Experimental Tests of Middle Palaeolithic Spear Points Using a Calibrated Crossbow

Controlled experiments using a calibrated crossbow to thrust stone-tipped spears into animal carcasses reveal a relationship between Levallois point morphology and their performance as spear points. A comparative study of morphometric variation of Levallois points from Levantine Mousterian contexts supports the hypothesis that the demand for stone spear points was an important factor in Levallois point production.     

Fires at Neumark-Nord 2, Germany: An analysis of fire proxies from a Last Interglacial Middle Palaeolithic basin site

Few sites with evidence for fire use are known from the Last Interglacial in Europe. Hearth features are rarely preserved, probably as a result of post-depositional processes. The small postglacial basins (<300?m in diameter) that dominate the sedimentary context of the Eemian record in Europe are high-resolution environmental archives often containing charcoal particles. This case study presents the macroscopic charcoal record of the Neumark-Nord 2 basin, Germany, and the correlation of this record with the distinct find levels of the basin margin that also contain thermally altered archaeological material. Increased charcoal quantities are shown to correspond to phases of hominin presence—a pattern that fits best with recurrent anthropogenic fires within the watershed. This research shows the potential of small basin localities in the reconstruction of local fire histories, where clear archaeological features like hearths are missing.     

Karstic Wetland Dwellers of Middle Palaeolithic Epirus,Greece

Abstract

The coastal zone of western Greece from the Ambracian Gulf to the Albanian border is the, foreland of the great Pindos range. It is a complicated, actively rising landscape of limestone mountains and closed intra-montane basins. Archaeologically, this karst landscape is distinguished by numerous Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites embedded in the red sediments of the basins. In contrast,further inland, the river valleys of the western flank of the Pindos harbor only sparse cave and rockshelter sites of Upper Palaeolithic age. A land-use strategy in the Middle Palaeolithic focused on predictable and seasonally-dependable features of karstic origin. This long-term pattern of scheduled Neanderthal residential mobility took advantage of wetlands at fixed locations which provided essential resources such as flint, animals, and plants. As the climate deteriorated in the Upper Palaeolithic the exploitation of wetlands declined and humans turned to caves and rockshelters and the pursuit of game on the upland interfluves and in river gorges.     

The Middle Palaeolithic of the Nejd,Saudi Arabia

The Pleistocene archaeological record of the Arabian Peninsula is increasingly recognized as being of great importance for resolving some of the major debates in hominin evolutionary studies. Though there has been an acceleration in the rate of fieldwork and discovery of archaeological sites in recent years, little is known about hominin occupations in the Pleistocene over vast areas of Arabia. Here we report on the identification of five new Middle Palaeolithic sites from the Nejd of central Arabia and the southern margins of the Nefud Desert to the north. The importance of these sites centers on their diversity in terms of landscape positions, raw materials used for lithic manufacture, and core reduction methods. Our findings indicate multiple hominin dispersals into Arabia and complex subsequent patterns of behavior and demography.     

Neanderthal Shell Tool Production: Evidence from Middle Palaeolithic Italy and Greece

The vast majority of tools recovered from Palaeolithic sites are made of stone varieties. Only rarely do non-lithic implements come to light, let alone tools produced on marine mollusc shell. Interestingly, a good number of shell implements made on Callista chione and Glycymeris sp. valves have been reported from 13 Middle Palaeolithic (Mousterian) sites in southern peninsular Europe. Of these, more than 300 specimens display evidence of deliberate edge retouch. They are all considered products of Neanderthals and date from ~110?ka BP to perhaps ~50?ka BP. In this paper, we review the evidence for Mousterian shell tool production in Italy and Greece??the only two countries in which such tools have been securely identified??and present experimental results obtained in the effort to understand the production process and typo-functional role(s) of the artefacts. We examine the general provisioning pattern of raw materials, as well as the typological, species-related and chronological data pertinent to the production of shell tools by Neanderthals. The data suggest that the Mousterian shell scrapers are a response to poor availability of lithic raw material in the areas of occurrence, and may be best described as an extension of chipped stone technologies to specific types of marine shell, their form defined by an existing mental template. As such, they constitute evidence for refined adaptation strategies and advanced provisioning of resources amongst Neanderthals, and may lend further support to the idea that these hominids displayed a degree of complex behaviour.     

