309 results on '"Thomas Higham"'
Search Results
202. AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Ancient Bone Using Ultrafiltration
- Author
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Thomas Higham, C. Bronk Ramsey, and Roger Jacobi
- Subjects
Grande bretagne ,010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,060102 archaeology ,Ultrafiltration ,06 humanities and the arts ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,law ,Châtelperronian ,Upper Paleolithic ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Geology ,Royaume uni ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Chronology - Abstract
The Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) has used an ultrafiltration protocol to further purify gelatin from archaeological bone since 2000. In this paper, the methodology is described, and it is shown that, in many instances, ultrafiltration successfully removes low molecular weight contaminants that less rigorous methods may not. These contaminants can sometimes be of a different radiocarbon age and, unless removed, may produce erroneous determinations, particularly when one is dating bones greater than 2 to 3 half-lives of 14C and the contaminants are of modern age. Results of the redating of bone of Late Middle and Early Upper Paleolithic age from the British Isles and Europe suggest that we may need to look again at the traditional chronology for these periods.
- Published
- 2006
203. Excavations at Khirbat en-Nahas 2002–2009
- Author
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Ian W. N. Jones, Mark D. Robinson, Mohammad Najjar, Neil G. Smith, Thomas E. Levy, Thomas Higham, Aaron Gidding, Craig Smitheram, Erez Ben-Yosef, Daniel Frese, Yoav Arbel, Adolfo Muniz, and Marc A. Beherec
- Subjects
Geography ,chemistry ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Excavation ,Center (algebra and category theory) ,Copper ,Archaeology - Published
- 2014
204. The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating
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Thomas Levy and Thomas Higham
- Published
- 2014
205. THE FIRST LAKE-DWELLERS OF LITHUANIA: LATE BRONZE AGE PILE SETTLEMENTS ON LAKE LUOKESAS
- Author
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D. Brazaitis, Helen Lewis, Thomas Higham, Francesco Menotti, M. Kvedaravicius, E. Pranckenaite, Z. Baubonis, and G. Motuzaite
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Archeology ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Geography, Planning and Development ,Wetland ,Ancient history ,Archaeology ,Prehistory ,Geography ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,Bronze Age ,Iron Age ,Archaeological research ,Human settlement ,Pile ,Chronology - Abstract
Summary. Lake Luokesas in Lithuania has become the centre of attention in northern European wetland archaeological research after the discovery of two Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pile dwellings. Their unique location, chronology and building techniques have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of important aspects of wetland communities in later prehistoric Europe.
- Published
- 2005
206. A Mid-Upper Palaeolithic human humerus from Eel Point, South Wales, UK
- Author
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Robert E. M. Hedges, Thomas Higham, Rick Schulting, B. Cardy, Erik Trinkaus, and Michael P. Richards
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Adult ,Male ,Food Chain ,Burial ,Pleistocene ,Human values ,Paleontology ,Cave ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Humerus ,History, Ancient ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Royaume uni ,geography ,Wales ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Fossils ,Hominidae ,biology.organism_classification ,Diet ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Chronology as Topic ,Hyaena ,Anthropology ,Anatomically modern human ,Period (geology) - Abstract
We report here on a human humerus directly dated to 24,470 +/- 110 BP, placing it within the Gravettian, or Mid-Upper Palaeolithic. The partial humerus is an isolated find and can be attributed (with some caution) to the Pleistocene 'bone cave' of Eel Point on Caldey Island, Wales (UK). The humerus is probably male, similar in robusticity to other Gravettian right humeri. The apparent absence of stone tools and presence of hyaena bone and coprolites suggest that the element may not derive from an intentional burial. After a maxilla from Kent's Cavern and the Gravettian Paviland 1, Eel Point represents the third oldest anatomically modern human known from Britain. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements do not support certain use of marine foods but highlight the need for more research on contemporary faunal remains in order to better interpret human values from this period.
- Published
- 2005
207. Reassessing the chronology of Biblical Edom: new excavations and14C dates from Khirbat en-Nahas (Jordan)
- Author
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Thomas E. Levy, Russell B. Adams, Andreas Hauptmann, Baruch Brandl, Thomas Higham, James D. Anderson, Mohammad Najjar, and Mark Robinson
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Archeology ,Kingdom ,History ,law ,General Arts and Humanities ,Excavation ,Radiocarbon dating ,Fortress (chess) ,Ancient history ,Eleventh ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Chronology - Abstract
An international team of researchers show how high-precision radiocarbon dating is liberating us from chronological assumptions based on Biblical research. Surface and topographic mapping at the large copper-working site of Khirbat en-Nahas was followed by stratigraphic excavations at an ancient fortress and two metal processing facilities located on the site surface. The results were spectacular. Occupation begins here in the eleventh century BC and the monumental fortress is built in the tenth. If this site can be equated with the rise of the Biblical kingdom of Edom it can now be seen to: have its roots in local Iron Age societies; is considerably earlier than previous scholars assumed; and proves that complex societies existed in Edom long before the influence of Assyrian imperialism was felt in the region from the eighth – sixth centuries BC.
- Published
- 2004
208. Using rat-gnawed seeds to independently date the arrival of Pacific rats and humans in New Zealand
- Author
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Janet M. Wilmshurstl and Thomas Higham
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010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,Global and Planetary Change ,Rattus exulans ,060102 archaeology ,Ecology ,biology ,Nouvelle zelande ,Paleontology ,06 humanities and the arts ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,Archaeological evidence ,law.invention ,law ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Oceanian culture ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes - Abstract
The Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) was transported throughout the south Pacific with voyaging humans. Thus, the earliest dated evidence of Pacific rat can be used to infer first human contact. Until recently, it was considered that rats arrived in New Zealand with humans in the thirteenth century AD. However, controversial radiocarbon dates on Pacific rat bones now suggest that rats reached the remote islands of New Zealand with people c. AD 50-150. These dates are anomalous because they imply human contact with New Zealand more than 1000 years before any archaeological evidence for human presence, and precede settlement of tropical eastern Polynesia, the ancestral homeland of Maori, the first New Zealanders. The early rat bone dates are controversial for other technical reasons, which have been debated in the literature. Here, distinctive rat-gnawed seed cases preserved in sediments are used as a proxy to independently date the arrival of the Pacific rat and humans in New Zealand. This method effectively bypasses the problems that have plagued rat bone dating and provides a reliable age for rat and human arrival. The oldest dates on rat-gnawed seed cases from widely separated sites are consistent with the Pacific rat arriving at the same time as the initial human settlement of New Zealand in the thirteenth century AD, and not before. The gnawed seed dates lend no support to the argument for an earlier introduction of rats. This dating approach offers a novel way of clarifying island colonization histories throughout Oceania.
- Published
- 2004
209. Problems Associated with the AMS Dating of Small Bone Samples: The Question of the Arrival of Polynesian Rats to New Zealand
- Author
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Robert E. M. Hedges, C. Bronk Ramsey, Barry L Fankhauser, Atholl Anderson, and Thomas Higham
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,Rattus exulans ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,060102 archaeology ,biology ,Rodent ,Range (biology) ,Stable isotope ratio ,Ecology ,06 humanities and the arts ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Prehistory ,law ,biology.animal ,River mouth ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Accelerator mass spectrometry - Abstract
We have AMS dated samples of Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) bone collagen and filtered gelatin samples from the prehistoric site of Shag River Mouth, New Zealand. The age of occupation of this site has previously been determined based on 50 radiocarbon measurements. The site dates to the late Archaic phase of southern New Zealand prehistory (about 650500 BP; 14th15th century AD). The results of rat bones which we have dated produce a range in ages, from about 980480 BP, a difference we attribute to a combination of effects. Pretreatment appears to be an important variable, with results showing differences in 14C age between the progressive collagen and filtered gelatin chemical treatment stages. Amino acid profiles suggest there is a proteinaceous but non-collagenous contaminant which is removed by the more rigorous pretreatment. Stable isotopes vary between pretreatments, supporting the removal of a contaminant, or contaminants. Variation in d15N values imply a range in uptake of dietary protein, and might suggest a potential influence from the local aquatic environment or the consumption of marine-derived protein. Rats are opportunistic, omnivorous mammals, and, therefore, obtain carbon from a variety of reservoirs and so we ought to expect that in environments where there is a variety of reservoirs, these will be exploited. Taken together, the results show that rat bone AMS 14C determinations vary in comparison with the established age of the site, but are in notably better agreement with non-collagenous data than in previously published determinations (Anderson 1996).
- Published
- 2004
210. A Pretreatment Procedure for the AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Sub-Fossil Insect Remains
- Author
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Robert E. M. Hedges, Jennifer A. Tripp, and Thomas Higham
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010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,biology ,Radiochemistry ,macromolecular substances ,Contamination ,biology.organism_classification ,Mass spectrometry ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Maillard reaction ,symbols.namesake ,Paleontology ,chemistry ,Absolute dating ,law ,symbols ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Carbonate ,Radiocarbon dating ,Pterygota (plant) ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Accelerator mass spectrometry - Abstract
Two pretreatment methods for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of insect remains were explored. One method involves a simple acid wash that removes carbonate, while the other is based on the industrial purification of chitin and results in isolation of polymeric chitosan. No contamination is observed from Maillard reactions during the deacetylation reaction used to isolate the chitosan. The methods were tested on Coleoptera samples from two Roman Britain sites. Our results demonstrate that both methods produce acceptable AMS dates that correspond well to the expected age of the deposits from which they came.
