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U?Th ages constraining the Neanderthal footprint at V�rtop Cave, Romania
Abstract
Early human footprints are rare in the fossil record. A survey of the literature reveals very few well documented and dated cases. Here, we report the first clear Homo neanderthalensis footprint. It was found in Vârtop Cave, Romania. The individual stepped into calcareous mud that later hardened. The 22 cm long print suggests a body height of ∼1.46 m; a gap of 1.6 cm marks the separation of big and second toes. The date of the footprint is constrained by three coeval dates of ∼62 kyr on sub-samples from the basal layer of a nearby stalagmite that grew on top of the layer of calc-tufa covering the footprint. The lower constraint is a poorly constrained uranium (U)–thorium (Th) isochron date of ∼97 kyr on the calc-tufa layer in which the footprint is embedded. Thus, the Vârtop Cave individual lived in Romania sometime before 62 kyr, long before the appearance of Homo sapiens in Central and Eastern Europe, the earliest records of which date from only ∼35 kyr. To our knowledge, this is the first recognised and dated Homo neanderthalensis footprint.
... Except for a handful of sites worldwide, human footprints are not that common in the fossil record. Onac et al. (2005) showed that the earliest footprints documenting direct human incursions into a Carpathian cave also come from Middle Palaeolithic (i.e. Homo neanderthalensis) and date back to more than 62,000 years ago. ...
... The area of the cave that hosts the footprints consists of a small chamber (Room of the Steps) that continues into a short ascending gallery, with its floor covered with limestone boulders and red-brownish clay. The presence of these materials indicates an older cave entrance at the upper end of this corridor that collapsed more than 15,000 years ago (Onac et al. 2005). The age has been established after dating the base of one of the scattered stalagmites growing over the clayed cave floor by means of U-series technique. ...
... As described below, a suite of favourable settings allowed an international group of researcher to successfully date the Vârtop footprint using the U-series method (Onac et al. 2005). The moonmilk deposit accumulated in the Room of the Steps was an ideal surface and material for casting human footprints, especially because it hardened, becoming a compact calc-tufa layer. ...
The Romanian karst hosts numerous caves and shelters that over time provided remarkable archaeological and anthropological vestiges. Altogether they show that humans must have entered caves in Romania at least as early as 170,000 years ago. However, ancient human footprints are very rare in the fossil record of East-Central Europe, with only two known locations in the Apuseni Mountains of western Romania. Vârtop Cave site originally preserved three fossil footprints made about 67,800 years ago by a Homo neanderthalensis , whereas Ciur Izbuc Cave was probably home of early H. sapiens that left almost 400 footprints (interspersed with spoors of cave bears), which were indirectly dated to be younger than ~36,500 years.
... Three footprints made in calcareous mud dated by U-Th between 97,000 and 62,000 years were discovered in the Romanian Vârtop Cave (Onac et al. 2005;see Chap. 12). ...
... The taxonomic attribution to Neandertals is based only on the chronological age, Neandertals being the only taxon known in Europe for this time period. The three footprints were made by a single individual (Onac et al. 2005;Harvati and Roksandic 2016). Two of them are partial, consisting only of either heel or forefoot impressions. ...
... The third footprint is longitudinally complete; it is 22 cm long and was made by an individual whose height was estimated to 146 cm (Viehmann 1987). It is characterized by a space described as important (1.6 cm) between the hallux and the second toe impressions (Onac et al. 2005). Its morphology would reflect the robust Neandertal anatomy (Onac et al. 2005). ...
Hominin tracks represent a unique window into moments in the life of extinct individuals. They can provide biological and locomotor data that are not accessible from skeletal remains. However, these tracks are relatively scarce in the fossil record, particularly those attributed to Neandertals. They are also most often devoid of associated archaeological material, which limits their interpretation. The Palaeolithic site of Le Rozel (Normandy, France) located in a dune complex formed during the Upper Pleistocene has yielded between 2012 and 2017 several hundred tracks (257 hominin footprints, 8 handprints as well as 6 animal tracks). This ichnological assemblage is distributed within five stratigraphic subunits dated to 80,000 years. These subunits are rich in archaeological material that attests to brief occupations by Neandertal groups and provides information about the activities that they carried out. The ichnological assemblage discovered at Le Rozel is the largest attributed to Neandertals to date and more generally the most important for hominin taxa other than Homo sapiens. The particularly large number of footprints can provide major information for our understanding of the Palaeolithic occupations at Le Rozel and for our knowledge of the composition of Neandertal groups.
... The most recent stage corresponds to the last two decades of research, focusing mostly on the reassessments of previous archaeological and palaeoanthropological evidence (e.g., Onac et al. 2005;Soficaru et al. 2006Soficaru et al. , 2007Doboş et al. 2010;Bonsall et al. 2012;Sîrbu and Matei 2012;Tuffreau et al. 2013;Webb et al. 2014), but also on some new and often spectacular cave finds (Trinkaus et al. 2003Luca et al. 2005;Clottes et al. 2012;Cosac et al. 2018). Although less extensive in terms of scale and geographic coverage, the current stage of research witnessed an unprecedented involvement of interdisciplinary teams and allowed the rich archaeological heritage of Romanian caves to reach a wider scientific audience. ...
... Although the role of human agency in the formation of the associated faunal contexts (horse, bison, deer, ibex, etc.) has rarely been assessed (Patou-Mathis 2001;Cosac et al. 2018), these occupations point more to the opportunistic exploitation of the diverse topography/biota close to a mountain range than to a systematic appropriation of high altitudes. Only the tiny assemblages from the two caves at Moieciu (Mare and Valea Coacăzii-over 900 m in altitude) and the Vârtop footprints (Onac et al. 2005) indicate (brief?) explorations of the higher altitudes of the Carpathians by Neanderthals. ...
... A spectacularly preserved proof on the presence of Neanderthal in caves at high altitudes is provided by the three footprints preserved in the Vârtop Cave (1170 m alt., Bihor Mountains). Although lacking an associated cultural context, the U-Th chronological constraints indicate ages in excess of 62 ka cal BP for the best-preserved footprint (Onac et al. 2005). ...
The archaeological research of the substantial and diverse Romanian karst has a long history going back to nineteenth-century antiquarians. A more systematic interest emerged, however, in the interwar times and continues to the present day. The earliest proof for the human use of caves in the Romanian Carpathian area belongs to the Last Interglacial Neanderthals, but Last Glacial Mousterian presence was also reported. They all indicate short-lived and possibly recurrent excursions into generally low mountain environmental settings (<1000 m) in search of local game. Despite spectacular palaeoanthropological (including the earliest Anatomically Modern Humans in Europe) and parietal art finds, the intensity of cave use by Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers (Aurignacian and Gravettian) was surprisingly low, with most consistent occupations dated only to the final stages of the Pleistocene (Epigravettian/Epipalaeolithic). The small Upper Palaeolithic inventories in caves indicate very short, exploratory stops that correlate to the documented focus of these communities on open-air settings at lower altitudes. From Mesolithic to Medieval times, caves were used with varying intensity, serving as temporary/seasonally residence, as well as for ritual or economic purposes. Thick Early Neolithic cultural sequences, occasionally spectacular Bronze and Iron Age depositions, much like the Roman and Palaeo-Christian finds are particularly telling for the important residential and ritual/religious role some caves played. Through time, apart from their topography and degree of accessibility, the importance granted to these natural shelters by the various communities depended on the continuous change of the sociocultural and economic contexts.
... Middle Paleolithic sites are more abundant, with 120 sites attributed to this period with some confidence, 24 of which have been systematically excavated (Pop 2013). Of these, only 13 are radiometrically dated (Mertens 1996;Cârciumaru et al. 2007;Pop 2013)-including the site of Vârtop, which preserves human footprints but no associated artifacts (Onac et al. 2005). Very few of the Middle Paleolithic sites have yielded faunal remains associated with artifacts, with the exception of Ohaba Ponor (also known as Bordul Mare) and Ripiceni (also known as Izvor) (for a review see Pop 2013). ...
... Human activity during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic in Romania is further documented by a set of three footprints from the Vârtop Cave (Onac et al. 2005) and a large number of footprints from the Ciur-Izbuc Cave (Webb et al. 2014). Vârtop cave was discovered in 1955, and the footprints were found in 1974 in the Room of the Steps, in "a spongy, porous, hardened moonmilk (the cave equivalent of tufa deposited around springs)" (Onac et al. 2005(Onac et al. , p. 1151. ...
... Human activity during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic in Romania is further documented by a set of three footprints from the Vârtop Cave (Onac et al. 2005) and a large number of footprints from the Ciur-Izbuc Cave (Webb et al. 2014). Vârtop cave was discovered in 1955, and the footprints were found in 1974 in the Room of the Steps, in "a spongy, porous, hardened moonmilk (the cave equivalent of tufa deposited around springs)" (Onac et al. 2005(Onac et al. , p. 1151. They appear to have been made by one individual, with the best preserved one measuring 22 cm in length and 10.6 cm in width. ...
The hominin fossil record of Romania comprises some of the earliest and best preserved early modern humans in Europe. As such, these fossils play an important role in our understanding of the timing of the modern human arrival in Europe, their local evolution, and their potential interactions with Neanderthal populations. In this chapter, we briefly review the Romanian human fossil record and present new 3D geometric morphometric analyses of the mandibular remains from Oase and Muierii. Our findings are discussed in the context of admixture between Neanderthals and modern humans and in light of paleogenetic results (Fu et al. 2015) indicating recent Neanderthal ancestry for Oase 1.
... About one third are in the calcareous mountains of Transylvania (the central and the eastern area of the Western Carpathians, the Rodna, the Giurgeu, the Perşani, the Postăvarul, the Piatra Mare, and the Şureanu Mountains, the Someşan Plateau) (Cocean, 1995). Numerous subterraneous caves are famous because the local population found shelter in their galleries during the rigorous of the Quaternary glaciations (Bleahu, 1978;Cocean, 1995;Onac et al., 2005). According to the Transylvanian population, the sacredness of the caves derives from the unusual aspect of the subterranean environment: dark, mysterious, and only difficult to access, an environment that can give birth to the most surprising imaginary shapes. ...
... The territory of Transylvania has been inhabited since the Lower Palaeolithic, 62,000 years ago. "The Vârtop Man" left his footprint on the hardened moonmilk crust of the Vârtop Glacier Cave (Onac et al., 2005). In this Central European space there was a succession of civilizations and cultures: the Aurignacian, the Gravettian, the Tardenoisian, the Gura Baciului, the Starčevo-Criş, the Vinča, the Petreşti, the Wietenberg, the Suciu de Sus, and the Noua cultures, etc. (Rotea, 2009, pp. ...
... This variable is not only easily measured but also strongly correlated with individual stature. However, there are many examples of incomplete footprints within the fossil record for which it is impossible to measure this length (Onac et al., 2005, Ashton et al., 2014, Duveau et al., 2019, Mayoral et al., 2021. It would therefore be necessary to study the correlation between individual stature and other morphometric variables than length in order to know if it is possible to estimate stature from incomplete footprints. ...
... However, these uncertainties due to intraindividual variation must be weighed because they are only valid in particular substrate conditions: loose and easily deformed sand. Even if several hominin footprints have been discovered in similar conditions, others have been left in different substrates such as clayey mud (Manolis et al., 2000, Onac et al., 2005, Citton et al., 2017, Ledoux et al., 2017 or volcanic ash (Leakey and Hay, 1979, Mietto et al., 2003, Masao et al., 2016, McNutt et al., 2021 having a lesser capacity for deformation; the footprints made in these substrates are morphologically closer to the anatomy of the foot and present a less important intraindividual dispersion. ...
