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Human evolutionary ecology stands to benefit by integrating theory and methods developed in movement ecology, and in turn, to make contributions to the broader field of movement ecology by leveraging our species' distinct attributes. In this paper, we review data and evolutionary models suggesting that major changes in socio-spatial behaviour accompanied the evolution of language. To illustrate and explore these issues, we present a comparison of GPS measures of the socio-spatial behaviour of Hadza hunter–gatherers of northern Tanzania to those of olive baboons (Papio anubis), a comparatively small-brained primate that is also savanna-adapted. While standard spatial metrics show modest differences, measures of spatial diversity, landscape exploration and spatiotemporal displacement between individuals differ markedly. Groups of Hadza foragers rapidly accumulate a vast, diverse knowledge pool about places and things over the horizon, contrasting with the baboon's narrower and more homogeneous pool of ecological information. The larger and more complex socio-spatial world illustrated by the Hadza is one where heightened cognitive abilities for spatial and episodic memory, navigation, perspective taking and communication about things beyond the here and now all have clear value. This article is part of the theme issue 'The spatial–social interface: a theoretical and empirical integration'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological investigations worldwide have focused on when and how humans permanently settled in high-altitude environments. Recent evidence from Xiada Co, Qusongguo, and Dingzhonghuzhuzi in western Tibet, where lithic artifacts and radiocarbon dates with original deposits were first accessed, provides new insights into human activities in this extreme environment during the early Holocene. This paper examines the mobility and land-use patterns of foragers in western Tibet from the perspectives of lithic analysis. Assemblages from three sites suggest homogenous technologies and raw material use, as well as potential interaction network of hunter-gatherers within the plateau during the early Holocene. It further argues that the material exponents and travel cost models of site location supported permanent occupation of the western Tibetan Plateau in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This contribution will provide a critical overview of the other papers within this special issue of Journal of World Prehistory (Elliott and Little 2018), identifying key aspects of the discussion and assessing potentials and problems in the development of Mesolithic archaeology in Britain and Ireland as a whole since 2006 (Conneller and Warren in Mesolithic Britain and Ireland: New approaches, Stroud, Tempus, 2006a). Reflections will include how the contribution of very high-resolution analyses to Mesolithic archaeology has changed since 2006 and the scale of our interpretations. The review will also identify areas which appear to be falling from analytical focus, including the role of analogies in Mesolithic archaeology and the nature of power and social relationships in Mesolithic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Today's biodiversity crisis fundamentally threatens the habitability of the planet, thus ranking among the primary human challenges of our time. Much emphasis is currently placed on the loss of biodiversity in the Anthropocene, yet these debates often portray biodiversity as a purely natural phenomenon without much consideration of its human dimensions and frequently lack long-term vistas. This paper offers a deep-time perspective on the key role of the evolving human niche in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity dynamics. We summarize research on past hunter–gatherer ecosystem contributions and argue that human–environment feedback systems with important biodiversity consequences are probably a recurrent feature of the Late Pleistocene, perhaps with even deeper roots. We update current understandings of the human niche in this light and suggest that the formation of palaeo-synanthropic niches in other animals proffers a powerful model system to investigate recursive interactions of foragers and ecosystems. Archaeology holds important knowledge here and shows that ecosystem contributions vary greatly in relation to different human lifeways, some of which are lost today. We therefore recommend paying more attention to the intricate relationship between biodiversity and cultural diversity, contending that promotion of the former depends on fostering the latter. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone points were one of the major hunting implements in northern European hunter-gatherer societies. They differ in shapes, types, and manufacturing techniques. In this paper, we investigate 22 bone points from the territory of Lithuania, by studying their morpho-technological characteristics, direct dates, and adhesive residues. The majority are isolated finds, but four points were selected from excavated archaeological sites dated between the 5th and 3rd millennia cal BC. Most of the points belong to the barbed points category, but six slotted points were also studied. Of the 22, 16 previously undated points were sampled for accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating. The results of 10 successfully dated samples are discussed together with previously published 14C dates of bone points from the same region. ATR-FTIR analysis of adhesive residues from six points suggest that birch bark tar was used to haft barbed points and lithic inserts. The results reveal the diversity of types of Early Holocene bone points in the territory of Lithuania, while the slotted and Kunda-type bone points fall into narrow timeframes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the understanding of the complexity in intentional and random manipulation with deceased human bodies in the Mid-Upper Paleolithic in Eurasia. A series of single or multiple anatomic modern human burials at open air-sites, in caves or under rock shelters have been documented. Some of them are decorated and covered by extra-large sized mammal bones for protection. Beside these ritually buried individuals, isolated human cranial and postcranial fragments are scattered through the cultural and other depositional layers, many of them being identified during the post-excavation processing of faunal remains (e.g. Dolní Věstonice I, II and Pavlov I sites in the Czech Republic). These bits and pieces often lack direct evidence of predator or human manipulation (except intentionally perforated human teeth), which raises the question of a differential mortuary practice employed by our ancestors and/or the presence of specific depositional and post-depositional taphonomic conditions in the preservation of human remains. The paper addresses ethnoarcheological observations in different types of treatment of deceased human bodies among recent Arctic and sub-Arctic hunter-gatherers and reindeer herders in Eurasia with a special emphasis on the burial rites among the Nenets from northwestern Siberia. The work aims at the author's own social and economic scope, in which inappropriate or partial manipulation with the deceased human body presents a disputable, unethical and even illegal act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWhat constraints and conditions are conducive to the innovation of more advanced watercraft technology? This paper explores this question by modeling ancient voyages in the Channel Island region of southern California. The Chumash and Tongva cultures of this region invented an advanced form of boat, the sewn plank canoe, around 500 CE. This new technology led to a rapid increase in maritime travel and transformed the maritime political economy of the region. In this paper we use agent-based ocean voyage modeling to examine the capacities of a range of indigenous boat types to travel important routes in the Channel Region at different times of the year. Our results indicate that while several different boat types would have been conducive for voyaging from the mainland coast to adjacent islands such as Limuw (Santa Cruz) and Pimu (Catalina), voyages to outlying islands, including Tuqan (San Miguel) and especially Haraasnga (San Nicolas), would have been difficult for much of the year in dugout or reed boats. We argue that early mariners plying these routes would have been under strong pressure to innovate faster and more seaworthy craft, possibly leading to the eventual development of the sewn plank canoe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

