Browsing by Department "Archaeol and Palaeoanthropology"

As part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, the Hunter Valley has been subject to decades of archaeological investigations involving many Aboriginal stakeholder groups. This paper critically discusses the EIA process, specifically the Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment (ACHA) process and the Aboriginal consultation requirements (ACHRs) for New South Wales (NSW) drawing on our collective experience of cultural heritage management (CHM) in the Hunter Valley. We examine the definition of 'values' and the identification of heritage within the history of relevant legislation in NSW to critique the ACHA process in the Hunter Valley. We introduce the relevance of the concept 'solastalgia', relating concerns for heritage to effects of 'environmental distress' from the cumulative impacts of mining and its relevance to the ACHA process. CHM legislation and practice is currently under review by the NSW State government, we hope to stimulate constructive dialogue on these issues based on our collective experience.

This paper explores how Iron Age Anatolian communities constructed their identities within the fluid political and economic landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean after the Late Bronze Age collapse. Our study focuses on archaeological survey ceramics from sixteen sites in the Konya-Beyșehir region (KBR), south central Anatolia, a contested zone between the Phrygian and Neo-Assyrian polities. We use a combined stylistic and geochemical analysis to address political/economic interaction within this landscape. Comparing KBR site ceramic decorative styles with those of inland and coastal Anatolian sites allows us to identify local patterns of emulation. We differentiate emulation from actual exchange using geochemical elemental characterization. Together these techniques allow us to evaluate how local communities used emulation and exchange to construct their identities. Our results reveal that Iron Age KBR communities operated within a complex regional exchange sphere, and beyond this showed greatest affinity with Phrygian ceramic styles.

High variability in the dentition of Homo can create uncertainties in the correct identification of isolated teeth. For instance, standard tooth identification criteria cannot determine with absolute certainty if an isolated tooth is a second or third maxillary molar. In this contribution, using occlusal fingerprint analysis, we reassess the identification of Krapina D58 (Homo neanderthalensis), which is catalogued as a third maxillary molar. We have hypothesized that the presence/absence of the distal occlusal wear facets can be used to differentiate second from third maxillary molars. The results obtained confirm our hypothesis, showing a significant difference between second and third maxillary molars. In particular we note the complete absence of Facets 7 and 10 in all third molars included in this analysis. The presence of these facets in Krapina D58 eliminates the possibility that it is a third maxillary molar. Consequently it should be reclassified as a second molar. Although this method is limited by the degree of dental wear (i.e., unworn teeth cannot be analyzed) and to individual molars in full occlusion, it can be used for tooth identification when other common criteria are not sufficient to discriminate between second and third maxillary molars.

Phrygian Gordion was the political center of an influential Iron Age polity that extended across west central Anatolia during the first half of the 1st millennium BC. Though the borders of this polity remain vague a characteristic of the Phrygian 'footprint' is the distribution of highly distinctive ceramics. The extent to which Gordion potters were the originators of these wares remains uncertain. In this paper we use Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to establish the local signature of predominantly Iron Age ceramics for this site by combining samples from several decades of excavation with an extensive regional sediment sequence. We also compare previous NAA work at Gordion to suggest that the formative stages of the Phrygian state appears to have involved a more extensive network of non-local specialist producers than previously thought.

The island of Cyprus was a major producer of copper and stood at the heart of east Mediterranean trade networks during the Late Bronze Age. It may also have been the source of the Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware that has been found in mortuary contexts in Egypt and the Levant, and in Hittite temple assemblages in Anatolia. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) has enabled the source area of this special ceramic to be located in a geologically highly localised and geochemically distinctive area of western Cyprus. This discovery offers a new perspective on the spatial organisation of Cypriot economies in the production and exchange of elite goods around the eastern Mediterranean at this time.

This paper presents the results and interpretations of a pilot study of pigment characterisations conducted between 2002 and 2006 on the rock art assemblage of the south Woronora Plateau located immediately west of Wollongong, New South Wales. Eighteen samples from ten sites are described. Analyses of the geochemistry, mineralogy and micro-morphology of samples was undertaken using a combination of scanning electron microscopy including energy dispersive x-ray analysis, x-ray diffraction, particle induced x-ray emission and particle induced gamma-ray emission techniques. With one exception the analyses show that composite clay-based paints were used to produce both iconic and non-iconic rock art on the Woronora Plateau and adjacent Mittagong Tablelands. We discuss differences in the processing of paints used for iconographic and stencil art, and consider the possible chronological and behavioural implications of paint chemistry and morphology. The results of the study, while indicative, provide an exciting example of the type of archaeometric work which can be undertaken successfully in the taphonomically complex Hawkesbury Sandstone rockshelters of the Sydney Basin.

In this study, elemental characterization is applied to a large sample of stoneware jars and jar fragments from Asian and European wreck assemblages recovered from the China Sea as well as from along the long-distance trade routes of the period. The majority of these assemblages range in date from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. This sample is supplemented with a museum collection of complete jars from Philippine burials and other terrestrial collections in the Southeast Asian region. The resulting compositional groups provide a robust basis for assigning provenance, and seventeen discrete production sources are identified ranging from southern China to Burma. In combination with typological information and chronological organization, these groups provide an alternative means for assessing changes in regional production strategies through the transition to the modern era. This work, while preliminary, provides a new perspective on the social, economic, and political dynamics of this time and region.

