Rapid climatic events and long term cultural change: The case of the Portuguese Upper Paleolithic

2018

J Quaternary Science

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Recent cross-disciplinary research in the Iberian Peninsula has revealed a synchronous pattern between rapid climate change and widespread cultural modifications during the Late Paleolithic. The beginning and development of each traditionally defined techno-complex is thought to be associated with different environmental conditions. A main contrast is put on the impact of cold and arid conditions at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and its coincidence with the development of blade/flake-size projectiles and bifacial technologies, against the dominance of bladelet-size backed points across more temperate and forested environments. Based on the long-recognized assumption that lithic technology operates within the broader context of Pleistocene human ecodynamics, here we test the hypothesis that climate-related lithic techno-typological changes across the Upper Paleolithic are linked to modifications in land-use patterns and settlement organization. We present statistical analysis comparing the Shannon-Weaver diversity index for retouched stone tool assemblages (used as proxy for site function) and locational parameters of a series of contexts from Central Portugal. The results show a trend of continuity and change between periods, with some of the most important deviations starting at the onset of the LGM, with the Heinrich Event 2 associated with patterns of technological diversification and biocultural expansion.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the impact of environmental change on hunter‐gatherer settlement organization during the Upper Paleolithic in western Iberia

2018

J Quaternary Science

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“…We used in this study a total of 17 stone tool samples from different archaeological contexts, coming from a set of various sites excavated since the late 1980's: Areeiro I (Bicho 1992(Bicho , 1993(Bicho , 1994) Cabeço do Porto Marinho (Bicho 1992(Bicho , 1994, Carneira II (Bicho 1992(Bicho , 1993, Picareiro (Bicho et al 2006), Pinhal da Carneira (Bicho 1992(Bicho , 1993, and Quinta do Sanguinhal (Bicho 2005) in central Portugal, and Vale Boi (Cascalheira andBicho 2013, 2015;Bicho et al 2017b) in southern Portugal. In most cases, only samples were used, instead of whole assemblages, since only those have been published.…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Lithic Assemblages for the Definition of Short-Term Occupations in Hunter-Gatherer Prehistory

Short-Term Occupations in Paleolithic Archaeology

2020

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One of the main elements in prehistoric research is the study of settlement patterns. In the last five decades, stemming partially from Binford's research on the topic, the idea of settlement patterns is based on site typology, including the traditional residential and logistic concepts. Both models of land use and exploitation are certainly marked by the notion of short-term occupation. This concept, used freely by many archaeologists, tends to rely on two main ideas: an occupation lasted a short span of time and resulted in a limited amount of material culture. Our aim, based on our results from various archaeological case studies dated to the Upper Paleolithic of Portugal, is to show that neither idea is necessarily correct: e.g. there may be short-term occupations with the production of large amounts of artifacts, such as lithic workshops; there might be very small collections, such as lithic caches, resulting from short occupations but with very long uses of the site; and most times, both are hardly differentiated within complex palimpsests. Our study shows that the common use of lithic volumetric density and retouch frequency is not always sufficient to differentiate between short and long-term occupations. Also, there are other variables that are more sensitive to indicate the duration of occupation of an archaeological context that should be used in the identification of time length. The archaeological use of 'Short-term occupation' Prehistoric archaeology has been fighting hard to understand the archaeological record and how it relates to past human evolution and anthropogenic adaptations to the changing environment. The development of actualistic studies (sensu Binford 1981) in the last half century, including such specialized disciplines as Ethnoarchaeology, Geoarchaeology or Zooarchaeology, have greatly helped us to understand, not only the archaeological material culture, but also site formation processes (e.g. Schiffer 1983, 1987) in a wide and very diversified manner. Nevertheless, archaeologists still endure complex problems for the definition of universally used concepts related to past human adaptations. In some cases, however, archaeologists just freely use those concepts without the necessary careful or proper consideration of their meaning and the impact that they might have in further interpretations of the distant past. The concept of 'shortterm occupation' seems to be such a case. The idea of short-term occupation has been frequently used to succinctly describe site´s or lithic assemblage's characteristics (e.g. Porraz 2009; Rios-Garaizar 2016; Picin 2017). Most times, it is, in one way or another, related to work on settlement patterns, starting with the classic Binford' studies on the Nunamiut settlement system and related discussion of site structuring and intra-site spatial organization (e.g. Binford 1978a,

