Ivan Calandra

Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) · IMPALA (IMaging Platform At LeizA)

In stone tool studies, the analysis of different technological and typological features is known to provide distinct but interrelated information on the design and use of artefacts. The selection of these features can potentially influence the understanding and reconstruction of past human technological behaviour across time. One feature frequently...

Many modern sharks are known as dietary opportunists and their feeding behaviour and diet can be observed in many different ways. By contrast, the reconstruction of feeding behaviour and diet of their early ancestors is rather difficult. Direct evidence such as oesophagus, stomach or gut contents is scarce in early chondrichthyans (e.g. Kriwet et a...

In fossil chondrichthyans, there is little evidence for their diet. Direct evidence can be digestive tract contents while indirect evidence stems from coprolites, tooth marks or stable isotopes. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) can provide further information regarding diet and is used frequently to reconstruct diet in terrestrial and marin...

Many modern sharks are known as dietary opportunists. In fossil chondrichthyans, however, there is little direct evidence for their diet such as digestive tract contents (cololites and gastrolites), as opposed to indirect evidence from coprolites, tooth marks, stable isotopes or tooth wear. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is frequently use...

Since the origin of the genus Homo, stone-based technologies were an important component of the toolkit of past humans. Studying the evidence left on stone tools is an important field in archaeology for understanding the evolution of human behaviour. Information about the use of stone tools in the past is encoded in the wear patterns left on the su...

On behalf of the Working Group Sustainability of the Leibniz PhD and PostDoc Networks. Order of authorship: First the current WG coordinator, then the three other members who contributed the most to the position paper, and last the other contributing members in alphabetical order.

Traceological studies aim at the recognition and the identification of use-wear traces on artefacts to gain a functional interpretation of past human technologies. However, the development of use-wear traces is known to be dependent on different mechanics involved, such as those related to the contact materials, but also to the tool raw material an...

The scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA) of dental microwear textures is traditionally performed using the software Toothfrax. SSFA has been recently integrated to the software MountainsMap® as an optional module. Meanwhile, Toothfrax support has ended. Before switching to the new module, the outputs between the two software packages must be com...

Quantification and automation represent important methodological developments in dental microwear analysis and in artifact microwear (use-wear) analysis in order to address the issues of subjectivity and reproducibility of the traditional methods, increase discrimination power, and improve pattern recognition. However, automatic and quantitative me...

Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis (OFA) was applied to four sets of experimental stone tool samples and contact materials in a pilot study. The goal of the study was to test the applicability of OFA for locating and quantifying areas of use-wear. The variables tool sample morphology and contact material were tested with unilinear cutting strokes. The s...

Moulding using malleable polymerising materials such as silicone rubbers is a non-destructive, low-cost and quick method for documenting and replicating the form and/or surface topography of objects. Consequently, a range of specifically formulated silicones with varying properties such as curing time, polymerisation reaction, chemical stability, c...

The Armenian highlands encompasses rugged and environmentally diverse landscapes and is characterized by a mosaic of distinct ecological niches and large temperature gradients. Strong seasonal fluctuations in resource availability along topographic gradients likely prompted Pleistocene hominin groups to adapt by adjusting their mobility strategies....

Metrology has been successfully used in the last decade to quantify use-wear on stone tools. Such techniques have been mostly applied to fine-grained rocks (chert), while studies on coarse-grained raw materials have been relatively infrequent. In this study, confocal microscopy was employed to investigate polished surfaces on a coarse-grained litho...

This chapter is a comprehensive overview about the development in the field of quantitative wear analysis during the last 20 years. It focuses on specific interdisciplinary approaches that either introduced new viewpoints or solved technical problems, and in particular guided our projects within the DFG research unit 771 at the University of Hambur...

In prehistoric human populations, technologies played a fundamental role in the acquisition of different resources and are represented in the main daily living activities, such as with bone, wooden, and stone-tipped spears for hunting, and chipped-stone tools for butchering. Considering that paleoanthropologists and archeologists are focused on the...

Cleaning stone tool surfaces is a common procedure in lithic studies. The first step widely applied at any archaeological site (and/or at field laboratories) is the gross removal of sediment from the surfaces of artifacts. Lithic surface alterations due to mechanical action applied in wet or dry cleaning regimes have never been examined at a micros...

