Abstract: European Neandertals and their Upper Paleolithic modern human successors differ substantially in various proportions of their bodies. As compared to Neandertals, Upper Paleolithic Europeans tend to have longer limbs, both absolutely and relative to estimated skeletal trunk height; narrower bi-iliac breadths, both absolutely and relative to femur length; and higher brachial and crural indices.1–7 Although these differences hold generally, body proportions did change through time during the Upper Paleolithic and subsequent Mesolithic, with more recent groups approximating Neandertals more closely. In comparison with Early Upper Paleolithic humans ( 20,000 years ago), those of the Late Upper Paleolithic (20,000 to 10,000 years ago) and Mesolithic (10,000 to 5,000 years ago) have shorter limbs, both absolutely and relative to estimated skeletal trunk height.5,6 However, brachial and crural indices, which do not always reflect overall limb length, do not change much through time. Early Upper Paleolithic, Late Upper Paleolithic, and Mesolithic humans all have high brachial and crural indices; it is not until recent Europeans that lower indices appear.5,6,8 During the Upper Paleolithic and into the Mesolithic there is a shift from relatively narrow bodies with long limbs to relatively wide bodies with short limbs, but not all proportions change at once. In extant humans, as in other endothermic species, contrasts in body proportions similar to those between Neandertals and Upper Paleolithic humans appear to reflect, at least in part, population-level genetic differences produced over thousands of years by interregionally differing selection pressures due to variation in local climate.1,5,7,9–17 For effective thermoregulation, in warm climates it is advantageous to have a narrow body with long limbs to dissipate heat, and in cold climates it is better to have a wide body with short limbs to retain heat. Thus, the body proportions of Early Upper Paleolithic Europeans appear to be a genetic signature of recent warm-climate ancestry and, conversely, lack of Neandertal ancestry, which is consistent with a predominantly African origin for all modern humans.1,5,6,18 Under the “climate hypothesis,” changes in body proportions during the Upper Paleolithic and into the Mesolithic would be explained as the gradual and mosaic adaptation over time to colder climates, possibly slowed by the increased cultural buffering of selection provided by Upper Paleolithic clothing and shelters.1,2,5,6,18 However, the climate hypothesis has been questioned.8,19,20 The primary alternative is that differences in body proportions reflect adaptation to differences in mobility (see discussions in Trinkaus,1 Finlayson,19 Wolpoff,20 and Holliday and Falsetti21). One variant of the “mobility hypothesis” posits that Neandertals could have played a substantial role in the ancestry of Upper Paleolithic Europeans if differences in body proportions originated in situ through selection for increased energetic efficiency during mobile foraging with the start of the Upper Paleolithic. Under this scenario, Neandertal body proportions could also still be adaptations to cold climates but, during the Upper Paleolithic, climatic selection was relaxed by increased cultural buffering and superceded by stronger selection for mobility. Under another variant, if Neandertals and modern humans coexisted for some time in Europe, then differences in body proportions between Neandertals and Upper Paleolithic modern humans could explain whymodern humans were able to outcompete Neandertals as environmental conditions changed to those that favored mobile foraging.19 Alternatively or additionally, Neandertal body proportions, along with other features of their skeletons, could have been shaped by selection for competence in foraging activities requiring substantial mechanical power18,22 or locomotion over hilly terrain.20 Neandertal body proportions could be the result of poor nutrition and health during the growth period,20,23 but while certain anthropometric dimensions are readily affected by changes in nutrition and health, body proportions appear to be fairly stable (see discussion and references in Ruff7). The “mobility hypothesis” has less empirical support than does the climate hypothesis, because no relationship can be found between body proportions and various measures of mobility in extant hunter-gatherer groups, even when controlling for the

Abstract: The discovery of a Middle Epipaleolithic adult skeleton (F-81) at the site of Wadi Mataha in southern Jordan provides new insights into human variability in the Epipaleolithic of the Levant. This paper analyzes the skeletal morphology of Wadi Mataha F-81 in the context of other Epipaleolithic remains from Jordan and Israel to assess the current evidence for morphological variability throughout this period. The F-81 skeleton shares morphological features with earlier Epipaleolithic skeletons from Ohalo and Nahal Ein Gev, and later Natufian populations. Despite the morphological similarities, F-81 extends the range of known variability prior to the Natufian with its unusually small stature and unique combination of morphological characteristics. High levels of cranial and postcranial robusticity suggest that the F-81 individual was physically active and terrestrially mobile. Pronounced bilateral asymmetry in the upper limb suggests significant lateralization of habitual activity. In the context of Epipaleolithic remains, the F-81 skeleton provides preliminary evidence for greater morphological variability, terrestrial mobility, and lateralized habitual behavior prior to the Natufian, and skeletal gracilization between the Middle and Late Epipaleolithic in the Levant.

