- Prehistory, Lithic Technology (Archaeology), Early human colonization, Early Pleistocene, Mode 1 lithic technology, Humanities, and 8 morePrehistoric Archaeology, Human Evolution, Lithic Technology, Evolution of Hominin and Human Behaviour, Zooarchaeology, Taphonomy, Archaeozoology, and Evolutionary Anthropologyedit
- Scientific speciality: Archaeology of the Early Pleistocene, European Mode 1 lithic technology and early continental ... moreScientific speciality: Archaeology of the Early Pleistocene, European Mode 1 lithic technology and early continental hominin communities.
Current lines of scientific research: First European hominin settlement and Mode 1 lithic industry at the Early Pleistocene. Social, cultural, territorial and subsistence patterns of the early hominins, and competition for resources between early hominins and large carnivorous.edit
We reject in this paper the criticism of hominin presence at the late Early Pleistocene site of Untermassfeld (Germany), a site which preserves lithic industry and bones butchered by hominins, published newly by Roebroeks et al. Here we... more
We reject in this paper the criticism of hominin presence at the late Early Pleistocene site of Untermassfeld (Germany), a site which preserves lithic industry and bones butchered by hominins, published newly by Roebroeks et al. Here we document the origin and authenticity of the analyzed sample and provide further evidence of the anthropogenic character of lithic material, which unequivocally proves hominin activity at Untermassfeld site 1.07 Myr ago.
RESUMEN: En los yacimientos de la Cauna del Arago y de Galería se han documentado ocupaciones humanas situadas en un lapso temporal entre los 350 y 120 ka BP en el caso de Galería y entre 690 y 90 ka BP en el de l'Arago. Se trata de dos... more
RESUMEN: En los yacimientos de la Cauna del Arago y de Galería se han documentado ocupaciones humanas situadas en un lapso temporal entre los 350 y 120 ka BP en el caso de Galería y entre 690 y 90 ka BP en el de l'Arago. Se trata de dos de los mejores ejemplos en Europa con industrias achelenses elaboradas por el Homo heidelbergensis. Estos conjuntos líticos han sido recuperados en secuencias cronoestratigráficas de gran resolución, lo cual ha permitido trabajar con registros bien contextualizados. Las similitudes puestas de manifiesto en los Sistemas Operativos desarrollados justifican la presentación conjunta de los datos obtenidos en el estudio de los dos yacimientos. ABSTRACT: Both the Cauna de l'Arago and Galeria complex have Middle Pleistocene hominid settlements, between 350-120 ky BP for Galeria and 600-90 Ky BP for l'Arago. They are two of the best cave sites with achelense lithic technology made by Homo heildelbergensis in Europe. Two lithic assembalges have been recovered from cronostratigraphic sequences well established and they share the same technical features. For that reason, we present a paper showing together the main conclusions obtained in the lithic analysis from these two sites.
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The first peopling of Europe has been widely discussed for the last decades. The many findings recorded in recent years have confirmed that Europe was occupied by humans during the Early Pleistocene for over a million years. However,... more
The first peopling of Europe has been widely discussed for the last decades. The many findings recorded in recent years have confirmed that Europe was occupied by humans during the Early Pleistocene for over a million years. However, several issues are still questioned in the current debate about the first peopling of Europe, including the continuity or discontinuity of this event. In this regard, a revision of the available zooarchaeological evidence for the Early Pleistocene in Europe is proposed in this article, discussing the influence on hominin behaviour of meat-resource acquisition. The climatic fluctuations which characterized this period, as well as the diversity of ecosystems found in the Mediterranean area and in the whole continent, make meat consumption a key resource concerning the adaptive possibilities of local hominins. Thus, the persistence of hominin settlement in Europe during the Early Pleistocene may have depended on the social cohesion of the groups and their capacity to provide a regular supply of meat resources.
Untermassfeld has provided a butchered bone assemblage and a Mode 1 lithic record demonstrating hominin presence at a site which was classically viewed as paleontological. This archaeological record was found during fieldwork and... more
Untermassfeld has provided a butchered bone assemblage and a Mode 1 lithic record demonstrating hominin presence at a site which was classically viewed as paleontological. This archaeological record was found during fieldwork and surveying in fluvial river banks and low-to-medium energy channel erosion sediments. Paleomagnetism and biostratigraphy has yielded an age for this hominin occupation close to the onset of the Jaramillo subchron (ca. 1.07 Myr). In this paper we present new taphonomic data of the cut-marked and hammer-related bone material, corresponding mainly to large-sized herd species (i.e., Bison), but also from cervids (Eucladoceros giulii and Cervus s.l. nestii vallonnetensis) and megafaunal species (i.e., Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis and Hippopotamus amphibius antiquus). Distribution of skeletal elements and bone surface features suggests that this bone assemblage consists of animal remains with different taphonomic origins. The assemblage formed during at most two or three sediment-laden floods, transporting both lithic tools and remains of animals that died of natural causes or were killed by predators. The new taphonomic results presented here are important to analyze hominin colonization and adaptation to European mid-latitude environments at 1 Myr, in competition for meat resources with large carnivores (i.e., Pachycrocuta brevirostris and Panthera onca gombaszoegensis).
