The coexistence of Acheulean and Ancient Middle Palaeolithic techno-complexes in the Middle Pleistocene of the Iberian Peninsula (original) (raw)
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Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 2020
This article provides a synthesis of the Middle Pleistocene hominin record of West Iberia, which comprises sites displaying abundant concentrations of large flake Acheulean (LFA) assemblages, as well as isolated examples of Early Middle Palaeolithic (EMP) technology. These sites typically have age ranges spanning marine isotopic stages (MIS) 11-6, within the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, and are primarily located in fluvial environments related to the main regional river basins. The LFA sites display extensive occurrences of handaxes and cleavers on flake blanks (detached from large cores), with a large number of knapping remains, such as flakes or small-medium cores, showing simple reduction patterns. Over the identified age range of these sites, especially during the MIS 9-6 interval, we observe constant technological stability, without strong variations over time, and independent of the functionality of individual sites. These fixed technological and behavioural patterns reinforce the African affinities of the southwestern European Acheulean, in contrast to Acheulean assemblages identified in the northernmost areas of Europe.
There and back again: Late Mesolithic technological change in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023
A profound change took place in the lithic technology of the last hunter-gatherer societies in Western Europe and North Africa at the end of the Early Holocene. In a short period, several technological innovations were adopted in geographically, socially and culturally different contexts; a situation that raises many questions about the mechanisms that enabled this successful expansion and acceptance. In this paper, we propose a regional approach to the phenomenon. In the northeast of Iberia, the Ebro valley is one of the areas with the most records from the Late Mesolithic (Geometric Mesolithic or GM) as well as from the immediately previous phase (Notched and Denticulate Mesolithic or NDM). This study explores on exploring the main technological characteristics of both phases, as well as their chronological development, to analyse when and how the change occurred. For this purpose, we have reviewed the lithic industry, the stratigraphic sequences and the chronology of more than fifty archaeological levels. The results obtained highlight the technological distance between the two industrial traditions, where the GM innovations burst into the Ebro valley when the NDM technology was still active. However, we consider that the adoption of the new technology would take place through the socio-territorial structures of the NDM. This hypothesis is based on the recognition of continuity in the territorial occupation, as well as the identification of technological practices typical of the NDM that persist in GM lithic assemblages.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2019
The arrival and disappearance of the Acheulean technocomplex in Europe, and specifically in the Iberian Peninsula, is a longstanding topic of discussion with relevance for unravelling the Middle Pleistocene human occupation dynamics of the continent. Despite containing one of the first Acheulean sites excavated in Europe (As Gándaras de Budiño site), the Miño River basin (north-western Iberian Peninsula) remains understudied and has yielded relatively limited information on the temporal and spatial dynamics of the regional Acheulean technocomplex over the last fifty years. Here we present a systematic archaeological and numerical dating study of a previously undocumented Acheulean site located in the lower Miño River basin (Arbo site, Pontevedra, Spain). This newly discovered site preserves a late Middle Pleistocene Acheulean assemblage that has been dated to pre-Marine Isotope Stage 5 by a combination of post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IR) and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of sedimentary silicates. The new excavations reveal that the site preserves a dense concentration of artefacts made from allochthonous raw materials. Detailed lithic analyses show that the industry has some elementary flake production systems devoid of Levallois cores, but with supplementary non-standardized flake tool types and some large cutting tools (LCTs)-mainly handaxes that are usually finalized with soft-hammer. The results obtained at Arbo complement those obtained recently at the nearby Porto Maior site, as well as the seminal study of As Gándaras de Budiño, and demonstrate an important Acheulean and hominin presence in the Miño River basin during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene.
Quaternary International, 2014
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 AE 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.
Andreas Pastoors and Bärbel Auffermann (Eds.): Pleistocene Foragers on the Iberian Peninsula: Their culture and Environment. Wissenschaftliche Schriften 7: 35-53. MettmannNeanderthal Museum., 2013
Abstract We present the natural environment of the historic region of the Strait of Gibraltar. We evaluate the similarities in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa in geography, geology, environment and resources. The paper shows a summary of the important research carried out about the history of hunter-gatherer societies in this area. We emphasise the importance of the similarities of the Mode I and II technologies. On the other hand specifically, the Mode III technology scene is valued on both sides of this Atlantic and Mediterranean region. We reflect on the similarity of exploitation in order to make use of the marine resources by different human groups.
This paper presents the lithic assemblages documented at Sima del Elefante (TE) and their importance in the context of the Early and Middle Pleistocene human occupation of Europe. We also study changes in human behaviour within the context of the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Sierra de Atapuerca. This site has characteristics that are of great value for the study of human evolution. The lower levels of TE (Units TE7eTE14) are an essential reference for understanding the early stages of the colonization of Europe. The TE9c level has provided stone tools (Mode 1), faunal remains, and human fossils dated to 1.22 Ma (millions of years ago). Moreover, this is one of the few European sites with a stratigraphic sequence that includes remains of human occupations predating the Jaramillo subchron (Early Pleistocene) and from the Late Middle Pleistocene (Units TE18eTE19). Despite this, the presence of archaeologically sterile units (TE15e17) prevents us from establishing a continuous relationship between the Early and Middle Pleistocene human settlements and, consequently, between their technological and behavioural differences. We can, however compare the technological and palaeoeconomic strategies adopted by different species of hominins during two key phases of the occupation of Europe.
The Early and Middle Pleistocene Technological Record from Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)
Quaternary …, 2013
The Sierra de Atapuerca sites offer a chronological sequence that allows the evolution of technology at a local scale during the Early and Middle Pleistocene to be reconstructed. This paper presents updated information on the main lithic assemblages recovered from the various levels of the Sima del Elefante, Gran Dolina, Galería, and Sima de los Huesos sites. The ultimate goal is to look for technological features on the pieces that make up these assemblages that carry evolutionary significance. Other archaeological data will be cross-referenced with the technical features documented in these artefacts in order to better understand the peopling that took place at Atapuerca during the Pleistocene.