Middle Palaeolithic Sites Research Articles

Temporal variations in Equus tooth isotope values (C,N,O) from the Middle Paleolithic site of Combe Grenal, France (ca. 150,000 to 50,000 BP)

We report here on an isotopic study of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in Equus tooth enamel and dentine from multiple layers from the site of Combe Grenal, France, which date to between approximately 150,000 and 50,000years BP. We found that there were significant variations in all three elemental isotope ratios through time, although the variations were not synchronous. This study shows the utility of using herbivore tooth dentine carbon and nitrogen isotope values as indicators of environmental changes, in addition to their use as dietary indicators.

Substantial biases affecting Combe-Grenal faunal record cast doubts on previous models of Neanderthal subsistence and environmental context

Abstract: This short contribution presents faunal data from new fieldwork at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France). This important sequence continues to serve as both a reference sequence to which other Western European Middle Palaeolithic sites are often compared and the basis of several models of Neanderthal subsistence and environmental context. However, several researchers have highlighted the likelihood that skeletal part profiles were biased as a consequence of the incomplete recovery methods used during previous excavations at Combe-Grenal. A comparison of faunal remains recovered during new excavations with data from the original collections allows recovery bias induced by previous excavation protocols to be quantified. The unreliability of the original skeletal part profiles is confirmed by our study, while, more importantly and unexpectedly, radical biases in species frequencies were equally identified. These results cast doubts on several interpretive models held to account for variability in Mousterian industries, the evolution of Neanderthal hunting strategies, as well as Pleistocene environmental changes. Furthermore, Combe-Grenal provides an instructive example to archaeologists working on sites with less than ideal recovery methods of faunal material. In such cases, recovery biases may be so substantial than even basic faunal data, such as species lists, prove unreliable.

Neanderthals and volcanic rocks. Opportunistic behaviour or optimized management?

The use of volcanic rocks by Neanderthals is frequently considered to be opportunistic, especially when good-quality stones were rare in the site neighbourhood. An analysis of the lithic series made of volcanic rocks discovered in the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Payre and Sainte-Anne I, located in the south part and at the southeastern margin of the Massif Central of France and dated back to MIS 7 up until the end of MIS 5, illustrates the capacity of Neanderthals to manage these raw materials and enables us to compare the strategies used in two different mineral environments. Shaping and flaking reduction sequences coexist in both sites in varying proportions, depending on the available rocks in the surroundings. At Payre, artefacts made of volcanic rocks are rarer in surroundings rich in flint while at Sainte-Anne I, the different series comprise a large quantity of artefacts made of different basalts and trachy-phonolites in an environment relatively poor in flint. Most of the reduction processes took place in situ. Activities outside the sites only appear to have concerned the shaping of some heavy-duty tools and some large flakes. It is likely that volcanic rocks were considered by Neanderthals as a geo-resource, either major or lesser in importance, to provide large flakes and both heavy-duty and light-duty tools, besides flint quartz and other rocks.

Crvena Stijena revisited: The Late Mousterian assemblages

Crvena Stijena represents one of the key Middle Paleolithic sites in southeastern Europe. In the course of earlier investigations, the upper part of the Mousterian sequence was excavated on two occasions: in 1956 and 1958 by M. Brodar and from 1961 to 1964 by Đ. Basler. Materials from these campaigns were published separately and interpreted differently. After re-analysis of all these materials, it has been established that the artifact assemblages can not be directly assigned to any of the traditional facies (Denticulate Mousterian, Micromousterian, etc.), but rather to an undifferentiated (non-Levallois) facies of Typical Mousterian, which is characterized by pronounced expedient technology based on the exploitation of local raw materials and the application of ad hoc methods of core reduction and the preparation of tools. This re-analysis pointed out especially that in the final Mousterian at Crvena Stijena, as at several other sites in the Adriatic-Ionian region, blade/bladelet technology and Uluzzian elements (flaking of blades and bladelets from unipolar or bipolar cores on flakes, splintered pieces, backed tools) are present. This seems to indicate continuity and connection among cultural phenomena over the entire Adriatic-Ionian region during MIS3 and suggests the possibility that the Uluzzian might have spread from the southern Balkans towards Italy along the southern rim of the “Great Adriatic Plain,” all of which could have belonged to a single “social territory.”

