The Ambrona and Torralba archeological sites are related to the pleistocene evolution of the Conq... more The Ambrona and Torralba archeological sites are related to the pleistocene evolution of the Conquezuela-Ambrona-Torralba polje. A study made of the centre-south sectors of this polje, nowadays highly degraded in part though being dissected by the river Masegar, ...
Información del artículo Investigaciones recientes (1990-1997) en los yacimientos achelenses de A... more Información del artículo Investigaciones recientes (1990-1997) en los yacimientos achelenses de Ambrona y Torralba (Soria, España).
Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France, 1982
Une hypothèse de travail importante en Préhistoire veut que le matériel archéologique ait été dép... more Une hypothèse de travail importante en Préhistoire veut que le matériel archéologique ait été déposé dans le même laps de temps que le sédiment qui l'entoure et que des couches ou niveaux bien visibles et peu épais constituent autant d'unités archéologiques distinctes, ...
Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehist... more Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehistoric sites, yet it has been so poorly supported by objective evidence that later, more critical reviews almost invariably reject the proposal. The basic data essential to a rigorous assessment of a cannibalism hypothesis include precise contextual information, analysis of postcranial and cranial remains of humans and animals, and detailed bone modification studies. Such data are available from the Neolithic levels of the Fontbrégoua Cave (southeastern France) where several clusters of human and animal bones have been excavated. The analysis of these bones strongly suggests that humans were butchered, processed, and probably eaten in a manner that closely parallels the treatment of wild and domestic animals at Fontbrbégoua.
Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000... more Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000-37,000 years ago, after modern humans entered Europe. It was a complex process of population interactions that included cultural exchanges and admixture between Neandertals and dispersing groups of modern humans. In Europe Neandertals are always associated with the Mousterian while the Aurignacian is associated with modern humans only. The onset of the Aurignacian is preceded by "transitional" industries which show some similarities with the Mousterian but also contain modern tool forms. Information on these industries is often incomplete or disputed and this is true of the Uluzzian. We present the results of taphonomic, typological and technological analyses of two Uluzzian sites, Grotta La Fabbrica (Tuscany) and the newly discovered site of Colle Rotondo (Latium). Comparisons with Castelcivita and Grotta del Cavallo show that the Uluzzian is a coherent cultural unit lasting ...
Axe Age: Acheulian Toolmakingfrom Quarry to …, 2006
In the current state of knowledge, the European distribution of Acheulian industries that include... more In the current state of knowledge, the European distribution of Acheulian industries that include handaxes and cleavers appears to be centered in southwestern Europe; their maximum northward expansion reaches England and Germany. North of latitude 52° and east of Germany and ...
The use of bone as raw material for implements is documented since the Early Pleistocene. Through... more The use of bone as raw material for implements is documented since the Early Pleistocene. Throughout the Early and Middle Pleistocene bone tool shaping was done by percussion flaking, the same technique used for knapping stone artifacts, although bone shaping was rare compared to stone tool flaking. Until recently the generally accepted idea was that early bone technology was essentially immediate and expedient, based on single-stage operations, using available bone fragments of large to medium size animals. Only Upper Paleolithic bone tools would involve several stages of manufacture with clear evidence of primary flaking or breaking of bone to produce the kind of fragments required for different kinds of tools. Our technological and taphonomic analysis of the bone assemblage of Castel di Guido, a Middle Pleistocene site in Italy, now dated by 40Ar/39Ar to about 400 ka, shows that this general idea is inexact. In spite of the fact that the number of bone bifaces at the site had bee...
Ancient Innovations Pressure flaking is a method of forming points, grooves, and notches on stone... more Ancient Innovations Pressure flaking is a method of forming points, grooves, and notches on stone tools in which a tool is pressed up against another stone, instead of striking it. It has been thought to be a fairly recent innovation, arising in the Upper Paleolithic 20,000 or so years ago. Mourre et al. (p. 659 ), show that tools from Blombos Cave, dating to about 75,000 years ago, have grooves and patterns resembling production by heat treatment followed by pressure flaking. Replication experiments were performed using similar source material followed by microscopic study of the tools. Despite the evidence for an early innovation, it seems that pressure flaking was not used widely elsewhere until much later; thus, such early innovations may have been sporadic ephemeral.
