PLOS ONE: [sortOrder=DATE_NEWEST_FIRST, sort=Date, newest first, q=subject:"Paleontology"]PLOShttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/webmaster@plos.orgaccelerating the publication of peer-reviewed sciencehttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/search/feed/atom?sortOrder=DATE_NEWEST_FIRST&unformattedQuery=subject:%22Paleontology%22&sort=Date,+newest+firstAll PLOS articles are Open Access.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/resource/img/favicon.icohttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/resource/img/favicon.ico2024-03-28T11:01:42ZEnhanced dietary reconstruction of Korean prehistoric populations by combining δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N amino acids of bone collagenKyungcheol ChoyHee Young YunBenjamin T. FullerMarcello A. Mannino10.1371/journal.pone.03000682024-03-27T14:00:00Z2024-03-27T14:00:00Z<p>by Kyungcheol Choy, Hee Young Yun, Benjamin T. Fuller, Marcello A. Mannino</p>
Compound specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) is a powerful tool for determining dietary behaviors in complex environments and improving dietary reconstructions. Here, we conducted CSIA-AA on human (n = 32) and animal (n = 13) remains from two prehistoric archaeological sites (Mumun, Imdang) to assess in more detail the dietary sources consumed by prehistoric Korean populations. Results of estimated trophic position (TP) using Δ<sup>15</sup>N<sub>Glx-Phe</sub> show that the Imdang individuals consumed aquatic resources, as well as terrestrial resources. Principal component analysis (PCA) using δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N essential amino acid (EAA) values show that the Imdang humans closely cluster with game birds and terrestrial herbivores, whilst the Mumun humans closely cluster with C<sub>4</sub> plants. Quantitative estimation by a Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) indicates that the Imdang humans derived a large proportion of their proteins from terrestrial animals and marine fish, whereas the main protein sources for the Mumun humans were C<sub>4</sub> plants and terrestrial animals. Additionally, the comparison between the EAA and bulk isotope models shows that there is a tendency to overestimate the consumption of plant proteins when using bulk isotopic data. Our CSIA-AA approach reveals that in prehistoric Korea there were clear differences in human diets through time. This study adds to a growing body of literature that demonstrates the potential of CSIA-AA to provide more accurate estimations of protein consumption in mixed diets than previous bulk isotopic studies.The impact of climate change on the agriculture and the economy of Southern Gaul: New perspectives of agent-based modellingNicolas BernigaudAlberte BondeauJoël GuiotFrédérique BertoncelloMarie-Jeanne OuriachiLaurent BoubyPhilippe LeveauLoup BernardDelphine Isoardi10.1371/journal.pone.02988952024-03-27T14:00:00Z2024-03-27T14:00:00Z<p>by Nicolas Bernigaud, Alberte Bondeau, Joël Guiot, Frédérique Bertoncello, Marie-Jeanne Ouriachi, Laurent Bouby, Philippe Leveau, Loup Bernard, Delphine Isoardi</p>
What impact did the Roman Climate Optimum (RCO) and the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) have on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire? Our article presents an agent-based modelling (ABM) approach developed to evaluate the impact of climate change on the profitability of vineyards, olive groves, and grain farms in Southern Gaul, which were the main source of wealth in the roman period. This ABM simulates an agroecosystem model which processes potential agricultural yield values from paleoclimatic data. The model calculates the revenues made by agricultural exploitations from the sale of crops whose annual volumes vary according to climate and market prices. The potential profits made by the different agricultural exploitations are calculated by deducting from the income the operating and transportation costs. We conclude that the warm and wet climate of the Roman period may have had an extremely beneficial effect on the profitability of wine and olive farms between the 2<sup>nd</sup> century BCE and the 3<sup>rd</sup> century CE, but a more modest effect on grain production. Subsequently, there is a significant decrease in the potential profitability of farms during the Late Antique Little Ice Age (4<sup>th</sup>-7<sup>th</sup> century CE). Comparing the results of our model with archaeological data enables us to discuss the impact of these climatic fluctuations on the agricultural and economic growth, and then their subsequent recession in Southern Gaul from the beginning to the end of antiquity.Powerful tool or too powerful? Early public discourse about ChatGPT across 4 million tweetsReuben NgTing Yu Joanne Chow10.1371/journal.pone.02968822024-03-27T14:00:00Z2024-03-27T14:00:00Z<p>by Reuben Ng, Ting Yu Joanne Chow</p>
