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Utilización de la Lógica Analítica para el Estudio de los techno-Complejos a Cantos Tallados

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... En este trabajo se propone, a partir de 4 nódulos de sílex de Norfolk tallados por talladores expertos, estudiar la técnica y gestualidad en base, principalmente, en dos tipos de estudios. Por un lado, se realizan los remontajes y propuestas de secuencia de talla y, por otro se expone un estudio comparativo a partir de las variables consideradas en el estudio SLA (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992. A partir de él se observarán las posibles diferencias en la forma y técnica de talla de los participantes, así como los parámetros o factores que influyen en estas. ...
... In this work, it is proposed, based on 4 nodules of Norfolk flint worked by expert knappers, to study the technique and gestures based, mainly, on two types of studies. On the one hand, pump-overs and size sequence proposals are carried out, and on the other, a comparative study is presented based on the variables considered in the SLA study (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992. ...
... En un estudio de SLA, podemos, a través de los negativos de extracciones que caracterizan las Bases Negativas de 1º Generación, generar esquemas de talla, al menos en la fase final. Este análisis identifica categorías estructurales que se definen dependiendo del tipo y momento de intervención sobre el soporte, generando positivos y negativos en la matriz (Carbonell, Guilbaud, Mora, 1983;Castañeda, 1999). Considero este análisis importante para entender las características particulares de cada pieza, según sus caras, talón y forma. ...
Thesis
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In recent years, the technique and gestures of both expert and novice knappers involved in the production of lithic materials has been studied and documented. In this work, it is proposed, based on 4 nodules of Norfolk flint worked by expert knappers, to study the technique and gestures based, mainly, on two types of studies. On the one hand, pump-overs and size sequence proposals are carried out, and on the other, a comparative study is presented based on the variables considered in the SLA study (Carbonell et al., 1983, 1992). From it, the possible differences in the form and height technique of the participants will be observed, as well as the parameters or factors that influence these.
... Note: the attribution of "No data" belongs to empty archaeological sequences or absence of bibliographical data. Esq: Esquilleu; TX: Teixoneres; Cast: El Castillo; Axl: Axlor; Arr: Arrillor; Gab: Gabasa; Sid: El Sidrón; Cova: Covalejos En el caso de la Península Ibérica, la determinación de patrones de distribución de los tecnocomplejos se ve lastrada por la concentración de dataciones en el MIS3 y el final del Paleolítico Medio, y la variedad de escuelas de análisis de la industria lítica (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992Rodríguez, 2004;Laplace, 1986;García Rojas, 2010;Geneste, 1988;Boëda et al., 1990;Boëda, 1993;de la Torre et al., 2013 Baena et al., 2012Baena et al., , 2005Maroto et al., 2012;Talamo et al., 2016;Tissoux et al., 2006;Bischoff et al., 1994;Carbonell et al., 1994;Vaquero, 1999;Duran and Soler, 2006;Soler and Maroto, 1987;Yokoyama et al., 1987;Ortega and Maroto, 2001;Galvan et al., 2014;Garralda et al., 2014;Machado et al., 2016;Eixea et al., 2011;Villaverde et al., 2008) ...
... Un objetivo común para los análisis de industria lítica es la comparación a nivel tecnológico de los conjuntos líticos de los diferentes yacimientos/niveles arqueológicos (Bordes, 1961;Turq, 2000;Faivre et al., 2017). Sin embargo, esta comparación puede verse afectada por la pertenencia de los investigadores a diferentes escuelas de análisis (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992Rodríguez, 2004;Laplace, 1986;García Rojas, 2010;Geneste, 1988;Boëda et al., 1990;Boëda, 1993;de la Torre et al., 2013), la variación en la identificación de métodos de talla y atributos producida por las diferentes materias primas (Dibble, 1985; Proffit y de la Torre, 2014), o incluso lo estricta de la definición empleada por el analista (Lenoir y Turq, 1995;Mourre, 2003;Thiébault, 2013). A esto se suma que la presencia/ausencia de criterios determinantes de un método de talla puede variar a lo largo de la secuencia de reducción, al igual que criterios dimensionales. ...
... La existencia de diversas escuelas de análisis de industria lítica (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992Rodríguez, 2004;Laplace, 1986;García Rojas, 2010;Geneste, 1988;Boëda et al., 1990;Boëda, 1993) dificultan la generalización de comparaciones entre los conjuntos líticos en función de la composición de productos tecnológicos y la determinación de patrones diacrónicos y sincrónicos en el caso del Paleolítico Medio de la Península Ibérica (de la Torre et al., 2012), aunque en los últimos años un creciente cuerpo de análisis ha permitido establecer síntesis de modelos de variación diacrónica para diferentes ámbitos regionales (Ríos- Garaizar, 2017). Esta limitación de datos se acentúa aún más para la comparación de procesos de reducción entre yacimientos. ...
Thesis
The variations in the technological and typological composition of lithic assemblages from the Middle Paleolithic remains a subject of debate. The knapping methods, site occupation patterns or the organization of lithic technology are some of the underlying factors commonly cited as causes of this variability. Adding up to this is the need to increase the possible methodological tools for the analysis and comparison of lithic assemblages. The following PhD addresses this problematic through the development of controlled experimentations that allow to test and propose new analytical methods, and through the analysis of four lithic assemblages belonging to two different Middle Paleolithic site of the Iberian Peninsula (the levels VII and XIf of Esquilleu cave and the levels IIIa and IIIb of Teixoneres Cave). The work has been divided in four blocks. The first block presents the introduction and the conceptual frameworks under which the approach has been undertaken. The second block is subdivided in the methodology employed and the experimentations linked to de development of the work. The third block presents the archaeological sites and levels and the results from the analysis of the lithic assemblages. The fourth and last block presents the discussion of the results (focusing on the importance of thee results, linking them to other published results, pointing limitations and making suggestions for further research) and the conclusions. The first experimentation employs a set of experimental flaks with different proportions of retouched along with a protocol for extracting measures from digital photographs. Six different observers are asked to take digital photographs and use the protocol to obtain measures of length of the edge and length of the retouched edge, allowing to compare the deviation in the obtained values. The second experimentation employs a sample of 24 flakes that are successively retouched and following three different patterns of retouch. For each episode the height of retouch, the length of retouched edge and lost weight are recorded, allowing to determine the degree of correlation between the combination of two measures (height of retouch and length of retouched edge) with the weight lost by retouch. The third experimentation uses 451 flaking products of 33 different cores from five different knapping methods (one of them is subdivided in two phases making a total of six categories). A series of measures and attributes common to lithic analysis are taken and employed to build a decision tree (type of machine learning process). Results from the first experimentation show that the use of digital photographs to obtain measures from the edge (length of the edge, length of the retouched edge and percentage of retouched edge) have a high degree of reproducibility. The second experimentation allows to propose a new index (the AvtL) that allows to estimate the weight/volume lost by retouch. Correlation is high and it can be applied to different patterns of retouch. The third experimentation allows to generate a Machine Learning decision tree model to identify knapping methods in flaking products. This last experimentation also yields results about the reproducibility in the identification of knapping methods, the directionality of confusions, and which variables characterize the products from different knapping methods. Results from the archaeological assemblages are structured in five sections for each assemblage. The first section analyzes flakes, presenting the results from the raw material analysis, raw material quality, attributed knapping methods, identified technological products, dimensional analysis, percussion platform analysis, scar directions, transversal sections and edge angles. The second section repeats this analysis on retouched artifacts adding the typological composition. The third section compares the results from the analysis of flakes and tools (comparing raw material composition, dimensions, etc.). Fourth section analyses the intensity and extension of retouch according to raw materials, attributed knapping methods and technological products. The fifth and last sections use a K-means clustering method and values from intensity and extension of retouch along with raw material quality values to stablish groups of tools. This allows to identify groups according to the retouch intensity, and identify patterns of selection and possible curated toolkits among the retouched artifacts. The comparison between levels is made following two approaches. First, a factorial analysis using the frequency of technological products and attribution of knapping methods is employed to determine what is characterizing each complete assemblage and their subsets of tools and flakes. The values of the factorial analysis are employed to reduce the dimensionality of the data and as values of a dendogram which allows to stablish relations of similarity between assemblages. The second approach uses average values of intensity an extension of retouch, quality of raw materials, their modal distribution and size differences between retouched and unretouched products to stablish differences between assemblages. Results from level VII of Esquilleu Cave show an increase in the use of silified lutites although quartzite’s are still the most employed raw material. Levallois, hierarchical Discoid and Discoid are the most important knapping methods. retuch is more intense and extended in quartzite’s, and cluster analysis show a preference for backed flakes, cortical products and some Levallois flakes. Results from level XIf show a dominance of the Quina knapping method and the quartzite’s as raw material (however there is a higher variability of quartzite’s). Intensity and extension of retouch is much higher than previous levels, but not all materials are intensively retouched. There is an important relation between tool type and retouch intensity. Results from level IIIa are conditioned by the low number of materials which show a marked duality between the catchment of local low quality raw materials (quartz and limestone) and on local high/medium quality raw materials (mainly flint). Levallois and Tranche de Saucisson are the main methods. Only one element can be considered as a curated toolkit while the rest of retouched products can be considered as complementary provisioning strategies. Results from level IIIb show a decrease of the duality between local/low quality and nonlocal/ high quality materials in favor of the last ones. This is a result of the catchment of a higher diversity of raw materials (sandstones, quartzites, hornfels, etc.) which results in a higher average raw material quality. Maine knapping methods continue to be Levallois and Tranche de Saucisson. Analysis of intensity of retouch show important differences respect to the previous levels. Distribution of retouch intensity is more gradual and several products can be considered as curated toolkits. The comparison between levels shows that XIf is characterized by the exclusivity of the attribution of the Quina knapping method along with its own technological products (such as the platform wrapping flakes or the Quina resharpening flakes). This makes the Quina assemblages the most differentiated of all assemblages. Levels IIIa and IIIb are differentiated from level VII because of the important presence of cortical core edge flakes, the attribution of the Tranche de Saucisson method, and the low attribution of the Discoide method and low presence of products such as pseudo-Levallois points. The comparison following retouch intensity and extension, raw material quality and size differences between tools and flakes show important differences between levels. Despite this levels XIf and IIIb are more similar than levels VII and IIIa which can be linked to the intensity of occupations.
