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This paper describes the faunal record from a late Holocene archaeological site located on the freshwater wetlands of the South Alligator River and compares it with that from the Adelaide River, in the Northern Territory. The information characterizes freshwater wetland resources and their use by Aboriginal people, providing a snapshot of life on the floodplains immediately prior to European contact. Although the two wetland systems appear similar, and extractive technology in the form of bone points is also similar, the faunal assemblages show that Aboriginal hunting strategies differed between the two areas. These differences can be explained by variations in regional topography and seasonality of site use.

In this paper we summarize our own and published data on the composition and proportion of rodent remains in fossil assemblages from the second half of the Late Holocene from cave localities in the northeastern part of European Russia as well as rodent assemblages of recent decades based on materials obtained from raptor pellets. It has been established that in the second half of the Late Holocene, the local rodent fauna of the modern taiga zone consisted of forest and intrazonal species in equal proportions, while in the subarctic part, with an insignificant participation of tundra species (up to 8%). In the modern tundra zone (the arctic part of the region), tundra rodent species predominated at that time with a significant participation of forest (up to 33%) and intrazonal species. The presence of tundra species in the Late Holocene local faunas in the north of the taiga zone (the subarctic part of the region) distinguishes them from the modern assemblages, in which only forest and intrazonal species were found, in equal proportions. This feature is probably due to the southward shift of the boundary between tundra and taiga zones during cooling periods in the second half of the Late Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catchment of Euboea Island (Central Western Aegean Sea), for approximately the last three and a half millennia. The middle reaches (Gides basin) exhibit several historical alluvial terraces that were first recognised in the 1980s but have remained poorly studied, resulting in uncertain chronological control of palaeofluvial activity. In order to reconstruct the past fluvial dynamics of the Lilas river, a ca. 2.5 m thick stratigraphic profile has been investigated for granulometry and magnetic parameters. Absolute dating of the sediments was possible by applying Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). The results reveal: (i) two coarse-grained aggradational episodes dated from the Mycenaean/Early Iron Age and the Roman periods, respectively, (ii) a phase of rapid fine-grained vertical accretion corresponding to the Late Byzantine to early Venetian periods, (iii) potential evidence for final alluvial deposition from the Little Ice Age/Ottoman period, and (iv) two major incision episodes inferred from Ancient Greek times and most of the Byzantine period. Based on the published core material, the paper also evaluates the direct impacts of the Late Holocene alluviation recorded mid-stream on the fluvial system situated downstream in the deltaic area. Sediment sourcing is attempted based on the magnetic properties of the catchment lithology and of alluvium collected upstream along the main stream bed. Finally, the present paper discusses the possible links between Late Holocene hydroclimatic oscillations and the aggradational/incision phases revealed in the Gides basin. Correlations are attempted with regional palaeoclimate records obtained for the Aegean. In addition to climatic variability, anthropogenic factors are considered: specific land use for agricultural purposes, in particular during the Mycenaean period, the Roman and the Late Byzantine/Early Venetian periods, might have enhanced sediment deposition. Archaeological information and pollen records were also evaluated to reconstruct regional land-use patterns and possible impacts on soil accumulation over the last 3.5 millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jizera River in Czechia is a typical mid‐sized Central European watercourse. Its floodplain shows a morphological contrast between the laterally stable low‐sinuous current channel and preserved palaeomeanders. The aim of this paper was to date and explain the obvious metamorphosis of the channel pattern from meandering to low‐sinuous. We analysed the morphology of the lower river reach using a digital terrain model (DTM) and historical maps from the 1840s. Furthermore, the floodplain architecture was described based on the DTM, geophysical imaging (ground penetrating radar, GPR), sediment lithology and anthropogenic contamination using geochemical proxies, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The geochemical proxies were processed using log‐ratio methods from the compositional data analysis toolbox. According to our results the Jizera River showed signs of systematic lateral floodplain reworking during the Late Holocene with only minor aggradation, although parts of the catchment are covered by easily erodible loess. Interestingly, vertical aggradation did not show a significant increase during the last millennium. In the main study area, this limited vertical aggradation resulted in the preservation of palaeomeander fragments and palaeochannel belts with 100–200 m mean width in the 300–600 m wide floodplain, which are recognisable in the topography and in subsurface GPR imaging. This channel meandering took place between around 4 and 1.2 ka, and the transition towards the laterally stable modern channel with low sinuosity occurred around 1.2 ka. This timing indicates a climatic rather than anthropogenic impact, which was rather weak around that time. One likely cause for this transition was the influx of material from ravines incised into the sandstone valley edges during past climatic extremes. Subsequently, the re‐establishment of a meandering pattern was possibly prevented by a combination of low fluvial activity and the construction of weirs that reduced stream power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Patagonian shrub and ecotonal communities were sensitive to past environmental changes and thus may also be affected by future ones. Therefore, their paleoecological study constitutes a valuable tool to understand the way in which these plant communities respond to the forcings responsible for environmental variability. