Acari in archaeology

Mites and ticks (Acari) have been found in a variety of archaeological situations. Their identification has enabled data on habitat and dietary preferences to be obtained, and these have been used to interpret study sites. Despite this, Acari are not routinely considered in analyses in the way that other environmental components are. Like forensic science, archaeology draws on biological material to rebuild past human activity, and acarology has the potential to provide a much greater amount of evidence to both than is currently the case. As an aid to workers in these fields, an overview is presented of the Acari that have been extracted from archaeological samples, the situations in which they were found and the contribution their presence can make to the interpretation of sites.     

Yesterday's polyploids and the mystery of diploidization

Thirty years after Susumu Ohno proposed that vertebrate genomes are degenerate polyploids, the extent to which genome duplication contributed to the evolution of the vertebrate genome, if at all, is still uncertain. Sequence-level studies on model organisms whose genomes show clearer evidence of ancient polyploidy are invaluable because they indicate what the evolutionary products of genome duplication can look like. The greatest mystery is the molecular basis of diploidization, the evolutionary process by which a polyploid genome turns into a diploid one.     

Primate archaeology 3.0

The new field of primate archaeology investigates the technological behavior and material record of nonhuman primates, providing valuable comparative data on our understanding of human technological evolution. Yet, paralleling hominin archaeology, the field is largely biased toward the analysis of lithic artifacts. While valuable comparative data have been gained through an examination of extant nonhuman primate tool use and its archaeological record, focusing on this one single aspect provides limited insights. It is therefore necessary to explore to what extent other non-technological activities, such as non-tool aided feeding, traveling, social behaviors or ritual displays, leave traces that could be detected in the archaeological record. Here we propose four new areas of investigation which we believe have been largely overlooked by primate archaeology and that are crucial to uncovering the full archaeological potential of the primate behavioral repertoire, including that of our own: (1) Plant technology; (2) Archaeology beyond technology; (3) Landscape archaeology; and (4) Primate cultural heritage. We discuss each theme in the context of the latest developments and challenges, as well as propose future directions. Developing a more “inclusive” primate archaeology will not only benefit the study of primate evolution in its own right but will aid conservation efforts by increasing our understanding of changes in primate-environment interactions over time.     

日本旧石器考古新进展

几乎到本世纪40年代结束为止,日本列岛是否存在旧石器时代的人类还是一个未定论的问题。1949年7月,相沢忠洋在群马县新田郡笠悬村岩宿附近的火山灰堆积崖面上,采到一些黑曜石制品。同年9月中旬至10月上旬,经明治大学文学部考古学研究室杉原荘介等人试掘,确认这是日本列岛首次发现的旧石器遗址。岩宿遗址的发现,与差不多同时掀起的对兵库县明石市西郊西八木海岸出土的明石人骨(1931年发现,标本毁于第二次大战战火, 现仅存石膏模型)的重新评价,开创了日本史前史研究的新纪元 。     

Male strategies and Plio-Pleistocene archaeology

Archaeological data are frequently cited in support of the idea that big game hunting drove the evolution of early Homo, mainly through its role in offspring provisioning. This argument has been disputed on two grounds: (1) ethnographic observations on modern foragers show that although hunting may contribute a large fraction of the overall diet, it is an unreliable day-to-day food source, pursued more for status than subsistence; (2) archaeological evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene, coincident with the emergence of Homo can be read to reflect low-yield scavenging, not hunting. Our review of the archaeology yields results consistent with these critiques: (1) early humans acquired large-bodied ungulates primarily by aggressive scavenging, not hunting; (2) meat was consumed at or near the point of acquisition, not at home bases, as the hunting hypothesis requires; (3) carcasses were taken at highly variable rates and in varying degrees of completeness, making meat from big game an even less reliable food source than it is among modern foragers. Collectively, Plio-Pleistocene site location and assemblage composition are consistent with the hypothesis that large carcasses were taken not for purposes of provisioning, but in the context of competitive male displays. Even if meat were acquired more reliably than the archaeology indicates, its consumption cannot account for the significant changes in life history now seen to distinguish early humans from ancestral australopiths. The coincidence between the earliest dates for Homo ergaster and an increase in the archaeological visibility of meat eating that many find so provocative instead reflects: (1) changes in the structure of the environment that concentrated scavenging opportunities in space, making evidence of their pursuit more obvious to archaeologists; (2) H. ergaster's larger body size (itself a consequence of other factors), which improved its ability at interference competition.     

Discovering novel biology by in silico archaeology

Archaea are prokaryotes that evolved in parallel with bacteria. Since the discovery of the distinct status of the Archaea, extensive physiological and biochemical research has been conducted to elucidate the molecular basis of their remarkable lifestyle and their unique biology. Here, we discuss how in-depth comparative genomics has been used to improve the annotation of archaeal genomes. Combined with experimental verification, bioinformatic analysis contributes to the ongoing discovery of novel metabolic conversions and control mechanisms, and as such to a better understanding of the intriguing biology of the Archaea.     

旧石器时代考古与栖居及生计形态分析

由于打制石器本身所含的人类行为信息比较有限,我国旧石器时代考古研究应该引入文化生态学的理论方法,从宏观的生态位、中观的遗址域和微观的居住面分析来充分提炼古人类觅食方式和资源利用的信息。本文介绍了栖居(聚落)形态和遗址域概念的方法论及意义,并用墨西哥瓦哈卡河谷圭拉那魁兹的研究案例来说明这些概念在人地关系研究和农业起源研究中的重要性。文章呼吁旧石器时代考古研究要从低端的分类描述转向人类环境和行为的重建,以期令我们的研究水准跻身世界先进水平。     

The archaeology of Australia's tropical rainforests

Archaeological research in the Australia's northeast Queensland rainforest and margins has revealed a human antiquity of at least 8000 cal year BP within the rainforest and at least 30,000 years on the western edge. Rainforest occupation before 2000 cal year BP was at generally very low levels, after which time settlement of this environment became intensive and probably permanent. Exploitation of toxic varieties of nuts began about 2500 cal year BP, peaking after 1500 cal year BP. This economic development appears crucial to successful human adaptation to rainforests in the area and was pivotal in facilitating the long-term permanent human settlement of the wet tropics. The role of fire, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity and shifting vegetation regimes were important catalysts in providing opportunities for permanent Australian rainforest Aboriginal occupation. The results have implications for global understandings of rainforest occupation by modern people. It demonstrates the wide temporal and spatial variability of human rainforest colonization processes worldwide.