... En el análisis de los conjuntos líticos, aplicamos el Sistema Lógico Analítico (Carbonell et al. 1983(Carbonell et al. y 1992. Como Carbonell et al. (2006: 45) resumen, el Sistema Lógico Analítico (en adelante, SLA) surge entre las décadas de 1970 y 1980 para explicar la complejidad del registro arqueológico introduciendo los factores espacio y tiempo en el análisis de los objetos. ...
... Es una reacción crítica a los sistemas de clasificación empíricos tradicionales que aspira a crear una tipología abierta contrapuesta a los sistemas basados en listas-tipo y fósiles-guía, típicamente bordesianos (Bordes 1961), permitiendo revisiones desde su seno, como la introducción de la matriz morfogenética (Carbonell et al, 1992(Carbonell et al, : 41-50, 2006. Se trata de una derivación no tipológica de la analítica laplaciana (Laplace 1972), que conserva su espíritu analítico y estructuralista eliminando el componente tipológico (Carbonell et al. 1983). Está influido, además, por el enfoque analítico y sistémico (Clarke, 1984) y se alimenta de la lógica histórica (Thompson 1981), recogiendo también la perspectiva procesual que plantea el estudio de cadenas operativas líticas, de lo que se desprende un marcado carácter de ruptura con el empirismo y el subjetivismo tradicionales a la vez que aporta el método analítico, la propia lógica histórica y la dialéctica a la investigación prehistórica (Carbonell et al. 1999). ...
... En el nivel más general se desarrollan los conceptos relativos a la sistemática, en el nivel superior del Tema Operativo Técnico se encuentra el concepto de Cadena Operativa Técnica (COT), que el SLA entiende como la que incluye la selección de la materia prima, la elaboración del artefacto, su utilización y su posterior abandono (Carbonell et al. 1992(Carbonell et al. y 1983. En el siguiente nivel se encuentran los Sistemas Operativos Técnicos (SOT), los cuales se definen como el conjunto de actividades humanas psico-materiales dirigidas a la selección, interacción y transformación del medio para finalizar con el nivel superior de este esquema, donde se encuentra el concepto de Unidad Ecosocial, entendida como el conjunto de relaciones entre los sistemas productivos de una comunidad y su entorno, dentro de la cual se ha desarrollado un grupo humano (Carbonell et al. 1999). ...
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Presentamos un conjunto lítico recuperado con ocasión de la actividad arqueológica preventiva llevada a cabo en el solar donde se ubicó la fábrica de Conservas Garavilla. Nuestro análisis de las distintas estrategias y métodos de talla de los soportes líticos, sin olvidar la importancia de la secuencia operativa completa, desde la adquisición o selección de las materias primas, con estudio litológico, primeros gestos técnicos, reducción de volúmenes y configuración final de los productos arqueológicos, nos permite adscribir el conjunto al modo técnico 3. Todo ello será valorado en su contexto geológico y geomorfológico, lo que nos ayudará a situar al grupo de cazadores-recolectores protagonista en su medio natural, como integrantes de un proceso histórico vinculado al modo técnico 3. Abstract We present a lithic ensemble recovered on the occasion of the preventive archaeological activity carried out at the site where the factory of Conservas Garavilla stood. Our research into the different strategies and methods to produce lithic stone tools, without forgetting the importance of the entire operational sequence, from the acquisition or selection of raw materials, with lithologic study, first technical gestures and reduction of volume, to the final configuration of archaeological products, enables us to assign the ensemble to technological mode 3. All this will be considered in its geological and geomorphological context, which will help us to locate the hunter-gatherers protagonist group in its natural environment as part of a historical process connected to what we know as technological mode 3.
... An experiment was performed to reproduce the initial stages of the operative chain of the minimally modified bone industry, i.e., the procurement and the shaping of blanks. Next, a series of analytical criteria for classifying fractures were introduced following the Logical Analytic System approach (LAS) (Carbonell et al. 1983;. ...
... The bone tools obtained in this experiment were technologically analysed following criteria adapted from the Logical Analytical System (LAS) (Carbonell et al. 1983;Rodríguez 2004;Ollé et al. 2013). This is a system for analysing technological processes based on structural categories within a production sequence, without considering typologies ( Table 3). ...
Article
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Since the origins of technology, human groups have used a wide variety of lithic and organic raw materials to make tools. In particular, bone was used as raw material for creating knapped artefacts. Nevertheless, the recognition of these technological elements in the archaeological record has generated some debate, since modern taphonomy has shown that certain non-anthropic agents create modifications that can mimic knapped bone tools. For this reason, the criteria for identifying archaeological bone tools and pseudo-tools have still not been clearly defined. As a contribution to this subject, here we present the results of an experimental programme of intentional anthropic marrow fracturing of fresh and semi-fresh bovine long bones. After marrow removal, some of the diaphyseal fragments obtained were selected to be used directly as tools, while others were slightly retouched. The aim was to describe the bone toolmaking process and the simple and retouched tools obtained experimentally according to technological criteria. The technological analysis approach was based on an adaptation of the Logical Analytical System (LAS), which uses structural categories within an operative chain rather than techno-typological features. LAS has been widely used to analyse Pleistocene lithic assemblages and is here applied for the first time to the study of bone industry. The results allow us to present new analytical criteria with which to describe simple and retouched bone tools from a holistic perspective, combining technological and taphonomic terminology. Our intention is to improve the criteria for differentiating intentional retouching in bone tools from other modifications to bone remains generated by non-anthropic agents. The final goal of this study is to further the interdisciplinary study of minimally modified bone tools, proposing a technological method for studying knapped bone tools.
... Para el propio estudio tecnológico de la fabricación de herramientas y de los procesos técnicos utilizamos el denominado Sistema Lógico Analítico (S.L.A). (Carbonell, , 1990(Carbonell, , 2002Carbonell et al., 1982Carbonell et al., , 1983. Nuestra visión pretende ser histórica, integrando los estudios de tecnología en relación a la comprensión de los modos de vida y de trabajo. ...
... Analítico ofrece un mayor potencial informativo, además de ser sus criterios y bases más racionales (Ver debates y relexiones de interés y todavía de gran vigencia en: Carbonell, 1990;Carbonell y Mora, 1986;Carbonell et al., 1983Carbonell et al., , 1985Carbonell et al., , 1992Mora et al., eds. 1992;Rodríguez, 2004). ...
Chapter
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La Cueva de Ardales se desarrolla en materiales pertenecientes a las Zonas Interna de la Cordillera Bética, estando muy cerca del límite entre la Zonas Interna y la Externa. En el territorio adyacente aloran materiales que corresponden a la Zona Interna, como los Complejos Maláguide y Alpujárride, así como a la Dorsal Bética. La Zona Externa presenta materiales de unidad Subbética y pertenecientes al complejo de Flysch del Campo de Gibraltar. Entre ambas zonas existen diferencias significativas en lo relativo a las características estructurales, litológicas y cronoestratigráicas, con materiales de edades entre el Trías-Mioceno inferior en la Zona Externa y Paleozoico-Trías medio/superior en la Zona Interna (Durán et al., 1995; Ramos et al., 1998). En un ámbito más reducido (Figura 3.1), la cavidad se enmarca en el afloramiento de materiales carbonáticos situado entre las localidades de Ardales y Carratraca (La Serrezuela), encuadrándose en la Unidad de Yunquera, dentro del Complejo Alpujárride. La composición de las rocas alorantes es fundamentalmente dolomítica o calizo-dolomítica, con algunas intercalaciones metapelíticas, que incluso llegan a aparecer en algunos puntos del interior de la cavidad, como El Saco y El Camarín. El Cerro de la Calinoria es una divisoria hidrográica, con un drenaje centrífugo de las aguas supericiales. Al Norte y Oeste, vierte aguas directamente al río Turón y, por tanto, al curso alto de la Cuenca del Guadalhorce, antes de su entrada al Desfiladero de los Gaitanes-El Chorro. Al Sur y al Este, vierte aguas al Arroyo de las Cañas, que también irá a parar a la Cuenca del Guadalhorce, pero a su tramo aguas abajo del desfiladero. Su situación está en relación con un “puerto de montaña” (conocido como Puerto de Málaga desde la Edad Media) que constituye uno de los pocos pasos naturales entre la Hoya y la Bahía de Málaga con el interior, permitiendo conectar con la Depresión de Antequera y Serranía de Ronda. En la actualidad, este territorio intermedio se conocecomo Comarca del Guadalteba. Volviendo al interior de la cavidad, se detectan numerosos espeleotemas que han sido generados a lo largo de un dilatado proceso geológico que guarda relación con eventos climáticos que se han producido durante el Cuaternario. Algunos espeleotemas han sido objeto de análisis geocronológicos por métodos absolutos. La Cueva de Ardales cuenta con varias generaciones de espeleotemas superpuestos, separadas entre sí por fases de no-crecimiento y/o erosión. Ello demuestra que las condiciones físico-químicas en que se depositaron los rellenos estalactíticos y estalagmíticos han variado durante el periodo evolutivo de la cavidad. Las causas de dichas variaciones son básicamente los cambios paleoambientales acaecidos durante el Cuaternario, condicionantes a su vez de las modificaciones de la vegetación, la temperatura, la pluviometría y otros parámetros que controlan los equilibrios de la cadena de reacciones en el proceso de disolución-precipitación del carbonato cálcico (López et al., 1995)
... The logical-analytical system of analysis (Carbonell et al. 1983(Carbonell et al. , 1990(Carbonell et al. , 1992Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell 1987) was developed for the study of unifacial and bifacial tools. Based on Laplace's analytical typology, it considers each artefact as part of a dialectic process, an evolving dynamic. ...
... The material was studied using the Logical-Analytical System described in Chapter I (Carbonell et al. 1983(Carbonell et al. , 1990(Carbonell et al. , 1992Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell 1987). I have 'translated' the general categories used by Carbonell et al. (1988) The pebbles are more often unifacially rather than bifacially worked; in traditional terms, choppers are more common than chopping tools and bifacial pieces. ...
