
Manuel SantonjaNational Research Center on Human Evolution | CENIEH · Archaeology
Manuel Santonja
PhD
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Publications (183)
The major river basins of the Iberian Peninsula that drain towards the Atlantic coast contain extensive Lower Palaeolithic (Acheulean) records associated with well-preserved fluvial terrace sequences. These open-air archaeological records are often difficult to constrain chronologically due to a lack of suitable material for dating (e.g., faunal re...
Kill/butchering sites are some of the most important places for understanding the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherer groups. However, these sites are not common in the archaeological record, and they have not been sufficiently analysed in order to know all their possible variability for ancient periods of the human evolution. In the present...
Resumen:El yacimiento de Gándaras de Budiño (O Porriño, Pontevedra) es un yacimiento historiográficamente relevante para el estudio del Paleolítico Antiguo, tanto a nivel regional como peninsular. No obstante, su controvertida interpretación geocronológica propició la asunción del carácter diacrónico y arcaico del tecnocomplejo achelense en el noro...
Most of the lithic tools made during Prehistory in the Iberian Peninsula are mainly composed of three main siliceous rock types: chert, quartzite, and quartz. While the methodologies for the characterization and provenance of raw materials made on chert (and obsidian) have been developed with well-established and widely used protocols, the same doe...
In the upper basin of the Guadiana River, especially in the sectors drained by its right-bank tributaries, the Bullaque and Becea rivers, important concentrations of Acheulean and Mousterian industries can be found in a superficial position. These industries have provided series containing tens of thousands of pieces. Deposits in stratigraphic posi...
The analysis of formation processes (e.g., degree of surface alterations, size ranges, orientation patterns, fabric features, density, spatial patterns, etc.) in archaeological sites provide relevant information about the type and intensity of sedimentary disturbances. This type of analysis is particularly important in Palaeolithic sites, especiall...
Since 2006, The Olduvai Paleoanthropology and Paleoecology Project (TOPPP) is conducting intensive research in a number of classical and newly discovered sites throughout the sequence of Olduvai Gorge, in Tanzania. Over these fifteen years of intense fieldwork, efforts have mostly focused on the Oldowan and Acheulean evidence located in Bed I and B...
Ambrona and Torralba are key sites for the study of the European peopling during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene. The initial research of these sites, in the early 20th century, was pioneering and had great international repercussion, since these were among the first sites in which the contemporaneity of humans with extinct faunas was pro...
Los datos actuales muestran un escenario arqueológicamente complejo durante la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno medio en la península ibérica. Se observan distintos grupos tecnológicos coexistiendo: uno achelense de grandes lascas y filum africano, y otro en la lí- nea tecnológica del Paleolítico medio. Esta situación se constata grosso modo entre 300...
Probably, one of the biggest questions about the Acheulean is focused on the functional aspects of its lithic industry and, more specifically, its link to subsistence activities developed by hominins during the Early Stone Age. Historically, tecno-functional research on ESA techno-complex has focused on the role played by flakes and LCT in the proc...
La industria lítica del yacimiento de Galería (complejo de Atapuerca, Burgos), datado en la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno Medio, ha sido interpretada como uno de los más notables conjuntos del tecnocomplejo achelense que se conocen en la península ibérica y en el sur de Europa. Se ha estimado que su prolongada secuencia estratigráfica permitiría ob...
Este libro recoge una síntesis con los principales resultados de las investigaciones desarrolladas en el yacimiento paleolítico de Arbo (Pontevedra). Con una datación mínima de 118.000 años, este lugar se perfila como unos de los yacimientos arqueológicos más antiguos del noroeste peninsular. A su vez, esta cronología es una de las más recientes, e...
The Miño River is one of the main Atlantic basins of Iberia and preserves extensive Pleistocene deposits. However, there is presently limited information concerning the first human occupation history of this region. Existing research undertaken across the region has identified a significant number of Large Flake Acheulean (LFA) sites with African a...
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,...
The most significant results of the Miño-Minho project after four years of fieldwork (2016-2019) are presented. The main sites – Pedreiras 2 and Bela, Monção, and Carvalhas (loci 1, 2, 3 and 4), Melgaço –, associated with fluvial deposits of the Minho River or with formations derived from them, provided lithic assemblages that can be connected with...
A crescente realização de trabalhos arqueológicos em jazidas paleolíticas permite atualmente uma melhor compreensão do tecno-complexo Acheulense à escala peninsular, e a sua integração no contexto africano e euroasiático. O presente trabalho pretende aprofundar a discussão em torno das características tecnológicas das indústrias líticas peninsulare...
Viveen et al., (2020) raise several issues concerning the chronostratigraphic interpretations in our recent paper on the fluvial and archaeological deposits of Lower Miño River (Méndez-Quintas et al., 2020). Here we respond to these criticisms, reinforcing the key findings of our study and questioning the validity of their arguments. We find that t...
In this paper we present the experimental results obtained for the formation of use-wear traces on four types of basalt rocks from the Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and one from the Deba River (Spain). The objective of this study is to create a reference collection that will allow the posterior analysis and identification of archeological use-wear trace...
