Moesgaard Museum

The European EMODnet Geology project started in 2009. One of its aims is to provide geological map data of the European seas, harmonised as far as possible and made available according to FAIR data principles.The EMODnet Geology Workpackage “Seafloor Geology” is not only compiling map layers of the geology of the seafloor (Quaternary and pre-Quaternary but is also mapping layers of the geomorphology of the European seas and beyond. Semantic and geometric harmonisation is essential to understand geological information across administrative (EEZ) boundaries. The main method to provide semantically harmonised data layers is common and agreed upon terms to describe a unit: a vocabulary.To describe the characteristics of the seafloor geology, the vocabularies of the European INSPIRE Directive Data Specifications Geology (INSPIRE Thematic Working group Geology 2013) could be applied to describe the age, lithology and genesis (event environment, event process) of the marine geology.While the INSPIRE vocabularies are comprehensive, they nevertheless lack terms to describe the marine geomorphological features. EMODnet Geology fills that gap and is developing hierarchical scientific vocabularies for marine geomorphology to describe the concepts to which geometrical descriptions (lines and polygons) can be linked. This controlled vocabulary consists of a hierarchical, machine-readable list of terms and definitions needed to describe the European seafloor geomorphological units.The process to set up vocabularies for the marine domain faces considerable challenges, such as:Finding suitable terms and definitionsAvoiding duplicationAgreeing internationally on the terms and descriptionCoping with obsolete and/or strictly regional termsConsidering multiple hierarchiesThe presentation demonstrates the project’s approach to build pan-European applicable vocabularies to describe marine geomorphological features and presents use cases for its application.

We provide a reassessment of the hypothesis of ammonite survival across the Cretaceous–Paleogene (Maastrichtian–Danian) boundary, based on new data from the lower Danian Cerithium Limestone Member at Stevns Klint, eastern Denmark. The occurrence of this unit in disjunct basins between eroded crests of uppermost Maastrichtian bryozoan mounds prompts a reconsideration of ammonite redeposition as an alternative to the survival hypothesis. We describe new ammonite specimens from the Cerithium Limestone, representing the genera Hoploscaphites, Baculites and Fresvillia. In order to elucidate the nature of these fossils, we study their local depositional settings, based on detailed, chiefly taphonomic and sedimentological (microfacies) observations. Results for the main part of the Cerithium Limestone point to the autochthonous nature of the enclosed ammonites, which implies that they are Danian survivors. Only a single individual from the lowermost part of the Cerithium Limestone is considered a reworked Maastrichtian fossil. In summary, our results confirm ammonite survival into the Danian for the bulk of the Cerithium Limestone fauna, stimulating questions for further research of what actually killed the last ammonites that lived on Earth.

This article presents a multiproxy investigation of metal samples obtained from 48 Nuragic figurines (so-called bronzetti) and three copper bun ingots. These objects originate from three prominent Sardinian sanctuaries and one unidentified site, dating to the late Nuragic period of the early first millennium BCE. The dataset significantly expands the existing scientific database and unwraps the complex fabrication biographies of the figurines from ore to finished object. The investigation employs an advanced archaeometallurgical approach, integrating conventional trace-elemental and lead isotope analyses with rarely used copper, tin, and osmium isotope measurements. This methodological combination allows for a more reliable identification of the original metal sources used in the production of the objects, namely copper from the Iglesiente-Sulcis district in southwest Sardinia, with the Sa Duchessa mine as the most likely supplier, in addition to copper from the Alcudia valley or the Linares district in the Iberian Peninsula. Notably, the combination of analytical proxies reveals the mixing of copper from these distinct regions, while ruling out the exploitation of Sardinian tin resources. Furthermore, the osmium isotope ratios confirm the use of Sardinian copper and exclude the alloying of local lead with imported copper. These results shed light on local metallurgical practices and distribution strategies in Nuragic Sardinia, but also on Sardinia’s broader role and position in the Mediterranean world during the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.

