Environmental conditions and geomorphologic changes during the Middle–Upper Paleolithic in the southern Iberian Peninsula

Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco Jose; Rodriguez‐Vidal, Joaquín; Finlayson, Clive; Martı́nez-Ruiz, Francisca; Carrión, José S.; García‐Alix, Antonio; Paytan, Adina; Pacheco, Francisco Giles; Fa, Darren A.; Finlayson, Geraldine; Sánchez, Miguel Cortés; Rodrigo-Gámiz, Marta; González-Donoso, José María; Linares, Mauricio; Puro, Luis Miguel Cáceres; Fernández, Santiago; Iijima, Koichi; Aguirre, Aránzazu Martínez

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.10.011

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Fig. 1 shows a chronostratigraphic interpretative section of Gorham's Cave, based on the work of Jiménez-Espejo et al (33) previous publications (29,34,(36)(37)(38), and new data. The nature and sedimentary features of the fill of the cave differ between the entrance and the inner sector.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

Rodriguez‐Vidal

d’Errico

Pacheco

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The production of purposely made painted or engraved designs on cave walls-a means of recording and transmitting symbolic codes in a durable manner-is recognized as a major cognitive step in human evolution. Considered exclusive to modern humans, this behavior has been used to argue in favor of significant cognitive differences between our direct ancestors and contemporary archaic hominins, including the Neanderthals. Here we present the first known example of an abstract pattern engraved by Neanderthals, from Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar. It consists of a deeply impressed cross-hatching carved into the bedrock of the cave that has remained covered by an undisturbed archaeological level containing Mousterian artifacts made by Neanderthals and is older than 39 cal kyr BP. Geochemical analysis of the epigenetic coating over the engravings and experimental replication show that the engraving was made before accumulation of the archaeological layers, and that most of the lines composing the design were made by repeatedly and carefully passing a pointed lithic tool into the grooves, excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin (e.g., food or fur processing). This discovery demonstrates the capacity of the Neanderthals for abstract thought and expression through the use of geometric forms.Middle Paleolithic | symbolism | art | Iberia | cognition

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Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

Rodriguez‐Vidal

d’Errico

Pacheco

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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241

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“…For the Paleolithic of the Iberian Peninsula, much of the dated lithic industry and virtually all of the human remains are known from cave and rockshelter sites, such as Gorham's and Vanguard Caves (Macphail & Goldberg, ), Atapuerca (Bermudez de Castro et al, ), El Mirón (Carretero et al, ), El Sidrón (Lalueza Fox, Rosas, & de la Rasilla, ; Rosas et al, ), Cueva del Esquilleu (Presleyer et al, ), El Castillo (Bernaldo de Quiros et al, ), the Almonda cave network (Angelucci & Zilhão, ; Daura et al, ; Trinkaus, Maki, & Zilhão, ), Vale Boi (Bicho et al, ), and many others (Butzer, ; Duarte et al, ; Zilhão et al, ; Carbonell, ; de la Torre, Martinez‐Moreno, & Mora, ; Zilhão et al, ; Zilhão et al, ;Trinkaus & Walker, ). Iberian cave and rockshelter sites play an important role in a number of contemporary debates in Paleolithic Geoarchaeology, including the emergence of coastal adaptations and settlement (Bicho & Haws, ; Finlayson, ; Haws et al, ; Marean, ; Stringer et al, ), the impacts of paleoenvironmental fluctuations on cultural transitions (Bicho, Cascalheira, Marreiros, & Pereira, ; Bicho, Haws, & Almeida, ; Mallol, Hernandez, & Machado, ; Moreno, Gonzalez‐Samperiz, Morellon, Valero‐Garces, & Fletcher, ; Naughton et al, ; Schmidt et al, ), and the causes of Neanderthal decline and replacement by Modern Human populations (Aubry et al, ; Bicho, ; Finlayson & Carrion, ; Finlayson et al, ; Galvan et al, ; Higham et al, ; Jimenez‐Espejo et al, ; Marin‐Arroyo et al, ; Mora et al, ; Polo‐Diaz, Benito‐Calvo, Martinez‐Moreno, & Mora Torcal, ; Straus, Bicho, & Winegardner, ; Tzedakis, Hughen, Cacho, & Harvati, ; Wood et al, ; Zilhão et al, ). Iberia has many favorable characteristics for supporting cave‐based studies of Paleolithic human‐environment interactions, including several large limestone provinces, a climate‐sensitive location between the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean ecosystems, and excellent paleoenvironmental proxy records from offshore sediment cores (Roucoux, de Abreu...…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Pleistocene site formation and paleoclimate at Lapa do Picareiro, Portugal