Palaeolithic Living Sites in Upper and Middle Egypt: A Review Article

Abstract

In 2000 Leuven University Press of Leuven, Belgium published a very important volume on the prehistory of Egypt entitled Palaeolithic Living Sites in Upper and Middle Egypt. Egyptian Prehistory Monographs 2, edited by Pierre M. Vermeersch. This impressive volume presents partial results of the fieldwork of the Belgian Middle Egypt Prehistoric Project of Leuven University in the Nile Valley, between Luxor and Assiut, carried out from 1976 to 1991, and in 1994. A second publication, Palaeolithic Quarrying Sites in Upper and Middle Egypt, also edited by Pierre M. Vermeersch, appeared in 2002 as the fourth volume of the series. The 2000 volume, under review here, is a collection of detailed reports on nine excavated Paleolithic living sites, ranging in time from Acheulean to Epipaleolithic, complemented by a chapter on Quaternary geomorphology and stratigraphy of the Makhadma area, near Qena, as well as a study of chronology, subsistence, and environment of the Late Paleolithic fishing sites at Makhadma. The reviewers discuss in detail most of the sites reported and address the conclusions reached by the Belgian authors in light of their own experiences with the prehistory of the Egyptian Nile. Of particular interest are differences in views concerning late use of Levallois technology in the Nile Valley and the geomorphological history of the river.     

The Definition of Spatial Units in Middle Palaeolithic Sites: The Hearth-Related Assemblages

This paper deals with hearth-related accumulations in Middle Palaeolithic sites. Spatial behaviour is a key to understanding the cultural capabilities of ancient hominids. Ethnoarchaeological and archaeological research has shown that hearth-related assemblages are a basic feature in the spatial behaviour of modern and prehistoric hunter–gatherers. In this paper, we propose a methodology for analysing archaeological accumulations and study a series of hearth-related assemblages from the Abric Romanı&#x0301; Middle Palaeolithic site (Capellades, Spain). We also analyse the degree of contemporaneity between the different activity episodes documented at each archaeological accumulation. Our results suggest that the characteristics of domestic areas in this site are not substantially different from those observed in ethnoarchaeological contexts and Upper Palaeolithic sites.     

Recent work on the Middle Palaeolithic of the Eastern Sahara

Recent research at the remote depression of Bir Tarfawi, in the hyperarid Eastern Sahara, has revealed a sequence of four, or possibly five, Pleistocene lake-episodes. The first lake was probably associated with a Late Acheulean and the remaining four with a Middle Palaeolithic, specifically with a Denticulate Aterian, industry. Lithostratigraphic, macrofaunal and microfaunal analyses have permitted a quite detailed reconstruction of the local environment during the periods of the last two lakes; during the period of the fourth lake, local rainfall may have beenca 600 mm per annum but was rather less during the time of the fifth lake. Investigation of some of the many associated archaeological sites is revealing a complex pattern of specialized site-types, including living-sites, primary and secondary workshops and primary and secondary butchery-sites. Specific types of sites are closely related to the local landscape. Preliminary analyses from several experimental methods of chronometric dating suggest that almost all of the sequence falls within the Middle Pleistocene.

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Résumé Des recherches récentes dans la dépression isolée de Bir Tarfawi dans le Sahara oriental hyperaride, ont révélé une séquence de quatre, ou peut être cinq, épisodes lacustres au Pléistocène. Le premier lac est probablement associé à un Acheuléen final, et les quatre autres au Paléolithique moyen, et spécifiquement à une industrie atérienne denticulée. Des analyses de lithostratigraphie, de macrofaune et de microfaune ont permis de reconstruire d'une façon assez détaillée l'environnement local pendant les périodes des deux derniers lacs. Pendant la période du quatrième lac, la pluviosité locale était peut être deca 600 mm par an, mais elle était un peu moindre à lépoque du cinquième lac. Les recherches dans certains des nombreux gisements archéologiques associés nous révèlent un schéma complexe de sites spécialisés, y compris des sites d'habitat, des ateliers primaires et secondaires, et des lieux de dépeçage primaires et secondaires. Certains types de gisement sont étroitement liés au paysage local. Des analyses préliminaires par plusieurs méthodes expérimentales de datation chronométrique suggèrent que presque toute la séquence appartient au Pléistocène moyen.

