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Sea-level rise was a key factor changing environments during the Early Holocene in Northwest Europe. It affected Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities by inundating large areas in the current North Sea, commonly referred to as Doggerland. In this paper we present novel inundation models for the southern North Sea providing visualisations of lateral inundation driven by sea-level rise and relate it to frequency analysis of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites. These improve on previous studies that relied on bathymetric data, which includes post-inundation overprints of Holocene sedimentation and erosion, and thus significantly underestimates the timing of inundation in some areas. We constructed a paleoDEM (a composite elevation grid of the top of the Pleistocene) for the eastern part of the southern North Sea; and sea level surfaces that combine relative sea-level curves from glacio-isostatic adjustment models optimised for Britain and southern Scandinavia respectively. We corrected our paleoDEMs for tectonic background basin subsidence, and in the inundation modelling account for pre-compaction elevation of peat in coastal areas. We evaluated the impact of these model components on our results and describe the possible inundation history of Doggerland. We suggest earlier inundation than predicted by previous models, showing significant area loss around 10.5–10 ka cal BP. Palaeogeographic changes are compared with archaeological radiocarbon data using a dates-as-data approach. Composite Kernel Density Estimate and permutation tested Summed Probability Distributions are used as a proxy for the visibility, nature and intensity of human activity. Results indicate key periods of growth and decline recorded in the dataset, as well as regional differences in growth rate, some correlating with inundation phases. Chiefly, we find elevated growth rates around 10.5–10 ka in northwest Germany and the Netherlands, contemporaneous with the abovementioned phase of extensive area loss, and moreover, with changes in culture and practices on Early Mesolithic sites. However, the spatiotemporal distribution of archaeological data is significantly influenced by accessibility and preservation of sediments of a certain age. We discuss the importance of inundation modelling and sediment data in understanding how landscape taphonomy affects archaeological patterning, especially in dates-as-data approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Changes in lifestyle and dietary habits that hunter‐gatherer populations have undergone in recent decades have often led to rising obesity rates with disastrous consequences for their health. Objectives: The associations between dietary habits and weight status were studied in 238 "Ju/'hoansi" San (93 women and 145 men) aged between 18 and 65 years in northern Namibia in 1987. Weight status was estimated based on the World Health Organization body mass index (BMI) categories, and dietary habits were recorded using food recall methods. Anthropometrics and weight status were compared with those of a sex‐ and age‐matched sample of "Ju/'hoansi" San people collected by Nancy Howell in 1968/69. Results: Body weight had increased significantly among "Ju/'hoansi" San people from 1968/69 to 1987. The number of underweight people decreased from 1968/69 to 1987. In 1987, most participants (60.9%) were of normal weight. Overweight was found in 1.3% of the women, but not among men. No participants were obese. Less than 4% of the women and less than 2% of the men consumed exclusively traditional hunter‐gatherer food. Westernized food products were significantly (p < 0.001) more common among men and younger people. Dietary patterns were significantly associated with weight status. The less traditional the diet, the higher the BMI (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The transition to domestic agricultural and westernized foods was positively associated with increasing BMI. Overweight, however, was still an extremely rare condition in this population in 1987. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Human–animal relations during Prehistory are an increasingly discussed issue among scholars. Cervids are a symbolically prominent species among hunter–gatherers but are also of relevance to pastoralists. We present a synthesis of available data regarding human–deer relations in Portuguese Late Prehistory. This is achieved by examining deer abundance in subsistence, together with their inclusion in social practices such as food-sharing and their involvement in structured depositions in both funerary and non-funerary contexts. Additionally, the study investigates the utilization of deer remains for the creation of artifacts and their depiction in pottery decoration, figures, and rock art. The dynamics of deer prevalence in subsistence have varied diachronically and synchronically in the periods and areas under study. Although the reasons and meanings for this behavior continue to be discussed, their sociocultural and ideological relevance seems to have persisted in early agropastoral and metallurgical societies, even as they undergo change. Human–animal relations have been a fruitful research topic worldwide. The importance of deer in hunter–gatherer societies is undeniable, with cervids being commonly found in archaeological and past artistic records, with a notable amount of information recovered in the Iberian Peninsula. This relevance continues during Late Prehistory, but the attempt to discuss cervids under broader perspectives and based on different types of data is not as common. We intend to approach human–deer relations in Central and Southern Portuguese Late Prehistory by considering the zooarchaeological records, both deer abundance in faunal spectra and their presence in "meaningful" assemblages and structured depositions, as well as the use of deer and deer body parts in other socio–cultural and ideological practices. The synthesis of available data shows that human–deer relations changed through time and space, with different abundances related to hunting depending on