La talla lítica en Atapuerca (Burgos)

This paper presents a study of the cores (neutral BNIG) from the Atapuerca Middle Pleistocene sites (Burgos, Spain). An analysis and study of the Atapuerca knapping methods is made, as well as one of the relationship between the knapping methods and the by-products (flakes, BP). On the other hand, an approach to the diachronic differences observed in the stratigraphies is outlined. Finally, some general conclusions are reached about the technology, in order to characterize the period recorded at these sites.Este trabajo presenta fundamentalmente un estudio de los núcleos (BNIG neutras) recuperados en las excavaciones de los yacimientos mesopleistocenos de Atapuerca (Burgos). Se analizan y estudian los métodos de talla utilizados y las relaciones técnicas que existen entre éstos y sus productos, las lascas (BP). Por otra parte, se pretende una aproximación a las diferencias diacrónicas observadas en los rellenos, que, en alguno de los yacimientos, cubren la práctica totalidad del Pleistoceno Medio. Por último, se extrae una serie de conclusiones de tipo tecnológico que nos ayudan a caracterizar el periodo registrado en los yacimientos

Hacia la humanización consciente del Homo Sapiens (I): Afinidad electiva e individualidad colectiva

The purpose of this essay is to present a range of views on how “elective affinity” and “collective individuality” can affect our conscious progress towards full humanization. The concept of “elective affinity” applied in this work comes from the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel Die wahlverwandtschaften [Elective affinities] (1809), in the sense that individuals of our species prefer to interact with some ones rather than others. Meanwhile, the concept of “collective individuality” refers to the fusion of individual thoughts as described in Émile Durkheim’s Les règles de la méthode sociologique (1895). This concept introduces us to a new species’ dynamic, wherein an individual has the capability to organize society through his or her collective freedom. It is likely that collective energy is presently leading us towards a new social paradigm within which an individual melds within his or her own community. Having defined what is meant by collective individuality, we examine how to take action without generating subjectively individualistic structures and systems. Without elective affinity, these kinds of processes cannot be carried out. If we do not undergo a thorough restructuring of our current behaviour as a species, we risk reaching a collapse and finally our extinction.El propósito de este ensayo es presentar una serie de puntos de vista sobre cómo la afinidad electiva y la individualidad colectiva pueden incidir en nuestro proceso consciente hacia la plena humanización. El concepto de “afinidad electiva” que se utiliza en este trabajo ha sido tomado de la novela de J. W. von Goethe aparecida en 1809, en el sentido que, en las interacciones con individuos de nuestra especie, preferimos relacionarnos con unos individuos en vez de con otros. Por su parte, la idea de una “individualidad colectiva” como fusión de pensamientos individuales aparece en la obra de É. Durkheim Les Règles de la Méthode Sociologique, publicada en 1895. Este concepto nos introduce en una nueva dinámica de especie, donde el individuo tiene la capacidad de organizarse en la sociedad mediante su libertad colectiva. Es probable que la colectivización de la energía nos conduzca a un nuevo paradigma social en el que el individuo se funda con la propia comunidad. Una vez definido qué debemos entender por individualidad colectiva, hay que ver cómo pasarla a la acción sin generar de manera subjetiva estructuras y sistemas individualistas. Sin afinidad electiva, este tipo de procesos no se pueden llevar a cabo. Si no experimentamos una profunda reestructuración de nuestro actual comportamiento como especie, corremos el riesgo de llegar a un colapso y finalmente a nuestra extinción

Hacia la humanización consciente del Homo Sapiens (II): complementariedad y correspondencia

