Fossil human remains from Bolomor Cave (Valencia, Spain)

Systematic excavations carried out since 1989 at Bolomor Cave have led to the recovery of four Pleistocene human fossil remains, consisting of a fibular fragment, two isolated teeth, and a nearly complete adult parietal bone. All of these specimens date to the late Middle and early Late Pleistocene (MIS 7-5e). The fibular fragment shows thick cortical bone, an archaic feature found in non-modern (i.e. non-Homo sapiens) members of the genus Homo. Among the dental remains, the lack of a midtrigonid crest in the M₁ represents a departure from the morphology reported for the majority of Neandertal specimens, while the large dimensions and pronounced shoveling of the marginal ridges in the C¹ are similar to other European Middle and late Pleistocene fossils. The parietal bone is very thick, with dimensions that generally fall above Neandertal fossils and resemble more closely the Middle Pleistocene Atapuerca (SH) adult specimens. Based on the presence of archaic features, all the fossils from Bolomor are attributed to the Neandertal evolutionary lineage.     

Late Eifelian and Early Givetian ostracod assemblages from Wellin,Hotton and On-Jemelle (Ardenne,Dinant Synclinorium,Belgium). Paleoenvironmental implications

The study of 3430 ostracods collected in the Lomme, Hanonet and Trois-Fontaines formations (Late Eifelian/Early Givetian) in four sections of the Dinant Synclinorium (Ardenne) allowed the recognition of more than 75 taxa. Their study displays the progressive evolution from an external mixed siliciclastic-carbonate ramp to a carbonate platform around the Eifelian/Givetian boundary. Ostracods from the Lomme Fm are published here for the first time. The leperditicopid ostracods are probably indicative of brackish water environments during the deposition of the Trois-Fontaines Fm, and consequently point to wet and warm climatic conditions during Early Givetian times in the Dinant Synclinorium. Their absence in widespread lagoonal environments in the upper part of the Givetian may be on the contrary related to very arid climate conditions. That important climatic change is probably in relation with the Taghanic Biocrisis.     

Late Pleistocene human remains from Wezmeh Cave, western Iran

Paleontological analysis of remains from Wezmeh Cave in western Iran have yielded a Holocene Chalcolithic archeological assemblage, a rich Late Pleistocene carnivore faunal assemblage, and an isolated unerupted human maxillary premolar (P(3) or possibly P(4)). Species representation and U-series dating of faunal teeth place the carnivore assemblage during oxygen isotope stages (OIS) 3 and 2, and noninvasive gamma spectrometry dating of the human premolar places it at least as old as early OIS 2. The human premolar crown morphology is not diagnostic of late archaic versus early modern human affinities, but its buccolingual diameter places it at the upper limits of Late Pleistocene human P(3) and P(4) dimensions and separate from a terminal Pleistocene regional sample. Wezmeh Cave therefore provides additional Paleolithic human remains from the Zagros Mountains and further documents Late Pleistocene human association with otherwise carnivore-dominated cave assemblages.     

Newly recognized Pleistocene human teeth from Tabun Cave, Israel

Seven human teeth from Tabun Cave, Israel, curated at the Natural History Museum London since 1955, are of uncertain provenance and identity. They are all from the upper dentition, without duplications, and are characterized by a similar preservation. The Catalogue of Fossil Hominids (1975) suggested that they might have derived from Tabun Layer A (Bronze Age to Recent). However, one of us (AC) noted some distinctive features of these teeth that warranted further study. They are here assigned to a single individual, Tabun BC7. Their morphology and metrics were then compared with the frequency of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene groups from Europe, North Africa and Middle East. A fragment of the right M3 crown of Tabun BC7 was removed for ESR and U-analysis, and it was determined that only samples from Layer B have similar dose values. Using the sediment dose values of layer B, preliminary age estimates of 82 +/- 14 ka (early U-uptake) and 92+/-18 ka (linear uptake) were obtained. U-series disequilibrium determined from other samples attributed to Layer B resulted in a U-uptake history close to linear uptake, giving a very comparable age estimate of 90(+30)(-16) ka. The dose value previously obtained on an enamel fragment from the Tabun C1 dentition is nearly double the value measured for BC7, and tentative age estimates for C1 were in the range of 143+/-37 ka. However, due to uncertainties in the exact provenance of the human fossils, we cannot confirm that C1 is older than the new tooth sampled here, and both C1 and BC7 can be attributed to Layer B on chronological grounds. On the basis of chronology, dental morphology and metrics, the specimen named Tabun BC7 was identified as a probable Neanderthal.     

