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How different are the Kebara 2 ribs to modern humans?
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This study analyses rib geometric parameters of individual ribs of 14 modern human subjects (7 males and 7 females) in comparison to the reconstructed ribs of the Kebara 2 skeleton which was taken from the reconstruction of a Neandertal thorax by Sawyer & Maley (2005). Three-dimensional (3D) models were segmented from CT scans and each rib vertex cloud was placed into a local coordinate system defined from the rib principal axes. Rib clouds were then analysed using best fitting ellipses of the external contours of the cross-section areas. The centroid of each ellipse was then used to measure the centroidal pathway between each slice (rib midline). Curvature of the ribs was measured from the mid-line of the ribs as the sum of angles between successive centroids in adjacent cross sections. Distinct common patterns were noted in all rib geometric parameters for modern humans. The Kebara 2 reconstructed ribs also followed the same patterns. This study demonstrated that there are differences between the sexes in rib geometrical parameters, with females showing smaller rib width, chord length and arc length, but greater curvature (rib torsion, rib axial curvature, rib anterior-posterior bending) than males. The Kebara 2 reconstructed ribs were within the modern human range for the majority of geometrical parameters.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Do tidal sandwaves always regenerate?
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Effects of pile driving sound on local movement of a free-ranging Atlantic cod in the Belgian North Sea.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Biomineral Flocculation of Kaolinite and Microalgae: Laboratory Experiments and Stochastic Modeling.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Practices, recipes and supply of a late medieval brass foundry: the refractory ceramics and the metals of an early 15th century AD metallurgical workshop in Brussels.
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Abstract This article focuses on one of the rare workshops for the production of small copper-based alloy objects in the late Middle Ages documented by archaeology. Located in Brussels and dating from the early 15th century, the workshop produced a serial and varied production of dress accessories and other personal objects, mainly in brass, by casting or plastic deformation. These metal objects, most fashion accessories, had an important place in the medieval material culture. They are mass-produced and widely spread throughout Europe: the market is therefore very large and the techniques are adapted to satisfy this demand. This paper focuses on a workshop that adapted to this expansion while of those production structures are still largely unknown in the archaeology of northwestern Europe, the only one currently in the Low Countries that offers the possibility of knowing the practices and supplies. By identifying workshop practices, this contribution addresses, in particular, the properties and the supplies of the earth used, but also the different ranges of alloys and the evidence of the brass production by the cementation process, by combining several analysis methods (petrography using PLM and SEM, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, PIXE, X-ray diffraction). This approach highlights different supplies, local and extra-local, as the distance was not an obstacle for the supply of high-quality crucible clay and zinc ore for brass production. These results associated with the written sources places the Brussels workshop in a wider network of circulation of raw materials and know-how related to their use. This also shows the interaction between techniques, materials and more broadly with the economy of the late Middle Ages that goes beyond the local sphere. Keywords: Brass foundry, Supplies, Workshop practices, Late medieval, Brussels, Low Countries
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Des meulières en bord de Meuse : exploitation et transport du Poudingue de Burnot autour de la conquête romaine.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Have birds ever mattered? An evaluation of the contribution of avian species to the archaeozoological record of Belgium (Iron Age to recent times)
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This preliminary study aims to document general trends in the representation of bird remains in anthropogenic contexts from Belgian archaeological sites. A large dataset is analysed, consisting of 186 faunal assemblages from 79 different sites. The contexts included vary in terms of their taphonomic nature (refuse layers, latrines, pits, etc.) and date, ranging from the Iron Age to the modern period. The characteristics of the study area and the dataset as a whole are described, with a focus on identification rates, past and present avian taxonomic diversity, and relative abundance of bird remains compared with domestic mammal remains. The impact of recovery methods (sieving or hand collecting) on these various aspects is also evaluated. A taxonomic analysis describes the diversity and abundance of the different groups of species that are encountered and shows which habitats were preferentially exploited for the hunting of wild birds. The study shows that there is significant taxonomic diversity across the dataset. However, this diversity is not necessarily present in each separate archaeological context, as the number of remains identified by taxon is generally low. Some species or groups of species are ubiquitous and dominant, in particular domestic fowl. Although this analysis is broad and exploratory, it is believed that it will serve as a sound methodological basis for future, more detailed studies focusing on the role that birds played in past human societies during specific chronological periods.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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The anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of Cynthiacetus peruvianus, a large Dorudon-like basilosaurid (Cetacea, Mammalia) from the late Eocene of Peru
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Morphological and molecular characterization of Lepidonema magnum Morffe & García, 2010 (Nematoda: Oxyuridomorpha: Hystrignathidae) from Passalus interstitialis Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera: Passalidae) from Cuba and new locality records for the species
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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TYPE-MAASTRICHTIAN GASTROPOD FAUNAS SHOW RAPID ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY FOLLOWING THE CRETACEOUS–PALAEOGENE BOUNDARY CATASTROPHE
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The study of the global mass extinction event at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K/Pg) boundary can aid in understanding patterns of selective extinction, and survival and dynamics of ecosystem recovery. Outcrops in the Maastrichtian type area (south-east Netherlands, north-east Belgium) comprise a stratigraphically expanded K/Pg boundary succession that offers a unique opportunity to study marine ecosystem recovery within the first few thousand years following the mass extinction event. A quantitative analysis was performed on systematically sampled macrofossils of the topmost Maastrichtian and lowermost Danian strata at the former Ankerpoort-Curfs quarry (Geulhem), which represent ‘snapshots’ of the latest Cretaceous and earliest Palaeogene marine ecosystems, respectively. Molluscs in particular are diverse and abundant in the studied succession. Regional ecosystem changes across the K/Pg boundary are relatively minor, showing a decline in suspension feeders, accompanied by an ecological shift to endobenthic molluscs. The earliest Paleocene gastropod assemblage retains many ‘Maastrichtian’ features and documents a fauna that temporarily survived into the Danian. The shallow, oligotrophic carbonate platform in this area was inhabited by taxa that were adapted to low nutrient levels and resistant to starvation. As a result, the local taxa were less affected by the short-lived detrimental conditions related to K/Pg boundary perturbations, such as darkness, cooling, starvation and ocean acidification. This resulted in relatively high survival rates, which enabled rapid recolonization and recovery of marine faunas in the Maastrichtian type area
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
