Datation par les séries de l'Uranium des occupations moustériennes de la grotte de Teixoneres (Moia, Province de Barcelone, Espagne)

Une première chronologie des occupations moustériennes de la grotte des Teixoneres (province de Barcelone, Espagne) a été établie grâce à la datation uranium-thorium de deux planchers stalagmitiques encadrant les niveaux moustériens. Des âges compris entre 13 et 17 ka, après correction du 230Th détritique, ont été déterminés sur le plancher supérieur, indiquant que le dépôt de ces spéléothèmes pourrait alors correspondre à l'oscillation climatique Bølling-Allerød. Le plancher inférieur a pour sa part été attribué au stade isotopique 5.3.A first chronology of the Mousterian levels of the Teixoneres cave (province of Barcelona, Spain) was established using U-series dating method on two stalagmitic flowstones located respectively above and under the mousterian levels.  For the upper one, ages range from 13 to 17 ka, after correction of the detritic 230Th, indicating that the deposit of these speleothems could then correspond to the Bølling-Allerød oscillation.  The lower flowstone was deposited during the oxygen isotopic stage 5.3

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

New radiometric dates for the Prehistory of Northwestern Iberia: Valdavara Cave (Becerreá, Lugo)

The goal of this paper is to make known the first results of the excavations in Valdavara Cave (Becerreá, Lugo), paying special attention to the radiometric dating that places this cave among the few Galician sites with Upper Palaeolithic dates. During the excavation carried out in 2007, two archaeological locations were documented in the same karstic system (Valdavara 1 and Valdavara 2). The test pit initiated in Valdavara 1 allowed us to identify so far two stratigraphic units: an upper unit corresponding to Recent Prehistory and a lower unit (level 4) that yielded the Upper Palaeolithic dates. An assemblage of human remains from the Bronze Age was found in Valdavara 2.<br><br>El objetivo de este artículo es dar a conocer los primeros resultados de las excavaciones en la cueva de Valdavara (Becerreá, Lugo), prestando especial atención a las dataciones radiométricas que la sitúan entre los pocos yacimientos gallegos que han arrojado fechas correspondientes al Paleolítico Superior. La excavación realizada en el año 2007 permitió documentar dos localizaciones arqueológicas en el marco del mismo sistema cárstico (Valdavara 1 y Valdavara 2). El sondeo iniciado en Valdavara 1 ha permitido identificar hasta el momento dos conjuntos estratigráficos: un conjunto superior correspondiente a la Prehistoria reciente y un conjunto inferior (nivel 4) en el que se han obtenido las fechas del Paleolítico Superior final. En Valdavara 2 se encontró un conjunto de restos humanos de la Edad del Bronce