Archaeology retains a central role for studying the behavioral and cognitive evolution of our species and genus.

Our species' behavioral and cognitive evolution constitute a key research topic across many scientific disciplines. Based on ethnographic hunter-gatherer data, Stibbard-Hawkes challenges the common link made between past material culture and cognitive capacities. Despite this adequate criticism, archaeology must retain a central role for studying these issues due to its unique access to relevant empirical evidence in deep time.

Examining Gravettian and Magdalenian mobility and technological organization with IR spectroscopy.

Archaeologists can use the provenance of lithic raw materials to examine the movements, territories, and settlement dynamics of hunter-gatherers. Several studies have used macroscopic analyses to propose the long-distance transport of raw material during the Gravettian and the Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura in Central Europe. Until now hypotheses about raw material transport in this region were not based on reproducible analyses.

Exploring the utility of unretouched lithic flakes as markers of cultural change.

Lithic artefacts provide the principal means to study cultural change in the deep human past. Tools and cores have been the focus of much prior research based on their perceived information content and cultural relevance. Unretouched flakes rarely attract comparable attention in archaeological studies, despite being the most abundant assemblage elements and featuring prominently in ethnographic and experimental work.

Ochre communities of practice in Stone Age Eswatini.

Our species and other hominins have used earth mineral pigments since at least ~500,000 years ago, if not earlier. Its preservation and ubiquity within archaeological records across sub-Saharan Africa are well documented, but regional-scale networks of mineral selection, mining, transport, and use is an underdeveloped field. Here, we present a framework for interpreting regional variations within an overarching ochre-behavioral community of practice.

Multi-method dating reveals 200 ka of Middle Palaeolithic occupation at Maras rock shelter, Rhône Valley, France.

The emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic, and its variability over time and space are key questions in the field of prehistoric archaeology. Many sites have been documented in the south-eastern margins of the Massif central and the middle Rhône valley, a migration path that connects Northern Europe with the Mediterranean. Well-dated, long stratigraphic sequences are essential to understand Neanderthals dynamics and demise, and potential interactions with Homo sapiens in the area, such as the one displayed at the Maras rock shelter ("Abri du Maras").

"How handy was early hominin 'know-how'?" An experimental approach exploring efficient early stone tool use.

Objectives: The appearance of early lithic industries has been associated with the gradual development of unique biomechanical and cognitive abilities in hominins, including human-like precision grasping and basic learning and/or communicating capacities. These include tools used for activities exclusively associated with hominin contexts (cutting flakes) and hammerstones utilized for behaviors shared with non-human primates (e.g.

Infrared spectral library of tooth enamel from African ungulates for accurate electron spin resonance dating.

Electron spin resonance coupled with uranium-series dating (ESR/U-series) of carbonate hydroxyapatite in tooth enamel is the main technique used to obtain age determinations from Pleistocene fossils beyond the range of radiocarbon dating. This chronological information allows to better understand diachronic change in the palaeontological record, especially with regard to the evolution of the genus Homo. Given the relative paucity of human teeth at palaeontological and archaeological localities, ESR/U-series is widely applied to the teeth of ungulate species.

Adhesive technology based on biomass tar documents engineering capabilities in the African Middle Stone Age.

The foragers of the southern African Middle Stone Age were among the first humans to adapt their environment and its resources to their needs. They heat-treated stone to alter its mechanical properties, transformed yellow colorants into red pigments and produced moldable adhesive substances from plants. Until now, only Podocarpus conifers have been identified as the botanical origin of Middle Stone Age adhesives.

Rope making in the Aurignacian of Central Europe more than 35,000 years ago.

Evidence for the manufacture and use of fiber technology such as rope and twine is rare in the Paleolithic, despite the widely held view that such artifacts were in regular use during the Pleistocene. On the basis of the discovery of a more than 35,000-year-old perforated baton made from mammoth ivory at Hohle Fels Cave in Ach Valley of southwestern Germany together with experimental studies, we are now able to demonstrate one way people of the early Upper Paleolithic manufactured rope. This work contributes to our understanding of the evolution of technology, cooperative work, and Paleolithic social organization.

The first petrographic characterisation of a prehistoric rock crystal mine in the Swiss Alps.

Over the past decades, there has been increasing evidence for the prehistoric use of rock crystal in mountainous environments, including craft specialisation and long-distance exchange. Yet there are only a few known sites where the mineral was quarried in sustainable quantities. One of them is situated near Fiescheralp in the Upper Valais (Switzerland) and dates to the Early Mesolithic and a final stage of the Neolithic.

Evidence of diverse animal exploitation during the Middle Paleolithic at Ghar-e Boof (southern Zagros).

Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP zooarchaeological record in the Zagros Mountains has been almost exclusively restricted to ungulates. The narrow range of hominin prey may reflect socioeconomic decisions and/or environmental constraints, but could also result from a research bias favoring the study of large prey, since archaeologists have undertaken no systematic taphonomic analyses of small game or carnivores in the region.

Large-scale application of palaeoproteomics (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry; ZooMS) in two Palaeolithic faunal assemblages from China.