In 2020, extensive archaeological research was carried out in the western part of the Kalviai Lake valley. New sites were identified, one of which was named Vilūnai 5. It is a sandy open-air site located on a fluvioglacial hill. The archaeological investigations have shown that the site was probably visited by people as early as the Final Palaeolithic, but the most intensive episodes of occupation are seen in the Mesolithic, Subneolithic and Neolithic periods, as well as the beginning of the Metal period. This paper aims to present the results of these excavations. It provides data on the flint and non-flint lithic artefacts and ceramic finds. Although the site does not contain preserved organics, and therefore much data concerning human activity is absent, this paper aims to integrate the Vilūnai 5 site and its archaeological material into the overall context of Stone Age sites around Kalviai Lake's shores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

This paper presents the results of the analysis of plant macroremains (except wood), primarily seeds and fruits, from Cabo San Pablo 2017 (CSP2017), an archaeological site close to the Atlantic coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. CSP2017 has a great diversity of archaeological materials, including faunal, lithic, carpological, and anthracological remains. The data are especially relevant due to the scarcity of information regarding plant use at coastal sites in the region. At CSP2017 eleven taxa were identified. The results obtained provide data on plant use at the site and, at the same time, enable discussion of the management and use of these types of resources on Isla Grande. By placing these results in context with previously studied coastal and hinterland sites, research at CSP2017 contributes to a better understanding of plant use by hunter-gatherers of the southernmost part of South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

