Marcos Terradillos Bernal

Universidad Isabel I · Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales

Considering the biomechanical and cognitive aspects involved in tool manipulation, hand size emerges as a critical factor. Males, on average, exhibit greater grip strength attributed to larger hand dimensions. Beyond mere physical factors, cognitive components tied to visuospatial abilities also influence stone tool use. However, the intricate rela...

San Quirce is an open‐air archaeological site situated on a fluvial terrace in the Duero basin (Palencia, northern Iberia). This paper presents new and consistent chronologies obtained for the sedimentary sequence using post‐infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR‐IR) dating of K‐feldspars and single‐grain thermally transferred optically sti...

Stone tools are the result of goal-oriented actions involving cognitive processes. Because visual attention is a requirement in accurate tool-making, visual exploration can provide information about the relationship between perception and technological evolution. The purpose of this study is to analyse visual behaviour while an expert knapper produ...

Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) is a model site of the Early Pleistocene in Europe. The site has yielded numerous faunal remains, two human fossils and a small assemblage of stone tools. The study of Unit TE9 has determined that the first humans inhabited western Europe at least 1.2 Ma ago. The lithic assemblage can be chronologicall...

The role of experience during the exploration of lithic artefacts can be been investigated through multiple approaches. Knowledge can influence visual perception of the environment, whilst action “affordances” can be processed at the first sight of an object. In this study, we used eye tracking to analyse whether and to what extent archaeological k...

Humans are specialized in eye-hand coordination through a complex visuospatial system. When a tool is observed, the motor areas of the brain are activated and, when grasped, it is sensed as a part of the body. One approach to understanding the underlying mechanisms behind this process regards the analysis of visual attention. Vision influences the...

Humans are specialized in eye-hand coordination and body-tool interaction through a complex visuospatial system. Although manipulation has been broadly studied from an anthropological perspective, less attention has been paid to its relationship with vision. In fact, vision is the dominant source of sensory information in primates. When a tool is o...

Humans evolved specializations to integrate tools into their cultural, perceptive and cognitive systems. Tools extend cognitive functions beyond the brain and directly improve the range of our cognitive skills. A characteristic of human beings is their hand-eye coordination, associated with a specialized visuospatial system. In fact, parietal lobes...

Este artículo analiza la relación que han tenido los yacimientos de la Sierra de Atapuerca con la Arqueología Experimental. Su presentación se realiza desde tres vertientes. Una vinculada a la aplicación de programas experimentales en la investigación científica desde los primeros trabajos realizados en los yacimientos. Otra segunda relacionada con...

Tools, which have a cognitive background rooted in our phylogenetic history, are essential for humans to interact with their environment. One of the characteristics of human beings is the coordination between the eyes and hands, which is associated with a skilled visuospatial system. Vision is the first input of an action that influences interactio...

Objectives Haptics involves somatosensory perception through the skin surface and dynamic touch based on the proprioceptive response of the whole body. Handling Palaeolithic stone tools influences the arousal and attentional engagement, which can be detected and measured through electrodermal activity. Although tool shape has generally been studied...

In situ archaeological assemblages are scarce. Most artefacts are affected by post-depositional processes, which complicate the identification of human factors involved in the formation of lithic workshops, such as hand laterality, knapping positions, and knapping expertise. In this regard, experimental archaeology can reproduce past processes to t...

Lower Paleolithic stone tool features and shape have been studied in detail; traceology and experimental archaeology have provided us with a lot of information about possible tool use and functionality. The way modern humans use these tools has been used as a proxy for the study of early stone tool-makers’ behavior, taking into account that our anc...

The Atapuerca localities present evidence of a long series of hominin occupations from the Early Pleistocene onward and are a key site for understanding the continuity and discontinuity of Western European technological and settlement dynamics. The TD10 unit from Gran Dolina is located in the upper part of the sequence and divided into four lithost...

Objectives: Tool use requires integration among sensorial, biomechanical, and cognitive factors. Taking into account the importance of tool use in human evolution, changes associated with the genus Homo are to be expected in all these three aspects. Haptics is based on both tactile and proprioceptive feedbacks, and it is associated with emotional...

Humans present a particular relationship with objects and technology. They also show specialized parietal cortex due to tool use and body coordination in order to interact with the environment [1]. These functions are known as visuospatial integration. When an object reaches the personal space, it becomes a potential tool and it is integrated into...

