Uncalibrated Years Research Articles

Ancient Mammalian and Plant DNA from Late Quaternary Stalagmite Layers at Solkota Cave, Georgia

Metagenomic analysis is a highly promising technique in paleogenetic research that allows analysis of the complete genomic make-up of a sample. This technique has successfully been employed to archaeological sediments, but possible leaching of DNA through the sequence limits interpretation. We applied this technique to the analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from Late Quaternary stalagmites from two caves in Western Georgia, Melouri Cave and Solkota. Stalagmites form closed systems, limiting the effect of leaching, and can be securely dated with U-series. The analyses of the sequence data from the Melouri Cave stalagmite revealed potential contamination and low preservation of DNA. However, the two Solkota stalagmites preserved ancient DNA molecules of mammals (bear, roe deer, bats) and plants (chestnut, hazelnut, flax). The aDNA bearing layers from one of the two Solkota stalagmites were dated to between ~84 ka and ~56 ka BP by U-series. The second Solkota stalagmite contained excessive detrital clay obstructing U-series dating, but it also contained bear bones with a minimum age of ~50 BP uncalibrated years and ancient DNA molecules. The preservation of authentic ancient DNA molecules in Late Quaternary speleothems opens up a new paleogenetic archive for archaeological, paleontological and paleoenvironmental research.

New Paleoindian Finds, Further Fell Points Data, and Technological Observations from Uruguay: Implications for the Human Peopling in Southeastern South America

Mainly represented by “fishtail” or Fell points (~11,000 - 10,000 uncalibrated years BP), Paleoindian remains in Uruguay are distributed over a wide area. However, just a few stratified sites have yielded evidence of the earliest settlers in this part of South America. Cueva Amarilla was discovered as a result of an intensive survey conducted in the Lavalleja department. Because cave sites in Uruguay are scarce, an evaluation of its archaeological potentiality was performed. Lithic artifacts and charcoal were exhumed from its sedimentary deposits. A sample of the latter yielded a conventional radiocarbon date of 10,000 uncalibrated years BP. This date suggests that Cueva Amarilla witnessed an occupation during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, which was thus Paleoindian. This date agrees well with the time-span of the Fell occupation in South America in general, and particularly in southern Uruguay. Therefore, this level might have belonged to hunter-gatherer colonizers who used “fishtails” as part of their weaponry. In this regard further “fishtail” points data as well the specimens coming from neighboring departments are reported. In the study area, and around the cave, there are ubiquitous primary and secondary sources of lithic raw materials, mainly significant outcrops of a yellowish/pale-brown siliceous rock, commonly called “opal” or “jasper”, which was used since Paleoindian times. Related to the stone tool reduction systems, this material along with other finds from Cueva Amarilla is discussed from a technological perspective. The finds from this cave along with the Fell point finds from the region, are discussed within the framework of the colonization process of South America.

Places, monuments, and landscape: evidence from the Holocene central Sahara

Contexts with monumental features are common in the Holocene later prehistory of central Sahara. These consist of ‘megalithic’ stone monuments with different architectural features and various ceremonial purposes, dated from approximately 6000 uncalibrated years BP onwards. However, some loci of earlier occupation – from early Holocene hunter-gatherers to the first cattle herders (c. 8900-6400 BP) — seem to possess those characteristics of social relevance and temporality as to be potentially considered ‘places to be remembered’. In this paper, I analyse a number of case studies from the Tadrart Acacus and surroundings (southwestern Libya), which indicate a marked dichotomy between mountain contexts and the lowlands, with only the former interested by phenomena of monumentality. While far from being a systematic and exhaustive review, the evidence from these central Saharan contexts may contribute to the larger discussion on monumentality in Africa.

