This article highlights the utility of vibracore technology to sample deep shell midden deposits on the Central Pacific Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Analysis of six core samples and 21 radiocarbon dates revealed that the archaeological deposits extended to a depth of 544 cm below surface and that occupation began approximately 6,000 years ago, continuing into the sixteenth century AD. Zooarchaeological identification of fine screened (2 mm) sediments shows that fish constitute 99.8% of identified vertebrate fauna, with a focus on herring (Clupea pallasii), salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.), rockfish (Sebastes sp.), and greenling (Hexagrammos sp.), followed by a variety of other fish taxa utilized throughout the occupation of this site. Despite a much smaller examined volume relative to conventional excavation, vibracoring was effective in recovering deep, stratigraphically intact, and adequate samples of zooarchaeological fisheries data as well as a considerable number of stone, bone, and shell artifacts (an estimated 550 artifacts per cubic meter of cultural sediments). These results show a persistent and sustainable ancient fishery through six millennia until the contact period. The field and laboratory methods described are especially conducive to sampling large and deep shell midden deposits repetitively.

Responding to recent advances in knowledge about the first arrival of woollen sheep in Europe and linked investigations of textile remains on the Continent, this paper argues that our insight into the role of wool in the English Bronze Age needs rethinking. We argue that the relevant questions are: when did the procurement of and working with wool become a routine aspect of settlement life, and did the change from plant fibres to wool affect communities differently? The paper outlines some of the core research questions we need to consider and points to the necessity of triangulating between the evidence provided by textiles, faunal remains, and textile working tools to reach more comprehensive insights. The paper ends by indicating a further research question – namely whether the apparent differences in the ‘wool economy’ in different parts of Bronze Age Europe may suggest differences in ‘body politics’.

We report on a diverse and abundant mammal fauna from Chongphadae Cave—Hwangju region in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The cave sediments include many mammal fossils and consist of fluvial, cave clay, and calcareous deposits. During our field excavation 33 species were encountered: 9 species of rodents, 1 species of lagomorph, 1 species of insectivore, 8 species of carnivores, 4 species of perissodactyls, 9 species of artiodactyls, and 1 species of primates. Of these, perissodactyls and artiodactyls dominate the fauna in terms of diversity. The cave sediments include 15 layers. Radiocarbon dating showed that Layers 12 and 13 were formed from 34,770 to 27,800 cal yr BP and from 24,980 to 21,340 cal yr BP, respectively. Additional identification of various palyno-botanical remains including 25 families and genera of trees, 19 families and genera of grasses and herbs, and 10 families and genera of ferns provides a wealth of information on the past ecology of the Chongphadae Cave Site area. During the Late Pleistocene, the Chongphadae area was surrounded by luxuriant forests associated with hills and grasslands in a cool and humid temperate climatic environment.

Excavations from 2013 to 2015 at the site of Shishan Marsh 1 (SM1) in the Azraq Basin of eastern Jordan have yielded substantial late middle Pleistocene lithic assemblages in association with faunal remains. Faunal preservation is poor, but multiple taxa have been identified, including cf. Panthera leo, Gazella sp., Bos cf. primigenius, Camelus sp., Equus spp., cf. Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, Palaeoloxodon cf. recki, and Elephas cf. hysudricus. The overall Azraq habitat may have been most similar to a savanna ecosystem, with a mixture of open grassland/shrub habitats and more closed vegetation along the wetlands margins. These taxa were drawn to the relatively lush oasis environment, where they were a dietary resource of the hominin groups exploiting the wetlands resources.

Sedimentological, faunal, and archaeological investigations at the Sunshine Locality, Long Valley, Nevada reveal a history of human adaptation and environmental change at the last glacial–interglacial transition in North America's north-central Great Basin. The locality contains a suite of lacustrine, alluvial, and eolian deposits associated with fluvially reworked faunal remains and Paleoindian artifacts. Radiocarbon-dated stratigraphy indicates a history of receding pluvial lake levels followed by alluvial downcutting and subsequent valley filling with marsh-like conditions at the end of the Pleistocene. A period of alluvial deposition and shallow water tables (9,800 to 11,000 14C yr B.P.) correlates to the Younger Dryas. Subsequent drier conditions and reduced surface runoff mark the early Holocene; sand dunes replace wetlands by 8,000 14C yr B.P. The stratigraphy at Sunshine is similar to sites located 400 km south and supports regional climatic synchroneity in the central and southern Great Basin during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. Given regional climate change and recurrent geomorphic settings comparable to Sunshine, we believe that there is a high potential for buried Paleoindian features in primary association with extinct fauna elsewhere in the region yet to be discovered due to limited stratigraphic exposure and consequent low visibility.

