Abstract

Recent studies suggest that in Upper Mesopotamia during the Late Neolithic period, specifically between 6400 and 5900 BCE, simple cereal flour doughs were baked in domed ovens using ceramic pans, commonly known as husking trays. Adopting an integrated approach that investigates various types of evidence, such as use-wear, phytoliths, and organic residues, we further refined and explored this hypothesis. Analysis of a sample of 13 sherds belonging to these trays from Mezraa Teleilat, Akarçay Tepe, and Tell Sabi Abyad provides evidence that a limited number of them could have been used to bake ‘focaccia’-like products with ingredients such as lard or oil. This research project not only further strengthens the theory that husking trayscould have been used for baking, but also provides insights into the variety and elaboration of food practices that existed amongst early agricultural communities, demonstrating the existence of a number of different ‘recipes’ for a particular dish. Furthermore, from a methodological perspective, this study highlights how only an integrated approach can contribute to the knowledge of the various culinary traits and traditions of ancient communities.

Abstract

Here we present multiproxy evidence of a new type of Neanderthal hearth discovered in Vanguard Cave (VC) (Gibraltar), which is dated  65 kyr, and associated with Middle Paleolithic stone artefacts. The hearth structure coincides with predictions from theoretical studies which require the use of heating structures for obtaining birch tar, commonly used in hafting. We propose that the structure was used for heating rockroses (Cistaceae) under anoxic conditions by burning herbs and shrubs, over a guano mixed with sand layer. We tested this hypothesis experimentally with success. The presence of levoglucosan and retene in the structure's matrix points to combustion of higher resinous plant-derived material. Our results advance our understanding of Neanderthal behaviour, as the ability to organize activities related with the use of fire.

Significance

We report a study designed to explore the extent to which variation in oxygen delivery physiology of ethnic Tibetan women aged 46 to 86 living ≥3,500 m altitude in Upper Mustang District, Nepal, related to the number of livebirths. Among women with long marriages and early first births, combinations of traits enhancing oxygen delivery to tissues characterized those with the highest lifetime reproductive success. Considering the collective contributions of sociocultural factors and the multiple biological traits contributing to the internal environment provided a fresh way to test hypotheses about ongoing natural selection under the stress of high-altitude hypoxia.

Snippet: “The revised chronology emerging from our study proposes news dates for the iron age periods with most beginning around one hundred years earlier that believed. For instance, the protogeometric would begin around 1,150BC and end around 1,050BC instead of beginning 1025BC and ending 900BC. By moving all the start dates of the earlier periods forward, the late geometric becomes much longer since it would begin around 870BC rather that 760BC.”

Abstract

During the sixth millennium BCE, the first farmers of Central Europe rapidly expanded across a varied mosaic of forested environments. Such environments would have offered important sources of mineral-rich animal feed and shelter, prompting the question: to what extent did early farmers exploit forests to raise their herds? Here, to resolve this, we have assembled multi-regional datasets, comprising bulk and compound-specific stable isotope values from zooarchaeological remains and pottery, and conducted cross-correlation analyses within a palaeo-environmental framework. Our findings reveal a diversity of pasturing strategies for cattle employed by early farmers, with a notable emphasis on intensive utilization of forests for grazing and seasonal foddering in some regions. This experimentation with forest-based animal feeds by early farmers would have enhanced animal fertility and milk yields for human consumption, concurrently contributing to the expansion of prehistoric farming settlements and the transformation of forest ecosystems. Our study emphasizes the intricate relationship that existed between early farmers and forested landscapes, shedding light on the adaptive dynamics that shaped humans, animals and environments in the past.

Snippet: The Egyptian-American archaeological mission has made a remarkable discovery in the South Asasif necropolis near Luxor, uncovering the first tomb from Egypt's Middle Kingdom era in the Asasif region and an array of artefacts and sealed burials dating back nearly 4,000 years.

Abstract

Stratified Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in Central Asia are rare. The recently discovered Soii Havzak rockshelter, in the Zeravshan Valley in northern Tajikistan, is a stratified site that contains several phases of Palaeolithic occupation rich in lithic, faunal and charcoal remains that help establish chronology of the region.