- Published
- 2004
211. Shcal04 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–11.0 Cal Kyr BP
- Author
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Caitlin E. Buck, F. G. McCormac, Paula J. Reimer, Thomas Higham, Alan G. Hogg, and Paul G. Blackwell
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010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Calibration (statistics) ,Calibration curve ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Paleontology ,law ,Absolute dating ,Climatology ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Radiocarbon dating ,Quaternary ,Southern Hemisphere ,Holocene ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
Recent measurements on dendrochronologically-dated wood from the Southern Hemisphere have shown that there are differences between the structural form of the radiocarbon calibration curves from each hemisphere. Thus, it is desirable, when possible, to use calibration data obtained from secure dendrochronologically-dated wood from the corresponding hemisphere. In this paper, we outline the recent work and point the reader to the internationally recommended data set that should be used for future calibration of Southern Hemisphere14C dates.
- Published
- 2004
212. Lugovskoe, Western Siberia: A Possible Extra-Arctic Mammoth Refugium at the End of the Late Glacial
- Author
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L. A. Orlova, Pieter Meiert Grootes, Vasily N Zenin, Aleksander F Pavlov, Sergei V Leshchinsky, Anthony J. Stuart, Evgeny N Maschenko, Thomas Higham, and Yaroslav V. Kuzmin
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,060102 archaeology ,biology ,Pleistocene ,Woolly mammoth ,06 humanities and the arts ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Refugium (population biology) ,Arctic ,Absolute dating ,law ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Glacial period ,Radiocarbon dating ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Mammoth - Abstract
Eleven woolly mammoth bone samples from Lugovskoe (central West Siberian Plain, Russia) were radiocarbon dated in 3 laboratories: Institute of Geology, Novosibirsk; Oxford University, Oxford; and Christian Albrechts University, Kiel. Each laboratory used its own protocol for collagen extraction. Parallel dating was carried out on 3 samples in Novosibirsk and Oxford. Two results are in good agreement. However, there is a major discrepancy between 2 dates obtained for the third sample. The dates obtained so far on the Lugovskoe mammoths range from about 18,250 BP to about 10,210 BP. The Lugovskoe results thus far confirm the possibility of woolly mammoth survival south of Arctic Siberia in the Late Glacial after about 12,000 BP, which has important implications for interpreting the process of mammoth extinction. The site has also produced the first reliable traces of human occupation from central Western Siberia at the Late Glacial, including unique direct evidence of mammoth hunting.
- Published
- 2004
213. Radiocarbon and Stable Isotope Evidence of Dietary Change from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages in the Iron Gates: New Results from Lepenski Vir
- Author
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Ivana Radovanović, Robert E. M. Hedges, Clive Bonsall, Gordon Cook, Thomas Higham, and Catriona Pickard
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,education.field_of_study ,Ungulate ,060102 archaeology ,δ13C ,biology ,Stable isotope ratio ,Population ,06 humanities and the arts ,Chalcolithic ,δ15N ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,law ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,education ,Geology ,Mesolithic ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
A previous radiocarbon dating and stable isotope study of directly associated ungulate and human bone samples from Late Mesolithic burials at Schela Cladovei in Romania established that there is a freshwater reservoir effect of approximately 500 yr in the Iron Gates reach of the Danube River valley in southeast Europe. Using the δ15N values as an indicator of the percentage of freshwater protein in the human diet, the 14C data for 24 skeletons from the site of Lepenski Vir were corrected for this reservoir effect. The results of the paired 14C and stable isotope measurements provide evidence of substantial dietary change over the period from about 9000 BP to about 300 BP. The data from the Early Mesolithic to the Chalcolithic are consistent with a 2-component dietary system, where the linear plot of isotopic values reflects mixing between the 2 end-members to differing degrees. Typically, the individuals of Mesolithic age have much heavier δ15N signals and slightly heavier δ13C, while individuals of Early Neolithic and Chalcolithic age have lighter δ15N and δ13C values. Contrary to our earlier suggestion, there is no evidence of a substantial population that had a transitional diet midway between those that were characteristic of the Mesolithic and Neolithic. However, several individuals with “Final Mesolithic” 14C ages show δ15N and δ13C values that are similar to the Neolithic dietary pattern. Provisionally, these are interpreted either as incomers who originated in early farming communities outside the Iron Gates region or as indigenous individuals representing the earliest Neolithic of the Iron Gates. The results from Roman and Medieval age burials show a deviation from the linear function, suggesting the presence of a new major dietary component containing isotopically heavier carbon. This is interpreted as a consequence of the introduction of millet into the human food chain.
- Published
- 2004
214. Bayesian tools for tephrochronology
- Author
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Caitlin E. Buck, David J. Lowe, and Thomas Higham
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010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,Global and Planetary Change ,Calendar date ,060102 archaeology ,Ecology ,Calibration (statistics) ,Bayesian probability ,Paleontology ,06 humanities and the arts ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Bayesian statistics ,law ,Dendrochronology ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Tephra ,Tephrochronology ,Cartography ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes - Abstract
It is suggested that Bayesian statistical methods for radiocarbon data interpretation, already widely used in archaeology, also have potential to improve the dating of tephra layers and hence enhance their use for tephrochronology. By re-analysing data from a recently published paper in which the authors sought to identify the calendar date of the eruption of fourteenth-century AD Kaharoa Tephra, a key marker in New Zealand prehistory, it is shown that Bayesian methods can be used to draw together a coherent collection of radiocarbon data, undertake formal outlier detection, and include prior information. Regardless of the calibration curve adopted, the distribution of likely dates for the Kaharoa eruption is multimodal. By including prior information from wiggle-matched dendrochronology, the uncertainty on the estimate of the calendar date is reduced from a range of about 100 years to about 25 years (i.e., 648-623 cal. BP, with modes at 638 and 632 cal. BP). Using sensitivity analysis, however, it is shown that such estimates are affected by the quality and nature of the prior information available. As a result, we urge tephrochronologists to seek fastidiously both high-quality radiocarbon data and reliable stratigraphic sequences that might inform future geochronological model building.
- Published
- 2003
215. Dating resin coating on pottery: the Spirit Cave early ceramic dates revised
- Author
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Carl Heron, Thomas Higham, G. B. Thompson, Robert E. M. Hedges, Ian Glover, Rasmi Shoocongdej, Ben Stern, and C. D. Lampert
- Subjects
Archeology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,General Arts and Humanities ,Resin coating ,Context (language use) ,Ancient history ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Cave ,law ,Bronze Age ,Radiocarbon dating ,Pottery ,South east asia ,Geology - Abstract
Pottery found at Spirit Cave, Thailand, has been claimed as among the earliest ceramics in the world – a radiocarbon date of 7500 BP being obtained from associated charcoal. However radiocarbon dating of organic resin found on some of the sherds gave a date of around 3000 BP. This is another example of improved precision in dating by pin-pointing the context and using AMS. The authors describe how it was done and assess its validity
- Published
- 2003
216. A wiggle-match date for Polynesian settlement of New Zealand
- Author
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David J. Lowe, Thomas Higham, Alan G. Hogg, Paula J. Reimer, Rewi M. Newnham, and Jonathan G. Palmer
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Archeology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,General Arts and Humanities ,common ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Polynesians ,law ,common.group ,Archipelago ,Dendrochronology ,Wiggle matching ,Radiocarbon dating ,Tephra ,Tephrochronology ,Geology ,Chronology - Abstract
Dating initial colonisation and environmental impacts by Polynesians in New Zealand is controversial. A key horizon is provided by the Kaharoa Tephra, deposited from an eruption of Mt Tarawera, because just underneath this layer are the first signs of forest clearance which imply human settlement. The authors used a log of celery pine from within Kaharoa deposits to derive a new precise date for the eruption via “wiggle-matching” – matching the radiocarbon dates of a sequence of samples from the log with the Southern Hemisphere calibration curve. The date obtained was 1314 ± 12 AD (2σ error), and the first environmental impacts and human occupation are argued to have occurred in the previous 50 years, i.e. in the late 13th– early 14thcenturies AD. This date is contemporary with earliest settlement dates determined from archaeological sites in the New Zealand archipelago.
- Published
- 2003
217. Relative sea-level changes in crete: reassessment of radiocarbon dates from Sphakia and west Crete
- Author
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Thomas Higham, Jennifer Moody, Simon Price, and Lucia Nixon
- Subjects
Archeology ,History ,Visual Arts and Performing Arts ,Subduction ,Greek archeology ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Tectonics ,Earthquakes and tectonics ,Sixth century ,law ,Multi-period field survey ,History of the ancient world ,Radiocarbon dating ,Physical geography ,Classics ,Seismology ,Sea level ,Holocene ,Geology - Abstract
This article is concerned with the recognition and dating of Holocene relative sea-level changes along the coast of west Crete (an island located in the active Hellenic subduction arc of the southern Aegean) and in particular in Sphakia. Radiocarbon data for changes in sea levels collected and analysed previously must (a) be recorrected to take into account isotopic fractionation, and (b) recalibrated by using the new marine reservoir value. These new radiocarbon dates are analysed using Bayesian statistics. The resulting calendar dates for changes in sea level are younger than previously assumed. In particular the Great Uplift in western Crete in late antiquity must be dated to the fifth or sixth century AD, not to AD 365. Moreover, recent work on tectonics suggests that the Great Uplift need not have been accompanied by a catastrophic earthquake. Finally, we consider the consequences of the Great Uplift for some coastal sites in Sphakia.
