Xosé Pedro Rodríguez

The first hominin of Europe

The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2–1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other Atapuerca sites (level TD6 from Gran Dolina), also suggests that a speciation event occurred in this extreme area of the Eurasian continent during the Early Pleistocene, initiating the hominin lineage represented by the TE9 and TD6 hominins.

Lower Pleistocene hominids and artifacts from Atapuerca-TD6 (Spain)

Human remains dating to more than 780,000 years ago are associated with a rich faunal and lithic assemblage in the Pleistocene cave site of Gran Dolina (TD), Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain. The micromammal species represent the late Biharian (Mimomys savini zone), and the lithic objects represent pre-Acheulean technology (Mode 1) and comes from the TD6 level below the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary. The Gran Dolina hominid fossils cannot be comfortably accommodated in any of the defined Homo species. They could be considered a primitive form of Homo heidelbergensis, but a new species might be named in the future if the sample is enlarged. The new human fossil evidence demonstrates that Western Europe was settled at least since the late early Pleistocene.

Les premiers comportements funéraires auraient-ils pris place à Atapuerca, il y a 350 000 ans ?

Resume Pour la premiere fois, un outil lithique a ete decouvert a la Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Espagne). Il s’agit d’un biface en quartzite finement taille, associe a l’ensemble d’hominides de 27 (NMI) Homo heidelbergensis, date de plus de 350 000 ans. La nature particuliere de ce depot, sa taphonomie, l’aspect paleontologique et technologique evoquent une signification symbolique a la fois de l’outil et de l’accumulation d’ossements humains.

El Pleistoceno inferior de la Península Ibérica

Durante los ultimos anos se ha debatido mucho acerca de cuando tuvo lugar el poblamiento de Europa. Los yacimientos de la Peninsula Iberica han aportado datos que permiten afirmar que los humanos ocuparon Europa hace mas de un millon de anos. En el yacimiento de Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos) se han descubierto restos faunisticos, liticos y humanos (Homo antecesor) que datan de ca. 800,000 anos. En Fuente Nueva 3 y Barranco Leon 5 (Granada) se han recuperado restos faunisticos y artefactos liticos que podrian tener una cronologia de 1,3 millones de anos. Ademas hay hallazgos aislados en terrazas fluviales del Noroeste, Centro y Sur de la Peninsula que son menos concluyentes. Todos los objetos liticos recuperados pertenecen al Modo Tecnico 1. Por ultimo, se discute la posibilidad de un acceso a la Peninsula a traves de Gibraltar.

OBJETIVACIÓN E INFERENCIA ARQUEOLÓGICAS COMO PROCESO LÓGICO DEL CONOCIMIENTO HISTÓRICO

Rcsuuzsy.- Sepropone una reflexioncriticasobre laformacionde un equipoda trabajocenirado en el analisis del regis/ro arqueologico y la ,-econstruccion dela paleahistoria. Se sigueunrecorrido desde las condiclones del equipo investigador,las caracteristicasque debe peunirpara la interaccion con el registro arqueologico; pasando por su bagaje teorico; par la construccion de hipotesisy modelos,hasta la forma de reconstruccion historica. Se itace hincapie en la importancia de la formacion del equipo,no de susmienmbros canto individualidades, sino del conjunto. En este sentido es importante la visionde la reconstruccion historica como un conocimiento defronieta a transdisciplinar ARsms,cy-.- Wcpropase a critical reflexion about iheforma/ion of a research team devoted to the analvsis of tite archaeolvgical record and tv/ita reconstruction of Ibapalaeohistoiy. iVediscuss tite tea», conditions, tite fearures thaIthevizeedin orde,-to interactwithihe archaeological record; tizeir theort’calformation; tite propositionof iwpothesisandtnodelsand hoy’mustbe reconstn?cied Uje historicalprocess. IVaremarkthaian inipor/ant attan/ion mustbepaved to tite taam forma/ion as a w’hole, tiol anA’as an individuals grouping. fi, Ibis se/tse it s outsiandingthe assun:ption of Ihe histori’cal reconstruction as a boundarvlosowledge, thai is transdisciplinarv. P,,L4mzqs CIA mu: Conocimiento historico, Tratisdisciplinariedad. Dialectica,Equipode investigacion, Paleohistoria.