemination of publications that do not pass quality control, do not apply robust interpretative frameworks, or do not report data in ways that would make them amenable to critical evaluation or inclusion in large meta-analyses. This paper represents an effort to clarify some of the most pressing weaknesses and misconceptions in ‘traditional’ applications of isotopic techniques in archaeology: measurement of stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope values of organic and inorganic materials (bulk bone collagen, bulk tooth dentine, seeds; bulk and incrementaltooth enamel, molluscan shells), and strontiumisotope ratioanalysis oftooth enameland cremated bone. The discussion centers on three key aspects of research: (1) Selecting samples, with advice on building comparative baselines (or more appropriately ‘baseintervals’) and words of caution on interpreting stable carbon isotope values measured duringAMSradiocarbon dating. (2) Handling data, including tips on exploratory data analysis, graphical visualization, and statistical assessment of differences between groups; with particular reference to the Statement onp-values published by the American Statistical Association. (3) Reporting results, with advice on using correct terminology and decimal points, calculating measurement precision and accuracy, and communicating results using effective scientific language. The advice provided in this paper does not cover all aspects of project design and dissemination but will hopefully provide clarification within the above key areas and inspire further discussion of effective and impactful applications of isotopic techniques in archaeology.

A recent paper by Bownes et al. (2017, Radiocarbon 59(5): 1275–1294) used the Bayesian modelling software package FRUITS (Fernandes et al. 2014, PLoS ONE 9(2): e87436) to argue that Neolithic individuals from Carding Mill Bay on the west coast of Scotland obtained up to ca. 21% dietary protein from marine sources. This is in contrast to previous interpretations of the same isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) data, which concluded that these individuals showed little if any use of marine resources (Schulting and Richards 2002, European Journal of Archaeology 5(2): 147–189). Resolving this discrepancy is important for our understanding of the nature of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition not only on the west coast of Scotland, but along all of Atlantic Europe, since similar isotopic results to those obtained at Carding Mill Bay are widespread throughout the Neolithic and indeed later periods. We suggest that greater caution needs to be excercised in the interpretation of the output of Bayesian palaeodietary modelling, which can be very useful heuristically, but should not always be taken at face value. Given the large number of parameters employed in such models (diet isotopic values and nutrient concentrations, trophic level and tissue fractionations, etc.) and the uncertainty involved in almost all of them, a wide range of outcomes are possible, as we demonstrate in this paper. We reaffirm the overwhelmingly terrestrial nature of diet at Carding Mill Bay both through FRUITS modelling and through the new application of compound-specific δ13C analysis of single amino acids of humans and fauna from the site.

This paper presents a summary of work undertaken by the authors and their teams on a series of Qe'an (plural of Qa’), in the Badia of eastern Jordan. These basins are foci for settlement in the region, with the sites described here (Shubayqa, Wisad and the Qa’ Qattafi) edged by archaeological sites dating from the late Epipalaeolithic (ca. 14,500 - 11,600 cal BP) and the Neolithic (ca. 11,700 - 6100 cal BP), and in areas still used by people today as seasonal wetlands for watering animals and growing cereal. We assess here the potential for the Qe'an sediments to provide what would be rare continuous palaeoenvironmental records for this part of SW Asia.\ud \ud The paper presents the first dates from the Qe'an of this region and the outline sedimentology. Much of the fill is of Holocene age, which leads to discussion of climate and landscape change over the last 15,000 years, particularly due to the close geographical relationship between these basins and archaeology. Our optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating of the basin fill suggests that there was significantly more space in the landscape for water storage in the early Holocene, which may have therefore provided this resource for people and their livestock or game for a longer duration each year than that seen today. Linked to this are hypotheses of a more vegetated landscape during this time period. Given the environmentally marginal nature of our study area subtle changes in landscape and/or climate, and human exploitation of these resources, could have led to significant, and likely detrimental for its inhabitants, environmental impacts for the region, such as desertification. Our data are suggestive of desertification occurring, and sets up a clear hypothesis for testing by future work in the region.

Until recently, several hypotheses on the origin(s) and dispersion of microblade technology in Northeast Asia have been presented and discussed. Although various definitions of microblade and bladelet have been proposed in diverse geographic and chronological contexts, several researchers may agree that the pressure knapping technique for microblade production plays a paramount role in the process of significant changes in lithic technology and human behaviours between marine isotope stages (MIS) 3 and 2. One of the main topics in the study of microblade technology in Northeast Asia is establishing a systematic and reliable method for identifying microblade knapping techniques that are quantitatively verified. This paper attempts to present a more improved method for identifying microblade knapping techniques by dealing with the analysis of fracture wings which are the reliable indicators of the crack velocity. The focus of this paper is on identifying obsidian microblade-like debitage knapping techniques in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) assemblage of Kawanishi-C in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. The results of fracture wing analysis show that the microblade-like longitudinal debitage production at the Kashiwadai-C site was employed by not pressure but percussion techniques. This gives new insights into the diversity of microblade and microblae-like debitage reduction sequences in the LGM Hokkaido and complex process of significant changes in lithic technology, especially in relation to the emergence of microblade technology. In addition, this study shows that the analysis of fracture wings can allow appropriate technological evaluation of the microblades and microblade-like longitudinal debitage production in the period before and around the LGM in Northeast Asia.

