Description: Publication date: Available online 17 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): A. Tarriño , I. Elorrieta , M. García-Rojas Currently, investigations about siliceous resources exploited during prehistoric times in the Cantabrian Mountain and Western Pyrenees are still scarce and, generally, they did not employ methods which go deeply into the provenance characteristics. A review of the studies of lithic resource exploitation offered by historiography indicates that the theme has been examined in a generalized way in most cases. A model with a clear difference between the Eastern and Western territory of the Cantabrian Coast was created: an area with flint and an area without flint. This model needs to be qualified, because in recent years siliceous outcrops have been discovered in zones of the Western Cantabrian Mountains (Asturias). Information from the investigations in the Cantabrian Mountains, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, and Western Pyrenees indicates diverse patterns. There is a preference for lithic raw material found near the occupations, together with the inclusion of exotic or distant flints, always of good quality, to a greater or lesser extent, according to the chronological periods and the geographical location.

Description: Publication date: Available online 16 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): M.N. Zheltova The main objective of this paper is to present the materials of the Upper Paleolithic site of Kostenki 4. Despite the fact that the site is situated in the easternmost part of the Gravettian area, neither its dwelling constructions nor stone industry show much similarity to the so-called East Gravettian assemblages, such as those of the Kostenki-Avdeevo group. The evidence that has been accumulating in recent years makes it possible to look at the site in a new light, to better understand its place in a wider cultural context.

Description: Publication date: Available online 16 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Verónica B. Aldazabal , Emilio O. Eugenio Archaeological investigations carried out in the area of San Blas Bay revealed a great number of surface concentrations of shells, lithic artifacts and in lesser amount, ceramic remains. These places have been occupied by hunter–gatherers from the middle Holocene to recent times. In some cases, cultural materials and combustion structures have been reported in stratigraphic position. In this paper, we present the analysis of a hearth in a cup shape structure located in a sand aeolian deposit, in the La Serranita archaeological site, dated from 5300 BP, compared with another hearth from Las Olas 5 site, dated from 500 BP. The aim is to infer the activities that could be carried out in relation to the combustion structures, by physical–chemical analysis of sediments, and by identifying and quantifying the microremains. An attempt is made to determine the intensity of use of the fire structures.

Description: Publication date: Available online 17 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Tamara Cruz-y-Cruz , Guadalupe Sánchez , Sergey Sedov , Alejando Terrazas-Mata , Elizabeth Solleiro-Rebolledo , Rosa Elena Tovar-Liceaga , John Carpenter In Sonora, northwest Mexico, we have recognized the existence of paleosol units of Late Pleistocene/Early and Middle Holocene age (13,000 to 4,250 Cal years BP) at several archaeological sites with Paleo-indian occupations (e.g. La Playa, Fin del Mundo, El Bajio, El Aigame and El Arenoso). The few paleoenviromental reconstructions from the region indicate that the end of the Pleistocene was dominated by temperate climate that promoted the establishment of the first people in coexistence and interaction with the Pleistocene megafauna. The study of the spatial distribution of various soil units developed during late Pleistocene in the region provides information about local environmental settings of the initial peopling of Sonora. Several pedosedimentary sequences were analyzed in the different parts of Sonora, the age control in which was provided by archaeological and paleontological findings and/or by the radiocarbon dating of carbonates and paleosol humus. Two trends of the Late Pleistocene pedogenesis have been identified. The profiles located in the south, center and north of the state are dominated by red soils (earlier referred as Big Red in the archaeological literature) whose characteristics are represented by the Red San Rafael Paleosol (SRP). The properties of SRP in the lower part of the profile (rubification, clay accumulation, hig magnetic susceptibility, illuvial carbonates, and redoximorphic features) are indicative of a more humid environment. Above them is a late Holocene polycyclic sequence of soils with morphological characteristics displaying a more incipient development. In contrast with the sequence described above, El Arenoso, north of Caborca, show a sequence of gray soils. Two paleosols were formed in alluvial sediments. At the Cantera profile (CTP) and El Arenoso profile (ARP) paleosols are represented by Bgk horizons and evidence of weathering and clay neoformation, redoximorphic processes and illuvial accumulation of carbonates. We explain the differences of north-western profiles by specific geomorphic conditions which imply limited soil drainage and the possibility of over-wetting. These processes indicate alternating a humid environment (weathering, rubification, clay formation and redoximorphic processes); and dry periods (carbonates accumulation). Despite regional differences of the late Pleistocene paleosols, the comparison with the Holocene soils demonstrates clear trends towards desertification in the region. The first people that inhabited Sonora during the late Pleistocene found a more temperate and wetter climate than they encountered further to the north, but subsequent generations witnessed a rapid desiccation of the region with the formation of the Sonoran Desert in the early Holocene.

