Identification of local and allochthonous flint artefacts from the Middle Paleolithic site Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia, Spain) by macroscopic and physicochemical methods

Flint is a lithic material that can be worked to obtain sharp blades with conchoidal fractures characteristic of lithic tools as scrapers, hand axes and arrowheads. These artefacts represent the majority of the lithic material from the Palaeolithic sites worldwide, and it continued to be used during subsequent periods to manufacture some of the earliest tools used by man. One of the questions that archaeologists are keen to answer in relation to flint use and characterization is sourcing. Answering this question is important to reconstruct interaction networks of prehistoric cultures. Over the past years, a great variety of analytical methods have been applied to identify the sources of flint artefacts found in different archaeological contexts.[18] The objective of these studies is to determine the chemical composition of geological and archaeological flint samples and to obtain element correspondences to establish the probable geological source of origin for archaeological artefacts

On the chronological structure of the solutrean in Southern Iberia

The Solutrean techno-complex has gained particular significance over time for representing a clear demographic and techno-typological deviation from the developments occurred during the course of the Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe. Some of Solutrean's most relevant features are the diversity and techno-typological characteristics of the lithic armatures. These have been recurrently used as pivotal elements in numerous Solutrean-related debates, including the chronological organization of the techno-complex across Iberia and Southwestern France. In Southern Iberia, patterns of presence and/or absence of specific point types in stratified sequences tend to validate the classical ordering of the techno-complex into Lower, Middle and Upper phases, although some evidence, namely radiocarbon determinations, have not always been corroborative. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of the currently available radiocarbon data for the Solutrean in Southern Iberia. We use a Bayesian statistical approach from 13 stratified sequences to compare the duration, and the start and end moments of each classic Solutrean phase across sites. We conclude that, based on the current data, the traditional organization of the Solutrean cannot be unquestionably confirmed for Southern Iberia, calling into doubt the status of the classically defined type-fossils as precise temporal markers.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [PTDC/HAH/64184/2006, PTDC/HIS-ARQ/117540/2010, SFRH/BD/65527/2009, SFRH/BPD/96277/2013]; National Geographic Society [8045-06]; Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research [8290

Territoriality and the organization of technology during the Last Glacial Maximum in southwestern Europe

Climate changes that occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) had significant consequences in human eco-dynamics across Europe. Among the most striking impacts are the demographic contraction of modern humans into southern refugia and the potential formation of a population bottleneck. In Iberia and southern France transformations also included the occurrence of significant technological changes, mostly marked by the emergence of a diverse set of bifacially-shaped stone projectiles. The rapid dissemination of bifacial technologies and the geographical circumscription of specific projectile morphologies within these regions have been regarded as evidence for: (1) the existence of a system of long-distance exchange and social alliance networks; (2) the organization of human groups into cultural facies with well-defined stylistic territorial boundaries. However, the degree and modes in which cultural transmission have occurred within these territories, and how it may have influenced other domains of the adaptive systems, remains largely unknown. Using southern Iberia as a case-study, this paper presents the first quantitative approach to the organization of lithic technology and its relationship to hunter-gatherers' territorial organization during the LGM. Similarities and dissimilarities in the presence of morphological and metric data describing lithic technologies are used as a proxy to explore modes and degrees of cultural transmission. Statistical results show that similarities in technological options are dependent on the chronology and geographical distance between sites and corroborate previous arguments for the organization of LGM settlement in Southern Iberia into discrete eco-cultural facies.STSM COST action (ref. COST-STSM-TD0902-10855); FCT, contract ref. DL 57/2016/CP1361/ CT0026. Work at Vale Boi is funded by the project ALG-01-0145-FEDER-27833 - PTDC/HAR-ARQ/27833/2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Témoignages d'un traitement thermique des feuilles de laurier dans le Solutréen supérieur de la grotte du Parpalló (Gandia, Espagne)/Testimonios de un tratamiento térmico de las ojas de Laurel en el Solutrense superior de la cueva del Parpalló/Evidence for thermal treatment of Laurel Leaf points in the Upper Solutrean of the grotte du Parpalló

Evidence for thermal treatment of Laurel Leaf points in the Upper Solutrean of the grotte du Parpalló. Twenty years after the first discovery of evidence for thermal treatment in the Solutrean of Laugerie-Haute, we present tangible proof, using the example of Laurel Leaf points, of the utilization of this technique in the Upper Solutrean of the cave of Parpalló. Considered first from a technological point of view, this evidence reinforces the Solutrean origin of the typological entity to which they are considered to belong, better known under the generic name, Iberian Solutrean. From a technical perspective, the evidence allows us to enlarge the extension of the "thermal treatment" phenomenon in the Solutrean. Its use being strongly testified in Portugal, and strongly assumed in Andalucia, it seems moreover that the spatio-temporal limits of this phenomenon coincide with those generally attributed to this chrono-cultural entity.Vingt ans après la découverte du premier témoignage d'un traitement thermique dans le Solutréen de Laugerie-Haute, nous nous proposons dans cet article de fournir cette fois-ci, à travers l'exemple des feuilles de laurier, les preuves tangibles de son utilisation dans le Solutréen supérieur de la grotte du Parpalló. Considérés d'abord d'un point de vue technologique, ces témoignages permettent de renforcer l'origine solutréenne de l'entité typologique à laquelle ils sont sensés appartenir, mieux reconnue sous l'appellation générique de Solutréen de faciès ibérique. Considérés ensuite d'un point de vue technique, ils nous permettent aujourd'hui de mieux cerner l'étendue du phénomène "traitement thermique" au Solutréen. Son utilisation étant attestée au Portugal et fortement présumée en Andalousie, il semble d'ailleurs que les limites spatio-temporelles de ce phénomène coïncident avec celles attribuées généralement à cette entité chrono-culturelle.Testimonios de un tratamiento térmico de las ojas de Laurel en el Solutrense superior de la cueva del Parpalló. Veinte anos después del descubrimiento del primer testimonio de un tratamiento térmico en el Solutrense de Laugerie-Haute, queremos presentar en este articulo, mediante el ejemplo de las hojas de laurel, las pruebas tangibles de su utilización también en el Solutrense superior de la cueva del Parpalló. Consideradas desde un punto de vista tecnológico, estas pruebas ayudan a reforzar el origen solutrense de la entidad tipologica a la que pertenecen, mas conocida con el nombre genérico de Solutrense de faciès ibérica. Y desde un punto de vista técnico, nos permiten ampliar la extension del fenómeno "tratamiento térmico" en el Solutrense. Su utilización atestiguada en Portugal y fuertemente presumida en Andalucía, parece pues que los limites espacio-temporales de este fenómeno coinciden con los generalmente atribuidos a esta entidad crono-cultural.Tiffagom Marc. Témoignages d'un traitement thermique des feuilles de laurier dans le Solutréen supérieur de la grotte du Parpalló (Gandia, Espagne)/Testimonios de un tratamiento térmico de las ojas de Laurel en el Solutrense superior de la cueva del Parpalló/Evidence for thermal treatment of Laurel Leaf points in the Upper Solutrean of the grotte du Parpalló. In: Paléo, n°10,1998. pp. 147-161