Archaeology has a long history of appropriating methods from other disciplines. Remote sensing techniques are an underexploited resource that have the potential to advance the study of rock art by improving visualization and analysis, and automating tasks such as detection and tracing. Remote sensing involves acquiring data from an object without making physical contact. Usually it describes data obtained from satellites or aircraft from a distance, but that is a limited definition. Remote sensing is not simply about the distance data is collected from, but it is the process of recording, measuring, and analyzing images and electromagnetic radiant energy (Ebert, 1984). Techniques that are used in satellite imaging can be used on a microscale to record, enhance, and analyze rock art. Documenting cultural heritage gives it meaning, develops understanding, allows it to be defined, and allows for recognition of its value (Haddad, 2011). Recently, there have been good resources for digital documentation of cultural heritage such as artifacts, architectural structures, boats, and manuscripts. (Bassier et al., 2018; Bentkowska-Kafel and MacDonald, 2018; Pavlidis et al., 2007). The aim of this paper is to explore the applications of remote sensing, particularly 3D modelling, that specifically benefit rock art research. Bassier et al. (2018) identified a gap between data gathered and useful end-products in digital cultural heritage documentation. The problem is exacerbated by the exclusivity of proprietary software and technical knowledge. A collaborative study between Intersect and the University of Sydney found that researchers need better support, training and services for the use of digital technologies for data management in research (Intersect, 2009). When the cost of producing data is being considered, the potential of data and the optimization of returns should be cogitated (Haubt and Jalandoni, 2019). Raw data should be recycled into as many useful products as possible. Therefore, this paper addresses the need for clear workflows to turn raw data in to useful products for rock art research. The emphasis is on accessible remote sensing deliverables derived from 3D models of rock art using examples from Australia, the Philippines, and Micronesia. There are undoubtedly other remote sensing techniques not mentioned here, however, the intention of this paper is not to be comprehensive but to serve as an introduction to the ways archaeologists can add value to their 3D models in rock art research.

The paper by E. Mendez-Quintas et al. (2020) aims to give an interdisciplinary overview of the lower Mino River terrace record in NW Iberia by combining geological and archaeological data. The authors also pretend to re-interpret the geological-geomorphological evolution of this river by presenting new data and by comparing them to data published in our five related papers. However, a wrong interpretation of the data they present as well as incorrect and selective citations of ours lead to the production of a publication containing numerous errors. The most flagrant ones are the mapping of fluvial terraces on one side of the river only and an incorrect interpretation of the sedimentological information used to correlate terrace remnants along-river. This results in incorrect longitudinal profile reconstructions and an improper proposal of the evolution of the Mino terraces that is even contradicted by the data they present. On the upside, the ages of the Porto Maior terrace site published by these authors confirm our previously published longitudinal profile reconstructions and evolutionary model of the Mino valley.

The paper by E. Méndez-Quintas et al. (2020) aims to give an interdisciplinary overview of the lower Miño River terrace record in NW Iberia by combining geological and archaeological data. The authors also pretend to re-interpret the geological-geomorphological evolution of this river by presenting new data and by comparing them to data published in our five related papers. However, a wrong interpretation of the data they present as well as incorrect and selective citations of ours lead to the production of a publication containing numerous errors. The most flagrant ones are the mapping of fluvial terraces on one side of the river only and an incorrect interpretation of the sedimentological information used to correlate terrace remnants along-river. This results in incorrect longitudinal profile reconstructions and an improper proposal of the evolution of the Miño terraces that is even contradicted by the data they present. On the upside, the ages of the Porto Maior terrace site published by these authors confirm our previously published longitudinal profile reconstructions and evolutionary model of the Miño valley.

Modern climate change is having profound environmental impacts at the world's higher latitudes, leading to the disappearance of sea ice, the melting of permafrost and the northward shift of major biogeographic zones. These changing conditions have consequences for contemporary Arctic Indigenous peoples and their traditional lifeways. As planning and mitigation efforts intensify, there is renewed interest in looking back through time to understand how past Arctic societies were able to maintain a long-term—and often highly-resilient —presence in these ever-changing ecosystems. Of particular interest is how past groups coped with earlier changes in climate, both shorter-term “shocks” as well as longer-term up- and downturns in temperatures.A number of recent publications have highlighted the abundance of high-resolution and human-scale data that archaeology is uniquely positioned to contribute to this discussion (Riede, 2014; Jackson et al., 2018; Fitzhugh et al., 2018). So far, however, the practical integration of such long-term “paleo-” perspectives on specific future-orientated planning and management efforts has been limited. For example, the Arctic Council's Arctic Resilience Report (2016)—an in-depth comparative analysis of fragility and resilience in numerous local circumpolar social-ecological systems—acknowledges the importance of “deep history”, and the role of flexibility and traditional knowledge, while the chronological coverage of all 25 local case-studies remains firmly rooted in the present and very recent historical past.The overarching aim of this Special Issue is to explore the gap in knowledge between archaeological understandings of long-term Arctic adaptations and the practical application of these insights to the future-oriented challenges of sustainability and cultural survival. The first objective is to illustrate the wealth and diversity of archaeological research that is currently taking place in both the northern and southern polar regions. The issue showcases a selection of case-studies focusing on long-term human-environment interactions, integrating archaeological, climatic and paleoecological datasets. A wide range of insights emerge in terms of cultural responses to specific climatic fluctuations, but also in terms of longer-term cultural trajectories, including major shifts in settlement, subsistence, demography and interaction networks, all of which can be understood in terms of fragility and resilience in particular social-ecological systems. Another objective of the volume is to stimulate reflection and debate about what these archaeological datasets—and the long-term insights that emerge—can contribute to future planning and mitigation efforts.Seventeen papers in this issue “look back”, examining human-environment interactions in three regions: Arctic Eurasia; Arctic North America and Greenland; and Sub-Antarctic South America. Conversely, three papers “look ahead”, exploring emerging challenges and future implications. We conclude this editorial with a series of recommendations – or “action points” – that are addressed to the wider interdisciplinary research community.

A substantially updated version of the correlation table showing chronostratigraphical subdivisions of late Cenozoic geological time, spanning the last 2.7 million years is presented. It provides scientists, students, professionals and the general public with a ready reference to stratigraphical terms and schemes in use in different areas for similar periods. The updates comprised the status of Quaternary chronostratigraphic subdivision, the combined age-modelled geomagnetic and isotope records from ocean drilling records, and revised regional correlation schemes, notably for eastern Europe. The paper describes the chart in its 2019 QI-500 form and contains sections on its types of usage and formal subdivision status, besides reference and description of the contents of the various columns. The paper also describes and discusses the resolution of correlations in younger and older parts of the last 2.7 Ma.