In this article we present an experimental approach focused on bipolar core technology. The main goal is to define the major constraints and parameters faced when identifying the bipolar component of the Early Pleistocene site of... more
In this article we present an experimental approach focused on bipolar core technology. The main goal is to define the major constraints and parameters faced when identifying the bipolar component of the Early Pleistocene site of Vallparadís (Spain). For these experiments we have used the same varieties of raw materials and blanks as those documented in the archaeological record. The methodological framework applied in the study of the experimental sample is largely based on the most diagnostic parameters recurrently cited in bipolar-related literature: double striking platforms and opposite battering damage. This information has been encoded by grouping blanks, cores and detached elements in morphotechnical types. The results suggest that the reduction process is conditioned by the morphology and fracture consistency of the knapped nodules. Although blank morphology does not categorically determine the final shape of the cores and flakes, there is a clear correlation between them. The most diagnostic parameter for identifying bipolar objects in statistical terms is the presence of opposite battering damage. However, there are many non-diagnostic pieces generated throughout the bipolar knapping process. Hence we consider it pertinent to analyse the archaeological assemblage of Vallparadís according to alternative meth-odological approaches (e.g. morphotechnical types).
The Mode 1 to Mode 2 transition in Europe has become a key research debate on early hominins. In this paper, the available data are used to propose a new interpretation of the origin of the Acheulian by analysing the transition through... more
The Mode 1 to Mode 2 transition in Europe has become a key research debate on early hominins. In this paper, the available data are used to propose a new interpretation of the origin of the Acheulian by analysing
the transition through the lithic industry at key circum-Mediterranean sites with Early-Middle Pleistocene chronology: Vallparadís, Gran Dolina TD6, Barranc de la Boella, and Caune de l’Arago ‘P’ levels. Regarding these lithic records, we propose here the hypothesis based on an evolution of new technological behaviours in Europe before 0.5 Myr carried out from autochthonous populations with Mode 1 industries, combined with external adaptive and technological influences. We interpret the chronology and lithic assemblages of these sites within the transition process towards Acheulian, in which structural continuity of Mode 1 is complemented with the gradual appearance of some foreign innovations (bifacial technology). This technological transition is envisaged as a historical process: the outcome of the cultural evolution resulted from contacts and exchanges between hominin groups from western Eurasia with different social and technological adaptations, in contact and competition with each other. This historical process would explain the time lag between Africa, Levant, and Europe in the spread of the Acheulian, as well as a technological evolution of the European Mode 1 and the gradual expansion of the Acheulian across Europe.
the transition through the lithic industry at key circum-Mediterranean sites with Early-Middle Pleistocene chronology: Vallparadís, Gran Dolina TD6, Barranc de la Boella, and Caune de l’Arago ‘P’ levels. Regarding these lithic records, we propose here the hypothesis based on an evolution of new technological behaviours in Europe before 0.5 Myr carried out from autochthonous populations with Mode 1 industries, combined with external adaptive and technological influences. We interpret the chronology and lithic assemblages of these sites within the transition process towards Acheulian, in which structural continuity of Mode 1 is complemented with the gradual appearance of some foreign innovations (bifacial technology). This technological transition is envisaged as a historical process: the outcome of the cultural evolution resulted from contacts and exchanges between hominin groups from western Eurasia with different social and technological adaptations, in contact and competition with each other. This historical process would explain the time lag between Africa, Levant, and Europe in the spread of the Acheulian, as well as a technological evolution of the European Mode 1 and the gradual expansion of the Acheulian across Europe.