Trapped charge dating of optically bleached quartz deposits that lie beyond the dose-saturation limits of conventional optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) has typically focused on two main techniques over the last decade: electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL). In spite of a clear asso...
The Miño River basin represents one of the main fluvial catchments draining the Atlantic side of the Iberian Peninsula. The extensive sedimentary deposits of this basin have been documented since the 19th century, but limited research has been undertaken on these features historically, and the Quaternary record of the basin has remained understudie...
El yacimiento de Galería (complejo de Atapuerca, Burgos) ha sido hasta ahora interpretado como resultado de ocupaciones temporales en la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno Medio realizadas por grupos humanos de tecnología achelense. Con arreglo a los estudios publicados, la industria lítica de Galería permitiría reconocer una secuencia continua y repres...
Trapped charge dating of optically bleached quartz, which involves techniques such as electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL), is increasingly being used to establish Middle and Early Pleistocene chronologies for archaeological, palaeontological and palaeoenvironmental sedimentary sequences...
The recent increase of archaeological survey has allowed a better definition of the Acheulean techno-complex in the Iberian Peninsula, and its integration in the African and Eurasian context. This paper aims to extend the discussion around the technological features of the peninsular lithic industries of the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, t...
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...
This paper presents for the first time an experimental protocol for the assessment of use-wear produced when using Precambrian and metamorphic white Naibor Soit quartzite (NQ) flakes. NQ is the most recurrent raw material from the archaeological sites of the Olduvai Gorge during the Early Stone Age (ESA). The objective of this study is to provide a...
To understand the identity of the early Acheulean, it is necessary to discriminate between the variables that influenced the selection of technological strategies. Functionality of the archaeological sites is crucial in assessing the manufacturing strategies of lithic tools. To achieve this goal, analysis of the post-depositional processes must be...
tegrada en los equipos dirigidos por F. C. Howell en 1961-1963 y por Howell y L. G. Freeman en 1980-1983. Echaide contribuyó en cada campaña a la organización del trabajo e intervino de manera destacada en todos los procesos de excavación. La documentación elaborada por ella misma, recientemente depositada en el CENIEH, recoge numerosas observacion...
Taphonomic studies, along with modern analogs arisen from experimentation, have been developed to discern the agents responsible for bone accumulations. A special focus has been given to carnivores, which may produce bone accumulations or interact with hominins by ravaging bones from archaeological sites. Although a great effort has been made to st...
The geomorphological, geochronological and archaeological investigations developed over the recent years in the lower Miño basin have led to the identification of 9 levels of fluvial terrace and other sedimentary deposits. The sedimentary features indicate stable river patterns over time, which are dominated by a braided gravel model. The earliest...
As Gándaras de Budiño (GB) is a key locality for the Lower Palaeolithic record of the Iberian Peninsula. Although the site has been excavated in different occasions over the last decades, several geological and archaeological aspects are still not well known. Among other issues, the age of the lithic assemblage has been debated for a long time: des...
Los adornos de variscita son un tipo de artefacto empleado en distintos contextos de la Prehistoria reciente de buena parte de Europa Occidental y de forma general son interpretados como elementos de prestigio. El registro arqueológico del centro-sur-oeste de la Meseta Norte Española ofrece un caso de estudio ideal para reconstruir al completo su c...
This paper presents a detailed analysis of the bifacial shaping and the spatial distribution of 85 bifaces recorded in an area of 51.9 m2 on the Lower Floor of the TK site, located alongside the Trench I excavated by M. Leakey in 1963. The repeated use of shaping schemes and patterns demonstrates that the knappers who produced these tools had a goo...
We describe a European Acheulean site characterised by an extensive accumulation of large cutting tools (LCT). This type of Lower Paleolithic assemblage, with dense LCT accumulations, has only been found on the African continent and in the Near East until now. The identification of a site with large accumulations of LCTs favours the hypothesis of a...
We describe a European Acheulean site characterised by an extensive accumulation of large cutting tools (LCT). This type of Lower Paleolithic assemblage, with dense LCT accumulations, has only been found on the African continent and in the Near East until now. The identification of a site with large accumulations of LCTs favours the hypothesis of a...
A bacia do rio Minho-Sil, com uns 17.027 km 2 e algo mais de 350 km de curso, é a mais importante entre as existentes em NW da Península Ibéria. A existência de um desenvolvido sistema de terraços fluviales em sua bacia baixa tinha sido assinalada desde o séc. XIX por autores como G. Schulz ou C. Ribeiro, conquanto não seria até mediados do séc. XX...
In the eastern Iberian Peninsula, the archaeological site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Teruel, Spain) has produced some of the earliest evidence of Middle Paleolithic stone tool traditions together with evidence of equid and cervid carcasses defleshed by hominins. Based on the numerical age of 317-240 ka derived from OSL, ESR and AAR dating methods for...
The most recent excavations carried out at the Thiongo Korongo (TK) site, in the upper part of Olduvai Bed II and dating from about 1.353±0.035 Ma, have made it possible to identify a hitherto unknown Acheulean floor. Between 2010 and 2015, we excavated nearly 175 m2 in several areas immediately adjacent to M. Leakey's trenches. Our findings led us...