Background <p>This paper investigates initial exuberance and emotions surrounding ChatGPT’s first three months of launch (1 December 2022–1 March 2023). The impetus for studying active discussions surrounding its implications, fears, and opinions is motivated by its nascent popularity and potential to disrupt existing professions; compounded by its significance as a crucial inflexion point in history. Capturing the public zeitgeist on new innovations—much like the advent of the printing press, radio, newspapers, or the internet—provides a retrospective overview of public sentiments, common themes, and issues.</p> Objectives <p>Since launch, few big data studies delved into initial public discourse surrounding the chatbot. This report firstly identifies highest-engagement issues and themes that generated the most interaction; secondly, identifies the highest-engaged keywords on both sides of the sentiment valence scale (positive and negative) associated with ChatGPT.</p> Methods <p>We interrogate a large twitter corpus (n = 4,251,662) of all publicly available English-language tweets containing the ChatGPT keyword. Our first research aim utilizes a prominent peaks model (upper-quartile significance threshold of prominence>20,000). Our second research aim utilized sentiment analysis to identify, week-on-week, highest-frequency negative, and positive keywords and emojis.</p> Results <p>Six prominent peaks were identified with the following themes: ‘hype and hesitance’, ‘utility and misuse in professional and academic settings’, ‘demographic bias’, ‘philosophical thought experiments on morality’ and ‘artificial intelligence as a mirror of human knowledge’. Of high-frequency valence, negativity included credibility concerns, implicit bias, environmental ethics, employment rights of data annotators and programmers, the ethicality of neural network datasets. Positivity included excitement over application, especially in coding, as a creative tool, education, and personal productivity.</p> Conclusions <p>Overall, sentiments and themes were double-edged, expressing excitement over this powerful new tool and wariness toward its potential for misuse.</p>The first Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean: The settlement of La Marmotta (Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio, Italy)Juan F. GibajaMario MineoFrancisco Javier SantosBerta MorellLaura Caruso-FerméGerard RemolinsAlba MasclansNiccolò Mazzucco10.1371/journal.pone.02997652024-03-20T14:00:00Z2024-03-20T14:00:00Z<p>by Juan F. Gibaja, Mario Mineo, Francisco Javier Santos, Berta Morell, Laura Caruso-Fermé, Gerard Remolins, Alba Masclans, Niccolò Mazzucco</p>
Navigation in the Mediterranean in the Neolithic is studied here through the boats that were used, the degree of technical specialisation in their construction and, above all, their chronology. After a brief explanation of the exceptional site of La Marmotta, the characteristics and chronology of the five canoes found at the settlement and one of the nautical objects linked to Canoe 1 are discussed. This will allow a reflection on the capability of Neolithic societies for navigation owing to their high technological level. This technology was an essential part in the success of their expansion, bearing in mind that in a few millennia they occupied the whole Mediterranean from Cyprus to the Atlantic seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula.The potential use of mass timber in mid-to high-rise construction and the associated carbon benefits in the United StatesPrakash NepalJeffrey P. PrestemonIndroneil GangulyVaibhav KumarRichard D. BergmanNeelam C. Poudyal10.1371/journal.pone.02983792024-03-20T14:00:00Z2024-03-20T14:00:00Z<p>by Prakash Nepal, Jeffrey P. Prestemon, Indroneil Ganguly, Vaibhav Kumar, Richard D. Bergman, Neelam C. Poudyal</p>
