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This work analyses change in prehistoric funerary structures and related material culture of Early Bronze Age eastern Arabia (Northern Oman and UAE, 3100-2000 BC) from the perspective of cultural evolutionary theory (Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman, 1981; Boyd and Richerson, 1985). By observing decorative and structural elements in monumental tombs and pottery, new hypotheses about the underlying mechanisms of cultural transmission can be explored. The main objective is to transcend the traditional dichotomy between early and late tomb types by creating an explanatory framework that looks at diachronic variation for inferring cultural processes. The research develops a new systematic description of burials and ceramics. Diversity measures are used to investigate the role played by human interaction/isolation and demography in determining adoption, replication, systematic preference and persistence of the examined cultural variants. Results confirm that specific mechanisms are at work in different moments of time, for both tombs and ceramics. By starting to research the processes underlying structural change, this work allows for a reassessment of the current interpretation of prehistoric funerary practices, and generates new hypotheses on the movement of people and ideas in a still largely unexplored context.

Although the attempt of sociobiology to provide a unified account of human biological and cultural evolution foundered on the sheer plasticity of human behaviour, subsequent attempts to rescue the relevance of evolutionary biology for the study of cultural phenomena have proved fruitful. A—perhaps the—major driver of this success has been the development of dual inheritance models (Boyd and Richerson 1985) that explicitly acknowledge the operation of both genetic and non- genetic inheritance in human sociocultural evolution. The development of such models has come about through, on the one hand, a willingness to apply Darwinian “population thinking” to social and cultural phenomena and, on the other, the recognition that biological genetic evolution is but one specific example of a more general ‘algorithm’ applicable to several domain beyond biology (Hull, 1982; Dennett, 1995). Nevertheless, there remains considerable debate about whether cultural change is an evolutionary process operating on the same kinds of functional entities (replicators, interactors and lineages), or whether it is simply an analogous process. A common refrain in the debate about the status of cultural change as an evolutionary process, voiced by biologists and social scientists (Gould, 1987), is that if cultural change is evolutionary then it is Lamarckian rather that Darwinian. None of the protagonists believe that cultural evolution is literally Lamarckian in the sense that acquired cultural characteristics might somehow become encoded in genetic material. Rather, the question arises out of uncertainty surrounding what is genotypic and what is phenotypic in purely cultural evolution (e.g. Lake 1998). Indeed, in the case of the evolution of material culture, objects are often conceived as phenotypic expressions of genotypic ideas, but there may well be circumstances in which they actually function as cultural genotypes or even conflate both functions (Lake 1998). Although the genotype-phenotype distinction in material culture is philosophically interesting, the question we address in this paper is essentially pragmatic: does the uncertainty surrounding the physical permanence of material culture actually matter for the application of models derived from evolutionary biology? We seek to explore potential implications of this phenomena for the application of one particular model that has been widely adopted for the study of cultural evolution:the neutral allele theory (Kimura, 1983). Originally developed in population genetics, its flexible and broad mathematical basis can serve as a null model for a variety of applications, including circumstances where the frequency of cultural variants change as a function of innovation rate and unbiased copying processes. The latter implies that variants are replicated without any particular selective pressure, and random events associated with sampling errors can lead to the spread or loss of knowledge. Archaeological applications of this null hypothesis produced a variety of results. Some exhibit empirical patterns predicted by the neutral model (e.g. Bentley et al. 2004), while others suggest the effect of systematic social choices or biases (e.g. Shennan and Wilkinson 2001). Premo (2014) has however demonstrated that techniques developed to identify neutrality are not necessarily capable of identifying unbiased cultural transmission in samples collected from time-averaged archaeological assemblages. In this paper we argue that there is potentially another problem with using the standard biological neutral model to detect the emergence of systematic preferences in the evolution of material culture, i.e the possibility that the effective population of cultural models is the number of artefacts in circulation rather than the number of people producing them. In addition, considering the differential durability of material culture, it is also possible that this number includes artefacts created by previous generations of producers. The first issue was noted by Shennan and Wilkinson (2001). As we are aware there have been explorations of the concept of memory in language evolution (Bentley et al. 2011), but there are no formal studies concerning the consequences of the persistence of material culture on the application of the neutral model. In order to investigate this problem we develop a simulation model where standard unbiased cultural transmission has been modified to incorporate a ‘production’ and a ‘persistence’ bias. Rather than formalising knowledge transfer as an individual-to- individual process, we build a model where individuals update their ‘genotype’ by copying from objects produced by other agents. This slight change in the model introduces two new mechanisms: the expression of the phenotype might be affected by stochastic events (‘production bias’), and objects might persist in the physical world for a given amount of time, potentially outliving their creator/genotype (‘persistence bias’). We generate a series of artificial archaeological records to examine whether these two biases modify the result of tests commonly used to detect neutrality in cultural datasets (Slatkin’s Exact test and Ewens-Watterson homozygosity test). Preliminary results suggest that this is the case, with the frequency of cultural variants showing significantly greater diversity than expected according to the standard neutral model. Our result thus indicates that in the presence of production and persistence bias there is a higher chance of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis of random copying/neutral cultural transmission.