- Published
- 2002
218. Radiocarbon Dates from the Oxford Ams System: Archaeometry Datelist 31
- Author
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C. Bronk Ramsey, Thomas Higham, Alistair W. G. Pike, D. C. Owen, and Robert E. M. Hedges
- Subjects
Archeology ,History ,law ,Radiocarbon dating ,Archaeology ,Geology ,Archaeological science ,law.invention - Published
- 2002
219. High-Precision Radiocarbon Measurements of Contemporaneous Tree-Ring Dated Wood from the British Isles and New Zealand: Ad 1850–950
- Author
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F. G. McCormac, Alan G. Hogg, Michael Baillie, Thomas Higham, Jonathan G. Palmer, and Paula J. Reimer
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,060102 archaeology ,biology ,Northern Hemisphere ,06 humanities and the arts ,Libocedrus bidwillii ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Lagarostrobos ,law ,Absolute dating ,Dendrochronology ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Quercus petraea ,Radiocarbon dating ,Holocene ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand and The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland radiocarbon dating laboratories have undertaken a series of high-precision measurements on decadal samples of dendrochronologically dated oak (Quercus petraea) from Great Britain and cedar (Libocedrus bidwillii) and silver pine (Lagarostrobos colensoi) from New Zealand. The results show an average hemispheric offset over the 900 yr of measurement of 40 ± 13 yr. This value is not constant but varies with a periodicity of about 130 yr. The Northern Hemisphere measurements confirm the validity of the Pearson et al. (1986) calibration dataset.
- Published
- 2002
220. Calibration of the Radiocarbon Time Scale for the Southern Hemisphere: Ad 1850–950
- Author
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Alan G. Hogg, Minze Stuiver, Michael Baillie, F. G. McCormac, Thomas Higham, Paula J. Reimer, and Jonathan G. Palmer
- Subjects
Nothofagus ,010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,biology ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,law ,Absolute dating ,Climatology ,Geochronology ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Radiocarbon dating ,Quaternary ,Cenozoic ,Southern Hemisphere ,Geology ,Holocene ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
We have conducted a series of radiocarbon measurements on decadal samples of dendrochronologically dated wood from both hemispheres, spanning 1000 years (McCormac et al. 1998; Hogg et al. this issue). Using the data presented in Hogg et al., we show that during the period AD 950–1850 the 14C offset between the hemispheres is not constant, but varies periodically (∼130 yr periodicity) with amplitudes varying between 1 and 10% (i.e. 8–80 yr), with a consequent effect on the 14C calibration of material from the Southern Hemisphere. A large increase in the offset occurs between AD 1245 and 1355. In this paper, we present a Southern Hemisphere high-precision calibration data set (SHCal02) that comprises measurements from New Zealand, Chile, and South Africa. This data, and a new value of 41 ± 14 yr for correction of the IntCal98 data for the period outside the range given here, is proposed for use in calibrating Southern Hemisphere 14C dates.
- Published
- 2002
221. Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia
- Author
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T. Bence Viola, Cesare de Filippo, Svante Pääbo, Janet Kelso, Kay Prüfer, Pavel A. Kosintsev, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Qiaomei Fu, Ayinuer Aximu-Petri, Montgomery Slatkin, Yaroslav V. Kuzmin, Nicolas Zwyns, Susan G. Keates, Nikolai V. Peristov, Priya Moorjani, Philip L. F. Johnson, Aleksei A. Bondarev, Michael P. Richards, Heng Li, Matthias Meyer, Domingo C. Salazar-García, Katerina Douka, Michael Lachmann, David Reich, Dmitry Razhev, Flora Jay, Sergey Mikhailovich Slepchenko, and Thomas Higham
- Subjects
Male ,Mutation rate ,Neanderthal ,Population Dynamics ,01 natural sciences ,Genome ,Mutation Rate ,Pair 12 ,10. No inequality ,Phylogeny ,Neanderthals ,Genetics ,0303 health sciences ,education.field_of_study ,Principal Component Analysis ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Fossils ,Sequence Analysis ,Human ,Biotechnology ,010506 paleontology ,Evolution ,General Science & Technology ,Population ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Article ,Chromosomes ,Evolution, Molecular ,03 medical and health sciences ,Genetic ,biology.animal ,Animals ,Humans ,education ,Denisovan ,Hybridization ,Alleles ,030304 developmental biology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Whole genome sequencing ,Population Density ,Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12 ,Human evolutionary genetics ,Genome, Human ,Human Genome ,Molecular ,Sequence Analysis, DNA ,DNA ,biology.organism_classification ,Diet ,Siberia ,Evolutionary biology ,Hybridization, Genetic ,Human genome - Abstract
We present the high-quality genome sequence of a ∼45,000-year-old modern human male from Siberia. This individual derives from a population that lived before-or simultaneously with-the separation of the populations in western and eastern Eurasia and carries a similar amount of Neanderthal ancestry as present-day Eurasians. However, the genomic segments of Neanderthal ancestry are substantially longer than those observed in present-day individuals, indicating that Neanderthal gene flow into the ancestors of this individual occurred 7,000-13,000 years before he lived. We estimate an autosomal mutation rate of 0.4×10(-9) to 0.6×10(-9) per site per year, a Y chromosomal mutation rate of 0.7×10(-9) to 0.9×10(-9) per site per year based on the additional substitutions that have occurred in present-day non-Africans compared to this genome, and a mitochondrial mutation rate of 1.8×10(-8) to 3.2×10(-8) per site per year based on the age of the bone.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
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222. On the chronology of the Uluzzian
- Author
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Marco Peresani, Panagiotis Karkanas, Thomas Higham, Annamaria Ronchitelli, Rachel Wood, Paolo Boscato, Katerina Douka, and Paolo Gambassini
- Subjects
Radiocarbon dating ,Technology ,010506 paleontology ,Socio-culturale ,01 natural sciences ,Anthropology, Physical ,law.invention ,Paleontology ,Cave ,law ,Animals ,Humans ,0601 history and archaeology ,History, Ancient ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Neanderthals ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,060102 archaeology ,Greece ,Fossils ,Modern humans ,Radiometric Dating ,Mousterian ,06 humanities and the arts ,Archaeology ,Italy ,Anthropology ,Greece, Ancient ,Radiometric dating ,Geology ,Chronology - Abstract
The Uluzzian, one of Europe's ‘transitional’ technocomplexes, has gained particular significance over the past three years when the only human remains associated with it were attributed to modern humans, instead of Neanderthals as previously thought. The position of the Uluzzian at stratified sequences, always overlying late Mousterian layers and underlying early Upper Palaeolithic ones, highlights its significance in understanding the passage from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic, as well as the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in southeastern Mediterranean Europe. Despite several studies investigating aspects of its lithic techno-typology, taxonomy and material culture, the Uluzzian chronology has remained extremely poorly-known, based on a handful of dubious chronometric determinations. Here we aim to elucidate the chronological aspect of the technocomplex by presenting an integrated synthesis of new radiocarbon results and a Bayesian statistical approach from four stratified Uluzzian cave sequences in Italy and Greece (Cavallo, Fumane, Castelcivita and Klissoura 1). In addition to building a reliable chronological framework for the Uluzzian, we examine its appearance, tempo-spatial spread and correlation to previous and later Palaeolithic assemblages (Mousterian, Protoaurignacian) at the relevant regions. We conclude that the Uluzzian arrived in Italy and Greece shortly before 45,000 years ago and its final stages are placed at ∼39,500 years ago, its end synchronous (if not slightly earlier) with the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption.
- Published
- 2014
223. Evidence for prehistoric origins of Egyptian mummification in late Neolithic burials
- Author
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Thomas Higham, Stephen Buckley, Jana Jones, Terence Patrick O'Connor, and Ron Oldfield
- Subjects
Phytochemistry ,Burial ,Egypt, Ancient ,Social Sciences ,lcsh:Medicine ,Chemical Composition ,Structural Characterization ,Ancient history ,Biology ,Research and Analysis Methods ,Natural (archaeology) ,law.invention ,Analytical Chemistry ,Prehistory ,Spectrum Analysis Techniques ,law ,Environmental Chemistry ,Humans ,Radiocarbon dating ,lcsh:Science ,Chemical Characterization ,History, Ancient ,Multidisciplinary ,Embalming ,Ecology ,Ecology and Environmental Sciences ,Chromatographic Techniques ,lcsh:R ,Chemical Compounds ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Chalcolithic ,Mummies ,Biogeochemistry ,Mummification ,Chemistry ,Geochemistry ,Biogeography ,Archaeology ,Anthropology ,Pine resin ,Physical Sciences ,Earth Sciences ,lcsh:Q ,Research Article - Abstract
Traditional theories on ancient Egyptian mummification postulate that in the prehistoric period (i.e. the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, 5th and 4th millennia B.C.) bodies were naturally desiccated through the action of the hot, dry desert sand. Although molding of the body with resin-impregnated linen is believed to be an early Pharaonic forerunner to more complex processes, scientific evidence for the early use of resins in artificial mummification has until now been limited to isolated occurrences during the late Old Kingdom (c. 2200 B.C.), their use becoming more apparent during the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1600 BC). We examined linen wrappings from bodies in securely provenanced tombs (pit graves) in the earliest recorded ancient Egyptian cemeteries at Mostagedda in the Badari region (Upper Egypt). Our investigations of these prehistoric funerary wrappings using a combination of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and thermal desorption/pyrolysis (TD/Py)-GC-MS have identified a pine resin, an aromatic plant extract, a plant gum/sugar, a natural petroleum source, and a plant oil/animal fat in directly AMS-dated funerary wrappings. Predating the earliest scientific evidence by more than a millennium, these embalming agents constitute complex, processed recipes of the same natural products, in similar proportions, as those utilized at the zenith of Pharaonic mummification some 3,000 years later. The antibacterial properties of some of these ingredients and the localized soft-tissue preservation that they would have afforded lead us to conclude that these represent the very beginnings of experimentation that would evolve into the famous mummification practice of the Pharaonic period.
