Quaternary International最新文献

{"title":"Late Quaternary alluvial fan stratigraphy and chronology, Elqui, Turbio and Claro valleys, semiarid Andes of Chile","authors":"José L. Antinao ,&nbsp;Antonio Maldonado ,&nbsp;Laura Díaz ,&nbsp;Robert M. Negrini ,&nbsp;Rachel Tiner ,&nbsp;Valentina Flores-Aqueveque ,&nbsp;Stella Maris Moreiras ,&nbsp;Nathan Brown ,&nbsp;Eric McDonald","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109765","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109765","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New mapping and luminescence geochronology of tributary alluvial fan deposits from the semiarid Subtropical Andes of Chile are used to infer Late Pleistocene–Holocene paleoclimate conditions for the region. During this period, alluvial fans descending from tributary catchments to major river valleys encroached on fluvial deposits, creating a record of interbedded fluvial-alluvial deposition, and in places, generated extensive river damming. The oldest sequence of fan deposition (∼40 ka) appears eroded and disconnected from active channel deposition. Other regionally distributed fan sequences are dated to 14–11 ka, ∼8 ka, and 3–1 ka. Common depositional timing of the thick 14–11 ka fans in catchments sourced from high and intermediate elevations suggests a common factor in generating these fans, possibly linked to a regional precipitation increase derived from Pacific moisture sources in the context of a gradual temperature rise since the local last glacial maximum. A short duration fan sequence occurred centered at ∼8 ka in some outlets sourced from high-elevation catchments. The occurrence of the 8 ka fans during the most arid period of the Holocene in the subtropical Andes suggests an easterly moisture source for the precipitation events that generated the fans, that could be associated with an effect of the 8.2 ka event (Bond event 5) leaking into the Southern Hemisphere. A minor Late Holocene aggradation period is linked to a regional humid period with westerlies as the principal moisture source and an increase in ENSO-warm signal frequency and intensity as a driver. Fan aggradation occurs during periods with both ascent and descent of the major regional vegetation ecotones. This observation suggests that, in this setting, hillslope hydrology and rainfall style control aggradation periods rather than vegetation change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"727 ","pages":"Article 109765"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Highland settling in the Early Mesolithic. Insight from the record of Cima Dodici open-air sites, Venetian pre-Alps (Italy)","authors":"Rachele Discosti ,&nbsp;Davide Visentin ,&nbsp;Federica Badino ,&nbsp;Marco Peresani","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109756","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109756","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Large areas of the Italian Alps were home to early Holocene hunter-gatherers, who exploited the highlands seasonally throughout the entire Mesolithic period. This is evident on the southern slope of Cima Dodici, a peak located along the northernmost fringe of the Asiago Plateau, where sites are distributed between 2000 and 2100 m of elevation, representing a unique context for investigating Mesolithic settlement patterns at the onset of Holocene. This work integrates previous excavation data, re-evaluation of surface collections, and the analysis of the spatial distribution of lithic assemblages from two excavated sites, providing an updated framework for understanding the sites and their main characteristics. Despite potential post-depositional disturbances, the pattern at CD3 reveals a possible organization of activities, with designated areas for specific tasks. In contrast, the spatial distributions at CD9 appear to be influenced by the accumulation of artifacts in depressions. Surface collection data from other sites provide additional information about the settlement network and potential functional differences between sites, although the scarcity of diagnostic artifacts in some assemblages, limits interpretation. Overall, the study highlights the complexity of Mesolithic settlement pattern on the Asiago Plateau, highlighting adaptations to the specific environmental conditions of mid and high-altitude settlings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"727 ","pages":"Article 109756"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143696208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Pleistocene-Holocene history of a fluviokarst landscape in Central Brazil: An analysis of the river sediments of the Extrema, das Pedras and Ventura dry valleys","authors":"Adivane Morais Nogueira ,&nbsp;Dandara Caldeira ,&nbsp;Rogério Uagoda ,&nbsp;Leonardo Chaves Mendes","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109735","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study aims to understand the evolutionary and depositional dynamics of the karst system of the Nascentes do Rio Vermelho Environmental Protection Area – APANRV, Goiás, Central Brazil, by analyzing three dry valleys in the region, formed as a result of fluvial/karst transitions. Their sediments were subjected to stratigraphic, mineralogy, granulometry, geochemical and stable isotope (δ¹³C) analyses, as well as radiocarbon dating and OSL geochronology. The three selected dry valleys – Rio Ventura, Rio Extrema and Rio das Pedras – were proven to have once belonged to rivers that were captured by sinkholes and carried underground, since their channels present interspersed sedimentary packages typical of fluvial environments. Depositional phases were defined for each case according to the characterization of the profiles in the field and to stratigraphic analysis, which identified the last deposition stage before stream capture and valley abandonment. In the Rio Pedras dry valley, surface sediments are composed of colluvial material from intermediate layers; there, deposition began around 3.0 kyr, with a change in flow around 1.5 kyr, and a final stage at 0.5 kyr, suggesting a fluvial transition. The different depositional phases found in the two profiles in the Ventura River dry valley suggest a significant change in flow, starting with sandy deposits around 2 kyr and 1.2 kyr, and later deposition of calcareous tufa, with fossils occurring only in the middle of the valley. This scenario was interpreted as representing a partial stream capture with subsequent completion. Finally, in the Extrema River dry valley, the depositional change around 13.0 kyr with the fluvial/karst transition, while the colluvial material deposited later was dated to 1.0 kyr. According to the evolution of the valleys and to the depositional phases, the ages of both the deposits and captures are related to the distance between the valleys and the erosive escarpment of the Serra Geral de Goiás.