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We present a synthesis of the archaeological record at Los Viscos site, with an outstanding preservation of organic material, and analyze it in relation to the paleoenvironmental studies developed in El Bolsón valley, a high-altitude valley in Catamarca, Argentina, and the social landscapes inferred for the area. Los Viscos rock shelter has been occupied for the last 1200 years since Formative times. The material recovered there includes evidence of mixed production and resource procurement strategies over a great diversity of resources. Intensification in resource exploitation since the Regional Developments Period suggests novel constraints at the time. This record represents a period in which the palaeoenvironmental evidence suggests changes in the regional morphodynamics that prevented the preservation of other contemporary sites. Thus, Los Viscos provides a better understanding of production and consumption practices in the valley over the last two millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cuvieri Cave was the subject of numerous paleoenvironmental and paleontological studies, but none of them highlighted the fossil and subfossil remains of Anura. This work reports the occurrence of bone parts of anurans from the Holocene. The recovered material consists of axial and appendicular bones of different sizes and proportions, suggesting the presence of different species. The specimens were observed in two periods, the oldest occurring in the PleistoceneHolocene boundary and the vast majority in layers with ages below 6 thousand years BP. The period of absence from the record coincides with the period known as the Archaic Gap in which there was low or no human occupation in Lagoa Santa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted the first taphonomic and paleoenvironmental study based on late Pleistocene–Holocene small mammal remains recovered from the famous Mylodon Cave (Cerro Benítez area, Última Esperanza, Chile). Most of the analyzed material came from the extensive excavations made by Earl Saxon in 1976. We also studied late Holocene small mammal samples of the neighboring rock shelter Dos Herraduras 1. Analyzed remains were mostly produced by owls, probably living inside the caves. In Mylodon Cave, the higher values of girdle bones are consistent with a windblown litter. We recorded nine species of rodents, seven cricetids, and two caviomorphs; almost all the identified taxa integrate recent local communities. Late Pleistocene–Holocene assemblages are characterized by the chinchilla rat Euneomys, indicating unforested areas around the caves under cold and moist climatic conditions. Middle Holocene amelioration is reflected by incremental rodent species richness, including the first record of taxa clearly associated with forest (e.g., Abrothrix lanosa). Late Holocene assemblages are markedly stable, indicating local conditions similar to the current (historical) environment. Quaternary rodents from Cerro Benítez area do not indicate abrupt environmental changes during middle–late Holocene, but a progressive trend towards forest increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Understanding the timing, conditions, and characteristics of the Middle to Later Stone Age (MSA/LSA) transition in North Africa is critical for debates regarding the evolution and past population dynamics of Homo sapiens, especially their dispersals within, out of, and back into, Africa. As with many cultural transitions during the Palaeolithic, our understanding is based predominantly on archaeological and paleoenvironmental records preserved within a small number of deep cave sediment sequences. To use such sequences as chronological cornerstones we must develop a robust understanding of the formation processes that created them. This paper utilizes geoarchaeological analyses (field observations, sediment micromorphology, bulk sedimentology) to examine site formation processes and stratigraphic integrity during the MSA/LSA at the Haua Fteah cave, Libya, one of North Africa's longest cultural sequences. The depositional processes identified vary in mode and energy, from eolian deposition/reworking to mass colluvial mudflows. These changing processes impact greatly on the interpretation of the paleoenvironmental and archaeological records, not least in identifying potential colluvial sediment deposition and reworking in layers identified as containing the MSA/LSA transition. This study highlights the importance of developing geoarchaeological analyses of cultural sequences to fully unravel the limitations and potential of their contained archaeological and paleoenvironmental records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geomorphological evolution of the Cobiheru Cave shows the influence of the non-carbonate coastal mountain ranges on coastal karst evolution, as well as the temporal distribution of the cold-adapted fauna sites in the Cantabrian Coast. Geomorphological observation and uranium/thorium (U/Th) dating lead to the construction of an evolution model. The model comprises two episodes of cave deposition occurring at c. 60-70 and 130-150 ka, linked to cold climate