Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic adaptations in Cantabrian Spain and Pyrenean France

The period of deglaciation from ca. 13,000 to ca. 9000 B.P. along the northern edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera and Pyrenees was characterized by marked climatic and environmental oscillations, culminating in the establishment of interglacial conditions. While along the Cantabrian coast, late Upper Paleolithic groups had long been developing diversified systems of adaptation, fully exploiting the wide range of food resources of that narrow but ecologically varied region (notably red deer and marine mollusks), Magdalenian hunters along the southern edge of the Aquitaine basin were becoming increasingly specialized in the hunting of one medium-size game species, reindeer. Thus, while the artifact industries and artistic traditions of the two adjacent regions along the forty-third parallel developed along similar lines in the Magdalenian and Azilian, and despite a common montane specialization in ibex hunting, the changes that came with the end of the Last Glacial affected the human groups of the two regions very differently, as reflected in the early Mesolithic records of Vasco-Cantabria and Gascony, respectively.     

Cave sediments,upper pleistocene stratigraphy and mousterian facies in Cantabrian Spain

Archaeological sediments are analysed from karst cave columns in Cantabrian Spain: Cueva Morín, El Pendo, the Castillo cave complex (including La Flecha, Las Chimeneas, La Pasiega, Las Monedas), Hornos de la Peña and Cobalejos. External sediment influx, including loess, is calibrated by an index of cave and slope run-off energy, while other features (slope and roof rubble, chemical precipitates, cryoturbations, fine soil derivatives, and cultural components) are discussed. The key sequences (Morín, El Pendo, Castillo) are each interpreted in local terms and then combined into a regional climatostratigraphy that includes 40 environmental phases within deep-sea isotope stages 2–5. Trends in run-off energy (reflecting slope stability), temperature, and summer-moisture are rarely in phase, indicating complex environmental change. Mid-Pleistocene and older deposits exist but have largely been destroyed, explaining the apparent absence of Acheulian settlement. Mousterian occupation is verified by isotope stage 5b, and two or three Mousterian facies that span 25–50,000 years are coeval in several caves, regardless of the direction of climatic oscillations. This suggests the flexible lithic technology of a single population, maintaining an adaptive steady state despite repeated environmental changes. By contrast, the distinct upper palaeolithic industries each span only a few millennia, but in part overlap temporally within the region between 35,000 and 9500 bp.     

Producing Inequalities: Regional Sequences in Later Prehistoric Southern Spain

This paper presents regional sequences of production, consumption and social relations in southern Spain from the beginning of the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (c. 5600–1550 BC). The regions studied are southeast Spain, Valencia, the southern Meseta and central/western Andalucía. The details presented for each region and period vary in quality but show how much our knowledge of the archaeological record of southern Spain has changed during the last four decades. Among the surprises are the rapidity of agricultural adoption, the emergence of regional centres of aggregated population in enclosed/fortified settlements of up to 400 hectares in the fourth and third millennia BC, the use of copper objects as instruments of production, rather than as items with a purely symbolic or ‘prestige’ value, large-scale copper production in western Andalucía in the third millennium BC (as opposed to the usual domestic production model), and the inference of societies based on relations of class.     

Local amber in a Palaeolithic context in Cantabrian Spain: the case of La Garma A

It is important to determine the geological sources of Palaeolithic ambers in the south of Europe in order to understand the mobility and interchanges of prehistoric societies. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis carried out on Upper Palaeolithic ambers from La Garma A cave (Cantabria, Northern Spain) allowed us to identify their source area. Their diagnostic features were found to be similar to the amber obtained in the Lower Cretaceous outcrops close to this archaeological site, and to differ clearly from Baltic amber, which has been generally suggested as the amber found in European prehistoric sites. These results show that the origin of the Gravettian amber found in La Garma A is local and, consequently, a hypothetical contact route is not required to be able to account for the presence of this material in the Iberian Palaeolithic context studied here. For the first time it has been demonstrated that the provenance of an archaeological amber in the Iberian Peninsula is local, with both geographical and spectroscopical evidences. Our study also concludes that the archaeological amber of La Garma A possibly belongs to an araucariacean resin that originated from the coniferous forests which grew in the northeast portion of the Iberian Plate c.110-million years ago.     

