Isabel Cáceres - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Isabel Cáceres
The Early Acheulean ~1.6–1.2 Ma from Gona, Ethiopia: Issues related to the Emergence of the Acheulean in Africa
Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
Konso in Ethiopia and Kokiselei in Kenya, both dated to ~1.7 million years ago (Ma), and FLK West... more Konso in Ethiopia and Kokiselei in Kenya, both dated to ~1.7 million years ago (Ma), and FLK West, a recently reported site from Olduvai dated to 1.7 Ma, are the earliest Acheulean sites known in East Africa. Ongoing archaeological investigations at Gona, in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia, have also produced early Acheulean stone assemblages at several sites, estimated to ~1.6–1.2 Ma. A number of sites, including BSN-12 and OGS-12, have yielded archaeological materials comparable to the earliest Konso artifacts. The stone assemblages from the Gona sites consist of crudely made handaxes, cleavers, and picks, as well as Mode I (Oldowan) cores, and debitage. A variety of raw materials were exploited at Gona, with trachyte, rhyolite, and basalt being the most common.
Making skull cups: Butchering traces on cannibalised human skulls from five European archaeological sites
Journal of Archaeological Science
Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at... more Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at the end of Palaeolithic and are shown in different ways, being able to identify through the taphonomic modifications. According to this, the presence of skull cups (bowls from human calvaria) is currently considered evidence of ritualistic treatment of human bodies and it is found in many occasions associated to cannibalism. Prehistoric skull cups are characterized by a careful and repetitive fracture pattern and elevated frequency of cut marks. We aim to assess whether it is possible to identify a common pattern, through the cut marks disposition and frequency, in the treatment of modified skulls to produce skull-cups, by comparing evidence from different prehistoric assemblages in Europe. We compared published data and drawings of cut marks recorded on the surface of human skulls specimens from TD6.2 of Gran Dolina (early Pleistocene, Spain), Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and El Mirador Cave. Cut marks were spatially plotted as polylines over the bone templates in ArcGIS, which has allowed us to evaluate their distribution and greater or lesser presence in the different views of the human skulls. In all samples except in TD6.2 have been proposed some ritual component on the remains and perhaps of the cannibalism events. In three of the sites (Gough’s, Herxheim and El Mirador) the elaboration of skull cups was recorded. The location and distribution of cut marks on the studied skulls, were analysed using the ESRI ArcGIS software package. In order to statistically compare patterns among skulls of the same site and between skulls from different sites the cut marks were digitalised on standardised templates of a skull in six side-views: anterior face; dorsal; left lateral; right lateral; superior; and inferior). Results show a high frequency and a spatial distribution with a clustered pattern of cut marks are also shown common in all the skull cups and Fontbrégoua. This is particularly concerning the longitudinal cut marks located in the upper part of the skulls and superimposed or parallel to the sagittal suture. However, no parallels were observed with the treatment of Homo antecessor skulls. The scalping of the craniums from Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and El Mirador may be therefore associated with the preparation of the skulls (skull cups and non-skull cups) for ritual purposes. We statistically demonstrated that on skull cups there are areas with higher concentration of cut marks, corresponding mainly the removal of the scalp. The high frequency of cut marks can also be associated with defleshing and is found on the lateral and ventral facets of the skull. We have located patterns of spatial distribution of aggregate and regularly scattered cut marks in the skull craniums, with higher densities than in the skulls without prearranged morphology. Repetitive patterns, intended for intensive cleaning bone, have been recognised in specimens from Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and El Mirador Cave. A methodical process has been identified in the manufacturing of the skull cups. The removal of the scalp and defleshing was meticulous and intensive according to the number of cut marks, in all skull cups and Fontbrégoua. This pattern is repeated from the Magdalenian sites of Gough’s Cave to the Bronze Age site of El Mirador Cave, providing further evidence of the preparation of the skulls for their possible ritualization. Intensive tissue removal can be an indicator of human cannibalism in a ritual context.
Making Skull Cups: Butchering Traces on Cannibalised Human Skulls from Five European Archaeological Sites
9th Annual ESHE Meeting, 2019
Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at... more Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at the end of Palaeolithic and are shown in different ways, being able to identify through the taphonomic modifications. According to this, the presence of skull cups (bowls from human calvaria) is currently considered evidence of ritualistic treatment of human bodies and it is found in many occasions associated to cannibalism. Prehistoric skull cups are characterized by a careful and repetitive fracture pattern and elevated frequency of cut marks. We aim to assess whether it is possible to identify a common pattern, through the cut marks disposition and frequency, in the treatment of modified skulls to produce skull-cups, by comparing evidence from different prehistoric assemblages in Europe. We compared published data and drawings of cut marks recorded on the surface of human skulls specimens from TD6.2 of Gran Dolina (early Pleistocene, Spain), Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and E...