Bone collagen of terrestrial and marine animals (n = 218) recovered from Ottoman period contexts at Aqaba Castle, Jordan (16th–19th centuries CE), were analyzed for δ13C, δ15N, and δ2H isotope ratios. While δ13C and δ15N values showed considerable overlap among species in the hyperarid environment, δ2H values exhibited less overlap, enhancing stable isotopic niche differentiation. In domesticates, δ2H values show trophic enrichments of +18.4‰ from herbivores to omnivores (dogs), and +26‰ to cats which had the highest δ2H values. Fish δ2H values show a positive relationship with increasing trophic level but also moderately correlate with body size (r = 0.61, R2 = 0.37). The offset between collagen δ2H and rainfall (δ2Hmw) values is smaller for camels (−1.4‰), sheep (−4.5‰), and goats (+6.8%), than for chickens (−18.5‰) and cattle (−27.0‰) due to more frequent consumption of 2H-depleted groundwater by the latter species, because of their higher water requirements. Similarities between local precipitation and bone collagen δ2H values for most terrestrial herbivores suggest the utility of δ2H values for geographic provenancing. This is explored by overlapping gazelle and chukar collagen δ2H values over a regional δ2Hmw isoscape, tentatively suggesting these species inhabited the water-stressed highland environments surrounding Aqaba Castle. This study demonstrates the advantages of incorporating bone collagen δ2H values alongside δ13C and δ15N values as a useful environmental proxy, enhancing interpretations of animal dietary behaviour, trophic levels, water sources, and wild animal home ranges.

Hala Sultan Tekke in southeastern Cyprus was a major Late Bronze Age Mediterranean trade hub. A wide range of materials was imported from the Aegean, Anatolia, Egypt, the Levant and as well as from central Mediterranean. Imported exotic materials were means of expression of identity and display of social status among the community living in the city. The paper focuses on typological and functional analysis of the Late Helladic IIIA-B Aegean pottery imported at Hala Sultan Tekke. The presence in the settlement and in the funerary area of large amount of Aegean imported materials reflects complex processes of deliberate selection of shapes and types, adaptation of uses, and appropriation, hybridisation and imitation of a stranger ceramic tradition in the local Cypriot social context. The choices made in importing and imitating the Aegean pottery represent various dynamics of direct and indirect engagement with and between ‘strangers’ in Late Bronze Age Cyprus.

Abstract This study investigates the microstructure and rheological properties of faba bean isolate (FBI) stabilized foams at pH 7 and 4 (addition of sugar or not), and compares with egg white (EW) under both unheated and heated foams. Unheated foams at pH 4 showed higher overrun, stability and more rigid structure, compared to those obtained at pH 7, due to the presence of larger protein aggregates surrounding the lamella structure. In contrast, EW foams displayed the highest overrun, but not stable as FBI foam at pH 4. After heating, FBI foams at pH 7 were nearly unaffected, whereas at pH 4, heating induced the formation of very large structures of aggregated proteins and caused the merging of air bubbles. For EW, heating seems to induce structural rearrangements with large protein aggregates closely attached to whole foam lamella. Sugar addition to FBI at pH 4 decreased the overrun and the stiffness, and the rate of liquid drainage. Upon heating, sugar contributed to maintaining a stable foam with higher G′ and spherical bubbles. The toughest foams are the FBI at pH 4 after microwave heating. This study highlights the importance of studying the foaming properties of plant proteins under relevant environmental and processing condition.

ABSTRACTWildlife populations globally have experienced widespread historical declines due to anthropogenic and environmental impacts, yet for some species, contemporary management and conservation programmes have enabled recent recovery. The impacts of decline and recovery on genomic diversity and, vice versa, the genetic factors that contribute to conservation success or failure are rich areas for inquiry, with implications for shaping how we manage species into the future. To comprehensively characterise these processes in natural systems requires range‐wide sampling and international collaboration, particularly for species with wide dispersal capabilities, broad geographic distributions, and complex regional metapopulation dynamics. Here, we present the first range‐ and genome‐wide population genomic analysis of grey seals based on 3812 nuclear SNPs genotyped in 188 samples from 17 localities. Our analyses support the existence of three main grey seal populations centred in the NW Atlantic, NE Atlantic and Baltic Sea, and point to the existence of previously unrecognised substructure within the NE Atlantic. We detected remarkably low levels of genetic diversity in the NW Atlantic population, and demographic analyses revealed a turbulent history of NE Atlantic and Baltic Sea grey seals, with bottlenecks in the Middle Ages and the 20th century due to hunting and habitat alterations. We found some localities deviated from isolation by distance patterns, likely reflecting wide‐scale metapopulation dynamics associated with recolonisation and recovery in regions where they were historically extirpated. We identify at least six grey seal genetic populations and reveal marked genetic effects of past declines and recent recovery across the species' range.