Around 88 large vertebrate taxa disappeared from Sahul sometime during the Pleistocene, with the majority of losses (54 taxa) clearly taking place within the last 400,000 years. The largest was the 2.8-ton browsing 'Diprotodon optatum', whereas the 100- to 130-kg marsupial lion, 'Thylacoleo carnifex', the world's most specialized mammalian carnivore, and 'Varanus priscus', the largest lizard known, were formidable predators. Explanations for these extinctions have centered on climatic change or human activities. Here, we review the evidence and arguments for both. Human involvement in the disappearance of some species remains possible but unproven. Mounting evidence points to the loss of most species before the peopling of Sahul (circa 50-45 ka) and a significant role for climate change in the disappearance of the continent's megafauna.

Reconstruction of fractured, distorted, or missing parts in human skeleton presents an equal challenge in the fields of paleoanthropology, bioarcheology, forensics, and medicine. This is particularly important within the disciplines such as orthodontics and surgery, when dealing with mandibular defects due to tumors, developmental abnormalities, or trauma. In such cases, proper restorations of both form (for esthetic purposes) and function (restoration of articulation, occlusion, and mastication) are required. Several digital approaches based on three-dimensional (3D) digital modeling, computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing techniques, and more recently geometric morphometric methods have been used to solve this problem. Nevertheless, comparisons among their outcomes are rarely provided. In this contribution, three methods for hemimandibular body reconstruction have been tested. Two bone defects were virtually simulated in a 3D digital model of a human hemimandible. Accordingly, 3D digital scaffolds were obtained using the mirror copy of the unaffected hemimandible (Method 1), the thin plate spline (TPS) interpolation (Method 2), and the combination between TPS and CAD techniques (Method 3). The mirror copy of the unaffected hemimandible does not provide a suitable solution for bone restoration. The combination between TPS interpolation and CAD techniques (Method 3) produces an almost perfect-fitting 3D digital model that can be used for biocompatible custom-made scaffolds generated by rapid prototyping technologies.

Changes in resource use over time can provide insight into technological choice and the extent of long term stability in cultural practices. In this paper we re-evaluate the evidence for a marked demographic shift at the inception of the Early Iron Age at Troy by applying a robust macro scale analysis of changing ceramic resource use over the Late Bronze and Iron Age. We use a combination of new and legacy analytical datasets (NAA and XRF), from excavated ceramics, to evaluate the potential compositional range of local resources (based on comparisons with sediments from within a 10 km site radius). Results show a clear distinction between sediment-defined local and non-local ceramic compositional groups. Two discrete local ceramic resources have been previously identified and we confirm a third local resource for a major class of EIA handmade wares and cooking pots. This third source appears to derive from a residual resource on the Troy peninsula (rather than adjacent alluvial valleys). The presence of a group of large and heavy pithoi among the non-local groups raises questions about their regional or maritime origin.

Chimpanzees ('Pan troglodytes'), orangutans ('Pongo pygmaeus') and gorillas ('Gorilla gorilla') rely on different food. The dietary diversity is reflected in their dental morphology, with differences in size and shape of teeth. However, while morphology can suggest what a tooth is capable of processing, tooth wear can tell us how a tooth is used. In this study we apply the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis (OFA) method using 3D digital models of teeth, to quantitatively compare wear facet patterns in great apes. Unlike microwear, dental macrowear is a cumulative process that occurs throughout the individual's lifetime and thus reflect long-term diet. The results show significant differences between the three groups analyzed: in Pongo the occlusal surface is characterized by large and flat phase II facets, while in Gorilla there is a minimal development of buccal phase I facets and a steep wear facets inclination. Pan is somehow in between, with large lingual phase I facets and moderately steep wear planes. This macrowear pattern variation can be explained with the use of different food sources. In fact, while orangutans rely on hard food objects more than any other apes, showing thus a larger proportion of crushing wear, gorillas exhibit an increase in shearing wear, which is interpreted as an adaptation to a folivorous diet. Finally, the "intermediate" tooth macrowear found in chimpanzees, mirrors their highly variable diet. The OFA method demonstrates to be a powerful tool for better understanding the relationship between food items, mastication and tooth wear processes in living primates.

Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs) may have lived in close proximity in the Near East region during Middle Paleolithic times. Although functional morphological analyses suggest a marked behavioral contrast between these two human groups, new dental micro- and macro-wear studies, together with new archaeological data, have revealed some similarities in ecology and dietary habits. In this study, we analyze the tooth wear patterns of Neanderthals and AMH from Middle Paleolithic sites of Israel and Northern Iraq, using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis (OFA) method to virtually reconstruct the jaw movements responsible for the creation of the occlusal wear areas. We particularly focus on para-facets, a distinctive type of wear which has been previously described in the dentition of historic and modern hunter-gatherers. The analysis reveals a similarity in para-facet frequency between early Near Eastern Neanderthals and AMH, and a significant difference with other Pleistocene human groups. The absence of antagonist occlusal contacts in the lower teeth and the occlusal compass analysis suggest that para-facet formation is not related to normal mastication but to nonmasticatory activities. Thus, the identification of these nonmasticatory wear areas on the molars of early Near Eastern Neanderthals and AMH may indicate analogous tooth-tool uses for daily task activities. These may have emerged independently or could be interpreted as indirect evidence of cultural interactions between these two groups.

