Revisión radiocarbónica y cronocultural del Neolítico antiguo de la Balma Margineda (Aixovall, Andorra)

This work discusses the radiocarbon evidence from the Neolithic layers of the Balma Margineda (Andorra). Since the last excavation campaigns during the ‘90s, a total of ten 14C dates has been obtained. We discuss their stratigraphic provenance and suggest that only three of the ten 14C dates should be considered reliable. The new dates assign the Neolithic occupations to a more recent chronology. Moreover, we also present a brief revision of the ceramic and lithic materials from the in situ Neolithic layers, in order reinterpret the site using the most recent data on the Early Neolithic of Pyrenean region

Towards an understanding of retouch flakes: a use-wear blind test on knapped stone microdebitage

The retouching and resharpening of lithic tools during their production and maintenance leads to the production of large numbers of small flakes and chips known as microdebitage. Standard analytical approaches to this material involves the mapping of microartefact densities to identify activity areas, and the creation of techno-typologies to characterise the form of retouch flakes from different types of tools. Whilst use-wear analysis is a common approach to the analysis of tools, it has been applied much less commonly to microdebitage. This paper contends that the use-wear analysis of microdebitage holds great potential for identifying activity areas on archaeological sites, representing a relatively unexplored analytical resource within microartefact assemblages. In order to test the range of factors that affect the identification of use-wear traces on small retouch flakes, a blind test consisting of 40 retouch flakes was conducted. The results show that wear traces can be identified with comparable levels of accuracy to those reported for historic blind tests of standard lithic tools suggesting that the use-wear analysis of retouch flakes can be a useful analytical tool in understanding site function, and in increasing sample sizes in cases where assemblages contain few tools.Material Culture Studie

La nécropole néolithique de la Feixa del Moro (Juberri, Andorre): Examen et nouvelles données

At the beginning of the 1980s, a series of archaeological interventions carried out by what was previously called the 'Servei d'Investigacions Arqueológiques del Patrimoni Artistic Nacional d'Andorra' in a Pyrenean valley in Andorra allowed the investigation of the Feixa del Moro site. In a high-altitude area below a series of abandoned terraces, several dwellings and burial structures were located, all of them with chronologies ranging between the Early and the Middle Neolithic (from the mid 5th millennium to the early 4th millennium cal. BC). The distinctiveness of this site does not only lie in its geographical location, nor in the kind of structures discovered, but also in the very good state of preservation of the human bone material recovered from the burials, making Feixa del Moro one of the reference sites for the Neolithic in the Pyrenees and, in general, the Western Mediterranean. So far, sites with a similar conservation of both bones and burial structures are really uncommon. Moreover, the concentration in so small an area, and in the same stratigraphic unit, of such a diversity of evidence, including burials, silos and hearths, is yet more unusual. There are no similar sites in Andorra, or even in the entire Pyrenees. The only other burial site of comparable chronology discovered in the area is the Segudet site, and only a few high-altitude Neolithic dwelling sites are known. Even if cist burials are quite common in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and in Southern France, Feixa del Moro is the first that has been found at high altitude. The archaeological work undertaken between 1983 and 1985 provided a picture of a farming community belonging to the so-called 'Sepulcros de fosa' Culture, established in the very heart of the Pyrenees and, thus, highlighted the complexity of Neolithic settlement patterns, even in mountainous zones. At the same time, several analyses of the archaeological materials were already carried out, making Feixa del Moro a reference site for archaeological research even now. Nevertheless, three decades later, new methodologies and the technical advances available are allowing archaeologists to refine old interpretations, to reopen old debates and to carry out new analyses that can improve our understanding of the past. In this respect, since 2011, within the research project 'Aproximación a las primeras comunidades neolíticas del NE peninsular a través de sus prácticas funerarias' (HAR2011-23149), funded by the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness, a group of interdisciplinary researchers have begun to study several Neolithic burial contexts in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, among which Feixa del Moro. Following this perspective, in this paper, we present the outcome of the new analyses carried out on the burial goods and of the biochemistry and radiocarbon analyses carried out on the human bone material from the three cist burials of Feixa del Moro, with the aim of better understanding the early farming communities who settled in the Pyrenees. Since the last archaeological work carried out in the 1990s, large quantities of data have been lost. This has produced a certain degree of confusion and misunderstanding that has been repeated in other studies undertaken a posteriori on the site by other scholars. Some of these interpretations need to be revised. That it is why, within the current research project, we are not only bringing in new analyses, but also re-examining all the old written and graphic information available, as well as the state of the conserved archaeological material. The data presented in this paper resume all the available information on the Feixa del Moro site, correcting old mistakes and bias, updating the 1980s archaeological registers and presenting new analyses as well. Our aim is to ensure that Feixa del Moro remains a reference site for the Pyrenean and Western Mediterranean Neolithic. At the same time, we wish to encourage other researchers to undertake new analyses and to embrace new perspectives in order to improve our understanding of Neolithic societies