Nonresidential and mid- to high-rise multifamily residential structures in the United States currently use little wood per unit floor area installed, because earlier building codes lacked provisions for structural wood use in those types of buildings. However, revisions to the International Building Code allow for increased wood use in the form of mass timber, as structural and fire safety concerns have been addressed through new science-based design standards and through newly specified construction materials and measures. This study used multiple models to describe alternative futures for new construction, mass timber adoption rates, and the associated carbon benefits in higher than three-story buildings in the United States. The use of mass timber, in place of traditional constructions (i.e., structures dominated by concrete and steel), in projected new higher than three-story buildings was shown to provide combined carbon benefits (i.e., global warming mitigation benefits), including avoided embodied carbon emissions due to the substitution of non-wood alternatives and additional biogenic carbon storage in mass timber materials, of between 9.9 and 16.5 million t CO<sub>2</sub>e/yr spanning 50 years, 2020 to 2070. These carbon benefits equate to 12% to 20% of the total U.S. harvested wood products carbon storage for 2020. Future research is needed to understand how greater mass timber adoption leads to changes in forest product markets, land use, and total forest sector carbon.Redescription of three fossil baleen whale skulls from the Miocene of Portugal reveals new cetotheriid phylogenetic insightsRodrigo FigueiredoMark BosselaersLiliana PóvoasRui Castanhinha10.1371/journal.pone.02986582024-03-13T14:00:00Z2024-03-13T14:00:00Z<p>by Rodrigo Figueiredo, Mark Bosselaers, Liliana Póvoas, Rui Castanhinha</p>
Cetotheriidae is a family of baleen whales that went nearly extinct during the Pleistocene (excluding Caperea marginata). For a long time, the Cetotheriidae family has been seen as a problematic clade, but in the past two decades there have been various studies trying to resolve the phylogeny of this group. In 1831, Alexandre Vandelli described three cetotheriid skulls, found during a gold exploration at Adiça beach (Portugal). These specimens constituted the first Portuguese vertebrate fossils ever published in the literature. Another skull was added to the “Vandelli skulls” by Jacinto Pedro Gomes, in 1914, during a survey of the Museu Nacional de História Natural collections without giving information on the origin of this skull. In 1941, Remington Kellogg states that one of the original “Vandelli skulls” is no longer present in the Museu Nacional de História Natural collections. Until today, there is no information on how, or exactly when, the fourth skull and one of the original three “Vandelli skulls” appeared and disappeared, respectively. Since their discovery, all the attempts to describe these specimens were not based on direct observations and no comprehensive phylogenetic analysis have included the three skulls. Here we provide a detailed anatomic description, a new phylogenetic analysis and a palaeoecological reconstruction of these specimens, clarifying their relationships within the Cetotheriidae family and fostering the importance of these historical specimens to the modern comprehension of fossil whale evolution. In addition, our results support that Cephalotropis nectus is a valid species with an emended diagnosis. We also concluded that two specimens belong to a new genus, forming two new fossil species (new combinations).Point Pattern Analysis (PPA) as a tool for reproducible archaeological site distribution analyses and location processes in early iron age south-west GermanyGiacomo BilottiMichael KempfEljas OksanenLizzie ScholtusOliver Nakoinz10.1371/journal.pone.02979312024-03-13T14:00:00Z2024-03-13T14:00:00Z<p>by Giacomo Bilotti, Michael Kempf, Eljas Oksanen, Lizzie Scholtus, Oliver Nakoinz</p>
