The discovery of later Middle Pleistocene human remains from the
Bau de l'Aubesier, France reinforces an evolutionary model of the
gradual accumulation of Neandertal-derived facial and dental features
during the Middle Pleistocene of the northwestern Old World. The
pronounced maxillary incisor beveling of Aubesier 4 helps to extend the
antiquity of nondietary use of the anterior dentition. The
interproximal “toothpick” groove on the Aubesier 10 molar
increases the sample for these lesions. The pathological loss of the
mandibular dentition of Aubesier 11 indicates advanced antemortem
masticatory impairment, at a level previously undocumented before the
Late Pleistocene. These remains support a view of later Middle
Pleistocene humans able to support debilitated individuals despite the
considerable use of their bodies to accomplish routine activities.
At Bau de l'Aubesier, Provence, Mousterian artifacts and human teeth occur in inhomogeneous ("lumpy") sedimentary deposits that include bone and tooth fragments and extensive burnt horizons. Electron spin resonance (ESR) isochron analyses of mammal teeth, which use multiple subsamples with different U concentrations, can measure the external dose rate experienced by the tooth regardless of reworking and sedimentary dose rate changes. Isochron analyses do depend on the U uptake model assumed, but can also identify teeth that have experienced secondary U uptake or leaching. Using 11 teeth from six archaeological layers, the isochrons demonstrate that at least three teeth have experienced secondary uptake. For eight teeth, the U uptake has apparently not followed strictly early (EU), linear (LU), or recent uptake (RU), but more closely approximates LU-RU. Comparing volumetrically averaged sedimentary geochemistry with thermoluminescent dosimetry suggests that fossil tissues in the sediment have also experienced LU-RU uptake. LU-RU uptake can explain standard ESR ages that underestimate the true fossil age. ᭧
A nearly complete, articulated skeleton of an old white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) from Champlain Sea deposits at Saint-Félix-de-Valois is the best preserved specimen of its kind recorded from North America. It is one of 21 white whale specimens known from Champlain Sea deposits. Collagen from a vertebra yielded an accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon date of 10 700 ± 90 BP, which, with stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental data, is in accord with our knowledge of the past distribution of this species, its known habitat and habits. This study quantitatively traces regional sea-surface temperature, salinity and ice-cover. Dinocysts indicate a change from cold to cool conditions in surface water during that period corresponding to the withdrawal of ice and the beginning of the Holocene.Un squelette presque complet et articulé d’une vieille baleine blanche (Delphinapterus leucas) provenant des dépôts de la mer de Champlain à Saint-Félix-de-Valois représente le spécimen le mieux conservé du genre en Amérique du Nord. Il s’agit de l’un des 21 spécimens de baleine blanche découvert à ce jour dans les dépôts de la Mer de Champlain. Du collagène extrait d’une vertèbre a donné une date radiocarbone par spectrométrie de masse par accélérateur de 10 700 ± 90 BP, laquelle, avec les données stratigraphiques et paléoenvironnementales, est en accord avec nos connaissances actuelles sur la dispersion ancienne de l’espèce, son habitat et son mode de vie. Cette étude livre une esquisse quantitative régionale de la température des eaux de surface, de la salinité et du couvert de glace. Les dinokystes indiquent un changement des conditions de froides à fraîches des eaux de surface durant la période correspondant au retrait glaciaire et au début de l’Holocène
Excavations in Middle Paleolithic levels at the "Bau de l'Aubésier (Vaucluse)" during 2000 yielded a maxillary molar and a partial mandible from late Middle Pleistocene levels, plus a maxillary molar from the early Late Pleistocene. The Middle Pleistocene remains (Aubesier 10 and 11) have close morphological affinities to contemporaneous European human remains, and the Neandertal molar (Aubesier 12) falls well within Neandertal ranges of variation. The teeth are notable for a toothpick groove on Aubesier 10 and the large dental caries in Aubesier 12. The Aubesier 11 mandible exhibits extensive pathological alterations of the alveolar process, indicating serious impairment of mastication.
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