From the end of 4th millennium BC Eastern Arabia knew a rapid accretion of social com- plexity connected to the expansion of trade networks, at the outcome of Middle Holocene adaptive strategies. However, contrary to other areas across South West Asia, neither state nor urban centres developed in the region. Water management systems were built and the re- sulting oases and coastal plateaus were closely overlooked by hundreds of monumental col- lective burials. A novel approach is proposed to explain the socio-cultural evolution underlying the formation of Magan by means of an architecture of tribal alliances testified by complex funerary practices.

The research on Early Bronze Age (ca 3100-2000 BC) eastern Arabia (encompassing Oman and United Arab Emirates) has since its very beginning been interwoven with the study of the thousands of monumental burials that were built and used during the third millennium BC. Despite our knowledge of early Bronze Age settlements and subsistence activities being increasingly and profoundly expanded - these monumental stone buildings and their content are still the most widespread potential source of information on the past of the region. After evidence of these funerary activities was first uncovered, it started being investigated according to the chronological typology developed by Karen Frifelt (1975a). This comprised Jemdet-Nasr graves (3000 BC), beehive-graves (early third millennium BC, later grouped into Hafit graves with Jemdet-Nasr ones), Umm an-Nar graves (early to late third millennium BC), Wadi Suq graves (ca 2000-1300 BC) and Iron Age graves (ca 1st millennium BC). More recent studies have greatly improved our understanding of the complex funerary practices that can be encountered in this context. Nevertheless, the basic typological subdivision proposed by Frifelt has been maintained as a general reference. Types became broader parameters, stretched in order to encompass the emerging variability of the archaeological record. Today, third millennium BC tombs are commonly divided into Hafit-type and Umm an-Nar-type graves (Cleuziou and Tosi 2007 among others). This subdivision is anyway conventional, as many past and current debates focus on the issue of potentially transitional structural forms (Potts 2012, Williams and Gregoricka 2013, and in this volume). The present work follows this line of enquiry and tries for the first time to produce a tentative phylogenetic tree of eastern Arabian prehistoric monumental tombs dated to the period 3100-2000 BC. Main objectives are: a) to build a systematic description of monumental burials by focussing on variation in the same diagnostic elements over time and space rather than on fixed aggregates of characters (types); b) to experiment with a flexible and theory-laden framework that can benefit from the addition of newly generated data; c) to explicitly link variability in monumental burials to mechanisms of cultural change and transmission; and d) to explore formal models of tomb structural change over time, so that novel hypotheses can be formulated and then tested in following studies, to ultimately address issues of continuity/discontinuity in this particular archaeological record.

Wadi Halfayin is an alluvial corridor located to the south of Jebel Akhdar with its northern boundary to the south of the town of Izki and its southern boundary to the north-east of the oasis of Adam. The region comprises several contemporary villages such as Zukayt, Habl al-Hadeed, Sooq Qadeem, Shafa and Al Akal. The region yielded evidence of 682 monumental funerary structures - ranging from the end of the fourth millennium to the first half of the first millennium BC (ca. 3100-600 BC) - and some diagnostic findings. In terms of later prehistoric cultural phases the valley comprises Hafit (ca. 3100-2700 BC), Umm an-Nar (ca. 2700-2000 BC), Wadi Suq (ca. 2000-1300 BC), and Iron Age (ca. 1300-600 BC) structures. Wadi Halfayin produced evidence of intense occupation over a long time-span, and offers a useful laboratory to observe change in the funerary landscape of Arabia from the Early Bronze Age to the late pre-Islamic period. In this region Bronze Age and Iron Age seem to be closely connected and even overlapped, suggesting a persistent attractiveness of the area during the whole pre-Islamic development.