Middle Palaeolithic raw material procurement and early stage reduction at Jubbah, Saudi Arabia

Several hundred Middle Palaeolithic (MP) archaeological sites have now been identified in the Arabian Peninsula. However, the study of lithic raw material properties and related procurement behaviours is still in its infancy. Here we describe raw material procurement and early stage lithic reduction at MP sites in the Jubbah palaeolake basin, in the Nefud Desert, northern Saudi Arabia. We describe the sites identified during our surveys, and we use petrographic studies to demonstrate that MP assemblages were mostly produced from differing forms of ferruginous quartzite. These raw materials do not substantially vary in composition, although they are not identical in terms of factors such as grain size and the proportion of iron oxide. We then describe the lithic technology at these sites, with a particular focus on the largest assemblage identified, Jebel Katefeh-12 (JKF-12), which provides detailed information on lithic reduction at a quartzite source. Analyses from this site are then considered together with data from other MP sites in the Jubbah basin, where similar raw material was used. The results indicate that factors such as initial clast size/shape and reduction intensity play important roles in influencing aspects of morphological and technological variability. Our results suggest that incursions of MP populations into northern Arabia were probably temporally limited, as might be expected in a marginal and generally arid region. MP raw material procurement sites provide a highly visible signal of these ephemeral incursions, providing information on the ways that human populations adapted to the challenging conditions of the Saharo-Arabian arid belt.

On the relationship between climate and Neandertal fire use during the Last Glacial in south-west France

Abstract Both environmental and cultural factors dictate how, when and where hunter-gatherers use fire in the landscape, as well as how well evidence for any one fire will preserve in the archaeological record. Variability in the production and preservation of anthropogenic fire traces can potentially skew our perception of fire use in the past. With this in mind, the research presented in this article weighs in on the debate concerning Neandertal fire use and fire making, specifically, the assertion that Neandertals were unable to produce fire for themselves (Sandgathe et al., 2011a, 2011b). This hypothesis is based on the inferred correlation between climatic deterioration, concurrent lowering of lightning-ignited fire frequencies, and reduced signals for fire use in layers presumably deposited during the Lower Pleniglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 4) at the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Roc de Marsal and Pech de l’Aze IV (Aquitaine Basin, southwestern France), the logic being that if Neandertals could produce fire at will, fire use signals would remain largely consistent throughout the deposits despite there being limited access to natural fires in the landscape during this colder period. This review challenges these assertions at multiple scales by looking at regional lightning and fire regime dynamics, comparing the fire signals observed at Roc de Marsal and Pech de l’Aze IV to those of other sites nearby and around France, and exploring the various environmental and cultural factors likely influencing these signals. Ultimately, the data suggests that estimated reductions in lightning frequencies and fire regime during the Lower Pleniglacial (and colder stadial periods, in general) were not adequate to severely limit Neandertal access to natural fire, while possible artefactual evidence for Neandertal fire making challenges the assumption that they were at all reliant on lightning-ignited fire. Moreover, at the nearby Neandertal site of Combe Grenal, the majority of the layers exhibiting evidence of fire use have cold climatic signals, suggesting the fire use trends observed at Roc de Marsal and Pech de l’Aze IV are potentially local expressions of changes in regional site use patterns, possibly brought on by increased reliance on highly mobile, migratory reindeer prey species and reductions in local woodfuel availability during cold periods. Other factors potentially reducing the archaeological visibility of cold climate fire use are discussed.