Point Pattern Analysis (PPA) has gained momentum in archaeological research, particularly in site distribution pattern recognition compared to supra-regional environmental variables. While PPA is now a statistically well-established method, most of the data necessary for the analyses are not freely accessible, complicating reproducibility and transparency. In this article, we present a fully reproducible methodical framework to PPA using an open access database of archaeological sites located in south-west Germany and open source explanatory covariates to understand site location processes and patterning. The workflow and research question are tailored to a regional case study, but the code underlying the analysis is provided as an R Markdown file and can be adjusted and manipulated to fit any archaeological database across the globe. The Early Iron Age north of the Alps and particularly in south-west Germany is marked by numerous social and cultural changes that reflect the use and inhabitation of the landscape. In this work we show that the use of quantitative methods in the study of site distribution processes is essential for a more complete understanding of archaeological and environmental dynamics. Furthermore, the use of a completely transparent and easily adaptable approach can fuel the understanding of large-scale site location preferences and catchment compositions in archaeological, geographical and ecological research.A quantitative analysis of Final Palaeolithic/earliest Mesolithic cultural taxonomy and evolution in EuropeFelix RiedeDavid N. MatzigMiguel BiardPhilippe CrombéJavier Fernández-Lopéz de PabloFederica FontanaDaniel GroßThomas HessMathieu LanglaisLudovic MevelWilliam MillsMartin MoníkNicolas NaudinotCaroline PoschTomas RimkusDamian StefańskiHans VandendriesscheShumon T. Hussain10.1371/journal.pone.02995122024-03-11T14:00:00Z2024-03-11T14:00:00Z<p>by Felix Riede, David N. Matzig, Miguel Biard, Philippe Crombé, Javier Fernández-Lopéz de Pablo, Federica Fontana, Daniel Groß, Thomas Hess, Mathieu Langlais, Ludovic Mevel, William Mills, Martin Moník, Nicolas Naudinot, Caroline Posch, Tomas Rimkus, Damian Stefański, Hans Vandendriessche, Shumon T. Hussain</p>
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.Diving dinosaurs? Caveats on the use of bone compactness and pFDA for inferring lifestyleNathan P. MyhrvoldStephanie L. BaumgartDaniel VidalFrank E. FishDonald M. HendersonEvan T. SaittaPaul C. Sereno10.1371/journal.pone.02989572024-03-06T14:00:00Z2024-03-06T14:00:00Z<p>by Nathan P. Myhrvold, Stephanie L. Baumgart, Daniel Vidal, Frank E. Fish, Donald M. Henderson, Evan T. Saitta, Paul C. Sereno</p>
The lifestyle of spinosaurid dinosaurs has been a topic of lively debate ever since the unveiling of important new skeletal parts for <i>Spinosaurus aegyptiacus</i> in 2014 and 2020. Disparate lifestyles for this taxon have been proposed in the literature; some have argued that it was semiaquatic to varying degrees, hunting fish from the margins of water bodies, or perhaps while wading or swimming on the surface; others suggest that it was a fully aquatic underwater pursuit predator. The various proposals are based on equally disparate lines of evidence. A recent study by Fabbri and coworkers sought to resolve this matter by applying the statistical method of phylogenetic flexible discriminant analysis to femur and rib bone diameters and a bone microanatomy metric called global bone compactness. From their statistical analyses of datasets based on a wide range of extant and extinct taxa, they concluded that two spinosaurid dinosaurs (<i>S</i>. <i>aegyptiacus</i>, <i>Baryonyx walkeri</i>) were fully submerged “subaqueous foragers,” whereas a third spinosaurid (<i>Suchomimus tenerensis</i>) remained a terrestrial predator. We performed a thorough reexamination of the datasets, analyses, and methodological assumptions on which those conclusions were based, which reveals substantial problems in each of these areas. In the datasets of exemplar taxa, we found unsupported categorization of taxon lifestyle, inconsistent inclusion and exclusion of taxa, and inappropriate choice of taxa and independent variables. We also explored the effects of uncontrolled sources of variation in estimates of bone compactness that arise from biological factors and measurement error. We found that the ability to draw quantitative conclusions is limited when taxa are represented by single