On the transition from hunting-gathering to food production in NE Morocco as inferred from archeological Phorcus turbinatus shells

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1301-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurena Yanes ◽  
Rainer Hutterer ◽  
Jörg Linstädter
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Additional Increase ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
The Mediterranean

Processes behind the shift from hunting-gathering to food production lifestyle are multifaceted and not yet completely understood. The Mediterranean coast of NW Africa provides an eclectic transitional pattern, namely, a very hesitant transition to food production. The distribution and abundance of early Neolithic domesticated species is disparate and region specific. Climate and environmental change have been often considered as an important influencing factor for this transition. This hypothesis was tested using archeological shells of the rocky intertidal gastropod Phorcus turbinatus recovered from the Ifri Oudadane site in NE Morocco. The oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of the shell was used to examine whether the hesitant transition to food production was linked to a local climate shift in the Mediterranean Maghreb. Intrashell δ18O values suggest a marked temperature increase from >7.6 to ~7.0 cal. ka BP, the time when Neolithic innovations first appear on site. An additional increase in temperature from ~7.0 to <6.8 cal. ka BP matches with the beginning of the main occupation phase and the doubtless breakthrough of cultivation at Ifri Oudadane. This apparent warming trend, although considered preliminary, seems to match well with warming tendency observed in several published regional climate proxies. Therefore, a temperature shift may have played a role in the timing and implementation of food production in the area. Last growth episode δ18O values suggest that shellfish were harvested throughout most of the year, with noticeable intensification during the cooler half of the year. This preliminary pattern was fairly consistent throughout the Epipaleolithic and early Neolithic phases, pointing to a probable near year-round site occupation rather than a single season settlement. Future research on Ifri Oudadane and other NW African archeological records are much needed to assess whether these patterns persist in Morocco and other Epipaleolithic and early Neolithic settlements in the western Mediterranean Maghreb.

First record of the Levantine species Scoloplos haasi (Orbiniidae: Scolecida: Annelida) from the Mediterranean coast of Spain

2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 1051-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo López
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
British Museum ◽  
First Record ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Polychaete Species ◽  
The Mediterranean

During an investigation devoted to characterize all the Orbiniidae polychaete species present in the Iberian Peninsula, several individuals previously identified as Scoloplos armiger showed to actually belong to Scoloplos haasi, a species to date considered endemic from Israel. The comparison with the holotype deposited in the British Museum of Natural History confirmed the identification. This record of S. haasi is not only a new one for the western Mediterranean but also the first one out of its original locality, extending largely westwards the geographical range of the species.

scholarly journals Diatom-oxygen isotope record from high-altitude Lake Petit (2200 m a.s.l.) in the Mediterranean Alps: shedding light on a climatic pulse at 4.2 ka

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosine Cartier ◽  
Florence Sylvestre ◽  
Christine Paillès ◽  
Corinne Sonzogni ◽  
Martine Couapel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Oxygen Isotope ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Southern Alps ◽  
Precipitation Regime ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
High Altitude Lake

Abstract. In the Mediterranean area, the 4.2 ka BP event is recorded with contrasting expressions between regions. In the southern Alps, the high-altitude Lake Petit (Mercantour Massif, France; 2200 m a.s.l.) offers pollen and diatom-rich sediments covering the last 4800 years. A multi-proxy analysis recently revealed a detrital pulse around 4200 cal BP due to increasing erosion in the lake catchment. The involvement of a rapid climate change leading to increasing runoff and soil erosion was proposed. Here, in order to clarify this hypothesis, we measured the oxygen isotope composition of diatom silica frustules (δ18Odiatom) from the same sedimentary core. Diatoms were analysed by laser fluorination isotope ratio mass spectrometry after an inert gas flow dehydration. We additionally enhanced the accuracy of the age–depth model using the Bacon R package. The δ18Odiatom record allows us to identify a 500-year time lapse, from 4400 to 3900 cal BP, where δ18Odiatom reached its highest values (>31 ‰). δ18Odiatom was about 3 ‰ higher than the modern values and the shifts at 4400 and 3900 cal BP were of similar amplitude as the seasonal δ18Odiatom shifts occurring today. This period of high δ18Odiatom values can be explained by the intensification of 18O-enriched Mediterranean precipitation events feeding the lake during the ice-free season. This agrees with other records from the southern Alps suggesting runoff intensification around 4200 cal BP. Possible changes in other climatic parameters may have played a concomitant role, including a decrease in the contribution of 18O-depleted Atlantic winter precipitation to the lake water due to snow deficit. Data recording the 4.2 ka BP event in the north-western Mediterranean area are still sparse. In the Lake Petit watershed, the 4.2 ka BP event translated into a change in precipitation regime from 4400 to 3900 cal BP. This record contributes to the recent efforts to characterize and investigate the geographical extent of the 4.2 ka BP event in the Mediterranean area.

