Abstract: differences have helped us to recognize events not considered in the simulation (such as the corridor along the Ebro Valley) and its shortcomings (such as the spread of Basque characteristics). Beyond the coincidences, however, no causal relationship between facts and hypothesis has been demonstrated. What this study shows is that the scenario suggested for the interpretation of the genetic variation in the Iberian Peninsula as the outcome of population history is internally consistent. A direct demonstration may never be possible.

Abstract: Cultural transformations and interactions in Eastern Europe: theory and terminology people on the move - interpretations of regional variation in palaeolithic Europe upper palaeolithic relations between central and eastern Europe migration vs interaction in upper palaeolithic Europe social power in the iron gates mesolithic foraging and farming groups in north-eastern and north-western Europe: identity and interaction hunters or farmers?: the neolithic and bronze age societies of north-east Europe the Lausitz culture and the beginning and end of bronze age fortifications the White Lotus, Rogozen and Colchis: the fate of a motif the sedentary elite in the "Empire" of the huns and its impact on material citilization in southern Russia during the early middle ages (5th-7th centuries AD) the problem of the emergence of early urban centres in northern Russia.

Abstract: Danish early and late Mesolithic lakeside settlements are examined. Season of occupation is examined through tooth eruption and bone growth of wild boar (Sus scrofa); the early Mesolithic sites were all occupied in summer (including Holmegaard V, previously believed to be a winter settlement), whereas late Mesolithic Ringkloster was occupied in winter and spring. Skeletal element frequency indicates that Ringkloster was a hunting camp and the early Mesolithic sites were not. There were considerable differences between sites of the two periods, despite their very similar locations, because of their different settlement systems. It is therefore argued that Mesolithic settlements cannot be understood by studying individual site location; the settlement system of which each site was a part exerts a crucial influence.

Abstract: 1. Attention is drawn to a number of themes in the work of A.G. Smith that relate to the interaction of Mesolithic communities in Britain with their natural environments. 2. Evidence is briefly discussed from the period preceding the establishment of deciduous forests, the actions of humans within it, and the transition period from a dominantly hunter-gatherer culture to an agricultural one. 3. The second of these themes is then amplified with work from North Yorkshire, looking in particular at the results of fineresolution pollen analysis (FRPA) of peats from the later Mesolithic. 4. These findings are then put into the wider context of the likely dynamics of the deciduous woodlands of that time, and one possible avenue for further research is indicated.

Abstract: Etude des cereales Epipaleolithiques et Neolithiques par les phytolithes. Apport pour la connaissance de l'agricuture dans le Levant

Abstract: Research on the late Pleistocene and Holocene environment and archaeology of the upper Kennet valley, north Wiltshire, is described. In concentrating the work in the valley bottom, the main aims were: (1) to see if there was a record of environment and archaeology there, and if so to detail it; and (2) to redress brasses in research towards the visible archaeology of slopes and plateaus and their environmental record.Soils and sediments with biological and archaeological materials covered the late Pleistocene to the present and, with dating by 14C and thermoluminescence, enabled a history of environment and human activity to be established.The distinction in hydrology and environment between the valley floor and slopes/plateaus varied with time. In the upper part of the study area at Avebury, there was no stream in the earlier Holocene: woodland covered the valley floor which in some areas was similar to that of the slopes/plateaus in being dry while in other areas it was marshy. In the lower part of the study area at West Overton there was also an earlier Holocene land surface but there were locally streams and swamps, represented by the North Farm Formation. During the earlier Neolithic there was woodland clearance and some cultivation of the valley floor which initiated minor hydrological changes, namely paludification at Avebury and alluviation at West Overton. Dry grassland later developed which was little different from that of the slopes and plateaus. There was no woodland regeneration during the later Neolithic in contrast to the situation in monument ditches on the valley slopes and plateaus. Throughout the study area there was a major episode of alluviation in open country, represented by the West Overton Formation, which was probably initiated in the Beaker period and carried on until the early Iron Age. This, while not putting the valley floor out of use and indeed perhaps enhancing its fertility, provided a very different environment from that of the slopes and plateaus. Another period of alluviation, represented by the Arion Clay, took place in post-Medieval times.The main Holocene deposits were not wholly allochthonous or made up solely of clastic material derived from slopewash incorporated into the river. Calcium carbonate precipitation accounted for much of the North Farm and West Overton Formations while the Arion Clay may derive from flocculated material redistributed from watermeadow channels in the course of their management. On the other hand, periods of arable activity in the area, often close to the river valley floor, notably in Iron Age, Roman and Medieval times, have no signal in terms of alluvium.Archaeology, although concealed, is abundant and significantly extends the local record of slopes and plateaus. Mesolithic flints, Neolithic flints and pottery, two lines of probably later Neolithic/Beaker sarsen boulders, later Bronze Age sarsen structures, pottery and a cremation are present on the valley floor, concealed by deposits of the West Overton Formation. Medieval activity, represented on the valley sides as earthworks, extends on to the valley floor where it is concealed by Arion Clay and earthworks of watermeadows. The visible distribution of archaeology presents a pattern which may be of more than local significance for chalkland areas.

