A quantitative analysis of Final Palaeolithic/earliest Mesolithic cultural taxonomy and evolution in Europe.

Archaeological systematics, together with spatial and chronological information, are commonly used to infer cultural evolutionary dynamics in the past. For the study of the Palaeolithic, and particularly the European Final Palaeolithic and earliest Mesolithic, proposed changes in material culture are often interpreted as reflecting historical processes, migration, or cultural adaptation to climate change and resource availability. Yet, cultural taxonomic practice is known to be variable across research history and academic traditions, and few large-scale replicable analyses across such traditions have been undertaken. Drawing on recent developments in computational archaeology, we here present a data-driven assessment of the existing Final Palaeolithic/earliest Mesolithic cultural taxonomy in Europe. Our dataset consists of a large expert-sourced compendium of key sites, lithic toolkit composition, blade and bladelet production technology, as well as lithic armatures. The dataset comprises 16 regions and 86 individually named archaeological taxa ('cultures'), covering the period between ca. 15,000 and 11,000 years ago (cal BP). Using these data, we use geometric morphometric and multivariate statistical techniques to explore to what extent the dynamics observed in different lithic data domains (toolkits, technologies, armature shapes) correspond to each other and to the culture-historical relations of taxonomic units implied by traditional naming practice. Our analyses support the widespread conception that some dimensions of material culture became more diverse towards the end of the Pleistocene and the very beginning of the Holocene. At the same time, cultural taxonomic unit coherence and efficacy appear variable, leading us to explore potential biases introduced by regional research traditions, inter-analyst variation, and the role of disjunct macroevolutionary processes. In discussing the implications of these findings for narratives of cultural change and diversification across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, we emphasize the increasing need for cooperative research and systematic archaeological analyses that reach across research traditions.

A pan-European dataset revealing variability in lithic technology, toolkits, and artefact shapes ~15-11 kya.

Comparative macro-archaeological investigations of the human deep past rely on the availability of unified, quality-checked datasets integrating different layers of observation. Information on the durable and ubiquitous record of Paleolithic stone artefacts and technological choices are especially pertinent to this endeavour. We here present a large expert-sourced collaborative dataset for the study of stone tool technology and artefact shape evolution across Europe between ~15.000 and 11.000 years before present. The dataset contains a compendium of key sites from the study period, and data on lithic technology and toolkit composition at the level of the cultural taxa represented by those sites. The dataset further encompasses 2D shapes of selected lithic artefact groups (armatures, endscrapers, and borers/perforators) shared between cultural taxa. These data offer novel possibilities to explore between-regional patterns of material culture change to reveal scale-dependent processes of long-term technological evolution in mobile hunter-gatherer societies at the end of the Pleistocene. Our dataset facilitates state-of-the-art quantitative analyses and showcases the benefits of collaborative data collation and synthesis.

First insights into human mobility in Neolithic Belgium using strontium isotopic analysis and proteomics: A case study of Grotte de La Faucille (Sclayn, province of Namur).

OBJECTIVES: So far, no 87 Sr/86 Sr mobility studies have been done for Neolithic remains from Belgium and information on the Sr isotopic variability in the region is scarce. This study aims to explore mobility in a Final Neolithic population from the funerary cave 'Grotte de La Faucille', contribute to the understanding of the isotopic composition of bioavailable Sr in Belgium, assess evidence for male mobility using proteomic analysis, and explore possible places of origin for nonlocal individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 87 Sr/86 Sr isotope ratio of dental enamel from six adults and six juveniles was determined. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-based protein analysis was employed to identify individuals of male biological sex. 87 Sr/86 Sr of micromammal teeth, snail shells, and modern plants from three geological areas in Belgium were measured to establish isotopic signatures for bioavailable strontium. Nonlocality was assessed by comparing human 87 Sr/86 Sr isotope ratios to the 87 Sr/86 Sr range for bioavailable Sr. RESULTS: Four individuals yielded 87 Sr/86 Sr isotope ratios consistent with a nonlocal origin. No statistical differences were found between adults and juveniles. Three males were detected in the sample set, of which two show nonlocal 87 Sr/86 Sr values. DISCUSSION: This study provides evidence for mobility in Final Neolithic Belgium. The four nonlocal 87 Sr/86 Sr signatures correspond with the 87 Sr/86 Sr of bio-available Sr in Dutch South Limburg, the Black Forest in Southwest Germany, and regions of France, such as parts of the Paris Basin and the Vosges. The results support the ruling hypothesis of connections with Northern France, brought to light by archeological research.

Phosphorus reference conditions in lowland streams: Survey in old forests and anaerobic sediment release.

