Felipe Cuartero

• PhD
• Researcher at University of Alcalá

The extended period of coexistence between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Europe coincided with the emergence of regionally distinctive lithic industries, signalling the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic. The Iberian Peninsula was on the periphery of pioneering Upper Palaeolithic developments, with archaeological remains primarily found in northern...

El Cierro cave contains an archaeological site in its entrance room that was discovered to the scientific community by Francisco Jordá Cerdá at the end of the 1950s. Since 2014 we have been carrying out new research in this area that has allowed us to better understand its record. Within the framework of the CantabricOIS2 project, in the years 2022...

The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years a...

Horse tooth retouchers have been identified in several Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites. They have been typically characterised as ‘soft’ hammers and/or grouped into the category of ‘bone retouchers’ at a technical level. Bone and teeth have different chemical compositions; teeth are denser and heavier than bone, and consequently, their technolo...

FLK West, which excavation is currently in progress, is one of the most relevant archaeological sites in East Africa for monitoring the origin of complexity in Early Stone Age (ESA) from 1.7 Ma when sprang out the Acheulean technology. This new socioeconomical system that must be investigated and exposed involve deep changes in the way of life of e...

Several experiments have been typically and widely performed to understand how bone retouchers were used, focusing successfully on correlate the morphology of the taphonomic alterations with several variables such as gripping, type of retouched lithic raw-material, mode of retouch or retouching methods and techniques. These approaches, combined wit...

Bone retouchers have been used since the Lower Paleolithic, e.g., at Gran Dolina TD10-1, Bolomor Cave, Qesem Cave and Schöningen. These tools became widespread during the Middle Palaeolithic in Eurasia. Thus, they have been mainly associated to Neanderthal occupation horizons in French cave sites, such as La Quina, where these tools were first reco...

In this poster we present a protocol developed at CENIEH (Burgos, Spain) for the description under quantitative values of several features that affect to the quality of the raw materials used in flintknapping during Prehistoric times. The quality of several rocks as obsidian, opal, flint, chert and quartzite are examinated under flintknapping exper...

The quartz component of the Champs de Bossuet (CdB) industry has been the subject of technological and techno-functional analyses focused on the ergonomic characterization of percussive tools related to their morphologies, their dimensions and masses but especially on their Active Percussion Zone (APZ) (morphology, extent, location). After assessin...

Although Palaeolithic bone retouchers have been the object of both specific and large-scale studies in recent years (work of Auguste, Mallye, Hutson and their collaborators), the percussive stone tools used for knapping actions have only been analyzed from a partial and limited perspective. However, the characterization of the latter as tools for d...

Level US4 of the Bois-de-Riquet archeological site represents a mudslide type deposit dating to the early Middle Pleistocene. It has yielded a rich lithic assemblage made from basalt, aplite and quartz, whose components represent all of the operating chains of production: cores, flakes, hammers, worked cobbles and blocks, as well as a biface. The l...

As the south-westernmost region of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula stands as a key area for understanding the process of modern human dispersal into Eurasia. However, the precise timing, ecological setting and cultural context of this process remains controversial concerning its spatiotemporal distribution within the different regions of the peninsul...

Link to download : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03153334 Level US4 of the Bois-de-Riquet archeological site corresponds to a mudslide type deposit dating to the early Middle Pleistocene. It has yielded a rich lithic assemblage made from basalt, aplite and quartz, whose components represent all of the operating chains of production: cores, f...

Résumé Parfois représentés en forts pourcentages, les manuports constituent, dans les sites du pléistocène inférieur, une composante importante des outillages. À ce titre, ils participent grandement aux modèles établis d’organisation des territoires des hominidés du Plio-Pléistocène en Afrique. Leur rôle parmi cette composante reste cependant hypot...

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03085824/document

The central Meseta is a high plateau located in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula. Abundant evidence of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occupations of the region contrasts with scarce evidence of a human presence during the early Upper Palaeolithic. On this basis, it has been suggested that climatic downturns triggered the temporary abandonment, or...

The presence of small retouched stone tools in the lithic industries of the Middle Palaeolithic is a well-known and repeated-and not necessarily in recent times-fact in several European sites. Although modern research accepts the existence of microlithism in these contexts, it is necessary to define the process in the Palaeolithic industries of fla...

The Bois-de-Riquet site, located in a basalt quarry at Lézignan-la-Cèbe (l’Hérault, France), contains two stratigraphical levels that have yielded archeological and paleontological materials. Level US2 is already known for its rich paleontological record in association with a basalt stone tools dating to around 1 Ma Level US4, corresponds to a mudf...

