Faunal remains from Porc-Epic: paleoecological and zooarchaeological investigations from a Middle Stone Age site in southeastern Ethiopia

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) sediments of Porc-Epic Cave near Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, have produced a large assemblage of archaeofaunal remains dating to the later periods of the Late Pleistocene. As one of the few MSA faunal assemblages from East Africa subject to detailed analysis, it provides rare insight into the foraging behavior of the early modern humans in this region. The MSA fauna include taxa that were not historically present in the area, with the occurrence of reduncines and alcelaphines indicating widespread grasslands and proximity to a perennial source of water. The faunal analysis examined several lines of evidence, including breakage patterns, surface modification, and skeletal-element representation. By incorporating comparisons with multiple actualistic data sets, the analysis of the assemblage demonstrates that, while the influence of carnivores and other biotic agents was evident, the faunal remains were accumulated primarily by hominid activity. The skeletal-element representation at Porc-Epic includes an abundance of high utility bones, in contrast to the predominance of "head-and-foot" elements documented at other MSA and Middle Paleolithic (MP) sites. The MSA occupants of Porc-Epic effectively exploited a wide range of prey with more emphasis on small- and medium-sized mammals.     

船帆洞旧石器遗址洞穴形成过程与地层划分

本文根据最近发掘所获资料,对万寿岩山船帆洞旧石器时代晚期遗址洞穴的形成过程、洞内地层划分以及与洞外沉积物关系等问题进行初步探讨。提出:船帆洞洞穴的发育明显与区域性断裂及岩体的剪切节理有关;洞内经历数次堆积和冲刷;依岩性、地层关系和哺乳动物化石组合,洞内堆积物可分为Ⅰ(中更新世晚期)、Ⅱ(晚更新世早期)、Ⅲ(晚更新世晚期)和Ⅳ(全新世)4个地层单元。     

Taphonomic analysis of the Middle Stone Age faunal assemblage from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B, Western Cape, South Africa

A detailed taphonomic analysis is provided for the mammalian and tortoise faunal assemblages from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (PP13B). It is the first of several reports on the fauna from this site, and must necessarily precede analyses focused on higher level interpretations of Middle Stone Age (MSA) butchery, transport, and hunting behavior. The taphonomic work shows that the faunal assemblage is well preserved and there are discernable differences in the taphonomic pathways to which the fauna was subjected at PP13B between the Middle and Late Pleistocene, between the front and back of the cave, and between body size classes. The largest mammals (size classes 2-5, body weight >24?kg) were mainly accumulated by MSA hominins. Size class 1 ungulates also exhibit a degree of hominin modification consistent with some hominin accumulation of fresh carcasses, but this is more variable through time and includes an observable degree of independent carnivore contribution. Basic taxonomic comparisons reveal a low representation of small mammals, tortoises, and marine mammals at PP13B relative to larger (>4.5?kg) terrestrial mammals. This is a different pattern from other MSA sites along the southwestern coast of South Africa, where small mammals and tortoises are abundant. A microscopic study of the bone surfaces confirms that MSA hominins exploited these small faunal components opportunistically, while focusing most heavily on large terrestrial ungulates. All faunal components show evidence of carnivore scavenging of hominin food debris and a high degree of density mediated destruction. Raptors are at no point implicated as major accumulators of any fauna. The study demonstrates that the full spectrum of MSA faunal exploitation can only be understood when the large mammal, small mammal, and tortoise components of fossil assemblages have all been subjected to comprehensive taphonomic analyses.     

New estimates of tooth mark and percussion mark frequencies at the FLK Zinj site: the carnivore-hominid-carnivore hypothesis falsified

Traditional interpretations of hominid carcass acquisition strategies revolve around the debate over whether early hominids hunted or scavenged. A popular version of the scavenging scenario is the carnivore-hominid-carnivore hypothesis, which argues that hominids acquired animal resources primarily through passive opportunistic scavenging from felid-defleshed carcasses. Its main empirical support comes from the analysis of tooth mark frequency and distribution at the FLK Zinj site reported by Blumenschine (Blumenschine, 1995, J. Hum. Evol. 29, 21-51), in which it was shown that long bone mid-shafts exhibited a high frequency of tooth marks, only explainable if felids had preceded hominids in carcass defleshing. The present work shows that previous estimates of tooth marks on the FLK Zinj assemblage were artificially high, since natural biochemical marks were mistaken for tooth marks. Revised estimates are similar to those obtained in experiments in which hyenas intervene after humans in bone modification. Furthermore, analyses of percussion marks, notches, and breakage patterns provide data which are best interpreted as the results of hominid activity (hammerstone percussion and marrow extraction), based on experimentally-derived referential frameworks. These multiple lines of evidence support previous analyses of cut marks and their anatomical distribution; all indicate that hominids had early access to fleshed carcasses that were transported, processed, and accumulated at the FLK Zinj site.     

