Gruta Nova da Columbeira (Bombarral, Portugal): Site stratigraphy, age of the Mousterian sequence, and implications for the timing of Neanderthal extinction in Iberia

Abstract: The Gruta Nova da Columbeira is recurrently mentioned in the literature concerning the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iberia as documenting the persistence beyond 30 000 calendar years ago of a Neanderthal-associated Mousterian. This claim is based on conventional radiocarbon dates obtained in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. In order to assess its validity, we undertook archival research to obtain unpublished details concerning the actual composition and chemistry of the dated samples, replicated the dating of samples of the same kind (carbonaceous sediments) and collected in the same deposits from the back of the cave whence came the 1970’s results, and obtained an U-series age estimate for a bone tool from the base of the Mousterian sequence excavated at the entrance of the cave in 1962. We then cross-checked all the stratigraphic and dating information thus assembled against the original field documents. Our results show that (a) the cave entrance sequence formed between MIS-5 and early MIS-3, (b) the deposits at the back of the cave probably formed in the Tardiglacial, and (c) the presence in these deposits of significant amounts of inherited charcoal derived from the entrance area explains the “Early Upper Palaeolithic” (EUP) age determinations obtained for the 1970’s samples. The association of such determinations with the Mousterian has been based on an unwarranted assumption of lateral stratigraphic continuity. While the entrance deposits correspond to an in situ Mousterian sequence, those from the back of the cave are primarily made of clay accumulated under temporary waterlogged conditions, with the few artefacts of Middle Palaeolithic affinities recovered therein being in secondary position. The evidence from Gruta Nova can no longer be used to counter the existence of a late Aurignacian in the region. In southern and western Iberia, the Neandertal-to-modern and Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transitions occurred no later than about 37 000 years ago.Zusammenfassung: Auf der Grundlage konventioneller Radiokarbondaten aus den 1960er und 1970er Jahren werden Grabungsergebnisse aus der Gruta Nova da Columbeira (Bombarral) in der Fachliteratur auch heute noch verschiedentlich als Beleg für eine zeitliche Überlappung des späten Moustérien mit dem älterem Jungpaläolithikum genannt. Die unerwartet jungen 14C-Daten werden weiterhin als Beleg für eine Fortdauer der Neanderthaler bis in eine Zeit jünger als 30 000 Jahre vor heute herangezogen. Zur Überprüfung dieser Hypothese haben wir zahlreiche historische Dokumente zu den früheren Grabungen, wie auch der 14C-Datierungen, zusammengestellt und einer kritischen Sichtung unterzogen. Mit Hilfe der historischen Grabungsdokumente konnten zahlreichen Details der ursprünglichen Stratigraphie von Gruta Nova rekonstruiert werden. Auf dieser Grundlage wurden dann gezielt Nachuntersuchungen vorgenommen, um Probenmaterial zur erneuten 14C-Datierung aus gleicher stratigraphischer Position zu erhalten. Ferner wurde eine U/Th-Datierung an einem Knochenwerkzeug des Moustérien aus der Basis der Schicht 8 vorgenommen. Die Datierungsergebnisse zeigen, (1) dass es am Höhleneingang tatsächlich Fundschichten mit Artefakten gibt, die zwischen MIS-5 und MIS-3 datieren, aber (2), dass die ursprünglich anhand der 14C-Daten als ein „frühes Jungpaläolithikum“ interpretierten Schichten im rückwärtigen Teil der Höhle wahrscheinlich aus dem Spätglazial und durch Sedimente mit alten Holzkohlen aus dem Eingangsbereich kontaminiert wurden. Wie die Rekonstruktion der stratigraphischen Situation zeigt, gibt es in Gruta Nova — bei den heute nicht mehr akzeptablen 14C-Daten — keine ernstzunehmenden Indizien für die Existenz eines späten Moustérien. Damit liegt auch kein Beleg für einen späten Übergang - nach 37 000 Jahren vor heute - vom Mittel- zum Jungpaläolithikum im südlichen und westlichen Bereich der Iberischen Halbinsel vor

Gruta Nova da Columbeira (Bombarral, Portugal): Fundplatz-Stratigraphie, Alter der Moustérien-Schichtenfolge, und Schlussfolgerungen für die Chronologie des Aussterbens der Neanderthaler auf der Iberischen Halbinsel