The first peopling of Europe has been widely discussed for the last decades. The many findings recorded in recent years have confi rmed that Europe was occupied by hominins during the Early Pleistocene for over a million years. However,... more
The first peopling of Europe has been widely discussed for the last decades. The many findings recorded in recent years have confi rmed that Europe was occupied by hominins during the Early Pleistocene for over a million years. However, several issues are still in question in the current debate about this fi rst peopling, including the continuity or discontinuity of this event. In this regard, a revision of the available zooarchaeological evidence for the Early Pleistocene in Europe is proposed in this article, discussing the influence on hominin behavior of meat resource acquisition. The faunal evidence recovered from the European sites shows that hominins had access to a variety of meat resources, from small animals such as birds and reptiles to a large variety of mammals such as hippopotamuses and ungulates of varying sizes. This fossil record also suggests that hominins overcame the predation-pressure exerted by hyaenids and felids, which competed for these same natural resources. The climatic fl uctuations which characterized this period, as well as the diversity of ecosystems found in the Mediterranean area and in the whole continent, made meat consumption a key resource for the adaptive possibilities of local hominins. Thus, the persistence and expansion of hominin settlement throughout Europe during the Early Pleistocene may have depended on overcoming these constraining factors, on the basis of the social cohesion of the groups and their capacity to provide with a Mode 1 technology a regular supply of meat resources.
Многие материалы, обнаруженные в последние годы, свидетельствуют о том, что заселение Европы гомининами в эпоху раннего плейстоцена происходило на протяжении более миллиона лет. По некоторым вопросам первоначального заселения европейского... more
Многие материалы, обнаруженные в последние годы, свидетельствуют о том, что заселение Европы гомининами в эпоху раннего плейстоцена происходило на протяжении более миллиона лет. По некоторым вопросам первоначального заселения европейского континента, в частности о том, был ли этот процесс последовательным и постоянным или прерывался, возникают споры среди специалистов. В статье дается обзор доступных зооархеологических материалов раннего
плейстоцена, открытых на территории Европы, и обсуждается вопрос о влиянии добычи мясных ресурсов на поведенческие особенности гомининов. Наличие фаунистических остатков на европейских стоянках указывает на то, что гоминины имели доступ к разнообразным источникам пищи животного происхождения: от мелких животных (птицы, рептилии) до крупных млекопитающих (гиппопотамы, копытные), а также побеждали в конкурентной борьбе с хищниками, такими как гиены и кошачьи за одни и те же природные ресурсы. Климатические колебания, характерные для исследуемого периода, а также разнообразие экосистем, выявленных в Средиземноморском регионе и на континенте в целом, сделали потребление мяса основным условием жизнедеятельности в рамках адаптационных возможностей местных гомининов. Таким образом, непрерывность обитания гомининов в Европе в течение раннего плейстоцена могла зависеть от социальной сплоченности групп и их способности регулярно обеспечивать себя запасами мяса.
плейстоцена, открытых на территории Европы, и обсуждается вопрос о влиянии добычи мясных ресурсов на поведенческие особенности гомининов. Наличие фаунистических остатков на европейских стоянках указывает на то, что гоминины имели доступ к разнообразным источникам пищи животного происхождения: от мелких животных (птицы, рептилии) до крупных млекопитающих (гиппопотамы, копытные), а также побеждали в конкурентной борьбе с хищниками, такими как гиены и кошачьи за одни и те же природные ресурсы. Климатические колебания, характерные для исследуемого периода, а также разнообразие экосистем, выявленных в Средиземноморском регионе и на континенте в целом, сделали потребление мяса основным условием жизнедеятельности в рамках адаптационных возможностей местных гомининов. Таким образом, непрерывность обитания гомининов в Европе в течение раннего плейстоцена могла зависеть от социальной сплоченности групп и их способности регулярно обеспечивать себя запасами мяса.
The late Early Pleistocene site of Untermassfeld, dated to the Jaramillo subchron (ca. 1.07 millions of years ago), is well known for its rich Epivillafranchian fauna. It has also recently yielded stone artefacts attesting hominin... more
The late Early Pleistocene site of Untermassfeld, dated to the Jaramillo subchron (ca. 1.07 millions of years ago), is well known for its rich Epivillafranchian fauna. It has also recently yielded stone artefacts attesting hominin occupation. Now, we report here, for the first time, evidence of hominin butchery such as cut marks and intentional hammerstone-related bone breakage. This probable subsistence behaviour was detected in a small faunal subsample recovered from levels with Mode 1 stone tools. The butchered faunal assemblage was found during fieldwork and surveying in fluvial riverbanks (Lower Fluviatile Sands) and channel erosion sediments (Upper Fluviatile Sands). The frequent occurrence of butchery traces on bones of large-sized herd animals (i.e., Bison) may imply a greater need for meat in seasonal habitats characterised by a depletion of nutritive plants in winter. Early access to carcasses, before their consumption by carnivores, provided hominins with sufficient quantities of meat. This access was acquired with a Mode 1 lithic industry, to ensure food procurement and survival at high latitudes in Europe. Stone tools and faunal remains with signs of anthropic intervention recovered at Untermassfeld are evidence of the oldest hominin settlement at continental mid-latitudes (50° N).
