The importance of the visibility of, and from, an archaeological site has mainly been researched in relation to megalithic monuments and fortified settlements. Few studies have tried to unravel the importance of visibility for hunter-gatherer site locations. A new study, published in Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, addresses this issue for the Late Palaeolithic in Cantabrian…
The use of organic materials, such as bone, wood and antler, has been identified throughout various Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic contexts. Through detailed archaeological investigations and experimental approaches it is has been demonstrated that these objects were frequently used to shape and retouch lithic artefacts. New research published in Quaternary International provides the first…
At the site of Kocabaş (southwest Turkey) a fragmentary cranium was recovered in 2002 from a travertine quarry alongside faunal remains. The skull has been assigned to Homo erectus and its morphology seems to be intermediate between the skulls from Dmanisi (Georgie, 1.8mya) and Zhoukoudian (China, 0.8mya). So far age determinations of the travertines at…
Africa is famous as the cradle of humanity, with the focus of palaeoanthropological research relating to Australopithecus, Paranthropus or early Homo firmly centred on the rich record of the East African Rift Valley as well as South Africa. Much of the research within the Rift Valley has concentrated so far on the large exposures to the…
The presence of cultural patterns among artefact types has been a key topic among Palaeolithic archaeologists. Schemes based on typology and linear progression are now generally abandoned, in favor of process-driven explanations, incorporating raw material, tool use and resharpening. This is also the case for the British record, where especially river gravels have delivered a…
Many studies into Palaeolithic diet, both traditional zooarchaeological analysis and isotope studies, emphasise the importance of meat to past hominin diet. However, these frequently encounter the problem of explaining how these past communities overcame problems related to the consumption of large quantities of meat. Whilst it is one of the worst kept secrets in Palaeolithic archaeology…
The site of Sungir (Russia) is well-known for its rich burials of 8 individuals, associated with spears made of mammoth ivory, ivory beads and perforated fox teeth. In the past, the radiocarbon dating of material from this site has proven extremely challenging. So far, three labs obtained direct AMS dates from the skeletal material but…
