The sedimentary records in Mediterranean rockshelters and caves: Archives of environmental change

Woodward, Jamie; Goldberg, Paul

doi:10.1002/gea.1007.abs

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…It is unlikely that in all parts of a cave which remained open to conditions outside, the influence of local factors might have significantly biased the record of climate-related processes, particularly the pedogenic ones occurring both on the walls and on the floor. As previously stated (Goldberg, 2000), local factors undoubtedly play a major role in lateral facies variations in the inner part of a cave protected from outside conditions where the search for climate-related processes would, in most cases, be unproductive (see Woodward and Goldberg, 2001). Interestingly, the high sedimentation rates that might be expected in certain parts of a cave entrance would provide an extended stratigraphic record to track the climate signal of an abrupt event, as illustrated by the Younger Dryas at El Miron (units 11a, 11b, and 11c).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The best examples were provided by unit IV at Abric Romanì and unit VIII at Taforalt, where the increased rate of sedimentation due to the combination of human and natural factors provided an opportunity to reconstruct the climatic conditions at the time of occupation. For all the other units studied, the moderate to low proportion of human debris and the weak anthropogenic modifications have allowed us to interpret the microstratigraphic signal mainly as a function of natural processes with negligible human impact (see Woodward & Goldberg, 2001). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The microstratigraphic record of abrupt climate changes in cave sediments of the Western Mediterranean

Courty

Vallverdú

2001

Geoarchaeology

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The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how calcareous sediments from Pleistocene and Holocene rockshelters and open caves of the Western Mediterranean can provide a stratigraphic record of abrupt climate change. The method proposed here is based on microstratigraphic examination of sedimentary sequences using microscopic techniques. The most important processes for characterizing the sensitivity of each cave to climate variables are: (1) the modes and rate of carbonate sediment production, (2) the nature and intensity of the pedogenic processes responsible for the synchronous alteration of carbonate materials (either those derived from the cave walls or those deposited on the ground surface), and (3) the supply of allogenic sediments, particularly by eolian activity. The cave sediment sequences presented record the marked coolings known as Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials and Heinrich events that occurred during the Pleistocene and the Holocene, as demonstrated by the high resolution records from ice and deep sea cores. At Abric Romanì in northeastern Spain, a series of sharp climatic deteriorations of increasing severity is shown to have occurred synchronously with the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic, with a period of seasonal frost and strong winds at ca. 37,000 yr B.P., tentatively correlated with Heinrich event 4. At Pigeon Cave, Taforalt (northern Morocco), the transition from the Aterian to IberoMaurusian/Epipalaeolithic cultures is dated to around 24,000-20,000 yr B.P. and is punctuated by a series of short cold pulses with evidence for seasonal freezing, soil erosion, and minimal evapotranspiration. In El Miron cave in north-central Spain, the exceptional nature of the Younger Dryas cooling produced a marked destabilization of the cave walls and roof. At El Miron, the stratigraphic evidence for sediment removal due to the rapid percolation of snow melt under a degraded soil cover allows us to reconstruct the nature of the negative excursion at ca. 8200 yr B.P. This example also illustrates how climate-controlled pedogenic processes can create a stratigraphic signature which has often been confused with a sedimentary hiatus. We conclude that cave sediments provide a valuable record of Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes. In appropriate contexts, these sequences allow us to examine the ecological stress generated by these unique global events at a local and regional level and improve our understanding of the complex anthropological processes that occurred at the same time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microstratigraphic record of abrupt climate changes in cave sediments of the Western Mediterranean

Courty

Vallverdú

2001

Geoarchaeology

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“…They consist of combinations of five main types of sediment: silts and silty clays, éboulis, diamicts, calcite layers, and anthropogenic deposits, reflecting a variation over the long and short term of sedimentary processes and depositional material. The fine sediment material is generally reddish in colour, consistent in character with the terra rossa soil material on the surrounding hillsides, suggesting that this is a key source of sediment throughout the sequence, variously from aeolian transportation or colluvial movements , as is common in many Mediterranean caves (e.g., Karkanas, 2001;Woodward and Goldberg, 2001). The layers vary in colour from deep red to lighter orange/buff, with the darkest red layers compact and clay-rich.…”

Section: Sedimentary Processes Facies and Environmental Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) — Optical dating of early human occupation during Marine Isotope Stages 4, 5 and 6

