Browsing by Author "Fewlass, Helen"
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- A C-14 chronology for the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Bacho Kiro Cave, BulgariaPublication . Fewlass, Helen; Talamo, Sahra; Wacker, Lukas; Kromer, Bernd; Tuna, Thibaut; Fagault, Yoann; Bard, Edouard; McPherron, Shannon P.; Aldeias, Vera; Maria, Raquel; Martisius, Naomi L.; Paskulin, Lindsay; Rezek, Zeljko; Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie; Sirakova, Svoboda; Smith, Geoffrey M.; Spasov, Rosen; Welker, Frido; Sirakov, Nikolay; Tsanova, Tsenka; Hublin, Jean-JacquesThe stratigraphy at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria, spans the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, including an Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) assemblage argued to represent the earliest arrival of Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens in Europe. We applied the latest techniques in C-14 dating to an extensive dataset of newly excavated animal and human bones to produce a robust, high-precision radiocarbon chronology for the site. At the base of the stratigraphy, the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) occupation dates to >51,000 yr bp. A chronological gap of over 3,000 years separates the MP occupation from the occupation of the cave by H. sapiens, which extends to 34,000 cal bp. The extensive IUP assemblage, now associated with directly dated H. sapiens fossils at this site, securely dates to 45,820-43,650 cal bp (95.4% probability), probably beginning from 46,940 cal bp (95.4% probability). The results provide chronological context for the early occupation of Europe by Upper Palaeolithic H. sapiens. A new radiocarbon chronology for the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at the Bulgarian site of Bacho Kiro reveals Homo sapiens-associated sediments as early as 46,940 yr bp.
- Ancient DNA reveals interstadials as a driver of common vole population dynamics during the last glacial periodPublication . Baca, Mateusz; Popović, Danijela; Lemanik, Anna; Bañuls‐Cardona, Sandra; Conard, Nicholas J.; Cuenca‐Bescós, Gloria; Desclaux, Emmanuel; Fewlass, Helen; Garcia, Jesus T.; Hadravova, Tereza; Heckel, Gerald; Horáček, Ivan; Knul, Monika Vlasta; Lebreton, Loïc; López‐García, Juan Manuel; Luzi, Elisa; Marković, Zoran; Mauch Lenardić, Jadranka; Murelaga, Xabier; Noiret, Pierre; Petculescu, Alexandru; Popov, Vasil; Rhodes, Sara; Ridush, Bogdan; Royer, Aurélien; Stewart, John R.; Stojak, Joanna; Talamo, Sahra; Wang, Xuejing; Wójcik, Jan M.; Nadachowski, AdamAim Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study investigated which climatic and/or environmental factors affect the population dynamics of the common vole. This temperate rodent is widespread across Europe and was one of the most abundant small mammal species throughout the Late Pleistocene. Location Europe. Taxon Common vole (Microtus arvalis). Methods We generated a dataset comprised of 4.2 kb long fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 148 ancient and 51 modern specimens sampled from multiple localities across Europe and covering the last 60 thousand years (ka). We used Bayesian inference to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and to estimate the age of the specimens that were not directly dated. Results We estimated the time to the most recent common ancestor of all last glacial and extant common vole lineages to be 90 ka ago and the divergence of the main mtDNA lineages present in extant populations to between 55 and 40 ka ago, which is earlier than most previous estimates. We detected several lineage turnovers in Europe during the period of high climate variability at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57-29 ka ago) in addition to those found previously around the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. In contrast, data from the Western Carpathians suggest continuity throughout the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) even at high latitudes. Main Conclusions The main factor affecting the common vole populations during the last glacial period was the decrease in open habitat during the interstadials, whereas climate deterioration during the LGM had little impact on population dynamics. This suggests that the rapid environmental change rather than other factors was the major force shaping the histories of the Late Pleistocene faunas.
- Subarctic climate for the earliest Homo sapiens in EuropePublication . Pederzani, Sarah; Britton, Kate; Aldeias, Vera; Bourgon, Nicolas; Fewlass, Helen; Lauer, Tobias; McPherron, Shannon P.; Rezek, Zeljko; Sirakov, Nikolay; Smith, Geoff M.; Spasov, Rosen; Tran, N.-Han; Tsanova, Tsenka; Hublin, Jean-JacquesThe expansion of Homo sapiens across Eurasia marked a major milestone in human evolution that would eventually lead to our species being found across every continent. Current models propose that these expansions occurred only during episodes of warm climate, based on age correlations between archaeological and climatic records. Here, we obtain direct evidence for the temperatures faced by some of these humans through the oxygen isotope analysis of faunal remains from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria, the earliest clear record of H. sapiens in Europe. The results indicate that humans ∼45,000 years ago experienced subarctic climates with far colder climatic conditions than previously suggested. This demonstrates that the early presence of H. sapiens in Europe was not contingent on warm climates. Our results necessitate the revision of key models of human expansion and highlight the need for a less deterministic role of climate in the study of our evolutionary history.