Chronological reassessment of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and Early Upper Paleolithic cultures in Cantabrian Spain

Abstract

Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9–45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3–40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6–33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed <1,000 years, with the caveat that no diagnostic human remains have been found with the latest Mousterian, Châtelperronian or earliest Aurignacian in Cantabrian Spain.

Changing environments during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the eastern Cantabrian Region (Spain): direct evidence from stable isotope studies on ungulate bones

“…The eastern sector of the Cantabrian region contains several key sites pertaining to the late Mousterian, Châtelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian technocomplexes including Bolinkoba and Axlor in Bizkaia and Labeko Koba, Amalda, Aitzbitarte III, Lezetxiki and Ekain in Gipuzkoa (Table 1 ). Although there are other contemporaneous sites in those provinces, the sites analysed were selected because they are considered key regional sites with well-established stratigraphies that have been reviewed and recently dated by ultrafiltration 33 – 36 (Table 2 ). Additionally, these sites have been the subject of technological studies and some taphonomic analyses that proved human presence 38 – 43 and, also have environmental datasets 44 – 49 .…”

“…The Cantabrian Cordillera mountain range, relatively low in the Basque sector, separates the Atlantic coastal region from the Mediterranean-draining Ebro basin 32 . A recent chronological review of dates for MP-UP transitional sites undertaken using ultrafiltration radiocarbon method has provided a high-precision sequence of events for the timing of both human species’ activities in the region 3 , 33 – 36 . Therefore, it is now possible to obtain an accurate, independently dated environmental record in those archaeological sites by undertaking stable isotope analysis of ungulate bones exhibiting evidence of human manipulation (i.e.…”

El Paleolítico Superior de la península ibérica

“…This is in line with the most recently run AMS C14 dates from Isturitz in the French Basque Country (Szmidt et al 2010). The Marín-Arroyo et al (2018) study concludes that the Aurignacian appeared c. 40-43 cal kya. One Châtelperronian assemblage underlying a sequence of Aurignacian levels (Morín 10 in Cantabria) has recently been dated as young as c. 34 cal kya (demonstrating the difficulty of making sense of radiocarbon dates of this antiquity).…”

“…in Catalunya (Cabrera et al 2006;Bernaldo de Quirós et al 2010;Camps and Higham 2012;Vallverdu et al 2012). A recent publication (Marín-Arroyo et al 2018) has reported on Bayesian analyses of a large number of dates (including many new, carefully selected ones done with ultrafiltration), concluding that the Mousterian at least in the studied sites ended c. 48-45 cal kya. The oldest Aurignacian assemblages (particularly in El Castillo 18, Morín 8, La Viña VIII, L'Arbreda H, Romaní B) generally date to a few centuries or millennia later (c. 40-42 cal kya), depending on which dates are favored (Fortea 1995;Maíllo et al 2001;.…”

“…There are a few other sites in both the Cantabrian and Catalonian regions with Châtelperronian points (with a couple of problematic hints in Castile and one in Galicia), but the existence of a widespread, separate cultural tradition across northern Spain is not clearly demonstrated. Marín-Arroyo et al (2018) shed a little additional light on the age of the Châtelperronian, placing it between c. 42.6-41.5 cal kya. Possibly an offshoot of Mousterian, its dates overlap with the earliest Aurignacian.…”