- Published
- 2014
224. The timing and spatio-temporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, Aritza Villaluenga, David Santamaría, Laura Basell, Fabio Negrino, Marco de la Rasilla, Annamaria Ronchitelli, Fiona Brock, María-José Iriarte-Chiapusso, Patrick Semal, Miguel Caparrós, Alejandro García-Moreno, Brigitte Holt, Ron Pinhasi, Roger Jacobi, Jesús Francisco Jordá Pardo, Nicholas J. Conard, Alain Froment, Marco Peresani, Javier Baena, Julià Maroto, Arthur J. Jelinek, Bertila Galván, Laure Metz, Narcís Soler, Stéphane Pirson, Ludovic Slimak, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Stefano Grimaldi, Cecillio Barroso-Ruíz, Mario Menéndez, José-Manuel Maíllo-Fernández, Eugène Morin, Christelle Draily, Coralie Boitard, Christopher A. Bergman, Paul Haesaerts, Julien Riel-Salvatore, Paolo Gambassini, Alvaro Arrizabalaga, Marta Camps, Paolo Boscato, Rachel Wood, Katerina Douka, Eleni Panagopoulou, Adriana Moroni, Anat Marom, and Joaquim Soler
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Neanderthal ,Time Factors ,Datazioni C14 ,Socio-culturale ,Extinction, Biological ,01 natural sciences ,Mass Spectrometry ,law.invention ,Neanderthal, accelerator mass spectrometry 14C techniques, radiocarbon date ,Bayes' theorem ,Spatio-Temporal Analysis ,law ,biology.animal ,Uomo anatomicamente moderno ,Uluzziano ,Animals ,Humans ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,History, Ancient ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Neanderthals ,Multidisciplinary ,Extinction ,060102 archaeology ,biology ,Geography ,Tool Use Behavior ,Radiometric Dating ,Uncertainty ,Mousterian ,Bayes Theorem ,06 humanities and the arts ,radiocarbon date ,Evolutionary biology ,Paleoanthropology ,Châtelperronian ,Radiometric dating ,accelerator mass spectrometry 14C techniques ,Acculturation - Abstract
The timing of Neanderthal disappearance and the extent to which they overlapped with the earliest incoming anatomically modern humans (AMHs) in Eurasia are key questions in palaeoanthropology. Determining the spatiotemporal relationship between the two populations is crucial if we are to understand the processes, timing and reasons leading to the disappearance of Neanderthals and the likelihood of cultural and genetic exchange. Serious technical challenges, however, have hindered reliable dating of the period, as the radiocarbon method reaches its limit at ∼50,000 years ago. Here we apply improved accelerator mass spectrometry (14)C techniques to construct robust chronologies from 40 key Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, ranging from Russia to Spain. Bayesian age modelling was used to generate probability distribution functions to determine the latest appearance date. We show that the Mousterian ended by 41,030-39,260 calibrated years bp (at 95.4% probability) across Europe. We also demonstrate that succeeding 'transitional' archaeological industries, one of which has been linked with Neanderthals (Châtelperronian), end at a similar time. Our data indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals occurred at different times in different regions. Comparing the data with results obtained from the earliest dated AMH sites in Europe, associated with the Uluzzian technocomplex, allows us to quantify the temporal overlap between the two human groups. The results reveal a significant overlap of 2,600-5,400 years (at 95.4% probability). This has important implications for models seeking to explain the cultural, technological and biological elements involved in the replacement of Neanderthals by AMHs. A mosaic of populations in Europe during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition suggests that there was ample time for the transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible genetic exchanges, between the two groups.
- Published
- 2014
225. The radiocarbon chronology on the Norfolk Island archaeological sites
- Author
-
Rod Wallace, Thomas Higham, and Atholl Anderson
- Subjects
Norfolk Island ,location.country ,General Medicine ,General Chemistry ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,location ,law ,Laboratory problem ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,Radiocarbon dating ,Charcoal ,Bay ,Geology ,Chronology - Abstract
Radiocarbon determinations were obtained for archaeological sites at Cemetery Bay and Emily Bay, Norfolk Island. Sample materials were rat bone gelatin, marine shell and wood charcoal. Ages on bone gelatin are contradictory and suggest a laboratory problem, while ages on marine shell appear to include an old-carbon offset of 500-600 years: dates on these samples are consistent with those on charcoal when appropriate corrections are made. Ages on charcoal were divided according to the expected inbuilt age of the sample taxa. The samples with lowest inbuilt age were subjected to Bayesian analysis which concluded that the main archaeological site, at Emily Bay, had been occupied from the early thirteenth to the early fifteenth centuries A.D. The Norfolk Island settlement occurs within the same age range as other Polynesian settlements of southern islands.
- Published
- 2001
226. Preliminary results from the new excavations of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic levels at Ortvale Klde-north chamber (South Caucasus Georgia)
- Author
-
Ron Pinhasi, Thomas Higham, Marie-Hélène Moncel, N. Tushubramishvili, Reuven Yeshurun, David Pleurdeau, Tamar Agapishvili, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,geography ,060101 anthropology ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,Subsistence agriculture ,Context (language use) ,Excavation ,06 humanities and the arts ,engineering.material ,Hiatus ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences ,Paleontology ,Sequence (geology) ,Cave ,engineering ,0601 history and archaeology ,Bronze ,Stratigraphy (archaeology) ,Geology ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes - Abstract
Ortvale Klde is a key cave site which provides detailed archaeological and chronological information about Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupation in the southern Caucasus, and the timing of the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in this region. Excavations have mostly focused on the southern chamber, and an extensive dating programme suggests the demise of the Neanderthals, followed by a hiatus and the rapid occupation of the area by modern Humans at around 38–34 ka BP. New excavations in the northern chamber by a French–Georgian team took place in 2006, in order to better understand the stratigraphy of this part of the cave, which contributes to the understanding of the Middle Palaeolithic in the southern Caucasus and its significance in a broader pan-regional context. This paper reports the results of the 2006 fieldwork carried out in the northern chamber: three Middle Palaeolithic units and one Upper Palaeolithic unit have been observed in several test pits inside the cave and on the slope in front of the cave. Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblages are composed of elongated points and various core technologies have been described, close to what is observed at Drjujula and Bronze caves. Apparent correlations between the stratigraphic sequences of the two chambers and associated lithic and bone assemblages are discussed. Several hypotheses on the type of human occupations in relation to the morphology of the two chambers of the cave are presented. The very different nature of the sequences in the northern and southern chambers possibly imply differences in both intensity and timing of human occupation of each chamber, as well as some differences in site formation processes. The main test pit at the base of the sequence yielded lithics that have some different traits when compared to those observed at the base of the sequence in the southern chamber. This could signify an older age for these base levels, but also very different occupation modes in the two chambers, as also indicated by the differential faunal preservation. However, in contrast to the lithic assemblages, the faunal assemblages of the base of the sequence in each of the two chambers do not show differences in subsistence strategies and hence suggest consistent subsistence behaviour.
- Published
- 2013
227. On the reliability of archaeological rat bone for radiocarbon dating in New Zealand
- Author
-
Thomas Higham and Fiona Petchey
- Subjects
geography ,Multidisciplinary ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Archaeology ,Natural (archaeology) ,Midden ,law.invention ,Paleontology ,Cave ,law ,Bone material ,River mouth ,Radiometric dating ,Radiocarbon dating ,Bay ,Geology - Abstract
Holdaway & Beavan (1999) discussed the radiocarbon dating of bone of various species from the site of Hukanui Pool, Hawkes Bay. We question their conclusion that two apparently reliable rat bone gelatin determinations from the Hukanui Pool site provide support for the entire suite of rat determinations from previously dated “natural” sites. We present evidence that contradicts their conclusion that bone material from the broad range of archaeological midden sites is generally less well‐preserved than bone from “natural” caves in New Zealand such as Hukanui Pool. We show that when dates from archaeological bone from Pleasant River and Shag River Mouth arc evaluated, the state of preservation is comparable with material from the “natural’ site of Hukanui Pool, and should provide accurate and reproducible radiocarbon determinations. Our conclusion has serious implications for the acceptance of the model proposed by Holdaway (1999), because if archaeological bone is well‐preserved but yields unreliable and un...
