The non-linear trend of evolution of ancient cultures is decisively affected by climatic change, landscape changes, and more [...]

This study examines the prevalent practice of recycling patinated flint tools (“double patina”) of 18 lithic assemblages from three Late Lower Paleolithic sites in Israel. Determined as recycled from ‘old’ patinated items using visual observation, these tools, bearing both old, patinated surfaces and new modifications, offer insights into lithic strategies, cultural behaviors, and memory preservation. The study shows that the collection and recycling of ‘old’ patinated items into new tools was ubiquitously practiced, ranging from 41% at Late Acheulian Jaljulia and 11–17% at Acheulo-Yabrudian Qesem Cave. Two main recycling methods were identified, with variations across sites reflecting diverse cultural norms and functional needs (Type A–B). The type-B recycling trajectory was found to be the most prominent, as it prioritizes the preservation of the tool’s original appearance, patinated surfaces, and old scars. Following these features, the study additionally suggests that type-B recycling likely stemmed from necessity, cultural preferences, and a choice to connect with the past and preserve it, thus emphasizing the complex interplay of practicality, culture, and memory in the Late Lower Paleolithic period.

This article is devoted to the study of the Quaternary aeolian sands of the boreal zone of north Asia. Using the example of the study reference sections of the Selenga Dauria (Western Transbaikalia), it was established that the activation of aeolian processes is determined by the complex interaction of natural and anthropogenic factors. Natural factors include neotectonic movements; wide distribution of alluvial and lacustrine-alluvial deposits; a sharply continental semi-arid climate; and forest-steppe and steppe vegetation. Among the anthropogenic factors, the leading ones are deforestation, plowing of land and construction of new settlements, roads and other line structures. The obtained radiocarbon dating of buried soils and coal from ancient fire pits indicates the activation of aeolian processes during the Holocene. The main sources for aeolian transport (winnowing) are sands located in the areas of river and lake beaches, floodplains and river terraces. Almost all aeolian sands of the boreal zone were formed as a result of short-range wind transport. They form mini-deserts unfixed by vegetation, with active aeolian processes, dunes, barkhans and deflationary basins. Aeolian swells and blowout basins characterize aeolian landscapes weakly fixed by vegetation. It is noted that aeolian deposits of the boreal zone of north Asia, in contrast to similar sands of the subtropical and tropic zones, consist of coarser-grained material. Medium- and fine-grained sands dominate their composition, which is polymineral and well-sorted. In subtropical and tropical deserts, they are predominantly monomineral, fine and fine-grained. At the same time, mainly minerals that are unstable to weathering (feldspars, plagioclases, pyroxenes and amphiboles) represent the mineralogical composition of the studied aeolian sands. Weathering-resistant minerals dominate the sands of classical deserts: quartz, leucoxene, ilmenite, epidote, zircon, garnets, tourmaline, rutile and others. Modern aeolian landscapes are a unique natural formation for the boreal zone of north Asia and can be successfully used for the development of ecotourism.

This research presents an in-depth analysis of large mammal remains first discovered in 1932 in the archaeological area of ancient Rome, central Italy, during the work for the opening of Via dell’Impero (VFI). This work describes the faunal assemblage, its current preservation status, and uses tephrochronology to assess its age. Additionally, it provides paleoecological insights into the evolution of the mammalian fauna in Latium, central Italy, from MIS 13 to MIS 7. Analysis of the fossils updates the identification previously proposed by De Angelis d’Ossat, confirming the presence of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Cervus elaphus, and Bos primigenius. However, in contrast to the previous author, the hippopotamus remains are assigned to Hippopotamus cf. antiquus, and a second deer is identified as Dama sp. Furthermore, gnawing marks on the hippopotamus femur suggest the presence of a middle-sized carnivore. Tephrochronological investigation was conducted on pumice retrieved from the VFI fossiliferous layer and ash extracted from sediments adhering to the fossil surfaces. The major element composition of the glass from all pumice/ash samples shows a strong affinity with the Vico β unit, allowing correlation with the Fucino record and constraining the deposition of the VFI fossiliferous level between <406.5 ± 1.3 ka and >405.7 + 1.5/−1.6 ka. Radiometric dating is particularly useful for large mammal faunas of MIS 11-MIS 7, a period lacking significant faunal renewals, as Latium mammalian faunas are often dominated by species (elephants, red deer, aurochs) with broad chronological ranges.