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics of the Pueyrredón Lake area (47°25′55′′ S; 72°0.7′7′′ W) for the last 3000 cal yr BP and to contextualize these changes in a regional paleoclimatic framework. The results indicate that at the beginning of the 2900 cal yr BP, the vegetation in the northwest of Santa Cruz, Argentinian Patagonia, was represented by a grass-shrub steppe associated with forest–shrub steppe ecotonal elements. This information correlates with the larger-scale environmental inferences described for the period, which indicate an increase in moisture availability due to the weakening of the westerly winds. A marked change to arid conditions is indicated in the last 1050 cal yr BP, with the establishment and development of different shrub steppe communities and the lack of ecotonal elements. Although vegetation was sensitive to changes in moisture conditions related to the variability of the westerly winds, there is evidence of differences in the composition of shrub vegetation regarding the sequences analyzed. Variations in pollen proportions of the shrub steppes in the Pueyrredón Lake area suggest that changes in vegetation are not only due to climate variability but also local factors in the areas where shrub communities grow. The integration of the information with other Patagonian sequences allowed to frame these changes in a regional context. The results obtained provide useful information to understand the way vegetation changed in the past and the manner in which it may respond to future changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the implications of the conformation of formal burial areas in the southernmost limit of agricultural dispersion in South America. Previous research proposed the development of cemeteries or formal burial areas due to specialization in using specific habitats and the development of territorial ownership. From a paleoecological background, we hypothesize that hunter‐gatherers intensified resource exploitation and develop territoriality in population growth and pressure over resources. The expectation is that formal burial areas emerged in this context to legitimize the ties with the territory and ensure exclusive access to the land and its resources. To evaluate this hypothesis, we analyzed a mortuary context from southern Mendoza (Central Western Argentina), named Ojo de Agua, by describing the site's characteristics, burial modality, presence of grave goods, age at death profile, and evidence of violence. This site has two main conditions for handling our hypothesis: (1) the chronology and spatial localization coincide with the temporal and geographic dispersion of pre‐Hispanic cultigens; (2) systematic procedures during fieldwork led us to access a significant amount of information not available in other mortuary contexts of the area. Our results point to Ojo de Agua as a cemetery that emerged in the frame of increasing territoriality and conflict with neighboring groups and permitted us to improve our knowledge about the dynamic relationship between human population, environment, and cultural responses in the context of intensification and contact with food production. These results deepen recent studies in the same line but with a greater resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most visible remains of past coastal economies across the coast of northern Australia, mounds of shell dominated by roughback cockles (Tegillarca granosa) have featured often in explanations for Late Holocene Indigenous subsistence strategies. Recently more detailed local and regional studies continue to build a picture of some variations to this dominance, which demonstrate the breadth of marine species exploited, the extensive ecological knowledge of past economies, and the persistence of cultural traditions in human societies. This paper describes one such study, of mounds composed predominantly of another species of bivalve, the rounded toothed pearl-shell (Isognomon ephippium), found on Larrakia Country near Darwin, Northern Territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the use of natural corridors is critical for characterizing the past use of marginally occupied landscapes at the Andean fringes of western Patagonia by the hunter-gatherer groups who inhabited this region. In this paper, we combine least-cost path models and archaeological surveys and excavations to determine the possible movements along the southern margin of General Carrera Lake. The methodology includes defining uncertainties that allow for modeling a set of equiprobable routes, thereby avoiding problems with errors and biases from predictors, such as slope, land-use cover, and seasonality. The results identify mobility corridor bottlenecks, i.e., geographical areas with a high probability of travel routes with equiprobable routes that converge. In addition, we identify areas where travel routes are likely to diverge into multiple semi-parallel routes. The study of archaeological sites provides stratigraphic data to control for the chronology and characteristics of mobility along this transect. The correlation between archaeological sites and paths, specifically for the control and winter scenarios, shows the quality of these route predictions. These results indicate the repeated use of internodal spaces that were effectively incorporated into mobility during the last three millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Climate changes over the past two millennia in the central part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are documented in this paper with the aim of determining and understanding the natural climate variability and the impact of anthropogenic forcing at a regional scale. The palynological content (dinocysts, pollen, and spores) of the composite marine sediment core MSM46-03 collected in the Laurentian Channel was used to reconstruct oceanographic and climatic changes with a multidecadal temporal resolution. Sea-surface conditions, including summer salinity and temperature, sea-ice cover, and primary productivity, were reconstructed from dinocyst assemblages. Results revealed a remarkable