Hominin footprints are a particular remain in paleoanthropology representing brief moments of life of extinct individuals. Footprints not only provide information on the locomotor behavior of fossil taxa but also on their body characteristics such as their stature. This stature is usually estimated from the length of the footprints based on the well-known foot length to stature ratio. However, footprint length does not result only from the foot length but of a combination of factors. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the relationships between footprint length and stature of individuals using experimental approaches. Secondly, recent discoveries of fossil footprints have led to the estimation of statures from isolated footprints. However, such estimates may be biased because of the intraindividual morphometric variation of the footprints. Moreover, footprints may also be incomplete making it impossible to measure the length and therefore the estimation of a stature. The search for relationships between stature and other morphometric variables is therefore necessary to have the most accurate picture possible of the individuals who left these tracks. In this context, this article reports the results of an experimental study that aims to determine the relationships between the stature of individuals and different morphometric variables and to quantify the intraindividual variation of each variable. Thus, 21 morphometric variables were measured on a total of 175 experimental footprints left by 20 individuals in an experimental area composed of loose sand. Statistical analyses show that footprint lengths are not only the variables most correlated with stature but also those with the least intraindividual variation. However, estimation of stature from footprints left by fossil hominins is subject to three types of uncertainties: residuals from linear regression, intraindividual variation that can be particularly large in soft substrates, and the application of relationships defined on modern populations to fossil taxa.
... Ripiceni-Izvor. Furthermore, Neanderthal phalanges have been unearthed at Ohaba Ponor (Gaál 1928; Gaál 1943) and Livadiţa (Terzea 1979: 114; see also Cârciumaru 1999: 65-70), and footprints have been discovered at Vârtop (Onac et al. 2005). Other, more controversial finds have been interpreted as evidence for bone tool use (Păunescu 1989;Cârciumaru 1999;Horvath 2009), possible cooking pits (Cârciumaru 1999: 77), and even a cave bear cult among Neanderthals (Lascu et al. 1996). ...
... In Romania, however, only six of the dated sites, Mitoc -Valea Izvorului, Ripiceni-Izvor, Boroşteni -Peştera Cioarei, Nandru -Peştera Curată, Ohaba Ponor -Bordul Mare, and Peştera Muierii yielded uncalibrated dates older than 40,000 14 C BP (see Cârciumaru et al. 2007: 105-132). The site of Vârtop also yielded a human footprint dated by U-Th to >62,000 BP, but no associated archaeological materials have been discovered there (Onac et al. 2005). ...
MA Thesis - A critical review of the Romanian Middle Palaeolithic record
... With the exception of the 87 footprints recently discovered at the Spanish site of Matalascañas (Mayoral et al., 2021), only 9 footprints had previously been attributed to this taxon. These footprints were distributed in 4 different sites: 1 footprint at the French site of Biache-Saint-Vaast (Tuffreau, 1988), 4 in the Greek cave of Theopetra (Manolis et al., 2000;Kyparissi-Apostolika and Manolis, 2021), 3 in the Romanian cave of Vârtop (Onac et al., 2005; and 1 near Gibraltar (Muñiz et al., 2019). ...
... With the exception of the 87 footprints recently discovered at the Spanish site of Matalascañas (Mayoral et al., 2021), only 9 footprints had previously been attributed to this taxon. These footprints were distributed in 4 different sites: 1 footprint at the French site of Biache-Saint-Vaast (Tuffreau, 1988), 4 in the Greek cave of Theopetra (Manolis et al., 2000;Kyparissi-Apostolika and Manolis, 2021), 3 in the Romanian cave of Vârtop (Onac et al., 2005; and 1 near Gibraltar (Muñiz et al., 2019). ...
Hominin footprints represent brief moments of life and provide access to the locomotor and biological features of the individuals who left them. Because of the particular time scale that they represent and the information they provide, they make it possible to approach the size and composition of hominin groups in a different way from the methods used with the more common archaeological artefacts and osteological assemblages. Since 2012, several hundred Neandertal footprints have been discovered at Le Rozel (Normandy, France), within 5 stratigraphic sub-units dated to about 80,000 years ago. Analyses of the ichnological assemblage discovered at Le Rozel between 2012 and 2017 have identified 257 footprints, 132 of which have been digitized in 3D. This represents the largest ichnological assemblage attributed to Neandertals to date. Morphometric analyses of the 3D models of the footprints, combined with an experimental study under substrate conditions similar to those at Le Rozel, have quantified the size and composition of the groups that left them. The footprints from the most ichnologically dense stratigraphic sub-unit were left by a small group and represent 90% of children and adolescents. These results not only enhance our understanding of the Palaeolithic occupations at Le Rozel but also provide new methods and data for assessing the size and composition of Neandertal groups.
... Both the Bohunician and the Szeletian however, seem to be regionally confined to the northern extent of the Basin even though isolated finds are found further afield (Škrdla, 2013;Kaminská 2015 (Fu et al. 2015). These evidences are supplemented by other spectacular signs of early hominin presence in the form of early fossil footprints at Vârtop and Ciur Izbuc Caves (Onac et al. 2005;Webb et al. 2014) and parietal art such as at Coliboaia Cave Ghemis et al. 2011;Gély et al. 2018). However, in all of these instances, these traces are to date, found devoid of associated lithic artifacts. ...
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... Her wick was made of a ball of lichen and moss, which stands out less from the liquid fuel than our wick made of a set of twigs arranged in a triangular pattern. As this researcher indicates, the state of the grease and the organization of the wick can greatly influence the efficacy of the lamp [10]. However, both experiments produce an average illuminance slightly higher than that of a full moon at night (0.12-0.25 lux) [61]. ...
Artificial lighting was a crucial physical resource for expanding complex social and economic behavior in Paleolithic groups. Furthermore, the control of fire allowed the development of the first symbolic behavior in deep caves, around 176 ky BP. These activities would increase during the Upper Paleolithic, when lighting residues proliferated at these sites. The physical peculiarities of Paleolithic lighting resources are very poorly understood, although this is a key aspect for the study of human activity within caves and other dark contexts. In this work, we characterize the main Paleolithic lighting systems (e.g., wooden torches, portable fat lamps, and fireplaces) through empirical observations and experimental archeology in an endokarstic context. Furthermore, each lighting system’s characteristic combustion residues were identified to achieve a better identification for the archaeological record. The experiments are based on an exhaustive review of archaeological information about this topic. Besides, we apply the estimated luminous data of a Paleolithic cave with Paleolithic art (Atxurra in northern Spain) in 3D through GIS technology to delve into the archeologic implications of illumination in Paleolithic underground activities.
... (b) Position of the estimated statures on a curve representing the stature variation with age for Neandertals defined from osteological remains 5 . (c) Distribution of estimated age classes. of the HTS of Matalascañas site are the oldest in the world for Neandertals during the Upper Pleistocene, somewhat older than the three isolated footprints from the site of Vârtop (Romania), with an age of 97-62 kyr25,44,45 , than the 257 footprints in Le Rozel France, 80 kyr 5 and much older than the potential footprint from Gibraltar, 28 kyr 13 . ...
Here, we report the recent discovery of 87 Neandertal footprints on the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Doñana shoreline, Spain) located on an upper Pleistocene aeolian littoral setting (about 106 ± 19 kyr). Morphometric comparisons, high resolution digital photogrammetric 3D models and detailed sedimentary analysis have been provided to characterized the footprints and the palaeoenvironment. The footprints were impressed in the shoreline of a hypersaline swamped area related to benthic microbial mats, close to the coastline. They have a rounded heel, a longitudinal arch, relatively short toes, and adducted hallux, and represent the oldest upper Pleistocene record of Neandertal footprints in the world. Among these 87 footprints, 31 are longitudinally complete and measure from 14 to 29 cm. The calculated statures range from 104 to 188 cm, with half of the data between 130 and 150 cm. The wide range of sizes of the footprints suggests the existence of a social group integrated by individuals of different age classes but dominated, however, by non-adult individuals. The footprints, which are outside the flooded area are oriented perpendicular to the shoreline. These 87 footprints reinforce the ecological scenario of Neandertal groups established in coastal areas.
... An increasing number of sites with prehistoric human footprints are becoming known (Aldhouse-Green et al. 1992;Neuman 1997, 1999;Ambert et al. 2000;Facorellis et al. 2001;Onac et al. 2005;Bennett et al. 2010;Bennett and Morse 2014b;Citton et al. 2017;Ashton et al. 2014;S. Webb et al. 2006b;D. ...
In 1969, members of Grupo Espeleológico Edelweiss discovered the Sala and Galerías de las Huellas in Ojo Guareña Cave system (Burgos, Spain). These contained hundreds of ancient human footprints, preserved in the soft sediment on the floor. These footprints represent the tracks of a small group of people who walked barefoot through these complex passages in the cave. Owing to the difficult compatibility of the documentation and preservation of these prints, it was not possible to study them before the development of new non-invasive remote sensing techniques. However, since 2012 optical laser scanning and digital photogrammetry have been used in Galerías de las Huellas, in combination with GIS techniques, to obtain a model of the cave floor, where the footprints and their internal morphology can be observed in detail. We have identified over 1000 prehistoric human footprints and at least 18 distinct trackways through the passages, which could have been left by around 8–10 individuals. Since 2016, an archaeological field study has been conducted in this sector, in order to determine and explore its surrounding area and find other archaeological evidence that may be directly associated with these tracks. Numerous remains of torches are preserved on the walls and floor in the immediate surroundings of the footprint sites. Some of them have been dated, which has revealed the intensive use of this underground landscape from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic-Neolithic. However, the remains in Sala and Galerías de las Huellas date solely to the Chalcolithic, around 4300 calBP.
... Late Pleistocene sites are caves such as the Vârtop Cave in Romania dated 62 ka (Onac et al. 2005); the Grotta del Cavallo in Italy (the first known appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe,~44 ka (Benazzi et al. 2011); and several caves in France such as Lascaux, Niaux, Aldene, Peche Merle, Fontanet, Ariège and Chauvet, Bàsura in Italy and Ojo Guareña in Spain (Lockley et al. 2008). All these sites except the Vârtop Cave and Grotta del Cavallo have been dated below 30,000 years and therefore are undoubtedly the trails of anatomically modern humans. ...
During the 1996 field season, four footprints were found in undisturbed deposits at the borders of squares Θ10-I10 at a depth of 3.5 m at the Theopetra Cave excavation site. The footprints lie adjacent to an ash horizon that has been dated to ca ~135 ka. Two footprints in the trail are complete and measure 150.4 mm and 138.96 mm in length. Based on modern European standards, these lengths would be consistent with young children aged between 2 and 4 years old and 90–100 cm in stature. The two complete footprints, which follow each other in the trail, appear both to have been left feet. The partial print, which immediately precedes the two complete prints in the series, also appears to have been by a left foot. This suggests that what initially seems to be a single trail is actually a composite of two or more trails of prints. This hypothesis is supported by the different characteristics of the two complete prints. One is consistent with a bare foot and clearly shows the impressions of the toes, ball, arch and heel. The other is characterized by a simpler contour and is more sharply defined and indicates that the individual was wearing some kind of foot covering. An important question is what kind of hominid made the footprints? These footprints may have been made by Neanderthals or early Homo sapiens , based on thermoluminescence dating results.