From Activity Areas to Occupational Histories: New Methods to Document the Formation of Spatial Structure in Hunter-Gatherer Sites

Over the past five decades, archaeologists have proposed a wide range of methods for the study of spatial organization within hunter-gatherer sites. Many of these methods sought to identify the spatial location of activities based on patterns of behavior observed in ethnographic contexts. While this resulted in productive observations at certain sites, many of these methods were tailored to specific situations and thus could not be applied to a wide range of sites. For example, open-air sites rarely contain preserved bone or features, such as hearths, which were central components to identifying characteristics of site structure. In addition, many of these methods often did not take into consideration the temporal dynamics of the occupation, i.e., that many sites were formed through subsequent occupations of differing duration. This paper proposes the use of two related methods that assume many assemblages are the result of more than one occupation. The methods target the distribution of lithic artifacts, the most ubiquitously preserved of archaeological materials, and accounts for the potential that the final resting place of artifacts was the result of both intentional and unintentional movement by humans and a host of biological and geological processes. The main goal of this paper is to use an understanding of how these processes influenced the formation of site structure to estimate the relative number and duration of occupations for each site in the sample. These new methods will be presented and explained through the study of seven open-air Middle Paleolithic sites in France but are applicable to a wide range of hunter-gatherer sites.

Testing the influence of stone tool type on microscopic morphology of cut-marks: Experimental approach and application to the archaeological record with a case study from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Noisetier Cave (Fréchet-Aure, Hautes-Pyrénées, France)

A multivariate approach was applied to test the existence of microscopic differences in the morphology of cut-marks produced by simple, unretouched, flakes and three types of Mousterian stone tools (denticulates, cleavers and Mousterian points). Cut-marks on red deer (Cervus elaphus) long bones defleshed using different lithic implements during experimental butchery of whole carcasses were analysed using low magnification microscopy. Following existing studies (i.e. Domínguez-Rodrigo et al., 2009; de Juana et al., 2010), sixteen variables were recorded and the resulting dataset was statistically tested for significant differences between tool types. The same microscopic analysis was then applied to an archaeological sample of red deer long bone fragments from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Noisetier Cave. While this approach is relatively costless, allows for the analysis of large bone samples and is easily reproducible by different analysts, our results show that microscopic differences between cut-marks produced by simple flakes and those made by tools are not statistically significant and that important overlap exists between the cut-marks produced by the three types of tools. The application of the experimental results to the archaeological sample thus proved difficult. This study underlines the need for a cautious use of this type of method when analysing archaeological material.

Electron spin resonance dating of optically bleached quartz grains from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Spain) using the multiple centres approach

Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of optically bleached quartz grains was performed on three sediment samples collected from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Spain). A standard multiple grain and multiple aliquot additive dose procedure was employed, and both the Al and Ti centres were measured as part of the multiple centres approach. ESR age estimates obtained for the three samples indicate that the Al centre provides a maximum possible chronology, as the Ti centres show that the Al signal was likely not systematically reset to its residual level during sediment transport. A direct comparison between ESR ages based on the Ti centres and single grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from samples collected nearby shows broadly consistent results. The Ti-H centre also appears to provide suitable chronologies for at least two of the three Middle Pleistocene samples studied here. Surprisingly, the only sample showing consistent ESR ages between the Al and Ti centres appears to be overestimated in comparison with the Ti-centre and OSL ages derived from the other two samples. This indicates either incomplete bleaching of both the Al and Ti centres for this sample, or unexpected impacts of other sources of De uncertainty, such as multi-grain averaging effects. The ESR dating results overall indicate that the archaeological sequence of Cuesta de la Bajada CB-3 is most likely correlated to either MIS 7 or 9.