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"725 ","pages":"Article 109735"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143685364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paleorainfall during the past two millennia in the Western Ghats, south-western India: Evidence from a multi-proxy lacustrine sedimentary record","authors":"K.V. Reshma ,&nbsp;K. Sandeep ,&nbsp;Anish K. Warrier ,&nbsp;Srinivas Bikkina ,&nbsp;Jithin Jose ,&nbsp;G.H. Aravind ,&nbsp;A.S. Yamuna ,&nbsp;S.J. Gayathri ,&nbsp;Rajveer Sharma ,&nbsp;Reji Srinivas ,&nbsp;N. Karunakara ,&nbsp;K. Sudeep Kumara","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109740","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109740","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Indian monsoon, a critical component of the global climate system, plays a vital role in shaping the environmental and socio-economic landscape of the Indian subcontinent. A decreasing trend of southwest monsoon rainfall is documented in the southern part of the Western Ghats during the 20^th century. The current study attempts to reconstruct the short- and long-term changes in monsoon during the past 1600 years based on multi-proxy studies on lacustrine sediments from Cheppandikere Lake (CK), situated in the Western Ghats in southwestern India. Three AMS ¹⁴C dates constrain the age of sediment core collected from the lake and span the past ∼1600 years. The environmental magnetic (χ_ARM, χ_fd %, χ_lf, IRM, SIRM, S-ratio, and HIRM) data indicates that the magnetic mineral concentration, magnetic grain size, and mineralogy have varied significantly during the past in response to changing rainfall conditions. The diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) denote the distinctive peaks of sediment components like hematite, goethite, clay minerals, and organic matter. The temporal variation of the different sediment components is implied by the component scores obtained by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The aquatic productivity and input of terrestrial organic matter are indicated by organic carbon, C/N, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values. The multi-proxy data suggests the presence of two distinct climatic phases in the region during the past two millennia. Phase I (∼300–1150 AD) is characterized by lower magnetite, higher hematite, coarser magnetic grain size, finer particle size, decreased terrestrial organic matter, a higher proportion of clay minerals, enhanced aquatic productivity, and a lower proportion (52 %) of C₃ vegetation (higher C₄; 48 %) pointing towards weak monsoonal conditions. However, higher magnetite, lower hematite, finer magnetic grain size, increased terrestrial organic matter, a higher proportion of clay minerals, reduced aquatic productivity, and a higher proportion (92 %) of C₃ vegetation (lower C₄; 8 %) indicate a stronger monsoon and increasing trend of rainfall during Phase II (∼1150 AD to Present). The study shows that the monsoon in the Western Ghats has strengthened overall in the region and responded to global climatic episodes like the Little Ice Age (weak), Medieval Warm Period (strong) and Dark Age Cold Period (weak). A similar pattern is also seen in other lacustrine records in the Western Ghats, albeit with differences in their short-term variability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"725 ","pages":"Article 109740"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143684988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Luminescence dating study of eruptions and baked sediments from Changbaishan volcano, Northeastern China","authors":"Huili Yang ,&nbsp;Bo Pan ,&nbsp;Jie Chen ,&nbsp;Jinfeng Liu ,&nbsp;Hui Liang ,&nbsp;Ning Di ,&nbsp;Jinhua Du ,&nbsp;Shenghua Li","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate dating of Quaternary eruptions is crucial for understanding volcanic histories, geo-dynamics, volcanic hazards, and the development and evolution of magmatic systems. However, determining the age of young volcanic eruptions remains a very challenging task. In this study, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is applied to fine-grained quartz (FQ) and polymineral (FM) materials sampled from the tephra deposit and its baked layers from the Heishigou section of the Changbaishan volcano, China. Adiocarbon dating obtained from a charcoal sample adjacent to the tephra layer yields an age of 876–994 cal. AD, referred to as the millennium eruption. OSL dating results show that FQ is the suitable material for dating young volcanic deposits. The OSL ages are in good agreement with both the radiocarbon dating of the tephra layer charcoal and the ages of over 27 tree rings modeled with Oxcal. The FQ in tephra layer displays the highest sensitivity of the OSL signal and the 110 °C thermoluminescence (TL) peak to dose of ionizing radiation, compared to the baked layer and unbaked sediments. Moreover, the heavily baked layers, closest to tephra, exhibit greater sensitivity to dose compared to other less baked layers. The unbaked sediments show lowest sensitivity to dose. Tephra experienced the highest temperatures heating, as suggested by the increase of the sensitivity to dose at increasing baking