The Middle Palaeolithic site at Fuentes de San Cristobal (Huesca, Spain) (original) (raw)
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Quaternary International, 2013
At Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar biostratigraphy and palaeomagnetism indicate a time in the late Early Pleistocene (i.e. somewhat before the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary of 780,000 a, 0.78 Ma), for the entire 5 m thick sedimentary fill excavated in the rock-shelter, from which there are hominin teeth (cf. Homo heidelbergensis), a rich palaeontological and palaeopalynological record demonstrating warm moist environmental conditions (possibly MIS 21), a fundamentally homogeneous artifact assemblage throughout the sedimentary deposit, and evidence of fire at over 4 m depth. A brief introduction to the site and the assemblage is offered. Palaeolithic artifacts were produced by three different reduction sequences, because: (a) an "Acheulian" hand-axe was flaked bifacially on a flat limestone cobble; (b) several excavated chert flakes had been struck off small cores by recurrent flaking, with one flake showing a facetted striking platform, whilst two surface finds of small discoidal cores bear the broad central concave scar that in a "Levalloisian" prepared-core reduction sequence would correspond to centripetal removal of the final flake; and (c) abundant small artifacts (25e60 mm), mainly of chert, reflect expedient removal of small flakes or fragments from cores, by both unipolar and bipolar reduction techniques, including many keeled pieces that could be residual cores which have notches, slender spurs or beaks ("becs"), or a planoconvex ("slug"-like or "limace") shape, all of which may be remnants of cores subjected to bipolar knapping, in addition to very small pointed and "awl"-like pieces, and several fragments and flakes with steep abrupt ("Mousteroid") edge-retouch, and abundant knapping spalls and waste. Although the site had been interpreted conservatively in earlier publications as early Middle Pleistocene, recent palaeomagnetic findings show that the entire sedimentary fill corresponds to the late Early Pleistocene, somewhat over 780,000 a (0.78 Ma), an age which is acceptable from the standpoint of the biostratigraphical data. Among the aims of this paper are: (1) a consideration of the Palaeolithic assemblage in relation to local availability of raw materials of appropriate shapes and petrology for knapping in a palaeoenvironmental context far different from that of today; (2) consideration of the implications for human cognitive and technological evolution in the European late Early Pleistocene; and
Subsistence Dynamics during the Lower Paleolithic in Gran Dolina Cave (Atapuerca, Spain).
In recent decades, a large body of evidence has been accumulated to support the view that Middle Paleolithic hominins were regular hunters of large game. The recurrence of primary access to the carcasses, the systematic exploitation of the energy-rich elements, the standardization of mortality patterns and the selection of prey in ecosystems of great diversity observed in many of the archaeological assemblages of the late Middle Pleistocene (MIS 7; <242 ka) suggest the crystallization of a human predatory niche that later came to characterize the " Neanderthal way of life. " However, information concerning the mode and type of access to carcasses, the management of animal resources derived from them, as well as the butchering techniques employed, is scarce before MIS 7. This is especially true in the Palearctic context in which our research is framed. Here we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of more than 31,000 faunal remains from the late Middle Pleistocene TD10.1 bone bed and TD10.2 bison bone bed from the site of Gran Dolina, dated from ca. 400-250 ka, to assess the subsistence dynamics of the pre-Neanderthal populations in southwestern Europe. The results obtained for both assemblages suggest that the Lower Paleolithic hominins in Europe were prominent hunters of large game who were able to use diverse hunting strategies, techniques and tactics, such as communal hunting, which at times show a remarkable degree of sophistication. These patterns are linked with the emergence of complex behavioral, social and cognitive capacities. Subsistenzdynamik während des Altpaläolithikums in der Gran Dolina-Höhle (Atapuerca, Spanien) Zusammenfassung: In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten haben sich die Belege zur Untermauerung der Ansicht angehäuft, dass die mittelpaläolithischen Homininen regelmäßig Großwild gejagt haben. Der wiederholte Primärzugriff auf Tierkörper, die systematische Ausbeutung energiereicher Körperteile, die Normiertheit der Mortalitätskurven und die Auswahl der Beutetiere in Ökosystemen hoher Diversität, wie sie in vielen archäologischen Inventaren des späten Mittelpleistozäns (MIS 7; <242 ka) beobach-tet werden, sprechen dafür, dass sich für den Menschen eine Raubtier-Nische herauskristallisierte, die später die " Neandertaler-Lebensweise " charakterisieren sollte. Die Informationen über die Art und Weise des Zugangs zu Tierkörpern, über die Organisation des daraus erschlossenen Umgangs mit tierischen Ressourcen, sowie über die angewendeten Schlachttechniken sind jedoch vor dem MIS 7 spärlich. Dies gilt vor allem in paläoarktischem Zusammenhang, in welchen unsere Studie eingebettet ist. Im vorliegenden Beitrag legen wir die archäozoologischen und taphonomischen Analysen von mehr als 31.000 Faunenresten aus den spätmittelpleistozänen Horizonten " TD10.1 bone bed " (TD10.1 Knochen
