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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preservation of palaeoenvironmental and archeological records in cave and rock shelter contexts is often called into question for Pleistocene sequences. Records are always fragmentary and the preservation of sediments and archaeological remains is partial and differential, according to site history. The karst deposits are often frequently described as disturbed due to post-depositional processes and phases of erosion over time. However, taphonomical analyses and some very well-preserved evidence attest to the capacity of caves to record data. Systematic and interdisciplinary fieldwork and studies allow for the reconstruction of some characteristics of Neanderthal occupations in their biostratigraphical and geochronological context. The geographic area under consideration here is the Rhône Valley. The right bank of the Middle Rhône Valley has yielded more than ten Middle Palaeolithic sites. Some of them have been studied recently through interdisciplinary fieldwork, providing new data on the end of the Middle Pleistocene and the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. For this paper, we focus on four sites dated from the end of MIS 5, MIS 4 and the beginning of MIS 3, containing layers with evidence of Neanderthal occupations: Saint-Marcel, Abri du Maras, Abri des Pêcheurs and Le Figuier. All these sites are rock shelters or cave chambers and porches belonging to a karst system. The aim of our research program is to provide as much data as possible on Neanderthal occupations in their environmental contexts, in order to describe subsistence strategies and land use throughout time and potential links with climatic changes. In this paper, we evaluate the feasibility of assessing the relationship between climatic change and behaviour during the Middle Palaeolithic by describing the main archaeological material and palaeoenvironmental records of these four sites. Then, in the discussion, we conjointly examine the data from each site to assess this key question, even though the low resolution of cave and rock shelter records makes it difficult to establish an accurate chronology for human occupations and to provide a detailed description of the environment around the site for each human occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiocarbon chronology of the sites and cultural sequences is, at the regional level, a benchmark for evaluating different types of processes: cultural, demographic, taphonomic, environmental. Although it is assumed that chronological signal is closely related to the density and intensity of the processes of settlement, colonization, occupation and use of spaces and landscapes, this signal is mediated by many complex factors affecting its representation. In the case of the province of La Pampa (Argentina), which covers the western part of the Pampean region, where research data discussed in this paper are developed, several of these factors should act or be present. However, in the present state of research in the region it is possible to assess and discuss the significance of the radiocarbon signal, not only intra – regionally but in correlation with neighboring areas. In this paper a set of published radiocarbon dates ( n = 64) is presented, that constitute all available Western Pampa published 14 C dates. While still scarce and random, these dates establish that the timescale in which colonization events and use of regional space happened, archaeologically evaluated, covers a span comprised between mid-Early Holocene and final Late Holocene. The results will be discussed in comparative terms, into two scales: the intra and inter-regional and considering different type of archaeological sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loess-palaeosol deposits at the Beglitsa section in the East European Plain play an important role in the understanding of climate and environmental changes in Eurasia. However, the absence of absolute geochronology has restricted the interpretation of the loess sedimentation process and its relevance to palaeoenvironmental change. In this paper, a detailed chronology was obtained from the Beglitsa section using a quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique in the southern area of the East European Plain. Grains with a diameter of 38–63 μm extracted from 8 samples and a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol were applied for equivalent dose (De) determination. The results showed that the OSL ages are generally in agreement with the field-observed stratigraphic order and no age inversions were apparent. Compared with magnetic susceptibility and previously published radiocarbon ages, the OSL dating results showed great potential to provide a reliable chronology sequence for loess sediments in the Sea of Azov. With a span ranging from 5.4 ± 0.4 to 203.8 ± 18.0 ka, deposition of the Azov loess may have begun during the penultimate glaciation. Based on a comparative analysis of the stratigraphic composite, the sedimentary thickness differences between sections around the Azov region were likely affected by the local topography and the location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discriminate the contribution of the different sediment sources into a river situated in the semiarid region of northern Chile, differentiating the ones driven by the paraglacial response from the ones yielded to the tributary-junction alluvial fans or the ones coming from the hillslopes. The sedimentary infilling is accurately described in the main landforms such as alluvial fans, alluvial terraces and landslides in the current valley floor where twenty-six 14 C AMS samples were picked up. The 14 C age data indicate that the aggradation in the uppermost part of the valley immediately postdates the glacial retreat at ∼15,000 14 C years cal. B.P. and spans the whole Holocene starting at 11 ka. B.P. and finishing about 2 ka