Early stone technology on Flores and its implications for Homo floresiensis

In the Soa Basin of central Flores, eastern Indonesia, stratified archaeological sites, including Mata Menge, Boa Lesa and Kobatuwa (Fig. 1), contain stone artefacts associated with the fossilized remains of Stegodon florensis, Komodo dragon, rat and various other taxa. These sites have been dated to 840-700 kyr bp (thousand years before present). The authenticity of the Soa Basin artefacts and their provenance have been demonstrated by previous work, but to quell lingering doubts, here we describe the context, attributes and production modes of 507 artefacts excavated at Mata Menge. We also note specific similarities, and apparent technological continuity, between the Mata Menge stone artefacts and those excavated from Late Pleistocene levels at Liang Bua cave, 50 km to the west. The latter artefacts, dated to between 95-74 and 12 kyr ago, are associated with the remains of a dwarfed descendent of S. florensis, Komodo dragon, rat and a small-bodied hominin species, Homo floresiensis, which had a brain size of about 400 cubic centimetres. The Mata Menge evidence negates claims that stone artefacts associated with H. floresiensis are so complex that they must have been made by modern humans (Homo sapiens).     

Uranium series dates from Qesem Cave,Israel, and the end of the Lower Palaeolithic

Israel is part of a geographical 'out of Africa' corridor for human dispersals. An important event in these dispersals was the possible arrival of anatomically modern humans in the Levant during the late Middle Pleistocene. In the Levant the Lower Palaeolithic ends with the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex, characterized by technological developments, including the introduction of technological innovations such as the systematic production of blades and the disappearance of hand-axes. These reflect new human perceptions and capabilities in lithic technology and tool function. Qesem Cave, discovered in 2000, has a rich, well-preserved Acheulo-Yabrudian deposit holding great promise for providing new insights into the period. Here we report the dates of this deposit obtained by uranium isotopic series on associated speleothems and their implications. The results shed light on the temporal range of the Acheulo-Yabrudian and the end of the Lower Palaeolithic, suggesting a long cultural phase between the Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian and the Middle Palaeolithic Mousterian phases, starting before 382 kyr ago and ending at about 200 kyr ago.     

Distribution,ecology, and oxygen and carbon isotope characteristics of modern planktonic foraminifers in the Makarov Basin of the Arctic Ocean

The Arctic region, with magnificent ice cover on the surface of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas, is not only extremely sensitive to but also has strong amplification effects on climate change. Observations during the past decades have documented substantial retreat and thinning of the Arctic sea-ice cover, a process that is accelerating. Its feedback and impact on the global climate has become an important subject of current climate change research. Calcite tests of planktonic foraminifers are major constituents in pelagic sediments, and they provide valuable materials for the reconstruction of past oceanographic conditions. However, research is still sparse in the Arctic sea area because of limited availability of the materials for investigation. Here, we present a study of modern foraminifers from the plankton tow samples taken in the Makarov Basin of the Arctic Ocean during the fourth Arctic expedition of China. We have analyzed ecological information stored in the modern planktonic foraminifers and in their stable isotope signals, and established a relationship between the distribution of the main taxa and the environment. Our main observations are as follows:(1) in the Makarov Basin, the polar species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma(sinistral coiling) dominates the [150 lm planktonic foraminiferal assemblages.(2) The planktonic foraminifers live mainly in the upper halocline at a water depth of 50–100 m and less in the depth interval of 100–200 m.(3) Temperature change in the halocline can affect the absolute abundance of planktonic foraminifers and their distribution in the water column. The warmer halocline is more favorable to the development of planktonic foraminifers.(4) A lighter d18O value(2.11 %) of N. pachyderma(sin.) is recorded in the depth interval of 100–200 m, which is likely related to the isotopically light brines separated out during sea ice freezing. The relatively heavy d18O value(1.68 %–2.68 %, average 2.27 %) in the depth interval of 50–100 m may be influenced by the low salinity water with the relatively heavy d18O value formed during the sea-ice melting in the surface layer.     

Plant microremains provide direct evidence for the functions of stone knives from the Lajia site,northwestern China

A large number of stone knives have been recovered from Neolithic archaeological sites in East Asia. However, direct evidence regarding the functions of the stone knives has been scarce, and hence, their functions have remained controversial. In this study, we recovered and analysed ancient starch grains and phytoliths from residues adhering to stone knives excavated from the Lajia site, Qinghai Province, northwest China, thus providing direct evidence for the functions of the knives. Our anal- yses were based on the following： （1） an assemblage of 278 identifiable starch grains, representing grains from the stems of foxtail millet （Setaria italica） and broomcorn millet （Panicum miliaceum） （65.1% of the total） and the stems of Hordeum and Triticum species （3.6 % of the total）, and （2） an assemblage of 361 identifiable phytoliths, the majority of which were from the stems and leaves of plants such as Panicoideae and related taxa （96 % of the total）. Our study demonstrates that one of the functions of the stone knives was the harvesting crops. In addition, a few starch grains from food legumes and roots （3.4 % of the total） indicate that the stone knives were also likely used to process, peel and cut some foods.     

