| 1. |
- Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, et al.
(författare)
-
Artificial intelligence provides greater accuracy in the classification of modern and ancient bone surface modifications
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bone surface modifications are foundational to the correct identification of hominin butchery traces in the archaeological record. Until present, no analytical technique existed that could provide objectivity, high accuracy, and an estimate of probability in the identification of multiple structurally-similar and dissimilar marks. Here, we present a major methodological breakthrough that incorporates these three elements using Artificial Intelligence (AI) through computer vision techniques, based on convolutional neural networks. This method, when applied to controlled experimental marks on bones, yielded the highest rate documented to date of accurate classification (92%) of cut, tooth and trampling marks. After testing this method experimentally, it was applied to published images of some important traces purportedly indicating a very ancient hominin presence in Africa, America and Europe. The preliminary results are supportive of interpretations of ancient butchery in some places, but not in others, and suggest that new analyses of these controversial marks should be done following the protocol described here to confirm or disprove these archaeological interpretations.
|
|
| 2. |
- Dominguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, et al.
(författare)
-
Constraining time and ecology on the Zinj paleolandscape : Microwear and mesowear analyses of the archaeofaunal remains of FLK Zinj and DS (Bed I), compared to FLK North (Bed I) and BK (Bed II) at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Quaternary International. - : Elsevier BV. - 1040-6182 .- 1873-4553. ; 526, s. 4-14
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Defining the time that any given archaeofaunal assemblage took to be accumulated is challenging. Understanding the time variable is crucial to interpret how early sites were formed and what these sites represent in terms of hominin behavior. Two complementary dental analysis techniques (microwear and mesowear) have been used to understand dietary niches of ungulates. Microwear has also specifically been used to detect the character of occupations at archaeological sites. Here, we apply these techniques to a selection of Olduvai sites. Microwear and mesowear analyses on bovid teeth from a set of anthropogenic sites (FLK Zinj, DS, BK) and a carnivore palimpsest (FLK North) yielded different results. Microwear data from the three anthropogenic sites are similar, reflecting short, seasonal occupations, in contrast with the carnivore assemblage, which suggests a more prolonged period of deposition. The similar microwear signal in the two pene-contemporaneous sites of FLK Zinj and DS is encouraging, but caution in its interpretation is applied because of limited tooth enamel preservation and the resulting small sample size. The results shown here must be considered as a baseline for future and more extensive studies. Both microwear and mesowear analyses show that the most common bovid taxa in the Bed I sites exhibit mixed feeding signals. This reinforces the caution about interpretations of dietary niches of extinct ungulates based on their modern counterparts and emphasizes that for some taxa, the adoption of a browsing or grazing diet is context (time and locus) specific.
|
|
| 3. |
- Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Earliest Acheulian paleolandscape reveals a 1.7 million-year-old megasite at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Quaternary Science Reviews. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 316
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- FLK West (Bed II, Olduvai Gorge) contains the oldest association of Acheulian stone tools and exploitation of fauna (including megafauna) by hominins in the Pleistocene. Recently, the FLK West paleolandscape has been intensively studied, unveiling a spatial association between archaeological materials and hydrothermal resources. A new type of landscape use by hominins has also been documented around the area where the penecontemporaneous FLK West and HWK site complex were formed, resulting in an array of habitats spanning thousands of square meters covered with large amounts of lithic artefacts. Here, we show how the intensive use of certain environments by hominins resulted in these megasites, in which hominins engaged in a variety of activities, complementary to those performed at discrete archaeological clusters like FLK West. Despite using these habitats redundantly as quarries, hominins performed extensive core reduction of several types of raw materials indicating a dexterity and careful planning undocumented in earlier periods. Here, we also show how palaeoecological reconstructions must be based on fine-scale geological analyses, given the palimpsestic nature of both geological and anthropogenic processes. The research reported here also uncovered an additional unknown source of metamorphic rocks for hominins at Olduvai, which questions a large part of previous modeling based on hominin provisioning exclusively at Naibor Soit. We also show that the manufacture of handaxes was slightly older than documented at FLK West and that they occur in isolation on the landscape in addition to being clustered at sites. This implies that at the beginning of the Acheulian, hominins were not only using and discarding handaxes at specific loci, but they also transported these tools for various activities across the landscape as part of their strategized adaptation to those environments. The occurrence of these intensively-used megasites hints at some territorial behaviors by early Acheulian hominins.
|
|
| 4. |
- Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, et al.
