Acheulean (Archaeology) Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

ROSSONI-NOTTER E., NOTTER O., SIMONP. et SIMONE S. The assemblages of the Observatory (Monaco) and Prince (Balzi Rossi, Liguria, Italy) Caves.New studies and regional issues”. International conference National Museum of Natural History, European Acheuleans, Northern v.s. Southern Europe: Hominins, technical behaviour, chronological and environmental contexts,19-21 Nov. 2014, Paris (France)

- by and +2
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Historiography, History of Collections

ROSSONI-NOTTER E., NOTTER O., SIMONP. et SIMONE S. « Comportements techniques des acheuléens de la grotte d’Aldène (Cesseras, Hérault, France) », Session B10-The interglacialHolsteinian eldorado and the onset of the Middle Palaeolithic (400-300 ka), UISPP, Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques, International Union of the Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, Unión Internacional de CiencasPrehistoricas y Protohistoricas, 1er au 7 septembre 2014,Burgos (Espagne)

- by Elena Rossoni-Notter and +2
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Lithic Technology, Lithics

The ‘Movius Line’ is the putative technological demarcation
line mapping the easternmost geographical distribution
of Acheulean bifacial tools. It is traditionally argued by
proponents of the Movius Line that ‘true’ Acheulean bifaces,
especially handaxes, are only found in abundance in Africa
and western Eurasia, whereas in eastern Asia, in front of the
‘line’, these implements are rare or absent altogether. Here
we argue, however, that the Movius Line relies on classifying
undated surface bifaces as Acheulean on typological grounds
alone, a long-standing and widely accepted practice in Africa
and western Eurasia, but one that is not seen as legitimate in
eastern Asian contexts. A review of the literature shows that
bifaces are relatively common as surface finds in Southeast
Asia and on this basis we argue that the Movius Line is in
need of reassessment.

- by Adam Brumm and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Palaeolithic Archaeology, Behaviour (Human Evolution)

As Gándaras de Budiño is one of the most knows acheulian site in the Iberian Peninsula, although there
aren’t any recent publications about its industry, stratigraphy context or chronology. In this article we will
study the unpublished lithic material found in fluvial deposits excavated by Julio Vidal Encinas at the
beginning of the 80s. This assemblage shows all characteristic of the acheulian industry of the peninsular
Middle Pleistocene. The sediments which contain the industry have been formed in medium energy environments. The few disturbances of the materials suggest that these are repose in a similar position at the
original.

- by Jean-Jacques Hublin
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- Pleistocene Fossils, Neandertals, Acheulean (Archaeology), Homo Sapiens

At the Abbeville/Saint Riquier colloquium, two regional syntheses for southwestern France were proposed. One discussed the northern Aquitaine Basin (Delpech et al., 1995), the other the southern basin of the Garonne and the Pyrenean Piedmont (Jaubert and Servelle, 1996). Since then, research has focused
on the classic sequences of Barbas I, La Micoque and Coudoulous I, or on little published sites, such as Lanne-Darré on the Lannemezan plateau (Colonge, 2005a; Colonge and Texier, 2005). Numerous rescue operations, many still in progress and thus only partially published, have also been conducted in recent years, mainly in geographic zones with diverse pedosedimentary contexts: the Isle Valley (Champ des
Débats (Brenet and Folgado, 1998), the Midi Toulousain and the middle Adour Basin (Colonge, Lelouvier, Bertran and collaborators). Several university theses have also fully or partially addressed this region (Turq, 1992; Millet, 2001; Mourre, 2003; Jarry and Brenet, in progress). These works concerning the first occupations in this region, up until OIS 9 when Middle Paleolithic industries become fully developed, allow revision of the ancient assemblages and presentation of a general synthesis of these industries.