data points with potentially large intrinsic variability. The results of our analysis of the statistical method show that it has low accuracy when applied to these datasets and that the data distributions do not meet fundamental assumptions of the method. These findings not only invalidate the conclusions of the particular analysis of Fabbri <i>et al</i>. but also have important implications for future quantitative uses of bone compactness and discriminant analysis in paleontology.Comparative analytical study of suction drum foundation penetration characteristics of guide frame platforms with real measurementsXin ZhangYuansong LiMingyue LiuShaoqi YeHuaQuan Liu10.1371/journal.pone.02996472024-02-29T14:00:00Z2024-02-29T14:00:00Z<p>by Xin Zhang, Yuansong Li, Mingyue Liu, Shaoqi Ye, HuaQuan Liu</p>
A suction bucket foundation is a new type offering high construction efficiency, precise positioning, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. It has been extensively employed in marine resource development, particularly in offshore wind power and oil and gas extraction. It usually involves multiple suction bucket conduit rack platforms during offshore construction projects. Accurately predicting the sinking penetration resistance and determining the suction value is crucial during the construction of the suction bucket foundation, as it ensures the safe sinking of the platform foundation to the designated depth. This paper examines the feasibility of the suction bucket foundation’s sinking, sinking penetration resistance, suction value, and self-weight penetration depth, using the offshore wind farm guiding frame platform foundation project in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, as a basis of analysis. The measured data is analyzed using the API specification static equilibrium analysis method, ABAQUS finite element analysis, and data mining techniques. The suction drum base platform’s sinking process was monitored for negative pressure and penetration resistance. These observed values were compared to theoretical and finite element calculations. Results demonstrated that the API specification’s theoretical calculations and finite element analyses effectively predict sinking penetration resistance, the suction force value, and the penetration depth for self-gravitational penetration. On-site engineering data fit these theoretical calculations, and finite element analyses well. The findings from this study have enriched the engineering application database of the suction drum foundation, providing a valuable reference for the design and construction of similar projects and establishing the groundwork for further promotion and application.Hybridization and introgression events in cooccurring populations of closely related grasses (Poaceae: <i>Stipa</i>) in high mountain steppes of Central AsiaPatar SinagaEwelina KlichowskaArkadiusz NowakMarcin Nobis10.1371/journal.pone.02987602024-02-27T14:00:00Z2024-02-27T14:00:00Z<p>by Patar Sinaga, Ewelina Klichowska, Arkadiusz Nowak, Marcin Nobis</p>
<i>Stipa</i> is a genus comprising ca. 150 species found in warm temperate regions of the Old World and around 30% of its representatives are of hybrid origin. In this study, using integrative taxonomy approach, we tested the hypothesis that hybridization and introgression are the explanations of the morphological intermediacy in species belonging to <i>Stipa</i> sect. <i>Smirnovia</i>, one of the species-rich sections in the mountains of Central Asia. Two novel nothospecies, <i>S</i>. <i>magnifica</i> × <i>S</i>. <i>caucasica</i> subsp. <i>nikolai</i> and <i>S</i>. <i>lingua</i> × <i>S</i>. <i>caucasica</i> subsp. <i>nikolai</i>, were identified based on a combination of morphological characters and SNPs markers. SNPs marker revealed that all <i>S</i>. <i>lingua</i> × <i>S</i>. <i>caucasica</i> samples were F1 hybrids, whereas most of <i>S</i>. <i>magnifica</i> × <i>S</i>. <i>caucasica</i> samples were backcross hybrids. Furthermore, the above mentioned hybrids exhibit transgressive morphological characters to each of their parental species. These findings have implications for understanding the process of hybridization in the genus <i>Stipa</i>, particularly in the sect. <i>Smirnovia</i>. As a taxonomic conclusion, we describe the two new nothospecies <i>S</i>. <i>× muksuensis</i> (from Tajikistan) and <i>S</i>. <i>× ochyrae</i> (from Kyrgyzstan) and present an identification key to species morphologically similar to the taxa mentioned above.Moss bugs shed light on the evolution of complex bioacoustic systemsLeonidas-Romanos DavranoglouViktor Hartung10.1371/journal.pone.02981742024-02-23T14:00:00Z2024-02-23T14:00:00Z<p>by Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou, Viktor Hartung</p>