... Kalsiumkarbonaattidepositioita käytettäessä ajoitetaan yleensä luola-ja kalliokonteksteja, ja esimerkiksi depositiokerrosten väliin jääneitä sedimenttejä, mutta Romaniassa tutkijaryhmä on ajoittanut jopa neandertalin jalanjäljen U-Th-menetelmällä (Onac et al. 2005 Radioaktiivinen tasapainotila kuitenkin häiriintyy usein sarjoihin kuuluvien alkuaineiden erilaisten geokemiallisten ominaisuuksien ja vallitsevien ympäristöolosuhteiden vuoksi. Tällöin tiettyä nuklidia saattaa kertyä enemmän tai vähemmän tiettyyn systeemiin, kuin tasapainossa oleva hajoamissarja antaisi odottaa. ...
Master’s thesis in archaeology about dating prehistoric rock paintings by uranium series from thin silica glazes covering them. Multidisciplinary study combining archaeological, geochemical, radiochemical and biological factors that affect these kinds of formations and their dating. Initial dating attempt by LA-SC-ICP-MS of samples collected from two Finnish rock painting sites: Syrjäsalmi in Puumala and Värikallio in Suomussalmi.
... Comme nous l'avons déjà souligné depuis les premières découvertes en 2012, les empreintes d'homininés sont très rares dans le registre fossile, d'autant plus pour des espèces ayant vécu avant l'Holocène (Lockley et al., 2008). Jusqu'à présent, seule une empreinte très endommagée retrouvée dans le Pas-de-Calais, à Biache-Saint-Vaast (Tuffreau, 1978), vieille de plus de 180 000 ans, et trois empreintes de la grotte roumaine de Vârtop (Onac et al., 2005), datées d'environ 62 000 ans, ont été associées aux Néandertaliens. Une autre série de quatre empreintes mises au jour dans la grotte de Théopétra (Grèce), datées par 14 C de 48 ka, pourraient aussi se rapporter aux Néandertaliens (Facorellis et al., 2001). ...
Révélé par l’érosion littorale à la fin des années 1960, le site du Rozel (Manche) correspond à un ensemble d’occupations néandertaliennes conservées dans un massif dunaire implanté dans une crique au pied d’une falaise de schiste, topographie favorable au retour périodique des paléolithiques. L’érosion s’intensifiant, une fouille de sauvetage est engagée depuis 2012. L’intérêt majeur du site réside dans l’exceptionnel état de conservation des vestiges : structures, matériel osseux, microfaune et nombreuses empreintes de pas humains.
... Only few hominin ichnosites older than 60 ka are known in Europe so far (Bennett and Morse, 2014;Panarello, 2016): Happisburgh (UK) (Ashton et al. 2014), Terra Amata (France) (de Lumley et al., 2011), Foresta-Tora e Piccilli (Roccamonfina volcano), (Italy) (Mietto et al., 2003;Avanzini et al., 2008), Le Rozel (France) (Duveau et al., 2019), Vârtop Cave (Romania) (Onac et al., 2005). ...
The Foresta ichnosite is well known for preserving some of the oldest human fossil footprints recorded in Europe so far. This research aims to: i) describe new footprints that are larger than those already reported, some of which form a new trackway that moves in the opposite direction to all the others; ii) announce the discovery of some stone tools also in the surroundings of the Foresta ichnosite. The new results increase the total number of human fossil footprints to at least 81, specify the direction and the number of footprints of Trackway C, and identify three new directions of walking at the site. More compelling and complete estimates of the dimensional range of all ichnological evidence enables us, furthermore, to estimate the number of trackmakers walking on the trampled surface as a minimum of five, one of them likely being an adult male. The general shape of all the recorded footprints suggests that the Foresta trackmakers share some similarities with those at Sima de los Huesos, and belong to the same taxonomical group as the Ceprano skull. All the new evidence enables us to better understand the presence of hominin populations in the Roccamonfina volcano area during the Middle Pleistocene.
... To conclude, the hominin tracks discovered at Le Rozel represent the largest ichnological assemblage attributed to archaic hominins and, in particular, to Neandertals, by yielding more than 95% of all of the footprints attributed to this taxon (29)(30)(31)(32). They also represent the only Neandertal handprints with the hand stencils discovered in Maltravieso (59). ...
Significance
The limited knowledge we have of the size and composition of Neandertal social groups is usually based on indirect approaches using archeological or osteological data. In contrast, footprints provide more direct information about group size and composition. However, they are scarce in the fossil record, particularly for Neandertals. The discovery of 257 footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France) opens up a new approach for studies of the composition of Neandertal groups. By applying a morphometric method to a sample of fossil footprints made during a single brief occupation event, our analysis shows that they represent a small group with a majority of children and thus provides direct evidence of the composition of a Neandertal group.
... However, very little is known about morphological differences, if existing, between Neanderthal and modern human footprints. The only footprints attributed to Neanderthals were reported from Vârtop Cave, Romania, by Onac et al. (2005) based on a determined absolute age of about 62,000 years. According to the authors the morphology of these footprints cannot reliably be used to assign them to either Neanderthal or modern humans; in the case of the attribution of Vârtop Cave footprints they were based solely on the age constraint, since the earliest remains of European modern human can be dated from <45 ka (Benazzi et al., 2011). ...
The aeolian Pleistocene deposits recorded in the Rock of Gibraltar (S Iberian Peninsula) present a significant sedimentary thickness that fills the wide sea caves and covers its steep slopes. In Catalan Bay these deposits register the development of cliff-foot and rampant dunes that form a 35° sand ramp, 1 km long and up to 300 m in height formed by moderately to well-sorted sands, slightly carbonated and weakly cemented. This morphosedimentary evidence is associated with MIS 5−2 sea level fluctuations. Its internal structure shows lamination sets of 2–3 m in thickness and planar and trough cross-bedding. In these beds, five morphotypes of mammalian footprints have been recognized in vertical cross sections and convex hyporeliefs. Most of them present a moderate degree of conservation due to the poor cementation of the sands. These icnites are related to the activity of terrestrial mammals, possibly belonging to Homininae, Proboscidea, Artiodactila and Carnivora. The affinity between the footprints and their tracemakers has been established in the basis of their physical parameters, the shape of the footprints, their comparison with similar footprints and the correlation with the fossil fauna of vertebrates described for the Late Pleistocene in Gibraltar. These findings represent the first palaeoichnological record in the aeolian sediments of Gibraltar and indirectly corroborate the occupation of the coastal dune landscape by several terrestrial mammals during the Late Pleistocene. In addition, they help reconstructing the animal behaviour and interaction with the extensive dune systems that developed at the foot of the Rock slopes. The age of the tracks has been established within the MIS 2, during the probable Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the climate refuge of Gibraltar.
... Cave, Romania has been attributed to a Neandertal (Onac et al., 2005). ...
Bipedalism is a hallmark of being human and the human foot is modified to reflect this unique form of locomotion. Leonardo da Vinci is credited with calling the human foot “a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.” However, a scientific approach to human origins has revealed that our feet are products of a long, evolutionary history in which a mobile, grasping organ has been converted into a propulsive structure adapted for the rigors of bipedal locomotion. Reconstructing the evolutionary history of foot anatomy benefits from a fossil record; yet, prior to 1960, the only hominin foot bones recovered were from Neandertals. Even into the 1990s, the human foot fossil record consisted mostly of fragmentary remains. However, in the last two decades, the human foot fossil record has quadrupled, and these new discoveries have fostered fresh new perspectives on how our feet evolved. In this review, we document anatomical differences between extant ape and human foot bones, and comprehensively examine the hominin foot fossil record. Additionally, we take a novel approach and conduct a cladistics analysis on foot fossils (n = 19 taxa; n = 80 characters), and find strong evidence for mosaic evolution of the foot, and a variety of anatomically and functionally distinct foot forms as bipedal locomotion evolved.
... Then it was seen that he was not the first to step there. The trace of foot embossed in the calcite, later discovered by a disciple of Racoviţă, Joseph Viehmann, belongs to a Neanderthal and is 62.000 years old, being the oldest dated Neanderthal trace in the world ( Onac et al., 2005). A very spectacular cave close to Scărişoara is Zgurăşti, where Racoviţă described, in Ennumeration de Grottes Visitees, the Tyndall effect of light dispersion in hydrosols. ...
In the paper we consider the flexibility of seismic prospecting in order to avoid any type of restrictions (including restrictions on Natura 2000 sites) in carrying out the exploration phase for hydrocarbons. The situations presented in the paper and other particular ones are normal for a populated area, with economic activities and cannot be invoked as a pretext for not realizing the exploration program. In cases of restriction, the work of the programs are adapted to existing conditions and are planned the works so as to optimally cover land areas for optimal investigation of the geological objectives.
... Then it was seen that he was not the first to step there. The trace of foot embossed in the calcite, later discovered by a disciple of Racoviţă, Joseph Viehmann, belongs to a Neanderthal and is 62.000 years old, being the oldest dated Neanderthal trace in the world ( Onac et al., 2005). A very spectacular cave close to Scărişoara is Zgurăşti, where Racoviţă described, in Ennumeration de Grottes Visitees, the Tyndall effect of light dispersion in hydrosols. ...
In the paper we consider the environmental provisions and regulations applicable in oil industry in Romania in order to ensure the environmental protection, geoconservation, geodiversity and/or biodiversity. Oil and gas industry has to face the environmental challenges as it is among the industries with a high risk of pollution. The management of oil companies should ensure full compliance with HSE laws and regulations and, to maintain a responsible and sustainable business while protecting habitats and biodiversity. The need to comply with the environmental standards specific to the concession area requires prior information from public data and compliance. Accommodating to “new environment” for a responsible E&P activity involve supplementary efforts from oil companies and contractors.
... Bibliografie. Botoşăneanu (1966), Bleahu şi Viehmann (1968), Bleahu et al. (1976), Ruşdea (1985Ruşdea ( , 1989, Cocean (1995), Racoviţă (2004Racoviţă ( -2005, Onac (2005), Onac et al. (2005Onac et al. ( , 2007. ...
... Traces of humans and human activity (i.e., the Neanderthal footprint of Vârtop Cave dated at *62,000 years; the remains and traces of Homo sapiens dated between ca. 35,000 and 30,000 years in Oase, Ciur Izbuc, Muierii, and Cioclovina caves; the rock art of Coliboaia Cave, one of the oldest in Europe dated at *32,000 years, etc.) (Boroneanţ 2000;Trinkaus et al. 2003;Onac et al. 2005;Soficaru et al. 2007;Alexandrescu et al. 2010;Clottes et al. 2012;Webb et al. 2014) and bones of large mammals that went extinct around 25,000 years ago (Robu 2015(Robu , 2016 can be seen as duplications or authentic artifacts in some of the show caves or in adjacent museums. ...
