Palaeolithic Archaeology Research Articles

Stable isotope analysis of Late Pleistocene mammalian teeth from western, central, and north-central India and the associated Palaeolithic archaeology of the Indian Subcontinent

The oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) ratios in bioapatite from dental tissues of fossil mammals are well-established proxies for climatic conditions and dietary patterns. In the present study, a total of 24 Late Pleistocene mammalian teeth belonging to Cervid, Bovid, Suid, Hippopotamid, Canid, Equid from Gopnath in Gujarat, ten separate localities from the Narmada Basin, and one in Son River Basin, India were analysed for δ13C and δ18O values to understand palaeoclimatic conditions and associated dietary habits between marine isotope stages (MIS) 5 and 3 as estimated from stratigraphic and archaeological record. The δ13C values in the samples of Gopnath, Narsinghpur and Doma range from −3.1 to 2.3 ‰, −3.2 to 1.3 ‰, and −2.0 ‰, respectively. The higher δ13C values in these specimens suggest a diet based predominantly on C4 plants. On the other hand, a relatively lower and large range of δ13C values from Nehlai (−11.1 to −3.5 ‰) suggests a predominately C3 to mixed C3-C4 diet. The δ18O values in Gopnath, Nehlai, Narsinghpur and Doma are −4.1 to −3.1 ‰, −4.7 to −2.1 ‰, −4.0 to −1.9 ‰ and −5.8 ‰, respectively. The relatively lower δ18O value points towards humid climatic conditions and the relatively higher δ18O values suggest relatively arid climatic conditions. The regional contexts are dominated by Late Pleistocene geological records predominantly associated with Middle Palaeolithic evidence, and the preliminary isotope results indicate that contemporary hominin groups occupied warm and semi-humid environments. This study attempts to examine the Late Pleistocene environments and hominin adaptations across western, central, and north-central India on a comprehensive scale.

Persistent predators: Zooarchaeological evidence for specialized horse hunting at Schöningen 13II-4

The Schöningen 13II-4 site is a marvel of Paleolithic archaeology. With the extraordinary preservation of complete wooden spears and butchered large mammal bones dating from the Middle Pleistocene, Schöningen maintains a prominent position in the halls of human origins worldwide. Here, we present the first analysis of the complete large mammal faunal assemblage from Schöningen 13II-4, drawing on multiple lines of zooarchaeological and taphonomic evidence to expose the full spectrum of hominin activities at the site—before, during, and after the hunt. Horse (Equus mosbachensis) remains dominate the assemblage and suggest a recurrent ambush hunting strategy along the margins of the Schöningen paleo-lake. In this regard, Schöningen 13II-4 provides the first undisputed evidence for hunting of a single prey species that can be studied from an in situ, open-air context. The Schöningen hominins likely relied on cooperative hunting strategy to target horse family groups, to the near exclusion of bachelor herds. Horse kills occurred during all seasons, implying a year-round presence of hominins on the Schöningen landscape. All portions of prey skeletons are represented in the assemblage, many complete and in semiarticulation, with little transport of skeletal parts away from the site. Butchery marks are abundant, and adult carcasses were processed more thoroughly than were juveniles. Numerous complete, unmodified bones indicated that lean meat and marrow were not always so highly prized, especially in events involving multiple kills when fat and animal hides may have received greater attention. The behaviors displayed at Schöningen continue to challenge our perceptions and models of past hominin lifeways, further cementing Schöningen's standing as the archetype for understanding hunting adaptations during the European Middle Pleistocene.

More Than Surface Finds: Nubian Levallois Core Metric Variability and Site Distribution Across Africa and Southwest Asia

Nubian Levallois cores are currently one of the most debated artefact types in Palaeolithic archaeology. Previous work has focused mainly on the definition and technological characteristics of these cores, with discussion of their distribution framed only in qualitative terms. Here, we present the first quantitative spatial analysis of sites with Nubian Levallois cores across the five global regions where they occur. Using modelled Pleistocene conditions for various bioclimatic and topographic variables, we compare the environmental context of 84 sites featuring Nubian cores with 81 contemporaneous sites where they are absent. Metric analysis of cores from 14 new and previously published sites offers further insights into technological and behavioural patterns at an inter-regional scale. Our results show that Nubian cores during MIS 5 are present in areas characterised by aridity, complex topography, and high biomass, whereas for MIS 3, only temperature was a significant predictor. Metric results reveal distinct patterns in both space and time, finding the largest and most standardised cores in Southern Arabia during MIS 5, with the smallest cores in MIS 3 Eastern and Southern Africa. We propose that environmental factors were a more significant driver behind the adoption of the Nubian Levallois method than previously acknowledged. Our results provide essential environmental context for future model-testing of Late Pleistocene demography and cultural connectivity during this critical phase of human evolution.

