First direct dating of the Late Neanderthal remains from Subalyuk Cave in Northern Hungary.

The Subalyuk hominin remains were uncovered in 1932 in a cave of the same name in the Bükk Mountains, near the village of Cserépfalu in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Northern Hungary. The remains represent two individuals, an adult and a young child who have been described in a few publications since their discovery, providing substantial anthropological data and general assessments of their Neanderthal affiliation. They were associated with Late Mousterian industry. Thus, the Bükk Mountains gain importance in the discussion concerning the contribution of East Central European sites to the debate on the peopling history of Europe during the Late Middle to Early Upper Palaeolithic transition. In this paper, we summarize the archaeological and chronological context of the two individuals, and publish the first direct dating results that place them among the Last Neanderthals of Central Europe.

Re-examination of the Subalyuk Neanderthal remains uncovers signs of probable TB infection (Subalyuk Cave, Hungary).

In 1932, skeletal remains of two Neanderthal individuals, a young adult female and a 3-4-year-old child, were discovered in Subalyuk Cave in Northern Hungary [1,2]. Results of the anthropological examination were published some years after this important discovery. Methodological progress encouraged re-examination of the material during the last few years. Radiocarbon dating revealed a chronological age of 39,732-39,076 cal. BP for the adult female and 36,117-35,387 cal. BP for the child [3]. Morphological paleopathological studies of these Neanderthal remains uncovered distinct evidence of skeletal infections. Alterations of the adult individual's sacrum suggest probable early-stage sacroiliitis, while several vertebral bodies indicate superficial osseous remodelling of infectious origin. Traces of pathological lesions were observed on the endocranial surface of the child's skull, reflecting a reaction of meningeal tissues, a consequence of a probable TB-related meningeal infectious process. Results of recent paleomicrobiological examinations - lipid biomarker and aDNA studies - support the morphological diagnosis of probable TB infections [4].

Qafzeh 9 Early Modern Human from Southwest Asia: age at death and sex estimation re-assessed.

Qafzeh 9 is an almost complete skeleton commonly employed as representative of the population of the eponymous site. However, its biological profile is still largely based on the age at death and sex estimation methods in use at the time of its discovery. Moreover, post-mortem damage to the skeleton has made difficult the observation of some morphoscopic features, particularly pelvic ones currently used in sex estimation. Here, we apply recent methods and paleoimaging to re-evaluate the biological profile of Qafzeh 9, taking into account post-mortem damage. The results suggest a young age at death, indicating that Qafzeh 9 died before reaching complete dental and bone maturity; they also support a male sex assignment.

Evidence of Neanderthals in the Balkans: The infant radius from Kozarnika Cave (Bulgaria).

Excavations conducted by a Bulgarian-French team at Kozarnika Cave (Balkans, Bulgaria) during several seasons yielded a long Paleolithic archaeological sequence and led to the discovery of important faunal, lithic, and human samples. This paper aims to describe the unpublished radius shaft of an infant who died approximately before the sixth month postnatal that was recovered from layer 10b, which contained East Balkan Levallois Mousterian with bifacial leaf points. The layer was dated between 130 and 200 ka (large mammals biochronology) and between 128 ± 13 ka and 183 ± 14 ka (OSL), i.e. OIS6. Here we show that, given the scarcity of Middle Pleistocene infant remains in general, and Middle Paleolithic human remains from this part of Eastern Europe in particular, the study of the Kozarnika specimen is of special interest. We discuss its place in the Middle Pleistocene European hominine record and substantiate the hypothesis of early Neanderthal presence in the eastern Balkans.

Dental wear patterns in early modern humans from Skhul and Qafzeh: A response to Luca Fiorenza and Ottmar Kullmer.

It is common knowledge, that in archaic populations teeth could have been used as tools, such behavior can be studied by evaluating occlusal attrition patterns. Fiorenza and Kullmer suggested a digital approach to distinguish between masticatory and non-masticatory wear facets in archaic and modern populations. In their last response to our letter (Fiorenza and Kullmer, 2015), they used comparative modern samples to demonstrate that described para-facets in Skhul and Qafzeh individuals could not have been produced by dental occlusal anomalies and also since they claimed that more than 50% of the sample analyzed in their study are characterized by para-facets, it is highly unlikely to be the result of dental pathologies. What the authors neglected to mention is that misalignment of teeth and/or malocclusion features in the Qafzeh specimens for example are present in 55.5% of the individuals, and therefore, malocclusions should be at least reconsidered as a possible cause for the para-facets formation. Also, dental cross-bite may involve functional shift and mandibular deflection and therefore, should also be considered as a possible cause for untypical occlusal contacts. In the current reply, we indicate the disadvantages of the occlusal fingerprints analysis in archaic fragmented samples.

Earliest cranio-encephalic trauma from the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic: 3D reappraisal of the Qafzeh 11 skull, consequences of pediatric brain damage on individual life condition and social care.

The Qafzeh site (Lower Galilee, Israel) has yielded the largest Levantine hominin collection from Middle Palaeolithic layers which were dated to circa 90-100 kyrs BP or to marine isotope stage 5b-c. Within the hominin sample, Qafzeh 11, circa 12-13 yrs old at death, presents a skull lesion previously attributed to a healed trauma. Three dimensional imaging methods allowed us to better explore this lesion which appeared as being a frontal bone depressed fracture, associated with brain damage. Furthermore the endocranial volume, smaller than expected for dental age, supports the hypothesis of a growth delay due to traumatic brain injury. This trauma did not affect the typical human brain morphology pattern of the right frontal and left occipital petalia. It is highly probable that this young individual suffered from personality and neurological troubles directly related to focal cerebral damage. Interestingly this young individual benefited of a unique funerary practice among the south-western Asian burials dated to Middle Palaeolithic.

Reconstructing cultural behavior from dental wear studies: is para-facets analysis approach scientifically valid?

It is common knowledge, that in archaic populations teeth were used as tools, this behavior can be studied by evaluating attrition patterns. Parafacets were defined as nonmasticatory wear areas that have no antagonist matching wear facets. The presence of the parafacets led to far-reaching conclusions regarding cultural interactions between Near Eastern Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. This study was aimed to examine the identification of parafacets in some of the Qafzeh specimens. Based on findings of our research we suggest that the attrition facets mistakenly considered as parafacets are in fact the result of the static and dynamic occlusion. Therefore the observations induce much less dramatic interpretation. We here propose several guidelines that would be beneficial in that they aim to evaluate the parafacets with heightened accuracy.

Ancient Down syndrome: An osteological case from Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, northeastern France, from the 5-6th century AD.

The pathological skull of a 5-7 year old child from Saint-Jean-des-Vignes (Saône-et-Loire, north-eastern France) dated to the 5-6th century AD is described. Morphological and radiographic features, metrical data and Computed Tomography (CT) scans are used to study the osteological abnormalities in comparison with normal skulls of individuals of similar age and geographic origin. The combination of features is consistent with the diagnosis of Down syndrome (e.g. brachycrany, metopism, hypodontia, periodontitis, a flattened occiput, vault thinness, and an open cranial base angle), although none is pathognomonic of the disease in isolation. Cases of Down syndrome in past populations are rare, frequently poorly described or discovered out of context. This case represents the earliest and youngest example of the condition in the archaeological record. The context and funerary treatment of this child suggests that he/she was not stigmatized by other members of the community, who afforded a normal mode of burial.