chronology and geography. The use of deer or their body parts as a resource of symbolic nature also varied, being included in food-sharing events, offerings, structured depositions, and graphic representations. Changeability is part of the different relationships, ontologies, and cosmogonies that humans and deer developed in the Late Prehistoric relational world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Last Glacial Maximum, after 20 Kya ago, in the Alpine area the environmental and climatic conditions began to change, and humans returned to the valleys. North-eastern Italy – east of Lake Garda – has provided numerous traces of these early recolonisations, but the same cannot be said for the areas to the west of Lake Garda (Lombardy and Piedmont) where only a few faint traces of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene human presence are known. The deeply stratified site at Cividate Camuno (Valle Camonica – Brescia), on the valley floor at an altitude of 275 m asl, is datable to the Late Glacial and early Holocene and is unique in the whole of north-western Italy. At the site were found an inhabited area with a Palaeolithic "hut" and an Early Mesolithic level. The archaeozoological analyses of the Palaeolithic (Late Epigravettian) levels (18.1–15.6 Kya cal BP) show different hunting strategies from those of the early Mesolithic (Sauvetterian) level (10.2–9.6 Kya cal BP), reflecting environmental variation and, hence, changes in locally available prey. The Late Palaeolithic occupation thus represents the first trace of a human presence in the western Alps since the glaciers reached the Po Plain, at least 10.000 years earlier. The members of these human groups were pioneers in an uninhabited and hostile environment who, thanks to their technical knowledge, were able to adapt to such difficult environmental conditions. They hunted ibex, which lived on the valley floor, and the deer that returned to the areas from which the glaciers receded. The Mesolithic occupation provides evidence of the subsequent adaptation of human groups to an environment that had changed thanks to the retreat of the glaciers to higher elevations and, on the valley floors, had left room for the spread of wooded areas that hosted deer, roe deer and wild boar – the favoured prey of these Mesolithic hunters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study is the first exploration of the archaeological record associated with artisanal Octopus fishing along the San Matías Gulf west coast in Río Negro province, Argentina, during historical times. The region has been occupied by hunter-gatherer and fishing communities dating back to approximately 3000 BP. Focused on the capture of the small intertidal Octopus species Octopus tehuelchus, this practice involves semi-nomadic small groups that establish temporary settlements along the coastal strip. Initial findings reveal distinctive elements within this archaeological record linked to octopus fishing, offering valuable insights into human spatial utilization, its dynamics with the local environment, and its connections to historical and cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic change appears to influence major patterns in human history. However, confirming the association between climatic events and adaptive human responses is not straightforward given the potential for spurious correlations and uncertainty in the timing of events. Here we leverage theory from behavioral and population ecology to generate predictions about causal relationships between climate and settlement decisions. We then test those predictions using statistical methods designed to evaluate associations under uncertainty. This allows us to evaluate a comprehensive record of radiocarbon dated archaeological sites in the Basin-Plateau region of North America relative to a record of effective precipitation reconstructed using Macrophysical Climate Models. Consistent with theory, the results show that regional populations declined in the mid-Holocene during a prolonged period of reduced precipitation, leading to the abandonment of many major rockshelter sites. Remaining populations concentrated at open-air sites around well-watered sand dune localities where they constructed pithouses and adopted more intensive subsistence practices. These findings illustrate an adaptive response of hunter-gatherer populations to past climate change that supports theoretical predictions and is unlikely to result from spurious correlations or uncertainties in the timing of events. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the dog is widely recognised as a major development in the economic organisation of ancient and contemporary hunter‐gatherer and agricultural societies. Although the utility of dogs in assisting recent historical and contemporary New Guinean hunters is commonly emphasised in anthropological discourse, to date there has been no critical evaluation of their actual contributions to hunting yields and nutrition. As a result, it remains unclear what significance the advent of hunting dogs is likely to have had for prehistoric economies in New Guinea. Here we present a comprehensive synthesis and review of the evidence for the use of dogs in hunting within New Guinea, focusing on the ways in which they assist; what kinds of game they help to capture; the degree to which they improve hunting yields and efficiency; and how this affects the taxonomic makeup and average body‐size of game in human diets. We then apply the findings to a consideration of how dogs likely affected the prehistoric economies of New Guinea after their introduction in the Late Holocene. As reliance on hunting dogs tends to produce over‐representation of a few mammal species within hunting yields, we identify potential zooarchaeological signatures for the use of dogs, and discuss excavated sites at which these may be visible. Dogs have a transformative effect on the outcomes of hunting in New Guinea's environments, and their novel use likely marked a significant development in the island's economies which has previously been underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the Neolithic transition, human