Abstract: Dederiyeh No. 2, a large cave site in northwestern Syria, was chosen for excavation after an extensive reconnaissance survey in the Afrin region in 1987 under the Syrian-Japan joint expedition. The cave is about 60km NW of Aleppo, the second largest city of Syria. The preliminary excavations of 1989 and 1990 uncovered a number of fragmentary human remains as well as rich lithic and faunal assemblages. The lithic industries of the cave are composed of two distinct assemblages. One was assigned to the Natufian class, and was found in the test excavation area. The other was assigned to the Levantine Middle Paleolithic, because of its large proportion of Levallois type cores and flakes. It was found in the main excavation area. The left humerus of a young infant was found in situ in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic context. Several adult bones and teeth, although found in secondary position in the main excavation area, appeared on anatomical grounds to be Neanderthals.

Abstract: The aim offieldwork in the Atbara region, begun in 1984, was to survey and excavate sites which could throw light on the preconltions for the transition to food production and its consequences. The area to be surveyed and excavated was along the lower Atbara river and the Nile north and south of the Atbara confluence. No fieldwork had been undertaken in this area previously. In Sudan the main focus of archaeologd work has been along the Nile in the Khartoum area, with hardly any investigations ofprehstoric sites between that area and the Third Cataract in the north (an exception being work in the Shenl area: Geus, 1984; Reinold, 1987). Further north extensive rescue archaeology was undertaken in the 1960s before building the Aswan dam. Our work then has filled an important gap. There have been five field seasons, the most interesting data so far being from three sites of the Early Holocene, sites whch have yielded new insights into the problems related to the transition to a broad-spectrum type of economy and the emergence of sedentism. We have not located any habitation sites of the Mid-Holocene, that is of early Neolithic date. This is probably because archaeological sites in the area are invariably heavily deflated. There appears to have been a later Neolithic occupation on most of the Early Holocene sites, visible as a very thin eroded layer of Neolithic material on top of the Early Holocene settlement mounds and as material washed down onto the surrounding plain. Another factor which doubtless helps explain the absence of Neolithic sites in our survey is the change in the courses of the rivers. Decrease in rainfill between the Early and the Middle Holocene affected the floodplains which became narrower, and many settlements are likely to have been situated within areas which are now heavily populated or irrigated. The sites that we have been excavating are Abu Darbein, El Darner and Aneibis (Fig. 1). All three are located on old river gravels along the Atbara river and the Nile (Figs. 2, 3). Material recovered &-om the sites is of the typical ‘aqualithic’ culture (as coined by Sutton in 1977). The people inhabiting the sites exploited a broad spectrum of resources but relied most heavily on aquatic ones; as many as thirty different fish species were exploited (Peters, 1991). The pottery recovered is ofthe dotted wavyline tradition. There are also the typical uniserial bone harpoons, which are usually associated with these types of sites. The presence of grinding stones and the evidence for processing of plant food is also clear. What is of special interest is the discovery of several graves. These are located at the outskirts of the settlement area; they seem to belong within a confined area, being not scattered about the site. Since the graves are

Abstract: Archaeological-palaeogeographical studies on the Russian Plain make it possible to trace the history of man-induced changes of the landscapes from the Mesolithic to the present time. Palynological data suggest that the economic strategies of the primitive society inhabiting the area were strongly influenced by climatic fluctuations and the related changes in vegetation and animal population of the different zones.

Abstract: By means of ecological interpretation of archaeobotanical data, the origin and development of anthropo-zoogenous vegetation from the beginning of human interference at a turning point of the mesolithic to the neolithic period up to the development of a modern agricultural landscape are described. The ecological changes during the transformation of natural woodlands into cultural landscape with its specific variety of anthropogenic biotopes are discussed. Four important periods are distinguished: fint, a primitive kind of field grass farming, lasting many thousands of years until the Middle Ages; second, the socalled «tree field farming» resp. a farming on plaggen soils in the Pleistocene landscapes

Abstract: 1. Palynological data from a riverine peat in Buxton, Derbyshire, show a record of possible Mesolithic hunter-gatherer vegetational disturbances, continuous arable activity since at least 6000 BP, and extensive woodland clearance from Bronze Age times onward. 2. The fossil record for cultivation may be the earliest yet found for the British Isles. Nearby archaeological excavations have produced dated Neolithic contexts, including remains of wheat and flax from house structures, covering the period 5024 ± 126 BP to 4680 ± 70 BP. 3. The pollen catchment area of the site has always contained locales of open vegetational aspect.

