Search results for "fossil"
showing 10 items of 412 documents
Late Pleistocene Human Evolution in Sicily: Comparative morphometric analysis of grotta di San Teodoro craniofacial remains.
2007
Late Pleistocene human evolution in Sicily: comparative morphometric analysis of Grotta di San Teodoro craniofacial remains. D'Amore G, Di Marco S, Tartarelli G, Bigazzi R, Sineo L. Source Laboratorio di Archeoantropologia, Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana, Via dei Rossi 26/A, 50018 Scandicci, Firenze, Italy. Abstract The paleoanthropological remains from Grotta di San Teodoro near Acquedolci (province of Messina, Italy) represent the oldest and largest skeletal collection yet found documenting human settlement of Sicily. The sample, attributed to the Late Epigravettian (between 14,000 and 10,000 years B.P.), consists of seven variously complete adult individuals (San Te…
Coping with arid environments: A critical threshold for human expansion in Europe at the Marine Isotope Stage 12/11 transition? The case of the Iberi…
2020
Abstract Archaeological remains have highlighted the fact that the interglacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 was a threshold from the perspective of hominin evolution in Europe. After the MIS 12 glaciation, considered one of the major climate-driven crises experienced by hominins, the archaeological records show an increasing number of occupations, evidence of new subsistence behaviors, and significant technical innovations. Here, we used statistical and geographic techniques to analyze the amphibian- and reptile-based paleoclimate and habitat reconstructions generated from a large data set of the Iberian Peninsula to (1) investigate if temperature, precipitation, and/or forest cover may h…
Suborbital climate variability during Marine Isotopic Stage 5 in the central Mediterranean basin: evidence from calcareous plankton record
2006
Abstract New faunal and floral records from Ocean Drilling Project Hole 963A, resolved at ∼80-year spacing, provide evidence of suborbital scale climate variability in the central Mediterranean Sea throughout Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. Cold events in the central Mediterranean Sea, indicated by low abundances of warm species and high abundances of cold species, are also evident in a planktonic foraminifera paleoclimatic curve. They have been linked to NGRIP Greenland ice core “C” events and appear correlative with similar sub-millennial climate fluctuations identified in the North Atlantic region and in the Alboran Basin (Westernmost Mediterranean). Low-resolution benthic and planktonic O…
Evolucion paleoambiental desde el Holoceno temprano hasta la actualidad del marjal de Almenara (Mediterráneo occidental)
2018
The main aim of this study is to characterize the different stages in the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Almenara marsh, Spain, from the early Holocene to the present day. This marsh is one of the most important in Castellón province. Five cores extracted from the marsh underwent sedimentological analysis, micropalaeontological study (foraminifera, ostracods and gastropods) and 14C dating. The results show that before the maximum transgression of the Mediterranean during the Marine Isotope Stage 1 (5500 cal yr. BP dating in the Almenara marsh), the area was occupied by a brackish marsh (prior to the 8.2 ka event). During the middle Holocene, the regional sea level rise and later stabi…
Thermoeletric Heusler Compounds
2015
Thermoelectric converters for power generation aim at reducing CO\(_2\) emission via the conversion of a part of the low-grade waste heat generated by engines, industrial furnaces, gas pipes, etc. to electricity. The recovery of waste heat from the exhaust of an automotive engine, in particular, is an attractive, albeit not very efficient way for reduction of fuel consumption. Thermoelectric converters with high overall efficiency convert heat directly into electricity without moving parts and, thus, not only decrease our reliance on fossil fuels but also actively counteract global warming. State-of-the-art converters are simply too inefficient to be economic, partly due to expensive elemen…
Recent Progress in the Development of Composite Membranes Based on Polybenzimidazole for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Ap…
2020
[EN] The rapid increasing of the population in combination with the emergence of new energy-consuming technologies has risen worldwide total energy consumption towards unprecedent values. Furthermore, fossil fuel reserves are running out very quickly and the polluting greenhouse gases emitted during their utilization need to be reduced. In this scenario, a few alternative energy sources have been proposed and, among these, proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are promising. Recently, polybenzimidazole-based polymers, featuring high chemical and thermal stability, in combination with fillers that can regulate the proton mobility, have attracted tremendous attention for their roles as PE…
VALORISATION OF FOREST AND AGRICULTURAL BIOMASS FOR THE SPANISH CERAMIC TILE INDUSTRY
2015
Since ceramic tile industry is an energy intensive industry, European ceramic companies are challenged to reduce their CO2 emissions in the medium and long-term. According the Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050 (European Commission, 2011) the objective is to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions of between 34 % and 40 % by 2030, and between 83 % and 87 % by 2050. In the present paper we present a study on the viability of the incorporation of biofuels in the energy mix of the Spanish ceramic industry with the objective of (1) identifying the potential use of biomass resources, with a special focus of forest and agricultural biomass, in the manufacturing process of ceramic til…
Prediction of alkaline earth elements in bone remains by near infrared spectroscopy.
2016
An innovative methodological approach has been developed for the prediction of the mineral element composition of bone remains. It is based on the use of Fourier Transform Near Infrared (FT-NIR) diffuse reflectance measurements. The method permits a fast, cheap and green analytical way, to understand post-mortem degradation of bones caused by the environment conditions on different skeletal parts and to select the best preserved bone samples. Samples, from the Late Roman Necropolis of Virgen de la Misericordia street and En Gil street located in Valencia (Spain), were employed to test the proposed approach being determined calcium, magnesium and strontium in bone remains and sediments. Coef…
Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE
2020
Aunque el papel clave del comercio a larga distancia en la transformación de las cocinas en todo el mundo está bien documentado desde al menos la época romana, la prehistoria del comercio de alimentos euroasiático es menos visible. Con el fin de arrojar luz sobre la transformación de las cocinas del Mediterráneo oriental durante la Edad del Bronce y la Edad del Hierro Temprana, analizamos los microrestos y las proteínas conservadas en el cálculo dental de individuos que vivieron durante el segundo milenio a. Nuestros resultados proporcionan evidencia clara del consumo de alimentos básicos esperados, como cereales (Triticeae), sésamo ( Sesamum ) y dátiles ( Phoenix ). Además, informamos evid…
The Balearic toad (Bufo viridis balearicus (BOETTGER, 1881)), human bronze age culture, and Mediterranean biogeography
1981
Abstract Microcomplement fixation analysis of albumin relationship shows that the Balearic green toad (Bufo viridis balearicus) is not an original, autochthonous member of the basically Miocene fauna of these western Mediterranean islands, but a quite recent newcomer. The plasma protein pattern clearly points to its close populational relationship to the Tyrrhenian islands' conspecifics. The male and female release vocalization shows the same, and this is in accordance with the external morphology too. There has been no possibility for toads to reach the Balearic Islands in Pleistocene or Holocene via land bridges, nor are they candidates for any sea drifting. Anthropogenic introduction mu…