El Paleolítico Superior de la península ibérica

This article attempts to provide a relatively complete synthesis of what is currently known about the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic and the development of human adaptations and cultures during the latter period in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal, as well as Andorra and Gibraltar). The emphases of the work, which is inescapably selective and reliant mainly on the most recent available literature, are on environmental conditions, human settlement, technologies, subsistence and artistic expression, from a perspective that gives importance to the nature and extent of social networks as they changed throughout the course of late Marine Isotope Stage 3 and all of Stage 2. The aim is to give coverage to all regions of the Peninsula, despite their different research histories and their varying site densities. An overall conclusion is that despite the climatic fluctuations of the Last Glacial, one can write differing histoires de la longue durée for such major geographic units as Cantabrian (northern Atlantic) Spain, the Ebro basin, Levantine (Mediterranean) Spain, Andalucia, the Spanish interior mesetas and Duero and Tagus basins, and the Algarve, Estremadura and Douro regions of southern and north-central Portugal. Yet, to varying degrees through time, there was both Peninsular cultural unity created by social networks among these regions and evidence of inter-band contacts with forager groups living to the north of the Pyrenees.Este artículo intenta ofrecer una síntesis relativamente completa de lo que se conoce en la actualidad sobre la transición del Paleolítico medio al superior y el desarrollo de las adaptaciones humanas y de las culturas durante el último periodo en la Península Ibérica (España y Portugal, así como Andorra y Gibraltar). Los énfasis del trabajo, que es inevitablemente selectivo y se basa principalmente en la bibliografía disponible más reciente, son las condiciones ambientales, el asentamiento humano, las tecnologías, la subsistencia y la expresión artística, desde una perspectiva que subraya en que medida la naturaleza y extensión de las redes sociales han cambiado durante todo el desarrollo del Estadio Isotópico Marino 3 tardío y todo el Estadio 2. El objetivo es abarcar todas las regiones de la península, pese a sus diferentes historias de la investigación y sus desiguales densidades de yacimientos. Una conclusión general es que a pesar de las fluctuaciones climáticas del Tardiglaciar, uno puede escribir diferentes histoires de la longue durée sobre importantes unidades geográficas como la región cantábrica (atlántica septentrional) de España, la cuenca del Ebro, la España levantina (mediterránea), Andalucía, las mesetas interiores de España y las cuencas del Duero y el Tajo, y las regiones meridional y central-septentrional de Portugal. Además, en diferentes grados a través del tiempo, hubo tanto una unidad cultural peninsular, creada por redes sociales entre esas regiones, como contactos con bandas de cazadores-recolectores al norte de los Pirineos

El estudio de la Prehistoria del Viejo Mundo en los Estados Unidos de América

The teaching and study of Old World Prehistory are widespread and growing in the United States. However, actual research (especially excavation) is far more restricted among the many colleges, universities and museums that have specialists in particular aspects of this broad field. There is considerable interest notably in the Paleolithic/Mesolithic of Europe and Africa, generally associated with a paleoanthropological perspective. American researchers in anthropology departments are also heavily engaged in studies of terminal prehistory/protohistory in the Near East and Europe, with fewer specialists in the Neolithic per se. This article discusses the training, financing, organization, publication and theoretical foci for Old World prehistoric archeology in the U.S. It highlights the reasons for which American researchers usually approach the study of the Old World record from points of view that are different from and yet complementary to those of their European, African and Asian colleagues, who, unlike the Americans, feel they are directly studying their own national past. There is hopefully still a place for cooperative research involving Americans in full partnership with their Old World peers in the post-colonialist, post-Cold War world.La enseñanza y el estudio de la Prehistoria del Viejo Mundo están difundidos en los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, la verdadera investigación (especialmente la excavación) está mucho más restringida en las numerosas instituciones que tienen supuestos especialistas en algunos aspectos de este campo académico. Hay bastante interés principalmente por el Paleolítico/ Mesolítico de Europa y de África, generalmente asociado con una perspectiva paleoantropológica. Hay también numerosos investigadores norteamericanos ocupados en el estudio de la Prehistoria final/Protohistoria del Oriente Medio y Europa, con menos especialistas en el Neolítico per se. Este artículo expone muy brevemente la formación, financiación, organización, publicación y enfoques teóricos de la arqueología prehistórica en los EE. UU. Subraya las razones por las cuales los investigadores norteamericanos se acercan al estudio del registro del Viejo Mundo desde unos puntos de vista diferentes pero sin embargo complementarios a los de sus colegas europeos, africanos y asiáticos. Espera que exista todavía un lugar para la investigación cooperativa que incluya a los norteamericanos en asociación plena con sus pares del Viejo Mundo en este mundo post-colonial y de la post-Guerra Fría

La Cueva del Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria): excavaciones 1996-1999