et al. 2019

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The cave site of Lapa do Picareiro, Portugal contains a deep (~10 m) sedimentary sequence representing much of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, with abundant animal bones, lithic/bone/shell artifacts, and charcoal/ash in hearths. A deposition model based on 49 radiocarbon ages demonstrates average sedimentation rates of 0.1-0.3 mm a −1 between 9 and 45 ka. Extrapolation suggests an age at the base of the excavation of 65-78 ka. The cave sediments are primarily limestone éboulis derived from roof spalling, and muddy fine sediment derived from weathered soil infiltrating through bedrock joints and crevices. Bone preservation in the cave is good and disturbance by bioturbation, dissolution, or erosional processes appears to be limited. Most sedimentological parameters vary conservatively with depth, indicating stable sediment sources over time. Several parameters show good agreement with paleoclimate records over the radiocarbon-dated section. The cold-arid Heinrich stadials are represented by coarse-clast beds with little fine sediment and magnetic susceptibility minima, and mild Greenland interstadials correspond with muddy beds and sharp peaks in magnetic susceptibility. This study complements ongoing archaeological excavation at the site and confirms that the sequence has the proper age, resolution, and preservation to inform on Late Pleistocene cultural and climatic transitions. K E Y W O R D S caves, Iberia, paleoclimate, Paleolithic, site formation 1 | INTRODUCTION Sedimentary deposits in caves and rock shelters are central to our understanding of human prehistory. Although caves represent only a fraction of the landscapes occupied by prehistoric humans, under the proper conditions they offer long-term preservation of valuable paleoenvironmental information in stratified sedimentary archives.The study of karstic sediments as environmental archives has a strong tradition in geoarchaeology, beginning with seminal works of the last century and advanced by developments in both methodology and theory (e.g., Collcutt). Recent geoarchaeological research in caves employs stateof-the-art dating techniques, isotope geochemistry, micromorphology, and spectroscopy to interpret site formation processes over timescales from hundreds of years to hundreds of millennia (e.g.,

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“…Finally ( Fig 11 ), it is worth noting that this reactivation of carbonate deposits on the karst during the range of ages obtained by the three 14 C/AMS results (for the hyena jaw in Sector 2, patina 2 and carbonates on the carinated endscraper), which are within virtually the final stages of MIS 3, was also documented on numerous outcrops in southern Iberia and on the coast (Gibraltar), as well as in the inner mountain ranges (Sierra Morena and Sierra de Grazalema) [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas Cave (Andalusia, Spain)

et al. 2018

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The south of Iberia conserves an important group of Palaeolithic rock art sites. The graphisms have been mostly attributed to the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods, while the possibility that older remains exist has provoked extensive debate. This circumstance has been linked to both the cited periods, until recently, due to the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the extreme southwest of Europe as well as the non-existence of some of the early periods of Palaeolithic art documented in northern Iberia. This study presents the results of interdisciplinary research conducted in Las Ventanas Cave. These results enabled us to identify a new Palaeolithic rock art site. The technical, stylistic and temporal traits point to certain similarities with the range of exterior deep engravings in Cantabrian Palaeolithic rock art. Ventanas appears to corroborate the age attributed to those kinds of graphic expression and points to the early arrival of the Upper Palaeolithic in the south of Iberia. Importantly, the results provide information on the pre-Solutrean date attributed to trilinear hind figures. These findings challenge the supposed Neanderthal survival idea at one of the main late Middle Palaeolithic southern Iberian sites (Carigüela) and, due to the parallels between them and an engraving attributed to this period in Gibraltar, it raises the possibility of interaction between modern humans and Neanderthals in the extreme southwest of Europe.

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Environmental conditions and geomorphologic changes during the Middle–Upper Paleolithic in the southern Iberian Peninsula

Cited by 16 publications

References 109 publications

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

Late Pleistocene site formation and paleoclimate at Lapa do Picareiro, Portugal

Pre-Solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas Cave (Andalusia, Spain)

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