Humans and marine resource interaction reappraised: Archaeofauna remains during the late Pleistocene and Holocene in Cantabrian Spain

The exploitation of marine resources in Prehistory has traditionally been regarded as insignificant, at least until the late Upper Pleistocene. However, in recent years the systematic study of archaeofaunal remains with a marine origin has widened our knowledge of the role they played among groups of hunter–gatherers in Europe. This paper analyses the available data about the evidence for the exploitation of the different marine resources (molluscs, birds, mammals, crustaceans, echinoderms and fish) that have been recorded at archaeological sites in Cantabrian Spain in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene.With the information currently available, it is clear that although it is in the Mesolithic when archaeozoological remains with a marine origin are found most often, the exploitation of these resources in the region began in the Early Upper Palaeolithic.     

Re-evaluating the Neolithic: The Impact and the Consolidation of Farming Practices in the Cantabrian Region (Northern Spain)

Research projects undertaken in the Cantabrian region since 1980 have produced new, high-quality information about the neolithisation process(es) in this area. It is now necessary to review this archaeological information and test the main hypotheses put forward to explain it. This paper presents an update on the archaeological evidence (sites, chronological dates, archaeozoological, archaeobotanical and technological information) for the early Neolithic in the Cantabrian region. It summarizes recent research on neolithisation in the region, and assesses the impact of this process during the early Neolithic, and its later consolidation. Although the available information is still incomplete, it is now possible to identify the focal point of the introduction of elements characteristic of the Neolithic way of life in the region. Current evidence suggests that it is in the eastern sector, where the earliest arrival of domesticates and new technologies such as pottery has been attested. The existence of continuities—such as sustained reliance on hunting and gathering and the coexistence of old and new funerary rites—suggests the persistence of native populations, which gradually participated in the neolithisation process after an ‘availability phase’.     

Archaeological implications of human-derived manganese coatings: a study of blackened bones in El Mirón Cave,Cantabrian Spain

The main interest in the study of taphonomic processes lies, from the archaeological point of view, in being able to draw conclusions about human behaviour from them. This paper analyzes the causes of a specific taphonomic alteration: the differential appearance across levels and among site areas of a black stain on bones from the Magdalenian levels in El Mirón Cave. From an understanding of these taphonomic agents, we aim to achieve a better comprehension of aspects of human use of the cave toward the end of the Late Glacial period. By determining the processes that stained many of the bones with manganese in the rear part of the cave vestibule, we are able to suggest some characteristics of the human occupation of the cave and its possible seasonal use.     

Prehistoric Foodways

Gilbert, Robert I., Jr., and James H. Mielke, eds. The Analysis of Prehistoric Diets. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, 1985. xiv + 436 pp. including chapter bibliographies and index. $65.00 cloth.     

The Political,Social and Scientific Contexts of Archaeological Investigations of Mass Graves in Spain

The recovery of historic memory of the Spanish Civil War is a multilayered initiative to escape both the romanticism of the Franco era, in which only the glory of the victors was celebrated while their past atrocities were ignored, and the cautiousness of the post-Franco democracy, for which forced amnesia of the Civil War was considered a sacrifice for the greater good. In the past five years the efforts to recover historic memory have gained empirical footing by employing archaeological methods to locate, enumerate and identify the victims of extrajudicial executions. The ultimate goals of such work include the production of a more accurate historical statement of past events, the repatriation of missing persons to their families, and the documentation of physical evidence that may allow families to seek civil restitutions. While the scientific methodology is fairly straightforward, the process is nonetheless inherently political in that various government bodies can and do impede recovery efforts. This paper contextualizes the current political and social climate of human rights investigations in Spain by illustrating some of the recent recovery efforts in Catalonia and Andalucia.     

我国史前玉鸟饰管窥

我国新石器时代晚期出现的玉鸟饰是对东方沿海和东南地区鸟崇拜传统的承袭和发展.这些玉鸟型饰有单体鸟型饰和组合型饰,亦即直接用玉制成鸟形饰或鸟与其他动物的组合型玉器,或将鸟纹和以鸟为部分构成单元的组合纹饰刻画其上.它们主要分布于良渚文化、龙山文化、石家河文化、红山文化以及凌家滩玉器中,既体现了各种文化不同的表现手法和特征,又表达了社会化人格化功能差异性与文化内涵的一致性.     

