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The body of science evaluating the potential impacts of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) has grown significantly in recent years, although many data gaps remain. Still, a broad empirical understanding of the impacts is beginning to emerge amidst a swell of research. The present categorical assessment provides an overview of the peer-reviewed scientific literature from 2009–2015 as it relates to the potential impacts of UNGD on public health, water quality, and air quality. We have categorized all available original research during this time period in an attempt to understand the weight and direction of the scientific literature. Our results indicate that at least 685 papers have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that are relevant to assessing the impacts of UNGD. 84% of public health studies contain findings that indicate public health hazards, elevated risks, or adverse health outcomes; 69% of water quality studies contain findings that indicate potential, positive association, or actual incidence of water contamination; and 87% of air quality studies contain findings that indicate elevated air pollutant emissions and/or atmospheric concentrations. This paper demonstrates that the weight of the findings in the scientific literature indicates hazards and elevated risks to human health as well as possible adverse health outcomes associated with UNGD. There are limitations to this type of assessment and it is only intended to provide a snapshot of the scientific knowledge based on the available literature. However, this work can be used to identify themes that lie in or across studies, to prioritize future research, and to provide an empirical foundation for policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing geological drilling hole images acquired by Axial View Panoramic Borehole Televiewer (APBT) is a key step to explore the geological structure in a geological exploration. Conventionally, the borehole images are examined by technicians, which is inefficient and subjective. In this paper, three dominant types of borehole-wall images on coal-rock mass structure, namely, border images, fracture images and intact rock mass images are mainly studied. The traditional image classification methods based on unified feature extraction algorithm and single classifier is not effect for the borehole images. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel two-stage classification approach to improve the classification performance of borehole images. In the first-stage classification, the border images are identified from three kinds of images based on texture features and gray-scale histograms features. For the remaining two types of images, in the second-stage classification, Gabor filter is first applied to segment the region of interest (ROI) (such as microfracture, absciss layer and horizontal cracks, etc.) and the central interference region. Then, using the same feature vector after eliminating the central interference region, fracture images are separated from intact rock mass images. We test our two-stage classification system with real borehole images. The results of experimental show that the two-stage classification method can effectively classify three major borehole-wall images with the correction rate of 95.55% in the first stage and 95% in the second stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal mobility is a common strategy to overcome scarcity of food and the related over-grazing of pastures. It is also essential to reduce the inbreeding rate of animal populations, which is known to have a negative impact on fertility and productivity. The present paper shows the geographic range of sheep provisioning in different phases of occupation at the Iron Age site of Turó de la Font de la Canya (7th to 3rd centuries BC). Strontium isotope ratios from 34 archaeological sheep and goat enamel, two archaeological bones and 14 modern tree leaves are presented. The isotopic results suggest that sheep and goats consumed at the site were reared locally (within a few kilometres radius) during the whole period of occupation. The paper discusses the isotopic results in light of the socio-political structure of this period, as complex, strongly territorial societies developed during the Iron Age in the north-east Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provenancing exotic raw materials and reconstructing the nature and routes of exchange is a major concern of prehistoric archaeology. Amber has long been recognised as a key commodity of prehistoric exchange networks in Europe. However, most science-based studies so far have been localised and based on few samples, hence making it difficult to observe broad geographic and chronological trends. This paper concentrates on the nature, distribution and circulation of amber in prehistoric Iberia. We present new standardised FTIR analyses of 22 archaeological and geological samples from a large number of contexts across Iberia, as well as a wide scale review of all the legacy data available. On the basis of a considerable body of data, we can confirm the use of local amber resources in the Northern area of the Iberian Peninsula from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age; we push back the arrival of Sicilian amber to at least the 4th Millennium BC, and we trace the appearance of Baltic amber since the last quarter of the 2nd Millennium BC, progressively replacing Sicilian simetite. Integrating these data with other bodies of archaeological information, we suggest that the arrival of Baltic amber was part of broader Mediterranean exchange networks, and not necessarily the result of direct trade with the North. From a methodological perspective, thanks to the analyses carried out on both the vitreous core and the weathered surfaces of objects made of Sicilian simetite, we define the characteristic FTIR bands that allow the identification of Sicilian amber even in highly deteriorated archaeological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the study of the fungi remains preserved in the waterlogged deposits of the Neolithic site of La Draga. These resources had the potential of being used as food and medicine, but also as tinder. Fire was without a doubt one of the most important resources for past people. It was used for lighting, heating, processing food and other materials, cooking and protection, and also possessed social and ritual significance. Hearths are one of the most common features at archaeological sites, but very often little attention is paid to the question of how these fires were lit, and they are seldom reflected in the archaeological record. In order to produce fire by percussion, an intermediate material is required between the sparks and the fuel. Fruiting bodies of fungi are a potential form of tinder, but are less inclined to be well-preserved than other materials. This paper presents the fungal fruiting bodies found at the Neolithic site of La Draga and discusses the meaning of their presence within the archaeological context of the site and European Prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of agriculture in Southwest Asia over 10,000 years ago and its subsequent spread into Europe during the Neolithic have been the focus of much archaeological research over the past several decades. Increasingly more sophisticated analytical techniques have allowed for better understanding of the complex interactions that occurred amongst humans, animals, and their environments during this transition. The Aegean Islands are critically situated where Anatolia and the mainland Greece meet, making the region pivotal for understanding the movement of the Neolithic into Europe. Located on the largest Turkish Aegean island of Gökçeada, the site of Uğurlu Höyük dates to the early Neolithic and has been the subject of ongoing excavations and research integrating a rigorous dating program with comprehensive zooarchaeological research. This paper focuses on the combination of bone collagen and tooth enamel stable isotope data with existing archaeological data to develop a fine-resolution picture of the spread of the Neolithic, particularly the importation and management of domestic fauna on Gökçeada, with broader relevance for understanding Aegean-Anatolian interactions. The stable isotope values from the fauna at Uğurlu have been used for both diachronic intrasite analyses and intersite comparisons between contemporaneous mainland sites. Integrating stable isotope and zooarchaeological datasets makes Uğurlu one of the first island sites to provide a comprehensive understanding of the geographic origin of Neolithic livestock populations and the timing of their spread from Anatolia into Europe during the process of Neolithization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, the oceans absorb about 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) leading to a re-equilibration of the marine carbonate system and decreasing seawater pH. Today, there is increasing awareness that these changes–summarized by the term ocean acidification (OA)–could differentially affect the competitive ability of marine organisms, thereby provoking a restructuring of marine ecosystems and biogeochemical element cycles. In winter 2013, we deployed ten pelagic mesocosms in the Gullmar Fjord at the Swedish west coast in order to study the effect of