Thesis
A multitude of different rock types were exploited for the manufacture of stone artefacts during Middle Pleistocene times. However, different rock types, especially non-flint rocks, do not always react in the same manner to artificial fracture and may affect the composition and appearance of stone tool assemblages. In Iberia quartzite pebbles and cobbles were widely exploited for the manufacture of stone tools in those areas where flint was not locally available. This thesis attempts to determine the effect of quartzite pebbles on the technology used by the prehistoric hominids in the manufacture of stone artefacts, and their typological classification by modern prehistorians. Assemblages in quartzite and/or flint from the Spanish Meseta and Central Portugal were used as a basis for the study. The main body of the thesis may be divided into three parts: a typological study, based on literary sources, of eighteen lithic assemblages, a technological study of specific stone artefact categories from four assemblages, and a technological and typological study of a fifth assemblage in its entirety. Results of the study suggest that during the Middle Pleistocene, no aspect of stone tool manufacture was directly controlled or determined by the use of quartzite pebbles, although attributes such as size, shape, grain, hardness and availability of stone may have influenced manufacture at times. The exploitation of quartzite pebbles did not prevent the production of particular tool types, all of which have been found in quartzite assemblages. There appears to be a general similarity among quartzite assemblages expressed in the presence of cortex, simple retouch techniques, a flake tool inventory dominated by scrapers, denticulates, notches and piercers, and a tendency for the heavy duty element (unifaces/bifaces, flake cleavers, trihedrals and pebble tools) to be well represented. While the use of quartzite pebbles may contribute to this similarity they are not the source.
... J. R. Rabuñal. La tecnología lítica del Magdaleniense Superior Final de la Cova de les Borres (La Febró): estudio morfotécnico y defini-de cada resto en una categoría estructural(nódulo, percutor, núcleo, lasca, lámina, laminita (anchura ≤12 mm;Tixier, 1963), retocado, fragmento indeterminado y esquirla <10 mm) y la descripción de una serie de atributos comunes y específicos(Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992Inizan et al., 1999;Andrefsky, 2005). Los artefactos retocados se han descrito y clasificado tipológicamente en referencia a la propuesta metodológicade Laplace (1972).Los restos de fauna son muy escasos, debido a una deficiente preservación que dificulta en gran medida la identificación taxonómica y anatómica. ...
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En este artículo se presentan los trabajos arqueológicos desarrollados entre 2012 y 2015 en la Cova de Les Borres (La Febró, Tarragona). Los nuevos datos cronoestratigráficos y los materiales arqueológicos analizados derivan de los tres niveles principales identificados hasta el momento, que datan de mediados del GI-1 (Nivel 2), finales del GI-1/inicios del GS-1 (Nivel 1.2) y presumiblemente del GS-1 (Nivel 1.1). La secuencia documentada resulta de gran relevancia para el estudio de las dinámicas de evolución tecnológica y cultural durante el final del Pleistoceno en el NE peninsular, al ser uno de los escasos yacimientos conocidos con ocupaciones sucesivas durante el GI-1 y el GS-1, asociadas al Magdaleniense Superior Final y al Sauveterroide.
... A total of 21 flint tools and fragments were recorded, including evidence of every phase of lithic reduction. According to the Sistema Lógico Analítico (SLA) (Carbonell, Guilbaud, and Mora 1983), the records in HSC include cores (BN1G), flakes (BP; including a wide variety of results), retouched artifacts (BN2G), and splinters (OTR; other remains of lithic reduction). For further research, some reference assemblages were obtained from Cantarranas (El Puerto de Santa María) and El Trobal (Jerez de la Frontera) (Ramos et al. 1991(Ramos et al. -1992. ...
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Get access to the article through this link, entering your institution: https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2024.2372740 If you have any problems obtaining the text, you can contact the authors: marcastro@ugr.es danielmartin@ugr.es martinarroyod@gmail.com The use of complementary techniques in this paper contributes to a better understanding of the long-term evolution of the riparian landscape on the southern banks of the lacus Ligustinus (current Guadalquivir marshlands) through the knowledge of related human settlements. The techniques used included field-transect surveys, malacology, anthracology, radiocarbon dating, and magnetometry. Deep plowing at the archaeological site of Haza de Santa Catalina revealed vestiges of different time periods. Comprehensive datasets based on best archaeological practices were collected to explore holistic ecological perspectives and changes over time. Here, we focus specifically on the transition between the 4th and 3rd millennia (Neolithic) and the 1st millennium B.C. (Iron Age–Early Roman period) in western Andalusia. In addition, the theoretical frameworks related to the concepts of riparia and emptyscape are expanded with the knowledge gained in the archaeological fieldwork.
... The study of the lithic materials has been carried out according to the logical analytical system (LAS) (Carbonell et al. 1983(Carbonell et al. , 1992(Carbonell et al. , 1995(Carbonell et al. , 1999(Carbonell et al. , 2001Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell and Rodríguez 2002) (Table 1). To extend the analysis of the laminar products, we have resorted to other authors (Bon 2002;Santamaría, 2012) which indicate the direction of the longitudinal axis, the profile of the blades (curvature and torsion), the morphology of the cross-section, the delineation of the edges, and the direction of the negatives of the dorsal face. ...
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In this paper, we present the site of Valdeprovedo (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), an open-air Paleolithic site. This site is attractive for study and research for three main reasons. First, it is an open-air site with an extraordinarily well-preserved lithic assemblage that corresponds to a very short-lived event. Second, in this small area, refits have been achieved with a high refitting rate, which allows us to reconstruct the action carried out in this place during a specific moment, around 28 ka. And third, this is the first site of this chronology that has been documented in the Sierra de Atapuerca, providing new data on the inland population of the Iberian Peninsula by Upper Paleolithic groups.
... Se han estudiado 20 restos tallados (11 del corte N, 3 del P y 6 del Q). Para ello empleamos la metodología desarrollada por el Sistema Lógico Analítico (SLA) (Carbonell, E., Guilbaud, M. y Mora, R., 1983;Carbonell, E., et al., 1992), si bien se ofrece también su descripción según la clasificación tecnotipológica tradicional. ...
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Dentro del marco del Proyecto General de investigación "Comunidades protohistóricas en el entorno del Estrecho de Gibraltar: investigaciones en Los Castillejos de Alcorrín y su territorio. Manilva, Málaga. 2014-2019", la excavación arqueológica de la 1ª FASE del proyecto llevada a cabo en el año 2014 ha aportado la localización, en la zona de la "acrópolis", de una construcción de planta oval de tradición arquitectónica del Bronce Final, que convivió con los edificios de muros ortogonales. Presentamos a continuación los resultados del estudio de los materiales arqueológicos: cerámica, industria lítica, arqueometalurgia y análisis del conjunto de los restos vegetales y faunísticos. Abstract. Within the framework of the General Research Project "Protohistoric communities in the environment of the Strait of Gibraltar: investigations in Los Castillejos de Alcorrín and its surroundig area Manilva, Malaga, 2014-2019", the archaeological excavation of the first phase of the project, carried out in 2014 has provided the localization of a construction with an oval plant in the area of the "arcropolis". The constructions architectural tradition belongs to the Final Bronze Age and she coped with buildings with orthogonal walls. The following presents the results of the study of the archaeological material: pottery, lithic industry, archaeometallurgy and the analysis of the rests of the vegetal and faunal assemblage.
... Along with this material, several structures associated with the Neolithic levels have been documented, mainly post holes and combustion structures. We conducted the lithic analysis using the logical-analytical system (LAS) proposed by Carbonell et al. (1983), Mora (1986) &Carbonell et al. (1992), with the variants introduced by Vaquero (1997) for the analysis of cores and Laplace's (1972) concepts of typological groups and primary types for retouched artifacts. ...
Article
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Cal Sitjo is a new archaeological sequence located in a chert-rich region of the NE Iberian Peninsula, in the town of Sant Martí de Tous (Anoia, Barcelona). The area has undergone significant anthropisation and several archaeological sites (e.g., Vilars de Tous), quarries and workshops for the exploitation of chert (e.g., La Guinardera) have been documented, corresponding to different periods. The abundance of chert made this region an almost obligatory passageway for hunter-gatherer communities such as those occupying the nearby cliffs of Cinglera del Capelló (Capellades), located at a direct distance of 15 km, as well as an ideal settlement for later farming communities. Discovered in 2019, the first excavation campaign was carried out in the fall of 2020. Dates have been obtained from a known sequence of around 8 m, providing a chronological framework that ranges from the Mesolithic to the Middle Neolithic. The preliminary results of this excavation have brought to light lithics, ceramics and charcoals from the Neolithic levels (Levels 3 and 4), and faunal, lithic and charcoal remains from the Mesolithic levels (cleaning section). Our preliminary results confirm that this sequence is an ideal location for a diachronic study of the evolution from the last hunter-gatherers to the first farmers, from a paleoenvironmental and technological perspective, as well as in terms of chert management and distribution in a territory with a great abundance of this raw material.
... In Western Europe, different traditions of Lower Paleolithic research have hindered inter-regional comparisons. Following the earlier metrical approaches of Bordes (1961) and Roe (1968), the 'chaîne op eratoire' was developed in France in the 1980s (Pelegrin, 1986;Pelegrin et al., 1988;Bo€ eda et al., 1990;Soressi and Geneste, 2011;Monnier and Missal, 2014;Delage, 2017;Baena et al., 2018;Pope et al., 2020), related processual approaches were developed in Britain (Newcomer, 1971;Wenban-Smith, 1989;Ashton and McNabb, 1994;McPherron, 1995;White, 1998aWhite, , 1998bEmery, 2010), and the Logical Analytical System was developed in Spain (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1995bOll e et al., 2013;García-Medrano et al., 2014, 2019Mosquera et al., 2018). These various analytical systems across Europe have led to problems when attempting to compare results between sites. ...
