Occupation Floors Research Articles

Botanical resources and pre-Columbian subsistence in Nuevo Corinto, Costa Rica

Archaeobotanical studies are rare in Costa Rica, which has limited the knowledge regarding the management of natural resources and foodways, sociopolitical differences, ethnicity, ritual practices, and more. The present study analyzed the vegetation changes at the Nuevo Corinto archaeological site (300–1200/1300 CE). In Mound-01, a stratigraphic profile was sampled to recover phytolith microbotanical remains. The archaeobotanical evidence was first described according to the morphological attributes and identified to taxonomical affiliation. Taxa abundances were correlated with construction features (occupation floors or construction fills), and archaeological phases (La Selva, La Union, La Cabaña). A total of 35 morphotypes and 16 vegetation taxa were identified and comprised a variety of grasses, palms, herbs, trees, and crops. Although the taxa diversity was similar throughout the three archaeological phases, the data showed different patterns between the occupation floors and the construction fills. These variations were related to changes in vegetation abundance, richness, and plant uses. The phytolith results suggest the continuous management of botanical resources at Nuevo Corinto for over a thousand years. The occupation floors illustrated the change of construction materials through time. Similarly, the construction fills indicated the vegetation patterns regarding the exploitation of wild and domesticated plants.

“Animal-Style Art,” and Special Finds at Iron Age Settlements in Southeastern Kazakhstan: Chronology, Trade, and Networks during the Iron Age

Two Iron Age settlements, Tuzusai and Taldy Bulak 2 (ca. 500 BC to 1 CE), located in southeastern Kazakhstan on the Talgar alluvial fan north of the Tian Shan range, have yielded a small collection of bone, antler/horn, bronze, and stone artifacts with an affinity to the nomadic art of the first millennium BC. Both settlements date within the period of late Saka culture. Two pieces have decorative ornamentations with zoomorphic imagery: a small carved fragment with carved images of a wing and an ear and a perforated bone disk with the carving of three birds’ heads. The other artifacts include objects associated with Saka weaponry or nomadic economy, such as two horn psalias (cheek pieces) and a bronze amulet. A carnelian bead will also be described as an imported object. These special finds were found on the occupation floors of mud brick houses and in the pit houses of settlements, not in grave or burial contexts. The objects were placed in a stratigraphic sequence in the settlement sites. The method for placing these objects within the chronological framework of “animal-style art” is through comparisons with similar objects found throughout Eurasia—a method used in Soviet and post-Soviet archaeology. The results show that the functional and stylistic elements of the six objects indicate that the Talgar settlements were part of a larger world-system of trade and communication along the early Silk Route(s).

Fire microfacies and pyroresidues tracing atmospheric electrification impacts on the Moche Valley and on the Mochica (North Peru)

The effects of environmental events on living conditions during occupation periods are studied by comparing alluvial soils and occupation floors that formed during the late Holocene in the Moche valley (North Peruvian coast). The microcontextual study comprises (1) microsurface identification in the field; (2) micromorphological analysis of thin sections; (3) multi-scale characterization of soil components based on digital stereo microscope and scanning electron microscope analysis. The alluvial sequence consists of a 6 m thick alternation of organic silty-clay, fine sandy strata with well-preserved ashy charcoal strata and massive grey sandy beds. This cyclical pattern reflects alternation of stable episodes with a dense reed-bed vegetation, regularly affected by wildfires and drought marked by sand invasions from coastal dunes during El Niño events. The 14C dates show that these contrasting conditions lasted for one millennium up to establishment of the Mochica empire at the Huaca at 300 years cal. BC. Vesicular slags produced by flash-melting of the soil components, biosourced quartz and nanostructured polymers formed from flash-ionization of the reed vegetation, all with FeCrNi metals coatings, were retrieved in the fired surfaces. They trace impact at the soil surface of electrically charged particles, lightning-flashes, nanoaerosol production by enhanced atmospheric electrification, i.e., flash-heating, shock vaporization, plasma-polymerization of the vegetation and the host matrix. The study shows the occurrence in the basal Uhle platform occupation deposits at the foot of the Huaca de la Luna of similar cemented ashy microfacies associated with a funerary deposit with food offerings in ritual vessels and an intriguing scoriaceous slag. The evidence for ritual disposal of imperishable offerings to deaths is interpreted as the memorial record of the Mochica knowledge of long-lived materials produced by lightning-triggered plasma processes. This integrated study of the environmental and cultural contexts refutes previous assumptions of long-term engineering of the arable alluvial plain to counteract sand invasion and torrential floods. In contrast, the establishment of the Moche pyramids is shown to have occurred during a period of floodplain stability marked by high-energy natural events and lightning processes that offered access to durable soil resources of important social values.