- by Marc Jarry and +2
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Palaeolithic Archaeology, Acheulian (Archaeology), Lower Paleolithic

Altamura F., Gaudzinski-Windheuser S., Melis R.T., Mussi M., 2019. Reassessing an early Middle Pleistocene Hippo Butchery Site: Gombore II-2 (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash valley, Ethiopia), in Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 32 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-019-00046-0
Abstract: Single-carcass sites of Lower and Middle Pleistocene age have attracted much attention since they were first recorded. They have been the focus both of science and of museum displays, with reconstructions of "hominins-feasting-on-a-carcass" purposefully illustrating a major step in human evolution. Here we report the Acheulean site Gombore II-2 in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia, dating to 0.7 Myr. In the 1970s, due to the presence of hippo remains, the site was published as a single-carcass butchering site. New excavations revealed an ichnosurface displaying animal and human footprints associated with bones and lithics. Subsequent studies of lithic and faunal remains of recent and past excavations as well as archive studies show that Gombore II-2 represents one of the earliest sites with hominin-hippo interaction. The hippo remains belong to a minimum of three carcasses, at least one of them butchered by hominins and subsequently ravaged by hyenas. However, instead of single carcasses exploited on the spot, evidence suggests the existence of a living floor where butchering episodes were performed through time, possibly transporting portions from scav-enging sites at a distance. Gombore II-2 thus provides unique insight into planning capacities and control over the environment probably by early representatives of Homo heidelbergensis.

- by Flavio Altamura and +1
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Ethiopian Studies, Acheulian (Archaeology), Pleistocene

From its initial appearance at ~1.7 Ma, the Acheulean was prevalent through a vast chronological span of hominin behavioural evolution that lasted nearly 1.5 million years. The origins and production patterns of large bifacial cutting tools ('LCTs') e the marker of the Acheulean techno-complex e and the systematic changes in this behaviour through time are gaining increasing interest in paleoan-thropology. Here we provide a synthesis of early Acheulean LCT variation in a landscape context by analysing assemblages from four different quasi-contemporaneous (~1.4 Ma) sites from the Koobi Fora Formation. We characterize this variation using both 3D geometric morphometric and descriptive approaches. The expansive lateral exposures of fluvial and lacustrine sediments, as well as the associated tephrostratigraphy of the Koobi Fora Formation provide the landscape context that enables these comparative analyses. Our study demonstrates that when multiple contemporaneous early Acheulean localities are analysed together, a broader picture of LCT variability is elucidated. Four sites at Koobi Fora appear to represent a single system of lithic economy, characterized by a discrete tra-jectory of changes in LCT size and shape. These sites have ranges of LCT forms which appear to represent different but overlapping stages on a single reduction trajectory. Certain sites exhibit the full reduction trajectory while others exhibit only fragments of this trajectory. Other inter-site lithic proxies further complement these patterns in LCT variability. We explore patterns of site function, mobility and hominin landscape use, all of which may be suggestive of a depth of planning in early Acheulean hominins wherein technological activities were undertaken in substantial anticipation of future needs.

EVOLUTION OF LARGE MAMMAL POPULATIONS IN WEST MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE DURING MIDDLE AND UPPER PLEISTOCENE. A REGIONAL EXAMPLE: FRENCH AND ITALIAN SOUTHERN ALPS.
Alpes-Maritimes (France) and Liguria (Italy) area contains numerous prehistoric sites dated from Upper and Middle Pleistocene. A biochronology of the sites is drawn after faunal associations and evolutionary stage of taxa: Terra Amata (MIS 11), Lazaret (MIS 6), Caverna delle Fate (MIS 5 and 4), Madonna dell’Arma (MIS 5), Arma delle Manie (MIS 4), Santa Lucia Superiore (MIS 4), San Francesco (MIS 3). It highlights regional features linked to geographical position of the sites: persistence of archaïc taxa during Upper Pleistocene (Hyaena prisca, Cuon priscus) and maintenance of large populations of temperate species during glacial periods (Cervus elaphus, Palaeoloxodon antiquus).