From prehistoric times, caves have been used as shelters and places for cultural, religious, and ceremonial manifestation. There is no ancient culture that does not mention in its history at least once “the afterlife,” “the other world,” or “the underground world.” Starting with the eighteenth century, cave exploration and research began to reveal the subterranean beauty in all its elements: geology, biology, paleontology, archeology, and hydrology. In the last century, people started to use the caves for touristic purposes. Over the past decades, the concept of sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage has been introduced in show caves management to protect and preserve their heritage for future generations. In Romania, more than 12,500 caves have been discovered and explored. The first cave that opened its gates for tourism was Meziad Cave in 1903. Today, Romania has seventeen show caves, all included into a national protected area network. Apuseni Mountains and South Carpathians host most of the show caves of Romania, seven and eight, respectively. In these caves, the visitor has the opportunity to explore the ancient history of Europe and the today’s beautiful subterranean landscapes. Some show caves (i.e., Muierii, Ungurului, Meziad) are emblematic for the distant past, with traces of human activities or skeletal remains ranging in age from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Scărișoara Ice Cave allows the visitors to discover one of the world’s largest and oldest ice blocks, whereas Urșilor Cave is known for its important fossil assemblages, among which a cave bear skeleton in anatomic connection that is ca. 40,000 years old. All show caves of Romania host peculiar fauna and unique landscapes, and discovering their natural and cultural heritage while enjoying the beauty of the natural protected areas that host them is an experience worth taking.
... Over the last decade, a significant number of studies identified and described a total of 29 species (see Table 2 in Chapter "Șureanu Mountains: Valea Stânii-Ponorici-Cioclovina cu Apă karst system"). This assemblage includes rare, high-temperature minerals (berlinite and hydroxylellestadite) formed during in situ guano combustion (Onac and White 2003;Onac et al. 2006; as well as other common and exotic cave minerals, among which 14 phosphates (Marincea et al. 2002;Onac et al. 2002bOnac et al. , 2005bOnac et al. , 2009aOnac et al. , b, 2011Dumitraș 2009). ...
Evidences show humans must have entered caves in Romania prior to 65,000 years ago. Their interest in mining activities came, however, much later, with the first documented signs predating the arrival of Romans in Dacia (present-day Romania), in the second century BC. Although writings about minerals in Romanian caves date back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the first scientific texts on minerals found in caves discovered during mining and quarrying activities only appeared after 1850s. From a mineralogical point of view, two distinct categories are recognizable: (1) caves displaying speleothems of ordinary carbonate mineralogy and (2) caves with unusual mineral paragenesis. The latter group could further be subdivided into: (i) cavities located near or within nonmetalliferous or polymetallic ore fields, (ii) skarn-hosted caves, and (iii) caves in which H2S-rich thermo-mineral waters discharge. The study of these caves resulted in the discovery of minerals, either new for science (ardealite) or to the cave environment (anhydrite, burbankite, foggite, ikaite, konyaite, etc.). However, the scientific relevance of those caves discovered in mines and quarries, along with the mined caves, is not restricted to mineralogy but also encompasses anthropology, archeology, Quaternary geology, biospeleology, karst science (speleothems, speleogenesis, etc.), and tourism.
... The age of the layer that comprises the footstep was assessed by dating a stalagmite from the above layer: three U-Th ages indicate around 62 ka, which thus represent a terminus ante quem. Consequently, the individual who produced the prints must have been a Neandertal (Onac et alii 2005). ...
This paper presents some new results concerning the Middle Palaeolithic in Romania. Recent research on loess-paleosoil sequences and tephra deposits has provided an accurate picture on the geochronology of the Pleistocene. Reliable absolute ages indicate that some Middle Palaeolithic occupations are much older than previously assumed, namely they date back to the Middle Pleistocene. Lithic industries, both coming from old and recent excavations were (re)interpreted from new perspectives, other than cultural-historical ones. The study of fauna still leaves to be desired, as it needs to go beyond mere taxa identification. Many loci that have yielded surface collections of lithics that could belong to the Middle Palaeolithic indicate a great potential for discovering new sites in Romania. Cuvinte-cheie: Paleolitic Mijlociu, România, geocronologie, datări radiocarbon, arheozoologie, analiză litică, fosile umane Rezumat: Acest articol prezintă câteva rezultate recente privind cercetarea Paleoliticului Mijlociu din România. Noi cercetări asupra secvențelor de loessuri și paleosoluri, precum și asupra nivelurilor de cenușă vulcanică au contribuit la crearea unei imagini mult mai exacte privind geocronologia Pleistocenului. Noi datări absolute arată că unele situri de Paleolitic Mijlociu sunt mai vechi decât fusese estimat anterior, având vârste din Pleistocenul Mijlociu. Industriile litice provenite atât din săpături vechi cât și recente au fost re/interpretate din noi puncte de vedere, diferite de perspectiva cultural-istorică. Studiile de arheozoologie pentru această perioadă lasă în continuare de dorit, deoarece în multe situații ele constau doar din simple identificări la nivelul speciei. Numeroasele locuri în care a fost descoperit material litic la suprafață, atribuibile Paleoliticului Mijlociu indică un mare potențial pentru descoperirea de situri noi din această perioadă.
... Site of the Oase Cave (Trinkaus et al., 2003), and centered on the Danube valley and its large tributaries that cross the Carpathian-Balkan ranges (Fig. 1), south-eastern Europe holds significant potential for better understanding of the environment and palaeoclimate that may have influenced the movement of people towards both central-western Europe (Conard, 2003) or eastwards, over the north Pontic area (Iovita et al., 2012). With some notable exceptions, interdisciplinary archaeological research (Anghelinu et al., 2012) and especially direct multi-method dating (Onac et al., 2005;Haesaerts et al., 2010;Schmidt et al., 2013;Trandafir et al., 2015;Doboş and Trinkaus, 2012) has seen limited application in the Carpathian e Lower Danube area e particularly for Middle Palaeolithic contexts (Honea, 1981;Mertens, 1996;Cârciumaru, 1999;P aunescu, 2000;Cârciumaru et al., 2000Cârciumaru et al., , 2007Cosac, 2008). ...
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition is one of the crucial periods of change in the prehistory of Europe due to the full emergence, continent-wide, of modern human lithic technologies, and detrimental of Neanderthal survival. Knowledge about the transition is growing, however, the evidence for cultural and technological developments for the Middle Palaeolithic in the Carpathian – Lower Danube Basin is still rather sparse. Here we discuss latest findings arising from a chronological investigation of Middle Palaeolithic assemblages within the Varghis karst, Eastern Transylvania, Romania. Combining our first chronological results with information from previous excavations, we can distinguish two main stages of habitation (albeit Middle Palaeolithic lithics and faunal remains appear scattered throughout the investigated profile) within the Abri 122 rock shelter. In order to augment the typological cultural considerations, we applied direct radiocarbon dating on bones and charcoal from within the occupation layers. Radiocarbon dating of bones suggests that the Middle Palaeolithic sequence is older than the upper dating limit of the method, whereas direct luminescence ages on the lowermost productive horizon and immediately above it indicate surprisingly old ages of ca. 106–141 ka (OSL – optically stimulated) or 99–174 ka (IRSL – infrared stimulated). Multiple-protocol dating of charcoal found within the two habitation layers produced ages >38 ¹⁴C ka BP, also suggesting that the lowermost lithic-rich horizon pertains to the Middle Palaeolithic industries. Overall, the recovered lithics, currently forming one of the most significant collections for Romania, are fully consistent with two main habitation phases connected to Middle Palaeolithic cultural affinities. The occurrence of a volcanic ash layer within Ursului Cave and originating from the Ciomadul volcanic complex (Carpathians) is first reported here. Recently dated to ∼ ≥ 43 (−50) ka, it might represent an important marker horizon, providing that it is identified within other Palaeolithic cave assemblages.
... The first recognized and dated H. neanderthalis footprint was found in Vârtop Cage (Apuseni Mountains, Romania) in 1974 (VIEHMANN, 1987). Researches performed by ONAC et al. (2005) established the age [uranium (U)-thorium (Th) dating] of this footprint to ∼ 62.000 years. Recent research conducted at Peştera cu Oase (The Cave with Bones) located near Anina, Caraş-Severin County revealed the oldest fossils of modern humans in Europe (approx. ...
Before the appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens, some pre-human genotypes that lived on the Earth, left material evidence concerning different events of their social, behavioural or artistic manifestations. One of the earliest proofs is the use of objects from the environment as primitive tools to extract bone marrow, action probably achieved by a population of Australanthropus olteniensis in Romania (Tetoiu, Bugiuleşti, Oltenia, about 2,000,000 BC). Current studies show that pre-human species originated in the African Rift Valley, which provided optimum benefits to its evolution and diversity. Proto-oceanic environmental quality and diet (rich source of polyunsaturated long fibres) ensured brain development and human evolution. Several pre-human species (Homo habilis, H. naledi, H. erectus, etc.) emerged and lived in this area prior to their migration to other continents. Fire making and use, both for cooking and protection against weather and wildlife, was the essential factor for human evolution. Benefiting from the cooked food, pre-human beings had access to richer food resources, which led to the increase of the skeleton, and, implicitly, of the skull and encephalus. This made possible the development of practical utilities, followed by abstract utilities, such as thinking and intelligence. Sexual dimorphism, the presence of the gene FOX-P2 and the development of language, social and tribal life led to the arrangement of the living spaces, family. The increase of the skull and brain development contributed to the transition from practical activities (manufacture of weapons and tools) to abstract activities, development of art and intelligence. By abstract modelling of the materials from nature (rock, bone, ivory or wood) there were created statues, wall paintings, there appeared burial, cremation and embalming practices, which represented the germs of religion through the belief in the afterlife (in tombs, there were found food, personal items to be useful by the deceased persons at their return in another life). Keywords: pre-human populations, social relations, abstract thinking, artistic achievements, human evolution. Rezumat. Rolul artei, al gândirii abstracte şi al relaţiilor sociale în evoluţia omului. Înainte de apariţia speciei Homo sapiens sapiens, unele genotipuri pre-humane care au locuit pe Terra, au lăsat dovezi materiale privind manifestările lor sociale, comportamentale sau artistice. Una din cele mai vechi dovezi este utilizarea unor obiecte din mediul înconjurător drept unelte primitive pentru a extrage măduva osoasă hematogenă, acţiune realizată probabil de o populaţie de Australanthropus olteniensis, din România (Tetoiu, Bugiuleşti, Oltenia, c. 2.000.000 BCE). Studiile actuale arată că speciile pre-humane au originea în zona Marele Rift African, care a oferit avantaje optime pentru evoluţie şi diversitate. Calitatea mediului proto-oceanic şi a dietei (sursă bogată în fibre lungi polinesaturate), au asigurat dezvoltarea creierului şi evoluţia omului. Mai multe specii pre-humane (Homo habilis, H. naledi, H. erectus, ş.a.) au apărut şi au convieţuit în această zonă, înainte de migrarea lor în alte continente. Producerea şi utilizarea focului, atât pentru prepararea hranei, cât şi cu rol protector faţă de intemperii şi animalele sălbatice), a constituit un factor esenţial pentru evoluţia omului. Beneficiind de prelucrarea alimentelor prin gătit, fiinţele pre-humane au avut la dispoziţie resurse bogate de hrană, fapt care a condus la mărirea scheletului, implicit a cutiei craniene şi encefalului. Aceasta a făcut posibilă dezvoltarea utilităţilor practice, urmate de utilităţile abstracte, gândirea şi inteligenţa. Dimorfismul sexual, prezenţa genei FOX-P2 şi apariţia limbajului, viaţa social-tribală, au condus la amenajarea spaţiilor de locuit, familia. Mărirea cutiei craniene şi dezvoltarea encefalului au contribuit la trecerea de la activităţi practice utilitare (confecţionarea de arme şi unelte), la activităţi abstracte, dezvoltarea artei şi inteligenţei. Prin modelarea abstractă a unor materiale din natură (rocă, os, fildeş, sau lemn), au fost create statuete, picturi rupestre, au apărut practici de înhumare, incinerare şi îmbălsămare, care au reprezentat germenii religiei prin credinţa în viaţa de apoi (în morminte au fost găsite alimente, obiecte personale, pentru a fi utile decedaţilor la revenirea într-o altă viaţă). Cuvinte cheie: populaţii prehumane, relaţii sociale, gândirea abstractă, realizări artistice, evoluţia umană.