scholarly journals Synoptic climatology of winter intense precipitation events along the Mediterranean coasts

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1707-1722 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Reale ◽  
P. Lionello
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Teleconnection Pattern ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Synoptic Climatology ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
Intense Precipitation ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract. The link between winter (December-January-February) precipitation events at 15 Mediterranean coastal locations and synoptic features (cyclones and Northern Hemisphere teleconnection patterns) is analyzed. A list of precipitation events has been produced; q percentile thresholds (Thq) and corresponding frequency Nq (for q equal to 25, 50, 90 and 98) have been considered. A negative trend has been detected in total precipitation and N50 at many locations, while no significant trend in N25, N90 and N98 has been found. The negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern (EAWR) compete for exerting the largest influence on the frequency of the 25th, 50th and 90th percentiles, with EAWR and NAO exerting their largest influence in the central and western Mediterranean areas, respectively. All percentiles show a similar behavior except for the 98th percentile, which shows no convincing link to any teleconnection pattern. The cyclone tracks that are associated with precipitation events have been selected using the ERA-40 reanalysis data, and a strong link between intense precipitation and cyclones is shown for all stations. In general, the probability of detecting a cyclone within a distance of 20° from each station increases with the intensity of the precipitation event and decreases with the duration of a dry period. The origin and track of cyclones producing intense precipitation differ among different areas. When precipitation occurs in the northwestern Mediterranean, cyclones are generally either of Atlantic origin or secondary cyclones associated with the passage of major cyclones north of the Mediterranean Basin, while they are mostly generated inside the region itself for events at the eastern Mediterranean coast. An important fraction of intense events in the southern areas is produced by cyclones that are generated over northern Africa. The analysis of sea level pressure and geopotential height at 500 hPa highlights the important role of cyclone depth, circulation strength, surrounding synoptic condition, and of slow speed of the cyclone center for producing intense precipitation events.

scholarly journals New records of amphipod crustaceans along the Israeli Mediterranean coast, including a rare Mediterranean endemic species, Maera schieckei Karaman & Ruffo, 1971

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Lo Brutto ◽  
Davide Iaciofano
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean Basin ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Distribution And Ecology

A survey has been carried out at four Israeli rocky sites to evaluate the diversity of the amphipod fauna on various hard substrates, still scarcely monitored, as potential pabulum for amphipod crustacean species. A survey of shallow rocky reefs along the Mediterranean coast of Israel recovered 28 species and integrated the Amphipoda checklist for the country ofIsrael with 12 newly-recorded species. Such renewed national list includes Maera schieckei Karaman &amp; Ruffo, 1971, a rare species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, recorded here for the first time from the southern Levant Basin. The species, described from specimens collected in the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1970, has been only recorded eight times within the whole Mediterranean Sea. A revision of the bibliography on the distribution and ecology of M. schieckei showed that, although mentioned only for the western Mediterranean basin by some authors, it is listed in the checklist of amphipods of the Aegean Sea and neighbouring seas and has been found in the eastern Mediterranean basin since 1978. Maera schieckei was rarely found in the Mediterranean, one of the most studied marine biogeographic region as concerns the amphipod fauna; and the species seems to prefer bays or gulf areas. The role of updating and monitoring faunal composition should be re-evaluated.

Further Additions to the Knowledge of the Reproduction of Zonaria pyrum insularum var. nigromarginata (Deprez & Govaert 2009) in the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean Coast of Spain

The Festivus ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-177
Author(s):  
Benito Muñoz Sánchez ◽  
José Muñoz Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Strait Of Gibraltar ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Mediterranean

The family Cypraeidae is represented in the Mediterranean Sea by four native species: Luria l. lurida; Naria s. spurca; Schilderia a. achatidea; and Zonaria p. pyrum. These species also inhabit the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. Besides these, there are a few Lessepsian immigrants found occasionally throughout the central and eastern part of the Mare Nostrum including Naria turdus var. micheloi and Purpuradusta gracilis notata. This article focuses on the subspecies of Z. pyrum insularum (Schilder, 1928); var. nigromarginata (Deprez & Govaert, 2009), whose populations in the Atlantic have recently been the subject of numerous notes and comprehensive revisions (Goutal, 2008, Bergonzoni, 2013).

