The Early and Middle Pleistocene Technological Record from Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)

Ollé, Andreu; Mosquera, Marina; Rodrı́guez, Xosé Pedro; Sala, Robert; Carbonell, Eudald; García-Antón, Dolores; García-Medrano, Paula; Ruíz, Marta Navazo; Peña, Luna; Bargalló, Amèlia; Lombera, Arturo; Márquez, Belén; Menéndez, Leticia; Terradillos, Marcos

doi:10.4236/coca.2010.41049

Cited by 14 publications

(31 citation statements)

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“…The lithic assemblage was studied using the Logical Analytical System (LAS) method (Carbonell et al, 1983, 1992; Rodríguez, 2004; Ollé et al, 2013). The LAS approaches the study of technological processes based on the stage at which the objects were produced during the reduction sequence.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of paleoecological changes and Mousterian occupations at the Galería de las Estatuas site, Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Iberian plateau, Spain

et al. 2017

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Here we present a new site in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain): Galería de las Estatuas (GE), which provides new information about Mousterian occupations in the Iberian Plateau. The GE was an ancient entrance to the cave system, which is currently closed and sealed by a stalagmitic crust, below which a detritic sedimentary sequence of more than 2 m is found. This has been divided into five litostratigraphic units with a rich assemblage of faunal and lithic remains of clear Mousterian affinity. Radiocarbon dates provide minimum ages and suggest occupations older than 4514C ka BP. The palynological analysis detected a landscape change to increased tree coverage, which suggests that the sequence recorded a warming episode. The macromammal assemblage is composed of both ungulates (mainly red deer and equids) and carnivores. Taphonomic analysis reveals both anthropic, and to a lesser extent, carnivore activities. The GE was occupied by Neanderthals and also sporadically by carnivores. This new site broadens the information available regarding different human occupations at the Sierra de Atapuerca, which emphasizes the importance of this site-complex for understanding human evolution in Western Europe.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of paleoecological changes and Mousterian occupations at the Galería de las Estatuas site, Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Iberian plateau, Spain

et al. 2017

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“…Significantly, new dates for Galería complex in Atapuerca situate the level GIII occupations around 240 kyr BP . The lithic assemblage from this level shows classic Acheulean tools (cleavers and handaxes) alongside prepared bifacial centripetal cores, flakes and a notable quantity of sidescrapers and denticulates (Ollé et al, 2013). Similar dates have been proposed for other Acheulean assemblages in the Meseta and the region around Madrid (Santonja and Pérez-González, 2010).…”

Section: Archaeological Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The origins of these technocomplexes and the apparent spatial and temporal coincidence with classic Acheulean industries fuel the debate about the possible coexistence of two technological traditions in Western Europe during the Middle Pleistocene and about the nature of the so-called transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 (Santonja et al, 2014). In the northern Meseta, the first EMP levels have been identified in the upper levels of Trinchera Dolina site (TD 10.2 and TD 10.1), dated around 350 kyr BP (Ollé et al, 2013;Rodríguez, 2004), and in the middle sedimentary unit of Ambrona, roughly belonging to the same chronology (Falguères et al, 2006;Santonja and Pérez-González, 2006). Significantly, new dates for Galería complex in Atapuerca situate the level GIII occupations around 240 kyr BP .…”

Section: Archaeological Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 98%

Short-term Neandertal occupations in the late Middle Pleistocene of Arlanpe (Lemoa, northern Iberian Peninsula)

Garaizar

Gárate²,

Gómez‐Olivencia

et al. 2015

Comptes Rendus Palevol

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a b s t r a c tThe end of the Middle Pleistocene is an interesting period for investigating the transformation of Neandertal behavior from the early Middle Paleolithic to the late Middle Paleolithic. Few sites in the Iberian Peninsula have sequences corresponding to the last interglacial (MIS5) and even fewer in the Cantabrian Region. One of the best places to investigate this subject is the sequence recently excavated in Arlanpe cave. Several proxies (sedimentology, pollen, small vertebrates, malacofauna, U/Th dating) locate the first phases of this sequence between MIS7 and MIS5, with the important occurrence of temperate environmental evidence. The archaeological record describes populations with high mobility that used the cave as an occasional shelter in the first phases, or as an activity area in the later ones. The

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“…300 ka (unit TD10). The large quantity of lithic remains with complete knapping sequences and the abundance of retouched tools associated with thousands of bones, high numbers of faunal individuals and complete butchering sequences suggests use of the cave as a home base at least during these two major phases (Carbonell et al ., ; Ollé et al ., , 2013; Saladié et al ., ; Rodríguez et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hominin subsistence and site function of TD10.1 bone bed level at Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca) during the late Acheulean

Rodríguez-Hidalgo

Saladié

Ollé

et al. 2015

J Quaternary Science

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In a recent paper, Stiner reviewed certain trends in the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) economy and social behaviour, including most notably galvanization of the prime-age ungulate hunting niche, and the intensification of occupations in the form of domestic-residential camps. However, the emergence of these trends is blurred when we observe the European archaeological record before Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 7. Our aim in this paper is to test the validity of some key arguments related to subsistence and occupation to assess the Lower Palaeolithic roots of these MP trends, using the faunal record of the TD10.1 bone bed level (ca. 300 ka) at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca). The taphonomic results from this level indicate an assemblage composed almost exclusively of prime-age ungulates. Anthropogenic marks are very abundant, reflecting a wide variety of domestic activities. Early primary access to the carcasses by hominins, indicated by the taxonomic and mortality patterns, suggests the procurement of animal carcasses by regular hunting. Red deer, accompanied in lower proportions by other prey species, reinforce the selective character of the hominin subsistence strategies at the Gran Dolina TD10.1 bone bed, expanding temporally and geographically our documentation of the MP hominin predatory niche. Taphonomy, together with other results from technology and archaeo-stratigraphy, suggest that the bone bed accumulation reflects long-term hominin use of the site as a residential base camp, suggesting deep roots for the observed MP subsistence and occupational patterns.

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The Early and Middle Pleistocene Technological Record from Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Evidence of paleoecological changes and Mousterian occupations at the Galería de las Estatuas site, Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Iberian plateau, Spain

Evidence of paleoecological changes and Mousterian occupations at the Galería de las Estatuas site, Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Iberian plateau, Spain

Short-term Neandertal occupations in the late Middle Pleistocene of Arlanpe (Lemoa, northern Iberian Peninsula)

Hominin subsistence and site function of TD10.1 bone bed level at Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca) during the late Acheulean

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