Quaternary Environments and Humans最新文献

{"title":"The lithoscape of Blombos Cave, South Africa: A foundation for lithic procurement and forager mobility during the Middle Stone Age","authors":"Jeremy A. Beller,&nbsp;Elizabeth C. Velliky,&nbsp;Karen L. van Niekerk,&nbsp;Pieter-Jan Gräbe,&nbsp;Mostafa Fayek,&nbsp;Simon J. Armitage,&nbsp;Christopher S. Henshilwood","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Archaeological research in the southern Cape coastal region of South Africa continues to demonstrate the importance of this region for understanding the emergence of complex behaviours among <em>Homo sapiens</em>. Specifically, the excavation of the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave (c. 100–72 ka) has identified extensive evidence for symbolism, such as portable art (engraved ochre) and personal ornaments (perforated shells). However, some recurrent behaviours, namely the acquisition of raw materials and associated mobility, have not been fully explored. A first step to their investigation is to establish the lithoscape of the area in which foragers resided. In this paper, we characterise the lithoscape surrounding Blombos Cave, using the site as the epicentre for designated foraging ranges, and examine the distribution and availability of archaeologically relevant raw materials (e.g., silcrete, ochre). Catchment sectors where multiple lithologies cooccur are highlighted as offering more favourable opportunities for resource extraction and revisitation. This study provides a comprehensive foundation for developing provenance analyses that will reveal key elements of the lithic economies and mobility patterns associated with occupation at Blombos Cave.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 3","pages":"Article 100111"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A century of dynamic changes in the lower Gállego River (NE Spain) in response to natural and human interactions","authors":"José Luis Peña-Monné,&nbsp;María Marta Sampietro-Vattuone,&nbsp;Luis Alberto Longares-Aladrén,&nbsp;Miguel Sánchez-Fabre","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100115","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100115","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The lower course of the Gállego River (NE Spain) has undergone significant geomorphological transformations over the last century due to the complex interplay between natural dynamics and human activities. This study analyzes the evolution of the fluvial system between 1927 and 2026, using four representative sectors located between Zuera and San Juan de Mozarrifar, near the city of Zaragoza (Spain). The methodology relies on diachronic geomorphological mapping comparing an exceptional 1927 photogrammetric survey with 2025–2026 satellite imagery and extensive fieldwork. The results reveal a transition from highly active braided and free-meandering systems in 1927—characterized by mobile gravel bars and sparse riparian vegetation—to a more unstable and anthropized landscape in 2026. While the northernmost sectors near Zuera and San Mateo maintains relatively natural dynamics, downstream areas have experienced intense degradation. Key drivers of this change include river regulation through dams and irrigation networks, alongside industrial and urban expansion since the 1960s. Nonetheless, the most critical alteration is a progressive river incision, reaching depths of up to 10 m in the southernmost sectors. This process was initially triggered by massive gravel mining and the narrowing of the channel through the creation of waste dumps. Crucially, this incision has exhumed the Quaternary Qt9 terrace and its associated paleodoline infills. These karstic features, composed of silts and peats, now act as loose levels that enhance erosive processes, creating deep pools, rapids, and sharp 90° bends that dictate the modern fluvial pattern. This study concludes that the lower Gállego has shifted from a high-energy natural system in 1927 to a highly regulated and incised reach at present where ancient geological structures now play a decisive role in contemporary dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 3","pages":"Article 100115"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Depositional environments in a prehistoric lakeshore settlement – A multi-proxy study of a stratigraphic sequence of the Neolithic lakeside settlement Zug-Riedmatt (Switzerland)","authors":"Kristin Ismail-Meyer,&nbsp;Bigna L. Steiner,&nbsp;Annekäthi Heitz-Weniger,&nbsp;Marguerita Schäfer,&nbsp;David Sebag,&nbsp;Eda Gross,&nbsp;Sandra Billerbeck-Braschler,&nbsp;Örni Akeret,&nbsp;Ferran Antolín,&nbsp;Gishan F. Schaeren,&nbsp;Stefanie Jacomet,&nbsp;Philippe Rentzel","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research project investigates the depositional and settlement dynamics of the Late Neolithic pile dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt in Central Switzerland, dated between 3200 and 3050 BCE. Using an interdisciplinary, microarchaeological approach, 14 stratigraphic units at one reference profile (Ref1) covering e complete stratigraphic sequence of the excavation site, were analysed using six disciplines: micromorphology, pollen analysis, palynofacies, macrobotany, entomology and archaeological observations. Their results were compared as a methodological approach and subsequently presented in a synthetic form in order to reconstruct natural and anthropogenic site formation processes in the stratigraphy. The analysed sediments range from limnic environments (lake marl) to deltaic and waterlogged environments, including the formation of a marshy waterbody. Periods of flooding, erosion and drought have been identified and correlated with seasonal hydrological variations. Traces of human activities such as animal husbandry, agriculture (e.g. cereals, poppies, flax), construction and waste disposal have been found in the settlement layers. The good preservation of the organic remains and the dense sampling strategy allowed insights into the interaction between natural processes and human activities in a dynamic environmental context between Lake Zug, the River Lorze and its deltaic area. The applied methods and results contribute to a better reconstruction of the layer formation processes in prehistoric pile dwelling settlements and demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in archaeology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 