A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia

Currently, it is widely accepted that only one hominin genus, Homo, was present in Pleistocene Asia, represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Both species are characterized by greater brain size, increased body height and smaller teeth relative to Pliocene Australopithecus in Africa. Here we report the discovery, from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia, of an adult hominin with stature and endocranial volume approximating 1 m and 380 cm3, respectively--equal to the smallest-known australopithecines. The combination of primitive and derived features assigns this hominin to a new species, Homo floresiensis. The most likely explanation for its existence on Flores is long-term isolation, with subsequent endemic dwarfing, of an ancestral H. erectus population. Importantly, H. floresiensis shows that the genus Homo is morphologically more varied and flexible in its adaptive responses than previously thought.     

Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia

Homo floresiensis was recovered from Late Pleistocene deposits on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, but has the stature, limb proportions and endocranial volume of African Pliocene Australopithecus. The holotype of the species (LB1), excavated in 2003 from Liang Bua, consisted of a partial skeleton minus the arms. Here we describe additional H. floresiensis remains excavated from the cave in 2004. These include arm bones belonging to the holotype skeleton, a second adult mandible, and postcranial material from other individuals. We can now reconstruct the body proportions of H. floresiensis with some certainty. The finds further demonstrate that LB1 is not just an aberrant or pathological individual, but is representative of a long-term population that was present during the interval 95-74 to 12 thousand years ago. The excavation also yielded more evidence for the depositional history of the cave and for the behavioural capabilities of H. floresiensis, including the butchery of Stegodon and use of fire.     

New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages

Most interpretations of early hominin phylogeny recognize a single early to middle Pliocene ancestral lineage, best represented by Australopithecus afarensis, which gave rise to a radiation of taxa in the late Pliocene. Here we report on new fossils discovered west of Lake Turkana, Kenya, which differ markedly from those of contemporary A. afarensis, indicating that hominin taxonomic diversity extended back, well into the middle Pliocene. A 3.5 Myr-old cranium, showing a unique combination of derived facial and primitive neurocranial features, is assigned to a new genus of hominin. These findings point to an early diet-driven adaptive radiation, provide new insight on the association of hominin craniodental features, and have implications for our understanding of Plio-Pleistocene hominin phylogeny.     

A new hominin foot from Ethiopia shows multiple Pliocene bipedal adaptations

A newly discovered partial hominin foot skeleton from eastern Africa indicates the presence of more than one hominin locomotor adaptation at the beginning of the Late Pliocene epoch. Here we show that new pedal elements, dated to about 3.4 million years ago, belong to a species that does not match the contemporaneous Australopithecus afarensis in its morphology and inferred locomotor adaptations, but instead are more similar to the earlier Ardipithecus ramidus in possessing an opposable great toe. This not only indicates the presence of more than one hominin species at the beginning of the Late Pliocene of eastern Africa, but also indicates the persistence of a species with Ar. ramidus-like locomotor adaptation into the Late Pliocene.     

Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia

Using DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, we have sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin to about 1.9-fold coverage. This individual is from a group that shares a common origin with Neanderthals. This population was not involved in the putative gene flow from Neanderthals into Eurasians; however, the data suggest that it contributed 4-6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians. We designate this hominin population 'Denisovans' and suggest that it may have been widespread in Asia during the Late Pleistocene epoch. A tooth found in Denisova Cave carries a mitochondrial genome highly similar to that of the finger bone. This tooth shares no derived morphological features with Neanderthals or modern humans, further indicating that Denisovans have an evolutionary history distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.     