Grain size proxies of aeolian dust deposits have widely been applied in environmental and sedimentary studies. However, large body of research papers are not taking into consideration that a complex grain size distribution curve cannot be an indicator of a single one environmental factor (e.g. wind speed/strength, transportation distance, aridity). The aim of the present paper is to discuss the main differences of frequently used statistical methods and to provide possible interpretations of the results by applying these various approaches on the high-resolution loess-paleosol profile of Dunaszekcső, South Hungary (Central Europe). Beside single statistical descriptors (mean, median, mode) of grain size and simple indices of size-fraction ratios (U-ratio, Grain Size Index), some more complex algorithms were also used in our paper. The applied parametric curve-fitting, end-member modelling and hierarchical cluster analysis techniques are using the whole spectrum of the measured grain size distributions and provide a more reliable and more representative results even in case of small scale variations. According to our findings, approaches which provide direct linkage among simple statistical descriptors and single atmospheric or other environmental elements are rather oversimplified as properties aeolian dust deposits are influenced by the integrated effects of several concurrent processes. Differences of more complex decomposition methods arise from the different approach and scope. End-members are determined from the unmixing based on the covariance structure of the whole grain size data-series of the section, while the parametric curve-fitting is based on the one-by-one deconvolution of the grain size distribution curves. End-members of loess-paleosol samples are regarded as representation of the average dust grain size distribution of various temporal sediment clusters of seasonal or other short-term intervals, while (sub)populations by parametric curve-fitting are proposed to illustrate process-related elements of background and dust storm depositional components for each sample. Results of cluster analysis represent similar grouping conditions as end-member modelling with a reduced sedimentary and genetically meaning.

The title of this Special Issue of QI - ‘The Neolithic of Northern Greece and the Balkans. The environmental context of cultural transformation’ - frames the central issue of this paper – how were Neolithic and Chalcolithic landscapes in the Aegean, Balkan and Carpathian (ABC) zones shaped and transformed by climatic and anthropogenic impacts? The difficulties in interpreting proxy records for the middle, transitional stage of the Holocene aridification sequence, falling between the early wet stage and the late arid stage, have been created by the conjoint influence of two kinds of impact – climatic and anthropogenic. An unhelpful influence in this debate stems from Willis and Bennett’s (1994) hypothesis of minimal human impact on the pre-Bronze Age landscapes of South East Europe. In this paper, two questions are posed: (1) what were the effects of the claimed global changes in Holocene climate at the regional and local scale in the ABC zones?; and (2) can we recognise human impact in these proxy records prior to the Bronze Age of our study regions? Following a discussion of general long-term climatic trends and RCCs (episodes of rapid climatic change), I base a discussion of the so-called 8200BP ‘event’ and pre-Bronze Age human impacts on a suite of 24 well-dated proxy records – mostly pollen sequences. The principal findings are that there is little evidence for impact from the 8200BP ‘event’ in these records, while there is substantial evidence for pre-Bronze Age human impacts on the landscapes of the Aegean, Balkan and Carpathian regions.

For decades, it has been unclear as to how the world's first cities, in southern Mesopotamia, not only arose in a fluvial environment but also how this environment changed. This paper seeks to understand the long-term fluvial history of the region around Uruk, a major early city, in relation to water-human interactions. This paper applies geomorphological, historical and archaeological approaches and reveals that the Uruk region in southern Mesopotamia had been under the influence of freshwater fluvial environment since the early Holocene. It further demonstrates how canals and long-term human activities since the mid Holocene have been superimposed on the natural river channel patterns. Fieldwork has been conducted to ground-truth features identified applying remote sensing techniques. Five sediment cores were analysed to elucidate palaeoenvironmental changes. Radiocarbon ages for organic samples suggest that the oldest sediment layers, at a depth of 12.5 m, are from the Early Holocene, while results from diatom analyses imply that the whole sediment column was deposited in a freshwater environment. Intensive networks of palaeochannels and archaeological sites within the study area have been reconstructed and these networks have been divided into four different time intervals based on changes in channel courses. The first is from the early 4th to the late 1st millennium BCE; the second is from the late 1st millennium BCE to the middle 2nd millennium CE; the third lasted from after the Islamic period until the 1980s; the fourth is from the 1980s until the present. Key results include evidence for freshwater environments and favourable settlement conditions had already formed by the 8th millennium BCE. The favourable settlement environment resulted in stable (long-lived) canals between the 4th millennium BCE and 1st millennium CE. A significant settlement and irrigation expansion occurred in the early 1st millennium CE. Major abandonment ensued in the late 1st millennium CE and lasted until the mid 2nd millennium CE.

This paper summarizes and reviews the likely role of infectious diseases as constraints on the spread of domestic animals south of the Sahara. It looks not only at livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats), which have previously received most attention in this regard, but also at dogs, donkeys, and horses. All six species (as well as domestic pigs) originated in Eurasia or North Africa and it is therefore highly likely that on entering the Afrotropical zoogeographic region they will have encountered novel disease challenges to which they were not previously adapted, including pathogens able to 'jump' into them from closely related taxa endemic to sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. Cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, zebras). The paper identifies the key diseases involved, considers how arguments for their constraining role can be evaluated further, briefly explores some of the consequences for African history that they have entailed, and emphasizes the importance of also considering the spread of animal diseases that originated with Africa beyond the continent. In particular, it suggests that two important trypanosomal diseases of now global distribution - surra and dourine - may have originally spread out of Africa using donkeys as their principal host.