The article by Lozano-Fernández et al. (2015) revises the chronological range and paleoenvironmental inferences for unit EVT7 at Vallparadís, based on a micromammal sample slightly larger than the original one published in Martínez et al.... more
The article by Lozano-Fernández et al. (2015) revises the chronological range and paleoenvironmental inferences for unit EVT7 at Vallparadís, based on a micromammal sample slightly larger than the original one published in Martínez et al. (2014). However, in this new chronological and paleoenvironmental interpretation, the virtually identical results (0.95–0.98 Myr and predominant humid landscape) for the site published in Martínez et al. (2014) are omitted. Furthermore, they claim an age of ca. 1.2 Myr for unit EVT7 at Vallparadís, attributing this chronology to the archaeological team who excavated the site. However, this proposal is not in accordance with the date close to the upper boundary of the Jaramillo subchron (ca. 0.9 Myr), which this team has defended in their articles. Thus, the results and conclusions presented by Lozano-Fernández et al. (2015) do not revise previous studies, but rather confirm the interpretations drawn from the sample analyzed by Martínez et al. (2014).
Discussion regarding continuity or discontinuity in the peopling of Europe during the Pleistocene is a key issue in the study of the survival capacity of these hominin groups. However, long-term archeostratigraphic sequences such as Gran... more
Discussion regarding continuity or discontinuity in the peopling of Europe during the Pleistocene is a key issue in the study of the survival capacity of these hominin groups. However, long-term archeostratigraphic sequences such as Gran Dolina or Caune de l'Arago which can throw light on this potential continuity are limited. Hence, it is necessary to enlarge the analysis by including consideration of fluvial systems with archeological sites on their terraces. This article correlates the chronostratigraphy of sites dated to the Early Paleolithic in North-eastern Spain, located in the Ter and Onyar river terrace systems, in the travertine stream of La Garriga and in the volcanic and karstic context of the Ter basin. While the first half of the Middle Pleistocene is assessed in terms of the relative chronology provided by the terraces and the morphotechnical features of their industries, the second half of that period and the early Late Pleistocene are documented by numerical dates from travertine and stalagmite (U-series and 230Th/U) and from volcanic 40Ar/39Ar) levels ranging between 350 and 90 kyr. Despite the limited archeological resolution and the reduced number of radiometric dates obtained in the basin, chronostratigraphic analysis contributes to the debate about hominin adaptation to continental paleoclimatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene.
ESR dating was applied to fossil teeth and optically bleached quartz grain samples from two units of the sequence at Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain): weighted mean ESR age estimates of 858 ± 87 ka and 849 ± 48 ka were obtained for EVT-7,... more
ESR dating was applied to fossil teeth and optically bleached quartz grain samples from two units of the sequence at Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain): weighted mean ESR age estimates of 858 ± 87 ka and 849 ± 48 ka were obtained for EVT-7, which includes the archaeological level 10, and EVT-8, respectively. These results are in good agreement with the existing magneto-biostratigraphic framework that constrain these deposits between 780 and 990 ka, and indicate that Vallparadís EVT-7 has a chronology very close to that of Atapuerca Gran Dolina TD-6 (Spain).
The ‘old Europe’ hypothesis is commonly accepted by the international scientific community thanks to the Early Pleistocene sites in Spain and in other areas of Europe. However, Baales comments (2014) against the archaeological evidence... more
The ‘old Europe’ hypothesis is commonly accepted by the international scientific community thanks to the Early Pleistocene sites in Spain and in other areas of Europe. However, Baales comments (2014) against the archaeological evidence from Untermassfeld and the rest of the ancient sites proposing the return to the “short chronology” paradigm, whose reference is the Mauer mandible discovered in 1907. In this article, we confront his arguments, explaining in detail the stratigraphic provenience of the lithic industry and cut-marked bones recovered in the Jaramillo Upper and Lower Fluviatile Sands from Untermassfeld.