lifestyle shifted from hunting and gathering to farming. This change altered subsistence patterns, cultural expression, and population structures as shown by the archaeological/zooarchaeological record, as well as by stable isotope and ancient DNA data. Here, we used metagenomic data to analyse if the transitions also impacted the microbiome composition in 25 Mesolithic and Neolithic hunter-gatherers and 13 Neolithic farmers from several Scandinavian Stone Age cultural contexts. Salmonella enterica, a bacterium that may have been the cause of death for the infected individuals, was found in two Neolithic samples from Battle Axe culture contexts. Several species of the bacterial genus Yersinia were found in Neolithic individuals from Funnel Beaker culture contexts as well as from later Neolithic context. Transmission of e.g. Y. enterocolitica may have been facilitated by the denser populations in agricultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early Holocene, western and central Europe was inhabited by a genetically distinct group ofWestern Hunter-Gatherers (WHGs). This group was eventually replaced and assimilated by the incoming Neolithic farmers. The western Atlantic façade was home to some of the last Mesolithic sites of mainland Europe, represented by the iconic open-air sites at Hoedic and Téviec in southern Brittany, France. These sites are known for the unusually well-preserved and rich burials. Genomic studies of Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers have been limited to single or a few individuals per site and our understanding of the social dynamics of the last Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Europe and their interactions with incoming farmers is limited. We sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of 10 individuals from the Late Mesolithic sites of Hoedic, Téviec, and Champigny, in France, four of which sequenced to between 23- and 8-times genome coverage. The analysis of genomic, chronological and dietary data revealed that the Late Mesolithic populations in Brittany maintained distinct social units within a network of exchanging mates. This resulted in low intra-group biological relatedness that prevented consanguineous mating, despite the small population size of the Late Mesolithic groups. We found no genetic ancestry from Neolithic farmers in the analyzed hunter-gatherers, even though some of them may have coexisted with the first farming groups in neighboring regions. Hence, contrary to previous conclusions based on stable isotope data from the same sites, the Late Mesolithic forager community was limited in mate-exchange to neighboring hunter-gatherer groups, to the exclusion of Neolithic farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how hunter-gatherers are imagined in popular debate in Britain and Ireland, demonstrating that aspects of hunter-gatherer lifestyles are presented as both the antithesis and antidote to perceived crises in contemporary society. We apply an anthropological lens to four areas of popular discourse: physical health, mental health, bushcraft, and survivalism. We identify how the imagined hunter-gatherer in these debates is constructed through processes of commodification that often reveal nostalgic colonial values regarding "human nature." This repeats and sustains damaging perceptions of hunter-gatherer lifeways. It also highlights how archaeological, anthropological, and other academic research on hunter-gatherers is manifest in popular debates that reinforce assumptions about human nature and the significance of our evolutionary past within a neoliberal, colonialist context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The area of the Etosha National Park in Namibia has been inhabited for many centuries by Haiǁom, a group of (now former) hunter‐gatherers. In 1907, Etosha was proclaimed as a game reserve, although Haiǁom were still allowed to live in the area until they were expelled in the 1950s due to then‐dominant ideas of fortress conservation. In recent years, Haiǁom have been provided with several resettlement farms by the Namibian government as a reaction to the colonial land dispossession. In this article, I explore the onto‐epistemology of Haiǁom (i.e. their being in and knowing the Etosha area), focusing on their relations with the land and with human and beyond‐the‐human beings before their eviction. I argue that the eviction implies not only economic marginalization but also social deprivation, which is inadequately addressed with resettlement. I suggest that thinking with relations, illustrated with the Haiǁom case, would call for other solutions in the context of measures taken for past land dispossessions and would open new paths for Namibia's nature conservation initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists have not readily applied collective action and institutional approaches to the study of hunter-gatherers. This is especially true of the American Southeast. Here, I use a review of the recent literature to illustrate the value of such approaches to understanding long-term histories. This review of hunter-gatherer archaeology spans the entire temporal range of Native American history in the Southeast. I argue that the term "hunter-gatherers" itself is constraining. In its place, I suggest that a focus on institutional change and collective action provides a way to better connect histories across temporal units, which then allows for a greater understanding of how such traditions developed, were maintained (or abandoned), and reinvented over the course of history. At the end of the review, I pose five key research areas that archaeologists should focus on that speak to institutions, the nature of public and private goods, common pool resources, and collective action regarding large-scale labor projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a model that may explain long-term population growth and decline events among human populations: The intensification of production generates a tradeoff between the adaptive capacity of individuals to generate a surplus of energy to maximize their fitness in the short-run and the long-term capacity of