Search results for " Palaeolithic"

Palaeoecological implications of Neanderthal occupation at Unit Xb of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Spain) during MIS 3 using small mammals proxy

2018

Nearly 250 small mammal remains from Unit Xb of El Salt Middle Palaeolithic site have been studied in order to reconstruct the palaeoecological conditions during a phase of Neanderthal occupation in this locality at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka. A total of 7rodents (Microtus arvalis, M. agrestis, M. (Terricola) duodecimcostatus, Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae, Arvicola sapidus, Eliomys quercinus and Apodemus sylvaticus), 4 insectivores (Erinaceus cf. europaeus, Crocidura sp., Sorex sp. and Talpidae indet.) and 1 lagomorph (Oryctolagus cf. cuniculus) have been identified. Applying the Mutual Ecogeographic Range and Habitat Weighting methods, Unit Xb may correspond to a relatively cold (−3.3 °C in comparison …

L’ évolution des assemblages lithiques des niveaux du Paléolithique moyen de l’Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Espagne)

2018

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…

Dead wood gathering among Neanderthal groups: Charcoal evidence from Abric del Pastor and El Salt (Eastern Iberia)

2017

International audience; We present here a new approach combining the microscopic characterization of fungal decay features and the fragmentation degree of the charcoal remains from Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures: features H4 and H11 from Abric del Pastor, unit IV (>75 ka BP) and features H50 and H57 from El Salt, unit Xb (ca. 52 ka BP), Eastern Iberia. The observation of wood degradation patterns that occurred prior to charring followed by their quantitative analysis according to previous experimental studies revealed differences between the alteration degrees of the firewood used in the hearths, highlighting the existence of firewood acquisition criteria based on dead wood gathe…

A tale of two gorges: Late Quaternary site formation and surface dynamics in the Mula basin (Murcia, Spain)

2018

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…

Not only flint: Levallois on quartzite and limestone at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): Implications for neandertal Behavior

2016

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…

Uneven Data Quality and the Earliest Occupation of Europe—the Case of Untermassfeld (Germany)

2017

AbstractThe database regarding the earliest occupation of Europe has increased significantly in quantity and quality of data points over the last two decades, mainly through the addition of new sites as a result of long-term systematic excavations and large-scale prospections of Early and early Middle Pleistocene exposures. The site distribution pattern suggests an ephemeral presence of hominins in the south of Europe from around one million years ago, with occasional short northward expansions along the western coastal areas when temperate conditions permitted. From around 600,000-700,000 years ago Acheulean artefacts appear in Europe and somewhat later hominin presence seems to pick up, w…

Latvijas Vēstures Institūta Žurnāls. 2012, Nr. 3 (84)

2012

Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the stratigraphic unit Xb of El Salt (Middle Palaeolithic; Alcoy, Spain): palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimati…

2020

The locality of El Salt (Middle Paleolithic, Alcoy, Spain) is mainly known by having one of the youngest Neanderthals records of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. In this work, we have analysed the herpetofaunal fossils from the upper part of stratigraphic unit Xb, dated at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka (MIS 3). The faunal list is composed by three taxa of anurans (Alyte obstetricans, Bufo bufo s.l., and Epidalea calamita), one taxon of blanid (Blanus cinereus s.l.), two taxa of lizards (Chalcides bedriagai and cf. Acanthodactylus erythrurus), and one taxon of snakes (cf. Rhinechis scalaris). All of them have a broad distribution range in the Mediterranean, with wide ecological preferences range. This as…

Last Glacial Human Settlement in Eastern Cantabria (Northern Spain)

2002

While the excavation of individual sites remains fundamental to the creation of the Palaeolithic archeological record, increasingly the focus of prehistoric research is on human adaptations to and within natural regions. Such a reorientation implies viewing sites and occupations as samples of different suites of activities in various habitats across space and time; it is dependent on the use of radiocarbon to date and relate occupation residues among sites; and it necessitates the application of methods to uncover patterns of human mobility as an integral aspect of subsistence economy, demographic arrangements and social relations. This paper contributes to the regional study of Last Glacia…

Abric de la Ratlla del Bubo (Crevillent, Alicante). Results of the 1986-1991 campaigns. New data on its palaeolithic sequence

2022

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…