- by Patricia Valensi
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- Biostratigraphy, Pleistocene, Quaternary, Middle Palaeolithic

The basaltic Saint Briccio hilltop (Verona/Italy) was excavated in 1883-1888 in oder to build a big gunpowder magazine (connected with the italian and austrian frontline): lot of pottery shreds came to light discovering traces of a IX century b.C. village, along with carved antler pieces which were interpreted as Iron age "sanctuary" evidences. The Saint Briccio ridge trail, up to the Bosco di Trani acheulean site, is sketch out, highlighting also some mousterian surface findings.

- by Giorgio Chelidonio
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- Late Bronze Age archaeology, Mousterian, Acheulean (Archaeology)
- by Michael Petraglia
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- Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Human Evolution

Emiliano Aguirre’s excavations in As Gándaras de Budiño site begin the study of the most important site in the Galician Paleolithic and one of most important of Iberian Peninsula. Since this moment, the controversy for its chronology and lithic industry is constant. Aguirre’s excavations affected exclusively at “coluvial” levels, where the industry was displaced of its original position. Attempt dating of K. W. Butzer, by C14 method, provided totally anomalous results. Leaning in this datation, they situated the Acheulian occupation of the site in a advanced moment of the Late Pleistocene. However, neither the application range of dating method, nor the own context of the industry (secondary position), justify the chronological propose. Later works, of Julio Vidal Encinas, show the existence of Acheulean industries in different stratigraphic context (fluvial terrace) and without important postdeposicional alterations. Morphostratigraphic position of terrace is own of second half of Middle Pleistocene. Also, characteristics of these industries are identical to those of any other Middle Pleistocene site of the Iberian Peninsula. In this article we analyzed the materials unpublished) coming from “Locus V” of Vidal Encinas’ excavations. This industry comes from analogous levels to identified ones in Aguirre’s excavations. The comparison with the materials, recovered in the fluvial deposits, suggests is similar sets, which are to say, that comprise of a same occupation (in ample sense). Only appreciable differences derive from the sedimentary processes (classification by sizes mainly), that took part in the industry deposition of “coluvial” levels.

The lithic industries of the sites Kermek, Ciscaucasia (2.1–2.0 Ma) and Karakhach, South Caucasus (1.85–1.78 Ma) contain almost all the components of the Acheulian, indicating that this technocomplex appeared in the different areas of the Caucasus region not later than at the end of the Gelasian. Such extremely old ages of these industries as well as a number of their features due to the influence of the local raw material (tabular clasts) suggest that they were formed independently of the Early Acheulian industries known in Africa and the Near East. The very early appearance and further dispersal of Early Acheulian in the Caucasus can be explained by the presence there of raw materials with qualities supporting the production of large tools inherent of Acheulian, and by the very favorable natural conditions of the region in the final Gelazian-initial Calabrian (low or medium altitude terrain with subtropical climate and savanna-like landscape).

– The FLK West sequence is divided into six fluvial stratigraphic levels, each of which provided archaeological materials. In the present paper we outline the major similarities and differences displayed by the lithic assemblages in FLK W, particularly the lower assemblages, which have yielded more objects than the upper ones. The differences noted in the absence/presence and frequency of LCTs may be explained in occupational terms, while the similarities in raw material selection, core reduction and flake retouching patterns indicate homogeneous cultural decisions and cognitive skills. We conclude that these assemblages were likely formed by the same hominin group or taxon and, therefore, the assemblage variability registered would correspond to different expressions of the same economic structure.

- by Isabel Díaz Muñoz and +1
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- Human Evolution, Palaeolithic Archaeology, East Africa, Pleistocene