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The first migration out of Africa undertaken by the genus Homo is documented in Georgia at 1.8 Myr (Dmanisi) and some 0.4 Myr afterwards in the Middle East (’Ubeidiya). However, the debate on when the European continent was populated for... more
The first migration out of Africa undertaken by the genus Homo is documented in Georgia at 1.8 Myr (Dmanisi) and some 0.4 Myr afterwards in the Middle East (’Ubeidiya). However, the debate on when the European continent was populated for the first time remains open. The first human presence in Europe prior to the Jaramillo subchron (1.07-0.99 Myr) is evidenced at Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco León D (Orce) and at Sima del Elefante (Atapuerca), an occupation that seems to have continued through the Jaramillo at Gran Dolina TD3e4 and TD5 (Atapuerca), at Vallparadís (Barcelona), and up to the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary at Gran Dolina TD6. Even so, those who still defend a ‘short chronology’ espouse an intermittent early population limited to the Mediterranean area, delaying the first occupation until after the Jaramillo. These hypotheses fail to explain what factors were behind the absence of population in Europe prior to this period, bearing in mind that there were populations of hominins at the gates of Europe between 1 and 0.5 Myr before the first archaeological record documented in Western Europe. Paleomagnetic analyses of the archaeological sites are rarely able to detect the Jaramillo subchron due to its short duration, while the radiometric dating methods (U-series/ESR) usually applied are limited in the accuracy they can achieve for the chronologies in question. These limitations make it necessary to depend on the biostratigraphy of small and large mammals to ascertain with precision the time of the first colonization of the continent. Accordingly, in the present article we discuss the chronological data from the older Iberian archaeological sites using biostratigraphic data to establish an archaeological sequence that demonstrates the expansion of the first hominin occupation of Southern Europe prior to Jaramillo.
This article studies the lithic industry of the Early Palaeolithic from the terraces of the Roussillon, in the S of France. The geomorphological revision of the flood levels allows these industries to be related to the geochronology of... more
This article studies the lithic industry of the Early Palaeolithic from the terraces of the Roussillon, in the S of France. The geomorphological revision of the flood levels allows these industries to be related to the geochronology of the terraces which were formed in between the late Early Pleistocene and the Middle Pleistocene, and thus allows a regional chrono-cultural framework to be established. By analyzing the technology of the lithic industry derived from the concept of chaîne opératoire and studying the patinas, the technical Modes and the technological aspects of the processes related to configuration and knapping sequences are differentiated. In the fluvial sequence, Mode 1 is documented in the terrace of Mas Ferréol and Mode 2 is identified in the Plane d’en Bourgat and Butte du Four-Llabanère, thus showing a technological continuity in the form of choppers and chopping-tools and poorly organized chains of exploitation (polyhedral). This technological substratum is common to the coeval sites from the NE of the Iberian Peninsula and the S of France, although with a margin of variability between the industries from the different regions.
Vallparadís is one of the best calibrated and most accurately dated archaeological sites from the European Early Pleistocene. Chronological analyses combined with palaeomagnetism, ESR-U/series and OSL, and the biochronology of macro- and... more
Vallparadís is one of the best calibrated and most accurately dated archaeological sites from the European Early Pleistocene. Chronological analyses combined with palaeomagnetism, ESR-U/series and OSL, and the biochronology of macro- and micromammals are fully consistent and situate the site just above the upper limit of the Jaramillo subchron. In this article we compare the mandibular first molar (m1) of individual adult specimens of Mimomys savini recovered from level 10 (EVT7) at Vallparadís with specimens from the stratigraphic sequence at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca), Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco León D (Orce). This comparison allows us to chronostratigraphically relate level 10 at Vallparadís with level TD5 at Gran Dolina and to fix the former's chronology to around 0.98–0.95 Ma (MIS 27) and, therefore, prior to level TD6 in which fossil remains of Homo antecessor were recovered. The chronology of Vallparadís and the set of contemporary palaeoclimatic proxies regarding the Iberian Peninsula strengthen the hypothesis that hominins continuously populated Europe, at least in Iberia, throughout the late Early Pleistocene between the Jaramillo subchron and the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary by overcoming the climatic fluctuations and changes to the landscape that occurred during this period.
The archaeological site at Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain) contains a continuous archaeostratigraphic sequence that extends from the upper limit of the Jaramillo subchron (0.98 Ma) to the first half of the Middle Pleistocene (c. 0.6 Ma).... more
The archaeological site at Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain) contains a continuous archaeostratigraphic sequence that extends from the upper limit of the Jaramillo subchron (0.98 Ma) to the first half of the Middle Pleistocene (c. 0.6 Ma). Evidence of human occupation (lithic tools and cut-marks) has been identified in this sequence in the levels with reverse polarity from the Early Pleistocene (EVT7/4) and in the levels with normal polarity from the Middle Pleistocene (EVT3/2). In contrast to unit EVT7, which was excavated using an extensive archaeological methodology, the other levels were a rescue excavation. The latter yielded a reduced lithic assemblage, providing evidence of a multiple occupation sequence by hominins at Vallparadís. This evidence call into question the proposal that there was a gap in the hominin settlement before the appearance of Mode 2 technology in Europe, a hypothesis that is based on stratigraphic sequences such as Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Spain) and the mid Loire region (Massif Central, France). Regarding the Early Pleistocene lithic tools from unit EVT7 at Vallparadís, the upper phase of the sequence (EVT4/2) shows longer chaînes opératoires, an increase in size of the lithic artefacts and the selection of better quality raw materials, which in turn indicate changes in the source areas from which they were selected.