conditions, global sea-level lowstands and the erosion of alluvial fans that covered the karst. Moreover, the comparison between the Cobiheru record and some raised beaches identified in previous studies sets the beginning of the sea-level lowering in the Cantabrian Sea during the marine isotope stages (MIS) 5-4 transition. Two palaeoenvironments are inferred based on finding Equus ferus and Elona quimperiana. A wet deciduous forest would have developed on the emerged marine terrace of the Cobiheru Cave since at least the Middle Pleistocene, and an open landscape with scarce vegetation would have been present at c. 65 ka. The erosional event identified in the Cobiheru Cave helps to understand the temporal distribution of cold-adapted mammals located in the Asturias region. The probable sites of cold-adapted fauna developed in caves and alluvial fans would have disappeared after 65 ka. Therefore, palaeontological and palaeoclimate research based on cold-adapted mammals suggests the occurrence of an hiatus in the palaeontological record prior to 50 ka. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The submarine Marigondon Cave (MC) is not only one of the most spectacular diving caves but also an unstudied, submerged rock-shelter with potential for intact stratigraphy. The Marigondon Cave yielded two rock samples, one coral limestone fossil with a travertine mantle, and a sclerosponge specimen that provided evidence to understand the external and environmental conditions to which the cave might have been exposed. The study's aimed to determine the links between the cave's underwater conditions and the samples studied. Analytical methodologies such as IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Optical Microscopy, SEM/EDX and U-series isotope analyses were carried out to determine the chemical composition of two rock samples, and their crystal structures and formation ages. Results concluded that the two samples were composed mainly of the two calcium carbonate polymorphs calcite and aragonite; however, the sclerosponges contained a low percentage of Mg- calcite, illustrating a period of submergence. At other periods, Marigondon Cave would have been above water and favorable for Pleistocene fauna as well as possibly human settlement, as demonstrated by the travertine deposit on the coral limestone. This suggests that MC provides prospects for discovery of fossil assemblages that may be preserved in terrestrial deposits in the caves during periods of emergence. These periodic submersions conform to eustatic sea level changes during the past 130,000 years during the late Pleistocene and demonstrate that in that period a marine coral reef platform was the substrate within which the Marigondon Cave formed as a flank margin cave during nearly 80,000 years of emergence when sea level was lower than the present elevation of the cave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The El Harhoura 2 cave (Morocco) presents a high density of white-toothed shrew (Crocidurinae) remains in the eight studied archaeological levels, ranging from around 108,000 to 5800 BP. A detailed understanding of the species contained in these assemblages is important for palaeoecological studies, yet often difficult to achieve because the remains are systematically broken. Here we apply geometric morphometric methods that use sliding landmarks allowing us to assign broken mandibles to five potential species present in Morocco today. Four species were detected, with a distinct distribution in the different levels. Surprisingly, Crocidura russula , a species typically associated with relatively humid habitats, was found to be more abundant in periods characterized by dry conditions. Moreover, the abundance of the Saharan species Crocidura tarfayensis and Crocidura lusitania followed an inverse pattern. Both groups appear to affect each other's abundance throughout the studied period. We suggest that the coastal position of El Harhoura 2 as well as the inter-specific competition between C. russula and other species may explain this pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L’Arbreda Cave is one of the southernmost of the Reclau Caves (Serinyà, Girona, northeastern Iberian Peninsula), located between the west margin of the Pla d’Usall and the Serinyadell river, at an altitude of about 211 m a.s.l. The Pla d’Usall forms part of the Banyoles-Besalú Basin, which is bounded by Eocene and Neogene reliefs. It is filled with sediments of Plio-Pleistocene age. The cave is a shelter formed by travertine cascades with a degree of karstification, and contains sedimentary deposits ranging from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the Early Holocene, thus constituting an important archaeo-palaeontological record for an understanding of the prehistoric occupation of northeastern Iberia. It is one of the most complete and best-dated terrestrial sequences in Iberia from the Mousterian to the Early Holocene period. In this paper we present a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the sequence based on non-flying small mammals (insectivores and rodents) and pollen analyses. The environmental and climatic results, together with the absolute