Quaternary International最新文献

The large lithic assemblage of Gombore I, level B (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia) and the early Acheulean technology in East Africa

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-18 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109685

Eduardo Méndez-Quintas , Andrea Serodio Domínguez , Margherita Mussi

The emergence of the Acheulean is a central topic in human evolution research. Current data suggest that this process began around 2.0 million years ago in the upper Awash River basin, specifically on the Ethiopian plateau, in the region of Melka Kunture. There are so far few known sites of the early stages of development of this technocomplex, most of which are restricted to East Africa. Although some of the major milestones in Acheulean stone tool innovations are reasonably well understood, detailed information on the technological characteristics of these early assemblages remains sparse. Most of the evidence is surface materials collected in small numbers. The site of Gombore I Level B (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia) is one of the few Early Acheulean sites that has been extensively excavated and retains a substantial collection of stone tools. Analysis of the record reveals that they retain many features typical of the Oldowan technology, such as the extensive use of core-and-flake methods. However, they also exhibit decisive innovations that extend beyond the production of large flakes or the shaping of handaxes. Among these are the spatial segmentation of operational sequences, the increased complexity in the selection of raw materials and the retouching of tools, as well as the emergence of complex flake production systems, such as the Kombewa and Prepared Core Technology.

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引用次数: 0

Isotopic insights into mammalian diets and local vegetation cover during the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Garba IV and Gombore I (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia)

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-18 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109707

Giuseppe Briatico

The archaeological assemblage of Melka Kunture (MK) demonstrates that the Ethiopian Highlands in eastern Africa, along with its high-elevation paleoenvironment, is pivotal for understanding early hominins’ behavior and technological advances. Two localities within the MK site-complex, namely Garba IV and Gombore I, yielded Oldowan lithic tools at ∼2 million years ago (Ma) and the earliest known Acheulian artifacts at 1.95 Ma, associated with Homo erectus remains, as well as evidence of paleofauna and paleoflora. Previous palynological studies suggest that, when H. erectus first produced Oldowan and later Acheulean artifacts, the vegetation consisted of the Dry evergreen Afromontane Forest and Grassland Complex (DAF) type, with changes in the proportions of open and wooded environments over time. However, previous isotopic analysis indicated that the changes in vegetation composition did not influence animal feeding behavior, with C₄-dominated and mixed C₃-C₄ diets and their habitat partitioning. In order to further refine the ecological reconstruction of the Oldowan and Acheulean contexts in the Ethiopian Highlands, this paper presents an intra-site isotopic analysis of the archaeological levels at Garba IV and Gombore I. Isotopic data indicate no statistically significant differences between the Oldowan and Acheulean contexts; overall, the combination of pollen, faunal and isotopic evidence suggests local ecological stability associated with a mosaic montane vegetation containing both C₃ and C₄ grasses. This study demonstrates that the information collected so far does not support any purported link between technological and major ecological changes, at least in the case of MK in the Ethiopian Highlands.

Melka Kunture（MK）的考古组合表明，非洲东部的埃塞俄比亚高地及其高海拔古环境对于了解早期人类的行为和技术进步至关重要。MK 遗址群中的两个地点，即 Garba IV 和 Gombore I，出土了距今 200 万年前的奥多文石器和距今 1.95 万年前的已知最早的阿丘利亚人工制品，这些人工制品与直立人遗骸以及古动物和古植物的证据有关。以前的古生物学研究表明，当直立人首次制造出奥尔多文和后来的阿切乌勒文人工制品时，植被由干常绿非洲森林和草地复合类型（DAF）组成，随着时间的推移，开阔环境和林地环境的比例发生了变化。然而，之前的同位素分析表明，植被组成的变化并不影响动物的取食行为，动物的食物以 C4 为主，C3-C4 混合为主，它们的栖息地分区也是如此。为了进一步完善埃塞俄比亚高原奥多万和阿切乌来时期的生态重建，本文对加尔巴四期和贡博雷一期的考古层位进行了遗址内同位素分析。同位素数据表明，奥多万和阿切乌来时期在统计学上没有显著差异；总体而言，花粉、动物群和同位素证据的结合表明，当地的生态稳定与包含 C3 和 C4 草的马赛克山地植被有关。这项研究表明，迄今为止收集到的信息并不支持任何所谓的技术与重大生态变化之间的联系，至少就埃塞俄比亚高原的 MK 而言是如此。