The Science of Nature
Sexual signals serve as an honest indicator of individual quality, reflecting either developmenta... more Sexual signals serve as an honest indicator of individual quality, reflecting either developmental and/or maintenance costs. A possible underlying physiological mechanism is oxidative stress, which could mediate energy trade-offs between sexual signals and other quality traits. In ectotherms, thermal performance acts as a key indicator of individual quality and influence signal intensity. We investigated how oxidative state is reflected in visual signals of lizards from different thermal habitats. According to our hypothesis, efficient thermoregulation requires different strategies in different thermal environments. In a habitat with predictable temperature changes, animals are less exposed to suboptimal temperature ranges and selection will, therefore, be stronger on the maximum oxidative damage at optimal body temperature. Contrarily, in a habitat with rather stochastic thermal shifts, individuals are often constricted by suboptimal thermal conditions, and oxidative damage can be limiting on a wide temperature range. We used Iberolacerta cyreni and Psammodromus algirus inhabiting stochastic and predictable thermal environments respectively. We examined two aspects of oxidative stress: the level of reactive oxygen metabolites at the preferred temperature (maximal ROM) and the temperature range in which animals produce at least 80% of the maximum level of reactive oxygen metabolites (effective ROM range). In I. cyreni, we found that duller coloration was related to a wider effective ROM range, while expression of coloration in P. algirus was negatively correlated with the maximal ROM. Our results suggest that different thermal constraints affect different aspects of oxidative damage which can indicate individual quality and are, therefore, represented in sexual ornaments.
The Science of Nature, 2019
Recent functional and zooarchaeological studies conducted on the archeological finds of Pirro Nor... more Recent functional and zooarchaeological studies conducted on the archeological finds of Pirro Nord (PN13) produced new, reliable data on early European hominid subsistence activities. The age of the site is estimated to be ~ 1.3–1.6 Ma, based on bio-chronological data, and the archeological excavation of the Pirro Nord 13 fissure led to the discovery of more than 300 lithic artifacts associated with thousands of vertebrate fossil remains of the final Villafranchian (Pirro Nord Faunal Unit). The analysis of the fossil faunal remains allowed for the identification of anthropogenic traces linked to the exploitation of different animal carcass (cut marks and intentional bone breakages). Use-wear traces were also observed on some flint artifacts and have been interpreted as the result of the exploitation of animal resources by early hominids and carnivores. It has not been possible to identify the type of access that hominins developed on the carcasses, although it has been established t...
The TD6.3 faunal assemblage of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Spain): a late Early Pleistocene hyena den
Historical Biology
Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-colle... more Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-collecting habits. The research developed since the last half of the twentieth century has attempted to characterise the carnivore's accumulations and to identify them in the archaeo-paleontological record. At present, we have diagnostic criteria that deene the accumulations produced by hyenids (mainly, Crocuta crocuta), thereby allowing us to diierentiate them from the other accumulating agents. The faunal assemblage recovered at the Early Pleistocene TD6.3 layer of the Gran Dolina site is characterised by the presence of typical elements described in hyena dens: presence of small carnivores remains, high bone breakage, low epiphysis survival and a high frequency (>30%) of specimens with carnivore induced modiications, including large amounts of digested bones. However, attritional mortality prooles, hyena's cubs remains, mid-shaft bone cylinders or diierential anatomical composition among diierent weight-sizes, have not been observed or are ambiguous. In addition, anthropic evidences are scarce and concentrated in the uppermost section of the layer. TD6.3 is the result of an accumulation produced by hyenas using the cave as a den, in alternation with sporadic occupations by hominin groups. TD6.3 shows that hyena fossil accumulations may present great anatomical and taxonomic variability.
Spilled ink blots the mind: A reply to Merrit et al. (2018) on subjectivity and bone surface modifications
Journal of Archaeological Science
Science
East Africa has provided the earliest known evidence for Oldowan stone artifacts and hominin indu... more East Africa has provided the earliest known evidence for Oldowan stone artifacts and hominin induced stone tool cutmarks dated to ~2.6 million years ago (Ma). The ~1.8 Ma stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Here we report older stone artifacts and cutmarked bones excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit estimated to ~ 1.9 Ma, and the older to ~2.4 Ma. Hence, the Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in Northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.