dating of the sequence and direct comparison with NorthGRIP δ 18 O and the sea-surface temperatures (SST) of the Alborán Sea, allow us to identify various climatic periods within our sequence: a cold period between interstadials 12 and 10 in Level I, probably interstadial 10 in Level H, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Levels C and B, the Bölling-Allerød interstadial (B/A) in Level A, and the Preboreal/Boreal (Pr/B) in the Terra Rossa Level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rexidora Cave (Asturias, NW Spain), discovered in 2012, provided a remarkable large mammal assemblage of MIS 3 age. The ongoing excavation works yielded 445 fossil remains including cold-adapted elements as woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ) and reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ), two species of special interest since they are poorly represented in the Iberian Pleistocene. The woolly rhinoceros assemblage comprises numerous unusually well preserved elements as one mandible, one femur and one partially preserved skull. The steppe bison ( Bison priscus ) is the dominant species in the assemblage, providing an outstanding collection of well-preserved elements that comprises two skulls and numerous limb bones. Carnivores are represented by a partial skeleton (including a complete skull) of spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ). Radiocarbon AMS analyses of the fossil assemblage yielded two dates of 44.5 and 37.6 Cal ka BP, corresponding to MIS 3, a phase of climatic instability characterized by fast climate changes, from extreme cold to temperate conditions. These dates are coeval with the maximum registered expansion of the mammoth fauna in the Iberian Peninsula and with the onset of glacier retreat in the Cantabrian Mountain Range, after the last local glacial maximum. Geomorphological and sedimentological evidence suggests that bone accumulation took place as the result of gravity processes in a collapse doline, filled by a chaotic accumulation of calcareous boulders, pebbles and bone fragments, embedded in a silt–clay matrix, which points to a possible natural-trap origin of this fossil assemblage. The exceptional well preservation of the fossils, as well as the lack of any evidence of human or carnivore activity, supports this idea. Palynological analyses suggest an open landscape under variable climatic conditions, responsible for the fluctuating presence/absence of the arboreal taxa. The predominance of steppe and, to a lesser extent, xeric herbaceous plants indicate very dry conditions, whereas presence of mesophilous forest taxa implies the existence of a refuge area at distance. This open and dry landscape, developed in a karst area with a relative smooth relief, is consistent with the occurrence of the large mammal species steppe bison, woolly rhinoceros and reindeer. Faunal and pollen analyses, hence, provides a new evidence for the development of cold and dry steppe-like environments in NW Iberia during MIS 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock shelters in the central Saharan massifs preserve anthropogenic stratigraphic sequences that represent both a precious archive for the prehistory of the region and a powerful proxy data for Holocene palaeoenvironments. The geoarchaeological (micromorphology) and archaeobotanical (pollen analysis) approaches were integrated to investigate the anthropogenic sedimentary sequence preserved within the Takarkori rock shelter, a Holocene archaeological site located in the Libyan central Sahara (southern Tadrart Acacus massif). The site was occupied throughout the Early and Middle Holocene (African Humid Period) by groups of hunter–gatherers before and by pastoral communities later. The investigation on the inner part of the sequence allows to recognize the anthropogenic contribution to sedimentation process, and to reconstruct the major changes in the Holocene climate. At the bottom of the stratigraphic sequence, evidence for the earliest frequentation of the site by hunters and gatherers has been recognized; it is dated to c. 10,170 cal yr BP and is characterized by high availability of water, freshwater habitats and sparsely wooded savannah vegetation. A second Early Holocene occupation ended at c. 8180 cal yr BP; this phase is marked by increased aridity: sediments progressively richer in organics, testifying to a more intense occupation of the site, and pollen spectra indicating a decrease of grassland and the spreading of cattails, which followed a general lowering of lake level or widening of shallow-water marginal habitats near the site. After this period, a new occupational phase is dated between c. 8180 and 5610 cal yr BP; this period saw the beginning of the frequentation of pastoral groups and is marked by an important change in the forming processes of the sequence. Sediments and pollen spectra confirm a new increase in water availability, which led to a change in the landscape surrounding the Takarkori rock shelter with the spreading of water bodies. The upper part of the sequence, dating between c. 5700 and 4650 cal yr BP records a significant environmental instability towards dryer climatic conditions, consistent