A detailed high-resolution study of climate and vegetation changes in two sedimentary profiles from the Godavari delta in India was conducted to understand extreme climate variability over the last 3000 years. These historical climate records are vital for predicting future climate changes influenced by increased human activity. Pollen records reveal several climatic periods: (1) an initial warm/humid phase (2260–1560 cal yr BP) with mangrove and tropical tree pollen and maximum pollen accumulation rate (PARmax), (2) a gradual shift to drier conditions with reduced mangrove and arboreal pollen, coinciding with to the Dark Ages Cold Period (1580–1070 cal yr BP), (3) a Medieval Warm Period (1090–580 cal yr BP) marked by a stronger summer monsoon, rejuvenation of mangroves and tree pollen, (4) a relatively cool and dry phase with abundant dry deciduous and non-arboreal pollen possibly linked to the Little Ice Age (580–80 cal yr BP), showing a weakened monsoon, and (5) recent warming since 80 cal yr BP. A semi-quantitative aridity, temperature, and moisture index based on pollen concentration variations have also been used to identify centennial-scale climatic cycles in the pollen record.

In the Afrotropic biogeographic realm, with its diverse and high-density mammal population, early humans may have been hunting with stone-tipped weapons since ~500,000 years ago. Being able to hunt effectively from a distance has several important adaptive advantages. Yet, until now, African long-range javelin hunting remained unexplored as intermediate between short/medium-range, hand-delivered and long-range, mechanically projected weapons. Insights gained from a new Afrotropic comparative dataset with 950 weapon tips of known use—including several javelin types—provide a contextually appropriate middle-range tool for assessing the probable effective hunting ranges of Middle Stone Age points. We use a novel application of the ballistically relevant tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) statistic to define contact, short-, medium-, long- and maximum-range hunting and discuss the adaptive advantages for each. The approach is applied to suggest developments and variations in the best-fit hunting ranges of 5597 stone points from 62 Middle Stone Age Afrotropic assemblages. By aligning our results with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) record we hypothesize that effective long-range (~20–30 m) hunting with stone-tipped weapons was probably not practiced by ≥MIS 8, and that experimentation with long-range javelins—similar to those used by contemporary Ethiopian hunters—over these distances may have started during MIS 6, becoming part of the everyday Afrotropic hunting arsenal by the end of MIS 5.

Collecting is a form of leisure, and even a passion, consisting of collecting, preserving and displaying objects. When we look for its origin in the literature, we are taken back to “the appearance of writing and the fixing of knowledge”, specifically with the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (7th century BC, Mesopotamia), and his fondness for collecting books, which in his case were in the form of clay tablets. This is not, however, a true reflection, for we have evidence of much earlier collectors. The curiosity and interest in keeping stones or fossils of different colors and shapes, as manuports, is as old as we are. For decades we have had evidence of objects of no utilitarian value in Neanderthal homes. Several European sites have shown that these Neanderthal groups treasured objects that attracted their attention. On some occasions, these objects may have been modified to make a personal ornament and may even have been integrated into subsistence activities such as grinders or hammers. Normally, one or two such specimens are found but, to date, no Neanderthal cave or camp has yielded as many as the N4 level of Prado Vargas Cave. In the N4 Mousterian level of Prado Vargas, 15 specimens of Upper Cretaceous marine fossils belonging to the Gryphaeidae, Pectinidae, Cardiidae, Pholadomyidae, Pleurotomariidae, Tylostomatidae and Diplopodiidae families were found in the context of clay and autochthonous cave sediments. During MIS 3, a group of Neanderthals transported at least fifteen marine fossils, which were collected from various Cretaceous units located in the surrounding area, to the Prado Vargas cave. The fossils, with one exception, show no evidence of having been used as tools; thus, their presence in the cave could be attributed to collecting activities. These activities could have been motivated by numerous tangible and intangible causes, which suggest that collecting activities and the associated abstract thinking were present in Neanderthals before the arrival of modern humans.