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Late Devonian (Frasnian) phyllopod and phyllocarid crustaceanshields from Belgium reinterpreted as ammonoid anaptychi
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The taxonomic affinities of fossils from theFrasnian succession of Be lgium previously described asphyllopod and phyllocarid crustacean shields are discussed.The rediscovery of the holotype of Ellipsocaris dewalquei,the type species of the genus Ellipsocaris Woodward inDewalque, 1882, allows to end the discussion on the taxo-nomic assignation of the genus Ellipsocaris. It is removedfrom the phyllopod crustaceans as interpreted originally andconsidered here as an ammonoid anaptychus. Furthermore, itis considered to be a junior synonym of the genus SidetesGiebel, 1847. Similarly, Van Straelen’s (1933) lower to middleFrasnian record Spathiocaris chagrinensis Ruedemann, 1916,is also an ammonoid anaptychus. Although ammonoids canbe relatively frequent in some Frasnian horizons of Belgium,anaptychi remain particularly scarce and the attribution to thepresent material to peculiar ammonoid species is not possible.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Late Middle Eocene to Middle Oligocene calcareous nannoplankton from the Kallo well, some boreholes and exposures in Belgium, and a description of the Ruisbroek Sand Member.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Late Pleistocene coprolites from Qurta (Egypt) and the potential of interdisciplinary research involving micromorphology, plant macrofossil and biomarker analyses
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As part of a rock art dating project at Qurta (Upper Egypt), samples were collected from an organic deposit and from an accumulation of individual faecal pellets. Radiocarbon dating of these relatively well-preserved materials indicates an unexpectedly old age of ca. 45,000 BP or older. In order to identify the biogenic nature of these deposits and to reconstruct the palaeo-environment at the time of their formation, micromorphological, palaeobotanical, and biomarker analyses were carried out. All data indicate that the organic deposit and the pellets were produced by different species. The presence of a novel biomarker, which only occurs in animal urine (hippuric acid), contributed to the conclusion that the organic deposit most likely represents the remains of a rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) latrine, whereas the pellets stem from small bovids. Plant macroremains from the pellets indicate that the animals browsed in the more vegetated areas, presumably near the Nile, although the general environment was probably mainly arid and open. Combined with the dates, this suggests that the pellets date to MIS 3 or 4. Our results demonstrate the great potential of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Quaternary coprolite deposits, allowing for more adequate and more complete interpretation.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
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Late Pleistocene modern human diversity in Central Africa
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Late Quaternary (15 ka to present) development of a sandy landscape in the Mol area, Campine region, NE Belgium
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Late Stone Age human remains from Ishango (Democratic Republic of Congo): New insights on Late Pleistocene modern human diversity in Africa
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Although questions of modern human origins and dispersal are subject to intense research within and outside Africa, the processes of modern human diversification during the Late Pleistocene are most often discussed within the context of recent human genetic data. This situation is due largely to the dearth of human fossil remains dating to the final Pleistocene in Africa and their almost total absence from West and Central Africa, thus limiting our perception of modern human diversification within Africa before the Holocene. Here, we present a morphometric comparative analysis of the earliest Late Pleistocene modern human remains from the Central African site of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The early Late Stone Age layer (eLSA) of this site, dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (25–20 Ky), contains more than one hundred fragmentary human remains. The exceptional associated archaeological context suggests these remains derived from a community of hunter-fisher-gatherers exhibiting complex social and cognitive behaviors including substantial reliance on aquatic resources, development of fishing technology, possible mathematical notations and repetitive use of space, likely on a seasonal basis. Comparisons with large samples of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene modern human fossils from Africa and Eurasia show that the Ishango human remains exhibit distinctive characteristics and a higher phenotypic diversity in contrast to recent African populations. In many aspects, as is true for the inner ear conformation, these eLSA human remains have more affinities with Middle to early Late Pleistocene fossils worldwide than with extant local African populations. In addition, cross-sectional geometric properties of the long bones are consistent with archaeological evidence suggesting reduced terrestrial mobility resulting from greater investment in and use of aquatic resources. Our results on the Ishango human remains provide insights into past African modern human diversity and adaptation that are consistent with genetic theories about the deep sub-structure of Late Pleistocene African populations and their complex evolutionary history of isolation and diversification.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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Lateglacial and Holocene fluvial dynamics in the Lower Scheldt basin (N-Belgium) and their impact on the presence, detection and preservation potential of the archaeological record
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Latest Cretaceous storm-generated sea grass accumulations in the Maastrichtian type area, the Netherlands – preliminary observations
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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Latest Danian carbon isotope anomaly and associated environmental change in the southern Tethys (Nile Basin, Egypt).
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Le « Coticule » de Vielsalm et Lierneux (Belgique) : une pierre à aiguiser au passé mondial
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The coticule is an Ordovician aged metamorphic rock only present in the southern part of the Stavelot Massif on the towns of Vielsam and Lierneux. It comes in centimeter thick layers consisting in micrometric crystals of spessartite, microphyllites of micas, infra micrometer quartz. Its exceptional sharpening properties of the metal (razor sharp thin, sharp broad, sharp curve) gave its reputation of a natural abrasive stone and a global distribution (barber, circumciser, surgeon, butcher, carpenter, cabinetmaker, arborist, gardener, winemaker, tanner, coachbuilder ...). Exploited and shaped since the 16th century, the coticule was exported as a whetstone (aka razor stone), the "bouts belges" and to special forms. It was operated by craftsmen, primarily from the surface in open pits, in trenches and then by underground galleries, following the evolution of mining techniques of lighting and drainage. The material was sawn, made in standard sizes and polished by the quarry workers and then in small workshops. The high number of models, the various manufacturing steps entirely manual, the low yield (2-5%), competition from synthetic stones, and the disappearance of part of the customer after the Second World War sounded the death knell of this unique activity. Located in Lierneux, a quarry still operates today the coticule and most of its production is exported to the United States of America. The old mining galleries are today the winter refuge of bats populations. They are considered as cavities of scientific interest. Finally, the Museum of the coticule in Salmchâteau (Vielsalm) presents this manufacturing industry with a global destiny.
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