... Symbolic, cultural or funerary activities were the main reasons for these cave visits. Until now no evidence has been found for regular Neanderthal incursions into caves, except for a possible case of footprints 27 , and Neanderthal constructions inside caves, at least at a distance that is no longer exposed to daylight, were totally unknown. Moreover, Upper Palaeolithic constructions in caves are limited to fireplaces, simple hearths, and some rock or speleothem displacements. ...
Very little is known about Neanderthal cultures(1), particularly early ones. Other than lithic implements and exceptional bone tools(2), very few artefacts have been preserved. While those that do remain include red and black pigments(3) and burial sites(4), these indications of modernity are extremely sparse and few have been precisely dated, thus greatly limiting our knowledge of these predecessors of modern humans(5). Here we report the dating of annular constructions made of broken stalagmites found deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwest France. The regular geometry of the stalagmite circles, the arrangement of broken stalagmites and several traces of fire demonstrate the anthropogenic origin of these constructions. Uranium-series dating of stalagmite regrowths on the structures and on burnt bone, combined with the dating of stalagmite tips in the structures, give a reliable and replicated age of 176.5 thousand years (+/-2.1 thousand years), making these edifices among the oldest known well-dated constructions made by humans. Their presence at 336 metres from the entrance of the cave indicates that humans from this period had already mastered the underground environment, which can be considered a major step in human modernity.
... Yet none of this evidence contradicts other evidence that righthandedness was more common in fossil and recent groups. While Neandertal footprints are known (Onac et al., 2005), handprints or stencils from these hominids have yet to be found. ...
... Bibliografie. Botoşăneanu (1966), Bleahu şi Viehmann (1968), Bleahu et al. (1976), Ruşdea (1985Ruşdea ( , 1989, Cocean (1995), Racoviţă (2004Racoviţă ( -2005, Onac (2005), Onac et al. (2005Onac et al. ( , 2007. ...
... Apart from exceptional cases, such as Laetoli, Koobi Fora or Happisburgh hominin trackways (Behrensmeyer and Laporte, 1981;Bennett et al., 2009;Raichlen et al., 2010;Ashton et al., 2014;Bennett and Morse, 2014), tracks are often underestimated in prehistoric research, particularly in cave contexts. Tracks and trackways found in caves (Pales, 1976;Duday and Garcia, 1983a, 1983b, 1985Leroi-Gourhan, 1984;Garcia and Rouzaud, 1985;Clottes, 2001;Barth and Prud'homme, 2005;Onac et al., 2005;Ledoux, 2011;Ortega Martínez et al., 2014) constitute direct evidence for humans or animals in such contexts and provide numerous forms of behavioural information. For example, in addition to revealing paths of movements or the stature and number of individuals, tracks can provide evidence for specific artistic activities or the presence of particular animal species, such as bears. ...
The record of prehistoric hominin footprints has been largely overlooked by science. A comprehensive review of the literature shows that many footprint sites exist but they are poorly documented, poorly dated and poorly preserved. Although much of the record is less than about 30,000 years old, earlier footprints are often attributed to different hominin species by virtue of problematic spacio-temporal assumptions (i.e. age and geography). However, since the early hominin record is specious and many terrestrial vertebrates are only documented by fossil footprints, it is likely that all bio-taxonomic inferences are questionable. Ichnology or the scientific study of trace fossils is a branch of paleontology that has had little influence on studies of hominin footprints. Moreover, ichnotaxonomy the classification of ichnites (fossil footprints) independent of bio-taxonomic assumptions has never been considered for the hominin record. This study poses the question of whether the 2D morphology of hominin ichnites allows meaningful classifications to be made. The influence of pre-diagenetic factors on ichnite morphology is also considered in an experimental study of footprint taphonomy. Geometric morphometric analysis of 2D hominin ichnite morphology demonstrates that chronological groups can be differentiated. Moreover a pilot study of footprint taphonomy suggests that similarities in ichnite shape may be caused by non-biological variables. Ultimately this research suggests that the relevance of ichnotaxonomy to the hominin ichnite record is supported.
Neanderthal foot bone proportions and morphology are mostly indistinguishable from those of Homo sapiens, with the exception of several distinct Neanderthal features in the talus. The biomechanical implications of these distinct talar features remain contentious, fueling debate around the adaptive meaning of this distinctiveness. With the aim of clarifying this controversy, we test phylogenetic and behavioral factors as possible contributors, comparing tali of 10 Neanderthals and 81 H. sapiens (Upper Paleolithic and Holocene hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists, and postindustrial group) along with the Clark Howell talus (Omo, Ethiopia). Variation in external talar structures was assessed through geometric morphometric methods, while bone volume fraction and degree of anisotropy were quantified in a subsample (n = 45). Finally, covariation between point clouds of site-specific trabecular variables and surface landmark coordinates was assessed. Our results show that although Neanderthal talar external and internal morphologies were distinct from those of H. sapiens groups, shape did not significantly covary with either bone volume fraction or degree of anisotropy, suggesting limited covariation between external and internal talar structures. Neanderthal external talar morphology reflects ancestral retentions, along with various adaptations to high levels of mobility correlated to their presumably unshod hunter-gatherer lifestyle. This pairs with their high site-specific trabecular bone volume fraction and anisotropy, suggesting intense and consistently oriented locomotor loading, respectively. Relative to H.sapiens, Neanderthals exhibit differences in the talocrural joint that are potentially attributable to cultural and locomotor behavior dissimilarity, a talonavicular joint that mixes ancestral and functional traits, and a derived subtalar joint that suggests a predisposition for a pronated foot during stance phase. Overall, Neanderthal talar variation is attributable to mobility strategy and phylogenesis, while H. sapiens talar variation results from the same factors plus footwear. Our results suggest that greater Neanderthal body mass and/or higher mechanical stress uniquely led to their habitually pronated foot posture.
Speleology, Speleoarchaeology, Heritage Management, Algarve, Portugal
Museums hold millions of objects from all over the globe, offering a unique, unparalleled resource for researchers. They provide historical snapshots of data both geographically and through time, giving researchers rare access to huge amounts of information. Recent advances in analytical techniques have allowed for even more information to be obtained from collections, from radiocarbon dating to genetic sequencing. This entry provides some background on museums and their collections, along with key examples of research that has been undertaken using both nondestructive and destructive sampling methods. It also outlines details on how collections can be used, limitations in sampling, and how to search for objects in museums across Britain. The potential for collections to assist with research is enormous, and this applies not only to national museums but also to smaller regional museums.
Les empreintes de pieds d’hominines représentent des vestiges uniques ouvrant une fenêtre sur de brefs moments de vie de groupes disparus. Leur étude donne des informations directes sur la taille et la composition de ces groupes, paramètres essentiels à leur succès adaptatif mais rarement accessibles à partir du registre fossile. Toutefois, l’étude des empreintes est rendue complexe par le nombre de facteurs (caractéristiques corporelles et biomécaniques, nature du substrat, taphonomie) impactant leur morphologie et leur relative rareté au sein du registre fossile. Depuis 2012, plusieurs centaines d’empreintes de pieds potentielles attribuables à des néandertaliens ont été découvertes associées à un riche matériel archéologique dans 5 niveaux datés à 80 000 ans de la paléodune du Rozel (Manche, France). La découverte de ces empreintes offre l’opportunité de s’intéresser à la taille et à la composition des groupes sociaux néandertaliens, problématique centrale de ce doctorat. Dans un premier temps, l’analyse des empreintes potentielles découvertes entre 2012 et 2017 a permis d’identifier 257 empreintes de pieds et 8 empreintes de mains ce qui représente à ce jour le plus gros corpus ichnologique associé aux Néandertaliens. Puis, grâce au développement d’une approche combinant morphométrie et expérimentation, la taille et la composition des groupes a été estimée à partir des empreintes numérisées en 3D. Les empreintes de pieds étudiées reflètent ainsi différentes classes d’âge allant du très jeune enfant (à partir de 1 an) à l’adulte. Les empreintes issues du niveau le plus dense ichnologiquement représentent un groupe de petite taille, probablement composé de 10 à 13 individus, dont 90% étaient des enfants et des adolescents. Les empreintes de pieds du Rozel fournissent ainsi des informations uniques sur la taille et la composition des groupes néandertaliens permettant de mieux comprendre les occupations paléolithiques au Rozel il y a 80 000 ans.
Fossil hominin footprints provide a direct source of evidence of locomotor behaviour
and allow inference of other biological data such as anthropometrics. Many recent
comparative analyses of hominin footprints have employed 3D analytical methods to
assess their morphological affinities, comparing tracks from different locations and/or
time periods. However, environmental conditions can sometimes preclude 3D digital
capture, as was the case at Happisburgh (England) in 2013. Consequently, we use
here a 2D geometric morphometric approach to investigate the evolutionary context of
the Happisburgh tracks. The comparative sample of hominin tracks comes from eight
localities that span a broad temporal range from the Pliocene to late Holocene.
Results show disparity in the shapes of tracks ascribed to hominins from the Pliocene
(presumably Australopithecus afarensis ), Pleistocene (presumably Homo erectus
and Homo antecessor ) and Holocene ( Homo sapiens ). Three distinct morphological differences are apparent between time samples: changes in adduction of the hallux, changes in the shape and position of the medial longitudinal arch impression, and apparent changes in foot proportions . Linear dimensions classified the potential Homo antecessor tracks from Happisburgh as being most similar to the presumed Homo erectus prints from Ileret. We demonstrate using 2D geometric morphometric methods and linear dimensions that the Happisburgh tracks are morphologically similar to other presumed Homo tracks, and differ from the Laetoli footprints. The probable functional implications of these results fit well with previous comparative analyses of hominin tracks at other sites.
COMPLEMENTARY DATING RESULTS FROM THE BRUNIQUEL CAVE (TARN-ET-GARONNE, FRANCE). The Bruniquel Cave contains two nearly annular structures, a large one and a smaller one, and four smaller accumulation structures, in total made of 420 pieces of broken stalagmites and located at approximately 300 meters from the entrance. The construction of these structures was dated at 176 500 ± 2 100 years (MIS 6) by uranium-thorium dating of speleothems. Since it is impossible that Neanderthal passed through the nowadays passage and since several generations of sometimes rather big speleothems are present on the collapsed blocks at the entrance, questions remain on the age of the collapse and the presence of an eventual opening at the time of Neanderthal. This article gives information on the Bruniquel cave and its geological, karstological and geomorphological context. The new dates on the structures refine the minimum age of the structures and the first dates on the entrance collapse reveal a rather ancient age for the collapse but without excluding the possibility of a small passage around ~170 ka.
KEYWORDS: Middle Palaeolithic, Neanderthal, U-series dating, MIS 6.
This represents one of several sections of "A Bibliography Related to Crime Scene Interpretation with Emphases in Geotaphonomic and Forensic Archaeological Field Techniques, Nineteenth Edition" (The complete bibliography is also included at ResearchGate.net.). This is the most recent edition of a bibliography containing resources for multiple areas of crime scene, and particularly outdoor crime scene, investigations. It replaces the prior edition and contains approximately 10,000 additional citations. As an ongoing project, additional references, as encountered, will be added to future editions.