De la pierre à l'Homme (enquête technologique sur la dynamique évolutive des groupes solutréens de la Cova del Parpalló (Gandia, Espagne))

Entité typologique par excellence du Paléolithique, le Solutréen de faciès ibérique exerce depuis toujours sur les préhistoriens, grâce à ses célèbres pointes à ailerons et pédoncule de facture néolithique, une séduction toute particulière. Mais que recouvre en réalité ce concept unificateur ? Quelles relations unissent les gisements valenciens à ceux de Grenade, de Cadix et de Lisbonne ? Les processus de régionalisation et de " désolutréanisation " auxquels il est étroitement rattaché, c'est-à- dire l'apparition et la disparition successives de la retouche plate et abrupte, sont-ils pertinents ? Menée dans le cadre d'une recherche doctorale, une approche technologique des industries de la Cova del Parpalló, gisement valencien qui a servi à la reconnaissance et à la périodisation de cette entité, a permis, en révélant la présence de structures hybrides dont les Solutréens seuls peuvent être les auteurs, d'inférer l'unité culturelle de ce faciès dans le temps. Le contexte climatique, historique et géographique de l'époque ayant conduit à privilégier la thèse de l' " emprunt à distance " sur celle de l'invention autonome.PARIS1-BU Pierre Mendès-France (751132102) / SudocSudocFranceF

The Solutrean–Magdalenian transition: A view from Iberia

The paper examines the Upper SolutreaneArchaic Magdalenian/Badegoulian succession on the base of lithic and bone tool production, chrono-stratigraphic data and radiocarbon dates from the Cantabrian and Mediterranean regions of Iberia, mainly the areas of Asturias and Valencia (Spain). The discussion considers a reduced number of variables (characteristic stone tools, bone points and decoration techniques) and highlights the elements in common. The analysis concerning the transformation of lithic production at Cova del Parpalló provides new data for the Upper SolutreaneArchaic Magdalenian/ Badegoulian transition

First Results on Understanding the Shiny Surfaces of Heat-Treated Chert

International audienc

Concheros del sur de Iberia en el límite Pleistoceno-Holoceno

El núcleo de yacimientos costeros pleistocenos de la costa de Málaga permite valorar los cambios técnicos y económicos ocurridos en el tránsito Pleistoceno-Holoceno, lo que actualiza una discusión abierta por F. J. Fortea: la relación entre el Magdaleniense y el Epipaleolítico en la región mediterránea ibérica. Estos yacimientos constituyen una documentación decisiva para el conocimiento del uso de los recursos marinos durante el Paleolítico europeo.The concentration of coastal Pleistocene sites along Malaga’s coast allows us to study the technical and economical changes which occurred during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and thereby to update an open discussion begun by F. J Fortea – the relations between the final Magdalenian and the Mediterranean Epipalaeolithic. These sites represent a decisive evidence in understanding the use of marine resources during the Europaean Palaeolithic.These sites represent a decisive evidence in understanding the use of marine resources during the Europaean Palaeolithic

Technical innovations during the recent Solutrean in the southwest of France: Recognition of heat treatment of chert and estimation of heating temperatures based on the example of Le Piage (Lot, France)

International audienceThe Solutrean technocomplex is characterized by the use of innovative techniques for stone tool knapping during the Upper Palaeolithic. These processes include the development of pressure retouch and heat treatment of silica rocks. These innovations remain unprecedented at the scale of the recent European Palaeolithic. The aim of our analysis is to acquire new information on the application of heat treatment, by investigating the heating technique and the lithic chaîne opératoire in which this treatment occurs. Macroscopic observations of the material combined with an infrared spectroscopic analysis of 69 archaeological samples provide new data on heat treatment in the Solutrean lithic series of Le Piage (Fajoles, Lot). Raw materials were heated in controlled conditions and to temperatures of 250-300°C. We also found that only leaf-shaped pieces were heat-treated at Le Piage. Part of the results obtained by infrared spectroscopy reveal discrepancies with macroscopic observations. These data raise questions concerning the validity of common macroscopic criteria used for recognising heat treatment and shed light on some of the choices made by Solutrean groups