Death at the water hole: Opportunistic hunting and scavenging events in the upper sequence of Middle Paleolithic Nesher Ramla, Israel

Distinguishing between selective and opportunistic hunting is a major challenge in Paleolithic archaeology, requiring the comparison of the human hunting record to the usually unknown natural prey abundance. Open-air hunting camps are ubiquitous in the Eurasian Middle Paleolithic (MP) record, alongside cave sites, and are often dominated by large-bodied species. In the Levant, MP faunal records differ between caves and open-air sites: Caves are dominated by mountain gazelle and fallow deer, while open-air sites are more aurochs-dominated. This discrepancy can be explained by transport patterns, but whether the abundance of aurochs in open-air sites is due to deliberate targeting or natural abundance in the landscape is unclear. The Nesher Ramla open-air site is a natural sinkhole in central Israel with an 8-m-deep MP sequence. Detailed zooarchaeological, dental wear, and isotope analyses of the upper sequence fauna found a highly diverse assemblage dominated by medium-sized ungulates in the uppermost phases (Units I and IIa). Results concerning ungulate dietary niches and isotopic signatures demonstrate that animals from different biomes and topographies congregated at the site. Evidence of human butchery is infrequent and fewer than carnivore modifications. Several articulated vertebral columns attest to in situ preservation. Our results demonstrate that the Nesher Ramla's uppermost sequence formed primarily under natural conditions, suggesting that it was a site of opportunistic hunting by humans and carnivores, probably targeting ungulates that came to the sinkhole to drink. Therefore, we consider this assemblage representative of the site's “natural” environment and use it as a benchmark for comparing assemblages and hunting strategies. Thus, we observe a clear difference between our case study and those recovered from the site's lower layers (Unit IIB and below) and other open-air sites. For the first time, we can show that the abundance of large bovines in MP open-air sites is not necessarily due to their abundance in the environment but to deliberate human planning and selective hunting.

Technological variability in El Castillo cave during MIS 4

The variability in Neanderthal behaviour is one of the key debates in Middle Palaeolithic archaeology. Here we present the analysis of the lithic industry from a unit at one of Europe’s main Palaeolithic sites: El Castillo Cave. Unit XXf1.1, dated to the beginning of MIS 4, is an example of human occupation during a period of population decrease. In this assemblage, the technology is organised with the aim of obtaining the largest possible blanks in an environment in which small-sized raw materials predominate, with the presence of imported tools and clear differences in the management of different raw materials. This assemblage is characterized by the predominance of centripetal exploitation methods, and there is only a small number of blanks with laminar tendency, and cleavers. From all this we can observe how Neanderthals were able to find ways to achieve their specific objectives, planning their behaviour to overcome the limitations imposed by the environment.

Victoria West-like Core Technology from Fengshudao, an Early–Middle Pleistocene Site in Bose Basin, South China

ABSTRACT The Victoria West core technology (VWCT) has long been regarded as an important and uniquely prepared core tradition in the Acheulean. This technology is currently the earliest prepared core technology (0.8–1.1 Ma) to appear during the Paleolithic. The VWCT is thought to have many conceptual and technological similarities with the Levallois technology and is sometimes considered to be a “proto-Levallois” tradition. The discovery and subsequent analyses of VWCT have led to extensive discussion among Paleolithic archaeologists about the origin and development of prepared core technologies and associated complex cognitive abilities of early hominins. Unfortunately, VWCT has only been reported from one restricted area of the world, central South Africa. This has made it difficult to determine how widespread this behavior may have been. Here, we report evidence of a similar technology to the VWCT outside South Africa, from the Bose (Baise) Basin in southern China, a basin that has long been considered a core large cutting tool-bearing region in eastern Asia. Eight stone artifacts from the Middle Pleistocene Fengshudao site in Bose appear to be quite similar to the VWCT from the Canteen Kopje site in South Africa. These findings from Fengshudao potentially expand the distribution area of this technologyto eastern Asia and for the first time demonstrate that prepared core technology, along with the required cognitive abilities, also exists in the East Asian Early Paleolithic. The Fengshudao evidence from southern China, being so far east of South Africa suggests this may be a case of convergent evolution.