Abstract

Administrative innovations in South-west Asia during the fourth millennium BC, including the cylinder seals that were rolled on the earliest clay tablets, laid the foundations for proto-cuneiform script, one of the first writing systems. Seals were rich in iconography, but little research has focused on the potential influence of specific motifs on the development of the sign-based proto-cuneiform script. Here, the authors identify symbolic precursors to fundamental proto-cuneiform signs among late pre-literate seal motifs that describe the transportation of vessels and textiles, highlighting the synergy of early systems of clay-based communication.

Summary

This paper studies ancient fingerprints to produce an estimate of the age and sex of the makers of several terracotta figurines found at Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt, dated to the Late and Ptolemaic periods (seventh–second centuries BC). This is only the second study of its kind to discuss the use of ancient fingerprint impressions from Ancient Egypt and the first to apply this method to Late Period/Ptolemaic material using RTI (reflectance transformation imaging) to obtain measurements. Albeit at a preliminary stage, the findings suggest the involvement of men, women, and children in figurine production, both for locally produced wares and imported Greek figurines, contrary to the image of figurine-makers presented in ancient Greek literary sources, which portray figurine production as a predominantly male profession. The results also allow insight into questions of training and apprenticeship of ancient figurine production, with various stages of training being represented in the data.

Abstract

The Caucasus and surrounding areas, with their rich metal resources, became a crucible of the Bronze Age1 and the birthplace of the earliest steppe pastoralist societies2. Yet, despite this region having a large influence on the subsequent development of Europe and Asia, questions remain regarding its hunter-gatherer past and its formation of expansionist mobile steppe societies3,4,5. Here we present new genome-wide data for 131 individuals from 38 archaeological sites spanning 6,000 years. We find a strong genetic differentiation between populations north and south of the Caucasus mountains during the Mesolithic, with Eastern hunter-gatherer ancestry4,6 in the north, and a distinct Caucasus hunter-gatherer ancestry7 with increasing East Anatolian farmer admixture in the south. During the subsequent Eneolithic period, we observe the formation of the characteristic West Eurasian steppe ancestry and heightened interaction between the mountain and steppe regions, facilitated by technological developments of the Maykop cultural complex8. By contrast, the peak of pastoralist activities and territorial expansions during the Early and Middle Bronze Age is characterized by long-term genetic stability. The Late Bronze Age marks another period of gene flow from multiple distinct sources that coincides with a decline of steppe cultures, followed by a transformation and absorption of the steppe ancestry into highland populations.

Abstract

Prehistoric Polynesian voyaging into high latitudes with landfall in Antarctica remains a widely credited proposition. We examine it through archaeological and environmental evidence from the Subantarctic region of the southwest Pacific, focussing upon an extensive archaeological site at Sandy Bay on Enderby Island. Combining a new set of radiocarbon ages with former, older, ages we show that the site is now within the same rapid expansion phase in which South Polynesia was first colonised. Radiocarbon ages across the site indicate a single continuous settlement, probably of some decades. Consideration of limiting factors in Subantarctic settlement, including of seafaring capability and critical resources, suggests that the site was about as far south as prehistoric habitation could be sustained and was probably vacated at the onset of the Little Ice age (LIA) in the late 14th century. An absence of prehistoric remains on islands further south also suggests that Polynesian exploration reached a boundary 2000 km short of Antarctica. The southern case is discussed briefly in the wider context of Polynesian expansion.

Abstract

Recent exploration of the Khaybar oasis by the Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project (AFALULA-RCU-CNRS) has led to the discovery of an exceptional Bronze Age fortified site called al-Natah. For the first time in Northwestern Arabia, the characteristics of a third/second-millennium-BCE settlement can be assessed over a large area. Preliminary archaeological survey and soundings have revealed a fortified 2.6-hectares town built around 2400–2000 BCE which lasted until at least 1500 BCE and possibly 1300 BCE−but with possible interruptions−, functionally subdivided into a residential area, a probable decision-making zone and a necropolis. The nucleated dwellings were constructed following a standard plan and were connected by small streets. By comparison with neighboring oasis centers, we suggest that Northwestern Arabia during the Bronze Age−largely dominated by pastoral nomadic groups and already integrated into long-distance trade networks−was dotted with interconnected monumental walled oases centered around small fortified towns. And by comparison with the contemporary situation in the Southern Levant, we also envisage that the archaeological record bears witness to a ‘low urbanization’ (or ‘slow urbanism’), indigenous to North Arabia, evidencing weak but increasing social complexity through the Early and Middle Bronze Ages.

