Evidence of Human Controlled Fires at Acheulean Site of Valdocarros Ii (Spain, Mis 8/7): Application of Organic Geochemistry

Abstract

Summary In this study, we focus on the site Valdocarros II, in the Jarama river valley (Madrid) in central Spain, despite being an open-air site, we identify anthropogenic evidence of hearts or burning by-products via a multi-proxy approach. The site of Valdocarros II (Madrid, Spain) is located in the Jarama basin with evidence of human occupancy dating to ca. 240 ka (transition of Marine Isotope Stage 8/7). The site is one of the very few Middle Pleistocene localities to have documented associations of bones and acheulean stone tools in different levels. Therefore, in this study, we examined the distribution of multiple compound classes (n-alkanes, n-alcohols, n-alkanoic acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of a total of 28 samples excavated around 11 fire hearths. Moreover, samples from Hearth-1 showed the presence of 18-Norabieta-8,11,13-trie4,5 that indicate conifers wood burning, as well most samples show abundances of 2-ring, 3-ring methyl-, and di-methyl PAHs that are indicators of wood burning. Our results add to our still-limited knowledge about the controlled use of fire in the Upper Palaeolithic and contribute to ongoing debates on the behavioral complexity of the human groups with acheulean technology in Europe.