Upper Palaeolithic boundary

El paleolítico superior en la cuenca de Ebro a principios del siglo XXI. Revisión y novedades

by Manuel Bea

… : Application to the Magdalenian and Solutrean Reindeer and Horses …

by Herve Bocherens

Missing Lithics: The Role of Flakes in the Early Upper Palaeolithic of the Cantabrian Region (Spain).

by José-Manuel Maíllo-Fernández

A. Pastoors & M. Peresani (eds.): Flakes not Blades: The role of flake production at the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe. Wissenschaftliche Schriftendes Neanderthal Museums, Mettmann, 2012, 69-84.

Palaeolithic Continuity Refugium Theory: A New Approach to the Linguistic Prehistory of Europe. Azken Glaziazio Handiko Babeslekua eta Euskara. Bergara, 2011-10-19

by Roslyn Frank

The following .pdf is a copy of the Power Point presentation that I gave on October 19, 2011, in the Irizar Jauregiko Aretoa, Bergara, Euskal Herria. It is a bilingual presentation. Its title in Basque is Azken Glaziazio Handiko Babeslekua eta Euskara while in Spanish it is “El Refugio de la Última Glaciación y el Euskara”. And the English translation would be “The Last Glacial Maximum: The Franco-Cantabrian Refuge and the Basque Language”.

The talk is an overview of the data, genetic, archaeological and linguistic, which support the Paleolithic Continuity... more The talk is an overview of the data, genetic, archaeological and linguistic, which support the Paleolithic Continuity Refuguim Theory (PCRT) of European prehistory. More specifically, based on the findings of genetics (studies of Y-chromosome and mtDNA), the following hypothesis has been brought forward for testing. It argues that during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the hunter-gatherers of Europe retreated to the south of Europe, settling into three refugia, one in the Balkans, one in the Ukraine and a third in the Franco-Cantabrian zone, a geographic location where the Basque people and their language have survived.

According to the results of various teams of geneticists, at the end of the LGM along with the warming of the climate that ensued, the hunter-gatherers inhabiting this refuge slowly moved north and westward to take advantage of the food resources in the newly opened territories. Studies of Basque DNA (paternally transmitted Y-chromosome and maternally transmitted mtDNA) have shown significant similarities between Basques and populations inhabiting present and former Celtic-speaking zones along the Atlantic Façade. Furthermore, various haplogroups found among the Basques show up in other populations of European descent, leading the geneticists to argue that this situation might best be explained by positing out-migration from this zone over a period of several thousands of years, starting at the end of the LGM.

Moreover, it follows that members of Basque-speaking population of this zone might well trace their descent from the same populations that began to move out of this geographical region as the ice sheets retreated.

In 2006, a multidisciplinary team of researchers –composed of geographers, archaeologists and geneticists, namely, Dr. William Davies, Dr. Paul Pettitt, Dr. Lee Hazelwood and Dr. Martin Richards coordinated by Dr. Clive Gamble– described the situation this way:

“A major population expansion occurred in Western Europe during the Late Glacial (15-11.5ka CAL PB) as the OIS2 ice sheets retreated and unglaciated areas in the north became available for re-settlement. Phlylogeographic analysis using molecular evidence assigns 60% of the European mitochondrial DNA lineages (Richards et al. 2000), and an even higher proportion of West European Y-chromosome lineages (Semino et al. 2000), to a population bottleneck prior to an expansion from southwest to northern Europe (Torroni et al. 1998; Torroni et al. 2001; Achilli et al. 2004; Rootsi et al. 2004; Pereira et al. 2005)” (Gamble et al. 2006: 1-2).

The key question posed by the research concerns the language that was being spoken by the hunter-gatherer populations when they moved out of this refuge. Gamble et al. was the first team of researchers to pose this question explicitly:

“The growing evidence that the major signal in European genetic lineages predates the Neolithic, however, creates serious problems for the agriculturalist perspective. If western Europe was, to a large extent, repopulated from northeast Iberia [Franco-Cantabrian zone] then, since place-name evidence suggests that people in this source region spoke languages related to Basque before the advent of Indo-European, the obvious corollary would seem to be that the expanding human groups should have been Basque speakers” (Gamble et al. 2005: 209).