Parietal cortex underwent specialization during human evolution, probably associated with visuospatial functions, tool use, and body-tool integration [1]. Objects are perceived differently whether they are out of the body range, within the body range, or in contact with the body and, in this latter case, they are integrated in the body scheme [2]....

During the course of the excavations of the San Quirce open-air archaeological site in Spain, an unusual negative structure was identified in the Holocene level dated ca. sixth millennium cal BC. A fire pit alongside a single post-hole and intense fire-burning activity was recorded. Yet, the most striking feature of the structure is the absence of...

Objectives: Hand coordination is a key feature in primate evolution at both behavioral and cognitive levels. Humans further improved their manual abilities, and their cognitive niche is deeply associated with hand-tool relationships and technological capacity. A main cognitive change is thought to be related to the transition from Oldowan to Acheu...

Stone tool manufacture and use are considered key adaptations in human evolution. The understanding of the biomechanical features and anatomical constraints of hominins during stone tool production have received increased attention in recent years. Similarly, research on the cognitive capabilities and manipulative complexity involved in toolmaking...

La arqueología experimental es una metodología científica que permite conocer, interpretar, enseñar y aprender el desarrollo de las primeras tecnologías del ser humano. Al ser una disciplina práctica, visual, dinámica y lúdica es un instrumento de enseñanza-aprendizaje alternativo a la docencia basada en la memorización, en lecturas parciales del r...

We propose a learning methodology based on the development of historical empathy through experimentation. Experimental archaeology is an active methodology which provides dynamism and an active role and entertainment for students, as well as provoking historical empathy in them. This combination helps the students get a better understanding of the...

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...

Testing cognitive hypotheses in extinct species can be challenging, but it can be done through the integration of independent sources of information (e.g., anatomy, archaeology, neurobiology, psychology), and validated with quantitative and experimental approaches. The parietal cortex has undergone changes and specializations in humans, probably in...

En este artículo se presenta el primer análisis completo de la tecnología lítica en estratigrafía de Valdegoba, uno de los lugares clave del Paleolítico medio en la Cuenca del Duero. Valdegoba es un yacimiento del Estadio Isotópico Marino (MIS) 3 que ha aportado los únicos restos óseos neandertales en este entorno, así como evidencias muy relevante...

Testing cognitive hypotheses in extinct species can be challenging, but it can be done through the integration of independent sources of information (e.g., anatomy, archaeology, neurobiology, psychology), and validated with quantitative and experimental approaches. The parietal cortex has undergone changes and specializations in humans, probably in...

El primer poblamiento de Europa es uno de los temas que más interés ha despertado entre los investigadores (prehistoriadores, arqueólogos, paleontólogos, etc.) desde hace décadas. En los últimos años se han recuperado nuevas evidencias que plantean inéditas posibilidades de análisis y nuevas hipótesis explicativas que nos están permitiendo renovar...

Body cognition and lateralization can be investigated in fossils by integrating anatomical and functional aspects. Paleoneurology cannot provide strong evidence in this sense, because hemispheric asymmetries are shared in all extinct human species, and motor cortical areas are difficult to delineate in endocranial casts. However, paleoneurological...

Level TE9c of the Sima del Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) is one of the oldest sites with evidence of human occupation in western Europe. We began excavating level TE9c in 2003, and the work there continues today. The studies of the archaeology, palaeontology and geology from this locality have provided an indispensable dataset with whi...

A bioenergetic approach has been increasingly used to address key issues in palaeobiology and palaeocology. An experimental study aimed to quantify the energetic costs of quartzite catchment at Sierra de Atapuerca is presented here. Furthermore, several anthropometric and body composition variables related to energy expenditure were also taken. All...

Current knowledge of the exploitation of environmental resources by prehistoric hominins is based on archaeological analyses of the natural anthropized resources and the lithic, fauna and flora remains recovered from archaeological sites and their proximities. In this paper we present a new methodology to study the daily activities of ancient homi...

The new discoveries developed in Prehistory are increasing exponentially. The research on these subjects is becoming more technical by leaps and bounds. The scientific disciplines involved in these researches multiply rapidly. To support a fluid relationship between society and those scientists who work on Prehistory we have to socialize accurately...