최근 발굴된 북한의 구석기시대 유적

Since 2010, significant archaeological excavations have taken place at four distinct sites in North Korea. Three cave sites — Tongam-dong Cave, Hyangmok-ri Cave, and Limgyong Cave — along with one open-air site, Sinpung-ri, have been the focus of these investigations. Tongam-dong Cave and Sinpung-ri are situated in South Pyongan Province, while Hyangmok-ri and Limgyong Caves are located in Gangdong County, Pyongyang City. The excavation at Tongam-dong Cave has yielded a variety of Paleolithic artifacts, including stone tools, bone tools, and animal fossils, providing the significant cultural features of the Lower Paleolithic. At Hyangmok-ri Cave, the unearthed stone tools are indicative of the early Upper Paleolithic. Conversely, the stone tools discovered at the Sinpung-ri site date back to the late Upper Paleolithic. In addition, human fossils recovered from Limgyong Cave are identified as Homo sapiens sapiens from the late Upper Paleolithic. The results of absolute dating of sediments and animal fossils at these sites provide crucial data for understanding the evolving landscape of Paleolithic archaeology in North Korea.

The time between Palaeolithic hearths.

Resolving the timescale of human activity in the Palaeolithic Age is one of the most challenging problems in prehistoric archaeology. The duration and frequency of hunter-gatherer camps reflect key aspects of social life and human-environment interactions. However, the time dimension of Palaeolithic contexts is generally inaccurately reconstructed because of the limitations of dating techniques1, the impact of disturbing agents on sedimentary deposits2 and the palimpsest effect3,4. Here we report high-resolution time differences between six Middle Palaeolithic hearths from El Salt Unit X (Spain) obtained through archaeomagnetic and archaeostratigraphic analyses. The set of hearths covers at least around 200-240 years with 99% probability, having decade- and century-long intervals between the different hearths. Our results provide a quantitative estimate of the time framework for the human occupation events included in the studied sequence. This is a step forward in Palaeolithic archaeology, a discipline in which human behaviour is usually approached from a temporal scale typical of geological processes, whereas significant change may happen at the smaller scales of human generations. Here we reach a timescale close to a human lifespan.

The Quaternary sequence of the Nahr el Kebir, NW Syria: An important repository for evidence of Palaeolithic occupation and landscape evolution in the eastern Mediterranean

The third largest river in Syria, the Nahr el Kebir has a well-preserved record of river-terrace deposits that have produced substantial Palaeolithic artefact assemblages both from within the terrace deposits and from the land surfaces above and around them. At the Mediterranean coastline, the fluvial gravels interdigitate with raised shoreline terrace deposits, providing an insight into the temporal and climatic relations of both of these important geomorphological and morphostratigraphical archives, as well as their relationship with each other. New research is reported here on the Pleistocene geology and geomorphology of the Nahr el Kebir and the associated Palaeolithic archaeology, the latter having been reinterpreted based on reassessment of museum collections arising from earlier detailed work. Field visits revealed an additional, hitherto unrecognized low-level river terrace, whereas one of the previously recognized Palaeolithic levels can be shown to coincide with slope deposits that armour hilltops rather than representing a genuine fluvial formation. The new understanding of these geomorphological and sedimentary archives supports ideas that this corner of the Mediterranean has experienced unusually rapid uplift during the recent Quaternary, as a result of which the local rivers, including the Kebir, have deepened their valleys rapidly. Consequently, only the recent part of the Quaternary is recorded in the Kebir system and the ages envisaged previously for the terrace deposits and the Palaeolithic artefact assemblages were considerable overestimates in many cases, a finding that has significance for their correlation with those from the wider region. Reassessment of the Palaeolithic archaeology suggests a settlement history initially dominated by groups using handaxes, alongside simple core working (0.5–0.3 Ma), followed by a major change with the appearance of Levallois core working alongside handaxes, marking the transition to the early Middle Palaeolithic.