B.P. The main sources for lateral inputs are debris flows from tributary catchments in the portion where the river is embedded in between 1000 and 2000 m a.s.l as well as catastrophic landslides. Additionally, an extensive detailed geomorphological mapping is provided to discuss the meaning of the ages together with an assessment of where the samples came from. Finally, the dataset and field criteria provided in this work contribute to better perform paleoclimatological interpretations for the semiarid fluvial systems of northern Chile. These interpretations usually consider the increased influence of the westerlies during the Holocene and the span of time that the paraglacial response delivers glacigenic sediments into the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of the large site clusters of the Gravettian (Pavlovian) represents one of the final effects of modern human adaptation in central Europe, but chronology of the site formation processes at such sites are still little understood. Here we present new evidence from Pavlov I, a site now prepared for the construction of a museum and subjected to a large-scale preparatory excavation. Understanding the spatial organisation, microstratigraphies, and the effects of cryogenic processes on the site formation is the basic presumption for lithic analysis at a large and complex site. Obviously, these extensive sites have a longer prehistory than was previously thought. The detection of the Early Upper Palaeolithic/Gravettian boundary was related to a radical change in the lithic raw material composition. The early and evolved Gravettian industries complete previously recorded the techno/typological spectrum by additional microlithic assemblages. With this new evidence, the paper also discusses the question of Gravettian origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The affective status of the material world as it pertains to the historical development of human cognition and activity lies at the centre of the current discourse of cognitive archaeology. Through applications of ‘enactive’ conceptions of mind the notion of a human mind that imposes its will upon an inert material world is being challenged by recognising how the mind emerges through the material engagement of an embodied subject that is always coupled to an affective material world. The active role played by materials in the development of cognition reveals a dynamic entwining of mind and matter across past spatiotemporal trajectories that positions human artefacts as a trace of such an entwining. There are two central point's drawn from this context that are important for the discussion within this paper: firstly, the significance of the development of human perceptual experience and cognition that is relational to the material world; secondly how a more focussed study of human perception reveals how the material world itself (its status and meaning) emerges as relational to human experience. The emergence of the concept of ‘deep geological time’ during the nineteenth century will be used as an object of study in which the idea of geological deep time (its theory and its continued development) emerges alongside, and shapes, an historically contingent perceptual experience that itself plays an active role in the very shaping of the idea of geological deep time. This emergent relationship will be made more tangible through an art historical iconological study of a range of visual artefacts — artistic and naturalistic images of deep time — during this period readable through the changes and transformations of certain stylistic and compositional strategies used to depict human figures within the works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Akan volcano, in eastern Hokkaido in the southern Kurile arc, occupies a rectangular caldera (24 × 13 km) with a long (1.7–0.2 Ma) and complex history. This paper combines tephrostratigraphy, tephrochronology, and petrological and geochemical evidence to elucidate the eruptive history and evolution of the caldera. Pyroclastic deposits from Akan caldera are divided into at least 40 “eruptive units”, separated by paleosols, that constitute 17 “eruptive groups” (Ak1 to Ak17, in descending stratigraphic order) that are petrologically distinct and separated by indicators of longer dormancy periods such as thick (>30 cm) paleosols and angular unconformities. The estimated volumes of most eruptive groups are less than 10 km 3 dense rock equivalent, and four groups (Ak2, Ak4, Ak7, and Ak13) are larger. Group Ak2, exceeding 50 km 3 , is the largest. Pyroclastic deposits from Akan caldera are intercalated with pyroclastic deposits from the adjacent Kutcharo caldera and distal air-fall ash layers from central Hokkaido, suggesting that caldera-forming episodes overlapped in central and eastern Hokkaido. Radiometric ages from these exotic deposits range from 1.46 to 0.21 Ma, indicating that caldera-forming eruptions occurred at Akan volcano for more than 1 million years at an average magma discharge rate of approximately 10 −1 km 3 /kyr. Juvenile materials in Akan caldera pyroclastics consist of dominantly aphyric, two-pyroxene dacite to rhyolite. They are characterized by a wide range of K 2 O compositions (0.8–2.8 wt.%) within a narrow range of SiO 2 compositions (67–73 wt.