The k 0-method of standardisation for instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) has been used at the OPAL research reactor to determine the elemental composition of three certified reference materials: coal fly ash (SRM 1633b), brick clay (SRM 679) and Montana soil (SRM 2711). Of the 41 certified elements in the three materials, 88 percent were within five percent of the certified values and all determinations were within 15 percent of the certified values. The average difference between the measured and certified values was 0.1 percent, with a standard deviation of 4.1 percent. Since these reference materials are widely used as standards in the analysis of archaeological ceramics by INAA, it has been concluded that the INAA facility in Australia is particularly well-suited for nuclear archaeometry.

This study focuses on the archaeology of the c.1835-1877 Prisoner Barracks constructed at Port Arthur, the domestic quarters for civilian, military and incarcerated occupants spanning almost the entire convict period. Faunal and artefact analyses of the assemblage uncovered at this site were used to provide a more complex understanding of institutional life. The quality of life of the occupants, and how they chose to improve it, is identified through a range of documentary and archaeological sources. It is shown that the barracks complex was a place of domestic life within the confines of an institution. It is evident in the material culture that everyday activities of occupants included the preparation of food, presentation of the home and self, manual tasks such as the production of domestic items, and recreational activities including tobacco smoking and hunting. By assessing indicators of quality of life within an institutional framework, namely the supply of local and imported goods and the material culture of recreation, this work is able to explore potential activities of the occupants that are often hidden from official records. This is examined through a number of scalar units, considering global, local and individual perspectives of the Prisoner Barracks' landscape.

Occlusal movements during chewing produce tooth wear. Surface area and spatial orientation of wear facets are closely related to the direction of jaw movements. Various studies, including the analysis of stable isotopes from bone and teeth, dental microware and faunal remains, have led to hypotheses that Neanderthals were wide-ranging meat eaters while early 'Homo sapiens' were a more opportunistic feeder with a broader dietary spectrum. In this study, wear pattern analysis derived from optical 3-D topometry is used to reconstruct jaw movements of the two species in order to interpret their diet. In Neanderthals buccal and lingual Phase I facets are well developed, whereas Phase II facets are less developed. First molars show a strong facet 5, especially in the upper molars, probably caused by the presence of Carabelli features. In addition, the wear areas show large, marked edges. In contrast early 'Homo sapiens' molars show prominent Phase I and II facets with more rounded wear facet margins. The two species display a clear difference in tooth wear. Early 'Homo sapiens' possess a generalized wear pattern with a well developed Phase II grinding activity that indicates the mastication of many varieties of food, including hard and fibrous materials, whereas Neanderthals appear to have been more specialized with a narrower diet. Supported by EU Marie Curie Training Network MRTN-CT-2005-019564 EVAN.

Existing insights into the history of southeast Asian contacts with northern Australia prior to British colonization in 1788 are limited to Macassan visitors and the trepang industry beginning in the early 18th century and perhaps 16th century. Neither historical nor archaeological evidence indicate extension of such contacts to Torres Strait of northeast Australia. To shed further light on this issue, a collection of 16 Asian ceramic sherds surface collected and excavated recently from the islands of Pulu and Mabuyag in Torres Strait were compared to a large database of Southeast and East Asian stoneware jars that are well characterised, elementally, typologically and chronologically. This comparison matched a number of sherds with two jar types with likely production origins in Thailand and southern China. While the surface collected sherds from Pulu sourced to Thailand date probably to the 19th century, the small glazed sherd from Mabuyag island is typical of a southern Chinese decorated jar type dating to c. 1500-1600 C.E. This Chinese sherd is the earliest known Asian artefact in Australia and parallels recent archaeological evidence on the antiquity of contacts between Macassan trepangers and Aboriginal Australians. It is unknown if the Chinese sherd came ashore to Mabuyag through direct contact with Asian traders or from a nearby shipwreck through salvage.

The issue of reconstructing lost or deformed bone presents an equal challenge in the fields of paleoanthropology, bioarchaeology, forensics, and medicine. Particularly, within the disciplines of orthodontics and surgery, the main goal of reconstruction is to restore or create ex novo the proper form and function. The reconstruction of the mandibular condyle requires restoration of articulation, occlusion, and mastication from the functional side as well as the correct shape of the mandible from the esthetic point of view. Meeting all these demands is still problematic for surgeons. It is unfortunate that the collaboration between anthropologists and medical professionals is still limited. Nowadays, geometric morphometric methods (GMM) are routinely applied in shape analysis and increasingly in the reconstruction of missing data in skeletal material in paleoanthropology. Together with methods for three-dimensional (3D) digital model construction and reverse engineering, these methods could prove to be useful in surgical fields for virtual planning of operations and the production of customized biocompatible scaffolds. In this contribution, we have reconstructed the missing left condylar process of the mandible belonging to a famous Italian humanist of the 15th century, Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494) by means of 3D digital models and GMM, having first compared two methods (a simple reflection of the opposite side and the mathematical–statistical GMM approach) in a complete human mandible on which loss of the left condyle was virtually simulated. Finally, stereolithographic models of Pico's skull were prototyped providing the physical assembly of the bony skull structures with a high fitting accuracy.