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

Sea catfish (Genidens barbus) and whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) were the most marine euryhaline species exploited by hunter-gatherers during the final Late Holocene along the coastal fringe of the eastern Pampa–Patagonia transition (Argentina). In the lower basin of the Colorado River, zooarchaeological evidence recovered from the San Antonio archaeological locality indicates prevalent fish consumption. However, no specific technology related to fishing has been recovered as part of the archaeological assemblages, hence strategies and techniques of fish capture remain unknown. The aim of this paper is to estimate the size of both species through archaeological otolith measurements to evaluate possible fish capture techniques. The analyzed sample is made up of 117 otoliths of whitemouth croaker and 863 of sea catfish. The estimated size of G. barbus individuals is between ca. 240 and 730 mm, which indicates the presence of juveniles and adults. In the case of M. furnieri, the estimated size range of individuals is ca. 350–750 mm, which indicates the representation of adult specimens. Based on the diversity of sizes represented in both species, their ethology, and the geomorphological characteristics of the study area, it is proposed that the fish could have been caught with either nets or bare hands through nonselective mass trapping strategies during the spring–summer season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ethos (00912131) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: The mortuary record at Middle Period site Kalawwasa Rummeytak (CA‐SCL‐134) (2600‐1225 cal BP) in California's southern Santa Clara Valley shows pronounced wealth inequality; Olivella shell bead wealth, as well as other grave goods, are concentrated in the burials of several older adult females. The concentration of wealth among women, along with regional strontium isotopic evidence of male‐biased residential shifts in early adulthood, suggests a matrilineal kinship system that practiced matrilocal post‐marital residence patterns. We suggest local resource enhancement effects incentivized keeping women in their natal communities and investing more in female offspring. Materials and Methods: With the consent of, and in collaboration with, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, this paper employs isotopic analysis (δ15N and δ13C, 86Sr/87Sr) to examine duration of exclusive breastfeeding, weaning age (complete cessation of breastmilk consumption), early childhood diet, and lifetime residential mobility of individuals interred at Kalawwasa Rummeytak to test the assumption that the site inhabitants favored matrilocality and that female offspring received greater levels of investment in groups with female wealth/status attainment. First molars, third molars, and bone was sampled from 22 individuals. Results: The average weaning age for females at Kalawwasa Rummeytak is 36.3 months ± 9.7 (1 SD), or just over 3 years. The average weaning age for males is 31.2 ± 7.9 months (1 SD), or about 2.6 years. Infants at the site were provisioned with supplemental foods dominated by C3 plants and terrestrial herbivores, as well as anadromous fish. After weaning, individuals consumed a diet dominated by acorns, C3 plants, and terrestrial herbivores, with periodic inclusion of anadromous fish. 30% of the sampled population of females exhibit local first molar 87Sr/86Sr values, suggesting that Kalawwasa Rummeytak is their natal community. None of the males interred at the site are locals. Discussion: Despite the small sample size often unavoidable in archaeological contexts, we find possible female‐biased parental investment strategies. Cessation of breastfeeding (weaning) was, on average, 5 months earlier for males compared to females. There are no differences between females and males in the consumption of supplemental or post‐weaning foods. Strontium data suggest a flexible postmarital residence system that favored matrilocality. This may have incentivized greater investment in female offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of ethnographic and ethnohistoric data to inform reconstructions of past human societies has a long tradition. While simple ethnographic analogies have been used since the beginning of archaeological research, since the 1950s there have been several efforts to rationalize and systematize their use. This led to the development of several new methods, including direct historic analogy, ethnoarchaeology, and comparative ethnology. The latter is now experiencing a resurgence, stimulated by the digitization of large ethnographic databases and the development of new analytical methods. As part of a broader cross-cultural research approach, comparative ethnology explicitly aims to answer questions about the incidence, distribution, and causes of cultural variation. Based on the statistical evaluation of theories and large samples of cultures, this approach not only illustrates variation in cultural practices, but also provides supporting arguments for archaeological hypotheses. Specifically, it can (1) reveal archaeological indicators of human behavior, (2) test causal and non-causal associations between diverse cultural and ecological variables, and (3) reconstruct the evolutionary paths of specific cultural traits. Despite significant development in this field over recent decades, the application of comparative ethnology to the study of the human past is still relatively rare in the archaeological community. Our aim is to (re)introduce this method and demonstrate its potential to address archaeological questions through several recent case studies from two thematic research areas: hunter-gatherers and kinship systems. This paper demonstrates the breadth and variation of topics that can be studied using comparative ethnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

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

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

The Mesolithic in Eastern Europe was the last time that hunter-gatherer economies thrived there before the spread of agriculture in the second half of the seventh millennium BC. But the period, and the interactions between foragers and the first farmers, are poorly understood in the Carpathian Basin and surrounding areas because few sites are known, and even fewer have been excavated and published. How did site location differ between Mesolithic and Early Neolithic settlers? And where should we look for rare Mesolithic sites? Proximity analysis is seldom used for predictive modeling for hunter-gatherer sites at large scales, but in this paper, we argue that it can serve as an important starting point for prospection for rare and poorly understood sites. This study uses proximity analysis to provide quantitative landscape associations of known Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites in the Carpathian Basin to show how Mesolithic people chose attributes of the landscape for camps, and how they differed from the farmers who later settled. We use elevation and slope, rivers, wetlands prior to the twentieth century, and the distribution of lithic raw materials foragers and farmers used for toolmaking to identify key proxies for preferred locations. We then build predictive models for the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in the Pannonian region to highlight parts of the landscape that have relatively higher probabilities of having Mesolithic sites still undiscovered and contrast them with the settlement patterns of the first farmers in the area. We find that large parts of Pannonia conform to landforms preferred by Mesolithic foragers, but these areas have not been subject to investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