The city of Novgorod the Great in north-west Russia has been subjected to extensive excavation of its superbly preserved medieval anaerobic deposits for many decades. Situated on the River Volkhov near Lake Ilmen and surrounded by mixed boreal and deciduous woodland and seasonally flooded meadowlands, Novgorod was well-placed for the exploitation of local wild fauna and flora. It was also the focus for international trade in furs obtained from a much broader catchment area. Although its inhabitants relied heavily on domestic animals and crops for their food, evidence for the acquisition of wild resources is also provided by animal bones, plant macrofossils, birch-bark documents and other archaeological finds. Pollen analysis has also provided information about landscape history of its hinterland. Even from a limited programme of sieved sampling, it is clear that a very large number of fish bones were present in the deposits. The main taxa are cyprinids, pike and zander, whereas birch-bark documents, largely concerned with tribute, mention salmonids and sturgeon, rare amongst the excavated remains. The wild bird assemblage is dominated by various species of ducks. Other waterfowl were utilised as well as large game birds such as capercaillie. Birds of prey are also present and other remains such as jackdaws reveal the local bird life in town. Wild mammals contributed little to the Novgorodian diet: bones of hare, beaver and elk being the most frequently found. Very few bones of fur-bearing mammals were recovered. The few remains include bear claws and bones of squirrel, marten, otter, and fox, in addition to beaver. Their paucity can be explained by the fact that most would have arrived from the hunting grounds to the north as prepared pelts without bones. Evidence for the hunting for these species is provided on sites deep within the forest zone such as Minino. Most of the wild animals eaten in Novgorod itself were obtained from the land and waters of its near hinterland. The paper discusses the character of the local forest based on pollen and other evidence. Models are being developed to provide a more detailed understanding of the changes in the composition of the forest during the medieval period and the consequences this had for wildlife. The paper demonstrates the benefits of developing a multi-disciplinary approach comparing urban assemblages with contemporary sites in its hinterland and further afield, to understand more fully how wild species were exploited in complex societies.

This research aims at improving our understanding of open-air archaeological surface scatters in drylands, their extension and the intensity of human activities during their occupation. To do so, the study of physico-chemical proxies is integrated to that of archaeological artefacts by means of systematic field survey combined with laboratory sedimentary analyses and a robust statistical approach. In most dry regions, archaeological survey has traditionally aimed at the collection of artefacts. When present, the study of physical and geochemical samples has been limited to excavated archaeological levels. In this work, we evaluate the archaeological significance of physico-chemical proxies from surface samples collected within and around four mid and late-Holocene surface scatters in North Gujarat, a semi-arid region located at the south-west margin of the Thar Desert in India. The four archaeological scatters are found on top of fossilised sand dunes. Archaeologically, they represent subsistence strategies based on hunting and gathering, agro-pastoralism, or a succession/mixture of the two. The four locations were systematically sampled across a linear transect. For each sampling unit, the archaeological materials were quantified and classified by means of a Linear Discriminant Analyses. Physio-chemical variables were ordinated in a PCA space and clustered through a Hierarchical Clustering. Results were displayed along the dune transect and integrated into a Correspondence Analysis. Significant differences are attested in the spatial distribution and content of Ca, P and grain size, allowing us to suggest a set of distinct cultural soilscapes that characterise the dunes of the study area: vertisols (agric horizons in interdunal lower slopes), aridisols (relict dune surfaces in the mid-slope), and anthrosols (top dune). The last show a strong correspondence with the presence of archaeological artefacts, and the different intensity of human footprint are discussed accordingly to potential past subsistence strategies and the intensity of human occupation. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA., This research arises from collaboration between the MS University of Baroda and the IMF-CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) within the framework of the North Gujarat Archaeological Project (NoGAP) and the SimulPast Project CSD2010-00034). F.C.Conesa acknowledges worked on this paper with funding from the JAE-PreDoc program (CSIC and European Social Found). A. L. Balbo worked on this paper under the Juan de la Cierva Programme (MINECO JCI-2011-10734), and with a Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation/Stiftung.

Zooarchaeological evidence reflects cattle's central role among pastoral livestock for millennia in the once-green Sahara. However, zooarchaeological evidence attest to two chronologically separated, but similar delays in the entry of cattle into eastern and southern sub- Saharan Africa, where domestic caprines precede cattle as the earliest domestic livestock for several hundred years. In an earlier paper, I proposed that this delay in the introduction of cattle was due to the disease challenges presented to domestic bovines by the novel and grave epizootiological threats by indigenous wild animals of sub-Saharan savannas, the preferred habitats of cattle. Herds of African buffalo and wildebeest, the latter absent from the Sahara-Sahel, are reservoirs of East Coast Fever (ECF) and wildebeest-derived malignant catarrhal fever (WD-MCF), respectively. Both pose serious veterinary challenges to bovine husbandry today and could have stalled the spread of pastoralism until their etiologies were understood and control measures developed by herders. The disease-challenge hypothesis could be falsified by discovering considerable cattle remains south of Lake Turkana between 4000 and 3000 BP. This paper reviews the hypothesis in light of the last 15 years' zooarchaeological research on early pastoralism in eastern Africa.

There have been several studies addressing the timing and extension of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Aeolian activity in the Nyirseg, the former alluvial fan of the Tisza River. Some of these already applied numerical dating techniques, however usually focused on one dune form or one site. This paper is an attempt on the one hand to review former age data and on the other hand to add new data from various sites to the landform evolution of the second largest sand dune area of the Carpathian Basin. The paper focuses on the Late Pleistocene–Holocene landform evolution of the second largest sand dune area of Hungary (Nyirseg). Recent age data were obtained from investigations applying several methods (radiocarbon, OSL and palynological examinations) in order to determine the periods of sand movement and paleosoil formation in the area more accurately. According to the results, six sand movement periods can be identified during the Late Glacial and Holocen (Oldest Dryas, Younger Dryas, Preboreal Phase, Boreal Phase, Atlantic Phase, Subatlantic Phase). In between periods with intensive aeolian activity paleosoil formation occurred in the Bolling-Allerod Interstadial and in the Preboreal and Subatlantic Phases.

International audience; In order to define the Mesolithic populations that came to settle on the European Atlantic seaboard, it is essential to assess the duration and continuity of human occupation. Although our knowledge of the geographical distribution of these populations is largely truncated by archaeological bias, the presence of more than 240 Mesolithic shell middens along the European Atlantic coast enables us to establish an overview of the published data on the dwelling patterns (seasonal, permanent, recurrent or limited in time) of these groups of maritime hunter-gatherers. A review of the literature shows that information on human occupations is lacking for many known Mesolithic shell middens. Moreover, the data leading to the identification of settlement patterns prove to be very heterogeneous from one site to another. Marine molluscs play a special role among the artefacts used to define the attraction of human populations for the coast, and help us to understand settlement. Although molluscs represent a major component of Mesolithic shell middens, it has taken several decades for the analysis of these faunal remains to be considered from the outset in excavations. One of the questions addressed here is whether the diversity of faunal remains in these shell middens can be related to the duration of human occupations on the coast. This question is based on the idea that people staying in the same settlement for several seasons can explore the surrounding area in greater detail. In this paper we observe that the diversity of faunal remains, including seashells, is not only dependent on the way of life of coastal people and settlement duration. It also affects other factors, such as the accessibility of more or less diversified environments and their resources in the vicinity of settlements and the degree of adaptability of humans exploiting similar resources.