     

Paleoethology as a tool for the development of archaeological models of land-use: the Crimean Middle Palaeolithic

The principal aim of our research is to capitalize on the close relationship between prehistoric hunters and prey to develop spatial models for the investigation of land-use patterns. Ideally, these models should be useful both as predictive tools for designing regional archaeological surveys, and as analytical tools for studying the distribution of known archaeological sites. Here, we build upon a basic G.I.S. model (including standard environmental variables such as slope, aspect and distance to water) adding a paleoethological variable in the form of range reconstructions for the regionally dominant, prehistoric human prey species: Equus hydruntinus.     

New Middle Palaeolithic sites from the Mani Peninsula,Southern Greece

We here report the first results from a systematic research project in Mani (Southern Greece), which includes survey and test excavations. Forty-six caves, rockshelters and open-air sites in lowland settings were surveyed. Geomorphological data were collected in order to assess how geological processes affect the preservation of sites and bias site distribution patterns. Artifacts manufactured from non-local rock indicate potential raw material transfers and suggest links among the different regions of Mani, related to mobility patterns. Our research in the Mani has nearly doubled the number of known Middle Palaeolithic sites from the region and confirmed that the peninsula has the strongest ‘Neanderthal signal’ identified to date in Greece. Almost all sites are located at coastal areas. Despite the influence of Pleistocene landscape dynamics, this distribution emerges as a persistent pattern, perhaps indicating a preference for coastal locations. The Neanderthal occupation of Mani can illuminate important aspects of Middle Palaeolithic adaptation in one of the southernmost coastal regions of Europe.     

Editorial: Palaeolithic America

Abstract

We present the results of the Cerro Jazmín Archaeological Project, a mapping and intensive survey project of a hilltop urban center in the Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico. Our archaeological and geomorphological investigations reveal a long history of intermittent occupation with the time of maximum occupation, the Early Postclassic, corresponding with soil formation and landscape stability. Our population estimates are compared with agricultural production projections to assess the city's capability to feed its population and we argue that it functioned as an agricultural center. In a broader discussion of landscape and urbanism, Cerro Jazmín's managed labor was needed to build, manage, and maintain its terrace systems. Our findings show that large urban populations do not necessarily cause environmental degradation.     

Thermoluminescence dates for the Middle Palaeolithic site of Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (France)

Thermoluminescence dating of heated flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (France) places an assemblage of Quina type Mousterian into MIS 4, while the overlying assemblage of Denticulate Mousterian which is followed by two layers with Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition are all assigned to MIS 3. TL dating is used to verify the mixed nature of deposits from which diagnostic Middle as well as Upper Palaeolithic tools were recovered. The TL ages are significantly different for samples from this layer and broadly agree with the archaeological attributions. While the study is generally limited by the low number of heated samples available, a correlation with a generalized chronostratigraphic sequence is possible by including proxy data from the faunal remains associated with the lithic assemblages in question. The Quina Mousterian in southwestern France, therefore, can be placed by chronometric dating methods in MIS 4 to MIS 3.     

The black layer of Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures. Interpretation and archaeostratigraphic implications

Certain aspects of the formation processes of simple, flat archaeological combustion structures such as those present in the Middle Palaeolithic record remain unexplained. Such kind of combustion structures are commonly affected by postdepositional agents and often, their only distinct, well preserved component is a thin black lens on the ground. Hence, understanding the nature of this black lens is essential towards archaeological interpretation. From an interdisciplinary microstratigraphic approach, we present a case study in which for an entire experimental series of flat combustion structures the black layer represents the fire-altered topsoil on which the fire was made. Parallel analysis of archaeological Middle Palaeolithic combustion structures from the site of El Salt (Alicante, Spain) reveal similar patterns, leading to significant implications for archaeological interpretation. In the light of these results, special attention must be paid to the formation processes of flat Middle Palaeolithic combustion features, as black layers and the material contained in them are not necessarily linked with combustion but with preceding activities or events. In such cases, black layers represent intact remnants of occupation surfaces, concealing significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to the reconstruction of Middle Palaeolithic societies.     