OA on plankton ecology and biogeochemistry under close to natural conditions. Five of the ten mesocosms were left unperturbed and served as controls (~380 μatm pCO2), whereas the others were enriched with CO2-saturated water to simulate realistic end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions (~760 μatm pCO2). We ran the experiment for 113 days which allowed us to study the influence of high CO2 on an entire winter-to-summer plankton succession and to investigate the potential of some plankton organisms for evolutionary adaptation to OA in their natural environment. This paper is the first in a PLOS collection and provides a detailed overview on the experimental design, important events, and the key complexities of such a “long-term mesocosm” approach. Furthermore, we analyzed whether simulated end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions could lead to a significant restructuring of the plankton community in the course of the succession. At the level of detail analyzed in this overview paper we found that CO2-induced differences in plankton community composition were non-detectable during most of the succession except for a period where a phytoplankton bloom was fueled by remineralized nutrients. These results indicate: (1) Long-term studies with pelagic ecosystems are necessary to uncover OA-sensitive stages of succession. (2) Plankton communities fueled by regenerated nutrients may be more responsive to changing carbonate chemistry than those having access to high inorganic nutrient concentrations and may deserve particular attention in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This systematic review was conducted to gain insight into the efficacy of transmission of infectious agents to colony sentinels by soiled bedding transfer based on publications studying this subject in mice and rats. This information is essential to establish recommendations for the design of health monitoring programs which use sentinels to determine the microbiological status of laboratory animal colonies. Results: Fifteen original articles retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and CAB abstracts met the inclusion criteria. The design of the studies varied substantially per infectious agent with regard to dose of soiled bedding, exposure time, and sentinel strains used. Conclusion: With our conservative criteria for effectiveness, soiled bedding transfer appeared to be effective for MHV, MPV, TMEV, Helicobacter spp., and fur mite infections and ineffective for Sendai virus. For other infectious agents, such as MNV, EDIM, MVM, SDAV, Clostridium piliforme, and pinworms, too few data were available to be able to draw robust conclusions on the efficacy of soiled bedding transfer. Recommendation: The identified evidence only pertains to a portion of the infectious organisms included in the FELASA 2014 guidelines. As many animal facilities design their health monitoring program according to these recommendations, additional studies are warranted to draw comprehensive conclusions on the effective transmission of the infectious agents listed in these guidelines by soiled bedding transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saturnalia tupiniquim is a sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian–c. 233 Ma) Santa Maria Formation of Brazil. Due to its phylogenetic position and age, it is important for studies focusing on the early evolution of both dinosaurs and sauropodomorphs. The osteology of Saturnalia has been described in a series of papers, but its cranial anatomy remains mostly unknown. Here, we describe the skull bones of one of its paratypes (only in the type-series to possess such remains) based on CT Scan data. The newly described elements allowed estimating the cranial length of Saturnalia and provide additional support for the presence of a reduced skull (i.e. two thirds of the femoral length) in this taxon, as typical of later sauropodomorphs. Skull reduction in Saturnalia could be related to an increased efficiency for predatory feeding behaviour, allowing fast movements of the head in order to secure small and elusive prey, a hypothesis also supported by data from its tooth and brain morphology. A principal co-ordinates analysis of the sauropodomorph jaw feeding apparatus shows marked shifts in morphospace occupation in different stages of the first 30 million years of their evolutionary history. One of these shifts is observed between non-plateosaurian and plateosaurian sauropodomorphs, suggesting that, despite also having an omnivorous diet, the feeding behaviour of some early Carnian sauropodomorphs, such as Saturnalia, was markedly different from that of later Triassic taxa. A second shift, between Late Triassic and Early Jurassic taxa, is congruent with a floral turnover hypothesis across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how former hunter-gatherers living along the southern North Sea coast in NW Europe adapted to long-term and short-term climatic and environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. It is argued that contemporaneous hunter-gatherers repeatedly changed their hunting equipment in response to changing climate and environment, not just for functional reasons but mainly driven by socio-territorial considerations. Based on a Bayesian analysis of 122 critically selected radiocarbon dates a broad chronological correlation is demonstrated between rapid changes in the design and technology of stone projectiles and short but abrupt cooling events, occurring at 10.3, 9.3 and 8.2 ka cal BP. Combined with the rapid sea level rises and increased wildfires these climatic events probably impacted the lifeways of hunter-gatherers in such a way that they increasingly faced resource stress and competition, forcing them to invest in the symbolic defense of their social territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe two assemblages of flint retouchers or “bulb retouchers” retrieved from Nesher Ramla and Quneitra, two Middle Palaeolithic, open-air sites in the Levant. The site of Nesher Ramla yielded the largest assemblage of bulb retouchers (n = 159) currently known, allowing a detailed investigation of this poorly known phenomenon. An extensive experimental program and use-wear analysis enabled us to characterize the different sets of traces related to the retouching activity and to identify different motions applied by the knappers in the course of this action. In both sites, blanks used as bulb retouchers were almost exclusively retouched items, with a special emphasis on convergent morphotypes in Nesher Ramla. The use of retouched items as bulb retouchers is a common trait over different time spans and geographical areas. Our data suggests that bulb retouchers were versatile, multi-purpose tools with a long use-life, transported over long distances as components of the hunter-gatherer mobile tool kit. The high frequencies of bulb retouchers within some archaeological units of Nesher Ramla appear to be connected to the highly curated nature of the lithic assemblages, in turn reflecting a high mobility of the human groups that produced them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment flushing can tackle reservoirs siltation and improve sediment flux through dammed rivers. However, the increase of the sediment loading below the dam can trigger a suite of undesired ecological effects in the downstream river reaches. To limit these drawbacks, sediment flushing can be controlled, by jointly regulating the sediment concentration of the evacuated water and the streamflow in the downstream channel. In this paper, we report on ten controlled sediment flushing operations (CSFOs), carried out between 2006 and 2012 in the central Italian Alps, at four hydropower reservoirs. These CSFOs displayed specific common traits: (i) Limits were set by the local environmental authorities concerning the allowable suspended sediment concentration. (ii) Reservoirs were fully drawn-down, earth-moving equipment was used to dislodge sediment, and the downstream water discharge was increased, compared to baseflow, by operating upstream intakes. (iii) Abiotic and biotic measurements in selected downstream reaches (before, during, and after the CSFOs) represented an integral part of the operations. In contrast, significant differences characterize the hydropower facilities (elevation and storage of reservoirs, in particular) as well as the basic CSFOs parameters (i.e., season, duration, mass and grain-size of the evacuated sediment, suspended sediment concentration). The macroinvertebrate assemblages resulted noticeably impacted by the CSFOs. In the short term, a significant density drop was observed, slightly influenced by the extent of the perturbation. In contrast, the latter appeared to control the assemblages contraction in terms of richness, according to the different sensitivity to sediment stress of the different taxa. The time employed to recover pre-CSFO standard ranged from few months to just under one year, and the related patterns would seem mostly correlated to the flushing season and to further site specificities. The density of trout populations was impacted as well, thus suggesting the adoption of mitigating strategies as removal by electrofishing before, and repopulation after the CSFO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe covers the last millennia of Neanderthal life together with the appearance and