Horashim East: a newly discovered Middle Palaeolithic site in central Israel

Horashim East is a newly discovered Middle Palaeolithic open-air occurrence in central Israel, revealed during a thematic prehistoric survey. Hundreds of lithic items were found, including an early-stage biface, Levallois cores and products. As only a few open-air settlements are known from the Middle Palaeolithic Levant, the discovery of Horashim East sheds new light on human land-use patterns during this period and reinforces the notion that central-eastern Israel was favourable for human settlement throughout the Palaeolithic.     

The position and context of Middle Palaeolithic industries from the Ebbsfleet Valley,Kent, UK

The late Middle Pleistocene sites in the Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, UK, have yielded archaeological assemblages critical to understanding the early Middle Palaeolithic of northwestern Europe. Despite a long history of research, the nature and context of these assemblages are still poorly understood. This paper clarifies the stratigraphic, environmental and archaeological records at Ebbsfleet. These reflect a cold–warm–cold sequence of climatic events, preserved within part of the Taplow/Mucking Formation of the Thames (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8/7/6). Levallois artefacts are shown to be restricted to the lower part of the Ebbsfleet Channel sequence (Phases I and II) and are assigned to late MIS 8/early MIS 7. This material is associated with fauna indicative of open environments during both cool and temperate conditions. Handaxe assemblages are recorded from higher up the sequence (Phases III–V), but have been redeposited from higher terrace units nearby. No primary context archaeology is apparent during these later phases of aggradation. This may indicate that humans abandoned the site once available raw material became inaccessible, and may also reflect a decline in human presence in Britain during the latter part of MIS 7. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Early and Middle Miocene transgression at the southern border of the North Sea Basin (northern Belgium)

The Lower–Middle Miocene Berchem Formation of northern Belgium is an essentially sandy sequence with a varying glauconite content and often abundant shelly intervals. The formation was deposited in a shallow marine environment and rests unconformably on stiff Rupelian clays or Chattian sands. The lithological recognition of the four members (Edegem Sands, Kiel Sands, Antwerpen Sands and Zonderschot Sands members) of the Berchem Formation solely based on lithological criteria proved to be difficult, especially in boreholes. The geometry of the Formation in the subsurface of northern Belgium remained largely unknown. Diverse and well preserved dinoflagellate cyst associations have been recovered from the four members in seven boreholes and two outcrops, and allow a refinement of the biostratigraphy of these deposits. A Miocene biozonation defined in mid‐latitude shallow marine deposits in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the USA (Salisbury Embayment, Maryland) is readily applicable to this material, and has led to a detailed stratigraphic assessment of each member. Three detailed profiles depicting the distribution of the biozones in the subsurface of northern Belgium allow the reconstruction of the geometry and depositional history of the Berchem Formation. The oldest Miocene deposits are of early Burdigalian age and they testify to a transgression, which invaded Belgium from a north–northwestern direction. The maximum flooding took place during early Serravallian times. The upper boundary of the formation is a major erosional surface of late Serravallian or (slightly) younger age. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeolithic archaeology of the Bytham River: human occupation of Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene and its European context

The Early and early Middle Pleistocene archaeological record in Britain from c. 900 to 500 ka marks a critical shift in human occupation of northwest Europe, from occasional pioneer populations with simple core and flake technology to more widespread occupation associated with the appearance of Acheulean technology. Key to understanding this record are the fluvial deposits of the extinct Bytham River in central East Anglia, where a series of Lower Palaeolithic sites lie on a 15 km stretch of the former river. In this paper we present the results of new fieldwork and a reanalysis of historical artefact collections of handaxes and scrapers to: 1) establish the chronostratigraphic context of the Bytham archaeological record; 2) examine variability in lithic artefact typology and technology through time; and 3) explore the implications for understanding variation in lithic technology in the European record. Six phases of occupation of Britain are identified from at least marine isotope stage (MIS) 21 to MIS 13, with the last three phases characterised by distinctive lithic technology. We argue that this relates to the discontinuous occupation of Britain, where each phase represents the arrival of new groups derived from different European populations with distinctive material culture.     

