Rafael Mora

The Oldowan industry of Peninj and its bearing on the reconstruction of the technological skills of Lower Pleistocene hominids

The Oldowan technology has traditionally been assumed to reflect technical simplicity and limited planning by Plio-Pleistocene hominids. The analysis of the Oldowan technology from a set of 1.6-1.4 Ma sites (ST Site Complex) in Peninj adds new information regarding the curated behavior of early hominids. The present work introduces new data to the few published monographic works on East African Oldowan technology. Its relevance lies in its conclusions, since the Peninj Oldowan assemblages show complex technological skills for Lower Pleistocene hominids, which are more complex than has been previously inferred for the Oldowan stone tool industry. Reduced variability of tool types and complex use of cores for flaking are some of the most remarkable features that identify the Oldowan assemblages from Peninj. Hominids during this period seem to have already been experimenting with pre-determination of the flaked products from cores, a feature presently assumed to appear later in time. Planning and template structuring of flaked products are integral parts of the Oldowan at Peninj.

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.

Remarks on the Current Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Early Technological Strategies in Eastern Africa

This paper explores the theoretical and methodological backgrounds that sustain the current knowledge of early East African technologies. The typological approach dominated lithic studies along the 1960s and 1970s and was later on replaced by processual tendencies, whose paradigms still prevail nowadays. Nonetheless, the present scene in Plio-Pleistocene archaeology is not monolithic, and the theoretical-methodological background of the academic school to which each researcher belongs, has influenced our understanding and interpretations of the technological abilities by early humans. In this article similarities and differences between schools of thought are discussed, and the collections from Olduvai are used as a case study for reflecting on the variety of theoretical and methodological approaches and their relevance for reconstructing early African technologies.

Acheulean technological behaviour in the Middle Pleistocene landscape of Mieso (East-Central Ethiopia)

The Mieso valley is a new paleoanthropological sequence located in East-Central Ethiopia. It contains Middle and Upper Pleistocene deposits with fossil and lithic assemblages in stratified deposits. This paper introduces the Middle Pleistocene archaeological sequence, attributed to the late Acheulean. Low density clusters of artefacts suggest short-term use of the landscape by Acheulean hominins. In Mieso 31, one of the excavated assemblages, refit sets indicate fragmentation of the reduction sequences and enable study of the initial stages of biface manufacture. Mieso 7, also a stratified site, is primarily characterized by a small concentration of standardized cleavers, and portrays another dimension of Acheulean technology, that related to final stages of use and discard of large cutting tools. Available radiometric dates place the Mieso Acheulean around 212 ka (thousands of years) ago, which would make this sequence among the latest evidence of the Acheulean in East Africa, in a time span when the Middle Stone Age is already documented in the region.

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.

Spatial and orientation patterns of experimental stone tool refits

Freehand and bipolar experimental knapping of quartzite from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania is used to conduct spatial analysis of artefact distributions using GIS techniques, and to investigate the orientation of refit lines using circular histograms. The aim of our study is to discern patterns that can be applied to the archaeological record in two domains, namely the identification of knapping episodes and the utility of refitting line orientations in addressing post-depositional disturbance. Our spatial analysis shows that distinctive clustering patterns can be discerned according to knapping stance, handedness and flaking technique. The circular dispersion of refit lines in the horizontal distribution of bipolar assemblages is strongly patterned, indicating that anisotropy of conjoining sets is inherent to pristine hammer-and-anvil knapping episodes.

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.