VR003 has been excavated over five seasons between 2009 and 2016. The initial two seasons had the primary objective of assessing the potential of the deposit, and only selected finds were plotted. The final three seasons 2014-2016 involved plotting of all cultural items using different size cut-offs for different classes of material (≥20 mm for lithics, ≥25 mm for bone). Some classes of material, notably OES, were only plotted if modified. All plotted artefacts were assigned unique provenience ID's and individually bagged. Sedimentary aggregates were plotted with a single indicative point location, and volume was quantified as proportional bucket volume (FULL, ¾, ½, ¼). All aggregates were sieved on site through nested 3 mm and 1.5 mm mesh, and the residues from each bagged separately. All plotting was undertaken using a local grid, managed by control points emplaced around the site.We currently recognise nine archaeological horizons and eight geological horizons in the Main Area sequence (1); for the sake of simplicity in this paper we refer to the lower two archaeological horizons (I-08 and I-09) in aggregate as the Lower Deposits. All horizons in the Main Area are associated with the MSA. Inside the small extant shelter (known as Sector III) we identify 23 geological horizons (III-01 through III-23), with Late Holocene LSA comprising the upper 14 strata (0.6-0.9 m depth). In the Main Area, I-04 was assigned to the Howiesons Poort and Still Bay (1), though initially dated by OSL in the Main Area to 45.7 ±2.8 ka. Inside the shelter in Sector III, Howiesons Poort artefacts occur in strata III-18 through III-23, with initial OSL ages of 42.3 ±2.7 ka and 41.7 ±2.9 (1) (Still Bay has yet to be encountered in this part of the site). In both areas these ages are unusually young for the Howiesons Poort. We provide a redating here (SI Geochronology below) using OSL on quartz grains from III-18 to III-20 that places the Howiesons Poort between 71.6±6.2 and 60.8±5.2, consistent with ages elsewhere, with ages for the immediately overlying post-Howiesons Poort stratum III-17 of 55.7 ±4.4 and 66.1 ±5.3 ka (Figure S1).The fossiles directeur for the Howiesons Poort and Still Bay (backed artefacts and bifacial points respectively) occur as a discrete band across the entire site and include a single piece of engraved OES in the Link Trench (Figure S1). In the Main Area there is no recurrence of such artefacts in the underlying deposits, which we assign to the pre-Still Bay MSA.

Decadal-centennial-scale climate variability in coastal Antarctica remains poorly understood due to the limited number of highly resolved, well-dated records. We present a 900-year, decadal-scale reconstruction based on sedimentary diatoms from Lake Abi in L€ utzow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica. Hydrological change is inferred from diatom ecological preferences in conjunction with an existing regional training set and implies that lake water specific conductivity, depth and nitrogen availability are the key drivers of diatom assemblage change. Lake Abi underwent a series of subtle environmental changes related to these environmental variables, possibly driven by changes in catchment snow melt and the duration of seasonal ice cover. Ordination is used to trace the major patterns of change in the diatom community, with notable shifts identified between 470 and 400 and at $350 cal a BP (where present ¼ CE 1950). The frequency of environmental variability at Lake Abi is broadly consistent with a record of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation during the last millennium, but contrasts with the apparent climate stability elsewhere in eastern Antarctica. Further research is required to constrain the limnological and ecological responses of lakes in coastal Antarctica to obtain more rigorous palaeoclimate reconstructions from these sites of immense potential.

Abstract. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr ∕ 86Sr) of biogenic material such as bones and teeth reflect the local sources of strontium ingested as food and drink during their formation. This has led to the use of strontium isotope ratios as a geochemical tracer in a wide range of fields including archaeology, ecology, food studies and forensic sciences. In order to utilise strontium as a geochemical tracer, baseline data of bioavailable 87Sr ∕ 86Sr in the region of interest are required, and a growing number of studies have developed reference maps for this purpose in various geographic regions, and over varying scales. This study presents a new data set of bioavailable strontium isotope ratios from rock and soil samples across Israel, as well as from sediment layers from seven key archaeological sites. This data set may be viewed and accessed both in an Open Science Framework repository (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XKJ5Y, Moffat et al., 2020) or via the IRHUM (Isotopic Reconstruction of Human Migration) database.

As our communities grow and change, afterschool programs represent an avenue to bring resources to populations which would otherwise not be available to them. Combining 4-H with the afterschool environment can be beneficial in supporting and raising the quality of afterschool programs being offered. This article explores the benefits and challenges of two approaches of implementing 4-H programming in afterschool settings: the 4-H managed program that is created and run solely by 4-H faculty and staff and the 4-H afterschool partnerships which are facilitated in partnership with existing afterschool programs. Regardless of the approach, combining 4-H with afterschool programs can strengthen well established programs and can enhance the quality of all afterschool programs.