Lithic raw material units based on magnetic properties: A blind test with Armenian obsidian and application to the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lusakert Cave 1

Classification of lithic artifacts’ raw materials based on macroscopic attributes (e.g., color, luster, texture) has been used to pull apart knapping episodes in palimpsest assemblages by attempting to identify artifacts produced through the reduction of an individual nodule. These classes are termed “raw material units” (RMUs) in the Old World and “minimum analytical nodules” in the New World. RMUs are most readily defined for lithic artifacts in areas with distinctive cherts and other siliceous raw materials, allowing pieces from different nodules to be recognized visually. Opportunities to apply RMUs, however, are strongly limited at sites where lithic material visual diversity is low. The magnetic properties of obsidian, which result from the presence of microscopic iron oxide mineral grains, vary spatially throughout a flow. Consequently, obsidian from different portions of a source (i.e., different outcrops or quarries) can vary in magnetic properties. This raises the possibility that magnetic-based RMUs (mRMUs) for obsidian artifacts could be effective to distinguish individual scatters from multiple production episodes and offer insights into spatial patterning within a site or specific occupation periods. First, we assess the potential of mRMUs using obsidian pebbles from Gutansar volcano in Armenia. Second, we evaluate the validity of this approach based on a double-blind test involving an experimental assemblage of Gutansar obsidian flakes. Cluster analysis can successfully discern flakes from obsidian specimens containing high concentrations of iron oxides. Obsidian with more magnetic material has more opportunities for that material to vary in unique ways (e.g., grain size, morphology, physical arrangement). Finally, we apply the mRMU approach to obsidian artifacts from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lusakert Cave 1 in Armenia and compare the results to traditional RMU studies at contemporaneous sites in Europe. In particular, we seek – but do not find – differences between retouch flakes (which reflect rejuvenation of tools) and the other small debris (which reflect other reduction activities). This result likely reflects the local landscape, specifically the abundance of obsidian and, thus, little pressure to curate and retouch tools. As this approach is applied to additional sites, such findings will play a central role in regional assessments about the nature and timing of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic “transition” and the relationship, or lack thereof, between technological behaviors and presumed population dynamics.

Use wear analysis of quartzite lithic implements from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lagoa do Bando (Central Portugal)

The Middle Palaeolithic site of Lagoa do Bando is an open air site in a lacustrian context located at 570 m a.s.l. in the municipality of Mação in the center of Portugal. The site was discovered in 2011, during an emergency excavation, and resulted on the recovery of a Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblage mainly composed of fine grained quartzite implements of expedient, discoid and Levallois technology. Use wear analysis was conducted on 41 artifacts formed through discoid and Levallois technology. Twenty one of these artifacts revealed use wear traces. Ten of them show traces of wood work, five have traces of butchering activities, three present traces of meat processing and two present undetermined traces. The site is located at an atypically high elevation for an open air site and there is evidence of a high rate of woodworking activity, rare in the Middle Palaeolithic occupations. The woodworking activities are possibly linked to the exploitation of woody local resources (maybe for the construction of hunting blinds) and not only with to the manufacture and maintenance of spears and shafts. These results converge with the interpretation of this site as a temporary hunting site integrated in a complex pattern of occupation of the area between the river valleys and the top of low mountains.

Testing a hypothesis about the importance of the quality of raw material on technological changes at Abric Romaní (Capellades, Spain): Some considerations using a high-resolution techno-economic perspective

Technological changes have been identified in several European Middle Palaeolithic sites. Specifically, the turnover in discoid and Levallois knapping methods has traditionally been explained by raw material constraints that are usually related to foraging areas and mobility strategies of Neanderthal groups. While Levallois production requires high homogeneous blocks, predominant discoid techno-complexes have generally been interpreted as better adapted to the scarcity of high quality raw material, not only for the lowest degree of control in products morphology, but also for their multitask characteristics. Nevertheless, the impact of the quality of raw material has never been systematically studied. Furthermore, technological analyses usually consider the lithic assemblage as a whole and do not dissect assemblages to identify single events, which are units that are needed to interpret relationships between technological organisation, human mobility, economic strategies, and settlement patterns. Here, we present an application of technological analysis with a high-resolution approach to investigate, in detail, how raw material quality affected production and how Neanderthals managed the low quality of Sant Martí de Tous chert within Levallois and discoid concepts. We used Raw Material Units and refits as units of analysis with a diacritical approach. The results suggested that the Levallois organisation of the reduction sequence in layer O included a phase of selection of the block and its systematic cutting-down, as well as quite standardised productive procedures and a high fragmentation of the productive sequence within the landscape. In layer M discoid sequences showed a high internal variability as a response to raw material constraints, and most of the production was usually manufactured at the site. Data implied that factors others than the quality of raw material determined the technological turnover at Abric Romaní, suggesting that social organisation and settlement patterns have most probably played a more significant role than foraging area.