For more than a century there has been a protracted debate over the origins of Australia's first human inhabitants and what was their biological and cultural relationship with earlier populations in the Asian region. This discussion has also been relevant to the broader debate concerning the evolution and dispersion of humans globally, including the relationship between Neandertals and modern humans in Europe. Ideally, tests of these models can be provided by comparing genetic and cultural information from past and present populations. However, there is rarely adequate data to provide certainty, and lengthy disputes over the interpretation of details are common. It also does not help that there are more paleoanthropologists than there are data worth interpreting. Australian researchers have been particularly interested in finding evidence of the initial movement of people from the Sunda Shelf, through the Indonesian archipelago and into greater Australia during the late Pleistocene. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans had become established over a large part of Australia at least 40,000 years ago, with slightly younger dates for modern human occupation from Niah Cave in Borneo, Timor, New Britain and New Ireland.

The Indonesian island of Flores has yielded evidence of a new hominin species, 'Homo floresiensis', and an earlier species currently known from tools only. This chapter reflects on some of the implications the new finds may have for the evolution of language and cognition. In the light of relevant existing patterns of argument about early hominin morphology and behaviour, the Flores finds appear to weaken the argument for "big brains" as a sufficient cause of cognitive and linguistic abilities, to highlight, conversely, the significance of brain reorganisation events in human evolution, and to refocus attention back onto the very dawn of our genus as the point at which interestingly human patterns of communication and cognition are likely to have appeared.

When the normal shape of a neurocranium has been altered by cranial deformation many craniofacial measurements can be affected. But, if those measurements less affected by such deformation are identified, they may then become useful in determining the phylogenetic positions of the populations in which artificial neurocranial deformation had been practiced. Univariate comparisons in means between undeformed and deformed skull groups in three American Native populations and the principal component analyses of direct associations between craniofacial measurements and the degree of neurocranial deformation showed that some of the craniofacial measurements are particularly strongly influenced by neurocranial deformation. As a result of excluding such measurements, five sets of craniofacial measurements relatively free of deformation were obtained for the classification of an Australian Pleistocene sample from Coobool Creek. The Mahalanobis' D² distances between the undeformed and deformed skull groups in Coobool Creek estimated using the five sets of variables are not significantly different from zero. The typicality probabilities calculated using the three sets of variables showing the highest probabilities for the null hypothesis of D² show that Keilor, an Australian Pleistocene individual, belongs to the Coobool Creek population, containing both undeformed and deformed individuals, at the typicality probability of 0.62 to 0.80. If the variables significantly or relatively strongly affected by deformation are excluded from the sets of variables to be used, the sets of remaining variables may be used to reasonably classify the relevant populations.

In the 1960s Mary and Louis Leakey uncovered 1.8 million-year-old stone tools at the site of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. These tools, which archaeologists called the Oldowan industry, were later associated with 'Homo habilis', the first member of the genus 'Homo'. This was a significant discovery because relative to older hominin species that were not thought to be tool users, 'H. habilis' had a larger brain size and possessed anatomical features reminiscent of later species (e.g., reduced molar size, flatter face). Increasing cranial capacity, tool use, and more modern-looking features fit together in the story of what made humans unique. In fact, for the first time the use of material culture was included in the official definition of a species (Leakey, Tobias, and Napier 1964) - and thus the phrase "Man the Tool Maker" was coined (Oakley 1952). Since that time, our knowledge of the relationship between stone tools and the evolving human brain has grown and the resulting picture is predictably more complex. The earliest known stone tools now date to approximately 2.7 to 2.5 million years ago (mya) (Semaw 2000) whereas hominin evolution can be traced back using the fossil record to between 7.0 and 6.0 mya (see Wood 2002). Researchers question whether the "sudden" appearance of the Oldowan is the result of a dramatic change in cognitive abilities or the transition to a more archaeologically visible medium. One way to think about this is to consider the niche that was opened by the use of stone tools. Davidson and McGrew (2005; see also Davidson, Chapter 9) have suggested that the permanence of stone tools and the products of knapping on the landscape made a distinctive difference to the pattern of cognitive evolution. It also seems likely that 'H. habilis' was not the only stone tool maker and user. Depending on how many species one recognizes between 2.5 and 1.5 mya, up to as many as eight hominin species have been found in direct or indirect association with stone tools (Toth and Schick, 2005). In addition, there is now good evidence that early hominins were using bone tools (Backwell and d'Errico 2001, 2008).