Despite the well published mixture of archaic and modern features in fossil hominins, a presence of archaic features is still used as a basis for a claim of an archaic specimen. In this paper, the archaic appearance of a hominin fossil specimen from Salkhit, Mongolia, is examined to ask if Salkhit looks archaic because it is an archaic specimen like a classic Homo erectus . The morphology and metrics of the Salkhit skullcap was compared with Middle and Late Pleistocene hominin fossils from Zhoukoudian: Locality 1 and Upper Cave. Results show that the archaic features that Salkhit shares with the Locality 1 sample are also shared with the other sample, Upper Cave. On the basis of metrics, Salkhit is intermediate between the Locality 1 and the Upper Cave specimens. Salkhit is different from the Middle Pleistocene materials in the same way later hominins differ from the Middle Pleistocene sample, in having a broader frontal and thinner supraorbital region. This may reflect encephalization and gracilization, a modernization trend found in many places. Results of this paper are not compatible with the null hypothesis that Salkhit is like a member of the Zhoukoudian H . erectus sample. Archaic features may have different explanations: they can be diagnostic features of an archaic species, or regionally predominant features. It is concluded that the latter explains the archaic features of Salkhit.

Two of the primary external factors influencing the variability of major river systems, over river reach scales, are human activities and tectonics. Based on the rivers Karun and Dez in south-west Iran, this paper presents an analysis of the geomorphological responses of these major rivers to ancient human modifications and tectonics. Direct human modifications can be distinguished by both modern constructions and ancient remnants of former constructions that can leave a subtle legacy in a suite of river characteristics. For example, the ruins of major dams are characterised by a legacy of channel widening to 100's up to c. 1000 m within upstream zones that can stretch to channel distances of many kilometres upstream of former dam sites, whilst the legacy of major, ancient, anthropogenic river channel straightening can also be distinguished by very low channel sinuosities over long lengths of the river course. Tectonic movements in the region are mainly associated with young and emerging folds with NW–SE and N–S trends and with a long structural lineament oriented E–W. These earth surface movements can be shown to interact with both modern and ancient human impacts over similar timescales, with the types of modification and earth surface motion being distinguishable. This paper examines the geomorphological evidence and outlines the processes involved in the evolution of these interactions through time. The analysis shows how interactions between earth surface movements and major dams are slight, especially after ancient dam collapse. By contrast, interactions between earth surface movements and major anthropogenic river channel straightening are shown to be a key factor in the persistence of long, near-straight river courses. Additionally, it is suggested that artificial river development, with very limited river channel lateral migration, may promote incision across an active fold at unusually long distances from the fold “core” and may promote markedly increased sinuosity across a structural lineament.

In this review volume, we bring together researchers and institutions involved in Australian island research to provide a contemporary synthesis and benchmark on archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research of Australian island environments. The last major overview of Australian islands archaeological research appeared 16 years ago in the volume Australian Coastal Archaeology (Hall and McNiven, 1999). At that time, the main geographical areas of dynamic islands research in Australia were northwest Western Australia, and central and southeast Queensland. Since 1999, Torres Strait has developed as the most dynamic region of islands research in Australia, and this new volume showcases the range of recent research from Torres Strait and the adjacent region of southern Papua New Guinea. All five INQUA Commissions (Coastal and Marine Processes; Humans and the Biosphere; Palaeoclimates; Stratigraphy and Chronology; Terrestrial Processes, Deposits and History) are represented in the papers in the volume. Key environmental themes explored through the volume are geoarchaeology, taphonomy, impacts of sea-level rise and climate change, chronology of island formation and colonisation, anthropogenic environmental modifications, island terrestrial and marine resource management, and intra- and inter-island occupation, mobility, and exchange relationships. Key socio-cultural themes explored include ritual and ceremonial sites, mortuary practices, canoe voyaging, and responses to colonial impact. Site types discussed include shell deposits (cultural and natural), villages, long-houses, gardens, rock art, ritual shrines, artificial reefs, and ceremonial stone arrangements. The contributions represent diverse multidisciplinary approaches adopting coordinated methodologies to the task of understanding the diversity of human use and modification of islands in the Australian context. Culturally and chronologically, the volume surveys the depth and breadth of Australian island societies, including studies of late Pleistocene island use in northwest Australia, late Holocene deltaic island societies of Papuan lowland rainforests, early-to-mid-Holocene tropical island use of Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef, and Holocene selective occupation and abandonment of Bass Strait and other Southern Ocean islands. The volume's geographic coverage is thus broadscale, spread from the hot and humid tropical north to the cold temperate waters of the Southern Ocean. Uniquely, the papers in this volume reveal the diversity and complexity of cultural practices (e.g. subsistence, mobility, technology, socio-religious institutions, cosmology, resource manipulation and management) and historical contingencies that structure and mediate long-term human use, engagement, and modification of islands.