“…The same Dryas III cold event in the extreme end of Western Europe had an impact on human cultural adaptations with the end of the Upper Paleolithic and the development and expansion of new lithic Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic technologies coming the previous Late Upper Paleolithic (Bicho et al ., , ; Straus, ; Straus and Goebel, ). Other rapid climatic events such as Heinrich Events (Heinrich, ) or the 8.2k cal a BP cold event have been indicated as the trigger for specific human adaptations, such as the appearance of Upper Paleolithic techno‐complexes (Bradtmöller et al ., ; Schmidt et al ., ; Cascalheira and Bicho, ; Bicho et al ., ), the establishment of Mesolithic communities (Bicho et al ., ) or the emergence of food‐producing societies (Weninger et al ., ).…”

Section: Climatic and Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It seems clear that there have been many circumstances and human developments when no apparent natural ecological factors had any relevance, more so in those cases when cultural changes seem to have taken place at a slow place over a long time. But while neither of us finds environmental determinism to be the absolute and only cause for human evolution, either physical or cultural (Cascalheira and Bicho, ; Bicho et al ., ), there have been times in the far past (e.g. the Pleistocene–Holocene transition) when there seems to have been a direct association between human adaptive events, including rapid technological adaptations, and the occurrence of major, radical and rapid climatic events (Barton et al ., ; Bicho et al ., ).…”

Section: Time and Causing Effects Of Technological And Hunter‐gatherementioning

confidence: 99%

“…But while neither of us finds environmental determinism to be the absolute and only cause for human evolution, either physical or cultural (Cascalheira and Bicho, ; Bicho et al ., ), there have been times in the far past (e.g. the Pleistocene–Holocene transition) when there seems to have been a direct association between human adaptive events, including rapid technological adaptations, and the occurrence of major, radical and rapid climatic events (Barton et al ., ; Bicho et al ., ). These events are usually marked by the drastic and rapid alteration of natural factors such as general humidity or rainfall patterns, atmospheric or sea water temperature or sea level changes (Svensson et al ., ; Rasmussen et al ., , ; Harrison and Sanchez Goñi, ; Sanchez Goñi and Harrison, ; Blockley et al ., ; Seierstad et al ., ).…”

Section: Time and Causing Effects Of Technological And Hunter‐gatherementioning

confidence: 99%

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Global perspectives on the impact of drastic environmental changes in hunter‐gatherer technologies

2018

J Quaternary Science

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Researchers have long debated the impact of climate change on human culture and particularly in hunter-gatherer societies. Climate drifts, particularly abrupt ones, have been continuingly seen as major prompts for rapid technological and cultural innovation. Recent advances in paleoclimatic reconstructions and ongoing developments in the quality and chronological resolution of archeological data have allowed a better understanding of the extent to which patterns of specific environmental changes triggered modifications in the technological systems of hunter-gatherers. This volume brings together contributions addressing strategic changes in the organization of hunter-gatherer technologies as a response to drastic environmental shifts. It includes topics such as lithic, organic tools and ceramic production, pyrotechnology, hunting strategies, pigment processing, use of plants and adornments, starting with Middle Stone Age and ending with Mesolithic and coming from a diversity of geographical contexts. This introduction to the volume provides a general view on the continuing debate over cause and effect in the interplay between humans and climate with the aim to provide a better understanding of the role and magnitude of environmental determinism in the archeology of hunter-gatherers.