temperatures, up to ∼800 °C. The quartz grains in the tephra and the baked layers were heated to temperatures of at least 500 °C, sufficient to completely reset their luminescence signals. However, caution is necessary when using OSL dating for pyroclastic flow deposits and quartz from volcanic fields older than 10,000 years due to the potential instability of the medium component in OSL signals and/or incomplete bleaching prior to deposition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"724 ","pages":"Article 109738"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143629463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Medieval forest land use along the Tyrrhenian coast (Tuscany, central Italy): The archaeo-anthracological signal (AD 750–1250)","authors":"Mauro Paolo Buonincontri ,&nbsp;Marta Rossi ,&nbsp;Gaetano Di Pasquale","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109704","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109704","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Charcoal analysis, applied in archaeological excavation of Vetricella site in the distal reach of the Pecora river (Tyrrhenian southern Tuscany, Italy), detected the exploitation, management, and ecology of forest land cover between mid-8th century AD and mid-13th century AD. Taking place in a central Mediterranean district adequately studied through palaeoenvironmental and archaeological research, the investigation determined times and modalities of Medieval human impact on forest ecosystem. The fuelwood supply areas were characterised by <em>Quercus cerris</em> forest, in the past much larger and extended than Mediterranean evergreen forest. The collection of fuelwood was based on the traditional method of coppice woodland management, including the release of decade-year-old standard trees for the production of larger timber assortment, useful for building activities (testified by the numerous post-holes). The silvicultural system, known as compound coppice, produced a forest landscape characterised by multi-storied stands ensuring production of fruit and spreading of acorns for feeding pigs. Changes in the forest ecosystem were particularly detectable from mid-10th century AD, when accessory pioneer woody species, resilient to cut clearance, spread. It was the Ottonian period of activities in sequence aimed at radically changing the site of Vetricella along with land use in the Pecora river valley. The resulting forest land cover management, depending on the political strategies adopted by Medieval authorities, marked the progression of a cultural landscape still characterizing central Tyrrhenian Italy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"723 ","pages":"Article 109704"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143621035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early human settlements and mobility patterns in the Sichuan–Chongqing region from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age","authors":"Yuanyuan Gao ,&nbsp;Junhui Li ,&nbsp;Baofeng Di","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109726","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109726","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Sichuan-Chongqing region is among the key regions hosting human activities in Southwest China. Although archeological excavations in the region have been on the rise, providing insights into the regional cultural sequence, research on the evolution process of sites from a twin-city perspective remains limited. In this study, geographic information system (GIS) analysis was used to examine the spatiotemporal distribution of settlements in the region from the Neolithic to Bronze Age. Correlations between the distribution of archeological sites and environmental factors and the directionality of human mobility were wxplored. The results indicate that settlement distribution is strongly influenced by environmental factors. Ancient societies considered moderate elevation, convenient distance from rivers without flooding risk, and suitable soil for cultivation as the three main factors when selecting settlement sites. Sites respond to environmental change in different periods based on various factors, such as the slope, aspect, distance from the river, and soil type, and are mainly located in areas with slopes &lt;10°, facing south or west, and within a 2 km radius of rivers. As human reliance on water resources increases with improved productivity, limitations imposed by the natural environment decrease. Notably, since the Neolithic period, soil fertility, water, and topography have been key factors affecting the distribution of settlements. Compared with single factors, interactions among the factors exhibit greater explanatory power for the regional spatial distribution characteristics of settlement sites in the Sichuan-Chongqing region. The distribution of sites from the Neolithic Age to the Western Zhou Dynasty show a decrease in migration patterns along rivers in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in the Chongqing region, while also demonstrating enhanced clustering. In addition, the dual-center trend intensified gradually in the Sichuan–Chongqing region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"724 ","pages":"Article 109726"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143609401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late Quaternary meltwater pulses during Termination I on the southwestern South Atlantic margin","authors":"Germán R. Díaz ,&nbsp;María Sofía Plastani ,&nbsp;Paula B. Albarracín ,&nbsp;Graciela S. Bressan ,&nbsp;Rodrigo S. Martín ,&nbsp;Natalia García Chapori ,&nbsp;Roberto A. Violante ,&nbsp;Cecilia Laprida","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109712","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109712","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Argentine continental shelf reveals the significant influence of Late Quaternary climatic changes on its evolution. A sedimentary core, retrieved at 40°S - 57°W from the outer shelf, documents the