Neandertal spatial patterns and occupation dynamics: a regional focus on the central region in Mediterranean Iberia
En el siguiente trabajo se estudian varios conjuntos pertenecientes al Paleolítico medio procedentes del mediterráneo peninsular ibérico con el objetivo de examinar los patrones de ocupación y las estrategias de gestión del territorio. Se presta especial atención al abastecimiento de las materias primas y los comportamientos tecnológicos, los datos procedentes de la fauna y los análisis microespaciales. La variabilidad en los tipos de ocupación de los distintos conjuntos nos muestra una gran diversidad y una multitud de factores, aunque no parece tener una sola explicación cultural, funcional, temporal o ambiental. Más bien son explicaciones que responden a una amplia variabilidad en los co…
Identification of local and allochthonous flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithical site ‘Abrigo de la Quebrada’ (Chelva, Valencia, Spain) by macroscopic and physicochemical methods
This work summarizes the characterization of flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithic site ‘Abrigo de la Quebrada’ (Chelva, Valencia, Spain) and flint geological samples collected in the Chelva area. Additionally, some flint artefacts located outside this geographical zone were also analysed and compared with the samples from the Abrigo de la Quebrada site. Flint samples have been studied using methods of macroscopic description and physicochemical analysis [energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)]. Multivariate statistical analysis of the EDXRF data and the determination of the crystalline index of quartz, obtained from the XRD patterns, ar…
Aprovechamiento de las calizas en el Paleolítico medio del Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia)
Se estudian las cadenas operativas líticas realizadas sobre calizas del nivel III del yacimiento del Paleolítico medio del Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia). Se caracterizan las calizas locales e identifican las fuentes de aprovisionamiento. Asimismo, se comparan los distintos sistemas operativos utilizados para tallar este material con los de las otras materias primas (sílex y cuarcita), para evaluar el grado de similitud y diferencia en la gestión de esta materia prima. Los datos apuntan a una importante variabilidad y un cierto predominio de un sistema expeditivo. FFI 2008-01200/FISO HAR 2008-04273-E/HIST HAR2011-24878 We approach the chaînes opératoires of limestones found in lev…
El nivel IV del Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia). Análisis microespacial y valoración del uso del espacio en los yacimientos del Paleolítico medio valenciano
Se analiza la distribución espacial de los restos óseos y líticos del nivel IV del abrigo de la Quebrada, fechado en el MIS 3. A pesar de que puede definirse como un palimpsesto, el estudio detallado de los materiales en relación con las estructuras de combustión permite observar unas pautas de uso del espacio que resultan significativas de una ocupación que abarca la mayor parte de la superficie excavada, generando un espacio preferente de actividades de forma más o menos elíptica y una longitud mayor próxima a los 10 m. El detalle de las distribuciones de las materias primas, técnicas de talla y especies menos representadas permite confirmar la superposición de eventos diferenciados de oc…
Not only flint: Levallois on quartzite and limestone at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): Implications for neandertal Behavior
This paper investigates the application of the Levallois technique to the knapping of nonflint raw materials (limestone and quartzite) in the upper levels of the Abrigo de la Quebrada rockshelter (Chelva, Valencia, Spain). Besides highlighting the significant flexibility that characterized Neandertal behavior, such an application is of singular interest because goodquality flint—lacking fissures and impurities and presenting a compact and homogeneous texture—is abundant in the site’s immediate vicinity. In other assemblages, the scarcity or poor quality of flint often suffices to explain the recourse to alternatives, but in these Quebrada levels raw material choice must be primarily determi…
Nuevos datos procedentes del yacimiento del Paleolítico medio del Puntal del Gat (Benirredrà, Valencia)
Resultados preliminares de la campaña de excavación en el yacimiento del Paleolítico Medio del Barranc Fondo (Benissa, Alicante)
The early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)
Abstract This paper presents a synthesis of the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres. Points of special attention are the sedimentary and micromorphological characterisation of level XVI, the analysis of the vegetal and animal resources and their incidence on the economy of the Gravettian human groups, and the characterisation of the landscape during this period. Furthermore, the paper offers important information of the lithic and bone assemblages, economic behaviour and radiocarbon dates of sub-levels XVIA and XVIB, related to the Gravettian, and XVIC and XVID, corresponding to the Aurignacian. Finally, the Gravettian and Aurignacian regional contexts in the Mediterranean Basin…