Early Holocene environmental change, the presence and disappearance of early Mesolithic habitation near Zutphen (The Netherlands)

The Early Holocene landscape near Zutphen (The Netherlands) is reconstructed by means of microfossil, macroremain and bone analyses. In this area early Mesolithic sites were found on a river dune along a former river channel. AMS¹⁴C dating provided a detailed chronology for the sites and river channel deposits. Between ca. 9800–9600 B.P. open herbaceous vegetation was present on the river dunes. The residual channels were fringed by reed swamps and willow shrubs, with birch and poplar woodlands inland. During this period there are indications of natural or man-made burning of the reed swamp vegetation along the residual channel. Also trampling zones along the lake edge were more abundant. However, no archaeological sites were discovered in the vicinity. From ca. 9600 B.P. on, the area became more densely forested; willow, birch and poplar replaced the reed swamps along the residual channels, while pine colonised the river dunes. Archaeological finds show that early Mesolithic people inhabited the area between ca. 9400 and 9200 B.P. and between ca. 8900–8700 B.P. During the earlier period, records of Urtica, Plantago and coprophilous fungi may point to trampling and/or eutrophication as a result of the presence of large herbivores and people along the channel shores. After ca. 8700 B.P. people probably left the area when open water was no longer available in the vicinity.     

Additional human remains from Blombos Cave, South Africa: (1999-2000 excavations)

The uppermost Middle Stone Age (MSA) layers at Blombos Cave contain high densities of Still Bay bifacial points. Information from other regional sites places the Still Bay prior to the Howiesons Poort industry, which has been dated at 65-70 ka. The Blombos Cave MSA strata have yielded nine human teeth or dental fragments. Four that were recovered during the 1997-1998 excavations have been published elsewhere. The remaining five were discovered during the 1999-2000 field seasons; these are described here. Three of the new specimens are deciduous teeth, and two are permanent premolar and molar crown fragments. The entire dental sample probably represents at least five and as many as seven individuals. The deciduous teeth from the upper MSA levels are likely to have been exfoliated in the cave. One deciduous tooth and the permanent tooth fragments from the lower MSA levels probably represent three individuals who died in or near the cave. The Blombos Cave premolars preserve horizontal circum-cervical striae suggestive of palliative tooth pick use. Approximately half of the permanent and deciduous crown diameters exceed those of recent Africans; for the remainder, the fossil values fall among modern African sample means. The Blombos Cave tooth crowns tend to be smaller than the majority of penecontemporaneous Neandertal teeth. The morphology of the Blombos Cave di is comparable to MSA homologues from the nearby, and presumably somewhat younger site of Die Kelders Cave 1.     

The cranial anatomy,ontogeny, and relationships of Karpinskiosaurus secundus (Amalitzky) (Seymouriamorpha,Karpinskiosauridae) from the Upper Permian of European Russia

The Upper Permian seymouriamorph tetrapod Karpinskiosaurus from European Russia includes two species: Karpinskiosaurus secundus and Karpinskiosaurus ultimus. Karpinskiosaurus secundus is represented by two specimens with skull lengths of about 75 mm. All specimens of K. ultimus are smaller than those of K. secundus. Revision of the cranial anatomy of all previously known and several new specimens of Karpinskiosaurus shows that the specimens of K. secundus and most of the specimens of K. ultimus represent the ontogenetic series of one species: K. secundus. The holotype specimen of K. ultimus requires revision, with the aim to find out whether it represents a second species of Karpinskiosaurus or not. The available material permits new reconstructions of the largest, holotype skull, and one smaller skull with a length of about 36 mm. Karpinskiosaurus secundus is included in a cladistic analysis for the first time here. The analysis shows it to form a sister taxon to Discosauriscidae. The clade comprising Karpinskiosaurus secundus plus Discosauriscidae forms a sister group to Seymouriidae. Karpinskiosaurus secundus has a large postorbital and a short preorbital region, and the orbits are placed in the posterior portion of the anterior half of the skull length. Among all seymouriamorphs, such cranial proportions are exhibited only by the largest known specimens of Discosauriscus austriacus. None of the specimens of K. secundus described here exhibits the presence of sensory grooves; thus, all specimens composing the ontogenetic sequence of K. secundus are considered to be terrestrial. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010.     

Neanderthal infant and adult infracranial remains from Marillac (Charente,France)

At the site of Marillac, near the Ligonne River in Marillac‐le‐Franc (Charente, France), a remarkable stratigraphic sequence has yielded a wealth of archaeological information, palaeoenvironmental data, as well as faunal and human remains. Marillac must have been a sinkhole used by Neanderthal groups as a hunting camp during MIS 4 (TL date 57,600 ± 4,600BP), where Quina Mousterian lithics and fragmented bones of reindeer predominate. This article describes three infracranial skeleton fragments. Two of them are from adults and consist of the incomplete shafts of a right radius (Marillac 24) and a left fibula (Marillac 26). The third fragment is the diaphysis of the right femur of an immature individual (Marillac 25), the size and shape of which resembles those from Teshik‐Tash and could be assigned to a child of a similar age. The three fossils have been compared with the remains of other Neanderthals or anatomically Modern Humans (AMH). Furthermore, the comparison of the infantile femora, Marillac 25 and Teshik‐Tash, with the remains of several European children from the early Middle Ages clearly demonstrates the robustness and rounded shape of both Neanderthal diaphyses. Evidence of peri‐mortem manipulations have been identified on all three bones, with spiral fractures, percussion pits and, in the case of the radius and femur, unquestionable cutmarks made with flint implements, probably during defleshing. Traces of periostosis appear on the fibula fragment and on the immature femoral diaphysis, although their aetiology remains unknown. Am J Phys Anthropol 155:99–113, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Estimating femur and tibia length from fragmentary bones: an evaluation of Steele's (1970) method using a prehistoric European sample.