The four excavation campaigns carried out to date in El Miron Cave, with a complete stratigraphic sequence from the early Bronze Age through the Solutrean, have demonstrated the importance of this site to the understanding of human societies in the montane interior of the Cantabrian Region during much of its prehistory. The excavation methods that have been applied especially document in detail residential areas pertaining to the Chalcolithic, Neolithic, and early-mid Magdalenian periods within this large cave. They also have provided large quantities of paleoenvironmental and cultural data that are currently under analysis. Numerous examples of parietal engravings have been discovered and, in some cases, stratigraphically dated to the Magdalenian. The forty radiocarbon dates obtained so far already constitute the largest series for any Cantabrian site and include a number of important dates for the beginning of the regional Neolithic sequence at c. 5800 BP (uncal.). Results of geophysical survey indicate the existence of a sedimentary infilling in the cave vestibule that could include archeological deposits well below the 19,000 year-old Solutrean layers reached so far.Las cuatro campañas de excavación desarrolladas en la Cueva del Mirón, con una estratigrafía continua que abarca por ahora desde el Bronce inicial hasta el Solutrense, han puesto de manifiesto la importancia de este yacimiento para el conocimiento de las sociedades humanas de las áreas interiores de la Región Cantábrica a lo largo de buena parte de la Prehistoria. Los procedimientos de excavación aplicados han permitido documentar en detalle espacios domésticos del Calcolítico, el Neolítico y el Paleolítico Superior final y recoger gran cantidad de testimonios industriales y ambientales, junto con muestras de arte parietal paleolítico. Las cuarenta dataciones radiocarbónicas obtenidas hasta el momento la convierten en la secuencia más completa del Cantábrico, incluyendo una interesante serie de fechas para los momentos iniciales del Neolítico regional. Los datos de la prospección geofísica señalan una potencia sedimentaria que asegura la posible continuación en profundidad de los depósitos arqueológicos

The Upper Paleolithic Rock Art of Iberia

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microremains from El Mirón Cave human dental calculus suggest a mixed plant/animal subsistence economy during the Magdalenian in Northern Iberia

Despite more than a century of detailed investigation of the Magdalenian period in Northern Iberia, our understanding of the diets during this period is limited. Methodologies for the reconstruction of Late Glacial subsistence strategies have overwhelmingly targeted animal exploitation, thus revealing only a portion of the dietary spectrum. Retrieving food debris from calculus offers a means to provide missing information on other components of diet.We undertook analysis of human dental calculus samples from Magdalenian individuals (including the ¿Red Lady¿) at El Mir on Cave (Cantabria, Spain), as well as several control samples, to better understand the less visible dietary components. Dental calculus yielded a diverse assemblage of microremains from plant, fungal, animal and mineral sources that may provide data on diet and environment. The types of microremains show that the individuals at El Mir on consumed a variety of plants, including seeds and underground storage organs, as well as other foods, including possibly bolete mushrooms. These findings suggest that plant and plant-like foods were parts of her diet, supplementing staples derived from animal foods. As faunal evidence suggests that the Magdalenian Cantabrian diet included a large proportion of animal foods, we argue here for a mixed subsistence pattern

Objetos de arte mueble y funcionales del Magdaleniense inferior e inicial de la Cueva del Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, España) ligados al Procesamiento del Ocre

Presentamos documentación y análisis detallados de un nódulo de ocre con una retícula grabada, un fragmento de ocre con incisiones profundas y un abrasionador de cuarcita con restos de ocre procedentes de los niveles del Magdaleniense inferior e inicial de la Cueva del Mirón. Estos objetos se añaden al inventario de hallazgos notables de los depósitos de este periodo en el yacimiento, y muestran la importancia de las actividades ligadas al procesamiento del ocre y la posible transformación simbólica de un instrumento técnico mediante decoración. El ocre en las formas de polvo y en trozos es abundante en los niveles magdalenienses y fue utilizado para teñir los huesos de “la Dama Roja” y la cara contigua al enterramiento del gran bloque que parece “marcar” la tumba en el Magdaleniense inferior. ABSTRACT: We present detailed documentation and analyses of a reticulate-engraved ochre nodule, a fragment of heavily scraped iron oxide, and a quartzite hammer/abrader from Lower Magdalenian-age levels in El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain). These items add to the inventory of remarkable finds from deposits of this period in the site, showing the importance of activities linked to the processing of red ochre and the possible symbolic transformation of functional artifacts by means of decoration. Ochre in the forms of powder and chunks is abundant in the Magdalenian levels and was used to stain the bones of the Lower Magdalenian “Red Lady” burial and the face of the large block contiguous with and possibly serving to “mark” the tomb

Investigation of late Pleistocene and early Holocene palaeoenvironmental change at El Mirón cave (Cantabria, Spain): insights from carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of red deer