The reference (pristine) concentrations of total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) in surface waters are difficult to define in lowland regions because of their high population density. Here, we estimated reference conditions of TDP from headwaters and their riverbed sediments (n = 140) in old forests. Surface waters and sediments were collected in the lowland region of Belgium as transects starting in 20 different old forests (before 1775; pristine) to up to 1.5 km outside the forest edge (disturbed). Sediment P concentrations in disturbed samples readily increased with increasing distance from the borders of old forests. The P mobilized from the sediments to the overlying water was also measured in laboratory incubations to mimic P release during seasonal redox cycles. The sediment respiration was larger in disturbed than in the reference sediments. Disturbed sediments released more P during anaerobic than aerobic incubations, while reference sediments did not show such a difference. The mean TDP in the reference surface water samples is 57 µg TDP L-1 [95 % confidence interval 41; 72], very close to the pre-industrial background previously estimated for the Scheldt river. The 90th percentile of the reference water is 137 [110; 180] µg TDP L-1. That P90 is just under the prevailing TP limit of 140 µg P L-1, illustrating that this limit is very close to the upper baseline of reference conditions. The P75, often proposed as the threshold for high ecological status, was 84 [55; 122] µg P L-1. This study showed that soil or sediments in old forests might serve to identify reference conditions. The well-established summer peaks of TDP in lowland rivers are unlikely to occur in pristine areas.

Monte Carlo Simulation Aided Quantitative Laboratory X-ray Fluorescence Analysis and Its Application in Provenancing Studies for Geo-Archeological Samples.

A laboratory-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) methodology is presented for standardless quantified analysis based on a monochromatic X-ray spectrometer coupled to Monte Carlo aided quantification. This procedure will be valuable for many scientific fields (e.g. archaeology, geology, etc.) where the unique nature of the investigated samples calls for the application of non-destructive techniques. To illustrate the value of the methodology, a case study is presented where flint artefacts from the Scheldt basin are analyzed in an attempt to provenance them. So far, little geochemical research has been done in this area. Our results contribute to the creation of a database that will help assign lithic artefacts to specific geological outcrops and will aid further research in this field.

New evidence on the earliest domesticated animals and possible small-scale husbandry in Atlantic NW Europe.

The distribution of the first domesticated animals and crops along the coastal area of Atlantic NW Europe, which triggered the transition from a hunter-gatherer-fisher to a farmer-herder economy, has been debated for many decades among archaeologists. While some advocate a gradual transition in which indigenous hunter-gatherers from the very beginning of the 5th millennium cal BC progressively adopted Neolithic commodities, others are more in favor of a rapid transition near the end of the 5th millennium caused by a further northwest migration of farmers-herders colonizing the lowlands. Here, radiocarbon dated bones from sheep/goat and possibly also cattle are presented which provide the first hard evidence of an early introduction of domesticated animals within a hunter-gatherer context in NW Belgium, situated ca. 80 km north of the agro-pastoral frontier. Based on their isotope signal it is suggested that these first domesticates were probably not merely obtained through exchange with contemporaneous farmers but were kept locally, providing evidence of small-scale local stockbreeding in the lowlands maybe as early as ca. 4800/4600 cal BC. If confirmed by future in-depth isotope analyses, the latter testifies of intense contact and transmission of knowledge in this early contact period, which is also visible in the material culture, such as the lithic and pottery technology. It also implies direct and prolonged involvement of farmer-herders, either through visiting specialists or intermarriage, which follows recent genetic evidence demonstrating much more hunter-gatherer ancestry in early farmer's genes in western Europe compared to central and SE Europe.

Mesolithic projectile variability along the southern North Sea basin (NW Europe): Hunter-gatherer responses to repeated climate change at the beginning of the Holocene.

This paper investigates how former hunter-gatherers living along the southern North Sea coast in NW Europe adapted to long-term and short-term climatic and environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. It is argued that contemporaneous hunter-gatherers repeatedly changed their hunting equipment in response to changing climate and environment, not just for functional reasons but mainly driven by socio-territorial considerations. Based on a Bayesian analysis of 122 critically selected radiocarbon dates a broad chronological correlation is demonstrated between rapid changes in the design and technology of stone projectiles and short but abrupt cooling events, occurring at 10.3, 9.3 and 8.2 ka cal BP. Combined with the rapid sea level rises and increased wildfires these climatic events probably impacted the lifeways of hunter-gatherers in such a way that they increasingly faced resource stress and competition, forcing them to invest in the symbolic defense of their social territories.

The 3-D reconstruction of medieval wetland reclamation through electromagnetic induction survey.

Studies of past human-landscape interactions rely upon the integration of archaeological, biological and geological information within their geographical context. However, detecting the often ephemeral traces of human activities at a landscape scale remains difficult with conventional archaeological field survey. Geophysical methods offer a solution by bridging the gap between point finds and the surrounding landscape, but these surveys often solely target archaeological features. Here we show how simultaneous mapping of multiple physical soil properties with a high resolution multi-receiver electromagnetic induction (EMI) survey permits a reconstruction of the three-dimensional layout and pedological setting of a medieval reclaimed landscape in Flanders (Belgium). Combined with limited and directed excavations, the results offer a unique insight into the way such marginal landscapes were reclaimed and occupied during the Middle Ages. This approach provides a robust foundation for unravelling complex historical landscapes and will enhance our understanding of past human-landscape interactions.