Jacobs

Farr

et al. 2017

Journal of Human Evolution

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a b s t r a c tThe 1950s excavations by Charles McBurney in the Haua Fteah, a large karstic cave on the coast of northeast Libya, revealed a deep sequence of human occupation. Most subsequent research on North African prehistory refers to his discoveries and interpretations, but the chronology of its archaeological and geological sequences has been based on very early age determinations. This paper reports on the initial results of a comprehensive multi-method dating program undertaken as part of new work at the site, involving radiocarbon dating of charcoal, land snails and marine shell, cryptotephra investigations, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments, and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of tooth enamel. The dating samples were collected from the newly exposed and cleaned faces of the upper 7.5 m of the w14.0 m-deep McBurney trench, which contain six of the seven major cultural phases that he identified. Despite problems of sediment transport and reworking, using a Bayesian statistical model the new dating program establishes a robust framework for the five major lithostratigraphic units identified in the stratigraphic succession, and for the major cultural units. The age of two anatomically modern human mandibles found by McBurney in Layer XXXIII near the base of his Levalloiso-Mousterian phase can now be estimated to between 73 and 65 ka (thousands of years ago) at the 95.4% confidence level, within Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. McBurney's Layer XXV, associated with Upper Palaeolithic Dabban blade industries, has a clear stratigraphic relationship with Campanian Ignimbrite tephra. Microlithic Oranian technologies developed following the climax of the Last Glacial Maximum and the more microlithic Capsian in the Younger Dryas. Neolithic pottery and perhaps domestic livestock were used in the cave from the mid Holocene but there is no certain evidence for plant cultivation until the Graeco-Roman period.

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“…For example, anthropogenic deposits are revealed as a series of well-delineated hearths with alternating black, white, and reddish coloration in Kebara Cave and Hayonim Cave (Bar-Yosef et al 2005), which is chronologically closer to Misliya. The hearths were shown to contain both wood charcoal and charred grass (Woodward and Goldberg 2001), and a fraction of siliceous materials derived from wood ash (Schiegl et al 1996), as well as burnt bones in different degrees of preservation and stages of thermal impact (Weiner et al 2002).…”

Section: Faunal Remainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2012

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Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel, contains rich Early Middle Paleolithic (EMP) habitation layers. Sediments within a deep 1m 2 sounding at the Upper Terrace of the site underwent detailed geoarchaeological analyses, coupled with techno-typological and taphonomic analyses of the archaeological material that enabled a focused look deep into the layers. While no significant temporal changes were observed in the lithic or faunal assemblages that for the most part represent EMP occupations, the caves' configuration underwent major changes. The EMP sequence was deposited under the cave roof whose westward extension retreated gradually. We distinguished two main sedimentological cycles and possibly also occupational phases above either a massive rockfall or bedrock, separated by a gap of undetermined duration that was, however, long enough to have created a distinct paleosurface. These cycles are related to major phases of cave collapse and it was only after the roof had fully fallen that the upper deposits were cemented as a result of rain water and exposure to the elements. Exceptional preservation of laminated vegetal tissues, found in the earlier cycle before the cave's roof collapse, is associated with wood ash, burnt bones, and phytoliths. We tentatively suggest that this association constitutes the earliest evidence to date for bedding or matting. INTRODUCTIONT he Middle Paleolithic in the Levant covers a time-span of roughly 200,000 years (ca. 250-50 ka BP; Mercier et al. 2007;Mercier and Valladas 2003; Rink et al. 2001;Schwarcz and Rink 1998;Schwarcz et al. 1989;Valladas et al. 1987Valladas et al. , 1999. This long period is commonly divided into three chronologically and culturally defined facies (Copeland 1975;Meignen and Bar-Yosef 1992; Bar-Yosef 1998 (ibid, Rink et al. 2003(ibid, Rink et al. , 2004. These industries are characterized by use of true laminar technology alongside Levallois method (e.g., Meignen 1998Meignen , 2011Wojtczak 2011).The Early Middle Paleolithic (EMP) still remains one of the less-studied facies of the Levantine Middle Paleolithic, probably because only a few EMP sites have been discovered so far. Hayonim, Tabun, and Misliya caves are the only sites in the Mediterranean zone of the Levant that conPaleoAnthropology 2012: 202−228.

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The sedimentary records in Mediterranean rockshelters and caves: Archives of environmental change

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

The microstratigraphic record of abrupt climate changes in cave sediments of the Western Mediterranean

The microstratigraphic record of abrupt climate changes in cave sediments of the Western Mediterranean

The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) — Optical dating of early human occupation during Marine Isotope Stages 4, 5 and 6

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