- Published
- 2000
228. Tephras and New Zealand Archaeology
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, Rewi M. Newnham, David J. Lowe, and Bruce G. McFadgen
- Subjects
Archeology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Prehistory ,Paleontology ,Volcano ,law ,Pumice ,Rhyolite ,Radiocarbon dating ,Tephrochronology ,Tephra ,Geology ,Chronology - Abstract
Establishing an accurate date for earliest Polynesian settlement in New Zealand is essential for understanding patterns of settlement and associated enviromental impacts, and the processes and rates of cultural change in Eastern Polynesia. Tephra deposits from five volcanic centres, together with exotic sea-rafted pumice, provide isochronous constraints on the timing of earliest settlement and human impacts in northern New Zealand. A local basaltic tephra from Rangitoto Island (Auckland) and locally distributed andesitic tephras from Egmont volcano directly date human occupation toc . ad 1400–1450. Distal andesitic tephras (Tufa Trig Formation) from Mt Ruapehu, Tongariro volcanic centre, help constrain the timing of earliest anthropogenic deforestation signals in Hawke's Bay. Sea-rafted Loisels Pumice(s), although of uncertain stratigraphic reliability in places, overlies cultural remains that can be no younger thanc . ad 1350 along the east coast, North Island. The regionally extensive rhyolitic Kaharoa Tephra, which erupted from Okataina volcano between c. ad 1300–1390, is the critical “settlement layer” datum for dating prehistory in the North Island: no human artefacts are recorded beneath it and the earliest inferred environmental impacts by humans are dated to c. ad 1280, just prior to its deposition. This maximum date matches the earliest radiocarbon dates derived for both settlement and human impacts from archaeological and natural sites (c. ad 1250), and implies that the onset of deforestation was essentially contemporaneous with initial settlement. The widespread rhyolitic Taupo Tephra, which erupted from Taupo volcanoc . ad 200, provides an isochronous benchmark well before earliest settlement. The tephra may coincide approximately with a putative earlier transient contact in New Zealand based on Pacific rat-bone (Rattus exulans) dates. More precise calendrical dates on the tephras—via dendrochronology or ice-core records or other dating methods—would help refine assessment of the timing of earliest settlement, while extending the distributional range of critical tephra layers, through application of crypto-tephra analysis, could lead to a greater understanding of settlement patterns.
- Published
- 2000
229. Seasonal Dating Using Fish Otoliths: Results from the Shag River Mouth Site, New Zealand
- Author
-
Thomas Higham and P.L Horn
- Subjects
Archeology ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Fauna ,Fishing ,Seasonality ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Midden ,Fishery ,Oceanography ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Geography ,medicine ,River mouth ,Pseudophycis ,Blue mussel ,Otolith - Abstract
Fish otoliths of Pseudophycis bachus (red cod) have been excavated from cultural deposits at the site of Shag River Mouth in North Otago, New Zealand. We sectioned the otoliths and examined the annual and seasonal growth rings formed during the fishes' life and compared them with an extensive number of modern examples to determine the season in which they were caught in prehistory. Using this method we estimated the seasons of prehistoric occupation of specific cultural layers. Otoliths from the uppermost layer of the site (layer 2) yielded a seasonal estimate of December–February whilst the majority of those from the main layer 4 shell midden yielded a series of September–November estimates. The results confirm earlier seasonal results determined from oxygen isotope analysis of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis aoteanus). The seasonal data obtained from the prehistoric otoliths also match the seasonality of the modern fishery. Red cod are common between November and May from Banks Peninsula to Timaru. The implications of the results for prehistoric seasonality in southern New Zealand are explored.
- Published
- 2000
230. Bone Diagenesis and Radiocarbon Dating of Fish Bones at the Shag River Mouth Site, New Zealand
- Author
-
Fiona Petchey and Thomas Higham
- Subjects
Archeology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Fauna ,Thyrsites atun ,Geochemistry ,Estuary ,biology.organism_classification ,Archaeology ,Diagenesis ,law.invention ,law ,River mouth ,%22">Fish ,Radiocarbon dating ,Geology ,Fish bone - Abstract
The Shag River Mouth site in southern New Zealand has yielded a series of radiocarbon determinations from multiple sample types, which suggest that the site was occupied briefly in the 14th century ad . Radiocarbon determinations of bone disclose a greater variation which has been attributed to problems of sample degradation, contamination, inadequate pretreatment or the use of sub-fossil bones in prehistory. We examined the dating of bone at the site using barracouta (Thyrsites atun) fish bone. In order to determine whether this material could be dated accurately, we applied a series of analytical tests to ascertain the preservation state and the extent of post-depositional contamination. These data were used to predict which samples would be most useful for14C analysis. The resultant ages, with the exception of two problematic samples, are consistent with those on other acceptable marine and estuarine shell carbonate samples. Based on the available results, we suggest that barracouta fish bone from this site is well preserved and reliable for dating. We re-examined previous determinations of moa and rat bone from different parts of the site to evaluate their accuracy in the light of this new data.
- Published
- 2000
231. Dating the first New Zealanders: the chronology of Wairau Bar
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, Atholl Anderson, and C Jacomb
- Subjects
Archeology ,education.field_of_study ,History ,General Arts and Humanities ,Nouvelle zelande ,Population ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Absolute dating ,law ,Radiocarbon dating ,Oceanian culture ,education ,Chronology - Abstract
The first colonization of New Zealand is a much debated issue. The lack of appropriate absolute dating has meant chronology has been poorly understood. New 14C dating of materials from archaic Polynesian graves and occupation levels provides important precision and understanding of early exploitation on New Zealand.
- Published
- 1999
232. Hit-or-myth? Linking a 1259 AD acid spike with an Okataina eruption
- Author
-
David J. Lowe and Thomas Higham
- Subjects
Archeology ,General Arts and Humanities ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Spike (database) ,Art ,Mythology ,Humanities ,Archaeology ,media_common - Abstract
P. C. Buckland et al. ont publie dans la livraison de septembre 1997 d'ANTIQUITY (n° 71, pp. 581-593), leurs interpretations concernant les dates et l'impact des eruptions volcaniques de Santorin et d'Hekla, survenues a l'Age du Bronze. Dans cet article, les auteurs proposent de repondre a leurs arguments en presentant de nouveaux temoignanges fondes sur l'eruption de 1295 de l'Okataina en Nouvelle-Zelande
- Published
- 1998
233. The Kaharoa Tephra as a Critical Datum for Earliest Human Impact in Northern New Zealand
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, Matt S. McGlone, David J. Lowe, Rewi M. Newnham, and Janet M. Wilmshurst
- Subjects
Palynology ,Prehistory ,Archeology ,Paleontology ,Peat ,Deforestation ,law ,Radiocarbon dating ,Tephra ,Tephrochronology ,Geology ,Chronology ,law.invention - Abstract
The debate over the timing of arrival and earliest environmental impacts of the first New Zealanders has intensified in recent years, in part fuelled by new evidence or reinterpretation of old evidence from other points along prehistoric Polynesian migratory routes. An examination of two radiocarbon-dated pollen records from northern New Zealand shows how divergent interpretations could be drawn from the same evidence to support both early and late colonization models. Radiocarbon-dated pollen records for deforestation at sites where the risk of contamination by older carbon may be high cannot be used to establish chronologies of settlement. Ombrogenous mires, where peat accumulation proceeds independently of groundwater or surface runoff, are likely to yield the most reliable records. Another solution applicable in northern New Zealand is to base chronologies on tephra layers with reliable age estimates from multiple determinations. Analysis of 11 pollen records currently known to contain the 665±15 BP(c. 600 cal-BP) rhyolitic Kaharoa Tephra demonstrates the critical stratigraphic position that this isochronous surface occupies in New Zealand prehistory. The earliest inferred human impacts occurred at around the time of deposition of the tephra in eight of these sites (73%), and well after it at the remainder. These results are in agreement with a later colonization model and suggest that proximity to accessible food resources was more important than climate or latitude in determining early colonization sites. These findings will be tested fully when the known range of Kaharoa Tephra is extended beyond its present limited range through the application of micro-tephra analysis. In line with Anderson's (1995: 128) premise that the later colonization model is eminently falsifiable, we suggest that tephropalynological studies involving the Kaharoa Tephra may hold the key to resolving debates over the timing and spatial patterns of earliest human impact in northern New Zealand. In particular, these records permit the investigator to avoid the ambiguities that emerge frequently when pollen profiles indicating deforestation are dated by radiocarbon alone.
- Published
- 1998
234. Radiocarbon age of the Kaharoa Tephra, a key marker for late-Holocene stratigraphy and archaeology in New Zealand
- Author
-
Alan G. Hogg, Ian A. Nairn, David J. Lowe, Thomas Higham, Paul C. Froggatt, and Bruce G. McFadgen
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,Global and Planetary Change ,060102 archaeology ,Ecology ,Paleontology ,06 humanities and the arts ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Prehistory ,law ,Geochronology ,Rhyolite ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Tephrochronology ,Tephra ,Geology ,Holocene ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,Chronology - Abstract
The Kaharoa eruption, the most recent rhyolitic volcanic event in New Zealand, resulted in the deposition of the compositionally distinctive Kaharoa Tephra over at least 30 000 km2 of northern and eastern North Island. The tephra forms an isochronous marker bed for various late-Holocene stratigraphic and palaeoen vironmental studies but is particularly important for evaluating the chronology of New Zealand's notably short prehistory because it was erupted within the last millennium, close to the time of first Polynesian colonization. We derive a definitive radiocarbon age, previously ambiguous, for the Kaharoa Tephra of 665615 BP using cluster analysis of 22 radiocarbon ages relevant to the Kaharoa eruptive episode. The error-weighted mean age obtained on unscreened ages, minus outliers, is supported by statistically identical ages obtained from three sets of screened ages selected to minimize the effects of inbuilt age or contamination. Based on the intercepts method and 1 sigma range of Northern Hemisphere calibration curves, and after subtraction of 27 years for the interhemispheric offset, the radiocarbon age 665615 BP corresponds to calibrated dates ranging from c. 650–560 cal. BP (i.e. cal. ad 1300–1390). The approximate midpoint of this range provides a colloquial calen dar date for the Kaharoa Tephra of c. 600 cal. BP ( c. cal. ad 1350).
