http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=5986 Entrées d’index fr 0 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6110 Recently, environmental studies in Moravia concentrate on the Dolní Věstonice–Pavlov project, and the related period of 30,000 – 20,000 B.P. The sites of Dolní Věstonice, Předmostí, and the peat-bog at Bulhary were continuously studied by methods of palynology (E. Rybnǐčková, H. Svobodová), palaeopedology (L. Smolíková), and malacozoology (V. Ložek, J. Kovanda). The cultural layers developed in an unstable period of climatic oscillations between the relatively temperate Wurmian Interglacial, and the Upper Pleniglacial maximum. Archaeology reflects changing behavioural patterns: an intensive land-use in the Aurignacian, resulting in a network of sites, and preference of marginal highlands, where deposition of the last loess cover was limited. The Gravettian, partly contemporary, is usually found in extended side-clusters under loess deposits near river valleys. By the end of the Gravettian, a horizon of sites with eastern-reminiscent articulated elements, emerges on strategic points along the passage from the Danube valley to the North European Plain. After 20,000 B.P., the Epigravettian constitutes a thin network of small sites, mostly in sheltered valley locations. Further inter-cultural differences are observed in strategies of subsistence, raw material exploitation, and transport. Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:31:09 +0100 Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:31:19 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6110 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=5984 The systematic morphological variation between human geographic groups is widely and quite correctly attributed to climatic and cultural adaptations. Certainly, the main distinguishing characters of race as socially defined have clear adaptive significance. These features include skin color, hair color and form, and stature and body proportions. However, the forensic bases for racial identifications involve skeletal features whose variation is often without obvious adaptive significance. The adaptive advantage prognathism vs. orthognathic faces, shoveled vs. flattened incisors, rounded vs. squared orbits, and others remain unknown. Multiregional evolution provides an explanation for the distribution of these non-adaptive variants. This paper discusses the Multiregional explanation, focusing on the center and edge hypothesis to account for the initial distribution of regional features such as these, and tracing the evolutionary history of regional continuities in several different areas. The point we wish to establish is that history as well as adaptation is an important cause of modern human variation. Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:34:44 +0100 Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:36:28 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=5984 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6039 Palaeolithic populations displayed a strong morphological differentiation. The average biological distance between groups from Europe is much more higher in the Palaeolithic than in subsequent periods. Palaeolithic populations differ from post‑Palaeolithic ones on mortality structure, fertility structure, population size and density, biological state and dynamics etc., and also on response intensity to various environmental and cultural factors, i.e. the level of adaptability reactions (ecosensitive ones). A great deal of anthropological papers showed biological consequences of “Neolithic revolution”. Research objects were chiefly characteristics displaying a high level of reactions to ecological (environmental) factors such as nutrition, diseases, climate, soil composition etc. Individuals’ responses to agents altering phenotypic formation of morphological traits were mainly analysed. Relatively few works concerned to the role of natural selection in morphological variability formation of Palaeolithic and post‑Palaeolithic populations. The paper deals with an estimation of opportunity for natural selection operating by differential mortality and differentiating fertility (differential reproduction) in Palaeolithic and post‑Palaeolithic populations. On the ground of palaeodemographical and biodemographical data analysis of modern hunter‑gatherers and agriculturalists’ groups and morphological data it was shown, that in Palaeolithic differential death‑rate (if occured: indirect evidence is an occurrence of a strong races origination process), particularly in the reproductive period, could be the main field of natural selection activity. In post‑Palaeolithic populations severe decline of mortality is not observed, but rather intensification of this process in the first phase of neolithisation. At the same time processes of races origination are subject to diminution. Rapid increase of Neolithic populations density as in subsequent periods suggests considerable increase of fertility. We consider that just differential fertility and differential reproduction should be the field of natural selection activity in these populations. Differentiated mortality in reproductive period in Palaeolithic could be an effect of the following factors: change of ecological zone; radical alteration in occupied ecological zone caused (through differential mortality: fertility was relatively low, by the way) changes in biological state of population; intensification of morphological structure. Distinctions between groups inhabiting various ecological zones, what for Palaeolithic populations are the main factors have well‑defined adaptive significance. In post‑Palaeolithic populations change in populations density and structures caused differences in selective pressure on the natural selection, so differentiation appeared anew. Different “ways” of these populations’ development in these ecological conditions, after certain period of stabilisation of their adaptive structure (population size and dynamics), caused changes in phenotypic structure of morphological traits and created new morphological distinctions of regional level. The morphological structure of Palaeolithic populations is the result of: 1) the adaptation to their ecological conditions, as the response of natural selection, 2) the rearrangement of basic traits in situation of scarce population density, and 3) a great fertility in reproductive period. In the initial stage of the population density increase there was an effect of post‑Palaeolithic populations with distinctive morphological structure formed by natural selection. In stabilisation period effects of natural selection were of minor importance. In this stage morphological distinctions become the result of their ecological and social conditions. During Neolithic and post‑Neolithic times population density increased and post‑Neolithic groups represent that previously autochthonic (in adaptive morphological features “lost” their differentiation) but in changed conditions new cultural equipment of nutrients adapt the population being under different selective pressure. Common adaptive structure, new morphological processes were mutually independent. Palaeolithic “racial” distinctions became an essential adaptive distinction, so morphological processes of natural reduction (body size reduction, gracilisation, sexual dimorphism etc.) increased. Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:46:40 +0100 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:47:39 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6039 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6027 The fact that evolution took place within the genus Homo postulates special features on which the mechanisms of selection could act. Just through the last time a lot of publications are concerned with DNA substitutions through geochronological times (for example mitochondrial DNA) to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree of the species Homo. Unfortunately no comments are given on the adaptive character of these features.Therefore the main attention of this paper is thrown on those characters that are : 1. responsable at the fossil remains, 2. provable at the next evolutionary step with special regard to the kind of their changes, and 3. able to make comparisons to features corresponding with features of known function in modern times. By these conditions one can only reconstruct the way where evolution took place and which features are best adapted to their environment. Inborn characters of behaviour in contrast to those which can be learned concerning the best adaptation to the social interactions of man within and between members of a group could be relevant, too. But these characters cannot be analysed in a stringed biological sence. That will mean that one cannot find a direct correlation between the behaviour and features that alter the morphology of the skeleton. Therefore in this paper only morphological features of the human skeleton that can give some traceable informations about the adaptation to a special natural environment or activities will be analysed. Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:37:48 +0100 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:37:54 +0100 http://popups.lib.uliege.be/3041-5527/index.php?id=6027