cooling trend of about 4°C after 1230 cal yr BP (720 CE) and a culmination with a cold pulse dated to 170-40 cal yr BP (1780-1910 CE), which likely corresponds to the regional signal of the Little Ice Age. This cold interval was followed by a rapid warming of about 3°C. In the pollen assemblages, the decrease of Pinus abundance over the past 1700 yr suggests changes in wind regimes, likely resulting from increased southerly incursions of cold and dry Arctic air masses into southeastern Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) is a preindustrial phase of pronounced natural climate variability with a core period from 1000 to 1200 CE. The paper presents a synthesis that integrates palaeotemperature records from the Greater Mediterranean Region encompassing the past 1,500 years based on multiproxy data from 79 published land and marine sites. MCA warming dominated the Western Mediterranean (Iberia, NW Africa) as well as the northern land areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region. MCA cooling prevailed in the Canary Current Upwelling System, southern Levant, and some sea areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Previous palaeoreconstructions suggest persistent positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO+) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) conditions during the MCA, while the Little Ice Age was dominated by an AMO− and NAO− regime. During the past 150 years, AMO+ conditions are typically associated with warming episodes in the Mediterranean area. A similar relationship appears to have also been established during the MCA as the majority of all Mediterranean land sites experienced warm climate conditions. In contrast, the NAO typically leads to a characteristic west‐east temperature dipole pattern in the basin, as documented for the last decades. During NAO+ conditions the Western Mediterranean is generally warm (and dry), while large parts of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean are cold. Similar trends seem to have been developed during the MCA when the NAO+ regime led to consistent warming in the Western Mediterranean, while a significant number of sites with MCA cooling existed in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Plain Language Summary: Mediterranean climate has been warming significantly over the past 100 years with anthropogenic climate change having become a key issue. In order to better understand modern climatic change, developments need to be placed into a longer‐term preindustrial context to compare with times when human CO2 emissions did not yet play a major role for climate. This paper integrates data on Medieval temperature trends from 79 published Mediterranean land and marine sites. Our synthesis shows that the Western Mediterranean (Iberia, Northwest Africa) as well as the northern land areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region have experienced a warm phase 1000–1200 CE, corresponding to the so‐called "Medieval Climate Anomaly." Contemporaneous cooling occurred in other parts of the Greater Mediterranean region, namely, in the southern Levant, some sea areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean, and the Canary Current Upwelling System. The regional differences in Medieval Mediterranean temperature trends show a pattern, which partly resembles modern multidecadal temperature variability in the area. The main drivers of these patterns appear to be Atlantic ocean cycles (AMO, NAO), which episodically shift between positive and negative phases and lead to characteristic temperature effects in the region. Key Points: The Western Mediterranean and northern land areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region were warming during Medieval timesMedieval cooling prevailed in Canary Current Upwelling System, south Levant and some sea areas of the Central and Eastern MediterraneanPositive phases of the AMO and NAO ocean cycles appear to have led to temperature patterns in Medieval times similar to those of today [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The La Guillerma archaeological locality is located in the northeast sector of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). Two of its sites (LG1 and LG5), dated between ca. 1400- and 600-years BP, have a great amount of faunal remains including deer, rodents, fish and small birds that are subjected to taphonomic agents and processes (e.g., weathering, manganese, roots). Previous studies have shown osteophagic behaviour in different insects (e.g., Coleoptera, Blattodea). In this paper, we evaluate their incidence on La Guillerma faunal assemblage. We performed an analysis on marks that were identified in bone remains of various taxa and applied the criteria for identifying bone alteration by insects (i.e., by measuring each trace and comparing them with the types of insect marks described in the literature). Fifteen specimens (LG1 = 6 and LG5 = 9) exhibited different types of modifications (e.g., pits with striae in base, pits with emanating striae, striations) that are related to the action of insects. Although the proportion of affected bones is low in relation to the total sample, we highlight our study as the first detailed analysis of insect marks on archaeological bones from Argentina. We also emphasize the significance of addressing insect-produced modifications on Argentinean archaeological sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Scientific knowledge advances by the discussions on hypotheses, methods, and results, wherein the contradictory plays a positive role developing new theoretical-methodological approaches. In a positive debate to the progress of the science, the agreements and disagreements must only permeate the scientific scope and based on ethics to be away from the conflicts of interest. From this perspective, after knowing the submission titled Comments on Souza et al. (2022) "Recent geomorphological changes in the Paraiba do Sul delta, South America East Coast" to the journal Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment (PPG), which addressed several issues concerning the results published in that article, we wrote this response to clarify the doubts related to the original paper. The comment's authors focus mainly on da Rocha et al. (2019), a locally published article that did not fully