- Published
- 1998
235. Variations of Radiocarbon in Tree Rings: Southern Hemisphere Offset Preliminary Results
- Author
-
Alan G. Hogg, Michael Baillie, J. R. Pilcher, S. T. Hoper, Limin Xiong, Thomas Higham, David Brown, Jonathan G. Palmer, and F. G. McCormac
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,060102 archaeology ,biology ,06 humanities and the arts ,Libocedrus bidwillii ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Absolute dating ,law ,Climatology ,Dendrochronology ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Physical geography ,Radiocarbon dating ,Quaternary ,Cenozoic ,Southern Hemisphere ,Geology ,Holocene ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland and University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand radiocarbon laboratories have undertaken a series of high-precision measurements on decadal samples of dendrochronologically dated oak (Quercus patrea) and cedar (Libocedrus bidwillii) from Great Britain and New Zealand, respectively. The results show a real atmospheric offset of 3.4 ± 0.6% (27.2 ± 4.714C yr) between the two locations for the interval ad 1725 to ad 1885, with the Southern Hemisphere being depleted inl4C. This result is less than the value currently used to correct Southern Hemisphere calibrations, possibly indicating a gradient in Δ14C within the Southern Hemisphere.
- Published
- 1998
236. The prehistoric chronology of Raoul Island, the Kermadec Group
- Author
-
Leigh Johnson and Thomas Higham
- Subjects
Prehistory ,Sequence (geology) ,Horizon (archaeology) ,Settlement (structural) ,law ,Group (stratigraphy) ,Radiocarbon dating ,Archaeology ,Geology ,Chronology ,law.invention - Abstract
Raoul, the largest of the Kermadec group of islands, has been investigated twice by archaeologists and radiocarbon dating of the south-east end of the Low Flat site has resulted in 10th century AD age estimates. We have re-dated the critical south-east end of the lower settlement horizon and the overlying upper settlement horizon at Low Flat using shell samples. We conclude that the two horizons represent a short term settlement sequence. In addition, an appraisal of the radiocarbon results remaining after those affected by the use of old wood in prehistory have been discarded has shown that they are statistically indistinguishable. We suggest that prehistoric occupation on the island was brief and confined to the 14th century AD. Because of the presence of Mayor Island obsidian in the cultural deposits at Low Flat, the pooled mean of the acceptable radiocarbon determinations (ca. 550-650 BP) represents a minimum age for the settlement of New Zealand.
- Published
- 1997
237. Evidence for Late Polynesian Colonization of New Zealand: University of Waikato Radiocarbon Measurements
- Author
-
Alan G. Hogg and Thomas Higham
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,060102 archaeology ,Nouvelle zelande ,06 humanities and the arts ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Oceanography ,Absolute dating ,law ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Colonization ,Radiocarbon dating ,Holocene ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
We present radiocarbon determinations for 271 New Zealand archaeological samples measured at the University of Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory between 1975 and 1995. A discard protocol is applied to the series and the list culled to winnow the acceptable dates from those that may incorporate error. None of the 221 acceptable 14C determinations older than 600 bp (in the case of terrestrial samples) or 930 bp (in the case of marine and estuarine shell) extends beyond cal ad 1250. This conclusion supports the short chronology model of New Zealand prehistory presented by Anderson (1991).
- Published
- 1997
238. Context and dating of newly discovered Aurignacian rock art from Abri Castanet (Dordogne, France)
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, Randall White, Amy E. Clark, Raphaëlle Bourrillon, Matthew Sisk, Romain Mensan, Catherine Cretin, Elise Tartar, Laurent Chiotti, and Philippe Gardère
- Subjects
media_common.quotation_subject ,General Engineering ,Context ,Mean age ,Excavation ,Art ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Aurignacian ,Engraved block ,law ,Abri Castanet ,Rock art ,Radiocarbon dating ,Dating ,media_common - Abstract
In this paper we report on the discovery in 2007 in archaeological context, of part of the engraved and ocher-stained undersurface of the rockshelter ceiling from Abri Castanet, Commune de Sergeac, Dordogne. The engraved/painted undersurface of the massive roof-collapse block, weighing more than a ton, was in direct contact with the surface of the early Aurignacian archaeological layer onto which it had fallen. A series of six molecular filtration dates on faunal bone from the rock surface are internally coherent and yield a mean age estimate of 32,400 radiocarbon years BP. The clearest engraving observable on the newly discovered ceiling fragment fits morphologically into the category of vulvar images, many examples of which were recovered during excavations at the beginning of the 20th century at Abri Castanet and the adjacent site of Abri Blanchard. This new discovery from Castanet provides an age estimate for those earlier finds, all of which were located within a few meters of the image described here.
- Published
- 2013
239. Une nouvelle découverte d’art pariétal aurignacien in situ à l’abri Castanet (Dordogne, France) : contexte et datation
- Author
-
Raphaëlle Bourrillon, Elise Tartar, Laurent Chiotti, Catherine Cretin, Matthew Sisk, Philippe Gardère, Randall White, Thomas Higham, Romain Mensan, Amy E. Clark, Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (TRACES), École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap), Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,060102 archaeology ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,datation ,General Engineering ,Rock shelter Castanet ,Context ,06 humanities and the arts ,01 natural sciences ,bloc gravé ,Aurignacian ,Engraved block ,Abri Castanet ,0601 history and archaeology ,Aurignacien ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,contexte - Abstract
En 2007, un fragment de voûte ornée a été découvert, sur le site de l’abri Castanet (commune de Sergeac, Dordogne) lors des opérations archéologiques ce qui n’était plus arrivé depuis 1912 (fouilles de M. Castanet pour L. Didon). La face profondément gravée et peinte de ce bloc d’effondrement, pesant plus d’une tonne, était en contact direct avec la couche archéologique aurignacienne. Une série de six datations par 14C AMS (par filtration moléculaire), réalisée sur des vestiges osseux de faune en contact avec le sommet du niveau d’occupation, donne des résultats cohérents dont la moyenne est de 32 400 BP. Parmi les tracés visibles, sur la surface du bloc, la figure la plus évidente est celle d’une vulve. Cette thématique a été mise en évidence de façon récurrente au cours des fouilles du XXe siècle sur le site de Castanet et sur celui voisin de Blanchard. La découverte de ce bloc et sa datation permettent de recadrer chronologiquement ceux retrouvés à quelques mètres au cours des fouilles anciennes et d’aborder ces manifestations du vallon de Castel-Merle sous un nouvel angle. Here, we report on the discovery in 2007, in perfect archaeological context, of part of the engraved and ocre-stained undersurface of the rockshelter ceiling from Abri Castanet, Commune de Sergeac, Dordogne. The engraved/painted undersurface of the massive roof-collapse block, weighing more than a ton, was in direct contact with the surface of the early Aurignacian archaeological layer onto which it had fallen. A series of six molecular filtration dates on faunal bone from that surface are internally coherent and yield a mean age estimate of 32400 radiocarbon years BP. The clearest engraving observable on the newly discovered ceiling fragment fits morphologically into the category of vulvar images, many examples of which were recovered during excavations at the beginning of the 20th century at Abri Castanet and the adjacent site of Abri Blanchard. This new discovery from Castanet surely provides an age estimate for those earlier finds, all of which were located within a few meters of the image described here.
- Published
- 2013
240. Reply to de la Peña: Radiocarbon dating and the paleoenvironmental record of Carihuela
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, Cecilio Barroso-Ruíz, Rachel Wood, Miguel Caparrós, Jesús Francisco Jordá Pardo, and Bertila Galván Santos
- Subjects
Multidisciplinary ,Neanderthal ,Geography ,biology ,law ,biology.animal ,Letters ,Radiocarbon dating ,Archaeology ,Chronology ,law.invention - Abstract
It is commonly accepted that some of the latest dates for Neanderthal fossils and Mousterian industries are found south of the Ebro valley in Iberia at ca. 36 ka calBP (calibrated radiocarbon date ranges). In contrast, to the north of the valley the Mousterian disappears shortly before the Proto-Aurignacian appears at ca. 42 ka calBP. The latter is most likely produced by anatomically modern humans. However, two-thirds of dates from the south are radiocarbon dates, a technique that is particularly sensitive to carbon contaminants of a younger age that can be difficult to remove using routine pretreatment protocols. We have attempted to test the reliability of chronologies of 11 southern Iberian Middle and early Upper Paleolithic sites. Only two, Jarama VI and Zafarraya, were found to contain material that could be reliably dated. In both sites, Middle Paleolithic contexts were previously dated by radiocarbon to less than 42 ka calBP. Using ultrafiltration to purify faunal bone collagen before radiocarbon dating, we obtain ages at least 10 ka (14)C years older, close to or beyond the limit of the radiocarbon method for the Mousterian at Jarama VI and Neanderthal fossils at Zafarraya. Unless rigorous pretreatment protocols have been used, radiocarbon dates should be assumed to be inaccurate until proven otherwise in this region. Evidence for the late survival of Neanderthals in southern Iberia is limited to one possible site, Cueva Antón, and alternative models of human occupation of the region should be considered.