This represents one of several sections of "A Bibliography Related to Crime Scene Interpretation with Emphases in Geotaphonomic and Forensic Archaeological Field Techniques, Nineteenth Edition" (The complete bibliography is also included at Academia.edu.). This is the most recent edition of a bibliography containing resources for multiple areas of crime scene, and particularly outdoor crime scene, investigations. It replaces the prior edition and contains approximately 10,000 additional citations. As an ongoing project, additional references, as encountered, will be added to future editions.
Hominin footprints, and more particularly those associated with Neandertals, are very scarce in the fossil record. However, they give a unique point of view on dynamic moments of individuals' life that the fossil remains don't allow to obtain. Moreover, their study enables to get a lot of paleobiological information, for example about the anatomy or the composition of a group but also on the biomechanics of gait.
The Middle Paleolithic site of Rozel (Normandy), which was occupied by Neandertals between 85 000 and 65 000 years BP, have yielded over a hundred footprints since 2012 besides its consequent archeological material (stone tools, charcoal, animal remains,...).
We report here the results of the first paleobiological study dealing about these footprints. The analyses led according to a wide corpus of comparison and an unpublished methodological development, have shown that the footprints from Rozel are unique in the knowledge of hominin footprints. Indeed, these footprints represent the vast majority of the known footprints associated with Neandertals. Thanks to measures on footprints of anatomically modern humans and on those from Rozel, a minimum number of 9 individuals was determined. Furthermore, using footprint length to stature ratios, these individuals are estimated to have been between 0.69 and 1.86 m in height, suggesting a group of different ages from childhood to adulthood.
The knowledge gained constitutes a solid basis from which advanced studies have begun about the biomechanical walking patterns of Neandertals and their mobility.
ABSTRACT: COMPLEMENTARY DATING RESULTS
FROM THE BRUNIQUEL CAVE (TARN-ET-GARONNE,
FRANCE). The Bruniquel Cave contains two
nearly annular structures, a large one and a
smaller one, and four smaller accumulation
structures, in total made of 420 pieces
of broken stalagmites and located at
approximately 300 meters from the entrance.
The construction of these structures was
dated at 176 500 ± 2 100 years (MIS 6) byuranium-thorium dating of speleothems.
Since it is impossible that Neanderthal passed
through the nowadays passage and since
several generations of sometimes rather big
speleothems are present on the collapsed
blocks at the entrance, questions remain on
the age of the collapse and the presence
of an eventual opening at the time of
Neanderthal. This article gives information
on the Bruniquel cave and its geological,
karstological and geomorphological context.
The new dates on the structures refine the
minimum age of the structures and the
first dates on the entrance collapse reveal
a rather ancient age for the collapse but
without excluding the possibility of a small
passage around ~170 ka.
KEYWORDS: Middle Palaeolithic, Neanderthal,
U-series dating, MIS 6.
A Late Pleistocene hominin tracksite has been identified in coastal aeolianite rocks on the Cape south coast of South Africa, an area of great significance for the emergence of modern humans. The tracks are in the form of natural casts and occur on the ceiling and side walls of a ten-metre long cave. Preservation of tracks is of variable quality. Up to forty hominin tracks are evident. Up to thirty-five hominin tracks occur on a single bedding plane, with potential for the exposure of further tracks. Five tracks are apparent on a second hominin track-bearing bedding plane. A number of individuals made the tracks while moving down a dune surface. A geological investigation at the site and stratigraphic comparison to published geochronological studies from this area suggest that the tracks are ~90 ka in age. If this is the case, the shoreline at the time would have been approximately 2 km distant. This is the first reported hominin tracksite from this time period. It adds to the relatively sparse global record of early hominin tracks, and represents the largest and best preserved archive of Late Pleistocene hominin tracks found to date. The tracks were probably made by Homo sapiens.
In recent decades, the time depth of archaeological remains bearing evidence of the symbolic behavior of human groups has been considerably extended, reaching the first Paleolithic societies. This paper provides an overview of the main evidence pertaining to symbolic behavior among huntergatherer groups, with particular emphasis on Neanderthals and their ancestry. This study specifically focuses on burial practices, personal ornaments and early musical instruments, which show thatthose societies already engaged in highly developed symbolic behavior. The overview further shows that the origins of symbolic behavior predate anatomically modern humans and are therefore not linked to biological differences but rather to certain, probably societal needs. This body of information further shows that such past societies were not so different from present day hunter-gatherer groups or indigenous populations.
En los últimos decenios, los restos arqueológicos que nos evidencian el comportamiento simbólico por parte de los grupos humanos han ido retrocediendo en el tiempo, hasta situarse en las primeras sociedades paleolíticas. En el presente artículo, se hace un recorrido por las principales evidencias que nos muestran este comportamiento en los grupos de cazadores-recolectores, con especial hincapié en los neandertales y sus ancestros. El trabajo se centra en particular en las prácticas funerarias, la ornamentación personal así como los primeros instrumentos musicales, que nos demuestran que estas sociedades ya disponían de un comportamiento simbólico altamente desarrollado. Este recorrido nos demuestra, además, que el origen del comportamiento simbólico se halla con anterioridad a los humanos anatómicamente modernos y que por lo tanto no tuvo que ver con unas diferencias de tipos biológicas u osteológicas, sino más bien con unas necesidades, probablemente de tipo social. Este corpus de información nos demuestra también que estas sociedades del pasado no fueron tan diferentes de los grupos cazadores-recolectores actuales o de las poblaciones indígenas del presente.
Human tracks have now been recorded at a number of sites across the globe. Lockley et al. (Ichnos 15:106–125, 2008) provides a definitive review of many of these sites and our aim here is to focus on a few important examples which are either in the authors’ judgement particularly significant or feature within this book. Sites can be grouped on many different criteria such as by: (1) geographical regions; (2) geological facies in which they are preserved; (3) their age and therefore potential species of track-maker; or (4) by their archaeological or palaeoanthropological significance. While there is a natural tendency to focus on the unusual, biggest, or oldest, in reality footprint sites tend to separate into those which pre-date Homo sapiens and those that don’t. Those that do are limited in number but have the potential to offer information about the evolution of gait between hominin species and as such they accord a level of significance far greater than other footprint sites. Such sites are few in number however and while Holocene sites may not have the glamour of older localities, they have the potential to offer important laboratories in which to explore the interaction of a track-maker’s gait with such things as substrate. For ease we have chosen to divide this chapter into those examples that potentially pre-date Homo sapiens (Pliocene to Early/Middle Pleistocene) and those that don’t (Late Pleistocene to Holocene).
The hominin footprint record spans ~3.6 Ma, from Late Pliocene to Holocene, and thus also spans a temporal duration corresponding to many of the major events in hominin evolution. While the oldest (~3.6 Ma) tracks from Laetoli (Tanzania) have been attributed, provisionally, to genus Australopithecus, all others are attributed to various species of the genus Homo, including H. erectus (H. ergaster), H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens.
Recent reviews of the previously neglected hominin track record have demonstrated that more than 60 sites are documented in the literature, and that these are found on all continents (excepting Antarctica). Based on age, geographic location, and to a lesser degree footprint morphology, it is possible to infer which post-Laetoli sites and footprint assemblages represent H. erectus (H. ergaster), and which are attributable to later Homo species. However, distinguishing between H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis on the basis of footprint morphology is not demonstrated conclusively. All the older sites (~3.6- Ma to ~117,000 yBP), from Africa and Europe, including those that represent pre-H. sapiens species, are “open-air” sites, whereas a number of younger, pre-Holocene sites (~62,000 to ~10,000 yBP), especially in Europe, are cave sites. With the exception of a very controversial site in Mexico dated at ~40,000 yBP, no other New World footprint sites are more than ~12,500 years old, and the oldest Australian sites are ~19,000–23,000 yBP.
The extent to which significant modifications in the morphology of the hominin foot and corresponding footprints between 3.6 million and ~50,000 yBP has occurred continues to be debated, but there are two distinct polar morphologies (Praehominipes and Hominipes) now documented in the ichnologic literature. The question of whether transitions in such morphologic features as midfoot flexibility vs. a fully modern arch, and separation of the big toe from traces of lateral digits, and their inferred lengths, constitute evidence of major evolutionary changes may not be resolved to consensus without additions to pedal fossil remains and trace fossil record.
In most cases, sites reveal associated tracks and traces of other tetrapods, mostly mammals and birds, as well as, in some instances, other hominin-manufactured artifacts. Such contextual trace fossil evidence is important for understanding the ecology of early hominin habitats. As recent studies have noted, there is no well-defined line between the hominin track record, narrowly defined as footprints, and the broader ichnologic record, which includes cut marks on bone, handprints, paintings in caves, and even various artifacts. Paleolithic cave paintings that depict tracks and associated track makers could be considered as the earliest examples of vertebrate ichnology field guides, although the significance to the artists themselves likely differed from our modern notion of a guidebook. Although not normally thought of as part of the track record, footprints on the Moon, as well as the tracks of lunar vehicles, and robotic vehicles employed on Mars, represent the ichnologic signatures of recent major events in hominin evolution.
Two bone samples taken from a cave-bear skull discqvered in Pestera de Ia Gura Ponicovei (Danube Gorge, Romania) have been dated by U-series liquid-liquid extraction procedure. They allowed the determination of a minimum age of the cave as well as the minimum age of Danube's fourth terrace at c. 277 ka. This age has been also used to ascertain the paleontologic determination of the bear species as Ursus deningeri v. Reichenau. Datings on speleothem calcite indicate that the minimum age of the active level of the cave is-30 ka and enabled rough estimations of the incision rate of the underground river and of the fluvial erosion rate of the Danube at 0.05 m/ka and 0.67 m/ka, respectively. Resume Deux echantillons d'os pre/eves d'un crane d'ours de caverne decouvert dans Ia Pe §tera de Ia Gura Ponicovei (Defile du Da-nube, Roumanie) ont ete dates par Ia methode de Ia serie del' Uranium, en appliquant Ia procedure d' extraction liquide-liquide. Les resultats ont permis de determiner l 'age minimum de Ia grotte ainsi que de Ia quatrieme terrasse du Danube, qui est d'envi-ron 277 ka. Cet age a servia /'elimination des incertitudes de /'analyse paleontologique classique, de meme que pour etablir qu'il s'agit d'un individu d'Ursus deningeri v. Reichenau. Les datations des quelques speteothemes de calcite ont indique que /'age minimum de Ia gaferie active de Ia grotte est d'environ 30 ka. En outre, elles ont permis d 'etablir le taux d'approfondisse-ment de Ia riviere souterraine a 0,05 mlka et celui d'erosion fluviale du Danube tout au plus a 0,67 mlka.