Taphonomic analysis of the Middle Stone Age larger mammal faunal assemblage from Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa

A detailed taphonomic analysis is reported for a sample of the larger mammalian faunal assemblage (>4.5 kg live body weight) from Blombos Cave. The analysis provides an assessment of human involvement in the accumulation and modification of the faunal assemblage, and precedes equally detailed analyses and separate reports of Middle Stone Age (MSA) butchery, transport, and hunting behaviour. At Blombos, there are clear differences in the relative abundances of ungulate body size classes, with the lower MSA phases (upper/lower M2 and M3) showing a high representation of size 1 ungulates relative to the most recent MSA phase (M1). The bones from the earliest MSA phase (M3) have not undergone much post-depositional fragmentation, in contrast to fragments from more recent phases (M1 and upper M2). Much of this variability can be attributed to more burning activity and trampling during M1 and upper M2, which could indicate more intensive occupation. Bone surfaces are variably preserved, with high levels of exfoliation in the most recent two phases. Surface modification analyses revealed high proportions of human modification throughout the sequence, indicating that MSA humans were responsible for accumulating most of the larger mammals. After discard, the bones were modified by scavenging carnivores, leading to a moderate amount of density-mediated destruction and tooth-marking. Carnivores independently accumulated some of the smaller ungulates, mainly in the form of partially-digested remains. Raptorial birds are not implicated as major faunal accumulators. The results from Blombos are directly comparable with analogous datasets from two other sites in the Western Cape (Pinnacle Point Cave 13B and Die Kelders Cave 1). Such comparisons demonstrate that MSA faunal assemblages from nearby coastal sites have complex and different taphonomic histories both within and between sites. Because the human occupants were a major part of these processes, MSA subsistence behaviour and site use was also quite variable over time and space.     

Middle Stone Age stratigraphy and excavations at Die Kelders Cave 1 (Western Cape Province, South Africa): the 1992, 1993, and 1995 field seasons

Die Kelders Cave 1, first excavated under the direction of Franz Schweitzer in 1969-1973, was re-excavated between 1992 and 1995 by a combined team from the South African Museum, SUNY at Stony Brook, and Stanford University. These renewed excavations enlarged the artefactual and faunal samples from the inadequately sampled and less intensively excavated lower Middle Stone Age (MSA) layers, increased our understanding of the complex site formation processes within the cave, enlarged the hominid sample from the MSA deposits, and generated ESR, TL, and OSL dates for the MSA layers. Importantly, these new excavations dramatically improved our comprehension of the vertical and lateral characteristics of the MSA stratigraphy. Surface plotting of the MSA layers has led to the identification of at least two major zones of subsidence that significantly warped the layers, draping some along the eroding surface contours of major blocks of fallen limestone roof rock. A third zone of subsidence is probably present in the older excavations. Dramatic roof falls of very large limestone blocks occurred at least twice-once in the middle of Layer 4/5 where the roof blocks were only slightly weathered after collapse, and at the top of Layer 6 where the blocks weathered heavily after collapse, producing a zone of decomposed rock around the blocks. Many of the sandy strata are cut by small and localized faults and slippages. All of the strata documented by Schweitzer's excavations are present throughout the exposed area to the west of his excavated area, where many of them thicken and become more complex. Layer 6, the thickest MSA layer, becomes less diagenetically altered and compressed to the west.     

Hominid cranial remains from upper Pleistocene deposits at Aduma, Middle Awash, Ethiopia

The Upper Pleistocene localities of Aduma and Bouri have yielded hominid fossils and extensive Middle Stone Age (MSA) archaeological assemblages. The vertebrate fossils recovered include parts of four hominid crania from Aduma and a complete right parietal from Bouri. Archaeological associations and radiometric techniques suggest an Upper Pleistocene age for these hominids. The more complete cranium from Aduma (ADU-VP-1/3) comprises most of the parietals, the occipital, and part of the frontal. This cranium is compared to late Middle and Upper Pleistocene hominid crania from Africa and the Middle East. The Aduma cranium shows a mosaic of cranial features shared with "premodern" and anatomically modern Homo sapiens. However, the posterior and lateral cranial dimensions, and most of its anatomy, are centered among modern humans and resemble specimens from Omo, Skhul, and Qafzeh. As a result, the Aduma and Bouri Upper Pleistocene hominids are assigned to anatomically modern Homo sapiens.     