The systematic arrangement of empirical evidence is the necessary premise of any archaeological enquiry. If the process that generated an observed pattern has to be investigated, archaeologists need to choose scales and units of analysis that are appropriate for their specific context and the relative research questions. Typology, classification, and grouping techniques have been developed in the last Century so that archaeological datasets could be ordered and analysed. This chapter provides an overview of the most relevant approaches to archaeological sorting. By presenting the history and development of the notion type, the emergence of diverging trends in archaeological thought is discussed. A brief digression on the basic tenets that link pottery typology to relative dating techniques is followed by an overview of the many, possible approaches to pottery description.

Acknowledgements: The authors thank G. Marciani and O. Jöris for comments on archaeology; C. Jeong, M. Spyrou and K. Prüfer for comments on genetics; M. O’Reilly for graphical support for Fig. 5 and Extended Data Fig. 9; the entire IT and laboratory teams at the Department of Archaeogenetics of MPI-SHH for technical assistance; M. Meyer and S. Nagel for support with single-stranded library preparation; K. Post, P. van Es, J. Glimmerveen, M. Medendorp, M. Sier, S. Dikstra, M. Dikstra, R. van Eerden, D. Duineveld and A. Hoekman for providing access to human specimens from the North Sea (The Netherlands); M. D. Garralda and A. Estalrrich for providing access to human specimens from La Riera (Spain); J. Górski and M. Zając for providing access to human specimens from Maszycka cave; C. Di Patti for providing access to human specimens from San Teodoro 2 (Italy); P. Blaževičius for providing access to the Donkalnis human remains and the new radiocarbon dates; the Italian Ministry of Culture and Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Provinces of Verona, Rovigo, and Vicenza for granting access to the human remains of Tagliente 2; F. Fontana, who carries out investigations of the Riparo Tagliente site (Italy); the Friuli Venezia Giulia Superintendency for providing access to the human tooth Pradis 1; and the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Provinces of Barletta-Andria-Trani and Foggia for providing access to the Paglicci human remains. This project has received funding by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements no. 803147-RESOLUTION (to S.T.), no. 771234-PALEoRIDER (to W.H.), no. 864358 (to K.M.), no. 724703 and no. 101019659 (to K.H.). K.H. is also supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG FOR 2237). E.A. has received funding from the Van de Kamp fonds. PACEA co-authors of this research benefited from the scientific framework of the University of Bordeaux’s IdEx Investments for the Future programme/GPR Human Past. A.G.-O. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RYC-2017-22558). L. Sineo, M.L. and D.C. have received funding from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) PRIN 2017 grants 20177PJ9XF and 20174BTC4R_002. H. Rougier received support from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences of CSUN and the CSUN Competition for RSCA Awards. C.L.S. and T. Saupe received support from the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (project no. 2014-2020.4.01.16-0030) and C.L.S. received support from the Estonian Research Council grant PUT (PRG243). S. Shnaider received support from the Russian Science Foundation (no. 19-78-10053)., Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.

In this paper, we present a pilot study aimed at investigating the impact of subsistence strategies and environmental pressure on the distribution of ethnographically documented strategies to cope with drought and its effects across 35 current societies in Africa. We use freely accessible ethnographic databases to retrieve data on how a number of African societies deal with the circumstances of drought, and ascertain the impact of geography on their distribution in order to measure possible relationships between them, a set of subsistence choices, and proxies of environmental constraints. We use Canonical Correspondence Analysis to explore the emerging patterns and find that subsistence strategy strongly impacts the choice of drought management strategies, especially if considered with a proxy of local environmental condition. Spatial proximity and aridity per se have only marginal impact, highlighting other relevant processes of cultural transmission that at least partly transcend (a) the intensity of human interaction over geographic gradients and (b) local adaptation primarily dependent on water availability. This study supports the wide applicability of quantitative and replicable methods to cross-cultural evidence on a variety of adaptive strategies and uses ethnographic data to propose new hypotheses that can inform future archaeological research by showing recurrent and non-case-specific choices highlighting resilient practices and adaptive behaviour in Africa., This research and this publication were funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project CULM–Modelling plant cultivation in prehistory HAR2016-77672-P, PI Debora Zurro) and by the quality research group of the Generalitat de Catalunya (CaSEs–2017 SGR 212). SB is supported by RAINDROPS, (ERC-Stg-2017, grant agreement no. 759800, PI Carla Lancelotti).

