Mesolithic (Iberian Prehistory)

The discovery of prehistoric cave paintings in the nineteenth century led to the shocking realisation that humans have been creating art for over 30,000 years. Episode two reveals how the very first pictures were created, and how images may have triggered the greatest change in human history.

To discover the first two dimensional paintings we need to look at the art created in caves such as Altamira, Chauvet and Lascaux; these were created roughly 35,000 years, the time Archeologists identify with a ‘creative explosion’.

The first of these cave paintings were discovered in Altemira by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, and his 8yr old daughter Maria, in 1879. The paintings they discovered on the walls of the caves were of animals such as aurochs, a long extinct relative of the bison. As these matched similar stone-age images he had seen, Sautuola concluded they were prehistoric. When the caves were opened to the public, however, they were considered a hoax, and unfortunately despite trying to clear his name, his discovery was not scientifically accepted until long after his death. Following this the caves of Lascaux and Chauvet came to light, and it is said that when Picasso saw images of the caves he declared “we have learned nothing”.

Today artists create images of every aspect of life, but back then the images were almost exclusively of animals,  in particular horses, bison and reindeer. The expert Henri Breuil believed the paintings to be linked to rituals that increased the chances of a successful hunt, however more recent archeology has shown that the animals depicted were not those eaten by the people of the time. In addition some of the paintings were in very hard to reach areas of the caves and featured dots and lines. However, it is easy to take a modern view such as this and miss the point completely, that being how did we learn to project our 3D world into 2D.

There are very similar paintings to be found in the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa, however unlike their European cousins, these were not produced thousands of years ago, but much more recently. These images were produced by the San “bush men” and although they do not produce paintings like this today, Professor David Lewis Williams discovered papers from the late nineteenth century by a German settler that documented the life and rituals of the San people. It became clear to Williams that their religion was based around traveling in a trance state to a spirit world and that they documented in these pictures their experiences of the trance. Often these transitory states involved animals, and the animals depicted were normally large or powerful, such as the Eland, that were respected by the San people. Williams also noticed another similarity with their European counterparts, that of the dots and lines.

Research into altered states, such as the trances of the San people, show that on entering these states, visual disturbances similar to migraine aura that involved lines and dots occur. Furthermore, these images can also be produced through sensory deprivation, for example from being placed deep in a cave for a long time. Prehistoric people, it appears, had hallucinations , which took the form of things that were close to them, such as the horses, bison and aurochs. These hallucinations were remembered and prehistoric people then recreated them on the walls of their caves.

Returning to the European palaeolithic caves, it seems that 12,000 years ago people stopped painting. We don’t know why, but the discovery of Göbekli Tepe, in Southern Turkey may hold the answer.  When excavated the site revealed monolithic pillars built around 12,000 years ago, dated to just the time that the paintings in caves seem to stop. These stone pillars feature carvings of animals such as those in the caves. The effort in creating these stone pillars would have required considerable  labour and organisation, the workers for example, all needed feeding. Recent research has shown that modern wheat can be traced to wild wheat that grows within 20 miles of this site, which has lead scholars to speculate that this was the birthplace of agricultural farming and, in turn, complex society,'civilisation', itself.

The data from recent excavations in the Oman peninsula, especially in the Ja’alan and the Jebel Qara (Sultanate of
Oman) enable us better to refine certain cultural entities and to define new ones, to help determine the chronology of a part of the late prehistory of south-eastern Arabia. To begin with, the “empty quarter of the early Holocene” is half
full: “Fasad facies” characterizes one of the earliest Holocene hunter-gatherers occupation in Oman (8000–7500 BC).
Today we possess data from several stratified sites, enabling definition of two quite distinct Neolithic techno-facies,
which appear in succession: the trihedral points facies between 6500 and 4500 BC, and the facies of  the points with diamond-shaped section between 4500 and about 3800–3700 BC.

