Active percussion tools from the Oldowan site of Barranco León (Orce, Andalusia, Spain): The fundamental role of pounding activities in hominin lifeways

Abstract

Dated to 1.4 Mya, the Barranco León site (Orce, Andalusia, Spain) is currently the oldest and richest late Lower Pleistocene stone tool assemblage discovered so far in Europe. Archeological and paleontological remains are found clearly associated in lacustrine deposits traversed by a small channel. This paper provides new data about the lithic assemblage from level D, focusing on the abundant active percussion implements that form a part of the highly divers set of limestone macro-tools unique to this assemblage. Morpho-technological and experimental analysis of these tools allows us to hypothesize about the kinds of activities that might have been carried out by hominins at this site. Experimental work allows us to define percussive trace morphologies Percussion implements form a part of the basic toolkit in Prehistoric stone tool assemblages in the most varied chronologies. These tools, though they do not always play a prominent role in the industries, provide essential clues for understanding what kinds of activities were performed by hominins at prehistoric archeological sites. In the framework of the Oldowan techno-complex, where they are often found in abundance (Chavaillon, 1979), the so-called 'macro tool' assemblages provide us with an assortment of study materials from which to obtain information about hominin activity. Beyond butchery, an activity deduced mainly from macro traces on bones (Dominguez-Rodrigo and Alcalá, 2016), and sparse evidence for woodworking (Keeley and Toth, 1981), little is known about the kinds of activities that were carried out by Oldowan hominins. In fact, from the range of possible or probable activities, there is no reason to exclude the likelihood that actions such as working plant materials, digging, chopping wood, modifying animal skins and soft tissues, were within the range of cognitive and technical skills of these hominins.Percussion tools have been identified in earliest African Oldowan sites: Lomekwi 3 (3.3 Mya, Harmand et al.

The earliest cut marks of Europe: a discussion on hominin subsistence patterns in the Orce sites (Baza basin, SE Spain)

“…Analysis of fracture patterns shows a systematic breakage of bones for marrow consumption, especially in the case of the major limb bones, although bone fracturing is present in other anatomical elements such as phalanges. This suggests that the exploitation of bone marrow after hammerstone breakage 30 was a usual activity during carcass processing.…”

“…This provides useful information on the behaviour of the first human populations that inhabited Western Europe. Moreover, the Oldowan lithic assemblages from both sites 29,30 and the inferences on resource availability and competition intensity among the members of the carnivore guild 41 make possible to discuss on the subsistence strategies of these human populations.…”

“…The lithic assemblages from BL and FN-3 are composed of abundant flakes of small size as well as cores and debris, largely made on flint and to a lesser extent on limestone 29,30 . The technological features of these lithic assemblages, including the small dimensions of the flint flakes (usually <2 cm), allow speculating on carcass acquisition by hominins, which relates to the classical debate on Homo as a “scavenger” or as a “hunter” 25,42–44 (see supplementary discussion and references therein).…”

“…Remains of small mammals (15 spp., including a porcupine) and herpetofauna (23 taxa) are also well preserved and there are some avian fossils (see details in Supplementary Table S1). Up to the year 2015, the lithic assemblage of BL and FN-3 is composed of ~3,500 Mode 1 stone artifacts (2,124 from BL-D and 1,367 from FN-3 levels), mainly flakes and debris, made on flint and limestones that outcrop in the surroundings of the sites 29,30 . It is worth noting that although evidence of anthropic activity on the bones of large mammals from these sites has been reported in a number of publications 4,7,8,28 , this is the first comprehensive study on them.…”

Diversité des outils et des activités de percussionà la fin du MIS 9 dans le niveau 6 d’Orgnac 3(Ardèche, France)

“…Ces dernières années, les matériaux de percussion au sens large bénéficient d'un regain d'intérêt de la part des chercheurs. Ce constat est particulièrement parlant concernant les périodes anciennes où les galets et les manuports représentent une part importante de l'outillage (Chavaillon 1979 ;Semaw et al 2009 ;Whiten et al 2009 ;Diez-Martin et al 2010, Barsky et al 2015Arroyo & De la Torre 2018 ;Titton et al 2018). Dans le contexte du Paléolithique inférieur et moyen européen, plusieurs études archéologiques et expérimentales ont été réalisées sur les percuteurs de différents sites espagnols et français, en lien avec les systèmes de débitage en présence (Roussel et al 2009 ;Cuartero 2014 ;Navarro et al 2016).…”