The TD6.3 faunal assemblage of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Spain): a late Early Pleistocene hyena den
Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-colle... more Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-collecting habits. The research developed since the last half of the twentieth century has attempted to characterise the carnivore's accumulations and to identify them in the archaeo-paleontological record. At present, we have diagnostic criteria that deene the accumulations produced by hyenids (mainly, Crocuta crocuta), thereby allowing us to diierentiate them from the other accumulating agents. The faunal assemblage recovered at the Early Pleistocene TD6.3 layer of the Gran Dolina site is characterised by the presence of typical elements described in hyena dens: presence of small carnivores remains, high bone breakage, low epiphysis survival and a high frequency (>30%) of specimens with carnivore induced modiications, including large amounts of digested bones. However, attritional mortality prooles, hyena's cubs remains, mid-shaft bone cylinders or diierential anatomical composit...
Use and abuse of cut mark analyses: The Rorschach effect
Journal of Archaeological Science
This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations u... more This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations undertaken in Double Cave (Tsutskvati valley, Republic of Georgia), between 2002 and 2003. Stratigraphic, technological, taphonomic and pollen analyses have permitted to gather new data, complementary to those obtained in the nearby Ortvale Klde cave, on the Neanderthal communities that inhabited the Southern Caucasus. This region constitutes one of the areas in which the last members of this species survived. While the long-term fieldwork program undertaken at Ortvale Klde has furnished a complete set of dates regarding the Neanderthal occupation of this cave and the arrival of modern humans, no chronological contexts have been obtained for other similar sites located in the Caucasian region. However, the Neanderthal presence in the Tsutskhvati valley must have taken place during the same time-span proposed for Ortvale Kdle. Although nowadays Double Cave and the well-known Bronze Cave lack reliable chronological contexts, it is important to remark that these sites located in the Tsutskhvati valley are recurrently cited in the debate on the end of the Neandethals and the arrival of Homo sapiens to the Caucasus. This is why the new data presented here (last fieldwork and research were carried out in the region in the 1970s) are informative and valuable, despite chronological limitations, in order to enlarge our knowledge on this important issue of the European Prehistory.
Experimentación Sobre Recogida De Leña en El Parque Faunístico De Los Pirineos lacuniacha(Huesca). Una Aproximación a La …
Avances en …, 2005
RESUMEN Los análisis antracológicos, además de permitir el análisis taxonómico de los carbones re... more RESUMEN Los análisis antracológicos, además de permitir el análisis taxonómico de los carbones recuperados en los yacimientos arqueológicos, pueden aportar más datos a partir del análisis tafonómico con el fin de entender el medio y el comportamiento humano de ...
Zephyrus: Revista de …, 2009
This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations u... more This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations undertaken in Double Cave (Tsutskvati valley, Republic of Georgia), between 2002 and 2003. Stratigraphic, technological, taphonomic and pollen analyses have permitted to gather new data, complementary to those obtained in the nearby Ortvale Klde cave, on the Neanderthal communities that inhabited the Southern Caucasus. This region constitutes one of the areas in which the last members of this species survived. While the long-term fieldwork program undertaken at Ortvale Klde has furnished a complete set of dates regarding the Neanderthal occupation of this cave and the arrival of modern humans, no chronological contexts have been obtained for other similar sites located in the Caucasian region. However, the Neanderthal presence in the Tsutskhvati valley must have taken place during the same time-span proposed for Ortvale Kdle. Although nowadays Double Cave and the well-known Bronze Cave lack reliable chronological contexts, it is important to remark that these sites located in the Tsutskhvati valley are recurrently cited in the debate on the end of the Neandethals and the arrival of Homo sapiens to the Caucasus. This is why the new data presented here (last fieldwork and research were carried out in the region in the 1970s) are informative and valuable, despite chronological limitations, in order to enlarge our knowledge on this important issue of the European Prehistory.
Carcass transport decisions in Homo antecessor subsistence strategies
Pleistocene foragers used several prey acquisition and processing strategies. These strategies an... more Pleistocene foragers used several prey acquisition and processing strategies. These strategies and their associated decisions are elucidated by taphonomic studies that cover animal transport, modifications by different agents and archaeological remains. Interpretative models of archaeological sites are by necessity based on natural and experimental observations. Ethno-archaeological data shows that several factors influenced decisions about carcass transport from the kill site to the home site. These factors often have little archaeological visibility. Díez et al. (1999) has previously interpreted the general characteristics of the macro-mammal remains from Gran Dolina Level TD6-2 (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) as the result of anthropic accumulation, in which the anatomical profiles appeared to be the result of selective transport based on the animals’ weight. Recent taphonomic analysis has shown that carcasses with different weights may be subject to similar transport strate...