Identification of local and allochthonous flint artefacts from the Middle Paleolithic site Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia, Spain) by macroscopic and physicochemical methods
Flint is a lithic material that can be worked to obtain sharp blades with conchoidal fractures characteristic of lithic tools as scrapers, hand axes and arrowheads. These artefacts represent the majority of the lithic material from the Palaeolithic sites worldwide, and it continued to be used during subsequent periods to manufacture some of the earliest tools used by man. One of the questions that archaeologists are keen to answer in relation to flint use and characterization is sourcing. Answering this question is important to reconstruct interaction networks of prehistoric cultures. Over the past years, a great variety of analytical methods have been applied to identify the sources of fli…
An approach to lithic raw material procurement at the middle Palaeolithic site Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia)
We offer a preliminary characterisation of the lithic raw-materials found in levels I-III of the Middle Paleolithic site of Abrigo de la Quebrada. The artifacts were excavated in the field seasons of 2004 and 2007, have already been the object of a preliminary technological assessment (Villaverde et al. 2008), and their analysis has been preceded by a survey of local procurement sources, carried out in 2008. We present, in a regional context, the different raw-material categories recognized (by means of a macroscopic study), and variants thereof, and we describe the different outcrops identified. Based on these data, we attempt a preliminary assessment of the resource catchments and mobilit…
L’ évolution des assemblages lithiques des niveaux du Paléolithique moyen de l’Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Espagne)
L’Abrigo de la Quebrada propose une séquence stratigraphique importante, avec neuf niveaux dont sept présentent des preuves d’occupation appartenant au Paléolithique moyen. De plus, l’existence d’un niveau stérile, le VI, séparant les niveaux supérieurs (II à V) des niveaux inférieurs (VII à IX), permet d’évaluer, dans une perspective diachronique, les changements constatés sur les différentes matiàres premières et sur les systémes de débitage employés pour chacune de ces deux grandes phases. Ces donne´ es sont compare´ es a` d’autres sites contemporains, dans le but d’e´valuer les normes technologiques et la gestion des ressources des ne´ andertaliens dans la zone ge´ographique de la re´gi…
Ramification of lithic production and the search of small tools in Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic
The notion of recycling and it relationship with ramified productions and small tool production in Late Middle Paleolithic from the Iberian Peninsula are investigated. Results from Amalda, Axlor, Pen~a Miel, and Quebrada show that the production of small tools is one of the principal objectives of lithic provi- sioning in these sites. Whereas in Axlor and Amalda, this is achieved through the ramification of pro- duction, due to the remoteness of flint sources, in Quebrada, where raw material sources are closer, small flakes are obtained at the end of Levallois production. The implications for Neandertal society organi- zation of this small tool production is discussed, and its evolution is …
Elementos líticos apuntados en el yacimiento de Paleolítico Medio del Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia): Caracterización tecno-tipológica y análisis de las macrofracturas
En este trabajo se analizan los objetos líticos apuntados recuperados en el Abrigo de la Quebrada. Para ello, el estudio parte del análisis tecnológico, tipológico y tipométrico de los soportes sobre los que se confeccionó este utillaje, además de una primera aproximación al estudio de las macrohuellas y fracturas detectadas. Los datos obtenidos se comparan con otros del ámbito regional, con el objetivo de aportar nueva información en torno a las capacidades cinegéticas de los grupos neandertales.
Diachronic variation in the Middle Paleolithic settlement of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Spain)
Abstract This paper compares levels IV and VIII of Abrigo de la Quebrada. The study includes knapping technique, raw material, fauna, and the spatial distribution of lithic and bone remains. Although both levels correspond to cumulative palimpsests, patterns of resource management and use of space that suggest changes in the rhythm of occupation and the functionality of the settlements can be discerned. A change in mobility patterns probably underpins the differences between these two levels of Quebrada, but assessing this hypothesis is made difficult by the lack of comparable documentation for other sites in the region.
