La representación del movimiento y la actitud (antropomorfos y zoomorfos) en los motivos pictóricos de los abrigos rocosos de Sierra Momia (Benalup-Casas Viejas, Cádiz)

En este artículo abordamos un tema que generalmente no se ha tratado de manera específica al observar el arte rupestre postpaleolítico definido como esquemático, a pesar de sus múltiples variantes formales, en la Península Ibérica —la plasmación del movimiento y la actitud en la representación de figuras antropomorfas y zoomorfas—. La originalidad de las manifestaciones artísticas de la Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras y demás abrigos de Sierra Momia nos permite este tipo de aproximación.The present article concerns an Issue which, generally, has not been dlscussed in any speciflc way on observing postpalaeollthlc rock art deflned as schematic, in spite of its múltiple formal variants, in the Iberlan Península —representatlon of movement and attitude In anthropomorphous and zoomorphous , figures—. The origlnality of the artistic expressions in the Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras and another shelters of Sierra Momia allows us this kind of approach

Manos en la oscuridad: arte paleolítico en Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar)

The work in the inner area of Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar, has added to the Palaeolithic art located in the cave. Although work continues on the surveying and the study of the evidence found up to now, we present here a preview consisting of a representation of a red deer, and also a hand stencil, alongside numerous marks which have been found scattered throughout the inner cave. In this paper we present new data on the Upper Palaeolithic rock art in Gorham’s Cave (Gibraltar) including direct dating of a hand stencil. Situating this dating in the archaeological context of the stencil, we conclude that it is associated with the Solutrean technocomplexe. This is particularly significant in the light of recent reviews which put European hand stencils in the context of the Early or Initial Upper Palaeolithic. In this context, the Gorham data opens the discussion on the systematic chronological correlation of all hands in negatives of European Palaeolithic rock art.Los trabajos en la zona más interior de la cueva de Gorham (Gibraltar) han ampliado la zona con arte rupestre paleolítico en la cavidad. Aunque los trabajos continúan, presentamos en este trabajo un avance de los nuevos hallazgos, un ciervo y una mano en negativo, así como numerosos trazos. Así mismo, damos a conocer la datación directa mediante 14C-AMS de una mano en negativo y situamos el resultado obtenido en el contexto del registro arqueológico de Gorham, que nos lleva a proponer una ejecución durante el Solutrense evolucionado. El resultado es particularmente significativo a la luz del encuadre convencional a este tipo de de motivos, atribuidos normalmente a momentos antiguos del Paleolítico Superior. En este contexto, el dato de Gorham abre la discusión sobre esta correlación sistemática de todas las manos en negativos del arte paleolítico europeo.Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad HAR2013-44269-P HAR2016-77789-

Arte paleolítico en Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar)

En este trabajo presentamos las novedades sobre el arte paleolítico de la cueva de Gorham. En el apartado mobiliar, abordamos una aproximación multidisciplinar en la que se analizan los datos petrográficos, deposicionales, diagenéticos, tafonómicos y antrópicos (técnicos o iconográficos) identificados en dos plaquetas de arte mueble. El arte parietal de Gorham se amplía con las manifestaciones localizadas en una Galería ubicada al final del cavernamiento. En ambos casos, la procedencia estratigráfica o los rasgos estilísticos permiten su atribución al Magdaleniense.We present the news on Palaeolithic art of Gorham’s cave. In paragraph of mobiliary art, we discuss a multidisciplinary approach in analyzing the petrographic, depositional, diagenetic, taphonomic and anthropic (technical or iconographic) data identified of two plaquettes of portable art. The Gorham’s cave art expands with the paintings located in the gallery located at the end of the cave. In both cases, the stratigraphic provenance or stylistic features allow its attribution to the Magdalenian

Culto y culturas en la cueva de Gorham (Gibraltar): La historia del santuario y sus materiales inscritos