Description: Publication date: Available online 16 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Praveen K. Mishra , A. Anoop , G. Schettler , Sushma Prasad , A. Jehangir , P. Menzel , R. Naumann , A.R. Yousuf , N. Basavaiah , K. Deenadayalan , M.G. Wiesner , B. Gaye We present the results of our investigations on the radiocarbon dated core sediments from the Lake Tso Moriri, NW Himalaya aimed at reconstructing palaeohydrological changes in this climatically sensitive region. Based on the detailed geochemical, mineralogical and sedimentological analysis, we recognise several short-term fluctuations superimposed upon seven major palaeohydrological stages identified in this lake since ∼26 cal ka. Stage I (>20.2 cal ka): shallow lake characterised by input of coarse-grained detrital sediments; Stage II (20.2–16.4 cal ka): lake deepening and intensification of this trend ca. 18 cal ka; Stage III (16.4–11.2 cal ka): rising lake levels with a short term wet phase (13.1–11.7 cal ka); Stage IV (11.2–8.5 cal ka): early Holocene hydrological maxima and highest lake levels inferred to have resulted from early Holocene Indian monsoon intensification, as records from central Asia indicate weaker westerlies during this interval; Stage V (8.5–5.5 cal ka): mid-Holocene climate deterioration; Stage VI (5.5–2.7 cal ka): progressive lowering of lake level; Stage VII (2.7–0 cal ka): onset of modern conditions. The reconstructed hydrological variability in Lake Tso Moriri is governed by temperature changes (meltwater inflow) and monsoon precipitation (increased runoff). A regional comparison shows considerable differences with other palaeorecords from peninsular India during late Holocene.

Description: Publication date: Available online 13 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Luca Bellucci , Raffaele Sardella Recent fieldwork in the Coste San Giacomo site (Early Pleistocene – Gelasian; central Italy) led us to discover new fossils of the Antilopini bovids Gazella borbonica and Gazellospira torticornis that are presented and discussed in this paper. These taxa have important palaeoenvironmental and biochronological significance during the Early Pleistocene. They were the last Antilopinae that inhabited the Italian peninsula, characterizing the middle Villafranchian large mammal assemblages living in arid and open environments. Gazella is one of the most diverse and widespread genus among Antilopinae subfamily, living today in Africa and in Asia. G . borbonica was the last species that inhabited Europe. In the Italian peninsula, it has been found in three sites: Montopoli, Dianella and Coste San Giacomo. The spiral horn-cored G . torticornis , larger in size than G . borbonica , has been found in the Italian sites of Montecarlo and Coste San Giacomo. Here, we present the study of the Italian record, based in particular on the horn cores. Finally, this material is compared with the remains coming from the coeval European localities.

Description: Publication date: Available online 13 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Libo Pang , Shaokun Chen , Wanbo Huang , Yan Wu , Guangbiao Wei Migong Cave is an important Late Pleistocene fossil locality in the Three Gorges Area, and many mammalian fossils were excavated from this cave. The faunal characteristics of the small mammals from the Migong Cave are closest to the Oriental and the South China Region faunas, but also with some elements of the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains Region and the Monsoon Region faunas. Most of the large mammals are typical members of the “ Ailuropoda - Stegodon ” fauna, but lack some common Late Pleistocene taxa of South China, such as Elaphas maximus , Rhinoceros sinensis , Cervus unicolor and Muntiacus . On the other hand, there are several large mammals of the Palaearctic Realm Pattern and the Monsoon Region Pattern in this locality. Through analyzing the features of the mammalian fauna and regional geomorphology, it is concluded that during the period of the Migong Cave fauna, seasonal temperature difference was obvious; the valleys were wider than the present; forests were relatively sparse, and the impact of the East Asian monsson was relatively strong. Combined with the isotope dating result, it is presumed that the age of Migong Cave is correlated to MIS 2. The unusual composition of the Migong Cave fauna challenges the past principle that the alternations of glacial period and interglacial period have no or very little influence on the mammalian fauna of Southwest China.