FAKTOR RISIKO KONDISI LINGKUNGAN FISIK RUMAH DENGAN PENDERITA TB PARU

The results of survey on prevalence of TB in Indonesia in 2013-2014 from bacteriological confirmation in the population aged 15 years and over produced; The prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary tb per 1000.000 population aged 15 years and over is 257 (with a 95% confidence level 210-303), The prevalence of pulmonary tbwith bacteriological confirmation per 100.000 population aged 15 years and over is 759 (with 95% confidence interval 590-961), The prevalence of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tb at all ages per 100.000 population was 601 (with 95% confidence interval 466-758), and the prevalence of tb of all forms for all ages per 100.000 population is 660 (with a 95% confidence interval 523-813), it is estimated that there are 1.600.000 (with a confidence interval of 1.300.000-2.000.000) people with tb in Indonesia (Kepmenkes, 2015). The characteristics of a healthy house in question include; adequate ventilation, lighting, occupancy density, and humidity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the physical environment of the house and the incidence of pulmonary tb in Tiga Panah Disctrict, Karo Regency. Observational research with case control design. Cases are patients with pulmonary tb. Controls were non pulmonary tb patients. Samples were taken by simple random sampling as many 60 cases and 60 controls. Where the researchers measured the dependent variable first, while the independent variable was retrospectively to determine whether there was a risk of pulmonary tb incidence. Statistical test used was Chi-Square (bivariate analysis). The results showed that occupancy density, ventilation area, floor conditions, and lighting were risk factors for pulmonary tb. Occupancy density variable is the most dominant variable with the incidence of pulmonary tb with OR value 0.328 CI 0.154-0.695, p value 0.006. for this reason, Puskesmas Tiga Panah and Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten Karo increase public knowledge about the area needed for each house to prevent pulmonary tb.

Assessing the Gravettian occupation floor at Krems-Wachtberg

Ten years of excavations at the open-air site Krems-Wachtberg in east Austria have revealed the well-preserved remains of a Gravettian occupation floor with a range of intact evident structures. Most important of these are a large hearth with associated pits and two burials, a double and a single burial of infants. These are connected by a distinct archaeological layer evidencing the structures’ contemporaneity as well as functional interrelations. The occupation floor and its find inventories reflect a high diversity of activities and illustrate distinct spatial distributions. Despite the excellent preservation, however, an unambiguous determination of the site's function remains difficult.

Consumo y manejo de plantas durante el primer y segundo milenio d.C. en tres sitios arqueológicos del valle de Santa María (Catamarca-Tucumán, Argentina)

This paper analyses the practices related to the consumption and management of plants in the central-western sector of the Santa María valley (Catamarca-Tucumán) during the first and second millennium AD. For this purpose, we worked with macroremains recovered in the occupation floors and with microremains present in ceramic vessels from the archaeological sites Morro del Fraile, El Carmen 1, and El Carmen 2. A total of 546 carpological macroremains corresponding to seven families, Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae, and 10 microremains from the families Cucurbitaceae and Poaceae, were identified. The similarities between El Carmen 2 enclosure 2 and Morro del Fraile rock shelter suggest that sites occupied since the first millennium AD would have taken advantage of a greater diversity of plants, which in turn show a great diversity of management practices, in relation to sites occupied from the second millennium A.D., as observed in El Carmen 1 enclosures 1 and 13. The similarities between El Carmen 2 enclosure 2 and Morro del Fraile rock shelter would also indicate a diversity of contexts within the second millennium AD, with spaces that show a lower diversity of plants (El Carmen 1 enclosures 1 and 13) and spaces that, during the second millennium AD, exhibit practices that refer to those known for the villages of the first millennium AD (Morro del Fraile rock shelter), such as the consumption of a great diversity of wild, weedy and domesticated plants, with a predominance of Trichocereus and various Amaranthaceae.

