La Sima-Refugio del Vaso (SA- 133, Carcabuey, Córdoba). Recuperación de un conjunto cerámico del Neolítico inicial en Sierra Alcaide

Presentamos en este trabajo un conjunto de elementos cerámicos neolíticos recuperados en el interior de una sima de difícil acceso situada bajo una pequeña cavidad o refugio, en el entorno de Sierra Alcaide (Carcabuey, Córdoba). Este conjunto cerámico muestra afinidades con otros estudiados procedentes de las Sierras Subbéticas cordobesas, no correspondiendo en apariencia a un contexto sepulcral a diferencia de otros hallazgos ubicados en simas y cavernamientos conocidos en esta área.In this work, we present a Neolithic pottery assemblage recovered inside a vertical sinkhole placed below a small cave or rock shelter, in Sierra Alcaide area (Carcabuey, Córdoba). This pottery set shares features with other examples coming from the Subbetic Mountains in Cordoba. However, these elements apparently do not correspond to a burial context, in contrast to many other findings located inside very difficult to reach sinkholes, in the already known neighborhood

Neolithic in ‘La Pileta’ Cave (Benaoján, Málaga)

Cueva de la Pileta es uno de los enclaves clásicos en la historiografía de la Prehistoria del sur de Iberia, sobre todo por las representaciones de arte rupestre. No obstante, el yacimiento también dispone de una amplia secuencia estratigráfica del Cuaternario reciente (p. ej., 7 m de potencia en la sala de los Murciélagos) que apenas ha recibido atención bibliográfica. Este trabajo se centra en la historiografía de los trabajos en el yacimiento y en el estudio de los materiales neolíticos. La colección cerámica y sus paralelos técnicos y estilísticos en el contexto del Mediterráneo y sur ibérico permiten integrar La Pileta dentro del primer Neolítico en Andalucía con una edad encuadrada en la segunda mitad del 8º milenio cal BP.Cave of La Pileta is a key site in southern Iberia prehistoric historiography. It’s mainly known for its rock art paintings, but the archaeological site also has a wide stratigraphic sequence of Recent Quaternary period (e.g. 7 meters in ‘Murciélagos’ Room) that has scarcely been studied. This paper focuses on historiographical analysis of worked areas and Neolithic materials. Ceramics and its stylistic and technical parallels in the Mediterranean and southern Iberian context allow us to classify Pileta in the first Neolithic period of Andalusia, second half of 8th millenium cal BP

Sima de Abraham (Zagrilla Alta, Priego de Córdoba). Avance a un nuevo yacimiento paleontológico del Pleistoceno Superior en medio kárstico

En este trabajo presentamos los resultados obtenidos en la actividad arqueológica realizada en la Sima de Abraham (Zagrilla Alta, Priego de Córdoba). Esta cavidad representa un nuevo yacimiento de vertebrados fósiles, en el cual se ha actuado tan sólo sobre agrupaciones óseas superficiales que corrían riesgo de pérdida ante agentes humanos, gravitacionales y erosivos. De dichas agrupaciones, tan sólo la denominada como Grupo A responde a un depósito estratificado adscrito al Pleistoceno Superior Final, siendo los restantes grupos B, C y D más problemáticos respecto a cronología. En total, y al igual que en las asociaciones estratificadas, el ciervo y el oso corresponden con la principal asociación de grandes mamíferos documentadaIn this work we expose the results obtained from the archaeological activity developed in the Sima de Abraham (Zagrilla Alta, Priego de Córdoba). This cavity represents a new site of vertebrate fossils from the Upper Pleistocene. The archaeological activity has focused only on surface bone associations, due to their exposure to damages such as the human activity, erosion and gravitational agents. Of these bone associations, only the so-called Group A responds to a stratified deposit of Late Upper Pleistocene, unlike the other groups B, C and D which are more problematic with respect to chronology. In general, as in the stratified associations, deer and bear represents the main association of large- size mammals documente

Aproximación a la ocupación calcolítica de la Sierra del Castillo- Peña Redonda: poblamiento y arte rupestre en un enclave en altura en el Valle Medio del Guadiato (Espiel, Córdoba)

En este trabajo pretendemos dar a conocer diversas manifestaciones de arte rupestre halladas en un pequeño cavernamiento situado en el paraje de Peña Redonda, junto al Cerro del Castillo de Espiel. De la misma forma y a fin de contextualizar el hallazgo, se analizan las evidencias de la ocupación prehistórica del territorio circundante, representado por dos núcleos diferenciados en la Sierra del Castillo de Espiel, ambos datables en torno a los siglos centrales del III milenio ACIn this work we intent to share various rock art panels found in a small cave located in the site of Peña Redonda, next to Sierra del Castillo (Espiel, Cordoba). In the same way in order to contextualize this find, we analyze the evidence of prehistoric occupation of the surrounding territory, represented by two distinct cores, both datable around central centuries of the IIIrd millennium BC