Cleaning stone tool surfaces is a common procedure in lithic studies. The first step widely applied at any archaeological site (and/or at field laboratories) is the gross removal of sediment from the surfaces of artifacts. Lithic surface alterations due to mechanical action applied in wet or dry cleaning regimes have never been examined at a micros...

Experimentation has always played an important role in archeology, in particular to create reference collections for use-wear studies. Different types of experiments can answer different questions; all types should therefore be combined to obtain a holistic view. In controlled experiments, some factors are tested, while the other factors are kept c...

Use-wear studies rely heavily on experiments and reference collections to infer the function of archeological artifacts. Sequential experiments, in particular, are necessary to understand how use-wear develops. Consequently, it is crucial to analyze the same location on the tool’s surface during the course of an experiment. Being able to relocate t...

Dental and artifact microwear analyses have a lot in common regarding the questions they address, their developmental history and their issues. However, few paleontologists and archeologists are aware of this, and even those who are, do not take into account most of the methodological insights from the other field. In this focus article, we briefly...

Common approaches within archaeological traceological studies harness life-like experimentation, which changes the sample surfaces through use, followed by comparison with wear-patterns on archaeological specimens (Marreiros et al., 2015). The coexistence of multiple variables and human variability in actualistic experiments makes quantification an...

Many archeologists are skeptical about the capabilities of use-wear analysis to infer on the function of archeological tools, mainly because the method is seen as subjective, not standardized and not reproducible. Quantitative methods in particular have been developed and applied to address these issues. However, the importance of equipment, acquis...

Definitions and details on the properties of objectives, magnification and resolution.

Descriptions of ISO 25178-2 parameters and ISO 4287 Ra.

Raw data, and RStudio project, R markdown scripts and HTML outputs of the statistical procedures. All files are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2594755).

Values of ISO 25178-2 parameters on the flint and quartzite samples (1st sheet), and of ISO 4287 Ra parameter on the roughness standard (2nd sheet). Units are given in the 3rd sheet.

Descriptive statistics of ISO 25178-2 parameters from both objectives on the flint and quartzite samples (1st sheet), and of ISO 4287 Ra parameter on the roughness standard (2nd sheet). n = sample size, min = minimum, max = maximum, SD = standard deviation.

Python script and results of the Bayesian Multi-factor ANOVA. All files are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2594746).

PDF export of the results of the ConfoMap template applied to all analyzed surfaces. Editable *.mnt files (which include the unprocessed surfaces) are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1479117).

Definitions and details on the properties of objectives, magnification and resolution.

Raw data, and RStudio project, R markdown scripts and HTML outputs of the statistical procedures. All files are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2594755).

Descriptions of ISO 25178-2 parameters and ISO 4287 Ra.

Python script and results of the Bayesian Multi-factor ANOVA. All files are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2594746).

Values of ISO 25178-2 parameters on the flint and quartzite samples (1st sheet), and of ISO 4287 Ra parameter on the roughness standard (2nd sheet). Units are given in the 3rd sheet.

Descriptive statistics of ISO 25178-2 parameters from both objectives on the flint and quartzite samples (1st sheet), and of ISO 4287 Ra parameter on the roughness standard (2nd sheet). n = sample size, min = minimum, max = maximum, SD = standard deviation.

Video of the procedure to adhere the beads onto the sample. The video has been accelerated for convenience; the whole procedure was performed in approximately 2 min and 12 s.

Step-by-step instructions for the coordinate system function.

PDF export of the results of the ConfoMap template applied to all analyzed surfaces. Editable *.mnt files (which include the unprocessed surfaces) are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1479072)

Descriptions of the ISO 25178-2 parameters applied to all surfaces. [The original file is in XLSX format but it is not allowed on RG. Feel free to ask for the raw data, or download them from Springer at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12520-019-00801-y]

Descriptive statistics of ISO 25178-2 parameters on both microscopes. n = sample size, min = minimum, max = maximum, SD = standard deviation.

Raw data, and R markdown scripts and HTML outputs of the statistical procedures. All files are available on Zenodo (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2578975).

Values of ISO 25178-2 parameters and X/Y shifts for each surface.

Common approaches within archaeological use-wear studies harness life-like experimentation, which changes the sample surfaces through use, followed by comparison with wear-patterns on archaeological specimens. The coexistence of multiple variables and human variability in actualistic experiments makes quantification and interpretation of results ch...

Interpreting how tool production and use might have varied through time and space is one of the main research areas for investigating the evolution of human behavior, for which functional studies are of major importance. From the current state-of-the-art in use-wear analysis, researchers rely on experimental replication of past potential uses in or...