Article
In the context of the Western European Acheulean Project, this study aims to characterize Acheulean technology in Western Europe through the analysis of handaxes and cleavers from 10 key sites (Britain 4, France 4, and Spain 2) to acquire a regional view of the occupation. The historically different systems used to categorize and analyze the data have made it difficult to compare results. Here we apply a unified and simple method (Western European Acheulean Project) that combines the traditional technological and metrical analysis of assemblages containing handaxes and cleavers with an in-depth geometric morphometric approach using three-dimensional models. This approach allows us to achieve a regional interpretation that identifies innovations through time and shaping strategies across the area. Our findings indicate the existence of two main technological groups in the sampled record: 1) northwestern and central France and Britain, from MIS 17/16 to MIS 11, and 2) Atlantic edge (Atapuerca in Spain and Menez-Dregan in France), from MIS 12/11 to MIS 8. Based on our technological analysis, the shaping of handaxes and cleavers was developed through time as a continuum of accumulative actions, with longer and more complex shaping strategies over time. Shaping technology shows traditions of manufacture over both time and geographical areas, which suggest cultural diffusion. Our geometric morphometric analysis further helped to identify not only general trends but also local adaptations in handaxe forms. Based on our findings, there were no apparent sudden innovations, but rather the application and development of specific techniques to refine size and shape.
... Hotel California's lithic industry has been analysed using the criteria established in the Logical Analytical System (Carbonell, Guilbaud and Mora 1983;Carbonell and Mora, 1986;Carbonell et al. 1992;1999;2001;Carbonell and Rodríguez 2002) (Tables 1-2). Other authors' technological criteria (Vaquero and Carbonell 2003;Carmignani et al. 2017;Menéndez 2009;Vaquero 1999) have been incorporated to complement the analysis (Table 1). ...
Article
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Hotel California is part of a network of open-air Neanderthal sites located in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). In this study, we examine the technology of the lithic assemblages recovered from this site's archaeological levels 3 to 7, which are characterised by the use of local raw materials, non-hierarchical centripetal exploitation systems, systematic production of flakes and few retouched items. This type of expedient technology is repeated throughout the entire sequence, which spans Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 3 to 4. Through a comparison with the technocomplexes and occupation histories of surrounding sites-including a re-evaluation of the published chronology for the nearby site of Fuente Mudarra, which is now dated exclusively to MIS 5-we examine whether the detected pattern is applicable to the rest of the Atapuerca Mousterian record and if this expedient behaviour has equivalents in other sites in the region. Our findings show that the lithic procurement, exploitation and configuration strategies employed at the Sierra de Atapuerca open-air sites were constant over broad time periods spanning MIS 5 to 3, in contrast to the technological sequences observed at other nearby sites on the Northern Iberian Plateau. The recurrent settlement of these open-air Neanderthal sites over tens of thousands of years and the consistent use of expedient technologies during different occupation periods is likely attributable to the rich ecological context of the Sierra de Atapuerca environs.
... At the crossroads of these two approaches, the 1980s saw the development and application in Spain of the Analytical Logic System (ALS) proposed by Eudald Carbonell (Carbonell et al. 1983). This method of studying lithic industries is positioned as a critique of the 'traditional empirical systems of classification' (Bernal and Moncel 2004), in particular those of Bordes (Bordes 1961;1970) and Tixier (1980), which were developed at the same time. ...
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How can we understand prehistoric lithic objects? What meaning should we give them and what view should we adopt to claim access to their significance? How can we reduce and clarify our biases? This article is a proposal to introduce Peircian semiotics to review lithic objects. For a long time, these were apprehended as types, sometimes within evolutionary lineages; however, in this research, knapped stone objects will be perceived through a semio-pragmatic grid and reviewed as signs. The proposed approach is a new way of accessing the fields of technical phenomena of prehistoric communities. This new perception aims at a quest for objectivity, by clarifying the affective, analytical and interpretative a priori as an answer to the sometimes very personal view of the prehistorian on lithic objects. Charles Sanders Peirce’s logical theory of signs or semiotics is contextualized within an ‘artisanal’ reading of prehistoric tools as initiated by Éric Boëda and further developed by Michel Lepot. Through this phaneroscopic/phenomenological vision, the technical object, now a sign-object, is placed in action (semiosis) within a system of signs. This new trajectory is positioned both as a methodological tool and as an innovative milestone in the construction of a more logical episteme in Prehistory, taking lithics both as signs of past human activity and of archaeological representations.
... Our analysis of the lithic assemblages (Santa Ana, Don Á lvaro, El Prado, Guadiana 3-15 and Torremayor 1-27) is based on the Logical Analytical System (Carbonell et al., 1983;Carbonell et al., 1992;Geneste, 1991), while the data obtained from the bibliographic analyses was adapted to this methodology. ...
Article
The Acheulean of the southern Iberian Peninsula is markedly similar to the north African Acheulean. However, the characteristics of the stone tool assemblages are heterogeneous and represent complex cultural phenomena. From MIS 15, the lithic assemblages in fluvial (Guadiana, Guadalquivir and Guadalete rivers), fluvio-lacustrine (Solana del Zamborino) and karstic (Cueva del Ángel, Bolomor, Cueva Negra del río Quípar, Cueva Horá and Santa Ana) contexts exhibit analogies and technical differences representative of a phenomenon of multiplicity. Contributing to this phenomenon is the perception of technological stasis or conservatism of the Acheulean technocomplex and the different technical responses articulated by hominins to achieve equivalent results. These equivalences generate the uniformity that allows us to recognise typologies of large cutting tools (LCTs) regardless of the lithic materials used or the organisational structures of the operational sequences. These diversified typologies include handaxes, picks, and cleavers, which maintain a consistent presence despite innovations such as the Levallois flaking method. In some cases, the presence of cleavers and spheroids affects the range of represented typologies. Beneath the uniformity of the handaxes, lie organisational differences in the operational sequences. The changes and differences in the use of flakes to shape handaxes, the representation of cleavers and diversification of shaped-tool typologies all suggest differential cultural behaviours linked in part to divergent contexts. These aspects indicate that this multiplicity is related to diffusion, adaptation and cultural changes produced at the margins of the conservatism of this technocomplex. Observed changes could indicate inter-group cultural replacements, most of which retained a similar techno-typological diversity to that seen in the north African Acheulean until MIS 5. Cyclical climate change during the Middle Pleistocene affected the Strait of Gibraltar, regulating its function and conditioning the circulation of hominins and affecting cultural interactions between southern Iberian groups.
... Así, aspiramos inicialmente a identificar los mecanismos de selección y aprovisionamiento de las materias primas líticas, con su análisis petrológico. Valoramos el inicio de cada proceso de 2 En el análisis de los artefactos líticos aplicamos la metodología desarrollada por el Sistema Lógico Analítico (Carbonell et al. 1983;1992) talla como la interacción entre dos bases naturales, la que funciona como percutor y la matriz, a partir de donde inferimos el desarrollo de las distintas fases del proceso de reducción, identificando las estrategias y los métodos de talla concretos, así como la configuración de artefactos en segunda generación, como parte integrante del análisis morfotécnico. Hecho esto, se categorizan los artefactos en función de modelos geométricos para su análisis morfopotencial y se proponen hipótesis sobre sus usos concretos como herramientas de trabajo integradas en el proceso de producción -análisis morfofuncional-. ...
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The present work is focused in the Paleolithic communities of the geographical area of “Campo de Gibraltar”, particularly in the study of Mode 2 from the archaeological site called La Menacha (Algeciras, Cádiz). To achieve this aim, we have developed a geological and geomorphological study besides the analysis of the lithic industry. We have paid special attention to the study of raw material; the process of selection, interaction, reduction and configuration; as well as we have studied the post-depositional changes in the form of patina and bearing. To conclude, we present as well an historical context of its closer area.
... For the technological analysis, we based our approach on the Logic Analytical System (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992Rodríguez-Álvarez, 2004) complemented with some additional attributes. Following the protocol proposed by Vaquero (1997Vaquero ( , 2004, the technical analysis of the cores has been carried out at two scales: at a general level, understanding the core as a whole and analysing the spatial and technical relationships between all the surfaces; and at an elementary level, analysing each surface individually. ...
Article
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The ability of early hominins to overcome the constraints imposed by the characteristics of raw materials used for stone tool production is a key topic on the discussion about the evolution of hominin cognitive capabilities and technical behaviours. Thus, technological variability has been the centrepiece on this debate. However, the variability of lithic assemblages cannot be correctly interpreted without understanding site occupational models and function and considering that individual tools represent specific discard moments in a continuous reduction process. In Europe, the earliest technological record is represented by the scarce and scattered Mode 1 technologies, often deriving from occasional occupations or restricted activity areas yielding unrepresentative assemblages. In this paper, we approach the technological behaviours exhibited by Lower Palaeolithic hominins from the subunit TD6.2 of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Burgos) by including the perspective of reduction intensity studies on the analysis of technological variability. Gran Dolina TD6.2 is a unique and extremely significant archaeological context, as it represents the oldest multi-layered unit of domestic hominin occupations in the Early Pleistocene of Europe. We use the Volumetric Reconstruction Method (VRM) to estimate the original volume of the blanks and quantify the reduction intensity of each core individually to characterise the reduction distribution patterns using Weibull probability distribution functions. Our results suggest differential raw material management in terms of reduction intensity, according to the characteristics of each lithology. This could reflect a solid understanding of raw material qualities and a certain degree of planning. Altogether, the continuity between knapping strategies through reduction denotes constant adaptation to raw material constraints as well as particular knapping conditions, rather than specific compartmentalised mental schemes. In conclusion, Homo antecessor toolmakers would have been situational knappers whose technological behaviour would be highly adaptive. This research constitutes the first reduction approach for the European Early Pleistocene assemblages that will lead to a referential framework for other European Early Pleistocene sites.
... It began with the RMU division of the pieces according to granulometry, coloration and the presence of veins or oxides (Prieto et al, 2020). Continuing with the application of the LAS (Logic Analytic System) for the morpho-technological study of the material (Carbonell et al., 1983). Chart 2. Structuras categories division by RMU from the Level 2. ...
... The lithic industry has been analyzed using the criteria of the Logical-Analytical System (LAS) ( Table 1) (Carbonell et al., 1992;Carbonell et al., 1983;Carbonell & Rodríguez, 2002). To maximize the information of the assemblage, we also used technological criteria described by other researchers (Carmignani et al., 2017;Vaquero, 1999;Vaquero & Carbonell, 2003) Criteria proposed for the analysis of cores by M. Vaquero (Vaquero, 1999) were used in the definition of variations within the centripetal operating systems, considering criteria such as the principle of symmetry and hierarchization to define the amount of control in the reduction of core volumes (Vaquero & Carbonell, 2003). ...