The presentation lays out the methodology has been developed to test the validity of the corollary that Gamble et al. set forth in 2005. The latter section of the .pdf discusses the methodology and applies it to a concrete data set. The approach is a comparative one. It takes morpho-syntactic elements classified as Proto-Indo-European and compares them to what appear to be their counterparts in Euskara. Tests are then applied to determine the nature of the lineage of the two sets of morphemes in question. The PIE elements are ones recognized as common across IE languages and, therefore, as constituting the most archaic strata of these languages. However, until now IE research model has not sought to explain the origin of the elements themselves.

Keeping in mind the results of the genetic studies cited above, the Basque language becomes a possible candidate for additional comparative work. Moreover, by focusing on reconstructing morphemic lineages, not languages, the PCRT approach to the data allows for a more fine-grained analysis of the linguistic evidence.

Selected Referencias:
• Achilli, A. et al. 2004. The molecular dissection of mtDNA haplogroup H confirms that the Franco-Cantabrian glacial refuge was a major source for the European gene pool. American Journal of Human Genetics 75 (5): 910-918.
• Brugmann, K 1891. A Comparative Grammar of the Indo-Germanic Languages. Vol. II. Morphology (Stem-formation and inflexion). Part 1. New York: B. Westermann & Co. http://books.google.com/books?id=eWsKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=brugmann+%22comparative+grammar+of+the+indo+germanic+languages%22#PPR2,M1
• Cardoso Martín, S. 2008. Diversidad del genoma mitocondrial en poblaciones autóctonas de la Cornisa Cantábrica: Huellas de la recolonización postglacial de Europa. Gasteiz: University of the Basque Country.
• Cardoso Martín, S. et al. 2011. The maternal legacy of Basques in Northern Navarre: New Insights into the Mitocondrial DNA diversity of the Franco-Cantabria Area. Journal of Physical Anthrpology 145 (3): 480-488.
• Dupanloup, I., et al. 2004. Estimating the impact of prehistoric admixture on the genome of Europeans. Molecular Biology and Evolution 21 (7): 1361-1372.
• Frank, R. M. 2008. Palaeolithic Continuity Refugium Theory (PCRT): Hamalau and its linguistic and cultural relatives. Part 1. Insula 4 (December): 61-131. Cagliari, Sardinia.
• Frank, R. M. in prep. Rethinking the Linguistic Landscape of Europe: The Indo-European "Homeland" in light of Palaeolithic Continuity Refugium Theory (PCRT).
• Gamble, C. et al. 2005. The archaeological and genetic foundations of the European population during the Late Glacial: Implications for 'agricultural thinking'. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 15 (2): 193-223.
• Gamble, C. et al. 2006. The Late Glacial ancestry of Europeans: Combining genetic and archaeological evidence. Documenta Praehistorica 33: 1-10. http://arheologija.ff.uni-lj.si/documenta/pdf33/gamble33.pdf.
• Haspelmath, M. 2007. Pre-established categories don't exist: Consequences for language description and typology. Linguistic Typology 11 (1): 119-132.
• Haspelmath, M. 2010. Comparative concepts and descriptive categories in cross-linguistic studies. Language 86 (3): 663-687.
• Oppenheimer, S. 2006. The Origins of the British - A Genetic Detective Story. Constable and Robinson.
• Tovar A. 1954. El sufijo -ko: Indoeuropeo y circumindoeuropeo. Archivo glottologico italiano 39: 56-64.
• Tovar A. 1970a. The Basque language and the Indo-European spread to the West. In: George Cardona (ed.), Papers Presented at the Third Indo-European Conference at the University of Pennsylvania: Indo-European and Indo-Europeans, 267-278. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Torroni, A., et al. 2001. A signal, from human mtDNA, of postglacial recolonization in Europe. American Journal of Human Genetics. 69:844-852.
• Wilson, J. et al. 2001. Genetic evidence of different male and female roles during cultural transitions in the British Isles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 98(9): 5078-5083.

