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Avance al estudio del poblamiento paleolítico en el alto valle del Sorbe (Muriel, Guadalajara)
... Las excavaciones realizadas en la cueva documentaron un depósito asociado al Magdaleniense inferior (Jordá y García Valero 1989;García Valero 2002), recuperándose una azagaya de sección cuadrangular realizada en asta de ciervo, con decoración de tipo lineal, consistente en pequeños trazos paralelos y oblicuos; figura 3B) García Valero (2002) menciona la existencia en superficie de unas plaquetas de pizarra con líneas incisas que parecen configurar figuras indeterminadas. Poco más se puede precisar de este yacimiento, que fue excavado y estudiado en 1996 (Alcolea et al. 1997), pero cuyo arte mobiliar no ha sido publicado. ...
... En excavación se recuperaron un conjunto de soportes líticos y óseos con evidencias de grabados no figurativos (Alcolea et al. 1997). Solo una de las piezas ha sido publicada (Alcaraz-Castaño et alii. ...
En los últimos treinta años se ha documentado un notable incremento de manifestaciones artísticas paleolíticas en el interior de la península ibérica. Esto ha permitido llenar el vacío generado más allá de las tradicionales áreas de estudio del arte paleolítico peninsular. Si bien en los años 90 la atención se centró en el fenómeno parietal al aire libre, las excavaciones realizadas han aportado nuevos datos sobre el arte mobiliar. En este trabajo se presenta una síntesis de las evidencias mobiliares paleolíticas del interior peninsular con el objetivo de reconocer dinámicas culturales de los últimos cazadores-recolectores de la península. A partir de esta síntesis se propone una interpretación en clave diacrónica de su secuencia cronológica y se plantea como hipótesis la coexistencia de dos tradiciones gráficas diferenciadas en el interior peninsular, basada en la distribución geográfica de su simbolismo y en los ritmos de interacción gráfica identificables en su arte mobiliar. El resultado muestra una tendencia a la intensificación en las relaciones culturales a medida que el Paleolítico superior alcanza sus fases terminales.
... Between the 70s and the 90s archaeo-paleontological explorations increased in the vicinity of the Sistema Central, thus revealing some of the most significant deposits in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, such as Cueva del Reguerillo and Pinilla del Valle in Madrid (Alf erez et al., 1982;Torres, 1996), Cueva del Búho, Pinarillo and Villacastín in Segovia (Arribas, 1994(Arribas, , 1995Arribas et al., 2008;Iñigo et al., 1998), Jarama VI, Cueva de Los Casares, Peña Cap on and Peña Cabra rockshelters and Cueva de los Torrejones in Guadalajara Alcolea-Gonz alez et al., 1997;Barandiar an, 1973). Some of these deposits were recently reexcavated, and new excavation and analysis techniques have made it possible to update our current knowledge regarding paleoecological, geochronological, and archaeological aspects of Paleolithic inland Iberia (Alcaraz-Castaño 2019, 2017a, 2017b; Arsuaga et al., 2012;Sala et al., 2011Sala et al., , 2012. ...
The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has orographic conditions that make this territory especially vulnerable to Quaternary climate oscillations and which actually could have made it decisive for Paleolithic human populations at critical points. For this reason, the information provided by paleon-tological sites is important for reconstructing climatic and environmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene and understanding how they influenced the species that inhabited them, including humans. Nevertheless, the archaeo-paleontological record is scarce in central Iberia for the Late Pleistocene. A central Iberian site that is key to addressing this issue is Cueva de los Torrejones, which was discovered and excavated during the nineties. Clues indicating the presence of Neandertal populations near the cave site were announced during prior field excavations, including Neandertal remains, Middle Paleolithic artifacts, and evidence of anthropic exploitation of faunal resources at the site. Here we report the new results from the recent excavations and research, including detailed studies on stratigraphy, micro-morphology, macro and microvertebrate paleontology, physical and molecular anthropology, taphonomy and zooarchaeology, and analysis of lithic and pottery remains. Our research has led to the detection of three Prehistoric chronologies recorded at the site. The oldest episode corresponds to between MIS 5 and MIS 4 in which the cave was used by carnivores. The second episode is represented by a faunal association dated to 30.0 ka cal BP and is indicative of cooler and more arid environmental conditions and, therefore, compatible with the worsening climate detected previously for MIS 3 in this area. The last episode corresponds to the Chalcolithic, directly dated to~5000 cal BP in which humans used the cavity for funerary purposes. The DNA analysis of the human remain was assigned to mtDNA haplogroup K, which was originated in the Near East and reached western Europe through the Neolithic expansion. Human occupation during the Paleolithic has been ruled out, including Paleolithic human remains and any kind of anthropic intervention on the Hermann’s tortoise and leopard as was previously proposed at the site.