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引用次数: 0

Wood utilization and paleo-vegetation revealed by wooden remains excavated from ancient Dahe City site (AD 618–907) in Barkol, Xinjiang, northwest China

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-07 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109684

Ruohan Wang , Guilin Zhang , Yongqiang Wang , Biao Pan , Guolei Dun , Youcheng Xu , Hongen Jiang

The Dahe City, dating back to Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907), is a vital urban center and military site located in the northern foothill of the East Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China. In present study, by scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of microscopic features, desiccated wood and charred wood samples recovered from diverse archaeological contexts (crossbars, house sites, doorways and ash piles) of the site were determined as Picea sp. (52.82%), Salix sp. (27.63%), Larix sp. (13.91%), Sorbus sp. (5.45%), and Abies sp. (0.19%). All these tree species were used as fuelwood, while only the wood of Picea was preferably used as construction timber because of its superior property. According to growth habits and distributional characteristics of each genus, wood of Salix should be collected from the local Barkol Basin, and wood of Picea, Larix, Abies, and Sorbus were collected from the distant Barkol and Moqinwula Mountains, which implied that the scope of wood material selection was largely expanded due to usage requirement. In addition, the discovery of Sorbus proved that fruits were collected/planted as an important food supplement in daily life. Compared with modern vegetation, there was no significant change of primary forest composition in high-altitude mountains. This study would provide an important reference for exploring survival strategy and subsistence environment of ancestors living in the core area of the Silk Road during Tang Dynasty.

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引用次数: 0

The volcanic rock spheres of Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia) at Gombore IB and later Acheulean sites

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-06 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109681

Margherita Mussi

Rock spheres have been discovered at several prehistoric sites of Melka Kunture in the volcanic surroundings of the Upper Awash in the Ethiopian highlands. The paper describes those found at eight Acheulean sites spanning more than one million years, from Gombore IB (1.7 Ma or earlier) to Garba I (0.6 Ma), providing detailed metrical information. Contrarily to those from other Pleistocene localities, the spheres of Melka Kunture are not the endproduct or byproduct of anthropic activity, but rather carefully selected natural shapes of volcanic origin, i.e. lavas and accretionary lapilli. The spherical rocks and lapilli were picked by Homo erectus and later by Homo heidelbergensis from outcrops or secondary deposits which varied through time. Likely battered marks and abraded surface planes could be result of percussion activities.

引用次数: 0

Late glacial and Holocene vegetation history and climate oscillations – Preliminary pollen data from lake Boczne, NE Poland

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-05 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109682

Magdalena Fiłoc , Edyta Żuk-Kempa , Mirosława Kupryjanowicz

This study was based on pollen data collected at Lake Boczne, NE Poland, and radiocarbon dating. Vegetation changes at the end of the last glacial period (Late Weichselian, Late Vistulian) and the during Holocene were documented. Due to specific location in a climate temperate transitional, this region is an interesting area for palaeoecological study. Therefore, the aim of the article was to indicate stadial-interstadial changes, short-term climatic fluctuations and the impact of human activity, which will allow for more detailed analyses of selected sections in the near future.