The biology and functional morphology ofMytilaster minimus(Bivalvia: Mytiloidea: Mytilidae) from the intertidal dinaric karst of Croatia (Adriatic Sea)

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 1999-2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Morton ◽  
Sanja Puljas
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Galloprovincialis ◽  
Competitive Exclusion ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mediterranean Species ◽  
Visceral Mass ◽  
Dinaric Karst ◽  
Environmental Extremes ◽  
The Mediterranean

Mytilaster minimusis widely distributed along the rocky intertidal of much of the Mediterranean's coastline and the Adriatic Sea. Populations are, however, threatened by the Lessepsian invaderBrachidontes pharaonisthat occupies the same habitat and is more tolerant of environmental extremes. This is the first study of the anatomy ofM. minimusin relation to its evolution and adaptations towards an intertidal life on the karsted limestone shores that characterize much of the Mediterranean. In most anatomical respectsM. minimusis a typical mytilid but is small (<16 mm shell length) and, post-juvenile, greatly deformed concomitant with its niche of colonizing pits in the karsted rocks. It is thus generally squatter, that is, dorso-ventrally flattened, laterally expanded and antero-posteriorly foreshortened in comparison withM. galloprovincialis. A pair of statocysts has been identified in the visceral mass. Most interest, however, resides in the fact the posterior byssal retractor muscles, like the shell, are foreshortened to comprise one paired block and the posterior pedal retractor muscles are situated beneath these not anterior to them as in other mytilids. These adaptations equipM. minimusfor a compressed, squat, life in the intertidal karst. In addition to competition from the introducedB. pharaonisin the Mediterranean,M. minimusis facing competitive exclusion from the nativeMytilus galloprovincialisthat, as a result of intensive and increasing mariculture, is coming to dominate Croatian shorelines. This study is, therefore, prescient in laying the foundations for future research on what is becoming a threatened native Mediterranean species.

scholarly journals New Wind-Wave Climate Records in the Western Mediterranean Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid AMAROUCHE ◽  
Bilal Bingölbali ◽  
Adem Akpinar
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
Wave Climate ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Wave Heights ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract This study presents a detailed analysis of changes in wind and wave climate in the Western Mediterranean Sea (WMed), based on 41 years of accurate wind and wave hindcasts. The purpose of this research is to assess the magnitude of recent changes in wave climate and to locate the coastal areas most affected by these changes. Starting from the Theil-Sen slope estimator and the Mann Kendall test, trends in mean and Max significant wave heights (SWH) and wind speed (WS) are analyzed simultaneously on seasonal and annual scales. Thus, the new wave records observed since 2010 have been located spatially and temporally using a simple spatial analysis method, while the increases in maximum wave heights over the last decade have been estimated and mapped. This work was motivated by evidence pointed out by several authors concerning the influence of global climate change on the local climate in the Mediterranean Sea and by the increase in the number and intensity of wave storm events over recent years. Several exceptional storms have recently been observed along the Mediterranean coasts, including storm Adrian in 2018 and storm Gloria in 2020, which resulted in enormous damage along the French and Spanish coasts. The results of the present study reflect a worrying situation in a large part of the WMed coasts. Most of the WMed basin experiences a significant increasing trend in the annual Max of SWH and WS with evident inter-seasonal variability that underlines the importance of multi-scale analysis to assess wind and wave trends. Since 2013, about half of the WMed coastline has experienced records in wave climate, not recorded at least since 1979, and several areas have experienced three successive records. Several WMed coasts are experiencing a worrying evolution of the wave climate, which requires a serious mobilization to prevent probable catastrophic wave storms and ensure sustainable and economic development.

scholarly journals “New Kids on the Block?” Reappraising Pottery Styles, aDNA, and Chronology from Western Iberia Early Neolithic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1660-1673
Author(s):  
Mariana Diniz
Keyword(s):  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Genetic Features ◽  
Southern Portugal ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Altered Form ◽  
Demic Diffusion ◽  
Critical Aspects ◽  
Do So