with the end of the African Humid Period. Though some freshwater habitats were still present, increasing aridity pushed the expansion of the dry savannah. The final transition to arid conditions is indicated by the preservation of ovicaprines dung layers at the top of the sequence together with sandstone blocks collapsed from the shelter's vault. On the contrary, the outer part of the sequence preserves a significantly different palaeoenvironmental signal; in fact, the surface was exposed to rainfall and a complex pedogenetic evolution of the sequence occurred, encompassing the formation of an argillic laminar horizon at the topsoil, the evolution of a desert pavement, and the deposition of Mn-rich rock varnish on stones. These processes are an effect of the general environmental instability that occurred in the central Sahara since the Middle Holocene transition. Finally, the local palaeoclimatic significance of the sequence fits well with Holocene regional and continental environmental changes recorded by many palaeohydrological records from North Africa. This highlights the potential of geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical investigations in interpreting the palaeoenvironmental significance of anthropogenic cave sediments in arid lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historical town of Camerano (Ancona, central Italy), built on a hill just west of the Mt. Conero promontory, is laced with a broad underground system of remarkable man-made caves. Thanks to the caves, we can view and describe a composite sedimentological and stratigraphic section of Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) marine deposits, which lack subaerial outcrops. This study is aimed at a better deinition of the sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental context of the Camerano area, and at improving the knowledge of the Camerano caves. Sediments are mainly couplets of massive- to- laminated, yellow-brown, bioclastic calcareous sand and massive, grey-green clay, of variable thickness. Each couplet shows an erosive basal surface and normal gradation, from sand to clay. Plane-parallel lamination, marked by recurring variations in grain size, is attributed to traction carpets and the sand horizons to resedimentation by sediment-gravity lows, with an eastern source (Mt. Conero). Conversely, clay relects both western distal river-delta supply and a local contribution from marine productivity. Beds of matrix-supported gravel made of heterometric clay fragments dispersed in a bioclastic sand matrix also occur within the sedimentary section. These interpretations differ partially from earlier geological schemes and offer new insights into the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Camerano area. The reconstruction involves a tectonically active Early Pleistocene basin, mainly dominated by clay sedimentation, but periodically reached by storm- and seismic-induced carbonate gravity lows. The matrix-supported conglomerate of large clay fragments was probably derived from remobilization of partially lithified deposits along the basin's eastern lank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Multiple forms of bias must be taken into account when interpreting paleoenvironmental proxy records in terrestrial Quaternary sequences. This fact complicates attempts to correlate records from different types of proxy data accumulated at the same site. We applied an actualistic approach to assess the correspondence between two major types of proxy data – pollen and micromammalian remains – in their representation of background vegetation within a cave site in Mount Carmel, Israel. Data on both pollen and micromammalian remains were extracted from a relatively large sample of 27 owl pellets accumulated inside the cave. These pellets were compared to other pollen sources from inside as well as outside the cave including owl nest sediment and samples from moss and lichen. These data were analyzed through multivariate correspondence analysis to examine associations among different pollen sources as well as between the pollen and micromammalian remains within the pellets. The pooled composition of the pellets revealed close association between pellets and moss samples from inside the cave. Moss and lichen samples from outside the cave, on the other hand, showed clear over-representation of Pinus pollen. In spite of some associations that we detected among specific pollen types and micromammalian taxa in the pellets when considering frequency data, there was good correspondence among the cave sources in representation of the Mediterranean Quercus maquis vegetation formation extending below the cave. We attribute these results in part to the relatively large sample of pellets and high taxonomic diversity. These findings are also explained by the interaction between two key factors including the orientation of the cave towards the nearby Quercus maquis and accumulation of both windblown pollen and pellets within the cave from this nearby source. We conclude that long-term pellet accumulations inside caves can contribute to inter-proxy correlation when dealing with pollen and micromammalian remains from pellet