The effect of DIO additive on performance improvement of polymer solar cells

A series of polymer solar cells （PSCs） based on poly （diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthiophene） （PDPP3T） and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester （PC71BM） as active layer were fabricated to investigate the effect of 1,8- diiodooctane （DIO） on the performance of PSCs. The power conversion efficiency （PCE） of PSCs was increased from 3.77 % to 4.37 % for the cells with DIO additive. The underlying reason may be attributed to that DIO additive could make PC71BM more dispersive in the active layer, forming a better bicontinuous interpenetrating network for excition dissociation and charge carrier transport. There- fore, the short circuit current density （Jsc） and fill factor （FF） was increased from 8.25 to 9.18 mA/cm2 and from 67.2 % to 70.0 % for the PSCs with DIO additive compared with PSCs without DIO additive.     

Investigation of the effects of MoO_3 buffer layer on charge carrier injection and extraction by capacitance–voltage measurement

The effects of MoO3thin buffer layer on charge carrier injection and extraction in inverted configuration ITO/ZnO/MEH-PPV(poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene))/MoO3(0,5 nm)/Ag hybrid solar cells are investigated by capacitance–voltage measurement under dark and light illumination conditions.The efficiency of charge carrier injection and extraction is enhanced by inserting 5 nm MoO3thin layer,resulting in better device performances.Charge carrier transport of the whole device is improved and the interface energy barrier is reduced by inserting 5 nm MoO3thin buffer layer.The device fill factor is increased from 54.1%to 57.5%after modifying 5 nm MoO3.Simulations and experimental results consistently show that in the forward voltage under dark,the device with the 5 nm MoO3thin layer modification generates larger value of capacitance than the device without MoO3layer.While under illumination,the device with the 5 nm MoO3layer generates smaller value of capacitance than the device without the 5 nm MoO3layer in the bias region of reverse and before the peak position of maximum capacitance(VCmax).The underlying mechanism of the MoO3anode buffer layer on device current density–voltage characteristics is discussed.     

The first hominin of Europe

The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2-1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other Atapuerca sites (level TD6 from Gran Dolina), also suggests that a speciation event occurred in this extreme area of the Eurasian continent during the Early Pleistocene, initiating the hominin lineage represented by the TE9 and TD6 hominins.     

Use-wear evidence confirms the earliest hafted chipped-stone adzes of Upper Palaeolithic in northern China

Chipped-stone adze-shaped objects (ASOs) were identified from a few Upper Palaeolithic sites in northern China. Its morpho- logical form resembles to ground-stone type-specific adze, but the function of the ASO has never been assessed. The objective of this study is to investigate the use function of this particular tool type recovered from the Hutouliang site in the Nihewan Basin of northern China. In this study, the lithic use-wear analysis is applied to examining microscopically edge-damages and sur- fac...     

Zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic study of Neoproterozoic granitic gneisses from the Alatage area,Xinjiang:constraints on the Precambrian crustal evolution in the Central Tianshan Block

The architecture and growth history of Precambrian crustal basements in the Central Tianshan Block play a key role in understanding the tectonic evolution of the Chinese Tianshan Orogenic Belt.In this study,we present precise LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb dating and LAMC-ICPMS zircon Hf isotopic data for two granitic gneisses from Alatage area in the Central Tianshan Block.The magmatic zircons from both samples yield similar protolith ages of 945±6 and 942±6 Ma,indicating that the early Neoproterozoic magmatism is prevailed in the Alatage area.These zircons have crustal Hf model ages of1.82–2.22 and 1.70–2.03 Ga,respectively,which are significantly older than their crystallization ages.It indicates that their parental magmas were derived from the reworking of ancient crust.However,we suggest that these Paleoproterozoic Hf model ages might result from mixing of continental materials with different ages in the Neoproterozoic crust.The inherited(detrital)zircon cores not only yield a wide age range of ca.989–1617 Ma,but also exhibit large Hf-isotope variations with Hf model ages of1.54–2.30 Ga.In particular,some 1.4–1.6 Ga zircons show high initial176Hf/177Hf ratios,consistent with those of depleted mantle,which indicates that the Mesoproterozoic event involved both reworking of older crust and generation of juvenile crust.The Central Tianshan Block has different Precambrian crustal growth history from the Tarim Craton.Therefore,it would not be a fragment of the Precambrian basement of the Tarim Craton.     

