Search results for "Cave"

From sepulchre to butchery-cooking: Facies analysis, taphonomy and stratigraphy of the Upper Palaeolithic post burial layer from the San Teodoro Cave…

2020

Abstract The San Teodoro Cave is considered the most significant witness of the first, Epigravettian, human colonization of Sicily from the Italian continent. Furthermore the site is a paradigmatic horizon in the Pleistocene faunal record, demonstrating a progressive transition from mega faunas to smaller-sized, Boreal, faunas. The site has been repeatedly studied and excavated, with different aims and approaches, leading to an interpretation of Epigravettian burial site and daily attendance. Here we propose a reappraisal of the study of the stratigraphy of the site, and in particular of the bone-rich layer (PAL) accumulated over the red ochre layer that apparently sealed all the different …

Preservation and decay of plant remains in two Palaeolithic sites: Abrigo de la Quebrada and Cova de les Cendres (Eastern Spain). What information ca…

2020

Abstract Plant remains are quickly affected by post-depositional processes once they are deposited in archaeological sites. In normal conditions, decomposing organisms cause their decay and final disappearance unless a preservation agent, as carbonisation or mineralisation, inhibit their activity. Moreover, physical and chemical processes could also lead to the partial or total destruction of the archaeobotanical assemblage. Thus, an analysis of their characteristics is useful for an assessing of the taphonomic processes. Archaeobotanical assemblages from two Palaeolithic sites, Abrigo de la Quebrada and Cova de les Cendres, have been analysed in terms of taxonomic composition of the assemb…

Terrestrial laser scanning and close range photogrammetry for 3D archaeological documentation: the Upper Palaeolithic Cave of Parpalló as a case study

2010

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…

Preliminary analysis of Palaeolithic black pigments in plaquettes from the Parpalló cave (Gandía, Spain) carried out by means of non-destructive tech…

2013

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…

Practical Movements: Kinetic rituals in the Ancient Western Mediterranean

2011

Scholars have studied the long-distance movements of people and goods in Phoenician and Punic society between the eighth and the second centuries BC in considerable depth. However, little attention has been paid to travelling, walking and sailing as common activities in their daily lives. it was through living in and moving through landscapes and seascapes that people constructed their sense of place. Sacred places may have been nodal points in these settings and everyday movements may well have become ritualized. This article develops the idea that journeys to shrines might be considered as pilgrimages and stresses the kinetic aspect of these practices. I suggest that trips to shrines were…

Antiguas excavaciones, nuevas respuestas. El yacimiento epimagdaleniense de la Cova del Clot de l'Hospital (Roquetes, Baix Ebre)

2015

El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido estudiar los materiales obtenidos con las excavaciones de Francesc Esteve Gálvez en la Cova del Clot de l’Hospital (Bajo Ebro), yacimiento de finales del Pleistoceno-inicios del Holoceno, descubierto por él mismo el año 1945. La representación de raspadores, truncaduras, buriles y laminitas de dorso, entre otros tipos, permite atribuirlo al Epimagdaleniense, atribución corroborada por dos fechas radiocarbónicas sobre huesos de fauna: 11.115 y 10.045 BP. De esta forma, este yacimiento se suma a un numeroso conjunto de yacimientos del período citado, conocidos en las provincias de Tarragona y de Castellón de la Plana. Así mismo, el estudio de los restos fau…

Morphological and molecular characterization of three new parastenocarididae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from caves in Southern Italy

2020

We describe three new parastenocaridid: Cottarellicaris sanctiangeli Bruno & Cottarelli sp. nov., Stammericaris vincentimariae Bruno & Cottarelli sp. nov. and Proserpinicars specincola Bruno & Cottarelli sp. nov., collected in the pools of five different caves located in Calabria (Southern Italy). We conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial COI and ribosomal 18S sequences of C. sanctiangeli sp. nov. and S. vincentimariae sp. nov., and of four more species of Stammericaris and one Proserpinicaris available from literature. Based on the molecular study, the specimens of C. sanctiangeli sp. nov. are clearly separated from the species belonging to the closely-rel…

Morphological Differences in Neuromasts of the Blind Cave Fish <i>Astyanax hubbsi </i>and the Sighted River Fish <i>Astyanax mexica…

1990

Vital staining and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the morphology of superficial neuromasts in the blind cave fish, Astyanax hubbsi, and its sighted congener, <i&

2017

Abstract. Concurrent in situ analyses of interstitial aerosol and cloud droplet residues have been conducted at the Schmücke mountain site during the Hill Cap Cloud Thuringia campaign in central Germany in September and October 2010. Cloud droplets were sampled from warm clouds (temperatures between −3 and +16 °C) by a counterflow virtual impactor and the submicron-sized residues were analyzed by a compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (C-ToF-AMS), while the interstitial aerosol composition was measured by an high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). During cloud-free periods, the submicron out-of-cloud aerosol was analyzed using both instruments, all…

Observations of atmospheric chemical deposition to high Arctic snow

2017

Abstract. Rapidly rising temperatures and loss of snow and ice cover have demonstrated the unique vulnerability of the high Arctic to climate change. There are major uncertainties in modelling the chemical depositional and scavenging processes of Arctic snow. To that end, fresh snow samples collected on average every 4 days at Alert, Nunavut, from September 2014 to June 2015 were analyzed for black carbon, major ions, and metals, and their concentrations and fluxes were reported. Comparison with simultaneous measurements of atmospheric aerosol mass loadings yields effective deposition velocities that encompass all processes by which the atmospheric species are transferred to the snow. It is…