%). Plots of SiO 2 vs. K 2 O suggest that each eruptive group is the product of a distinct, ephemeral magma system rather than a single long-lived magma system. These magma systems appear to have been generated and erupted successively beneath the caldera for more than 1 million years. Each magma system thus appears to represent a relatively short period of activity, and they were separated by relatively long dormancy periods before the next magma system. In particular, a long dormancy of 400 kyr preceded eruptive group Ak2, which consists of the most voluminous and compositionally varied silicic magmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We offer a comment on the paper: “When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary is stratigraphically optimal” by Jan Zalasiewicz et al. (2015), Quaternary International , 383, 196–203. We consider this proposal in the context of the procedures and terminology employed by the International Union of Geological Sciences which underpin the formal designation of chronostratigraphic units. Our conclusion is that there is no practical value in establishing the lower boundary of a new interval of geological time in the mid-twentieth century; equally, there is no sound stratigraphical basis for designating an additional chronostratigraphic unit above the Holocene in the international Geological Time Scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent update of the PALEOFAUNA database (including new 14 C dates) revealed new insights in the changes in the geographical distribution and the (local) extinction of larger mammals in Northern Eurasia during the second part of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, a period with dramatic changes in climate. In this paper, we present and discuss the observed changes in the distribution of two herbivore species: the musk ox Ovibos moschatus and the extinct bison Bison priscus , which are the major components of the “mammoth steppe” mammalian assemblage. The decrease of their ranges and their extinction during the Holocene (as a part of the Megafauna extinction in Eurasia) was primarily connected with changes in climate and partly the result of Anthropogenic pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cichlid fishes of the East African Great Lakes are the largest extant vertebrate radiation identified to date. These lakes and their watersheds support over 2000 species of cichlid fish, many of which are descended from single common ancestor within the past 25 Ma–10 Ma. The extraordinary East African cichlid diversity is linked to the highly variable geologic and paleoclimatic history of this region. The East Africa rift system (EARS) is the roughly north–south alignment of rift basins in East Africa that defines the boundary between the Somalian and African plates. The EARS is divided into two structural branches that are also oriented roughly north–south. Rifting in the eastern branch began 30–35  Ma in the Afar and Ethiopian Plateau and propagated north–south until it impinged on the strong Precambrian Tanzanian cratonic block, which is in the center of the East Africa Plateau. The timing of the initiation of the western branch of the EARS is uncertain and has been suggested to have begun as early as 25   Ma to as recently as 12–10   Ma. Uplifting associated with this rifting backponded many rivers and created Lake Victoria. Since their creation, these lakes have changed dramatically which has, in turn, significantly influenced the evolutionary history of the lakes' cichlids. This paper examines the geologic history, paleoclimate of the East African Great Lakes, and human influence and the impact of these forces on the region's endemic cichlid fishes using evidence from geologic and molecular data. A drastic decline has occurred in the size of cichlid fishes populations since the beginning of the 20th century, exacerbated by two main factors; an increase in the size of the human population and increased fishing pressure and fish introductions. One of the attendant consequences of such a decline is a reduction in the amount of genetic diversity in the surviving populations due to increased effects of random genetic drift. Information about the amount of genetic variation within and between the remaining populations is vital for their future conservation and management. The genetic structure of a cichlid fish, the Nile tilapia, was examined using nucleotide variation of mitochondrial control region sequences and four nuclear microsatellite loci in 128 individuals from seven localities. Forty three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes were observed, fourteen of which were geographically localized. We found significant genetic differentiation between the five populations at the mitochondrial locus while three out of the four microsatellite loci differentiated five populations. The possible contributions from human activities such as water pollution, overfishing and fish introductions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of glacial geomorphology in the Cantabrian Mountains, a mountain range that extends 460 km along the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula (SW Europe), started late in the 19th century and continues nowadays with a growing number of research papers. However, the number and timing of glaciations remains poorly understood, partially due to the still limited number of numerical ages. Its southerly location and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean make this mountain range potentially sensitive to past climate fluctuations. This work updates the glacial knowledge evolution for the whole range, from the Queixa-Invernadoiro Massif to the Basque Mountains, reviewing: (i) the history of glacial research since the late 19th century; (ii) the methodological approaches applied to reconstruct both the spatial extent and timing of past glacial stages; and (iii) the main geomorphological and geochronological evidence reported until date, including glacial features attributed to the Last Glacial Cycle (last 120 ka) and previous glaciations. According to current knowledge, glaciers extended over the Cantabrian Mountains covering a total area of 3150 km 2 , showing asymmetric development conditioned by variations of the topographic configuration and moisture supply along the range. Available geochronology based on radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides suggests the occurrence of at least 2 glacial advances during the Last Glacial Cycle: (i) a glacial maximum stage that took place at a minimum age of 36–45 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 3) and (ii) a second glacial advance at 19–23 ka (MIS 2). In some areas the extent of the glacier tongues during the second glacial advance was comparable to previous glacial maximum and was followed by glacial retreat conditions with formation of recessional moraines. Asynchronous glacial maximum conditions have been reported only for the Castro Valnera (MIS 4, 3 numerical ages) and Queixa-Invernadoiro (MIS 6, 1 numerical age) massifs until now. Finally, geomorphological evidence reported in Picos de Europa has been attributed to prior glaciations and correlated to cold conditions recorded during MIS 12 and MIS 22 based on a very limited number of numerical ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating an overall scheme of Gravettian stratigraphy and chronology in the Middle Danube area is a matter of current debate. This paper addresses the formation of microstratigraphies at large open-air sites, evidence of the earliest Gravettian occupation in the Dolní Věstonice-Pavlov area, and occurrence of early ceramics from this context. The case presented here is a complex early Gravettian microstratigraphy of charcoal deposits at Dolní Věstonice IIa with a sequence of AMS dates between 28.4 and 31.7 ka uncal BP (30–33 ka cal BC) and two middle Gravettian (Pavlovian) dates from the nearby living floor. The associated environmental evidence of charcoal, pollen, molluscs, and vertebrates shows that climatic development through the six horizons was relatively stable, but with a certain variability in moisture and extension of forest. In horizon 3c, the molluscs and both small and large vertebrates indicate an episode of restricted forest formation around 28.4 ka uncal BP (30–31 ka cal BC). Baked clay (“ceramic”) fragments from horizon 3c represent the earliest dated items of this kind in the Gravettian. Microstratigraphies of this type demonstrate the complexity of cultural deposits at the large Gravettian sites and throw light on the hitherto poorly understood time-period of the early Gravettian in Moravia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long sequence of El Castillo cave contains Units 12 and 14, attributed to the Gravettian. This paper presents a revision of the lithic industry and the fauna recovered during H. Obermaier's 1910–1914 excavations of the site, as well as a number of new datings that enable us to chronologically place the above Gravettian occupations as one of the oldest in Europe. Unit 14 is dated between 34 and 33 ka cal BP and Unit 12 between 30 and 28 ka cal BP. The cave's oldest Gravettian level, Unit 14, presents techno-typological features typical of the first phases of the Gravettian in the Cantabro-Pyrenean region, such as Noailles burins, although it also shows some common elements with the Evolved Aurignacian. The youngest Gravettian unit, Unit 12, is characterised by laminar production from bipolar prismatic cores and a greater, albeit still discreet, presence of dorsal pieces. In terms of the fauna, Unit 14 is represented by red deer, chamois and horse, whereas Unit 12 is represented by red deer and horse, a hint as to what would later become the characteristic composition of Late Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblages. The lithic and chronological characteristics of the Gravettian at El Castillo and the Cantabro-Pyrenean region lead us to believe in a mosaic formation of this techno-complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological radiocarbon databases are being increasingly used as a proxy of past demographic trends. In this paper we compile and analyze an extensive database of paleoecological information and 14 C dates from archaeological sites in northwestern Patagonia (Argentina, South America). On this basis, we assess the regional distribution of human populations since the late Pleistocene, and their relation with the evolution of Patagonian climate and landscapes. We explore the spatial and temporal distribution of evidence and discuss sampling biases affecting the record in different ecological contexts. The analysis is set in the frame of three main ecological regions that have implications for human subsistence: Andean forest, grass steppe, and shrub steppe. The intensity of the archaeological signal differs among these regions through time, being stronger and more homogeneous in the grass steppe. In the Andean forest and the shrub steppe the signal is weaker and even absent during short periods of the middle Holocene. We suggest likely sampling biases contributing to these tendencies, since these three regions present variable research cover and intensity. On the other hand, we also suggest that these differences may reflect variations in the intensity of human occupation, in favor of more attractive environments for hunting (i.e., areas where guanaco are generally more abundant). This macro-regional synthesis of the paleoecology and archaeology of northwestern Patagonia provides a platform for developing future oriented research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic Mousterian Debate of the 1970s has recently been revived, as researchers propose cultural, functional, and chronological interpretations for the Mousterian “technocomplexes”. These interpretations, however, are likely to lead to the same impasse that was previously reached forty years ago. The root cause of the problem is analyzing assemblages according to taxonomic units, whether they are Bordian facies or chaîne opératoire technocomplexes, which conflate as well as mask multiple sources of variability. In this paper, we use a database of well-excavated, well-dated sites from the Middle and Upper Pleistocene in western Europe to track changes in key lithic variables through time. We show that the chronological patterning of typological and technological facies yields little information useful for elucidating the causes of Mousterian variability. When individual lithic variables from within assemblages are plotted through time, however, new patterns of variability emerge. Our results show