Asynchronous ecological upheavals on the Western Mediterranean islands: New insights on the extinction of their autochthonous small mammals

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110604
Author(s):  
Alejandro Valenzuela ◽  
Enric Torres-Roig ◽  
Daniel Zoboli ◽  
Gian Luigi Pillola ◽  
Josep Antoni Alcover
Keyword(s):  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
External Disturbances ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
External Perturbations ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
New Evidence

Comparative studies on extinction scenarios are an invaluable contribution to enhance our understanding of their patterns and mechanisms underpinning them. This paper presents new radiocarbon dates based on specimens of five extinct mammal species from Mallorca and Sardinia. The new evidence permits to reanalyse the extinction dynamics on both islands. Radiocarbon ages directly obtained on bone collagen from these species show evidence of different extinction patterns on Mallorca and Sardinia. For Mallorca the most reliable scenario is a mass extinction of all non-volant mammal species as an immediate consequence of the first human irruption on the island. However, for Sardinia, the extinction of autochthonous mammals lasted over several millennia. The new radiocarbon dates of the last occurrence of endemic mammals suggest a sequence of punctuated extinction events throughout the late Sardinian Holocene. These events are here tentatively related to successive human colonisation waves. The current lack of chronological dates for some Sardinian fossil mammals impedes to outline a more accurate pattern of extinction events. The present paper points that Mallorca have been more vulnerable than Sardinia to the external disturbances introduced by humans. We suggest that the capacity of each island to absorb external perturbations could be related to the island area, the duration of the isolated evolution and the degree of faunal complexity.

scholarly journals Direct dating reveals the early history of opium poppy in western Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Salavert ◽  
Antoine Zazzo ◽  
Lucie Martin ◽  
Ferran Antolín ◽  
Caroline Gauthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Opium Poppy ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Macrobotanical Remains ◽  
History Of ◽  
Temperate Europe ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology ◽  
Botanical Remains

AbstractThis paper aims to define the first chrono-cultural framework on the domestication and early diffusion of the opium poppy using small-sized botanical remains from archaeological sites, opening the way to directly date minute short-lived botanical samples. We produced the initial set of radiocarbon dates directly from the opium poppy remains of eleven Neolithic sites (5900–3500 cal BCE) in the central and western Mediterranean, northwestern temperate Europe, and the western Alps. When possible, we also dated the macrobotanical remains originating from the same sediment sample. In total, 22 samples were taken into account, including 12 dates directly obtained from opium poppy remains. The radiocarbon chronology ranges from 5622 to 4050 cal BCE. The results show that opium poppy is present from at least the middle of the sixth millennium in the Mediterranean, where it possibly grew naturally and was cultivated by pioneer Neolithic communities. Its dispersal outside of its native area was early, being found west of the Rhine in 5300–5200 cal BCE. It was introduced to the western Alps around 5000–4800 cal BCE, becoming widespread from the second half of the fifth millennium. This research evidences different rhythms in the introduction of opium poppy in western Europe.

scholarly journals Freshwater reservoir offsets on radiocarbon-dated dog bone from the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River, USA

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7174
Author(s):  
John P. Hart ◽  
Robert S. Feranec ◽  
Timothy J. Abel ◽  
Jessica L. Vavrasek
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Dog Bone ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir ◽  
St Lawrence River

Isotopic analysis of dog (Canis lupus familiaris) bone recovered from archaeological sites as proxies for human bone is becoming common in North America. Chronological placement of the dogs is often determined through radiocarbon dating of dog bone. The Great Lakes, their tributaries, and nearby lakes and streams were important fisheries for Native Americans prior to and after sustained European presence in the region. Carbon entering the food web in freshwater systems is often not in full isotopic equilibrium with the atmosphere, giving rise to spuriously old radiocarbon ages in fish, other aquatic organisms, and their consumers. These freshwater reservoir offsets (FROs) have been noted on human and dog bone in several areas of the world. Here we report the results of multi-tracer Bayesian dietary modeling using δ15N and δ13C values on dog bone collagen from mid-fifteenth to mid-sixteenth-century Iroquoian village sites at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River, New York, USA. Results indicate that fish was an important component of dog diets. A comparison of radiocarbon dates on dog bone with dates on deer bone or maize from the same sites indicate FROs ranging from 97 ± 24 to 220 ± 39 14Cyr with a weighted mean of 132 ± 8 14Cyr. These results suggest that dog bone should not be used for radiocarbon dating in the absence of modeling to determine fish consumption and that previously reported radiocarbon dates on human bone from the larger region are likely to have FROs given the known importance of fish in regional human diets.

scholarly journals Rappresentazioni planimetriche, vedutistiche e tridimensionali per la fortificazione di due isole del Mediterraneo occidentale: Elba e Palmaria (secolo XIX)

