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 plant cells in black pigments of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art by means of a multi-analytical approach. A new method for social identity materialization using chaîne opératoire
We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish Levantine rock art. This new protocol seeks to identify the raw materials that were used, as well as reconstruct the different technical gestures and decision-making processes involved in the obtaining of these black pigments. For the first of these goals, the pictorial mat- ter of the black figurative motifs documented at the Les Dogues rock art shelter (Ares del Maestre, Castello ́ n, Spain) was characterized through the combination of physicochemical and archeobotanical analyses. During the first stage of our research protocol, in situ and non- destructive analyses were carried out by means of…
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…
Color degradation mapping of rock art paintings using microfading spectrometry
[EN] Rock art documentation is a complex task that should be carried out in a complete, rigorous and exhaustive way, in order to take particular actions that allow stakeholders to preserve the archaeological sites under constant deterioration. The pigments used in prehistoric paintings present high light sensitivity and rigorous scientific color degradation mapping is not usually undertaken in overall archaeological sites. Microfading spectrometry is a suitable technique for determining the light-stability of pigments found in rock art paintings in a non-destructive way. Spectral data can be transformed into colorimetric information following the recommendations published by the Commission …
The Magdalenian harpoons from the Iberian Mediterranean, based on pieces from Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Valencian region)
Abstract Harpoons are one of the most characteristic implements of the Upper Magdalenian. However, morphologic differences in barbs and bases mark different regional traditions. This paper gives an account of the main features of harpoons in the Iberian Mediterranean, based on findings from Cova de les Cendres, and compares them with those found in other areas in Western Europe. The specificities of Mediterranean harpoons (a single range of barbs, variable length and number of barbs, and lack of hafting devices on the base) are considered in discussion of their potential functions and possible hafting systems.
Microstratigraphy of the Magdalenian sequence at Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain): Formation and diagenesis
Abstract This microstratigraphic study of the Magdalenian sequence in the Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain) shows the detailed evolutionary history of the deposit, revealing a wide variety of pedosedimentary (formation and diagenesis), biogenic and anthropic processes. The sequence begins with Cendres XII, culturally attributed to the Early and Middle Magdalenian, with high probability (95%) dating placing it between 19,270 and 16,530 cal BP with some chronological hiatus. It was formed from biogenic sedimentation associated with bat guano mainly of an insectivorous type, and from anthropic sedimentation related to occupation floors made up of highly complex plant beds with tr…
Refitting lithic laminar fragments to assess Palaeolithic sequences: The case of Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain)
Abstract The integrity of the different levels that form a sequence and the formation processes of the archaeological deposit must be assessed as a previous step to the construction of behavioural, cultural and evolutionary interpretations. This is especially relevant when dealing with long sequences and cultural evolution constructed on them, as is the case in the research on Upper Palaeolithic. Lithic taphonomy provides insight into these issues and refitting is one of its powerful tools. This approach has been applied to the Aurignacian, Gravettian and Solutrean levels of Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain), where fracture refits of laminar fragments –including blades,…
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…
Application of field portable EDXRF spectrometry to analysis of pigments of Levantine rock art
The results of the analyses of elemental composition of red and black pigments of Levantine rock art from La Saltadora rock shelters (Valltorta gorge, Castellon, Spain) are presented in this paper. Nondestructive analyses were carried out using a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer developed for in situ analysis. The results revealed the strong presence of calcium in all the analyzed locations due to the contribution of the underlying calcareous bedrock and the overlying crust. Iron is the main element detected in red pigments and manganese in black pigments. Iron and calcium ratios have been found indicative of the degree of preservation of the pictorial laye…
Pleistocene leopards in the Iberian Peninsula: New evidence from palaeontological and archaeological contexts in the Mediterranean region
This study analyses the fossil record of leopards in the Iberian Peninsula. According to the systematic and morphometric features of new remains, identified mainly in Late Pleistocene palaeontological and archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region, they can be attributed to Panthera pardus Linnaeus 1758. The findings include the most complete leopard skeleton from the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most complete in Europe, found in a chasm (Avenc de Joan Guit on) south of Valencia. The new citations and published data are used to establish the leopard's distribution in the Iberian Peninsula, showing its maximum development during the Late Pleistocene. Some references suggest that th…