- Published
- 2013
241. Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts
- Author
-
Kristian Gregersen, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Catherine Stokowska, Thomas Higham, Henry van der Es, Clare B. Embling, Sebastian E. Schultze, Kristin Kaschner, Andrew D. Foote, Klaas Post, Eske Willerslev, Cristina Garilao, Simon Y. W. Ho, and Friederike Johansson
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Bowhead Whale ,Pleistocene ,Climate Change ,Population ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Climate change ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Effective population size ,Animals ,Ecosystem ,14. Life underwater ,education ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,education.field_of_study ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Ecology ,Bowhead whale ,fungi ,DNA ,General Chemistry ,Models, Theoretical ,biology.organism_classification ,Ancient DNA ,Habitat ,13. Climate action ,sense organs - Abstract
The climatic changes of the glacial cycles are thought to have been a major driver of population declines and species extinctions. However, studies to date have focused on terrestrial fauna and there is little understanding of how marine species responded to past climate change. Here we show that a true Arctic species, the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), shifted its range and tracked its core suitable habitat northwards during the rapid climate change of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Late Pleistocene lineages survived into the Holocene and effective female population size increased rapidly, concurrent with a threefold increase in core suitable habitat. This study highlights that responses to climate change are likely to be species specific and difficult to predict. We estimate that the core suitable habitat of bowhead whales will be almost halved by the end of this century, potentially influencing future population dynamics.
- Published
- 2013
242. Late-glacial recolonization and phylogeography of European red deer (Cervus elaphus L.)
- Author
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Adrian M. Lister, Lawrence Guy Straus, Thomas Higham, Manuel R. González Morales, Henriette Obermaier, John R. Stewart, Ana B. Marín-Arroyo, Ian Barnes, and Meirav Meiri
- Subjects
Pleistocene ,Range (biology) ,Climate Change ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Biology ,DNA, Mitochondrial ,Refugium (population biology) ,Genetics ,Animals ,Glacial period ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Holocene ,Phylogeny ,Likelihood Functions ,Ecology ,Deer ,Radiometric Dating ,Genetic Variation ,Last Glacial Maximum ,Bayes Theorem ,Sequence Analysis, DNA ,Europe ,Phylogeography ,Ancient DNA ,Genetics, Population ,Haplotypes ,Interglacial - Abstract
The Pleistocene was an epoch of extreme climatic and environmental changes. How individual species responded to the repeated cycles of warm and cold stages is a major topic of debate. For the European fauna and flora, an expansion–contraction model has been suggested, whereby temperate species were restricted to southern refugia during glacial times and expanded northwards during interglacials, including the present interglacial (Holocene). Here, we test this model on the red deer (Cervus elaphus )a large and highly mobile herbivore, using both modern and ancient mitochondrial DNA from the entire European range of the species over the last c. 40 000 years. Our results indicate that this species was sensitive to the effects of climate change. Prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) haplogroups restricted today to South-East Europe and Western Asia reached as far west as the UK. During the LGM, red deer was mainly restricted to southern refugia, in Iberia, the Balkans and possibly in Italy and South-Western Asia. At the end of the LGM, red deer expanded from the Iberian refugium, to Central and Northern Europe, including the UK, Belgium, Scandinavia, Germany, Poland and Belarus. Ancient DNA data cannot rule out refugial survival of red deer in North-West Europe through the LGM. Had such deer survived, though, they were replaced by deer migrating from Iberia at the end of the glacial. The Balkans served as a separate LGM refugium and were probably connected to Western Asia with genetic exchange between the two areas.
- Published
- 2013
243. Radiocarbon dating casts doubt on the late chronology of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in southern Iberia
- Author
-
Rachel Wood, Cecilio Barroso-Ruíz, Bertila Galván Santos, Miguel Caparrós, Thomas Higham, and Jesús Francisco Jordá Pardo
- Subjects
Multidisciplinary ,Neanderthal ,biology ,Mousterian ,Biological Sciences ,Archaeology ,law.invention ,Paleontology ,Geography ,law ,Middle Paleolithic ,biology.animal ,Upper Paleolithic ,Radiometric dating ,Radiocarbon dating ,Stratigraphy (archaeology) ,Chronology - Abstract
It is commonly accepted that some of the latest dates for Neanderthal fossils and Mousterian industries are found south of the Ebro valley in Iberia at ca. 36 ka calBP (calibrated radiocarbon date ranges). In contrast, to the north of the valley the Mousterian disappears shortly before the Proto-Aurignacian appears at ca. 42 ka calBP. The latter is most likely produced by anatomically modern humans. However, two-thirds of dates from the south are radiocarbon dates, a technique that is particularly sensitive to carbon contaminants of a younger age that can be difficult to remove using routine pretreatment protocols. We have attempted to test the reliability of chronologies of 11 southern Iberian Middle and early Upper Paleolithic sites. Only two, Jarama VI and Zafarraya, were found to contain material that could be reliably dated. In both sites, Middle Paleolithic contexts were previously dated by radiocarbon to less than 42 ka calBP. Using ultrafiltration to purify faunal bone collagen before radiocarbon dating, we obtain ages at least 10 ka 14 C years older, close to or beyond the limit of the radiocarbon method for the Mousterian at Jarama VI and Neanderthal fossils at Zafarraya. Unless rigorous pretreatment protocols have been used, radiocarbon dates should be assumed to be inaccurate until proven otherwise in this region. Evidence for the late survival of Neanderthals in southern Iberia is limited to one possible site, Cueva Antón, and alternative models of human occupation of the region should be considered.
- Published
- 2013
244. Deep sequencing of RNA from ancient maize kernels
- Author
-
Nathan Wales, David E. Alquezar-Planas, María C. Ávila-Arcos, Tina Jørgensen, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Terence A. Brown, J. Alberto Romero-Navarro, Jean Philippe Vielle-Calzada, Mike Jacobs, Morten Rasmussen, Eske Willerslev, Enrico Cappellini, Steven Penfield, Thomas Higham, Nancy Odegaard, Rafael Montiel, Sarah L. Fordyce, Bernardo Arriaza, and M. Thomas P. Gilbert
- Subjects
DNA, Complementary ,Time Factors ,Plant Evolution ,Science ,Plant genetics ,Cereals ,Crops ,Germination ,Plant Science ,Biology ,Social and Behavioral Sciences ,Zea mays ,Deep sequencing ,Transcriptome ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ,Complementary DNA ,Genetics ,Domestication ,Evolutionary Biology ,Multidisciplinary ,Ecology ,Paleontology ,Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ,High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ,RNA ,food and beverages ,Agriculture ,Genomics ,Organismal Evolution ,Maize ,Archaeology ,chemistry ,Evolutionary Ecology ,RNA, Plant ,Evolutionary biology ,Seeds ,Earth Sciences ,Nucleic acid ,Medicine ,DNA ,Research Article - Abstract
The characterization of biomolecules from ancient samples can shed otherwise unobtainable insights into the past. Despite the fundamental role of transcriptomal change in evolution, the potential of ancient RNA remains unexploited - perhaps due to dogma associated with the fragility of RNA. We hypothesize that seeds offer a plausible refuge for long-term RNA survival, due to the fundamental role of RNA during seed germination. Using RNA-Seq on cDNA synthesized from nucleic acid extracts, we validate this hypothesis through demonstration of partial transcriptomal recovery from two sources of ancient maize kernels. The results suggest that ancient seed transcriptomics may offer a powerful new tool with which to study plant domestication.
- Published
- 2013
245. Mid-Holocene age obtained for nested diamond pattern petroglyph in the Billasurgum Cave complex, Kurnool District, southern India
- Author
-
David Fink, Ravi Korisettar, Jian-xin Zhao, Allan R. Chivas, Richard G. Roberts, Paul S.C. Taçon, Nicole Boivin, Peter Ditchfield, Thomas Higham, J. Blinkhorn, Michael D. Petraglia, Griffith University [Brisbane], University of Oxford [Oxford], De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Wollongong [Australia], Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation [Australie] (ANSTO), Karnatak University, University of Queensland [Brisbane], and PACEA, UMR5199
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,Stalactite ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Paleontology ,Cave ,préhistoire ,law ,Petroglyph ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Mesolithic ,Holocene ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,geography ,[SHS.ARCHEO] Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,060102 archaeology ,06 humanities and the arts ,Archaeology ,Radiometric dating ,Rock art ,Geology - Abstract
India has one of the world's largest and most significant bodies of rock paintings and engravings, yet not a single rock art site or image has been directly and accurately dated using radiometric techniques. Here we report on results from the Billasurgam Cave complex near Kurnool in southern India. Although this cave complex has been investigated archaeologically since the late 1800s, it was not until 2008 that a large petroglyph, consisting of the remains of three nested diamond designs on a stalactite, was noted. In order to determine if this petroglyph had been made recently, flowstone was sampled from on top of and below the engraving. Radiocarbon dating revealed a mid-Holocene age of about 5000 cal BP for the petroglyph, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the engraving is several centuries younger. Similar nested diamond designs at some rock painting sites and on a chert core elsewhere in India have been assumed to be Mesolithic. Our result is consistent with this hypothesis, although we note that it also consistent with the creation of the petroglyph in the early Neolithic. We conclude that the Billasurgam engraved diamond design was probably made by Mesolithic foragers of the Kurnool region and is the oldest surviving form of rock art yet directly dated in southern India.