Knowledge about lihic industry production strategies in the Late Glacial and early Holocene is scarce in the upper and middle Ebro valley. However, work done in recent years has allowed the identification of similar industrial dynamics to other regions of the Ebro basin and neighboring territories. Thus, after the end of the Magdalenian, microlaminar ensembles are developed-epimagdalenian or azilian-. These ones, occasionally , incorporate geometric microliths, motivating its designation as Sauveterroide ensembles. So far, the incorporation of new types, usually small triangles and segments, didn't suppose major changes in lithic system organization, only their mere addition to projectiles. In this sense, this phenomenon is far from parameters which characterize the development of Sauveterrian industries in the north of Pyrenees. However , in the study of epimagdalenian and sauveterrian lithic industries from the site of Atxoste (Virgala, Álava), one has observed significant transformations that suggest a more complex reality. The site of Atxoste is a rock shelter located on the Mediterranean side of the Basque Country, belonging to upper Ebro basin. It has a wide stratigraphic sequence, being occupied since late Magdalenian to Early Neolithic. In this paper the main results of technological and raw materials supply analysis from VIb2 and VIb levels are exposed, assigned respectively to Epimagdalenian and Sauveterroide traditions. It serves to know siliceous resources provisioning strategies (which materials are selected and how they are introduced into the rock shelter), and production processes developed (production objectives, raw materials management and knapping systems applied). Results obtained show changes in knapping systems and raw material management between sauveterroide and epimagdalenian ensembles, denoting an increase in the exploitation intensity of available resources. That is, in the evolution of microlaminar industries from Atxoste, the addition of sauveterroide armatures takes place in parallel to a broader change in the way of developing and designing lithic industry management and production. Finally, to assess the particular or general character of this case, a review of supplying and production strategies from microlaminar ensembles from the Ebro Basin, with and without geometric, is done.

En el presente trabajo se busca una aproximación hacia los comportamientos funerarios que caracterizarán a las sociedades mesolíticas y neolíticas de la península ibérica. Para ello se destacan algunas de las características más relevantes tanto del Mesolítico como del Neolítico con el fin de comprender mejor el contexto de estas sociedades y el desarrollo de su comportamiento cultural. Además, se ha realizado una minuciosa búsqueda bibliográfica para obtener los datos más relevantes y actualizados del territorio peninsular, recurriendo también a la utilización de fuentes en otros idiomas para enriquecer sustancialmente las diversidades funerarias que en cada región peninsular se producen. Toda esta información se ha buscado acompañar de mapas peninsulares que reflejen sintéticamente la localización de los principales yacimientos funerarios, aquellos de mayor relevancia otorgada por las fuentes bibliográficas. Tras esto, se han destacado progresivamente por estricto orden cronológico las diferentes tipologías de enterramientos, ateniéndose fundamentalmente a la localización de estos en el panorama peninsular y a las distintas formas y ritos relacionados con el comportamiento funerario. Para el periodo mesolítico se ha buscado destacar las regiones más importantes para observar el cambio que desarrollarán con la llegada de las innovaciones neolíticas. Para el periodo neolítico se ha establecido una diferenciación cronológica importante en dos periodos: Neolítico inicial y Neolítico megalítico. Así, se ha buscado destacar un aspecto fundamental del Neolítico como es la vertiente megalítica, que a partir del IV milenio se extenderá por toda la península ibérica llegando hasta el Calcolítico. Además, no solo se ha planteado el presente trabajo mediante una visión cronológica, sino que se ha atenido también al plano material. En este sentido se hace referencia a los contextos materiales encontrados en los enterramientos funerarios, es decir, los ajuares. Estos son de suma importancia para establecer cronologías culturales y entender más el comportamiento funerario de estas sociedades.

Se presenta el modo de producción de los geométricos del yacimiento mesolítico de El Espertín. Dicho grupo tipológico está compuesto por triángulos, puntas triangulares y trapecios, constatándose tambiénn mircroburiles. La fabricación de los geométricos se imbrica plenamente dentro de la producción lítica laminar del yacimiento. Hay una cierta "gestión" de los soportes (al menos radiolarita), ya que se tiende a seleccionar las hojas más regulares. Aparecen dos procedimientos como paso previo al retoque de los geométrico: la "técnica de microburil" y la "técnica de rotura transversal", más sencilla para fraccionar las hojas, utilizada para realizar las puntas triangulares.