Excavations in the late Pleistocene deposits at Liang Bua cave, Flores, have uncovered the skeletal remains of several small-bodied and small-brained hominins in association with stone artefacts and the bones of Stegodon. Due to their combination of plesiomorphic, unique and derived traits, they were ascribed to a new species, 'Homo floresiensis', which, along with Stegodon, appears to have become extinct ~17 ka (thousand years ago). However, recently it has been argued that several characteristics of 'H. floresiensis' were consistent with dwarfism and evidence of delayed development in modern human ('Homo sapiens') myxoedematous endemic (ME) cretins. This research compares the skeletal and dental morphology in 'H. floresiensis' with the clinical and osteological indicators of cretinism, and the traits that have been argued to be associated with ME cretinism in LB1 and LB6. Contrary to published claims, morphological and statistical comparisons did not identify the distinctive skeletal and dental indicators of cretinism in LB1 or LB6 'H. floresiensis'. Brain mass, skeletal proportions, epiphyseal union, orofacial morphology, dental development, size of the pituitary fossa and development of the paranasal sinuses, vault bone thickness and dimensions of the hands and feet all distinguish 'H. floresiensis' from modern humans with ME cretinism. The research team responsible for the diagnosis of ME cretinism had not examined the original 'H. floresiensis' skeletal materials, and perhaps, as a result, their research confused taphonomic damage with evidence of disease, and thus contained critical errors of fact and interpretation. Behavioural scenarios attempting to explain the presence of cretinous 'H. sapiens' in the Liang Bua Pleistocene deposits, but not unaffected 'H. sapiens', are both unnecessary and not supported by the available archaeological and geochronological evidence from Flores.

In 2004, a new hominin species, 'Homo floresiensis', was described from Late Pleistocene cave deposits at Liang Bua, Flores. 'H. floresiensis' was remarkable for its small body-size, endocranial volume in the chimpanzee range, limb proportions and skeletal robusticity similar to Pliocene 'Australopithecus', and a skeletal morphology with a distinctive combination of symplesiomorphic, derived, and unique traits. Critics of 'H. floresiensis' as a novel species have argued that the Pleistocene skeletons from Liang Bua either fall within the range of living Australomelanesians, exhibit the attributes of growth disorders found in modern humans, or a combination of both. Here we describe the morphology of the LB1, LB2, and LB6 mandibles and mandibular teeth from Liang Bua. Morphological and metrical comparisons of the mandibles demonstrate that they share a distinctive suite of traits that place them outside both the 'H. sapiens' and 'H. erectus' ranges of variation. While having the derived molar size of later 'Homo', the symphyseal, corpus, ramus, and premolar morphologies share similarities with both 'Australopithecus' and early 'Homo'. When the mandibles are considered with the existing evidence for cranial and postcranial anatomy, limb proportions, and the functional anatomy of the wrist and shoulder, they are in many respects closer to African early 'Homo' or 'Australopithecus' than to later 'Homo'. Taken together, this evidence suggests that the ancestors of 'H. floresiensis' left Africa before the evolution of 'H. erectus', as defined by the Dmanisi and East African evidence.

One of the most fundamental problems facing rock art researchers is understanding the age of their subject. In the absence of numeric age determinations, rock art chronologies have often been inferred by extrapolating the ages associated with subsurface ochres. Here I have used portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) to assess if the association between rock art and buried ochres proposed by researchers at two sites in the Sydney Basin - Dingo and Horned Anthropomorph and Yengo 1 - can be demonstrated. I found that pXRF can determine if there is no relationship between archaeological pigments. Where geochemical similarities are found, pXRF does not have the analytic precision to unequivocally link archaeological ochres, but it does provide a robust and readily accessible step in the right direction. The method outlined here therefore provides an inexpensive means of generating complementary chronological (and behavioural) information within rock art studies.

Anthropogenically modified pigments are held to be some of the earliest, most unambiguous and persistent evidence for behavioural modernity, frequently (and often tenuously) invoked as material expression of symbolic thought and action. Recent finds, increases in the sophistication of analytic techniques and theoretical frameworks have renewed interest in ochre, reflected by a spike in actualistic studies, investigations of pigment morphology and geochemistry. Archaeological studies continue a bias towards Pleistocene pigments, while archaeometric research continues to focus on ochre from known source locations, and in Australia, ethnographically documented mines. Here I take a different tack, targeting Holocene ochres, focusing on pigments with at least one known, indisputably symbolic function- the production of rock art. As part of the physical and metaphorical (cultural) landscape, rock art offers a unique pigment archive as it remains in the location in which it was created. A decade since the first published application of portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) to rock art there has been an absence of critical scrutiny and methodological development. Aiming to redress this, I use conventional and Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction, Micro Computed Tomography and Scanning Electron Microscopy to explain and evaluate pXRF. I develop novel methods of using geochemical data to identify paint mineralogy (including differentiating between paints of the same colour), recognise the chemical signatures of taphonomy and compare ochres from excavated contexts with rock art. Interpreting the resultant elemental profiles relies on understanding the complex taphonomy of pigments and the chemical expression of non-cultural phenomena, something not adequately addressed previously. This work therefore offers a non-invasive means by which large scale studies of archaeological pigments can be undertaken.