Two new carnivores from an unusual late Tertiary forest biota in eastern North America

Late Cenozoic terrestrial fossil records of North America are biased by a predominance of mid-latitude deposits, mostly in the western half of the continent. Consequently, the biological history of eastern North America, including the eastern deciduous forest, remains largely hidden. Unfortunately, vertebrate fossil sites from this vast region are rare, and few pertain to the critically important late Tertiary period, during which intensified global climatic changes took place. Moreover, strong phylogenetic affinities between the flora of eastern North America and eastern Asia clearly demonstrate formerly contiguous connections, but disparity among shared genera (eastern Asia-eastern North America disjunction) implies significant periods of separation since at least the Miocene epoch. Lacustrine sediments deposited within a former sinkhole in the southern Appalachian Mountains provide a rare example of a late Miocene to early Pliocene terrestrial biota from a forested ecosystem. Here we show that the vertebrate remains contained within this deposit represent a unique combination of North American and Eurasian taxa. A new genus and species of the red (lesser) panda (Pristinailurus bristoli), the earliest and most primitive so far known, was recovered. Also among the fauna are a new species of Eurasian badger (Arctomeles dimolodontus) and the largest concentration of fossil tapirs ever recorded. Cladistical analyses of the two new carnivores strongly suggest immigration events that were earlier than and distinct from previous records, and that the close faunal affinities between eastern North America and eastern Asia in the late Tertiary period are consistent with the contemporaneous botanical record.     

Geological and palaeontological context of a Pliocene juvenile hominin at Dikika, Ethiopia

Since 1999, the Dikika Research Project (DRP; initiated by Z.A.) has conducted surveys and excavations in badlands that expose Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments south of the Awash River in Ethiopia, between surrounding hominin localities at Hadar, Gona and the Middle Awash region. Here we report our geological mapping and stratigraphic measurement of the DRP area, and the context of a remarkably well-preserved skeleton of the earliest known juvenile hominin at the Dikika DIK-1 locality. Our mapping of the DRP area permits a complete definition of the hominin-bearing Hadar Formation and provides a cohesive structural and tectonic framework defining its relationships to adjacent strata. Our findings reveal the basin-scale tectonic, depositional and palaeoenvironmental history of the area, as well as a clear taphonomic and palaeontological context for the juvenile hominin. Such data are crucial for understanding the environmental context of human evolution, and can be integrated into larger-scale tectonic and palaeoenvironmental studies. Our basin-scale approach to palaeoenvironments provides a means to elucidate the complex geological history occurring at the scale of temporally and geographically controlled fossil point localities, which occur within the rich tectonic and depositional history of the Awash Valley.     

Earliest parietal art:hominin hand and foot traces from the middle Pleistocene of Tibet

At Quesang on the Tibetan Plateau we report a series of hand and foot impressions that appear to have been intentionally placed on the surface of a unit of soft...     

Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years

The role of African savannahs in the evolution of early hominins has been debated for nearly a century. Resolution of this issue has been hindered by difficulty in quantifying the fraction of woody cover in the fossil record. Here we show that the fraction of woody cover in tropical ecosystems can be quantified using stable carbon isotopes in soils. Furthermore, we use fossil soils from hominin sites in the Awash and Omo-Turkana basins in eastern Africa to reconstruct the fraction of woody cover since the Late Miocene epoch (about 7 million years ago). (13)C/(12)C ratio data from 1,300 palaeosols at or adjacent to hominin sites dating to at least 6 million years ago show that woody cover was predominantly less than ～40% at most sites. These data point to the prevalence of open environments at the majority of hominin fossil sites in eastern Africa over the past 6 million years.     

Archaeology: formulation of a Roman cosmetic

The discovery of a small tin canister in London during archaeological excavations of a Roman temple precinct, dated to the middle of the second century AD, is a landmark in the study of this class of artefact. Such discoveries from the Roman world are rare and this is the only one to be found so far with its lid and contents--a whitish medicinal or cosmetic cream--providing a unique opportunity for us to study the ancient formulation.     

河南贾湖遗址植硅石组合及其在环境考古和农业考古上的意义

对取自贾湖新石器时代遗址的９块考古样品进行植硅石分析，结合孢粉分析资料，恢复了该遗址的古生态环境，进而解释了为什么栖息于淮河流域的贾湖先民较早开始稻耕农业的生态学原因．     

地理信息系统在考古学中的应用研究

回顾了考古GIS在国内外的研究现状,阐述了考古GIS的主要研究内容;从考古遗址预测模型的发展出发,系统地总结和分析了目前所使用的各种遗址预测模型的理论与方法,并对地理信息系统在考古中的具体应用进行了详细的分析.     