Spatial Analysis to Distinguish occupation Floors at Tepe Meymanatabad, Central Iranian Plateau

Spatial Analysis to Distinguish occupation Floors at Tepe Meymanatabad, Central Iranian Plateau

Soria 3: nuevas evidencias de la ocupación aldeana temprana en Yocavil, Noroeste argentino. Un ejercicio interpretativo

Stratigraphic evidence from a test excavation located inside a semicircular structure with stone walls, called Soria 3 from the Early Period (600 B.C.–A.D. 1000) is presented. The unit, registered in the Terrace of Andalhuala Banda (Yocavil Valley, Northwest Argentine), was interpreted as a residential unit that was used after its abandonment as a funerary space for the burial of an infant within a ceramic vessel. The construction features of the structure, the stratigraphy and materials recovered, the mode of burial, the ceramic vessel, and the results of bioarchaeological analysis are described. Radiocarbon dates obtained from samples of the individual and charcoal of an occupation floor corresponding to a domestic space are also reported. The evidence is consistent with the pattern previously recorded in Soria 2 located in the same piedmont terrace, pointing to the configuration of a local village pattern.

Rituals and abandonment in Juella with the Inca conquest of Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina

ABSTRACTThe opening and closing of spaces have been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. In an archaeological context, though I have numerous examples, there are not many examples that testify to the abandonment of a particular enclosure or settlement. However, with research and fieldwork undertaken in Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, I have made a significant archaeological discovery – that of Enclosure 94 (R94), which includes a door closure, the interment of a foetus in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some goods. I consider this activity as part of an occupation that is restricted to the Late Intermediate Period (ad 1250–1450), that the material found and analyzed here is related to ritual and ceremonial activity of the closure and also the symbolic ‘death’ of this space. Based on radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular enclosure and its relationship to the overall site, I believe that this deposition is not only associated with the abandonment of the structure, but it is closely linked to the site at a time of the Inca conquest of the region.

Diversité des territoires d’origine des parures en coquillage mésolithiques de la grotte Rochefort (Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve, Mayenne)

Marine shells were constantly used as ornaments by the Mesolithic populations of Europe. The resumption of excavations in Grotte Rochefort (Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve, Mayenne, France) helps complete the existing corpus. The scientific interest of these ornaments is also underlined by the distance of the site from the sea, over 150 km at the time of its occupation. A series of 39 shells was discovered in Grotte Rochefort alongside other ornaments made from animal and human teeth, animal bone remains and lithic artefacts. The stratigraphic data and the geo-archaeological context of the cave allow us to attribute these shell ornaments to the Mesolithic. A basic description of these ornaments is proposed : specific determination, taphonomic analysis and description of their perforation and use-wear stigmata. Our objectives include explaining the reasons for the presence of these shells in the occupation layers of Grotte Rochefort, discovering if these shells were perforated in the cave itself, finding if they were worn, defining acquisition methods of the raw material, and situating these shell ornaments in the context of the European Mesolithic. Their specific determination (Dentalium sp., Ampullina sp ., Euspira nitida, Littorina littorea, Littorina obtusata, Neritidae (Neritinae) ind., Nucella lapillus, Trivia sp ., Cerithium gr. vulgatum) reveals an important diversity of the potential origins of these artefacts and their acquisition method. Some were collected after being washed ashore on beaches along the Mesolithic Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts, others were found in several fossil deposits. The dichotomy with shells consumed during the Mesolithic underlines a specific mode of acquisition dedicated to this use. In fact, most of the species used as ornaments in Grotte Rochefort were not consumed during the Mesolithic (e. g. Dentalium sp., Littorina obtusata or Trivia sp.), and several indications plead in favour of their collection once dead and already deprived of the animal’s flesh (breaks in prominent parts of the shell such as the siphonal canal or the apex, followed by their regular and uniform polishing, the regular polish of the whole surface, erasing in a uniform manner the ornamentation of the shell). This dichotomy underlines the importance attributed to them by these Mesolithic populations within the symbolic sphere. The fact that these ornaments were merely perforated is probably not innocuous ; thus, they convey the mystery of the oceans or at least the image of a major environment in the lifestyle of these hunter-gatherers totally dependent on wild resources. It was not possible to confirm shaping of these ornaments within Grotte Rochefort. These shells seem to have been extensively worn before being lost on the Mesolithic occupation floor of the cave, as revealed by the break of the shell bridge between the aperture of the shell and the original perforation. The ornaments found in Grotte Rochefort doubtless represent only a tiny proportion of the shell ornaments worn by the people who frequented this cave. Only the smallest components of the Mesolithic shell ornaments seem to appear there. Analysis of the shell ornaments from Grotte Rochefort shows strong similarities with those of the European Mesolithic : the shell ornaments discovered are small in size, the main species determined are Dentalium sp ., Littorina obtusa, their shaping (reducing of tusk-shells, perforation localized on the last whorl of gastropods, perforation moved from the outer lip to offer resistance to the tensions linked to the tie, two perforations of the dorsal area of Trivia), and the way they were worn (deformation of the shape of the perforation associated with the polish around the perforation, levelling of the inner lip). Grotte Rochefort thus represents an additional milestone bearing witness to important exchange networks with multiple influences during the Mesolithic.

