Aleix Eixea

Neanderthal use of plants and past vegetation reconstruction at the Middle Paleolithic site of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia, Spain)

Despite phytoliths having been used to understand past human use of plants and palaeoenvironment in Middle Paleolithic sites, little is known on this aspect in the well-documented central region of Mediterranean Iberia. This paper presents the first phytolith and mineralogical study conducted at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia). Forty-one samples were analyzed through phytoliths and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) from different areas, stratigraphic levels, and archeological contexts (hearth, hearth-related, and non-hearth-related sediments) of the shelter. The results obtained point towards a different pattern of preservation in the site depending firstly on the stratigraphy and secondly on the area where the samples were collected. Postdepositional processes that may have chemically affected phytolith preservation are discussed. Grasses are the main plant component identified in all the samples while woody plants are scarce. The abundance of grasses in the non-hearth-related sediments might be related, at least partially, to the dispersion of ashes from hearths, as indicated by the FTIR results. The results are indicative of an occupation of the site during the spring-autumn season. At this time, the area would be dominated by a semi-open environment with supramediterranean vegetation.

A micro-invasive approach using INAA for new insights into Palaeolithic flint archaeological artefacts

Instrumental neutron activation analysis of small flakes from the same flint fragment of archeological artefacts from Palaeolithic sites (“Abrigo de la Quebrada”, “Cova de les Cendres” and “Cova Negra”), and geological sources (Chelva, Valencia, and Alcoi, Alicante) from the eastern Spain, was performed. The chemical contents of 27 elements were obtained. Ga, Ce, Nd, Yb, Zr and Hf were discarded due to high variations within the same fragment. The identification of chemical fingerprints within heterogeneous flint fragments was able to differentiate flint types and variants (“Domeño” and “Serreta”), contributing to provenance and human mobility in ancient times.

Not Only Flint: Levallois on Quartzite and Limestone at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): Implications for Neandertal Behavior

This paper investigates the application of the Levallois technique to the knapping of non-flint raw materials (limestone and quartzite) in the upper levels of the Abrigo de la Quebrada rockshelter (Chelva, Valencia, Spain). Besides highlighting the significant flexibility that characterized Neandertal behavior, such an application is of singular interest because good-quality flint—lacking fissures and impurities and presenting a compact and homogeneous texture—is abundant in the site’s immediate vicinity. In other assemblages, the scarcity or poor quality of flint often suffices to explain the recourse to alternatives, but in these Quebrada levels raw material choice must be primarily determined by other factors. Based on the dimensions of the different blank types, the percentage of Levallois blanks that were retouched into formal tools, and the presence of use-wear damage, combined with inferences derived from the study of the faunal remains, the hearths, and the spatial distribution of finds, it is proposed that such factors concern the length and function of the occupations and the wider systems of settlement, subsistence, and mobility of which such occupations were a part.