3","pages":"Article 100114"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The first primate (Macaca cf. sylvanus) from Schöningen (Germany)","authors":"Thijs van Kolfschoten,&nbsp;Ivo Verheijen,&nbsp;Jordi Serangeli","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100116","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100116","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An upper fourth deciduous premolar (DP4) represents the first record of a Barbary macaque (<em>Macaca</em> cf. <em>sylvanus</em>) in Schöningen, Germany. The tooth was found in the Lower Berm area, layer 3b2, the first post-interglacial woodland phase, which is correlated with MIS 9c. The precise stratigraphic origin of the find, along with the environmental data from this layer, emphasises its importance for reconstructing the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental context of the primate species. This discovery is among the northernmost finds of <em>Macaca</em> from the Middle Pleistocene and the northernmost find from continental Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 3","pages":"Article 100116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958657","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Younger Dryas reindeer in northwest Europe: A multi-isotope study of the palaeoecology and mobility of Chelm’s Combe fauna, Britain","authors":"Rhiannon E. Stevens,&nbsp;Hazel Reade,&nbsp;Delphine Frémondeau,&nbsp;Kerry L. Sayle,&nbsp;Jennifer A. Tripp,&nbsp;Thomas Higham,&nbsp;David J. Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100106","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100106","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reindeer (<em>Rangifer tarandus</em>) played a central role in the subsistence strategies of Late and Final Palaeolithic populations across northern Europe, particularly during the Younger Dryas (c. 12,850–11,650 cal BP). However, while reindeer are known from securely dated Younger Dryas faunal contexts in Britain, they are not associated with archaeological assemblages, and there is currently no conclusive evidence for human presence in Britain at the height of the Younger Dryas stadial. This absence raises important questions about local environmental conditions and the ecology and movements of animal populations in Britain compared to those elsewhere in northwest Europe. In this study, we present the first detailed multi-tissue, multi-isotope analysis of Younger Dryas reindeer from Britain, based on the faunal assemblage from Chelm’s Combe, southwest England. To investigate climate, environment, and reindeer mobility during this period, we analysed oxygen and carbon isotope values from reindeer and red deer (<em>Cervus elaphus</em>) tooth enamel, strontium isotopes from reindeer enamel, and carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope values from the bone collagen of reindeer, red deer, and horse (<em>Equus ferus</em>). The strontium isotope results indicate that, while some reindeer were likely locally resident, others were non-local and possibly migratory, with potential movement routes extending into northern Britain or across the Channel into northern France. Comparative collagen isotope analysis reveals a pronounced east–west gradient in reindeer δ¹ ³C and δ¹ ⁵N values, echoed in the δ¹ ⁵N values of horse, with British specimens exhibiting higher δ¹ ⁵N and lower δ¹ ³C values than their continental counterparts. These isotopic differences likely reflect regional variations in temperature, moisture, and lichen availability. Together with the strontium isotope results, these data point to limited connectivity between British and continental reindeer populations. Our findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of reindeer biogeography and palaeoecology during the Younger Dryas and offer critical context for interpreting the apparent absence of human activity in Britain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 3","pages":"Article 100106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148958654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Expanding the perspective on the environment-human nexus in the Quaternary","authors":"Andrea Zerboni,&nbsp;Silvia M. Bello,&nbsp;Fumie Iizuka,&nbsp;Jan Kolář,&nbsp;Thijs van Kolfschoten","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100118","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100118","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 3","pages":"Article 100118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148994970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vegetation history during the last 28,000 years in Tamba Highland, Kyoto, Japan based on multi-analyses of sediment from the Jaga-ike mire","authors":"Hikaru Takahara ,&nbsp;Tomoko Manabe ,&nbsp;Naoko Sasaki ,&nbsp;Ayaka Watanabe","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100095","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100095","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sediment cores obtained from the Jaga-ike mire, located in the inland mountainous area of the Kinki region in western Japan, date back to 28,000 cal BP. The vegetation history around the Jaga-ike mire since the Last Glacial period was reconstructed using multiproxy analyses (pollen, macrofossils, and charcoal). From 28,000 to 20,000 cal BP, forests were dominated by pinaceous conifers such as <em>Abies, Tsuga, Picea</em>, and <em>Pinus</em> as well as <em>Betula</em> trees. The genus <em>Picea</em> included <em>Picea jezoensis</em> var. <em>hondoensis</em> based on macrofossil analysis. Pinaceous conifer forests were most developed between 26,000 and 20,000 cal BP. Between 20,000 and 15,000 cal BP, the population of deciduous broad-leaved trees gradually increased. During the Late Glacial period, from 15,000 to 12,000 cal BP, broad-leaved forests mainly comprising <em>Fagus crenata</em>, deciduous <em>Quercus,</em> and <em>Carpinus/Ostrya</em> species developed. Between 10,000 and 7000 cal BP, forests dominated by <em>Castanea crenata</em> expanded likely in response to frequent fire events. During this period, the forests included <em>Carpinus, Fagus japonica, Q.