a population as a whole to experience a smooth transition into a demographic equilibrium. The model reconciles the conflicting insights of dynamic systems models of human population change, and we conduct a preliminary test of this model's implications in Central Texas by developing time-series that estimate changes in human population density, modeled ecosystem productivity, human diet, and labor over the last 12,500 years. Our analysis indicates that Texas hunter-gatherers experienced three long-term population growth overshoots and recessions into quasi equilibria. Evidence indicates that each of these overshoots and recessions associate with changes in diet and labor devoted to processing high density, lower quality resources to unlock calories and nutrients. Over the long-term, population recessions may be necessary for populations to experiment with social and physical infrastructure changes that raise the carrying capacity of their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis of Karl Marx centers one of his earliest political writings, the 1842 commentary on the Rhine Province Assembly debate on the Law on Thefts of Wood, to show an anthropological thread in his writings and this thread's relevance to the struggles of Indigenous gathering and hunting peoples in the contemporary historical conjuncture. This "bush Marx" or "Marx for primitives" consistently engaged in a deep structural linguistic subversion, challenging ethnocentrism by turning Eurocentric concepts on their head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research challenges the belief that indigenous hunter-gatherers in western Europe gradually adopted agriculture. Instead, evidence suggests that the earliest farmers in Europe were immigrants from Asia Minor who brought a fully functioning agricultural economy. A study in Atlantic France reveals that hunter-gatherers and farmers lived separately, with no signs of adoption or intermarriage. This research questions the assumption that hunter-gatherer societies naturally progress towards agriculture and provides insights into the social organization and settlement patterns of forager societies in coastal Europe. The given text also references a book and an article that discuss the distribution of prehistoric Aboriginal burial grounds in southeastern Australia, making it a valuable resource for research on this topic. [Extracted from the article]

The book "Fisher-Hunter-Gatherer Complexity in North America" edited by Christina Perry Sampson explores the concept of complexity among hunter-gatherer societies in North America. The book challenges the traditional binary categorization of simple vs. complex hunter-gatherers and argues for a more nuanced understanding of variability within these societies. The authors emphasize that complexity should not be limited to socioeconomic aspects but should also include other domains such as worldviews, ritual, knowledge, and historical trajectories. However, the reviewer disagrees with the book's premise and argues that complexity should primarily be understood in terms of socioeconomic inequalities. The reviewer also critiques the book for oversimplifying the ethnographic record and creating strawman arguments. Overall, the book does not offer new perspectives but instead attacks traditional concepts of complexity. [Extracted from the article]

The current limitation of ancient DNA data from Vietnam led to the controversy surrounding the prehistory of people in this region. The combination of high heat and humidity damaged ancient bones that challenged the study of human evolution, especially when using DNA as study materials. So far, only 4 k years of history have been recorded despite the 65 k years of history of anatomically modern human occupations in Vietnam. Here we report, to our knowledge, the oldest mitogenomes of two hunter-gatherers from Vietnam. We extracted DNA from the femurs of two individuals aged 6.2 k cal BP from the Con Co Ngua (CCN) site in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam. This archeological site is the largest cemetery of the hunter-gatherer population in Southeast Asia (SEA) that was discovered, but their genetics have not been explored until the present. We indicated that the CCN haplotype belongs to a rare haplogroup that was not detected in any present-day Vietnamese individuals. Further matrilineal analysis on CCN mitogenomes showed a close relationship with ancient farmers and present-day populations in SEA. The mitogenomes of hunter-gatherers from Vietnam debate the "two layers" model of peopling history in SEA and provide an alternative solution for studying challenging ancient human samples from Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

Our paper describes the demarche of our research trail in Ethnoarchaeology over 20 years through various research projects since 1986, when we begun carrying out research projects in Tierra del Fuego (TdF). Our objective was to test and develop the archaeological methodology to open up the possibility of approaching the social organization of prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherer (HFG) societies. We follow chronologically and discuss the successive stages of our line of research and how one step led us to the next step, structuring a successive series of research projects. The bulky volume of bibliography produced including all the methodological details, empirical data, concrete results, etc... is cited at each step for readers who want to dig deeper into the details. There is also an open repository with all the documentation and information on the TdF projects. The conclusion of this long lasting ethnoarchaeological experimental trail was that it is indeed possible, through Archeology, to determine the existence and functioning of social organization in prehistoric HFG. Along these years following the same system of ethnoarchaeological contrasting, we analyzed the development of the coastal societies of the Northwest Coast of America with that of TdF, considered examples of the opposite extremes of HFG social organization. We stated the preponderance of social norms that regulate reproduction and their direct