Abstract: Two main mechanisms for the introduction of agriculture at the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in Portugal have been proposed: indigenous adoption and colonisation. Distinguishing between these mechanisms can be regarded as a question of genetic continuity or discontinuity at the transition. A genetic comparison of late Mesolithic and early Neolithic populations at the transition using ancient DNA is described here. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was extracted from human remains collected in several Mesolithic sites of the Sado estuary and from Neolithic cave sites. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the mitochondrial hypervariable region 1 (HVSI), and comparison with DNA from modern European populations was performed. The absence of mtDNA haplogroup J in the ancient Portuguese Neolithic sample suggests that this population was not derived directly from Near Eastern farmers. The Mesolithic and Neolithic groups show genetic discontinuity implying colonisation at the Neolithic transition in Portugal. A University of Oxford B Universidade de Lisboa at essentially the same moment as their appearance across the western Mediterranean (Zilhao 2001). The Neolithic is characterised by inland settlements, forming enclaves based on an agricultural economy, geographically separated from the hunter-gatherer settlements based in the coastal and estuarine regions. The earliest farming sites show evidence for a complete agricultural package, including domesticates, pottery and lithic technology which distinguishes these groups from the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of the same region. Radiocarbon dating of sites throughout Portugal shows that the Neolithic and Mesolithic groups co-existed for 500 years (Zilhao 1993, Zilhao 2000). Figure 1 shows the changing settlement patterns of southern Portugal at the Neolithic transition. Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen in bone of human remains from Mesolithic and Neolithic burials in Portugal has shown that the Mesolithic groups had a diet comprising 50% marine foods, while the Neolithic farming groups had an entirely terrestrial diet (Lubell et al. 1994). This difference in diet demonstrates that the two different settlement patterns observed, that is, the shell middens and the agricultural enclaves, do not represent seasonal movements of a single population, but rather two distinct populations. Information from skeletal morphology, however, has been contradictory. Different studies have claimed evidence for population replacement based on skeletal differences across the transition (Fox 1996), or alternatively evidence for continuity of morphological traits (Jackes et al. 1997). The evidence from skeletal morphology has thus not been able to resolve whether the observed cultural, economic and dietary discontinuities reflect a genetic discontinuity. Given these circumstances, a direct study of the genetics of these populaHelen Chandler, Bryan Sykesa and Joao Zilhao 782 Figure 1. Geographic distribution of late Mesolithic ( ) and early Neolithic ( ) sites in south-central Portugal between 6000 and 4657 cal BC. Figure 2. A stylised simplified European mtDNA median network. The major haplogroups are designated by capital letters. tions is clearly desirable, and ancient DNA analysis on human remains from both Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in Portugal was thus performed. Modern European population genetics Certain properties of the human mitochondrial genome mean that the majority of modern population genetics studies compare the diversity within a section of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) known as the hypervariable region I (HVSI). The mtDNA is separate from the nuclear DNA and is strictly maternally inherited. Thus, recombination, which occurs in chromosomal DNA, does not occur in mtDNA. In addition, mtDNA is present at approximately 1000 copies per cell and has a high mutation rate. The large number of studies carried out using mtDNA in modern Europeans means that a large comparative data set exists. The relationship between mtDNA sequence types can be represented on a median network diagram (Bandelt et al. 1999, Bandelt et al. 1995). Studies of modern Europeans have led to the development of a European mtDNA network that shows the presence of several different clusters of sequence types, known as clades or haplogroups. These have been given letter designations (Macaulay et al. 1999, Richards et al. 1998). The major European haplogroups are summarised in figure 2. Based on the variability observed within each of the different clusters it is possible to calculate the length of time that each haplogroup has been present in Europe. The ages of the major clusters are shown in figure 3. The ages of the clades show that most Europeans have an ancestry in Europe going back to the last glacial maximum with some dating back to the initial colonisation of Europe approximately 45 000 years ago. Around 15–20% of Europeans however, have mtDNA belonging to the haplogroup J which has been present in Europe for only around 8000–10000 years and which is derived from populations in the Near East. The results of modern mtDNA work thus imply a moderate input of population from the Near East with the beginning of farming in Europe, with haplogroup J being the main marker for the farming migration (Richards et al. 2000).