Putting ochre to the test: replication studies of adhesives that may have been used for hafting tools in the Middle Stone Age

Substantial frequencies of Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithics from Rose Cottage and Sibudu Caves in South Africa have red ochre on their proximal and medial portions. Residue studies suggest that the tools were hafted and that the ochre may be part of the adhesive used for hafting the tools. Replication studies show that ochre is indeed a useful loading agent for adhesive; however, there are other potential loading agents. It is also possible to use unloaded plant resin, but this agent is brittle and difficult to work with. It appears that people living in the MSA had wide knowledge of ingredients suitable for hafting tools, and that they chose different adhesive recipes because of the required properties of the adhesive. Brittle, unloaded adhesive allows a projectile head to disengage its haft and implant itself in an animal; robust adhesive keeps a spearhead safely in its shaft.     

40Ar/(39)Ar dating of the Kapthurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya.

The(40)Ar/(39)Ar radiometric dating technique has been applied to tuffs and lavas of the Kapthurin Formation in the Tugen Hills, Kenya Rift Valley. Two variants of the(40)Ar/(39)Ar technique, single-crystal total fusion (SCTF) and laser incremental heating (LIH) have been employed to date five marker horizons within the formation: near the base, the Kasurein Basalt at 0.61+/-0.04 Ma; the Pumice Tuff at 0.543+/-0.004 Ma; the Upper Kasurein Basalt at 0.552+/-0.015 Ma; the Grey Tuff at 0.509+/-0.009 Ma; and within the upper part of the formation, the Bedded Tuff at 0.284+/-0.012 Ma. The new, precise radiometric age determination for the Pumice Tuff also provides an age for the widespread Lake Baringo Trachyte, since the Pumice Tuff is the early pyroclastic phase of this voluminous trachyte eruption.These results establish the age of fossil hominids KNM-BK 63-67 and KNM-BK 8518 at approximately 0.510-0.512 Ma, a significant finding given that few Middle Pleistocene hominids are radiometrically dated. The Kapthurin hominids are thus the near contemporaries of those from Bodo, Ethiopia and Tanzania. A flake and core industry from lacustrine sediments in the lower part of the formation is constrained by new dates of 0.55-0.52 Ma, a period during which the Acheulian industry, characterized by handaxes, is known throughout East Africa. Points, typical of the Middle Stone Age (MSA), are found in Kapthurin Formation sediments now shown to date to between 0.509+/-0.009 Ma and 0.284+/-0.012 Ma. This date exceeds previous estimates for the age of the MSA elsewhere in East Africa by 49 ka, and establishes the age of Acheulian to MSA transition for the region. Evidence of the use of the Levallois technique for the manufacture of both small flakes and biface preforms, the systematic production of blades, and the use and processing of red ochre also occurs in this interval. The presence of blades and red ochre at this depth is important as blades signify a high degree of technical competence and red ochre suggests symbolic behavior.     

泥河湾盆地板井子晚更新世遗址古人类对动物资源的消费策略

本文以泥河湾盆地板井子遗址（约90 kaBP）2015年出土的动物骨骼为材料,通过骨骼表面痕迹分析、骨骼单元出现频率研究及长骨破碎方式的统计,辨识自然作用与人类行为对动物骨骼造成的不同影响,讨论深海氧同位素5阶段(MIS 5)中国北方古人类获取、搬运及处理动物资源的综合性策略。研究结果显示：1)遗址出土的动物遗存为古人类活动所遗留,自然营力对动物骨骼有改造作用,但并未影响我们对古人类行为的辨识;2)古人类在捕获马科动物之后,将其完整地带回了遗址并肢解;3)在处理猎物遗骸时,肌肉和骨髓富集的部位是古人类利用的重点。结合河南许昌灵井遗址的动物遗存研究结果,我们认为,在MIS 5阶段前后,中国北方已经出现了可以高效利用动物资源的人类群体;稳定、充沛的能量来源,或是他们应对北半球中高纬度干旱草原环境气候波动的重要生存策略。     

Multivariate perspectives on change and continuity in the Middle Stone Age lithics from Klasies River Mouth, South Africa