华北板块西南缘义马盆地中侏罗世沉积相及古地理

义马盆地位于华北板块西南缘,是河南省境内唯一可采的中生代煤田,位置特殊。为了揭示其中侏罗世阿林期-巴柔期的沉积相及其古地理演化特征,运用矿物岩石学、地球化学、沉积学及岩相古地理等方法,以义马盆地中侏罗世含煤岩系为例,进行地层划分及沉积相和古地理研究。研究结果表明,研究区中侏罗世含煤岩系属阿林期-巴柔期,该时期主要发育冲积扇、辫状河、三角洲、湖泊等4种沉积相。利用单因素分析多因素综合作图法,以成煤期为节点,定量恢复了阿林期-巴柔期的古地理特征,从成煤期前到成煤期后,各优势古地理单元变化明显,具有冲积扇-三角洲-湖泊的变化规律,整体上是一个退积过程。     

The magnetic properties of Quaternary and Tertiary sediments in the southern North Sea

Cores from boreholes penetrating late Quaternary, glacial, interglacial and postglacial sediments and the underlying late Cenozoic delta complex of the southern North Sea have been examined for their magnetic properties. A magnetic polarity stratigraphy has been established as an aid to biostratigraphic dating of the sediments; the Kaena-Gauss and Gauss—Matuyama transitions and the base and top of the Olduvai subchron have been identified. The strength and stability of laboratory-induced isothermal remanent magnetisation display clear magneto-petrological variations, which match lithostratigraphic changes in the cores. Principal component analysis has picked out a basin-wide and palaeoenvironmental consistency in the magnetic data. Large, multi-domain magnetite grains predominate in the post-deltaic and fluvio-deltaic sediments, whereas smaller greigite or titanomagnetite grains are concentrated in the intertidal and marine deltaic facies. Since heavy mineral analysis indicates that most of the deltaic detritus derived from common source areas, the differences in magnetic mineralogy have probably been caused by the sediment transport processes operating within the delta complex.     

Pleistocene Rhine–Thames landscapes: geological background for hominin occupation of the southern North Sea region

This paper links research questions in Quaternary geology with those in Palaeolithic archaeology. A detailed geological reconstruction of The Netherlands' south‐west offshore area provides a stratigraphical context for archaeological and palaeontological finds. Progressive environmental developments have left a strong imprint on the area's Palaeolithic record. We highlight aspects of landscape evolution and related taphonomical changes, visualized in maps for critical periods of the Pleistocene in the wider southern North Sea region. The Middle Pleistocene record is divided into two palaeogeographical stages: the pre‐Anglian/Elsterian stage, during which a wide land bridge existed between England and Belgium even during marine highstands; and the Anglian/Elsterian to Saalian interglacial, with a narrower land bridge, lowered by proglacial erosion but not yet fully eroded. The Late Pleistocene landscape was very different, with the land bridge fully dissected by an axial Rhine–Thames valley, eroded deep enough to fully connect the English Channel and the North Sea during periods of highstand. This tripartite staging implies great differences in (i) possible migration routes of herds of herbivores as well as hominins preying upon them, (ii) the erosion base of axial and tributary rivers causing an increase in the availability of flint raw materials and (iii) conditions for loess accumulation in northern France and Belgium and the resulting preservation of Middle Palaeolithic sites. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

湘中—湘南地区寒武纪岩相古地理*

湘中—湘南地区位于扬子陆块与华夏陆块之间的过渡区域。根据研究区寒武系沉积特征,识别出4种沉积相类型:碳酸盐陆棚亚相、深水盆地相、碎屑陆棚亚相及混积陆棚亚相。纽芬兰世—第二世早期(梅树村期—沧浪铺期),深水盆地分布范围广,占据了湘中及湘南大部分地区,湘东南发育碎屑陆棚沉积。第二世中晚期(龙王庙期),相对海平面下降,深水盆地范围略有减小,研究区西北部碳酸盐沉积逐渐占主导,碎屑陆棚面积变化不大。第三世(毛庄期—崮山期),海平面持续下降,碳酸盐陆棚及碎屑陆棚由两侧向中间推进,深水盆地面积急剧减小;湘西北一带发育混积陆棚亚相,沉积物以碳酸盐沉积为主混有陆源碎屑。芙蓉世(长山期—凤山期),碳酸盐陆棚范围迅速增大,深水盆地面积继续锐减,碎屑陆棚与碳酸盐陆棚毗邻发育,湘南区发育混积陆棚亚相。总之,寒武纪扬子陆块与华夏陆块间沉积相带连续完整,存在碳酸盐岩与碎屑岩混积的过渡沉积物,推测两者处于同一浅海海域,为由北西、南东向中部变深的沉积格局。     