This paper presents an updated overview of the ongoing archaeological research carried out in the Protohistoric sanctuary of Gorham’s Cave (Gibraltar). It is based on the results of recent excavations, focusing on incised pottery with inscriptions or other marks. The catalogue of inscriptions includes both Phoenician and Graeco-Iberian examples, which could be related with the deposition of votive offerings from Archaic to Hellenistic periods.El artículo presenta un nuevo estado de la cuestión arqueológico sobre el santuario protohistórico de la Cueva de Gorham (Gibraltar) a la luz de los resultados de las recientes campañas de excavación y estudia los materiales cerámicos con inscripciones u otro tipo de marcas hallados en la cueva. El catálogo incluye un nuevo grafito fenicio y una inscripción greco-ibérica que se relacionan con las ofrendas depositadas en el lugar desde época arcaica hasta el periodo helenístico

First tracks of newborn straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus)

Tracks and trackways of newborns, calves and juveniles attributed to straight-tusked elephants were found in the MIS 5 site (Upper Pleistocene) known as the Matalascañas Trampled Surface (MTS) at Huelva, SW Spain. Evidence of a snapshot of social behaviour, especially parental care, can be determined from the concentration of elephant tracks and trackways, and especially from apparently contemporaneous converging trackways, of small juvenile and larger, presumably young adult female tracks. The size frequency of the tracks enabled us to infer body mass and age distribution of the animals that crossed the MTS. Comparisons of the MTS demographic frequency with the morphology of the fore- and hind limbs of extant and fossil proboscideans shed light into the reproductive ecology of the straight-tusked elephant, Palaeloxodon antiquus. The interdune pond habitat appeared to have been an important water and food resource for matriarchal herds of straight-tusked elephants and likely functioned as a reproductive habitat, with only the rare presence of adult and older males in the MTS. The preservation of this track record in across a paleosol surface, although heavily trampled by different animals, including Neanderthals, over a short time frame, permitted an exceptional view into short-term intraspecific trophic interactions occurring in the Last Interglacial coastal habitat. Therefore, it is hypothesized that Neanderthals visited MTS for hunting or scavenging on weakened or dead elephants, and more likely calves.Universidad de Huelva y Junta de Andalucía. RNM-293 y RNM-238Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia de Portugal, fondos FEDER de la Unión Europea y plan COMPETE 2020 de Portugal. UIDB/MAR/ 04292/202

Bray, una cueva sepulcral de la Edad del Bronce en el Peñón de Gibraltar

Las excavaciones en la Cueva de Bray en Gibraltar han documentado una serie de enterramientos de la Edad de Bronce, esto supone una nueva aportación al conocimiento de la ocupación prehistórica del Peñón de Gibraltar y se convierte en una referencia regional para el estudio de los rituales funerarios de este período

First tracks of newborn straight‑tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus)

Tracks and trackways of newborns, calves and juveniles attributed to straight-tusked elephants were found in the MIS 5 site (Upper Pleistocene) known as the Matalascañas Trampled Surface (MTS) at Huelva, SW Spain. Evidence of a snapshot of social behaviour, especially parental care, can be determined from the concentration of elephant tracks and trackways, and especially from apparently contemporaneous converging trackways, of small juvenile and larger, presumably young adult female tracks. The size frequency of the tracks enabled us to infer body mass and age distribution of the animals that crossed the MTS. Comparisons of the MTS demographic frequency with the morphology of the fore- and hind limbs of extant and fossil proboscideans shed light into the reproductive ecology of the straight-tusked elephant, Palaeloxodon antiquus. The interdune pond habitat appeared to have been an important water and food resource for matriarchal herds of straight-tusked elephants and likely functioned as a reproductive habitat, with only the rare presence of adult and older males in the MTS. The preservation of this track record in across a paleosol surface, although heavily trampled by different animals, including Neanderthals, over a short time frame, permitted an exceptional view into short-term intraspecific trophic interactions occurring in the Last Interglacial coastal habitat. Therefore, it is hypothesized that Neanderthals visited MTS for hunting or scavenging on weakened or dead elephants, and more likely calves