The application of Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) on Pleistocene sites in Europe and northern Asia has resulted in the discovery of important new hominin fossils and has expanded the range of identified fauna. However, no systematic, large-scale application of ZooMS on Palaeolithic sites in East Asia has been attempted thus far. Here, we analyse 866 morphologically non-diagnostic bones from Jinsitai Cave in northeast China and Yumidong Cave in South China, from archaeological horizons dating to 150-10 ka BP.

Late Acheulean occupations at Montagu Cave and the pattern of Middle Pleistocene behavioral change in Western Cape, southern Africa.

Patterns of so-called modern human behavior are increasingly well documented in an abundance of Middle Stone Age archaeological sites across southern Africa. Contextualized archives directly preceding the southern African Middle Stone Age, however, remain scarce. Current understanding of the terminal Acheulean in southern Africa derives from a small number of localities that are predominantly in the central and northern interior.

The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift.

The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.

The Exploitation of Toxic Fish from the Terminal Pleistocene in Maritime Southeast Asia: A Case Study from the Mindoro Archaeological Sites, Philippines.

Representatives of the Diodontidae family (porcupinefish) are known to have been fished by prehistoric Indo-Pacific populations; however, the antiquity of the use of this family is thus far unknown. We report here on the presence of Diodontidae in the archaeological sites of Bubog I, II, and Bilat in Mindoro, Philippines, dating back to c. 13,000 BP (Before Present).

Evolved Open-Endedness in Cultural Evolution: A New Dimension in Open-Ended Evolution Research.

The goal of Artificial Life research, as articulated by Chris Langton, is "to contribute to theoretical biology by locating life-as-we-know-it within the larger picture of life-as-it-could-be." The study and pursuit of open-ended evolution in artificial evolutionary systems exemplify this goal. However, open-ended evolution research is hampered by two fundamental issues: the struggle to replicate open-endedness in an artificial evolutionary system and our assumption that we only have one system (genetic evolution) from which to draw inspiration.

The revolution that still isn't: The origins of behavioral complexity in Homo sapiens.

The behavioral origins of Homo sapiens can be traced back to the first material culture produced by our species in Africa, the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Beyond this broad consensus, the origins, patterns, and causes of behavioral complexity in modern humans remain debated. Here, we consider whether recent findings continue to support popular scenarios of: (1) a modern human 'package,' (2) a gradual and 'pan-African' emergence of behavioral complexity, and (3) a direct connection to changes in the human brain.

Ancient DNA of narrow-headed vole reveal common features of the Late Pleistocene population dynamics in cold-adapted small mammals.

The narrow-headed vole, collared lemming and common vole were the most abundant small mammal species across the Eurasian Late Pleistocene steppe-tundra environment. Previous ancient DNA studies of the collared lemming and common vole have revealed dynamic population histories shaped by climatic fluctuations. To investigate the extent to which species with similar adaptations share common evolutionary histories, we generated a dataset comprised the mitochondrial genomes of 139 ancient and 6 modern narrow-headed voles from several sites across Europe and northwestern Asia covering approximately the last 100 thousand years (kyr).

Early evidence for bear exploitation during MIS 9 from the site of Schöningen 12 (Germany).

A cutmarked bear metatarsal and phalanx from the German open-air sites of Schöningen 12 II-1 and 12 B, respectively, correlated with the interglacial optimum of MIS 9 (ca. 320 ka), provide early evidence for the exploitation of bear skins. Archaeological sites with evidence of bear exploitation from the Lower Paleolithic are rare, with only Boxgrove (United Kingdom) and Bilzingsleben (Germany) yielding cutmarked bear bones indicating skinning.

Using microartifacts to infer Middle Pleistocene lifeways at Schöningen, Germany.

While archeologists usually favor the study of large and diagnostic lithic artifacts, this study illustrates the invaluable contribution of lithic microartifacts for interpreting hominin lifeways. Across a 64 m area of the Middle Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen 13 II-3 in Northern Germany, we recovered a total of 57 small and micro flint artifacts, four small debris pieces, three natural fragments and three bone retouchers in close association with the skeleton of an extinct Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). This area lacks the type of formal knapped stone tools that would normally constitute the focus of archeological interpretations.

Bone-related behaviours of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) during two excavating experiments.

After stone tools, bone tools are the most abundant artefact type in the Early Pleistocene archaeological record. That said, they are still relatively scarce, which limits our understanding of the behaviours that led to their production and use. Observations of extant primates constitute a unique source of behavioural data with which to construct hypotheses about the technological forms and repertoires exhibited by our hominin ancestors.

The effect of worked material hardness on stone tool wear.

The identification of ancient worked materials is one of the fundamental goals of lithic use wear analysis and one of the most important parts of understanding how stone tools were used in the past. Given the documented overlaps in wear patterns generated by different materials, it is imperative to understand how individual materials' mechanical properties might influence wear formation. Because isolating physical parameters and measuring their change is necessary for such an endeavor, controlled (rather than replicative) experiments combined with objective measurements of surface topography are necessary to better grasp how surface modifications formed on stone tools.

Archaeological adhesives made from document innovative potential in the African Middle Stone Age.

Studying the earliest archaeological adhesives has implications for our understanding of human cognition. In southern Africa, the oldest adhesives were made by in the Middle Stone Age. Chemical studies have shown that these adhesives were made from a local conifer of the family.