Cova de les Malladetes (Valencia, Spain). New insights about the Early Upper Palaeolithic in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula

New excavations carried out at Cova de les Malladetes confirm and improve previous information on the archaeological sequence of this site. A total of 29 new dates allow to specify the chronology of the Aurignacian (levels XIVA-XII) and Gravettian (levels XI-VII). Furthermore, concerning the results obtained during the 1970 excavation, three new levels were identified: level XIVB, which represents a short temporal human occupation hiatus, and levels XV and XVI with some hearths and anthropic evidence, although the lithic material does not permit a cultural attribution. This paper presents data obtained from the analysis of archaeobotanical, micro and macrofaunal assemblages and lithic and osseous industry. Results are relevant concerning the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental characterisation of the Early Upper Palaeolithic, as well as for assessing the human occupation patterns during the Gravettian and Aurignacian. Moreover, we evaluate the chronological implications of the basal levels (XIVB, XV and XVI), drawing attention to the absence of an important temporal gap between this phase and the start of the Early Upper Palaeolithic at the site. Finally, our new data extend the information provided by other sites in the Spanish Mediterranean region, allowing a more defined characterisation of the Early Upper Palaeolithic, especially regarding the Evolved Aurignacian chronology and its techno-typological structure, with the presence of Roc-de-Combe subtype Dufour bladelets

Fire and brief human occupations in Iberia during MIS 4: Evidence from Abric del Pastor (Alcoy, Spain)

There is a relatively low amount of Middle Paleolithic sites in Europe dating to MIS 4. Of the few that exist, several of them lack evidence for anthropogenic fire, raising the question of how this period of global cooling may have affected the Neanderthal population. The Iberian Peninsula is a key area to explore this issue, as it has been considered as a glacial refugium during critical periods of the Neanderthal timeline and might therefore yield archaeological contexts in which we can explore possible changes in the behaviour and settlement patterns of Neanderthal groups during MIS 4. Here we report recent data from Abric del Pastor, a small rock shelter in Alcoy (Alicante, Spain) with a stratified deposit containing Middle Palaeolithic remains. We present absolute dates that frame the sequence within MIS 4 and multi-proxy geoarchaeological evidence of in situ anthropogenic fire, including microscopic evidence of in situ combustion residues and thermally altered sediment. We also present archaeostratigraphic evidence of recurrent, functionally diverse, brief human occupation of the rock shelter. Our results suggest that Neanderthals occupied the Central Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula during MIS 4, that these Neanderthals were not undergoing climatic stress and they were habitual fire users.This research was funded by a Leakey Foundation General Grant, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Projects HAR2008-06117/HIST and HAR2015-68321-P, Junta de Castilla y León-FEDER Project BU235P18, the LabEx Sciences Archéologiques de Bordeaux (LaScArBx ANR-10-LABX-52) and ERC Consolidator Grant ERC-CoG-2014. Archaeological excavations at Abric del Pastor are supported by the Archaeological Museum of Alcoy and the Government of Valencia Cultural Heritage Department

Neanderthal use of plants and past vegetation reconstruction at the Middle Paleolithic site of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia, Spain)

Despite phytoliths having been used to understand past human use of plants and palaeoenvironment in Middle Paleolithic sites, little is known on this aspect in the welldocumented central region of Mediterranean Iberia. This paper presents the first phytolith andmineralogical study conducted at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia). Forty-one samples were analyzed through phytoliths and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) from different areas, stratigraphic levels, and archeological contexts (hearth, hearth-related, and non-hearth-related sediments) of the shelter. The results obtained point towards a different pattern of preservation in the site depending firstly on the stratigraphy and secondly on the area where the samples were collected. Postdepositional processes that may have chemically affected phytolith preservation are discussed. Grasses are the main plant component identified in all the samples while woody plants are scarce. The abundance of grasses in the non-hearth-related sediments might be related, at least partially, to the dispersion of ashes from hearths, as indicated by the FTIR results. The results are indicative of an occupation of the site during the spring-autumn season. At this time, the area would be dominated by a semi-open environment with supramediterranean vegetation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ESR/U-series chronology of early Neanderthal occupations at Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain)

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Neanderthal spatial patterns and occupation dynamics: a focus on the central region in Mediterranean Iberia