</em> subgen. <em>Lepidobalanus, and Cryptomeria japonica</em>. Immediately after 7000 cal BP, <em>Quercus dentata,</em> which is tolerant to fire, temporarily increased in deciduous forests in relation to severe fire events. Between 7000 and 6000 cal BP, <em>Cryptomeria japonica</em> mixed with deciduous broad-leaved trees such as <em>Carpinus/Ostrya</em> and <em>Q</em>. subgen. <em>Lepidobalanus</em>. After 6000 cal BP, <em>C. japonica</em> formed forests together with cool temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests such as <em>F. crenata</em> and warm temperate evergreen broad-leaved forests mainly composed of evergreen <em>Quercus</em> formed adjacent to them. The vegetation records at the Jaga-ike mire show intermediate characteristics between the development of <em>C. japonica</em> on the Sea of Japan side caused by the Tsushima Warm Current and the development of evergreen broad-leaved forests on the Pacific side influenced by the Kuroshio Warm Current.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100095"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145948040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Initial Upper Palaeolithic of the Iranian Plateau; Sorheh Rockshelter: A techno-typological perspective","authors":"Elham Ghasidian","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Iranian Plateau is a vast geological feature that connects western Asia (including the Caucasus) to the south (India) and east (including Central Asia). This Plateau consists of different biogeographical units, making it attractive to a high variety of fauna, flora and hominin taxa. This geographic location puts the Iranian Plateau at the centre of important evolutionary changes during the late Pleistocene. Sporadic Palaeolithic research in Iran confirms its high potential in answering important questions regarding late Pleistocene hominins and the diversity of culture. One of these questions is the transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the generation of new lithic techno-complexes and cultural units. The newly discovered site of Sorheh Rockshelter, located on the southern piedmonts of the Alborz Mountains at the northern Iranian Plateau, revealed a novel behavioural trait known as the Initial Upper Palaeolithic techno-complex. Sorheh Rockshelter, located at a high elevation of 1903 m asl., is one in a complex of 6 caves and rockshelters in the region. During two seasons of excavation in 2019 and 2022, numerous lithics and fauna have been recovered, indicating a single cultural occupation in a long chronological frame of ∼50–35 ka cal. BP. Despite Sorheh Initial Upper Palaeolithic shares techno-typological features with known counterparts in the Levant, Eastern Europe and East Asia, it reveals strong local characteristics. These characteristics indicate diversity of hominin behaviours during the late Pleistocene. The temporal window exposed in Sorheh suggests that the Initial Upper Palaeolithic occupation in this site lasted a long time, hypothesising this part of the Iranian Plateau as a potential core area for this techno-complex. Meanwhile, regardless of this hypothesis, Sorheh fills the gap in the diffusion of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic towards Central and East Asia, uncovers the important role of this plateau in the cultural evolution of our lineage and its expansion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100099"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147398417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Language contacts in the development of ancient Egyptian: An overview","authors":"Marwan Kilani ,&nbsp;Joanne Clarke ,&nbsp;Nicholas Brooks","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100097","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100097","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article explores the unique linguistic features of early Egyptian, arguing that these characteristics are best explained by a period of intense and unusual linguistic contact in the prehistory of the language. Drawing on both linguistic and archaeological data, the study examines the socio-historical context of these contacts, linking them to the spread of pastoralism and the desertification of the Sahara during the 4th millennium BCE, and the unification of Egypt at the end of that period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100097"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147398371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Language, ecology and climate change: First principles and worldwide perspectives","authors":"Martine Robbeets ,&nbsp;Paul Heggarty","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100096","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qeh.2026.100096","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The acceleration of climate change over recent decades threatens consequences so wide-ranging that they extend across the human sciences, and call for perspectives from all disciplines. Notwithstanding various attempts to integrate the humanities into climate research, linguistics has been slow to engage with the topic. This special issue aspires to remedy this, by setting out basic principles for exploring how language dynamics have related to ecology, and in particular to climate <em>change</em>, over the last 10,000 years, drawing examples from various language families worldwide. We investigate how language distributions can pattern by ecology, how climate change can thus drive language mobility, and look into cases where languages have even been argued to show certain characteristics associated with the ecologies in which they are (or were) spoken. We summarize quantitative, qualitative and multi-disciplinary methodology that can help us explore this ecology-language interface, and introduce various overarching models that have been proposed for ecology-language relationships at the global scale. What emerges from these analyses and worldwide case-studies is that relationships between climate/ecology and language are essentially indirect, but nonetheless far-reaching, mediated as they are through crucial aspects of human culture and social structures, not least subsistence modes. And through time, over the human trajectory from Holocene into the emerging Anthropocene, the relationship largely inverts, shifting from environmental determinism upon humans and their languages towards increasing anthropogenic impacts on ecology and language dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"4 1","pages":"Article 100096"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147538410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}