Oldowan stone knapping and percussive activities on a raw material reservoir deposit 1.4 million years ago at Barranco León (Orce, Spain)

Titton, Stefanía; Oms, Oriol; Barsky, Déborah; Bargalló, Amèlia; Serrano‐Ramos, Alexia; García‐Solano, José; Sánchez‐Bandera, Christian; Yravedra, José; Blain, Hugues‐Alexandre; Toro-Moyano, Isidro; Arenas, Juan Manuel Jiménez; Sala-Ramos, Robert

doi:10.1007/s12520-021-01353-w

Cited by 28 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…At Barranco León, bone abrasion has a mechanical origin, associated with friction with the sedimentary matrix. This fact was already noticed in lithic industries (Titton et al, 2021) and small vertebrates (Blain et al, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…The tool-kit is primarily focused on obtaining small, sharp-edged tools for immediate use on site. The in situ knapping processes at this site have been confirmed by several refitted lithic artefacts refittings (Toro-Moyano et al, 2013;Titton et al, 2021). Nevertheless, there is evidence for the use of heavy tools in the development of various active percussion activities other than knapping, such as bone fracturing, tendon processing, vegetal matter crushing or woodworking (Barsky et al, 2015;Titton et al, 2019).…”

Section: The Site Of Barranco Leónmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Barranco León (Guadix-Baza, Spain) is one of the oldest Early Pleistocene openair sites in Europe (1.4 Ma). This site, alongside the nearby locality of Fuente Nueva 3, presents evidence of hominin behaviour, including the earliest lithic assemblages documented in the Iberian Peninsula (Turq et al, 1996;Gibert et al, 1998;Barsky et al, 2010Barsky et al, , 2015Titton et al, 2019Titton et al, , 2020Titton et al, , 2021Toro-Moyano et al, 2009, 2010aYravedra et al, 2021). Barranco León has also produced hominin remains, specifically a mandibular left dm1 (Toro Moyano et al, 2013, although see also Gibert et al, 1999;Ribot et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Establishing the timing of carcass access by the different agents involved in the formation of the Barranco León assemblage is paramount for understanding and reconstructing hominin behaviour across the Orce Basin palaeolandscapes. As shown by Titton et al (2021), the lithic assemblage from Barranco León evidences the existence of localised knapping activities involving the exploitation of blanks through several differentiated knapping sequences, as well as the use of multi-purpose tools. Furthermore, the taphonomic analyses of the faunal remains retrieved during the excavations carried out at Barranco León between 2017-2020 provide additional insights into the subsistence strategies of the first European populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Turq et al, 1996;Toro-Moyano et al, 2010a, 2010b. The presence of in situ knapping activities was pointed out by Toro et al (2013) based on a lithic refitting in level D. Nevertheless a recent study (Titton et al, 2021) has proved that Barranco León D1 (BL-D1) was both a raw material source and a knapping site. BL-D1 is therefore a mix of primary and secondary archaeo-paleontological evidence sealed by another depositional event (BL-D2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unravelling Hominin Activities in the Zooarchaeological Assemblage of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain)

et al. 2022

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Little is known about the subsistence practices of the first European settlers, mainly due to the shortage of archaeological sites in Europe older than a million years. This article contributes to the knowledge of the subsistence of the first Europeans with new zooarchaeology and taphonomic data from the Palaeolithic site of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain). We present the results of the analysis of the faunal assemblages retrieved in the context of new excavations undertaken between 2016 and 2020. We have followed a standard methodology for the identification and quantification of species, mortality profiles, skeletal representation and taphonomic analysis. With regard to the taphonomic evidence, we have documented the extent of rounding, abrasion and other alterations. Finally, we examined traces from the activities of carnivores and hominins that led to the accumulation and alteration of the bone assemblages. Results indicate that the archaeo-paleontological deposits from Barranco León present a dual-patterned mixed taphonomic origin. The first phase primarily involved waterborne processes (BL-D1), which led to the accumulation of lithic raw materials, a few archaeological stone tools, and some faunal remains with percussion and cutmarks. The second phase (BL-D2) contains several stone tools associated with faunal remains with more anthropogenic alterations, such as cutmarks and percussion marks. After analysing the Barranco León zooarchaeological assemblage, the present study concludes that hominins had access to the meat and within-bone nutrients of animals of diverse sizes. However, the specific carcass acquisition mechanisms that hominins followed are less certain because the presence of tooth marks suggests that carnivores also played a role in the accumulation and modification of the Barranco León faunal assemblage.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: The Site Of Barranco Leónmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unravelling Hominin Activities in the Zooarchaeological Assemblage of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain)

et al. 2022

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New Approaches to the Bipolar Flaking Technique: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Kinematic Perspectives

Yeşilova,

Arroyo,

Vergès

et al. 2024

J Archaeol Method Theory

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The bipolar technique is a flaking strategy that has been identified from 3.3 Ma until the twentieth century, with no geographical or chronological homogeneous distribution. It is represented by the intentional contact of an active percussive element against a core rested on an anvil. This tool composite has been described by some researchers as a sign of low-skill of hominins, unable to perform successfully free-hand flaking or for flaking low-quality raw materials. Based on this premise, our research focused on the following question: Are there any quantitative and qualitative differences in terms of both kinematic parameters and technical skills between knappers with different levels of expertise when flaking using the bipolar technique? To get an answer, we developed a systematic experimental program with 12 volunteer participants with different levels of expertise. Then, to assess potential quantifiable differences and to understand the mechanics of bipolar technology, we did a video motion analysis based on kinematic parameters (including position, velocity, acceleration, and kinetic energy of the hammerstone). In addition, we performed a technological analysis of the experimental lithic assemblages to assess the technological differences between knappers based on their levels of expertise. In kinematic parameters, both statistical analysis and observations from the experiment clearly show that there are differences between the levels of expertise in this technique. Intermediate knappers have been observed to apply more velocity and kinetic energy than experts and novices. Also, differences were observed in the flaking strategies. Expert knappers show a longer reduction sequence, while intermediates show shorter one. Moreover, some of the novice knappers did not even obtain a single flake. The results of our experiment stress the complexity of bipolar flaking and that previous assumptions about it might be reconsidered, especially in terms of reconsidering the negative connotations attributed to this flaking technique.

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To be or not to be a lithic tool: analysing the limestone pieces of Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain)

Bernal

Zorrilla‐Revilla

Rodrı́guez

2022

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Oldowan stone knapping and percussive activities on a raw material reservoir deposit 1.4 million years ago at Barranco León (Orce, Spain)

Cited by 28 publications

References 129 publications

Unravelling Hominin Activities in the Zooarchaeological Assemblage of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain)

Unravelling Hominin Activities in the Zooarchaeological Assemblage of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain)

New Approaches to the Bipolar Flaking Technique: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Kinematic Perspectives

To be or not to be a lithic tool: analysing the limestone pieces of Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain)

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