A palaeoeconomic perspective on the Early Neolithic lithic assemblages of the N-NE of the Iberian Peninsula

The reconstruction of the economy of an archaeological site is a matter of major importance within prehistoric research. In this paper, this issue is tackled from the perspective of the Traceological, or Use-Wear, analysis, showing how the lithic record can be used to approach a palaeoeconomic approximation. The principles, perspectives and limits of such method are detailed discussed into the text. As a case-study, a sample of Early Neolithic sites of the N-NE of the Iberian Peninsula has been considered, all of them ranging between the mid-Sixth and mid-Fifth millennium cal BC. As result of the analysis, sites with different status have been identified; more stable and larger settlements have been differentiated from temporary and more specialized occupations on the basis of the economic process inferred through the microscopic observation. Several subsistence and craft processes, such as wood and plant crafting tasks or hide working activities, that otherwise would be difficult to detect in the archaeological record have been highlighted. Obtained results provide fresh data on the Neolithic economic organization, integrating zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical and palaeoenvironmental studies

Reconstructing Harvesting Technologies through the Analysis of Sickle Blades: A Case-Study from Early-Middle Neolithic Sites in Northeastern Italy

The study of the crop-harvesting technology of the first groups of farmers can notably contribute to the debate on the expansion of agriculture in the Central Mediterranean. The traceological analysis of so-called “sickle blades” represents a valuable proxy for studying the emergence of harvesting technologies during Early Neolithic and their geographic variability. Use-wear traces allow to reconstruct the way in which the tool was used, the type of worked materials, the type of motion and the hafting of the flint blades. In this paper, we present the result of the analysis of a sample of sickle blades from two Early Neolithic settlements in northeastern Italy: Sammardenchia and Piancada. Those sites are particularly interesting because of their location in an area that is a natural crossroad between southern and central Europe and between the eastern and the western Mediterranean. Comparing our results with data obtained from other Neolithic sites of the Italian Peninsula, two different types of sickles have been recognized: sickles with diagonally hafted blades in southern and central Italy and sickles with parallel hafting in the Padan-Alpine region. In our opinion, such a dichotomy might be the result of different paths of diffusion of the agricultural technologies. © 2016 Taylor & Francis

Looking for sexual differences during the middle Neolithic in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula

This paper aims to explore the existence of a sexual division of labour and possible gender inequalities. In the framework of the research project entitled “Approach to the first North-Eastern Iberian Neolithic communities through their funerary practices”, a series of analyses have been performed, as well as a review of the characteristics that define the social relationships of the so-called “Pit Burials” sepulchres, comprising the structures, the buried individuals and their grave goods. In the present paper, our aim is to cross-reference the results of the lithic use-wear and raw material determination analyses with those performed by other researchers such as isotopic determinations, radiocarbon dating, taphonomical studies, bone industry, use-wear analysis and osteoarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains. Through statistical analysis, a contribution will be made to our understanding of Neolithic people's methods of producing, distributing and consuming goods, as well as their traditions regarding the symbolic ritualisation of those patterns.The authors would like to thank the members of the IMF-CSIC Laboratory of Prehistoric Technology for their constant help and infrastructural facilities. This research has been carried out thanks to the Generalitat de Catalunya PhD fellowship FI-DGR and the support of the members of the History and Art History Department of the University of Girona and the Prehistory Department of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, to whom we are especially grateful. Our work was financed by the projects HAR2011-23149: “Aproximación a las primeras comunidades neolíticas del NE peninsular a través de sus prácticas funerarias”, HAR2015-67323-C2-1-P, HAR2015-67323-C2-2-P: “Aproximación a las primeras comunidades neolíticas del Mediterráneo nordoccidental: construyendo respuesta desde los análisis paleoantropológicos y genéticos” (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno de España), HAR2016-75201-P: “La difusión del neolítico en el Mediterráneo centro-occidental: agricultura, innovaciones tecnológicas y carbono 14” and the funding received by the Archaeology of Social Dynamics Group (ASD) (2017SGR995) by the Generalitat de Catalunya.Peer Reviewe

The Neolithic Necropolis of La Feixa del Moro (Juberri, Andorra): New data on the first farming communities in the Pyrenees

The excavations carried out from 1983 to 1985 on an Andorran hillside by the former Andorra National Artistic Heritage Archaeological Research Service revealed one of the most important Neolithic sites in the Pyrenees. Directed by Xavier Llovera and Pere Canturri, the excavations uncovered a settlement with two interesting features: 1) it was located in a high mountain area, and 2) the same place possessed numerous domestic and funerary structures. Both factors have made La Feixa del Moro a key site in the prehistory of both the Pyrenees and the western Mediterranean in general. Three decades later, a pluridisciplinary team has begun a careful review of the documentation, studied the human remains and artefacts in the graves, carried out several forms of biochemical analysis and obtained new radiocarbon determinations for the individuals exhumed in two of the three burials in stone boxes (or cists). The objective is a better understanding of the first farming communities that settled in the Pyrenees. © 2016