La producción laminar en el Chatelperroniense de Cueva Morín: modalidades, intenciones y objetivos

by José-Manuel Maíllo-Fernández

Trabajos de Prehistoria 62 (1): 47-64 (2005)

Los arpones del Magdaleniense superior mediterráneo. Valoración tipológica y cronoestratigráfica a partir de nuevas piezas halladas en la Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, País Valenciano).

by Didac Roman

ROMAN, D.; VILLAVERDE, V. (2011): “Los arpones del Magdaleniense superior mediterráneo. Valoración tipológica y cronoestratigráfica a partir de nuevas piezas halladas en la Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, País Valenciano)”. Zephyrus LXVII (1): 27-43

The Mediterranean Upper Magdalenian harpoons.
Typological and chronological valuation from the new pieces more The Mediterranean Upper Magdalenian harpoons.
Typological and chronological valuation from the new pieces
of Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Valencian Country).

RESUMEN: Las últimas campañas realizadas en la Cova de les Cendres han permitido recuperar diez nuevos arpones,
lo que supone un total de 19 ejemplares. Una de las colecciones más numerosas del ámbito mediterráneo
peninsular. El reducido número de arpones documentados hasta la fecha en la vertiente mediterránea hace que los
datos obtenidos en Cendres sean de elevada importancia para la caracterización de estos útiles característicos del
Magdaleniense superior mediterráneo. Asimismo, se presenta una serie de nuevas dataciones absolutas obtenidas
para el nivel XI que ubican la máxima ocupación del Magdaleniense superior durante el último tercio del XIV
milenio BP. Con los datos disponibles, un total de doce yacimientos que han proporcionado 45 piezas, el arpón
del Magdaleniense superior mediterráneo se caracteriza por tener una morfología muy variada, tanto en número
de dientes como en sus características, sin que sea posible establecer una evolución definida de su tipología.
Palabras clave: Arpones. Industria ósea. Magdaleniense superior. Mediterráneo ibérico.

ABSTRACT: Latest excavations in the Cova de les Cendres have recovered a serie of ten new harpoons, representing
a total of 19 issues. This is one of the largest collections of the Mediterranean peninsula. Because we
have a small number of harpoons in this area, the date obtained in Cova de les Cendres are of high importance
for the characterization of the features of the Mediterranean Upper Magdalenian harpoons. It also presents a
series of new absolute dates obtained for the level XI which show that the major occupation in the Upper Magdalenian
was during the last third of the fourteenth millennium BP. With the available data (twelve sites that
have provided 45 pieces) the Mediterranean Upper Magdalenian harpoon is characterized by a very different
morphology, both in number of teeth as in their features, without a clear typological evolution.
Key words: Harpoons. Bone and antler industry. Upper Magdalenian. Mediterranean Iberian coast.

Gaudzinski, S., Turner, E., Anzidei, A.P., Álvarez-Fernández, E., Arroyo-Cabrales, J., Cinq-Mars, J., Dobosi, V.T., Hannus, A., Johnson, E., Münzel, S.C., Scheer, A., Villa, P., 2005. The use of proboscidean remains in every day Palaeolithic life. Quaternary International 126-128, 179-194.

by Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser

co-authored with E. Turner, A.P. Anzidei, E. Allvarez-Ferna!ndez, J. Arroyo-Cabrales, J. Cinq-Mars, V.T. Dobosi, A. Hannus, E. Johnson, S.C. M.unzei, A. Scheer, P. Villa

This paper presents an overview of the use of Proboscidean remains in every day Palaeolithic life, in an attempt to... more This paper presents an overview of the use of Proboscidean remains in every day Palaeolithic life, in an attempt to illuminate some aspects of the relationship between Proboscideans and humans during the Palaeolithic from an archaeological perspective. A short survey of the evidence is given, focussing on the associations of lithic tools and Proboscidean remains and the utilisation of Proboscidean remains to produce bone tools, objects of art and personal decoration and dwellings. The evidence is compiled and general trends in the archaeological record are outlined

The Palaeolithic Period.

by Paul R Preston

Lang, A. & Preston, P. R. 2008  in  Adkins, R., Adkins, L. & Leitch, V. (Eds). The Handbook of British archaeology, Constable, London. 1-22.

.

.

Labeko Koba y Lezetxiki (País Vasco). Dos yacimientos, una problemática común

by Alvaro Arrizabalaga

ARRIZABALAGA, A., IRIARTE, M. J., VILLALUENGA, A. (2010) “Labeko Koba y Lezetxiki (País Vasco). Dos yacimientos, una problemática común”, en Baquedano, E. y Rosell, J. (dirs.) Cubiles de hiena (y otros grandes carnívoros) en los yacimientos arqueológicos de la Península Ibérica, Zona Arqueológica 9, 262-274, Alcalá de Henares.