encompass the complexity of processes and geomorphological dynamics related to the delta evolution. Furthermore, it did not present the parameters used in the geochronological analyses in accordance with the international literature. Finally, the discussions presented in the original article contribute to advances in knowledge about the responses of the Paraíba do Sul delta to the Little Ice Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first millennium AD encompasses the Roman period (12 BC to AD 450) and the Early Middle Ages (AD 450 to 1050). In the Netherlands, this millennium saw population growth, steep decline and subsequent revival. In addition, many changes occurred in the physical landscape, marking a transition from a mainly natural prehistorical lowland landscape to an increasingly human-affected landscape. This paper synthesises the main landscape changes and human–landscape interactions in the Netherlands during this dynamic period. The degree of landscape change is compared between the coastal plain, the delta and the Pleistocene sand area. Human activities caused major often unintended geomorphological changes in all studied landscapes. Landscape sensitivity to human impact, however, strongly varied as a function of preceding landscape state. The most prominent changes took place in many parts of the coastal plain, where back-barrier peatlands transformed into open tidal basins. Presence of compaction-prone peat and intensified artificial drainage led to subsidence. This precondition and slow anthropogenic forcing combined, made the area more sensitive to stochastically occurring storms, which could serve as tipping points for large-scale drowning. Eventually, major peatlands turned into tidal areas that for many centuries would remain unsuitable for habitation. Human-induced peatland subsidence also led to the formation of the new Hollandse IJssel and Lek river branches. This marked a major reorganisation of the river network in the lower Rhine–Meuse delta. In the middle and upstream parts of the delta, the landscape was more stable. Yet, settlements on the natural levees show adaption to increasing flooding frequency from the Late Roman period onwards. The settlements shifted towards higher positions, while route networks between them largely remained intact. Smaller-scale landscape changes were found in the Pleistocene sand area. Here, local sand drifting occurred, most frequently occurring close to human movement corridors. Drift sand intensity became larger as population density increased after c.AD 900. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rocky Mountain National Park contains a dense record of prehistoric Native American archaeological locales and biological resources, but questions remain about the past use of the Park's ice patches by ancient humans and animals. Our survey of 30 locations in the Park revealed that the majority of ice patches are small in size and contain lim ited evidence of past visitation by mobile peoples, but moderate use by game. In this paper, we present new radiocarbon dates for materials documented in the recently melted forefield of the ROMO 9 ice patch, a mid-sized ice body located in alpine tundra along the Continental Divide. Dated materials include timber-sized pine trees, keratin and bone collagen from large game (bighorn sheep, elk), and a possible wooden artifact made from Mountain mahogany. Results suggest most finds date to several periods of known neoglaciation, during the mid-Holocene (c. 4150 cal BP) and the Little Ice Age (c. 115 cal BP). Our results corroborate past findings on mid-Holocene timberline in the Colorado Front Range, as well as the paucity of archaeological evidence from small ice patches in Colorado. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin contains one of the richest biodiversity landscapes of the Maya region. Our research is based on (1) an integrative literature review of the geomorphological and archaeological papers published about the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin and (2) topographic analysis of digital elevation models using a geographical information system to explore the relationship between past human settlement and landscape accessibility along the coastal plain of Tabasco. This work provides a new synthesis of previous research and proposes new models for the geomorphic evolution of the lower Usumacinta–Grijalva River Basin in the context of four millennia of human land use and settlement. For the evolution of the strand-plain of the Usumacinta and Grijalva rivers, there are two published geochronological models that provide different chronologies. We discuss here how both geochronological models encompass Pre-Columbian human settlement in the delta. Interestingly, we notice that one of them overlaps a possible high-magnitude flood event (or events) that drove large geomorphic change around 750 CE (1200 BP), with implications for settlement patterns and chronology. Based on topographical analysis of the eastern-distal sector of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta, we propose a new model for the evolution of this area with implications for the human occupation during the Mesoamerican Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic on the delta. As one of the main conclusions, we propose that the Pom–Atasta water bodies predate much of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta and the most recent phase of delta building overlays the original lagoon barriers, resulting in a geomorphic setting more attractive to local human occupation after the Terminal Classic period. According to one of the geochronological models of the delta, this dates to ca. 900 CE, preceding the establishment of nearby settlements such as Atasta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ameghiniana is the property of Argentine Paleontological Association / Asociacion Paleontologica Argentina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The generation of reliable age models for palaeoenvironmental and archaeological records in the Eurasian Arctic is often problematic when using conventional dating techniques. Tephrochronology can potentially improve the chronologies of such records and synchronise disparate sedimentary archives. However, to date, systematic tephra studies are lacking for this region. This