Abstract: The examination of eroding coastal dunes at the prehistoric site of Northton, Harris, has produced the first archaeological evidence of Mesolithic activity in the Western Isles in the form of two midden-related deposits. The first phase of Mesolithic activity is dated to 7060-6650 cal. BC based on AMS dating of charred hazelnut shells. This discovery appears to validate the frequent pollen-based inferences of Mesolithic impact for the area and, as predicted, allows the Atlantic fringe of Scotland to become part of the European Mesolithic mainstream. A detailed pedological analysis also suggests that these early midden layers may have been amended during the Neolithic period as part of a possible phase of cultivation.

Abstract: In a new study the authors explore the reasons behind the remarkable change in the procurement and choice of stone tools that occurred half way through the Irish Mesolithic. The abandonment of microliths and the adoption of a broad blade technology around 7000 BC is here attributed to a need for multi-purpose tools made from a variety of materials, serving smaller and more mobile communities.

Abstract: A survey was conducted in southern Greece in 2003 to test a predictive Mesolithic site-location model. We selected the coastal region of Kandia in the Argolid because the present shoreline is near the position of the early Holocene shoreline (c. 9,000 to 10,500 Cal BP). Marine transgression brought the shoreline near its present position by 9,000 Cal BP, flooding low-lying areas and creating a dynamic system of wetlands fed by springs and rivers. Our model predicted that Mesolithic sites were preferentially associated with freshwater wetlands in coastal zones, especially those areas that have small caves and rockshelters (shallow caves formed by overhangs of rock) that provided shelter and had optimal access to plants and animals at the intersection of woodland and aquatic habitats. Suitable caves and rockshelters (i.e. those large enough to have sheltered small bands of humans) were searched in an area of approximately 30 sq. km. Twenty-one sites with 1,713 associated lithic artifacts were recorded, 15 of which with microlithic assemblages of Mesolithic type are sites at the intersection between the higher elevations of the hinterland and the coastal wetlands. We interpret these Mesolithic sites as special activity sites or seasonally occupied residential sites that were part of a larger territory around the Argolic Gulf exploited by groups of foragers. This model is useful for the detection of Mesolithic sites in the eastern Mediterranean where similar environmental conditions existed in the early Holocene.

Abstract: This article reviews current developments in European regional studies. A brief history of settlement archaeology as practiced in Europe is followed by a discussion of new approaches to regional analysis and surface survey. I argue that recent, steady investments in the technology, methods, and theory of regional archaeological analysis and surface survey have stimulated advances in the study of settlement patterns and settlement pattern change through time in many parts of Europe. When innovative technologies (e.g., remote sensing, GPS, GIS), methods (e.g., geoarchaeology, “siteless” survey), and new theoretical frameworks (both processual and postprocessual) have been combined, breakthroughs in our understanding of European settlement have resulted. In the last half of the article, I describe some of these breakthroughs in a broad discussion of European settlement history, beginning with the earliest prehistory of Europe through the Middle Ages. Shifts in perspective are particularly apparent for phases of transition: from the Middle to Upper Paleolithic, Paleolithic to Mesolithic to Neolithic, and with the rise and expansion of states.

Abstract: Radiocarbon (14C) dating, now in its fifth decade of general use, continues to be the most widely employed method of inferring chronometric age for late Pleistocene and Holocene age materials recovered from archeological contexts. Over the last decade, several technical advances in 14C studies have provided contexts for a number of significant applications in archeology that were previously either not possible or not practical. These include the extension of the calibrated 14C time scale into the late Pleistocene and the development of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The contribution of AMS-based 14C values to the critical evaluation of archeological data is illustrated by considering the problems of dating early plant domestication in the Near East and Mesoamerica, New World Paleoindian human skeletal materials, and European Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic materials.

Abstract: The results of a series of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes measurements on human collagen from Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Middle and Modern Ages samples are commented. As elsewhere in Atlantic Europe, Cantabrian Mesolithic is characterized by an increase in the signature indicating marine protein, and by evidence of a terrestrial diet during the Neolithic. The variability of the Mesolithic samples allows us to suggest the coexistence of groups exploiting the marine resources with other centred in the inland areas.