The silica road: Field trip notes

During the 10th International Symposium on Knappable Materials (ISKM) held at Barcelona (Spain) in 2015, a field trip along “The Silica Road” was organized. It included the visit to different chert outcrops located along the Montsant Massif (Tarragona, NE Iberian Peninsula), and to the Middle Palaeolithic site of the Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona), as important locations for the Prehistory of the North East of the Iberian Peninsula.This paper present some keynotes distributed to the symposium attendants. It consists on: 1) a brief geological framework of the Montsant Massif, located at the southern margin of the Catalan Central Depression. It includes the definition of their Palaeozoic to Cenozoic depositional sequence and the localization of some points of interests with panoramic views and source areas where Tertiary chert nodules were available. They represent a significant focus for the raw materials procurement of several Paleolithic occupations since Lower Pleistocene. 2) A general presentation of the Middle Palaeolithic site of the Abric Romaní site, including a brief reference of the three research phases initiated at the beginning of 20th Century, the description of its 50 meters stratigraphic sequence, where 27 archaeological levels have been identified dating since 110 to 39 ka BP, and some of the main traits of the archaeological assemblages recovered.

OSL dating of individual quartz ‘supergrains’ from the Ancient Middle Palaeolithic site of Cuesta de la Bajada, Spain

Dose saturation represents a fundamental limitation for obtaining finite optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) quartz ages over Middle Pleistocene timescales. Single-grain OSL studies typically reveal significant intra- and inter-sample variability in quartz dose saturation properties at the individual grain level. This enhanced variability may offer the potential to obtain extended-range chronologies exceeding the traditional upper age limits of multiple-grain OSL dating. However, there have been relatively few detailed assessments of single-grain OSL properties over high dose ranges. In this study we investigate extended-range single-grain OSL dating potential at Cuesta de la Bajada, one of the most important Ancient Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Iberian Peninsula. The quartz samples from this site exhibit exceptional dose saturation properties and contain significant populations of individual ‘supergrains’ with bright OSL signals, very high characteristic saturation dose (D0) limits of 200 to >600 Gy, and dose-response curves that closely conform to single saturating exponential functions. Assessments of OSL signal composition and the ability to successfully recover a known laboratory dose of 470 Gy support the potential for obtaining high equivalent dose (De) values with reasonable fitting uncertainties. A series of novel sensitivity tests are used to assess potential biases in supergrain De estimation over high dose ranges related to (i) thermally transferred signal contributions, (ii) choice of dose-response curve fitting function, and (iii) insufficient dose saturation properties of individual grains. The single-grain De values obtained using the standard quality assurance criteria and novel sensitivity tests are consistent at 2σ, and are in agreement with quartz Ti-centre ages obtained on two of three paired electron spin resonance (ESR) samples collected from Cuesta de la Bajada. These comparisons support the suitability of our single-grain OSL results and suggest there may be good potential for using quartz supergrains to establish extended-range chronologies at some Middle Pleistocene sites. Comparisons with other single-grain OSL studies across the Iberian central plains suggest that favourable dose saturation properties may be influenced by regional-scale geological controls. The importance of undertaking single-grain OSL dating at Cuesta de la Bajada is also demonstrated by the results of synthetic aliquot experiments, which reveal multiple-grain age offsets of 60–170 ka when unsuitable grain types are inadvertently included in the final age calculations. The single-grain OSL results indicate that the main archaeological horizon at Cuesta de la Bajada (unit CB3) accumulated between 264 ± 22 and 293 ± 24 ka. These ages are consistent with the chronologies of other key early Middle Palaeolithic sites in the region (Ambrona AS6 and Gran Dolina TD10) and indicate that the Ancient Middle Palaeolithic techno-complex likely spread across Iberia from at least Marine Isotope Stage 9 onwards.