expansion of Modern Human populations. Culturally, it is defined by the Late Middle Paleolithic succession, and by Early Upper Paleolithic complexes like the Châtelperronian (southwestern Europe), the Protoaurignacian, and the Early Aurignacian. Up to now, the southern boundary for the transition has been established as being situated between France and Iberia, in the Cantabrian façade and Pyrenees. According to this, the central and southern territories of Iberia are claimed to have been the refuge of the last Neanderthals for some additional millennia after they were replaced by anatomically Modern Humans on the rest of the continent. In this paper, we present the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition sequence from Cova Foradada (Tarragona), a cave on the Catalan Mediterranean coastline. Archaeological research has documented a stratigraphic sequence containing a succession of very short-term occupations pertaining to the Châtelperronian, Early Aurignacian, and Gravettian. Cova Foradada therefore represents the southernmost Châtelperronian–Early Aurignacian sequence ever documented in Europe, significantly enlarging the territorial distribution of both cultures and providing an important geographical and chronological reference for understanding Neanderthal disappearance and the complete expansion of anatomically Modern Humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fragile ecological environment near mines provide advantageous conditions for the development of landslides. Mine landslide susceptibility mapping is of great importance for mine geo-environment control and restoration planning. In this paper, a total of 493 landslides in Shangli County, China were collected through historical landslide inventory. 16 spectral, geomorphic and hydrological predictive factors, mainly derived from Landsat 8 imagery and Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM), were prepared initially for landslide susceptibility assessment. Predictive capability of these factors was evaluated by using the value of variance inflation factor and information gain ratio. Three models, namely artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM) and information value model (IVM), were applied to assess the mine landslide sensitivity. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and rank probability score were used to validate and compare the comprehensive predictive capabilities of three models involving uncertainty. Results showed that ANN model achieved higher prediction capability, proving its advantage of solve nonlinear and complex problems. Comparing the estimated landslide susceptibility map with the ground-truth one, the high-prone area tends to be located in the middle area with multiple fault distributions and the steeply sloped hill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holocene climate variability in the Mediterranean Basin is often cited as a potential driver of societal change, but the mechanisms of this putative influence are generally little explored. In this paper we integrate two tools–agro-ecosystem modeling of potential agricultural yields and spatial analysis of archaeological settlement pattern data–in order to examine the human consequences of past climatic changes. Focusing on a case study in Provence (France), we adapt an agro-ecosystem model to the modeling of potential agricultural productivity during the Holocene. Calibrating this model for past crops and agricultural practices and using a downscaling approach to produce high spatiotemporal resolution paleoclimate data from a Mediterranean Holocene climate reconstruction, we estimate realistic potential agricultural yields under past climatic conditions. These serve as the basis for spatial analysis of archaeological settlement patterns, in which we examine the changing relationship over time between agricultural productivity and settlement location. Using potential agricultural productivity (PAgP) as a measure of the human consequences of climate changes, we focus on the relative magnitudes of 1) climate-driven shifts in PAgP and 2) the potential increases in productivity realizable through agricultural intensification. Together these offer a means of assessing the scale and mechanisms of the vulnerability and resilience of Holocene inhabitants of Provence to climate change. Our results suggest that settlement patterns were closely tied to PAgP throughout most of the Holocene, with the notable exception of the period from the Middle Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age. This pattern does not appear to be linked to any climatically-driven changes in PAgP, and conversely the most salient changes in PAgP during the Holocene cannot be clearly linked to any changes in settlement pattern. We argue that this constitutes evidence that vulnerability and resilience to climate change are strongly dependent on societal variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-period (~38,000–6000 cal BP) site of Franchthi Cave, located in the Argolid peninsula of southern mainland Greece, is unique in the Eastern Mediterranean for preserving a long archaeological sequence extending from the Upper Palaeolithic through to the end of the Neolithic period. In this paper, we present new anthracological (carbonized fuel wood waste) evidence from Franchthi Cave with which we reconstruct the changing ecology of woodland vegetation in its environs during the late Pleistocene and the early-mid Holocene. The integrated archaeobotanical record (charred wood and non-wood macro-remains) demonstrates that in the Lateglacial the now-submerged coastal shelf of the southern Argolid peninsula was covered by steppe grassland vegetation dominated by junipers, almonds, cereals and legumes. The rapid climatic amelioration that marked the start of the Holocene brought about the disappearance of juniper and the expansion of deciduous woodland, cereals and lentils. This woodland-grassland biome bears no analogues in the modern and historical vegetation ecology of the Aegean basin. Instead, it is directly comparable to the steppe woodland biomes exploited by late Pleistocene and early Holocene hunter-gatherers in Southwest Asia, and points to the convergent evolution of late Pleistocene and early Holocene plant exploitation strategies between the two regions. Continuous sea-level rise during the early Holocene led to the gradual extinction of this unique palaeohabitat, which acted as the catalyst for the selective introduction of domesticated cereal crops at Franchthi Cave in the early 9th millennium cal BP. Our meta-analysis of the non-wood archaeobotanical data puts into question the concept of the wholesale introduction of a crop “package” by pioneer settler groups arriving from the East. It is proposed instead that selective cereal crop introduction formed part of a complex pattern of sociocultural interactions that brought together indigenous and immigrant groups into new communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the first U-Pb zircon ages for Ashfall Fossil Beds (Nebraska, USA), a terrestrial Konservat-Lagerstätte mass-death assemblage that is arguably the most diverse of its type and age. The Ashfall tephra was correlated with ignimbrites from the Bruneau-Jarbidge volcanic field (12.7–10.5 Ma) in southwest Idaho based on geochemical analysis. The methods and geochemical data supporting the original age assessment of the ash bed, however, were never published, and there has been a persistent misconception that dateable heavy minerals (e.g., zircon) are absent. Notwithstanding, we recovered abundant zircons from Ashfall Fossil Beds, and from an ash bed ~6 km to the southeast at Grove Lake, Nebraska, and analyzed them through LA-ICP-MS. Our new zircon U-Pb age of 11.86 ± 0.13 Ma substantiates correlation of the Ashfall Fossil Beds deposit to tuffs originating from the Bruneau-Jarbidge caldera (~12.7–10.5 Ma). Our U-Pb zircon age of 6.42 ± 0.06 Ma for the Grove Lake ash bed coincides with supervolcanic activity in the Heise volcanic field (6.6–4.3 Ma) in eastern Idaho. These new dates improve age constraints of strata comprising the Ogallala Group and the important paleontological site. Moreover, we find that detrital and airfall zircons are unevenly distributed in the stratified ash beds we describe herein and presumably in similar deposits worldwide. Therefore, a higher-resolution sampling scheme is necessary in such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of cognitive complexity in early Homo sapiens in North Africa is intimately tied to the emergence of the Aterian culture (~145 ka). One of the diagnostic indicators of cognitive complexity is the presence of specialised bone tools, however significant uncertainty remains over the manufacture and use of these artefacts within the Aterian techno-complex. In this paper we report on a bone artefact from Aterian Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits in Dar es-Soltan 1 cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It comes from a layer that can be securely dated to ~90 ka. The typological characteristics of this tool, which suggest its manufacture and use as a bone knife, are comparatively similar to other bone artefacts from dated Aterian levels at the nearby site of El Mnasra and significantly different from any other African MSA bone technology. The new find from Dar es-Soltan 1 cave combined with those from El Mnasra