Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Lloyd A. Courtenay, Lucia Cobo-Sanchez, Enrique Baquedano, Audax Mabulla
Summary: Meat eating is a key aspect of human evolution, with evidence dating back to 2.6 million years ago. Research suggests that early hominins may have acquired animal resources through a combination of hunting and scavenging, providing new insights into ancient human hunting and survival strategies.
ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
M. Dominguez-Rodrigo, D. Uribelarrea, F. Diez-Martin, A. Mabulla, A. Gidna, L. Cobo-Sanchez, D. M. Martin-Perea, E. Organista, R. Barba, E. Baquedano
Summary: This study reveals the spatial association between archaeological materials and hydrothermal resources in the FLK West site, indicating a range of activities carried out by early hominins. Additionally, it shows that early Acheulian hominins not only used and discarded handaxes at specific locations, but also transported these tools across the landscape, suggesting territorial behaviors.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Review
Geography, Physical
Jackson K. Njau, Nicholas Toth, Kathy Schick, Ian G. Stanistreet, Lindsay J. McHenry, Harald Stollhofen
Summary: The study of Pleistocene Palaeolake Olduvai through volcano-sedimentary cores has provided unprecedented data on the climatic and environmental contexts of hominin evolution, extending the known Olduvai record both temporally and spatially. The cores revealed a deeper and longer-lived ancient lake than previously thought, with evidence of abrupt transitions in vegetation, aquatic life, and lake dynamics, shaping the paleolandscape for early hominins. This work revises the long-held view of basin history and revolutionizes the scientific debate on the environmental conditions for hominin evolution in the Olduvai Basin.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Jose Manuel Maillo-Fernandez, Juan Marin, David Manuel Martin-Perea, David Uribelarrea, Irene Solano-Megias, Raquel Asiain, Enrique Baquedano, Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Agness Gidna, Alicia Medialdea, Hekima Mwamakimbula Steven, Daniel Haruni Chilonzi, Carlos Arteaga, Audax Mabulla
Summary: Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) is a significant location for the study of human evolution and the origin of the Middle Stone Age. The study introduces a new Middle Stone Age site named Dorothy Garrod Site (DGS) in the main branch of Olduvai Gorge. Despite the lack of radiometric dating, the site has yielded numerous archaeological remains associated with faunal remains and lithic industry. DGS is a valuable site for understanding the occupation of modern humans in northern Tanzania during a period with limited archaeological evidence.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
T. Proffitt, A. Bargallo, I. de la Torre
Summary: An experimental study was conducted to assess the effects of varying raw materials on the identification of technological attributes associated with different skill levels in knapping. The results showed that knapping skill levels manifest differently in the material record across raw materials and raw material plays a significant role in identifying knapper skill variation. This has implications for future research on identifying knapper skill within early assemblages of differing raw materials.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD AND THEORY
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Antonio Tarrino, Benito Abalos, Pablo Puelles, Luis Eguiluz, Fernando Diez-Martin
Summary: This paper discusses the major raw material found in the archeological sites of Olduvai Gorge, which is a crystalline quartz-rich material (CQRM). Most researchers prefer to define it as quartzite, but a comprehensive analysis supports the identification of the material as quartz, based on its microstructural features and evidence of hydrothermal origin and tectono-metamorphic overprint during the Panafrican orogenesis.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Stefania Titton, Oriol Oms, Deborah Barsky, Amelia Bargallo, Alexia Serrano-Ramos, Jose Garcia-Solano, Christian Sanchez-Bandera, Jose Yravedra, Hugues-Alexandre Blain, Isidro Toro-Moyano, Juan Manuel Jimenez Arenas, Robert Sala-Ramos
Summary: Barranco Leon in Andalusia, Spain, is one of the oldest and most significant Oldowan open-air sites in Europe, providing evidence of ancient knapping and percussive activities. Through multidisciplinary analyses, the site has revealed insights into tool composition, formation processes, and the importance of in situ action.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
I Palazzoli, A. Montanari, S. Ceola
Summary: This study analyzes the impact of urbanization on surface water loss using remotely sensed data and provides insights into the patterns of surface water loss at different spatial scales. The research confirms a higher frequency of surface water loss near urban areas and identifies the influence of climatic conditions with more widespread losses in arid regions.
Article
Oceanography
Chuang Tian, Weixin Luan, Dongni You, Min Su, Xiaoming Jin
Summary: This study examines the spatial trends and changes in seafood availability in China using a distance decay model. The results reveal a core periphery circle structure in the distribution of seafood restaurants and a distance decay effect on seafood availability. Coastal proximity and distance decay jointly determine the geographical scope of seafood availability.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Hao Liu, Heming Han, Ruoling Zhang, Weidong Xu, Yuwei Wang, Bo Zhang, Yifan Yin, Hui Cao
Summary: Revealing the impact of different land management practices on the spatial distribution, diversity, and community assembly of fungal sub-communities is essential for biodiversity conservation and predicting microbial change trends. This study found that anthropogenic disturbances significantly altered fungal diversity, favoring rare taxa, and resulted in differences between tilled and untilled soils in terms of fungal sub-community composition. The changes were attributed to shifts in assembly processes, suggesting the potential for predicting and managing fungal sub-community changes based on land-use types.