Els recursos econòmics de la pagesia altafullenca: Segona meitat del segle XVIII
Estudio arqueológico de los restos de macrovertebrados de la Unidad GIII de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca)
Estudio tafonómico y zooarqueológico de los restos óseos de macromamíferos de la Unidad GII de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca)
Información del artículo Estudio tafonómico y zooarqueológico de los restos óseos de macromamífer... more Información del artículo Estudio tafonómico y zooarqueológico de los restos óseos de macromamíferos de la unidad GII de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca).
Small toothmarks on Talpa cf. T. europaea humerus have been identified during the taphonomical st... more Small toothmarks on Talpa cf. T. europaea humerus have been identified during the taphonomical study of the micromammal remains found in Sima del Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos). Toothmarks have been compared to Mustela nivalis modern molars and to Mustela palerminea and Beremendia fissidens fossil remains in order to identify the predator producing the marks. The results indicate that marks were produced by a smaller predator than Mustela, and resemble more to those produced by B. fissidens. This insectivorous species is smaller than Talpa and has a poison injector apparatus that allows it to hunt preys which double its own size. Ethological characteristics of predators and B. fissidens physical features seem to point to this insectivore as the agent responsible for the Talpa humerus toothmarks at Sima del Elefante TE9 level.
The Early Acheulean ~1.6–1.2 Ma from Gona, Ethiopia: Issues related to the Emergence of the Acheulean in Africa
Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
Konso in Ethiopia and Kokiselei in Kenya, both dated to ~1.7 million years ago (Ma), and FLK West... more Konso in Ethiopia and Kokiselei in Kenya, both dated to ~1.7 million years ago (Ma), and FLK West, a recently reported site from Olduvai dated to 1.7 Ma, are the earliest Acheulean sites known in East Africa. Ongoing archaeological investigations at Gona, in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia, have also produced early Acheulean stone assemblages at several sites, estimated to ~1.6–1.2 Ma. A number of sites, including BSN-12 and OGS-12, have yielded archaeological materials comparable to the earliest Konso artifacts. The stone assemblages from the Gona sites consist of crudely made handaxes, cleavers, and picks, as well as Mode I (Oldowan) cores, and debitage. A variety of raw materials were exploited at Gona, with trachyte, rhyolite, and basalt being the most common.
Making skull cups: Butchering traces on cannibalised human skulls from five European archaeological sites
Journal of Archaeological Science
Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at... more Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at the end of Palaeolithic and are shown in different ways, being able to identify through the taphonomic modifications. According to this, the presence of skull cups (bowls from human calvaria) is currently considered evidence of ritualistic treatment of human bodies and it is found in many occasions associated to cannibalism. Prehistoric skull cups are characterized by a careful and repetitive fracture pattern and elevated frequency of cut marks. We aim to assess whether it is possible to identify a common pattern, through the cut marks disposition and frequency, in the treatment of modified skulls to produce skull-cups, by comparing evidence from different prehistoric assemblages in Europe. We compared published data and drawings of cut marks recorded on the surface of human skulls specimens from TD6.2 of Gran Dolina (early Pleistocene, Spain), Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and El Mirador Cave. Cut marks were spatially plotted as polylines over the bone templates in ArcGIS, which has allowed us to evaluate their distribution and greater or lesser presence in the different views of the human skulls. In all samples except in TD6.2 have been proposed some ritual component on the remains and perhaps of the cannibalism events. In three of the sites (Gough’s, Herxheim and El Mirador) the elaboration of skull cups was recorded. The location and distribution of cut marks on the studied skulls, were analysed using the ESRI ArcGIS software package. In order to statistically compare patterns among skulls of the same site and between skulls from different sites the cut marks were digitalised on standardised templates of a skull in six side-views: anterior face; dorsal; left lateral; right lateral; superior; and inferior). Results show a high frequency and a spatial distribution with a clustered pattern of cut marks are also shown common in all the skull cups and Fontbrégoua. This is particularly concerning the longitudinal cut marks located in the upper part of the skulls and superimposed or parallel to the sagittal suture. However, no parallels were observed with the treatment of Homo antecessor skulls. The scalping of the craniums from Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and El Mirador may be therefore associated with the preparation of the skulls (skull cups and non-skull cups) for ritual purposes. We statistically demonstrated that on skull cups there are areas with higher concentration of cut marks, corresponding mainly the removal of the scalp. The high frequency of cut marks can also be associated with defleshing and is found on the lateral and ventral facets of the skull. We have located patterns of spatial distribution of aggregate and regularly scattered cut marks in the skull craniums, with higher densities than in the skulls without prearranged morphology. Repetitive patterns, intended for intensive cleaning bone, have been recognised in specimens from Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and El Mirador Cave. A methodical process has been identified in the manufacturing of the skull cups. The removal of the scalp and defleshing was meticulous and intensive according to the number of cut marks, in all skull cups and Fontbrégoua. This pattern is repeated from the Magdalenian sites of Gough’s Cave to the Bronze Age site of El Mirador Cave, providing further evidence of the preparation of the skulls for their possible ritualization. Intensive tissue removal can be an indicator of human cannibalism in a ritual context.