This paper examines variability and the emergence of the Howiesons Poort within the Middle Stone Age lithic technologies of Klasies River Mouth. Here I present a pattern recognition study using multivariate statistical techniques examining the data presented by [Singer, R., Wymer, J.J., 1982. The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa. Chicago University Press, Chicago]. Using this model, the Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithics from Klasies River Mouth load on three main factors: (1) a Levallois flake manufacture factor, (2) a blade manufacture factor, and (3) a worked point factor. The MSA I assemblage from Cave 1 and the MSA II assemblage from Shelter 1a correlate strongly with the worked point factor, the MSA II assemblage from Cave 1 correlates strongly with the Levallois factor, and the Howiesons Poort assemblage from Shelter 1a correlates strongly with the blade factor. The Howiesons Poort from Shelter 1a is differs more from all other industries than the remaining industries do from each other. In addition, the Howiesons Poort from Cave 2 groups closely with the MSA III assemblage from Shelter 1a due to similarities in raw material frequencies.     

New age constraints on the Middle Stone Age occupations of Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Spring-deposited carbonate rocks, or tufas, exposed along the flanks of the Libyan Plateau near Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt, can provide a directly datable stratigraphic context for Middle Stone Age/Middle Paleolithic (MSA/MP) archaeological material, if such material can be found in situ within tufa strata. Two such localities (Mata'na Site G and Bulaq Wadi 3 Locus 1) described by Caton-Thompson were revisited and sampled for uranium-series analysis. At Mata'na Site G (KH/MT-02), Middle Stone Age ("Upper Levalloisian") material is underlain by tufa with a uranium-series age of 127.9+/-1.3 ka, and overlain by tufa with an age of 103+/-14 ka. At Bulaq Wadi 3 Locus 1, a uranium-series age of 114.4+/-4.2 ka on tufa capping a small collection of Middle Stone Age artifacts also provides a minimum age constraint on that material. Tufa underlying an MSA workshop (KH/MD-10) indicates that this assemblage, characterized by use of several Levallois reduction methods, was deposited after approximately 124 ka. Furthermore, uranium-series ages averaging approximately 133 ka on a Wadi Midauwara tufa (WME-10) without associated archaeological material suggest that one period of spring flow in the region began during the Marine Isotope Stage 6/5e transition, prior to the warmest portion of the last interglacial period. The dated archaeological material suggests that the distinction that has been identified between Nubian and non-Nubian complexes in the Nile Valley may hold for the Western Desert, although local complexity has yet to be fully described.     

Animal exploitation strategies during the South African Middle Stone Age: Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort fauna from Sibudu Cave

As one of the few sites that preserve fauna from the Howiesons Poort (HP) and the immediately post-HP Middle Stone Age (MSA), Sibudu Cave provides a unique opportunity to explore the range of variability in subsistence behaviors during this important phase in human behavioral evolution. In addition to providing information on subsistence, the faunal assemblage serves as a means of reconstructing the environmental conditions during these two periods. While the HP fauna is dominated by species that prefer closed (particularly forested) habitats, the fauna from the upper-most layers of the post-HP MSA are largely representative of open conditions. These results largely coincide with macrobotanical analyses and may simply indicate that the extent of the riverine forest near the site was greater during the HP. Alternatively, the pattern could be indicative of a marked intensification in the exploitation of the environment in the immediate vicinity of the shelter during the HP, perhaps resulting from a decline in the productivity of adjacent regions. We also document variation in the frequency of the different bovid size classes over time. The evidence shows a declining focus on the smallest bovids after the HP, with a parallel increase in the frequency of large and very large bovids. Beyond a heavy focus on small bovids, small mammals and suids also occur at higher frequencies during the HP. Although the HP faunal assemblage is largely unique as compared to the bulk of the MSA sequence at Sibudu, the evidence presented here suggests that the transition between the HP and the post-HP MSA may have been more gradual than abrupt. Our results indicate that the HP and post-HP MSA inhabitants of Sibudu Cave were capable hunters; however, hunting strategies appear to show marked variation over time. We propose that the variability in animal procurement strategies reflects a degree of behavioral plasticity beyond that generally attributed to MSA populations.     