Microwear study of quartzite artefacts: preliminary results from the Middle Pleistocene site of Payre (South-eastern France)

Preliminary functional results obtained from the quartzite assemblage of the Early Middle Palaeolithic site of Payre (South-eastern France) are presented. In an area rich in flint, hominins at Payre also collected quartzite in their local environment, specifically along the Rhone River banks. Although the Payre lithic assemblage is largely composed of flint, quartzite was introduced in the site mainly as large cutting tools knapped outside. This fact pointed out an apparently highly differential treatment of the raw material types available in the region. A major concern is to understand the reason why. Is there any functional reason for the introduction of those artefacts, perhaps to perform specific activities related to the toughness of quartzite? Or is there any functional differentiation among the various raw materials? Use-wear analysis is a useful tool for better understanding human technological choices and strategies of lithic raw material management. Before attempting to extensively apply use-wear analysis on the quartzite assemblage, we analysed a limited sample to evaluate the general surface preservation. A specific experimental programme with the same local quartzite was carried out in order to provide a reliable comparative reference for interpreting use-wear evidence on archaeological implements. Methodological difficulties related to use-wear analysis applied to quartzite artefacts are also discussed. Both Optical light microscopy (OLM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were employed in this study; however, interpretations were elaborated considering principally SEM micro-graphs. The analysis of the archaeological material showed a good state of preservation of the surfaces with a low incidence of post-depositional alterations. The documented use-wear allowed us to identify the active edges, the kinematics and, more rarely, the worked material. Chopping activities were documented on two large artefacts suggesting a specific utility of those tools.

Building models of Neanderthal territories from raw material transports in the Aquitaine Basin (southwestern France)

Abstract The Middle Palaeolithic of southwestern France has long been a testing ground for models of Neanderthal lithic assemblage variability and mobility strategies. Advances in our understanding of the lithological structure of the northern Aquitaine Basin combined with numerous raw material studies allows connections between different areas of the region to be revealed based on the movement of particular ‘tracer’ materials. By comparing technological data with raw material transport patterns elements of Late Neanderthal techno-economic behaviour emerge. Raw materials were transferred over longer distances in both the Levallois and Quina techno-complexes compared to the Discoid techno-complexes, where evidence for similar movements are almost entirely absent. Comparing these patterns of raw material provisioning and transfer against the distribution of key Middle Palaeolithic sites forms the basis of a new model for the territorial organisation of Late Neandertal groups in the Aquitaine Basin to be built.

Photogrammetry as a tool for integrating archival data in archaeological fieldwork: Examples from the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Combe–Grenal, Le Moustier, and Regourdou

In Palaeolithic archaeology, the resumption of fieldwork in previously excavated sites is a common practice, often motivated by the inadequacy of past recovery protocols for modern archaeological studies. Considering that areas open to new excavations are often limited at such sites, new fieldwork should integrate archival data as much as possible in order to combine old and new information. However, correlations between earlier and modern excavations often prove difficult given the absence of detailed spatial information from previous fieldwork. In many cases, the only available documents consist of schematic drawings, imprecise field notes, and a handful of poor-quality photographs. Here we investigate how photogrammetry can be used to extract valuable spatial information from archive photographs. Examples from three Middle Palaeolithic sites in southwestern France (Combe–Grenal, Le Moustier, and Regourdou) show how interactively combining fieldwork with photogrammetry in the analysis of archival documentation can assist decision making during archaeological excavations.