relationship with the discrimination of women and the division of labor according to sex. We have proposed as an explanation for this divergent development the alternative options for the management of reproduction. To reinforce these conclusions, we replicate through the use of Agent Simulation the effect of specific social norms on the reproduction of five groups of HFG. The conclusions reinforced that social norms that affect biological and social reproduction are critical for the sustainability of societies that do not directly control the reproduction of their resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Diaphyseal robusticity and cross‐sectional shapes of the bone tissues are influenced by mechanical loading history. It changes according to work demand on the body. It is the objective of this study to identify the shifts in the modes of subsistence, activities and mobility patterns through the comparison of the shape and strength of bone diaphyses among the Mesolithic, Chalcolithic and Harappan populations of India. Materials and Methods: For the analysis, 7 sites including 2 from Mesolithic (8000–4000 bc), 2 from Chalcolithic (2000–700 bc) and 3 from Harappan (3500–1800 bc) contexts are considered. The ratio obtained from the maximum length of the bones to their girth (at 50% or 35% from the distal end) and that from anterior‐posterior and medio‐lateral diameters were calculated (following Martin and Saller codes, 1957) to understand certain functional adaptations and stress markers on preserved long bones. Independent‐sample T‐tests and ANOVA were applied to detect mean differences of statistical significance within and between cultures. Results: The robusticity indices obtained from the humeri increase from the hunting‐gathering phase (M/F; 19.39/18.45) to the Chalcolithic phase (M/F; 21.99/19.39) showing a slight drop in the Harappan phase (M/F; 18.58/18.37). The right humeri of Mesolithic females show a directional asymmetry of length (4.08%–5.13%) while that in males reach up to 26.09% indicating right‐dominant lateralization. In the Harappan phase, females show a greater value for the right ranging from 0.31% to 3.07%. The femoral robusticity of females increases from 11.42 in hunting‐gathering societies to 13.28 in Harappan times while mid‐shaft of the Mesolithic population clearly shows greater loading along the anterior–posterior (A–P) plane as the index in most cases exceeds 100. There are significant differences among males and females within each group in terms of the indices but significant differences could be discerned between the Mesolithic, Chalcolithic and Harappan populations in case of tibiae, radii and ulnae only. Conclusion: The occupation patterns certainly changed as humans became a food‐producer from a hunter‐gatherer. Occupations involving the extensive flexion and extension of upper limbs in the Chalcolithic period increase particularly in the Harappan phase. Sedentism gave rise to roundness of the femur and reduced the magnitude of lateralization. While equal level of mobility can be traced in case of both the sexes before the advent of agriculture, this distinction increases between the males and females in the agro‐pastoral phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reindeer mobility patterns vary widely in modern ecosystems, notably between more open or more wooded environments. This renders the reconstruction of past reindeer mobility patterns challenging, while being at the same time key if archaeologists want to better understand the role that reindeer herds played in the subsistence and territorial organisation of Prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies. Studying the morphology associated with different habitats and mobility patterns can be a useful method for understanding past reindeer behaviour. To access paleoecological information, the relationship between locomotor anatomy and substrate type can be explored in modern animals and transposed to the past, as previous studies have proven that an animal´s environment affects bone morphology. In this study, 3D Geometric Morphometrics are used to explore the impact of extant reindeer habitat type and mobility pattern on phalanx morphology. Results obtained reflects on the potential archaeological application of such an approach for paleoecological reconstructions. Size and shape of phalanx vary significantly, yet complex to interpret in light of interplaying factors such as subspecies, sexual dimorphism and the influence of migration costs, snow cover and substrate type. If direct application to the archaeological record remains preliminary, this first study permits to highlight promising avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Southern Patagonian (SP) hunter‐gatherers were adapted to diverse environments and subsistence strategies. However, ecological factors affecting variation in upper‐limb proportions have not been thoroughly examined. This study analyses whether size‐related humerus morphology differs among hunter‐gatherers from SP according to specific subsistence economy and physical environment. Materials and Methods: Thirty‐nine left humeri of adult individuals were selected from well‐documented SP archeological sites. Individuals were grouped into terrestrial or maritime hunter‐gatherers based on diet‐related archeological and stable isotope records. Five humeral head and diaphyseal metrics were taken and statistically compared among subsistence strategy groups across four ecogeographic subregions. Results: Terrestrial hunter‐gatherers exhibit greater humeral dimensions compared to maritime hunter‐gatherers. An ecogeographic pattern of humerus size variation was also found, showing significant size reduction in individuals from southern regions. Conclusion: The previously determined low genetic variability within hunter‐gatherers from SP suggests that the physical environment played an important role in humeral adaptive plasticity. These findings also highlight morphological upper‐limb responses to bioclimate factors derived from SP subregions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider predators hunting on prey gathered in groups and in such way exhibiting the possibility of reducing the predators pressure. To model this feature, however, we depart from the Holling type II (HTII) response function, in that we assume that a sufficiently large set of prey could respond to individualistic attacks and therefore induce the predator to renounce. The basic idea is described at first in a simple two‐populations predator‐prey system. It is then expanded considering the generalist predators to deal with two prey. In the first case, both are gathered in herds, and in the second one, one of the two instead behaves individualistically. The net outcome is an enhanced survival for the prey with respect to both the herding cases without and with predators feeding satiation (i.e., using the HTII response). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the relationship between so cial organization and offspring-rearing methods, which are starting to be used as a novel indicator in interspecies societal comparisons. Additionally, I clarify the relationship between the intimacy of the mother-offspring relationship and the development of foraging in the offspring. I suggest that the establishment of a base camp in human evolution is important not only to facilitate effective hunting and gathering but also for immature individuals to reduce the cost of accompanying adults and engage in their own foraging activities. I also attempt to deconstruct weaning from the offspring's perspective, which often focuses on the mother's de ci sion to stop breastfeeding. Spe cifically, I focus on the development of the offspring's ability to acquire food independently and the offspring's behavior away from its mother. I suggest that there is no significant difference between humans and African apes in the timing when the offspring significantly reduces its dependence on breast milk. This paper also depicts "early weaning" as a characteristic of the unique life history of humans, in which the mother conceives a second offspring at the same time as or even before the offspring becomes much less dependent on the mother's milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kill/butchering sites are some of the most important places for understanding the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherer groups. However, these sites are not common in the archaeological record, and they have not been sufficiently analysed in order to know all their possible variability for ancient periods of the human evolution. In the present study, we have carried out the spatial analysis of the Early Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 9–8) site of Cuesta de la Bajada site (Teruel, Spain), which has been previously identified as a kill/butchering site through the taphonomic analysis of the faunal remains. Our results show that the spatial properties of the faunal and lithic tools distribution in levels CB2 and CB3 are well-preserved although the site is an open-air location. Both levels show a similar segregated (i.e. regular) spatial point pattern (SPP) which is different from the SPP identified at other sites with similar nature from the ethnographic and the archaeological records. However, although the archaeological materials have a regular distribution pattern, the lithic and faunal remains are positively associated, which is indicating that most parts of both types of materials were accumulated during the same occupation episodes, which were probably sporadic and focused on getting only few animal carcasses at a time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper Palaeolithic archaeological sites in the Basque Country have been excavated for over a century. They have yielded a rich palaeoenvironmental record with zoological and botanical remains that have been obtained in stratigraphic series dated precisely by radiocarbon. This information reveals cyclical environmental changes from climates similar to today to drier and extremely cold conditions, when species in current boreal biomes and others now extinct but with similar ecological preferences were present in the region. Moreover, the archaeological sites have provided high-resolution information about the resilience mechanisms of the communities of our own human species. This information allows us to increase the corpus of palaeoclimate data regarding the Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 2 and MIS 3 for a critical region within the human population of Eurasia. The aim of this paper is to show how an extraordinary capacity for adaptation to drastic climate changes Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherer societies displayed, even though their subsistence depended on biotic resources that alter rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological record of the Province of Santa Cruz's north Atlantic coast in Argentine Patagonia is represented mainly by middens. These shell middens are made up of the calcareous exoskeletons of mollusks, as well as skeletal remains of vertebrate fauna, lithic artifacts, and carbonized plant remains, intermixed with a varying quantity of sedimentary soil. Recently, along the Lower Basin of the Deseado River, outcrops have been identified that would have functioned in the past as rock shelters for hunter-gatherers who occupied the area during the Middle and Late Holocene. With the aim of expanding our knowledge concerning the dynamics of use of coastal spaces, we began a stratigraphic study of the shell middens and rock shelters. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the occupation characteristics registered at both types of sites and their possible structuring in terms of mobility and functionality. Rock shelters would have functioned primarily as contexts for short-term activities related to the processing and consumption of fauna, mainly terrestrial and to a lesser extent marine fauna. These probably structured seasonal mobility strategies that linked coastal shell middens, defined as multiple activity contexts, with hinterland areas that might have been related to the specific pursuit of other activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study compares humeral diaphyseal robusticity and asymmetry between Late Holocene hunter‐gatherers from Alaska with the goal of reconstructing habitual activity in relation to culture and environment. Materials and Methods: Ancestral remains from four geographic regions of Alaska were divided into five site groups defined by subsistence strategies and technology: Aleutian Islands, Coastal Bay, Far North Coastal, Inland/Riverine, and Tikeraq. Mid‐distal humeral diaphyseal robusticity was quantified using cross‐sectional geometric properties standardized by estimated body mass and bone length. Results: Humeral strength and bilateral asymmetry were greatest in Aleutian Island males, moderate in Far North Coastal and Tikeraq males, and reduced in Inland/Riverine males. Left‐biased directional asymmetry and reduced humeral strength were found in Coastal Bay males. Aleutian Island males had relatively mediolaterally strengthened humeri compared with other groups. Aleutian Island females had elevated humeral strength, while humeral asymmetry among females was moderate and did not vary between groups. Humeri were relatively round among Aleutian Island and Tikeraq females and anteroposteriorly (A‐P) strengthened among Coastal Bay, Far North Coastal, and Inland/Riverine females. Conclusions: These results suggest elevated humeral strength and asymmetry in males that engaged in rowing and unimanual projectile hunting, while reduced humeral strength and asymmetry may reflect bow‐and‐arrow or ensnarement technologies. Left‐biased humeral asymmetry may be associated with net‐fishing. Humeral strength and asymmetry are consistent with select instances of unimanual projectile hunting in females, while differences in humeral A‐P/mediolateral strength may reflect variation in butchery and processing of prey versus rowing and throwing behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemosensation (olfaction, taste) is essential for detecting and assessing foods, such that dietary shifts elicit evolutionary changes in vertebrate chemosensory genes. The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture dramatically altered how humans acquire food. Recent genetic and linguistic studies suggest agriculture may have precipitated olfactory degeneration. Here, we explore the effects of subsistence behaviors on olfactory (OR) and taste (TASR) receptor genes among rainforest foragers and neighboring agriculturalists in Africa and Southeast Asia. We analyze 378 functional OR and 26 functional TASR genes in 133 individuals across populations in Uganda (Twa, Sua, BaKiga) and the Philippines (Agta, Mamanwa, Manobo) with differing subsistence histories. We find no evidence of relaxed selection on chemosensory genes in agricultural populations. However, we identify subsistence-related signatures of local adaptation on chemosensory genes within each geographic region. Our results highlight the importance of culture, subsistence economy, and drift in human chemosensory perception. Genetic comparison of rainforest foraging and neighboring agricultural communities in Uganda and the Philippines shows no distinction in the size of olfactory receptor gene repertoires, but there is evidence for subsistence-related local adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the petroglyphs from Curapil site, located on the northern piedmont of the Somuncurá plateau. The objective is to characterize motifs and their contexts, and to compare them with the rock art from the plateau in order to evaluate mobility paths and the occupational redundancy of sectors with different water availability. Results point towards weak links with sites from the eastern portion of Somuncurá plateau. Future studies of recently detected sites on the western portion may determine their relationships with Curapil. Although all the analysed contexts bear signs of reoccupation, these are stronger in Somuncurá, where water sources are more punctually distributed than in the piedmont. Despite these intensity differences, Curapil may be considered as a place that persisted until present times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The settlement process of the south-central Western Pampa shows weak and scattered signs during the Early Holocene, a greater human incidence during the Middle Holocene and a progressive colonization process from the initial Late Holocene, around 4000-3000 years BP. The bioarchaeological record has been one of the clearest indicators of this process. In this paper we present the osteobiography of a burial called CLV3, recovered in Cerro de Los Viejos Archaeological Locality (SE of La Pampa province), which has a date of 3410±20 years BP. It is an adult male individual who was in good health. His lifestyle involved moderate mechanical stress and the intensive use of the masticatory apparatus. He had a local residence, a terrestrial diet, and shows circular cranial deformation. The characteristics of CLV3 reflect social and cultural patterns observed at the macro-regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sexual division of labor among human foraging populations has typically been recognized as involving males as hunters and females as gatherers. Recent archeological research has questioned this paradigm with evidence that females hunted (and went to war) throughout the Homo sapiens lineage, though many of these authors assert the pattern of women hunting may only have occurred in the past. The current project gleans data from across the ethnographic literature to investigate the prevalence of women hunting in foraging societies in more recent times. Evidence from the past one hundred years supports archaeological finds from the Holocene that women from a broad range of cultures intentionally hunt for subsistence. These results aim to shift the male-hunter female-gatherer paradigm to account for the significant role females have in hunting, thus dramatically shifting stereotypes of labor, as well as mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct evidence for Palaeolithic sound-making instruments is relatively rare, with only a few examples recorded from Upper Palaeolithic contexts, particularly in European cultures. However, theoretical considerations