... The early Middle Palaeolithic record of the central Meseta is equally rich, with abundant evidence for Neanderthal occupation of the Duero (Sánchez Yustos and Diez Martín 2015), the Guadiana (Canals et al. 2014c(Canals et al. , 2014d locations and caves, such as Prado Vargas (Navazo and Díez 2008;Navazo et al. 2005), Cueva Millán and La Ermita (Moure and García-Soto 1983), Cueva Corazón (Sánchez et al. 2011 (Canals et al. 2014a(Canals et al. , 2014b(Canals et al. , 2014c, and Peña Cabra (Alcaraz-Castaño et al. 2017a; Quintana et al. 1997). Recent evidence from Jarama IV and Los Casares, however, supports the suggestion that climatic deterioration following Greenland Interstadial 11 (GI 11) may have caused Neanderthal groups to abandon the central Meseta by ca. ...
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 near abandonment, of the central Meseta during the Last Glacial period. We conducted three archaeological surveys in Guadalajara province, located in the southern part of the region, in 2009, 2010, and 2017. Survey results, interpreted in the light of a habitat suitability model, support a hypothesis of climate-driven abandonment (or near-abandonment) of the central plateau during the Last Glacial Maximum and suggest that the Tagus River Valley, which links the Spanish interior to the Atlantic seaboard, was a focus for the Palaeolithic occupation of the region at other times.
... The few exceptions are always in rockshelters or caves. The best known are Jarama VI cave (Guadalajara), where quartz and rock crystal (clear quartz) dominate the Mousterian sample (Adán et al. 1995;García Valero 2000), and Peña Capón rockshelter (Muriel, Guadalajara) (Alcolea et al. 1997;García-Valero 2000). The latter site has only a few lithic artifacts, and quartz is preferred over other raw materials. ...
The present work describes a preliminary study of a primarily quartz-based Mousterian lithic assemblage deposited about 75,000 years ago by Neanderthals in Navalmaíllo rockshelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain). Although archaeological assemblages dominated by quartz are not common in the central Iberian Peninsula, they are more common in peripheral areas such as Catalonia and Galicia. As documented in other European sites, the abundance of quartz led to its becoming the main raw material used in tool-making in the area, even though it seems to be more difficult to knap than other, more homogeneous types of rock that fracture conchoidally. Moreover, the cores found at the Navalmaíllo site appear to have been intentionally worked to a very small size, a finding also reported for other European assemblages of similar age. The other raw materials found at the site include chert, quartzite, porphyry, rock crystal, and sandstone, all of which appear to have been worked in the same manner as the quartz. The scarcity or quality of raw materials is not the reason for this behavior.
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 peninsula. While traditional models assumed that the whole Iberian hinterland was avoided by modern humans due to ecological factors until the retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum, recent research has demonstrated that hunter-gatherers entered the Iberian interior at least during Solutrean times. We provide a multi-proxy geoarchaeological, chronometric and paleoecological study on human–environment interactions based on the key site of Peña Capón (Guadalajara, Spain). Results show (1) that this site hosts the oldest modern human presence recorded to date in central Iberia, associated to pre-Solutrean cultural traditions around 26,000 years ago, and (2) that this presence occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions. These findings demonstrate that this area of the Iberian hinterland was recurrently occupied regardless of climate and environmental variability, thus challenging the widely accepted hypothesis that ecological risk hampered the human settlement of the Iberian interior highlands since the first arrival of modern humans to Southwest Europe.