Analysis of the dominant frequency in a subsonic compressor stator at near stall condition

IDDES method was applied to investigate the highly unsteady flow in a subsonic compressor stator with very large hub clearance and high incidence angle. The blade loading variation frequency was found close to the rotating instability （RI） frequency fRI ＇~ 333 Hz observed in the experiment. Detailed analysis of the flow physics shows that the loading variation is caused by the periodic swing of the large scale separated flow on the blade suction side surface. The breakdown of the leakage vortex has no significant dominant frequencies, thus cannot be the cause of RI in this compressor stator as normally believed. Fur- thermore, the vortex shedding and vortex breakdown due to shear layer instability at the outer edge of the blade suction surface separation region excite high frequency unsteadi- ness that can form the sources of noise.     

Optical dating of the Jingshuiwan Paleolithic site of Three Gorges, China

The Three Gorges region is located in the transi- tional zone between the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, known as an important area for studying human origins and cultural developments in China. In the mid 1990s, a large scale Paleolithic …     

Recent discovery of handaxes associated with tektites in the Nanbanshan locality of the Damei site,Bose basin,Guangxi, South China

This paper reports the recent discovery of 176 stone artifacts, including two handaxes （bifacial large cutting tools）, which are preserved in the laterized sediments of terrace 4 of the Youjiang River at the Nanbanshan locality of the Damei site in the Bose basin, south China. Their characteristics are similar to Paleolithic stone artifacts discovered from other sites in this basin. The handaxes, picks and other stone artifacts are associated with 155 tektite pieces found in the same horizontal layer. These fresh, unabraded and sharp-edged tektites were buried immediately after the airfall event. This provides fur-ther evidence that the Bose stone artifacts and the tektites were deposited simultaneously around 0.8 Ma. More stone artifacts were also unearthed above the tektite layer, indicating that early humans in the area survived the event.     

Investigating different bio-responses of the upper ocean to Typhoon Haitang using Argo and satellite data

The responses of the upper ocean to Typhoon Haitang in July 2005 are investigated using Argo float and multiplatform satellite data. The results show decreasing sea surface temperature （SST）, a deepening of the mixed layer depth （MLD）, and enhanced Chloro- phyll-a （Chl-a） concentration. Two extreme cool regions are identified. While the magnitude of SST cooling in the two regions is similar, the biological response （Chl- a enhancement） differs. To facilitate comparisons, the region to the northeast of Taiwan is defined as region A and the region east of Taiwan as region B. Ekman pumping and the intrusion of the Kuroshio play an important role in the enhancement of Chl-a in region A. Cold eddies provide the material source for the forma- tion of the cold center in region B, where mixing is dominant. Because of the relatively high translation speed （5 m/s） in region B, Ekman pumping has little influence on the cooling and Chl-a enhancement pro- cesses. Moreover, the MLD is shallower than the nutri- cline, which means that mixing does not result in a marked increase in nutrients in the euphotic layer （where the nutrient concentration is uniformly depleted）. Sea temperatures, in contrast, gradually decrease with depth below the bottom of the mixed layer. In contrast toregion A, region B showed no significant enhancement of Chl-a but strong SST cooling.     

Progress in the stratigraphy and geochronology of the Shuidonggou site, Ningxia, North China

In the past years we carried out further stratigraphy division in field and it is found that rich stone artifacts can be found in fluvial-shallow lake-alluvial sediments on the terrace Ⅱ of Biangou River, inShuidonggou site, Ningxia and they are SDG1, 2 and 7. More luminescence and AMS ^14C dating in laboratory show that Paleolithic culture develops during the Upper Paleolithic period with ages of 35--20 ka. The Paleolithic culture of SDG 1 is a little earlier than that of SDG 2 similar to SDG 7. The sandy sediments on terrace Ⅱ of Biangou River deposits in the past 72--18 ka, corresponding to Last Glacial. SDG2 has a stable sedimentary environment, resulting in the continuous stratigraphy, thickest deposits and rich environment and culture information, which can be regarded as the important and classic paleoanthropological section of Late Pleistocene in this region.     