Mitochondrial genome structure of a cytoplasmic hybrid between tomato and wild potato

A physical map of the mitochondrial genome was constructed for a male-sterile tomato, MSA1, which had been generated by an asymmetric cell fusion between tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and wild potato (Solanum acaule). The entire genomic sequence of the MSA1 mitochondria (450 kb) was represented by five maps. Even if sequence duplications were taken into consideration, at least two linkage groups (maps 1–4 and map 5) were necessary to show the overall genome. The mitochondrial genome structure of MSA1 was also analyzed by comparing the Southern hybridization patterns of MSA1 and its parents (tomato and wild potato). The mitochondrial genome of MSA1 consists of a complex mixture of the parental genomes with at least 11 molecular recombination events. Received: 23 February 1998 / Revision received: 2 March 1998 / Accepted: 14 March 1998     

Site formation processes at Zhoukoudian, China.

Zhoukoudian is often cited for its human remains and the early evidence of fire. Yet, since its first excavations over 70 years ago, detailed studies of processes responsible for the accumulation of anthropogenic and geogenic sediments in the site have been sparse. This paper provides some details of site formation processes mainly through field observations of the extant section at Locality 1, and the use of soil micromorphology and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) analyses of the sediments. Samples from Layers 10 through 3 show extensive water deposition of fine silt-sized material (reworked loess), including fine-grained organic matter. The dark organic-rich unit in Layer 10--often cited as one of the earliest evidence of fire--is a water-laid accumulation. Much of the fine-grained sediment was derived from outside Locality 1, implying that the site was open to varying extents throughout most of its depositional history. The 4-6 m accumulation of "ashes" in Layer 4 represents subaerial water-laid silt deposits derived from the loess-covered hillslopes surrounding the site. They presumably accumulated in an open depression that formed after the collapse of the brecciated roof deposits represented by Layer 6. Diagenesis is present in many of the Layers, and is exemplified by calcite precipitation and dissolution, and localized apatite (dahllite) replacement of calcite. In Layer 4 diagenesis is more advanced, including calcite/dahllite precipitation, subaerial weathering of the loess and associated precipitation of hematite, alteration of clay and the neoformation of quartz. Many of our conclusions concur with those of Teilhard de Chardin & Young published over 70 years ago.     

Scavenging or Hunting in Early Hominids: Theoretical Framework and Tests

Evidence from Bed I, Olduvai, supports the hypothesis that scavenging, not hunting, was the major meat-procurement strategy of hominids between 2 and 1.7 million years ago. Data used to evaluate the hunting and scavenging hypotheses are derived from studying cut marks on Bed I bovids, comparing adaptations necessary for scavenging with those of early hominids, and a pa-leoecological reconstruction of Bed I carcass biotnass, carnivore guild, and hominidforaging area.     

Revised dating of the Kanjera hominids

Cranial and femoral fragments of five hominids were recovered in 1932 from exposures of Middle Pleistocene lake-beds at Kanjera on the S. shore of the Kavirondo Gulf, Kenya. L. S. B. Leakey considered that the hominids were contemporaneous with the fauna of the lake-beds, and this view seemed to be supported by results of applying the fluorine method of relative dating. Comparison of the hominids and fauna by means of radiometric assay indicates that the hominids are considerably younger.     

Early Upper Paleolithic Man and Late Middle Paleolithic Tools

The appearance of anatomically modern Homo sapiens in Europe, the Near East, and Africa must represent either an in situ evolution of Neandertals or a migration. Those who suggest the latter claim a sudden replacement of Neandertals by anatomically modern Homo sapiens. However, the "evidence" actually cited claims only the sudden replacement of Middle by Upper Paleolithic industries. We criticize the migration explanation on two grounds. (1) There is no "sudden replacement" of Middle Paleolithic by Upper Paleolithic industries, but rather a gradual change in the frequencies of already present tools. Numerous sites in these areas exhibit transitional industries. (2) Concomitantly, there is no morphological evidence indicating a "sudden replacement" of hominids. There is no absolute association between anatomically modern Homo sapiens and Upper Paleolithic industries. Instead, the evidence clearly shows that early anatomically modern Homo sapiens is a late Middle Paleolithic local phenomenon .     

Earliest humans in Europe: the age of TD6 Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain

Hominid remains found in 1994 from the stratified Gran Dolina karst-filling at the Atapuerca site in NE Spain were dated to somewhat greater than 780 ka based on palaeomagnetic measurements, making these the oldest known hominids in Europe (sensu stricto). We report new ESR and U-series results on teeth from four levels of the Gran Dolina deposit which confirm the palaeomagnetic evidence, and indicate that TD6 (from which the human remains have been recovered) dates to the end of the Early Pleistocene. The results for the other levels are consistent with estimates based mainly on microfaunal evidence, and suggest that TD8, TD10 and TD11 date to the Middle Pleistocene.