Research on Middle Palaeolithic occupations within the mid-latitude desert belt is enjoying a sustained surge of interest. This ongoing focus is in part because the mid latitude arid belt forms a shifting environmental barrier between different biogeographic zones. Ecological flux within these desert regions have therefore modulated human dispersals both temporally and spatially. Until recently, broad-brush models of human adaptation and expansion have been coarsely framed within such environmental frameworks, and typified by the reduction of past population dynamics to arrows on maps covering vast landscapes. More nuanced patterns of past population dynamics are now being identified that also expose the complexities of early human demography. Specifically, dramatic advances in complementary disciplines, namely genetics and climate science, have helped to expose past patterns of human demography and expansions in ever increasing resolution. While the skeletal record of the mid-latitude arid belt includes both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, an increasingly complex demographic picture is becoming evident from genetic research, which break down simple dichotomies between ‘modern’ and ‘archaic’. From a cultural perspective, these identifications have emphasized the increasing need to focus on population-level studies, acknowledging the complexities of the relationship between material culture and biology. Such archaeological approaches can reliably ground their analyses in terms of geography, past environments and, most importantly, time, none of which can be simply achieved through genetic approaches. Furthermore, archaeological research permits the examination of when and where major population expansions occurred, and also how they were achieved. Combining these different approaches is key, with each discipline helping to identify new foci of study in the others. This volume brings together a selection of papers resulting from the Middle Palaeolithic in the Desert II conference, hosted by UMR5199 PACEA, Université de Bordeaux in December 2014. The papers in this volume reflect both the international make-up of attendees and the interdisciplinary approaches that have been employed. The papers can be split broadly into intensified analyses in existing centres of research from the central Sahara to the Levant, and exploration of new landscapes, particularly at the extremities of the desert belt. We are pleased to see the continuing progress of research on the Middle Palaeolithic in the desert since our first conference and edited volume on the theme (Groucutt and Blinkhorn, 2013).

This paper presents a quantitative chronology for the spread of rice, based on the global Rice Chronology Database that builds upon direct datings of archaeological rice remains. Bayesian and spatio-temporal modelling suggest eastern China (lower Yangzi, middle Yangzi, southern Huai River, and Shandong) and northeastern South Asia as two key origins of rice cultivation, dating to ca. 7430 and 6460 BCE, respectively. At least two episodes of spread of rice are identified. The first, dating to the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, accounts for the appearance of rice in the middle Yellow River and Wei River regions, southeastern China, southwestern China, and Southeast Asia. An examination of population dynamics in China shows that this episode of spread might be associated with farmers whose subsistence was based largely on millets. During a second episode of spread, dating between the 1st millennium BCE and 1st millennium CE, rice spread to the Liao River region, Central Asia, and Africa.

Site formation processes at ancient tells in the southern Levant have been the focus of several micromorphological studies, contributing to the differentiation of anthropogenic remains from long-term natural sedimentation, occurring post-abandonment. This paper discusses how the study of sedimentary processes and chemical compositions of sediments can be used within the context of an ongoing archaeological project, and how they can contribute to archaeological, historical and geomorphological interpretations. Sedimentary processes were studied implementing POSL, granulometry and PXRF as part of the archaeological research at Tel Burna, Israel. Focusing on the area along the northwestern fortification walls (Area B2), data was collected from multiple strata inside and outside the casemate fortifications dating from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age. The gradual increase of OSL values obtained inside the casemate wall, indicate accumulation of sediment during a long period of time. Whereas similar values along the entire profile outside the casemate wall indicate sediment accumulation in one-time event. This might be related to defensive preparations, allegedly in response to advances made by Sennacherib's army in 701 BCE. In addition, results from the PXRF studies demonstrated correlation between human activities and the Cu, P, K, Zn, Mn values. Specifically, it was found that as K content increased from younger to older periods, it can be used as a pseudo-dating element. Ca content decreased as sampling descended from the tell's surface, suggesting its origin in long-term aeolian processes. The results show that the use of POSL and PXRF on archaeological contexts are useful for determining sedimentary processes. Furthermore, chemical content enabled pseudo-dating of strata and facilitated the distinction between natural and anthropogenic processes in archaeological sites and landscape.

Log Size Indexes (LSI) allow the increase of the number of data and have been used in a number of zooarchaeological studies since 1950. However, some standards to calculate the log ratios remain unpublished, the calculation of the indexes can be tedious, and it is further hindered by the diversity of data recording practices. The R package ‘zoolog’ enables calculation of thousands of log-ratios in seconds, with the advantage that the users can choose between different public references, which increases the repeatability and comparability of the results, allowing the smooth integration of references and databases with heterogeneous nomenclatures. Alternatively, the users may use their own references. This paper presents the main functionalities and procedures enabled by the package ‘zoolog’, together with some examples of use. A real dataset and several examples with R code are provided with the aim of facilitating osteometrical analyses in zooarchaeology. This work was developed as part of the ERC-Starting Grant ZooMWest (Grant agreement 716298).

Bladelets and microliths have been recognized as key parts of the late prehistoric cultural dynamics on a global scale and recently discussed in relation to the range expansion of Homo sapiens in the late Pleistocene. This paper focuses on some of the current issues on bladelet technology in the Levant, including 1) the occurrences of bladelets in the Late Middle Paleolithic (LMP) and Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) and 2) evolutionary reasons for the development of the UP bladelet technology. To discuss the first issue, we examine frequencies and production technology of bladelets in the LMP, IUP, and Early Upper Paleolithic (Ahmarian) assemblages from the Jebel Qalkha area, southern Jordan. We then discuss the results in light of relevant data from other sites in the Levant. A clear increase in bladelets coincides with the Ahmarian, as already known, but we suggest that the unified production of blades and bladelets in the Ahmarian most likely derived from the IUP which provided a technological basis, on which the miniaturization of blades/bladelets was achieved in the Ahmarian through the changes in platform preparation technique. We also examine bladelet production in the LMP that shares some technological elements with the IUP bladelet production. However, they fundamentally differ from each other in the relationship of the bladelet production to the main flaking system of the whole assemblages. To examine the second issue, we evaluate performance characteristics of bladelets from a viewpoint of changing mobility patterns from the LMP to the Ahmarian and suggest that the settlement/procurement patterns since the IUP provided conditions, in which the miniaturization of blade blanks became beneficial. The employment of bladelet technology is likely to have facilitated the transportability of tools/blanks and the efficient consumption of raw material, highlighting flexible implementations in response to variable conditions of raw material availability, mobility, and provisioning strategies. The bladelet technology was increasingly employed from the IUP to the Ahmarian probably as a versatile strategy in raw material economy, which was advantageous under variable mobility patterns and thus kept its popularity for a long time until the Epipaleolithic.