Abstract: A combination of on- and off-site paleoenvironmental and archaeological investigations of the upper Allen valley of Dorset, conducted from 1998–2002, has begun to indicate a different model of prehistoric landscape development to those previously put forward for this part of the southern English chalk downlands. Woodland growth in the earlier Holocene appears to have been slower and patchier than the presumed model of full climax deciduous woodland rapidly attained in a warming environment. With open areas still strongly present in the Mesolithic, the area witnessed its first exploitation, thus slowing and altering soil development. Consequently, many areas perhaps never developed thick, well-structured, brown forest earths, but more probably thin brown earths. By the later Neolithic period, these soils had become thin rendzinas, largely as a consequence of human exploitation and the predominance of pastoral land use. The early presence of thinner and less well-developed soils over large areas of downland removes the necessity for envisaging extensive soil erosion and the accumulation of thick colluvial and alluvial deposits in the dry valleys and valley floor as often postulated. If there were major changes in the vegetation and soil complexes in this area of chalk downland, these had already occurred by the Neolithic rather than the Bronze Age as often suggested, and the area has remained relatively stable ever since. This has major implications for models of prehistoric land use in the southern chalkland region, such as a much greater degree of stability in prehistoric and historic times, variability within sub-regions, and differences between different parts of the chalk downlands than had previously been envisaged. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract: This report looks at Early Mesolithic Britain, and in particular the assemblage types known as 'Star Carr', 'Deepcar', and 'Horsham', from the point of view of six independent areas of research: typology, technology, chronology, environment, settlement and origins.

Abstract: Rocks, which are ubiquitous in archaeological sites as chipped or polished tools, were important factors in the prehistoric Alpine economic system. Archaeometric characterization and identification of source areas open the path to a more detailed understanding of the production and diffusion mechanisms behind Alpine lithic industries. An overview of the situation from the eastern to the western Alps in the Mesolithic, the Neolithic and the Copper Age illustrates current debates and issues.

Abstract: Undoubtedly modern mankind is an omnivorous species. Nevertheless, types of diet changed at the time of anthropogenesis. The Upper Palaeolithic period is the crucial time because of the appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe. The main goal in this period investigation is to find the Neanderthal man—Upper Palaeolithic man diet distinction. A sharp early Holocene rise in humidity and temperature and melting of the permafrost resulted in the complete destruction of traditional migration routes, campsite losses, and the flora and fauna of inland territories changing. All these factors affected nutrition patterns, too. The comparison of the different Mesolithic and Neolithic groups' diet patterns allow us to discuss problems of the influence of cultural and ecological factors. The bone tissue chemical concentrations (Ca, Zn, Sr, Cu) from Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic burials are considered to reconstruct individual and group patterns of nutrition. The results of the atomic absorption method were used.

Abstract: This paper examines the spatial distribution of the human bone sample excavated from the Mesolithic shell midden site of Cnoc Coig on Oronsay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland Although no burials were recovered the information from the apparently isolated bone finds has been significant Two types of bone group are distinguished, one that resembles the widely reported ‘loose bone’ phenomenon that is widely recognised from European Mesolithic sites The other, represented by two bone groups at Cnoc Coig, is, at this time, restricted to western Scotland It is dominated by hand and foot bones and appears to represent purposive behaviour We concentrate our discussion on the latter phenomenon and place it within discussion of the nature of the later Mesolithic in western Scotland

Abstract: The current generally accepted view of the dispersal of farming into Europe is that farming groups in the eastern Mediterranean colonised selectively optimal farming areas. The role of contact between indigenous hunter-gatherers and incoming farmers was very important to the operation of this process. This general view of the spread of farming at a broad inter-regional scale gives us our understanding of the origins of the Neolithic but merits closer examination at the local and regional level, as increasingly it is becoming apparent that the causes and motivations may have differed. In this paper, Mesolithic to Neolithic communities with evidence of the transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer will be examined at a regional scale, in the central part of the north European plain, focussing on Kujavia. Additionally, the theory of structuration will be applied in order to elucidate the transition process at this level.

Abstract: This report looks at Early Mesolithic Britain, and in particular the assemblage types known as 'Star Carr', 'Deepcar', and 'Horsham', from the point of view of six independent areas of research: typology, technology, chronology, environment, settlement and origins.