X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina De Santi ◽  
Carlo A. Gemignani ◽  
Anna Guarducci ◽  
Luisa Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Small Model ◽  
Dimensional Models ◽  
Three Dimensional Models ◽  
The Military ◽  
Strong Impulse

Planimetric maps, views and three-dimensional representations for the fortification of two western Mediterranean islands: Elba and Palmaria (nineteenth century)The French expansion and domination in Italy between the Revolutionary Age and the Empire based on a widespread activity of territorial knowledge, which rested in the Corps of Engineers-Geographers and in the Military Genius the main actors. The paper summarizes the results of long research on this activity, carried out in the islands of Elba (Tuscany) and Palmaria (Liguria): two strategic islands in the western Mediterranean. The need to equip the territories dominated by the French with increasingly functional defenses, gave a strong impulse to the renewal of surveying and cartography, with the use of geodetic projections, views and three-dimensional models. Elba example is significant for the complete triangulation of the island connected to the Corsica one (with part of Sardinia and the smaller islands of the Tuscan archipelago). Geographer engineers such as Tranchot, Simonel, Moynet, Puissant worked on these activities and produced some maps and a small model of part of Elba. In the Palmaria example the three-dimensional reproduction (plan-relief) was contextual to the work of Genius engineers who produced a vast and organic corpus of maps of various scales, views, sketches and watercolors, suitable to represent the most complete visualization of the landscapes where to insert defensive buildings. The collaboration between French and Italian engineers took advantage of this first experience in designing some batteries. However, it was the post-Napoleonic decades that made Palmaria island a powerful “fortress island” to defend the entrance to the Gulf of La Spezia, where the military arsenal (commissioned by Cavour and built by Domenico Chiodo) arose.

An Archaeomagnetic Study of Hangi Stones in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rimpy Kinger
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The North ◽  
Sw Pacific ◽  
Archaeomagnetic Dating ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Temperature Spectra

<p>Burnt or fired archaeological artefacts often retain a record of the magnetic field in which they were last heated and cooled. Over the past four years we have collected oriented hangi stones from 10 archaeological sites spread across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The stones vary in lithology from andesites, originating from the central North Island volcanoes, favoured by Maori for their durability and with remanent magnetization up to 30 A/m, to sandstones and schists from the main axial ranges, with magnetizations as weak as 10-4 A/m. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments retrieved from amongst the stones indicates that the sites span from ca. 1400 AD to the present.  In all cases, we have independently oriented and retrieved several stones, and we have made several samples from each stone, either by drilling (standard cylindrical samples) or sawing (pseudo-cubes) in the laboratory. We have calculated site mean palaeomagnetic directions (Dec between 1.5o and 19.6o and Inc between -52.2o and -68.3o) from principal component analysis of thermal demagnetization and alternating field demagnetization data, discarding the data of stones that show evidence of disturbance after cooling. The directions are in good agreement with recently published palaeosecular variation records from lake sediments. We have carried out palaeointensity experiments using the Coe/Thellier method with pTRM and tail checks, and with selection criteria modified to the situation. Palaeointensities range from 50μT to 77μT. Rock magnetic experiments contribute to our understanding of the mineralogy, domain state and blocking temperature spectra.  We compare our data with predictions of the global field models ARCH3k and gufm1, and suggest that the addition of our new data will improve these models for the SW Pacific region for the most recent time period. Archaeomagnetic measurements are also used to date hangi sites by matching the palaeo-direction to an established archaeomagnetic dating model, NZPSV1k. Archaeomagnetic dating is used to resolve ambiguities in the calibration of radiocarbon dates, and shows up inconsistencies due to unreliable source material for radiocarbon dating. Archaeomagnetic dating and radiocarbon dating results are combined to give the best estimates of the best age of the hangi sites.</p>

The New (Old) Order, 1936–1942

2019 ◽  
pp. 215-242
Author(s):  
Sasha D. Pack
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Spanish Civil War ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Southern Spain ◽  
World War ◽  
Francisco Franco ◽  
Northwest Africa ◽  
Old Order ◽  
New Evidence

This chapter examines the fate of trans-Gibraltar region during Spanish Civil War and the early stages of World War II. Although the insurgent army of Francisco Franco quickly took control of northern Morocco and southern Spain and invited its Nazi and Fascist allies to the strategically crucial region, the Entente order of 1904 proved resilient. New evidence is introduced detailing the Franco movement’s success in marshaling anti-French, anti-Semitic, and pro-German sentiments to recruit Muslim support, promising the construction of a new Hispano-Moroccan bulwark in the western Mediterranean. Other new documents indicate how quickly this enthusiasm cooled, however, as it became clear that Nazi agents were preparing to seize a position in northwest Africa without giving consideration for Spanish interests, while the British and much of the Jewish community of Tangier remained supportive of Spanish interests in Morocco.