Aurochs roamed along the SW coast of Andalusia (Spain) during Late Pleistocene

In the Iberian Peninsula the fossil record of artiodactyls spans over 53 million years. During the Pleistocene, wild cattle species such as Bison and especially Bos became common. In Late Pleistocene, the aurochs (Bos primigenius) was widespread and the only bovine living along the large river valleys of southern Iberia. Although commonly found in fossil sites and especially in cave bone assemblages, the trace fossil record of aurochs was known worldwide only from the Holocene. Large bovine and roe deer/caprine tracks were found in at least five horizons of the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5) beach and eolian deposits of Cape Trafalgar (Cadiz Province, South of Spain). The large bovine tracks are formally described as Bovinichnus uripeda igen. et isp. nov. and compared with the record of aurochs tracks, large red deer tracks and steppe bison biogeographical distribution in Iberia. Aurochs were the most likely producers of the newly described Trafalgar Trampled Surface (TTS) and some of the large artiodactyl tracks in the Matalascañas Trampled Surface, representing the oldest aurochs track record known. This new evidence, together with comparisons with the record of possible aurochs tracks in the Mid-Late Pleistocene coastal deposits from the Asperillo cliff section in Matalascañas (Huelva Province, SW Spain) and bone assemblages known in Gibraltar, point to a recurrent use of the coastal habitat by these large artiodactyls in SW Iberia.Fieldwork was partially supported by the Research Groups RNM-293, University of Huelva & Junta de Andalucía and Naturtejo, E.I.M., to CNC. Research work of SF is supported by the FCT (Science and Technology Foundation), through projects UID/Multi/00073/2020 Geosciences Center-Coimbra University. N. Moreira (ICT) is financed by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the programmatic project Ref. UIDB/04683/2020. We acknowledge the contributions of the Editor and the two reviewers that greatly improved the text

Neanderthal footprints in the “Matalascañas trampled surface” (SW Spain): new OSL dating and Mousterian lithic industry

In the Huelva Coast of SW Spain erosion by recent marine storms revealed the presence of a paleosol where an extensive tracksite known as “Matalasca~nas Trampled Surface” (MTS) has been documented. The MTS includes tracks and trackways of large species of mammals, along with bird trace fossils, invertebrate burrows and root traces. Within this record, the presence of several hominin footprints and trackways stands out. Despite previous uncertainties about the producer of these footprints, new OSL age of 151 ± 11 ka secures their attribution to Neanderthals, the only hominins known to have been present in the Iberian Peninsula during the MIS6-5 transition. Moreover, typical Mousterian lithic industry with Levallois knapping was found associated with the ichnological record. This lithic industry is characterized by the selection of raw materials from outcrops in a short-distance range to the tracksite. The general characteristics of the lithics are derived both from the nature of the raw material and from the nature of the site itself, which cannot be seen as a settlement, but rather as a place of passage for fauna, including Neanderthals, where a few human individuals performed short-term activities, such as food procurement and/or meat processing.Research was possible thanks to the Delegaciones territoriales de Huelva, Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Desarrollo Sostenible and Consejería de Cultura (Junta de Andalucía), Servicio de Geodiversidad y Biodiversidad (Dirección General de Medio Natural, Biodiversidad y Espacios Protegidos) and The National Park of Doñana. This work has been supported by the Research Groups RNM-293 and RNM-238, University of Huelva & Junta de Andalucía. This work also received institutional support from the Naturtejo, E.I.M. (Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark). We would like to thank to Dr. Teodosio Donaire (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Huelva) by the petrological classification of the lithic industry. This work was partly funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, through: (i) projects UIDB/04292/2020 & UIDP/04292/2020 (MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre) and LA/P/0069/2020 (ARNET). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva / CBUA