Paleoanthropology

La relación del hombre y la muerte en el Período Paleolítico Inferior. El proceso biopsicosocial de la conciencia de la muerte a través de contextos paleantropológicos y arqueológicos donde se infieran prácticas mortuorias en diferentes especies del Género Homo.

The aim of this article is to reveal the etymology of Brunnen ‘a well’(*br < *bur ‘water’, *u ‘minus or to draw’, -nnen ‘suffix’) in German, compared with hur < *bur ‘water’ in Basque, umur ‘a well’(*u ‘minus or to draw’, mur ‘water’) in Korean, in the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic Age.

Neanderthals were the only human group in Europe throughout the Late Pleistocene until the arrival of modern humans, and while their presence has been confirmed in the surrounding regions, no Neanderthal fossils are known to date from the Central Balkans. Systematic excavations of Pešturina Cave (Serbia) resulted in the discovery of a permanent right M1 (Pes-3). The specimen was recovered from stratigraphic Layer 4b with an estimated age of 102.4 ± 3.2 ka, associated with Mousterian artifacts. The exceptional state of preservation and minimal wear of the molar enabled a detailed description and comparative analysis of the inner and outer dental structure, including non-metric dental traits and morphometric features of the crown, roots, and dental tissues. The results of this study strongly support the identification of Pes-3 as Neanderthal. Non-metric traits of the occlusal surface of the crown, enamel-dentine junction, and roots are consistent with Neanderthal morphology. The crown shows morphometric features typical for Neanderthal M1, such as a buccolingually skewed crown shape, internally compressed cusps, and a relatively large hypocone. The specimen also shows Neanderthal-like dental tissue proportions, characterized by relatively thin enamel and large coronal dentine and coronal pulp volumes. The discovery of the Pes-3 molar therefore confirms the presence of Neanderthals in the territory of Serbia and the Central Balkans at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5c.

The aim of this article is to reveal some languages with *bur ‘water’ in a fossilized compound: spring ‘a wellspring’ in English  and Brunnen ‘a well’ in German, compared with *bur > hur ‘water’ in Basque, in the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic Age.

The period from 200,000 to 30,000 years ago in Africa encompasses the archaeological background for the early evolution and global dispersal of Homo sapiens. Here we provide an overview of current models of behavioral change and cultural evolution in this timeframe, followed by a review on the timing and temporal trajectory of relevant empirical data in Africa. Because recent anthropological and genetic work has highlighted the importance of structure within ancient populations of Africa, we adopt a geographically explicit perspective. We emphasize comparisons between the archaeological records of southern, northern, eastern, central and western Africa, recognizing the varying geological and environmental backgrounds, political circumstances, and histories of research across the continent. Our review finds different records and temporal trajectories for complex material culture and behavioral innovations among the African regions, with the earliest evidence for many cultural changes already present during the late Middle Pleistocene in all areas. The bulk of the evidence, however, comes from Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5-3, a period characterized by complex temporal trajectories and spatial differences among and within regions. Prominent models for a late emergence of sophisticated behaviors at ~50,000 years ago or a gradual and cumulative evolution of cultural complexity in all of Africa are not supported. In light of these results, we advocate abandoning continent-wide, directional and unilinear models of cultural change in favor of more highly contextualized, temporally variable, and historically contingent trajectories in different regions, encapsulated in the concept of complex landscapes of cultural evolution.

Few Early Stone Age (ESA) assemblages in clear stratigraphic context are known from the Western Rift and fewer still have any associated chronological information. Here we describe Early Stone Age materials and fauna stratified 7m below the Middle Stone Age horizon at Katanda-2, as well as excavated younger Acheulean materials from Kasaka-2, ~8 km. to the north-northeast.

The paleolithic sites of the Upper Semliki Valley in the Western Rift were originally explored by J. de Heinzelin and others in the 1950s. He described ESA materials from three localities: Katanda, Kasaka, and Kanyatsi. These sites span ~20km along the northern shore of Lake Edward and the Upper Semliki River.