Latest developments in rock art recording: towards an integral documentation of Levantine rock art sites combining 2D and 3D recording techniques
This paper presents a further step in the integral documentation of prehistoric rock art, combining 2D and 3D digital recording techniques. Image processing and digital enhancement techniques are an invaluable aid to obtain high quality and accurate 2D recordings, especially when working with faint motifs or complex superimpositions. But what constitutes a real breakthrough is the possibility of combining 2D digital tracings with metric 3D models, providing a whole set of metric outputs that improve our understanding of the motifs in their context and, at the same time, can be used to deliver accurate metric reproductions. The Levantine rock art at Cingle de la Mola Remigia (Ares del Maestr…
Cueva Antón: A multi-proxy MIS 3 to MIS 5a paleoenvironmental record for SE Iberia
Overlying a palustrine deposit of unknown age (complex FP), and protected from weathering and erosion inside a large cave/rock-shelter cavity, the sedimentary fill of Cueva Antón, a Middle Paleolithic site in SE Spain, corresponds in most part (sub-complexes AS2-to-AS5) to a ca.3 m-thick Upper Pleistocene terrace of the River Mula. Coupled with the constraints derived from the deposit’s paleoclimatic proxies, OSL dating places the accumulation of this terrace in MIS 5a, and radiocarbon dates from the overlying breccia cum alluvium (sub-complex AS1) fall in the middle part of MIS 3; the intervening hiatus relates to valley incision and attendant erosion. The two intervals represented remain …
New data for the characterization of Mediterranean Upper Magdalenian: the Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Valencian Country)
La placa grabada de Balma Guilanyà (Prepirineo de Lleida) y las manifestaciones artísticas del Mesolítico de la Península Ibérica
A carved rock with geometric and/or abstract signs discovered at the Balma Guilanyà site has made possible the analysis of the artistic patterns developed after the end of the Upper Palaeolithic in the Iberian Mediterranean region. Archaeo-stratigraphic, chronometric and chrono-cultural attributes link this finding to the Mesolithic, probably during the tenth millennium cal BP. Graphic analysis and the comparison with different kinds of representations from this same area allows the evaluation of the problematic that surrounds the characterization of West Mediterranean Mesolithic art.
Preliminary analysis of Palaeolithic black pigments in plaquettes from the Parpalló cave (Gandía, Spain) carried out by means of non-destructive techniques
Abstract Parpallo cave (Gandia, Spain) is one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in the Spanish Mediterranean region. It is characterized by a mobiliary art whose archaeological sequence covers a dilated period (26,000–11,000 BP) and includes plaquettes decorated with black and different shades of red and yellow pigments. The aim of this paper is to present the results of analyses of the nature of black pigments used in the decoration of Parpallo plaquettes. The analyses were carried out by a non-destructive technique, by means of EDXRF. Furthermore, a colorimetric data bank has been created for conservation purposes. EDXRF measurements directly identify the use of manganese black pig…
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…
Multi‑light photogrammetric survey applied to the complex documentation of engravings in Palaeolithic rock art: the Cova de les Meravelles (Gandia, Valencia, Spain)
AbstractThe new phase of study and revision of the Palaeolithic art of the Cova de les Meravelles, as well as the advances made in the field of 3D documentation in recent years, have motivated a new documentation campaign on the main panel full of tiny engraved motifs. The difficulties involved in acquiring and processing data executed using fine and thin engraving techniques indoors, have been solved through a multi-light photogrammetric survey, photographing the main panel surface with five lighting directions, and applying principal component analysis (PCA). This procedure has allowed us to obtain a large corpus of two and three-dimensional data and to improve the documentation base prod…
Neanderthal diets in central and southeastern Mediterranean Iberia
During recent decades, Neanderthal diet has been a major research topic in palaeoanthropology. This has been accelerated by the maturation of different techniques, which have produced a plethora of new information. However, this proliferation of data has led to confusing and contradictory results. Furthermore, most of the ecological dietary studies have been carried out on specimens drawn from different time periods and regions, almost exclusively those characterized by cold, open environmental conditions. Subsistence models based on these fragmentary data have been applied to Neanderthals living in a variety of different regions and environments, even though their dietary strategies may ha…
Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago.
U-Th dating of archaeological deposits of Cueva de los Aviones provides evidence for Neandertal symbolism 115,000 years ago.