We present here the results of a technological and typological analysis of the Acheulian and earl... more We present here the results of a technological and typological analysis of the Acheulian and early Middle Paleolithic assemblages from Torre in Pietra (Latium, Italy) together with comparisons with the Acheulian small tools of Castel di Guido. The assemblages were never chronometrically dated before. We have now 40Ar/39Ar dates and ESR-U-series dates, within a geomorphological framework, which support correlations to marine isotope stages. The Acheulian (previously correlated to MIS 9) is now dated to MIS 10 while the Middle Paleolithic is dated to MIS 7. Lithic analyses are preceded by taphonomic evaluations. The Levallois method of the Middle Paleolithic assemblage is an innovation characterized by the production of thin flake blanks without cortex. In contrast, the small tool blanks of the Acheulian were either pebbles or thick flakes with some cortex. They provided a relatively easy manual prehension. The choice of Levallois thin flake blanks in the Middle Paleolithic assemblage...
Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehist... more Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehistoric sites, yet it has been so poorly supported by objective evidence that later, more critical reviews almost invariably reject the proposal. The basic data essential to a rigorous assessment of a cannibalism hypothesis include precise contextual information, analysis of postcranial and cranial remains of humans and animals, and detailed bone modification studies. Such data are available from the Neolithic levels of the Fontbrégoua Cave (southeastern France) where several clusters of human and animal bones have been excavated. The analysis of these bones strongly suggests that humans were butchered, processed, and probably eaten in a manner that closely parallels the treatment of wild and domestic animals at Fontbrbégoua.
This paper reports on an experiment designed to study the role of trampling in the vertical dispe... more This paper reports on an experiment designed to study the role of trampling in the vertical dispersal of artifacts in the soil, and in the mixing of originally separate sets of materials. The experiment is part of a study of the archaeological stratigraphy and patterns of site use at a large ...
Aridos 1 and Aridos 2 are archaeological sites of similar age in the Arganda I Formation, in the ... more Aridos 1 and Aridos 2 are archaeological sites of similar age in the Arganda I Formation, in the Jarama river valley (Madrid). Aridos 1-in primary context within low energy floodplain deposits-presents the disarticulated remains of an adult, female specimen of Elephas ...
We present the results of a technological analysis of the Howiesons Poort and MSA III lithic arti... more We present the results of a technological analysis of the Howiesons Poort and MSA III lithic artifacts from Cave 1A at Klasies River. We studied most of the debitage and retouched pieces from Deacon's excavations (about 3000 pieces) and all the cores and retouched pieces from three layers of Singer and Wymer excavations (640 pieces). Our analysis shows: (1) that
Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000... more Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000±37,000 years ago, after modern humans entered Europe. It was a complex process of population interactions that included cultural exchanges and admixture between Neandertals and dispersing groups of modern humans. In Europe Neandertals are always associated with the Mousterian while the Aurignacian is associated with modern humans only. The onset of the Aurignacian is preceded by ªtransitionalº industries which show some similarities with the Mousterian but also contain modern tool forms. Information on these industries is often incomplete or disputed and this is true of the Uluzzian. We present the results of taphonomic, typological and technological analyses of two Uluzzian sites, Grotta La Fabbrica (Tuscany) and the newly discovered site of Colle Rotondo (Latium). Comparisons with Castelcivita and Grotta del Cavallo show that the Uluzzian is a coherent cultural unit lasting about five...
The Ambrona and Torralba archeological sites are related to the pleistocene evolution of the Conq... more The Ambrona and Torralba archeological sites are related to the pleistocene evolution of the Conquezuela-Ambrona-Torralba polje. A study made of the centre-south sectors of this polje, nowadays highly degraded in part though being dissected by the river Masegar, ...
