Search results for "Upper Paleolithic"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
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…
Debitage by fracturing in the osseous industry of Cova del Parpalló (Gandía-Valencia, Spain): A preliminary study
2016
Abstract The excavations carried out by L. Pericot from 1929 to 1931 in the Cova del Parpallo documented the Gravettian in the base, a Solutrean layer, and a Magdalenian. This sequences comprise an exceptional assemblage of portable art because of the number of plaquets/objects and the great chronological amplitude. With all this information, Parpallo was included in the reduced list of reference sites to organize the European Upper Paleolithic sequence in the first half of the 20th century. The Magdalenian layers were organized in four phases, following H. Breuil's classical proposal. Changes in bases morphology and decorative topics on osseous points permitted this correlation, identifyin…
Images of camels on a mammoth tusk from West Siberia
2020
International audience; This study introduces the engravings on a mammoth tusk from the lower reaches of the Tom River in WestSiberia. The tusk was found in 1988 during construction works and was later transferred to the Tomsk StateUniversity, but it remained almost unknown to specialists until now. Radiocarbon dating by AMS reported theage of the tusk as 13,100–13,005 Сal BP (95% confidence level). The surface of the tusk is engraved with imagesof two-humped camels arranged in two pairs. In addition, arrows and wounds within the contours of the animalscan be seen. The comparative analysis of the stylistic features of the camel figures shows that they correspond tothe age of the tusk itself, …
Through diachronic discontinuities and regionalization: The contribution of the analysis of the lithic industries from Grotta della Serratura (Strata…
2019
Abstract Within the evolutionary dynamics of post-Gravettian techno-complexes, one can observe an intense regionalization phenomenon, both on a European scale, with the creation of two main provinces, and within the Italian peninsula. To date, typological studies have led to the recognition of several Italian Epigravettian facies, identifying trends, similarities, and differences in the lithic complexes. An important contribution was made by the technological method which in recent years has allowed us to identify the evolutionary processes of the lithic industries in numerous deposits of northern Italy. It is the intent of this reporting to add information which contributes to the debate o…
Missing Records and Depositional Breaks in French Late Pleistocene Cave Sediments
1993
AbstractCave entrance and rock shelter infillings are positioned within the Pleistocene chronology for three areas of France (northern Alps, Franche-Comté, and Périgord). Despite minor local variations, it is possible to identify regional types with a consistent depositional record over long intervals of time. The interregional variability relates to the frequency and position of the gaps within the infillings. Sites in the northern Alps have not yielded any artifacts older than the Upper Paleolithic (Magdalenı́an), and dated sedimentary sequences do not go back beyond the Older Dryas. More complete sequences in Franche-Comté contain Mousterian industries. Two major gaps occur here, one las…
Upper Paleolithic Bone and Antler Projectiles in the Spanish Mediterranean Region: The Magdalenian Period
2016
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,…
An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of prehistoric stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early European farmers
2021
AbstractHuman culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 years before present (BP). Subsistence shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture are hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a simultaneous decline in physiological health as inferred from paleopathological analyses and stature reconstructions of skeletal remains. A key component of the health decline inference is that relatively shorter statures observed for early farmers may (at least partly) reflect higher childhood disease burdens and poorer nutrition. However, while…
Morphological variability of Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic skulls from Sicily
2020
Scenarios for the dispersal of Homo sapiens in Southern Europe and in the Mediterranean basin have been uncertain, given the scarceness of osteological samples and the simplicity of the proposed archaeologically-based settlement hypotheses. According to available data, the first anatomically modern humans entered Sicily during the Late Pleistocene, coming from the Italian peninsula. A presumably small Late Epigravettian population colonised coastal sites. Later, North-Western archaeological horizons gave hospitality to a significant Mesolithic expansion. In order to verify a hypothesis of continuity in the peopling of the island, we analyzed Sicilian skulls from the Late Epigravettian site …
Materiales del Paleolítico Superior en Cova Negra (Xàtiva) y su interés para establecer los procesos de su secuencia estratigráfica
2017
En este trabajo se analizan los materiales líticos adscritos al Paleolítico Superior obtenidos en Cova Negra a lo largo de las campañas de excavación de los años 30, 50 y 80 del pasado siglo y en las campañas de 2013-2016. La atención se centra en el estudio de los soportes, los núcleos y el material retocado, y se efectúa una primera aproximación con respecto a la cronología y periodos a los que remiten las piezas retocadas. El principal interés de estos materiales reside en confirmar que la ocupación de la cavidad no se limitó al Paleolítico Medio, ni a momentos iniciales de la secuencia del Paleolítico Superior, lo que facilita una evaluación del alcance de los procesos de alteración pos…
The microbiology of Lascaux Cave.
2010
Lascaux Cave (Montignac, France) contains paintings from the Upper Paleolithic period. Shortly after its discovery in 1940, the cave was seriously disturbed by major destructive interventions. In 1963, the cave was closed due to algal growth on the walls. In 2001, the ceiling, walls and sediments were colonized by the fungus Fusarium solani. Later, black stains, probably of fungal origin, appeared on the walls. Biocide treatments, including quaternary ammonium derivatives, were extensively applied for a few years, and have been in use again since January 2008. The microbial communities in Lascaux Cave were shown to be composed of human-pathogenic bacteria and entomopathogenic fungi, the for…