A radiometric dating revolution and the Quaternary glacial history of the Mediterranean mountains

Glacial and periglacial landforms are widespread in the mountains of the Mediterranean region. The evidence for glacial and periglacial activity has been studied for over 120 years and it is possible to identify three phases of development in this area of research. First, a pioneer phase characterized by initial descriptive observations of glacial landforms; second, a mapping phase whereby the detailed distribution of glacial landforms and sediments have been depicted on geomorphological maps; and, third, an advanced phase characterized by detailed understanding of the geochronology of glacial sequences using radiometric dating alongside detailed sedimentological and stratigraphical analyses. It is only relatively recently that studies of glaciated mountain terrains in the Mediterranean region have reached an advanced phase and it is now clear from radiometric dating programmes that the Mediterranean mountains have been glaciated during multiple glacial cycles. The most extensive phases of glaciation appear to have occurred during the Middle Pleistocene. This represents a major shift from earlier work whereby many glacial sequences were assumed to have formed during the last cold stage. Glacial and periglacial deposits from multiple Quaternary cold stages constitute a valuable palaeoclimatic record. This is especially so in the Mediterranean mountains, since mountain glaciers in this latitudinal zone would have been particularly sensitive to changes in the global climate system.

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Illegal Migration in Tunisian Rap

Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies ◽

10.30958/ajms.7-1-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 45-58

Author(s):

Mohamed Chamekh

Keyword(s):

Working Class ◽

Illegal Migration ◽

History Of ◽

Political Conditions ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Legislative Measures ◽

The Eu

This article explores illegal migration through Tunisian rap. It considers this music an aspect of resistance and protest against the socio-economic and political conditions obliging thousands of Tunisians to cross the Mediterranean in makeshift boats in search of better prospects and challenging the increasing security and legislative measures crippling mobility imposed by the EU and Tunisian authorities. This article contends that harga songs document the history of the working class in Tunisia and carve the identity of harraga as people who have been marginalised for generations. It concludes that EU-Tunisia security talks and dialogues remain ineffective as long as the root causes of illegal migration have not been addressed. Keywords: illegal migration, Tunisian rap, resistance, marginalization, security, immobility, identity

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A History of Technology, Volume I: From Early Times to Fall of Ancient Empires. Edited by Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard and A. R. Hall, assisted by E. Jaffe, R. H. G. Thomson and J. M. Donaldson. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1954. lv + 827 pp., frontis. (in color), 570 figs., 36 pis., tables, maps. $26.90. - A History of Technology, Volume II: The Mediterranean Civilizations and the Middle Ages, c, 700 B.C. to c. A.D. 1500. Edited by Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall, and Trevor I. Williams, assisted by E. Jaffe, Nan Clow, and R. H. G. Thomson. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1956. lix + 802 pp., frontis. (in color), 695 figs., 44 pis., 7 tables, maps. $26.90.

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/276694 ◽

1959 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 130-132

Author(s):

John M. Goggin

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

History Of Technology ◽

Oxford University ◽

History Of ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Middle Ages ◽

Oxford University Press

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Extensive introgression and mosaic genomes of Mediterranean endemic lizards

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-22949-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Weizhao Yang ◽

Nathalie Feiner ◽

Catarina Pinho ◽

Geoffrey M. While ◽

Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary History ◽

Mediterranean Islands ◽

The Past ◽

Island Endemics ◽

Extant Species ◽

Mediterranean Island ◽

History Of ◽

Entire History ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Mediterranean Basin

AbstractThe Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of biodiversity, fuelled by climatic oscillation and geological change over the past 20 million years. Wall lizards of the genus Podarcis are among the most abundant, diverse, and conspicuous Mediterranean fauna. Here, we unravel the remarkably entangled evolutionary history of wall lizards by sequencing genomes of 34 major lineages covering 26 species. We demonstrate an early (>11 MYA) separation into two clades centred on the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, and two clades of Mediterranean island endemics. Diversification within these clades was pronounced between 6.5–4.0 MYA, a period spanning the Messinian Salinity Crisis, during which the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up before rapidly refilling. However, genetic exchange between lineages has been a pervasive feature throughout the entire history of wall lizards. This has resulted in a highly reticulated pattern of evolution across the group, characterised by mosaic genomes with major contributions from two or more parental taxa. These hybrid lineages gave rise to several of the extant species that are endemic to Mediterranean islands. The mosaic genomes of island endemics may have promoted their extraordinary adaptability and striking diversity in body size, shape and colouration, which have puzzled biologists for centuries.

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