The reconstruction of the original morphology of bones and teeth after sampling for physicochemical (e.g., radiocarbon and uranium series dating, stable isotope analysis, paleohistology, trace element analysis) and biomolecular analyses (e.g., ancient DNA, paleoproteomics) is appropriate in many contexts and compulsory when dealing with fossil human remains. The reconstruction protocols available to date are mostly based on manual re-integration of removed portions and can lead to an imprecise recovery of the original morphology. In this work, to restore the original external morphology of sampled teeth we used computed microtomography (microCT), reverse engineering (RE), computer-aided design (CAD) and rapid prototyping (RP) techniques to fabricate customized missing parts. The protocol was tested by performing the reconstruction of two Upper Palaeolithic human teeth from the archaeological excavations of Roccia San Sebastiano (Mondragone, Caserta, southern Italy) and Riparo I of Grotte Verdi di Pradis (Clauzetto, Pordenone, north-eastern Italy) (RSS2 and Pradis 1, respectively), which were sampled for physicochemical and biomolecular analyses. It involved a composite procedure consisting in: a) the microCT scanning of the original specimens; b) sampling; c) the microCT scanning of the specimens after sampling; d) the reconstruction of the digital 3D surfaces of the specimens before and after sampling; e) the creation of digital models of the missing/sampled portions by subtracting the 3D images of the preserved portions (after the sampling) from the images of the intact specimens (before the sampling) by using reverse engineering techniques; f) the prototyping of the missing/sampled portions to be integrated; g) the painting and application of the prototypes through the use of compatible and reversible adhesives. By following the proposed protocol, in addition to the fabrication of a physical element which is faithful to the original, it was possible to obtain a remarkable correspondence between the contact surfaces of the two portions (the original and the reconstructed one) without having to resort to any manipulation/adaptation of either element., This project was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement no. 724046–SUCCESS awarded to S.B.)

[Objectives] Dietary diversity in primates is reflected in their dental morphology, with differences in size and shape of teeth. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between molar morphology and macrowear patterns in Pongo, Gorilla, and Pan to obtain dietary information., [Methods] We have examined 68 second lower molars using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis method including 18 chimpanzees, 28 gorillas, and 22 orangutans. We selected only molars from wildshot specimens characterized by a moderate degree of wear. High-resolution digital models of teeth were created using a white scanning light system with a resolution of 45 μm., [Results] The macrowear patterns of Pan were significantly different from those of Gorilla and of Pongo, differences that are mostly due to shearing wear. Gorilla and Pongo macrowear patterns are dominated by phase II areas, followed by lingual phase I facets, while in Pan we observe a significant increase in buccal phase I facets. The latter group also displays the highest macrowear variation across the sample examined in this study., [Conclusions] The molar macrowear patterns of the great apes analyzed in this study did not confirm our initial hypothesis of finding larger crushing and grinding areas in Pongo and more shearing wear in Gorilla. Pan shows the most variable macrowear, which is probably associated with their more flexible diet. The similarity between Pongo and Gorilla macrowear patterns may be due to a larger intake of mechanically challenging foods that could obfuscate dietary wear signals generated by softer foods., Australian Research Council Discovery Program, Grant/Award Number: DP190100465; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Number: DFG Research Unit 771; H2020 European Research Council, Grant/Award Number: 724046; Max Planck Society

Objectives The study of the development of human bipedalism can provide a unique perspective on the evolution of morphology and behavior across species. To generate new knowledge of these mechanisms, we analyze changes in both internal and external morphology of the growing human talus in a sample of modern human juveniles using an innovative approach. Materials and Methods The sample consists of high-resolution microCT scans of 70 modern juvenile tali, aged between 8 postnatal weeks and 10 years old, from a broad chronological range from Middle/Late Neolithic, that is, between 4800 and 4500 BCE, to the 20th century. We applied geometric morphometric and whole-bone trabecular analysis (bone volume fraction, degree of anisotropy, trabecular number, thickness, and spacing) to all specimens to identify changes in the external and internal morphology during growth. Morphometric maps were also generated. Results During the first year of life, the talus has an immature and globular shape, with a dense, compact, and rather isotropic trabecular architecture, with numerous trabeculae packed closely together. This pattern changes while children acquire a more mature gait, and the talus tends to have a lower bone volume fraction, a higher anisotropy, and a more mature shape. Discussion The changes in talar internal and external morphologies reflect the different loading patterns experienced during growth, gradually shifting from an “unspecialized” morphology to a more complex one, following the development of bipedal gait. Our research shows that talar plasticity, even though genetically driven, may show mechanical influences and contribute to tracking the main locomotor milestones.