Dating the earliest human occupations in Western Europe and reconstructing links with climatic and environmental constraints is a central issue in Quaternary studies. Amongst the discovery of Palaeolithic artefacts ascribed to the Early Pleistocene in southeast Britain and central France the Somme Basin, where the Acheulean type-site Amiens Saint-Acheul is located, is a key area for addressing this topic. Research undertaken over the past 20 years on both Quaternary fluvial and loess sequences of this area has provided a unique dataset for the study of the relations between human occupations and environmental variations. Studies based on an interdisciplinary approach combining sedimentology, palae-ontology and geochronology have highlighted the impact of the 100 kyrs cycles on terrace formation during the last million years. In this terrace system, the earliest in situ Acheulean settlements known in the 1990s were dated to early MIS 12 (±450 ka), but new field discoveries, at Amiens " Rue du Man ege " , dated to ± 550 ka, significantly increase the age of the oldest human occupation in the area. In this context, new fieldwork has been undertaken in Abbeville at the Carri ere Carpentier site, famous for its White Marl deposit attributed to the Cromerian and in the same terrace level where the former discoveries of " Abbevillian bifaces " were made by d'Ault du Mesnil. This research is based on an interdis-ciplinary approach, combining sedimentology, paleontology, dating (ESR on quartz and ESR/U-series on teeth) and archaeology. According to the various bio-proxies (molluscs, large vertebrates, small mammals), the White Marl was deposited during the early part of an interglacial phase in an aquatic slow-flowing environment, as emphasized by the development of oncoliths and the presence of fish and aquatic molluscs. The landscape was composed of a mosaic of open bush and forest areas, in which wet

- by Davinia Moreno and +2
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- Paleontology, Paleoenvironment, Acheulean (Archaeology), ESR dating

The archaeological record of Asia is long and complex, offering ground for cooperation based on experiences
acquired not only at the scale of the continent, but also outside it. This is especially true for the Middle
Pleistocene record, and namely for the Acheulean. This cultural complex is well documented in the Near
East and in India, but earlier sites and major archaeological sequences have been investigated in Africa.
The preservation of Pleistocene sites occurs in different settings: in Asia fluvio-lacustrine basins, alluvial
sequences, long-lasting caves have all been investigated and offer potential for future research, even if
eroded areas do not allow the study of stratified sites, and problems also arise in terms of chronology.
Innovative dating techniques are being worked out, leading to a re-assessment of the age of the deposits;
while new methods of analysis allow the accurate evaluation of site formation processes and taphonomic
issues. It is stressed that new narratives are also needed to convey to a larger audience the outcome of
scientific research, and to make widely understood the Outstanding Universal Value of Asian sites and their
potential for future research.

We propose a model for the cognitive life-world of Homo erectus that emphasizes pre-semantic cognitive structures and processes defined by the categorization and relationships between objects. Focusing on the handaxe as a product of individual action that endured physically and phenomenologically beyond the immediate context of use, we suggest that they were material extensions of the mind that enabled an inchoate construction of a reflective sense of self. As a mediated form, the handaxe may have provided a scaffold for an individual, socially arbitrated, unique physical expression (sense of self or “I”). This would also have enabled the non-symbolic and indexical recognition of the work of others (socially-embedded self or “we/them”). In effect, Homo erectus may have altered the long-standing and ubiquitous nature of primate social hierarchies, which are largely based on physical dominance, and replaced them with social negotiations based on physical expressions of visuospatial intelligence (technical skill), without the advantages of modern symbolic communication. We also propose that the increasing social complexity of Homo erectus/Homo heidelbergensis may have been responsible for the over-designed Late Acheulean handaxes, perhaps creating a pre-symbolic index of personal prestige that furthered the indexical value of finely designed handaxes.

- by James M Hicks
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- Cognitive archaeology, Acheulean (Archaeology), Acheulean, Handaxes