On present les procédés de execution des microlites géométriques du site mésolithique d'El Espertin. Cet groupe est composé par triangles, points triangulaires, trapezes et aussi présence de la thecnique du microburin. L'execution des géométriques s'insère dans l'ensemble de la production lithique laminaire du site. D'un point de vue de la gestion des supports, on peut dire qu' il y a un tendance à selectioner des lames delse plus "reguliéres" pour realiser des géométriques, au moins pour la radiolarite. Il y a deux procédés d'execution des microlithes: la technique du mircroburin et une autre procedé de fractionement des lamelles pour obtenir des points triangulaires.

El yacimiento de Cueva Blanca (Hellín, Albacete), descubierto en 2006, contiene un nivel de ocupación humana atribuido al Mesolítico geométrico. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados más significativos de la investigación multidisciplinar que venimos desarrollando en él desde que en 2008 se llevara a cabo la primera campaña de excavación. Se trata del primer yacimiento de este periodo en estratigrafía de la zona de Campos de Hellín (Albacete).

Con su libro Karuo el secreto ibero, Enrique Cabrejas o Enric Cabrejas nos relata de modo llano su experiencia personal con lo extraordinario de un descubrimiento. El 21 de Abril de 2012 consiguió lo que parecía imposible: Descifrar la escritura ibérica. El hallazgo más relevante de la cultura universal en nuestro país de los últimos tiempos, sin lugar a dudas. Un hito en la historia de la escritura sin precedentes. Desde este mismo instante la obra Karuo de Enrique Cabrejas lo convierte en un referente destacado a nivel mundial en historia y lingüística. Los innumerables datos, explicaciones, pruebas y significados que nos reporta nunca conocidos antes, son una referencia obligada para todos aquellos que quieran comprender la historia, la lengua antigua e incluso también la moderna de nuestro país o para quienes en el futuro deseen estudiarla e investigarla en profundidad, más si cabe desde el mundo académico.

For the last decade new research has been carried out on several Mesolithic sites in Western Algarve, Portugal. The discovery and excavations of new sites (Barranco das Quebradas 1, 3, 4 and 5 and Rocha das Gaivotas) provided new data on occupation patterns (geographical location, radiometric dates, size, archaeological context and its materials) which, together with those of other known sites from Southwestern Iberia, allow us to construct a better framework to understand functionality and inter-site relationships, as well subsistence, settlement and mobility. In Algarve the sites dated from 9000 and 6700 years BP are mainly shell middens and were occupied by communities which came to the coast seasonally in order to collect local marine resources and later on flint material also available in the area. With such a parcelled reality, we are led to believe that either these occupations were made by human groups established in more septentrional areas (where other sites, apparently with a more permanent settlement and wider subsistence spectrum, are already known) or the Mesolithic communities of Algarve had high mobility indexes, with their still-to-be-identified base camps located in more interior areas.

Amoreiras, un amas coquillier de la vallée du Sado (sud du Portugal), fut considéré pendant des années un des sites les plus récents du complexe mésolithique du Sado ainsi qu’un lieu d’interactions entre les derniers chasseurs-cueilleurs et les groupes néolithiques. Cependant, l’industrie lithique restait mal connue et les données chronologiques et stratigraphiques, mal assurées. Nous présentons ici les résultats de l’analyse techno-typologique d’un assemblage lithique issu des premières fouilles d’Amoreiras dans les années 1950-1960.