The Late Glacial record suggests the presence of sedimentary gaps and contamination of sediments that make interpretations of this period difficult. During the Early and Middle Holocene, the reconstructed changes in plant communities and pollen production indicate the presence of six potential short-lasting negative climate events, including the Early and Late Peboreal Oscillations, the 9.3 ka event rarely identified in records, and the most often described 8.2 ka event. The pollen record and radiocarbon dates indicate a hiatus lasting around 2200 years at the Middle/Late Holocene transition (between ca. 5000 and 3000 cal yr PB), which may have been caused by 2.8 ka global cooling or by human activity. After this gap, the Late Holocene record of vegetation changes illustrates human activity dynamic starting from the Roman Period. Our study is important because it is extremely rare to document vegetation changes for several intra-Holocene climatic oscillations in one profile, and studies at sensitive site allow the assessment of vegetation responses to different-scale climatic anomalies.

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引用次数: 0

Mobility and subsistence change as synchronous adaptation during Holocene climate amelioration: Integrated evidence from the early Holocene Xinglong occupation, southeastern Mongolian Plateau (China)

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-05 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109687

Yumeng Qu

In the southeastern Mongolian Plateau, climate records show drastic changes during the early Holocene and ecological environment underwent extensive amelioration. Meanwhile, a marked decline in residential mobility and an increase in occupational intensity suggest that hunter-gatherers in this region underwent important shifts in their subsistence strategies. This paper examines climate variability and environmental changes during the early Holocene (8.7–7.1 cal ka BP) and their impact on subsistence strategies at the Xinglong site by integrating archaeological, paleoenvironmental, macrobotanical, and faunal assemblage data. These chronologies indicate synchronous changes in climate amelioration, reduced mobility, a notable rise in the consumption of large ungulates, and a modest increase in millet cultivation. These multiple lines of evidence indicate that the warmer and wetter climate facilitated widespread forest expansion, leading to the formation of biomass-rich ecotones in the southeastern Mongolian Plateau. The forest-steppe environment enhanced the distribution and abundance of ungulates and caused resource amelioration likely enabled hunter-gatherers to decrease their residential mobility and concentrate on a narrower foraging spectrum. Millet cultivation was developing and was likely the concomitant of more settled lifeways, but millet starch could have been exploited at a very low level and contributed only minimally to the local economy.

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引用次数: 0

Treeline history in Northwestern Chukotka during the Last Interglacial and Holocene

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109666

Sergey Vartanyan , Gleb Danilov , Dmtiry Gromyko , Fedor Maksimov , Alexei Oskolski , Diana Solovyeva , Valeriya Tsigankova

The fluctuations of the forest/tundra boundary are among the most significant indicators of climate change in the Arctic. The most reliable information regarding the historical position of this boundary is obtained through spatial-temporal analysis of wood remains collected from permafrost deposits. We conducted extensive research in the tundra zone of northwestern Chukotka, aiming to establish a comprehensive collection of fossil wood samples; to identify these samples to the genus/species levels; and to date samples through radiocarbon dating (over 60 dates) and uranium-thorium methods.

Our findings demonstrate that trees extended into the present tundra zone in the Rauchua-Chaun Lowland at least twice during the Last Interglacial and the Holocene. During the Last Interglacial (MIS-5), larch forests (taiga) interspersed with birch were prevalent in what is now tundra. In the early Holocene (11,000–8700 cal BP), riparian forests featuring willow, сhosenia, and poplar, along with tree birch, thrived in river valleys.

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引用次数: 0

Spatial variability of Holocene sediments in light studies of cores from the Arkona Basin, south-western Baltic Sea

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.109648

Robert Kostecki , Beata Janczak-Kostecka , Michael Endler

Presented studies performed on two gravity cores with acoustic profiles, new radiocarbon dates from macrofossils, and results from previous studies, have outlined the spatial variability of Arkona Basin sediments. Analyses of diatoms, grain size, and geochemistry revealed characteristics of the depositional environment developed during the Ancylus and Littorina stages. New geochemical data, along with previous results from western Arkona Basin using the PCA method, revealed division sediments across three groups, explained by terrigenous silica, organic matter, and calcium content factors. The grain size distribution together with geochemical parameters confirmed the existence of the erosional brackish-water basement, visible in the acoustic profiles as the distinct reflector R3. Reflector R3 is located at the boundary between Ancylus Lake and Littorina Sea sediments and stands base of the initial Littorina Sea. Comparing grain size characteristics of the sediments deposited during the Littorina Sea stage revealed spatial diversity of the depositional environment in the Arkona Basin. The western cores located close to Darss Sill during the onset of the Littorina stage confirmed a calm depositional environment, while in the northern part of the basin, dynamic activity of bottom currents was observed. During the second phase of the Littorina stage, dated around 6 - 5 ka cal. BP, there was an intensification of sediment transport and deposition processes, accompanied by the appearance of marine diatom forms in the western cores. Simultaneously, relatively calm depositional conditions existed in the northern and central parts of the basin.

