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Le Moustier 1 Neandertal – The discovery of two new sets of casts, 3D reconstruction and comparison with original fossils
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The postcranial skeleton of the Le Moustier 1 Neandertal was severely damaged and burnt at the end of the Second World War. A series of plaster casts were realized on the skeleton before it was destroyed. Five casts are already known to be in existence. This study brings to light two more sets of casts which were recently discovered in Belgium. One set is from the Louis Deroubaix Museum (LDM) and the other set is from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The casts at the LDM were processed by Computed Tomography and three-dimensional models were produced. Measurements were taken both virtually and physically on all available postcranial bones from both LDM and RBINS casts. These measurements were then compared with previously published measurements taken on the original bones and the other available casts. There were no statistical differences between measurements on the original fossils and other existing casts and the physical and digitised casts from LDM and RBINS. The discovery of these new Le Moustier 1 casts is interesting because the original bones of the Neandertal juvenile Le Moustier 1 were destroyed and pre-adolescent Neandertals are not frequently found in the paleoanthropological record. Virtual copies of these casts are now freely available to other researchers and the public.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021 OA
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Le point sur... Autopsie d'une extinction biologique. Un exemple: la crise de la limite Frasnien-Famennian (364 Ma).
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Le saut chez un acarien oribate du genre Indotritia
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Le Trou de Versailles ou Carrière à Roc de Rance
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Leaf litter copepods from a cloud forest mountain top in Honduras (Copepoda: Cyclopidae, Canthocamptidae)
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Leaf-litter ant communities in a pristine Guianese rainforest: stable functional structure versus high species turnover.
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We compared the ant assemblages from four very heterogeneous habitats over a short-distance elevational gradient of vegetation (due to the presence of an inselberg) at the Nouragues Research Station, French Guiana. We focused on litter- dwelling ants, combining the use of pitfall traps and the Winkler method according to the Ants of the Leaf Litter Proto- col. This permitted us to note (1) a high leaf-litter ant diversity overall and a decreasing diversity gradient from the lowland rainforest to the top of the inselberg, and (2) differences in species density, composition and functional struc- ture. While the ant assemblages on the plateau and inselberg can be considered functionally similar and typical of an Amazonian rainforest, that of the transition forest, relatively homogenous, rather corresponded to an ant fauna typical of open areas. By contrast, the liana forest assemblage was unexpectedly richer and denser than the others, sheltering a litter-dwelling ant fauna dominated by numerous and abundant cryptic species. These taxonomical and functional dissi- milarities may reflect the influence of the environmental heterogeneity, which, through variable abiotic conditions, can contribute to maintaining a notably rich ant biodiversity in these Neotropical habitats.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Learning from ancient water management: Archaeology's role in modern-day climate change adaptations
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Climate change is altering our environment and societies worldwide have to devise adaptation strategies. Water management strategies are becoming especially important. In the past, societies had to adapt in order to survive as well. Communities often practised long‐term sustainable agriculture. By understanding the ways in which ancient communities were successful at or failed in attaining social‐ecological resilience through water management archeologists can provide important information for modern communities facing similar problems. Archeology's long time perspective is very valuable. However, archeologists are confronted with a number of issues. Archeology can only study the material remains of past societies, not the living communities. Not all human activity translates into material residue and not all materials survive. Moreover, people will not demonstrate completely rational cause‐and‐effect behavior, but ideology and beliefs, which archeology can only poorly attest, will also have influenced decisions. Nevertheless, archeology can bring a unique perspective to the debate on climate change adaptation: archeology can falsify or corroborate sustainability claims, ancient water management techniques may still be a resilient mode of subsistence and ancient techniques often rely on relatively simple technology allowing for easier adoption. When transposing ancient water management techniques to modern situations it is important to involve stakeholders from an early stage, to incorporate traditional knowledge systems as much as possible and most importantly to ascertain whether physical and socio‐cultural circumstances are comparable. Archeological knowledge on ancient sustainability and water management is not a panacea for all climate related aridification, but can contribute a unique longue durée perspective.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Leasing out unused meeting room capacity to reduce future office space needs: A case study of The Hague, Netherlands
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Lede Stone: A potential “Global Heritage Stone Resource” from Belgium
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Lede Stone is an important dimension stone with major relevance for Belgian and Dutch cultural heritage. It is sourced from the Eocene (Lutetian) Lede Formation, mainly in the region to the southeast of Ghent in Belgium. The oldest known use dates back to Roman times. With the rise of Gothic architecture during the middle ages, the use of Lede Stone increased substantially. Quarries arose at different locations at different times. Today only one active quarry remains, after a period of nonproduction during the 20th century. Current production is mainly used for restoration purposes. A major concern is the use of alien stones as a substitute for Lede Stone in cultural heritage restoration. In the light of the establishment of the “Heritage Stone Task Group”, this paper deals with requirements of its “Terms of Reference” and illustrates the stone’s nature, technical properties, utilization and associated issues. It should contribute to the cultural appreciation and preservation of this stone.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Legends of the Ardenne Massif, a compelling but undervalued cross-border intangible geo-cultural heritage (Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Germany)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019