Abstract: Our understanding of the prehistory of the Upper Yenisei area is based on several key multilayered sites, which provide an excellent opportunity for the investigation of long-term culture change and the reconstruction of culture history. The earliest traces of prehistoric people in the region date to the Sartan glacial. Ui I is dated to ca. 22,000–17,000 B.P. and belongs to the middle phase of the Yenisei Upper Paleolithic, predating the period of the Final Paleolithic Afontova culture (16,000–10,000 B.P.). The Early Holocene period remains little known; there is only one assemblage (the lower cultural layer of Sosnovka Golovan'skaya) which may be attributed to the Epipaleolithic. In the seventh and sixth millennia B.P., the aceramic Early Neolithic (the uppermost cultural horizons of Maina and Ui II, Ust'Khemchik 3, etc.) was widespread and was replaced by the Late Neolithic Verkhneeniseisk culture in the fifth millennium B.P. This was succeeded by the Eneolithic Afanas'eva culture at the end of the fifth millennium B.P. and, later, by the Bronze Age Okunev culture (until the twelfth century B.C.). From the eighth to the second centuries B.C., Scythian cultures flourished in the area, until the invasion of the Huns. All of these stages of the Holocene culture sequence are represented in the stratified site of Toora-Dash.

Abstract: The potential faunal element of the Irish Mesolithic is at present rather better known than the floral. Therefore, a wider range of available food sources in prehistoric Ireland is considered, with an emphasis on those sources which may not have been previously discussed in detail. Archaeological evidence from both Irish Mesolithic sites and sites outside Ireland, ethnographic data, and nutritional information, are all, used to suggest seasonal diet which would have been readily available in Ireland during the Mesolithic.

Abstract: Summary: Results of recent surveys, combined with a re-evaluation of lithic assemblages from earlier surface collections, suggest the existence of several Mesolithic sites in the Channel Islands. the lithic assemblages from these sites find parallels on the mainland of North-Western France, suggesting that most of the Channel Island sites date to the ‘Middle Stage’Mesolithic (c 8500-10,000 BP). the evidence for Mesolithic activity in the island is discussed in the context of the evidence for changing sea-levels and environmental conditions. It is argued that sites were preferentially located at the junction of several ecozones and that, for a short period of time during the 8th & 9th Millennia BP, sea-levels and environmental conditions in the area were particularly favourable for the exploitation of a broad range of resources.

Abstract: 1. Evidence is summarized for the effects of human communities on the English chalklands from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age, as indicated by molluscan analysis. 2. For the Mesolithic period, the evidence is exiguous, but there are a few possibilities of woodland clearance. The natural vegetation was probably woodland, but the continuing absence of data for the high chalklands is noted. 3. Clearance took place from the Neolithic period onwards. There were periods of abandonment when woodland regenerated in some areas, but impoverished grassland is an alternative response to the relaxation of human pressure. 4. Molluscan analysis for later periods is less widely applicable on its own because of increasing cultural and environmental diversity. 5. A research strategy is proposed in which spatial analysis of archaeology, soils and biology at different scales is combined with stratigraphical and chronological studies.

Abstract: Archeological excavations were carried out in 1989–1990 on a Mesolithic hunting camp on Zhokhova Island in the De Long Archipelago (north of the New Siberian Islands). Samples of wood and bone from the culture layer indicate an age between 7450 and 8200 years B.P. At that time, due to glacial lowering of sea level, Zhokhova Island was substantially larger than at present and may still have been joined to the Asiatic mainland. The main species harvested by the hunters (on the basis of the numbers of bone remains) was reindeer (49.7%) but a remarkable number of polar bears was also being taken (43.8% of bones). Bones from a canine intermediate in size between a wolf and a fox have been identified as those of a dog, and the finding of a well‐made sledge runner suggests that dogs were being used as draft animals.

Abstract: In this paper we consider the radiocarbon chronology of Mesolithic and Neolithic settlement sites in the eastern Baltic region. Dating of wood and charcoal from Estonian and Latvian sites establishes the periods (early, middle and late) within these epochs. We present 90 14C dates, as yet unpublished in radiocarbon, produced by laboratories in Riga, Tallin, Tartu, Leningrad and Moscow.

Abstract: The relationships between the land and sea in the northern Adriatic at the Pleistocene—Holocene boundary are examined by considering sea-level curves and archaeological data. Changes in the Mesolithic (Early Holocene) economy of the inhabitants can be interpreted as a result of palaeoecological variations due to glacioecustatic sea-level changes and recent tectonics. This hypothesis is also supported by evidence of older tectonic movements which may have continued until the end of the Pleistocene.