Zhoukoudian: the birthplace of palaeoanthropology and the stimulus for Paleolithic archaeology in China

Abstract The Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) site, which was excavated in 1921, is one of the most important ancient human sites in China and in the world as well. From the perspective of the history of transnational science, this paper summarizes the history of the excavation of Zhoukoudian and the research that has been done into related fossil and human remains. It argues that Zhoukoudian was the birthplace of palaeoanthropology and the stimulus for the establishment of Paleolithic archaeology as a field in China. The Zhoukoudian site preserves traces of prehistoric human activities that date from 700 000 to 10 000 years ago, including human fossils, stone artefacts, ornaments and mammalian fossils. Thus, it still remains the most abundant, systematic and valuable site of its kind in the world, as well as being a very important geoheritage site.

New achievements and related issues of Paleolithic archaeology in western China

New achievements and related issues of Paleolithic archaeology in western China

The Submerged Palaeo-Yare: New Middle Palaeolithic Archaeological Finds from the Southern North Sea

The Palaeolithic archaeological record from current dryland contexts informs on activity across only a fraction of occupied Pleistocene landscapes. Now-submerged contexts, such as those preserved beneath the southern North Sea, allow past human activity to be considered at a more representative scale. Previous investigations have recovered internationally significant Middle Palaeolithic archaeology associated with submerged Pleistocene landscapes in the southern North Sea. Discovered through aggregate dredging in marine aggregate licence Area 240, the archaeology is associated with Pleistocene deposits of the Paleo-Yare river system. Subsequent studies have demonstrated that the Palaeo-Yare catchment extended across adjacent aggregate areas, leading to the implementation of a regional monitoring programme at aggregate wharfs to monitor, manage, and assimilate new archaeological data.This paper reviews all new Palaeolithic lithic finds recovered between 2011 and 2022 from Area 240 and adjacent licence areas. Most are Middle Palaeolithic artefacts from Area 240. These new Middle Palaeolithic discoveries are related to previous finds and the combined collections placed within their wider Middle Palaeolithic British context. Middle Palaeolithic activity within the Palaeo-Yare catchment included multiple phases of occupation associated with different favoured technological repertoires, indicating that two groups of artefacts are present: Levallois artefacts likely to date to the early Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 8–7–6) and handaxes dating to the Late Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 5d–3).

Human occupations of upland and cold environments in inland Spain during the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1: The new Magdalenian sequence of Charco Verde II.

The settlement of cold and arid environments by Pleistocene hunter-gatherers has been a heated topic in Paleolithic Archaeology and the Quaternary Sciences for years. In the Iberian Peninsula, a key area for studying human adaptations to such environments is composed by the large interior and upland regions of the northern and southern plateaus (Mesetas) and bordering areas. As, traditionally, these regions have been relatively under-investigated compared to the ecologically more favored coastal areas of the peninsula, our knowledge of the human settlement of the whole Iberian hinterland remains scarce for the Last Glacial. In this paper we present the discovery and first geoarcheological, paleoenvironmental and chronometric evidence obtained at Charco Verde II, a new site close to the southwestern foothills of the Iberian system range (Guadalajara province, Spain), bearing a sequence of Magdalenian human occupations starting at least at 20.8-21.4 ka cal BP during the Last Glacial Maximum, and covering Greenland Stadial 2 until ∼15.1-16.6 ka cal BP, including Heinrich stadial 1. As this site is located in an upland region which today faces one of the harshest climates in Iberia, such occupation sequence, occurred during some of the coldest and most arid phases of the Last Glacial, has relevant implications for our understanding of human-environment-climate interactions and population dynamics in Iberia and Western Europe. These findings support the hypothesis that the Iberian hinterland was not avoided by Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers due to ecological constraints, but it hosted a complex and relatively dense settlement at least in some areas, even during cold periods. This suggest, one more time, that the historical scarcity of Upper Paleolithic sites in inland Iberia is, to a significant extent, an artifact of research bias.

