Lutz Kindler

Direct terrestrial–marine correlation demonstrates surprisingly late onset of the last interglacial in central Europe

An interdisciplinary study of a small sedimentary basin at Neumark Nord 2 (NN2), Germany, has yielded a high-resolution record of the palaeomagnetic Blake Event, which we are able to place at the early part of the last interglacial pollen sequence documented from the same section. We use this data to calculate the duration of this stratigraphically important event at 3400 ± 350 yr. More importantly, the Neumark Nord 2 data enables precise terrestrial–marine correlation for the Eemian stage in central Europe. This shows a remarkably large time lag of ca. 5000 yr between the MIS 5e ‘peak’ in the marine record and the start of the last interglacial in this region.

The Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov

Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY) is located in the southern Hula Valley, which, in turn, is located in the northernmost segment of the Dead Sea Rift, part of the Great African Rift System. This region is an integral part of the “Levantine Corridor,” a land bridge connecting Africa and Europe, through which the diffusion and biotic exchange of many organisms took place in prehistoric times. The Hula Valley has preserved data of a phenomenon of great importance in human history: archaeological evidence recording hominin diffusion/migration out of Africa and into Eurasia. The unique sedimentological and hydrological conditions prevailing in the Hula, along with extensive and intensive tectonic activity, resulted in the complex and minimal exposure of Plio-Pleistocene geological formations. One of these, the Benot Ya‘akov Formation, has revealed many unique hominin artifacts, fossil bones, and a multitude of organic remains. Its examination has significantly contributed to our understanding of the paleoecological conditions that prevailed in the region, as well as enabling a comparison between the paleoecological systems of the Early and Middle Pleistocene in Africa and the Levant, areas in which hominins were active already in very early prehistory.

Fires at Neumark-Nord 2, Germany: An analysis of fire proxies from a Last Interglacial Middle Palaeolithic basin site

Few sites with evidence for fire use are known from the Last Interglacial in Europe. Hearth features are rarely preserved, probably as a result of post-depositional processes. The small postglacial basins (<300 m in diameter) that dominate the sedimentary context of the Eemian record in Europe are high-resolution environmental archives often containing charcoal particles. This case study presents the macroscopic charcoal record of the Neumark-Nord 2 basin, Germany, and the correlation of this record with the distinct find levels of the basin margin that also contain thermally altered archaeological material. Increased charcoal quantities are shown to correspond to phases of hominin presence—a pattern that fits best with recurrent anthropogenic fires within the watershed. This research shows the potential of small basin localities in the reconstruction of local fire histories, where clear archaeological features like hearths are missing.

Middle Pleistocene protein sequences from the rhinoceros genus Stephanorhinus and the phylogeny of extant and extinct Middle/Late Pleistocene Rhinocerotidae

Background Ancient protein sequences are increasingly used to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships between extinct and extant mammalian taxa. Here, we apply these recent developments to Middle Pleistocene bone specimens of the rhinoceros genus Stephanorhinus. No biomolecular sequence data is currently available for this genus, leaving phylogenetic hypotheses on its evolutionary relationships to extant and extinct rhinoceroses untested. Furthermore, recent phylogenies based on Rhinocerotidae (partial or complete) mitochondrial DNA sequences differ in the placement of the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). Therefore, studies utilising ancient protein sequences from Middle Pleistocene contexts have the potential to provide further insights into the phylogenetic relationships between extant and extinct species, including Stephanorhinus and Dicerorhinus. Methods ZooMS screening (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry) was performed on several Late and Middle Pleistocene specimens from the genus Stephanorhinus, subsequently followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to obtain ancient protein sequences from a Middle Pleistocene Stephanorhinus specimen. We performed parallel analysis on a Late Pleistocene woolly rhinoceros specimen and extant species of rhinoceroses, resulting in the availability of protein sequence data for five extant species and two extinct genera. Phylogenetic analysis additionally included all extant Perissodactyla genera (Equus, Tapirus), and was conducted using Bayesian (MrBayes) and maximum-likelihood (RAxML) methods. Results Various ancient proteins were identified in both the Middle and Late Pleistocene rhinoceros samples. Protein degradation and proteome complexity are consistent with an endogenous origin of the identified proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of informative proteins resolved the Perissodactyla phylogeny in agreement with previous studies in regards to the placement of the families Equidae, Tapiridae, and Rhinocerotidae. Stephanorhinus is shown to be most closely related to the genera Coelodonta and Dicerorhinus. The protein sequence data further places the Sumatran rhino in a clade together with the genus Rhinoceros, opposed to forming a clade with the black and white rhinoceros species. Discussion The first biomolecular dataset available for Stephanorhinus places this genus together with the extinct genus Coelodonta and the extant genus Dicerorhinus. This is in agreement with morphological studies, although we are unable to resolve the order of divergence between these genera based on the protein sequences available. Our data supports the placement of the genus Dicerorhinus in a clade together with extant Rhinoceros species. Finally, the availability of protein sequence data for both extinct European rhinoceros genera allows future investigations into their geographic distribution and extinction chronologies.

The Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov Volume III

G Benot Ya’aqov (GBY), an open-air, water-logged, Middle Pleistocene locality with excellent preservation and stratigraphy, is one of the world’s most important Lower Paleolithic sites. Goren-Inbar et al. present the GBY’s lithic assemblages in their fourth volume on the site (Volumes 1 [Goren-Inbar et al. 2002], 2 [Alperson-Afil and Goren-Inbar 2010], and 3 [Rabinovich et al. 2012] dealt with the wood assemblage, fire, and mammalian taphonomy, respectively). One cannot help but admire the GBY team’s dedication to full, systematic publication of the excavations and data. The four volumes, when taken together, are a veritable site encyclopedia that, in a perfect world, would be produced for every major archaeological field research project. Chapter 1 introduces the volume, the site, and the site’s modern geography, climate, vegetation, fauna, and geology. Chapter 2 presents a brief history of the area surrounding GBY, and a detailed history of research at the site. This reviewer thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the major players’ work at the site, including that by Dorothy Garrod, Moshe Stekelis, David Gilead, Naama GorenInbar, to name a few. Chapter 3 expands upon GBY’s geography, geology, stratigraphy, and chronology. Here, the use of color images—which are present throughout the volume—is a boon for the reader’s understanding of the site context. Chapter 3 also discusses the lithic raw materials used by hominins at the site, including basalt, flint, and limestone, as well as these toolstones’ provenance, geographical distribution, and weathering. Chapter 4 is the last preparatory chapter, which describes field and laboratory methods used at GBY. This chapter is thorough—even presenting procedures for how stratigraphic cross-sections were drawn! The authors also explain their reasoning for using “3D technology” for illustrating the artifacts. This reviewer is currently less convinced that the time or cost of 3D scanning is worth the trouble unless a question actually requires it. While the 3D scans of artifacts presented throughout the volume do look nice, high-resolution photographs would have also served. Chapter 5, 6, 7, and 8 present the core, so to speak, of the volume, reporting on the context of the lithic assemblages, the flint artifacts, the basalt artifacts, and limestone artifacts. These four chapters present data galore in 271 tables (!), and are almost entirely descriptive, resulting in inductive conclusions typical of excavation and assemblage site reports. Stone tool implements are mostly described as Bordes (1961) types, the use of which has been debated (and rightly criticized) ad nauseam elsewhere (e.g., Bisson 2000; Dunnell 1971). The presentation of the lithic artifacts by each raw material kind was an excellent idea—Chapters 6, 7, and 8 are reflections of each other that allow for easy comparison between toolstones. Indeed, any undergraduate or graduate class on quantitative methods could easily use these chapters’ data in student problem sets. Chapter 9 summarizes the lithic assemblage descriptions and sets forth the central conclusions of the authors. Among these, the principal finding that different lithic raw materials appear to been exploited by different reduction sequences and selected for different tools is quite interesting. And the authors point the way forward—likely towards an experimental approach—when they state “while we are now able to describe the reduction sequences of each of the raw materials and the particulars of their morpho-typo-technological characteristics, we are still far from a comprehensive understanding of the particular reasons for these selections” (page 402). I am not persuaded that the relationship between raw material and reduction sequence or tool type is due to the “different properties of each raw material” (page 402), as this direct relationship has been shown time and again to collapse when tested archaeologically or experimentally (see Eren et al. 2014 and references therein). Add in the ingredient of hominin knapping skill, however, and then I believe we will be getting somewhere. Other conclusions, such as those about knapping conservatism over time or percussor use, are more robustly supported. With respect to volume presentation, beyond the excellent figure and table quality, the book is full of little conveniences. Seven appendices provide additional information and data, and a detailed index helps in the finding of specific details. And the authors and publishers made the book “user-friendly” in multiple ways. As one example, it did not go unnoticed by this reviewer that the same map of excavated areas was presented multiple times throughout the volume (e.g., Figures 3.12, 4.8, 5.10, 5.17), negating the need to flip back and interrupt one’s reading to find the referenced figure. This same repeat presentation was also use for the schematic illustrations of reduction sequences. On balance, Goren-Inbar et al.’s efforts have produced an achievement. And while this volume, along with the previous three, certainly contributes to our understanding of human evolution and Paleolithic archaeology, what most excites this reviewer has yet to be realized. By producing and publishing so much raw data, other researchers can

Evidence for close-range hunting by last interglacial Neanderthals

Animal resources have been part of hominin diets since around 2.5 million years ago, with sharp-edged stone tools facilitating access to carcasses. How exactly hominins acquired animal prey and how hunting strategies varied through time and space is far from clear. The oldest possible hunting weapons known from the archaeological record are 300,000 to 400,000-year-old sharpened wooden staves. These may have been used as throwing and/or close-range thrusting spears, but actual data on how such objects were used are lacking, as unambiguous lesions caused by such weapon-like objects are unknown for most of human prehistory. Here, we report perforations observed on two fallow deer skeletons from Neumark-Nord, Germany, retrieved during excavations of 120,000-year-old lake shore deposits with abundant traces of Neanderthal presence. Detailed studies of the perforations, including micro-computed tomography imaging and ballistic experiments, demonstrate that they resulted from the close-range use of thrusting spears. Such confrontational ways of hunting require close cooperation between participants, and over time may have shaped important aspects of hominin biology and behaviour.Experimental archaeological ballistic modelling suggests that lesions on 120,000-year-old deer skeletons from Neumark-Nord, Germany, were caused by close-range use of thrusting spears on the part of Neanderthals.

Materials and Methodology

Analysis of the animal bones from Area C and the JB entails taxonomic identification followed by morphometric, taphonomic, and surface-modification analyses. Emphasis was also placed on a series of experiments, whose methodology is described below.

Reconstructing Site-Formation Processes at GBY—The Experiments

A set of experiments were initiated to gain qualitative insight into the processes of bone modification and to assess the timing of the biostratonomic chronology at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY). Based on the results of the experiments, models for the internal operational sequence of an abrasional process due to water movement and trampling are presented. These models help to disentangle the taphonomic history at the site and have tremendous implications for future studies in bone taphonomy.

A Reconstruction of the Taphonomic History of GBY

This chapter aims to reconstruct the taphonomic processes that influenced the assemblages of Layers V-5 and V-6, as well as to identify the taphonomic role of particular agents that may have influenced the fossil bones and the stone artifacts deposited in these layers, and considers these results vis-a-vis other data, both from the site and experimental.