No agreement on what constitutes a safe and reproducible anticontamination protocol exists for ancient starch
research. Protocols applied to laboratory work may represent ‘symptomatic treatment’ only, as contamination of
archaeological materials in the field may be more extensive than realized. This paper is the first systematic study on the impact...
Ambrona is located in a karst landscape, and occupies a key geographic position, a transit area with natural routes connecting the three main drainage basins in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. The site dates from the middle of MIS 11 and consists of fluvial-lacustrine deposits.Investigation of Ambrona, traditionally linked to that of Torralb...
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...
The Middle Pleistocene site of Ambrona (Soria, Spain) is a major reference for European Acheulean studies. The origin of the lithic and fauna accumulations at this site was first thought to be anthropogenic, but later studies showed that it was mainly natural. The first person to conduct excavations at the Ambrona site was the Marquis of Cerralbo,...
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 micromammal association established in this work is the following: Lagomorpha: Oryctolagus cuniculus; Eulipotyphla: Crocidura cf. russula, cf. Sorex sp., Neomys sp., Soricidae indet. and Talpa sp.; and Rodentia: Eliomys quercinus, Apodemus cf. sylvaticus, Cricetulus (Allocricetus) bursae, Arvicola aff. sapidus, Microtus (Iberomys) brecciensis a...
Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of optically bleached quartz grains was performed on three sediment samples collected from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Spain). A standard multiple grain and multiple aliquot additive dose procedure was employed, and both the Al and Ti centres were measured as part of the multiple centres...
Ambrona site was excavated in 1914 by the Marquis of Cerralbo; other research groups followed in more recent times (the Howell & Freeman team and the Santonja & Pérez-González team). The digs yielded a great amount of information, but until now it had never been unified. Here, we compile all the available published and unpublished excavation docume...
Dose saturation represents a fundamental limitation for obtaining finite optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) quartz ages over Middle Pleistocene timescales. Single-grain OSL studies typically reveal significant intra- and inter-sample variability in quartz dose saturation properties at the individual grain level. This enhanced variability may o...
El paraje de La Salud en la ciudad de Salamanca es un nuevo enclave de arte rupestre paleolítico al aire libre descubierto en 2013. Durante 2014 desarrollamos una minuciosa prospección y documentación con el fin de conocerlo de manera detallada. Como resultado hemos podido diferenciar tres sectores decorados en el valle del río Tormes, en los que s...
The highest concentration of Palaeolithic sites known in the Iberian Peninsula is located in the lower stretches of the Manzanares and Jarama rivers. This area, together with a number of zones in the Tagus valley, constitutes one of the most important archives for the knowledge of the European Pleistocene. The purpose of this paper is to establish...
Resumen: La asociación de micromamíferos determinada en este trabajo es la siguiente: Lagomorpha: Oryctolagus cuniculus; Eulipotyphla: Crocidura cf. russula, cf. Sorex sp., Neomys sp., Soricidae indet. y Talpa sp.; y Rodentia: Eliomys quercinus, Apodemus cf. sylvaticus, Cricetulus (Allocricetus) bursae, Arvicola aff. sapidus, Microtus (Iberomys) br...
Cuesta de la Bajada is a Middle Pleistocene site (MIS 8e9) in which some of the earliest evidence of
Middle Paleolithic stone tool tradition is documented. The small format tool assemblage, dominated by
simple flakes and scrapers, is associated to abundant remains of equids and cervids, in which both
percussion and cut marks are well represented. T...
ABSTRACT: Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 in Iberia is documented at three main Acheulean archaeological sites: Gran Dolina (Burgos, Atapuerca), Áridos-1 (Madrid) and Ambrona (Soria). As the amphibians and reptiles recovered as fossils from these sites are not extinct and their ecology can be directly studied, mutual climatic range and habitat weight...
Torralba is a Middle Pleistocene site, with absolute dates that place it in MIS 7. Its lithic industry comes from fluvial levels and is situated in a secondary position. The raw materials were brought to the site from sources located several tens kilometers away. The techno-economic study of the industrial series obtained in the excavations conduct...
Two clearly differentiated techno-complexes can be recognised in the Iberian Peninsula during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene: the Acheulean and the Middle Palaeolithic. In this paper we present the current state of research on both technological entities, and propose that they represent two different industrial traditions. The Acheulean,...
Ever since Mary Leakey's initial excavations in the 1960s, TK (Thiongo Korongo) has been recognized as one of Olduvai Gorge's most important Acheulean sites. The significant concentrations of lithics and fauna reported by Mary Leakey have been augmented in recent years by Santonja et al., who argue that human activities appear to be largely related...
Colóquio de Arqueologia, Património e Turismo no Vale do Minho
The reconstruction of the paleotopography of the different surfaces of Ambrona allows to know the evolution of the site and to approach the context where the humans and the animals developed their life.
The interglacial episodes of the Quaternary Period are currently the focus of a great deal of attention within the scientific community, primarily because they can help us to understand how the climate of the current interglacial may have evolved without human intervention and to assess the impact of these climate changes on ecological systems. In...