Bone retouchers from Lower Palaeolithic sites: Terra Amata, Orgnac 3, Cagny-l'Epinette and Cueva del Angel

Moigne, Anne‐Marie; Valensi, Patricia; Auguste, Patrick; García‐Solano, José; Tuffreau, Alain; Lamotte, Agnès; Barroso, Cecilio; Moncel, Marie‐Hélène

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.06.059

Cited by 65 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…The bone retouchers, for which a comparative analysis with other sites has been published (Moigne et al, 2016), were probably produced during the Marine Isotope Stage chronological interval corresponding to the later part of the Middle Pleistocene, inference that is in agreement with the palaeontological assemblage of the site. The radiometric results presented here are consistent and indicate a range from 323 to 179 ka, suggesting that a major part of the sedimentary infilling coinciding with the human occupation was contemporaneous with the MIS 9 to 7 time period.…”

supporting

confidence: 63%

“…The recovered and studied paleontological assemblage, dominated by large herbivores such as horses, bisons and cervids, suggests a chronological period ranging from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene, from MIS 11 to MIS 5 (Moigne et al, 2016). The new radiometric data presented in this work, constrain the human occupation during a period ranging from MIS 9 to MIS 7.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

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ESR/U-series dates on Equus teeth from the Middle Pleistocene Acheulean site of Cueva del Angel, Spain

Falguères

Ghaleb

Tombret

et al. 2019

Quaternary Geochronology

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The Cueva del Angel (Lucena, Spain) is an open-air archaeological site with a sedimentary sequence remnant of a collapsed rock shelter which was part of a still active karst complex. Highlights The Cueva del Angel site is an important Middle Pleistocene site of the Iberian Peninsula evidencing bifacial Acheulean industry in a cave environment. More than 85 % of the fauna has been subjected to intense fire throughout the archaeological sequence. The dating results suggest a MIS 9 to MIS 7 period of human occupation.

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supporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

ESR/U-series dates on Equus teeth from the Middle Pleistocene Acheulean site of Cueva del Angel, Spain

Falguères

Ghaleb

Tombret

et al. 2019

Quaternary Geochronology

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“…Among the relative diversity of bone tools that arose during prehistoric times (Backwell & D'Errico, ; Hutson et al, ; Rabett, ), bone retouchers are one of the most commonly found pieces in the toolkits of human groups, defined as elongated bone fragments and teeth with characteristic marks derived from its use in the retouching of lithic tools (Chase, ; Daujeard et al, ; Tartar, ). Their presence increases, and its use intensifies from the Middle Palaeolithic onwards (Costamagno et al, ; Daujeard et al, ; Henri‐Martin, , , ‐1910; Mozota, ; Patou‐Mathis, ; Vincent, ), but they were also found in Lower Palaeolithic contexts (Auguste, ; Blasco et al, ; Lamotte & Tuffreau, ; Moigne et al, ; Moncel, Moigne, & Combier, ; Rosell et al, , ). They are ubiquitous in the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic contexts (Semenov, , ; Tartar, , , ; Vitezović, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone retouchers from the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt, Stratigraphic Unit Xa (Alicante, Spain): First data and comparison with the Middle to Upper Pleistocene European record

Pérez

Hernández

Galván

2019

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Middle Palaeolithic sites frequently present bones with a double function, linked to subsistence and technology, which are generally referred to as “retouchers” or “bone retouchers.” These have been identified in several European sites from the Middle Pleistocene to Holocene, but different explanations of their origin and functionality have been cited. Although bone retouchers were made using various animal parts, they were usually produced from diaphyseal fragments of medium to large hoofed mammals. We present a small assemblage of six bone retouchers recovered from Stratigraphic Unit Xa (52.3 ± 4.6 ka), in the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt (Alicante, Spain), and compare our data with previous studies from several sites in south‐western France, northern Italy, and north‐eastern Spain. These tools were generated using diaphyseal fragments from red deer, horses, and other large mammals previously exploited by humans for meat and marrow. Our findings add to the existing knowledge on the behaviour and faunal resource management of the last Neanderthal groups on the western Iberian Peninsula before they disappeared from the region around 45–40 ka.

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“…In the Mousterian world in Italy bone was, indeed, an optional raw material, opportunistically exploited for tools that do not result from a planned sequence of actions. These tools mainly consist of unmodified long bone fragments of medium or large ungulates used as retouchers, a kind of implement which has been ascertained to have been in existence in Europe since the Lower Palaeolithic (Blasco et al, 2013;Serangeli et al, 2015;van Kolfschoten et al, 2015;Moigne et al, 2016). The occasional exploitation of other taxa (including humans) is also recorded (Daujear et al, 2014;Jéquier et al, 2012 andRougier et al, 2016).…”

Section: Bone Artefactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone tools, ornaments and other unusual objects during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy

Arrighi

Moroni

Tassoni

et al. 2020

Quaternary International

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The arrival of Modern Humans (MHs) in Europe between 50 ka and 36 ka coincides with significant changes in human behaviour, regarding the production of tools, the exploitation of resources and the systematic use of ornaments and colouring substances. The emergence of the socalled modern behaviours is usually associated with MHs, although in these last decades findings relating to symbolic thinking of pre-Sapiens groups have been claimed. In this paper we present a synthesis of the Italian evidence concerning bone manufacturing and the use of ornaments and pigments in the time span encompassing the demise of Neandertals and their replacement by MHs. Current data show that Mousterian bone tools are mostly obtained from bone fragments used "as is". Conversely an organized production of "fine shaped" bone tools is characteristic of the Uluzzian and the Protoaurignacian, when the complexity inherent in the manufacturing processes suggests that bone artefacts are not to be considered as expedient resources. Some traces of symbolic activities are associated to Neandertals in Northern Italy. Ornaments (mostly tusk shells) and pigments used for decorative purposes are well recorded during the Uluzzian. Their features and distribution witness to an intriguing cultural homogeneity within this technocomplex. The Protoaurignacian is characterized by a wider archaeological evidence, consisting of personal ornaments (mostly pierced gastropods), pigments and artistic items.

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Bone retouchers from Lower Palaeolithic sites: Terra Amata, Orgnac 3, Cagny-l'Epinette and Cueva del Angel

Cited by 65 publications

References 50 publications

ESR/U-series dates on Equus teeth from the Middle Pleistocene Acheulean site of Cueva del Angel, Spain

ESR/U-series dates on Equus teeth from the Middle Pleistocene Acheulean site of Cueva del Angel, Spain

Bone retouchers from the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt, Stratigraphic Unit Xa (Alicante, Spain): First data and comparison with the Middle to Upper Pleistocene European record

Bone tools, ornaments and other unusual objects during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy

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