Developments in methodological approaches to high-resolution morphometrical study of cut-mark morphology further our understanding of butchering activities. Identification of micro-morphological variability between different taphonomical alterations on ancient bone allows detection and comparison of bone-surface modifications and associated taphono...

RESUMEN En este trabajo analizamos la connguración de puntas de echa para evaluar y determinar su ee-cacia en las actividades de caza, basándonos en el estudio del grado de profundidad que alcanza. En este estudio se analiza el grado de profundidad que alcanza cada una de las echas empleadas sobre una superrcie homogénea. Se busca relacionar la cap...

RESUMEN Algunas piezas de industria ósea del Magdaleniense cantábrico y suroeste de Francia cuyas formas son aplanadas y de silueta ahusada han sido propuestas como posibles bramaderas, zumbadores o rombos (B 2012). A pesar de que en el citado trabajo se desarrolla una profunda reeexión sobre la función de dichos objetos a partir del análisis de su...

In archeological record for the late Lower Pleistocene, manuports often represent a high proportion of the stone tool assemblages. Examples from well-known sites in Eurasia, such as; Olduvai Gorge Beds I and II, Dmanisi or Hummal, underline the significance of these items. Yet these materials are usually only summarily mentioned and their analysis...

The rich industry from level US4 of the Bois-de-Riquet archeological site (Lézignan-la-Cèbe, France), dated around 800 Ka, was made from of blocks and cobbles of basalt, quartz and aplite collected from the local environment. The assemblage contains, alongside products made by different stone reduction concepts, a range of heavy-duty tools manufact...

Propuesta de póster y/o demostración práctica. Algunas piezas de industria ósea del magdaleniense cantábrico y suroeste de Francia cuyas formas son aplanadas y de silueta ahusada han sido propuestas como posibles bramaderas, zumbadores o rombos (Barandiarán, 2012). A pesar de que en el citado trabajo se desarrolla una profunda reflexión sobre la fu...

En este estudio analizamos la configuración de puntas de flecha para evaluar y determinar su eficacia en las actividades de caza. En el presente estudio se analiza el grado de profundidad que alcanza cada una de las flechas empleadas sobre una superficie homogenea. Se busca relacionar la potencialidad de alcanzar una mayor o menor profundidad en el...

Propuesta de póster y/o demostración práctica. La presencia de tubos en hueso de ave con pigmentos de óxido de hierro ha sido interpretada como el uso de aerógrafo como técnica pictórica en el Paleolítico superior cantábrico (Montes et al, 2004). Esta técnica ha sido identificada así mismo por el efecto de la dispersión homogénea de la pintura sobr...

Since the 1980s, several experimental analyses have been able to differentiate some lithic tool types and some of their raw materials according to the morphology of cut marks imprinted by such tools when used for butchering activities. Thus, metal tool use has been differentiated in contexts with an abundance of lithic tools, or even the use of han...

Introduction and objectives Although the Iberian Peninsula is a key area for understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and the demise of the Neandertals, valuable evidence for these debates remains scarce and problematic in its interior regions. Sparse data supporting a late Neandertal persistence in the Iberian interior have been re...

Supporting tables on micromorphology and archeozoology and taphonomy. (PDF)

The recent excavations (2008–2009) conducted at the open-air site of Las Delicias, located in the Manzanares River valley (Madrid), have revealed new important data for the understanding of the human settlement of Central Iberia during Solutrean times. In this paper, we present a geomorphological and taphonomic study of the Pleistocene deposits of...

En el presente trabajo utilizamos la caracterización del experimento científico propuesta por el filósofo de la ciencia Mario Bunge para presentar una serie de cuatro experimentos en el campo de la tecnología lítica. Nos centramos en evaluar el grado de control de variables asumido en dichos experimentos, presentándolos de menor a mayor según dicho...

We present partial results obtained in an interdisciplinary research project focused on the human settlement of the Guadalajara province (Spain) during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. The excavation of the Peña Capón, Peña Cabra and Los Casares sites have shown outstanding evidence for investigating population dynamics and human-environment inte...

We present partial results obtained in an interdisciplinary research project focused on the human settlement of the Guadalajara province (Spain) during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. The excavation of the Peña Capón, Peña Cabra and Los Casares sites have shown outstanding evidence for investigating population dynamics and human-environment inte...

In this paper we use the characterization of scientific experiment put forward by the philosopher of science Mario Bunge to present a series of four experiments in the field of lithic technology. We pay especial attention to how these experiments deal with control of variables and we present them in order from the lowest to the highest level of con...

The Solutrean settlement of the Manzanares River valley (Madrid basin) has been a controversial topic over the history of the discipline. Despite the large number of bifacial assemblages, often considered Solutrean, known in the valley since the beginnings of the 20th century, their lack of stratigraphic references, chronometric dates and environme...