Résumé
Les sites de Baixa do Xarez sont installés sur la rive droite du Guadiana (Reguengos de Monsaraz, Evora, Portugal). Ils ont été explorés dans le cadre des interventions archéologiques préalables à la construction du Barrage d’Alqueva par l’entreprise publique EDIA. Cette zone de travail correspond aux franges du Groupe Mégalithique de Reguengos de Monsaraz (dont la limite orientale fut définie par V.S.G. et A.C.S. dans des travaux antérieurs). Des sondages ont été implantés à Xarez 4 et Fonte dos Sapateiros, tandis que des fouilles plus conséquentes étaient réalisées à Xarez 12 et Carraça 1. Tous ces sites témoignent de modalités d’occupation identiques, avec de semblables vestiges. Les structures de combustion en argile n’ont cependant été découvertes que dans les deux derniers sites. Par leur exceptionnel degré de conservation, ces structures sont un témoignage fondamental pour la compréhension des activités domestiques du Néolithique de l’ouest de la Péninsule ibérique. La culture matérielle montre des associations peu classiques en regard des actuels modèles de néolithisation de cette partie de l’Europe. La céramique n’est jamais abondante (entre 11% de la totalité des vestiges à Xarez 12 à 4% à carraça 1), avec des récipients décorés de motifs d’impressions et d’incisions, caractéristiques des assemblages du Néolithique ancien du sud du Portugal. L’industrie lithique est produite sur des matériaux d’origine locale, où le silex est des plus rare. L’outillage est semblable sur les quatre sites analysés. Le procédé du microburin est largement mis en œuvre pour la fracture des lamelles. Les trapèzes asymétriques sont les types dominants ; les autres armatures sont les segments et dans une moindre mesure les triangles. Certains éléments, comme le facettage des talons de lamelle ou l’usage de surface de débitage étroite, l’absence du débitage par pression et la rareté du traitement thermique, ou encore le nombre élevé des trapèzes rapprochent l’assemblage de Xarez 12 de ceux du Mésolithique final de la vallée du Sado. Malgré l’absence de datations par le radiocarbone, nous pouvons considérer que la majeure partie des traces techniques est caractéristique du Mésolithique final. Les indicateurs du Néolithique sont rares dans l’industrie lithique, tandis que les pratiques cynégétiques sont principalement attestées dans la faune. L’homogénéité entre les divers éléments des chaînes opératoires renforce cette impression. Nous développons deux interprétations de cette association :
1\ Les sites de Baixa do Xarez sont des sites du Mésolithique final avec des implantations postérieures du Néolithique ancien évolué.
2\ Les sites de Baixa do Xarez témoignent d’une acculturation graduelle de groupes mésolithiques, avec un transfert progressif de certaines nouveautés dans l’industrie lithique comme la pression, les segments les perçoirs fusiformes, de même que l’adoption de la céramique.

The production of geometric microliths from bladelets has been identified as one of the main strategies of lithic production during the Late Mesolithic in southwestern Portugal. The Sado shell middens generally possess an abundance of these tools, similarly to sites found in other regions. However, systematic lithic studies are still scarce. In this work, we discuss the value of the geometric microliths as chronological and cultural markers, through the analysis of lithic remains from Amoreiras shell midden (Alcácer do Sal). First, a formal characterization of this assemblage is performed. Second, a diachronic and cultural perspective of these materials in the Sado shell middens is provided. Finally, a comparison with other Late Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic assemblages from southwestern Iberia is presented. A set of lithic remains from Amoreiras, which was recovered in the 1950s and 1960s, was subject to a techno-typological analysis, following the assumptions of the ‘chaîne opératoire’. Also, a statistical analysis, including variance analysis, was performed. This work shows that the geometric microliths from Amoreiras clearly represent one of the main purposes for the debitage at this site, which presents an outstanding typological and size uniformity. The characteristics found by this study suggest the existence of a well-standardized production of geometric microliths. This production scheme would be more economic in terms of raw material requirements and production time-effort. The material and chronometrical data from Amoreiras contradicts the cultural uniformity perspective for this specific site and for the Sado shell middens in general. Moreover, in light of the presented data, a strict chrono-cultural significance of the segment dominance is difficult to sustain. Despite the standardized production and the importance given to geometric microliths, the data provided by the forms and their variations is still insufficient for a comprehensive approach to the social issues in the Sado valley, during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition.

The Neolithisation process in Cantabrian Spain has been studied systematically since the 1980s, thanks to the excavation of several deposits, mainly in Asturias and Cantabria. This paper presents a critical review of the archaeological data relating to the genesis of early Neolithic societies in the transition from the sixth to the fifth millennium cal BC, and assesses the models proposed to explain this process of historical change.