Ancient DNA Reveals Prehistoric Gene-Flow from Siberia in the Complex Human Population History of North East Europe

North East Europe harbors a high diversity of cultures and languages, suggesting a complex genetic history. Archaeological, anthropological, and genetic research has revealed a series of influences from Western and Eastern Eurasia in the past. While genetic data from modern-day populations is commonly used to make inferences about their origins and past migrations, ancient DNA provides a powerful test of such hypotheses by giving a snapshot of the past genetic diversity. In order to better understand the dynamics that have shaped the gene pool of North East Europeans, we generated and analyzed 34 mitochondrial genotypes from the skeletal remains of three archaeological sites in northwest Russia. These sites were dated to the Mesolithic and the Early Metal Age (7,500 and 3,500 uncalibrated years Before Present). We applied a suite of population genetic analyses (principal component analysis, genetic distance mapping, haplotype sharing analyses) and compared past demographic models through coalescent simulations using Bayesian Serial SimCoal and Approximate Bayesian Computation. Comparisons of genetic data from ancient and modern-day populations revealed significant changes in the mitochondrial makeup of North East Europeans through time. Mesolithic foragers showed high frequencies and diversity of haplogroups U (U2e, U4, U5a), a pattern observed previously in European hunter-gatherers from Iberia to Scandinavia. In contrast, the presence of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups C, D, and Z in Early Metal Age individuals suggested discontinuity with Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and genetic influx from central/eastern Siberia. We identified remarkable genetic dissimilarities between prehistoric and modern-day North East Europeans/Saami, which suggests an important role of post-Mesolithic migrations from Western Europe and subsequent population replacement/extinctions. This work demonstrates how ancient DNA can improve our understanding of human population movements across Eurasia. It contributes to the description of the spatio-temporal distribution of mitochondrial diversity and will be of significance for future reconstructions of the history of Europeans.

On Cache Recognition

Caches are places where people store and hide artifacts, food, medicine bundles and/or equipment for their future recovery and utilization. In this paper, we discuss the existence of a cache in La Gruta area, north of Chico river, argentine Patagonia, being this an area with chronological data ranging from ca. 10,845 years to 1,450 uncalibrated years B.P. The position of the assemblage recovered at El Escondrijo site suggests that the artifacts were deposited together. The place where the artifacts were found can be easily seen and reached and, besides, it can be easily located too. Recovered artifacts differ from other assemblages of the area. The main macroscopic differences lie in the excellent quality of raw material used, which was not identified within natural sources in the surroundings, in its color and in the high frequency of bifaces in early stages of manufacture. The fragmentation index of this site is the lowest one identified in the area. Microwear analysis shows that these artifacts have very few microwear traces, which could be related to hide. These data suggest that El Escondrijo is probably a banking cache, which existence could be related to the lack of raw material of a similiar quality to the south of this area, outside the Deseado Massif.

Early Magdalenian Variability: New Evidence from El Mirón Cave, Cantabria, Spain

One of the most important and longstanding debates in Paleolithic prehistory is over the significance of interassemblage variability. The problem of variability among artifact assemblages pertaining to the Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian phenomenon (ca. 16,000–14,000 uncalibrated years B.P.) is much like the Mousterian facies question, but with far less international attention. Are the different assemblage types temporal, stylistic, or functional in nature, or are they merely products of the vagaries of archaeological sampling? Ongoing excavations in separate areas of the large El Mirón Cave in the Cantabrian Cordillera are yielding the same range of assemblage variability demonstrated for classic lowland coastal zone sites such as Altamira and El Juyo. Here we present a preliminary comparative analysis of the extraordinarily rich and diverse Lower Magdalenian (and Initial Magdalenian, ca. 17,000–16,000 uncalibrated years B.P.) contents of a sondage excavated in the center of the El Mirón vestibule and contribute to the empirical basis for the debate regarding the existence and significance of cultural facies versus temporal phases. We also briefly summarize post-Magdalenian data from the larger area of the mid-vestibule trench in El Mirón, highlighting evidence for the abrupt appearance of a fully-formed Neolithic lifeway at ca. 4500 CAL B.P., the earliest yet found in northern Atlantic Spain.

The Middle Paleolithic from Mujina Pećina, Dalmatia, Croatia

Mujina Pećina in Dalmatia, Croatia is the only systematically excavated and well-dated Middle Paleolithic cave site in the eastern Adriatic. Its stratigraphic sequence covers the period between 45 and 39 uncalibrated years ka. Results of sedimentological, lithic, faunal, and paleobotanical analyses of the upper levels (Levels B, C, D1, and D2) show that this was a hunting site only sporadically visited by humans. During these occupation episodes humans processed animal remains (mostly large bovids, cervids, and caprids) and produced tools from locally available raw material. Carnivore use of the cave is also indicated. This work contributes to our understanding of lifestyles and mobility patterns of the Middle Paleolithic inhabitants of this region.