Insights into early Middle Palaeolithic tool use and hafting in Western Europe. The functional analysis of level IIa of the early Middle Palaeolithic site of Biache-Saint-Vaast (France)

Results are presented from the functional analysis of a large selection of tools from level IIa of the early Middle Palaeolithic site of Biache-St-Vaast (France). Results indicate that the site represents a hunting stand with a strong focus on hunting and animal processing activities, next to a maintenance component that appears to concern retooling and repair activities in preparation of the hunting episode(s). In spite of the site's age, a large part of the tool assemblage proves to have been used while hafted. Expertise in hafting was even quite elaborate in the sense that it includes tools for which hafting is not essential. It confirms the importance of hafting studies for improving insights into assemblage variability and past human behaviour.     

The history of stones: behavioural inferences and temporal resolution of an archaeological assemblage from the Middle Palaeolithic

Behavioural issues are a main focus of current Palaeolithic research, especially where the archaeological record of archaic hominids is concerned. Often these issues are approached using archaeological assemblages that are palimpsests defined exclusively by stratigraphic criteria. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether such assemblages are adequate for solving behavioural questions. As a case study, we will present the lithic provisioning strategies documented in level L of the Abric Romaní Middle Palaeolithic site. The results of this study suggest that the number of events and/or the amount of time included in the archaeological assemblages could be relevant when explaining the interassemblage variability, given that palimpsests tend to reduce the behavioural variability. If we want to approach the behavioural domain, we need archaeological assemblages of higher temporal resolution, defined through the identification of single activity events.     

Pigments from the Middle Palaeolithic levels of Es-Skhul (Mount Carmel,Israel)

Discovery of pigments at Middle Palaeolithic sites is of interest in the context of the ongoing debate about the tempo and mode of the emergence of modern human behaviour. Here we analyse four previously undescribed fragments of pigmental material from Es-Skhul shelter, layer B, Israel, McCown excavations, identified at the Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, London. One of them is still partially embedded in the hard breccia characteristic of this layer. Inspection of breccia fragments from layer B has led to the identification of small pieces of red and orange pigmental material still enclosed in large clasts, further corroborating the attribution of the larger pieces analysed in this study to layer B. The four objects are studied using optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray micro-diffraction (μ-XRD), Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission Spectrometry (PIXE), and Proton-Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE). The specimens display various hues of yellow, orange, red, and one of them presents a gradual variation of shade from yellow to dark orange. SEM/EDX analysis identifies two specimens (Skhul 1 and 2) as being composed of iron-rich calcium phosphate, the third (Skhul 3) of potassium-rich clay with titanium-rich iron oxide inclusions, and the fourth (Skhul 4) of pure iron oxide crystals. TEM/EDX and μ-XRD analysis demonstrate that three pieces (Skhul 1, 2 and 4) were heated to at least 300 °C, a process that has partially or completely dehydrated goethite into haematite and changed their pristine yellow colour into orange or red. Skhul 3 shows no sign of heating, suggesting that its haematite content has a geological origin. The different mineral composition of the pieces suggests that they must come from a variety of sources. This implies that the associated collection strategies included the selection of materials that differed not only with respect to colour but also with respect to other physical and chemical properties. Although no formal proof exists that these lumps of pigmental material were deliberately heated, results obtained are consistent with this explanation.     

Re–evaluating Subsistence Skills of Levantine Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Hunters: A Comparison of the Faunal Assemblages

It has long been argued that there were qualitative differences in the procurement strategies of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, with the hominids of the earlier period being less capable and efficient hunters than those of the subsequent period. This hypothesis is tested here through an examination of faunal assemblages from the two periods in the Levant by comparing measures of species diversity. It is concluded that no significant differences in hunting can be documented and that the hominids of both periods can be characterized as efficient foragers.