suggest the development of a bone technology unique to the Aterian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African Middle Stone Age (MSA) has in recent years become increasingly important for our understanding of the emergence of ‘modern human behaviours’. Several key innovations appeared in this context for the first time, significantly pre-dating their re-invention in the European Upper Palaeolithic. One of these innovations was heat treatment of stone to improve its quality for the production of stone tools. Heat treatment may even be the oldest well-documented technique used to intentionally alter the properties of materials in general. It is commonly thought of as requiring the skilled use of fire, a high degree of planning depth and complex cognitive abilities. However, to work on these fundamental concepts we need to analyse the techniques and procedures used to heat-treat and we need to understand what they imply. In this paper, we present a direct and expedient comparison between the technical complexities of four alternative heat treatment procedures by coding the behaviours required for their set-up in so-called cognigrams, a relatively new method for understanding complexity based on the problem-solution distance. Our results show that although the techniques significantly differ in complexity, the techniques used in the MSA fall within the range of complexities known from other MSA techniques. Heat treatment in above-ground fires, as it was practised during this period in South Africa, was even one of the most complex techniques at the time of its invention. Early heat treatment can therefore be considered an important behavioural proxy that may shed light on the behaviour and socioeconomic structure of past groups. The implications of this are highlighted by the ongoing debate about ‘modernity’, ‘behavioural flexibility’ and ‘complex cognition’ of early anatomically modern humans in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southwestern Amazonia is considered an early centre of plant domestication in the New World, but most of the evidence for this hypothesis comes from genetic data since systematic archaeological fieldwork in the area is recent. This paper provides first-hand archaeobotanical evidence of food production from early and middle Holocene (ca. 9,000–5000 cal. BP) deposits at Teotonio, an open-air site located on a 40 m-high bluff on the south bank of the Madeira river. Such evidence includes the presence of local and exotic domesticates such as manioc (Manihot esculenta), squash (Cucurbita sp.) and beans (Phaseolus sp.), alongside edible fruits such as pequiá (Caryocar sp.) and guava (Psidium sp.) that point to the beginnings of landscape domestication. The results contribute to an ever-growing number of studies that posit southwest Amazonia as an important centre for early crop domestication and experimentation, and which highlight the longue-durée of human impacts on tropical forest biodiversity around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of research into pathways leading to the production of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in sediments of two eutrophic reservoirs (Maziarnia and Nielisz), located in south-eastern Poland. In seeking to identify the pathways in question, use was made of analysis of stable carbon isotopes in CH4 and CO2 dissolved in pore water. This determined that CH4 is mainly produced through acetate fermentation, though the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic process may also be of importance, especially in deeper layers of sediments. Both the presence of autochthonous organic matter and increased pH values are shown to favour acetate fermentation. In turn, methanogenesis in sediments is assessed as capable of accounting for the generation of a considerable amount of CO2. Indeed, the role of methanogenesis in CO2 production is increasingly important further down in the layers of sediment, where allochthonous organic matter is predominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-Seven Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites from Europe and the Middle East are reported in the literature to have yielded incised stones. At eleven of these sites incisions are present on flint cortexes. Even when it is possible to demonstrate that the engravings are ancient and human made, it is often difficult to distinguish incisions resulting from functional activities such as butchery or use as a cutting board, from those produced deliberately, and even more difficult to identify the scope of the latter. In this paper we present results of the analysis of an engraved cortical flint flake found at Kiik-Koba, a key Mousterian site from Crimea, and create an interpretative framework to guide the interpretation of incised cortexes. The frame of inference that we propose allows for a reasoned evaluation of the actions playing a role in the marking process and aims at narrowing down the interpretation of the evidence. The object comes from layer IV, the same layer in which a Neanderthal child burial was unearthed, which contains a para-Micoquian industry of Kiik-Koba type dated to between c.35 and 37 cal kyr BP. The microscopic analysis and 3D reconstruction of the grooves on the cortex of this small flint flake, demonstrate that the incisions represent a deliberate engraving made by a skilled craftsman, probably with two different points. The lines are nearly perfectly framed into the cortex, testifying of well controlled motions. This is especially the case considering the small size of the object, which makes this a difficult task. The production of the engraving required excellent neuromotor and volitional control, which implies focused attention. Evaluation of the Kiik-Koba evidence in the light of the proposed interpretative framework supports the view that the engraving was made with a representational intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding Earth surface responses in terms of sediment dynamics to climatic variability and tectonics forcing is hindered by limited ability of current models to simulate long-term evolution of sediment transfer and associated morphological changes. This paper presents pyBadlands, an open-source python-based framework which computes over geological time (1) sediment transport from landmasses to coasts, (2) reworking of marine sediments by longshore currents and (3) development of coral reef systems. pyBadlands is cross-platform, distributed under the GPLv3 license and available on GitHub (). Here, we describe the underlying physical assumptions behind the simulated processes and the main options already available in the numerical framework. Along with the source code, a list of hands-on examples is provided that illustrates the model capabilities. In addition, pre and post-processing classes have been built and are accessible as a companion toolbox which comprises a series of workflows to efficiently build, quantify and explore simulation input and output files. While the framework has been primarily designed for research, its simplicity of use and portability makes it a great tool for teaching purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a reassessment of the archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a key early human occupation site in the Late Pleistocene of Southeast Asia. Excavated originally by Ian Glover in 1975, this limestone rock-shelter in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, Indonesia, has long held significance in our understanding of early human dispersals into ‘Wallacea’, the vast zone of oceanic islands between continental Asia and Australia. We present new stratigraphic information and dating evidence from Leang Burung 2 collected during the course of our excavations at this site in 2007 and 2011–13. Our findings suggest that the classic Late Pleistocene modern human occupation sequence identified previously at Leang Burung 2, and proposed to span around 31,000 to 19,000 conventional 14C years BP (~35–24 ka cal BP), may actually represent an amalgam of reworked archaeological materials. Sources for cultural materials of mixed ages comprise breccias from the rear wall of the rock-shelter–remnants of older, eroded deposits dated to 35–23 ka cal BP–and cultural remains of early Holocene antiquity. Below the upper levels affected by the mass loss of Late Pleistocene deposits, our deep-trench excavations uncovered evidence for an earlier hominin presence at the site. These findings include fossils of now-extinct proboscideans and other ‘megafauna’ in stratified context, as well as a cobble-based stone artifact technology comparable to that produced by late Middle Pleistocene hominins elsewhere on Sulawesi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the predictive value of leg and trunk inclination angles at stepping-foot contact for the capacity to recover from a backward balance perturbation with a single step in people after stroke. Methods: Twenty-four chronic stroke survivors and 21 healthy controls were included in a cross-sectional study. We studied reactive stepping responses by subjecting participants to multidirectional stance perturbations at different intensities on a translating platform. In this paper we focus on backward perturbations. Participants were instructed to recover from the perturbations with maximally one step. A trial was classified as ‘success’ if balance was