(författare)
-
Early Pleistocene faunivorous hominins were not kleptoparasitic, and this impacted the evolution of human anatomy and socio-ecology
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humans are unique in their diet, physiology and socio-reproductive behavior compared to other primates. They are also unique in the ubiquitous adaptation to all biomes and habitats. From an evolutionary perspective, these trends seem to have started about two million years ago, coinciding with the emergence of encephalization, the reduction of the dental apparatus, the adoption of a fully terrestrial lifestyle, resulting in the emergence of the modern anatomical bauplan, the focalization of certain activities in the landscape, the use of stone tools, and the exit from Africa. It is in this period that clear taphonomic evidence of a switch in diet with respect to Pliocene hominins occurred, with the adoption of carnivory. Until now, the degree of carnivorism in early humans remained controversial. A persistent hypothesis is that hominins acquired meat irregularly (potentially as fallback food) and opportunistically through klepto-foraging. Here, we test this hypothesis and show, in contrast, that the butchery practices of early Pleistocene hominins (unveiled through systematic study of the patterning and intensity of cut marks on their prey) could not have resulted from having frequent secondary access to carcasses. We provide evidence of hominin primary access to animal resources and emphasize the role that meat played in their diets, their ecology and their anatomical evolution, ultimately resulting in the ecologically unrestricted terrestrial adaptation of our species. This has major implications to the evolution of human physiology and potentially for the evolution of the human brain.
|
|
| 5. |
- Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel, et al.
(författare)
-
Neo-taphonomic analysis of the Misiam leopard lair from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) : understanding leopard-hyena interactions in open settings
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 9:7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Misiam is a modern wildebeest-dominated accumulation situated in a steep ravine covered with dense vegetation at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). It is interpreted here as a leopard lair to which carcasses have been transported for several years. Felid-specific bone damage patterns, felid-typical skeletal part profiles, taxonomic specialization and the physical presence of leopards observed by the authors show that leopards at Misiam can be specialized medium-sized carcass accumulators. Hyenas also intervened at intervals in the modification of the retrieved faunal assemblage. This makes Misiam a carnivore palimpsest. Here, we additionally show that leopards only transport and accumulate carcasses on occasions, that they can seem highly specialized despite being dietary generalists, and that such a behaviour may be prompted by seasonal competition or during the breeding season or both. Misiam is the first open-air leopard lair with a dense bone accumulation reported. There, leopards engaged in intensive accumulation of carcasses during the wet season, when the southern Serengeti short-grass plains undergo the effect of the famous wildebeest migration and this migratory species reaches the gorge. The ecological importance of this behaviour and its relevance as a proxy for reconstructing prehistoric carnivore behaviours are discussed.
|
|
| 6. |
- Organista, Elia, et al.
(författare)
-
A taphonomic analysis of PTK (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge) and its bearing on the interpretation of the dietary and eco-spatial behaviors of early humans
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 300
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here, we present a thorough taphonomic analysis of the 1.84 million-year-old site of Phillip Tobias Korongo (PTK), Bed I, Olduvai Gorge. PTK is one of the new archaeological sites documented on the FLK Zinj paleolandscape, in which FLK 22 level was deposited and covered by Tuff IC. Therefore, PTK is pene-contemporary with these sites: FLK Zinj, DS, AMK and AGS. The occurrence of these sites within a thin clay unit of ∼20 cm, occupying not only the same vertically discrete stratigraphic unit, but also the same paleosurface, with an exceptional preservation of the archaeological record in its primary depositional locus, constitutes a unique opportunity to explore early hominin behavioral diversity at the most limited geochronological scale possible. The Olduvai Bed I sites have been the core of behavioral modelling for the past half a century, and the newly discovered sites, excavated with 21st century technology, will increase significantly our understanding of early human adaptive patterns. Here, we present PTK as another assemblage where faunal resources were acquired by hominins prior to any carnivore, and where stone-tool assisted bulk defleshing was carried out. The abundance of juvenile individuals extends our understanding, as in Kanjera (Kenya), about the hunting skills of early Homo sensu lato. The increasing number of sites, where bulk defleshing of small and medium-sized carcasses took place is underscoring the importance of meat in the diets of some of the early hominins, and their patterned use of the space for food processing and consumption. The patterning emerging has a profound importance for the evolution of some of the features that have traditionally been used to identify the behavior of the genus Homo.
|
|
| 7. |
- Organista, Elia, et al.