paper presents the first cryptotephra data from the White Sea region (northwestern Russia) based on a peat core spanning the past ~1800 years. We identify seven geochemical glass populations that derive from six Icelandic volcanoes and correlate four of them to north European tephra isochrons; these include Askja ad 1875, the basaltic component of the ad 877 Landnám tephra, and tephras BTD‐15 (c. ad 1750–1650) and SL‐2/SB‐2 (ad 803–767) from unknown eruptions of Katla and Snæfellsjökull, respectively. The remaining three populations originate from Grímsvötn, Hekla and Katla; however, their attribution to individual eruptions remains ambiguous. These findings highlight the potential to extend the Late Holocene tephrochronological framework of northern Europe to the west Eurasian Arctic. The detection of at least three basaltic tephras in the core suggests that basaltic shards can be transported over larger distances than previously known and that peatlands are well suited to preserve such components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a dataset collected and constructed as part of a PhD research project in Environmental Sciences. Applying a multidisciplinary approach that combines archaeological and geomorphological data, this project aimed to reconstruct the Late Holocene landscape evolution in the Central Po Plain (Italy). The dataset was collected digitising the information retrieved from various sources such as scientific literature, regional databases and terrain surveys. In particular, the geoarchaeological data consist of a record of 761 archaeological sites and a soil map reporting the different sediment types of the area. Natural and anthropogenic landscape features developed by human-environmental interplay are organised in paleochannels, watercourses and channelisation. This dataset represents one of the first open-access data collection available in Italy and can be reused by any researchers working in fluvial landscape studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a multiproxy analysis—geomorphology, organic matter, and carbonate content, diatoms, pollen, and magnetic properties of sediments—of the Barrancas Pueblo profile, located in Barrancas, Jujuy, Argentina (S 23°18′08,7; W 66°05′15,2; 3666 m.a.s.l.) to explore local environmental change over the last few millennia. This study is part of a broader investigation of the environmental conditions that facilitated and/or triggered the development of a mixed herding and hunting economic strategy during the late Holocene. The results suggest ongoing local moisture availability for most of the late Holocene; between 2400 and 1500 BP there was a stable, low energy environment that supported a vegetated floodplain, resulting in high availability of pasture and water. However, throughout most of the studied period, there were punctual arid episodes and erosion of the river catchment. High environmental variability post‐3000 cal BP could have put a premium on strategies to reduce the risk associated with resource unpredictability, such as economic specialization and intensification and storage practices designed to control and mitigate resource variability. This process could have ultimately lead to the consolidation of the Andean pastoralist way of life ca. 3000–2500 BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alluvial plains represent preferable areas for human settling for their suitability to agriculture activities, and many studies strengthen the interpretation of floodplains as complex human–water systems. The Late Holocene development of the Central Po Plain has a long-lasting connection with anthropogenic activities. In the study area, human land and water management, in association with different Late Holocene climate phases, deeply affected the geomorphological evolution of the Central Po Plain. The geomorphological and archaeomorphological features detected in this study represent valuable datasets of information about the evolution of this portion of the Po Plain in the Late Holocene. This paper aims to quantify the potential of archaeological and historical data in contextualising the anthropogenic geomorphological features and reconstructing how man affected the natural geomorphological processes. Through a multi-disciplinary approach that combines archaeomorphological and geomorphological investigations, we identify visible and invisible landforms developed in four different historical periods, and that corresponds to potential "geoarchaeomorphosites". In the study area, the modern landscape consists of a cultural palimpsest of four different palaeolandscape layers characterised by peculiar landforms. After an in-depth analysis of present and past geomorphic features deriving from the reciprocal interaction between human and floodplain dynamics since Prehistory, this study suggests geoconservation and valorisation practices. Finally, starting from potential geoarchaeomorphosites, four geo-educational itineraries are proposed to promote future geotourism projects of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The biodiversity of animal species in the Última Esperanza inland sea (Magallanes region, Chile) provides an exceptional opportunity to study the economic and organizational strategies of maritime hunter-gatherer groups in the Fuego-Patagonian archipelago. The consumption of huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Southern South America is well documented since the Middle Holocene, although its role in the subsistence strategies of maritime hunter-gatherers varies depending on the geographical and environmental area. The aim of this paper is to assess the implications of huemul exploitation on organizational strategies by Late Holocene maritime hunter-gatherer groups from the Última Esperanza inland sea (Magallanes region, Chile). In this work we present the results of a zooarchaeological analysis of the huemul assemblage from the sites of Bahía Easter 1 and Bahía Easter 2 (Diego Portales Island, Última Esperanza, Chile). The results show the high importance of huemul in the maritime hunter-gatherer diet, and provide new insights into the hunting and transport strategies of this prey. Furthermore, the integration of the data within the local and regional archaeological record allowed us to identify similarities at the scale of the inland sea, where