The Vallparadís site contains a long and continuous archaeological sequence dating to between the late Early Pleistocene and the first half of the Middle Pleistocene. Levels 10 and 10c (unit EVT7) have yielded abundant macrofauna and Mode... more
The Vallparadís site contains a long and continuous archaeological sequence dating to between the late Early Pleistocene and the first half of the Middle Pleistocene. Levels 10 and 10c (unit EVT7) have yielded abundant macrofauna and Mode 1 stone tools calibrated by paleomagnetism and by biostratigraphy to the upper limit of the Jaramillo subchron (0.98 Ma) and by U–series/ESR to 0.83 ± 0.13 Ma. The industries, elaborated from local raw materials, are of small size. The chaînes opératoires used for lithic production are poorly elaborated and are based on an anvil knapping technique. Shaped tools include notches, becs, scrapers and denticulates on small pebbles, clasts, fragments and flakes as well as a large single chopper. Using a techno-typological study and comparisons with other known Early Pleistocene sites in Spain (Orce and Atapuerca) and elsewhere in Eurasia, we propose that these sites belong to an analogous Mode 1 techno-complex with a variability range. The fundamental difference between them lies in the retouched tools because these are poorly represented in Europe prior to around 1 Ma. In contrast, orthogonal knapping methods were used in the exploitation of the cores during all this period. The successive episodes of interbreeding and independent evolution regarding the phylogenetic reports on the hominin remains from Atapuerca would have probably led to regional technological traditions in the European Mode 1 lithic record.
Early and Early-Middle Pleistocene archeological sites provide data about human dispersals into Europe from at least 1.2 Ma. Up to now, the fragmentary archeological record indicated only sporadic hominin presence, with punctated... more
Early and Early-Middle Pleistocene archeological sites provide data about human dispersals into Europe from at least 1.2 Ma. Up to now, the fragmentary archeological record indicated only sporadic hominin presence, with punctated migration “waves” not necessarily leading to colonization. We consider an alternative demographical picture in which hominin presence in Europe could have been sustained from this time. This paper explores the possibility that early hominin groups confronted different landscapes by adapting their technology to changing ecosystems. Innovative technological achievements were developed into new forms out of potential existing within the variability of early stone industries, leading to the production of a more diversified toolkit. Among these innovations, the increased secondary knapping of flakes points to conceptually more complex production sequences. This paper proposes a comparative view of secondary knapped flakes from some key Early-Middle Pleistocene sites in order to explore the hypothesis of demographical stability in Western Europe from this time.
This article reinforces the hypothesis that humans were well established in Europe by the time of the Jaramillo subchron (1.07–0.98 Ma). The lithic industry found in the Untermassfeld site demonstrates human occupation at 50° N in Europe.... more
This article reinforces the hypothesis that humans were well established in Europe by the time of the Jaramillo subchron (1.07–0.98 Ma). The lithic industry found in the Untermassfeld site demonstrates human occupation at 50° N in Europe. This evidence extends human occupation beyond the Mediterranean, as do other sites such as Kozarnika Cave (1.6–1.4 Ma), Pont de Lavaud (1.1 Ma), and Happisburgh 3 and Pakefield at the Matuyama–Bruhnes limit. Demonstrating the presence of humans at Untermassfeld has important implications regarding the human settlement of northern latitudes. Its stone tool assemblage shares the same open-air alluvial situation, chronological proximity, Epivillafranchian faunal association and Mode 1 technology as that of Vallparadís, which allows us to hypothesise that human groups with the same technology and acting as predators spread throughout the continent from the Jaramillo subchron onwards. These groups moved from already inhabited areas in the Mediterranean such as the Iberian Peninsula (the Trinchera Elefante-TE9 and Orce sites), and/or from the Near East along coastal routes around the Black Sea, along the Danube and/or along the Rhône-Saône-Rhine route (“Belfort Gap”) to the north-western coastline of Europe. The finds from Untermassfeld as well as the probably slightly more recent archaeological sites of Happisburgh 3 (England) and Dorn-Dürkheim 3 (Germany) suggest that landscapes in latitudes around 50° N were already part of the initial colonisation period of Europe in the late Early Pleistocene using Mode 1 technologies. The latter sites bridge the time period between Untermassfeld and the early Middle Pleistocene of mid-latitude Europe, as is indicated by Pakefield in Britain, and may indicate that north-western and central parts were at least intermittently recolonised from southern Europe after periods of full glaciation. This model is supported by the absence of early Mode 2 lithic industry in Europe in the second half of the Early Pleistocene which would have accompanied recolonising populations if the primary population source of Europe came from south-west Asia. Thus, the fact that Mode 1 lithic industry remains present during this period argues against the depopulation of Europe at this time.