In order to obtain a better understanding of the infilling of the Saalian glacial basins during the Eemian, particularly following the recent research in the Amsterdam Basin (Terminal borehole), it was necessary to re-investigate the type locality of the Eemian at Amersfoort. Both published and unpublished data from various biota (diatoms, foraminifers, molluscs, ostracods, pollen) provide new information on the changing sedimentary environments during the Eemian. Although the organic and clastic sediments of the infilling represent nearly all the pollen zones, the sedimentary sequence at Amersfoort is discontinuous: four breaks at least are recognised at the type locality.

The successive sedimentary environments and the breaks in the record are linked with the transgression of the Eemian sea, the topographic position at the margin of an ice-pushed ridge, and the changes in hydrodynamic conditions. Local conditions, such as a sandy sea bed, shallow water and a reduced water exchange near the North Sea margin, influenced the salinity of the basin. Rib counts of Cerastoderma edule shells indicate a higher salinity at the end of the Taxus (E4b) and the beginning of the Carpinus (E5) zones than that present in the modern North Sea. Local conditions were responsible for the higher salinity following the climate optimum.

During the Abies phase (the later part of regional pollen zone E5), the sea level had already fallen. The change from eu-trophic peat growth (with Alnus and Salix) to an oligotrophic Ericaceae/Sphagnum community at the end of the Eemian resulted from the change from a marine to a fresh-water environment, probably coherent with a deterioration of the climate.

The fauna and population densities of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae: Perciformes) were studied at the Cobourg Marine Park (CMP), Cobourg Peninsula in the Arafura Sea, the Northern Territory, Australia. A total of five genera and 17 species of butterflyfish were recorded within the CMP, including nine new records for the Northern Territory. Goldstripe butterflyfish Chaetodon aureofasciatus Macleay, the most common and abundant species represented 64.3% of all 883 butterflyfish recorded followed by the Philippine butterflyfish Chaetodon adiergastos Seale (14.9%), margined butterflyfish Chelmon marginalis Richardson (10.8%), triangle butterflyfish Chaetodon baronessa Cuvier (5.1%) and chevroned butterflyfish C. trifascialis Quoy and Gaimard (1.2%). The CMP contains the richest chaetodontid fauna among all sites surveyed so far in the Northern Territory. Population density of the endemic Australian species Chelmon marginalis in the CMP is the highest across its range within studied locations. Abundances of Chaetodon adiergastos at Cobourg are similar to areas in the Philippines and Malaysia where population density of this species is the highest in the Indo-West Pacific region.

Sacred sites, particularly in forests, often form unofficial protected areas because their biodiversity is preserved and protected by the local people looking after the sites. Here, we survey the biodiversity of the Three Sisters Cave complex, a sacred site or kaya in a fragment of East African coastal forest in south-east Kenya. We show that, despite the tiny size of this non-gazetted forest reserve, it contains many of the threatened species of both flora (121 species) and fauna (46 species) representative of Kenya's coastal forest. Following the overexploitation and widespread destruction of coastal rainforests in Kenya, such sacred sites represent key biodiversity hotspots as well as forest islands in the now largely deforested coastal plain. Other non-gazetted forest sacred sites may represent undocumented sources of biodiversity that may contribute towards conservation of this threatened coastal habitat.

In the Neolithic megasite at Çatalhöyük families lived side by side in conjoined dwellings, like a pueblo. It can be assumed that people were always in and out of each others' houses – in this case via the roof. Social mechanisms were needed to make all this run smoothly, and in a tour-de-force of botanical, faunal and spatial analysis the authors show how it worked. Families stored their own produce of grain, fruit, nuts and condiments in special bins deep inside the house, but displayed the heads and horns of aurochs near the entrance. While the latter had a religious overtone they also remembered feasts, episodes of sharing that mitigated the provocations of a full larder.