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引用次数: 0

Solar forcing as driver for late Holocene rainfall intensity in the Peruvian Andes

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.109647

Karsten Schittek , Jan Wowrek , Nicolas Käuffer , Markus Reindel , Bertil Mächtle

This study presents a high-resolution palaeoclimate record from sediment cores collected from the siltation area of Laguna Comercocha (LC) in southern Peru, spanning the last 1070 cal years. The primary objective was to investigate climatic variations and environmental changes before, during and after the Little Ice Age (LIA) in the central Andes, with particular emphasis on precipitation patterns and their relation to solar forcing. The extracted core provided a continuous sedimentary archive, offering insights into climate variability on sub-centennial to inter-decadal timescales. The methodology included analysing the sediment cores using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to measure the concentrations of allogenic elements such as titanium (Ti), silicon (Si), potassium (K), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca). Ti/coh ratios served as proxy for effective rainfall and runoff from the local catchment. In addition, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) were identified and quantified to reconstruct past vegetation and climatic conditions. The study revealed that lithogenic input to the LC increased significantly after 1150 cal yr AD, likely due to increased precipitation. In particular, periods of increased lithogenic input were identified during the LIA, corresponding to solar minima and pointing to solar forcing as a major driver of precipitation changes in the central Andes.

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引用次数: 0

Indian monsoon variability during the past 600 years

IF 1.9 3区地球科学 Q3 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Quaternary International

Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.11.001

Arun Kaushik , Anil K. Gupta , Steven C. Clemens , Pankaj Kumar , Prasanta Sanyal , Manoj Kumar Jaiswal , Abhayanand S. Maurya , Sreya Sengupta

The Siwalik hills, part of the Himalayan foreland basin, receive precipitation mainly during the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) season and are an important factor for monsoon variability in northern India. To understand monsoon strength during the past six centuries, we analyzed proxy record from the Sherla lake which is a closed lake located in the northern state of Haryana, India. Chronology of the sediment is based on five radiocarbon AMS ¹⁴C dates, encompassing the last ∼600 years. Among proxies, we have analyzed stable isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O_carb, δ¹³C_carb, δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C_OM) in bulk sediment samples (carbonate and organic) along with grain size distribution (GSD) and geochemical parameters (CaO%, Rb/Sr and Si/Ca ratios). The Sherla lake data reveal significant changes since the Little Ice Age (LIA) (∼1360-1750 CE) to the Current Warm Period (∼1850 CE to the Present). From ∼1360 to ∼1500 CE (early phase of the LIA), the proxy data indicate more evaporative and less humid conditions along with low energy conditions corroborated by limited catchment weathering in the study area which suggests a weak ISM with mixed C₃- and C₄-type vegetation. From ∼1600 to ∼1780 CE (later phase of the LIA), multi-proxy parameters suggest that precipitation was more stable with high energy conditions along with enhanced catchment weathering and increasing trend of C₃-type vegetation, reflecting moist and wet conditions during this time slice. Spectral analysis of different proxies suggests prominent influence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and solar forcing on Indian monsoon. Increased precipitation over the Himalayan foothills may have resulted from more break events in the core monsoon zone in India during periods of increased ENSO activity. During the later phase of the LIA, the study area received significant moisture during winter months as the winter precipitation over the Himalayan foothill region is largely controlled by the changes in the intensity of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index.

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引用次数: 0