Making Skull Cups: Butchering Traces on Cannibalised Human Skulls from Five European Archaeological Sites
9th Annual ESHE Meeting, 2019
Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at... more Archaeological records of the treatment of human skulls for ceremonial or cult purposes appear at the end of Palaeolithic and are shown in different ways, being able to identify through the taphonomic modifications. According to this, the presence of skull cups (bowls from human calvaria) is currently considered evidence of ritualistic treatment of human bodies and it is found in many occasions associated to cannibalism. Prehistoric skull cups are characterized by a careful and repetitive fracture pattern and elevated frequency of cut marks. We aim to assess whether it is possible to identify a common pattern, through the cut marks disposition and frequency, in the treatment of modified skulls to produce skull-cups, by comparing evidence from different prehistoric assemblages in Europe. We compared published data and drawings of cut marks recorded on the surface of human skulls specimens from TD6.2 of Gran Dolina (early Pleistocene, Spain), Gough’s Cave, Fontbrégoua, Herxheim, and E...
The Science of Nature
Sexual signals serve as an honest indicator of individual quality, reflecting either developmenta... more Sexual signals serve as an honest indicator of individual quality, reflecting either developmental and/or maintenance costs. A possible underlying physiological mechanism is oxidative stress, which could mediate energy trade-offs between sexual signals and other quality traits. In ectotherms, thermal performance acts as a key indicator of individual quality and influence signal intensity. We investigated how oxidative state is reflected in visual signals of lizards from different thermal habitats. According to our hypothesis, efficient thermoregulation requires different strategies in different thermal environments. In a habitat with predictable temperature changes, animals are less exposed to suboptimal temperature ranges and selection will, therefore, be stronger on the maximum oxidative damage at optimal body temperature. Contrarily, in a habitat with rather stochastic thermal shifts, individuals are often constricted by suboptimal thermal conditions, and oxidative damage can be limiting on a wide temperature range. We used Iberolacerta cyreni and Psammodromus algirus inhabiting stochastic and predictable thermal environments respectively. We examined two aspects of oxidative stress: the level of reactive oxygen metabolites at the preferred temperature (maximal ROM) and the temperature range in which animals produce at least 80% of the maximum level of reactive oxygen metabolites (effective ROM range). In I. cyreni, we found that duller coloration was related to a wider effective ROM range, while expression of coloration in P. algirus was negatively correlated with the maximal ROM. Our results suggest that different thermal constraints affect different aspects of oxidative damage which can indicate individual quality and are, therefore, represented in sexual ornaments.
The Science of Nature, 2019
Recent functional and zooarchaeological studies conducted on the archeological finds of Pirro Nor... more Recent functional and zooarchaeological studies conducted on the archeological finds of Pirro Nord (PN13) produced new, reliable data on early European hominid subsistence activities. The age of the site is estimated to be ~ 1.3–1.6 Ma, based on bio-chronological data, and the archeological excavation of the Pirro Nord 13 fissure led to the discovery of more than 300 lithic artifacts associated with thousands of vertebrate fossil remains of the final Villafranchian (Pirro Nord Faunal Unit). The analysis of the fossil faunal remains allowed for the identification of anthropogenic traces linked to the exploitation of different animal carcass (cut marks and intentional bone breakages). Use-wear traces were also observed on some flint artifacts and have been interpreted as the result of the exploitation of animal resources by early hominids and carnivores. It has not been possible to identify the type of access that hominins developed on the carcasses, although it has been established t...