restored according to this instruction. We recorded full-body kinematics and computed: 1) body configuration parameters at first stepping-foot contact (leg and trunk inclination angles) and 2) spatiotemporal step parameters (step onset, step length, step duration and step velocity). We identified predictors of balance recovery capacity using a stepwise logistic regression. Perturbation intensity was also included as a predictor. Results: The model with spatiotemporal parameters (perturbation intensity, step length and step duration) could correctly classify 85% of the trials as success or fail (Nagelkerke R2 = 0.61). In the body configuration model (Nagelkerke R2 = 0.71), perturbation intensity and leg and trunk angles correctly classified the outcome of 86% of the recovery attempts. The goodness of fit was significantly higher for the body configuration model compared to the model with spatiotemporal variables (p<0.01). Participant group and stepping leg (paretic or non-paretic) did not significantly improve the explained variance of the final body configuration model. Conclusions: Body configuration at stepping-foot contact is a valid and clinically feasible indicator of backward fall risk in stroke survivors, given its potential to be derived from a single sagittal screenshot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifts in perceptual boundaries resulting from speech motor learning induced by perturbations of the auditory feedback were taken as evidence for the involvement of motor functions in auditory speech perception. Beyond this general statement, the precise mechanisms underlying this involvement are not yet fully understood. In this paper we propose a quantitative evaluation of some hypotheses concerning the motor and auditory updates that could result from motor learning, in the context of various assumptions about the roles of the auditory and somatosensory pathways in speech perception. This analysis was made possible thanks to the use of a Bayesian model that implements these hypotheses by expressing the relationships between speech production and speech perception in a joint probability distribution. The evaluation focuses on how the hypotheses can (1) predict the location of perceptual boundary shifts once the perturbation has been removed, (2) account for the magnitude of the compensation in presence of the perturbation, and (3) describe the correlation between these two behavioral characteristics. Experimental findings about changes in speech perception following adaptation to auditory feedback perturbations serve as reference. Simulations suggest that they are compatible with a framework in which motor adaptation updates both the auditory-motor internal model and the auditory characterization of the perturbed phoneme, and where perception involves both auditory and somatosensory pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Nubia Salvage Campaign and the subsequent expeditions from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, numerous sites attributed to the Late Palaeolithic (~25–15 ka) were found in the Nile Valley, particularly in Nubia and Upper Egypt. This region is one of the few to have allowed human occupations during the dry Marine Isotope Stage 2 and is therefore key to understanding how human populations adapted to environmental changes at this time. This paper focuses on two sites located in Upper Egypt, excavated by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition: E71K18, attributed to the Afian industry and E71K20, attributed to the Silsilian industry. It aims to review the geomorphological and chronological evidence of the sites, present a technological analysis of the lithic assemblages in order to provide data that can be used in detailed comparative studies, which will allow discussion of technological variability in the Late Palaeolithic of the Nile Valley and its place within the regional context. The lithic analysis relies on the chaîne opératoire concept combined with an attribute analysis to allow quantification. This study (1) casts doubts on the chronology of E71K18 and related Afian industry, which could be older or younger than previously suggested, highlights (2) distinct technological characteristics for the Afian and the Silsilian, as well as (3) similar technological characteristics which allow to group them under a same broad techno-cultural complex, distinct from those north or south of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Mesolithic of southwestern Germany, the so-called Beuronian (9600–7100 BC), is a period of important transformations in the way people lived, in their subsistence and in the stone tools they produced. One of the perhaps most spectacular re-inventions of that time is heat treatment of stones prior to their manufacture into tools. Although heat treatment has been understood as one of the defining characteristics of the Beuronian of southwestern Germany, and although its existence has been known for almost 30 years now, relatively few systematic studies on it are available. In this paper, we present such a study, aiming to shed light on two questions: (1) what technique and heating parameters were used in the Beuronian and (2) how reliable are the macroscopic proxies traditionally used to identify heat treatment in this context? We investigate these questions using a non-destructive archaeometric technique for measuring past heating temperatures of heat-treated stones and a quantitative surface roughness analysis aiming to understand the relations between surface aspect and heat treatment. These methods are applied to 46 Jurassic chert artefacts from the site Helga-Abri located in the Swabian Alb region of southwestern Germany. Our results document that an opportunistic low-investment procedure was used to heat stone, probably relying on the use of the above-ground part of regular camp-fires. We also found that the traditionally used macroscopic criteria, such as colour and surface gloss, cannot be unambiguously used to identify heat treatment in assemblages made from Jurassic chert. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the Beuronian lithic chaîne opératoire in terms of the investment in time and resources necessary, and for the refinement of archaeological techniques used to identify heat treatment in the Mesolithic of the Swabian Alb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the technological characteristics of Keilmesser with a lateral tranchet blow modification on the cutting edge. It examines the underlying technological production of these bifacial objects: this implies the evaluation of their working stage succession, as well as produced forms necessary for the execution of tranchet blow performance. Furthermore, it offers a techno-morphological description of these enigmatic tools. The Keilmesser with tranchet blow and corresponding blanks of tranchet blows from Grotte de la Verpillière I in Germolles (Saône-et-Loire, France) are used as case study. The collection of Keilmesser with tranchet blow and corresponding blanks of tranchet blow has been massively expanded with new fieldwork and the review of ancient assemblages. The majority of the pieces were made on blanks from local raw material. The evaluation of the underlying production concept shows that a Keilmesser with tranchet blow, regardless of the wide range of morphologies and matrix size, always consists of specific parts that are necessary for the production sequence and the assumed function. The production of these pieces follows highly specific working stages, some of which can be interchanged in sequence. However, it is always the goal to obtain a low-angled cutting edge. The performance of a tranchet blow is not only an integral part of production, but it is rather the aim of the entire production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the changes occurred over both decennial and millennial spans of time in a sponge assemblage present in coralligenous biogenic build-ups growing at 15 m depth in the Ligurian Sea (Western Mediterranean). The comparison of the sponge diversity after a time interval of about 40 years (1973–2014) showed a significant reduction in species richness (about 45%). This decrease affected mainly the massive/erect sponges, and in particular the subclass Keratosa, with a species loss of 67%, while the encrusting and cavity dwelling sponges lost the 36% and 50%, respectively. The boring sponges lost only one species (25%). This changing pattern suggested that the inner habitat of the bioconstructions was less affected by the variations of the environmental conditions or by the human pressures which, on the contrary, strongly affected the species living on the surface of the biogenic build-ups. Five cores extracted from the bioherms, dating back to 3500 YBP, allowed to analyse the siliceous spicules remained trapped in them in order to obtain taxonomic information. Changes at generic level in diversity and abundance were observed at 500/250-years intervals, ranging between 19 and 33 genera. The number of genera showed a sharp decrease since 3500–3000 to 3000–2500 YBP. After this period, the genera regularly increased until 1500–1250 YBP, from when they progressively decreased until 1000–500 YBP. Tentatively, these changes could be related to the different climatic periods that followed one another in the Mediterranean area within the considered time span. The recent depletion in sponge