that bifaces are not characteristic only of the “Acheulean” and the “Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition.” They occur continuously and in low frequencies across the European landscape from MIS 14 onwards. Second, we reveal chronological patterning in Levallois technology, which reaches a height of popularity between MIS 6–4. In the future, more progress in understanding technological behavior during the Paleolithic will be made if we compare the properties of the lithics themselves across assemblages, rather than comparing assemblage types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Mousterian lithic technology remains poorly known in Italy. The traditional typological approach still permeates the literature, and most technological analyses focus on the “transition” to the Upper Palaeolithic. In this paper, we provide new data about the behavior of the last Neandertals who inhabited Tyrrhenian western Italy. Lithic assemblages from two well-known sites – Riparo Mochi (Grimaldi caves, Balzi Rossi area, Liguria) and Grotta Breuil (Monte Circeo, Lazio) – have been technologically and functionally analyzed. The results are discussed and compared to other data such as fauna, chronology, and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The data reveals a highly dynamic world where behavioral changes were rapid in time and characterized by strong differences in territorial exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The bay of Malfatano Cape is the berthing home to one of the most important maritime structures from the Punic-Roman times in the Mediterranean. Two opposing monumental structures have been preserved between −7 and −2 m due to rising sea level. Recent studies have identified the paleo-sea level, relating the eustatic component to the glacio-hydroisostatic deformations. This paper, through stratigraphic, palaeontological, and geochronological data, aims to trace the bay of Capo Malfatano's evolution in relation to the sea level rise during the last 4 kys. Based on data derived from geophysical surveys, paleoshore lines have been redrawn and compared with data derived from coring in the inner part of the creek. Finally, we evaluated the relationship between changes in palaeogeography and human settlements from the Bronze Age. The breakwaters have been surveyed in detail using D-GPS techniques correlated to the geodesic 0 level. Through this data, the shape of the breakwaters has been reconsidered and, consequently, the palaeo sea level has been re-evaluated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Diversity in the used bone found in the European Middle Paleolithic is very low, but bone retouchers are the most abundant and the most common. This paper focuses on the detailed study of numerous bone retouchers found in nine Middle Paleolithic sites bordering the French Massif Central in Southeastern France. Multidisciplinary and recent data on chronology and biostratigraphy on the archaeological sequences and the great number of bone retouchers have permitted a meaningful comparative regional analysis. Their occurrences and characteristics allow us to speculate about the skills and choices of the knappers using these bone tools, for instance deliberate selection or opportunistic choices within the butchery remains, as well as commenting on the length of time and the way that sites were occupied. Furthermore, in most of the studied layers we observed a strong disparity between the abundance of bone retouchers and the number of retouched lithic products presents, raising questions about their function and their role within the stone tool reduction sequence (primary retouching, resharpening stone tool cutting-edges, producing marginal and micro-retouch or in some cases semi-Quina retouch). Results are compared with a large European database, allowing us to discuss the characteristics of the bone retouchers in the Neanderthal world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the findings from four sites with proboscidean remains associated with Middle Palaeolithic stone tools from the Manzanares Valley Complex Terrace of Butarque (CTB), which has been dated to between the final Middle Pleistocene (MIS 6, 190–130 ka) and the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5, 130-74-71 ka). We review the direct and indirect evidence of proboscidean exploitation in the Middle Paleolithic sites of Europe, and provide information on Lower Paleolithic European sites with proboscidean remains and stone tools. Geological, chronological, bio-stratigraphic and climatic data of the CTB are provided, and the sites with proboscidean remains and Middle Palaeolithic stone tools are described in detail. Systematic exploitation of large mammals during the Middle Palaeolithic, and even their regular hunting, is widely accepted. However, the exploitation of proboscideans is not as evident in the archaeological record of this period. The exploitation of proboscideans cannot be considered as merely occasional before the Upper Palaeolithic, and although there is more evidence of the exploitation of these mega-herbivores during the Lower than during the Middle Palaeolithic, the discoveries from the Manzanares Valley state that, at least in this area, proboscideans continued to play an important role with regards to the exploitation of the environmental resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents and discusses the evidence obtained as a result of recent fieldwork at the Middle Paleolithic sites of Khotylevo 1 and Betovo in the Upper Desna river basin, Bryansk oblast of Russia. The stone industries of both sites are based on local tabular good quality flint and contain more (Khotylevo 1) or less (Betovo) representative bifacial components, as well as varying quantities of Levallois products. Previously, all the Middle Paleolithic assemblages of Khotylevo 1 were thought to occur in a redeposited alluvial context dated by different authors to either early Late or even late Middle Pleistocene. The materials of Betovo were thought (mainly on typological grounds) to postdate those of Khotylevo 1. The new stratigraphic observations, supplemented with the results of sedimentological analyses, show that Khotylevo 1 is a multilayered site with some cultural horizons displaying few or no signs of post-depositional dislocation. Coupled with the results of paleomagnetic studies and a radiocarbon date, this data seems to suggest that the formation of the deposits enclosing the known Middle Paleolithic assemblages at both sites might have taken place during the first half of the Middle Valdai megainterstadial (MIS 3). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents and analyses lithological, stratigraphic and geochronological data on the Gunang cave, which is an important archaeological site in South Korea. It discusses problems of the age and origin of its sedimentary sequence, which consists of clastics and hardpan speleothems. The sediments compose a 4 m thick lens near the cave entrance. The lens formed during the Middle–Late Pleistocene and Holocene according to 14C and U–Th dating. The changes of cave environments are reconstructed based on sedimentological, palynological, mineralogical, magnetic and geochemical data. The clastic sediment unit consists of roof-fallen limestone debris cemented by fine-grained matrix. The matrix is dominated by silt (80%), which aeolian component is 60–65%. The amount of the wind-blown component is persistent throughout the clastic layers suggesting a relatively stable depositional process in dry environment. In contrast, three lime-cemented hardpans formed in a wet environment of groundwater seepage. The revised age model suggests that the hardpans formed in early MIS1, MIS 5.5, and MIS 7, and therefore correspond to the wetness maximums of these warm stages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although the Muge shellmiddens have been the object of research and excavation for almost 150 years, data are still scarce and, frequently, problematic. The chronology of the Mesolithic occupation of Muge is based on a series of radiocarbon dates from various sites. These results allowed the establishment of upper and lower boundaries for the Mesolithic in the region, as well as for the sequencing and the cultural explanations of both sites and lithic technology. However, most of those dated samples have insoluble problems of provenience and stratigraphy and, thus, the dates have very little significance for the knowledge of the chronology of the sites and of the Mesolithic human occupation in the valley. Recently, a new project, started in 2008, was funded by the Portuguese National Science Foundation (FCT). This paper presents the first AMS results of this project, with a total of close to 30 new dates, based on Bayesian radiocarbon dating modelling. These, together with previous obtained radiocarbon results, provide a complete and detailed new perspective of the chronology of one of the most important shellmiddens (Cabeço da Amoreira) in Muge as well as the direct relation to the time of settlement of Mesolithic complex hunter–gatherers in the region and the following occupation with the reuse of the shellmiddens by Neolithic populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During the Quaternary in South America, the gomphotheres were one of the most common elements in the mammal megafauna. They went extinct in an evolutionary event known as the Late-Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction, of which climate changes and human hunting are commonly claimed as the main possible causes. Most of the Brazilian Pleistocene fossil mammals did not preserve collagen, so alternative dating techniques are needed. In this case, the only option for dating such fossils is via Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating. The aim of this paper is (i) to place the Quaternary Águas de Araxá’s Notiomastodon platensis population in a chronological context through ESR dating and, (ii) to investigate its paleoenvironmental context and extinction causes. The ESR analysis was made on both crushed tooth enamel and sediment from the study area. They were subjected to Neutron Activation Analysis to determine the concentration of U, Th and K. The ESR dating indicated an age somewhere between 60,000 and 55,000 a for this N. platensis population (Lujanian, the last age of the Late Pleistocene South American Land Mammal Ages – SALMA). The date found for these gomphotheres is included in the Middle Pleniglacial, which is characterized by a cold and arid climate. Previous paleodiet studies suggest that the feeding habits of those individuals were basically opportunistic/generalist herbivores (C3 grasses and woody plants). Taphonomically, it was observed that the gomphotheres carcasses were transported by a high-energy water stream, typical of fluvial systems, and that the large amount of individuals in the fossil record is due to a mass death event related to a dry period. Based on taphonomical, paleoecological and chronological evidence, it is possible to assume that the gomphothere population from the Quaternary of Águas de Araxá is probably an example of individuals that suffered from climate changes during the Late Pleistocene in South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Pleistocene outcrops exposed in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, represent one of the most informative sources about the paleoecology of South American megafauna. However, there are no records of an accurately dated carnivore–herbivore taphocenosis. This paper presents preliminary results of a recent excavation at the margins of the Salado River, on sediments attributed to the Luján Formation (Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene). The fossiliferous strata consist of greenish brown sandy-clays deposited in a small paleopond environment that was filled by fluvial sediments, exhibiting abundant organic matter, gypsum