Neanderthal diets are reported to be based mainly on the consumption of large and medium sized herbivores, while the exploitation of other food types including plants has also been demonstrated. Though some studies conclude that early Homo sapiens were active hunters, the analyses of faunal assemblages, stone tool technologies and stable isotopic studies indicate that they exploited broader dietary resources than Neanderthals. Whereas previous studies assume taxon-specific dietary specializations, we suggest here that the diet of both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens is determined by ecological conditions. We analyzed molar wear patterns using occlusal fingerprint analysis derived from optical 3D topometry. Molar macrowear accumulates during the lifespan of an individual and thus reflects diet over long periods. Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens maxillary molar macrowear indicates strong eco-geographic dietary variation independent of taxonomic affinities. Based on comparisons with modern hunter-gatherer populations with known diets, Neanderthals as well as early Homo sapiens show high dietary variability in Mediterranean evergreen habitats but a more restricted diet in upper latitude steppe/coniferous forest environments, suggesting a significant consumption of high protein meat resources.

Many anthropological studies are derived from the analysis of dental casts. Dental morphology plays a key role for taxonomy (Wood, 1991), diet and ecological assessments (Swindler, 1976). Tooth wear provides information about food composition (Ungar, 2007), environment, cultural habits (Hinton, 1981), jaw movements (Kay & Hiiemae, 1974), health conditions (King et al., 2005) and determination of age-at death (Lovejoy, 1985). Today, the study of dentition derived from 3D surface models enables us to obtain more detailed information (Kullmer et al., 2002; Ungar & M'Kirera, 2003) about tooth function and wear. In most cases it is not possible to use the original material directly due to limited access and study-time constraints, and/or methods which cannot be directly applied to the collections, such as analysis through the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which requires an irreversible gold-coating to be added to the specimen. Even if one has taken photographs, micro CT, or 3D surface scans for digital model reconstruction, at the very least it can be advantageous to keep a high quality cast close to hand during the study, as some information can be lost during transition from original to digital format. Replicas of dentition could be created from digital models using rapid prototyping (stereolithography), although the costs remain high and the resolution is only suitable for the analysis of tooth morphology and mesowear. Therefore, it is of great benefit to establish a laboratory with all the principal equipment necessary to produce high-resolution dental replicas for anthropological studies. This contribution provides several guidelines for producing high-quality dental casts.

There has been a protracted debate over the evidence for intentional cranial modification in the terminal Pleistocene Australian crania from Kow Swamp and Coobool Creek. Resolution of this debate is crucial to interpretations of the significance of morphological variation within terminal Pleistocene - early Holocene Australian skeletal materials and claims of a regional evolutionary sequence linking Javan 'Homo erectus' and Australian 'Homo sapiens'. However, morphological comparisons of terminal Pleistocene and recent Australian crania are complicated by the significantly greater average body mass in the former. Raw and size-adjusted metric comparisons of the terminal Pleistocene skeleton from Nacurrie, south-eastern Australia, with modified and unmodified 'H. sapiens' and 'H. erectus', identified a suite of traits in the frontal, parietal, and occipital bones associated with intentional modification of a neonate's skull. These traits are also present in some of the crania from Kow Swamp and Coobool Creek, which are in close geographic proximity to Nacurrie, but not in unmodified 'H. sapiens' or Javan 'H. erectus'. Frontal bone morphology in 'H. erectus' was distinct from all of the Australian 'H. sapiens' samples. During the first six months of life, Nacurrie's vault may have been shaped by his mother's hands, rather than through the application of fixed bandages. Whether this behaviour persisted only for several generations, or hundreds of years, remains unknown. The reasons behind the shaping of Nacurrie's head, aesthetics or otherwise, and why this cultural practice was adopted and subsequently discontinued, will always remain a matter of speculation.

The Kalamakia Middle Paleolithic site, a karstic cave on the western Mani peninsula, Greece, was excavated from 1993 until 2006 by an interdisciplinary team from the Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology and Speleology (Greek Ministry of Culture) and the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris). The site is dated to between ca. 100,000 (U / Th) and >39,000 (AMS 14C) kya and has yielded Mousterian lithics and rich faunal remains, including several carnivores, small vertebrates and shellfish. The site has also yielded fourteen human specimens from several layers. These include 10 isolated teeth, a cranial fragment and three postcranial elements. The Kalamakia human remains represent at least eight individuals, including two subadults. One specimen shows clear carnivore modification marks, suggesting that some of the remains were brought into the cave by carnivores. Additional, anthropogenic, modifications in the form of interproximal grooves, are present on two of the isolated teeth. The Kalamakia remains from all stratigraphic levels can be identified as Neanderthal on the basis of diagnostic morphology. A mixed habitat is suggested by our analysis of dental wear (Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis) and microwear (Occlusal Texture Microwear Analysis), in agreement with the faunal and palynological analyses of the site. These new fossils significantly expand the Neanderthal sample known from Greece. Together with the human fossils from Lakonis and Apidima, the Kalamakia human remains add to the growing evidence of a strong Neanderthal presence in the Mani region during the late Pleistocene.