The TD6.3 faunal assemblage of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Spain): a late Early Pleistocene hyena den
Historical Biology
Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-colle... more Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-collecting habits. The research developed since the last half of the twentieth century has attempted to characterise the carnivore's accumulations and to identify them in the archaeo-paleontological record. At present, we have diagnostic criteria that deene the accumulations produced by hyenids (mainly, Crocuta crocuta), thereby allowing us to diierentiate them from the other accumulating agents. The faunal assemblage recovered at the Early Pleistocene TD6.3 layer of the Gran Dolina site is characterised by the presence of typical elements described in hyena dens: presence of small carnivores remains, high bone breakage, low epiphysis survival and a high frequency (>30%) of specimens with carnivore induced modiications, including large amounts of digested bones. However, attritional mortality prooles, hyena's cubs remains, mid-shaft bone cylinders or diierential anatomical composition among diierent weight-sizes, have not been observed or are ambiguous. In addition, anthropic evidences are scarce and concentrated in the uppermost section of the layer. TD6.3 is the result of an accumulation produced by hyenas using the cave as a den, in alternation with sporadic occupations by hominin groups. TD6.3 shows that hyena fossil accumulations may present great anatomical and taxonomic variability.
Spilled ink blots the mind: A reply to Merrit et al. (2018) on subjectivity and bone surface modifications
Journal of Archaeological Science
Science
East Africa has provided the earliest known evidence for Oldowan stone artifacts and hominin indu... more East Africa has provided the earliest known evidence for Oldowan stone artifacts and hominin induced stone tool cutmarks dated to ~2.6 million years ago (Ma). The ~1.8 Ma stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Here we report older stone artifacts and cutmarked bones excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit estimated to ~ 1.9 Ma, and the older to ~2.4 Ma. Hence, the Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in Northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.
The TD6.3 faunal assemblage of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Spain): a late Early Pleistocene hyena den
Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-colle... more Ethological studies have shown that besides human groups, large-medium carnivores have bone-collecting habits. The research developed since the last half of the twentieth century has attempted to characterise the carnivore's accumulations and to identify them in the archaeo-paleontological record. At present, we have diagnostic criteria that deene the accumulations produced by hyenids (mainly, Crocuta crocuta), thereby allowing us to diierentiate them from the other accumulating agents. The faunal assemblage recovered at the Early Pleistocene TD6.3 layer of the Gran Dolina site is characterised by the presence of typical elements described in hyena dens: presence of small carnivores remains, high bone breakage, low epiphysis survival and a high frequency (>30%) of specimens with carnivore induced modiications, including large amounts of digested bones. However, attritional mortality prooles, hyena's cubs remains, mid-shaft bone cylinders or diierential anatomical composit...
Use and abuse of cut mark analyses: The Rorschach effect
Journal of Archaeological Science
This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations u... more This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations undertaken in Double Cave (Tsutskvati valley, Republic of Georgia), between 2002 and 2003. Stratigraphic, technological, taphonomic and pollen analyses have permitted to gather new data, complementary to those obtained in the nearby Ortvale Klde cave, on the Neanderthal communities that inhabited the Southern Caucasus. This region constitutes one of the areas in which the last members of this species survived. While the long-term fieldwork program undertaken at Ortvale Klde has furnished a complete set of dates regarding the Neanderthal occupation of this cave and the arrival of modern humans, no chronological contexts have been obtained for other similar sites located in the Caucasian region. However, the Neanderthal presence in the Tsutskhvati valley must have taken place during the same time-span proposed for Ortvale Kdle. Although nowadays Double Cave and the well-known Bronze Cave lack reliable chronological contexts, it is important to remark that these sites located in the Tsutskhvati valley are recurrently cited in the debate on the end of the Neandethals and the arrival of Homo sapiens to the Caucasus. This is why the new data presented here (last fieldwork and research were carried out in the region in the 1970s) are informative and valuable, despite chronological limitations, in order to enlarge our knowledge on this important issue of the European Prehistory.
Experimentación Sobre Recogida De Leña en El Parque Faunístico De Los Pirineos lacuniacha(Huesca). Una Aproximación a La …
Avances en …, 2005
RESUMEN Los análisis antracológicos, además de permitir el análisis taxonómico de los carbones re... more RESUMEN Los análisis antracológicos, además de permitir el análisis taxonómico de los carbones recuperados en los yacimientos arqueológicos, pueden aportar más datos a partir del análisis tafonómico con el fin de entender el medio y el comportamiento humano de ...