Two tales of two caves?. La transición Paleolítico medio/superior en el Cantábrico Oriental

by Alvaro Arrizabalaga

Arrizabalaga, A. (2005) "Two tales of two caves?. La transición Paleolítico medio/superior en el Cantábrico Oriental", en Santonja, Pérez-González & Machado (eds.) Geoarqueología y Patrimonio en la Península Ibérica y el entorno mediterráneo,  99-112, Madrid. I.S.B.N.: 84-7359-581-5.

Through the Looking-Glass. The Most Recent Years of Cantabrian Research in the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition

by Alvaro Arrizabalaga

Arrizabalaga, A. & Iriarte, M.J. (2009) “Through the Looking-Glass. The Most Recent Years of Cantabrian Research in the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition”, en CAMPS & CHAZAN (eds.) A Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions: Methods, Theories and Interpretations., 333-340, Springer, New York.

Palaeoenvironmental forcing during the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in central-western Portugal

by Maria João Neves

Co-authored by Thierry Aubry, Luca A. Dimuccio , Miguel Almeida, Maria J. Neves, Diego E. Angelucci e Lúcio Cunha

Geoarchaeological analysis of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic record preserved in cave, rock-shelter andmore Geoarchaeological analysis of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic record preserved in cave, rock-shelter and
open-air sites in the northern sector of the Meso-Cenozoic of the Western Iberian Peninsula margin (Portugal)
reveals several disconformities (erosive unconformities), hiatuses and surface stabilization phases. A
recurrent disconformity, dated to ca. 29,500–32,000 cal yr BP, in the time range of Heinrich event 3, must
correspond to a main erosive event related to the impacts of climate change on the landscape, including a
reduction in vegetation cover and altered precipitation patterns, with the consequent accelerated downcutting
by stream systems, slope reactivation and endokarstic reorganisation, causing the erosion of
sediments and soils accumulated in cave, rock-shelter and open-air sites. These processes create a
preservation bias that may explain why Early Upper Palaeolithic finds in primary deposition context remains
exceptional in the carbonate areas of central-western Portugal, and possibly elsewhere in the other places of
Iberia. The impact of such site formation processes must therefore be duly considered in interpretations of the
current patchy and scarce archaeological record of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in south-western
Iberia.

El Gravetiense de la vertiente mediterránea ibérica: reflexiones a partir de la secuencia de la Cova de les Cendres (Moraira, Alicante)

by Didac Roman

VILLAVERDE, V.; MARTÍNEZ-VALLE, R.; ROMAN, D.; IBORRA, P.; PÉREZ RIPOLL, M. (2007-2008): “El Gravetiense de la vertiente mediterránea ibérica: reflexiones a partir de la secuencia de la Cova de les Cendres (Moraira, Alicante)”.  Veleia 24-25. Homenaje a I. Barandiaran. Pp: 445-468.

This paper tackles the debate about the Gravettian period in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula from the... more This paper tackles the debate about the Gravettian period in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula from the data provided by the Gravettian sequence of Cendres cave site (levels XlV to XVI), with dates covering between 21,230 and 25,850 BP. The available data let us to asses the significance of linking the beginning of art to this industrial period in the regional level. Another important trait is the specific industrial
evolution of this area, regarding other near regions. Among the economic issues highlights the importance of rabbit and a larger presence of good-sized ungulates in the former levels,
and a predominance of deer and goat in the upper levels.

Le Gravettien dans la Region Mediterrannéene Ibérique

by Didac Roman

FULLOLA, J.M.; ROMAN, D.; SOLER, N.; VILLAVERDE, V. (2007):  “Le Gravettien dans la Region Mediterrannéene Ibérique". Paléo: revue d'archéologie préhistorique, 19. Pp : 73-88.

The Gravettian in the Iberian Mediterranean coast. The Gravettian in the Iberian Mediterranean coast.

