Search results for " Paleolithic"
showing 10 items of 42 documents
Application of multivariate statistics to the problems of upper palaeolithic and mesolithic samples
1987
Multivariate statistics (discriminant function analysis and principal component analysis) have been applied to a broad sample of Upper Paleolithic and mesolithic skulls. In addition to some methodological problems concerning the evaluation of missing data by principal component analysis, we discussed the possibility of misclassifications (14%).
The Gravettian occipital bone from the site of Malladetes (Barx, Valencia, Spain)
2002
Abstract The juvenile occipital bone from the site of Malladetes in Valencia (Spain) is described and compared with other European Pleistocene representatives of the genus Homo . This specimen derives from a Gravettian cultural context and has been AMS radiocarbon-dated to 25,120±240 years bp . As such, it provides evidence on early modern human anatomy from the Central Mediterranean region of the Iberian peninsula. The clear evidence for a late survival of Neandertals in southern Iberia, has led to considerable debate surrounding the biological and cultural interactions between these Pleistocene humans and their early modern human successors, and it is within this context that the Malladet…
The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome
2021
Significance The microbiome plays key roles in human health, but little is known about its evolution. We investigate the evolutionary history of the African hominid oral microbiome by analyzing dental biofilms of humans and Neanderthals spanning the past 100,000 years and comparing them with those of chimpanzees, gorillas, and howler monkeys. We identify 10 core bacterial genera that have been maintained within the human lineage and play key biofilm structural roles. However, many remain understudied and unnamed. We find major taxonomic and functional differences between the oral microbiomes of Homo and chimpanzees but a high degree of similarity between Neanderthals and modern humans, incl…
El arte de los cazadores y recolectores del Paleolítico superior
2001
Si atendemos a criterios tales como el número de conjuntos parietales conocidos, la amplitud de periodos artísticos en ellos representados, o el número de yacimientos que han proporcionado evidencias artísticas, el ámbito valenciano no destaca especialmente en el panorama peninsular. Incluso resultaría pobre al compararlo con el arte parietal paleolítico de Andalucía. En realidad, el mapa de situación de los yacimientos citados en este apartado ofrece una reducida dispersión de puntos, con notables vacíos geográficos, que queda francamente por debajo de las concentraciones que caracterizan algunas zonas de la región cantábrica o de Francia. Sin embargo, uno de los yacimientos de la zona val…
L’histoire de La Balutie, un gisement oublié, voisin de Lascaux et de Regourdou
2023
Cette contribution a pour objet de retranscrire l’histoire du site paléolithique de La Balutie (Montignac-Lascaux, Dordogne, France). L’histoire de ce site très tôt oublié, n’est ni sensationnelle, ni exceptionnelle, mais s’avère retranscrire l’atmosphère caractérisant les débuts des explorations des gisements préhistoriques de Dordogne. On y retrouve de grands noms de la Préhistoire de Dordogne qui n’ont légué que peu d’écrits sur le site, du mobilier trié (surtout lithique) du Paléolithique moyen et supérieur qui a alimenté de nombreuses collections privées avant d’être dispersé au sein de diverses institutions, et un contexte local compliqué et agrémenté de conflits. Notre connaissance d…
Neanderthals and Monkeys in the Würmian of Central Europe: The Middle Paleolithic Site of Hunas, Southern Germany
2011
The site of Hunas is a cave ruin, filled with bedded sediments up to the roof. About 20 m sediments from the top down were excavated and yielded Middle Paleolithic artifacts as well as numerous faunal remains, including Macaca. With a single human molar, the site is one of the rare Neanderthalian localities in Germany. New TIMS-U/Th dating of speleothems at the base of the profile indicate that the whole sequence was not deposited during the late Middle Pleistocene as previously thought, but during the last glacial. According to the new chronological results, Hunas is the only place which shows the coexistence of man and monkey in the Wurmian of Central Europe. The Macaca remains are the mo…
A Neandertal dietary conundrum: Insights provided by tooth enamel Zn isotopes from Gabasa, Spain
2022
The characterization of Neandertals’ diets has mostly relied on nitrogen isotope analyses of bone and tooth collagen. However, few nitrogen isotope data have been recovered from bones or teeth from Iberia due to poor collagen preservation at Paleolithic sites in the region. Zinc isotopes have been shown to be a reliable method for reconstructing trophic levels in the absence of organic matter preservation. Here, we present the results of zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), carbon (C), and oxygen (O) isotope and trace element ratio analysis measured in dental enamel on a Pleistocene food web in Gabasa, Spain, to characterize the diet and ecology of a Middle Paleolithic Neandertal individual. Based on…
Zinc isotopes in Late Pleistocene fossil teeth from a Southeast Asian cave setting preserve paleodietary information
2020
Significance Dietary habits, especially meat consumption, represent a key aspect in the behavior and evolution of fossil hominin species. Here, we explore zinc (Zn) isotope ratios in tooth enamel of fossil mammals. We show discrimination between different trophic levels and demonstrate that Zn isotopes could prove useful in paleodietary studies of fossil hominin, or other mammalian species, to assess their consumption of animal versus plant resources. We also demonstrate the high preservation potential of pristine diet-related Zn isotope ratios, even under tropical conditions with poor collagen preservation, such as the studied depositional context in Southeast Asia. However, assessing the …
Symétries et tourbillons, l'apport d'Alain Testart à l'étude de l'art paléolithique
2016
National audience; Trois ethnologues ont profondément modifié notre vision de l’art paléolithique : Annette Laming-Emperaire, André Leroi-Gourhan et Alain Testart. Ils ont chacun démontré que la décoration des cavernes n’était pas due au hasard et relevait d’une organisation symbolique, suivant un schéma et un programme, adapté ensuite à la topographie de chaque grotte. Alain Testart est allé le plus loin, en formulant vingt propositions, qui fonctionnent comme autant d’opérateurs de pensée.
A Revised Sex Assessment of the Epigravettian Human Remain ST1 from San Teodoro Cave (Messina, Sicily)
2013
Bias in skeletal sexing is well known and depends upon the completeness of the skeletal remains. The problem is very hard concerning prehistorical remains. We applied ‘Visual methods’ and ‘Probabilistic Sex Diagnosis’ (DSP) on the coxal bones on the Epigravettian skeleton (ST1) from San Teodoro (Messina, Sicily). On the basis of cranial characters and the overall robustness of the postcranial skeleton, it was suggested, since the time of the discovery, a male sex for ST1. This determination was later modified on the basis of the pelvic girdle morphology, and the skeleton was attributed the female sex for many years by large consensus. Our results indicate without ambiguity that ST1 is a mal…