Fossils in Iberian prehistory: A review of the palaeozoological evidence

This paper constitutes the first comprehensive review of animal fossils retrieved in Iberian archaeological sites. Out of 633 items from 82 sites, 143 were analyzed and a further 13 assessed and their status clarified by us on 20 sites. Among others, this study is the first one in Iberia to assess the role played by fossil scaphopods and to carry out a systematic description of shark teeth. The relevance of those 156 fossils we assessed through a comparison with all the finds located in the Iberian literature. Failure to report fossils properly did not allow us to warrant such status for 352 items. We believe that the poor record of fossils in Iberian archaeological sites is the result of a combination of methodological and theoretical constraints. For that reason, we contend that the items herein reported probably represent a fraction, however substantial, of the evidence at hand. In light of the contrasted relevance of fossils for addressing cultural issues, some recommendations and a plea for a more systematic and rigorous search of archaeological specimens are made.This paper is a contribution to project HUM-949-PAI by the Junta de Andalucía and ICAREHB. The Junta de Andalucía granted permission to excavate Hedionda-IV. The research at La Pileta and El Pirulejo were supported by MEC (Ministerio de Economía y Competividad) grants US-1264079 (I+D+i FEDER Andalucía), HAR2013-44269-P and HAR2016-77789-P. Research also benefited from MEC grants HAR2014-55722-P and HAR2017-88325-P, and from grant 19438/PI/14 (SÉNECA Program). AGA was supported by a MINECO Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2015-18966). Alfredo Prada (ANMRC) granted permission to study the specimens from Las Aguas, Tesoro, El Juyo, Rascaño and Altamira, and Lola Hernando (Museo Arqueológico Nacional) facilitate the study of fossils from El Oficio. We thank Ana Gómez Díaz, Ana Pajuelo and Alfred Sanchís for photographing the specimens from Campo Real, Grave-5/Señorío de Guzmán and Parpalló

MYC antagonizes imatinib-induced differentiation in chronic myeloid leukemia cells through downregulation of p27KIP1

Short Communication.-- et al.Imatinib is a BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor and the most used drug in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). MYC (c-Myc) is a transcription factor frequently deregulated in human cancer that exerts multiple biological activities, including differentiation inhibition. We found that MYC expression is higher in bone marrow cells form CML patients at diagnosis, as compared with healthy controls. Moreover, high MYC levels at diagnosis correlated with a poorer response to imatinib treatment. One of the major characteristics of CML progression is the loss of cell differentiation. We showed that low concentrations of imatinib induce erythroid differentiation in the CML-derived K562 cell line. We have studied the effect of MYC on the differentiation induced by imatinib using K562 sublines carrying inducible (by zinc cation) or activable (by 4-hydoxy-tamoxifen) MYC alleles. In both cell lines, MYC largely prevented the erythroid differentiation induced by imatinib. The differentiation inhibition mediated by MYC is not due to increased proliferation of MYC-expressing cells or enhanced apoptosis of differentiated cells in the presence of MYC. We previously reported that p27/Kip1 (p27) overexpression induces erythroid differentiation in K562. Thus, we explored the effect of imatinib on p27 levels and we found that imatinib up-regulated p27 in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. siRNA-mediated silencing of p27 antagonized the erythroid differentiation induced by imatinib, indicating that p27 up-regulation is at least in part responsible for differentiation. MYC abrogated the imatinib-induced upregulation of p27KIP1 concomitantly with the differentiation inhibition, suggesting that MYC inhibits imatinib-mediated differentiation of K562 cells by antagonizing p27 up-regulation. We previously reported that MYC induced SKP2, a component of the ubiquitin ligase complex that targets p27 for degradation. MYC was able to induce SKP2 in the presence of imatinib. Thus, MYC-mediated inhibition of the differentiating effect of imatinib in CML cells is in part a consequence of the SKP2 induction of MYC, which in turn would downregulate p27. The results suggest that, although MYC deregulation does not directly confer resistance to imatinib, it might be a factor that contributes to progression of CML through the inhibition of differentiation.Funding for this work was provided by grants SAF11-23796 and ISCIII-RETIC RD06/0020/0017 to JL, FIS 11/00397 to MDD, SAF09-09254 and Fundación Mutua Madrileña to JMP, FIS08-0878 to SA and FIS08-0440 to JCC.Peer Reviewe

As above, so below: Deposition, modification, and reutilization of human remains at Marmoles cave (Cueva de los Marmoles: Southern Spain, 4000-1000 cal. BCE).

The deposition and manipulation of human remains in natural caves are well known for the Neolithic of Southern Iberia. The cultural meaning of these practices is however still largely unclear. Cueva de los Marmoles (CM, Priego-Córdoba) is one of the most important cave contexts from Southern Spain, which returned a large number of commingled skeletal remains suggesting its funerary use from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Here we discuss CM from a chronological and cultural perspective based on new radiocarbon, anthropological, and taphonomic analyses. These include the estimation of the minimum number of individuals, the exploration of fragmentation patterns characterizing different skeletal regions, and the macroscopic and microscopic analysis of modifications to the remains of possible anthropic origin. Radiocarbon data point to a funerary use of CM between the 5th -2nd millennium cal. BCE. MNI estimates reveal the presence of at least 12 individuals (seven adults and five nonadults). The low representation of elements from hands and feet suggests that individuals were placed in the cave while partially decomposed. Anthropic traces on the remains (e.g. fresh fractures, marrow canal modifications, and scraping marks) hint at their intentional fragmentation, cleaning from residual soft tissues, and in some cases reutilization. These practices are well-exemplified by the recovery of one "skull cup" and of two long bones used as tools. These data align with those from other cave contexts from the same geographic region, suggesting the presence, especially during the Neolithic period, of shared ideologies centered on the human body