The complex interplay between genetics, culture, and environment forms an individual’s biology, influencing their behavior, choices, and health. However, to what extent information derived from this intertwined network could be quantitatively summarized to provide a glance at an individual’s lifestyle is difficult to say. Here, we focused on dietary preferences as cultural proxies and genome-wide data of 543 individuals from six historical Silk Road countries: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. These lands favored the dispersal of innovations, foods, and DNA halfway across Eurasia, thus representing an ideal subject to explore interactions of cultural factors and genetic ancestry. We used discriminant analysis of principal components to infer cultural clusters, where mixed memberships are allowed. Five different clusters emerged. Of these, clusters 1 and 3, driven by aversion to pork and alcoholic beverages, mirrored genetic admixture patterns with the exception of Azerbaijan, which shares preferences supported by Islamic culture with Eastern countries. Cluster 3 was driven by protein-rich foods, whose preference was significantly related to steppe pastoralist ancestry. Sex and age were secondary clustering factors, with clusters formed by male and young individuals being related to alcohol preference and a reduced liking for vegetables. The soft clustering approach enabled us to model and summarize the individual’s dietary information in short and informative vectors, which show meaningful interaction with other nondietary attributes of the studied individuals. Encoding other cultural variables would help summarize an individual’s culture quantitatively, thus ultimately supporting its inclusion as a covariate in future association studies., The work was supported by STARs@UniPD 2019 (S.A., L.P.).

Size and shape variation of molar crowns in primates plays an important role in understanding how species adapted to their environment. Gorillas are commonly considered to be folivorous primates because they possess sharp cusped molars which are adapted to process fibrous leafy foods. However, the proportion of fruit in their diet can vary significantly depending on their habitats. While tooth morphology can tell us what a tooth is capable of processing, tooth wear can help us to understand how teeth have been used during mastication. The objective of this study is to explore if differences in diet at the subspecies level can be detected by the analysis of molar macrowear. We analysed a large sample of second lower molars of Grauer’s, mountain and western lowland gorilla by combining the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis method with other dental measurements. We found that Grauer’s and western lowland gorillas are characterised by a macrowear pattern indicating a larger intake of fruit in their diet, while mountain gorilla’s macrowear is associated with the consumption of more folivorous foods. We also found that the consumption of herbaceous foods is generally associated with an increase in dentine and enamel wear, confirming the results of previous studies., This study was supported by the Australian Research Council (Grant Number: DP190100465), by the the French National Research Agency (Grant Number: ANR-17-CE02-0010-01), by the Primate Research Institute Cooperative Research Program (Grant Number: 2016-B-91), and by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Grant Number: PID2020-114517GB-I00)

The population dynamics that followed the Out of Africa (OoA) expansion and the whereabouts of the early migrants before the differentiation that ultimately led to the formation of Oceanian, West and East Eurasian macropopulations have long been debated. Shedding light on these events may, in turn, provide clues to better understand the cultural evolution in Eurasia between 50 and 35 ka. Here, we analyze Eurasian Paleolithic DNA evidence to provide a comprehensive population model and validate it in light of available material culture. Leveraging on our integrated approach we propose the existence of a Eurasian population Hub, where Homo sapiens lived between the OoA and the broader colonization of Eurasia, which was characterized by multiple events of expansion and local extinction. A major population wave out of Hub, of which Ust’Ishim, Bacho Kiro, and Tianyuan are unadmixed representatives, is broadly associated with Initial Upper Paleolithic lithics and populated West and East Eurasia before or around 45 ka, before getting largely extinct in Europe. In this light, we suggest a parsimonious placement of Oase1 as an individual related to Bacho Kiro who experienced additional Neanderthal introgression. Another expansion, started before 38 ka, is broadly associated with Upper Paleolithic industries and repopulated Europe with sporadic admixtures with the previous wave (GoyetQ116-1) and more systematic ones, whereas moving through Siberia (Yana, Mal’ta). Before these events, we also confirm Zlatý Kůň as the most basal human lineage sequenced to date OoA, potentially representing an earlier wave of expansion out of the Hub.