scholarly journals Correction: What Do Pneumocystis Organisms Tell Us about the Phylogeography of Their Hosts? The Case of the Woodmouse Apodemus sylvaticus in Continental Europe and Western Mediterranean Islands

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. e0171282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Demanche ◽  
Manjula Deville ◽  
Johan Michaux ◽  
Véronique Barriel ◽  
Claire Pinçon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apodemus Sylvaticus ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Islands

scholarly journals New Evidence from the East Polynesian Gateway: Substantive and Methodological Results from Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 1163-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda S Allen ◽  
Rod Wallace
Keyword(s):  
New Age ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Cook Islands ◽  
Island Colonization ◽  
Settlement Period ◽  
Biological Evidence ◽  
New Evidence

East Polynesia was the geographic terminus of prehistoric human expansion across the globe and the southern Cook Islands, the first archipelago west of Samoa, a gateway to this region. Fourteen new radiocarbon dates from one of the oldest human settlements in this archipelago, the Ureia site (AIT-10) on Aitutaki Island, now indicate occupation from cal AD 1225–1430 (1σ), nearly 300 yr later than previously suggested. Although now among the most securely dated central East Polynesian sites, the new age estimate for Ureia places it outside the settlement period of either the long or short chronology models. The new dates have, however, led to a comfortable fit with the Ureia biological evidence, which suggests not a virgin landscape, but a highly a modified fauna and flora. The results also provide the first systematic demonstration of inbuilt age in tropical Pacific trees, a finding that may explain widely divergent 14C results from several early East Polynesian sites and has implications for the dating of both island colonization and subsequent intra-island dispersals.

scholarly journals Alien Plant Diversity in Mediterranean Wetlands: A Comparative Study within Valencian, Balearic and Sardinian Floras

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga MAYORAL ◽  
Francesco MASCIA ◽  
Lina PODDA ◽  
Emilio LAGUNA ◽  
Pere FRAGA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Ricinus Communis ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Balearic Islands ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Mediterranean Wetlands ◽  
Alien Flora

Although wetlands provide an important range of environmental, social and economic services, they are increasingly subjected to anthropogenic perturbations, amongst which invasion by alien plants is particularly alarming. This paper focuses on the alien flora of wetlands from three territories belonging to the western Mediterranean area: one continental (Valencian Community) and two insular (Balearic Islands and Sardinia), providing a complete checklist for the three territories and a general comparison. In total, 380 alien taxa from 89 families have been reported, being the Valencian Community the area richer in taxa (312), followed by the Balearic Islands (151) and Sardinia (134). The invasive component includes 77 taxa, of which nine are common to the three territories - and have been recognised as the most invasive ones in Mediterranean islands - and six are considered invasive worldwide (Ailanthus altissima, Arundo donax, Cortaderia selloana, Oxalis pes-caprae, Ricinus communis and Eichhornia crassipes). Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) revealed that the three territories do not show statistically relevant differences in relation to the alien species present in wetlands and their characteristics. The information on the characteristics of plants in similar habitats of the same biogeographic region provides a portrait of the current dimensions of the phenomenon in Western Mediterranean wetlands and is especially useful from the management perspective: its predictive value can be applied in establishing a prioritization of control measures of those most invasive species and will help screening new introductions with invasive potential.

Pressure Knapping and the Timing of Innovation: New Chrono-Cultural Data on Prehistoric Groups of the Early Holocene in the Maghreb, Northwest Africa

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. e1-e51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Perrin ◽  
Tiphaine Dachy ◽  
Colas Guéret ◽  
David Lubell ◽  
Yasmina Chaïd-Saoudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Northwest Africa ◽  
Lithic Industry ◽  
Eastern Algeria ◽  
Cultural Entities ◽  
Cultural Data

ABSTRACTThe early Holocene in North Africa remains a poorly known period, documented unequally by region. Eastern Algeria and Tunisia have the greatest number of deposits, but most were excavated decades ago without the controls and recording required for modern interpretation. The chronological framework is based on radiocarbon (14C) dates that are also old, for the most part. Recent work on Mesolithic lithic industries of Western Europe has enabled us to revive the hypothesis of the existence of contacts between the northern and southern shores of the western Mediterranean at least by the 6th millennium cal BC. A collective research program was conducted in 2016–2017 to test this hypothesis with a particular focus on documenting the technological traditions in the lithic industry and situating them precisely in time. We have 46 new radiocarbon dates that were recently carried out on previously excavated Algerian sites, some of which contain several levels, allowing the construction of Bayesian models. These new measures reinforce the hypothesis of contacts between Europe and Africa by demonstrating the contemporaneity of similar technological processes. Above all, they make it possible to accurately refine the chronology of the main cultural entities of the Maghreb at the beginning of the Holocene.

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