International audience; The recovery and identification of wood charcoals from soil not associated to archaeological excavation is called pedoanthracology. Researchers in this field use different sampling methods, and only one study, in a temperate context, has compared their efficiency so far. In this paper, we compare the efficiency of three sampling methods on charcoal concentration (> 4 mm) and on taxonomic representativeness in a tropical environment for the first time. These methods are pit sampling, auger sampling and opportunistic handpicking of charcoal on tree uprooted mounds or in the soil excavated during the digging of a pit. Our results suggest that the two digging methods (pit and auger) allow to recover similar charcoal concentrations whatever the site and the depth under consideration. But as expected, the charcoal concentration of a site depends on its history (e.g. type of activity). We also show that the estimation of the minimal sampling effort required to obtain taxonomically representative assemblages, in terms of number of charcoals and of auger samplings, varied greatly depending on the site and on the presence of overrepresented taxa. Finally, our results show that auger cores were often monospecific (34 %). Nevertheless, they allowed to recover different taxa from the pit method, with 18 to 21 % of the taxa exclusive to the first method and 30 to 40 % of the taxa exclusive to the second one in the sites under consideration. Charcoals from opportunistic handpicking also allowed to improve the taxonomic diversity of the whole assemblage of a site with 5 to 15 % of the taxa being exclusive to this method. The three methods are therefore complementary and we suggest to use the three of them to obtain the best taxonomic diversity in an anthracological assemblage and to overcome the specific biases of each method. With this study, we hope that we will help tropical (pedo)anthracologists to optimize charcoal sampling in anthropogenic sites were the sampling design cannot benefit from archaeological excavations.; La collecte et l'identification de charbons de bois de sol non associées à des fouilles archéologiques est appelée pédoanthracologie. Les chercheurs dans ce domaine utilisent différentes méthodes d'échantillonnage, et une seule étude, dans un contexte tempéré, a comparé leur efficacité jusqu'à présent. Dans cet article, nous comparons pour la première fois l'efficacité de trois méthodes d'échantillonnage sur la concentration en charbon de bois (> 4 mm) et sur la représentativité taxonomique dans un environnement tropical. Ces méthodes sont l'échantillonnage en fosse, l'échantillonnage à la tarière et le prélèvement manuel opportuniste de charbon de bois sur des monticules d'arbres déracinés ou dans le sol excavé lors du creusement d'une fosse. Nos résultats suggèrent que les deux méthodes de creusement (fosse et tarière) permettent de retrouver des concentrations de charbon de bois similaires quels que soient le site et la profondeur considérés. Mais comme prévu, la concentration en charbon de bois d'un site dépend de son histoire (ex. : type d'activité). Nous montrons également que l'estimation de l'effort d'échantillonnage minimal requis pour obtenir des assemblages taxonomiquement représentatifs, en termes de nombre de charbons de bois et de nombre de prélèvements à la tarière, varie fortement en fonction du site et de la présence de taxons surreprésentés. Enfin, nos résultats montrent que les tarières étaient souvent monospécifiques (34 %). Néanmoins, ils ont permis de récupérer des taxons différents de la méthode de la fosse, avec 18 à 21 % des taxons exclusifs à la première méthode et 30 à 40 % des taxons exclusifs à la seconde dans les sites considérés. Les charbons provenant d'une collecte manuelle opportuniste ont également permis d'améliorer la diversité taxonomique de l'ensemble de l'assemblage d'un site avec 5 à 15 % des taxons exclusifs à cette méthode. Les trois méthodes sont donc complémentaires et nous proposons de les utiliser toutes les trois pour obtenir la meilleure diversité taxonomique dans un assemblage anthracologique et pour surmonter les biais spécifiques de chaque méthode. Avec cette étude, nous espérons aider les (pédo)anthracologues tropicaux à optimiser l'échantillonnage des charbons de bois dans les sites anthropiques où le plan d'échantillonnage ne peut bénéficier des fouilles archéologiques.

7th International Anthracology Meeting, University of Liverpool, UK, 2-6 Sept. 2019; International audience; Previous methodological developments in the field of anthracology have led to the definition of rigorous sampling methods in archaeological contexts, which provide highly accurate and reliable taxonomic frequency spectra as a basis for understanding past woodland vegetation. However, the fuelwood taxon frequency spectra represent a synthetic picture of forest composition in the environs of an archaeological site. Our aim in this paper is to describe the heterogeneity of woodland distribution. The Abeurador cave (Hérault) in the south of France, has previously provided an exceptionally rich palaeoecological study. We further explore the spatial frequency distributions of the charcoal taxa found in charcoal scatters from two layers dated to the Mesolithic (Preboreal). The frequencies of abundant taxa have a unimodal distribution in the sampled grid squares, close to the normal distribution. The ratio s2/m (variance/mean) termed the ‘distribution index’, estimates the regularity of distribution of each taxon in the grid squares. We hypothesized that the frequency distribution of a taxon in a layer could be considered to be its statistical sampling distribution (i.e. probability distribution) in the firewood collection catchment at a given time, since the quantity of this taxon fluctuates in each firewood assemblage according to its probability of collection, relating to its distribution heterogeneity (or accessibility) in the past environment. The distribution index was then used to estimate the heterogeneity of the palaeoenvironmental distribution of each taxon and thus its random, uniform or clustered distribution. On this basis, we propose a mapped restitution of the evolution of the main woodland species in the surroundings of the Abeurador during the Early Holocene, integrated with the whole sequence dynamics.; Les développements méthodologiques précédents de l'anthracologie ont conduit à la définition de méthodes d'échantillonnage rigoureuses en contexte archéologique, fournissant des spectres de fréquences taxonomiques précis et fiables comme base pour la compréhension de la végétation forestière passée. Les spectres de fréquence des taxons dans le bois de feu représentent une image synthétique de la composition des forêts aux alentours d'un site archéologique. Notre objectif dans cet article est de décrire l'hétérogénéité de la distribution des forêts. La grotte de l'Abeurador (Hérault), dans le sud de la France, a déjà fourni une étude paléoécologique exceptionnellement riche. Nous étudions ici la distribution spatiale, par mètre carré, des fréquences des taxons dans les charbons de bois dispersés de deux couches datant du Mésolithique (Préboréal). Les fréquences des taxons abondants ont une distribution unimodale dans les carrés de la grille d'échantillonnage, proche de la Loi normale. Le rapport s2/m (variance/moyenne), ou "index de distribution", estime la régularité de la distribution des fréquences de chaque taxon dans les carrés de la grille. Nous émettons l'hypothèse que la distribution de fréquence d'un taxon dans une couche pouvait être considérée comme sa distribution d'échantillonnage statistique (c'est-à-dire sa distribution de probabilité) dans l'aire de collecte du bois de feu à un moment donné, puisque la quantité de ce taxon fluctue dans chaque assemblage de bois de feu en fonction de sa probabilité de collecte, liée à son hétérogénéité de distribution (ou d'accessibilité) dans l'environnement du site. L'index de distribution est utilisé pour estimer l'hétérogénéité de la distribution paléoenvironnementale de chaque taxon et donc son patron de distribution aléatoire, uniforme ou groupée. Sur cette base, nous proposons une restitution cartographiée de l'évolution des principales espèces forestières dans les environs de l'Abeurador au cours de l'Holocène précoce, interprétée en fonction de la dynamique forestière de l'ensemble de la séquence.