Steele's (1970) regression method for estimating femur and tibia length from fragmentary bones is tested on a sample of complete femora (female N = 26; male N = 33) and tibiae (female N = 16; male N = 22) from a number of European Mesolithic and Neolithic sites. Over half of the regression equations given by Steele for predicting maximum length of the bone from the length(s) of one or more of its constituent segments are shown to produce inaccurate predictions in this test sample. However, a closer evaluation of these results, including calculation of regression equations for the test sample itself, reveals that this inaccuracy does not derive from any inherent flaw in Steele's method. Rather, it is shown that differential distribution of maximum bone length among the various bone segments as defined by Steele may occur due to variation in muscular activity pattern and intensity. This argues for the retention of Steele's basic method, with care being taken to match closely the activity pattern typical of the sample from which regression equations are derived with that of the population to which the equations are to be applied. The equations calculated in this study thus are provided for use where deemed appropriate.     

A clan of Late Pleistocene hyenas,Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823), from the Rösenbeck Cave (Germany) and a contribution to cranial shape variability

The remains of a large population of Late Pleistocene Ice Age spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea Goldfuss 1823) are described from the Rösenbeck Cave in the Sauerland Karst of Germany. They include four skulls and 79 other skeletal parts, mainly from adult to senile animals, making this an important Late Pleistocene hyena cave‐den site in Europe. The skulls have been compared with 30 other hyena skull specimens from open air and cave‐den sites in central Europe (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania) in order to achieve an understanding of sexual dimorphism in the crania of Ice Age spotted hyenas from the Upper Pleistocene cold period (Weichselian/Wuermian), and the types of injuries that they acquired during their lifetimes. Three different types of cranial shape have been distinguished, one of which appears to have been a consequence of pathologies that developed in response to injuries caused by bites received during the animal's lifetime, as a result of either intraspecies fights or fights with lions. Although cave bears penetrated to great depths within the Rösenbeck Cave for hibernation purposes, hyenas appear to have utilized only a short section of the cave that branched off directly from the entrance area. Hyena cub material is scarce, suggesting that this area was used as a communal den rather than for cub rearing. Bones exhibiting gnaw marks, representing prey imported by hyenas, are also rare but include horse (Equus caballus przewalskii) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) remains. The scarcity of bones from hyena prey suggests that this cave was not used as a food storage site. Some Ursus spelaeus cave bear remains, including skulls, show evidence of having been gnawed, chewed and cracked by hyenas, indicating that the hyenas periodically fed on cave bear carcasses in a specialization response to the mammoth steppe megafauna absence of the boreal mountain forest regions. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 103 , 191–220.     

An Unusual,Fangless Short-tailed Snake(Squamata,Serpentes, Homalopsidae) from Sumatra,Indonesia

Two genera of fangless homalopsid snakes Brachyorrhos and Calamophis from eastern Indonesia have been described as basal members of the clade. A third genus belonging to this group from Sumatra, Indonesia is described here based upon morphology. Fangless homalopsid snakes share 19 dorsal scale rows at mid-body, fused dorsal scales above the cloaca, 5 to 7 upper labials, divided anal plate, divided subcaudals, 15–21 teeth on the dentary, frontal bone about 23% of skull length and other morphological characters that suggest they are related. All the three genera are known only from Indonesia. The new genus and species have a distinctive skull morphology with an absent premaxilla, a more depressed skull, and a larger eye than are present in Brachyorrhos.     

Fish communities along an oxygen-poor salinity gradient (Zeeschelde Estuary, Belgium)

Fish living in the tidal fresh and brackish water reaches of the Zeeschelde Estuary were studied in samples collected from the cooling-water inlets of three power stations. Between July 1994 and June 1995, 42 different species were recorded including 26 marine migrants, 14 freshwater species and two diadromous species. Species number as well as fish abundance were correlated significantly with salinity and oxygen concentration. The community structure was analysed with a correlation biplot based on principal component analysis of the root-root transformed fish abundance. Four separated communities could be distinguished since the first principal component expressed a salinity and the second a temperature gradient. During summer and fall Pomatoschistus microps, P. minutus, P. lozanoi and Syngnathus rostellatus were most abundant in the brackish-water reach. At this time, freshwater species seemed to avoid the freshwater area. During winter, Sprattus sprattus, Clupea harengus and Dicentrarchus labrax were the dominant species of the brackish-water zone while the freshwater reaches were dominated by Gasterosteus aculeatus . Migrating fish such as Pleuronectes flesus, Lampetra fluviatilis, Anguilla anguilla and Osmerus eperlanus were restricted to the brackish environment.