In glacial environments beyond glacial terrains: Human eco-dynamics in late Pleistocene Mediterranean Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula south of the Ebro River enjoyed one of the mildest climates of Pleistocene Europe, but still experienced significant and rapid environmental shifts caused by global climate regimes. We examine the interplay between technological, social, and land-use dynamics as culturally mediated responses to climate change outside the periglacial zone. We combine information from excavated sites across eastern and southeastern Spain with systematic survey data from an intensive study area within this larger region to examine Upper Paleolithic behavioral adaptations to the environmental shifts of the late Pleistocene (late MIS-3 through MIS-2). We define indexes that serve as proxies…
Could the central‐eastern Iberian Mediterranean region be defined as a refugium? Fauna and flora in MIS 5–3 and their implications for Palaeolithic human behaviour
Formation processes at a high resolution Middle Paleolithic site: Cueva Antón (Murcia, Spain)
Cueva Anton is a Middle Paleolithic rockshelter located in the valley of the River Mula (Murcia, Spain). The archeological investigation of the site, which began with salvage work in 1991, resumed in 2006 and is still ongoing, uncovered a succession spanning most of MIS 3 and MIS 4 (ca. 75–36 ka) and featuring a well preserved human occupation record. This paper presents the first information about site stratigraphy and site formation processes. Geoarcheological data collected in the field and through micromorphological observation show that the archeological succession at Cueva Anton is mainly composed of alluvial sediments, with thin intercalations of gravitational and slope material. The…
THE PLEISTOCENE–HOLOCENE TRANSITION IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN HUMAN ADAPTATIONS
Abstract Data obtained from recent excavations (as well as from selected older excavations) are used to outline the principal environmental, technological and economic aspects of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in three distinct regions of the Iberian Peninsula: Portugal, Cantabrian and Mediterranean Spain. The period covered extends from the terminal Paleolithic Magdalenian period to the initial Neolithic. Despite proximity to SW France and many similarities with that classic prehistoric culture area in terms of artistic/symbolic expression and technology, the Iberian regions show significant differences, especially in terms of subsistence strategies and their development during the Ta…
Luminescence Dating of Fluvial Deposits in the Rock Shelter of Cueva Antón, Spain
Abstract The fluvial sediments at Cueva Antón, a Middle Palaeolithic rock shelter located in the valley of the River Mula (Southeast Spain), produced abundant lithic assemblages of Mousterian affinities. Radiocarbon dates are available for the upper part of the archaeological succession, while for the middle to lower parts chronometric data have been missing. Here we present luminescence dating results for these parts of the succession. Quartz OSL on small aliquots and single grain measurements yield ages ranging from 69 ± 7 ka to 82 ± 8 ka with a weighted mean of 72 ± 4 ka for sub-complexes AS2 to AS5. Equivalent dose estimates from large aliquots were highest and inconsistent with those f…
Precise dating of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Murcia (Spain) supports late Neandertal persistence in Iberia
Abstract The late persistence in Southern Iberia of a Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic is supported by the archeological stratigraphy and the radiocarbon and luminescence dating of three newly excavated localities in the Mula basin of Murcia (Spain). At Cueva Anton, Mousterian layer I-k can be no more than 37,100 years-old. At La Boja, the basal Aurignacian can be no less than 36,500 years-old. The regional Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition process is thereby bounded to the first half of the 37th millennium Before Present, in agreement with evidence from Andalusia, Gibraltar and Portugal. This chronology represents a lag of minimally 3000 years with the rest of Europe, where th…
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…
The Gravettian occipital bone from the site of Malladetes (Barx, Valencia, Spain)
Abstract The juvenile occipital bone from the site of Malladetes in Valencia (Spain) is described and compared with other European Pleistocene representatives of the genus Homo . This specimen derives from a Gravettian cultural context and has been AMS radiocarbon-dated to 25,120±240 years bp . As such, it provides evidence on early modern human anatomy from the Central Mediterranean region of the Iberian peninsula. The clear evidence for a late survival of Neandertals in southern Iberia, has led to considerable debate surrounding the biological and cultural interactions between these Pleistocene humans and their early modern human successors, and it is within this context that the Malladet…
Obsidian in the Upper Palaeolithic of Iberia
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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…
Hunted or Scavenged Neanderthals? Taphonomic Approach to Hominin Fossils with Carnivore Damage
Carnivore damage on Neanderthal fossils is a much more common taphonomic modification than previously thought. Its presence could have different explanations, including predatory attacks or scavenging scenarios, which are both situations with important implications concerning Neanderthal behaviour. In the present paper, we analyse several Neanderthal hominin fossils from a taphonomic and forensic perspective in order to infer the nature of the modifications observed on the bone surfaces. Fossils displaying carnivore modifications from Spain, Germany, Belgium and Greece are evaluated from a taphonomic perspective for the first time in a significant sample of hominin specimens. Our results sh…
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 …
L’art pariétal de la grotte Les Meravelles. Vers une caractérisation de l’art paléolithique pré-magdalénien du versant méditerranéen de la Péninsule Ibérique
Resume Les decouvertes recentes d’art parietal dans les grottes du Parpallo et de Les Meravelles confirment la presence d’un art parietal pre-magdalenien dans la zone centrale de la facade mediterraneenne de la Peninsule Iberique. La comparaison stylistique de ces ensembles parietaux avec les plaquettes du Parpallo permet de fixer leur chronologie. Celle-ci est confirmee par la position de la gravure parietale du Parpallo au sein du remplissage stratigraphique et par les datations par thermoluminescence des concretions stalagmitiques qui recouvrent les figures de Les Meravelles. L’analyse des procedes graphiques mis en œuvre, ainsi que la comparaison avec l’art des regions voisines (Andalou…
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.