International audience; Numerous charcoal kiln remains can still be found throughout the world, evidencing wood harvesting related to former industries. These remains represent effective sources and tools for studying (i) pre-industrial pressures on forest resources and (ii) past strategies related to woodland management. However, radiocarbon dating (AMS), which is the main tool to reconstruct the chronology of past charcoal manufacturing activity, doesn't provide sufficiently accurate dating, especially for the post-1650 period, due to the broad probability range of the dates resulting from wiggles in the calibration curve. In order to overcome the radiocarbon dating limitation and therefore refine the chronology of modern charcoal manufacturing, this paper proposes to apply an integrated approach combining archaeology, micromorphology, anthracology and dendrochronology. To characterise the archaeological record of a target charcoal kiln terrace from the "Forêt de Bernadouze", located in a historical iron production valley of the Northern Pyrenees, we combined classical stratigraphic analysis with a micromorphological study. The results highlight the multiperiod nature of the terrace, i.e. a palimpsest of multiple charcoal production episodes, revealing two major phases marked by an abandonment period between them. Subsequently, we constructed a beech charcoal-ring (n=49) chronology cross-dated with the new "Forêt de Bernadouze" reference chronology from freshly felled, living beech trees (n=24) to obtain the annual resolution of charcoal ring formation. Based on the new reconstructed master chronology covering the 1879-2016 period, we were able to calibrate the charcoal-ring chronology for the 1881-1941 period. Consequently, we (i) dated the charcoal production activity performed on the target terrace during the 1924-1942 period and (ii) identified a shift in the rate of use of the terrace, from one-off to high-intensive use. This study also provides new insights regarding (i) the particular nature of the archaeological record and (ii) the operating and timing of past charcoal-making practices in connection with silvicultural treatments.

This paper presents the results of excavations conducted at the Late Gravettian site of Lubna VI in 2012 and 2018. This site is an exceptional example of a short-term Late Gravettian campsite, occupied between 27.5 and 27.1 ka cal BP. Due to the specific location of this site, in an area situated far from lithic raw material sources, the archaeological remains offer a rare possibility to understand the subsistence strategy of highly mobile hunter-gatherers in the Late Pleistocene. The knapped lithic assemblage is composed of erratic Cretaceous flint imported over long distances, and the tool inventory is typical of Late Gravettian assemblages from Central Europe, with a dominance of burins and backed implements. However, the lack of chert and flint raw material in the vicinity of the site inspired the occupants to use bladelet blanks to make hunting weaponry from burin spalls. This specific behaviour is unique among Gravettian inventories known from the western Carpathians. Reindeer dominate the faunal assemblage over other species. The season of occupation at Lubna VI was probably early autumn, and may be associated with the maximum use of environmental resources by the hunter-gatherers. The small campsite was located at a convenient spot for processing reindeer carcasses, where some hearth stone constructions were arranged. Because there was no woody vegetation in the closest vicinity of the site, reindeer bones and fat were used as fuel in hearths. Given the lack of nearby flint raw materials, the accessibility of large numbers of reindeer near Lubna, probably present on a seasonal basis, explains the occurrence of Late Gravettian occupation in this micro-region.

This paper presents results of morphological and petrological analyses of ground stone tool assemblage acquired from late Bronze Age settlement site at Niemczanska, Wroclaw, Poland. The collection of six tools is functionally and petrologically diverse but comparable in terms of physical and mechanical properties, i.e. hardness and wear resistance. Exclusively hard and quartz-rich rocks were selected for tools production (granites, gneisses and sandstones). We applied complementary approaches: polarizing optical microscopy with modal mineralogical analyses, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalyser for the petrographic and raw material provenance study. The results of our observations lead to the conclusion that raw material was collected locally from the surface deposits associated with glacial erratics brought to the area during MIS-16 to Saalian glaciations from Sweden and Aland Islands. Our observations confirm that erratics were a common source of raw material for the Odra Basin populations during the Bronze Age instead of autochthonic Sudetic or allogenic materials. Agricultural (grinder and grinding disc) and non-agricultural (whetstone, pad/fragment of a grinding disc, grinder and smoother) functions are recognised, based on morphological observations and use-wear traces. Three activity zones are distinguished at the site – production, habitation and possible cult zone with lithic tools spread within production and habitation zones.

This paper describes some results of the research undertaken over the Brown Bank area during recent (2018/2019) geoarchaeological surveys in the North Sea which included seismic imaging, shallow (vibro)coring and dredging. It examines the benefits of simultaneous high-resolution (0.5 – 1 m) and ultra-high-resolution (10–20 cm) seismic survey techniques and a staged approach to resolving the submerged Holocene landscape in the highest possible detail for the purpose of targeted prospecting for archaeological material from the Mesolithic landscape of Doggerland. The materials recovered from such surveys offer significantly greater information due to an enhanced understanding of the context in which they were recovered. The importance of this information cannot be understated archaeologically, as few locations on land provide the opportunity to recover archaeological finds in situ within preserved landscapes. Moreover, it allows offshore areas of potential human activity to be prospected with some certainty of success.