Dinoflagellate cyst stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the marginal marine Middle and Upper Miocene of the eastern Campine area,northern Belgium (southern North Sea Basin)

A stratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental analysis with organic‐walled palynomorphs of the Bolderberg and Diest formations provides new insights in the depositional history during Miocene times at the southern border of the North Sea Basin. The Neogene transgression invaded Belgium from a north–northwestern direction and fully marine sediments were deposited in the northern part of Belgium. The age and the palaeoenvironment of the deposits at the very border of the southern North Sea Basin remained till a few decades ago incomplete. The recovered dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and green algae from the Bolderberg Formation in the Wijshagen Borehole indicate a marginal marine depositional environment during late Burdigalian and Langhian times in the eastern Campine area, in contrast to the deeper marine conditions prevailing to the north–northwest. The relative dating of the Bolderberg Formation confirms that maximum flooding occurred during Langhian to early Serravallian times. Deposition apparently took place during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, and ended when the climatic deterioration set in at around 14 Ma. A hiatus spanning ca. 2 Ma separates the Middle Miocene Bolderberg Formation from the Upper Miocene Diest Formation in the eastern Campine area at the border of the North Sea Basin. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quartz Cement in Middle Jurassic Reservoir Sandstones in North Sea A Review. Part II： Duration and Silica Sources

The timing and duration of quartz cementation in sandstones have been mainly inferred from diagenetic texture, relationship between pore filling minerals, fluid inclusions and isotopic data. Fluid inclusion temperatures from North Sea reservoir sandstones indicate that most of the quartz cement forms at temperature exceeding 90℃ and is continually proceeding after oil emplacement, based on the fluid inclusion temperatures in quartz overgrowth which is approaching the bottom-hole temperatures. The duration of quartz cement after oil emplacement depends upon the saturation of porewater and the distribution of pore water film and the property of water-wet or oil-wet of the reactants. The leaching of K-feldspar by meteoric water requires pore water flow to move the released potassium and sodium and silica out the solution, which suggests the mechanism does not appear to be a major source of silica for quartz cementation. The quartz cementation coincidence with the compaction and pressure solution suggests the major source of silica. The alteration of feldspar by illitization of kaolinite may serve as another important source of silica at deep burial depth. External sources are not need to call on for illustrating the quartz cementation, because there is no evidences for large scale convection of pore water flow occurred in the burial history of reservoir sandstones of middle Jurassic in the North Sea.     

Sedimentation and Iithostratigraphy of the North Sea Drift and Lowestoft Till Formations in the Coastal cliffs of northeast Norfolk,England

The most complete terrestrial sequence of Anglian (Elsterian) glacial sediments in western Europe was investigated in northeast Norfolk, England in order to reconstruct the evolution of the contemporary palaeoenvironments. Lithostratigraphically the glacial sediments in the northeast Norfolk coastal cliffs can be divided into the Northn Sea Drift and Lowestoft Till Formations. Three of the diamicton members of the North Sea Drift Formation (Happisburgh, Walcott and Cromer Diamictons) were deposited as lodgement and/or subglacial deformation till by grounded ice, but one, the Mundesley Diamicton, is waterlain and was deposited in an extensive glacial lake. Sands and fine sediments interbedded between the diamictons represent deltaic sands and glaciolacustrine sediments derived not solely from the melting ice in the north but also from extra-marginal rivers in the south. The Lowestoft Till Formation is not well preserved in the cliffs but includes lodgement till (Marly Drift till) and, most probably, associated meltwater deposits. Extensive glaciotectonism in the northern part of the area is shown to relate to oscillating ice that deposited the Cromer Diamicton and also partially to the ice sheet that deposited the Marly Drift till. It is suggested that during the Anglian Stage the present day northeast Norfolk coast was situated on the northwestern margin of an extensive glaciolacustrine basin. This basin was dammed by the Scandinavian ice sheet in the north and northeast. Because the grounding line of this ice sheet oscillated in space and time, part of the North Sea Drift diamictons were deposited directly by this ice. However, during ice retreat phases glaciolacustrine deposition comprised waterlain diamicton, sands and fines. When the Scandinavian ice sheet was situated in northernmost Norfolk, the British ice sheet (responsible for depositing the Marly Drift facies) entered the area from the west. This ice sheet partially deformed the North Sea Drift Formation sediments in the northern part of the area but not in the south, where the British ice sheet apparently terminated in water. The interplay of these two ice sheets on the northern and western margins of the glacial lake is thought to be the major determining factor for the accumulation of thick glacial deposits in this area during the Anglian glaciation.     

