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qmackie.bsky.social
qmackie
@qmackie.bsky.social
280 followers 680 following 250 posts
Archaeologist (retd.), idiot looking for a village, used to run @uvicanthro on tw*tter, paleocoasts, dog!, yyj
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qmackie.bsky.social
Full article (Open Access) by Longo et al here: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... (and yes they tested the archaeological Indigo was not shed by excavators' blue jeans) 🏺👖
Direct evidence for processing Isatis tinctoria L., a non-nutritional plant, 32–34,000 years ago
Recovering evidence for the intentional use of plants in the Palaeolithic is challenging due to their perishable nature as, unlike chipped stone or bone artefacts, plant remains are rarely preserved. ...
journals.plos.org
September 2, 2025 at 9:48 PM
qmackie.bsky.social
Correction: smelting began in 1889, lead isotopes spike dramatically in 1891.
September 2, 2025 at 1:31 AM
qmackie.bsky.social
Original article Fritz et al 2021 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (open access I think). Captions for the figures below are in the alt text. 🏺 🎵🐚 #archaeology
Fig. 1 Marine shell of Charonia lampas from Marsoulas cave (France). (A) Side view. (B) Front view and naming of the anatomical areas. (C) Vestiges of red pigment preserved on the columella (image enhanced with Dstretch-rgb0). (D) Tracing of red dots and lines visible on the enhanced photo. Very similar red dots, produced with the fingertips, are present on the walls of the cave. (5) Set of red dots forming a bison silhouette (length, 1.10 m). (6) Geometric sign formed by a double line of dots. [Photos (A to C, E, and F): C. Fritz; drawing (D): G. Tosello.] Fig. 2 The Charonia shell bears the traces of important modifications of human origin. (A) Elimination of the labrum (outer lip) by series of strokes. (B) Opening of the apex by destruction of the first six spires. (C) In top view, the chipped edge of the mouth indicates a summary work. (D) A deposit of brownish organic matter covers the fractured edge of the apex. [Photos (A to D): C. Fritz.] Fig. 3 The Charonia, wind instrument. (A) Sagittal section of the three-dimensional (3D) model of the shell that makes it possible to visualize the hole drilled at the level of the sixth spire (after opening the apex; see Fig. 2), probably to introduce a tube to facilitate the fitting of a mouthpiece. (B) Detail of the circular perforation drilled from the apex. The streaks on the edge are due to a skidding tool. (C) Top view of the 3D model showing the perforation. (D) Three-dimensional (3D) cross section at the level of the seventh spire. (E) The conch of Marsoulas in its Magdalenian context (hypothetical restitution). (F) Conch from Southeast Asia, the mouth of which is covered with a black coating, intended to protect the lips of the blower. (G and H) Conch from Syria and detail of its chipped mouth, close to that of Marsoulas. (I and J) Conch from New Zealand and its mouthpiece made of a decorated bone tube. [3D model captures (A to D): C. Fritz; drawing (E): G. Tosello; photos (F to J): Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac/E. Kasarhérou.]
August 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
qmackie.bsky.social
Read the entire article in the Journal of False Advertising (open access) #oa @currentbiology.bsky.social

www.cell.com/current-biol...
Evolutionary Trade-Off between Vocal Tract and Testes Dimensions in Howler Monkeys
Males often face a trade-off between pre- and postcopulatory investments for reproduction. Dunn et al. report the first evidence for a trade-off between vocal investment and sperm production—howler mo...
www.cell.com
August 1, 2025 at 4:12 PM