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The research project that we present is a study of two sites Puig Marí (Maçanet de la Selva) and Can Planiol (Santa Coloma de Farners). Both Puig Marí and Can Planiol sites are located in the Selva depression (north-east Catalonia) and it... more
The research project that we present is a study of two sites Puig Marí (Maçanet de la Selva) and Can Planiol (Santa Coloma de Farners). Both Puig Marí and Can Planiol sites are located in the Selva depression (north-east Catalonia) and it is framed within the research project The paleosettlers of the middle Plistocene: its technological evolution in the Selva depression and Puig Marí volcano. Both sites are located in the middle Paleolithic, which introduce us in the technological variability of this period. The following point is analysis and interpretation of morphotechnical characters are the main points of the tecnocomplex study. Of middle Paleolithic since they contribute to understand the variability of the technical systems of this period adaptation. The methodology used in this report is Logic-Analytic System with our new contribution. This change we better understand all the possible aspects of lithic technology of middle Paleolithic. The results that we can obtain of this study show us the different knapping strategies. But we think that the different knapping they must be understanding in site the operative systems. This variability in the core are the result of different knapping times of the core.
We present in this article a view of Catalan Middle Palaeolithic through the study of two sites: The Puig Marí (Maçanet de la Selva, Girona) and Can Planiol (Santa Coloma de Farners, Girona). Both sites are localized in the... more
We present in this article a view of Catalan Middle Palaeolithic through the study of two sites: The Puig Marí (Maçanet de la Selva, Girona) and Can Planiol (Santa Coloma de Farners, Girona). Both sites are localized in the north-northeast of Catalunya. In the case of the Puig Marí the main raw material is the basalt, exploited principally by levallois method, typical of this period. On the other hand, in the case of Can Planiol it was used exclusively the quartz that was exploded by discoid method.
ABSTRACT El "Paleolític Inferior a Catalunya i al Rosselló" es la Tesis Doctoral del Dr. Joan Garcia Garriga, galardonada por la Universidad Rovira i Virgili con el Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado en Humanidades. Esta... more
ABSTRACT El "Paleolític Inferior a Catalunya i al Rosselló" es la Tesis Doctoral del Dr. Joan Garcia Garriga, galardonada por la Universidad Rovira i Virgili con el Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado en Humanidades. Esta obra de referencia está planteada desde una perspectiva crono-cultural que abarca un período fundamental en el conocimiento de nuestra historia: el Pleistoceno medio y superior inicial, hace entre unos 780.000 y 120.000 años. Se estudia la industria lítica de los principales yacimientos catalano-roselloneses en cueva, en abrigo y al aire libre del Paleolítico inferior, en busca de la conducta paleoecosocial de las sociedades humanas prehistóricas.
... Homínids a la selva: l'evolució biològica i cultural dels primers humans de les comarques de Girona. Información General. Autores: Joan Garcia Garriga, Kenneth Martínez Molina; Editores: Maçanet de la Selva : Centre d'Estudis... more
... Homínids a la selva: l'evolució biològica i cultural dels primers humans de les comarques de Girona. Información General. Autores: Joan Garcia Garriga, Kenneth Martínez Molina; Editores: Maçanet de la Selva : Centre d'Estudis Selvatans, 2003; Año de publicación: 2003; ...
Research Interests:
The scientific objectives of the present Doctoral Thesis entitled: Lithic Technology and Variability of the Industries of the Middle and Initial Upper Pleistocene in the North-Eastern Iberian Peninsula and South-Eastern France: G Level of... more
The scientific objectives of the present Doctoral Thesis entitled: Lithic Technology and Variability of the Industries of the Middle and Initial Upper Pleistocene in the North-Eastern Iberian Peninsula and South-Eastern France: G Level of La Caune de l'Arago, La Selva, the River Basins of Roussillon, the Ter and Lacustrine Basin of Banyoles, are to study the technological processes of the Lower Palaeolithic in these geographical areas, and its implication in the paleo-ecosocial behaviour of the prehistoric human societies. Starting from the study of the lithotechnical records of archaeological sites located in different ecosystems (plains of Tautavel, the Roussillon, the Ter, la Selva and the Banyoles lacustrine basin), and their industries found in sedimentary deposits preserved in caves (G level of La Caune de l'Arago) or shelters (lower levels of Mollet I), in other open-air industries recovered from the surface of ancient paleosoils (Puig d'Esclats, Casa Nova d'en Feliu and Can Burgés), fluvial flood plains (Domeny Industrial), the foot of deposits dismantled by erosional action on slopes (Costa Roja, Mas d'en Galí and Puig d'en Roca III), and in ancient fossil fluvial terraces (Mas Ferréol, La Plane d'en Bourgat and La Butte du Four-Llabanère), this questions are discussed according to the reflection and conceptualization of the methodological instruments of the the Logical Analytical System.