Archaeological use of non-destructive pXRF has been most systematically applied to the classification and provenancing of volcanic glass (obsidian) artefacts. Comparable work has yet to be developed for non-vitreous artefacts. We report results of pXRF analysis for a sample of grey to black (mafic) aboriginal hatchets from Sydney and adjacent coastal regions to the north and south. The study shows both broad and detailed classification is achievable depending on rock type and degree of elemental depletion or enrichment of the samples. PXRF analysis reveals not only distinct patterns of resource use between the three regions of this study but also enables a high degree of geographic resolution in the case of the basalt artefacts of our sample. We conclude that non-destructive pXRF is effective for reliable characterisation of non-vitreous stone artefacts that have a sufficiently complex and enriched compositional signature (i.e., unaltered basalts); with ~50% of the basalt hatchets in our sample matched with spatially and geologically specific sources.

Eckhardt and Henneberg's commentary contains several omissions and misstatements. First, changes due to postmortem distortion, erosion, and fracture of skeletal elements from archaeological contexts may be confused with evidence of disease or trauma. The LB1 'Homo floresiensis' skeleton was recovered from a depth of ~6 m, in sector VII, from Liang Bua cave (Morwood et al., 2004). The skull was found resting on its base, with the associated mandible disarticulated, rotated 180° and pressing against the right zygomatic arch. The bone was damp, somewhat chalky and extremely soft, and the left frontofacial region and posterior frontal were damaged during discovery. The skull was removed in a block of sediment and taken to Jakarta (Brown et al., 2004). Cleaning, reconstruction, and preliminary conservation of the skull were undertaken by one of us (PB). On removing the surrounding sediment, it was apparent that the right half of the coronal suture had sprung open postmortem, the right zygomatic arch was distorted, the cranial vault was full of cracks, and the right parietal was slightly distorted (see Fig. 1). In other words, taphonomic distortion partially contributed to the asymmetry seen in LB1's skull.

Distinctive mulberry paintings found in northern Australia, particularly those of the Kimberley region, have been argued to represent some of the oldest surviving rock art on the continent. Significant research efforts continue to focus on resolving the age of these motifs, but comparatively little attention has been given to understanding their physical composition and potential source(s). In a pilot investigation, we conclude that (at least) two mineralogically distinct mulberry pigments occur in 'Gwion' motifs and demonstrate that their major components can be indicatively chemically differentiated, non-invasively. Characterization of a 'quarried' mulberry ochre source demonstrates that these pigments occur locally as natural minerals.

Reporting in 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences', Pugach and colleagues provide genetic evidence of a possible mid-Holocene (4,230 years ago) link between human populations in India and Australia. Their data confirm the results of some genetic studies, but contradict others Intriguingly, the authors also link this evidence to the arrival of the dingo and the appearance of microlithic stone tools, which appeared in India as early as 34,000 years ago but much more recently in Australia. The fascination with human migration to Australia began in the eighteenth century, when European explorers reached its coastline. They were surprised to find indigenous human inhabitants and dogs on a continent that was otherwise filled with alien flora and fauna. Australia was separated from both the Asian mainland and the Indonesian archipelago by sea, so where had Aboriginal Australians and dogs come from, and when?

The mastication of tough and hard foods combined with the extensive use of teeth as tools, have been considered possible antemortem causes in determining enamel microfractures of the tooth crown. This phenomenon, known as dental chipping, has been found in different fossil hominins and in several pre-historic and historic human populations who adopted different subsistence strategies. However, little is understood of the mechanism, function and the formation of dental chipping. In this study we analyze the maxillary molar wear areas associated with dental chipping (and named para-facets) of several hunter–gatherer specimens, using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis method. We employ three-dimensional digital models of tooth crowns created by surface scanning of dental replicas, to analyze the dip and dip directions of normal occlusal wear areas and para-facets. This allows us to reconstruct the jaw movements responsible for the creation of para-facets, and investigate whether they are produced during normal mastication or not. Vectors of the para-facets do not show any preferred direction and are distributed randomly as visualized by the occlusal compass, displaying significant differences with the major jaw movements in action during the normal chewing cycle. More importantly, no antagonist contacts in the lower teeth are associated with the para-facets of the upper teeth. This excludes the possibility that the para-facets are created during normal mastication. We therefore suggest that this unusual type of tooth wear is mainly due to attritional and abrasive contacts generated through daily task activities for foods processing and/or manufacturing of objects.

PIXE-PIGME is a form of elemental analysis that uses a proton beam to irradiate powdered ceramic samples to isolate key trace elements (Grave et al. 1996). Owing to the availability of local testing facilities and expertise, this form of analysis was adopted to test selected samples from imported Giza Combed Ware jars held in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a reference sample of sherds from the Levant. Samples were obtained by taking a small 'clipping' from a larger sherd using a pair of ordinary pliers, or cut from a bigger piece using a small saw. These were then powdered by the in the N.G. McIntosh Centre for Quaternary Dating (University of Sydney), taking care to ensure that the slipped surface (where present) was not included in the powdered form for analysis. In the case of the Boston MFA samples, these were taken by the Museum's Conservation Department by drilling a hole either through the base or a clean section of the sherd. One again care was taken to ensure the drill obtained the sample from a clean surface and where necessary a small scraping of the surface was made. Sufficient powdered material of the Boston MFA jars remains to conduct further sampling in the future.