Human-induced global changes, including anthropogenic climate change, biotic globalization, trophic downgrading and pervasive land-use intensification, are transforming Earth's biosphere, placing biodiversity and ecosystems at the forefront of unprecedented challenges. The Anthropocene, characterized by the importance of Homo sapiens in shaping the Earth system, necessitates a re-evaluation of our understanding and stewardship of ecosystems. This theme issue delves into the multifaceted challenges posed by the ongoing ecological planetary transformation and explores potential solutions across four key subthemes. Firstly, it investigates the functioning and stewardship of emerging novel ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need to comprehend the dynamics of ecosystems under uncharted conditions. The second subtheme focuses on biodiversity projections under global change, recognizing the necessity of predicting ecological shifts in the Anthropocene. Importantly, the inherent uncertainties and the complexity of ecological responses to environmental stressors pose challenges for societal responses and for accurate projections of ecological change. The RAD framework (resist-accept-direct) is highlighted as a flexible yet nuanced decision-making tool that recognizes the need for adaptive approaches, providing insights for directing and adapting to Anthropocene dynamics while minimizing negative impacts. The imperative to extend our temporal perspective beyond 2100 is emphasized, given the irreversible changes already set in motion. Advancing methods to study ecosystem dynamics under rising biosphere novelty is the subject of the third subtheme. The fourth subtheme emphasizes the importance of integrating human perspectives into understanding, forecasting and managing novel ecosystems. Cultural diversity and biological diversity are intertwined, and the evolving relationship between humans and ecosystems offers lessons for future stewardship. Achieving planetary stewardship in the Anthropocene demands collaboration across scales and integration of ecological and societal perspectives, scalable approaches fit to changing, novel ecological conditions, as well as cultural innovation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.

The species in the genus Clavigesta Obraztsov, 1946 have been studied more intensively since the taxonomic and faunistic revision of the genus was published in 2010 (Larsen, 2010). This has resulted in the description of one new species (Nel et Varenne, 2023) and many new distributional records. This article presents new records with a summary of the faunistic changes. Clavigesta fabrei Nel et Varenne, 2023 syn. nov. is shown to be a junior synonym of C. gerti Larsen, 2010.

Archaeological systematics, together with spatial and chronological information, are commonly used to infer cultural evolutionary dynamics in the past. For the study of the Palaeolithic, and particularly the European Final Palaeolithic and earliest Mesolithic, proposed changes in material culture are often interpreted as reflecting historical processes, migration, or cultural adaptation to climate change and resource availability. Yet, cultural taxonomic practice is known to be variable across research history and academic traditions, and few large-scale replicable analyses across such traditions have been undertaken. Drawing on recent developments in computational archaeology, we here present a data-driven assessment of the existing Final Palaeolithic/earliest Mesolithic cultural taxonomy in Europe. Our dataset consists of a large expert-sourced compendium of key sites, lithic toolkit composition, blade and bladelet production technology, as well as lithic armatures. The dataset comprises 16 regions and 86 individually named archaeological taxa ('cultures'), covering the period between ca. 15,000 and 11,000 years ago (cal BP). Using these data, we use geometric morphometric and multivariate statistical techniques to explore to what extent the dynamics observed in different lithic data domains (toolkits, technologies, armature shapes) correspond to each other and to the culture-historical relations of taxonomic units implied by traditional naming practice. Our analyses support the widespread conception that some dimensions of material culture became more diverse towards the end of the Pleistocene and the very beginning of the Holocene. At the same time, cultural taxonomic unit coherence and efficacy appear variable, leading us to explore potential biases introduced by regional research traditions, inter-analyst variation, and the role of disjunct macroevolutionary processes. In discussing the implications of these findings for narratives of cultural change and diversification across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, we emphasize the increasing need for cooperative research and systematic archaeological analyses that reach across research traditions.