Measuring ancient technological complexity and its cognitive implications using Petri nets

We implement a method from computer sciences to address a challenge in Paleolithic archaeology: how to infer cognition differences from material culture. Archaeological material culture is linked to cognition, and more complex ancient technologies are assumed to have required complex cognition. We present an application of Petri net analysis to compare Neanderthal tar production technologies and tie the results to cognitive requirements. We applied three complexity metrics, each relying on their own unique definitions of complexity, to the modeled production processes. Based on the results, we propose that Neanderthal technical cognition may have been analogous to that of contemporary modern humans. This method also enables us to distinguish the high-order cognitive functions combining traits like planning, inhibitory control, and learning that were likely required by different ancient technological processes. The Petri net approach can contribute to our understanding of technology and cognitive evolution as it can be used on different materials and technologies, across time and species.

Mousterian human fossils from El Castillo cave (Puente Viesgo, Cantabria, Spain).

El Castillo cave is a well-known site because of its Paleolithic archaeology and parietal rock art. This paper is focused on the human remains found by V. Cabrera in the Mousterian Unit XX assigned to MIS 4 and early MIS 3. The fossils consist of one upper left second premolar (ULP4), one incomplete proximal hand phalanx, and one partial femoral head. The tooth and the phalanx were assigned to adults, whereas the femoral head belonged to an immature individual due to the absence of fusion traces to the metaphyseal surface. The external morphology and metrical characterization of the Castillo-1466 (ULP4) tooth crown was quantified and compared to the variability of other Neanderthal dental remains and a sample of modern human populations. We also quantified its 3D enamel thickness distribution, its roots morphology, as well as the presence of chipping, and their possible relation to masticatory or paramasticatory activities. Castillo-1466 shows crown dimensions compatible with middle-sized Neanderthal teeth, but with a remarkably thicker enamel than other Neanderthal premolars, such as Marillac 13. The femoral head and the hand phalanx fragment are compared to published values for Neanderthals, although both partial fossils lack diagnostic features precluding any clear taxonomic diagnostic. Therefore, their attribution to Neanderthals is assumed based on the dating of the layers in which they were discovered. El Castillo cave Mousterian fossils represent another contribution to the knowledge of the Middle Paleolithic populations of Northern Spain, where different sites along the Cantabrian mountains yielded several human remains assigned to MIS 4 and early MIS 3.

The Complex Taxonomy of ‘Nubian’ in Context

The meaning of the word ‘Nubian’ in Middle Palaeolithic archaeology has changed markedly since its first published use in 1965 in the context of the Nubian rescue campaign in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Initially referring to two types of prepared point cores, ‘Nubian’ later became attached to a widespread technocomplex in the 1990s and in more recent research describes a specific Levallois reduction strategy. In this review, we situate ‘Nubian’ in its geographic and historical contexts, exploring how its terminology and concepts emerged, developed, and are now viewed in the frame of subsequent research. Whilst the taxonomic origin of the Nubian descriptor—as a technology or technocomplex—is associated with this region of northeastern Africa, its widespread distribution, as shown in the works presented in this collection, suggests that Nubian reduction played as complex a role in past human behaviour and cultural dynamics as it does in current archaeological debates.

Acheulean Handaxes in Medieval France: An Earlier ‘Modern’ Social History for Palaeolithic Bifaces

Handaxes have a uniquely prominent role in the history of Palaeolithic archaeology, and their early study provides crucial information concerning the epistemology of the field. We have little conclusive evidence, however, of their investigation or societal value prior to the mid seventeenth century. Here we investigate the shape, colour and potential flake scarring on a handaxe-like stone object seen in the Melun Diptych, painted by the French fifteenth-century artist Jean Fouquet, and compare its features with artefacts from diverse (including French) Acheulean handaxe assemblages. Commissioned by a high-status individual, Étienne Chevalier, Fouquet's work (Étienne Chevalier with Saint Stephen) depicts an important religious context, while the handaxe-like object points to the stoning to death of an important Christian saint. Our results strongly support the interpretation that the painted stone object represents a flint Acheulean handaxe, likely sourced from northern France, where Fouquet lived. Identifying a fifteenth-century painting of a handaxe does not change what we know about Acheulean individuals, but it does push back the evidence for when handaxes became a prominent part of the ‘modern’ social and cultural world.