Techno-economic performance evaluation of building cooling systems: A study of snow storage and conventional chiller systems

The residential building sector in Canada consumes 17% of the total energy and contributes to 15% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Predominantly, the energy demand for cooling in the residential sector is increasing due to large occupancy floor area and high usage of air-conditioning. Minimizing energy use and associated emissions is one of the highest priority goals set for national energy management strategies in developed countries, including Canada. In this research, a probabilistic feasibility evaluation framework is developed to: i) evaluate the techno-economic performance of different snow storage systems, namely conventional snow storage, watertight snow storage, high-density snow storage, and ii) compare the performance of snow storage systems with the conventional chiller system. The technical and economic performances of all the building cooling system alternatives are evaluated in terms of the coefficient of performance and the total cooling cost per kilowatt-hour at the facility, respectively. Monte-Carlo simulations were performed to address the uncertainties involved in the techno-economic parameters. The framework has also been implemented on a low-rise residential building in Kelowna (British Columbia, Canada) to appraise its practicality. The study results verified that overall snow storage systems are more energy efficient and cost effective options for building cooling systems. This research will support decision-makers in future for selecting sustainable options for building cooling systems.

Sustainability evaluation framework for building cooling systems: a comparative study of snow storage and conventional chiller systems

In Canada, the residential building sector consumes 17 % of the total energy and 15 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the energy demand for cooling in the residential sector is increasing due to the large occupancy floor area and high usage of air conditioning. Minimizing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions is one of the highest priority goals set for national energy management strategies in developed countries including Canada. In this study, a framework based on the life cycle assessment approach is developed to assess the environmental impacts of different building cooling systems, namely conventional snow storage system, watertight snow storage system, high-density snow storage system, and the conventional chiller cooling system. Moreover, all these systems have varying energy requirements and associated environmental impacts during different phases (extraction and construction, utilization, and end of life) of the life cycle of a building. A low-rise residential building in Kelowna (BC, Canada) has been selected for the pragmatic application of the proposed framework. The annual cooling energy demand for the building is estimated for different phases. Subsequently, the life cycle impact assessment has been carried out using SimaPro 8.1 software and TRACI 2.1 method. For sustainability evaluation of different cooling systems over their life cycle, multi-criteria decision analysis has been employed using the ‘Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE II).’ The results showed that the snow storage systems tend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and associated environmental impacts more than the conventional system.

Patterning of the early Middle Paleolithic occupations at Douara Cave and its implications for settlement dynamics in the Palmyra basin, Syria

This paper examines spatial patterning and settlement dynamics of early Middle Paleolithic hominins at Douara Cave, located on the northern edge of the Syrian Desert. The analyzed material came from our 1984 excavations of Horizons IVB–IVD, techno-typologically assigned to the Tabun D-type Levantine Mousterian (ca. 250 to 130ka). Two findings are reported. One is the existence of spatial organization in the cave interior. Analysis of the field records shows that the occupation floor of the early Middle Paleolithic at Douara was well-organized into specific activity areas with a focal area of intensive activities close to the back wall. This suggests that the organized use of space known at late Middle Paleolithic sites like Tor Faraj, Jordan, is also applicable to the early Middle Paleolithic. Second, this paper discusses the functional role of this cave within the regional settlement system. A range of features characterizing its living floor(s) point to a very low occupational intensity, undoubtedly reflecting adaptation and particular land use patterns in the arid environments of this region. Moreover, this pattern, along with the division of interior space, seems to have remained consistent through multiple early Middle Paleolithic levels (IVB–IVD). These observations suggest that Douara Cave was a short-term camp embedded in a regional settlement system in the arid environments of this period.