We studied the response of vegetation and vertebrate assemblages to fire and grazing, and their interacting effects, in Eucalyptus woodland in north-eastern Australia. In this vegetation type, many pastures remain free of cattle grazing due to the occurrence of a native shrub poisonous to livestock. Vegetation (floristic data and 22 habitat variables) and vertebrate fauna (birds, mammals, reptiles) were sampled in 29 standardized 50 × 50-m quadrats in the 2001 wet season, representing four treatments: sites burnt recently (within 2 y) and grazed by cattle (4–8 ha per livestock unit); sites unburnt (last burnt >2 y ago) and grazed; sites burnt recently and ungrazed; and unburnt and ungrazed sites. Fire and grazing had a significant influence on vegetation: both grazing and fire reduced ground cover (fire in grazed sites 51–23%, fire in ungrazed sites 68–39%) and increased the cover of forbs (8% in burnt and grazed sites, 3% if ungrazed) and tussock grasses (20% in grazed and unburnt sites and 5% when ungrazed). Grazing caused a shift in floristic composition from the perennial hummock grass Trioda pungens to tussock grasses (e.g. Aristida spp., Enneapogon spp.), forbs (e.g. Phyllanthus spp.) and shrubs (e.g. Acacia spp.). Of the vertebrate groups, birds responded more to fire effects (9 species), reptiles to grazing effects (6 species) and mammals to the interaction (2 species). Species reacted to increases in bare ground (e.g. crested pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes, hooded robin Melanodryas cucullatus, Ctenophorus nuchalis) and to the dominant ground cover (e.g. Ctenotus pantherinus) or change in vegetation architecture (e.g. singing honeyeater Lichenostomus virescens, variegated fairy-wren Malurus lamberti). The clearest example of an interacting effect was the cycle of complementary dominance between the rodents Pseudomys delicatulus and P. desertor, the latter's post-fire recovery becoming more muted in sites where cattle grazed (modelled time for population recovery twice as long as in ungrazed sites).

The McDonald Islands (53°S, 73°E) originally comprised three small islands that lie on the Kerguelen Plateau, 44 km west of Heard Island. No volcanic activity was observed since their discovery in 1874 until 1997, when two passing ships recorded major changes and eruptive behaviour. A 2001 satellite image showed that the main island had doubled its area. This paper reports observations made from a cruise ship in November 2002, supplemented by a high-resolution satellite image acquired in March 2003. A new volcanic complex comprises lava domes, spines and flows, all assumed to be phonolitic, similar to the older volcanic rocks. The complex shows dormant volcanic activity, with numerous fumaroles, recent spine evolution and lava flows. Changes in relative sea level have connected Flat and McDonald Islands. A spit about 1km long with extensive shoals beyond, now extends eastward from McDonald Island and presents new hazards to shipping. Biological changes include colonization by king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonica), previously absent, and a large reduction in numbers of formerly widespread macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus chrysolophus).

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia was still present throughout the whole of Egypt except for the Sinai region. However, by the beginning of the 20th century it had disappeared from the Nile Delta region and from the Faiyum Oasis. In 1950 it was still present in the extreme south-east and in a small stretch of land in the Eastern Desert, and in half of the Western Desert. Today it is found only in the extreme south-east (Gebel Elba) and the extreme south-west (Gebel Uweinat and/or Gilf El Kebir) of the country. This sharp decrease in the distribution area of Ammotragus lervia is the result of intensive hunting by humans. The Barbary sheep of Gebel Elba now live in a region that has been designated a national park, which offers some protection. The Barbary sheep populations in the Uweinat/Gilf El Kebir area is in rapid decline, and it is now urgent that the Egyptian government enforce effective conservation measures to safeguard the last wild populations of Barbary sheep still present in its territory.

A checklist of Corsica's lotic Chironomidae is given. Collections of pupal exuviae from 32 river sites (July 1995, May 1999)yielded a total of 147 species-level taxa including several previously unknown pupal exuviae. Three of them are figured? Hayesomyia Pe nov., Eukiefferiella Pe nov., Thienemanniella Pe nov. These unusual forms may possibly be endemic speciesto Corsica that are new to science. Most of the chironomid species recorded are western Palaearctic. 11 species are circum-mediterranean.

This paper presents the results of a mammal survey conducted between 1995 and 1997 in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. Ninety-four species of mammals were recorded in the park area and its environs; 19 of these species were newly recorded or confirmed for Guinea. The fauna of the park includes about 50% of the known mammalian diversity of the country. Among the species found are West African endemics such as the Gambian mongoose Mungos gambianus. The park, although situated in the Guinea savannah belt, includes some remnant forest, which harbours tropical forest mammals such as Thomas's galago Galagoides cf. thomasi, hump-nosed mouse Hybomys planifrons, soft-furred rat Praomys rostratus and flying squirrel Anomalurops sp.. This National Park is a high priority area for the conservation of the vertebrate diversity of West Africa.