Las puntas de la Gravette y las microgravettes de los yacimientos gravetienses del País Valenciano: caracterización morfológica y tipométrica y análisis de sus fracturas

by Didac Roman

ROMAN, D.; VILLAVERDE, V. (2006): “Las puntas de la Gravette y las microgravettes de los yacimientos gravetienses del País Valenciano: caracterización morfológica y tipométrica y análisis de sus fracturas”. Zona Arqueológica 7. Homenaje a Victoria Cabrera. Museo Arqueológico Regional. Alcalá de Henares. Pp: 440-451

The Gravette and microgravette points of five valencian deposits are studied. By analyzing their metric and... more The Gravette and microgravette points of five valencian deposits are studied. By analyzing their metric and technological parameters, and comparing them with several European deposits, we are able to define the morphotype in relation to the European Gravettian. The causes of differences and similarities can also be considered. Through the study of the fractures we value their possible use as projectile points.

Avance al estudio de los niveles gravetienses de la Cova de les Cendres. Resultados de la excavación del sondeo (cuadros A/B/C-17) y su valoración en el contexto del Gravetiense mediterráneo ibérico

by Didac Roman

VILLAVERDE, V.; ROMAN, D. (2004): “Avance al estudio de los niveles gravetienses de la Cova de les Cendres. Resultados de la excavación del sondeo (cuadros A/B/C-17) y su valoración en el contexto del Gravetiense mediterráneo ibérico”. Archivo de Prehistoria Levantina XXV. València, pp: 19-59.

RESUMEN: Este trabajo presenta los materiales líticos recuperados en los niveles XV-XVI de la Cova de les Cendres. Los... more RESUMEN: Este trabajo presenta los materiales líticos recuperados en los niveles XV-XVI de la Cova de les Cendres. Los resultados van referidos al material del sondeo, que abarca los cuadros A-B-C/17. Se trata de uno de los pocos yacimientos que, en la vertiente mediterránea peninsular,
proporciona nueva información estratigráfica sobre la secuencia Gravetiense. Se analizan los rasgos técnicos y tipológicos de la industria lítica y se valoran las dataciones absolutas obtenidas en los niveles XIV, XVIB y XVIC. Sus resultados confirman la antigüedad del proceso de expansión
de las industrias del Gravetiense indiferenciado en esta región, y confirman la inexistencia de un proceso evolutivo lineal simple en la composición de la industria lítica. Todos estos datos se valoran en el contexto de las industrias gravetienses del ámbito mediterráneo peninsular, prestando
especial atención a la relación con el Auriñaciense y el Solutrense inicial.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Paleolítico superior, Gravetiense, industria lítica, dataciones absolutas.

RESUMÉE: Est présenté dans cet article le matériel lithique récupéré dans les niveaux XV-XVI de la Cova de les Cendres. Les résultats se réfèrent au matériel du sondage correspondant aux carrés A-B-C/17. Il s’agit d’un des rares gisements du versant méditerranéen péninsulaire qui
apporte de nouvelles informations stratigraphiques sur la séquence gravettienne. Sont analysés et discutées, respectivement, les traits techniques et typologiques de l’industrie lithique et les datations absolues obtenues dans les niveaux XIV, XIVB et XVIC. Les résultats confirment l’ancienneté du processus d’expansion des industries du Gravettien indifférencié dans cette région, ainsi que
l’absence d’un processus évolutif linéaire simple dans la composition de l’industrie lithique.
Toutes ces données sont ensuite replacées dans le contexte des industries gravettiennes du milieu méditerranéen péninsulaire, prêtant une attention particulière à la relation avec l’Aurignacien et le Solutréen initial.

MOTS-CLÉS: Paléolithique supérieur, Gravettien, industrie lithique, datations absolues.

Résultats de la campagne de fouille de 2009 sur le site des Roches d'Abilly

by Miguel Almeida

Thierry AUBRY, Miguel ALMEIDA, Patrick CANDELA, Pedro proença CUNHA, Luca DIMUCCIO, Laure FONTANA, Coline GARREL, Nicolas HOLZEM, Jean-Claude MARQUET, Morgane LIARD, Jean-Baptiste PEYROUSE, Maria João NEVES, Bertrand WALTER. Grand Pressigny (France): Bulletin des Amis du Musée de Préhistoire du Grand Pressigny, 61 (2010), p. 79-80.