Large carnivore attacks on hominins during the Pleistocene: a forensic approach with a Neanderthal example
DOI: 10.1007/s12520-015-0248-1 URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12520-015-0248-1 Filiació URV: SI Interaction between hominins and carnivores has been common and constant through human evolution and generated mutual pressures similar to those present in worldwide modern human-carnivore conflicts. This current interaction is sometimes violent and can be reflected in permanent skeletal pathologies and other bone modifications. In the present paper, we carry out a survey of 124 forensic cases of dangerous human-carnivore encounters. The objective is to infer direct hominin-carnivore confrontation during the Pleistocene, which is important to understand behavioral changes during…
LA OCUPACIÓN SOLUTRENSE DEL ABRIGO DE LA BOJA (MULA, MURCIA, ESPAÑA)
El relleno pleistoceno del Abrigo de la Boja (ADB) empieza con un nivel adscrito al Magdaleniense superior, seguido de un potente paquete con ocupación difusa bajo el cual se desarrolla una secuencia depositada durante el último máximo glacial caracterizada por una serie de estructuras de combustión, de tipo hogar plano/amorfo (open hearth), existiendo también hogares de cubeta. Destaca un hogar enlosado, completo y muy bien conservado, excavado en 2012 y adscrito provisionalmente al Solutreogravetiense. Los niveles solutrenses subyacentes son ricos en elementos de adorno, entre los cuales conchas perforadas de Littorina obtusata y Smaragdia viridis; su industria lítica incluye raspadores, …
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…
Documenting the light sensitivity of Spanish Levantine rock art paintings
[EN] A case study to evaluate the use of microfading spectrometry (MFS) for the study of colored systems found in prehistoric rock art paintings was conducted in the Cova Remígia rock-shelter, Castellón (Spain). This rock shelter is part of the rock art sites of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian Peninsula included in UNESCO s World Heritage List. Some of the paintings belonging to this group are exposed to environmental factors including natural daylight, wind and rain, depending on the time of the day and the season of the year. Therefore, their preservation is a major concern to stakeholders and researchers responsible for protecting and studying these prehistoric paintings. The expe…
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…
New advances on the Aurignacian in the central Iberian Mediterranean basin
Abstract This study aims to obtain a chronological and cultural framework of the Evolved Aurignacian in the central Iberian Mediterranean basin and find agreement between this framework and other sequences of the Iberian southeast. Over the last few years, there has been remarkable progress in the research of the Evolved Aurignacian sites in the Valencian area, making a review of the main characteristics of the technocomplex on a regional scale necessary. The recent fieldwork carried out in Cova de les Malladetes (Valencia) and in Cova de les Cendres (Alicante) have been key to understanding the lithic, osseous and ornament assemblages ascribed to the Evolved Aurignacian. Several Bayesian m…
Upper Paleolithic Bone and Antler Projectiles in the Spanish Mediterranean Region: The Magdalenian Period
We have focused our study on the projectile points of Cova de Parpallo. The Magdalenian sequence in this archaeological site is one of the most complete in the Upper Paleolithic from the southwest of Europe. We have analyzed 334 pieces from an assemblage that includes well over 2000 finished objects, and consider these weapons as a representative sample from two well differentiated Magdalenian phases. The first period studied dates to the Badegoulian (layer 2.40–2.20 m), while the second is Upper Magdalenian (layer 0.80–1.00 m). The main aspects of this analysis are typological evaluation (hafting kinds or bases, sections, morphometry) and fracture patterns (position and kinds of fractures,…
A tale of two gorges: Late Quaternary site formation and surface dynamics in the Mula basin (Murcia, Spain)
Abstract We present a case-study in Palaeolithic archaeology focusing on formation processes at cave- and rock-shelter-sites in a Mediterranean context and on the correlation between site deposits, Quaternary surface sediments and the morphology of the surrounding land. We study three sites located in the basin of River Mula (Murcia, Spain): the cave-site of Cueva Anton and the rock-shelters of Finca Dona Martina and Abrigo de la Boja, in the Rambla Perea valley. They are examined through an integrated geoarchaeological approach that takes into account geomorphological, stratigraphic and soil micromorphological data. The three sites are found within a short distance and cover similar time s…
