Loading...
129 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 129
- The Ponor-Plopa Cave System: Description, Sediments, and GenesisPublication . Constantin, Silviu; Munteanu, C.-M.; Milota, Ş.; Sarcină, L.; Gherase, M.; Rodrigo, R.; Zilhão, JoãoThe Ponor-Plopa cave system is located in the central part of the Aninei Mountains, southwest of Steierdorf, a small neighborhood of Anina, at elevations ranging between 575 m (the Ponor) and 545 m (the Plopa resurgence) for the main river cave and ~600 m for the dry caves on the Plopa Plateau. The system includes a total of six caves of which two, Ponor and Plopa, were connected by cave diving. The remaining four caves are relatively small, inactive cavities that were connected to the system at various stages during its evolution. The karst area is entirely formed within the massive reef Plopa limestones (Barremian), and its surface does not exceed 0.5 km 2 (Figure 5.1). To the north, it is bordered by a secondary ridge of the Culmea Frumoas ă ; to the west the limit is very well marked by the rocky cliff formed along the contact between the Barremian limestones and the Hauterivian mudstones, while to the south and east it is limited by the Mini ş River. The overall topography of the karst plateau shows decreasing elevations toward the southwest, and the distribution and topography of the sinkholes suggest sinkhole alignments going from NNE to SSW, with a bend toward the east, right above the current Plopa resurgence. Such sinkhole alignments are usually considered to indicate either the broad directions of subterranean drainages or a succession of former ponors.
- Novos trabalhos na Lapa da Bugalheira (Almonda, Torres Novas)Publication . Rodrigues, Filipa; Souto, Pedro; Ferreira, Artur; Varanda, Alexandre; Gomes, Luís; Gomes, Helena; Zilhão, JoãoApresentam-se os dados obtidos no primeiro ano das escavações arqueológicas realizadas na Lapa da Bugalheira (Almonda, Torres Novas) ao abrigo do projecto de investigação ARQEVO. Esta intervenção permitiu reconhecer uma ocupação enquadrada no Neolítico Antigo, com um conjunto artefactual típico da primeira etapa da diacronia neolítica: cerâmica impressa cardial, “boquique”, geométricos e elementos de adorno. Datações absolutas sobre Ovis e restos humanos confirmam a cronologia. Esta ocupação encontra paralelos em sítios coevos do Maciço Calcário Estremenho (MCE), entre os quais se destaca a Galeria da Cisterna (sistema cársico do Almonda).
- Datación por series de Uranio del grafismo de estilo pre-magdaleniense en CantabriaPublication . García-Diez, Marcos; Hoffmann, Dirk L.; Pike, Alistair W. G.; Zilhão, JoãoEl objetivo del proyecto de investigación fue la obtención de fechas absolutas de formaciones de calcita asociadas a figuras paleolíticas de estilo pre-magdaleniense (anteriores a 17000 años 14C BP). La puesta en práctica del proyecto aportó fechas ante quem y post quem de su realización. Desde hace casi dos décadas la aplicación de técnicas analíticas en el estudio del arte rupestre paleolítico está abriendo nuevas vías de reflexión. En cuanto a la cronología, en los últimos años se ha asistido a la datación por radiocarbono mediante el procedimiento del AMS de pequeñas muestras del carbón con el que fueron trazados algunos motivos. Por otro lado, vienen siendo aplicados otros procedimientos (Termoluminiscencia y serie del Uranio) que permiten obtener datos numéricos con carácter contextual (momento ante quem o post quem siempre y cuando las muestras estén en relación directa y superpuestas a las figuras) relativos al momento de realización de figuras grabadas o pintadas con materias no orgánicas. La puesta en marcha de este proyecto de investigación debe ser entendida como innovadora en los estudios del arte rupestre paleolítico, abordándose problemáticas arqueológicas relativas a la periodicidad (en su escala diacrónica) del fenómeno gráfico paleolítico y, más en concreto, a la definición de los caracteres técnicos, formales y estilísticos de las primeras (contexto crono-cultural pre-magdaleniense) obras gráficas de la Humanidad.