The structure of the Paleolithic Sequence of the Low Guadalquivir is defined across the relation of his industries líticas by the alluvial deposits, the characterization tecnotipológica and the degree of bearing of the same ones. In the study the industries proceeding from connections have been in use fundamentally estratigráficas, having in different paleoedáficas counts in turn the variety of sedimentary formations, of genesis and evolution that the warehouses shape type: sweep base them of gravels, banks of sands, lacustrine, plains of flood, lateral bars, horizons of soil and coluviones. Likewise, and of complementary form, there have been in use also the numerous sets of surface that there contribute in the majority of the cases homogeneous definite well series and manifestly correlacionables with the previous ones. The position of the industries in the fluvial relative sequence and the correlation paleo-magnética demonstrate a development cronoestratigráfico from the limit Low Pleistocene Average Pleistocene (780.000 B.P.) and the Top ancient Pleistocene (up to 40.000 B.P.), there being stated along the same uninterrupted occupation of the territory. The cultural sequence reflects a tecno- morphologic homogeneity that turns out to be expressed in a cultural continuity, related to the complexes of singings carved of the fluvial depressions, only interrupted by gradual successive impacts of new technologies that the previous ones do not despise, rather they complement them, staying always an archaic substrate of carved singings, group macrolítico, etc., that extends even up to the Average Paleolithic, there being formed this way a Paleolithic regional inseparable Sequence that would include, at least, the whole Average Pleistocene and the Top ancient Pleistocene.

- by Eduardo García Sánchez
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- Palaeolithic Archaeology, Southeast Asia, Paleolithic Europe, Oldowan

The article presents the results of micro-residues study on the surface of stone tools from the lower, Acheulean layer of the cave site Zaskelna IX in the Crimea. Seve- ral recognised varieties of detected micro-residues of organic and mineral origin are characterised. Likely traces of specific wear inherent on the soft handle are identified. Pigment residues correlate with these tra- ces. Micro-residues and use-wear indicate the possible wrapping of stone tools in the leather or plant substan- ces with the help of adhesives containing ochre powder for safe and secure gripping in hand.

- by Yoel Melamed and +6
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- Archaeology, Consumption, Science, Fire History
- by Hazar Ahmar
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- Arabic, Lithic Technology, Acheulean (Archaeology), out of Africa

This study investigates morphological differences between flakes produced via " core and flake " technologies and those resulting from bifacial shaping strategies. We investigate systematic variation between two technological groups of flakes using experimentally produced assemblages, and then apply the experimental model to the Cutting 10 Mid-Pleistocene archaeological collection from Elandsfontein, South Africa. We argue that a specific set of independent variables—and their interactions—including external platform angle, platform depth, measures of thickness variance and flake curvature should distinguish between these two technological groups. The role of these variables in technological group separation was further investigated using the Generalized Linear Model as well as Linear Discrimi-nant Analysis. The Discriminant model was used to classify archaeological flakes from the Cutting 10 locality in terms of their probability of association, within either experimentally developed technological group. The results indicate that the selected independent variables play a central role in separating core and flake from bifacial technologies. Thickness even-ness and curvature had the greatest effect sizes in both the Generalized Linear and Dis-criminant models. Interestingly the interaction between thickness evenness and platform depth was significant and played an important role in influencing technological group membership. The identified interaction emphasizes the complexity in attempting to distinguish flake production strategies based on flake morphological attributes. The results of the dis-criminant function analysis demonstrate that the majority of flakes at the Cutting 10 locality were not associated with the production of the numerous Large Cutting Tools found at the site, which corresponds with previous suggestions regarding technological behaviors reflected in this assemblage.

- by Darya Presnyakova
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- Acheulean (Archaeology), Large Cutting Tools

The palaeolithic Portomaior site recent have been localized in the Miño basin in the As Neves council (Pontevedra, Galicia), are situated in a middle terrace of the Miño of +30-40m. Acheulian industry has been localized in several of the four stratigraphy levels differentiated. In absence of faunal remains and for the moment the absolute date, the relative position of the terrace in the general sequence of the valley permit to considerer a chronology of the second half of the Middle Pleistocene for the site. The high density of industry in context stratigraphy permits compares this collection with the Las Gándaras de Budiño site, it knows since middle century of 1960.

