Fases y territorios de la neolitización del NE de la Península Ibérica ca. 5600-4900 cal BC

En este trabajo se presentan los datos radiocarbónicos y de las cerámicas decoradas de numerosos yacimientos del NE Peninsular pertenecientes al Neolítico antiguo (c.5600-4900). Mediante el análisis de los dos registros, se han podido detectar características culturales independientes en diferentes territorios de esta región. Después de una primera ocupación de poca entidad, probablemente relacionada con el Neolítico Impressa, se pasa a una primera oleada de poblaciones cardiales. Éstas se distribuyen por diferentes ámbitos geográficos litorales y prelitorales y ya presentan diferencias en sus producciones cerámicas. Durante una fase evolucionada (a partir de c. 5300 cal BC), los territorios diversifican sus producciones cerámicas aún más en los territorios litorales y prelitorales. Sin embargo, las nuevas zonas ocupadas presentan registros donde se mezclan los componentes cardiales y los epicardiales, sobretodo en la región de Segre-Pirineos. Estos datos reflejan por un lado una rápida distribución por todo el territorio durante la neolitización, pero también un carácter particular entre diferentes comunidades neolíticas, lejos de una visión homogénea del proceso

The Early Cretaceous coastal lake Konservat-Lagerstätte of La Pedrera de Meià (Southern Pyrenees)

A state of the art of the Barremian Konservat-Lagerstätte of la Pedrera de Meià site (Southern Pyrenees) is compiled here including the acquisition of new geological data. The relevance of this site, together with the nearby la Cabroa site, is due to its paleobiotic richness and the fact that 113 holotypes and paratypes of flora and fauna have already been defined. Since its discovery at the end of the 19th century and its exploitation as a lithographic limestone quarry, the site has been the object of paleontological interest by national and foreign research teams that are summarized here (including the catalogue of 223 publications). A survey of the existing type specimens in collections all over Europe is also provided, being France and Germany, the countries where more fossils are hosted other than Spain. The geological frame of this site is also reviewed, by revisiting unpublished geological mappings (mainly that of Krusat, 1966) and integrating it in a comprehensive map that includes 4 revisited outcrops of lithographic limestone which could be potential paleontological sites. The available stratigraphic sections did allow the precise location of paleontological data and findings and environmental proxies. The stratigraphic sections obtained have a thickness of about 50m and contain a minimum of 40.000 limestone layers, being an approximation of the years represented in the la Pedrera de Meià site, and the time expanded of the lake during the Barremian

Estudio de los restos líticos de la Cova Colomera (prepirineo de Lleida) entre 5220 y 1660 cal BC. Análisis arqueopetrológico de las matérias primas silíceas y posibles áreas de captación.

[spa]Elestudio arqueopetrológico delos sílex dela Cova Colomera ha permitido detectar distintas variedades. La mayoría, por sus características macroscópicas, relacionables con la facies Garumniense local. Otras se corresponderían con formaciones sedimentarias lacustres probablemente adscribibles al Valle del Ebro. Las diversas características de este registro lítico, junto con las cronologías de los niveles, nos debería permitir inferir algunas hipótesis sobre la movilidad de los grupos humanos y proponer pautas evolutivas entre los diferentes momentos analizados.[eng]The archaeopetrological study of cherts from Cova Colomera has detected different varieties of siliceous sedimentary raw materials. The main part of them may be related macroscopically with Garumnian facies of local origin; others could be related with lacustrine sedimentary environments of the Ebro Sedimentary Basin. Changes in the lithic record in relation to stratigraphy and chronology, should allow us to infer some hypotheses on the mobility of human groups and that can help us to propose changing patterns between the different cultural moments analysed

The Early Cretaceous coastal lake Konservat-Lagerstätte of La Pedrera de Meià (Southern Pyrenees)

A state of the art of the Barremian Konservat-Lagerstätte of la Pedrera de Meià site (Southern Pyrenees) is compiled here including the acquisition of new geological data. The relevance of this site, together with the nearby la Cabroa site, is due to its paleobiotic richness and the fact that 113 holotypes and paratypes of flora and fauna have already been defined. Since its discovery at the end of the 19th century and its exploitation as a lithographic limestone quarry, the site has been the object of paleontological interest by national and foreign research teams that are summarized here (including the catalogue of 224 publications). A survey of the existing type specimens in collections all over Europe is also provided, being France and Germany, the countries where more fossils are hosted other than Spain.The geological frame of this site is also reviewed, by revisiting unpublished geological mappings (mainly that of Krusat, 1966) and integrating it in a comprehensive map that includes 4 revisited outcrops of lithographic limestone which could be potential paleontological sites. Previous stratigraphic sections did allow the precise framing of paleontological data and findings, that now can be allocated in new stratigraphic sections accounting for 50m and that contain a minimum of 40.000 laminae, being a minimum estimation of the years represented in the la Pedrera de Meià site

La neolitización del nordeste de la Península Ibérica: datos radiocarbónicos y culturales de los asentamientos al aire libre del Penedès