The basins of the Manzanares and Jarama rivers have been connected to human activity since the early Palaeolithic. At the boundary between these rivers the abundance of flint has given place to exploitation and mining activities even in historical times. In recent years, projects related to urban expansion in the southeast of Madrid have brought to...

Frecuentemente nos preguntamos sobre cuales fueron las diferentes estrategias de construcción empleadas por las sociedades paleolíticas para resguardarse de las inclemencias meteorológicas. Entre la historiografía clásica está muy extendido el tópico de que la humanidad en sus estadios más remotos es eminentemente 'cavernícola', incapaz en muchos c...

Frecuentemente nos preguntamos sobre cuales fueron las diferentes estrategias de construcción empleadas por las sociedades paleolíticas para resguardarse de las inclemencias meteorológicas. Entre la historiografía clásica está muy extendido el tópico de que la humanidad en sus estadios más remotos es eminentemente 'cavernícola', incapaz en muchos c...

Los denominados cepillos o rabots representan una categoría de utillaje frecuente entre las facies denominadas macrolíticas del Mesolítico europeo. Su funcionalidad no siempre ha sido bien comprendida, más aun teniendo en cuenta su aspecto tosco y masivo entendido como de aspecto arcaizante en las descripciones tipológicas que se establecen para es...

La Didáctica que aborda aspectos arqueológicos, se ha revelado como una de las mejores herramientas para la comprensión del pasado, siendo en la actualidad un complemento imprescindible en museos, exposiciones temporales y puestas en valor de yacimientos arqueológicos. Ofreciendo este tipo de recursos didácticos a la sociedad, se favorece la identi...

During the execution of the two preliminary surveys required in the permit action undertaken in the plot of the Antonio Lopez street, number 241, several pieces of flint were found. These findings were primarily documented in the lower levels of polling 1. After presenting the respective communication of our findings to the competent authority, and...

The Bois-de-Riquet site, located in a basalt quarry at Lézignan-la-Cèbe (l'Hérault, France), contains two stratigraphical levels that have yielded archeological and paleontological materials. Level US2 is already known for its rich paleontological record in association with a few basalt stone tools dating to around 1.2 Ma. Level US4, presented here...

This study presents the first geochronological data from several research projects focused on the chronostratigraphy of the Tagus fluvial terraces in the environs of Toledo city (Central Spain). The research is centered on Middle to Late Pleistocene fluvial terraces with palaeontological and Acheulean sites of similar Palaeolithic technology than t...

(Preliminary geoarchaeological study of the +8m terrace fluvial deposits of the Manzanares River and Pradolongo stream in the final stage of the middle Manzanares valley (Madrid)): During the execution of the two preliminary surveys required in the permit action undertaken in the plot of the Antonio Lopez street, number 241, several pieces of flint...

In this paper we present a new interdisciplinary project focused on the investigation of the Late Pleisto-cene deposits still preserved in the Room A of Los Casares cave (Riba de Saelices, Guadalajara, Spain). We first make a historical reconstruction of the research carried out in the cave, then we present our objectives, working hypotheses and me...

(Late Pleistocene population dynamics in Central Iberia: a new geoarchaeological project): We present a new research project aimed at investigating population dynamics and human-environment interactions during the second half of the Late Pleistocene in Central Iberia. In this communication we discuss the state-of-the-art on the Middle and Upper Pal...

Poster presented at the 5th Annual Meeting of the ESHE, 10-12 September 2015. London / UK

In this paper we study the development of Formal Recycling and Formal Maintenance processes in three lithic assemblages coming from the Mousterian sequence of El Esquilleu Cave (Cantabria, Spain). Each of these assemblages is dominated by a different knapping method (Discoid, Levallois and Quina), and shows a different strategy of resource exploita...

Technological changes during the second part of the Middle Pleistocene in Europe are crucial sources of information as they are considered to be evidence of the transition between two distinct periods; the Lower Palaeolithic and the Middle Palaeolithic. The application of experimental technical (mode of percussion) and technological (core technolog...

The Palaeolithic sites of "12 de Octubre" and "Villaverde-Barrio de Butarque" (Madrid) and its geological contextualisation in the lower Valley of the Manzanares River. The archaeological excavations carried out along the years 2005 and 2006 in these archaeological sites, have revealed new informations about the Manzanares in the Pleistocene. Morph...

RESUMEN Las intervenciones arqueológicas llevadas a cabo durante los años 1996 en Tafesa, 2005 en el yaci-miento Hospital 12 de Octubre y 2006 en la desembocadura del arroyo Butarque (Villaverde-Barrio de Butarque) situados al sur de la ciudad de Madrid (España), han aportado nuevos conjuntos líticos con-textualizados estratigráficamente en los dep...