Delving into previous reflections on what makes us human and the value that elective affinity and individuality have to achieve collective conscious humanization of our species (Carbonell & Hortolà, RAMPAS, 15, pp. 7–11, 2013; RAMPAS, 18, pp. 11-17), in this short essay the views on how complementarity and correspondence may affect our conscious process towards full humanization are added. Without the physical, ethological, cultural and sexual complementarity, the evolution of many populations and ways of life that are known to us would be difficult to understand. Therefore, systemically analyze the trophic interrelation and biocenosis at a certain moment of history brings us closer to understanding the ways of complementarity that exist and the benefits that can be removed. On the other hand, in a time of social acceleration as that which has caused the exponential evolutionary vibration, correspondence can support at all times and help us look how to establish relationships that generate positive synthesis. While complementarity plays a well defined role in structuring biosphere, correspondence does in the functionality of it and makes our adaptation possible.Desde su desarrollo en la década de 1920, los principios mecánico-cuánticos de complementariedad y correspondencia han suscitado un fuerte debate epistemológico. Estos principios van más allá de su interpretación original en física y pueden aplicarse a cuestiones antropológicas. Ahondando en anteriores reflexiones sobre qué es lo que nos hace humanos y sobre el valor que la “afinidad electiva” y la “individualidad colectiva” poseen para lograr la humanización consciente de nuestra especie (Carbonell y Hortolà, RAMPAS, 15, pp. 7–11, 2013; RAMPAS, 18, pp. 11–17, 2016), en este ensayo se añaden los puntos de vista sobre cómo la complementariedad y la correspondencia pueden incidir en nuestro proceso consciente hacia la plena humanización. Sin la complementariedad física, etológica, cultural y sexual, la evolución de muchas poblaciones humanas - e incluso la de muchos seres vivos - serían difíciles de concebir. Analizar sistémicamente la interrelación trófica y la biocenosis en un momento determinado de la historia nos acerca a comprender las formas de complementariedad que existen, así como los beneficios que se pueden obtener. En un momento de aceleración social como el actual, la correspondencia puede ayudarnos a buscar cómo establecer relaciones que generen síntesis positivas entre interrelaciones tróficas, la biocenosis en su conjunto y determinado contexto histórico. Mientras que la complementariedad juega un rol bien definido en la estructuración de biosfera, la correspondencia lo juega en la funcionalidad de la misma y hace que sea posible nuestra adaptación

Las cuevas de la Sierra de Atapuerca y el uso humano del paisaje kárstico durante el Pleistoceno (Burgos, España)

El karst de la Sierra de Atapuerca representa un interesante sistema multinivel, inactivo y heredado de antiguos niveles de base plio-pleistocenos, que alberga los enclaves prehistóricos más importantes para el conocimiento del poblamiento antiguo en Eurasia, y que fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad en 2000 por la UNESCO. Estas cuevas se originan a partir de conductos subhorizontales con paleodrenajes en sentido SN, localizándose la zona de descarga en la cabecera del río Pico. Los conductos están organizados en tres niveles principales que aparecen colgados entre 90 y 60 m sobre el actual cauce del río Arlanzón, coincidiendo con los niveles de base generados por sus terrazas fluviales T2, T3 y T5. La incisión fluvial liberó de las aguas los conductos superiores mientras se excavaban los niveles inferiores del karst. Las cuevas que iban quedando accesibles fueron utilizadas por la fauna y los homininos, conservando un registro arqueo-paleontológico de más de 1,2 Ma

No known hominin species matches the expected dental morphology of the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans

A central problem in paleoanthropology is the identity of the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans ([N-MH]LCA). Recently developed analytical techniques now allow this problem to be addressed using a probabilistic morphological framework. This study provides a quantitative reconstruction of the expected dental morphology of the [N-MH]LCA and an assessment of whether known fossil species are compatible with this ancestral position. We show that no known fossil species is a suitable candidate for being the [N-MH]LCA and that all late Early and Middle Pleistocene taxa from Europe have Neanderthal dental affinities, pointing to the existence of a European clade originated around 1 Ma. These results are incongruent with younger molecular divergence estimates and suggest at least one of the following must be true: (i) European fossils and the [N-MH]LCA selectively retained primitive dental traits; (ii) molecular estimates of the divergence between Neanderthals and modern humans are underestimated; or (iii) phenotypic divergence and speciation between both species were decoupled such that phenotypic differentiation, at least in dental morphology, predated speciation

Single-grain TT-OSL bleaching characteristics: Insights from modern analogues and OSL dating comparisons

Previous assessments of thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) signal resetting in natural sedimentary settings have been based on relatively limited numbers of observations, and have been conducted primarily at the multi-grain scale of equivalent dose (De) analysis. In this study, we undertake a series of single-grain TT-OSL bleaching assessments on nineteen modern and geological dating samples from different sedimentary environments. Daylight bleaching experiments performed over several weeks confirm that single-grain TT-OSL signals are optically reset at relatively slow, and potentially variable, rates. Single-grain TT-OSL residual doses range between 0 and 24 Gy for thirteen modern samples, with >50% of these samples yielding weighted mean De values of 0 Gy at 2σ. Single-grain OSL and TT-OSL dating comparisons performed on well-bleached and heterogeneously bleached late Pleistocene samples from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, yield consistent replicate age estimates. Our results reveal that (i) single-grain TT-OSL residuals can potentially be reduced down to insignificant levels when compared with the natural dose range of interest for most TT-OSL dating applications; (ii) the slow bleaching properties of TT-OSL signals may not necessarily limit their dating applicability to certain depositional environments; and (iii) non-trivial differences may be observed between single-grain and multi-grain TT-OSL bleaching residuals in some modern samples. Collectively, these findings suggest that single-grain TT-OSL dating may offer advantages over multi-grain TT-OSL dating in certain complex depositional environments