Facile and environment friendly synthesis of hierarchical BiOCl flowery microspheres with remarkable photocatalytic properties

A facile and environment friendly approach to synthesis of unique hierarchical BiOC1 flowery micro- spheres （FMs） using a biodegradable surfactant polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） was reported herein for the first time. Com- pared to the BiOC1 nanosheets synthesized in the absence of PVA, hierarchical BLOC1 FMs consist of large amounts of interwoven polycrystalline nanosheets that assemble into a porous flowery structure. The formation mechanism of the hierarchical BiOC1 FMs was also proposed, whereby PVA was believed to play a key role in the crystal growth and the formation of the final microstructures. Compared with TiO2- P25 and BiOC1 nanosheets, hierarchical BiOC1 FMs dis- played remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity, and 20 mg of BiOC1 FMs could completely degrade 50 mL of methyl orange solution （20 rag/L） within 30 min under UV- light irradiation. According to the comprehensive analysis, it can be concluded that the larger specific surface area, porosity, suitable band gap, and the enhanced light absorp- tion capacity may contribute to the remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity. This facile and green approach to fabricating hierarchical BiOC1 FMs would give vital clues to develop new route for synthesizing other hierarchical structured materials.     

Derivation of P–T paths for Middle–Late Triassic very low-grade metapelite from Hongcan Well 1 in the Zoigê Depression and their tectonic implications

Using XRD measurements of illite crystallinity,b0values of K-rich white micas and chemical compositions of chlorites combined with homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in calcite,the metamorphic P–T conditions of very low-grade metapelites from different depths in the 7 km Hongcan Well 1 in the Zoige?Depression,Sichuan,China,have been obtained in this paper.Knowledge of the tectonic evolution of the studied basin allows us to derive geothermal curves for Middle and Late Triassic time(the geothermal peak)and the present day(from thermal logging of the borehole).The retrograde P–T tracks from clockwise P–T–t loops have been revealed by the plotting of individual samples on each geotherm,which can be interpreted by the lithospheric thickening due to sedimentation and folding followed by continuous uplift and erosion.A stratigraphic log indicates that the Well penetrates the steep limb of a fold which perturbed the peak geotherm and caused some P–T paths to cross.     

Earliest presence of humans in northeast Asia

The timing of the earliest habitation and oldest stone technologies in different regions of the world remains a contentious topic in the study of human evolution. Here we contribute to this debate with detailed magnetostratigraphic results on two exposed parallel sections of lacustrine sediments at Xiaochangliang in the Nihewan Basin, north China; these results place stringent controls on the age of Palaeolithic stone artifacts that were originally reported over two decades ago. Our palaeomagnetic findings indicate that the artifact layer resides in a reverse polarity magnetozone bounded by the Olduvai and Jaramillo subchrons. Coupled with an estimated rate of sedimentation, these findings constrain the layer's age to roughly 1.36 million years ago. This result represents the age of the oldest known stone assemblage comprising recognizable types of Palaeolithic tool in east Asia, and the earliest definite occupation in this region as far north as 40 degrees N.     

Use-wear analysis confirms the use of Palaeolithic bone tools by the Lingjing Xuchang early human

During 2007–2008 excavations at the Lingjing site near Xuchang, Henan Province, dated back to around 100–80 ka ago, a large quantity of mammalian fossil remains were recovered along with a remarkable cluster of Early Modern Human (EMH) skull fragments in situ. Observably some of those animal bones were probably modified into tools. A use-wear analysis was carried out to examine the functions of modified bone tools. The results suggest that Lingjing bone tools were used for drilling, penetrating, and scraping animal substances, and that some might have been hafted during the use. This study confirms that early existence of intentionally-modified bone tools at human occupations of the early Late Pleistocene in northern China. This discovery suggests making and use of bone tools were inevitably a part of early human behaviors and cultural development, as such of stone tools.     

Thermoluminescence dating of the late Neanderthal remains from Saint-Césaire

Anatomically modern humans have long been thought to have been responsible for the Aurignacian and Chatelperronian industries of the early Upper Palaeolithic of Western Europe, whereas the Middle Palaeolithic Mousterian industry has been attributed to Neanderthals. The presence of both Middle and Upper Palaeolithic strata at Saint-Césaire in France offers an excellent opportunity for studying the cultural transition between the two. Saint-Césaire is the only Chatelperronian site that has yielded really diagnostic hominid fossils, and the discovery there of Neanderthal remains alongside Chatelperronian tools cast doubt on the exclusive association between industries and taxon. We report thermoluminescence dates for 20 burnt flints from the site. Those found near the Neanderthal remains were dated at 36,300 +/- 2,700 years BP (before present), making this specimen the youngest Neanderthal dated so far. This date places the stratum close in age to several French but much younger than some Spanish Aurignacian sites believed to have been occupied by modern humans. The possibility of contact between the West European Neanderthals and the intrusive modern humans who replaced them cannot therefore be excluded.