Middle Palaeolithic Patterns of Settlement and Subsistence in the Southern Caucasus
In Middle Palaeolithic Settlement Dynamics, edited by N.J. Conard, Tübingen, pp. 91–132. , 2004
Occupying an intermediate position between Africa, Asia, and Europe the southern Caucasus has represented a northern geographic terminus for major expansions and migrations of human populations, both Archaic and Modern, throughout much of prehistory. During the Middle Palaeolithic, the high elevations and glaciated passes of the Caucasus served as a natural barrier to mobility in a northerly direction. Therefore the southern Caucasus provides an opportunity to examine Neanderthal behavioral patterns within an environmental and geographical cul de sac. Unfortunately, our current understanding of Middle Palaeolithic settlement and subsistence patterns within this region suffers from a dearth of well-excavated, dated, and documented sites. Previous excavations at the rockshelter Ortvale Klde, Djruchula Cave, and Bronze Cave, located in the western Georgian Republic, hint at a variable system of settlement and subsistence linked closely to prevailing environmental and topographical conditions. Although mountainous, warm, humid, and well forested, the numerous deep river valleys that drain the Caucasus form a patchwork of ecological niches populated by a wide array of floral and faunal species. The discontinuous nature of environmental communities and the natural impediments to mobility presented by deep valleys, fast rivers, and high elevations, likely influenced the settlement and subsistence behaviors of Neanderthals more than the cultural factors often cited. Likewise, we argue that climate change fed a cycle of regional abandonment and resettlement, which in turn fostered the technological diversity witnessed in the archaeological record. Traditional views of settlement and subsistence within the southern Caucasus are presented and evaluated in light of data retrieved during the recent reexcavation and dating of Ortvale Klde. Résumé. Occupant une position intermédiaire entre l'Afrique, l'Asie et l'Europe, le Caucase méridional a constitué une barrière géographique pour nombre d'expansions et de migrations de populations humaines, tant archaïques que modernes, au cours de la Préhistoire. Au Paléolithique moyen, l'altitude et l'enneigement des cols ont rendu la chaîne du Caucase infranchissable, de même que les mers, Noire et Caspienne, ont joué le rôle
Article history: Available online xxx a b s t r a c t At Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar biostratigraphy and palaeomagnetism indicate a time in the late Early Pleistocene (i.e. somewhat before the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary of 780,000 a, 0.78 Ma), for the entire 5 m thick sedimentary fill excavated in the rock-shelter, from which there are hominin teeth (cf. Homo heidelbergensis), a rich palaeontological and palaeopalynological record demonstrating warm moist environmental conditions (possibly MIS 21), a fundamentally homogeneous artifact assemblage throughout the sedimentary deposit, and evidence of fire at over 4 m depth. A brief introduction to the site and the assemblage is offered. Palaeolithic artifacts were produced by three different reduction sequences, because: (a) an "Acheulian" hand-axe was flaked bifacially on a flat limestone cobble; (b) several excavated chert flakes had been struck off small cores by recurrent flaking, with one flake showing a facetted striking platform, whilst two surface finds of small discoidal cores bear the broad central concave scar that in a "Levalloisian" prepared-core reduction sequence would correspond to centripetal removal of the final flake; and (c) abundant small artifacts (25e60 mm), mainly of chert, reflect expedient removal of small flakes or fragments from cores, by both unipolar and bipolar reduction techniques, including many keeled pieces that could be residual cores which have notches, slender spurs or beaks ("becs"), or a planoconvex ("slug"-like or "limace") shape, all of which may be remnants of cores subjected to bipolar knapping, in addition to very small pointed and "awl"-like pieces, and several fragments and flakes with steep abrupt ("Mousteroid") edge-retouch, and abundant knapping spalls and waste. Although the site had been interpreted conservatively in earlier publications as early Middle Pleistocene, recent palaeomagnetic findings show that the entire sedimentary fill corresponds to the late Early Pleistocene, somewhat over 780,000 a (0.78 Ma), an age which is acceptable from the standpoint of the biostratigraphical data. Among the aims of this paper are: (1) a consideration of the Palaeolithic assemblage in relation to local availability of raw materials of appropriate shapes and petrology for knapping in a palaeoenvironmental context far different from that of today; (2) consideration of the implications for human cognitive and technological evolution in the European late Early Pleistocene; and
