Paleolítico Medio del Guadalquivir: las industrias de pequeñas lascas del yacimiento de Tarazona III (Sevilla, España)

Abstract

Se analizan tecno-tipológicamente las industrias líticas, mayoritariamente elaborada sobre cuarcitas, del yacimiento paleolítico al aire libre de Tarazona III (2.479 piezas líticas), formando parte de la Secuencia Paleolítica del Guadalquivir, que abarca el final del Pleistoceno Medio e inicios del Pleistoceno Superior (129 ka y <104 ka). Se identifican las cadenas operativas del yacimiento, desde la selección de materias primas hasta la fabricación de los útiles con percutor duro. Son cadenas dirigidas especialmente a la obtención de pequeñas lascas (<5 cm), lo que refuerza la selección del tamaño del canto rodado, con patrones de reducción de núcleos elementales, buena representación de los centrípetos y baja presencia del levallois. La serie de N3 es muy equilibrada y completa; y relativamente completas las de N1 y N2 lo que sugiere, o bien la preconfiguración de las cadenas operativa en otros lugares cercanos y el transporte de los productos de talla al yacimiento; o, en N1, el desplazamiento hidro-geomorfológico de las piezas de dimensiones más reducidas. La proporción útiles lasca/lasca es del 24% (N2) y 34,7% (N3), esto es, en los niveles posteriores a 104 ka BP. Esta proporción junto a la baja variabilidad de los tipos sobre lasca, la exigua o nula presencia de macroútiles, define la industria de Tarazona III, como uno de los yacimientos representativos del Paleolítico Medio Antiguo (PMA) del Valle del Guadalquivir.

Hominid Alluvial Corridor (HAC) of the Guadalquivir and Guadaíra River Valleys (Southern Spain): Geoarchaeological Functionality of the Middle Paleolithic Assemblages during the Upper Pleistocene

“…Within the Paleolithic sequence of the Guadalquivir River, the main open-air archaeological site of the Middle Paleolithic is Tarazona (TARIII, MIS6-MIS5, Late Middle Paleolithic). The site exhibits techno-complexes consisting of 2479 quartzite pieces, primarily small flakes, with fewer cores, and a low presence of macro-tools [22,23]. Another significant archaeological site is the karstic fill of the Cerro Santisteban (1,656 pieces) in the Sierra de Espartero piedmont, which represents a classic Middle Paleolithic sequence of flint [46].…”

“…The presence of flint ranges from 25% to 50% in the T12 deposits, which can be attributed to the Subbetic outcrops located approximately 44 km away in a straight line or slightly more (50 km) following the Guadaíra-Rozalejo thalweg. The lithic industries found at the top of these alluvial terraces are associated with hydromorphic formations (10YR) or Vertisol soils (TARIII-2, 10 YR 6/4), all of which are younger than 104 ka BP [22,23]. The lithic artifacts found in these deposits are mostly unrounded (R0) and made of quartzite (85%).…”

“…The alluvial and colluvial deposits are correlated with the entire Middle-Upper Pleistocene alluvial terraces in the Guadalquivir River [14,[22][23][24]. Based on the provenance of the raw materials used in the pebble industries, two distinct groups have been identified: quartzites from the north and flint from the south.…”

“…These assemblages exhibit sequential continuity and can be divided into two major periods. The first period corresponds to the Acheulian tradition (archaic substrate) [17,62], found in the gravel bars of alluvial deposits, loam-clay and sandy-clay deposits at the top, and the most recent alluvial terraces of the Guadalquivir [14,[16][17][18][19][20]22,23]. Characteristics of this period include the knapping of rounded pebbles, a high percentage of quartzite, limited flake varieties, and repetition of Early Paleolithic types.…”

“…Here, a Pleistocene sequence of the Guadalquivir River Valley was established, including relative and absolute chronologies (U/Th, OSL), for the Acheulian techno-complexes found in the high and middle terraces (Middle and Upper Pleistocene), as well as for the Middle Paleolithic in the lowest terraces (Upper Pleistocene). This was due to the dispersal of hunter-gatherer groups throughout the watershed [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”