Search

The identification of a twofold chronology for the Quaternary alluvial deposits of Iranian Makran makes it possible to give limiting ages to some of the recent movements that have affected parts of the Zendan fault belt. One such faulting episode has been dated by this method to the period 7000-1250 yr BP. As the two alluvial units can be readily traced on air photographs, it should prove possible to extend the analysis to other parts of Iran.

Violascensol 1and the corresponding 6-ketostearoyl ester 2were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Lactarius violascens. Their structures were established by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Compounds 1and 2are the first examples of protoilludane sesquiterpenes isolated from a Lactariusspecies.

Tricholomenyns C, D, and E, isolated from the fruiting bodies of Tricholoma acerbumand other species of the genus Tricholoma, are the first naturally occurring dimeric dienyne geranyl cyclohexenones.

Investigation of Lactarius scrobiculatusgave two new lactarane lactones, an 8-norlactarane sesquiterpene, which is the first representative of such a class of compounds, and 4-epi-furandiol. A possible biosynthetic mechanism for the formation of these sesquiterpenes is proposed.

In order to refine a shoreline chronology employed for evaluating neotectonic deformation in eastern Saudi Arabia, conventional 14C dating was applied to molluscs and barnacles associated with a Holocene palaeoshore. The close agreement obtained between ages for Balanus amphitriteadhering to cultural remains of the 'Ubaid period, Circe arabicain growth position, and Cerithidea cingulatashows that a wide range of material can be used for reconstructing the former waterline. First-order 14C dating of these species provides acceptable results quickly and cheaply. The age of Pinctada radiatafrom a midden site points to prolonged human occupation of the area and illustrates the limited value of archaeological dating of fossil shorelines.

A fold controlling the form of the local topography near El Asnam, Algeria, increased in amplitude at the time of the earthquake of 10 October 1980. The deformation occurred rapidly in an elastic–brittle manner and not in the gradual ductile fashion in which folds are normally thought to develop.

A simple method has been developed for fitting sinusoidal curves to partially exposed or eroded fold structures using measured dips and the pairing of some of the strata in question.

Preliminary radiocarbon dating of fossil shorelines in western Cyprus indicates at least 12 m of uplift in the last 32,000 years. The geomorphological evidence points to spasmodic movement, with increments of > 1.5 m and average recurrence intervals of at least 11,000 years.

Although Quaternary marine terraces have been reported from eastern Saudi Arabia at heights of up to 150 m, unambiguous shoreline deposits could be identified only within 3 m of present-day High Water and close to the modern shoreline. Unaltered aragonitic mollusc shells from five such deposits yielded 14C ages of 3700–6000 yr B.P. Comparison of their elevations with those of coeval deposits on the Zagros coast of Iran demonstrates the relative stability of the Saudi shore of the Gulf during the late Holocene.

SummaryIn 1957, Hudson, Eames & Wilkins proposed the name of Hammar Formation for a series of sands and silts below the surface alluvium of the Mesopotamian Plains near Basrah, Iraq, which yielded a marine molluscan fauna of Holocene age. This paper shows that deposits yielding a very similar molluscan fauna are present at shallow depths at Amarah and Qurmat Ali, and lists the numerous foraminifera recovered from these deposits. Marine or brackish water conditions are thus shown to have prevailed in recent times over a distance of at least 250 km NW of the present head of the Persian Gulf.

SummaryExamination of Kaiserstuhl loess material by scanning electron microscopy reveals fine material adhering to the major particles, fracture features, carbonate overgrowths and signs of particle weathering; all of which appear typical of loess material. The carbonate overgrowths included discrete rhombic crystals, which are possibly dolomite. Alpine and Northern glaciers could have provided fine quartz material for the Kaiserstuhl loess; an Alpine source seems more likely, with perhaps some fluvial transportation involved.

This study is concerned with the exploitation of resources by human groups in the Carmel area over a period of about 50,000 years. To this end an attempt is made to evaluate the changing economic potential of the ‘catchments’ of individual sites, for this enables us to make a comparative analysis of hunting-gathering and agricultural economies.Although the study of prehistoric sites is now usually complemented by some treatment of their setting, the situation in their immediate vicinity—the principal concern of the inhabitants—tends to be neglected or at any rate overshadowed by generalized statements regarding the physiographic, vegetational, climatic or kindred zones of which they form a (not necessarily typical) part. The difficulty that is encountered by attempts to harmonize the findings of the various specialists who nowadays contribute to archaeological studies may, in fact, be due to the limitations of a zonal approach, for the populations or phenomena with which each of them is concerned do not necessarily refer to a single ‘catchment’ area and may have little connection with the picture of the exploited territory that is imprinted on the site record.

In the second article of this series, brief mention was made of a cave at Kastritsa, near Lake Ioannina, whose talus had yielded an industry reminiscent of the last phase at the shelter of Asprochaliko. The evidence for an increase in the size of Lake Ioannina during the Last Glaciation was also outlined. The purpose of this paper is to consider the concomitant environmental changes in relation to the evidence for human occupation.Lake Ioannina lies at 469 metres above sea-level. To the north-east stands the Mitsikeli ridge, with a maximum elevation of 1,810 metres and separated from the Pindus range by the gorge of the upper Arakhthos (fig. 1). To the south-west lies the Tomarokhoria plateau, which in places rises to over 1,900 metres. The basin, a typical polje, is cradled by limestones which range in age from the Upper Triassic to the Upper Eocene. The Flysch of the Pindus borders it on the south-east. The lake lies along the axis of the Perama syncline, which runs north-west-south-east parallel to the Mitsikeli anticline and the Stavraki anticline; faulting is common. The basin would seem to owe its existence primarily to structural factors, although solution doubtless contributed to its present form.