Maritime archaeology has mostly viewed the links between shipping mishaps and coastal communities through the lens of site formation studies. The focus has therefore been on the potential physical alterations to shipwreck sites caused through human agency, rather than the social factors surrounding these interactions. There has also been a tendency to view wrecks in isolation, often emphasizing the unique or dramatic qualities to their operational, wrecking or salvage circumstances, rather than as part of a wider pattern of behaviours. Rarely has there been a coherent exploration of the wider landscapes of sites, places and relationships which were a consequence of people preventing, mitigating, benefiting from or commemorating shipping mishaps, sometimes repeatedly and over extended periods of time. We will argue that by recognizing this continuum of cultural activity extending beyond individual incidents, as well as the archaeological evidence of such past and present activities, maritime archaeology has the potential to redefine itself as a more anthropologically oriented endeavour and bring a new vigour to its approaches. In this study, we explore the relationships between the Queenscliffe community and the shipping mishaps that occurred on the adjacent coastal and inland waters over the last 160 years. We draw on extensive documentary research, oral histories and archaeological investigations to examine some of their short- and long-term social, economic, technological and symbolic responses to shipping disasters. In particular, we demonstrate how these actions and understandings created a cultural landscape extending far beyond the individual wreck sites. This landscape evolved over time and across generations, even as each vessel transformed physically from ship, to derelict, to archaeological site and eventually to place.

In light of the considerable chronological uncertainty that surrounds pre-Bronze-Age Northern Anatolia, one of the prime objectives of the excavations at Camlibel Tarlasi was to obtain reliable samples for radiocarbon measurement. Ideally, such samples should consist of short-lived plant material from stratigraphically secure contexts. In this case samples were obtained from charred grain seeds trodden into the floors presumably during food processing or food preparation activities. A large portion of the floors recovered so far have been sampled in meter squares and processed by flotation. From almost all of them charred plant material could be recovered. The stratigraphical sequence at Camlibel Tarlasi consists of three settlement episodes with a gap between the oldest and the two younger phases. In order to obtain a chronological bracket for prehistoric settlement here, an initial set of four samples was chosen from two of the youngest and oldest contexts recovered during the 2007 campaign.

The Middle Paleolithic fossil human teeth from Taddeo cave in southwestern Italy were discovered in 1967, but to date only scanty and partially incorrect information has been published about them. The teeth were recovered in a reddish sandy layer from the cave's floor, which is attributed either to an early phase of Würm I (OIS 5c or 5d) or a transition phase between Würm I and Würm II (OIS 5a). In this paper, we present a revised morphological description and morphometric comparisons of the four dental remains discovered. Apart from a classic morphometric comparison, we also provide a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the internal morphology with the aid of micro-CT imaging. In addition, virtual restoration and matching of adjacent teeth were performed with 3D digital modeling and Computer-Aided Design techniques. Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis was also employed to help correctly identify each tooth. While in the previous studies, Taddeo 1 was considered either an upper right canine or a lower right canine, in the present work it has been definitely identified as lower left canine. Taddeo 2 has been reclassified as a right P4 instead of a right P3. Based on the occlusal and interproximal wear, we have also shown that Taddeo 2 and Taddeo 3 (right M¹) belong to the same individual. All of the teeth show characteristic Neanderthal features in crown morphology and fissure pattern. However, although Taddeo 4 shows morphological features typical of Neanderthal M₁s, some morphometric results (large enamel thickness, low dentine volume) recall more modern humans than Neanderthals. This result might suggest that, at least for lower first molars, the Neanderthal range of variation is large and still not clearly understood.

Tooth wear studies in mammals have highlighted the relationship between wear facets (attritional areas produced during occlusion by the contact between opposing teeth) and physical properties of the ingested food. However, little is known about the influence of tooth morphology on the formation of occlusal wear facets. We analyzed the occlusal wear patterns of first maxillary molars (M¹s) in Neanderthals, early 'Homo sapiens', and contemporary modern humans. We applied a virtual method to analyze wear facets on the crown surface of three-dimensional digital models. Absolute and relative wear facet areas are compared with cusp area and cusp height. Although the development of wear facets partially follows the cusp pattern, the results obtained from the between-group comparisons do not reflect the cusp size differences characterizing these groups. In particular, the wear facets developed along the slopes of the most discriminate cusp between Neanderthals and 'Homo sapiens' (hypocone) do not display any significant difference. Moreover, no correlations have been found between cusp size and wear facet areas (with the exception of the modern sample) and between cusp height and wear facet areas. Our results suggest that cusp size is only weakly related to the formation of the occlusal wear facets. Other factors, such as, diet, food processing, environmental abrasiveness, and nondietary habits are probably more important for the development and enlargement of wear facets, corroborating the hypotheses suggested from previous dental wear studies.

We welcome comments by Brook et al. (1), supporters of human-driven models, on our review of the role of climate in Pleistocene faunal extinctions in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) (2). In response, we begin on a point of agreement: the fossil fauna record on which our respective arguments are based is sparse, although our understanding of Pleistocene environmental conditions is improving (3-5). However, we also flag a basic point of difference. Unlike Brook et al., who focus on the ~50 extinct Australian species (an artificial distinction because Australia was part of the larger landmass Sahul) and the 50 ka since human arrival, we consider the bigger picture, and the 88 large taxa that disappeared from Sahul from ~450 ka.