Información del artículo Investigaciones recientes (1990-1997) en los yacimientos achelenses de A... more Información del artículo Investigaciones recientes (1990-1997) en los yacimientos achelenses de Ambrona y Torralba (Soria, España).
Bulletin de la Société préhistorique de France, 1982
Une hypothèse de travail importante en Préhistoire veut que le matériel archéologique ait été dép... more Une hypothèse de travail importante en Préhistoire veut que le matériel archéologique ait été déposé dans le même laps de temps que le sédiment qui l'entoure et que des couches ou niveaux bien visibles et peu épais constituent autant d'unités archéologiques distinctes, ...
Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehist... more Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehistoric sites, yet it has been so poorly supported by objective evidence that later, more critical reviews almost invariably reject the proposal. The basic data essential to a rigorous assessment of a cannibalism hypothesis include precise contextual information, analysis of postcranial and cranial remains of humans and animals, and detailed bone modification studies. Such data are available from the Neolithic levels of the Fontbrégoua Cave (southeastern France) where several clusters of human and animal bones have been excavated. The analysis of these bones strongly suggests that humans were butchered, processed, and probably eaten in a manner that closely parallels the treatment of wild and domestic animals at Fontbrbégoua.
Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000... more Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000-37,000 years ago, after modern humans entered Europe. It was a complex process of population interactions that included cultural exchanges and admixture between Neandertals and dispersing groups of modern humans. In Europe Neandertals are always associated with the Mousterian while the Aurignacian is associated with modern humans only. The onset of the Aurignacian is preceded by "transitional" industries which show some similarities with the Mousterian but also contain modern tool forms. Information on these industries is often incomplete or disputed and this is true of the Uluzzian. We present the results of taphonomic, typological and technological analyses of two Uluzzian sites, Grotta La Fabbrica (Tuscany) and the newly discovered site of Colle Rotondo (Latium). Comparisons with Castelcivita and Grotta del Cavallo show that the Uluzzian is a coherent cultural unit lasting ...
Axe Age: Acheulian Toolmakingfrom Quarry to …, 2006
In the current state of knowledge, the European distribution of Acheulian industries that include... more In the current state of knowledge, the European distribution of Acheulian industries that include handaxes and cleavers appears to be centered in southwestern Europe; their maximum northward expansion reaches England and Germany. North of latitude 52° and east of Germany and ...
The use of bone as raw material for implements is documented since the Early Pleistocene. Through... more The use of bone as raw material for implements is documented since the Early Pleistocene. Throughout the Early and Middle Pleistocene bone tool shaping was done by percussion flaking, the same technique used for knapping stone artifacts, although bone shaping was rare compared to stone tool flaking. Until recently the generally accepted idea was that early bone technology was essentially immediate and expedient, based on single-stage operations, using available bone fragments of large to medium size animals. Only Upper Paleolithic bone tools would involve several stages of manufacture with clear evidence of primary flaking or breaking of bone to produce the kind of fragments required for different kinds of tools. Our technological and taphonomic analysis of the bone assemblage of Castel di Guido, a Middle Pleistocene site in Italy, now dated by 40Ar/39Ar to about 400 ka, shows that this general idea is inexact. In spite of the fact that the number of bone bifaces at the site had bee...
Ancient Innovations Pressure flaking is a method of forming points, grooves, and notches on stone... more Ancient Innovations Pressure flaking is a method of forming points, grooves, and notches on stone tools in which a tool is pressed up against another stone, instead of striking it. It has been thought to be a fairly recent innovation, arising in the Upper Paleolithic 20,000 or so years ago. Mourre et al. (p. 659 ), show that tools from Blombos Cave, dating to about 75,000 years ago, have grooves and patterns resembling production by heat treatment followed by pressure flaking. Replication experiments were performed using similar source material followed by microscopic study of the tools. Despite the evidence for an early innovation, it seems that pressure flaking was not used widely elsewhere until much later; thus, such early innovations may have been sporadic ephemeral.