Abstract: The sites are located on the eastern side of the Nile Valley, between 30 and 50 Km north of Khartoum. The material culture inculded a microlithic industry, grindstones, ceramics, and ostrish eggshell beads. Faunal remains suggested a subsistence economy based on hunting, fishing and gathering. Radiocarbon dates fall between the 8th and the end of 7th millenium B.P. Changes in material culture and settlement patterns were observed among the different sites

Abstract: There is extensive evidence of subsistence intensification by Upper Paleolithic people in Europe, particularly based on the records from Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany. In addition to diversifying their subsistence base wherever and whenever possible, Upper Paleolithic hunters made efficient use of landforms and developed new types of weapon-delivery systems to procure large numbers of herd game. In so doing, they seem to have preferentially chosen to inhabit regions with significant hills and valleys. This allowed them to channel game movements and to hinder or trap herds, thereby facilitating mass kills. Specific physical features (rivers, cliffs, gorges, box canyons, blind valleys, etc.) were of proven use especially to late Upper Paleolithic hunters in their planned, scheduled mass kills of such species as horse, reindeer, red deer, bison, and ibex. The most dynamic component of Upper Paleolithic technologies was weaponry. New types of weapon tips, shafts, hafts, and propulsion devices were developed at an everaccelerating rate throughout the Upper Paleolithic and into the Mesolithic, between at least 35,000–40,000 BP and ca. 7000 BP.

Abstract: The transition to food production in Portugal begins with the arrival of cardial pottery and domesticates, an event that can be date to the time period between 6800 and 6200 BP. These items are found in sites located in the northern part of Estremadura. Contemporaneous hunter-gatherer adaptions are known to have continued their development up to c. 6000 BP in areas located further south, centered in the inner part of the estuaries of the rivers Tejo, Sado and Mira. This pattern is interpreted as indicating that the onset of agro-pastoral economies is linked to the arrival of small groups of settlers that, through interaction with local hunters, are at the origins of the subsequent expansion (completed about one thousand years later) of these economies to the rest of Portuguese territory. The archaeological evidence from Southern Spain and Southern France commonly invoked by proponents of models of the transition to food production as the result of the domestication of local resources or of the acquisition of novel resources by local hunters through long-distance exchange systems is shown to be flawed. Severe disturbances at the Mesolithic/Neolithic interface at the stratigraphic sequences upon which models are based - sometimes not recognized by the excavators, but documented either by subsequent work or by critical evaluation of the site reports - can be shown to have occurred. Such disturbances would account well for the radiocarbon dates between 8000 and 7000 BP obtained at some of those sites, as well as for the presence of sheep bones in their pre-Neolithic strata.

Abstract: MEDINA LARA, F., C. BARROSO RUIZ, J. L. SANCHIDRIAN TORTI, AND A. RUIZ BUSTOS. I987. \"Avance al estudio de los niveles musterienses de la cueva del Boquete de Zafarraya, Alcaucin, Malaga (Excavaciones de I98I-83),\" in Homenaje a L. Siret, pp. 94-105. Sevilla: Consejeria de Cultura. MORLAN, R. E. I984. Toward the definition of criteria for recognition of artificial bone alterations. Quaternary Research 22: I60-71. OBERMAIER, H. 1925. El hombre f6sil. Madrid: C.I.P.P. OLSEN, L. S. I988. On distinguishing natural from cultural damage on archaeological antler. Journal of Archaeological Science I6:125-35. OLSEN, L. S., AND P. SHIPMAN. I988. Surface modification on bone: Trampling versus butchery. Journal of Archaeological Science 15:535-53. ORDIDGE, R. M. I985. The equine metacarpus. 2. The cannon bone. Veterinary Annual 25:192-200. PEI, W. C. 1938. Le r6le des animaux et des causes naturelles dans la cassure des os. Palaeontologia Sinica, n.s., 7:I-I6. RUIZ BUSTOS, A. I984. El yacimento paleontol6gico de CullarBaza I. Investigaci6n y Ciencia 91:20-30. SADDEK-KOOROS, H. 1975. \"Intentional fracturing of bone: Description of criteria,\" in Archaeozoological studies. Edited by A. T. Clason, pp. 139-50. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing. SAENZ DE BURUAGA, A. S. I99I. Elpaleolitico superior de la cueva de Gatzarria. Zuberoa, Pais Vasco. Velea, Serie Mayor, 6. SHIPMAN, P. I98I. Applications of scanning electron microscopy to taphonomic problems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 376:357-86. . I988. \"Actualistic studies of animal resources and hominid activities,\" in Scanning electron microscopy in archaeology. Edited by S. L. Olsen, pp. 26i-85. British Archaeological Reports International Series 452.