Discovery of what is now regarded as an early hominin molar at the Semliki Valley site of Ishango (Crevecoeur et al., 2014) indicates the importance of a second look at the “Oldowan” tools at Senga-5a between Katanda and Kasaka. While these were Oldowan in character and were in association with extinct mammalian fauna, their stratigraphic integrity was questioned.

As part of the Semliki Research Expedition (1985-1990), A. Brooks, in collaboration with J. de Heinzelin, J. Verniers, D. Helgren, and K. Stewart, renewed excavations at the original Katanda locality (now KT2) and at Kasaka (now KS2). These new excavations recovered additional ESA materials from the Semliki beds at KT2 in association with extinct mammalian fauna and Acheulean materials from the Kasaka Upper Terrace at KS2.

The KT2 ESA assemblage contains one partial biface, fragments with bifacial retouch, several polyhedrons, and many scraping tools. All artifacts are made on quartz or quartzite. The closest affinities of the KT2 ESA materials are with “Developed Oldowan” assemblages in East Africa. The assemblage and associated faunal remains suggest an early Middle Pleistocene or older age. The younger KS2 Acheulean assemblage contains large well-made bifaces and multiple spheroids.

“Since the late nineteenth century, Erasmus Darwin has been identified with J. B. Lamarck and a generalized notion of organic development through acquired characteristics. The assessment of his evolutionary theory has been overshadowed by the achievements of his grandson Charles” Maureen McNeil, 2004. The first operation about evolution has been to distinguish similarities, then analogies between the evolutions of independent phenomena that led to modifications were recognized

"Ergonomic Futures" is a multi-part project, which asks questions about the human body through the lens of speculative evolution. Specifically, this work comes out of interviews with paleoanthropologists, evolutionary biologists, and genetic engineers. To each I have asked: What are future scenarios for imagining new types of human bodies, and how might these bodies cast relief on conversations about “fitness” and ability in the present day?

Working from my interviews, I am collaborating with architects Bureau V on different types of ergonomic seating for these future bodies, which will serve as functional “benches” in fine art and natural history museums (see here: http://www.tylercoburn.com/ergonomic.html). Additionally, I have designed a standalone website (www.ergonomicfutures.com), featuring my first-ever piece of online literature, which draws upon the aforementioned interviews. This essay stems from that literature.

The aim of this article is to reveal some languages with *pana ‘grand’(such as ‘grand-father’): Hittite with hassa ‘grand-son’ and hanzassa ‘grand-grand-son’, Old Korean with han-abi ‘grand-father’, Maori with mokopuna ‘grand-child’ and tupuna ‘grand-parent’, and Tamil with pāṭṭaṉ ‘grand-father’ and pāṭṭi ‘grand-mother’, where *pana ‘grand’(such as ‘grand-father’) might have the etymology in the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic Age.

The aim of this article is to reveal the etymologies of siya- ‘one’ and dā- ‘two’ in Hittite, compared with pen ‘this’ and ȧpen ‘these’ in Egyption Hieroglyphs in the Rosetta Stone, and sa ‘one’ in languages of the Onin group among Malayo-Polynesian Languages outside of Oceania, in the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic Age.

Contents
1. Comparison between pen ‘this’ and ȧpen ‘these’ in Egyption Hieroglyphs in the Rosetta Stone
2. A numeral sa ‘one’ in languages of the Onin group among Malayo-Polynesian Languages outside of Oceania
3. The etymology of tawa ‘four’ in Quechuan languages
4. The etymologies of siya- ‘one’ and dā- ‘two’ in Hittite5. Conclusion
References

The aim of this article is to reveal the etymology of *ma ‘thumb’ in mauwa ‘four’ in Luwian(Luvian), an Indo-European (I.E.) language, member of the Anatolian language family, compared with *ma > mū ‘thumb’ with a long vowel in Sino-Korean, in the Old Stone Age or the Paleolithic Age.