An Early Pleistocene hominin mandible from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain.

We present a mandible recovered in 2003 from the Aurora Stratum of the TD6 level of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain). The specimen, catalogued as ATD6-96, adds to the hominin sample recovered from this site in 1994-1996, and assigned to Homo antecessor. ATD6-96 is the left half of a gracile mandible belonging to a probably female adult individual with premolars and molars in place. This mandible shows a primitive structural pattern shared with all African and Asian Homo species. However, it is small and exhibits a remarkable gracility, a trait shared only with the Early and Middle Pleistocene Chinese hominins. Furthermore, none of the mandibular features considered apomorphic in the European Middle and Early Upper Pleistocene hominin lineage are present in ATD6-96. This evidence reinforces the taxonomic identity of H. antecessor and is consistent with the hypothesis of a close relationship between this species and Homo sapiens.

Ungulates from Atapuerca TD6.

The ungulates from unit 6 of Gran Dolina (TD6) in the Sierra de Atapuerca (northern Spain) are studied. They include Stephanorhinus etruscus, Equus cf. altidens, Sus scrofa, Dama nestii? vallonetensis, Cervus elaphus, Eucladoceros giulii, Cervidae indet. and Bovini cf. "Bison voigtstedtensis." The taxonomy and stratigraphical distribution of most of these taxa are not universally accepted. S. etruscus, D. n.? vallonetensis, E. giulii and "B. voigtstedtensis" are late Early and early Middle Pleistocene elements. S. scrofa and C. elaphus range from the late Early Pleistocene to Recent. The fauna indicates a late Early or earliest Middle Pleistocene age, which fits the latest Early Pleistocene age suggested by palaeomagnetism. The faunal assemblage does not indicate extreme climatic conditions. The virtual absence of "glacial" taxa from the Spanish Early and Middle Pleistocene suggests that glaciations did not have a great impact on the fauna, suggesting that climate was no impediment to a continuous human occupation of Spain from the late Early Pleistocene onwards.

The TD6 (Aurora Stratum) hominid site. Final remarks and new questions.

The study of the faunal and lithic assemblage (including almost a hundred human fossil remains) recovered from the Aurora stratum-TD6 level of the Lower Pleistocene cave site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) has allowed us to answer some important questions concerning the debate about the earliest evidence for human occupation of Europe. However, it has also started new discussions about some geographical, ecological, and economic aspects of this earliest occupation. The nature (definitive or ephemeral) of the first occupation, as well as the model for the arrival of the Acheulean (Mode 2) in Europe are also issues for discussion.

Privatisation in health care: concepts, motives and policies.

Over the last decade privatisation has been used frequently as a policy instrument to reduce the financial burden of the public sector. In most countries there is a mix of public and private interests in health care. Because of this, privatisation is an important issue in health care policy analysis. In this article we deal with different concepts and motives for privatisation in general. We will distinguish various types of privatisation and show how these can be applied to changes in health care policy. As far as the latter is concerned we will use Dutch experiences. In the analysis we emphasise especially the effects of privatisation in health care on the private non-profit organizations.