Article
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The life of tools in lithic assemblages from European Middle Paleolithic sites reveal different processes of dilation, such as ramification (the use of a flake as a production matrix, from which a second and sometimes even a third tool is produced) and tool on core (TOC), core on tool (COT) and core on flake (COF) processes, with the presence of resharpening tools and the presence of double patinas as further evidence. Technological studies suggest that items in a lithic assemblage have gone through function changes (through reuse or recycling), but only use-wear analysis can demonstrate what these changes of function have been. Of particular interest is the recycling of cores, which often become tools (retouched or non). In this paper, we analyze several cores recovered in Level 4 of Prado Vargas, in which we demonstrate what their use was after the first function as matrixes of exploitation and flake-production.
... This method was further developed to encompass the tool history from procurement of the raw materials to its final discard. The development of Logical Analytical System (LAS) was another landmark in lithic analysis, in which morphotechnical, morphopotential and morphofunctional components of a tool are believed to influence the final morphology (Carbonell et al.,1983). Boëda's techno-economical and techno-psychological perspectives (Boëda et al., 1990;Boëda, 2013) form the focus of many tool analysis which is integrally based on the former technological and typological analysis. ...
Thesis
The Indian sub-continent, midway between Africa and South-east Asia, offers great potential to contribute to the ongoing debates of hominin dispersals and techno-cultural transitions. The Malaprabha Valley sites, in south-western Peninsular India, provides a regional perspective on the transitional processes between Lower and Middle Palaeolithic. Three assemblages, from local Late Acheulean to Middle Palaeolithic were chosen as the key collections and then compared to two of their south-eastern counterparts. These assemblages, excavated or collected from surface, are housed in various museums in India, France and UK. The aim of this PhD was to trace the technological and typological changes of the Large cutting tools (LCTs: handaxes and cleavers) at the transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic. A second objective was to discern raw material and blank effects on the shape variabilities of the LCTs. Combining the classical techno-typological analysis and Geometric Morphometric approach (2D and 3D) allow us to get accurate, reversible holistic results. LCTs in Malaprabha Valley always include more handaxes than cleavers. They are constantly made from local quartzite on various types of blanks with gradual increasing use of the flakes. Their shape variability is mostly located on their periphery and is not influenced by the blank types. Whatever variability occurred it seemed to result from varying relative width and thickness. This study highlights that the technological and morphological traits of the LCTs reflect a regional continuity with gradual changes from the Lower to the Middle Palaeolithic, rather than an abrupt external introduction of new technical behaviors. Irrespective of the diverse blank types, the hominin tool makers in this part of Peninsular India were able to achieve similar tool forms, through adaptive shaping strategies, reflecting a mental template that continued through generations apart from the technical progress identifiable in other products.
... The lithic toolkits from BL and FN3 are studied using a combination of classical and innovative methodologies (Barsky et al., 2015a;Titton et al., 2020;Titton, 2021): morphotechnological analyses; description of lithic taphonomic characteristics (alteration and patina); experimental archeology; artifact's spatial distribution; investigation for refitting and conjoining lithic sets. Each lithic is examined on the basis of the criteria established by the methodology of analysis of tool categorizations (Bordes, 1961;Leakey, 1971;Clark and Kleindienst, 1974;Chavaillon and Chavaillon, 1976;Isaac, 1977;Chavaillon, 1979) and the "position" of each piece in the operational chains is determined (Carbonell et al., 1983;Carbonell et al., 1992;Geneste, 2010;Soressi and Geneste, 2011). Adhering to the concept of operative scheme (Soressi and Geneste, 2011 and references), technological features are described taking into consideration the morpho-technological identification of individual links in the different chains of action recorded in each site to examine how these might have been affected-or driven by -the circumstances in which the lithic materials were found (outcrop, detrital or in situ gathering; clast abundance, size, quality and shape/s). ...
Article
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Situated in southern Spain’s Guadix-Baza basin, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Andalusia, Spain) are two of the most important western European Oldowan archeological sites. After 30 years of quasi-uninterrupted excavations, these two occurrences have yielded exceptional lithic and faunal records in precisely dated stratigraphic situations, providing a wealth of information about the oldest presence of hominins outside of Africa (1.4 and 1.3 Ma, respectively). Recently, excavations and multidisciplinary research have allowed to discern new patterns of lithic raw material procurement and use patterns practiced by the Orce hominins that enable us to clearly distinguish different behavioral schemes between these two sites; in spite of their spatial proximity. This paper explores new data from the lithic collections in relation to hominin technical and economic behavior, highlighting subtle but significant differences in their exploitation of local limestone and flint clasts more than a million years ago. During this period of the late Early Pleistocene, these sites were situated on the shores of an ancient saline lake and fresh water sources were available. This favorable environmental situation, while attractive to the hominins, also supported life for an abundance of large mammals, including competitive large carnivores, underlining questions of expedience as an influence on techno-morphology in these early stone toolkits. This paper analyzes these themes, highlighting updated information from these and other key European late Early Pleistocene sites.
... Archeological assemblage raw material was compared with the reference collection created and curated by the Stone Tools, Diet, and Sociality project in the Tropical Archeology Lab (TAL; Earth Sciences 811, University of Calgary). Descriptive techno-typological analysis of artifacts was conducted in a database built on the Logical Analytical System (SLA) (Carbonell et al., 1983) and then modified comprehensively, adapting to the particularities of Oldowan assemblages (Mosquera et al., 2018). The nomenclature is standard in lithic analysis and broad enough to allow for external comparisons if needed. ...
Article
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The Oldowan represents the earliest recurrent evidence of human material culture and one of the longest-lasting forms of technology. Its appearance across the African continent amid the Plio-Pleistocene profound ecological transformations, and posterior dispersal throughout the Old World is at the foundation of hominin technological dependence. However, uncertainties exist concerning the degree to which the Oldowan constitutes an environment-driven behavioral adaptation. Moreover, it is necessary to understand how Oldowan technology varied through time in response to hominin ecological demands. In this study, we present the stone tool assemblage from Ewass Oldupa, a recently discovered archeological site that signals the earliest hominin occupation of Oldupai Gorge (formerly Olduvai) ∼2.03 Ma. At Ewass Oldupa, hominins underwent marked environmental shifts over the course of a ∼200 kyr period. In this article, we deployed an analysis that combines technological and typological descriptions with an innovative quantitative approach, the Volumetric Reconstruction Method. Our results indicate that hominins overcame major ecological challenges while relying on technological strategies that remained essentially unchanged. This highlights the Oldowan efficiency, as its basic set of technological traits was able to sustain hominins throughout multiple environments.
... The analysis of the lithic industry of Santa Ana took into consideration the techno-typological objectives of the operational sequences and their structure: raw materials and blanks (flakes or pebbles) (Table 1) (Carbonell et al., 1983;Carbonell et al., 1992). The raw materials were classified into large groups: quartz, quartzite and 'other rocks' (greywackes/metagreywackes/metaquartzites). ...
Article
The Acheulean of the Iberian Peninsula is considered a homogeneous technocomplex within the Large Flake Acheulean (LFA) of northern African origin. In this work, we describe the lithic industry of Santa Ana Cave, interpret the territorial functions of the site and search for its technological parallels. Our results place the lithic industry of Santa Ana within the LFA. This assemblage is characterised by: 1) an association of spheroids and large cutting tools (LCTs), 2) the systematic shaping of handaxes on flakes, and 3) quartz knapping. The lithic industry of Santa Ana is unique in the Iberian Peninsula within a region of broad technological variability masked by the apparent homogeneity derived from the extensive presence of handaxes and cleavers. Outside Africa, the technological features observed in the Santa Ana assemblage have only been documented at a few sites in the eastern Mediterranean, China and India. These features illustrate the homeostasis of the Acheulean technocomplex and the expansion of African groups, including northern African groups, towards the Iberian Peninsula.
... Pascual Benito (1996). Per a les restes de talla del conjunt lític es va realitzar una anàlisi morfotècnic seguint els criteris del Sistema Lògic Analític (Carbonell et al., 1983;Carbonell i Mora, 1986;Carbonell et al., 1992). Els útils retocats es van classificar tipològicament seguint J.J. Cabanilles (2008), referent per a l'estudi de la Prehistòria recent de la façana mediterrània de la península Ibèrica. ...
Article
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El jaciment a l’aire lliure de Cantacorbs és un taller neolític de sílex localitzat a un altiplà calcari a 1022 m.s.n.m., d’es d’on es pot controlar una de les principals rutes que creuen les muntanyes de Prades. La característica principal del jaciment és l’abundància de material lític tallat en superfície, corresponent a tots els estadis de la cadena de producció de làmines. L’origen de la matèria primera indica un aprovisionament local, amb material provinent de dues àrees properes d’aprovisionament. El jaciment de Cantacorbs va ser descobert voltant l’any 1930 i, malgrat haver aparegut a diverses publicacions, mai havia estat excavant amb metodologia moderna. Una conseqüència de l’època en les que es van dur a terme les primeres intervencions arqueològiques és la dispersió dels materials en diferents col·leccions. Aquest article presenta les primeres datacions del jaciment, així com una anàlisi comparatiu entre els materials de la col·lecció privada d’en Ramon Capdevila i el material arqueològic recuperat en les dues intervencions modernes que hem dut a terme des de l’Institut català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) de Tarragona.
... For the chipped lithic assemblage, a morpho-technical analysis was carried out (Carbonell, Guilbaud and Mora 1983;Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell et al. 1992). The retouched artifacts were typologically classified following J.J. Cabanilles' typology, a reference for the study of the Recent Prehistory in the Mediterranean façade of the Iberian Peninsula (Cabanilles 2008). ...
Chapter
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The open-air site of Cantacorbs is a Neolithic chert workshop located on a calcareous mountaintop plateau (1022 masl), overlooking one of the main routes through the Prades Mountains (Tarragona, NE Iberian Peninsula). The main characteristic of the site is the abundance of knapped lithic material on the surface, in which all stages of the blade production sequence are represented. Raw material provenance shows a local range, with material coming mainly from two nearby procurement areas. The site was discovered in the 1930s, and despite having appeared in several publications, it has never been excavated using modern methods. A consequence of the time in which the first interventions were carried out has been the dispersal of the materials between different collections. This paper presents the first dating evidence for the site, as well as a comparative analysis between the materials of the Capdevila private collection and those of the first two recent field seasons.
