25 research outputs found
The occupation of Benzu Cave (Ceuta) by Neolithic and Bronze Age Societies
Abstract This study presents the results of the
archaeological investigation in Benzú Cave, located on the
North African shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. The
archaeological deposits, approximately 1 m deep, belong to
two occupational levels dated to theNeolithic and the Bronze
Age. Awide range of artifacts was found, and this led to an
interdisciplinary study that led us to reach new conclusions
concerning the material life, subsistence economy, and environment
of the Neolithic and Bronze Age societies in northern
Africa and the southern Iberian Peninsula.Résumé Cette étude présente les résultats des
recherches archéologiques menées dans la grotte de
Benzú, située sur la rive nord-africaine du détroit de
Gibraltar. Les gisements archéologiques, d'environ un
mètre de profondeur, appartiennent à deux niveaux d'occupation
datant du néolithique et de l'âge du bronze. Une
large gamme d'artefacts ont été trouvés, ce qui a conduit à
une étude interdisciplinaire qui nous a amenés à tirer de
nouvelles conclusions concernant la vie matérielle,
l'économie de subsistance et l'environnement des sociétés
du Néolithique et de l'Age du Bronze en Afrique du Nord
et au sud de la Péninsule Ibérique
Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain)
The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred
as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements
have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the
geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the
Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ,1 million years ago that includes large cutting
tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late
Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between
stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological
record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during
the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT
assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the
end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared
in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took
place.The research at Barranc de la Boella has been carried out with the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Economı´a y Competitividad (CGL2012-
36682; CGL2012-38358, CGL2012-38434-C03-03 and CGL2010-15326; MICINN project HAR2009-7223/HIST), Generalitat de Catalunya, AGAUR agence (projects
2014SGR-901; 2014SGR-899; 2009SGR-324, 2009PBR-0033 and 2009SGR-188) and Junta de Castilla y Leo´n BU1004A09. Financial support for Barranc de la Boella
field work and archaeological excavations is provided by the Ajuntament de la Canonja and Departament de Cultura (Servei d’Arqueologia i Paleontologia) de la
Generalitat de Catalunya. A. Carrancho’s research was funded by the International Excellence Programme, Reinforcement subprogramme of the Spanish Ministry
of Education. I. Lozano-Ferna´ndez acknowledges the pre-doctoral grant from the Fundacio´n Atapuerca. The funders had no role in study design, data collection
and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Ontogenetic shape changes in Pomacentridae (Teleostei, Perciformes) and their relationships with feeding strategies: a geometric morphometric approach
The present study explores the shape changes of cranial structures directly involved in food capturing during growth after reef settlement in two species of Pomacentridae (Dascyllus aruanus and Pomacentrus pavo). Landmark-based geometric morphometrics were used to study allometric patterns and related shape changes in four skeletal units: neurocranium, suspensorium and opercle, mandible and premaxilla. At settlement, the larvae of both species have a relatively similar morphology, especially with respect to the mandible. Their shapes suggest a feeding mode defined as ram/suction-feeding. Ontogenetic shape changes show a shift to a suction feeding mode
of prey capture. The main transformations involved are an increase in height of the suspensorium and the opercle, an elevation of the supraoccipital crest, a relative shortening of the mandible, and a lengthening of the ascending process of the premaxilla. Shape changes of the mandible in the two studied species also reflect an increase of biting capacities. The high disparity between adult shape results from differences in the rate and in the length of ontogenetic trajectories, from divergence of the ontogenetic trajectories (neurocranium, mandible, and premaxilla) and parallel shifts of the trajectories in the size-shape space (suspensorium and opercle). In an evolutionary
context, allometric heterochronies during ontogeny of different skeletal unit of the head may be considered as a basis for the explanation of the diversity of damselfishes