The Iberian Peninsula is considered one of the most well-suited regions in Europe to develop studies on the relationship between environmental changes and human adaptations across the Late Pleistocene. Due to its southwesternmost cul-de-sac position and eco-geographical diversity, Paleolithic Iberia was the stage of cyclical cultural/technological changes, linked to fluctuations in climate and environments, human demographics, and the size, extension, and type of social exchange networks.
Such dynamics are particularly evident during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) timeframe, with a series of innovations emerging in the archaeological record, marking the transition between the traditionally defined Gravettian, Proto-Solutrean, Solutrean, and Magdalenian technocomplexes.
Stemming from a workshop organized in Erlangen in 2019 on “The Last Glacial Maximum in Europe - state of knowledge in Geosciences and Archaeology”, this paper presents, in the first part, an updated review on the paleoenvironments and human adaptations across four macro-regions (Northern, Inland, Mediterranean, and Western Atlantic Façade) in Iberia during the LGM; and, in a second part, a discussion on the pronounced inter-regional variability, unresolved research questions, and the most promising research topics for future studies.
The technological and traceological study of the mousterian lithic sample from the Level F of the Navalmaíllo Rockshelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) is presented. Its most characteristic feature is that it is mostly made of quartz and has microlithic tendencies. The traceological studies undertaken confirm the use of some quartz tools in butchering activities, as well as in others related to the wood working or hide. It confirms the versatility of denticulates to perform different tasks, together with the intentionality of manufacturing instruments of small size away from constrictions of both size and availability of the raw material. The results of the study allow to deepen the knowledge of the technology and function of this type of quartz samples which are, in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, very scarce, as well as in the ways of life and behavior of the Neanderthals groups.
Se plantea el estudio tecnológico y traceológico del conjunto lítico musteriense en cuarzo procedente del nivel F del Abrigo de Navalmaíllo (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid). Su rasgo más característico es que está fabricado en su mayor parte en cuarzo y presenta tendencias microlíticas.
Los estudios traceológicos emprendidos, confirman la utilización de algunas herramientas de cuarzo en tareas de descuartizado, así como en otras relacionadas con el trabajo de la madera o de la piel. Se confirma la versatilidad de los denticulados para realizar una variada panoplia de tareas, junto con la intencionalidad de fabricar instrumentos de pequeño tamaño lejos de constricciones tanto de tamaño como de disponibilidad de la materia prima.
Los resultados del estudio permiten profundizar en el conocimiento de la tecnología y función de este tipo de conjuntos en cuarzo que en el centro de la Península ibérica son muy escasos, así como en los modos de vida y comportamiento de los grupos neandertales.
LOS trabajos de estos últimos años en la Peña de Estebanvela han permitido profundizar en el conocimiento del Magdaleniense en la Meseta Norte y establecer un marco geocronológico para el Tardiglaciar en la región. A partir del análisis de sus industrias, el arte mueble y varias dataciones radiocarbónicas se propone una atribución cultural para las diferentes ocupaciones del yacimiento. Un análisis comparativo con otros yacimientos coetáneos permite valorar la Peña de Estebanvela dentro del contexto del Magdaleniense Superior Final de la Península Ibérica. The latest research at Peña de Estebanvela has led to improved knowledge of the Magdalenian of the Northern Meseta, and made it possible to establish a chronological framework for the Late Glacial of this area. Through analysis of the lithic industries, the portable art and some tadiocarbon dates we are able to put forward a chrono-cultural attribution for the site's various occupations. A comparative analysis of several sites contemporaneous with Peña de Estebanvela reveals the site's importance for the study of the Upper and Final Magdalenian of the Iberian Peninsula.
Este trabajo reúne la mayor parte de los yacimientos paleolíticos de las cuencas de los ríos Manzanares y Jarama conocidos desde antiguo. Mediante la revisión de los mismos recoge además de los datos básicos sobre su localización y clasificación cultural, algunas de las referencias bibliográficas básicas que los recogen. This work presents a complete list of the palaeolithic sites of the Manzanares and Jarama rivers discovered from the beginning of the archaeological works in Madrid. Through a basic structure the main aspects of the sites, such as location and cultural classification is indicated, as well as the principal bibliographic references about them. Peer reviewed
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