suggest that such artefacts have existed elsewhere in the world. Nevertheless, evidence for sound production is tenuous in the prehistoric archaeological record of the Levant, the study of music and its evolution being sparsely explored. Here we report new evidence for Palaeolithic sound-making instruments from the Levant with the discovery of seven aerophones made of perforated bird bones in the Final Natufian site of Eynan-Mallaha, Northern Israel. Through technological, use-wear, taphonomic, experimental and acoustical analyses, we demonstrate that these objects were intentionally manufactured more than 12,000 years ago to produce a range of sounds similar to raptor calls and whose purposes could be at the crossroads of communication, attracting hunting prey and music-making. Although similar aerophones are documented in later archaeological cultures, such artificial bird sounds were yet to be reported from Palaeolithic context. Therefore, the discovery from Eynan-Mallaha contributes new evidence for a distinctive sound-making instrument in the Palaeolithic. Through a combined multidisciplinary approach, our study provides important new data regarding the antiquity and development of the variety of sound-making instruments in the Palaeolithic at large and particularly at the dawn of the Neolithic in the Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article uses a case study of Uganda to examine the contentious politics surrounding Indigenous land rights in contemporary Africa, notably regarding the right to 'free, prior and informed consent' (FPIC). Drawing upon insights from recent fieldwork, it contrasts the diverse struggles of two of Uganda's most prominent Indigenous groups. Whereas the Batwa constitute a small group of (traditionally) hunter-gatherers from the southwestern District of Kisoro (and surrounding areas) who have low capacity to challenge the state, the Karamojong are a much larger group of agro-pastoralists from the northeastern region of Karamoja who have a long history of conflict and opposition to the central government. These cases highlight the diverging capacities of groups to protect their traditional lands, yet their shared struggle to secure both legal recognition as Indigenous and their right to FPIC from a hostile government. Given the obstacles facing these groups and the potential for FPIC to deepen cleavages between—and within—communities, the article concludes with some reflections for advancing the rights of Uganda's Indigenous peoples without enflaming the divisive identity politics that can accompany Indigenous land rights movements in certain political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors introduce their interesting and thoughtful piece with a personal anecdote that serves as an origin story to the argument within the paper itself and to the issues they have been wrestling with for some time. This work has changed my perception of archaeology in profound ways, and I continue to wrestle with many issues that are raised by the authors in their paper. For example, the authors quote Bhambra and Holmwood ([1]), but they seemingly fail to engage with the key message of this book, which argues that crucial elements of social theoretical thought were themselves fundamentally shaped by the influence of European colonialism. [Extracted from the article]

This study explores how resource colonization for iron in central Sweden during the early Iron Age may have affected the use of forest landscapes. Slag heap volume at iron production sites was used to estimate the amount of forest resources required for charcoal production. Forest resources required for livestock grazing and fodder were estimated from literature sources. To produce charcoal at iron production sites, forests were harvested, creating conditions suitable for grazing. Production of livestock winter fodder, leaf-hay, became a constraint due to the conflict between grazing grounds and fodder producing areas near main settlements. Although availability of forest was not limiting, a combination of opportunities and constraints is suggested to have promoted a new spatial ordering of land use. This included land closest to the main settlements allocated to fodder production and development of secondary seasonal settlements (shielings) at iron production sites, which could be exploited for livestock grazing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To characterize the development of childhood adiposity among the Ju'/Hoansi, a well‐known hunter‐gather group, to compare our results to U.S. references and to recently published results from Savanna Pume' foragers of Venezuela, with the goal of expanding our understanding of adipose development among human hunter‐gatherers. Methods: Triceps, subscapular, and abdominal skinfolds, along with height and weight from ~120 Ju'/Hoansi girls and ~103 boys, ages 0 to 24 years, collected in 1967–1969 were analyzed using best‐fit polynomial models and penalized spines to characterize age‐specific patterns of adiposity and their relationship to changes in height and weight. Results: Overall, Ju/'Hoansi boys and girls exhibit small skinfolds with a decline in adiposity from 3 to 10 years, with no consistent differences among the three skinfolds. Increases in adiposity during adolescence precede peak height and weight velocities. Adiposity declines during young adulthood for girls and remains largely constant for boys. Discussion: Compared to U.S. standards, the Ju/'Hoansi show a strikingly different pattern of adipose development, including the lack of an adiposity rebound at the onset of middle childhood, and clear increases in adiposity only at adolescence. These findings are consistent with published results from the Savanna Pumé hunter‐gatherers of Venezuela, a group with a very different selective history, suggesting that the adiposity rebound does not characterize hunter‐gathering populations more generally. Similar analyses in other subsistence populations are called for to confirm our results, and help distinguish the impact of specific environmental and dietary factors on adipose development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]