The Gruta Nova da Columbeira is recurrently mentioned in the literature concerning the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iberia as documenting the persistence beyond 30 000 calendar years ago of a Neanderthal-associated Mousterian. This claim is based on conventional radiocarbon dates obtained in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. In order to assess its validity, we undertook archival research to obtain unpublished details concerning the actual composition and chemistry of the dated samples, replicated the dating of samples of the same kind (carbonaceous sediments) and collected in the same deposits from the back of the cave whence came the 1970’s results, and obtained an U-series age estimate for a bone tool from the base of the Mousterian sequence excavated at the entrance of the cave in 1962. We then cross-checked all the stratigraphic and dating information thus assembled against the original field documents. Our results show that (a) the cave entrance sequence formed between MIS-5 and early MIS-3, (b) the deposits at the back of the cave probably formed in the Tardiglacial, and (c) the presence in these deposits of significant amounts of inherited charcoal derived from the entrance area explains the “Early Upper Palaeolithic” (EUP) age determinations obtained for the 1970’s samples. The association of such determinations with the Mousterian has been based on an unwarranted assumption of lateral stratigraphic continuity. While the entrance deposits correspond to an in situ Mousterian sequence, those from the back of the cave are primarily made of clay accumulated under temporary waterlogged conditions, with the few artefacts of Middle Palaeolithic affinities recovered therein being in secondary position. The evidence from Gruta Nova can no longer be used to counter the existence of a late Aurignacian in the region. In southern and western Iberia, the Neandertal-to-modern and Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transitions occurred no later than about 37 000 years ago.Auf der Grundlage konventioneller Radiokarbondaten aus den 1960er und 1970er Jahren werden Grabungsergebnisse aus der Gruta Nova da Columbeira (Bombarral) in der Fachliteratur auch heute noch verschiedentlich als Beleg für eine zeitliche Überlappung des späten Moustérien mit dem älterem Jungpaläolithikum genannt. Die unerwartet jungen 14C-Daten werden weiterhin als Beleg für eine Fortdauer der Neanderthaler bis in eine Zeit jünger als 30 000 Jahre vor heute herangezogen. Zur Überprüfung dieser Hypothese haben wir zahlreiche historische Dokumente zu den früheren Grabungen, wie auch der 14C-Datierungen, zusammengestellt und einer kritischen Sichtung unterzogen. Mit Hilfe der historischen Grabungsdokumente konnten zahlreichen Details der ursprünglichen Stratigraphie von Gruta Nova rekonstruiert werden. Auf dieser Grundlage wurden dann gezielt Nachuntersuchungen vorgenommen, um Probenmaterial zur erneuten 14C-Datierung aus gleicher stratigraphischer Position zu erhalten. Ferner wurde eine U/Th-Datierung an einem Knochenwerkzeug des Moustérien aus der Basis der Schicht 8 vorgenommen. Die Datierungsergebnisse zeigen, (1) dass es am Höhleneingang tatsächlich Fundschichten mit Artefakten gibt, die zwischen MIS-5 und MIS-3 datieren, aber (2), dass die ursprünglich anhand der 14C-Daten als ein „frühes Jungpaläolithikum“ interpretierten Schichten im rückwärtigen Teil der Höhle wahrscheinlich aus dem Spätglazial und durch Sedimente mit alten Holzkohlen aus dem Eingangsbereich kontaminiert wurden. Wie die Rekonstruktion der stratigraphischen Situation zeigt, gibt es in Gruta Nova — bei den heute nicht mehr akzeptablen 14C-Daten — keine ernstzunehmenden Indizien für die Existenz eines späten Moustérien. Damit liegt auch kein Beleg für einen späten Übergang - nach 37 000 Jahren vor heute - vom Mittel- zum Jungpaläolithikum im südlichen und westlichen Bereich der Iberischen Halbinsel vor

Reconstructing Middle and Upper Paleolithic human mobility in Portuguese Estremadura through laser ablation strontium isotope analysis

Understanding mobility and landscape use is important in reconstructing subsistence behavior, range, and group size, and it may contribute to our understanding of phenomena such as the dynamics of biological and cultural interactions between distinct populations of Upper Pleistocene humans. However, studies using traditional strontium isotope analysis are generally limited to identifying locations of childhood residence or nonlocal individuals and lack the sampling resolution to detect movement over short timescales. Here, using an optimized methodology, we present highly spatially resolved 87Sr/86Sr measurements made by laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry along the growth axis of the enamel of two marine isotope stage 5b, Middle Paleolithic Neanderthal teeth (Gruta da Oliveira), a Tardiglacial, Late Magdalenian human tooth (Galeria da Cisterna), and associated contemporaneous fauna from the Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal. Strontium isotope mapping of the region shows extreme variation in 87Sr/86Sr, with values ranging from 0.7080 to 0.7160 over a distance of c. 50 km, allowing short-distance (and arguably short-duration) movement to be detected. We find that the early Middle Paleolithic individuals roamed across a subsistence territory of approximately 600 km2 , while the Late Magdalenian individual parsimoniously fits a pattern of limited, probably seasonal movement along the right bank of the 20-km-long Almonda River valley, between mouth and spring, exploiting a smaller territory of approximately 300 km2 . We argue that the differences in territory size are due to an increase in population density during the Late Upper Paleolithic

High-resolution isotopic evidence of specialised cattle herding in the European Neolithic.