Abstract Western Iberia Early Neolithic has been described as an ultimate and very altered form of the Mediterranean Neolithisation process. Despite its Atlantic position, this territory – corresponding mainly to Central/Southern Portugal – is, in its physical and cultural geography, a Mediterranean landscape deeply connected to a historical process arriving from beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. The presence of cardial pottery led archaeologists to ascribe Portuguese Early Neolithic to a Mediterranean impressed Pottery cultural area, and according to demic diffusion models, small pioneer groups carrying the Neolithic package originated there. Recently, the archaeological record for the Western Mediterranean Neolithisation is becoming more complex and longer lasting cardial dominance over the seas has been disputed. Previous Neolithic groups seafaring the Mediterranean coasts with Impressa style pottery could have reached Iberian Peninsula by 5600–5400 cal BC, proving that by the mid-sixth millennium, different cultural entities were moving in the Western Mediterranean regardless of their genetic features. The main goal of this study is to disclose this cultural diversity in Western Iberia using a robust chronological database and debating how different proxies, like pottery styles and ancient DNA (aDNA), reveal it in Western Iberia. While recognising the Mediterranean input to Western Iberia groups, mapping the variability and the significance of different decoration techniques, such as cardial, false acacia leaf, impressed stripes, and using the aDNA to identify continuities/changes in ancient populations are here as tools to understand when, who, and how new kids came to the block. To do so, different disciplinary boundaries are crossed, and some transdisciplinary critical aspects are also commented.

scholarly journals Food and Ornament: Use of Shellfish at Ifri Oudadane, a Holocene Settlement in NE Morocco

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Hutterer ◽  
Oskar Schröder ◽  
Jörg Linstädter
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Invertebrates ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Mollusk Fauna ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract Recent excavations of Ifri Oudadane, a prehistoric rockshelter on the Mediterranean coast of NW Morocco, yielded a rich marine and terrestrial fauna. We present an analysis of the shellfish remains (exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates) from the 2011 trench, covering the Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic levels. A total of 4,415 liters of sediment contained 8,749 specimens (MNI) of at least 40 species of shellfish: 12 bivalves, 24 gastropods, one tusk shell, barnacles, crabs, and sea urchins. The mean abundance of shellfish was 2 MNI per liter. Limpets (Patellidae), topshells (Trochidae), mussels (Mytilidae), and rockshells (Muricidae) formed 98% of the total mollusk fauna and were part of the diet; limpets prevailed in Epipaleolithic levels and topshells in Neolithic ones. Evidence was found for a systematic butchering of topshells (Phorcus turbinatus): the shells in Epipaleolithic levels were mostly smashed while topshells in Neolithic levels were usually topped in a uniform way. Seven species of mollusks showed traces of manipulation and were used as ornament or tools. Species used as food, such as limpets, topshells, and mussels, never show any indications of being used as ornament or tools, and the mollusks that were used as jewelry or tools were not part of the diet.

scholarly journals Tsunami hazard at the Western Mediterranean Spanish coast from seismic sources

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Álvarez-Gómez ◽  
ĺ. Aniel-Quiroga ◽  
M. González ◽  
L. Otero
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
Spanish Coast ◽  
Tsunami Risk ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. Spain represents an important part of the tourism sector in the Western Mediterranean, which has been affected in the past by tsunamis. Although the tsunami risk at the Spanish coasts is not the highest of the Mediterranean, the necessity of tsunami risk mitigation measures should not be neglected. In the Mediterranean area, Spain is exposed to two different tectonic environments with contrasting characteristics. On one hand, the Alboran Basin characterised by transcurrent and transpressive tectonics and, on the other hand, the North Algerian fold and thrust belt, characterised by compressive tectonics. A set of 22 seismic tsunamigenic sources has been used to estimate the tsunami threat over the Spanish Mediterranean coast of the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Maximum wave elevation maps and tsunami travel times have been computed by means of numerical modelling and we have obtained estimations of threat levels for each source over the Spanish coast. The sources on the Western edge of North Algeria are the most dangerous, due to their threat to the South-Eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and to the Western Balearic Islands. In general, the Northern Algerian sources pose a greater risk to the Spanish coast than the Alboran Sea sources, which only threaten the peninsular coast. In the Iberian Peninsula, the Spanish provinces of Almeria and Murcia are the most exposed, while all the Balearic Islands can be affected by the North Algerian sources with probable severe damage, specially the islands of Ibiza and Minorca. The results obtained in this work are useful to plan future regional and local warning systems, as well as to set the priority areas to conduct research on detailed tsunami risk.

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