In this paper we study the relationships between plants and extinct megafauna by examining the characteristics of the vegetation in the central region of Argentina (i.e. Espinal, Monte, and Chaco phytogeographic regions). First, we study the size, shape, quantity, and characteristics of fruits and seeds. We also evaluate the presence of mechanical (spinescence and wood density) and chemical (secondary metabolic compounds) defenses against high rates of herbivory. Complementarily, we assess the importance these plants had for human populations, using archeological, ethnographic, and current data. A high percentage of the analyzed plants met the criteria proposed for fruits and seeds dispersed by megafauna, together with a high frequency of spinescence, high density woods, and secondary metabolites. We propose that these traits cannot be explained by the herbivory pressure of extant fauna in the area, but rather developed in interaction with currently extinct fauna. We suggest that Pleistocene megafaunal extinction had important consequences in the region due to their role as ecosystem engineers and to vegetation's characteristics, which were probably strongly shaped by megafauna activities. Among these consequences, we discuss the loss of certain interactions between these animals and vegetation, such as loss of seed dispersal mechanisms, shrub invasion, and increased susceptibility of vegetation to fire. Other effects for hunter-gatherer groups were the generation of highly regulated mobility patterns and the formation of barriers for the dispersal of prey. Finally, we also discuss the importance of these plants for human populations as food, construction material, medicines and firewood. Likewise, the role of humans as "heirs" of the megafauna in the propagation of tree and shrub species is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper examines the interplay of environmental change and human demographic shifts among late Pleistocene and Holocene populations in the hyper-arid context of the Central Namib Gravel plains, Western Namibia. This paper applies a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to arid-zone hunter-gatherer mobility patterns and settlement systems based on variability among ethnographically and historically observed groups. It then applies this model in examining issues related to the Middle-to-Later Stone Age transition at the sites of Erb Tanks and the Mirabib rock shelter. This model suggests that, among modern arid-zone foragers, population density is by far the strongest factor influencing mobility and settlement systems, with higher population densities favoring longer residential site usages and shorter residential moves within smaller territories. In contrast, environmental variables having to do with annual rainfall, rainfall seasonality, and effective temperature affect mobility and settlement systems in ambiguous and statistically insignificant ways. This paper closes by arguing that regional-scale population increases signaled by various features of Later Stone Age archaeological patterning led to local population expansions in the Central Namib Desert, and that this in turn caused a range of recognizable cultural shifts that were strongly linked with adaptations to aridity.