Zephyrus: Revista de …, 2009
This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations u... more This paper presents the main results obtained through a new round of archaeological excavations undertaken in Double Cave (Tsutskvati valley, Republic of Georgia), between 2002 and 2003. Stratigraphic, technological, taphonomic and pollen analyses have permitted to gather new data, complementary to those obtained in the nearby Ortvale Klde cave, on the Neanderthal communities that inhabited the Southern Caucasus. This region constitutes one of the areas in which the last members of this species survived. While the long-term fieldwork program undertaken at Ortvale Klde has furnished a complete set of dates regarding the Neanderthal occupation of this cave and the arrival of modern humans, no chronological contexts have been obtained for other similar sites located in the Caucasian region. However, the Neanderthal presence in the Tsutskhvati valley must have taken place during the same time-span proposed for Ortvale Kdle. Although nowadays Double Cave and the well-known Bronze Cave lack reliable chronological contexts, it is important to remark that these sites located in the Tsutskhvati valley are recurrently cited in the debate on the end of the Neandethals and the arrival of Homo sapiens to the Caucasus. This is why the new data presented here (last fieldwork and research were carried out in the region in the 1970s) are informative and valuable, despite chronological limitations, in order to enlarge our knowledge on this important issue of the European Prehistory.
Carcass transport decisions in Homo antecessor subsistence strategies
Pleistocene foragers used several prey acquisition and processing strategies. These strategies an... more Pleistocene foragers used several prey acquisition and processing strategies. These strategies and their associated decisions are elucidated by taphonomic studies that cover animal transport, modifications by different agents and archaeological remains. Interpretative models of archaeological sites are by necessity based on natural and experimental observations. Ethno-archaeological data shows that several factors influenced decisions about carcass transport from the kill site to the home site. These factors often have little archaeological visibility. Díez et al. (1999) has previously interpreted the general characteristics of the macro-mammal remains from Gran Dolina Level TD6-2 (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) as the result of anthropic accumulation, in which the anatomical profiles appeared to be the result of selective transport based on the animals’ weight. Recent taphonomic analysis has shown that carcasses with different weights may be subject to similar transport strate...
Els recursos econòmics de la pagesia altafullenca: Segona meitat del segle XVIII
Estudio arqueológico de los restos de macrovertebrados de la Unidad GIII de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca)
Estudio tafonómico y zooarqueológico de los restos óseos de macromamíferos de la Unidad GII de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca)
Información del artículo Estudio tafonómico y zooarqueológico de los restos óseos de macromamífer... more Información del artículo Estudio tafonómico y zooarqueológico de los restos óseos de macromamíferos de la unidad GII de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca).
Small toothmarks on Talpa cf. T. europaea humerus have been identified during the taphonomical st... more Small toothmarks on Talpa cf. T. europaea humerus have been identified during the taphonomical study of the micromammal remains found in Sima del Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos). Toothmarks have been compared to Mustela nivalis modern molars and to Mustela palerminea and Beremendia fissidens fossil remains in order to identify the predator producing the marks. The results indicate that marks were produced by a smaller predator than Mustela, and resemble more to those produced by B. fissidens. This insectivorous species is smaller than Talpa and has a poison injector apparatus that allows it to hunt preys which double its own size. Ethological characteristics of predators and B. fissidens physical features seem to point to this insectivore as the agent responsible for the Talpa humerus toothmarks at Sima del Elefante TE9 level.
The earliest Acheulean technology at Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain): Oldest levels of the Galería site (GII Unit)
Quaternary International
This work presents a study of the oldest Acheulean lithic assemblages from the Galería site, spec... more This work presents a study of the oldest Acheulean lithic assemblages from the Galería site, specifically the GIIa subunit, which has been dated to c. 503 95 ka, and compares them with the subsequent subunit in the sequence, GIIb, dated to around 237e269 ka. The main goals of this study are to offer a detailed technological characterization of the earliest Acheulean presence in Atapuerca and to assess the elements determining the technological variability in a given site by studying the sequence, evaluating the concept of variability and defining the aspects which determine it. The Galería site does not display the features of a living space. It is a cave which was accessed by both humans and carnivores in order to obtain the animal biomass of the herbivores that had fallen down into the cave through a natural shaft. The archaeological record is therefore incomplete and fragmented, since it is the product of highly changeable occupational dynamics. In the lower Galería levels, we identified the development from an almost exclusive use of cobbles as blanks for knapping activities in the earliest periods to an increasing use of flakes. In terms of raw materials, the initially predominant use of Neogene chert and quartzite evolved towards a more balanced use of six raw materials. Furthermore, there was an increase in the size
of the large tools. After comparing these two Acheulean assemblages, it is important to put them into context by taking into account a) the significance of cobbles and flakes as blanks; b) the significance of cleavers; and c) the use of raw materials such as quartzite, sandstone or chert. These aspects have traditionally been used to facilitate comparisons of the technologies used within the Iberian Peninsula, and comparisons between the Acheulean technology of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa and the European (i.e. trans-Pyrenean) Acheulean technology.
