Eduardo Méndez-Quintas

A long-standing objective in Acheulean research is defining evolutionary trends in handaxe production over time. This study investigates technological and morphological variability in the Early Acheulean by analysing three geographically and chronologically proximate assemblages (>1.2 million years ago) from Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia). Combined techno-typological and geometric morphometric analyses reveal significant variability in handaxe morphology, shaping strategies and raw material selection. The observed dissimilarity suggests that Acheulean handaxe manufacture did not follow a linear path of standardisation. Rather, it demonstrates considerable flexibility, reflecting hominins’ responses to varying constraints and immediate needs within short timeframes.

The fossil record is key to elucidating past biodiversity dynamics, yet it remains incomplete and non-uniform, governed by factors such as sedimentation rates, species’ range and body size, and sampling effort. How these biases distort inferences on evolutionary trends remains poorly understood. Here, we simulate a future fossil record of present-day land mammals to quantify the extent to which real evolutionary patterns can be recovered from fragmentary fossil data. Species are filtered according to sediment availability, species’ range and body size, and spatial and taxonomic sampling biases under three preservation rates, and then systematically pruned from a baseline mammal phylogeny before analyses of body mass and diet evolution through phylogenetic comparative methods. We find that biological and taxonomic filters strongly skew these inferences, while spatial filters do not significantly distort them. Our results provide first-order estimates of how fossil record incompleteness can bias our interpretation of deep-time biodiversity change.

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio sistemático sobre más de 170 emplazamientos con Equipos de Molienda Rupestre (EMR) ubicados en el noroeste peninsular analizados en los últimos años. Hasta ahora, la ausencia de estudios detallados dificultaba la comprensión y contextualización de estos conjuntos, a pesar de su importancia para el conocimiento de la Prehistoria Reciente en esta región. Su relevancia radica tanto en su vinculación con espacios de representación como en su singularidad dentro del contexto ibérico. En este estudio se ha llevado a cabo un análisis tipológico de los EMR en relación con la producción de molinos y morteros, examinando su distribución territorial en la región. Para ello, se ha empleado la fotogrametría como herramienta principal, lo que ha permitido obtener datos volumétricos y morfométricos de 1.144 estructuras, compuestas por 502 molinos y 642 morteros. Los principales resultados del análisis tecno-morfológico evidencian la existencia de una convención técnica y una Cadena Técnico Operativa en la elaboración de estas estructuras. Asimismo, se han identificado hasta cuatro tipologías diferenciadas de EMR, en las que se establecen relaciones entre los componentes de los artefactos (molinos y morteros), así como variaciones en su tamaño y volumen de trabajo.

The eastern African archaeological record is central to understanding early human evolution, yet its Pleistocene sites often present major challenges for public interpretation due to their open-air character and limited monumentality. In this context, in situ musealisation has emerged as a key strategy for combining conservation, research, and public access. This paper examines the historical development of such practices in eastern African archaeology through a comparative assessment of major sites, including Olorgesailie, Kariandusi, Isimila, and Olduvai Gorge, with particular emphasis on the Melka Kunture and Balchit (Ethiopia) archaeological complex. The analysis shows that early initiatives were largely experimental, frequently linked to specific academic events or tourism development, and commonly based on the direct exposure of archaeological surfaces, which generated important conservation and research constraints. By contrast, Melka Kunture represents a more integrated management model that combines landscape-scale interpretation, controlled visitor itineraries, multilingual outreach, high-resolution documentation, and the strategic use of replicas in a sensitive context. Recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the site illustrates how Pleistocene heritage can be made publicly accessible without compromising scientific integrity.

Aim: Species richness is generally lower in marine than in terrestrial ecosystems, but the reasons behind this disparity remain unclear. This study examines whether marine mammals diversify at a slower pace than their non‐marine counterparts, aiming to shed light on the factors explaining potential diversification differences among them. Location: Global. Time Period: Contemporary. Major Taxa Studied: Mammals. Methods: We combined time‐calibrated phylogenies, species distribution data, and life‐history traits to compare DR variation among marine and non‐marine mammals, and to assess DR correlation with ecological realm and species traits. Results: Contrary to previous findings at higher taxonomic scales, our results show that marine mammals do not exhibit lower DR than non‐marine mammals, but even higher depending on the phylogenetic framework. Our regression analyses indicate that taxonomy (particularly family) is the dominant predictor of DR variation among mammals rather than the ecological realm. Still, DR appears negatively correlated with body mass in marine mammals and with range size in non‐marine mammals. Besides, the geographic distribution of DR points to a more uniform pattern in marine than in non‐marine artiodactyls, for which high DR values concentrate in the Northern Hemisphere. Conversely, high DR values for marine carnivores are clustered around the poles, while a more homogeneous distribution is observed across continents for their terrestrial relatives. Main Conclusions: These findings challenge the conventional view that marine ecosystems inherently constrain species diversification. Instead, they suggest that taxonomy and species‐specific traits, rather than the ecological realm alone, are the primary drivers of mammalian diversification. Our study emphasizes the complexity of mammalian evolutionary patterns and the importance of integrating taxonomic, ecological, and biogeographic factors in macroevolutionary analyses.

In the Lower Tagus River basin, works carried out by Henri Breuil and Georges Zbyszewski during the 1940s, and by Luís Raposo and colleagues at the end of the twentieth century, led to the discovery of significant concentrations of Acheulean remains in Vale do Forno (Alpiarça, Portugal). Aiming to renovate the investigation of a core area of the Portuguese Lower Palaeolithic, a systematic revision of the sites from Vale do Forno was conducted. In this work, we present updated data regarding Vale do Forno 1, chronologically placed between Marine Isotopic Stages 9 and 7. Discovered in 1987, the site’s lithic assemblage ( n = 252 artefacts) was exhumed in a thin gravel bed, within the basal channel sandy deposits of the Upper Sands unit of the terrace T4 of the Lower Tagus. Being mainly composed of elements related to the production phase, the series is essentially the result of expedient and short knapping sequences that occurred in a shallow channel environment, based on the exploitation of local raw materials. Elementary débitage schemes directed toward the production of medium-sized flakes are recognised, complemented by some unifacial peripheral patterns aimed at obtaining small-sized products. Additionally, the presence of large cutting tools testifies to the parallel development of façonnage operational sequences. These are only represented by the end products, which were usually defined in an expedient manner. Overall, the Vale do Forno 1 lithic assemblage displays features similar to those typically recorded in other Acheulean Iberian sites.