A significant challenge in Prehistory is to understand the mechanisms involved in the behavioural evolution of human groups. The degree of technological and cultural development of prehistoric groups is assessed mainly through stone tools. However, other elements can provide valuable information as well. This paper presents two bone retouchers date...

The stone tools and fossil bones from the earliest archaeological sites in Africa have been used over the past fifty years to create models that interpret how early hominins lived, foraged, behaved and communicated and how early and modern humans evolved. In this book, an international team of archaeologists and primatologists examines early Stone...

We present in this chapter the lithic assemblage of level J. Bearing in mind the temporal issues involved in the interpretation of archeological assemblages, we have organized this chapter according to two different analytical levels. On the one hand, we have studied the technological and functional characteristics of the assemblage-as-a-whole, pay...

Most researchers agree about the importance of the fire during the Pleistocene. The controlled use of fire could allow advances in the ways of life, not only for its value as a constant source of light and heat, but also because it contributed to the processing of food, to warding off the carnivores, and especially, to human socialization, as fire...

During the last decades, the Cantabrian region has become one of the zones of greater interest in the study of the final Mousterian on the European scale. The particular ecological and physiographic conditions of this region provide an especially attractive picture for analyzing the advanced moments of this period. Almost all the Mousterian levels...

The archaeological works developed during the years 1996 in the site of Tafesa, 2005 in the 12 de Octubre Metro Station site and 2006 in the confluence of the Butarque Stream (Villaverde-Barrio de Butarque site) located south of the Madrid City (Spain), have provided new lithic assemblages. These assemblages have been stratigraphically contextualiz...

Las intervenciones arqueológicas llevadas a cabo durante los años 1996 en Tafesa, 2005 en el yacimiento Hospital 12 de Octubre y 2006 en la desembocadura del arroyo Butarque (Villaverde-Barrio de Butarque) situados al sur de la ciudad de Madrid (España), han aportado nuevos conjuntos líticos contextualizados estratigráficamente en los depósitos flu...

Behavioral strategies are a primary focus in the study of Middle Paleolithic assemblages. Since the emergence of the processual paradigma, this research has been partly based on the use of interpretive frameworks derived from ethnoarcheological sources. However, this approach is flawed by the lack of correspondence between the time scale of the eth...

Since the 19th century Madrid region has been well known for its Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites.Fluvial terraces from the main rivers of the region have allowed us to detect a great number of sites. Duringthe past few years, heritage conservation initiatives undertaken by the administration of Madrid’s regionalgovernment have also facilitated...

La industria línea documentada en el nivel IV de la Cova del Bolomor (Tavernes de Valldigna, València) permite hacer una aproximación al comportamiento técnico y tecno-económico de las comunidades de homínidos del área mediterránea peninsular en el tránsito del Pleistoceno medio al Pleistoceno superior. La industria aquí analizada, caracterizada po...

Classic typological approaches have provided significant information about human behavior in terms of morphological ideas as well as relevant data about the main technical and technological evolution. The development of technological approaches in recent times has revealed much detail about human abilities through these records, showing more comple...

En los últimos años, merced a nuevos proyectos de investigación, la región cantábrica ha empezado a contar con nuevas y revisadas secuencias estratigráficas para el Paleolítico Medio. Los datos ofrecidos por yacimientos como los de Covalejos, El Castillo, Axlor o la Cueva del Esquilleu, entre otros, ha permitido tener un registro más detallado de l...

El área madrileña es una región rica en yacimientos paleolíticos conocidos desde antiguo. Los depósitos de terrazas de los principales ríos de nuestra región han permitido conocer un elevado número de yacimientos vinculados a los entornos fluviales, sin que hasta el momento se conocieran testimonios fuera de estos contextos. En los últimos años, la...

En el presente artículo se exponen las principales características de las industrias líticas del Paleolítico Medio en el territorio valenciano. Se hace especial hincapié en la variabilidad tecno-económica observada en la secuencia estratigráfica de la Cova del Bolomor. Con dicho análisis se pretende contribuir al establecimiento de los rasgos evolu...

For all the researchers that frecuently works with stone tools assemblages is quite obviousthat, during the last two decades, all the proposals for lithic study and analysis are moving intoseveral directions without a clear definition of the objectives. In this work, we try to summarizeand to organize the basic analytical procedures employed in the...

En los últimos años, desde el ámbito científico se está generando una serie de actuaciones, que persiguen lo que se ha venido a denominar “socialización del conocimiento”. La finalidad de este tipo de posicionamiento es facilitar el acceso de los ciudadanos a los numerosos descubrimientos que día tras día se están produciendo en el mundo científico...