NEUROARCHAEOLOGY – NEW PROSPECTS, OLD PROBLEMS

The article discusses the main ideas of British neuroarchaeology and American cognitive archaeology as well as their practical implementation. Neuro/cognitive archaeology is a new area of research that emerged at the junction of the social/cultural neuro/cognitive sciences and Palaeolithic archaeology. The basis of this line of research is the concept of “social brain”, which views this organ as a social/cultural “artifact”. Such an interpretation suggests that brain activity as well as another important human quality, mind, should be considered in conjunction with its corporeality and external environment. This idea has been further developed by L. Malafouris in his material engagement theory. He connected the mind with the ability to think and with tools in a process of tool activity. However, for the correct application of this theory, it is crucial to distinguish between ancient tools from natural mediators used by animals. The introduction of this distinction permits to establish an unambiguous connection of the emergence of tool making and mind with the beginning of the Oldowan. The previous stage of development (from 7 to 2.6 million years) was the period of the formation of preconditions for the transition that marked the beginning of the sociocultural development of our most ancient ancestors, which influenced their biosocial nature.

Reconnaissance a new Palaeolithic site at Al-Huwaidy in Ha’il region, northwest Saudi Arabia

Ha’il region in northwest Saudi Arabia is characterized by the presence of oases, flat plains, Paleo-lakes, and lava fields, which are some of the main landscape characteristics in which Palaeolithic sites have been found in the region. It is located on one of the routes of early hominin dispersal across Arabia. The ongoing archaeological research made by the Paleodeserts and Disperse projects have recorded several Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic sites in such localities as Jubbah basin in the Nefud desert (Groucutt et al. 2021; Petraglia et al. 2015; 2019), yet large parts of the region are still unexplored.
 The ground archaeological survey conducted by the authors at Al-Huwaidy village, 70 km southwest of Ha’il town, has led to the discovery of a unique Palaeolithic site on the margin of a palaeo-oasis, close to a volcanic mountain. The archaeological site consists of an agglomeration spread of lithics covering an area of basaltic field and outcrops. Numerous handaxes have been documented on the surface and the profiles of current water canal shafts. The site setting and the quantity and quality of lithics from Large Cutting Tools (LCT), including typical handaxes, foliate handaxes, Acheulean cores and flakes, indicate that the site represents a new and interesting extension of Palaeolithic archaeology in the northwest of Arabia similar to Palaeolithic characteristics in the Jubbah basin. Thus, this discovery has a direct relevance in assessing the distribution of Palaeolithic sites in the Ha’il region, showing that they not only occur in the northern area (Nefud desert), but also in the different landscape (basaltic lava field) in the southern part of the region.

Using Formation Processes to Explore Low-Density Sites and Settlement Patterns: A Case Study from the Swabian Jura

Paleolithic archaeologists often rely on cave and rockshelter sites with rich occupation levels to explore hominin behavior and settlement patterns. However, a closer look into regional occupation data may reveal an uneven distribution of sites and the presence of occupational hiatuses or low-density occupation horizons that often remain understudied. In contrast to this trend, this paper focuses on low-density occupation data to explore regional settlement patterns, using the rich and well-studied Paleolithic record of the Swabian Jura, Germany, as a case study. In this regard, we employ a geoarchaeological approach based on micromorphology to investigate the formation processes of two low-density occupation sites, Schafstall II and Fetzershaldenhöhle, and compare their formation history with the geogenic sequence from Lindenhöhle. We demonstrate that the investigated sites have comparable formation processes, despite their differences in chronology and context. We argue that humans used Schafstall II and Fetzershaldenhöhle for short-term activities, while the sites mostly served as carnivore activity areas, emphasizing the importance of fauna in the accumulation of thick sedimentary sequences. In addition, our findings corroborate the regional climatic record and provide novel insights into the geomorphological history of the less studied Lauchert Valley, where Schafstall II is located. By comparing our results with data from intensively occupied caves in the Swabian Jura, we provide broader implications for the settlement patterns of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. We conclude with methodological suggestions for investigating sites in hunter-gatherer contexts combining a distributional and a site-specific approach.