New interpretation of the Gran Dolina-TD6 bearing Homo antecessor deposits through sedimentological analysis

Gran Dolina is a cavity infilled by at least 25m of Pleistocene sediments.This sequence contains the TD6 stratigraphic unit, whose records include around 170 hominin bones that have allowed the definition of a new species, Homo antecessor. This fossil accumulation was studied as a single assemblage and interpreted as a succession of several human home bases. We propose a complete stratigraphic context and sedimentological interpretation for TD6, analyzing the relationships between the sedimentary facies, the clasts and archaeo-palaeontological remains. The TD6 unit has been divided into three subunits and 13 layers. Nine sedimentary facies have been defined. Hominin remains appear related to three different sedimentary facies: debris flow facies, channel facies and floodplain facies. They show three kinds of distribution: first a group of scattered fossils, then a group with layers of fossils in fluvial facies, and third a group with a layer of fossils in mixed fluvial and gravity flow facies. The results of this work suggest that some of these hominin remains accumulated in the cave by geological processes, coming from the adjacent slope above the cave or the cave entry, as the palaeogeography and sedimentary characteristics of these allochthonous facies suggest

The first direct ESR dating of a hominin tooth from Atapuerca Gran Dolina TD-6 (Spain) supports the antiquity of Homo antecessor

The present study reports the results of the first direct Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating study of Homo antecessor, the oldest known hominin species identified in Western Europe. The analysis of a tooth (ATD6-92) from TD6 unit of Atapuerca Gran Dolina (Spain) following a “semi non-destructive” procedure provides a final age estimate ranging from 624 to 949 ka, which covers all possible uranium uptake scenarios. Last, the additional magnetostratigraphic data collected within TD6 enables to further constrain the initial ESR chronology and to propose an age of between 772 and 949 ka for Homo antecessor, in agreement with previous dating works. Although our new results do not refine the existing chronology of TD6 unit, they nevertheless support the antiquity of H. antecessor, which pre-dates the estimated divergence age of modern and archaic human lineages based on genetic evidence. This work illustrates the challenges of dating human teeth by means of the ESR method, with the main pitfalls that are sometimes inherent to this specific application (e.g., systematic μCT-scanning of fossil hominin teeth; limited knowledge about the original sedimentary environment for teeth coming from old excavations; heterogeneous spatial distribution of the U-series elements in dental tissues). We identified several sources of uncertainty that may directly impact the accuracy of the age result. In particular, a slight contamination of dentine (<6%) in the enamel fragment measured by ESR was found to induce a significant age underestimation (33%) if not taken into consideration. It indeed caused not only a DE underestimation (by about 8%), but also produced a massive internal dose rate overestimation (by a factor of about 3.5). In contrast, other sources of uncertainty, such as the heterogeneity of the sedimentary environment, the variability of the water content over time, the previous μCT-scanning of the tooth or the potential preferential creation of unstable NOCORs in the ESR signal, showed here a limited impact on the final age result. Given our current understanding of the ESR method and the existing uncertainties associated with the evaluation of the DE and dose rate, this is probably as far as we can presently go in the dating study of ATD6-92 sample

Four millennia of Iberian biomolecular prehistory illustrate the impact of prehistoric migrations at the far end of Eurasia

Population genomic studies of ancient human remains have shown how modern-day European population structure has been shaped by a number of prehistoric migrations. The Neolithization of Europe has been associated with large-scale migrations from Anatolia, which was followed by migrations of herders from the Pontic steppe at the onset of the Bronze Age. Southwestern Europe was one of the last parts of the continent reached by these migrations, and modern-day populations from this region show intriguing similarities to the initial Neolithic migrants. Partly due to climatic conditions that are unfavorable for DNA preservation, regional studies on the Mediterranean remain challenging. Here, we present genome-wide sequence data from 13 individuals combined with stable isotope analysis from the north and south of Iberia covering a four-millennial temporal transect (7,500–3,500 BP). Early Iberian farmers and Early Central European farmers exhibit significant genetic differences, suggesting two independent fronts of the Neolithic expansion. The first Neolithic migrants that arrived in Iberia had low levels of genetic diversity, potentially reflecting a small number of individuals; this diversity gradually increased over time from mixing with local hunter-gatherers and potential population expansion. The impact of post-Neolithic migrations on Iberia was much smaller than for the rest of the continent, showing little external influence from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Paleodietary reconstruction shows that these populations have a remarkable degree of dietary homogeneity across space and time, suggesting a strong reliance on terrestrial food resources despite changing culture and genetic make-up