and carbonate concretions. Fieldwork yielded an association of extinct large-sized mammals that include the horse Hippidion principale, the saber-tooth cat Smilodon populator (at least one adult and one juvenile associated specimen), a giant ground sloth Megatherium americanum, and the glyptodont Doedicurus clavicaudatus. Four 14C dates were performed on organic matter (12,100 ± 100 14C BP), a femur of S. populator (13,400 ± 200 14C BP), and a cervical vertebra of Hippidion principale (12,860 ± 120 14C BP), and a pelvis of D. clavicaudatus (12,380 ± 190 14C BP) situating the site within 12,500 and 13,500 years, approximately. Remarkably, some of the recovered specimens exhibit conspicuous bone modifications (furrows, pits, punctures, striations and crenulated margins) attributed to the activity of a medium-large carnivore. The association between bones of herbivore mammals with conspicuous modifications produced by a large carnivore, and the presence of cub and adult remains of Smilodon, link this felid with at least part of the excavated association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper focuses on three interconnected issues: lithic technology, geochronology and climate change, based on rock varnish proxies, and artifact reclamation processes. Ongoing research along the western the semiarid slope of Cumbres Calchaquies–Aconquija ranges and centered in the Amaicha del Valle archaeological locality has focused on lithic surface scatters. These are the product of multiple behavioral events, an accretion phenomena, a palimpsest, areas that were repetitively visited, used, and occupied over the long run for procurement of lithic raw material, manufacture of diverse types of artifacts, and specific activities. Research results suggest, based on typological analysis of lithic surface scatters, a multi-component occupation that may have included site-specific activities. Based on rock varnish microlaminations (VML) studies, a correlation-dating technique that is a reliable time-clock for establishing chronological control, human occupation was already in place prior to 6500–5900 years. Further, rock varnish carries a past climate signal, indicating eight regional wet events for the last 7000 years, four of which are mid-Holocene. Rock varnish differential formation on rocks and artifacts provide additional insights into the occupational dynamics and functionality of sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The contributions of the Chinese Paleolithic record to broader ranging paleoanthropological debates – have long been difficult to decipher. The primary problem that hinders many contributions that include or focus on the Chinese record is that relatively few regions outside of the main flagship sites/basins (e.g., Zhoukoudian, Nihewan Basin, Bose Basin) have been intensively researched. Fortunately, systematic archaeological survey and excavations in the Three Gorges region, South China over the past two decades has led to the discovery of a number of important hominin fossils and Paleolithic stone artifact assemblages that have contributed to rethinking of ideas about hominin adaptations in Pleistocene China. This paper provides a detailed review of the results of recent paleoanthropological, particularly Paleolithic archaeological, research from this region. The Three Gorges region is located in the transitional zone between the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River (Changjiang River). Vertebrate paleontological studies indicate that the faunas from this region belong primarily to the Ailuropoda–Stegodon faunal complex, a group of taxa representative of a subtropical forest environment. Systematic field surveys identified sixteen Paleolithic sites in caves and along the fluvial terraces of the Yangtze River. Based on geomorphology, biostratigraphy, and geochronology studies, these sites were formed during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Follow up excavations at these sites led to the discovery of a large number of Paleolithic stone artifacts, Pleistocene mammal fossils, as well as some hominin fossils. Analysis of these materials has provided the opportunity to reconstruct hominin technological and mobility patterning in a restricted spatial point. The Paleolithic technology from the Three Gorges region is essentially an Oldowan-like industry (i.e., Mode 1 core and flake technologies) comprised of casual cores, whole flakes, fragments, and chunks as well as a low percentage of retouched pieces. The utilized stone raw material is primarily high sphericity cobbles and limestone, which were locally available along the ancient river bed and surrounding terraces. Most of the artifacts are fairly large in size. All flaking is by direct hard hammer in a single direction without core preparation. Unifacial choppers are the predominant core category, with fewer bifacial choppers, sporadic discoids, polyhedrons, and bifaces. The flake types demonstrate that the first stage of core reduction is represented by a low percentage of Type III and VI flakes. Some flakes are retouched unifacially by direct hard hammer percussion on the dorsal surface of the blanks. Archaic Homo sapiens and modern H. sapiens identified from some of the cave deposits are likely the hominins responsible for the production of the stone artifacts. Implications for Oldowan-like technological patterning in South China are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents new sedimentological, geochronological and diatom data from a 13-m core of sediment from Lake Borsog, a former bay of Lake Khuvsgul (also known as Hovsgol and Khubsugul) in northwestern Mongolia. Lake Borsog was separated from Khuvsgul during the early stages of a post-glacial transgression and possesses a high-resolution record of the Holocene. The data show three short events of higher-rate sedimentation at 7.4–7.1, 4.8–4.5, and 1.0–0.9 ka cal. BP, which are possibly related to lake level drops, reduction of lake area, progradation