Sea‐level changes,river activity,soil development and glaciation around the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene: evidence from Pakefield,Suffolk, UK

This paper outlines evidence from Pakefield (northern Suffolk), eastern England, for sea‐level changes, river activity, soil development and glaciation during the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 20–12) within the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin. During this time period, the area consisted of a low‐lying coastal plain and a shallow offshore shelf. The area was drained by major river systems including the Thames and Bytham. Changes in sea‐level caused several major transgressive–regressive cycles across this low‐relief region, and these changes are identified by the stratigraphic relationship between shallow marine (Wroxham Crag Formation), fluvial (Cromer Forest‐bed and Bytham formations) and glacial (Happisburgh and Lowestoft formations) sediments. Two separate glaciations are recognised—the Happisburgh (MIS 16) and Anglian (MIS 12) glaciations, and these are separated by a high sea level represented by a new member of the Wroxham Crag Formation, and several phases of river aggradation and incision. The principal driving mechanism behind sea‐level changes and river terrace development within the region during this time period is solar insolation operating over 100‐kyr eccentricity cycles. This effect is achieved by the impact of cold climate processes upon coastal, river and glacial systems and these climatically forced processes obscure the neotectonic drivers that operated over this period of time. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2005. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

南华海泥盆纪烃源岩的古氧相和缺氧环境模式——以广西中、上泥盆统为例

缺氧条件是形成和保存优质烃源岩的重要条件。古氧相的研究对查明海相优质烃源岩时空分布、恢复地史时期古环境演化具有重要意义。泥盆纪时期,南华海受陆内裂陷作用影响,形成台地(滨岸台地和孤立台地)与台沟间列的盆地格局。不同的控制因素控制了古氧相的类型。在台沟和钦防裂陷海槽中,海水分层控制了泥盆纪的古氧相类型和变化。台沟和钦防裂陷海槽以厌氧相与准厌氧相为主。在台地相区,海平面变化控制了古氧相的类型和分布。台地相区的古氧相主要是常氧相和贫氧相。南华海中、晚泥盆世硅质沉积、磷质沉积发育,有机质丰富,形成了有机质-硅质-磷质沉积三位一体的特征,指示上升流作用明显。南华海地区泥盆纪位于赤道附近的信风带,向西的表面洋流越过南华海在西部形成离岸流,海底海水向东补充形成上升的底流,也说明了泥盆纪南华海上升流存在的可能性。     

藏南地区晚白垩世岩相古地理初步研究

通过对藏南地区上白垩统沉积特征及沉积相进行综合分析,初步地恢复了该地区晚白垩世岩相古地理.该地区自南向北沉积水体逐步变深,沉积相带展布依次为滨海相、浅海陆棚相(外陆棚和内陆棚亚相)、大陆斜坡相及深海盆地相,局部地区浅海陆棚相之上发育碳酸盐岩礁滩相和孤立台地相等.盆地性质总体上仍然为被动大陆边缘海盆,但已具备周缘前陆盆地...     

华北克拉通南部早前寒武纪基底形成与演化

简要总结了华北克拉通南部鲁山地区、小秦岭地区、登封及中条山地区的早前寒武纪地质事件序列及其地质意义,并对各地区地质特征和变质演化特点进行对比。结合前人研究工作,初步探讨了华北克拉通南部早前寒武纪基底的演化特点、陆壳形成的主要时期和华北南部基底的构造区划等问题,提出几点认识:1)华北克拉通南部鲁山、中条山、小秦岭等地区均有2.7~2.9Ga岩石记录,以英云闪长质-奥长花岗质-花岗闪长质(TTG)岩石为主,它们共同构成华北南缘的古老结晶基底,并经历了新太古代晚期~2.5Ga构造-热事件,标志着华北克拉通南部在新太古代末期可能已经形成统一基底;2)华北克拉通南部主要的陆壳形成时期为中太古代晚期-新太古代,与全球其他主要克拉通一致,而古元古代早-中期则以地壳再循环为主;3)综合地质、地球化学等特点,将华北南部鲁山-小秦岭地区和中条山等地区划归为"南部古陆块",并提出该陆块呈现为一个大型的倾伏向斜构造,可能在新太古代晚期已经形成,其枢纽向南东倾斜。"南部古陆块"在新太古代末期与其它微陆块拼合,并发生了变质作用和陆壳的活化与再循环,共同指示新太古代晚期华北克拉通统一基底的形成。     