- by Eduardo Méndez-Quintas and +1
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- Geoarchaeology, Paleolithic Europe, Acheulian (Archaeology), Lower Paleolithic

In definition of the prehistoric migration routes of the earliest human beings, determination of the sites plays an crucial role. There is no doubt that in these first migrations from Africa, Anatolia had an important place. Evidence of the earliest stages of human history, called the Paleolithic Age, has been increasing with excavations and surveys carried out in recent years. Lower Palaeolithic bifacial tools unearthed in Turkey are mostly concentrated in southeastern and central Anatolia. However, in northern Anatolia the number of bifaces is quite low. From this point of view an Acheuléen bifa-cial tool uncovered in 2009 season, during the preliminary work at the excavations in Derekutuğun which is located approximately 75 km northwest of the province capital Çorum in northern Anatolia, epitomizes an important stray find particularly in the understanding of the hunter-gatherer movements , migration routes and cultural connections between northern Anatolia and southern Caucasus during the Lower Paleolithic. Derekutuğun represents an important site, because of its native copper deposits, prehistoric mines and the associated settlement. Due to the fact that such Acheuléen bifaces are a rarity in northern Anatolia, the aforementioned biface which is reflected a cultural tradition associated with the South Caucasus would provide an important contribution to the Paleolithic research in Turkey. In addition, the presence of such an artifact in Derekutuğun could also enable assumptions about the migration routes of Homo erectus between the Caucasus and Anatolia during the Lower Paleolithic.
PS: Please find the English translation attached to the paper in Turkish. Citations might be given according the Turkish text.

Henry De Lumley, Dominique Cauche, Khalid El Guennouni, Raymond-Alain Fournier, Sophie Grégoire, Bertrand Lecervoisier, Olivier Notter, Guy Pollet, Elena Rossoni-Notter, Bertrand Roussel, Cyril Viallet et Thierry Roger. 2015. Terra Amata... more

Áridos 1 and Áridos 2 (Madrid, Spain) are two Middle Pleistocene sites belonging to the isotopic stages 9–11. Both places contain partial carcasses of Elephas (Paleoxodon) antiquus associated to Acheulian stone tools. In this work, the taphonomic study of the elephant remains of Áridos 2 is presented. This study has documented several cut marks on different bones, which indicate bulk flesh and viscerae extraction by Middle Pleistocene hominins. Several arguments are provided to support that at least some of the cut marks were made with handaxes, further suggesting that some of these artifacts were butchering tools in this stage of human evolution. Although cut marks on elephant carcasses have been documented at some Middle Pleistocene sites, very few have been published in detail to allow consideration of their status as hominin-imparted marks. By doing so, the present study provides more evidence of large carcass exploitation by hominins during this period.

- by jose yravedra
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- Taphonomy, Acheulean (Archaeology), Lower Palaeolithic, Cut Marks

SE DEFINEN LAS CARACTERISTICAS GENERALES DE LA SECUENCIA ACHELENSE Y SUS INDUSTRIAS EN EL AMBITO FLUVIAL DE LAS TERRAZAS DEL BAJO GUADALQUIVIR, ASI COMO SUS ASPECTOS CULTURALES(TECNOLOGIA, TIPOLOGIA,LOCALIZACION FISICA Y CARACTERISTICAS DE LAS OCUPACIONES) Y CRONOLOGIA; PROPONIENDO UNA SECUENCIA INTEGRAL DEL PALEOLITICO INFERIOR DEL GUADALQUIVIR DESDE SUS COMIENZOS Y SIGUIENDO SU DESARROLLO, ASI COMO SU EVOLUCION FINAL QUE CONLLEVARA A LA APARICION DE UN PALEOLITICO MEDIO CARACTERISTICO DE LAS DEPRESIONES FLUVIALES, PARA INCORPORAR AL AMBITO DE LA PENINSULA IBERICA Y, EN GENERAL,DE LA SECUENCIA OCCIDENTAL.

Recently, several new sites dated to Upper Acheulean were discovered during the systematic prospection of surface done by P. Brichacek in Western Bohemia region. In this paper will be discussed only three sites, namely Stř兊ro, Hromnice I, II and Břetislav with medium to large collections of stone artifacts, including bifaces as a significant element of this chronological period. Additionally, two dozen sites yielding smaller, insignificant collections were detected in this region.