... Since no significant differences were found in the raw materials, technology, and taphonomic features of the lithics from levels D1 and D2 (and since many of the tools excavated prior to 2013 are attributed to the global level "D"), the entire assemblage is presented here together. The lithic industry was divided into structural categories (Bordes 1961;Leakey M.D. 1971;Clark and Kleindienst 1974;Chavaillon and Chavaillon 1976;Isaac 1977;Chavaillon 1979) and the items are presented according to their order in the operative schemes following the Logical Analytic System (SLA) (Carbonell et al. 1983(Carbonell et al. , 1992. We consider these operative schemes in terms of their value as production processes that encompass different phases, from the procurement of the raw materials until discard, passing through all the phases of manufacture and use and resulting in the different components of the assemblage (Geneste 2010;Sorressi and Geneste 2011). ...
Article
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Barranco León (Orce, Andalusia, Spain) provides the oldest case of knapping and percussive activities on an ancient raw material reservoir deposit. This site has already proven to be one of the oldest and most significant Oldowan open-air sites in Europe (1.4 Ma), with an exceptionally rich flint and limestone lithic assemblage, in association with large and small faunal remains, including a tooth fragment attributed to Homo sp. All of these finds have been discovered after years of excavations from a clear stratigraphic succession, complimented by multidisciplinary analyses of environmental proxies. The analysis of the entire lithic collection presented here describes a tool kit composed of cores flakes and debris, hammerstones, and other macro-tools like heavy-duty scrapers and sub-spheroidal morphologies. This paper combines geological and sedimentological data with archeology, providing a new interpretation of site formation processes and how they shaped hominin activities at Barranco León. We examine the dynamics forming the depositional sequence and document taphonomic alterations of the archeological finds, while also analyzing their distribution over the excavation area. This information is key to understanding the nature of post-depositional phenomena and to evaluate primary versus secondary deposition. The positioning of the refitting items in the site highlights in situ action, reaffirming the importance of the Barranco León site as a raw material repository. The observation of a refitted lithic set provides information about knapping strategies and hominin behavior in this European Oldowan site.
... For the technological analysis, we based our approach on the Logic Analytical System (Carbonell et al., 1992(Carbonell et al., , 1983Rodríguez-Álvarez, 2004) complemented with some additional attributes. ...
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Approaching the life history of artefacts is fundamental for understanding both the formation processes of archaeological assemblages and their technological variability. In this paper, we explore the variability of technological behaviours exhibited by the hominins from subunit TD6.2 at the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Burgos), by combining both technological and reduction intensity analyses of the cores recovered. We used the Volumetric Reconstruction Method (VRM) to estimate the original volume of the blanks and quantify the reduction intensity of each core individually, after which we characterised the reduction distribution patterns using Weibull probability distribution functions. Our results suggest differential raw material management in terms of reduction intensity, according to the characteristics of each lithology. This could reflect a solid understanding of raw material qualities and a certain degree of planning. From a technological perspective, our results suggest continuity between knapping strategies through reduction, which seems to indicate constant adaptation to raw material constraints as well as particular knapping conditions, rather than to specific compartmentalised mental schemes.
... For the chipped lithic assemblage, a morpho-technical analysis was carried out (Carbonell, Guilbaud and Mora 1983;Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell et al. 1992). The retouched artifacts were typologically classified following J.J. Cabanilles' typology, a reference for the study of the Recent Prehistory in the Mediterranean façade of the Iberian Peninsula (Cabanilles 2008). ...
Book
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From Mine to User: Production and Procurement Systems of Siliceous Rocks in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age presents the papers from Session XXXIII of the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018). 23 authors contribute nine papers from Parts 1 and 2 of the Session. The first session ‘Siliceous rocks: procurement and distribution systems’ was aimed at analysing one of the central research issues related to mining, i.e. the production systems and the diffusion of mining products. The impact of extraction on the environment, group mobility and the numbers involved in the exploitation phase were considered; mining products were also examined with a view to identifying local and imported/exported products and the underlying social organization relating to the different fields of activity. The second session ‘Flint mines and chipping floors from prehistory to the beginning of the nineteenth century’ focused on knapping activities. The significance of the identification of knapping workshops in the immediate vicinity of mine shafts and of their presence in villages as well as in intermediary places between the two was considered in the analysis of chaîne opératoire sequences. The potential of product quality and artefact distribution to contribute to the understanding of the social organisation of the communities being studied was also examined. Open access here : https://archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/download.asp?id={6E70BA22-C18D-4F7D-9ED7-80A725483438}
... Los afloramientos e indicios de depósitos sedimentarios aluviales y kársticos pleistocenos, fueron localizados, descritos e interpretados. La tecnología lítica fue analizada siguiendo los parámetros del Sistema Lógico Analítico (Carbonell et al. 1983;Carbonell et al. 1992). Las variables técnicas descritas en las categorías estructurales contemplan aspectos relacionados con el aprovechamiento de materiales líticos y con la estructura y desarrollo de las cadenas operativas con las que los homínidos llevaron a cabo sus actividades. ...
... The lithic assemblages were studied using the Logical Analytical System (LAS), (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992Rodríguez, 2004 LAS approaches the study of technological processes on the basis of the stage at which the objects were produced during the reduction sequence, striving to avoid fixed typological preconceptions. The LAS classifies objects into several structural categories, depending on their position in the production chain ( ...
Article
In order to better understand the causes and geographic patterns of Neanderthal demise it is necessary to broaden the focus of existing Neanderthal studies to include new sites from understudied regions, particularly those containing multi-level fossil and lithic records, and to improve regional-scale Neanderthal extinction frameworks using multiple dating techniques. To this end, we present an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy, chronology, pollen, fauna, lithic technology and human remains of the last Neanderthal level (Level N4) of Prado Vargas – a cave in northern Iberia, whose geographic location and chronology are ideal for investigating possible socio-economic and climatic influences on Neanderthal decline. Level N4 has yielded a rich Late Mousterian palimpsest indicative of repeated seasonal occupations, as well as a deciduous Neanderthal tooth, confirming the presence of children at the site. A wide range of human activities are detected in Level 4, with subsistence strategies demonstrating knowledgeable exploitation of the natural environs around the area. The site provides evidence for a distinctive recycling economy, including bone retouchers, recycling of cores, and intense (re)use of raw materials, which may reflect recurrent occupations or the particular cultural traditions of a regional group. Level N4 is dated to between 54.7 and 39.8 thousand years ago (ka) according to our new OSL and radiocarbon study. The late Neanderthal inhabitants of Prado Vargas were cold-adapted, and may have already been living in small, separate groups with marked territories and cultural traditions prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens in the Iberia Peninsula.
... The technological analysis used in this study was performed according to the Logical Analytical System (SLA), with some modifications in accordance with the method for studying Middle Paleolithic assemblages and their spatial distributions (Bargalló 2008;Carbonell, Guilbaud, and Mora 1983;Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell, Mosquera, Ollé et al. 1992;Chacón 2009;Vaquero 1997). This approach is based on the reconstruction and interpretation of the chaîne opératoire as a productive process that encompasses the time from the procurement of raw material until a piece is discarded, passing through all the stages of manufacture and use of the different components (i.e., the entire history of the artifact up to the moment of its analysis). ...
... El resto del material procede de unidades gravemente alteradas por procesos postdeposicionales. En cuanto a la clasificación del material, se rigió por el Sistema Lógico-Analítico (Carbonell, Guilbaud y Mora, 1983;Rodríguez Rellán, 2010), pero tuvo que ser reducido a cinco grupos básicos para mejorar el tratamiento estadístico de la muestra (Tabla II): Bases positivas (lascas), Bases naturales (soportes líticos sin señales de modificación), Bases negativas (núcleos), Configurados (retocados) y Otros (Lorenzo Salgueiro et alii, 2017). ...
Article
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En este estudio se analizan los espacios domésticos en el interior del asentamiento prehistórico de Monte dos Remedios (Moaña, Pontevedra) mediante el uso de Sistemas de Información Geográfica (GRASS-GIS, QGIS, etc…) y de programas de análisis estadístico de código abierto (R). Con los diversos tests aplicados (Kernel, Cluster, regresión lineal, análisis de aleatoriedad completa -K de Ripley, Quadrat Test...-, etc.) se procura detectar las áreas de concentración de material arqueológico en las inmediaciones y en el interior de las estructuras identificadas y relacionarlas con ocupaciones específicas. Las analíticas muestran como el yacimiento en su conjunto y las cabañas en particular tienen una correlación positiva con la fase calcolítica y el reacondicionamiento del sitio en la segunda mitad del III milenio a.C.
... The criteria employed in the Logical-Analytical System were applied to the Fuente Mudarra lithic industry analysis (Table 1) (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992(Carbonell et al., , 1995(Carbonell et al., , 1999Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell and Rodríguez, 2002). In order to maximise the information gathered from the assemblage, we also used other technological criteria described by several authors (see Table 1) (Vaquero, 1999;Vaquero and Carbonell, 2003;Menéndez, 2009;Carmignani et al., 2017). ...
Chapter
Fuente Mudarra es un yacimiento al aire libre del Paleolítico Medio, situado en la Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos). Durante las cuatro campañas de excavación en las que se ha intervenido se han recuperado numerosas piezas de industria lítica, que son especialmente abundantes en el nivel 4 del yacimiento. En este trabajo se realizará un análisis tecnológico intensivo de los materiales de este nivel, tratando de dar una interpretación a este sitio a través de la reconstrucción de la cadena operativa llevada a cabo por los grupos que ocuparon este lugar.
... A recorrência a este método das Chaines Operatoires não implica que não se tenha em atenção outras metodologias existentes sobre a análise de indústrias líticas. Uma dessas outras aproximações corresponde ao Sistema Lógico Analítico, cujo objetivo é conseguir mecanismos de descrição ana-líti cos mais coerentes introduzido por Carbonell (Carbonell et al, 1983). Este sistema baseia-se principalmente na tipologia analítica de George Laplace, na perspetiva analítica e sistémica de D.L. Clarke e na lógica histórica de E. P. Thompson. ...