richness recorded in the Ligurian coralligenous can be considered relevant. In fact, the analysis of the spicules indicated that the sponges living in these coralligenous habitats remained enough stable during 3000 years, but could have lost a significant part of their biodiversity in the last decades, coinciding with a series of warming episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The native groups of Patagonia have relied on a hunter-gatherer economy well after the first Europeans and North Americans reached this part of the world. The large exploitation of marine mammals (i.e., seals) by such allochthonous groups has had a strong impact on the local ecology in a way that might have forced the natives to adjust their subsistence strategies. Similarly, the introduction of new foods might have changed local diet. These are the premises of our isotopic-based analysis. There is a large set of paleonutritional investigations through isotopic analysis on Fuegians groups, however a systematic exploration of food practices across time in relation to possible pre- and post-contact changes is still lacking. In this paper we investigate dietary variation in hunter-gatherer groups of Tierra del Fuego in a diachronic perspective, through measuring the isotopic ratio of carbon (∂13C) and nitrogen (∂15N) in the bone collagen of human and a selection of terrestrial and marine animal samples. The data obtained reveal an unexpected isotopic uniformity across prehistoric and recent groups, with little variation in both carbon and nitrogen mean values, which we interpret as the possible evidence of resilience among these groups and persistence of subsistence strategies, allowing inferences on the dramatic contraction (and extinction) of Fuegian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fukushima Daï-ichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) accident resulted in radioactive Cs being discharged into the local marine environment. While Cs bioaccumulates in biota and slowly depurates, the Cs concentrated in biota constitutes a source of Cs for animals feeding on each other. The marine biota therefore serves as a pool that recycles Cs, and this recycling process delays depuration in the fish feeding on this biota pool. Because the continental shelf is squeezed between the coast and very deep sea, the demersal marine species are confined to a narrow strip along the coast, close to the source of the radioactive input. Unlike demersal species, however, pelagic species are not restricted to the most contaminated area but instead spend some, if not most, of their time and feeding off-shore, far from the input source. We suggest that the feeding pathway for fish is a box whose size depends on their mobility, and that this feeding box is much larger and less contaminated (because of dilution through distance) for pelagic fish than for demersal fish. The aim of this paper is to test this hypothesis and to propose a simple operational model implementing two transfer routes: from seawater and from feeding. The model is then used to match the observational data in the aftermath of the FDNPP accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new design strategy for optimizing MRI pulse sequences for T1 relaxometry. The design strategy optimizes the pulse sequence parameters to minimize the maximum variance of unbiased T1 estimates over a range of T1 values using the Cramér-Rao bound. In contrast to prior sequences optimized for a single nominal T1 value, the optimized sequence using our bound-based strategy achieves improved precision and accuracy for a broad range of T1 estimates within a clinically feasible scan time. The optimization combines the downhill simplex method with a simulated annealing process. To show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy, we optimize the tissue specific imaging (TSI) sequence. Preliminary Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the optimized TSI sequence yields improved precision and accuracy over the popular driven-equilibrium single-pulse observation of T1 (DESPOT1) approach for normal brain tissues (estimated T1 700–2000 ms at 3.0T). The relative mean estimation error (MSE) for T1 estimation is less than 1.7% using the optimized TSI sequence, as opposed to less than 7.0% using DESPOT1 for normal brain tissues. The optimized TSI sequence achieves good stability by keeping the MSE under 7.0% over larger T1 values corresponding to different lesion tissues and the cerebrospinal fluid (up to 5000 ms). The T1 estimation accuracy using the new pulse sequence also shows improvement, which is more pronounced in low SNR scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle Pleistocene site of Ambrona (Soria, Spain) is a major reference for European Acheulean studies. The origin of the lithic and fauna accumulations at this site was first thought to be anthropogenic, but later studies showed that it was mainly natural. The first person to conduct excavations at the Ambrona site was the Marquis of Cerralbo, in 1914; other research groups followed in more recent times (the Howell & Freeman team and the Santonja & Pérez-González team). The digs yielded a great amount of information, but until now it had never been unified. In this paper, we compile all the available published and unpublished excavation documentation from the 1960s to the present. We use these maps and sections to present our spatial study of the LSM (Lower Stratigraphic Member) at the Ambrona site, combining stratigraphic criteria with GIS density and orientation analysis. This study enabled us to define the main concentrations of the LSM, providing an initial contribution to an assessment of their accumulation processes. Most of the concentrations preserved in the ancient shore area of the site display marked orientation patterns which coincide with the direction of the main water flows into the Ambrona wetland. However, random orientation patterns were observed in the central part of the site (Alpha concentration); they may be mostly preserved without undergoing transport processes, as previous taphonomic studies also confirm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pottery, bone implements, and stone tools are routinely found at Neolithic sites. However, the integrity of textiles or silk is susceptible to degradation, and it is therefore very difficult for such materials to be preserved for 8,000 years. Although previous studies have provided important evidence of the emergence of weaving skills and tools, such as figuline spinning wheels and osseous lamellas with traces of filament winding, there is a lack of direct evidence proving the existence of silk. In this paper, we explored evidence of prehistoric silk fibroin through the analysis of soil samples collected from three tombs at the Neolithic site of Jiahu. Mass spectrometry was employed and integrated with proteomics to characterize the key peptides of silk fibroin. The direct biomolecular evidence reported here showed the existence of prehistoric silk fibroin, which was found in 8,500-year-old tombs. Rough weaving tools and bone needles were also excavated, indicating the possibility that the Jiahu residents may possess the basic weaving and sewing skills in making textile. This finding may advance the study of the history of silk, and the civilization of the Neolithic Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Strait of Sicily was recognized internationally as an “Ecologically or Biologically Significant Area” by the Contracting Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2014. However, basic aspects of its fish diversity are still unknown and most of the information comes from traditional trawl surveys. This paper provides the first detailed description, using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), of the composition and depth distribution of the demersal fish assemblages found on banks of the Strait of Sicily and the related habitat complexity from 35 to 240 m depth. A total of 24 families and 52 fish species were recorded and depth was consistently associated with a significant proportion of the variation of the fish assemblage. The highest species richness was observed at the shallowest depth layer (0–50 m) and significantly decreased, remaining almost constant, in deeper layers. Similarly the highest abundance was recorded at 0–50 m, where C. julis represented the most abundant species, and decreased progressively throughout the whole depth gradient. Although the factor habitat complexity explained only a small proportion of the fish assemblage variation, significant differences among different degrees of habitat complexity were observed, together with a general positive trend for species richness and abundance with increasing habitat complexity. The ROV also allowed us to observe some rare or poorly known fish species such as Scorpaenodes arenai, Hyporthodus haifensis, Myliobatis aquila, Gadella maraldi, Epinephelus caninus and Lappanella fasciata. These findings show that banks serve as reservoirs for fish abundance and biodiversity and that immediate environmental conservation and management actions represent a priority not only for Italy but also for other countries which share the same area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleistocene skinning and exploitation of carnivore furs have been previously inferred from archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the