Abstract: The Neolithic culture of Kel'teminar (7th/6th-4 th/3rd mill, Uzbekistan), located close to the Aral Sea on a geographic and cultural crossroads between steppe and oasis in Central Asia, was discovered in 1939 and studied up to the 1970's by Soviet archaeologists. Recent field research conducted in Uzbekistan (Polish-Uzbek Archaeological Mission) proves that the economy was based on cattle and perhaps camel breeding. A thorough investigation o/Kel'teminar culture allows us to propose new characterizations, assumptions and lines of study in several spheres (chronology, way of life, material culture, geographic borders, and origins). Thus, during the three chronological phases that are distinguished, we note the development of the major features of the tradition's major features : blade and microblade production using indirect percussion and pressure techniques, "horned" trapezes, asymmetrical triangles, shouldered arrowheads and denticulated tools, hand-made pottery (rough, round-and conical-based, various open shapes) with incised or stamped decoration and a rich bone industry adapted to fishing. As a possible result of contacts with neighboring Bronze Age steppes cultures, the last chronological phase could be called Eneolithic. According to this study, the Kel'teminar culture first appeared in the regions of Zeravshan and Ljavljakan, and then in the region of Akchadaria, where it developed new features related to the farmers of South Turkmenistan. In spite of a lack of data (especially dating), it is possible to distinguish regional variants of the Kel'teminar culture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Finally, we propose a preliminary study about the origin of this culture, taking into consideration Mesolithic cultures from Central Asia, Russia, the Caucasus and the Crimea. For the moment, we privilege the assumption of an origin that is local (Zeravshan or Ljavljakan) but in touch with the Trans-Ural region or even the Volga-Ural region.

Abstract: Wetland sites are widespread through the central and northeastern European Russia. We performed a detailed radiocarbon dating on four such sites within the Upper Volga river basin, and one site within the middle Vychegda river basin (Komi Republic). Most of the sites contain cultural layers documenting human occupation in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. A variety of sample types were collected: archaeological (bones, bone artefacts, worked and unworked wood, charcoal, carbon residue etc.) and enclosing organic deposits (peat, gyttja, mud). We paid special attention to the stratigraphic relationship of the samples, concerning their archaeological context. Plant macrofossil analysis of organic deposits was performed towards determining their origin and depositional features. This work resulted in a chronology of full Mesolithic and early Neolithic settling within the Upper Volga area, together with new data on Neolithic settling of the Sub-Ural region. K

Abstract: The dynamism of the Mesolithic in the Iberian peninsula offers new perspectives for the study of the process of Neolithization. In particular, in the Basque region we observe in Early Holocene times a well-established population that received and adopted Neolithic innovations. The archaeological elements clearly indicate cultural continuity across the transition; here we deal with those related to territoriality, economy, chronology, and lithic and ceramic industries. Whatever the mechanisms by which Neolithic innovations were accessed, these changes were accepted by autochthonous groups that in turn adapted them according to own their tastes and technologies (e.g., with regard to lithic manufacture and pottery decoration). The model presented here is in clear opposition to the "Mediterranean Cardial colonization" model: we do not need to resort to massive demographic movements to understand the progress of the Neolithic within the Iberian peninsula.

Abstract: El-Barga : a keysite to the understanding of the Mesolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic in Nubia.- The site of El-Barga is located in Nubia at the level of the third cataract. It is characterised by the presence of a Mesolithic settlement with a few graves, and a cemetery probably of early Neolithic period. The Mesolithic discoveries complete our knowledge of this period in Nubia, while the cemetery represents an important landmark in our understanding of the beginning of the Neolithic in the Nile Valley. It offers a testimony of the profound change in the society in relation to the Mesolithic, in the extent of the tombs that are for the first time grouped in a cemetery, while mortuary goods are regularly found.

Abstract: For a few years now, analysis of neolithisation processes has highlighted several cases of interactions between the last groups of hunters-gatherers and the first populations of farmers-stockbreeders. In northern Italy, the Gaban group was understood for a longish period as the result of the acculturation of Mesolithic hunters. New analyses of the excavations techniques and lithic industries from the Gaban rock shelter itself show that a re-evaluation of the Gaban group is supportable. However, one cannot deny the strong similarity of all the industries of the Early Neolithic of northern Italy with the practices of flint reduction of the last Mesolithic hunters. Confronted with the data of the radiocarbon datings, it is thus feasible to propose a new neolithisation model for northern Italy. This involves new thoughts on possible interactions between Mesolithic and Neolithic human groups.

Abstract: Undertaking a comprehensive review of radiocarbon dates for the 12 000 years preceding the Neolithic in Britain, the author defines two periods when human remains become hard to find. One of these (already noted by Chamberlain) lies between 7-6000 BP; the other, a new addition, runs from 13 850 to 11 000 BP. What could have caused these ‘hiatuses’? Comparison of dated human remains and dated activities associated with humans, with the climatic record from ice cores, shows that the most likely explanation was a change in burial practice, even if this was itself one of a chain of behavioural changes initiated by the rise in sea level.

Abstract: A Taphonomy of Ritual Practice. : A field-anthropological study of Late Mesolithic Burials.