La reorganisation recente de la recherche archeologique roumaine a permis aux archeologues de ce pays d'avoir une meilleure comprehension des chronologies regionales, du paleoenvironnement et du paleoclimat. Les resultats recents des donnees radiocarbone ont recadre la chronologie au sein des chronologies est-europeennes en particulier celle du paleolithique moyen
Secondary carbonate formations, such as travertine and calcareous tufa deposits, are important archives for quaternary continental climate studies and archaeology. The extremely complex growth mechanisms result in some serious problems for precise mass spectrometric uranium-series dating. Often, detrital and organic particles contaminate the carbonate and large pore volumes yield a great potential for open system behavior. We utilized microscopic, mineralogical and geochemical methods prior to sample selection to determine the abundance of primary calcite, i.e. micrite and spar. Furthermore, the state of alteration was characterized by cathodoluminescence and trace-element analysis. We conclude that travertine and calcareous tufa are appropriate for precise U-series age determination if a) micrite and/or spar are the dominant phases; b) cathodoluminescence of both phases is weak or absent; c) Fe and Al levels are low; and d) Sr concentrations are close to the average of the studied site. We mapped and sampled solely areas of major micrite/spar abundance having minor alteration for accurate U-series dating. When this new method was applied, travertines located in eastern Germany (sites Bad Langensalza, Burgtonna and Weimar-Ehringsdorf) gave single 230Th/238U-ages consistent with the lithological growth sequence and greatly improved compared to previously published chronologies. In addition, we determined 230Th/U isochron ages on bulk samples that confirm our single ages. In contrast to primary calcite, pore cements are homogeneously distributed throughout the travertine fabric and reflect early diagenetic processes and/or weathering.
A detailed stable-isotope record is presented for the full length of the Greenland Ice-core Project Summit ice core covering the last 250,000 years according to a graduated timescale. It appears that the climatic stability of the Holocene is the exception rather than the rule; the last interglacial is also noted to have lasted longer than is implied by the deep-sea SPECMAP record. This discrepancy may be accounted for if the climate instability at the outset of the last interglacial delayed the melting of the Saalean ice sheets in America and Eurasia.
A compilationn for the northwest of Europe of over 500 uranium-series speleothen and travertine dates is presented using a cumulative distributed error frequency approach. These secondary carbonate deposits require both significant groundwater supply and a biogenic soil carbon dioxide source for their growth. During glacial periods soil CO2 production is inhibited and the water supply is ice locked, therefore growth is slowed significantly if not stopped. Thus deposits can be used on a chronological basis to give a signal of glacial and non-glacial periods. However, sensitivity to the groundwater supply modifies this signal, with growth also limited in times of high aridity, the palaeoclimatic signal is thus complex. The compilation presented is used both as a chronology for comparison with the orbitally tuned marine oxygen isotope record, and as a palaeoclimatic indicator. Attention is focused on two periods of the last glacial / interglacial cycle where the record provides a significantly different palaeoclimatic record to other terrestrial and oceanic records. These are the isotope stages 5/4 transition, for which a relatively low cumulative growth frequency indicates an earlier increase in aridity than observed elsewhere; and isotope stage 3, the pleniglacial, where both statistically significant high (49–62 ka) and low (22–35, 44–46 ka) levels of growth are observed, and can be used to constrain the timing of many of the interstadial events within this period.
Hydrochemical and hydrodynamical investigations are presented to explain tufa deposition rates along the flow path of the Huanglong Ravine, located in northwestern Sichuan province, China, on an altitude of about 3400 m asl. Due to outgassing of CO2 the mainly spring-fed stream exhibits, along a valley of 3.5 km, calcite precipitation rates up to a few mm/year. We have carried out in situ experiments to measure calcite deposition rates at rimstone dams, inside of pools and in the stream-bed. Simultaneously, the downstream evolution of water chemistry was investigated at nine locations with respect to Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, Cl−, SO42−, and alkalinity. Temperature, pH, and conductivity were measured in situ, while total hardness, CaT, and alkalinity have been determined immediately after sampling, performing standard titration methods. The water turned out to be of an almost pure CaMgHCO3 type. The degassing of CO2 causes high supersaturation with respect to calcite and due to calcite precipitation the Ca2+ concentration decreases from 6·10−3 mole/1 upstream down to 2.5·10−3 mole/1 at the lower course. Small rectangular shaped tablets of pure marble were mounted under different flow regimes, i.e., at the dam sites with fast water flow as well as inside pools with still water. After the substrate samples had stayed in the water for a period of a few days, the deposition rates were measured by weight increase, up to several tens of milligrams. Although there were no differences in hydrochemistry, deposition rates in fast flowing water were higher by as much as a factor of four compared to still water, indicating a strong influence of hydrodynamics. While upstream rates amounted up to 5 mm/year, lower rates of about 1 mm/year were observed downstream. Inspection of the marble substrate surfaces by EDAX and SEM (scanning electron microscope) revealed authigeneously grown calcite crystals of about 10 μm. Their shape and habit are indicative of a chemically controlled inorganic origin. By applying a mass transfer model for calcite precipitation taking into account the reaction rates at the surface given by Plummer et al. (1978), slow conversion of CO2 into H+ and HCO3− , and diffusional mass transport across a diffusion boundary layer, we have calculated the deposition rates from the hydrochemistry of the corresponding locations. The calculated rates agree within a factor of two with the experimental results. Our findings confirm former conclusions with respect to fast flow conditions: reasonable rates of calcite precipitation can be estimated in reducing the PWP-rate calculated from the chemical composition of the water by a factor of about ten, thus correcting for the influence of the diffusion boundary layer.
The speleothem delta function (SDF) provides a new transfer function between the delta(18)O signal of speleothem calcite and surface ground temperature. The function is based on physical principles, relating delta(18)O of the calcite to thermodynamic fractionation, and to the dripwater function, which in turn relates delta(18)O of dripwaters to that of the local precipitation and thus to the modification of source water in relationship to the geographical position of the site. The SDF must be calibrated against at least two reliable and well-dated palaeotemperature points. The end product is a reconstruction of absolute cave and surface temperatures. The technique is tested using a Holocene speleothem from north Norway, SG93, dated by 12 TIMS U-Th dates. The reconstructed temperature curve is presented and compared with the GISP2 ice-core record and with the historic record. In both cases the correlation with SG93 is impressive, indicating the validity of the technique.
The expansion of premodern humans into western and eastern Europe approximately 40,000 years before the present led to the eventual replacement of the Neanderthals by modern humans approximately 28,000 years ago. Here we report the second mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of a Neanderthal, and the first such analysis on clearly dated Neanderthal remains. The specimen is from one of the eastern-most Neanderthal populations, recovered from Mezmaiskaya Cave in the northern Caucasus. Radiocarbon dating estimated the specimen to be approximately 29,000 years old and therefore from one of the latest living Neanderthals. The sequence shows 3.48% divergence from the Feldhofer Neanderthal. Phylogenetic analysis places the two Neanderthals from the Caucasus and western Germany together in a clade that is distinct from modern humans, suggesting that their mtDNA types have not contributed to the modern human mtDNA pool. Comparison with modern populations provides no evidence for the multiregional hypothesis of modern human evolution.
The signature of Dansgaard-Oeschger events--millennial-scale abrupt climate oscillations during the last glacial period--is well established in ice cores and marine records. But the effects of such events in continental settings are not as clear, and their absolute chronology is uncertain beyond the limit of (14)C dating and annual layer counting for marine records and ice cores, respectively. Here we present carbon and oxygen isotope records from a stalagmite collected in southwest France which have been precisely dated using 234U/230Th ratios. We find rapid climate oscillations coincident with the established Dansgaard-Oeschger events between 83,000 and 32,000 years ago in both isotope records. The oxygen isotope signature is similar to a record from Soreq cave, Israel, and deep-sea records, indicating the large spatial scale of the climate oscillations. The signal in the carbon isotopes gives evidence of drastic and rapid vegetation changes in western Europe, an important site in human cultural evolution. We also find evidence for a long phase of extremely cold climate in southwest France between 61.2 +/- 0.6 and 67.4 +/- 0.9 kyr ago.
The 2002 discovery of a robust modern human mandible in the Peştera cu Oase, southwestern Romania, provides evidence of early modern humans in the lower Danubian Corridor. Directly accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (14C)-dated to 34,000-36,000 14C years B.P., the Oase 1 mandible is the oldest definite early modern human specimen in Europe and provides perspectives on the emergence and evolution of early modern humans in the northwestern Old World. The moderately long Oase 1 mandible exhibits a prominent tuber symphyseos and overall proportions that place it close to earlier Upper Paleolithic European specimens. Its symmetrical mandibular incisure, medially placed condyle, small superior medial pterygoid tubercle, mesial mental foramen, and narrow corpus place it closer to early modern humans among Late Pleistocene humans. However, its cross-sectional symphyseal orientation is intermediate between late archaic and early modern humans, the ramus is exceptionally wide, and the molars become progressively larger distally with exceptionally large third molars. The molar crowns lack derived Neandertal features but are otherwise morphologically undiagnostic. However, it has unilateral mandibular foramen lingular bridging, an apparently derived Neandertal feature. It therefore presents a mosaic of archaic, early modern human and possibly Neandertal morphological features, emphasizing both the complex population dynamics of modern human dispersal into Europe and the subsequent morphological evolution of European early modern humans.
A short introduction to the geological and speleological settings of the Padurea Craiului Mountains (King's Forest Mountains) of Romania is provided. Against this brief background the results of recent mineralogical, crystallographical and geochronological studies in this area are presented and discussed. Details of minerals known from underground localities, here and elsewhere in the world, are set out as an appendix. The value of cave speleothem dates in providing an indication landscape evolution rates is also considered.
An event stratigraphy for the Last Termination, based on the stratotype of the GRIP ice-core record, has been outlined for the North Atlantic region. It is suggested that such an approach to stratigraphic subdivision may offer a more satisfactory alternative to conventional stratigraphical procedures for those parts of the recent Quaternary record that are characterised by rapid and/or short-term climatic fluctuations.
Four different schemes have been used to correct the U-series ratios found in the leachates of impure carbonates so that an age may be calculated from them. The present work compares the performance of three of these, Schemes I, II and SL, with that of the fourth, Scheme L/L. Scheme L/L had been shown previously to yield valid ages in a comprehensive study of thirty sample sets comprising 170 samples of impure carbonates from the Dead Sea basin. This scheme performs the isotopic correction by comparing the ratios found in the leachates of several coeval samples. The validity of two of the other schemes, Scheme I and II, was tested by comparing their results with the Scheme L/L results on eight of the same thirty sample sets. Schemes I and II perform corrections by comparing the isotope ratios in the leachate and residue of a single impure carbonate; the two schemes differ in their assumptions regarding the leachate-residue relationship and, hence, in their mathematical treatments of the isotopic ratios. Comparison of Scheme L/L with I and II shows that the latter are invalid in more than half the cases. The fourth correction scheme, Scheme SL, performs the corrections on the isotopic ratios of a single leachate by assuming that the correction factor, R 0 (the original detrital 230 Th / 232 Th ratio) has a more or less constant worldwide value, usually taken to be 1.5-1.7. The present study shows that R 0 is more like 3.3 for the Dead Sea basin and evaluates the errors incurred if the incorrect R 0 is used. Finally, an attempt is made to arrive at the best worldwide estimate of R 0 and its uncertainty for any new unstudied area and a graph is presented by means of which one can estimate the consequent age uncertainty.
Foot-prints found in 1950 in the sealed cave of Basura, Toirano, Northern Italy, have been attributed to Neandertal Man. Relative dating tests and radiocarbon measurements applied to bone, stalagmite and charcoal from the cave and from the nearby Grotta del Colombo indicate that the footprints are Late Glacial in age.
If analytical errors are responsible for the scatter of points on a 230Th-234U-238U isochron diagram, the isochron should be fitted by a technique that 1.(1) weights the points according to their analytical errors and error correlations, and2.(2) either takes into account the presence of some of the same data in two coupled XY isochrons or (equivalently) uses a single, three-dimensional XYZ isochron. A method based on maximum-likelihood estimation is presented that fulfills these requirements, and the relevant equations for errors in age and initial are given. Equations for estimating the necessary isotope-ratio errors and error-correlations for both alpha-spectrometric and mass-spectrometric data are also developed.