One million years of cultural evolution in a stable environment at Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)
Quaternary Science …, 2010
The present paper analyses the evidence provided by three sites (Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina, and Galería) located in the Trinchera del Ferrocarril of the Sierra de Atapuerca. These three sites are cave infillings that contain sediments deposited from approximately 1.2 Ma to 200 kyr. Pollen, herpetofauna, and small and large mammal remains are used as proxies to obtain a general picture of the environmental changes that occurred at the Sierra de Atapuerca throughout the one million-year period represented at these sites. Similarly, cultural changes are tracked analyzing the evidence of human behavior obtained from the study of several bone and lithic assemblages from these three sites. At least three periods with different cultural features, involving technology, subsistence and behavior, are determined from the available evidence. The first two periods correspond to the Mode 1 technology and Homo antecessor: the first is dated around 1.2 to 1.0 Ma and reflects opportunistic behavior both in technology and subsistence. The second period is around 800 kyr BP. Mode 1 technology is still maintained, but subsistence strategies include systematic hunting and the use of base camps. The third period is dated between 500 ka and 200 ka and corresponds to the Mode 2 technology and the acquisition of directional hunting and other organizational strategies by Homo heidelbergensis. A transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 seems to appear at the end of this time-range, and may reflect the early phases of a fourth cultural change. With regard to the environment, our main conclusion is that there was an absence of extremely harsh conditions at Atapuerca throughout this time period. The presence of Mediterranean taxa was constant and the dominant landscape was a savannah-like open environment, probably with small forest patches. An alternation of Mediterranean and mesic species Quaternary Science Reviews 30 as the dominant component of the tree storey was induced by the climatic cycles, and steppes spread across the landscape during the drier periods. In any case, it is not possible to establish clear cut-off points separating entirely different environmental episodes. Our results show no evidence of any relationship between environmental change and cultural change at the Sierra de Atapuerca.
Quaternary International (edición digital temprana) doi:10:1016/j.quaint.2012.04.038, pág. 1-25, 2013
At Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar biostratigraphy and palaeomagnetism indicate a time in the late Early Pleistocene (i.e. somewhat before the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary of 780,000 a, 0.78 Ma), for the entire 5 m thick sedimentary fill excavated in the rock-shelter, from which there are hominin teeth (cf. Homo heidelbergensis), a rich palaeontological and palaeopalynological record demonstrating warm moist environmental conditions (possibly MIS 21), a fundamentally homogeneous artifact assemblage throughout the sedimentary deposit, and evidence of fire at over 4 m depth. A brief introduction to the site and the assemblage is offered. Palaeolithic artifacts were produced by three different reduction sequences, because: (a) an “Acheulian” hand-axe was flaked bifacially on a flat limestone cobble; (b) several excavated chert flakes had been struck off small cores by recurrent flaking, with one flake showing a facetted striking platform, whilst two surface finds of small discoidal cores bear the broad central concave scar that in a “Levalloisian” prepared-core reduction sequence would correspond to centripetal removal of the final flake; and (c) abundant small artifacts (25e60 mm), mainly of chert, reflect expedient removal of small flakes or fragments from cores, by both unipolar and bipolar reduction techniques, including many keeled pieces that could be residual cores which have notches, slender spurs or beaks (“becs”), or a planoconvex (“slug”-like or “limace”) shape, all of which may be remnants of cores subjected to bipolar knapping, in addition to very small pointed and “awl”-like pieces, and several fragments and flakes with steep abrupt (“Mousteroid”) edge-retouch, and abundant knapping spalls and waste. Although the site had been interpreted conservatively in earlier publications as early Middle Pleistocene, recent palaeomagnetic findings show that the entire sedimentary fill corresponds to the late Early Pleistocene, somewhat over 780,000 a (0.78 Ma), an age which is acceptable from the standpoint of the biostratigraphical data. Among the aims of this paper are: (1) a consideration of the Palaeolithic assemblage in relation to local availability of raw materials of appropriate shapes and petrology for knapping in a palaeoenvironmental context far different from that of today; (2) consideration of the implications for human cognitive and technological evolution in the European late Early Pleistocene; and (3) a proposal that those considerations highlight practical, methodological, and theoretical drawbacks to the classical European interpretation of earlier Palaeolithic chronologies from a perspective of typological sequences.