Integrated Indoor Navigation System for Ground Vehicles With Automatic 3-D Alignment and Position Initialization

This paper introduces an autonomous integrated indoor navigation system for ground vehicles that fuses inertial sensors, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors, received signal strength (RSS) observations in wireless local area networks (WLANs), odometry, and predefined occupancy floor maps. This paper proposes a solution for the problem of automatic self-alignment and position initialization indoors under the absence of an absolute navigation system such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The initial tilt angles (roll and pitch) are estimated by an extended Kalman filter (EKF) that uses two horizontal accelerometers as measurements. The initial position and heading estimation is performed using a subimage matching algorithm based on normalized cross-correlation between projected 2-D LiDAR scans and an occupancy floor map of the environment. The ambiguities in position/heading initialization are resolved using RSS. The proposed position/heading estimation module is also utilized in navigation mode as a source of absolute position/heading updates to EKF for enhanced observability. The state predictor is an enhanced 3-D inertial navigation system that utilizes low-cost microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based reduced inertial sensor set aided by vehicle odometry. In navigation mode, LiDAR scans are used to estimate the vehicle's relative motions using an inertial-aided iterative closest point algorithm. To fuse all available measurements, a multirate multimode EKF design is proposed to correct navigation states and estimate sensor biases. The developed system was tested under a real indoor office environment covered by an IEEE 802.11 WLAN on a mobile robot platform equipped with MEMS inertial sensors, a WLAN interface, a 2-D LiDAR scanner, and a quadrature encoder. Results demonstrated the capabilities of the self-alignment and initialization module and showed average submeter-level positioning accuracy.

The Neanderthal meal: a new perspective using faecal biomarkers.

Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have, to date, been based on indirect evidence and may underestimate the significance of plants as a food source. While zooarchaeological and stable isotope data have conveyed an image of Neanderthals as largely carnivorous, studies on dental calculus and scattered palaeobotanical evidence suggest some degree of contribution of plants to their diet. However, both views remain plausible and there is no categorical indication of an omnivorous diet. Here we present direct evidence of Neanderthal diet using faecal biomarkers, a valuable analytical tool for identifying dietary provenance. Our gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results from El Salt (Spain), a Middle Palaeolithic site dating to ca. 50,000 yr. BP, represents the oldest positive identification of human faecal matter. We show that Neanderthals, like anatomically modern humans, have a high rate of conversion of cholesterol to coprostanol related to the presence of required bacteria in their guts. Analysis of five sediment samples from different occupation floors suggests that Neanderthals predominantly consumed meat, as indicated by high coprostanol proportions, but also had significant plant intake, as shown by the presence of 5β-stigmastanol. This study highlights the applicability of the biomarker approach in Pleistocene contexts as a provider of direct palaeodietary information and supports the opportunity for further research into cholesterol metabolism throughout human evolution.

Discontinuity in the Fijian Archaeological Record Supported by a Bayesian Radiocarbon Model

The Fijian archaeological record is segmented into a series of phases based on distinctive transformations in ceramic forms. Interpretations of the mid-sequence (∼1500–1300 cal BP) transition between the Fijian Plainware phase and the Navatu phase are contentious, with alternative explanations of population replacement versus internal processes of culture change. We present and analyze a series of Fijian Plainware and Navatu phase AMS radiocarbon dates acquired from superimposed but stratigraphically separated occupation floors at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes site on the southwest coast of Viti Levu. Employing an OxCal Bayesian sequential model, we seek to date the temporal span for each occupation as well as the interval of time occurring between occupation floors. The latter is estimated to be 0–43 calendar years at 2σ probability. The magnitude of ceramic and other differences between the Fijian Plainware and Navatu phase occupations at Sigatoka is substantive. We conclude that the abruptness of this change can be explained only by exogenous replacement at the Sigatoka site.

Metodología para el estudio del procesamiento de plantas en sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras: un estudio de caso

En el estudio de las sociedades de cazadores-recolectores, se ha exagerado la importancia de la caza en la subsistencia de estos grupos, modelando incluso, las propuestas del poblamiento temprano del continente. Por otro lado, materiales líticos asociados al procesamiento de los recursos vegetales han sido ignorados o subestimados a causa de las difíciles condiciones de preservación de los materiales orgánicos (y con ellos los recursos vegetales) en los trópicos húmedos; pero principalmente por la ausencia de una metodología definida para la recuperación y estudio sistemático de los restos vegetales y los artefactos y áreas de actividad asociados a su procesamiento. En el presente estudio se ejemplifica la importancia de emplear diversas metodologías que permiten no solo recuperar restos vegetales mediante sus restos a nivel macro y micro, sino también las huellas químicas en los pisos de ocupación, así como las huellas de uso y de micro-residuos en artefactos líticos; todo ello orientado por una posición teórica basada en el materialismo histórico y que tiene como objetivo el evaluar los procesos productivos, reproductivos e ideológicos asociados al proceso de transformación de la naturaleza, tomando como ejemplo dos sitios de la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno en el sureste de México (Chiapas).