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...

San Quirce is an OIS 4 open-air site with a Neanderthal occupation in primary position. Expeditious technology was used here, aimed at producing very simple tools. Meat consumption has been detected along with, more notably, work on hides, wood and plant fibres which could be processed for string. Only a small part of the San Quirce Neanderthals ca...

The systems of perception and action of the brain appear as important constraining factors in human evolution under current models of embodied cognition. In this view, the emergence of certain items in the archeological record is not necessarily subsequent to the emergence of a ‘symbolic’ mind, but instead to the appearance of the sensory-motor sys...

This article analyses the relationship between the characteristics of the raw materials and the cutting edges of Sierra de Atapuerca lithic tools during the Lower and Middle Pleistocene. In previous publications, we have analysed how the cutting edge and weight of a tool determine its cutting efficiency and the amount of force it is capable of appl...

We carried out a combined thermal and magnetic evaluation on experimentally knapped clasts of different lithologies (chert, quartzite, limestone, sandstone and obsidian) heated under controlled field and temperature conditions. The main aim of this study is to estimate the feasibility of use of these raw materials, which are commonly found in prehi...

Cet article analyse les qualités des matières premières employées dans deux gisements (Gran Dolina et Galería) de la Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Espagne) pendant le Pléistocène inférieur et moyen, et son influence sur le processus de la taille. Ces sites archéologiques ont une séquence chronologique qui nous permet d́étudier ĺévolution de la techn...

This poster analyses the qualities of the raw materials used in Gran Dolina and Galería and their influence in the development of knapping process. Combining technological analysis and experimental archaeology has proven to be an excellent tool for the understanding the different interpretation of the qualities of raw materials and their relation w...

This poster presents the middle Paleolithic site of San Quirce (Palencia, Spain). San Quirce is a Neanderthals camp, currently has only intervened in a small portion. This site is located in the extreme north of the Duero Basin on a fluvial terrace +22- 23 m (T9). It is located in a strategic contact area, between the Cantabrian Mountains and the N...

This poster analyses the relationship between the weight and cutting edge of lithic artefacts from the main Lower Palaeolithic sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca. The weight and cutting edge of a tool determine its cutting ability and the amount of force it is capable of, making them extremely important aspects of study to further our understanding o...

This paper presents the results of the functional analysis of the Middle Palaeolithic stone assemblages from the 2009 excavation at the San Quirce site in Palencia (Spain). The main raw material used for tools manufacturing was a local quartzite available on the Pisuerga river terraces. Massive and flake tools were manufactured, with sharp denticul...

San Quirce is unique in the Northern Plateau by the extraordinary conservation of lithic Middle Paleolithic record, enabling technical, space, and use studies. San Quirce presents a rich and varied record allowing us to identify how has been managed the space occupied, mainly, with meat consumption and work on plant resources. From a technological...

In Europe, the second third of the middle Pleistocene is a key period in which the human settlement is increased, the occupied habitat multiplies, the use of fire begins, the Mode 2 generalizes, Mode 3 begins and the method of exploitation levallois develops. At this moment the occupations of Galería, Gran Dolina and Ambrona are developing. These t...

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 Hu...

A combined thermal and magnetic evaluation on experimentally knapped clasts of different lithologies chert, quartzite, limestone, sandstone and obsidian) heated under controlled field and temperature conditions were carried out. The main aim of this study is to estimate the feasibility of use of these raw materials, which are commonly found in preh...

This article analyzes the qualities of different raw materials from the main lower Palaeolithic sites on the northern plateau (Meseta) of the Iberian Peninsula and their influence in lithic knapping. The raw materials do not totally determine the final knapping result but they involve that the methods and technologies should be adapted to initial c...

Here we present an experimental study about the variations in the magnetic and macroscopic properties induced by heating of lithic artefacts of different lithologies. The aim is to establish magnetic criteria in order to identify heating processes at archaeological sites. High-temperature heating (~ 700 ºC) produces an enhancement in the magnetic m...

In the current state of the debate about the Paleolithic in Europe the analysis of the transitional periods is one of the principal subjects. The accumulation of variable elements in time can determine a change in the technical systems from a more or less wide transitional phase. This paper will analyze the records of the North Plateau of the Iberi...