evidence of skinning and fur processing tends to be weak and the interpretations are not strongly sustained by the archaeological record. In the present paper, we analyze unique evidence of patterned anthropic modification and skeletal representation of fossil remains of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Cantabria, Spain). This site is one of the few that provides Pleistocene examples of lion exploitation by humans. Our archaeozoological study suggests that lion-specialized pelt exploitation and use might have been related to ritual activities during the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 14800 cal BC). Moreover, the specimens also represent the southernmost European and the latest evidence of cave lion exploitation in Iberia. Therefore, the study seeks to provide alternative explanations for lion extinction in Eurasia and argues for a role of hunting as a factor to take into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arroyo Seco 2 site contains a rich archaeological record, exceptional for South America, to explain the expansion of Homo sapiens into the Americas and their interaction with extinct Pleistocene mammals. The following paper provides a detailed overview of material remains found in the earliest cultural episodes at this multi-component site, dated between ca. 12,170 14C yrs B.P. (ca. 14,064 cal yrs B.P.) and 11,180 14C yrs B.P. (ca. 13,068 cal yrs B.P.). Evidence of early occupations includes the presence of lithic tools, a concentration of Pleistocene species remains, human-induced fractured animal bones, and a selection of skeletal parts of extinct fauna. The occurrence of hunter-gatherers in the Southern Cone at ca. 14,000 cal yrs B.P. is added to the growing list of American sites that indicate a human occupation earlier than the Clovis dispersal episode, but posterior to the onset of the deglaciation of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of coal in the world economy remains unquestionable for decades. It is also expected to be the dominant fossil fuel in the foreseeable future. The increased awareness of sustainable development reflected in the relevant regulations implies, however, the need for the development and implementation of clean coal technologies on the one hand, and adequate analytical tools on the other. The paper presents the application of the quantitative Partial Least Squares method in modeling the concentrations of trace elements (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, V and Zn) in hard coal based on the physical and chemical parameters of coal, and coal ash components. The study was focused on trace elements potentially hazardous to the environment when emitted from coal processing systems. The studied data included 24 parameters determined for 132 coal samples provided by 17 coal mines of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland. Since the data set contained outliers, the construction of robust Partial Least Squares models for contaminated data set and the correct identification of outlying objects based on the robust scales were required. These enabled the development of the correct Partial Least Squares models, characterized by good fit and prediction abilities. The root mean square error was below 10% for all except for one the final Partial Least Squares models constructed, and the prediction error (root mean square error of cross–validation) exceeded 10% only for three models constructed. The study is of both cognitive and applicative importance. It presents the unique application of the chemometric methods of data exploration in modeling the content of trace elements in coal. In this way it contributes to the development of useful tools of coal quality assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigs have played a major role in the economic, social and symbolic systems of China since the Early Neolithic more than 8,000 years ago. However, the interaction between the history of pig domestication and transformations in Chinese society since then, have not been fully explored. In this paper, we investigated the co-evolution from the earliest farming communities through to the new political and economic models of state-like societies, up to the Chinese Empire, using 5,000 years of archaeological records from the Xiawanggang (XWG) and Xinzhai (XZ) sites (Henan Province). To trace the changes of pig populations against husbandry practices, we combined the geometric morphometric analysis of dental traits with a study of the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bone collagen. The domestication process intensified during the Neolithic Yangshao, prompted by greater selective pressure and/or better herd control against wild introgression. After that, pig farming, in XWG, relied on local livestock and a gradual change of husbandry practices overtime. This was characterized by a gentle increase in millet foddering and animal protein intake, until a complete change over to household management during the Han dynasty. The only rupture in this steady trend of husbandry occurred during the Longshan period, with the appearance of small sized and idiosyncratic pigs with specific feeding practices (relying on millet and household scraps). From three exploratory hypothesis, we explored the possibility of anti-elite pig production in XWG during the Longshan period, as a means to resist incorporation into a new economic model promoting intensified domestic production. This exploratory hypothesis is the most suitable to our dataset; however, numerous areas need to be explored further in order to adequately document the role of pigs in the rise of China’s complex societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a machine learning based approach for analyses of photos collected from laboratory experiments conducted to assess the potential impact of water-based drill cuttings on deep-water rhodolith-forming calcareous algae. This pilot study uses imaging technology to quantify and monitor the stress levels of the calcareous algae Mesophyllum engelhartii (Foslie) Adey caused by various degrees of light exposure, flow intensity and amount of sediment. A machine learning based algorithm was applied to assess the temporal variation of the calcareous algae size (∼ mass) and color automatically. Measured size and color were correlated to the photosynthetic efficiency (maximum quantum yield of charge separation in photosystem II, ) and degree of sediment coverage using multivariate regression. The multivariate regression showed correlations between time and calcareous algae sizes, as well as correlations between fluorescence and calcareous algae colors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeological and paleoecological investigations have traditionally been unable to reconstruct the ethology of herd animals, which likely had a significant influence on the mobility and subsistence strategies of prehistoric humans. In this paper, we reconstruct the migratory behavior of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and caprids at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the northeastern Adriatic region using stable oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel. The data show a significant change in δ18O values from the Pleistocene into the Holocene, as well as isotopic variation between taxa, the case study sites, and through time. We then discuss the implications of seasonal faunal availability as determining factors in human mobility patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Famennian tabulate corals were very rare worldwide, and their biodiversity was relatively low. Here we report a unique tabulate fauna from the mid- and late Famennian of the western part of the Holy Cross Mountains (Kowala and Ostrówka), Poland. We describe eight species (four of them new, namely ?Michelinia vinni sp. nov., Thamnoptychia mistiaeni sp. nov., Syringopora kowalensis sp. nov. and Syringopora hilarowiczi sp. nov.); the whole fauna consists of ten species (two others described in previous papers). These corals form two assemblages—the lower, mid-Famennian with Thamnoptychia and the upper, late Famennian with representatives of genera ?Michelinia, Favosites, Syringopora and ?Yavorskia. The Famennian tabulates from Kowala represent the richest Famennian assemblage appearing after the F/F crisis (these faunas appear some 10 Ma after the extinction event). Corals described here most probably inhabited deeper water settings, near the limit between euphotic and disphotic zones or slightly above. At generic level, these faunas show similarities to other Devonian and Carboniferous faunas, which might suggest their ancestry to at least several Carboniferous lineages. Tabulate faunas described here represent new recruits (the basin of the Holy Cross mountains was not a refuge during the F/F crisis) and have no direct evolutionary linkage to Frasnian faunas from Kowala. The colonization of the seafloor took place in two separate steps: first was monospecific assemblage of Thamnoptychia, and later came the diversified Favosites-Syringopora-Michelinia fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People heat treated silcrete during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in southern Africa but the spatial and temporal variability of this practice remains poorly documented. This paucity of data in turn makes it difficult to interrogate the