The early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)

Bonilla, Valentín Villaverde; Real, Cristina; Monroig, Dídac Roman; Albert, Rosa M.; Badal, Ernestina; Martínez, Miguel Ángel Bel; Bergadà, M. Mercè; Oliveira, Patrícia de; Eixea, Aleix; Esteban, Irene; Alfaro, Álvaro Martínez; Varea, Carmen María Martínez; Pérez-Ripoll, Manuel

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.11.051

Cited by 48 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Critics dismissed the dated lithic assemblage in level Bj13 as a mixed collection of artifacts from younger and older occupations or as lacking typological traits of the Proto or Early Aurignacian technocomplexes ( 24 , 25 ). Until the Bajondillo publication, the earliest Upper Paleolithic held at ∼35 ka cal BP at Cova de les Cendres (Mediterranean coast) ( 26 ), ∼36.5 ka cal BP, at La Boja ( 22 ), (southern Spain), and ∼34.5 ka cal BP at Pego do Diabo, (central Portugal) ( 27 ), all attributed to the Evolved/Late Aurignacian.…”

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confidence: 99%

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

Haws

Benedetti

Talamo

et al. 2020

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

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Documenting the first appearance of modern humans in a given region is key to understanding the dispersal process and the replacement or assimilation of indigenous human populations such as the Neanderthals. The Iberian Peninsula was the last refuge of Neanderthal populations as modern humans advanced across Eurasia. Here we present evidence of an early Aurignacian occupation at Lapa do Picareiro in central Portugal. Diagnostic artifacts were found in a sealed stratigraphic layer dated 41.1 to 38.1 ka cal BP, documenting a modern human presence on the western margin of Iberia ∼5,000 years earlier than previously known. The data indicate a rapid modern human dispersal across southern Europe, reaching the westernmost edge where Neanderthals were thought to persist. The results support the notion of a mosaic process of modern human dispersal and replacement of indigenous Neanderthal populations.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

Haws

Benedetti

Talamo

et al. 2020

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

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“…34–33.2 cal ka BP [ 63 ], Mallaetes (Valencia, level XII, 34.8–32.6 cal ka BP) and Cendres (Valencia, level XIVD, ca. 35.3–34.6 cal ka BP) [ 64 ].…”

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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“…At the Cova de les Cendres site near Alicante (see Fig. 1), level XVI, corresponding to the lower part of the Early Upper Palaeolithic sequence, has been assigned to the Evolved Aurignacian (Villaverde et al, 2019) based on the lithic assemblage and a radiocarbon date of 35,379–34614 cal yr BP (31.080 ± 170 cal yr BP [Beta-458,3469], 2σ) using the IntCal13 calibration curve (Reimer et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing of the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Iberian inland (Cardina-Salto do Boi, Côa Valley, Portugal)

Aubry

Dimuccio

Barbosa³

et al. 2020

Quat. res.

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The timing of the Neanderthal-associated Middle Palaeolithic demise and a possible overlap with anatomically modern humans (AMH) in some regions of Eurasia continues to be debated. The Iberian Peninsula is considered a possible refuge zone for the last Neanderthals, but the chronology of the later Middle Palaeolithic record has undergone revision and has increased the debate on the timing of Neanderthal extinction. Here we report on a study of the 5-m-thick archaeological stratigraphy of the Cardina-Salto do Boi, an open-air site located in inland Iberia, from which optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages were obtained for Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations preserved in overbank alluvial deposits. Geomorphology, archaeostratigraphy, stone-tool evolution, and OSL dating support the persistence of Neanderthals after 41 ka in central Iberia; the transition between the Middle Palaeolithic material culture and the AMH-associated Aurignacian blade and bladelet production is estimated to lie between 34.0 ± 2.0 ka and 38.4 ± 1.9 ka. Our results demonstrate that investigations focusing on different geomorphological situations are necessary to overcome the current limitations of the evidence and to establish more consistent models for Neanderthal disappearance and AMH expansion in the Iberian Peninsula.

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The early Upper Palaeolithic of Cova de les Cendres (Alicante, Spain)

Cited by 48 publications

References 52 publications

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

The early Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans into westernmost Eurasia

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

Timing of the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Iberian inland (Cardina-Salto do Boi, Côa Valley, Portugal)

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