Nonalimentary tooth use in prehistory: an example from early Holocene in Central Sahara (Uan Muhuggiag, Tadrart Acacus, Libya).

Signs of nonalimentary tooth use were observed on the dentition of an adult male from a single burial excavated in an area close to the Uan Muhuggiag rock shelter (Tadrart Acacus, Libya), dated to more than 7800 uncalibrated years BP, that represents the most ancient human remain found in the Libyan Sahara, and provides a first glimpse of human adaptation in the early Holocene of this region. The wear pattern shows large grooves running across the occlusal surfaces of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth and premolars. The results of macroscopic and microscopic observation, together with scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination and experimental tests, suggest that the microdamage might be due to repeated friction of vegetal fibers, probably as a consequence of basket making, net production, or mat processing. Further data are needed to allow us to distinguish among plant-oriented activities related to food acquisition (e.g., rope and net processing), food storage (e.g., basket making), or domestic handicraft (e.g., mat processing), whose implications may generate different interpretations of sexual division of labor.

Megalithic architecture and funerary practices in the late prehistory of Wadi Tanezzuft (Libyan Sahara)

AbstractRecent surveys conducted by the Italo-Libyan Joint Mission of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in the region of Wadi Tanezzuft (Libyan Sahara) revealed a huge number of sites characterised by the presence of stone tumuli and other megalithic constructions, usually associated with funerary rituals. During the 1999-2000 field seasons, one of these sites—site 96/129—was subjected to systematic excavation, revealing the construction technique of these monuments and showing evidence of human burials. It sheds new light on the funerary practices and anthropological features of the ancient populations of the region. Radiocarbon determinations placed this site at the very end of the Late Pastoral culture, some 3000 uncalibrated years bp. The skeletal material generally shows a good state of preservation and has been the object of a first morphological appraisal. The population of site 96/129 comprised long-limbed and relatively gracile humans, with labour-related afflictions; their dental dimensions consistently follow the trend of dental reduction known for post-Pleistocene human populations. Of great interest are the relationships with the emergence of Garamantian civilisation. Some traits of the funerary practices show the existence of a local heritage, whose roots may be sought in prehistoric times, in particular the position of the corpses and features of grave goods. On the other hand, the presence of multiple burials, the evidence of burnt animal bones, together with small concentrations of ashes in the monuments seem in contrast with the known funerary practices of prehistoric Pastoral sites of the Acacus and surroundings. Such evidence is compared with the regional analysis of megalithic architecture in the Tanezzuft valley, and discloses a tantalising perspective on the cultural trajectories and related biological pulsation in the area.

Radiocarbon Dates for Tell Brak, 1987

Four samples from Tell Brak were analysed for radiocarbon content at the British Museum Research Laboratory in 1987, with the results given below (Ambers et al., 1989). All results are quoted in the form recommended by Stuiver and Polach (1977) in uncalibrated years BP (before 1950) and corrected for measured δ13C variation. Calibrations are given based on 1σ error terms, following the curves of Pearson and Stuiver (1986) and Pearson et al. (1986), using Method A of revision 2.0 of the University of Washington Quaternary Laboratory Radiocarbon Calibration Program (Stuiver and Reimer 1986), and are quoted in the form recommended in Mook (1986); the end points of the calibrated date ranges have been rounded to the nearest five years.Three of the samples (BM-2554, -2555, -2556), all of charcoal, were treated with dilute acid and alkali to remove contamination. A single grain sample from context CH 450 was separated into humic and humin fractions, which were measured independently. All samples were analysed by conventional liquid scintillation counting. Errors quoted are the counting error for the sample combined with an estimate of the errors contributed by the modern and background samples. This estimate includes both counting and non-counting errors, the latter being computed from differences in the overall count-rates observed among the individual backgrounds and moderns.