Search results for "Middle Paleolithic"

Precise dating of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Murcia (Spain) supports late Neandertal persistence in Iberia

2017

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…

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…

Bird consumption in the final stage of Cova Negra (Xátiva, Valencia)

2016

This paper publishes the results of the study of bird remains from Cova Negra level IIIb, a level with Middle Palaeolithic industry that corresponds to the upper part of the sequence, where 247 bird remains from 18 species have been found. Doves and corvidae, particularly choughs (Pyrrhocorax sp.), are the species most frequently found. A substantial part of the remains analyzed displays human manipulation and consumption evidence, a clear indication of bird hunting and consumption by Neardental populations. The manipulation process and consumption of birds, in the context of Neanderthals' predatory activity during the final period of occupation of the site, is described in this paper. Furt…

Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago.

2018

U-Th dating of archaeological deposits of Cueva de los Aviones provides evidence for Neandertal symbolism 115,000 years ago.

Patch-based survey methods for studying prehistoric human land-use in agriculturally modified landscapes: A case study from the Canal de Navarrés, ea…

2018

Abstract In landscapes whose surface has been modified by terracing and other agricultural land-use, the spatial and temporal patterning of prehistoric settlement can be difficult to detect using traditional, site-orientated archaeological survey methods, especially for small-scale societies. In these contexts, methods that can reveal occupational patterns at landscape scales, without the need to pinpoint specific sites of human occupation, can be especially useful. We employ a stratified, randomly selected patch-based survey strategy to examine socio-ecological dynamics from the Middle Paleolithic through Bell Beaker (Chalcolithic) periods within the Canal de Navarres, eastern Spain. We di…

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…

2017

This paper focuses on the technological characteristics of Keilmesser with a lateral tranchet blow modification on the cutting edge. It examines the underlying technological production of these bifacial objects: this implies the evaluation of their working stage succession, as well as produced forms necessary for the execution of tranchet blow performance. Furthermore, it offers a techno-morphological description of these enigmatic tools. The Keilmesser with tranchet blow and corresponding blanks of tranchet blows from Grotte de la Verpilliere I in Germolles (Saone-et-Loire, France) are used as case study. The collection of Keilmesser with tranchet blow and corresponding blanks of tranchet …

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…

An approach to lithic raw material procurement at the middle Palaeolithic site Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia)

2011

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…

Neanderthal firewood management: Evidence from Stratigraphic Unit IV of Abric del Pastor (Eastern Iberia)

2015

This paper presents anthracological data from Abric del Pastor (Alcoi, Spain), a Middle Paleolithic rock shelter site. Analysis of 1077 wood charcoal remains from Stratigraphic Unit IV (S.U. IV), collected within archaeological combustion structures and from loose sediment outside of structures, allowed us to characterise the local landscape, as well as to approach the interaction between Neanderthal groups and their local environment. Taxonomic identification suggests that firewood was gathered from nearby sources, with predominance of juniper (Juniperus sp.) followed by thermophilous shrubby taxa. Additional analysis focussing on post-depositional processes affecting charcoal have shown f…