On identifying Palaeolithic single occupation episodes: archaeostratigraphic and technological approaches to the Neanderthal lithic record of stratigraphic unit xa of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Iberia)

Abstract

Within the framework of archaeological palimpsest dissection, stratigraphic association of lithic remains with hearths and other archaeological materials in undisturbed Neanderthal contexts allows us to seek patterns in lithic and faunal assemblage composition, assess the degree of time averaging within assemblages and investigate the spatial distribution of archaeological remains. So far, the European Neanderthal record shows variability in such spatial parameters, not only among different geographic regions but also across time. This approach has been employed to draw conclusions about the main features of Neanderthal occupations from in situ archaeological contexts within individual site sequences. As contribution to this topic, we present new results from our ongoing archaeostratigraphic investigation of stratigraphic unit Xa from El Salt (Alcoi, Alacant, eastern Iberia). Our previous study, based on stratigraphic analysis of the lithic record consisting of raw material units, yielded several micropalimpsests within unit Xa. Here, we carry out further technological and spatial analysis of the micropalimpsest units. The results obtained from it suggest that we may be able, in specific cases, to recognise indicators of diachrony within the context of these archaeostratigraphic units. This confirms the existence of a micropalimpsest, and suggests that we have the chance to find analytical frames that are even closer to the human temporal scale than the AU. This should be the target of future interdisciplinary behavioural study of El Salt unit Xa. This work illustrates the potential of a spatial and archaeostratigraphic approach to stone tool technology and brings to light the importance of archaeological palimpsest dissection as a first step for behavioural analysis in Palaeolithic research.

Late Neanderthal short-term and specialized occupations at the Abri du Maras (South-East France, level 4.1, MIS 3)

“…First, the high degree of fragmentation of the reduction sequences and the high number of isolated artefacts brought to the site already knapped are evidence of planning ahead based on anticipated raw materla constraints and subsistence activities (Kuhn 1992(Kuhn , 1995. Second, the evidence of partial reduction sequences could be interpreted as a feature of repeated short-term occupations in relation to the hunting of reindeer (Turq et al 2013;Mayor et al 2020;Picin et al 2020). Moreover, the variability of RMUs spatial distribution (see Fig.…”

“…Comparison with Neanderthal MIS 3 sites in Europe, such as Abric Romaní, Teixoneres, El Salt, El Pastor or La Quebrada, indicates a high diversity of modes of occupation and solutions for exploitation of the local territory. The picture that emerges from Abri du Maras and other MIS 3 sites in Europe shows that late Neanderthals found multiple solutions to the exploitation of local conditions across southern Europe (Delagnes and Rendu 2011;Di Modica 2011;Sánchez-Hernández et al 2014;Vidal-Matutano et al 2015;Villaverde et al 2017;Mallol et al 2019;Mayor et al 2020;Picin et al 2020), emphasizing their behavioural adaptability. Medium size flakes and fragments of flakes.…”

“…Knapping products and flake tools may therefore be mobile or curated pieces (i.e. Vaquero et al 2012a, Vaquero et al 2012bMoncel et al, 2014;Spagnolo et al 2020b;Mayor et al 2020;Picin et al 2020). By contrast, some RMUs show the entire reduction but not the core, indicating that a core could have been transported away from the site as a new mobile tool kit.…”

Tracing the spatial imprint of Oldowan technological behaviors: A view from DS (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

“…Despite being a dynamic field of research, intra-site spatial analyses in ESA contexts have experienced limited methodological development. Procedures currently implemented by micro-spatial studies, in which the integration of data provided by soil micromorphology, archaeo-stratigraphy, lithic conjoining and identification of raw material units in order to identify minimal behavioral entities in archaeological palimpsests [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] remain marginal in African Stone Age studies.…”

Neanderthal Spatial Patterns and Occupation Dynamics: A Focus on the Central Region in Mediterranean Iberia

“…This unit is therefore characterised by the overlapping of different occupational events, not very far apart in time, so that possible short time gaps appear blurred, to the point of not being recognisable in the vertical distribution of the remains. When human occupations are successive and repeated in the same space, over short time scales, sterile sedimentary units are difficult to define (Machado and Pérez 2016;Leierer et al 2019;Mallol et al 2019;Mayor et al 2020).…”