Australopithecus boisei was first described from a cranium recovered in 1959 from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. This and subsequent finds, mostly from Kenya's Turkana basin, resulted in its characterization as a specialized Australopithecus species with a hyper-robust masticatory apparatus. A distinct A. boisei facial morphology has been emphasized to differentiate robust Australopithecus lineages from East and South Africa. A preference for closed and/or wet habitats has been hypothesized. Here we report some new A. boisei specimens, including the taxon's first cranium and associated mandible, from Konso, Ethiopia. These fossils extend the known geographical range of A. boisei. They provide clear evidence for the coexistence of A. boisei and Homo erectus within a predominantly dry grassland environment. The A. boisei specimens from Konso demonstrate considerable morphological variation within the species. The unexpected combination of cranial and facial features of this skull cautions against the excessive taxonomic splitting of early hominids based on morphological detail documented in small and/or geographically restricted samples.

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The Yuigahama Chusei Shudan Bochi site (AD: twelfth to thirteenth centuries), located along the seashore of the southern end of Kamakura City in Japan, and has yielded a mass grave containing hundreds of human crania. The purpose of this study is to document cut marks on crania made by an edged weapon, paying specific attention to individuals who may exhibit scratch marks, and to understand the variability of weapon-related traumas in the medieval period in Japan. The observation leads to tentative findings regarding the identification and interpretation of weapon-related traumas of human skeletal remains. From macroscopic observation, the marks display the sharpness of cut surfaces which are characteristic of unhealed cut marks. Scanning electron microscopic observation of the marks also shows that they are V-shaped in cross-section, a morphological feature that is characteristic of cut marks. This study first demonstrates that the scratches on the crania have morphological features consistent with human-induced cut marks, and that the macroscopic and microscopic approaches provide important information for identifying anthropogenic cut marks on the human skeletal remains from an archaeological site in Japan.

Faunal remains originating from terrestrial and marine mammals, and belonging to the same archaeological deposits were compared to evaluate the marine radiocarbon reservoir ages around the Hokkaido island, Japan. From five shell middens of different ages from the Jomon period (4900 BP) to the Ainu cultural period (800 BP), 107 animal bone samples were selected for radiocarbon measurements. The apparent age differences between Japanese deer and northern fur seal showed the clear effect of deep-water upwelling in this region. Our data showed relatively stable age differences from 4500 BP to 800 BP, with an estimated ΔR values around 380 14C yr. Results are consistent with previous estimation based on simulation models and oceanographic properties.

The Seiyokan site is located in Kamakura, Japan, and has yielded 91 human skeletons belonging to the 14-15th centuries AD. The purposes of this study are to examine the human crania from the archeological site at Seiyokan, to analyze the presence, distribution, and variability of their weaponrelated traumas, and finally to better understand violence in medieval Japan from osteological evidence. The results demonstrate that the traumas on the crania have morphological features consistent with human-induced cut marks. The presence of cut marks on the Seiyokan crania, which strongly suggests the prevalence of violence in medieval Japan, is in accord with the historical background-that a militarily organized society was founded by force and that the rise to political power of the warrior class and the establishment of a military government resulted in continuous disturbances, armed conflicts, and violent death.