huemul was frequently exploited both in island and coastal environments in contrast to what is documented in the neighboring Skyring Sea and Otway Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents excavation results from a midden site on the central Queensland coast at Wunjunga, dating to 1,500 BP, and examines the implications for Late Holocene coastal occupation and open site preservation. We propose that although there is clear evidence for environmental factors such as cyclonic events having heavily impacted open midden sites in the region in the Late Holocene, the apparent proliferation of post-500 BP sites in this part of the central coast is not solely a signature of a post-cyclonic landscape but may also be linked to broader socio-cultural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions and sea-level changes over the last 5500 years. Multi-proxy investigations of sediment types, foraminiferal records, geochemistry parameters and paleotidal elevation changes were conducted on a short sediment core KHAR1 (225 cm long) retrieved from the intertidal area of the Al-Kharrar Lagoon. The sediment age was determined using 14C dating of marine mollusk shells. Results showed that two prominent warming events during AD 750–1500 and 1750–present and a cooling event during AD 1500–1750 were inferred from the variation of benthic foraminiferal composition in core KHAR1. Before 3000 BC interval, the core sediment was deposited under intertidal–subtidal conditions as indicated by the presence of terrestrial sediments (siliciclastic materials), a decrease in subtidal-deep species and a slight drop in the paleotidal elevation about 0.50 cm below the present lowest astronomical tide (LAT). From 3000 to 750 BC, deep-lagoonal species such as S. costigera, T. trigonula, T. serrulata and S. communis dominated this interval and co-occurred with a decrease in coarse sand and an increase in muddy substrates, indicating a prevalence of subtidal environmental conditions during the deposition of this interval. With the beginning of the 1st millennium, symbiotic (epiphytic) species started to increase, reaching the highest abundances between AD 800 and 1500. This increase in symbiotic species during the AD 800–1500 interval coincided with a stepwise increase in sea level and may indicate the prevalence of seagrasses associated with the occurrence of warm water due to climate warming prevailed in/around the lagoon during the deposition of this interval that corresponds to the 'Medieval Warm Period' (MWP). The MWP was followed by cooler (arid) conditions of the Little Ice Age (AD 1500–1750), causing a decrease in the abundance of the epiphytic species S. orbiculus and P. planatus (up to 14%) and a drop in paleotidal elevations. After this, the modern warming conditions prevailed until the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a first assessment of the use of woody vegetation resources for combustion by hunter-gatherer societies in eastern areas of Tierra del Fuego. For this purpose, carbonized wood fragments from the archeological context of the Heshkaia 35 site (Moat Bay, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) were analyzed. Results show a local use of woody material from diverse plant species (Nothofagus pumilio, Nothofagus sp., Drymis winteri, and Maytenus magellanica). A comparison of these results with the data available from other archeological sites of the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego offers a comparative perspective on the management of these resources within the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with landscape and settlement development between ca. 300 BC and AD 600 in a defined area of the northern Czech Republic. Despite favourable natural conditions, human occupation of the area did not begin until the end of the first millennium BC. Natural soil and vegetation development therefore lasted longer than in the traditionally settled lowland areas. Initial settlement activity from the La Tène period caused substantial erosion of deforested luvisols and retisols, well-documented by an accumulation of eroded soil horizons in a local wetland. The erosion process continued for more than 500 years following the end of the La Tène settlement, despite the fact that archaeological research revealed no reliable evidence of occupation prior to the twelfth century AD. Pollen and sedimentary records from the wetland, however, clearly indicate the existence of settlement activity during the "archaeologically invisible" Roman and Migration periods. This case is not unique and underlines the importance of environmental analysis for the detection of settlement history, particularly during periods of poor archaeological visibility or in places that are difficult to research using standard archaeological methods. The change in conditions after the first deforestation and subsequent late prehistoric settlement triggered the degradation of the deforested luvisols and retisols and led to the diversification of the soil cover, which now also includes regosols, gleysols, and truncated luvisols and retisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The main aim of this paper is to evaluate if certain processes that were documented in a specific area of Central-Southern Patagonia during the Late Holocene were also registered in a broader spatial scale. Previous investigations carried out in our study area located in Central-Western Santa Cruz province, Patagonia, have stated that climatic fluctuations during the Late Holocene (last 2500 years) were the cause of a reduction of hunter-gatherers' residential mobility. The new climatic conditions were characterized by important environmental droughts, which increased during the Mediaeval Climatic Anomaly, circa 900 years BP. This reduction in mobility resulted in concentrations of populations in low altitude basins and increased logistical and seasonal mobility, defined as a process of extensification. In this paper we take a broad spatial perspective to evaluate to what extent the low residential mobility identified in our research area had a correlation in a larger regional scale. Also we assess if this lead to a regional differentiation among hunter-gatherer populations, previous to European contact (450 years BP). In order to achieve these aims, we undertake a coarse grain