sources and provide important and reliable sources of paleoenvironmental data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Buran-Kaya III is a rockshelter located in Crimea (Ukraine). It provides an exceptional stratigraphic sequence extending from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Nine Paleolithic layers have been attributed to the Streletskaya or eastern Szeletian, Micoquian, Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Swiderian cultural traditions. Human remains from the richest Gravettian layer (6-1) are radiocarbon dated to 31.9 ka BP, and therefore represent, with Peştera cu Oase (Romania), one of the oldest anatomically modern humans in Europe. The aim of this study is to obtain a controlled stratigraphic sequence of Buran-Kaya III with new 14C dates from faunal and human bones, in their paleoenvironmental context. During our new excavations (2009-2011), sediments, bones, and teeth from the stratigraphical layers were sampled for sedimentological, geochemical, and 14C analyses. Fossil bones from the 2001 excavations were also analyzed. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating, including cross-dating, was performed at Groningen, Saclay/Gif-sur-Yvette, and Oxford. Biogeochemical analysis was used to test the integrity of the bone collagen. Dates were modeled using a Bayesian approach. The sedimentological, paleoenvironmental, and chronological data are mutually consistent and show that the Paleolithic human occupations at Buran-Kaya III range from the end of MIS 3 to early MIS 1. These results provide a new chronological and paleoenvironmental framework for the human settlements in eastern Europe during the late Middle and the Upper Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A drapery speleothem (DRA-1) from Castañar Cave in Spain was subjected to a detailed petrographical study in order to identify its primary and diagenetic features. The drapery's present day characteristics are the result of the combined effects of the primary and diagenetic processes that DRA-1 underwent. Its primary minerals are calcite, aragonite and huntite. Calcite is the main constituent of the speleothem, whereas aragonite forms as frostwork over the calcite. Huntite is the main mineral of moonmilk which covers the tips of aragonite. These primary minerals have undergone a set of diagenetic processes, which include: 1) partial dissolution or corrosion that produces the formation of powdery matt-white coatings on the surface of the speleothem. These are seen under the microscope as dark and highly porous microcrystalline aggregates; 2) total dissolution produces pores of few cm² in size; 3) calcitization and dolomitization of aragonite result in the thickening and lost of shine of the aragonite fibres. Microscopically, calcitization is seen as rhombohedral crystals which cover and replace aragonite forming mosaics that preserve relics of aragonite precursor. Dolomitization results in the formation of microcrystalline rounded aggregates over aragonite fibres. These aggregates are formed by dolomite crystals of around 1 μm size. The sequence of diagenetic processes follows two main pathways. Pathway 1 is driven by the increase of saturation degree and Mg/Ca ratio of the karstic waters and is visible in the NW side of the drapery. This sequence of processes includes: 1) aragonite and huntite primary precipitation and 2) dolomitization. Pathway 2 is driven by a decrease in the degree of saturation of calcite and aragonite and Mg/Ca ratio of the cave waters, and it is observed in the SE side of the drapery. The diagenetic processes of the second pathway include: 1) calcitization of aragonite; 2) incomplete dissolution (micritization) of both aragonite and calcite; 3) total dissolution. This study highlights the importance of diagenetic processes on speleothems and their complexity. The correct interpretation of these processes is crucial for the understanding of possible changes in the chemistry of waters, temperature, or pCO and so is critical to the correct interpretation of the paleoenvironmental significance of speleothems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water availability for Native Americans in the southwestern United States during periods of prolonged droughts is poorly understood as regional hydroclimate records are scant or contradicting. Here, we show that radiocarbon-dated charcoal recovered from an ice deposit accumulated in Cave 29, western New Mexico, provide unambiguous evidence for five drought events that impacted the Ancestral Puebloan society between ~ AD 150 and 950. The presence of abundant charred material in this cave indicates that they periodically obtained drinking water by using fire to melt cave ice, and sheds light on one of many human–environment interactions in the Southwest in a context when climate change forced growing Ancestral Puebloan populations to exploit water resources in unexpected locations. The melting of cave ice under current climate conditions is both uncovering and threatening a fragile source of paleoenvironmental and archaeological evidence of human adaptations to a seemingly marginal environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]