En los años sesenta y principalmente desde los setenta se ha iniciado una orienta-ción feminista relacionada con la existencia de un mayor número de mujeres den-por el análisis del género a partir del estudio de las fuentes arqueológicas y de los discursos construidos por historiadores, divulgadores y profesores. Este análisis El inicio de los estu...

La arqueología experimental es una disciplina que facilita la comprensión del desarrollo de las diferentes actividades de la prehistoria. A través de la experimentación se pueden llegar a comprender los procedimientos y las técnicas que llevaron a cabo los homínidos en la fabricación de sus herramientas. La talla experimental es una de las principa...

Resumen La Arqueología Experimental es una disciplina que facilita la comprensión del desarrollo de las diferentes actividades de la Prehistoria. A través de la experimentación se pueden llegar a comprender los procedimientos y las técnicas que llevaron a cabo los homínidos en la fabricación de sus herramientas. La combinación de los análisis tecno...

In the current state of the debate about the ancient Paleolithic in Europe the analysis of the cultural inheritances and the variability is one of the principal subject. The importance of this matter is determined for including relevant concepts in the human evolution as technology, communication and environment. The characteristics of the lithic r...

El primer poblamiento europeo es uno de los temas sobre los que mayor interés está mostrando la investigación en los últimos tiempos, gracias a las recientes evidencias, tanto paleontológicas como arqueológicas, que están permitiendo renovar las diferentes teorías y escenarios interpretativos (causas, tiempo, modo y protagonistas). No es un tema nu...

La Arqueología experimental puede ser un instrumento de ciencia, divulgación y entretenimiento y este libro aspira a cubrir esas tres facetas. Contiene 27 experimentos en las que se reproducen, con materiales y técnicas tradicionales, los objetos y avances más importantes de nuestro pasado preindustrial, realizados por profesionales de la docencia,...

La observación detallada de la producción de lascas por parte de talladores actuales de diferentes condiciones es un excelente método para el análisis de diferentes variables en los procesos de talla. The detailed observation of fl ake production by current knappers of different conditions is an excellent method for the analysis of different variab...

La publicación que aquí se presenta surge ante la necesidad de realizar un análisis conjunto y renovado de los primeros repertorios líticos de este entorno. Tras 30 años de intervenciones y de grandes descubrimientos en los yacimientos de la Sierra de Atapuerca, es imprescindible poner en relación estas ocupaciones con las circundantes en la Meseta...

Resumen: La Arqueología Experimental es una disciplina científica en auge que facilita la comprensión de las diferentes actividades desarrolladas por el ser humano a lo largo de la Prehistoria. Su dinamismo y visualidad la han convertido en una excelente herramienta de transmisión de conocimientos tanto en la divulgación como en la didáctica. En lo...

This paper comments on the surveys carried out on the western part of the Monforte de Lemos Basin which have revealed the importance of the Paleolithic settlement in this area, during the Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic. At Cova Eirós (Triacastela) an important Middle Paleolithic level with lithics and faunal remains was discovered, providing a...

Se presentan los avances técnicos, científicos y sociales (cultura científica) realizados por el equipo del Proyecto Fonelas en la investigación de la Formación Guadix, desde los inicios del citado proyecto, en 2001, hasta el año 2007. Destacan, por su importancia científica: el descubrimiento e investigación integral del yacimiento Fonelas P-1; la...

This chapter reports the scientific and technical advances made by the Proyecto Fonelas team between 2001 and 2007 with respect to the Formación Guadix, and describes the efforts to disseminate this information (scientific culture). Outstanding among the achievements discussed are the discovery of the Fonelas P-1 site and the work performed there,...

El yacimiento de Quinta de Boavista se encuentra situado en las proximidades de la ribera del Muge (Freguesía de Granho, Municipio de Salvaterra de Magos) y es conocido ya desde los años 40 gracias a las noticias aportadas por M. Corrêa sobre la existencia en superficie de un elevado número de materiales de clara filiación Paleolítica (CORRÊA, 1940...

The Middle Miño Basin in one of the most interesting areas to study the evolution of prehistoric settlement strategies. Archaeological works carried out in the Monforte basin have yielded new archaeological sites that spread the chronology of a continuous human settlement in this area from the Lower Paleolithic until the final moments of the Upper...