广富林遗址考古新发现及先人生活环境探析

广富林遗址的重新发现，取得了新的成果，首次在良渚文化遗存之上发现了来自豫东地区的王油坊类型文化遗存，为环太湖地区的文化变迁等课题研究提供了新的资料，系统采集了遗址生土层和各文化层的样品，作了孢和分析研究，根据孢粉组合特划，划分了4个孢粉组合带，并对广富林先人的生活环境和文化，农耕等发展作了探讨。     

植物硅酸体分析在农业考古中的应用

植物硅酸体，又称植硅石（ｐｈｙｔｏｌｉｔｈ），是指高等植物细胞中发育的硅质颗粒，易鉴定且较易被保存在考古地层和遗物中。许多栽培植物能够产生具属种一级鉴定特征的植物硅酸体。通过考古土壤等样品的硅酸体分析，能够较好地恢复史前农耕面貌与特点。目前，已有一些栽培植物的硅酸体形态得到了较好的研究，当代考古植物学家也有一些成功的研究范例。植物硅酸体分析，将在农业考古研究中发挥重要的作用。     

The amount of carbon released from peat and forest fires in Indonesia during 1997

Tropical peatlands are one of the largest near-surface reserves of terrestrial organic carbon, and hence their stability has important implications for climate change. In their natural state, lowland tropical peatlands support a luxuriant growth of peat swamp forest overlying peat deposits up to 20 metres thick. Persistent environmental change-in particular, drainage and forest clearing-threatens their stability, and makes them susceptible to fire. This was demonstrated by the occurrence of widespread fires throughout the forested peatlands of Indonesia during the 1997 El Ni?o event. Here, using satellite images of a 2.5 million hectare study area in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, from before and after the 1997 fires, we calculate that 32% (0.79 Mha) of the area had burned, of which peatland accounted for 91.5% (0.73 Mha). Using ground measurements of the burn depth of peat, we estimate that 0.19-0.23 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon were released to the atmosphere through peat combustion, with a further 0.05 Gt released from burning of the overlying vegetation. Extrapolating these estimates to Indonesia as a whole, we estimate that between 0.81 and 2.57 Gt of carbon were released to the atmosphere in 1997 as a result of burning peat and vegetation in Indonesia. This is equivalent to 13-40% of the mean annual global carbon emissions from fossil fuels, and contributed greatly to the largest annual increase in atmospheric CO(2) concentration detected since records began in 1957 (ref. 1).     

中国性别考古学的开篇之作——评《性别研究与中国考古学》

与科学史领域的情况类似,女性主义学术在考古学领域的兴起不过30余年的时间,但却对考古学研究产生了重要影响,中国考古学界虽不乏关于性别问题的探讨,但运用“性别考古学”理论和视角所取得的研究成果却不多见。美国学者林嘉琳和孙岩将一批国外学者关于中国考古学的性别研究论文,集编成《性别研究与中国考古学》一书,成为“当代中国考古学专著中,第一本讨论性别问题的研究专集”。该书按时代顺序分为新石器时代、商代、周代和汉代四部分,分别从墓葬、聚落、文物、文献等方面,探讨了性别差异所反映的社会现象,展现了性别视角应用于中国考古学研究所取得的成功。该书中译本的出版,将进一步引起中国考古学界对性别研究的关注,促进中国性别考古学的发展,同时也为中国科学技术史的研究提供有益参考。     

农业考古学科的形成与发展

1农业考古学的概念农业考古学是通过对考古发掘的遗址、遗迹及出土的农业实物资料和生态环境信息等的研究,来探讨人类社会历史的学科。由于农业考古学和考古学的紧密关系,一般把它作为考古学的分支学科。其主要研究出土的农作物遗存、动物遗骸、农业工具和农田遗迹、灌溉遗迹、村落遗迹,以及遗址地层中反映生态环境状况的花粉、植物蛋白石(植硅石)等等。[1]它与考古学的分支学科环境考古学也有一定的联系。农业考古学与农业历史学的关系密切。农史学是研究农业生产、农业经济及农村社会历史演进及其规律性的学科。我国早期的农史研究侧重于…