Rodafnidia is an Acheulian site on Lesbos Island, in the north-east Aegean Sea. This chapter presents the model that guided Paleolithic investigations on the island, the history of research, and the results of the 2012 expedition of systematic work in the field, which consisted of surface survey and excavation. The typology and technology of lithic artifacts from the surface and the uppermost Unit 1, as well as the first cluster of luminescence dates, firmly place the early component of the site in the Middle Pleistocene. The Acheulian industry derives from fluvio-lacustrine deposits at a locale with abundant fresh-water and lithic resources. Situated in the north-east Mediterranean Basin, an area where research on early hominin prehistory is intensifying, Rodafnidia holds the potential to contribute to Eurasian Lower Paleolithic archaeology and fill the gap in our understanding of early hominin presence and activity where Asia meets Europe.

- by Emilie Claud and +1
- •
- Palaeolithic Archaeology, Use Wear Analysis, Taphonomy, Acheulian (Archaeology)

The Middle Pleistocene is a crucial time period for studying human evolution in Europe, because it marks the appearance of both fossil hominins ancestral to the later Neandertals and the Acheulean technology. Nevertheless, European sites containing well-dated human remains associated with an Acheulean toolkit remain scarce. The earliest European hominin crania associated with Acheulean handaxes are at the sites of Arago, Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos (SH), and Swanscombe, dating to 400-500 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 11-12). The Atapuerca (SH) fossils and the Swanscombe cranium belong to the Neandertal clade, whereas the Arago hominins have been attributed to an incipient stage of Neandertal evolution, to Homo heidelbergensis, or to a subspecies of Homo erectus A recently discovered cranium (Aroeira 3) from the Gruta da Aroeira (Almonda karst system, Portugal) dating to 390-436 ka provides important evidence on the earliest European Acheulean-bearing hominins. This cranium is represente...

- by SANDRA MARCELA PUENTES GOMEZ
- •
- Paleoanthropology, Human Evolution, Multidisciplinary, Portugal

This report presents an overview of the state of Palaeolithic archaeology in the Philippines, a type of study that began about 80 years ago. A number of Palaeolithic sites have been investigated, mainly on the islands of Palawan and Luzon. Indications for the presence of early human occupation can be found in the Middle Pleistocene, while the oldest human fossils associated with Palaeolithic stone tools are about 50,000
years old. Morphological, technological and functional analysis have been undertaken for a number of Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic assemblages.

- by Alfred Pawlik
- •
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Palaeolithic Archaeology, Philippines, Lithic Technology
- by valerie deloze
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- Acheulean (Archaeology), Tl Dates
- by Sophie Grégoire
- •
- Lithic Technology, Paleolithic Europe, Quaternary, Spain
- by Richard L K Fullagar
- •
- Geography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Palaeolithic Archaeology

The Cueva del Angel archaeological site is an open-air sedimentary sequence, remnant of a collapsed cave
and part of a karst complex. The faunal assemblage dominated by Equus ferus, large bovids and cervids
has been subjected to intense anthropic actions reﬂecting selective predation. The fauna may be
correlated with European faunistic associations of the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of
the Upper Pleistocene. The Cueva del Angel lithic assemblage (dominated by non-modiﬁed ﬂakes and
abundant retouched tools with the presence of 46 handaxes) appears to ﬁt well within the regional
diversity of a well developed non-Levallois ﬁnal Acheulean industry. A preliminary
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estimate, the review of the lithic assemblage and faunal evidence would favour a chronological posi-
tioning of the site in a period stretching from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the
Upper Pleistocene (MIS 11eMIS 5). The Acheulean lithic assemblage found at the Cueva del Angel ﬁts
very well with the hypothesis of a continuation of Acheulean cultural traditions in the site, distinct from
the contemporaneous uniquely Mousterian complexes witnessed in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula,
and Western Europe.

- by Elena Rossoni-Notter
- •
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Lithic Technology, Paleolithic Europe, Spain
- by Flavio Altamura
- •
- Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Ethiopian Studies