Un dernier inventaire récapitulant la totalité des espèces ou taxa de Chironomidés signalés jusqu'en 2001 est présenté avec larépartition géographique de chaque espèce au sein du territoire marocain. Le total des espèces ou taxa actuellement connues duMaroc est de 317.La répartition de cette faune entre les différentes aires géographiques définies du Maroc est distincte. 163 espèces sont recenséesdans le Rif et 256 dans l'Atlas (Moyen-Atlas + Haut-Atlas + Anti-Atlas).

Analysis and dating of new Upper Palaeolithic sites suggest that microblades emerged in the Transbaikal after 18,000 years ago. These findings encourage review of earlier assertions that such technologies developed in northeast Asia prior to the last glacial maximum.

Faunal reports from Magdalenian levels at Cueva de Nerja have been surveyed from both a taxonomic and a paleocultural standpoint in order to spot overall and specific patterns concerning the exploitation of animal resources. Although both diachronic and inter-site comparisons are limited due to the scarcity of data and the assemblages themselves have been studied by different scientists with different aims and methods, both first- and second-order magnitude patterns emerge from this study. The most important pattern concerns the constancy of the main subsistence basis throughout the periods under consideration despite dramatic differences in the diversity of cropped resources. Such a result substantiates, to a certain extent, the hypotheses concerning an intensification of cropping by humans during the latest stages of the upper Paleolithic (a phenomenon which we have named the ‘Tardiglacial paradigm’).

The Achanarras fish bed of Middle Devonian age in the Orcadian Basin was deposited in a large freshwater lake of variable productivity in which thermal stratification was normally developed. The fish bed consists of lacustrine laminites of organic, carbonate (dolomite and calcite) and clastic types. Carbonate laminae were precipitated as a result of photosynthetic activity and organic laminae were deposited following algal decay, clastic material was introduced by processes including overflow and interflow currents and wind transport.

The fish bed represents a major lacustrine transgression during a wetter climatic period which provided connections to other lakes and by overflow to the sea. Calcitic laminites represent the deepest water (>60 m) phase with greatest faunal variety due to availability of migration routes and stability of environments caused by lake overflow.

Initial lake transgression was characterised by Dipteras-dominated faunas which reappear as the last surviving fish during lake regression. Further regression resulted in the introduction of turbidites to the laminites.

Many fish were preserved following mass mortalities induced by algal blooms, mixing of waters by storms and lake overturn. Most of the fish inhabited shallow areas of the lake and drifted as rotting carcases to their final site of deposition. The fauna comprises a variety of benthonic and nektonic fish including predators, scavengers and omnivorous forms. Fish such as Coccosteus represented almost exclusively by adults may have bred outside the area of the lake.

This paper describes the suture zone between the Asian plate and the accreted Kohistan island arc in the Chitral district of NW Pakistan.

The southern part of the Asian plate consists of two tectonic units separated by the N-dipping Reshun fault. The northwestern unit comprises Devonian carbonates and quartzites overlain by Devonian to Permian shales and slates with some limestones (Lun shales). Its structure is complex with S-verging thrusts and isoclinal folds. Along the Reshun fault, the relatively undeformed Reshun Formation may represent molasse. The central unit includes N-dipping Upper Palaeozoic slates and quartzites (Darkot Group), probably faulted against an antiformal tract of slates, schists derived from a volcanic assemblage and Cretaceous limestones (Chitral slate, Koghozi greenschist, Krinj and Gahiret limestones). Asian plate sediments are intruded by granitic and granodioritic plutons, variably deformed and locally porphyritic.

The Northern suture melange of volcanic, sedimentary and serpentinite blocks in a slate matrix separates the Asian plate from the southeastern unit, the Kohistan arc. This comprises Cretaceous volcanic rocks with some sediments (Shamran Volcanic Group, Drosh, Purit and Gawuch Formations) intruded by aphyric diorites, tonalites and granites. These intermediate plutonic rocks pass southwards into a mafic layered complex and amphibolites representing deep levels of the arc. The volcanic rocks and sediments dip to the N and have a horizontal lineation. The structural history of southern Asia and Kohistan is consistent with an originally curved Northern suture: motion of the arc was initially to the NE relative to Asia and subsequently to the NW.