Investigating how artifacts were produced and used in the past by humans is one of the key research areas in the study of human behavioral evolution. Although use-wear studies have shown promising results, a lot of criticism has been raised regarding standardization and reproducibility. Here we focus on three aspects of data acquisition and analysi...

Understanding artifact variability, and especially the role of different raw materials and their possible use by past humans, is one of the most debated topics in Pleistocene archaeo logy. Functional studies are critical to determine artifact use, and thus to address fundamental questions about the evolution of human behaviour. The new Laboratory f...

Mammal teeth have evolved morphologies that allow for the efficient mechanical processing of different foods, therefore increasing dietary energy uptake for maintenance of high metabolic demands. However, individuals masticate foods with biomechanical properties at odds with the optimal function of a given tooth morphology. Here, we investigate too...

In mammals, tooth function, and its efficiency, depends both on the mechanical properties of the food and on chewing dynamics. These aspects have rarely been studied in combination and/or at the intraspecific level. Here we applied 3D dental surface texture analysis to a sample of field voles (Microtus agrestis) trapped from Finnish Lapland at diff...

Neoecology and paleoecology both seek to answer the same questions, albeit using different material, at different time scales and with different limitations. Nevertheless, too often, neoecologists neglect paleoecology, and paleoecologists only use neoecology as a baseline for actualism. One reason for this is the lack of tools that can be applied t...

Plant–herbivore interactions are hypothesized to drive vole population cycles through the grazing-induced production of phytoliths in leaves. Phytoliths act as mechanical defences because they deter herbivory and lower growth rates in mammals. However, how phytoliths impair herbivore performance is still unknown. Here, we tested whether the amount...

In the Arctic, food limitation is one of the driving factors behind small mammal population fluctuations. Active throughout the year, voles and lemmings (arvicoline rodents) are central prey in arctic food webs. Snow cover, however, makes the estimation of their winter diet challenging. We analyzed the isotopic composition of ever-growing incisors...

Newly colonised, isolated habitats, like islands, provide diverse niches to be filled and are prone to facilitate ecological separation which might lead to an adaptive radiation. Examples of such radiations can be found in the Mediterranean for the genera Candiacervus (Crete), Nesogoral (Sardinia) and Hoplitomeryx (Gargano). A different strategy to...

Evolution in isolated island has shaped a variety of endemic taxa with outstanding characteristics. Amongst them is the extinct bovid genus Myotragus, endemic to Mallorca and Menorca Island, for which six succeeding species have been described: M. palomboi, M. pepgonellae, M. antiquus, M. kopperi, M. batei and M. balearicus. Myotragus has developed...

Large herbivorous mammals have evolved chewing systems capable of processing a large variety of structurally diverse foods. Three-dimensional (3D) surface texture parameters are applied to investigate wear mechanisms related to tooth morphology, food source, and chewing dynamics. We tested 46 industrial 3D surface texture parameters for their capab...

The major evolutionary events that characterize the Precambrian-Cambrian transition are accompanied by profound ecological changes in the composition of benthic communities, the nature of the substrate, and the occupation of marine ecospace. The increased animal activity on and within the substrate is attested to by numerous trace fossils, such as...

Mammals inhabit all types of environments and have evolved chewing systems capable of processing a huge variety of structurally diverse food components. Surface textures of cheek teeth should thus reflect the mechanisms of wear as well as the functional traits involved. We employed surface textures parameters from ISO/DIS 25178 and scale-sensitive...

Mammals inhabit all types of environments and have evolved chewing systems capable of processing a huge variety of structurally diverse food components. Surface textures of cheek teeth should thus reflect the mechanisms of wear as well as the functional traits involved. We employed surface textures parameters from ISO/DIS 25178 and scale-sensitive...

The objective of this study is to estimate changes in feeding preferences of the proboscidean species Gomphotherium subtapiroideum (Schlesinger 1917) by means of dental microwear analyses. The dietary changes are first evaluated through the ontogeny of this species, between juveniles and adults, and are then studied through geological time, from ea...

Although low in diversity, megaherbivores (mammals weighting over 10(3) kg) and especially proboscideans have a powerful impact on the structure and dynamics of present-day ecosystems. During the Neogene (23 to 2.6 Ma) of Europe, the diversity and geographic distribution of these megaherbivores was much greater. Nonetheless, their role in past ecos...