Objective: The development of bipedalism is a very complex activity that contributes to shaping the anatomy of the foot. The talus, which starts ossifying in utero, may account for the developing stages from the late gestational phase onwards. Here, we explore the early development of the talus in both its internal and external morphology to broaden the knowledge of the anatomical changes that occur during early development.Materials and Methods: The sample consists of high-resolution microCT scans of 28 modern juvenile tali (from 36 prenatal weeks to 2 years), from a broad chronological range from the Late Roman period to the 20th century. We applied geometric morphometric and whole-bone trabecular analysis to investigate the early talar morphological changes.Results: In the youngest group (

Before the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼16.5 ka ago) set in motion major shifts in human culture and population structure, a consistent change in lithic technology, material culture, settlement pattern, and adaptive strategies is recorded in Southern Europe at ∼18–17 ka ago. In this time frame, the landscape of Northeastern Italy changed considerably, and the retreat of glaciers allowed hunter-gatherers to gradually recolonize the Alps. Change within this renewed cultural frame (i.e., during the Late Epigravettian phase) is currently associated with migrations favored by warmer climate linked to the Bølling-Allerød onset (14.7 ka ago), which replaced earlier genetic lineages with ancestry found in an individual who lived ∼14 ka ago at Riparo Villabruna, Italy, and shared among different contexts (Villabruna Cluster). Nevertheless, these dynamics and their chronology are still far from being disentangled due to fragmentary evidence for long-distance interactions across Europe. Here, we generate new genomic data from a human mandible uncovered at Riparo Tagliente (Veneto, Italy), which we directly dated to 16,980–16,510 cal BP (2σ). This individual, affected by focal osseous dysplasia, is genetically affine to the Villabruna Cluster. Our results therefore backdate by at least 3 ka the diffusion in Southern Europe of a genetic component linked to Balkan/Anatolian refugia, previously believed to have spread during the later Bølling/Allerød event. In light of the new genetic evidence, this population replacement chronologically coincides with the very emergence of major cultural transitions in Southern and Western Europe., The research was supported by the European Union through the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement no. 724046 – Success awarded to S.B., http://www.erc-success.eu; grant agreement no. 803147 Resolution awarded to S.T., https://site.unibo.it/resolution-erc/en) as well as through the European Regional Development Fund (project no. 2014–2020.4.01.16–0030 to C.L.S. and T.S.) and projects no. 2014-2020.4.01.16-0024 and MOBTT53 (L.P.), by the Estonian Research Council personal research grant (PRG243; C.L.S.), and by UniPd PRID 2019 (L.P.).

Backed pieces became widespread in the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene and are part of the classic definitions for the Later Stone Age in many parts of Africa. However, the association of backed pieces with Later Stone Age is not clear in the Horn of Africa. These pieces are present in both Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) contexts. To what extent was the “backing phenomenon” homogeneous or diverse between and within the two periods? Here, we start with a review of the literature on backed pieces in the Horn of Africa, noting the lack of terminological consensus and the absence of a shared typology in the region. We then describe the variability of backed pieces using two complementary approaches: (1) multivariate statistical analysis on a set of 28 attributes of 188 artifacts from eight securely dated contexts and (2) 2D geometric morphometric analyses on the same dataset. The two approaches provide complementary results, which allow us to identify and discuss the chronological trends in backing technology and morphology, without introducing a new terminology or proposing a new formal “descriptive” typology.

Strontium isotopes are applied to a wide range of scientific fields and to different types of sample materials, providing valuable information foremost about provenance and age, but also on diagenetic processes and mixing relationships between different Sr reservoirs. The development of in-situ analytical techniques, such as laser ablation ICP-MS, has improved our understanding of Sr isotope variability in several field of application, because of the possibility to discriminate small-scale changes and their spatial distribution. However, large outputs of Sr isotope data are produced by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS systems, which necessitate of multiple offline steps to correct and assess the data. This requires the availability of simple and user-friendly tools, easily manageable also by non-specialists. With this in mind, we developed SrDR, an Excel-based interactive data reduction spreadsheet (‘SrDR’, Sr-Data-Reduction) for the processing of Sr isotopes measured by LA-MC-ICP-MS. The SrDR spreadsheet is easily customizable (a) to meet user-specific analytical protocols, (b) for different instruments (i.e. Nu Plasma vs. Neptune), and (c) for diverse target materials (e.g. Rare Earth Elements enriched or depleted samples). We include also several examples relevant to low and high temperature geochemistry fields - a fossil tooth, a modern seashell, a speleothem sample and plagioclase crystals - to show how different sample materials are corrected for different interfering masses.