motive factors underlying the application of this technique. In this paper we present data on heat treatment of silcrete through the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort of the rock shelter site Mertenhof, located in the Western Cape of South Africa. In contrast to other sites where heat treatment has been documented, distance to rock source at Mertenhof can be reasonably well estimated, and the site is known to contain high proportions of a diversity of fine grained rocks including silcrete, hornfels and chert at various points through the sequence. Our results suggest the prevalence of heat treatment is variable through the sequence but that it is largely unaffected by the relative abundance of silcrete prevalence. Instead there is a strong inverse correlation between frequency of heat treatment in silcrete and prevalence of chert in the assemblage, and a generally positive correlation with the proportion of locally available rock. While it is difficult to separate individual factors we suggest that, at Mertenhof at least, heat treatment may have been used to improve the fracture properties of silcrete at times when other finer grained rocks were less readily available. As such, heat treatment appears to have been a component of the MSA behavioural repertoire that was flexibly deployed in ways sensitive to other elements of technological organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unique macroevolutionary dataset of Aze & others has been transferred onto the TimeScale Creator visualisation platform while, as much as practicable, preserving the original unrevised content of its morphospecies and lineage evolutionary trees. This is a “Corrected Version” (not a revision), which can serve as an on-going historical case example because it is now updatable with future time scales. Both macroevolutionary and biostratigraphic communities are now equipped with an enduring phylogenetic database of Cenozoic macroperforate planktonic foraminiferal morphospecies and lineages for which both graphics and content can be visualised together. Key to maintaining the currency of the trees has been specification of time scales for sources of stratigraphic ranges; these scales then locate the range dates within the calibration series. Some ranges or their sources have undergone mostly minor corrections or amendments. Links between lineage and morphospecies trees have been introduced to improve consistency and transparency in timing within the trees. Also, Aze & others’ dual employment of morphospecies and lineage concepts is further elaborated here, given misunderstandings that have ensued. Features displayed on the trees include options for line styles for additional categories for range extensions or degrees of support for ancestor–descendant proposals; these have been applied to a small number of instances as an encouragement to capture more nuanced data in the future. In addition to labeling of eco- and morpho-groups on both trees, genus labels can be attached to the morphospecies tree to warn of polyphyletic morphogenera, and the lineage codes have been decoded to ease their recognition. However, it is the mouse-over pop-ups that provide the greatest opportunity to embed supporting information in the trees. They include details for stratigraphic ranges and their recalibration steps, positions relative to the standard planktonic-foraminiferal zonation, and applications as datums, as well as mutual listings between morphospecies and lineages which ease the tracing of their interrelated contents. The elaboration of the original dataset has been captured in a relational database, which can be considered a resource in itself, and, through queries and programming, serves to generate the TimeScale Creator datapacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are large ungulates that have been valued by human populations in South America since the Late Pleistocene. Even though they were very abundant until the end of the 19th century (before the high deforestation rate of the last decades), guanacos have nearly disappeared in the Gran Chaco ecoregion, with relicts and isolated populations surviving in some areas, such as the shrubland area near the saline depressions of Córdoba province, Argentina. In this report, we present the first data from a locally endangered guanaco wild population, through the study of skeletal remains recovered in La Providencia ranch. Our results showed that most of the elements belonged to adults aged between 36 and 96 months; sex evaluation showed similar numbers of males and females. Statistical analysis of the body size of modern samples from Córdoba demonstrated that guanacos from the Chaco had large dimensions and presented lower size variability than the modern and archaeological specimens in our database. Moreover, they exhibited dimensions similar to those of modern guanacos from Patagonia and San Juan, and to archaeological specimens from Ongamira and Cerro Colorado, although further genetic studies are needed to corroborate a possible phylogenetic relationship. Finally, we used archaeozoological techniques to provide a first characterization of a relict guanaco population from the Chaco ecoregion, demonstrating its value to the study of modern skeletal remains and species conservation biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

500 years of ancient Near Eastern history from the earlier second millennium BCE, including such pivotal figures as Hammurabi of Babylon, Šamši-Adad I (who conquered Aššur) and Zimrilim of Mari, has long floated in calendar time subject to rival chronological schemes up to 150+ years apart. Texts preserved on clay tablets provide much information, including some astronomical references, but despite 100+ years of scholarly effort, chronological resolution has proved impossible. Documents linked with specific Assyrian officials and rulers have been found and associated with archaeological wood samples at Kültepe and Acemhöyük in Turkey, and offer the potential to resolve this long-running problem. Here we show that previous work using tree-ring dating to place these timbers in absolute time has fundamental problems with key dendrochronological crossdates due to small sample numbers in overlapping years and insufficient critical assessment. To address, we have integrated secure dendrochronological sequences directly with radiocarbon (14C) measurements to achieve tightly resolved absolute (calendar) chronological associations and identify the secure links of this tree-ring chronology with the archaeological-historical evidence. The revised tree-ring-sequenced 14C time-series for Kültepe and Acemhöyük is compatible only with the so-called Middle Chronology and not with the rival High, Low or New Chronologies. This finding provides a robust resolution to a century of uncertainty in Mesopotamian chronology and scholarship, and a secure basis for construction of a coherent timeframe and history across the Near East and East Mediterranean in the earlier second millennium BCE. Our re-dating also affects an unusual tree-ring growth anomaly in wood from Porsuk, Turkey, previously tentatively associated with the Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano. This tree-ring growth anomaly is now directly dated ~1681–1673 BCE (68.2% highest posterior density range), ~20 years earlier than previous assessments, indicating that it likely has no association with the subsequent Santorini volcanic eruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe cranial and mandibular remains of three undescribed individuals of the giant mustelid Megalictis ferox Matthew, 1907 from the latest Arikareean (Ar4), Early Miocene mammal fauna of Nebraska, and Wyoming (USA) housed at the American Museum of Natural History (New York, USA). Our phylogenetic hypothesis indicates that Ar4 specimens assigned to M. ferox constitute a monophyletic group. We assign three additional species previously referred to Paroligobunis to Megalictis: M. simplicidens, M. frazieri, and “M.” petersoni. The node containing these four species of Megalictis and Oligobunis forms the Oligobuninae. We test the hypothesis that Oligobuninae (Megalictis and Oligobunis) is a stem mustelid taxon. Our results indicate that the Oligobuninae form the sister clade to the crown extant mustelids. Based on the cranium, M. ferox is a jaguar-size mustelid and the largest terrestrial mustelid known to have existed. This new material also sheds light on a new ecomorphological interpretation of M. ferox as a bone-crushing durophage (similar to hyenas), rather than a cat-like hypercarnivore, as had been previously described. The relative large size of M. ferox, together with a stout rostrum and mandible made it one of the more powerful predators of the Early Miocene of the Great Plains of North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Torosaurus latus is an uncommon and contentious taxon of chasmosaurine ceratopsid known from several upper Maastrichtian units in western North America. We describe a partial parietal of To. latus from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. Although the specimen’s ontogenetic maturity means that it cannot inform the ongoing debate over whether To. latus is the old adult form of the contemporary Triceratops, the specimen is one of the best-preserved To. latus parietals and supplements previous descriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]