Trampling experiments at Cova Gran de Santa Linya,Pre-Pyrenees,Spain: their relevance for archaeological fabrics of the Upper–Middle Paleolithic assemblages

The study of fabrics, that is, the analysis of the orientation and slope of archaeological and sedimentary materials associated with the Middle Palaeolithic/Upper Palaeolithic (MP/UP) transition at Cova Gran shows substantial differences. Archaeological assemblages are characterised by greater isotropy in the fabrics than the sedimentary levels within which they are located, indicating that these differences may be generated by anthropic processes. One of the anthropogenic processes associated with horizontal and vertical displacement of archaeological artefacts is trampling and circulation caused by later occupations. In order to evaluate the effect of movement on materials, we undertook experiments simulating geological and archaeological conditions at Cova Gran. The results show that human trampling does not cause major isotropy in fabrics, but arranges archaeological assemblages towards planar or linear materials according to surface geometry. We were not able to replicate the fabric pattern of materials from the archaeological levels of Cova Gran, suggesting that they must be associated with the activities of human occupation at each level.     

DIET AND ENVIRONMENT IN SOUTH‐EASTERN IBERIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE,BASED ON ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS

A large sample of human bones from a series of archaeological sites in the south‐eastern Iberian Peninsula was selected for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N stable isotope analysis. Except for some contrast samples, the remains date from the first half of the second millennium cal BC and are ascribed to the Argar Culture, which developed during the Bronze Age in south‐eastern Iberia. Most authors have considered that this region reached a high degree of social hierarchical organization at this time, as demonstrated by the funerary record, both with regard to the grave goods and to the evidence of physical effort and diseases on the human remains. Results of the isotope analysis revealed the existence of differences among the settlements studied, as well as differences over time within every settlement and among the various individuals tested. Some variances can be assigned to social classes/status and others are linked to chronological factors. In particular, changes in δ¹³C can be explained by the increasing aridity of the first half of the second millennium cal BC, although other causes can be put forward too.