Design and implementation of an augmented reality application for rock art visualization in Cova dels Cavalls (Spain)
[EN] Prehistoric rock art paintings, specifically rock-shelters exposed to environmental and anthropogenic factors, are usually faint and severely damaged, being them difficult to identify and understand by visitors. Augmented Reality (AR) supplements reality with virtual information superimposed onto the real world. This sensor-based technology in smartphones/tablets can improve the paintings experience displaying the 2D digital tracings overlapped onto the real scene (rock with faint paintings). This paper presents an AR application (app) developed in Cova dels Cavalls that shows a recreation of a possible original composition full of motifs with descriptive information to improve current…
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.
New Neandertal remains from Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain).
New Neandertal fossils from the Mousterian site of Cova Negra in the Valencia region of Spain are described, and a comprehensive study of the entire human fossil sample is provided. The new specimens significantly augment the sample of human remains from this site and make Cova Negra one of the richest human paleontological sites on the Iberian Peninsula. The new specimens include cranial and postcranial elements from immature individuals and provide an opportunity to study the ontogenetic appearance of adult Neandertal characteristics in this Pleistocene population. Children younger than 10 years of age constitute four of the seven minimum number of individuals in the sample, and this rela…
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…
Terrestrial laser scanning and close range photogrammetry for 3D archaeological documentation: the Upper Palaeolithic Cave of Parpalló as a case study
Graphic and metric archaeological documentation is an activity that requires the capture of information from different sources, accurate processing and comprehensive analysis. If monitoring of the state of conservation is required, this task has to be performed before intervention, during and after the completion of the works in a repetitive way. This paper presents the use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) in order to effectively produce, prior to intervention, accurate and high-resolution 3D models of a cave with engravings dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic era. The processing of the TLS data is discussed in detail in order to create digital surface models. The complexity of the cav…
Corema album archaeobotanical remains in western Mediterranean basin. Assessing fruit consumption during Upper Palaeolithic in Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)
[EN] Information about plant gathering by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers in Europe is scarce because of the problems of preservation of plant remains in archaeological sites and due to the lack of application of archaebotanical analysis in many of them. Botanical macroremains wood charcoal, seeds, fruits, leaves, etc. - provide information not only about palaeoeconomy of hunter-gatherers, but also about climate, landscape and vegetation dynamics. In Gravettian and Solutrean levels of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain), Corema album pyrenes (Empetraceae or crowberries family) have been identified. On the contrary, wood charcoal of this species has not been documented among the remains of f…
An approximation to the study of black pigments in Cova Remigia (Castell on, Spain). Technical and cultural assessments of the use of carbon-based black pigments in Spanish Levantine Rock Art
International audience; Spanish Levantine Rock Art is a unique pictorial expression within the prehistoric European context. Located in shelters in the inland regions of the Iberian Mediterranean basin, this art form, which must be necessarily studied in the frame of the process of neolithization of this territory, still lacks direct dating, and therefore its authorship is still open to debate. In this paper we present the first characterization of black pigments used in the Cova Remigia shelters in the Valltorta-Gassulla area (Castell on, Spain) by means of EDXRF spectrometry combined with SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy. Our aim is both to identify the raw material used for the preparation…
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…