Amoreiras, a shell midden in the Sado valley (Southern Portugal), was during years considered one of the most recent sites of the Sado Mesolithic complex, and a place of interactions between the last hunter-gatherers and the Neolithic groups. Nevertheless, the data about the lithic industry was poorly known. The absolute chronology and the complexity of the stratigraphy were not analyzed in detail. In this paper, we present the results from a techno-typological analysis of a set of lithic materials recovered from the first excavations in Amoreiras during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Another congress has been organized by Jauzarrea. This year’s event deals with “La huella humana en la Fachada Atlántica europea: de cazadores-recolectores a sociedades productoras.” The conference will focus on the European Atlantic Façade from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age. It will bring together the following invited speakers:  Dr. Richard Peltier, Dr. Stephen Oppenheimer, Dr. Mark Pagel, Dr. Lionel Sims, Dr. Kepa Paz-Alonso, Dr. José Antonio Mujika,  Dr. Xabier Peñalver, Dr. Peter Bakker, Dr. Stephen Augustine, Dr. Claude Dentaletxe,  and Dr. Stig Eliassan

Paleoenvironment and cultural changes in the early Holocene: the rock shelter of Artusia (Unzué, Navarra) This paper presents the results of the 2009 and 2010 excavation campaigns of the Artusia rock shelter (Unzué, Navarre, Spain). Five different Mesolithic occupation phases (Artusia I-V) have been identified, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the Geometric Mesolithic (Artusia III, IV and V). In addition, the sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental record allowed to clearly define several climatic events which developed around 6550 cal BC 8500 cal BP and 6250 cal BC 8200 cal BP. Here we present a description of these events and their (pre)historical interpretation with the aim of recognizing how they influenced the Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups living in the Ebro Basin of the Iberian Peninsula.

This study presents the main features of the lithic industry we have termed ‘Mesolithic with geometrics’. It has been observed at two cave sites, El Espertín and La Uña (levels III and IV), both located on the southern versant of the Cantabrian Range, and with chronologies ranging from the second half of the 7th millennium cal. BC to the end of the 6th millennium cal. BC. This work will focus on the characterization of the raw materials and the evaluation of their sourcing patterns. Also, a techno-typological study of the lithics, focusing on the retouched tools, will be presented. The two caves show a number of similarities, such as their altitude (more than 1200 m.a.s.l. in both cases) and their small size. As for the lithics, the raw materials used and the scarcity of geometrics are much the same, and they also share a lithic industry with deeply-rooted archaic features linked to the Upper-Palaeolithc/Azilian regional tradition.

"(Original in Portuguese)

Located on the east bank of Guadiana River in the Alentejo, Barca do Xerês de Baixo is the only Early Mesolithic site found in the interior of Portugal with well preserved post- depositional contexts and a wide range of archaeological materials. Until its discovery and study, there was no evidence of Early Mesolithic occupation in this area — all the sites from this period with organic remains had been found near the coast, being specialized in gathering and processing of marine resources.
The site itself included distinct occupation horizons that took place around 7500 cal BC. Several hearths were found in clear association with faunal remains and lithic artifacts. The studies conducted on its context and materials, including this one, show it to be a butchering camp in which the carcasses of animals were processed. The setting was ideal for this, given its proximity to a large amount of water and stone raw materials (mostly quartzite), these last being used not only to build the hearth structures, but also to produce stone tools (a macrolithic-based industry).
The fauna collection has more than 38.000 remains, but human processes were intense, thus resulting in a reduced number of identified remains, classified as auroch, rabbit, red deer, fox and horse. Non-human post-depositional actions were also detected, but their impact must have been limited given the high amount of lithic refitting and some faunal elements still found in anatomical connection.
Bone remains present clear anthropic modifications, such as different levels of carbonization, cut-marks, spiral fractures and percussion impacts/scars. Bone grease rendering, an intensive technique that maximizes fat recovery from ungulate carcasses by boiling the bones in water, is probable given the large amount of small bone fragments, and the presence of fire-cracked rocks, hammerstones and some stone anvils. Data also shows unequal processing and differential transportation between the ungulate species."

In the mesolithic site of “El Espertín” we have identified a blade prismatic “chaîne opératoire” (with several modalities), that would be the main technical process, and two “chaînes opératoires” for flake production: the centripetal/discoidal and the one that we have denominated of “nodule-plaque”. These two last ones constitute the subject of this article. To
them it would be necessary to add, for the obtaining of flakes, other methods that have been included under the denomination of “not standardized”, because are characterized by an
anarchical management. The defined “chaînes” appear in black sílex/chert and quartzite, that are the most abundant raw materials of the deposit. The centripetal/discoidal scheme is
exclusive of the quartzite. In both cases they are “simple” structures, tied to the morphology of the selected nodule and with a short technical process.