(författare)
-
Taphonomic analysis of the level 3b fauna at BK, Olduvai Gorge
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Quaternary International. - : Elsevier BV. - 1040-6182 .- 1873-4553. ; 526, s. 116-128
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The association of stone tools and modified bones at archaeological African Plio-Pleistocene sites is essential to understanding the socio-economics of early hominin behavior. Previous research at BK suggests the site was repeatedly visited by hominins for short time periods. During these occupations, the hominins had a primary role in the exploitation of small, medium, and large size carcasses. The present study analyzes the faunal material recovered from level 3b at BK (BK3b). The results indicate that BK3b operated as a place consciously selected by hominins to carry out specific activities, which resulted in a large accumulation of lithic materials and bone remains. The high frequency of cut-marked specimens, even more than is documented at FLK Zinj, supports the idea that hominins at BK3b butchered and demarrowed the bones from animals of all sizes.
|
|
| 8. |
- Pérez-Ramallo, Patxi, et al.
(författare)
-
Multi-isotopic study of the earliest mediaeval inhabitants of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain)
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 14:11
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Santiago de Compostela is, together with Rome and Jerusalem, one of the three main pilgrimage and religious centres for Catholicism. The belief that the remains of St James the Great, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, is buried there has stimulated, since their reported discovery in the 9th century AD, a significant flow of people from across the European continent and beyond. Little is known about the practical experiences of people living within the city during its rise to prominence, however. Here, for the first time, we combine multi-isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18Oap, δ13Cap and 87Sr/86Sr) and radiocarbon dating (14C) of human remains discovered at the crypt of the Cathedral of Santiago to directly study changes in diet and mobility during the first three centuries of Santiago’s emergence as an urban centre (9th–12th centuries AD). Together with assessment of the existing archaeological data, our radiocarbon chronology broadly confirms historical tradition regarding the first occupation of the site. Isotopic analyses reveal that the foundation of the religious site attracted migrants from the wider region of the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula, and possibly from further afield. Stable isotope analysis of collagen, together with information on tomb typology and location, indicates that the inhabitants of the city experienced increasing socioeconomic diversity as it became wealthier as the hub of a wide network of pilgrimage. Our research represents the potential of multidisciplinary analyses to reveal insights into the origins and impacts of the emergence of early pilgrimage centres on the diets and status of communities within Christian mediaeval Europe and beyond.
|
|
| 9. |
- Pizarro-Monzo, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Determining the diagenetic paths of archaeofaunal assemblages and their palaeoecology through artificial intelligence : an application to Oldowan sites from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Journal of Quaternary Science. - : Wiley. - 0267-8179 .- 1099-1417. ; 37:3, s. 543-557
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The implementation of deep-learning methods to the taphonomic analysis of the microscopic modification of bone-surface modifications exposed to different chemical diagenetic pathways can effectively discriminate between acidic and alkaline soil properties, indirectly reflecting different ecological conditions. Here we use this novel method to assess the sedimentary conditions of two of the oldest Oldowan archaeofaunal records (DS and PTK, Bed I) from Olduvai Gorge Bed I in Tanzania. We show how the results support different diagenetic conditions for both penecontemporaneous sites, which are appropriate for their respective locations on the palaeolandscape to which they belonged. We also show how geochemical analyses of the clay deposit that embedded both sites indicate a similar soil pH divergence. PTK was formed on an alluvial sloping surface affected by rills but draining efficiently, which resulted in alkaline soil conditions, that optimised bone-surface preservation. DS occurred in a more depressed area that underwent intermittent flooding, affecting soil chemistry by creating more acidic conditions. This impacted on bone surfaces by dynamically modifying mark morphology. This deep-learning approach has relevance for the interpretation of the local palaeoecological conditions of both assemblages and their respective depositional loci. The results presented here open a new window to the incremental information gain through the use of artificial intelligence methods in taphonomic and palaeoecological research.
|
|