The reinterpretation of Cova Negra archaeological and stratigraphical sequence and its implications in the knowledge of the Middle Palaeolithic Iberian Peninsula
This paper presents new data from the reinterpretation of the Cova Negra sequence from a chronological and stratigraphic perspective. The primary aim is to reorder the lithic industry from the excavations of the 1950s in light of the stratigraphic sequence, paying particular attention to raw materials, knapping methods and tools. The reconstruction, carried out from a taphonomic perspective, is specified in sectors B, C and F, and the archaeological levels and the included material are adjusted to the stratigraphic levels. Although the number of remains involved in the proposed chronology is reduced in relation to previous work, it is an arrangement that relies on a more precise chronostrat…
Abric de la Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent, Alicante). Results of the 1986-1991 campaigns. New data on its palaeolithic sequence
El Abric de la Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent, Alicante) es uno de los yacimientos clave para el conocimiento del Paleolítico superior en el área central del Mediterráneo ibérico, especialmente en lo que a sus fases iniciales se refiere. El yacimiento ha sido objeto de varias intervenciones arqueológicas, tanto clandestinas como científicas. Sin embargo, hasta este trabajo, la información disponible era parcial y, en muchos casos, remitía a materiales sin referencia estratigráfica. En este estudio se exponen los resultados del análisis del material lítico, del registro vegetal y de la fauna recuperada en las campañas de 1986 a 1991. Además, se presenta una amplia serie de dataciones radiocarbó…
Middle Paleolithic lithic assemblages in Western Mediterranean Europe from MIS 5 to 3
This paper focuses on an overview of the sites featuring lithic industries ascribed to Middle Palaeolithic based upon a raw materials, technological organization and toolkit management. This is a synthetic analysis of the Western Mediterranean area where sites featuring broad stratigraphic sequences are abundant and enable an adequate assessment of the available record. Presenting all the data organized according to geographical regions contributed to the homogeneity of the results and allowed us to contextualize a regional synthesis, from a broad territorial and chronological point of view. This perspective was compared to other distant European spheres which in turn enabled establishing a…
ESR/U-series chronology of early Neanderthal occupations at Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain)
Abstract The spatiotemporal repartition of Neanderthal populations throughout the late Middle and early Upper Pleistocene is of great interest for our understanding of human evolution. Establishing a reliable chronology for human-bearing layers from prehistoric sites is thus essential for the study of Neanderthal population dynamics prior to modern human arrival in Europe. Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain) is one of the richest sites documenting Neanderthal fossil bones in the Iberian Peninsula (Arsuaga et al., 1989, 2007; Villaverde et al., 2014). The stratigraphic sequence includes 15 Middle Palaeolithic layers. Among them, four were dated by the ESR/U-series dating method on enamel from six h…
Middle Palaeolithic flint procurement in Central Mediterranean Iberia: IMplications for human mobility.
Different flint types from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia) are characterized, both macro- and microscopically, and compared with types found at other localities in the region. Although procurement predominantly concerned the immediate vicinity of sites, our results show the presence of the same types in assemblages separated by distances of up to 120 km. The long distances involved are suggestive of a pattern of North-South mobility of human groups along the coastline of central Mediterranean Iberia.
Caracterización tecnológica y uso del espacio en los yacimientos del Paleolítico medio de la región central del Mediterráneo Ibérico
Durante el Paleolítico medio los comportamientos humanos se han visto afectados por una serie de factores que han producido un mosaico de respuestas marcadas por la diversidad cultural de las poblaciones neandertales. Para abordar este análisis en la región central del mediterráneo ibérico se han estudiado dos yacimientos que cuentan con un registro adscrito a este periodo: el Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia) y Cova Negra (Xàtiva, Valencia). Desde un punto de vista de los comportamientos técnicos y la organización en el interior de los yacimientos, se pretende aportar nuevos datos en torno a la discusión de la variabilidad de los conjuntos líticos. Para ello el estudio se ha efectua…
Climate, environment and human behaviour in the Middle Palaeolithic of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): The evidence from charred plant and micromammal remains
Abstract The Abrigo de la Quebrada rock shelter was occupied by Neanderthal groups during the early Upper Pleistocene, yielding evidence for their subsistence practices and local resource exploitation. This paper focuses on the plant macroremains and the micromammals, which provide information about occupation patterns, the surrounding landscape, the use of resources, and the environment. Mountain pine forests and permanent grass formations containing humid zones and open spaces that would have harboured an eurythermal microfauna were the dominant landscape type. Cold-climate pines provided most of the firewood. The data are consistent with a recurrent, seasonal occupation pattern, in which…
Micro-lithic production at Abric Romaní levels L and Ob: Exploring economic and evolutionary implications for Neanderthal societies
Abstract The phenomenon of microlithism continues to be one of the most interesting topics in the prehistoric archaeology of the Middle Palaeolithic period because it is key to understanding the technology and cultural and economic organisation of Neanderthal societies. The aim of this research is to characterise small-flake industries based on two archaeological levels from the Abric Romani which present different occupation patterns. Level L is characterised by a shorter and more opportunistic occupational pattern, while the occupations found at archaeolevel Ob were longer and more complex, indicating a greater degree of planning involved in subsistence activities. The analysis was conduc…
Neanderthal subsistence and short-term human occupation patterns during MIS 5. New data from Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain)
Abstract Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia) is a Middle Palaeolithic site with Neanderthal occupations, composed by nine archaeological levels that extend from MIS 3–5 in the upper levels (II-V), up to MIS 5 in the lower levels (VI-IX), with dates for level VI of 80.0 ± 4.7 ky and 83.2 ± 5.4 ka. Level IV show short and repeated human occupations, with a high density of materials related to hunting activities focus on several ungulates as ibex, equids and cervids. However, the lower levels (VII, VIII and IX) respond to different sedimentation rates and occupations. Archaeozoological and taphonomic studies show mixed occupations. Raptors or small carnivores seem to be responsible of the…