8.2 ka BP paleoclimatic event and the Ebro Valley Mesolithic groups: Preliminary data from Artusia rock shelter (Unzué, Navarra, Spain)

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis paper presents the results of the first excavation campaign of the Artusia rock shelter in Unzu e, Navarre, Spain. Chronocultural and archaeobiological analyses revealed five different occupation phases (Artusia IeV) within the regional Mesolithic timeline, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the Geometric Mesolithic (Artusia III, IV, and V). In addition, the study of the sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental evolution in the entire record helped to clearly define several climatic events which developed around 6550 cal BCe8500 cal BP and 6250 cal BCe8200 cal BP. Here, we present a description of these events and their (pre)historical interpretation with the aim of recognizing how they influenced the Mesolithic hunteregatherer groups living in the Ebro Basin of the Iberian Peninsula.© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.Lydia Zapata, in memoriam IntroductionIn recent decades, the study of the Mesolithic in the Iberian Ebro Valley has focused mainly on the definition of different phases in accordance with the lithic industry as well as on the publication of several time series. Questions relating to subsistence and environment have also been addressed which results suggest an intense, planned and diversified type of exploitation and economy. The publication of a variety of monographs on particular sites (Barandiar an-Maestu, 1978 However, aspects related to palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes and their influence on the historical evolution of Mesolithic groups have only been tackled in recent years (Gonz alez-Samp eriz et al., 2008García-Martínez de Lagr an, 2012). From this perspective, the data obtained on the Artusia rock shelter help to reinitiate the * Corresponding author.E-mail address: igmtzl@gmail.com (I. García-Martínez de Lagr an). Contents lists available at ScienceDirectQuaternary International j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / q u a i n t Archaeological site: discovery and geographical frameworkThe Artusia rock shelter is located at Unzu e, a small village in the eastern part of Navarre, in the Valdorba region (Fig. 1). This archaeological site was discovered in 1996, and the preservation problems that this rock shelter faces due to the erosion derived by the Artusia stream are highlighted. Artusia is located, as are many other Mesolithic rock shelters from the southern Pyrenean slope, on a rock face, to which morphology refers its name in Basque (Arluxea ¼ long crag). It is located at the southern slope of a narrow pass that the Artusia stream excavated between the Alaiz Mountains on the north, and the Unzu e Crag on the south (Fig. 1). The rock shelter is filled by a stratigraphic package cut lengthwise by the stream that exposes the different archaeological levels which form most of the sequence (Figs. 2 and 3).The area where Artusia is situated represents the geological, climatic, floristic and politico-administrative border between the pre-Pyrenean Pamplona ...

Speleothems from the Middle East: An Example of Water Limited Environments in the SISAL Database

“…the transition from Pre-Pottery to Pottery periods) [112] ( Figure 6A). However, in the western basin of the Mediterranean, the 8.2k event could be closely related to an archaeological "silence" in one of the main Iberian river basins [133] and a Mesolithic techno-typological transition [134].…”

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“…El abrigo de Artusia no ha proporcionado ocupaciones neolíticas, pero se integra perfectamente en las características propias del Mesolítico en el valle del Ebro (García et al, 2014(García et al, , 2016 (Figura 2.A.). Tanto por el tipo de asentamiento, que es un abrigo dedicado a la actividad especializada y estacional de la caza, en un lugar estratégico a los pies de la sierra de Alaiz y la peña de Unzué pero al mismo tiempo cerca de las tierras más llanas de la cuenca de Pamplona y del valle del Ebro, y, por supuesto, cercano a una fuente constante de agua.…”

Una perspectiva paleoambiental de la explotación de la sal en las Lagunas de Villafáfila (Tierra de Campos, Zamora)

“…6350-6100 cal BC, antes de la génesis de esta laguna, un evento climático abrupto, de corto recorrido cronológico, produjera en el área de estudio condiciones climáticas frías y extraordinariamente áridas. Éste, conocido internacionalmente como evento 8,2 ka cal BP (Bond et al, 1997;Barber et al, 1999;Magny et al, 2003), ha sido documentado en registros paleoambientales de la península ibérica (López-Sáez et al, 2008;González Sampériz et al, 2009;López Merino et al, 2012;García-Martínez de Lagrán et al, 2015;López-Sáez et al, 2017) ca. 8300-8050 cal BP (ca.…”