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

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

Humanity's relationship with the environment during the Holocene, and into the Anthropocene, is structured around our dependance on agricultural production, which has resulted in risk mitigation strategies that include intensive landscape modifications, among other tactics. However, to understand broader patterns of human resilience and the shifts in human/environment relationships, we need to look further back in time. Through this paper, we explore cultural strategies of risk management and resilience in pre-Holocene communities and how these practices allowed hunter-gatherer communities to adapt to a changing environment. For over 1000 years, the Epipalaeolithic site of Kharaneh IV was a focal point on the landscape for hunter-gatherer groups, acting as an aggregation site for Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic peoples. Located in the eastern desert of Jordan, at the time of occupation the site was a lush wetland surrounded by a rich grassland environment, providing abundant food and other resources for the site's occupants. However, over time the wetland began to dry up and by 18,600 cal BP Kharaneh IV was abandoned. In this paper, we discuss the final occupation of Kharaneh IV, linking the site's abandonment to the increasing aridification of eastern Jordan. Environmental change led to the eventual abandonment of Kharaneh IV and other nearby sites, as people relocated within the Azraq Basin in search of new water resources during the Holocene. Flexible technological strategies and knowledge of the landscape created resilient cultural practices that allowed these communities to use population movement as a risk management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a joint disease characterized by the detachment or separation of an articular cartilage fragment and subchondral bone in joint epiphyses. It has been diagnosed in archaeological skeletons worldwide but scarcely studied in hunter‐gatherer skeletal remains. The aim of this paper is to analyse the variation of OCD in skeletons of past populations that lived in Southern Patagonia during the Late Holocene, which can be useful to improve our understanding about the effects of the mechanical demands in hunter‐gatherers. The overall prevalence observed in this sample (40.5%), higher than the data reported for current populations and mostly located in the shoulder of young and middle adult males of terrestrial and maritime hunter‐gatherers, suggests that physical activity involved in both economic strategies would have played an important role in the development of OCD. The contact with European colonizers does not seem to have produced differences in the prevalence of OCD, although more dated skeletons are needed to test this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Mesolithic and Neolithic, foragers dwelling in the Eastern Baltic, Scandinavia and Fennoscandia regions buried some of their dead on lake islands or other coastal sites. Based on ethnographic accounts, these sites are often understood as liminal places where water separates the lands of the dead and the living. In this paper, we take a more relational view of place and suggest that a particular combination of spatial perception of landscape and the dynamic nature of coastal sites might have contributed to the social agency of these places, resulting in their use as places for ritual activity. By exploring two Mesolithic–Neolithic burial places, Donkalnis and Spiginas (western Lithuania), with sensory archaeological and artistic approaches, we suggest that the ancient foragers of this region buried human bodies in these locations to be part of the place itself. Similar to other depositional acts, this could have been done to mark the location or communicate with the surrounding world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extra‐site activities of hunter‐gatherers and artifact curation between functionally different camps raise the issue of items a site lacks. This issue is usually addressed using the fractal properties of raw material. The model presented in this paper simultaneously considers the qualitative and quantitative (exponential) properties of missing artifacts. Our model was tested on Federmesser and Swiderian materials from the site of Lubrza 10, Western Poland. The obtained results confirm the utility of this model application to comparative analysis of assemblages coming from different sites and their structural units and identification of their function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an introduction to the topical collection dealing with the Post-glacial human subsistence and settlement patterns: insights from bones. The context of the Lateglacial and Early Holocene (ca. 16,000–6000 cal BP) in Europe offers the possibility to examine the response of terrestrial ecosystems to dramatic climatic changes and the evolution of subsistence among hunter-gatherers facing phases of environmental instabilities. The contributors of this special issue developed and applied diverse approaches to provide regional and chronological elements to the knowledge of the available biotopes and their exploitation by human populations over the Lateglacial and Early Holocene in Europe. Their studies provide local information on animal recolonization of septentrional areas in Europe, change in habitat of large games, and human dietary adaptation to new biotopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Pampa-Patagonia region in Argentina has been characterized as an ethnically complex territory during the late Holocene. This region presents a high frequency of human burials and, although several papers have focused on the study of cranial vault modification, none of them have discussed systematically the ethnic role of this practice. In this study, we assess the role of cranial modification as a potential expression of ethnic identity among hunter-gatherer groups from northeastern Patagonia and southeastern Pampas during the late Holocene. In order to define morphological groups and to recognize spatio-temporal patterns, we applied 2D landmark-based morphometric methods and multivariate statistical techniques on 216 adult male and female crania, which were grouped into three geographic units. The results of this paper do not support the idea of cranial modification as an ethnic marker within the region, as the different modifications follow a temporal sequence and are present in the entire study area. Also, our results show that the groups of cranial modification are different from each other, and they show variability among the geographic units. The reasons behind the change between cranial modification groups remain unclear, but it coincides approximately with some technological and symbolic changes in the material record. Variability within groups is understood as the result of a non-standardized practice and the existence of local ways of doing among the hunter-gatherer of the study region. As we see in shared art motives and decorative patterns, cranial modification would have represented another correlate of a macro-regional visual communication system that worked during the late Holocene in Pampa-Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its inception in academia in 1929 by John Goodwin and Clarence van Riet Lowe, the Later Stone Age (LSA) in southern Africa has seen considerable growth and heated academic debate. Recently, some academics have lamented that LSA research has stagnated, and even reached the brink of marginalisation. According to Mitchell (2005), one reason for reviving LSA research is the field's global importance and potential to empower and represent previously disenfranchised communities. The aim of this paper is to examine how San communities and southern African hunter-gatherers have been historically perceived by reviewing LSA research approaches. Several key themes of LSA research are presented which capture major shifts in methodological and theoretical frameworks and research interests within the field. These examples signal fundamental shifts in research discourse, archaeologists' perspectives, and the dominant views of 'Bushman'. Although providing an historical summary of LSA research, the paper also considers decolonisation within the field, aligning with the current socio-political milieu in southern Africa. It is suggested that while using ethnography and indigenous knowledge systems is helping us decolonise our approach to the archaeological record, this is not without its problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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