Abstract: El Mirón Cavewas occupied by humans for over 40,000 years. Evidence of LateMousterian,Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, Azilian, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Mediaeval occupations has been found in the cave. Understanding the local environmental conditions during the occupations is crucial for gaining an insight into the lifeways of El Mirón's inhabitants as they relied on the surrounding region and its natural resources for their subsistence. 170 bones of hunted red deer recovered from the cave were sampled for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses with the aim of reconstructing the palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate during the human occupation. The results show that the surrounding landscape underwent considerable environmental change during the Late Pleistocene and Early to Mid-Holocene. Shifts in d13C values between the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich stadial 1, Heinrich event 1, the Late-glacial interstadial and the onset of the Holocene are likely to reflect changes in water availability and temperature. Deer d15N generally increased over time indicating the regeneration of soil biological activity and nitrogen cycling, which was temporarily halted during the Younger Dryas. Comparison of the El Mirón results with those of 300 deer from other regions of Europe shows geographical variations in the timing and magnitude of the variation in d13C and d15N values. This variation tracks local climate (temperature andwater availability) and environmental (vegetation and forest development) change

The Paleolithic rock art of El Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain): a proposal for its stratigraphic dating

RESUMEN: Este artículo describe el arte parietal descubierto en la Cueva de El Mirón (Cantabria, España) en el curso de las excavaciones dirigidas en el yacimiento por MGM y LGS desde 1996. El arte consiste en grabados, la mayoría de ellos aparentemente no fi gurativos en su estado actual, pero hay una imagen de un caballo y otra de un posible bisonte. Todos los grabados se localizan en el fondo del gran vestíbulo, a plena luz, en íntima relación con los depósitos de origen humano. El caballo y los grabados lineales asociados a él en las paredes de la cueva pueden atribuirse al Magdaleniense inferior o medio sobre la base de su estilo y de la altura practicable sobre las superfi cies de ocupación de estos períodos. Datables con mayor precisión son dos grupos de grabados lineales sobre un gran bloque que pueden asignarse al Magdaleniense inferior cantábrico, un período bien caracterizado por sus obras de arte mueble, como los omóplatos grabados, en El Mirón y en otros varios yacimientos regionales. El bloque cayó de la pared de la cueva, con su cara exterior yaciendo sobre el nivel 110, datado por radiocarbono en 16.130 ± 250 y 16.520 ± 40 BP. A partir de entonces se grabó su cara originalmente interior. A continuación, el bloque y sus grabados fueron progresivamente recubiertos por sedimentos del Magdaleniense medio, superior y fi nal datados entre ca. 14.500- 12.000 BP. En suma, el arte descubierto y estudiado hasta la fecha en El Mirón puede atribuirse al Magdaleniense inferior y medio, aunque el yacimiento estuvo habitado por los humanos al menos desde el Paleolítico medio hasta época medieval. El artículo concluye situando el arte parietal de El Mirón en el contexto de las otras numerosas (pero peor datadas) manifestaciones de arte rupestre de la cuenca del río Asón, en la Cantabria Oriental, que incluyen sitios tan notables como Venta de la Perra, Covalanas, La Haza y Cullalvera.ABSTRACT: This article describes the rock art discovered in El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain) during the course of excavations directed by LGS and MGM since 1996. The art consists of engravings: most are apparently non-representational in their currest condition, but there is one image of a horse and another of a possible bison. The engravings are all located at the rear of the large, sunlit vestibule of the cave, in intimate relationship with human habitation deposits. The horse and associated linear engravings on the cave wall can be attributed to the earlymiddle Magdalenian on the basis of style and practicable height above occupation surfaces of those periods. More precisely datable, two series of linear engravings on a large block can be assigned to the Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian, a period well-endowed with works of portable art, such as engraved scapulae, both at El Mirón and in many other regional sites. The block fell from the cave wall, its outer surface landing on Level 110, which is 14C-dated to 16,130 ± 250 and 16,520 ± 40 BP. Then the fl at inner surface of the block was engraved. Next, the block and the engravings were progressively covered over by sediments pertaining to Middle, Upper and Terminal Magdalenian levels 14C-dated between ca. 14,500- 12,000 BP. In sum, the art discovered to date in El Mirón can be attributed to the early and middle Magdalenian period, although the site itself was inhabited by humans from at least late Middle Paleolithic through Medieval times. This article concludes by placing the Mirón parietal art within the context of the numerous other (but less-well dated) cave art manifestations in the river Asón basin of eastern Cantabria, including such notable sites as Venta de la Perra, Covalanas, La Haza and Cullalvera

Chronological reassessment of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and Early Upper Paleolithic cultures in Cantabrian Spain

Abstract: Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9?45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3?40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6?33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed <1,000 years, with the caveat that no diagnostic human remains have been found with the latest Mousterian, Châtelperronian or earliest Aurignacian in Cantabrian Spain.This research has been supported by the European Commission through FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG (Ref: 322112), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (HAR2012-33956 and RYC-2011-00695), Cantabria Campus International and University of Cantabria to ABMA. The Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria is sponsored by the University of Cantabria, the Government of Cantabria and Banco Santander