Search results for "Paleolithic"
showing 10 items of 54 documents
Late glacial-postglacial North African landscape and forestmanagement : Palynological and anthracological studies in the caves of Kaf Taht el-Ghar an…
2021
This work presents the anthracological and archeopalynological results obtained within the project AGRIWESTMED (ERC AdG 230561), which has involved a comprehensive retrieval of archeobiological remains based on a systematic sampling strategy, beyond the recovery of the usual archeological materials. These surveys were conducted on three sites located in the North of Morocco: the cave of Kaf Taht-el-Ghar, 8 km southeast from Tetuan, and two caves within the El Khil complex, close to Tanger. Both plant micro- and macro-remains (charred wood) were studied through palynological and anthracological analyses, respectively.
Spectroscopic analysis used to uncover the original paint colour of the Helsinki Government Palace tower clock faces
2016
The paint stratigraphy of the two clock faces from the tower clock of the Government Palace in Helsinki (Finland) was analysed in order to determine their original colour before restoration works. Paint cross-section samples from both clock faces were analysed by confocal Raman microscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS). The results revealed the complex superimposition of paint layers applied over the original black colour. FTIR/ATR analyses proved that the original paint was prepared with linseed oil-resin media. Most likely not all of the different layer colours were visible. Some of the layers were likely to have been a primer…
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…
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…
The Gravettian occipital bone from the site of Malladetes (Barx, Valencia, Spain)
2002
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…
Late Pleistocene (MIS 3-4) climate inferred from micromammal communities and δ18O of rodents from Les Pradelles, France.
2013
The middle Paleolithic stratigraphic sequence of Les Pradelles (Charente, France) spans from the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 until the middle of MIS 3. Micromammal remains are present in all the stratigraphic levels, offering a rare opportunity to address the questions of both environmental and climatic fluctuations throughout this period. Climate modes were studied through the taphonomy, biodiversity and oxygen isotope compositions of phosphate (δ18O p ) from 66 samples of rodent tooth enamel. The δ18O p values from the lower sedimentary levels provide summer mean air temperatures of 19 ± 2°C (level 2/1) and of 16 ± 2°C (levels 2A, 2B and 4A). Within the middle of sequence (level 4…
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…
Ramification of lithic production and the search of small tools in Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic
2015
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 …
Diachronic variation in the Middle Paleolithic settlement of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Spain)
2017
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.
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…