Chemically precipitated calcite (travertine, speleothem, calcrete) generally contains admixed detritus which will contribute some Th and U during dissolution in dilute acid. This will introduce errors during230Th-23U dating of the calcite, unless corrections are made for the detrital components of230Th and234U. Isotopic data from analyses of leachates (L) of several coeval sub-samples of such rock can be used to obtain the age of the chemically precipitated calcite component, and thus the true age of the deposit; this is the leachate-only (“L/L”) method. Alternatively, one can use analyses of leachate and residue (R), the Ku & Liang “L/R” method. The two procedures give the same age only if there is no differential isotopic fractionation (DIF) of U or Th during the partial dissolution of the residue; if DIF occurs but is uniform for all leachates, then the L/L method gives the true age of the deposit, but the L/R age will generally be in error. The L/L method is also simpler than methods requiring total dissolution of the detrital component.
Laminated tufas and a tufa-depositing stream in SW Japan (Shirokawa, Ehime Prefecture) were studied monthly over a 3-yr period. A series of samples from the tufa clearly reveals the pattern of annual laminations. The annual layering pattern was primarily controlled by changes in the rate of calcite precipitation, as calculated from water chemistry. The concentration of dissolved CaCO3, which correlates with the precipitation rate, was high in summer–autumn and low in winter–spring, owing to changes in the partial pressure of CO2 in underground air. Regular seasonal changes in underground PCO2 probably resulted from two temperature-dependent processes, the diffusion of soil CO2 and the ventilation of underground air. These changes, in addition to water temperature changes, altered the precipitation rate, which has a clear seasonal pattern, especially in the lower stream. The seasonal precipitation rate was high in summer–autumn and low in winter–spring, which is consistent with the seasonal lamination pattern seen in the tufas. The textures of collected samples show that the laminations consist of densely calcified summer–autumn (June–October) laminae and lightly calcified winter–spring (November–May) laminae. We infer that the increased precipitation rate stimulated thick calcite encrustation on cyanobacterial filaments to produce the dense textures. This interpretation is supported by the lowered organic/inorganic carbon-production ratio in summer–autumn. Seasonal variations in cyanobacterial assemblages are present, but do not reflect the seasonal lamination pattern. Because the relevant processes are temperature dependent, the seasonal lamination pattern at Shirokawa is thought to generally apply to other laminated tufas deposited in temperate climates. However, a reversed pattern can result from local and climatic circumstances. Dense laminae were deposited in winter near the source of the spring at Shirokawa, because calcite precipitation was high owing to low underground PCO2 in winter. Reversed patterns reported from northwestern Europe were probably influenced by seasonal rainfall, which is reflected in hydrological conditions.
High-resolution chronologies in continental carbonate deposits such as tufas are required for detailed palaeoclimatic and environmental studies. This work set out to establish if high-resolution U-series dating of detritus-rich Holocene tufas is routinely possible. The study centres on a paludal Holocene tufa from southern England that already has an existing Holocene chronology, based on 14C and supported by biostratigraphy, against which to compare U-series dates. The results show that significant detrital contamination combined with low initial U concentrations, and short time for ingrowth of radiogenic 230Th make high-resolution U-series dating of Holocene tufa very difficult. Moreover, a single (230Th/232Th)initial value to correct for the presence of detrital 230Th is not appropriate at the study site, a finding that may apply to most Holocene tufas. Total sample dissolution of coeval samples demonstrates considerable variability in the isotopic composition of the detritus. The total sample dissolution data are too scattered to constrain chronologies at the required resolution and may indicate the incorporation of a 230Th-rich component in the detritus.
We studied Holocene speleothems and tufa samples collected in numerous caves and rivers in the Dinaric Karst of Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Serbia and Montenegro. Differences in the formation process of tufa and speleothems are discussed in the context of their isotopic composition (14C, 13C and 18O), as well as the chemistry of surface water (rivers, lakes) and drip water (in caves). The physical and chemical parameters monitored in the surface water (tufa precipitation) and drip water (speleothem precipitation) show that more stable conditions accompany speleothem rather than tufa formation. This is particularly obvious in the water temperature variations (2–22°C in surface water and 7–12°C in drip water) and in saturation index variation (3–11 in surface water and 1–6 in drip water). The range of 14C ages recorded by Holocene speleothems (∼12 000 yr) is wider by several thousands years than that of Holocene tufa samples (∼6000 yr). δ13C values for tufa samples range from −12‰ to −6‰ and for speleothem samples from −12‰ to +3‰ reflecting higher soil carbon and/or vegetation impact on the process of tufa than on speleothem formation. The differences in δ18O values of tufa and speleothem samples from different areas reflect different temperature conditions and differing isotopic composition in the water. The study shows that speleothems from the Dinaric Karst can be used as global palaeoclimatic records, whereas tufa records changes in the local palaeoenvironment.
U-series dating is a well-established technique for age determination of Late Quaternary carbonates. Materials of sufficient purity for nominal dating, however, are not as common as materials with mechanically inseparable aluminosilicate detritus. Detritus contaminates the sample with extraneous Th. We propose that correction for contamination is best accomplished with the isochron technique using total sample dissolution (TSD). Experiments were conducted on artificial mixtures of natural detritus and carbonate and on an impure carbonate of known age. Results show that significant and unpredictable transfer of radionuclides occur from the detritus to the leachate in commonly used selective leaching procedures. The effects of correcting via leachate-residue pairs and isochron plots were assessed. Isochrons using TSD gave best results, followed by isochron plots of leachates only.
The age of a sedimentary deposit can be determined by measuring 238U, 234U, 232Th, and 230Th in two or more samples of the deposit, with the requirement that these samples have different U/Th ratios but an identical ratio when deposited. This paper presents the theoretical and experimental aspects of the dating method. The latter involves techniques for securing samples of varied U/ Th ratios from the same deposit, plotting isochrons of the radiochemical data (obtained on totally dissolved samples) for age analysis, and estimating the errors involved. Although applications to impure carbonates and lacustrine evaporite sediments are given as examples in this paper, the method potentially can be generalized for dating a variety of authigenic deposits such as rock varnish, peat, opal, sulfate minerals, and marine phosphorites.
The available data from Central Europe is consistent with the hypothesis that Homo sapiens sapiens evolved initially outside Europe and colonized the different regions of the continent previously occupied by Neanderthals between roughly 50 and 30 kyr BP. Different transitional industries in Central Europe, which show both Middle and Upper Paleolithic features, appear to root in the local Middle Paleolithic assemblages. At present it is uncertain which hominids produced the transitional industries. While organic artifacts, objects of personal ornamentation, and art objects are generally absent in these transitional assemblages, they become abundant in the Aurignacian, which represents the first fully evolved Upper Paleolithic technocomplex spread over larger parts of Europe. Both radiocarbon and TL dates indicate that the Aurignacian was present in Central Europe, including Germany, as early as about 40 kyr ago. This means that coexistence of Neanderthals and anatomically modern hominids endured for a time span of some 10 kyr, since with the appearance of the Aurignacian we first encounter the cultural remains of Homo sapiens sapiens with fully developed artistic and symbolic representations, ornaments, and abundant organic tools, while the last Neanderthals appear to have lived some 30 kyr ago.
Despite intensive study and a number of remarkable discoveries in the last two decades of the 20th century, our understanding of the cultural and biological processes that resulted in the emergence of the Upper Paleolithic and the establishment of modern humans in Interpleniglacial Europe remains far from complete. There is active debate concerning the timing and location of the origins of the Aurignacian, the nature of the origins of Initial Upper Paleolithic industries (whether by autochthonous development or through acculturation by Aurignacian peoples), the timing of the appearance of early modern humans and the disappearance of the Neandertals, and the relationship of archeologically defined cultures to these different types of hominids. Frustrating our attempts to address these latter two questions is a general paucity of taxonomically diagnostic human fossil material from early Upper Paleolithic contexts. We undertake here a review of the human fossil record of Interpleniglacial Europe, and its archeological and chronological context, to clarify to the extent possible the nature of the relationship between hominid groups and the earliest Upper Paleolithic artifact industries, particularly the early Aurignacian. Although substantial difficulties involved in interpreting the fossil, archeological, and geochronological records of this time period prohibit making any definitive statements, a number of observations are suggested by the current data: 1) the Middle Paleolithic of Europe appears to have been made exclusively by Neandertals; 2) Initial Upper Paleolithic industries (with the exception of the Bachokirian) appear to have their roots in the late Middle Paleolithic industries of their respective regions; 3) all of the human fossils yet recovered from Initial Upper Paleolithic (except the Bachokirian) contexts for which any diagnostic morphology is present have their greatest morphological affinities with Neandertals and not early modern humans; 4) modern humans were almost certainly established in Europe by ca. 32 ky BP, with a strong possibility that they were there by ca. 36 ky BP. Claims for an appearance before 36 ky BP cannot be substantiated with currently available evidence; 5) the hypothesis that modern humans are uniquely associated with the Aurignacian cannot yet be refuted. Aurignacian-associated human fossils (including those from the Bachokirian) for which any diagnostic morphology is present have their greatest affinities with early modern Europeans and not Neandertals; and 6) Neandertals and modern humans coexisted in Europe for at least 2,000-4,000 years, and perhaps for 8,000-10,000 years or longer. The overall picture is one of an extended period of cultural contact, involving some degree of genetic exchange, between Neandertals and early modern Europeans.
We have analysed three fossilized trackways of human footprints in a zeolite-rich pyroclastic flow dated to 385,000-325,000 years ago (kyr), discovered along the western margin of the Roccamonfina volcanic complex in southern Italy. We believe that these tracks are the oldest human footprints found so far and that they were made by hominids who had a fully bipedal, free-standing gait, using their hands only to steady themselves on the difficult descent.
Ghet ¸arul de la Vıˆrtop
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- I Viehmann
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Differences in the O of Holocene tufa and speleothems in the Dinaric karst
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Horvatincˇ. Differences in the O of Holocene tufa and speleothems in the Dinaric karst. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 193, 139–157.
The dawn of humans: tracking the first of our kind
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Gore, R., 1997. The dawn of humans: tracking the first of our kind. National Geographic Magazine 192, 92–99.
Karst geomorphology and hydrology
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Prehistoric human footprints in Romanian's caves
- I Viehmann
Viehmann, I., 1987. Prehistoric human footprints in Romanian's caves. Theoretical and Applied Karstology 3, 229–234.
The carpathian mousterian and the transition from middle to upper palaeolitihic in southern Romania Neanderthals and Modern Humans—Discussing the Transition: Central and Eastern Europe from 50
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An early modern human from the
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Trinkaus, E., Moldovan, O., Milota, S., Bıî, A., Sarcina, L., Athreya, S., Bailey, S.E., Rodrigo, R., Gherase, M., Higham, T., Ramsey, C.B., van der Plicht, J., 2003. An early modern human from the Pestera cu Oase, Romania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 100, 11231–11236.
The climate of the last 150,000 years recorded in speleothems: preliminary results from north-western Romania
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Onac, B.P., Lauritzen, S.E., 1996. The climate of the last 150,000 years recorded in speleothems: preliminary results from north-western Romania. Theoretical and Applied Karstology 9, 9–21.
U ages in impure carbonates
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