Fauna of the Norfolk Ridge (SW Pacific): a return to the past
Mercoledì, 24 Ottobre, 2012 - 14:00 - 15:00
Prof. Andrzej Pisera
Norfolk Ridge is a chain of submarine mountains between New Caledonia and New Zealand (SW Pacific). It is characterized by very rich (high biomass) and highly diversified fauna dominated by such suspension feeders like sponges, stylasterid and gorgonian corals, brachiopods. This fauna consists of many “living fossils” among sponges, crinoids, mollusks, crustaceans and others, as well as apparently numerous endemic forms and it resembles fossil (especially Mesozoic) fauna. Its richness may be explained by enhanced current activity above mountains tops and widespread presence of hard bottom, while there is no good explanation for occurrence of numerous “living fossils” This fauna should be considered in environmental interpretations of fossil especially Mesozoic and Tertiary faunas.
N.B.: il seminario si terrà in aula 1F.
Institute of Palaeobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Viviana Frisone
Methodological development and the archaeological monitoring of lower palaeolithic gravels in the Axe valley, UK
Giovedì, 25 Ottobre, 2012 - 16:00
Prof. Tony Brown
This paper presents the results of a project investigating both methodological and archaeological aspects of the monitoring of an active gravel quarry in Southern England. The site is probably the thickest accumulation of a single body of fluvial gravel in the UK and was known to contain occasional lower Palaeolithic artefacts. The thickness of the gravel and active quarrying pose particular problems in terms of monitoring and archaeological investigations. We have used the site as an open-air laboratory for several new techniques including surveying and gravel characterisation using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), photogrammetric granulometry and optically stimulated luminescence. The results of these investigations will be presented and put into context of the European lower Palaeolithic.
University of Southampton
Paolo Mozzi