The hypothesis, put forward in the present Doctoral Thesis, for the definition of the evolutionary dynamics of the industries during the Middle and initial Upper Pleistocene in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula and south-eastern France revolves around the technological interrelation established between the Technical Operation Systems with bifaces and the Levallois method on the one hand, and between those that developed other tools and alternative systems on the other hand. Is proposed an evolutionary scheme characterized by the absolute adaptive dynamism and flexibility for the industries objective of our study, make it quite evident that there are conceptual limitations in the Modes as defined by Graham Clark (1977). These expositions have strong implications in connection with the cultural, subsistence and territorial patterns of behaviour, based on the presence of the same operative and conceptual technologies structures, or "technical traditions", in a single ecological or regional unit throughout the Lower Palaeolithic. The proposal presented is also founded on a general model of population and occupation of the territory, based on the existence of hominid communities deeply rooted in permanent life in the same biotopes and ecologic systems (regions in the broad sense of the word). The exploitation and maximum use of these systems during the Middle and initial Upper Pleistocene must have enabled the subsistence and evolution of populations who were capable of perpetuating themselves in differentiated spaces, throughout the Lower Palaeolithic.
This would, in reality, constitute a purely structural ecologic behaviour, which could help us determine the human communities who generated the analyzed lithotechnical records, based on the existence of a complex network of territories and regions, with a hierarchical system and organization, but separate from each other -not due to geographic features acting as limiting spaces or frontiers, but rather on account of the existence of populations with different cultures-. The results of the lithotechnical analyses have also enabled us to document the differentiated adaptive patterns of mesopleistocene hominids (reflected in the industries' level of technological variability) between the geographical areas. The empirical data on which we base our support of this hypothesis originate from the study conducted in connection with three parameters: the areas from whence the necessary raw materials for knapping were obtained -we must underline the existence of strict patterns by which, exclusively, local rocks were used-, the study of the technical production systems characteristic of each regional unit, and the diachronic interval of these settlements obtained both, by relative chronology as well as through the application of absolute dating techniques.
The hypothesis, put forward in the present Doctoral Thesis, for the definition of the evolutionary dynamics of the industries during the Middle and initial Upper Pleistocene in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula and south-eastern France revolves around the technological interrelation established between the Technical Operation Systems with bifaces and the Levallois method on the one hand, and between those that developed other tools and alternative systems on the other hand. Is proposed an evolutionary scheme characterized by the absolute adaptive dynamism and flexibility for the industries objective of our study, make it quite evident that there are conceptual limitations in the Modes as defined by Graham Clark (1977). These expositions have strong implications in connection with the cultural, subsistence and territorial patterns of behaviour, based on the presence of the same operative and conceptual technologies structures, or "technical traditions", in a single ecological or regional unit throughout the Lower Palaeolithic. The proposal presented is also founded on a general model of population and occupation of the territory, based on the existence of hominid communities deeply rooted in permanent life in the same biotopes and ecologic systems (regions in the broad sense of the word). The exploitation and maximum use of these systems during the Middle and initial Upper Pleistocene must have enabled the subsistence and evolution of populations who were capable of perpetuating themselves in differentiated spaces, throughout the Lower Palaeolithic.
This would, in reality, constitute a purely structural ecologic behaviour, which could help us determine the human communities who generated the analyzed lithotechnical records, based on the existence of a complex network of territories and regions, with a hierarchical system and organization, but separate from each other -not due to geographic features acting as limiting spaces or frontiers, but rather on account of the existence of populations with different cultures-. The results of the lithotechnical analyses have also enabled us to document the differentiated adaptive patterns of mesopleistocene hominids (reflected in the industries' level of technological variability) between the geographical areas. The empirical data on which we base our support of this hypothesis originate from the study conducted in connection with three parameters: the areas from whence the necessary raw materials for knapping were obtained -we must underline the existence of strict patterns by which, exclusively, local rocks were used-, the study of the technical production systems characteristic of each regional unit, and the diachronic interval of these settlements obtained both, by relative chronology as well as through the application of absolute dating techniques.