- Published
- 2013
246. Divergent evolutionary processes associated with colonization of offshore islands
- Author
-
Simon Y. W. Ho, Gerald Heckel, Michel Pascal, A. Rus Hoelzel, Keith Dobney, Thomas Cucchi, Natália Martínková, Ross Barnett, Laurent Excoffier, Jean-Pierre Quéré, Selina Brace, Thomas Higham, Jeremy B. Searle, Paul O'Higgins, Martin C. Fischer, M. Pascal, Rahel Struchen, University of York [York, UK], Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Sch Biol & Biomed Sci, Durham University, University of Aberdeen, University of Bern, Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Swiss Inst Bioinformat, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, RLAHA, Egham TW20 0EX, Middlesex University, NSW 2006, The University of Sydney, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), York YO10 5DD, Weill Medical College of Cornell University [New York], Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation [31003A-127377, 3100A0-112072, 3100-126074], European Community [226506-CP-CSA-Infra], Wellcome Trust University [GR071037], Arts and Humanities Research Council [119396], Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (ASCR), and Searle, Jeremy B.
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Range (biology) ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,statistical tests ,phylogeography ,population-growth ,01 natural sciences ,Microtus arvalis ,Coalescent theory ,Belgium ,mitochondrial-dna ,phylogenetic analyses ,genetics ,Phylogeny ,Islands ,0303 health sciences ,education.field_of_study ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Ecology ,Arvicolinae ,genetic diversity ,Cytochromes b ,Biological Evolution ,mainland populations ,agriculture ecosystems & environment ,demographic analysis ,vole microtus-arvalis ,late-pleistocene ,Archipelago ,Original Article ,genetic replacement ,island colonization ,common vole ,molecular phylogeny ,lattre p ,Population ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Biology ,010603 evolutionary biology ,DNA, Mitochondrial ,03 medical and health sciences ,Genetic drift ,Phylogenetics ,Animals ,14. Life underwater ,education ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,030304 developmental biology ,geography ,Bayes Theorem ,Original Articles ,United Kingdom ,Phylogeography ,Genetics, Population ,Biological dispersal ,Animal Distribution ,Microsatellite Repeats - Abstract
Oceanic islands have been a test ground for evolutionary theory, but here, we focus on the possibilities for evolutionary study created by offshore islands. These can be colonized through various means and by a wide range of species, including those with low dispersal capabilities. We use morphology, modern and ancient sequences of cytochrome b (cytb) and microsatellite genotypes to examine colonization history and evolutionary change associated with occupation of the Orkney archipelago by the common vole (Microtus arvalis), a species found in continental Europe but not in Britain. Among possible colonization scenarios, our results are most consistent with human introduction at least 5100 bp (confirmed by radiocarbon dating). We used approximate Bayesian computation of population history to infer the coast of Belgium as the possible source and estimated the evolutionary timescale using a Bayesian coalescent approach. We showed substantial morphological divergence of the island populations, including a size increase presumably driven by selection and reduced microsatellite variation likely reflecting founder events and genetic drift. More surprisingly, our results suggest that a recent and widespread cytb replacement event in the continental source area purged cytb variation there, whereas the ancestral diversity is largely retained in the colonized islands as a genetic ‘ark’. The replacement event in the continental M. arvalis was probably triggered by anthropogenic causes (land‐use change). Our studies illustrate that small offshore islands can act as field laboratories for studying various evolutionary processes over relatively short timescales, informing about the mainland source area as well as the island.
- Published
- 2013
247. Installations de la fin du Paléolithique moyen de la Grotte Mandrin, Malataverne, (Drôme)
- Author
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Ludovic Slimak, Jacques Brochier, Jean-Philip Brugal, Hubert Camus, Evelyne Crégut-Bonnoure, Jacques-Louis Debeaulieu, David Degusta, Mortez Djamali, Yves Giraud, Thomas Higham, Jeannet Marcel, Véronique Laroulandie, Nicolas Lateur, Carolina Mallol Duque, Laure Metz, Vincent Ollivier, Andaine Orlando, Manon Rabanit, Morten Rasmussen, Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Ségolène Vandevelde, Pascale Yvorra, Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (TRACES), Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire méditerranéen de préhistoire Europe-Afrique (LAMPEA), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ministère de la Culture (MC), Processus de Transfert et d'Echanges dans l'Environnement - EA 3819 (PROTEE), Université de Toulon (UTLN), Museum Requien, Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.), Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Avignon Université (AU), Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, RLAHA, De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Section for GeoGenetics, Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), University of Oxford [Oxford], SRA Rhône-Alpes, École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), and University of Oxford
- Subjects
[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory - Published
- 2013
248. Analysis of Bone 'Collagen' Extraction Products for Radiocarbon Dating
- Author
-
Thomas Higham, B Thomas, V Geoghegan, Fiona Brock, and K Jurkschat
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification ,010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,Chromatography ,Bone collagen ,060102 archaeology ,Chemistry ,Extraction (chemistry) ,Ultrafiltration ,Fraction (chemistry) ,06 humanities and the arts ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,law ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,0601 history and archaeology ,Organic matter ,Radiocarbon dating ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
Archaeological bones are now routinely dated in many radiocarbon laboratories through the extraction of "collagen." Methods for "collagen" extraction vary, and several laboratories now apply an ultrafiltration step after gelatinization to extract the higher molecular weight (usually >10 or 30kDa) fraction for dating, thereby removing low molecular weight contaminants. Ultrafiltration has been demonstrated to result in products that are easier to handle and have more acceptable C:N ratios, and in some instances can result in significantly improved (generally older) 14C dates when compared to non-ultrafiltered products from the same bone. Although it has been suggested that ultrafiltration removes potential contaminants such as short-chain degraded collagen and other peptides and amino acids, fulvic acids, and salts, there remains little published evidence to support this. This paper presents data from a pilot study investigating the most suitable techniques with which to study the products of the routine "collagen" extraction procedures employed at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) (modified Longin followed by ultrafiltration). The preliminary data demonstrates that the final product of "collagen" extraction at ORAU appears to be an aggregate consisting of a range of proteins of different molecular weights, including collagen, as well as some other organic matter and inorganic species. Ultrafiltration is removing some, but not all, of the
- Published
- 2013
249. Radiocarbon Dating of Wetland Sites
- Author
-
Thomas Higham
- Subjects
geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Absolute dating ,law ,Incremental dating ,Wetland ,Dating methodologies in archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Archaeology ,Geology ,law.invention - Published
- 2012
250. New chronology for the Middle Palaeolithic of the southern Caucasus suggests early demise of Neanderthals in this region
- Author
-
Marie-Hélène Moncel, Ron Pinhasi, Medea Nioradze, Nikoloz Tushabramishvili, Daniel S. Adler, Thomas Higham, David Pleurdeau, Chris Stringer, David Lordkipanidze, and Georgian National Museum
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Neanderthal ,Pleistocene ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,Extinction, Biological ,01 natural sciences ,Models, Biological ,Bone and Bones ,law.invention ,[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences ,Paleontology ,Cave ,Transcaucasia ,law ,biology.animal ,Animals ,0601 history and archaeology ,Radiocarbon dating ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Neanderthals ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,060102 archaeology ,biology ,Fossils ,Radiometric Dating ,Bayes Theorem ,06 humanities and the arts ,Before Present ,Anthropology ,Radiometric dating ,Chronology - Abstract
Neanderthal populations of the southern and northern Caucasus became locally extinct during the Late Pleistocene. The timing of their extinction is key to our understanding of the relationship between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMH) in Eurasia. Recent re-dating of the end of the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) at Mezmaiskaya Cave, northern Caucasus, and Ortvale Klde, southern Caucasus, suggests that Neanderthals did not survive after 39 ka cal BP (thousands of years ago, calibrated before present). Here we extend the analysis and present a revised regional chronology for MP occupational phases in western Georgia, based on a series of model-based Bayesian analyses of radiocarbon dated bone samples obtained from the caves of Sakajia, Ortvala and Bronze Cave. This allows the establishment of probability intervals for the onset and end of each of the dated levels and for the end of the MP occupation at the three sites. Our results for Sakajia indicate that the end of the late Middle Palaeolithic (LMP) and start of the Upper Palaeolithic (UP) occurred between 40,200 and 37,140 cal BP. The end of the MP in the neighboring site of Ortvala occurred earlier at 43,540-41,420 cal BP (at 68.2% probability). The dating of MP layers from Bronze Cave confirms that it does not contain LMP phases. These results imply that Neanderthals did not survive in the southern Caucasus after 37 ka cal BP, supporting a model of Neanderthal extinction around the same period as reported for the northern Caucasus and other regions of Europe. Taken together with previous reports of the earliest UP phases in the region and the lack of archaeological evidence for an in situ transition, these results indicate that AMH arrived in the Caucasus a few millennia after the Neanderthal demise and that the two species probably did not interact.
- Published
- 2012
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