In 1965 the investigations described in the first paper of the series were resumed in Epirus. The excavation of the rock shelter of Asprochaliko was continued, and further geological observations made it possible to establish a continental sequence extending from the Last Interglacial to the present day.The geological succession and its associated artifacts was worked out in the Louros valley (fig. 1) and confirmed in other parts of Epirus. It consists of the following three main formations:3. Valley-floor Alluvium (pl. 1, upper). 2. Red Beds. 1. Tufa.There are also extensive sheets of unconsolidated scree on the valley sides, as Hey has noted. These overlie the Red Beds, but as their relationship to the Valley-floor Alluvium is not known, and as the extent of contemporary scree formation (if any) is not yet clear, they cannot at this stage be placed in the succession.

IN Périgord, as in other parts of Europe, climatic and ecological variations inferred from Pleistocene sediments and organic remains have long provided the basis for correlating stratified Palaeolithic artefacts1and for subdividing the geological record2,3. Radiocarbon dating now makes it possible to establish independent environmental, archaeological and palaeontological sequences and thus to investigate the links between them. I report here the results of work on valley deposits undertaken with this end in view; their archaeological and palaeoclimatic implications will be considered elsewhere.

The study of coastal deformation and sea-level history calls for radiometric ages on shorelines older than the past 20,000 yr, the period for which reliable 14C ages can be obtained. Uranium-series disequilibrium methods have yielded the requisite ages for reef coral ranging from 5,000 to 300,000 yr but previously have proved unreliable for most molluscs, the major source of uncertainty being postmortem migration of uranium and its daughter radionuclides into and out of the shells. In the present study the 230Th/234U dating method1was applied to molluscs from Holocene beaches in the Persian Gulf which had been removed from marine influence by seismic uplift. Two specimens selected for comparative dating with the electron spin resonance (ESR) method yielded ages of the correct order of magnitude. Excellent agreement was obtained between 14C and 230Th/234U ages after detrital effects were corrected for by reference to modern comparative material for both calcitic and aragonitic specimens, which suggests that uranium-series dating of pre-Holocene molluscs may give reliable results provided the depositional history of the shoreline is well documented.

FOR the study of recent crustal processes, seismological and geodetic surveys need to be complemented by measurements of Earth movements over periods long enough for secular trends to emerge1. The one such item available for the Zagros was obtained in 1952, when Lees and Falcon used archaeological remains to trace the growth over the past 1,700 yr of the Shaur anticline near the head of the Persian Gulf2. Lees and Falcon also observed that recent marine terraces on the shores of the Gulf had been deformed by anticlinal growth2: I report here preliminary 14C dates on shells from fossil beach deposits associated with three fold structures on the eastern Zagros coast of Iran near Bandar Abbas, and derive Holocene deformation rates from them. The results, though not necessarily applicable to other parts of the folded belt, are compatible with estimates of the current rate of rotation of Arabia, to whose northeasterly drive the Zagros Range has been ascribed3.

Abstract: Quartz silt is widespread in terrestrial sediments [1]. Its ubiquity has led to its neglect as a geomaterial, and studies of silt as such are relatively rare, but it presents an interesting and continuing petrological problem. Is silt a specific geological material, is it defined by a formation process, and a set of size parameters? In the world of clastic quartz sedimentology there are obvious mode sizes; there is a sand mode at around 300–500 μm and a silt mode, an order of magnitude smaller, at 30–50 μm. Are these both defined by specific geological processes?

In remote villages of Kurdistan-Iraq, such as in those on Safeen Mountain, decoctions, potions, and oils from the local herbal tradition have provided the only medicinal remedies for centuries, up to today. A variety of diseases are treated with different plant preparations, ranging from simple rheumatism to diarrhea, skin diseases, and highly complicated kidney and heart problems. This survey describes, for the first time, the mostly used medicinal plants, resulting from several interviews with local herbal healers. The bioactivity of some isolated compounds is, indeed, strictly related to traditional uses of plants in Safeen Mountain Province. We also report the preliminary results of our ongoing research project on the constituents of the still uninvestigated plant Pterocephalus nestorianusNab., which is traditionally used against inflammation and oral diseases. Luteolin-7-O-glucoside, 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and loganic acid were isolated.

The Chott el Djerid is a large, salt-covered depression in southern Tunisia (Fig. 1). The late nineteenth century idea that the basin had been invaded by the sea1,2has been superseded by the view that any Quaternary flooding of the Chott must have resulted from climatic changes, as the fossils found in its sediments are not exclusively marine and there is no indication of the fluctuations in sea level or of the crustal movements that would be required to fill and then empty the basin2,3. We report here evidence for a marine connection 35,000–25,000 years ago and show that it implies subsequent uplift by some 80 metres in an area long regarded as either stable2or prone to subsidence throughout the Quaternary4.

THE diachronism of an environmental change—that is, the extent to which its age varies with location—is a useful clue to its origin1. In the case of alluvial sequences, the time taken for filling and trenching to work their way through a drainage basin is likely to obscure chronological differences between basins unless they are sufficiently distant from each other for any regional trend to become apparent. I report here 14C dates for alluvial units in south-eastern Spain, and suggest that they are consistent with the effects of latitudinally diachronous deposition throughout the Mediterranean Basin and Near East.