Research carried out for this paper has benefited from the following: ‘Síntesis del Paleolitico medio y superior en Valencia y Murcia: aspectos cronológicos, paleoambientales, económicos y culturales’ (HAR2017-85,153-P/MICINN), ‘El pasado lejano: aproximación a la conducta y la ocu- pación del territorio en el paleolítico valenciano’ (PROMETEO/2017/060), ‘Snapshots of Neanderthal lifestyles: Behavioural patterns and high resolution archaeology’ (HAR2016-76,760-C3-1-P/MICINN) and the Research Group nº 2017 SGR 836 of the Catalan Government. AE is supported by a 2018 Leon- ardo Project for Researchers and Cultural Creators, BBVA Foundation. M.G.CH and M.V research is funded by CERCA (Centres de Recerca de Catalunya) Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. A.B was supported by a Marie Curie Fellowship PREKARN n.702584.This paper focuses on the study of some Middle Palaeolithic assemblages from Mediterranean Iberia to examine Neanderthal occupation patterns and territory management strategies, paying special attention to raw material procurement and technological behaviours, zooarchaeological data and microspatial patterning. The site occupation types are variable, and some of the results may have more impor- tance than is immediately apparent, but there does not seem to be a single cultural, functional, temporal or environmental explanation. Rather, the wide variability in the technical behaviours observed can be explained with reference to the particular requirements of the populations in each specific region. The results obtained allow us to interrogate the data and, drawing comparisons with the southwest European context, establish an initial approach to Neanderthal subsistence strategies and mobility in a region so far little known in this regard.--- En el siguiente trabajo se estudian varios conjuntos pertenecientes al Paleolítico medio procedentes del mediterráneo peninsular ibérico con el objetivo de examinar los patrones de ocupación y las estrategias de gestión del territorio. Se presta especial atención al abastecimiento de las materias primas y los comportamientos tecnológicos, los datos procedentes de la fauna y los análisis microespaciales. La variabilidad en los tipos de ocupación de los distintos conjuntos nos muestra una gran diversidad y una multitud de factores, aunque no parece tener una sola explicación cultural, funcional, temporal o ambiental. Más bien son explicaciones que responden a una amplia variabilidad en los comportamientos técnicos observados y que se explican en función de las propias necesidades de las poblaciones dentro de cada región. Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten analizar los datos y compararlos en el contexto del sudoeste de Europa de cara a elaborar un primer enfoque de las estrategias de subsistencia de los neandertales y su movilidad en una región hasta ahora poco conocida desde este punto de vista

Late Neanderthal short-term and specialized occupations at the Abri du Maras (South-East France, level 4.1, MIS 3)

Level 4.1 from the Abri du Maras (Ardèche, France) is chronologically attributed to the beginning of MIS 3 and is one example of late Neanderthal occupations in the southeast of France. Previous work on the faunal and lithic remains suggests that this level records short-term hunting episodes of reindeer associated with fragmented lithic reduction sequences. During fieldwork, the high density of the material did not allow identification of clear spatial patterning of these activities. In order to try to decipher the palimpsest of these short-term occupations, we combined contextual micro-stratigraphic analysis with interdisciplinary and methodological approaches to obtain high-resolution intra-site spatial data. The former was performed by studying microfacies variability of occupation layers at meso to microscales. A combination of spatial techniques based on GIS and kernel density analysis along with faunal and lithic refitting was used and focused on the horizontal distribution of the whole archaeological assemblage. The results demonstrate that quantitative approaches, associated with the interdisciplinary empirical processing of data, are suitable and adequate methods for describing the spatio-temporal formation of the archaeological assemblage. This integrated approach allowed us to identify a temporal succession of occupational events marked by distinctive anthropic imprints in the host matrix in well-preserved activity areas. The analysis of their spatial patterns reveals differential treatment of lithic and faunal remains. We describe the possible organization of the settlement patterns dynamics of these specialized short-term occupations

Neandertal spatial patterns and occupation dynamics: a regional focus on the central region in Mediterranean Iberia

En el siguiente trabajo se estudian varios conjuntos pertenecientes al Paleolítico medio procedentes del mediterráneo peninsular ibérico con el objetivo de examinar los patrones de ocupación y las estrategias de gestión del territorio. Se presta especial atención al abastecimiento de las materias primas y los comportamientos tecnológicos, los datos procedentes de la fauna y los análisis microespaciales. La variabilidad en los tipos de ocupación de los distintos conjuntos nos muestra una gran diversidad y una multitud de factores, aunque no parece tener una sola explicación cultural, funcional, temporal o ambiental. Más bien son explicaciones que responden a una amplia variabilidad en los comportamientos técnicos observados y que se explican en función de las propias necesidades de las poblaciones dentro de cada región. Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten analizar los datos y compararlos en el contexto del sudoeste de Europa de cara a elaborar un primer enfoque de las estrategias de subsistencia de los neandertales y su movilidad en una región hasta ahora poco conocida desde este punto de vista.HAR2017-85,153-P/MICINNPROMETEO/2017/060HAR2016-76,760-C3-1-P/MICINNThis paper focuses on the study of some Middle Palaeolithic assemblages from Mediterranean Iberia to examine Neanderthal occupation patterns and territory management strategies, paying special attention to raw material procurement and technological behaviours, zooarchaeological data and microspatial patterning. The site occupation types are variable, and some of the results may have more importance than is immediately apparent, but there does not seem to be a single cultural, functional, temporal or environmental explanation. Rather, the wide variability in the technical behaviours observed can be explained with reference to the particular requirements of the populations in each specific region. The results obtained allow us to interrogate the data and, drawing comparisons with the southwest European context, establish an initial approach to Neanderthal subsistence strategies and mobility in a region so far little known in this regard

Assessing site formation and assemblage integrity through stone tool refitting at Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal): A Middle Paleolithic case study

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