The early onset of weaning in modern humans has been linked to the high nutritional demand of brain development that is intimately connected with infant physiology and growth rate. In Neanderthals, ontogenetic patterns in early life are still debated, with some studies suggesting an accelerated development and others indicating only subtle differences vs. modern humans. Here we report the onset of weaning and rates of enamel growth using an unprecedented sample set of three late (���70 to 50 ka) Neanderthals and one Upper Paleolithic modern human from northeastern Italy via spatially resolved chemical/isotopic analyses and histomorphometry of deciduous teeth. Our results reveal that the modern human nursing strategy, with onset of weaning at 5 to 6 mo, was present among these Neanderthals. This evidence, combined with dental development akin to modern humans, highlights their similar metabolic constraints during early life and excludes late weaning as a factor contributing to Neanderthals��� demise

Roccia San Sebastiano is a tectonic-karstic cave located at the foot of the southern slope of Mt. Massico, in the territory of Mondragone (Caserta) in Campania (southern Italy). Systematic excavation has been carried out since 2001, leading to the partial exploration of an important Pleistocene deposit, extraordinarily rich in lithic and faunal remains. The aim of this paper is to (1) present the stratigraphic sequence of Roccia San Sebastiano, and (2) technologically describe the lithic materials of squares F14 t18, t19, t20; E16 t16, t17, t18 recently recognised as Uluzzian. The stratigraphic sequence is more than 3 m thick and dates from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. It contains different techno-complexes: Gravettian, Aurignacian, Uluzzian and Mousterian. In the Uluzzian lithic assemblage mostly local pebbles of chert were used in order to produce small-sized objects. The concept of debitage mainly deals with unidirectional debitage with absent or fairly accurate management of the convexities and angles; the striking platforms are usually natural or made by one stroke. It is attested the use of both direct freehand percussion and bipolar technique on anvil in the same reduction sequence. Amongst the retouched tools the presence of two lunates is of note. This study of the Roccia San Sebastiano Uluzzian lithic complexes is significant for understanding the dynamics of the transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the Tyrrhenian margin of southern Italy.

Ethnographic documentation consistently informs us that practices related to food sharing are dynamic chains of events resulting from highly differentiated forms of individual and group-based interactions. Specific behaviours and transaction strategies can be identified for every hunting, gathering and fishing group or society, and the sequence of such actions develops into a multi-stage process with distinctive practices and characteristics assigned to each point of the sequence. Detailed, empirical examples of sharing activities and multi-stage sequences can be recorded cross-culturally and at a cross-continental scale. The present paper develops a novel, systematic description of sharing activities by identifying specific behavioural patterns through textual and critical analysis, unequivocally defining and codifying each practice, and treating it as a particular expression of a multi-modal stage, and arranging each multi-modal stage in a fixed sequence of stages that can be consistently observed across a chosen set of populations. In this way each population can be univocally described as a list of mutually exclusive characters. Each character is the expression of a specific stage in a sequence of stages, which is the same for all populations. The proposed method makes empirical evidence on food sharing directly comparable across different contexts and facilitates the application of pattern-recognition methods for exploring broad trends, as well as the use of statistical techniques for inferring processes underlying the diversity recorded. Obtained results highlight the differential relevance of diverse mechanisms generating sharing patterns, and shed light on important issues such as the impact of the presence or absence of the figure of a distributor (as well as the kind of distributor), and the relevance of geographic proximity in explaining similarity in sharing practices among North American populations – as opposed as to what can be observed in South America.

Extensive European and African admixture coupled with loss of Amerindian lineages makes the reconstruction of pre-Columbian history of Native Americans based on present-day genomes extremely challenging. Still open questions remain about the dispersals that occurred throughout the continent after the initial peopling from the Beringia, especially concerning the number and dynamics of diffusions into South America. Indeed, if environmental and historical factors contributed to shape distinct gene pools in the Andes and Amazonia, the origins of this East-West genetic structure and the extension of further interactions between populations residing along this divide are still not well understood. To this end, we generated new high-resolution genome-wide data for 229 individuals representative of one Central and ten South Amerindian ethnic groups from Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Low levels of European and African admixture in the sampled individuals allowed the application of fine-scale haplotype-based methods and demographic modeling approaches. These analyses revealed highly specific Native American genetic ancestries and great intragroup homogeneity, along with limited traces of gene flow mainly from the Andes into Peruvian Amazonians. Substantial amount of genetic drift differentially experienced by the considered populations underlined distinct patterns of recent inbreeding or prolonged isolation. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that all non-Andean South Americans are compatible with descending from a common lineage, while we found low support for common Mesoamerican ancestors of both Andeans and other South American groups. These findings suggest extensive back-migrations into Central America from non-Andean sources or conceal distinct peopling events into the Southern Continent.

