Using Bones to Shape Stones: MIS 9 Bone Retouchers at Both Edges of the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

A significant challenge in Prehistory is to understand the mechanisms involved in the behavioural evolution of human groups. The degree of technological and cultural development of prehistoric groups is assessed mainly through stone tools. However, other elements can provide valuable information as well. This paper presents two bone retouchers dated to the Middle Pleistocene MIS 9 used for the shaping of lithic artefacts. Originating from Bolomor Cave (Spain) and Qesem Cave (Israel), these two bone retouchers are among the earliest of the Old World. Although the emergence of such tools might be found in the latest phases of the Acheulean, their widespread use seems to coincide with independently emergent post-Acheulean cultural complexes at both ends of the Mediterranean Sea: the post-Acheulean/pre-Mousterian of Western Europe and the Acheulo Yabrudian Cultural Complex of the Levant. Both entities seem to reflect convergent processes that may be viewed in a wider cultural context as reflecting new technology-related behavioural patterns as well as new perceptions in stone tool manufacturing.

What happens around a fire: Faunal processing sequences and spatial distribution at Qesem Cave (300 ka), Israel

“…On the other hand, 9 bone fragments from the hearth and around it show percussion marks related to stone tools shaping, which were previously reported in Blasco et al (2013b), Blasco et al (2014) and Rosell et al (2015). These items correspond to the long bone shafts of small-(n ¼ 2), medium-(n ¼ 5) and large-(n ¼ 2) sized animals displaying damage typically generated by the use of bones as soft retouchers (Mallye et al, 2012).…”

“…Zooarchaeological analyses suggest cooperative hunting strategies addressed mainly at fallow deer and the transport of selected ungulate body parts to the cave, where hominins carried out the last phases of carcass processing (Stiner et al, 2011;Blasco et al, 2014). Bone seems to have played a minor role as potential material for the shaping (retouching) of lithic artefacts (Blasco et al, 2013bRosell et al, 2015). The bone retouchers from Qesem Cave show the typical morphological and functional features described in similar or later chronologies (e.g., Rosell et al, 2011;Mallye et al, 2012;Hutson et al, 2013;Daujeard et al, 2014;Rosell et al, 2015).…”

The Anthropogenic Use of Firewood During the European Middle Pleistocene: Charcoal Evidence from Levels XIII and XI of Bolomor Cave, Eastern Iberia (230–160 ka)

“…The Bolomor faunal assemblage shows high diversity, with more than 30 species belonging to the categories of Cercopithecinae, Carnivora and Ungulata being identified in addition to small prey such as Leporidae, Aves, Testudinidae, Amphibia and Salmonidae (Blasco et al 2013a). Further, bone retouchers have been identified in several levels (XVII, XIII and XII) along the stratigraphic sequence (Blasco et al 2013b;Rosell et al 2015).…”

Palaeoecological and biostratigraphical implications of the microvertebrates of Qesem Cave in Israel

“…Qesem Cave is a very productive Middle Pleistocene archaeological site near Tel Aviv in Israel dated by various methods to 420e200 ka (Barkai et al, 2003Gopher et al, 2010;Stiner et al, 2011;Blasco et al, 2013;Mercier et al, 2013;Rosell et al, 2015;Falgu eres et al, this volume). The site is a sediment-filled karst chamber cave some 20 Â 15 m in size, which is located 12 km east of the present day Mediterranean coast, at an altitude of 90 m on the moderate western slopes of the Samaria hills.…”