Article
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The first archaeological excavation in the Middle Palaeolithic cluster of the Arneiro basin (Santana , Nisa) started in 2006. Tree sites dating from the beginning, the middle and the end of this period were excavated. The geographical proximity between Pegos do Tejo 2, Azinhal e Tapada do Montinho allow a longitudinal analysis of the lithic industry along the middle Palaeolithic. This study had confirmed some homogeneity that was maintained; achieve some conclusions about the chaines operatoires employed, the pretended products and the alterations and variations that separate them.
... En el análisis de los artefactos líticos aplicamos la metodología desarrollada por el Sistema Lógico Analítico (Carbonell et al., 1983;Carbonell et al., 1992) con las incorporaciones expresadas en otras ocasiones (Pérez, 2010;2017). ...
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Resumen Este trabajo se centra en el estudio geológico, petrológico, morfotécnico y morfopotencial de los productos líticos localizados en la única excavación arqueológica desa-rrollada en la Fontanilla (Conil de la Frontera, Cádiz). Su localización al aire libre y cercano a la costa, lo con-vierten en un lugar único y de interés para el estudio de estas sociedades del paleolítico. Igualmente, se presentan dos dataciones absolutas inéditas obtenidas por termolu-ministencia (TL) que han permitido relacionar este sitio, junto con sus evidencias materiales, con sociedades de cazadores-recolectores con tecnología Solutrense y su movilidad por diferentes medios naturales. Abstract This work is focused on the geological, petrologic, mor-photechnical and morphopotencial study of the lithic products located in the only archaeological excavation developed in La Fontanilla, Conil de la Frontera, Cádiz. The open-air location and proximity to the coast turn it into a unique site and of interest for the study of these Paleolithic societies. Two unprecedented and absolute datings, obtained by thermoluminescence (TL), are also presented. Thanks to these datings it has been possible to relate this site, along with its material evidences, to hunter-gatherer societies that used Solutrean technology and to their movements among different natural environments.
... The criteria employed in the Logical-Analytical System were applied to the Fuente Mudarra lithic industry analysis (Table 1) (Carbonell et al., 1983(Carbonell et al., , 1992(Carbonell et al., , 1995(Carbonell et al., , 1999Carbonell and Mora 1986;Carbonell and Rodríguez, 2002). In order to maximise the information gathered from the assemblage, we also used other technological criteria described by several authors (see Table 1) (Vaquero, 1999;Vaquero and Carbonell, 2003;Menéndez, 2009;Carmignani et al., 2017). ...
Article
Fuente Mudarra is on a gentle slope on the left bank of the Pico River, near Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain. A 12−m ² test pit was dug at this large open-air site between 2012 and 2017. Several upper Pleistocene archaeological levels were documented. Results from Fuente Mudarra confirm that Neanderthal groups, little represented at cave sites, occupied Sierra de Atapuerca from the end of the middle Pleistocene and during the upper Pleistocene. The site also provides insight into Neanderthal spatial organization in the Atapuerca area and whether they used the caves in an occasional, non-habitual way like the open-air sites.
... analytical typology of Laplace (1972), the analytical archaeology of Clarke (1968) and the historical logic of Thompson (1981). Initially, the LAS classified basic lithic industries, in particular pebble tools (Carbonell et al. 1983), after which the system was slightly adapted to provide a qualitative interpretation (Carbonell et al. 1992(Carbonell et al. , 1995b. The system refers to a systematic and processual reading of the lithic record by an association of characters. ...
Article
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This paper presents a unified methodology to describe critical features in lithic assemblages, in order to better interpret the Middle Pleistocene hominin occupation of western Europe, in the context of the Western European Acheulean Project (WEAP). This project aims to characterise the Acheulean technology of the western side of Europe by the analysis of 10 key assemblages in this area, to generate an in depth regional comparison in particular of the large cutting tools (LCTs). Nevertheless, to go beyond the local perspective and gain a regional point of view requires a deep understanding of the underlying technology to identify the differences or similarities in processes and traditions of manufacture. The different criteria to analyse and to categorise the results make it difficult to compare data from different research traditions (British, French and Spanish). Nevertheless, after decades of intense work on technological analysis and although many technological approaches have been developed, there are still differences in methods between the different countries. It was necessary to develop a unified, yet flexible, protocol to characterise the LCTs that could be adapted to the technological characteristics of each area or site. It also had to be a system that could describe tool technology and morphology, combined with a proper statistical treatment, to summarise all of the data and to compare the results. In addition, due to the recent development of innovative technologies, it is timely to move research forward to make more detailed comparisons between sites. In this paper, we test the WEAP method with three very different European sites, Galería and Gran Dolina-subunit TD10.1 (both in Atapuerca, Spain) and Boxgrove (Sussex, UK).
... El análisis tecnológico siguió los parámetros del Sistema Lógico Analítico y metodologías afines (Carbonell et al. 1983;Vaquero 1991;Carbonell et al. 1992;Vaquero 1997). Los materiales utilizados para la talla fueron integrados en grandes grupos de rocas: cuarcita, cuarzo y sílex. ...
Chapter
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Barbaño 13-45 site’s lithic industry was found dispersed over the surface of las Vegas Bajas River Guadiana’s low terrace (Badajoz, Spain). Its technological characteristics meet the ones from macrolithic Mesolithic, typical from the Upper Paleolithic-Holocene transition period. It was mainly made from quartzite using very simplified unifacial knapping technic strategies, which gave a hierarchical structure to the operative chain and an archaic look to this technology. Furthermore, some of the objects were used alternatively in percussion and knapping activities.
... Para el análisis de la industria lítica se ha empleado la metodología del Sistema Lógico Analítico (Carbonell, Guilbaud & Mora, 1983) El sílex es la materia prima más representada, seguido de caliza y pórfido, cuarcita, arenisca, cuarzo y lidita; estos últimos de manera testimonial (Tabla 1). En cuanto a las categorías estructurales, predominan las Bases Positivas (BP) o lascas, las Bases Positivas fracturadas (BPF), fragmentos de Bases Positivas (FBP) y fragmentos angulosos. ...
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Por decisión de la Asamblea General de AEQUA celebrada en Oviedo (2003), en la XI edición de la Reunión Nacional de Cuaternario, se eligió Gibraltar como sede de esta VI Reunión Ibérica, cuya temática principal: "La península ibérica y el poblamiento de homínidos", está motivado por el fuerte interés internacional que despierta la evolución humana y su dispersión a lo largo del Cuaternario, la Península como zona de tránsitohábitat- reliquia de poblaciones foráneas, y el Estrecho de Gibraltar como posible puente de paso durante “ventanas temporales de oportunidad”. El libro que llega a vuestras manos, con el nombre de “Cuaternario Mediterráneo y Poblamiento de Homínidos”, reúne la totalidad de los trabajos expuestos, en forma de comunicación oral y panel, a lo largo de la VI Reunión de Cuaternario Ibérico, celebrada en la ciudad de Gibraltar, durante los días 26 a 28 de Septiembre de 2005. Su título es un compendio de los tres tópicos principales que nos reúnen: el Cuaternario Ibérico, el poblamiento de Homínidos, y el Mediterráneo occidental. Esta reunión gibraltareña tiene también un significado especial, ya que se celebra el 75º aniversario de la fundación del Gibraltar Museum, foro de todas las actividades cuaternaristas anglófonas en la Península Ibérica desde antes, incluso, de su creación. Baste recordar, en este sentido, las primeras citas de Boddington (1770) sobre las brechas osíferas cuaternarias de Rosia Bay, y los siguientes trabajos paleontológicos de Cuvier (1823), Smith (1846) y Busk & Falconer (1865). Pero el foco de máximo interés se centra en los primeros descubrimientos mundiales de restos humanos, no modernos, en la Cantera de Forbes (1848). Aunque pasaron algunos años en el olvido, y Falconer en 1864 lo definió como un nuevo tipo de hombre (Homo calpicus), no fue hasta el descubrimiento en Alemania de fósiles de esta especie, cuando King, en 1864, definió el nuevo taxón de Homo neanderthalensis. Un segundo hallazgo de restos neandertales (1926) se realizó en las excavaciones arqueológicas sistemáticas de Devil’s Tower, también en la cara norte del Peñón, publicadas por la Dra. Dorothy Garrod (1928) con abundantes restos de fauna, industria lítica y hogares. Posteriormente, la casi totalidad de las investigaciones cuaternaristas se han centrado en la Cueva de Gorham, descubierta en 1906 por el capitán A. Gorham, e inicialmente excavada por el teniente Alexander (1945-1948), graduado en geología por Cambridge. El Museo de Gibraltar recoge recientemente ese testigo científico e inicia, en 1994, el “Gibraltar Caves Project” que, con un equipo internacional y multidisciplinar, continúa excavando en las cuevas de Gorham y Vanguard. El soporte reciente de ayudas europeas (proyecto PalaeoMed: 2002-04) y, sobre todo, del Gobierno de Gibraltar, a través de su División de Patrimonio y Planificación, demuestran una apuesta decidida por la investigación y conservación del Patrimonio Cuaternario en Gibraltar El Peñón de Gibraltar se convierte, así, con estos descubrimientos y con las futuras investigaciones ya iniciadas, en un foco científico de primera magnitud del registro Cuaternario en el sur de Europa, punto clave por su contacto geográfico con el norte de África.
... The lithic assemblages have been studied using a method known as the Logical Analytical System (LAS) (Carbonell et al. 1983(Carbonell et al. , 1992(Carbonell et al. , 1999Rodríguez 2004) (Table 2). It approaches the study of technological processes based on the stage in which the objects were produced during the reduction sequence, attempting to avoid fixed typological preconceptions. ...
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The work undertaken at the Jarama VI site (Valdesotos, Guadalajara, Spain) in the 1990s resulted in the recovery of thousands of archeological remains from the three Pleistocene sedimentary units of this cavity. Prior to the systematic analysis of the lithic material and the reception of new geochronological data, it had been suggested that the upper unit of Jarama VI could correspond to the Early Upper Paleolithic, while the other two units could be related to Neanderthal occupations. We now present the results of a comprehensive analysis and review of the materials, enabling us to clarify that all three units at Jarama VI belong to the Middle Paleolithic and, hence, to the last known Neanderthals in this central area of the Iberian Peninsula, a relatively high altitude inland zone within the framework of mountainous landscapes—parameters which seem to be characteristic of these last groups of Neanderthals.