Article
Ecology
Kele R. Firmiano, Miguel Canedo-Arguelles, Cayetano Gutierrez-Canovas, Diego R. Macedo, Marden S. Linares, Nuria Bonada, Marcos Callisto
Summary: The study shows that land use and environmental distance are the most important factors explaining community dissimilarity for most of the different dispersal traits of stream macroinvertebrates. At the local scale, environmental filtering was the most important community assembly mechanism, while land use could constrain dispersal at the regional scale.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juan Jose Ibanez, Niccolo Mazzucco
Summary: The identification of stone tool use through use-wear analysis was a major advancement in Prehistoric Archaeology in the second half of the 20th century. Studies have contributed to a better understanding of cognitive capacities and socio-economic organization. Confocal microscopy and texture analysis reveal the dynamic nature of microwear polish, showing that different worked materials can be discriminated despite some overlapping in the early stages of use. Dynamic models of polish texture considering both worked material and time of use can help overcome identification challenges.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Leonardo R. Ramirez, Ina Saeumel
Summary: Although land use change is the main cause of biodiversity decline in South American temperate grasslands, the impact of this change on beta-diversity has not been assessed. To address this, we investigated the relationship between beta-diversity, landscape features, and geographical variables in Uruguay. By surveying vegetation in 163 plots across eight different land use types, we created land use maps and calculated landscape metrics to determine beta-diversity and explore its variation among land use types. Our findings showed high turnover and low nestedness of species, indicating high dissimilarity across Uruguay. Native forest had higher beta-diversity compared to grassland, timber plantation, and crops. Beta-diversity increased with geographical distance and environmental dissimilarity. At the landscape scale, turnover decreased with contagion, number of patches, and area-weighted mean, while nestedness increased with timber plantation and species turnover with crop area. Higher Landscape Shape Index of grassland and crops decreased species turnover. An increase in grassland and crop patches in the surrounding landscape was associated with higher species turnover. This study highlights the urgent need for protected areas to preserve the high beta-diversity resulting from land use change in Uruguay. It also emphasizes the importance of a more inclusive approach to biodiversity conservation, focusing not only on native forests but also on grasslands, and engaging landowners and managers in biodiversity-friendly land-use practices.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Economics
Matthias Wrede
Summary: This paper analyzes several local referendums on land development and land-use regulation in the City of Erlangen, Germany, between 2011 and 2018, focusing on the positive influence of travel distance on approval for land development and the heterogeneity of city dwellers' preferences for residential and commercial area development. Specifically, the study examines differences between homeowners and tenants in these preferences.
JOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Muhammed Ziya Pakoz, Adem Sakarya
Summary: The study investigates the changes in spatial accessibility to airports in Turkey between 2000 and 2018. The opening of new airports has reduced the maximum distance covered by flights, especially in eastern Turkey, while the regionalization coefficients have increased, indicating a growth in passenger numbers at hub city airports over the given period.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Julia Becher, Alex Schoeman, Gavin Whitelaw, Stephen Buckley, Jean-Pierre Celliers, Sara Cafisso, Matthias Belser, Maxime Rageot, Cynthianne Spiteri
Summary: This study represents the first application of Organic Residue Analysis (ORA) to southern African early farming pottery to gain a deeper understanding of past human behavior and subsistence patterns. The study found evidence of dairy processing and multi-purpose functionality of the ceramics. It also discovered potential medicinal use and the involvement of dung in pottery sealing and mending.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2024)
Article
Anthropology
Jon Clindaniel, Matthew Magnani
Summary: Large sources of digital trace data have become important in the study of material culture. The authors introduce a computational method to observe digital formation processes and highlight the importance of accounting for these processes in studies utilizing digital trace data.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2024)
Article
Anthropology
Rebecca A. G. Reid, Miranda M. E. Jans, Lesley A. Chesson, Rebecca J. Taylor, Gregory E. Berg
Summary: Chemical treatment of skeletal remains can reduce overall DNA quality and quantity but has no significant impact on stable isotope ratio analysis. Examination of treated and untreated human remains through histological and stable isotope analysis reveals that treated remains exhibit better preservation compared to untreated remains. Stable isotope ratio analysis is viable for both treated and untreated remains, regardless of their origin.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2024)
Article
Anthropology
Laura Tome, Eneko Iriartec, Antonio Blanco-Gonzalez, Margarita Jambrina-Enriquez, Natalia Eguez, Antonio V. Herrera-Herrera, Carolina Mallola
Summary: This paper presents the outcomes of a microcontextual geoarchaeological study conducted on earthen dwellings from the Early Iron Age village of Cerro de San Vicente. The study employed soil micromorphology, lipid biomarker analysis, XRD, and XRF analyses to investigate various aspects of the dwellings, including construction materials, site formation processes, and daily life practices. The results have shed light on the construction layers, floor use, maintenance, repaving, periods of abandonment and decay, and the presence of lipid biomarkers associated with dwelling functionality. The study significantly contributes to our understanding of ancient construction practices and the utilization of domestic spaces during the Early Iron Age.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2024)