- Seminari d’Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP). Núcleo de cohesión en formación e investigación en Prehistoria de la Universitat de Barcelona desde 1987Publication . Fullola, J. M.; Albizuri, S.; Álvarez, R.; Bergadà, M. M.; Cebrià, A.; Daura, Joan; Domingo, I.; Ejarque, A.; García-Argüelles, P.; López Cachero, F. J.; Lloveras, L.; Mangado, X.; Nadal, J.; Oms, X.; Petit, M.; Rey-Solé, M.; Riera, S.; Román, D.; Sánchez de la Torre, M.; Sanz, Montserrat; Tejero, J. M.; Tresserras, J.; Zilhão, João
- Last Interglacial Iberian Neandertals as fisher-hunter-gatherersPublication . Zilhão, João; Angelucci, Diego E.; Igreja, Marina; Arnold, L. J.; Badal García, Ernestina; Callapez, Pedro M.; Cardoso, João Luis; d’Errico, F.; Daura, Joan; Demuro, Martina; Deschamps, Marianne; Dupont, Catherine; Gabriel, Sónia; Hoffmann, Dirk L.; Legoinha, P.; Matias, Henrique; Soares, António Monge; Nabais, Mariana; Portela, P.; Queffelec, A.; Rodrigues, Filipa; Souto, PedroThe origins of marine resource consumption by humans have been much debated. Zilhão et al. present evidence that, in Atlantic Iberia's coastal settings, Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals exploited marine resources at a scale on par with the modern human–associated Middle Stone Age of southern Africa (see the Perspective by Will). Excavations at the Figueira Brava site on Portugal's Atlantic coast reveal shell middens rich in the remains of mollusks, crabs, and fish, as well as terrestrial food items. Familiarity with the sea and its resources may thus have been widespread for residents there in the Middle Paleolithic. The Figueira Brava Neanderthals also exploited stone pine nuts in a way akin to that previously identified in the Holocene of Iberia. These findings add broader dimensions to our understanding of the role of aquatic resources in the subsistence of Paleolithic humans.
- Cueva Antón: A multi-proxy MIS 3 to MIS 5a paleoenvironmental record for SE IberiaPublication . Zilhão, João; Ajas, Aurélie; Badal, Ernestina; Burow, Christoph; Kehl, Martin; López-Sáez, José Antonio; Pimenta, Carlos; Preece, Richard C.; Sanchis, Alfred; Sanz, Montserrat; Weniger, Gerd-Christian; White, Dustin; Wood, Rachel; Angelucci, Diego E.; Villaverde, Valentín; Zapata, JosefinaOverlying a palustrine deposit of unknown age (complex FP), and protected from weathering and erosion inside a large cave/rock-shelter cavity, the sedimentary fill of Cueva Ant on, a Middle Paleolithic site in SE Spain, corresponds in most part (sub-complexes AS2-to-AS5) to a ca.3 m-thick Upper Pleistocene terrace of the River Mula. Coupled with the constraints derived from the deposit’s paleoclimatic proxies, OSL dating places the accumulation of this terrace in MIS 5a, and radiocarbon dates from the overlying breccia cum alluvium (sub-complex AS1) fall in the middle part of MIS 3; the intervening hiatus relates to valley incision and attendant erosion. The two intervals represented remain largely unknown in Iberia, where the archeology of the early-to-middle Upper Pleistocene is almost entirely derived from karst sites; Cueva Ant on shows that this dearth of data, often interpreted in demographic terms, has depositional underpinnings ultimately determined by past climate variation. In early MIS 5a, the paleobotanical evidence indicates climate conditions similar to present, albeit wetter, followed by progressive cooling, reflected in the replacement of Aleppo pine by black pine and, at the very end, juniperdominated landscapes d the latter characterizing also mid-MIS 3 times. The variation in sedimentary facies and composition of the mollusk assemblages reflects the changing position of the river channel relative to the back wall of the cave. Such changes represented the major constraint for the occupation of the sitedmost of the time inaccessible to terrestrial mammals, it was used throughout by the eagle-owl, explaining the abundance of rabbit bones. Human occupation occurred during a few, short windows of availability, and is reflected in well-preserved living floors defined by hearths, artefact scatters, and the remains of hunted herbivores. The stone tool assemblages are Middle Paleolithic, which, in Europe, implies a Neandertal identity for their makers and, hence, that Neandertals persisted in the region until GI 8. Cueva Anton’s high-resolution record provides unique, critical information on the paleoenvironments and adaptations of humans in two short windows of time during which wetter conditions existed in SE Iberia, where arid or semi-arid climates prevailed through most of the Upper Pleistocene and the Holocene.