Vibroacoustic signalling is one of the dominant strategies of animal communication, especially in small invertebrates. Among insects, the order Hemiptera displays a staggering diversity of vibroacoustic organs and is renowned for possessing biomechanically complex elastic recoil devices such as tymbals and snapping organs that enable robust vibrational communication. However, our understanding of the evolution of hemipteran elastic recoil devices is hindered by the absence of relevant data in the phylogenetically important group known as moss bugs (Coleorrhyncha), which produce substrate-borne vibrations through an unknown mechanism. In the present work, we reveal the functional morphology of the moss bug vibrational mechanism and study its presence across Coleorrhyncha and in extinct fossilised relatives. We incorporate the anatomical features of the moss bug vibrational mechanism in a phylogeny of Hemiptera, which supports either a sister-group relationship to Heteroptera, or a sister-group relationship with the Auchenorrhyncha. Regardless of topology, we propose that simple abdominal vibration was present at the root of Euhemiptera, and arose 350 million years ago, suggesting that this mode of signalling is among the most ancient in the animal kingdom. Therefore, the most parsimonious explanation for the origins of complex elastic recoil devices is that they represent secondary developments that arose exclusively in the Auchenorrhyncha.Molecular and morphological data suggest a new species of big-eared bat (Vespertilionidae: <i>Corynorhinus</i>) endemic to northeastern MexicoIssachar L. López-CuamatziJorge OrtegaSandra M. Ospina-GarcésGerardo ZúñigaM. Cristina MacSwiney G.10.1371/journal.pone.02962752024-02-21T14:00:00Z2024-02-21T14:00:00Z<p>by Issachar L. López-Cuamatzi, Jorge Ortega, Sandra M. Ospina-Garcés, Gerardo Zúñiga, M. Cristina MacSwiney G.</p>
<i>Corynorhinus mexicanus</i> is an insectivorous bat endemic to Mexico that inhabits the high and humid regions of the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMO), the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), and the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOC). A previous study suggested that <i>C</i>. <i>mexicanus</i> could be a cryptic species complex due to the genetic divergence observed between specimens from the TMVB and SMOC. The present study implemented phylogenetic, population genetics, and morphological analyses to evaluate the hypothesis that <i>C</i>. <i>mexicanus</i> is a species complex. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that <i>C</i>. <i>mexicanus</i> is a polyphyletic species composed of three indirectly related lineages. The estimated divergence times for the lineages suggest that they first originated during the Pliocene, while the second and third shared a common ancestor with <i>C</i>. <i>townsendii</i> 1.55 million years ago, and diverged 600,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene. The population genetics analysis reveals the SMO lineage of <i>C</i>. <i>mexicanus</i> is an isolated genetic group and highly diverged from the rest of lineages (SMOC and TMVB). The morphological analyses showed variation in the skull and mandible associated with the lineages and sex of the specimens, highlighting a difference in mandible shape between the specimens of the SMO and the rest of <i>C</i>. <i>mexicanus</i>. The results of this study suggest the presence of an undescribed species of the genus <i>Corynorhinus</i>.Quantifying the effects of exceptional fossil preservation on the global availability of phylogenetic data in deep timeC. Henrik WoolleyDavid J. BottjerFrank A. CorsettiNathan D. Smith10.1371/journal.pone.02976372024-02-14T14:00:00Z2024-02-14T14:00:00Z<p>by C. Henrik Woolley, David J. Bottjer, Frank A. Corsetti, Nathan D. Smith</p>