华北地区奥陶纪岩相古地理

通过收集、吸收前人研究以及最新的大地调成果资料,以"构造控盆、盆地控相"为编图思路,在现今纬度下对中国华北地区开展岩相古地理的研究。本文认为,华北板块在早奥陶世和中-晚奥陶世处于不同的构造背景之下,不同的板块边界类型以及原始构造单元的基底形态控制着该时期古地理的展布。在此基础上,采用优势相以及压缩相的方法,总结划分出潮坪、局限台地、开阔台地、蒸发台地、浅(礁)滩、台地边缘斜坡、深水斜坡-盆地等7类沉积环境类型;梳理了华北克拉通沉积盆地在奥陶纪的古地理演化过程,编制了早奥陶世特马豆克期、早奥陶世弗洛期、中奥陶世大坪期-达瑞威尔期、晚奥陶世桑比期-凯迪期早期以及晚奥陶世凯迪期晚期-赫南特期等5个时期的华北地区古地理图。     

四川盆地西北部中三叠世雷口坡期岩相古地理

四川盆地西北部中三叠统雷口坡组发育有蒸发台地、局限台地和开阔台地3种沉积亚相,其中局限台地是主要的沉积亚相。雷口坡一至五期沉积环境经历了水体逐渐加深※变浅※加深的过程:一期,在广元-旺苍、梓潼-三台等地区发育了蒸发台地沉积,且梓潼地区膏湖分布范围较广;二期,蒸发台地范围缩小,仅发育于旺苍和梓潼地区,其它地区为局限台地沉积;三期,水体加深,旺苍地区为开阔台地沉积,梓潼地区已无膏湖沉积;四期,主体为局限台地沉积,梓潼地区膏盆沉积再次发育;五期演变为开阔台地沉积,水体又加深。海平面升降变化是控制沉积相发育和空间分布的重要因素。     

黔北—渝南地区中二叠世早期梁山组的岩相古地理特征和铝土矿成矿效应

研究区位于扬子陆块上扬子区,中二叠世早期地层梁山组产有丰富的沉积矿产,其中铝土矿具有良好的勘探开发前景。为了揭示区内中二叠世早期铝土矿的形成、分布与岩相古地理的关系,对区内梁山组的沉积特征、展布规律和含矿性进行了研究,编制了中二叠世早期梁山组岩相古地理图,提出了区内铝土矿障壁后泻湖成矿的模式。结果表明,区内古地理格局具有北高南低、南海北陆的特点,鲁甸—威宁—贵阳—都匀一线为障壁沉积体系,北部为障壁后泻湖沉积体系,南部为正常浅海沉积体系,大致可划分为隆起、滨湖、浅湖、半深湖—深湖、障壁砂坝、内陆棚和外陆棚7个沉积亚相,铝土矿矿床全部分布于北部泻湖半深湖—深湖相区内,岩相古地理控矿作用明显。     

Dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy of the Upper Miocene Deurne Sands (Diest Formation) of northern Belgium,southern North Sea Basin

Diverse and well‐preserved palynomorph assemblages recovered from the Deurne Sands, a local member of the Upper Miocene Diest Formation near Antwerp, allow the recognition of dinoflagellate cyst biozones defined in the North Atlantic realm (East Coast, USA) and the North Sea region (Nieder Ochtenhausen well, northern Germany). Based on the dinoflagellate cyst assemblages and the calcareous microfossils, the deposition of the Deurne Sands took place at some time during middle to late Tortonian (Late Miocene). These sands can be correlated biostratigraphically with the Dessel Sands in the Campine area of northern Belgium. This correlation demonstrates the existence of two separate and contemporary depositional areas in northern Belgium during early Late Miocene times. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.