The work now presented puts forward new data on three open-air sites located in Penedès (Barcelona, Catalan Coastal Depression) with Early Neolithic occupation phases: the settlement of Les Guixeres de Vilobí and the pit complexes of La Serreta and Mas d’en Boixos. The sites’ pottery assemblages were analyzed and, for the first time, 5 short-lived samples were radiocarbon dated to collaborate in the discussion of the current knowledge on the Early Neolithic of NE Iberia and the broader Western Mediterranean. It suggests this area played an important role during the earliest phases of the Neolithic together with other key areas such as the Llobregat valley or the Alicante region. The chronology obtained enabled us to discuss the earliest Neolithic of the Iberian Peninsula.En este trabajo se presentan datos inéditos acerca de tres asentamientos al aire libre situados en el llano prelitoral del Penedès (Barcelona) con ocupaciones del Neolítico inicial: el hábitat de Les Guixeres de Vilobí y las agrupaciones de silos-fosas de La Serreta y el Mas d’en Boixos. Se estudian sus materiales cerámicos y 5 fechas radiocarbónicas inéditas en el marco de la discusión sobre el Neolítico antiguo del nordeste de la Península Ibérica y de la neolitización del Mediterráneo occidental. Se propone que esta zona fue clave y con cierta densidad poblacional durante las primeras fases neolíticas y comparable a enclaves emblemáticos como el cercano valle del Llobregat (Garraf-llano de Barcelona y Vallès) o la zona alicantina. La antigüedad de las fechas obtenidas aporta nuevos datos al debate acerca del primer neolítico en la Península Ibérica

Intervencions arqueològiques als enllaços de l'autopista AP-7 de Vilafranca del Penedès: nous assentaments prehistòrics a l'aire lliure al Penedès

Amb aquesta publicació es pretén fer la presentació d'un projecte de llarga durada, tant pel que fa a les fases de treballs de camp, que com veurem es desenvoluparen entre els anys 2008 i 2010, com pel que fa a la recerca que encara resta per endavant. En el marc de la remodelació dels enllaços de l'autopista AP-7, entre els anys 2009 i 2010 es van excavar un total de tres jaciments: Cinc Ponts (enllaç Vilafranca Nord), la Serreta (enllaç Vilafranca Centre) i Mas Pujó (enllaç Vilafranca Sud). Les intervencions arqueològiques han donat com a resultat la documentació de 240 estructures negatives i han permès obtenir una completa informació de l'ocupació humana de la zona des del neolític cardial fins a l'època contemporània. L'etapa més ben representada és la prehistòrica, ja que s'aprecia una especial intensitat de l'ocupació durant el neolític antic postcardial (tipus Molinot), el neolític mitjà i el bronze inicial. La tipologia i la funció de les estructures, entre les quals destaquen les sitges i les estructures d'hàbitat i sepulcrals, reflecteixen el desenvolupament en aquesta àmplia àrea tant d'activitats econòmiques i habitaculars com de pràctiques funeràries.

New data concerning 'large blades' in Catalonia: Apt-Forcalquier chert in the Penedès (south of Barcelona) during the Late Neolithic - Chalcolithic

The study of large chert blades documented in funerary contexts from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in the north-eastern part of Iberia has been addressed in recent works by the authors, in which 49 burial sites have been registered with more than 200 large chert blades. In this paper the recent data obtained from the study of seven archaeological sites located in the region of the Penedès (southwest of Barcelona) is presented. The macroscopic characterization of the knapped stone industries shows their great variety regarding the origin of the siliceous raw material, often coming from outside the analysed region. In some cases their macroscopic features link them to Apt-Forcalquier chert (Haut Provence, France), which was widely distributed in the form of large blades during these phases of Late Catalan prehistory. The absence of evidence of the chaîne opératoire production of this type of foreign chert in the lithic assemblages in Catalonia lead to the supposition that the dispersion of the blades was done as trade items, and only in a few cases were highly complex technological tools of this kind of raw material distributed (e.g., daggers). Use-wear analysis reveals that these blades were not merely luxury items in grave goods. Far from this idea, they have to be considered as functional, even multifunctional, items. All the same, it is thought that they must have had an important value because they moved from the domestic sphere to the graves. In fact, the pieces that usually remain are not small fragments, but whole or almost whole, large blades that normally remain effective

Maar-diatreme infill features recorded in borehole imaging

Oriented borehole images recorded with an ultrasonic acoustic televiewer and continuous coring recovery has allowed the characterization of different facies and volcanic processes involved in the infill of a maar-diatreme volcano type. Maar-diatremes are associated with strong explosions throughout most of their development, focused along feeder dikes and generally attributed to magma-water interaction. In the case study of Camp dels Ninots maar-diatreme (Girona, Spain) we have recognized four facies types located in the center of the maar-diatreme: volcanic ash, phreatomagmatic breccia with lithics and juveniles, vesicular pyroclasts (scoria), massive basalt or welded pyroclastic fragments. Ultrasonic televiewer images allow to characterize the different volcanic facies, since they display a different degree of reflectivity and textures. Other features such as fracturing and grain size can be directly measured on the images.Projects 2014-100575 from Departament de Cultura de and SGR2014-901 from AGAUR (both from Generalitat de Catalunya) financed the drilling campaigns.Peer Reviewe

Artistic expressions and funerary record during the Early Cardial and Epicardial Neolithic in Catalonia

[spa] En aquest treball es fa un repàs sobre dos aspectes claus en l'esfera de les creences del grups neolítics que, durant la Taula Rodona de Montserrat, no van ser quasi tinguts en compte, perquè la informació disponible era quasi inexistent. De manera que les dades que s'han aconseguit els darrers anys han suposat un important salt endavant. La contextualització de les manifestacions artístiques és cada cop millor i les manifestacions funeràries són cada cop més nombroses.[eng] This paper reviews two key aspects in the sphere of the beliefs of the Neolithic groups that, during the Taula Rodona de Montserrat, were almost ignored, because the available information was almost non-existent. So the data obtained in recent years has been a major leap forward. Contextualization of the artistic record has improved, and funerary evidence are increasing in numbe