Peer reviewe

Terahertz pulse investigation of paleolithic wall etchings

Results are presented of an examination of flow rock-covered Paleoloithic cave art using time-domain terahertz reflectometry

New ages for old paintings: U-Th dating reveals Neanderthal origin of cave paintings

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioarchaeological approaches to understanding the long-term development of mountain societies

Archaeologists do not always differentiate between human activities, practices and techniques within landscape archaeology. This problem is reflected in some research into the development of pastoralism in the Alps. Here, we develop a framework within a “position paper” that engages with these different processes by assessing recent developments in bioarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental methods. Over the last two decades, alpine research has moved beyond the mere characterisation of human activities toward the classification and interpretation of specific practices and techniques, changing how we study the development of alpine pastoralism. Research into the development of mid-/long-distance transhumance from the Provencal plains to the Western Alps has generated considerable interest over the last 20 years. Therefore, the PATHWAy (Pastoralism, TransHumance in the Western Alps) project focuses on studying the Iron Age to Medieval pastoral systems in the Western Alps and south-eastern France, which is today one of the main regions in Europe where transhumant pastoralism still takes place. Finally, this contribution aims to review how bioarchaeological methods, combined with “cultural” archaeology, inform detailed quotidian aspects of lifeways rather than impactful, mediatised generalising statements, such as mass population movements or simplistic generalisations about past diet

Middle Neolithic pits and a burial at West Amesbury, Wiltshire

Excavations on the south-eastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed five pits, a grave and other features of Middle Neolithic date. Analysis of the pit assemblages and the partial inhumation interred in the grave has provided insights into lifeways in this landscape in the late fourth millennium cal BC. Evidence suggests that the area was visited by a pastoralist, mobile community on a semi-regular basis for a significant period, in late autumn or winter. Selected remnants of craft-working and consumption were deposited in pits, before deliberate infilling. These depositions repeatedly memorialised activity on the hillside at a time of contemporary activity elsewhere on King Barrow Ridge and at the future site of Stonehenge. Middle Neolithic pits are present in significant numbers across King Barrow Ridge, and alongside pits in the Durrington area, form one of the densest concentrations of such activity in the region. Long distance mobility is suggested by the possible Irish origins of the inhumation, the first Middle Neolithic individual excavated in the environs of Stonehenge. Whilst of significance for understanding the Middle Neolithic in the WHS and the region, this research also hints at the roots of Late Neolithic monumentalisation of this landscape

Leprosy at the edge of Europe-Biomolecular, isotopic and osteoarchaeological findings from medieval Ireland

Relatively little is known of leprosy in Medieval Ireland; as an island located at the far west of Europe it has the potential to provide interesting insights in relation to the historical epidemiology of the disease. To this end the study focuses on five cases of probable leprosy identified in human skeletal remains excavated from inhumation burials. Three of the individuals derived from the cemetery of St Michael Le Pole, Golden Lane, Dublin, while single examples were also identified from Ardreigh, Co. Kildare, and St Patrick's Church, Armoy, Co. Antrim. The individuals were radiocarbon dated and examined biomolecularly for evidence of either of the causative pathogens, M. leprae or M. lepromatosis. Oxygen and strontium isotopes were measured in tooth enamel and rib samples to determine where the individuals had spent their formative years and to ascertain if they had undertaken any recent migrations. We detected M. leprae DNA in the three Golden Lane cases but not in the probable cases from either Ardreigh Co. Kildare or Armoy, Co. Antrim. M. lepromatosis was not detected in any of the burals. DNA preservation was sufficiently robust to allow genotyping of M. leprae strains in two of the Golden Lane burials, SkCXCV (12-13th century) and SkCCXXX (11-13th century). These strains were found to belong on different lineages of the M. leprae phylogenetic tree, namely branches 3 and 2 respectively. Whole genome sequencing was also attempted on these two isolates with a view to gaining further information but poor genome coverage precluded phylogenetic analysis. Data from the biomolecular study was combined with osteological, isotopic and radiocarbon dating to provide a comprehensive and multidisciplinary study of the Irish cases. Strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis indicate that two of the individuals from Golden Lane (SkCXLVIII (10-11th century) and SkCXCV) were of Scandinavian origin, while SkCCXXX may have spent his childhood in the north of Ireland or central Britain. We propose that the Vikings were responsible for introducing leprosy to Ireland. This work adds to our knowledge of the likely origins of leprosy in Medieval Ireland and will hopefully stimulate further research into the history and spread of this ancient disease across the world.</p