Fossil deposits with exceptional preservation (“lagerstätten”) provide important details not typically preserved in the fossil record, such that they hold an outsized influence on our understanding of biodiversity and evolution. In particular, the potential bias imparted by this so-called “lagerstätten effect” remains a critical, but underexplored aspect of reconstructing evolutionary relationships. Here, we quantify the amount of phylogenetic information available in the global fossil records of 1,327 species of non-avian theropod dinosaurs, Mesozoic birds, and fossil squamates (e.g., lizards, snakes, mosasaurs), and then compare the influence of lagerstätten deposits on phylogenetic information content and taxon selection in phylogenetic analyses to other fossil-bearing deposits. We find that groups that preserve a high amount of phylogenetic information in their global fossil record (e.g., non-avian theropods) are less vulnerable to a “lagerstätten effect” that leads to disproportionate representation of fossil taxa from one geologic unit in an evolutionary tree. Additionally, for each taxonomic group, we find comparable amounts of phylogenetic information in lagerstätten deposits, even though corresponding morphological character datasets vary greatly. Finally, we unexpectedly find that ancient sand dune deposits of the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China exert an anomalously large influence on the phylogenetic information available in the squamate fossil record, suggesting a “lagerstätten effect” can be present in units not traditionally considered lagerstätten. These results offer a phylogenetics-based lens through which to examine the effects of exceptional fossil preservation on biological patterns through time and space, and invites further quantification of evolutionary information in the rock record."Until death do us part". A multidisciplinary study on human- Animal co- burials from the Late Iron Age necropolis of Seminario Vescovile in Verona (Northern Italy, 3<sup>rd</sup>-1<sup>st</sup> c. BCE)Zita LaffranchiStefania ZingaleUmberto TecchiatiAlfonsina AmatoValentina CoiaAlice PaladinLuciano SalzaniSimon R. ThompsonMarzia BersaniIrene DoriSönke SzidatSandra LöschJessica Ryan-DesprazGabriele ArenzAlbert ZinkMarco Milella10.1371/journal.pone.02934342024-02-14T14:00:00Z2024-02-14T14:00:00Z<p>by Zita Laffranchi, Stefania Zingale, Umberto Tecchiati, Alfonsina Amato, Valentina Coia, Alice Paladin, Luciano Salzani, Simon R. Thompson, Marzia Bersani, Irene Dori, Sönke Szidat, Sandra Lösch, Jessica Ryan-Despraz, Gabriele Arenz, Albert Zink, Marco Milella</p>
Animal remains are a common find in prehistoric and protohistoric funerary contexts. While taphonomic and osteological data provide insights about the proximate (depositional) factors responsible for these findings, the ultimate cultural causes leading to this observed mortuary behavior are obscured by the opacity of the archaeological record and the lack of written sources. Here, we apply an interdisciplinary suite of analytical approaches (zooarchaeological, anthropological, archaeological, paleogenetic, and isotopic) to explore the funerary deposition of animal remains and the nature of joint human-animal burials at <i>Seminario Vescovile</i> (<i>Verona</i>, Northern Italy 3<sup>rd</sup>-1<sup>st</sup> c. BCE). This context, culturally attributed to the Cenomane culture, features 161 inhumations, of which only 16 included animal remains in the form of full skeletons, isolated skeletal parts, or food offerings. Of these, four are of particular interest as they contain either horses (<i>Equus caballus</i>) or dogs (<i>Canis lupus familiaris</i>)–animals that did not play a dietary role. Analyses show no demographic, dietary, funerary similarities, or genetic relatedness between individuals buried with animals. Isotopic data from two analyzed dogs suggest differing management strategies for these animals, possibly linked to economic and/or ritual factors. Overall, our results point to the unsuitability of simple, straightforward explanations for the observed funerary variability. At the same time, they connect the evidence from Seminario Vescovile with documented Transalpine cultural traditions possibly influenced by local and Roman customs.