... Este tipo de restos ha sido cuantitativamente el tercer grupo más numeroso con un total de 202 restos. La industria lítica tallada, estudiada utilizando el Sistema Lógico Analítico (Carbonell et al., 1983;Mora et al., 1992Mora et al., , 1994, entre otras), los métodos de Laplace (1957Laplace ( , 1964Laplace ( , 1972Laplace ( , 1974Laplace ( , 1977Laplace ( , 1980 entre otros) (Fig. 28) o Bagolini (1968) (Fig. 29) mientras que los restos pulimentados han sido analizados a través de la metodología propuesta por Sofía Baqueiro Vidal (2006). Los soportes sobre los que se ha fabricado la industria lítica tallada es, fundamentalmente, el sílex -143 restos-que ofrece un conjunto heterogéneo de tipos y colores (Monsalve, 2019). ...
Article
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En el presente trabajo se presentan los resultados de las excavaciones efectuadas hasta la fecha en el Cerro Bilanero (Alhambra, Ciudad Real), una anticipación de los resultados de los trabajos de gabinete y laboratorio y las principales conclusiones extraídas de ambas actividades.
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Osseous industry has been observed at an increasing number of Neanderthal sites. Bone fragments were used for practical purposes, and a range of bone shaping techniques were employed. The variability of bone tools observed in different assemblages reflects considerable functional diversity. However, no bone spear points have been reported from these contexts. A comprehensive analysis of a bone spear point from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Abric Romaní (Barcelona, Spain) is presented. Through an interdisciplinary, multi-technique, and multi-scale approach combining technology, taphonomy, and functional analysis, compelling evidence for manufacture, use, and hafting was uncovered. The specimen exhibits clear signs of intentional knapping. The presence of microscopic linear impact marks, an impact fracture at the tip and potential internal stress fractures indicate its use as a spear. Furthermore, the observed wear pattern and a morphological adjustment of the trabecular tissue support the hafting hypothesis. Abric Romaní contributes to our understanding of Neanderthal hunting behaviour and the significance of composite bone tools in their technological repertoire 50,000 years ago. This discovery highlights the flexibility and adaptability of Neanderthal technology, providing evidence of bone technology that is sometimes obscured in the archaeological record and offering valuable insights into their hunting strategies during the Middle Palaeolithic.
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The emergence of the mode 2 technocomplex, traditionally characterized by the development of large cutting tools (LCTs) or standardized large-shaped tools, has also implied a range of new technological behaviours. These include enhanced raw material management, more sophisticated knapping strategies, and transport patterns, among other innovations. Unit II of the localities of La Mina, El Forn, and Pit 1 in El Barranc de la Boella (Tarragona, Spain) — dating back to between 0.99–0.78 million years ago — contains the oldest mode 2 assemblages in the European subcontinent and represents an exceptional opportunity to examine the technological features associated with the appearance of LCTs in Europe and to provide clues to shed light to different hypotheses about their appearance. The presence of functionally diverse but environmentally similar localities enables a study of behavioural flexibility and technological variation, marking a critical contribution to understanding early human technological evolution. Our research focuses on the technological behaviours of hominins in unit II of Pit 1, La Mina, and El Forn at Barranc de la Boella, examining five keys technological aspects such as (1) raw material management, (2) core reduction sequences, (3) reduction intensity, (4) large flake production, and (5) the spatiotemporal integrity of reduction sequences. We compare these behaviours with those observed in mode 1 (~ 1.8–0.9 Ma) and early Middle Pleistocene (~ 0.78–0.6 Ma) assemblages across western Europe. Our findings reveal significant advancements and anticipatory behaviours at El Barranc de la Boella, such as the use of procedural templates for core reduction strategies and the production of large-shaped tools governed by principles of gestural economy, and also the existence of different reduction sequences in different raw materials according to specific purposes. The technological behaviours observed at El Barranc de la Boella seem to be more indicative of population dispersals rather than local evolutionary developments from mode 1 technologies. The non-linear evolution of core knapping strategies, along with the variability in large-shaped tool types, suggests multiple waves of hominin dispersals into Europe during this crucial period. We propose that El Barranc de la Boella may represent an early dispersal of the Acheulean from Africa around 1.4 million years ago, potentially connected to assemblages such as ‘Ubeidiya. This study underscores the complexity of lithic technology during this period and contributes significantly to our understanding of the complex emergence and adoption of new technological behaviours in European early mode 2 assemblages, extending beyond the mere appearance of LCTs.
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This paper presents the zooarchaeological, technological, use-wear, and spatial analyses of the earliest sedimentary subunits of TD10 (TD10.3 and TD10.4) of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain), dated to c. 400 ka. Both units have yielded Acheulean technology, with occupational models characterized by the superimposition of multiple and independent events paired with short, sporadic occupations. Subunits TD10.3 and TD10.4 formed during a period in which the cave was largely reopened after a temporary closure. This period of reopening is evidenced by several blocks that fell from the ceiling and walls. Fifty-seven groups of refits and anthropic conjoins, of which 43 resulted from deliberate hominin activity, confirm the low disturbance of the deposits. Contrary to TD10.4, TD10.3 shows good preservation of faunal remains, although anthropogenic modifications are very scarce. Technologically, both deposits represent well-developed Acheulean assemblages, with high proportions of large-shaped tools and percussive material, which place this area among those that have yielded the most evidence of this type among all the excavated Atapuerca sites. The question of why these subunits contain so many hammerstones, manuports, and large tools associated with faunal remains that have been so scarcely modified is discussed based on data from spatial, technical, and use-wear analyses, which have identified butchery activities, and for the first time in the Pleistocene Atapuerca record, borer elements and possible thrusting stone spear tips. Furthermore, the occupational and technological characteristics of these subunits were compared with other western European archaeological sites, including the nearby site of Galería, with which a broad correlation can be made.
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La campaña de excavaciones sistemáticas correspondiente al año 2012, realizada en el marco del Proyecto General de Investigación “Los inicios del urbanismo en las sociedades autóctonas localizadas en el entorno del Estrecho de Gibraltar: investigaciones en Los Castillejos de Alcorrín y su territorio, Manilva, Málaga”, ha tenido por objetivo continuar con los trabajos iniciados en campañas previas, concentrados en la zona alta o “acrópolis”, concretamente en los denominados Edificios A y B. También se han realizados estudios analíticos orientados al conocimiento arqueométrico de las producciones cerámicas y de las actividades metalúrgicas practicadas en el yacimiento, completados con análisis de potenciales áreas de captación de arcillas para actividades alfareras y posibles áreas de suministro de recursos minero-metalúrgicos. Se ha realizado un estudio malacológico, que ha dedicado especial atención al estudio del suministro de los moluscos marinos usados de forma intensiva para adornar los espacios exteriores de los edificios de la “acrópolis”.
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While archeologists usually favor the study of large and diagnostic lithic artifacts, this study illustrates the invaluable contribution of lithic microartifacts for interpreting hominin lifeways. Across a 64 m² area of the Middle Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen 13 II-3 in Northern Germany, we recovered a total of 57 small and micro flint artifacts, four small debris pieces, three natural fragments and three bone retouchers in close association with the skeleton of an extinct Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). This area lacks the type of formal knapped stone tools that would normally constitute the focus of archeological interpretations. By adopting a holistic approach, including morpho-technical analysis, experimental archeology, and use-wear and residue analyses, we demonstrate that these small and microartifacts are resharpening flakes that tell the story of the site. Fifteen resharpening flakes preserve microwear traces of processing wood. Microscopic residues of wood adhered to the former working edges of the tools corroborate this observation. Additionally, hominins used a sharp-edged, natural fragment of flint to process fresh animal tissue, which likely originates from the butchery of the elephant. These results provide unique, 300,000-year-old evidence for the functionally interconnected use of lithic, osseous and wood technologies. Furthermore, we document in-situ transformations of stone tools and the presence of both curational and expedient behaviors, thereby demonstrating the temporal depth of hominin activities at the lakeshore where the elephant died, and in the broader landscape as a whole.
Article
Recovery and analyses of perishable non-charred archaeological wood is extremely rare. Traceological analyses in general are still scarce and mainly focused on waterlogged remains. Ancient desiccated wood from the Canary Islands offers an exceptional opportunity to identify the processes and techniques of the indigenous populations prior to the arrival in the 14th and 15th centuries AD of European colonists. This paper offers xylological and morpho-technological data linked to artefacts recovered in cliffside Prehispanic communal granaries in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). The findings gleaned from a combination of xylological and traceological analyses are for the moment the first of their type of the archipelago's indigenous contexts. The data suggest the widespread exploitation of pine (Pinus canariensis) and fig tree (Ficus carica) and advances several analytical categories for wood artefacts and fragments. The identification and description of the different traces is followed by hypotheses as to the technical actions and the nature of the active edges of the stone tools. Thus, work-waste is identified and linked to several technical actions with the aim of reconstructing the chaînes opératoires. Moreover, further experimental research could offer a better understanding of the functions of these wooden artefacts.
Article
Stratigraphic Unit D levels of the Caune de l'Arago (Pyrénées-Orientales, France), situated in the upper part of the depositional sequence of Ensemble Stratigraphique III (ES III), has yielded a rich Acheulian archeopaleontological record dated to the Middle Pleistocene. The site's infill, dated from 690 to 90 ka, encloses a thick cultural sequence comprising some of the oldest evidence of Acheulian documented so far in Western Europe (Unit P levels). The deposits contain successive occupation layers with abundant faunal remains, stone artifacts, and sometimes hominin remains attributed to Homo erectus tautavelensis. The Unit D levels are chronostratigraphically positioned at the top of the ES III sequence, accumulated at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12. The Unit D lithic assemblage shows no evidence of Levallois knapping strategies. Rather, its features indicate a trend towards microproduction that continues into subsequent occupational phases, apparently marking a local expression of the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic. Remarkably, tiny discoid and multidirectional type cores, predominantly knapped from small-sized quartz pebbles, characterize the Unit D lithic assemblage. Experimental work presented here demonstrates the likelihood that, despite the small size of the cores and the recalcitrant crystalline materials from which they were knapped, flake production can be carried out with free-hand hard hammer techniques. We explore behavioral aspects gleaned from Unit D cultural material, contrasting them with microlithic praxis observed elsewhere in Europe and the Near East in a similar timeframe.
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