An open-air site from the recent Middle Palaeolithic in the Paris Basin (France): Les Bossats at Ormesson (Seine-et-Marne)

The recent discovery (2009) and excavation of the open-air site of Ormesson (Seine-et-Marne – France) was initially intended to document a Gravettian occupation floor dated around 29,000 cal. BP and related to a preferential bison hunt. Whilst checking the thickness of the loess in which the Gravettian level was found, several other prehistoric settlements were discovered (Chatelperronian, Middle Solutrean) including two units attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic. One, level 4, seems to be particularly well-preserved. It occurs between 1 and 3 m below the main Upper Palaeolithic occupation. The lithic industry from level 4 belongs to a single kind of reduction sequence: the Discoid method. The freshness of the material and the presence of bone fragments attributed in part to horse support a general good state of preservation of this occupation. The Mousterian remains seem to cover at least 500 m2, as currently estimated. Even more exceptional is the close spatial relationship between the discoid industry, the bone pieces, remains of fireplaces and especially the numerous fragments and nodules of red colouring materials. These were brought to the site where they were utilised by the Mousterians. The used surfaces show indisputable scraping traces and facets. These recent discoveries will certainly contribute to the debate on the cognitive capacities of nearly the last representatives of the Middle Palaeolithic, and the complex stratigraphy will allow comparisons between the different periods.

Microstratigraphy of the Magdalenian sequence at Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain): Formation and diagenesis

This microstratigraphic study of the Magdalenian sequence in the Cendres Cave (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain) shows the detailed evolutionary history of the deposit, revealing a wide variety of pedosedimentary (formation and diagenesis), biogenic and anthropic processes.The sequence begins with Cendres XII, culturally attributed to the Early and Middle Magdalenian, with high probability (95%) dating placing it between 19,270 and 16,530 cal BP with some chronological hiatus. It was formed from biogenic sedimentation associated with bat guano mainly of an insectivorous type, and from anthropic sedimentation related to occupation floors made up of highly complex plant beds with traces of combustion. One of the predominant plant tissue residues is woody angiosperm leaves or stalks. Detrital deposition formed by diffuse runoff increases towards the top of the level. It belongs palaeoclimatically to the Greenland Stadial-2b (GS-2b) and to the first temperate pulsations of GS-2a. Between this horizon and the Upper Magdalenian there is an erosive contact. There follow various levels attributed to the Upper Magdalenian, Cendres XI, dated to between 16,690 and 15,640 cal BP. This shows an abrupt change with respect to the previous level and results from the cryoclastic processes of the walls and solifluction processes, it would coincide with the upper part of GS-2a. With Cendres X, the detrital sedimentation is not very representative and organophosphatic crusts of cryptocrystalline apatite appear, corresponding to accumulations of bird guano at a time when there was little presence of anthropic occupation. The Upper Magdalenian sequence ends with Cendres IX, which in some sectors of the site presents an erosive contact with the previous level. Anthropic activity reappears and is dated to the interval between 15,210 and 14,240 cal BP. Its deposition is due to gelifluction processes in a cold medium with an increase in humidity. It can be allocated to final episodes of GS-2a in transition to Greenland Interstadial-1 (GI-1). At the end of this episode there is a phase of stabilization that can be seen from the biological activity connecting with the horizons of the Early Neolithic.

Testimonios de un adiós. Rituales y abandono en Juella ante la conquista inka de Humahuaca

The opening and closing of spaces has been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. At the archaeological level however, we have numerous examples of the first type and not many testimonies of abandon of a particular enclosure or settlement. In Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, we have a unique context that includes the closure of a door, a burial of an unborn in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some objects. In the context of an occupation restricted to the Regional Developments Period, we consider that the material found and analyzed here is related to rituals and ce-remonies of the closure and symbolic death of this space. From radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular event and its relationship to the overall site context, we believe that this event not only had to do with the abandonment of the structure, but is closely related to the site as a whole, and to the time of the Inca conquest of the region as well.