史前酒器赏析

我国的酒文化源远流长,从目前的考古资料看,酒的形成可以追溯到六千年前的新石器时代。酒器也就随着酒文化的萌芽而产生,原本作为饮水的器物开始用来饮酒,并且为了饮酒而特制了一些别致的器物。《抱朴子》载,＂黄帝造酒泉法,以曲米和成丹药＂;《素问》载,＂黄帝命作汤液酒醴以为备＂。虽为历史传说,但是也给我们透露出史前文化时期就开始了酒文化的萌芽。     

Recent Prehistoric Field Research in Central Tunisia: Prehistoric Occupations in the Meknassy Basin

Recent field prospection and test excavations in the Meknassy Basin (Central Tunisia) has revealed many prehistoric sites covering almost all the phases of North African prehistory from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. Excavations at the Aïn El-Guettar Mousterian site has yielded a faunal assemblage dominated by bovids and equids. One human tooth was found in situ. The stratigraphic sequence contains charcoal-rich occupation layers with faunal, human and lithic finds. A level with an industry resembling the Aterian was found beneath a Mousterian layer. The excavations at Aïn Oum Henda 2 (Jebel Maloussi) provided many Middle Palaeolithic lithic artefacts, some of which are pedunculates. From the excavations of the Rammadiya El Oghrab (Jebel Bou Hedma) we recovered some bones of antelope, many fragments of ostrich egg shell (among them a worked disc), an enormous quantity of flint (tools and splinters) and of land snails. In spite of the scarcity of land snails and the absence of bone in the rammadiya of Jebel Bou Hedma 1, the site produced a beautiful flint collection including an arrowhead found on the surface, which led us to place the site in the Neolithic.     

史前考古学中的术语问题

术语是学术研究中的一套具有自身特征的符号系统,术语的规范化是学术研究得以发展的重要前提。在我国的史前考古学界,这个问题不太受人重视,其结果便是近年来出现了一些不规范的术语,研究工作也出现了一些混乱的现象。本文呼吁学界重视史前考古学术语的规范化管理问题,认为这是学术研究规范化的一项基础工作。     

Prehistoric Survey in Central Afghanistan

Abstract

In August of 1976 the authors made an initial archaeological survey of the Dasht-i-Nawur, a highland volcanic-tectonic basin in Central Afghanistan. Two Epi-Paleolithic surface sites and one later hill fortification of uncertain date were discovered and investigated. An outstanding feature of the Epi-Paleolithic sites was that the source of virtually the entire tool industry was a locally available obsidian, a material that has not been found before in archaeological context in Afghanistan or nearby regions. The Dasht-i-Nawur, therefore, must be added to the short list of obsidian sources in Southwest Asia.     

人类早期文明中的自然铜

自然铜是人类使用最早使用的金属之一,它与人类早期文明存在重要联系。本文介绍了自然铜的属性、地质与世界分布,并结合考古证据和相关文献对人类早期自然铜的认识、利用、开采、加工及其社会价值进行了分析,对自然铜与早期金属文明之间的关系进行了探讨。     

Tooth Ablation in Prehistoric Southeast Asia

A sample of skeletons excavated from an undisturbed prehistoric (4000–3500 years BP) burial site in Thailand included a high proportion of individuals with anterior teeth missing in distinctive, mostly symmetrical, patterns. The patterns, types and numbers of teeth missing have been compared between males and females, with age at death, with depth of burial and among spatially distinct groups within the cemetery. The patterns of missing teeth changed over time. In early burials, lateral maxillary incisors were most commonly missing. Two-thirds of the adults had missing teeth. There were no significant differences between the sexes or with age. In later burials, central maxillary incisors and mandibular incisors were most commonly missing. All adults and some children as young as 11 years had missing teeth. There were no significant changes with age but females had more missing teeth than males. Loss as a result of extreme wear inflicted through the use of teeth as tools, congenital absence and ritual ablation are discussed as explanations for the absence of the teeth. The evidence suggests that ritual ablation is the most likely explanation, although the loss of mandibular incisors in some early burials may be as a result of industrial use of the teeth. The ablation of maxillary lateral incisors, found in the early burials, has been recorded at another prehistoric site in the west of Thailand and at sites in southern China.     

Prehistoric population history in eastern Fennoscandia

In this article, prehistoric population history in eastern Fennoscandia is modelled using summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates. In addition, radiocarbon date distribution is compared with other proxy data. Different proxies seem to produce similar distributions, which enhances the overall reliability of the pattern. The results indicate that there was a very pronounced peak in the hunter–gatherer population slightly after 4000 cal BC. This peak seems to be linked to increased environmental productivity. The subsequent population decline culminated just before the local appearance of farming economies in different sub-areas, which is an interesting result in the wider northern and central European context. Along with the adoption of agriculture, new population growth began in eastern Fennoscandia.     

浙江的史前文化

距今六七千年的河姆渡文化和距今四五千年的良渚文化是浙江史前文化的一头一尾,遗存非常丰富,被誉为浙江史前文化的“两朵花”,亦有人称之为浙江史前文化的“双璧”。