Cueva Antón: A multi-proxy MIS 3 to MIS 5a paleoenvironmental record for SE Iberia

Overlying a palustrine deposit of unknown age (complex FP), and protected from weathering and erosion inside a large cave/rock-shelter cavity, the sedimentary fill of Cueva Anton, a Middle Paleolithic site in SE Spain, corresponds in most part (sub-complexes AS2-to-AS5) to a ca.3 m-thick Upper Pleistocene terrace of the River Mula. Coupled with the constraints derived from the deposit’s paleoclimatic proxies, OSL dating places the accumulation of this terrace in MIS 5a, and radiocarbon dates from the overlying breccia cum alluvium (sub-complex AS1) fall in the middle part of MIS 3; the intervening hiatus relates to valley incision and attendant erosion. The two intervals represented remain largely unknown in Iberia, where the archeology of the early-to-middle Upper Pleistocene is almost entirely derived from karst sites; Cueva Anton shows that this dearth of data, often interpreted in demographic terms, has depositional underpinnings ultimately determined by past climate variation. In early MIS 5a, the paleobotanical evidence indicates climate conditions similar to present, albeit wetter, followed by progressive cooling, reflected in the replacement of Aleppo pine by black pine and, at the very end, juniper-dominated landscapes — the latter characterizing also mid-MIS 3 times. The variation in sedimentary facies and composition of the mollusk assemblages reflects the changing position of the river channel relative to the back wall of the cave. Such changes represented the major constraint for the occupation of the site — most of the time inaccessible to terrestrial mammals, it was used throughout by the eagle-owl, explaining the abundance of rabbit bones. Human occupation occurred during a few, short windows of availability, and is reflected in well-preserved living floors defined by hearths, artefact scatters, and the remains of hunted herbivores. The stone tool assemblages are Middle Paleolithic, which, in Europe, implies a Neandertal identity for their makers and, hence, that Neandertals persisted in the region until GI 8. Cueva Anton’s high-resolution record provides unique, critical information on the paleoenvironments and adaptations of humans in two short windows of time during which wetter conditions existed in SE Iberia, where arid or semi-arid climates prevailed through most of the Upper Pleistocene and the Holocene.

A Core Reduction Experiment Finds No Effect of Original Stone Size and Reduction Intensity on Flake Debris Size Distribution

Studies have long noted the influence of stone package size and reduction intensity on lithic assemblage composition, particularly in the form of flake size distributions. However, it remains difficult to distinguish objectively the effect of either factor in archaeological contexts without controlling for the variation in one of the two variables. Here we report on an experimental study designed to test the null hypotheses that original stone size and reduction intensity have no impact on the size distribution of lithic flake debris produced during core reduction. Results indicate statistically significant influence from original stone size but not reduction intensity, although the effects from the former are low enough to be considered trivial. In reviewing a sequence of archaeological assemblages from a Middle Paleolithic site, all exhibit an excess of smallsized materials in comparison to the experimental data. When exceptionally high frequencies of the smaller size classes occur, taphonomic processes are clearly responsible.

A Core Reduction Experiment Finds No Effect of Original Stone Size and Reduction Intensity on Flake Debris Size Distribution

Studies have long noted the influence of stone package size and reduction intensity on lithic assemblage composition, particularly in the form of flake size distributions. However, it remains difficult to distinguish objectively the effect of either factor in archaeological contexts without controlling for the variation in one of the two variables. Here we report on an experimental study designed to test the null hypotheses that original stone size and reduction intensity have no impact on the size distribution of lithic flake debris produced during core reduction. Results indicate statistically significant influence from original stone size but not reduction intensity, although the effects from the former are low enough to be considered trivial. In reviewing a sequence of archaeological assemblages from a Middle Paleolithic site, all exhibit an excess of smallsized materials in comparison to the experimental data. When exceptionally high frequencies of the smaller size classes occur, taphonomic processes are clearly responsible.