- A new Middle Pleistocene cranium in an Acheulian context at Gruta da Aroeira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal)Publication . Daura, Joan; Sanz, Montserrat; Arsuaga, Juan Luis; Quam, Rolf; Ortega, Maria Cruz; Santos, Elena; Hoffmann, Dirk L.; Gómez, Sandra; Rubio, Angel; Villaescusa, Lucia; Souto, Pedro; Maurício, João; Rodrigues, Filipa; Ferreira, Artur; Godinho, Paulo; Trinkaus, Erik; Zilhão, JoãoDespite the abundant remains from Sima de los Huesos and Arago, human cranial variability in the earlier Middle Pleistocene of Europe is poorly known, which makes it difficult to assess patterns of human diversity and possible regions for ancestral populations associated with the western Eurasian spread of the Acheulian technocomplex. A recently discovered partial cranium from the Gruta da Aroeira may shed some light on this period. U-series dating of stratigraphically overlying flowstone provides a minimum age of 390 ka, placing the fossil in the relevant time period . This cave site was first excavated between 1998 and 2002, revealing a rich collection of Acheulian bifaces in association with large mammals and two human teeth [1-2]. Work resumed in 2013, intent on reaching bedrock and establishing the chronology of the stratigraphic sequence, which, at the back of the cave, spans 4 m and comprises three major stratigraphic units. Unit 1 is a colmatation breccia. Unit 2 is a 2.2 m-thick mud-supported breccia rich in angular and sub-rounded clasts comprising Acheulean layer X. Basal unit 3 is a fluvial cave deposit comprising two layers: XI, with faunal remains but no artefacts; XII, sterile. The layer X lithics include handaxes and other bifacial tools; the Levallois method was not used. The highly fragmented faunal remains are dominated by cervids and equids and include Rhinocerotidae, bear, a large bovid, a caprid, and tortoise. Burnt bone fragments were recovered at the base of layer X. A partial human cranium encased in rockgrade breccia was discovered at the base of layer X. It consists of a large part of the right side of a braincase, lacking the occipital bone, but also preserving a portion of the left side of the frontal squama and supraorbital torus, as well as the interorbital region, including the vertical part of the nasal bones. A fragment of the right maxilla, with two molars partially preserved, was also found attached to the calvarium but not in anatomical position. Based on the degree of synostosis of the right coronal suture, the individual was a mature adult. There is no plastic deformation of the preserved regions although an extensive area of the outer surface of the frontal squama and the supraorbital torus was mechanically eroded (abraded) before final deposition, indicating a certain amount of transportation. As a consequence of the abrasion, the frontal squama was considerably thinned and the midorbital and lateral (trigone) parts of the supraorbital arches are lost. The fossil was mechanically removed from the breccia with great care and accuracy, and then CT-scanned and virtually reconstructed, using the Mimics v.18 software program. Although neither the sagittal suture nor bregma are preserved, there remains enough of the right portion of the frontal bone (including the interior frontal crest) to identify the midline. The preserved portions were mirror-imaged and the main transverse neurocranial diameters were measured. The Aroeira skull shows relatively thick bones, and an angular torus is present on the right parietal bone. This latter feature is a primitive trait found on some Middle Pleistocene fossils from the Sima de los Huesos , Caune de l’Arago and Ceprano, but not found in Neandertals and is consistent with a geological age between 400 ka and 500 ka. When the reconstructed braincase is viewed posteriorly, the parietal walls are fairly vertical but converge slightly towards the top. The general measurements of the Aroeira neurocranium are well within the ranges of the Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca) collection and other European fossils attributed to the mid Middle Pleistocene, although the thickness of the supraorbital torus and the interorbital breadth are outstanding.
- Tar adhesives, Neandertals, and the tyranny of the discontinuous mindPublication . Zilhão, João
- Identification of local and allochthonous flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithical site ‘Abrigo de la Quebrada’ (Chelva, Valencia, Spain) by macroscopic and physicochemical methodsPublication . Roldán, Clodoaldo; Carballo, Jorgelina; Murcia, Sonia; Eixea, Aleix; Villaverde, Valentín; Zilhão, JoãoThis work summarizes the characterization of flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithic site ‘Abrigo de la Quebrada’ (Chelva, Valencia, Spain) and flint geological samples collected in the Chelva area. Additionally, some flint artefacts located outside this geographical zone were also analysed and compared with the samples from the Abrigo de la Quebrada site. Flint samples have been studied using methods of macroscopic description and physicochemical analysis [energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD)]. Multivariate statistical analysis of the EDXRF data and the determination of the crystalline index of quartz, obtained from the XRD patterns, are suitable methods to discriminate between local and allochthonous flint artefacts in agreement with the macroscopic classification. These results provide new analytical information of the flint artefacts on a geographical area that had not been studied so far.
- Diachronic variation in the Middle Paleolithic settlement of Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Spain)Publication . Villaverde, Valentín; Eixea, Aleix; Zilhão, João; Sanchis, Alfred; Real, Cristina; Bergadà, MercèThis paper compares levels IV and VIII of Abrigo de la Quebrada. The study includes knapping technique, raw material, fauna, and the spatial distribution of lithic and bone remains. Although both levels correspond to cumulative palimpsests, patterns of resource management and use of space that suggest changes in the rhythm of occupation and the functionality of the settlements can be discerned. A change in mobility patterns probably underpins the differences between these two levels of Quebrada, but assessing this hypothesis is made difficult by the lack of comparable documentation for other sites in the region.