analysis, using available data published on the composition and distribution of the archaeological record for Central-Southern Patagonia, an area of about 450.000 km2. Specifically, we consider evidence about technology, zooarchaeology, rock art, mortuary record and paleodietary studies. The analysis indicates that a reduced residential mobility could have occurred in certain areas of the study region, linked to the aforementioned climatic changes. On the issue of regional differentiation, the archaeological record highlights the complexity of this process. There are a variety of arguments both for and against the idea of a process of regionalization in Central-Southern Patagonia in the Late Holocene. We propose a process of differentiation of populations with low residential mobility which nonetheless remained connected through the circulation of goods, information and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis of the micromammal bone remains recovered from Nutria Mansa 1 (NM1), an archaeological site located in the Pampean plains, Argentina. This campsite was occupied by hunter‐gatherers that processed and consumed Lama guanicoe during the Late Holocene. In NM1, there are taxa from different environments: mammals from arid and semiarid environments (Patagonic Phytogeographic Province) and humid and temperate environments (Pampean Phytogeographic Province). The main objective of the present study was to evaluate how the recorded small mammal species were incorporated into the archaeological site and which of them were exploited by humans. The micromammal assemblage shows traces of post mortem agents such as weathering, chemical action of sediments, and probably some evidence of predation. The micromammal bones in the archaeological record offer no clear evidence of human modification, and their presence can be the result of predation or other postdepositional agents such as the action of water on the flood plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relative influences of climatic and anthropogenic factors in explaining environmental and societal changes in the southern Alps, Italy. We investigate a deep sediment core (LL081) from Lake Ledro (652 m a.s.l.). Environmental changes are reconstructed through multiproxy analysis, that is, pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction, magnetic susceptibility (MS), lake level, and flood frequency, and the paper focuses on the climate and land-use changes which occurred during the late Holocene. For this time interval, Lake Ledro records high mean water table, increasing amount of pollen-based precipitation, and more erosive conditions. Therefore, while a more humid late Holocene in the southern Alps has the potential to reinforce the forest presence, pollen evidence suggests that anthropogenic activities changed the impact of this regional scenario. Land-use activity (forest clearance for pastoralism, farming, and arboriculture) opened up the large vegetated slopes in the catchment of Lake Ledro, which in turn magnified the erosion related to the change in the precipitation pattern. The record of an almost continuous human occupation for the last 4100 cal. BP is divided into several land-use phases. On the one hand, forest redevelopments on abandoned or less cultivated areas appear to be climatically induced as they occurred in relation with well-known events such as the 2.8-kyr cold event and the ‘Little Ice Age’. On the other hand, climatically independent changes in land use or habitat modes are observed, such as the late-Bronze-Age lake-dwellings abandonment, the human population migration at c. 1600 cal. BP, and the period of the Black Death and famines at 600 cal. BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Natural disasters such as floods, tropical cyclone storms, tsunamis and earthquakes had various kinds of effects on ancient societies around the world. In Eurasia and the Americas, the number of archaeological studies of these phenomena is increasing, particularly from geoarchaeological perspectives, but in East Africa few archaeological studies have yet been undertaken of their impacts on local communities. Archaeological and palaeoclimatic records nevertheless show that lowland settlements situated along the Western Indian Ocean seaboard occasionally flooded in the course of the late Holocene. This paper presents new archaeological evidence from Pangani Bay, northeast Tanzania, that suggests that flash floods occurred on the southern bank of the Pangani River c. 1000 years ago, resulting in the catastrophic destruction of an ancient village located near the river’s mouth. Excavations conducted at the site of Kimu have recovered human remains interbedded in deposits of probable flood origins. Dating evidence and geoarchaeological records lead to the conclusion that Kimu was probably occupied during a period of climatic aridity prior to the flood event that destroyed the site and appears to have led to the death of its occupants en masse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1900s thirteen engraved Conus shell valuables were dug from prehistoric midden mounds in Oro Province. Since the early 1970s nineteen undated surface finds have been found in the northern Massim of Mime Bay Province. When three artifacts became available for AMS radiocarbon dating, provided they were restored after sampling to their original visual appearance, a specialist team was assembled and this paper reports its findings regarding the thirty-two shells. The paper covers sampling and conservation, dating (including new information on the local oceanic reservoir effect), distribution, art, depositional and cultural histories. These distinctive Conus shell valuables are part of the material culture found along the northern coast of the eastern tip of New Guinea and on the islands of the northern Massim during the Expansion Phase c.1000-500 BP. Their decoration is comparable to that produced by Milne Bay Province woodcarvers in historic times. This continuity makes them the oldest radiocarbon dated artifacts decorated in the Massim art style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long tree-ring chronologies have been constructed in the Northern Hemisphere for dendroclimatology and palaeoenvironmental studies, radiocarbon calibration and archaeological dating. Numerous tree-ring