Jorge Martínez-Moreno

The Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Cova Gran (Catalunya, Spain) and the extinction of Neanderthals in the Iberian Peninsula

The excavations carried out in Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Southeastern PrePyrenees, Catalunya, Spain) have unearthed a new archaeological sequence attributable to the Middle Palaeoloithic/Upper Palaeolithic (MP/UP) transition. This article presents data on the stratigraphy, archaeology, and (14)C AMS dates of three Early Upper Palaeolithic and four Late Middle Palaeolithic levels excavated in Cova Gran. All these archaeological levels fall within the 34-32 ka time span, the temporal frame in which major events of Neanderthal extinction took place. The earliest Early Upper Palaeolithic (497D) and the latest Middle Palaeolithic (S1B) levels in Cova Gran are separated by a sterile gap and permit pinpointing the time period in which the Mousterian disappeared from Northeastern Spain. Technological differences between the Early Upper Palaeolithic and Late Middle Palaeolithic industries in Cova Gran support a cultural rupture between the two periods. A series of 12 (14)C AMS dates prompts reflections on the validity of reconstructions based on radiocarbon data. Thus, results from excavations in Cova Gran lead us to discuss the scenarios relating the MP/UP transition in the Iberian Peninsula, a region considered a refuge of late Neanderthal populations.

Change and stasis in the Iberian Middle Paleolithic. Considerations on the significance of Mousterian technological variability

The European Mousterian has traditionally been portrayed as a long period of technological stasis as opposed to the technotypological dynamism of Upper Paleolithic cultures. The classic debate on Mousterian variability explained interassemblage differences either by ethnic, cultural, functional, and chronological or by paleoenvironmental causes, but variability was based on typological considerations. Recently, technological factors have been introduced in discussions over time trends and geographic differences in the Mousterian. This paper will address the topic by reviewing technological strategies in the Iberian Middle Paleolithic. Three sites from northeastern Spain are chosen as a case study to address the existence of directional patterns in the Iberian Mousterian. We conclude that albeit diachronic variability exists, it does not show patterning, which suggests stochastic variation rather than directional change in the technological strategies of Iberian Neanderthals.

Identifying bipolar knapping in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (northeast Iberia).

Despite recent advances in the identification of bipolar knapping, its role in many sites is not well known. We propose to assess the significance of this technique in the context of changes that occur in the Mesolithic. A lithic assemblage was recovered from unit SG at Font del Ros (Catalunya, Spain) in which pitted stones, cores and products arising from bipolar reduction (flakes, fragments and splintered pieces) were identified. This study indicates that the bipolar technique is fundamental in the settlement. These results are key to defining the organization of Holocene hunter-gatherer subsistence in northeast Iberia.

A bunch of refits: 497D blade knapping assemblage of the Early Upper Paleolithic in Cova Gran (Northeast Iberia)

Laminar knapping is a system of methods through which a recurrent series of elongated and morphometrically repetitive blanks are obtained. The appearance of this method is associated with cognitive changes that foster different paleoanthropological discussions. This article assesses the implications of the 497D lithic assemblage of Cova Gran (Northeast Pre-Pyrenees, Iberia), whose technical principles place it within the laminar knapping sphere in which the production of blades, bladelets, and flakes are interspersed. Refitting dynamic approach allows establishing physical connections, reflecting volumetric reduction integrate sequences of sequential blanks organized by the principle of technical predetermination. Techno-typological, contextual, and chronometric attributes enable the integration of 497D within an initial phase of the Upper Paleolithic. This is an important point; although laminar knapping is widely dispersed in space and time, it marks the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens associated with the Aurignacian (sensulato), a tradition marking the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. This concept has been challenged by the proposal that the Châtelperronian laminar technocomplex was made by Homo neanderthalensis. These opposing positions fostered the Middle-Upper Paleolithic “transition” debate. Technical traits identified through refitting facilitate examination of similarities and differences between 497D and the Proto/Early Aurignacian and Châtelperronian. Observations arising from refitting in 497D influence characterization of the knapping method and its possible correlation with one of these Early Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes. These inferences broaden the goals usually associated with blade knapping, and encourage reconsideration of the classical definition of the laminar system.

Mètodes d’excavació: del treball de camp a la interpretació arqueològica

El registro arqueologico es la base material sobre la que se interpreta el pasado. Su recuperacion ha sido foco de discusion metodologica y en los ultimos anos se ha visto impulsado por la irrupcion de las nuevas tecnologias. En este trabajo exponemos la metodologia de campo seguida por el Centre d’Estudis del Patrimoni Arqueologic de la Prehistoria (CEPAP-UAB). La excavacion en extension se presenta como propuesta metodologica para la recuperacion del registro arqueologico. A continuacion se expone la sistematica para la adquisicion, digitalizacion, integracion de los datos y la posterior generacion de mapas tematicos dirigida a interpretar la relacion entre los distintos items o estructuras. La metodologia mostrada sirve como base para la creacion de hipotesis de trabajo que se contrastan a lo largo del trabajo de campo y sustentan la base de la investigacion.

Métodos de excavación

El registro arqueologico es la base material sobre la que se interpreta el pasado. Su recuperacion ha sido foco de discusion metodologica y en los ultimos anos se ha visto impulsado por la irrupcion de las nuevas tecnologias. En este trabajo exponemos la metodologia de campo seguida por el Centre d’Estudis del Patrimoni Arqueologic de la Prehistoria (CEPAP-UAB). La excavacion en extension se presenta como propuesta metodologica para la recuperacion del registro arqueologico. A continuacion se expone la sistematica para la adquisicion, digitalizacion, integracion de los datos y la posterior generacion de mapas tematicos dirigida a interpretar la relacion entre los distintos items o estructuras. La metodologia mostrada sirve como base para la creacion de hipotesis de trabajo que se contrastan a lo largo del trabajo de campo y sustentan la base de la investigacion.