We present here the results of a technological and typological analysis of the Acheulian and earl... more We present here the results of a technological and typological analysis of the Acheulian and early Middle Paleolithic assemblages from Torre in Pietra (Latium, Italy) together with comparisons with the Acheulian small tools of Castel di Guido. The assemblages were never chronometrically dated before. We have now 40Ar/39Ar dates and ESR-U-series dates, within a geomorphological framework, which support correlations to marine isotope stages. The Acheulian (previously correlated to MIS 9) is now dated to MIS 10 while the Middle Paleolithic is dated to MIS 7. Lithic analyses are preceded by taphonomic evaluations. The Levallois method of the Middle Paleolithic assemblage is an innovation characterized by the production of thin flake blanks without cortex. In contrast, the small tool blanks of the Acheulian were either pebbles or thick flakes with some cortex. They provided a relatively easy manual prehension. The choice of Levallois thin flake blanks in the Middle Paleolithic assemblage...
Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehist... more Cannibalism is a provocative interpretation put forth repeatedly for practices at various prehistoric sites, yet it has been so poorly supported by objective evidence that later, more critical reviews almost invariably reject the proposal. The basic data essential to a rigorous assessment of a cannibalism hypothesis include precise contextual information, analysis of postcranial and cranial remains of humans and animals, and detailed bone modification studies. Such data are available from the Neolithic levels of the Fontbrégoua Cave (southeastern France) where several clusters of human and animal bones have been excavated. The analysis of these bones strongly suggests that humans were butchered, processed, and probably eaten in a manner that closely parallels the treatment of wild and domestic animals at Fontbrbégoua.
This paper reports on an experiment designed to study the role of trampling in the vertical dispe... more This paper reports on an experiment designed to study the role of trampling in the vertical dispersal of artifacts in the soil, and in the mixing of originally separate sets of materials. The experiment is part of a study of the archaeological stratigraphy and patterns of site use at a large ...
Aridos 1 and Aridos 2 are archaeological sites of similar age in the Arganda I Formation, in the ... more Aridos 1 and Aridos 2 are archaeological sites of similar age in the Arganda I Formation, in the Jarama river valley (Madrid). Aridos 1-in primary context within low energy floodplain deposits-presents the disarticulated remains of an adult, female specimen of Elephas ...
We present the results of a technological analysis of the Howiesons Poort and MSA III lithic arti... more We present the results of a technological analysis of the Howiesons Poort and MSA III lithic artifacts from Cave 1A at Klasies River. We studied most of the debitage and retouched pieces from Deacon's excavations (about 3000 pieces) and all the cores and retouched pieces from three layers of Singer and Wymer excavations (640 pieces). Our analysis shows: (1) that
Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000... more Having thrived in Eurasia for 350,000 years Neandertals disappeared from the record around 40,000±37,000 years ago, after modern humans entered Europe. It was a complex process of population interactions that included cultural exchanges and admixture between Neandertals and dispersing groups of modern humans. In Europe Neandertals are always associated with the Mousterian while the Aurignacian is associated with modern humans only. The onset of the Aurignacian is preceded by ªtransitionalº industries which show some similarities with the Mousterian but also contain modern tool forms. Information on these industries is often incomplete or disputed and this is true of the Uluzzian. We present the results of taphonomic, typological and technological analyses of two Uluzzian sites, Grotta La Fabbrica (Tuscany) and the newly discovered site of Colle Rotondo (Latium). Comparisons with Castelcivita and Grotta del Cavallo show that the Uluzzian is a coherent cultural unit lasting about five...
In: Préhistoire entre Vienne et Charente - Hommes et sociétés du Paléolithique, J. Buisson-Catil & J. Primault (eds), Association des Publications Chauvinoises, Mémoire 38 : 85-117, 2010
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