Description: Publication date: Available online 13 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Ioan Lascu , Barbara Wohlfarth , Bogdan P. Onac , Svante Björck , Bernd Kromer Lake sediments from the Măgheruş Valley in the lowlands of northern Transylvania provide new evidence of paleoenvironmental development in Romania during the Late Glacial. The studied sediments were deposited as a result of the damming of a small river valley following a series of mass wasting events that occurred during the deglaciation period. A continuous sedimentary sequence belonging to the former lake is preserved in the banks of the stream, and contains evidence of paleoenvironmental changes associated with the Late Glacial Interstadial (Bølling–Allerød or Greenland Interstadial 1, GI-1) and the Late Glacial Stadial (Younger Dryas or Greenland Stadial 1, GS-1), implying that the hallmark climatic episodes of northwestern Europe are also expressed in Eastern Europe. We employ a multiproxy approach based on the analysis of sediment composition and texture, mineral magnetism, organic macrofossils, and radiocarbon dating. The reconstructed paleoenvironmental evolution at the site captures the warm and humid conditions associated with GI-1, as well as the subsequent cooling concomitant with the onset of GS-1. These climatic events are paralleled by vegetation shifts in the region, as deduced from comparisons with pollen sequences from Măgheruş and neighboring locations in Transylvania and the Carpathians. The Late Glacial Interstadial was warmer and wetter, as evidenced by increased organic matter content in the lake, decreased erosion in the catchment, development of palustrine plant communities in the proximity of the lake, and expansion of spruce during the Allerød (GI-1c-a). The Late Glacial Stadial was colder and dryer, as indicated by low sedimentary organic matter content, an increase in erosion markers, and the decline of spruce and its replacement by birch. The landscape was more open, as herbs and grasses also expanded during this time. These fluctuations imply that Late Glacial climatic events are well expressed not only in upland areas of Romania, but also in lowland regions such as the Transylvanian Basin, where climatic effects are expected to be more muted.

Description: Publication date: Available online 13 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): Ryan W. Schmidt , Noriko Seguchi This paper examines Iron Age Mongolia during a time when nomadic tribes created the world's first steppe empire in Inner Asia. These aggregated tribes, known as Xiongnu (3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD), came to define steppe polity construction, later used by the Mongol Empire under the reign of Genghis Khan. They moved extensively over the eastern steppe and interacted, both in trade and intermarriage, with peoples from southern Siberia to Xinjiang. However, the Xiongnu as a people are relatively unknown to scholars, as they did not possess a written language. This study assesses Xiongnu population history and biological structure by analyzing craniofacial diversity via geometric morphometrics. Twenty-four coordinate cranial landmarks were used to test relationships among groups in the region and infer potential biological origins. The Relethford–Blangero R-matrix method was used to test hypotheses of phenotypic variation resulting from microevolutionary processes. This study hypothesizes biological continuity among Xiongnu individuals extending into modern Mongolian populations. Alternatively, long-range gene flow from adjacent geographic regions might suggest a complex population structure among the Xiongnu indicative of multiple populations controlling administrative functions. Results indicate the Xiongnu were potentially composed of at least two biologically distinct groups. Individuals from the elite cemetery of Borkhan Tolgoi (Egiin Gol) share their ancestry with a Bronze Age population from western Mongolia, and possibly, to a later migration of Turks, who came to rule the eastern steppe from the 6th to 8th centuries AD. The Xiongnu also evidence biological similarity with nomads from the Mongol Empire during the medieval period and modern Mongolians, as well as modern and ancient Central Asian, Chinese, and Siberian groups. These results are similar to ancient DNA studies that suggest a mix of Eastern and Western Eurasian haplogroups in the Xiongnu while also achieving consensus with models of steppe polity formation proposed by archaeologists who suggest local ties to extra-local groups through interactive exchange networks.

Description: Publication date: Available online 13 December 2014 Source: Quaternary International Author(s): M. Jain , J.P. Buylaert , K.J. Thomsen , A.S. Murray We give a theoretical overview of non-fading infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals in feldspars, followed by intercomparison of potential methods on some sediment extracts. We observe that a more stringent thermal wash on its own is not effective in obtaining a more stable signal, suggesting that the higher the stimulation temperature in post IR-IRSL methods, the greater the ability to access distant electron hole pairs. We further find that the delayed off-time signal in time-resolved IRSL has immense potential for sampling non-fading signal and should be explored further; this signal also appears to be well reset in nature and avoids unwanted thermal transfer effects in comparison to the post IR-IRSL signal measured at 290 °C.