chronologies have also been built in the Southern Hemisphere, primarily for dendroclimatology, but multimillennial chronologies are rare. Development of long chronologies from the Southern Hemisphere is therefore important to provide a long-term perspective on environmental change at local, regional and global scales. This paper describes the extension of the New Zealand Agathis australis (kauri) chronology from AD 911 to 1724 BC. Subfossil (swamp) kauri was collected from 17 swamp sites in the upper North Island. Kauri timbers were also obtained from an early twentieth century house on the University of Auckland campus. Twelve site chronologies and 11 independent tree-sequences were constructed and crossmatched to produce a 3631-yr record, which was calendar dated to 1724 BC–AD 1907 against the modern kauri master chronology. A new long chronology, AGAUc04a, was built by combining the modern kauri data with house timbers and subfossil kauri. This new chronology spans 1724 BC–AD 1998. It is of similar length to chronologies from Tasmania and South America and is the longest tree-ring chronology yet built in New Zealand. The greatest significance of the long kauri chronology lies in its potential as a high–quality palaeoclimate proxy, especially with regard to investigation of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon. The chronology also has application to investigation of extreme environmental events, dendroecology, archaeology and radiocarbon calibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares quantitative and qualitative results from selected pottery assemblages in sites in the northern Philippines with those from sites in the Mariana Islands. Pottery appears in this region sometime between 4000 and 3000 years ago, with the pottery of the Marianas Islands being towards the younger end of this age range. Arguments concerning the origins of the first pottery in the Marianas have been dominated to date by the correlation of selected decorative and stylistic attributes of the Marianas pottery with that of pottery found in sites in Island Southeast Asia (ISEA). The similarities and differences in the pottery at the assemblage levels, however, have never been fully articulated. Recent arguments regarding the pottery have been specifically focused on perceived parallels between the early Marianas Red pottery and the early pottery of the Cagayan Valley in the northern Philippines. Although it has not been explicitly suggested that the northern Philippines was the immediate departure point for migrant boats, it has nevertheless been argued that there are more parallels between the pottery assemblages of these two regions than any others. This has even been a contributing factor in recent revisions to the Out of Taiwan model, which concerns the migration and dispersal of Austronesian language speakers. The results presented herein, however, show that there are distinct differences in the pottery technologies of the two regions that would not be expected if the sites are directly related. Consequently, there is no clear evidence that the pottery assemblages of the northern Philippines are ancestral to those of the Marianas. While both the early Marianas Red pottery and the northern Philippines pottery assemblages originate in a red-type pottery horizon that exists in both ISEA and the Marianas, the data to date suggests only a loose affinity between the assemblages, there being a high degree of variation in the constituent pottery characteristics between regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses isotopic analyses carried out on human bone samples corresponding to complex hunter-gatherers from the Paraná River basin in northeastern Argentina. Based on the δN and δC values obtained, the dietary patterns of 23 individuals recovered from pre-Hispanic archaeological sites of the Late Holocene are characterized. These sites are associated with the archaeological unit generically called Goya-Malabrigo, which is identified in South America over the entire middle basin of the Paraná River and on a part of the lower river. The values obtained show diets based on depleted δC proteins linked to the C photosynthetic pathway, which is in turn consistent with the isotopic values detected in the main food sources of these human groups: freshwater fishes and continental mammals. The δN values and the results of a multivariate model also indicate a low consumption of plant foods. Although archaeobotanical information from the area has reported maize and other cultigens, the diet of the individuals studied was based on animal proteins, especially on freshwater fish. Moreover, the intake of maize was not isotopically detectable in the human bones analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present preliminary results of an Earth observation approach for the study of past human occupation and landscape reconstruction in the Central Sahara. This region includes a variety of geomorphological features such as palaeo-oases, dried river beds, alluvial fans and upland plateaux whose geomorphological characteristics, in combination with climate changes, have influenced patterns of human dispersal and sociocultural activities during the late Holocene. In this paper, we discuss the use of medium- and high-resolution remotely sensed data for the mapping of anthropogenic features and paleo- and contemporary hydrology and vegetation. In the absence of field inspection in this inaccessible region, we use different remote sensing methods to first identify and classify archaeological features, and then explore the geomorphological factors that might have influenced their spatial distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the tectonic behavior of Leukas and Meganisi islands (Ionian Sea) is examined through underwater research carried out in both islands. A possible Late Holocene correlation between coseismic subsidences is attempted and evidenced by submerged tidal notches in both islands. These subsidence events probably occurred after the uplift that affected the northernmost part of Leukas around 4 to 5ka BP. In conclusion, although the whole area was affected by a similar tectonic strain, certain coseismic events were only recorded in one of the two islands and in some cases they affected only part of the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]