Buccheri Fabio, Davide F. Bertè, Gabriele F. Berruti, Isabel Cáceres
The Ciota Ciara cave is located in the karst of Monte Fenera (Borgosesia - VC) and is the only Mi... more The Ciota Ciara cave is located in the karst of Monte Fenera (Borgosesia - VC) and is the only Middle Palaeolithic site in Piedmont where the presence of Homo neanderthalensis has been attested. In 2009, systematic excavations at the Ciota Ciara cave were reintroduced once again by the University of Ferrara in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Piemonte e del Museo di Antichità Egizie. The archaeological interventions have been carried out systematically and with a multidisciplinary approach. After a restoration of the previous excavations, the new researches shown 4 stratigraphic units: 13, 103,14 and 15. The small mammal association from Ciota Ciara cave (S.U. 13, 103 and 14) gives some information about the environment that surrounded the site and made it possible to establish the chronology of the site in a temperate-humid period of MIS 5 (80-70 ka). The whole of the faunal remains studied until now demonstrated a strong predominance of Ursus spelaeus in all the units while an increase of skeletal component of herbivorous is attested in the stratigraphic sequence going from S.U. 13 to S.U. 14. The environment was characterized by deciduous woodland and, probably at the base of the mountain, by glades. The intersection between different habitats, the presence of lithic raw materials and water sources were the main factors that certainly favored the human occupation during the Upper Pleistocene.
The lithic assemblage is composed by flakes, retouched tools, cores and debris. The exploitation of the raw materials was achieved through the direct percussion technique with varied methods: S.S.D.A., discoid and Levallois. Many lithologies are represented in different proportion: quartz is the prevalent used raw material, followed by spongolite, sandstone, mylonite and opal. The archaeological record is constituted by many typologies of quartz: macrocrystalline pegmatitic quartz, microcrystalline pegmatitic quartz and hyaline quartz. The reduction sequences on quartz are complete although no refitting was found as a result of the characteristics of this raw material. The reduction sequence is not complete for most part of the other raw materials. The débitage products are small or middle size (1-4 cm) and have different morphologies.
A preliminary taphonomic study has been performed on a portion of the palaeontological remains from the SU 14 (1144 bones).To test the efficiency of the tools made by local quartz during the slaughtering activity , was performed an experimental butchery on a carcass of wild boar. During the experimentation, tools made by local quartz and instruments made by allochthonous flint have been employed. The analysis of this experimental collection allowed us to distinguish with certainty the cut-marks made by quartz tools from those made by flint tools. The same kind of quartz cut-marks have been found on the archaeological faunal remains from the Ciota Ciara cave.
The presence of cut-marks on Ursus spelaeus, made by lithic instruments, has been attested. The position of the cut marks on the bones can be related to fur removal and butchery. The osteological remains where were encountered evidence of cut-marks on Ursus spelaeus are portions of the appendicular and axial skeleton and specifically on: atlas, thoracic vertebra, ribs, humerus, radius, tibia and scapholunar.
The data coming from the Ciota Ciara and from other European sites like Scladina Cave (Belgium) help us to clarify the interactions between Homo neanderthalensi and Ursus spelaeus . According to these evidences the traditional and widespread hypothesis of seasonal alternation in the use of the cave, with no interaction between man and bear, must be revised.
Una visión global el Cuaternario. El hombre como condicionante de procesos geológicos (Ed. GALVE, J. P; AZAÑÓN, J. M; PÉREZ-PEÑA, J. V. y RUANO, P.)
Piles of fossilized poop preserve intriguing information about the living conditions and habits o... more Piles of fossilized poop preserve intriguing information about the living conditions and habits of animals that lived a million years ago.