A pilot archaeological survey has revealed evidence for forty monumental stone cairns preserved in good conditions in the Mudug region, Puntland, in the Horn of Africa. These monuments were digitally recorded and are presented here as part of a first assessment of the archaeological potential of the region. While such monuments are not uncommon in eastern Africa, this particular discovery starts to shed light on an area that has not previously been explored archaeologically. Our paper reveals the rich potential of the Mudug region and paves the way for further research and development action in a key geopolitical area.

Defining the processes involved in the technical/cultural shifts from the Late Middle to the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe (~50-39 thousand years BP) is one of the most important tasks facing prehistoric studies. Apart from the technological diversity generally recognised as belonging to the latter part of the Middle Palaeolithic, some assemblages showing original technological traditions (i.e. Initial Upper Palaeolithic: Bohunician, Bachokirian; so called transitional industries: Châtelperronian, Szeletian, Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician, Uluzzian; Early Upper Palaeolithic: Protoaurignacian, Early Aurignacian) first appear during this interval. Explaining such technological changes is a crucial step in order to understand if they were the result of the arrival of new populations, the result of parallel evolution, or of long-term processes of cultural and biological exchanges. In this debate Italy plays a pivotal role, due to its geographical position between eastern and western Mediterranean Europe as well as to it being the location of several sites showing Late Mousterian, Uluzzian and Protoaurignacian evidence distributed across the Peninsula. Our study aims to provide a synthesis of the available lithic evidence from this key area through a review of the evidence collected from a number of reference sites. The main technical features of the Late Mousterian, the Uluzzian and the Protoaurignacian traditions are examined from a diachronic and spatial perspective. Our overview allows the identification of major differences in the technological behaviour of these populations, making it possible to propose a number of specific working hypotheses on the basis of which further studies can be carried out. This study presents a detailed comparative study of the whole corpus of the lithic production strategies documented during this interval, and crucial element thus emerge: 1. In the Late Mousterian tools were manufactured with great attention being paid to the production phases and with great investment in inizializing and managing core convexities; 2. In contrast, Uluzzian lithic production proceeded with less careful management of the first phases of debitage, mainly obtaining tool morphologies by retouching. 3. In the Protoaurignacian the production is carefully organized and aimed at obtaining laminar blanks (mainly bladelets) usually marginally retouched. These data are of primary importance in order to assess the nature of the "transition" phenomenon in Italy, thus contributing to the larger debate about the disappearance of Neandertals and the arrival of early Modern Humans in Europe.

Objectives Exact symmetry and perfect balance between opposite jaw halves, as well as between antagonistic teeth, is not frequently observed in natural masticatory systems. Research results show that asymmetry in our body, skull, and jaws is often related to genetic, epigenetic, environmental and individual ontogenetic factors. Our study aims to provide evidence for a significant link between masticatory asymmetry and occlusal contact between antagonist teeth by testing the hypothesis that tooth inclination is one of the mechanisms driving distribution of wear in masticatory phases in addition to dietary and cultural habits. Materials and Methods The present work investigates the relationship between dental macrowear patterns and tooth inclinations on a sample of complete maxillary and mandibular 3D models of dental arches from 19 young and adult Yuendumu Aboriginal individuals. The analysis was carried out on first molars (M1) from all quadrants. Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis was used for the quantification of macrowear patterns, and 2D cross‐sectional geometric analysis was carried out to investigate asymmetry in dental arches. Results The asymmetry is highly variable on both arches, and it is associated with differences in the inclination of upper M1 crowns. Each molar has variable inclination (buccal/lingual) which influence tooth to tooth contact, producing greater or lesser variation in wear pattern. Interindividual variability of morphological variation of the occlusal relationship has to be considered in macrowear analysis. Discussion Our results suggest that overall asymmetry in the masticatory apparatus in modern humans affects occlusal contact areas between antagonist teeth influencing macrowear and chewing efficiency during ontogeny.