Abstract

As airborne lidar surveys reveal a growing sample of urbanised tropical landscapes, questions linger about the sampling bias of such research leading to inflated estimates of urban extent and population magnitude. ‘Found’ datasets from remote sensing conducted for non-archaeological purposes and thus not subject to archaeological site bias, provide an opportunity to address these concerns through pseudorandom sampling. Here, the authors present their analysis of an environmental lidar dataset from Campeche, Mexico, which reveals previously unrecorded urbanism and dense regional-scale settlement. Both characteristics, the authors argue, are therefore demonstrably ubiquitous across the central Maya Lowlands.

Significance

Giant meteorite impacts during Earth’s early history likely had significant effects on early life. We studied the effects on the surface environment and life of a Paleoarchean impactor \~50 to 200× larger than the famous K-Pg impactor. The impact caused a tsunami, partial ocean evaporation, and darkness that likely harmed shallow-water photosynthetic microbes in the short-term, while life in the deeper oceans and hyperthermophiles were less impacted. The impact also released phosphorus into the environment, and the tsunami brought iron-rich deep-water to the surface. As a consequence, there was a temporary bloom of iron-cycling microbes. Giant impacts were not just agents of destruction but also conferred transient benefits on early life.

Abstract

Large meteorite impacts must have strongly affected the habitability of the early Earth. Rocks of the Archean Eon record at least 16 major impact events, involving bolides larger than 10 km in diameter. These impacts probably had severe, albeit temporary, consequences for surface environments. However, their effect on early life is not well understood. Here, we analyze the sedimentology, petrography, and carbon isotope geochemistry of sedimentary rocks across the S2 impact event (37 to 58 km carbonaceous chondrite) forming part of the 3.26 Ga Fig Tree Group, South Africa, to evaluate its environmental effects and biological consequences. The impact initiated 1) a giant tsunami that mixed Fe2+-rich deep waters into the Fe2+-poor shallow waters and washed debris into coastal areas, 2) heating that caused partial evaporation of surface ocean waters and likely a short-term increase in weathering and erosion on land, and 3) injection of P from vaporization of the S2 bolide. Strata immediately above the S2 impact event contain abundant siderites, which are associated with organic matter and exhibit light and variable δ13Ccarbvalues. This is consistent with microbial iron cycling in the wake of the impact event. Thus, the S2 impact likely had regional, if not global, positive and negative effects on life. The tsunami, atmospheric heating, and darkness would likely have decimated phototrophic microbes in the shallow water column. However, the biosphere likely recovered rapidly, and, in the medium term, the increase in nutrients and iron likely facilitated microbial blooms, especially of iron-cycling microbes.

Images and details of the discovery were published in Nature. Not open access.

“Even if these sources of data bias could be identified and corrected, however, there may still be some group-based differences that are not attributable to data bias. If so, groups may experience different risk scores and categories that would not necessarily indicate bias. Further, it is often difficult (or impossible) to discern whether some observed group-level differences in data are genuine or reflect some sort of systemic bias.“

Abstract

Fossil evidence for some of the earliest Homo sapiens presence in mainland Southeast Asia have been recovered from Tam Pà Ling (TPL) cave, northeastern Laos. Taphonomic indicators suggest that these human fossils washed into TPL via gradual colluviation at varying times between MIS 5–3, yet no attempt has been made to situate them within the depositional environments of the cave within these periods. This has precluded a deeper appreciation of their presence there and in the surrounding landscape. In this first microstratigraphic study of TPL, we primarily use sediment micromorphology to reconstruct the depositional environments of the cave, relate these environments with the taphonomic history of the human fossils recovered from the upper 4 m of the excavated sequence, and explore how the sediments can better explain the presence of these humans in the area during MIS 3–1 (52–10 ka). Our results demonstrate changes in local ambient conditions from being temperate to arid, with ground conditions often wet during MIS 3 and becoming increasingly seasonal (wet-dry) during MIS 2–1. The changing cave conditions impacted its interior topography and influenced the way sediments (and fossils) were deposited. Preserved combustion biproducts identified in the sediments suggest two possible scenarios, one where small forest fires may have occurred during periods of regional aridity and/or another where humans visited the cave.