Search results for "Logic"
showing 10 items of 33629 documents
A tale of two gorges: Late Quaternary site formation and surface dynamics in the Mula basin (Murcia, Spain)
2018
Abstract We present a case-study in Palaeolithic archaeology focusing on formation processes at cave- and rock-shelter-sites in a Mediterranean context and on the correlation between site deposits, Quaternary surface sediments and the morphology of the surrounding land. We study three sites located in the basin of River Mula (Murcia, Spain): the cave-site of Cueva Anton and the rock-shelters of Finca Dona Martina and Abrigo de la Boja, in the Rambla Perea valley. They are examined through an integrated geoarchaeological approach that takes into account geomorphological, stratigraphic and soil micromorphological data. The three sites are found within a short distance and cover similar time s…
Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding “Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility…
2020
Motivation for this comment Recently, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) has sent around a letter, dated 21st April, 2020 to more than 300 palaeontological journals, signed by the President, Vice President and a former President of the society (Rayfield et al. 2020). The signatories of this letter request significant changes to the common practices in palaeontology. With our present, multi-authored comment, we aim to argue why these suggestions will not lead to improvement of both practice and ethics of palaeontological research but, conversely, hamper its further development. Although we disagree with most contents of the SVP letter, we appreciate this initiative to discuss scien…
Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of sediment drift accumulation in the Malta Graben (central Mediterranean Sea)
2018
The Malta Graben is a deep tectonic depression in the Sicily Channel, bounded by NW-SE normal faults and filled by thick Pliocene-Quaternary deposits. A previous analysis of a giant piston core (LC09) from the Malta Graben had revealed a wide range of sedimentary features (carbonate turbidites, bioturbated mud and scours), although the chronostratigraphic constraint of the stacking pattern has remained elusive. After establishing a reliable chronological framework based on seven radiocarbon dates for a shorter core from the Malta Graben (ANSIC03-735), a down-core analysis of planktonic foraminifer and coccolith abundance, stable isotopes and sediment grain size was carried out. Since the la…
Dental microwear texture analysis on extant and extinct sharks : Ante- or post-mortem tooth wear?
2020
Sharks are apex-predators that play an important role in past and present aquatic food webs. However, their diet - especially in extinct species - is often not well constrained. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has been successfully applied to reconstruct diet and feeding behaviours of different aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. However, unlike in mammals, food-to-tooth contact in sharks is rather limited because only larger prey is manipulated before swallowing. Together with a fast tooth replacement rate, this reduces wear on individual teeth. Here, we present an explorative study of dental microwear texture on extant and extinct sharks to test whether ante-mortem wear is relat…
The relationships between soft-sediment deformation structures and synsedimentary extensional tectonics in Upper Triassic deep-water carbonate succes…
2016
Abstract We describe soft-sediment deformation structures into the Upper Triassic cherty limestone outcropping in the Pizzo Lupo section (Central Sicily, Italy), pertaining to the deep-water palaeodomain of the Southern Tethyan margin. In the study section, mainly consisting of thin-bedded mudstone/marl alternations with bedded chert intercalations, some lithofacies have been separated on the basis of the abundance of the calcium carbonate/clay content and the overall textural features. The deformational structures, displaying different deformational styles as folded and faulted beds, disturbed layers, clastic dikes, and slumps occur mainly in the deformed horizons that involve marl-dominat…
Marine Early Triassic Actinopterygii from Elko County (Nevada, USA): implications for the Smithian equatorial vertebrate eclipse
2017
AbstractThe Early Triassic vertebrate record from low paleolatitudes is spotty, which led to the notion of an ‘equatorial vertebrate eclipse’ during the Smithian. Here we present articulated ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii), collected from the marine Lower Triassic Thaynes Group at three new localities in Elko County (Nevada, USA), which were deposited within the equatorial zone. From the Smithian of the Winecup Ranch, we describe two partial skulls of the predatory actinopterygianBirgeria(Birgeriidae), attributed toB.americananew species andBirgeriasp.Birgeria americanan. sp. is distinguished from other species by a less reduced operculogular series. With an estimated total length of 1.7…
Transient metazoan reefs in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction
2011
5 pages; International audience; Recovery from the devastating Permian-Triassic mass extinction about 252 million years ago is usually assumed to have spanned the entire 5 million years of the Early Triassic epoch1,2. The post-crisis interval was characterized by large-scale fluctuations of the global carbon cycle and harsh marine conditions, including a combination of ocean acidification, euxinia, and fluctuating productivity3. During this interval, metazoan-dominated reefs are thought to have been replaced by microbial deposits that are considered the hallmark of the Early Triassic4-7. Here we use field and microscopic investigations to document Early Triassic bioaccumulations and reefs f…
Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration s…
2012
(87)Sr/(86)Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries ("Thuringians", 5-6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize (87)Sr/(86)Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context t…
Cultural evolution and environmental change in Central Europe between 40 and 15 ka
2020
The role of environmental change in the evolution of cultural traits is a topic of long-standing scientific debate with strongly contrasting views. Major obstacles for assessing environmental impacts on the evolution of material culture are the fragmentary nature of archaeological and – to a somewhat lesser extent – geoscientific archives and the insufficient chronological resolution of these archives and related proxy data. Together these aspects are causing difficulties in data synchronization. By no means does this paper attempt to solve these issues, but rather aims at shifting the focus from demonstrating strict chains of causes and events to describing roughly contemporaneous developm…
Permian-Triassic extinctions and rediversifications.
2015
Ammonoids were a major component of Permian marine faunas, but were on the verge of extinction during the Permian-Triassic crisis ~ 252 myr ago. Despite the severity of this extinction, their recovery was explosive in less than 1.5 myr. By Smithian time, they had already reached levels of taxonomic richness much higher than those of the Permian. The causes for the rapid Early Triassic diversification and proliferation of these organisms still remain elusive, but the evolution of their spatio-temporal diversity and disparity patterns closely correlates with the numerous environmental changes recorded during this time interval.