of the delta of the Borsog River and higher erosion of the exposed lake shores. The drops in lake level match the previously documented drops of the level of Lake Khuvsgul at ca. 7.2–7.0, 4.5–4.1 and 2.1–0.5 ka cal. BP, suggesting continued mutually-related and climatically-controlled evolution of both lakes after their separation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the hypothesis that Dansgaard/Oeschger events can be recognized in the Levant by correlation to sedimentary layers characterized by hominid activity, specifically layers of spring deposits. Optically stimulated luminescence was used to date age several sedimentary layers of an archaeological site at Yabroud, Syria. Pollen and spores throughout an 8 m profile of the site indicate that specific layers were deposited during a warm period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Middle Pleistocene lithic assemblages of the Southern Po Plain are one of the most investigated Palaeolithic case-studies of the Italian peninsula. This paper focuses on the industries identified between the modern towns of Bologna and Imola which have yielded particularly abundant assemblages. The chronological attribution of these industries is based on the reconstruction of a lithostratigraphic sequence for the region. The aim here is to present a general framework of the different characteristics of the assemblages between Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 9 and 6. The results of previous studies are re-interpreted by application of a techno-economical approach aimed at recognising the technical objectives of the knappers and the reduction schemes employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper addresses the recent publication in this journal by who discuss several Early Acheulean occurrences from the Indian subcontinent in relation to their age, context and lithic assemblages. A critique of the associated data shows that their acquiescence of Acheulean occupation in the Indian Subcontinent as being older than the late Middle Pleistocene is based entirely on circumstantial and inconclusive evidence. Each of the sites discussed by them (Isampur, Bori, Morgaon, Chirki-Nevasa, Singi Talav, Atbarapur) have variably yielded limited contextual and chronometric data that is ambiguous, controversial or only preliminary at this stage. Although one or two occurrences may be as old as they claim, a more rigorous scientific approach is required to first address the problematic issues of stratigraphic interpretation, precise context and absolute age. The current temporal framework of the South Asian Paleolithic renders the earliest Acheulean assemblages simply as being older than ∼400 ka, due primarily to the limitations of the 230Th–234U dating method used earlier. Whilst it is probable that future dating attempts will extend the earliest South Asian Acheulean occupation up to the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary or even beyond, convincing geochronological support for such a scenario is currently lacking at all of the ‘typologically-earliest’ sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Large cutting tools have been known for a long time in South Asia and have always been considered to be related to the Acheulian. The character of the Indian Acheulian, however, has not been well described and its evolution is poorly known, as there are few sites which are dated. Advances in geochronology have yielded increasingly early dates from most parts of the world where Lower Palaeolithic occupation is documented. These techniques have been barely applied to the South Asian sites but it is highly significant that the dating attempts have provided Lower Pleistocene ages. In this paper the handful of sites for which some chronological data is available and are older than 600ka are presented. Their assemblages are highly diversified, in composition, but their large cutting tools (especially cleavers but also handaxes) are mostly based on the production of large flakes. They compare well with the early Acheulian from other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The six Zhoukoudian (ZKD) Locality 1 Homo erectus specimens derive from stratigraphic levels 11–3 with a geochronological span of approximately 0.3Ma. This paper introduces the history of the ZKD endocasts and presents data on their morphological features and linear dimensions in order to evaluate variability in the sample over time and in the broader context of human brain evolution using a comparative sample of African and other Asian H. erectus fossils and modern Chinese males. The ZKD brains are very similar in their morphological characteristics, but there are also significant but subtle changes involving expansion of the frontal and occipital lobe breadths that correlate with the geochronology. The same is not true for general endocranial volume. The ZKD brains, together with other Asian and African H. erectus specimens, have low height dimensions and short parietal chords that distinguish them from the modern Chinese. Furthermore, the lack of geographical patterning in the fossil sample, as determined by Principal Components Analysis, provides no support for arguments advocating the splitting of H. erectus into separate taxa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pearce (2015) commented about the paper titled “Signature of the Gold Cove event (10.2 ka) in the Labrador Sea” by Rashid et al.(2014) suggesting that due to an oversight error in re-calibration of four 14 C-dates of Kaufman and Williams (1992) and Kaufman et al. (1993), Rashid et al. (2014) misidentified the Gold Cove event. Furthermore, as a result of this error, findings and conclusions in Rashid et al. (2014) are “difficult to justify the correlations of several DC layers in the Labrador Sea”. Here we reply to Pearce (2015) comments. We further elaborate our reasoning behind the identification of 10.2 ka event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]