environmental evolution of the coast during the Late Glacial-early Holocene, influenced by significant post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sea-level changes. Between the LGM and 15 cal ka BP, an isolated coastal lagoon was established. It was characterized by reducing and low-energy conditions. Microfossils with continental and marine affinities suggest a brackish environment influenced by continental runoff, originated from increased precipitation in southeastern South America during the Heinrich Stadial 1. Subsequently, between ∼15 and 14 cal ka BP, the environment rapidly evolved into a coastal lagoon with marine connection. This change coincides with the Meltwater Pulse 1 A, which caused a rapid sea-level rise, integrating the lagoon with the open marine environment. The continuous rise in sea-level allowed the formerly isolated lagoon to be connected to the open sea around ∼14 cal ka BP, forming a mesohaline, tide-dominated paleobay. This vegetated tidal flat was characterized by environmental stability and a high diversity of ostracods and foraminifera. Then, around 13.7 cal ka BP, a storm-dominated shoreface is interpreted, indicating high-energy and fully marine conditions. A coarse bioclastic interval reflects repeated storm events on the shelf, mainly during the Younger Dryas stillstand and the Meltwater Pulse 1 B, which marks the last rapid pulse of middle and outer shelf inundation. The holocene sediments represent typical outer shelf conditions, characterized by relict sands formed by the reworking of pleistocene continental and marginal marine sediments. This study contributes to a broader understanding of the paleoenvironmental evolution of the South American continental margin, underscoring the importance of global sea-level changes in coastal and shelf dynamics. Our findings are relevant for reconstructing post-LGM sea-level changes and predicting future coastal responses to climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"723 ","pages":"Article 109712"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143600949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late Holocene climate and environmental change in the Teuchitlán basin, Jalisco, Mexico","authors":"Gabriel Vazquez-Castro ,&nbsp;Berenice Solis-Castillo ,&nbsp;Priyadarsi D. Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109727","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109727","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A 116 cm sediment sequence from paleolake Teuchitlan provided information for the last 4000 years related to past climate and human disturbance in western Mesoamerica. Concentrations of Ti, Zr, CaCO₃, and TOC were compared with their average values to infer variations in runoff, perturbation of sediments, lakewater salinity and productivity in the basin. During the first half of the Late Holocene (∼4.0–1.9 ka), conditions were generally dry. Highest abundance of CaCO₃ occurred at 3.95–3.90, 3.85–3.55, and 3.35–3.05 ka, and below-average transport of Ti-bearing clastic minerals during 2.75–2.15 ka indicates arid conditions within this generally drier interval of the Late Holocene. Southward migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, summer insolation and increased ENSO activity influenced summer precipitation and overall hydrologic variations during this interval. During the time period 1.9–0.3 ka (100–1600 CE), Ti, Zr and K indicate a mixed source, from the Early Classic (100 CE) until the end of the Postclassic (1600 CE), during a period of increasingly moist conditions. Enhanced evidence of human activities is related to agricultural practices during the Classic, Epiclassic and Postclassic Periods, associated with greater transport of allochthonous sediments from both nearby and distant sources. The Colonial-Industrial Period (1600–2017 CE) was characterized by an increase in human activities, with periodic additions of materials for agriculture in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"724 ","pages":"Article 109727"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143600750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The early Acheulean site of Gombore I level B (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia): Archaeological assemblage integrity and spatial distribution patterns","authors":"Eduardo Méndez-Quintas ,&nbsp;Rita Teresa Melis ,&nbsp;Patricia Bello Alonso","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109709","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109709","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Gombore I, Level B (Gombore IB) site at Melka Kunture, Ethiopia, is a significant Early Acheulean site that provides valuable insights into hominin behaviour. This study examines the integrity and spatial patterns of the Gombore IB archaeological record to differentiate between anthropogenic activities and natural sedimentary processes. Taphonomic analyses of the stone tools reveal extensive surface disturbance, but no evidence of significant sedimentary size sorting. Orientation analyses of artefacts, bones, and unmodified clasts indicate anisotropic distributions consistent with fluvial reorganisation. However, the spatial arrangement of tools and bones, combined with the lack of size correlations with natural clasts, suggests the partial preservation of original spatial relationships. The findings propose that Gombore IB represents a palimpsest of early Homo erectus activity interspersed with natural processes. While the tools are primarily attributed to hominin activities, the bone accumulations appear to have mixed origins, both anthropogenic and natural, complicating interpretations of the site's function. This study highlights the importance of multidisciplinary analytical methods in reconstructing behavioural and taphonomic dynamics at open-air Early Stone Age sites in East Africa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"723 ","pages":"Article 109709"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143528934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}