Taphonomic processes inconsistent with indigenous Mesolithic acculturation during the transition to the Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean

Gordó, Salvador Pardo; Puchol, Oreto García; Castillo, Agustín Diez; McClure, Sarah B.; Cabanilles, Joaquim Juan; Ripoll, Manuel Pérez; Balaguer, Lluís Molina; Aubán, Joan Bernabéu; Benito, Josep Ll Pascual; Kennett, Douglas J.; Nicolau, Alfredo Cortell; Tsante, Nefeli; Basile, Martina

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2018.05.008

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The excavated area is approximately 5 m 2 , with a maximum length of 5 m running parallel to the West wall of the cave and a width of approximately 1 m. Careful excavation confirmed that only the upper layers immediately beneath the surface level were affected by contemporary human and animal activities. Because the stratigraphy of caves usually become a palimpsest subjected to taphonomic processes [22], the excavation proceeded with great care with particular attention to the definition of the contacts between the stratigraphic units [23] and using total stations and laptops with the EDM Mobile software [24] to record topographically every archaeological element. The information was logged in a database easily exportable to storage and data management software, and adapted for the creation of spatial graphic outputs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula

et al. 2020

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There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least well-known of the peninsular Neolithic sequence, and at present there is no specific synthesis on this topic at the peninsular scale. In 2017, an exceptional funerary context was discovered at Dehesilla Cave (Sierra de Cá diz, Southern Iberian Peninsula), providing radiocarbon dates which place it at the beginning of this little-known Middle Neolithic period, specifically between ca. 4800-4550 cal BC. Locus 2 is a deposition constituted by two adult human skulls and the skeleton of a very young sheep/goat, associated with stone structures and a hearth, and a number of pots, stone and bone tools and charred plant remains. The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to present the new archaeological context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of data provided by interdisciplinary methods. The dataset is diverse in nature: stratigraphic, osteological, isotopic, zoological, artifactual, botanical and radiocarbon results are presented together. Secondly, to place this finding within the general context of the contemporaneous sites known in the Iberian Peninsula through a systematic review of the available evidence. This enables not only the formulation of explanations of the singular new context, but also to infer the possible ritual funerary behaviours and practices in the 5 th millennium cal BC in the Iberian Peninsula.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula

et al. 2020

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“…On its part, Cocina shows a long and significant sequence, primarily of the Geometric Mesolithic of Castelnovian tradition, including levels with pottery on top. Javier Fortea (Fortea 1973) Martí 2007;Pardo-Gordó et al 2018;García-Puchol et al 2018a) after previous taphonomic studies of the cave revealed the existence of flooding episodes (Fumanal 1978).…”

Section: Regional Archaeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural continuities and discontinuities at the Neolithic transition in Eastern Iberia: an analysis of the morphometry of geometric microliths

Nicolau

Puchol

Shennan

2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The main goal of this paper is to explore possible cultural continuities and discontinuities at the Neolithic transition in Eastern Iberia. To address this issue we introduce a twofold methodology, consisting of Geometric Morphometrics and the use of the self-developed Geomeasure system, to examine evolutionary patterns in geometric microliths. These are a specific type of arrowhead shared by both the last huntergatherers and the first farmers from two reference sites in the region: Cueva de la Cocina and Cova de l'Or (Eastern Iberia). Although advances in research have contributed to a better comprehension of this process, there are still unanswered questions, especially when the study is approached from a regional perspective.Such is the case for the Neolithisation of the Eastern Iberian Peninsula, and the way in which the previous Mesolithic population interacted-if they interacted at all-with the first farmers. In this case, some sites present archaeological contexts that have been catalogued as acculturation contexts. This has traditionally been the case for phase C of Cueva de la Cocina (Spain), although recent research points to the possibility that the content of this specific deposit is to the result of post-depositional processes. Here we try first to understand the cultural evolutionary patterns and relations between the different geometric microlith technocomplexes and, second, to address the specific problem of the interpretation of taphonomic disturbances in the archaeological record. We use the the Cueva de l'Or and the Cueva de la Cocina for comparison, and our conclusions raise serious doubts about the existence of an acculturation phase at the latter.

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“…In Mediterranean Spain, for example, Phase C (or Cocina III) of Fortea-Pérez’s Mesolithic–Neolithic sequence was originally understood to be the result of the acculturation of indigenous Mesolithic groups [ 36 ]. But we now know that it was actually the result of stratigraphic mixing [ 37 ]. The dual model that was then developed [ 38 ] also emphasized such interactions, but here too, the reality of it is now questioned [ 39 ].…”

Section: Latest Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in the Western Mediterranean: The geochronological data revisited

Perrin

Manen

2021

PLoS ONE

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In the Western Mediterranean, the Neolithic mainly developed and expanded during the sixth millennium BCE. In these early phases, it generally spread through the displacement of human groups, sometimes over long distances, as shown, for example, by the Impressa sites documented on the northern shores. These groups then settled new territories which they gradually appropriated and exploited. The question of their potential interaction with groups of Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers living in the area prior to their arrival is therefore crucial. Were their encounters based on conflict and resistance or, on the contrary, on exchange and reciprocity? Many hypotheses have been put forward on this matter and many papers written. Before we can consider these potential interactions however, we must first ascertain that these different human groups really did meet—an implicit assumption in all these studies, which is, in reality, much less certain than one might think. The population density of the Late Mesolithic groups varied greatly throughout the Mediterranean, and it is possible that some areas were relatively devoid of human presence. Before any Neolithization scenarios can be considered, we must therefore first determine exactly which human groups were present in a given territory at a given time. The precise mapping of sites and the chronological modeling of their occupation enriches our understanding of the Neolithization process by allowing high-resolution regional models to be developed, which alone can determine the timing of potential interactions between Mesolithic and Neolithic groups. Various international research programs have recently produced several hundred new radiocarbon dates, based on selected samples from controlled contexts. The geochronological modelling of these data at the scale of the Western Mediterranean shows contrasting situations, probably related to different social and environmental processes. These results suggest that we should consider a varied range of Neolithization mechanisms, rather than uniform or even binary models.

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Taphonomic processes inconsistent with indigenous Mesolithic acculturation during the transition to the Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean

Cited by 24 publications

References 33 publications

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula

Cultural continuities and discontinuities at the Neolithic transition in Eastern Iberia: an analysis of the morphometry of geometric microliths

Potential interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in the Western Mediterranean: The geochronological data revisited

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