The systematic excavation of the site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Molise) revealed a strati... more The systematic excavation of the site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Molise) revealed a stratigraphic sequence, more than two meters thick, located on the distal part of an ancient terraced alluvial cone made by the Lorda creek, a tributary of the Volturno river. The lithologic, morphographic and pedostratigraphic evidences suggest its attribution to an Interstadial of MIS6 or to MIS 72. The radiometric dating (40Ar/39Ar method and Electron Spin Resonance in combination with the uranium family disequilibrium method) reported an age between 350 and400.000 years, confirmed by a Late Galerian fauna and by the presence of Cervus elaphus acoronatus and Equus ferus ssp. The fauna assemblage, apart from these two taxa, is characterized by the presence of Ursus sp., Elephas sp., Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, Bos primigenius e cf. Megacerinae, which denote a warm temperate dry climate. Paleontological remains are characterized by the presence of intentional fractures produced by human ac...
que reflejan la depredación selectiva. La fauna se puede correlacionar con las asociaciones fauní... more que reflejan la depredación selectiva. La fauna se puede correlacionar con las asociaciones faunísticas de Europa de finales del Pleistoceno Medio a principios del Pleistoceno Superior. El conjunto lítico de la cueva del Ángel parece encajar dentro de la diversidad regional de una bien desarrollada industria no-Levallois del Achelense Final. Una estimación preliminar de la edad 230Th/234U, la revisión del conjunto lítico y la evidencia de la fauna, favorecen el posicionamiento cronológico del sitio en un período que va desde el final del Pleistoceno Medio a principios del Pleistoceno Superior (MIS 11 -MIS 5). 3DODEUDV del Ángel, Cuaternario, Pleistoceno Medio, Achelense, Bison, carnicería, hogar. 7+(+817(56 $EVWUDFW The Angel Cave archaeological site is an open-air sedimentary sequence, resultant of a collapsed cave and part of a karst complex. The faunal assemblage dominated by horses, large bovids and cervids has been subjected to intense anthropic actions reflecting selective pre...
CentreEuropé sdeTautavel endeRecherch s Préhistorique e AuditoriumduPalaisdesCongrès. Lundi23auve... more CentreEuropé sdeTautavel endeRecherch s Préhistorique e AuditoriumduPalaisdesCongrès. Lundi23auvendredi27juin2014
ABSTRACT Late Pleistocene deposits of Tournal Cave, southwestern France, provided several human o... more ABSTRACT Late Pleistocene deposits of Tournal Cave, southwestern France, provided several human occupations attributed to Mousterian, Aurignacian, and Magdalenian cultures. Some human remains (Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens) were identified in each unit. This study presents a detailed temporal reconstruction of habitats surrounding the cave, using various proxies based on rich large mammal assemblages and related to biological activities. The levels correlated to MIS 3 and MIS 2 are characterized by alternating carnivore, Neanderthal, and Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) occupations. Faunal exploitation was mainly oriented towards Equus caballus and Rangifer tarandus, with a significant increase in the latter prey from the last Aurignacian level onwards. The results exhibit geographic and temporal variations of reindeer and horse body size. Reindeer can be used as a suitable ecological marker, as rapid changes are correlated to environmental turnover, whereas the horse presents a different pattern and is an accurate chronological estimator. The palaeoecological results indicate a major climate change between the two Aurignacian levels. The Mousterian and the first Aurignacian levels, documenting the Middle to Late Palaeolithic transition, show high indices of specific richness and diversity of large mammals in relation with a periglacial moderate cold and wet climate. The region developed a mixed landscape and displayed a non-analogue fauna with E. caballus, R. tarandus, Cervus elaphus, Megaloceros giganteus, Bison priscus, Bos primigenius, Capra caucasica praepyrenaica, Sus scrofa and Coelodonta antiquitatis for the ungulates and Ursus spelaeus, Ursus arctos, Crocuta crocuta spelaea, Panthera leo spelaea, Panthera pardus, Lynx spelaeus, Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes for the carnivores. The breakdown occurring in the last Aurignacian level is characterized by a change in ecological settings, with a colder and drier climate and opening of the landscape, involving shifts in seasonality, plant phenology, reindeer body size and animal population densities. This impacted habitat fragmentation and geographic distribution of populations, implying various selective pressures that were reflected in human meat procurement and dispersal events. At Tournal Cave, the late Middle/early Late Palaeolithic transition is not directly marked by significant differences in terms of faunal exploitation, due to local climate and site function, but the major environmental shift recorded is delayed. The results indicate that abrupt climate oscillations during MIS 3 contributed to the decline of Neanderthal populations, notably because of habitat fragmentation. AMHs could have generated additional stresses.
The systematic excavation of the site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Molise) revealed a strati... more The systematic excavation of the site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Molise) revealed a stratigraphic sequence, more than two meters thick, located on the distal part of an ancient terraced alluvial cone made by the Lorda creek, a tributary of the Volturno river. The lithologic, morphographic and pedostratigraphic evidences suggest its attribution to an Interstadial of MIS6 or to MIS 72. The radiometric dating (40Ar/39Ar method and Electron Spin Resonance in combination with the uranium family disequilibrium method) reported an age between 350 and400.000 years, confirmed by a Late Galerian fauna and by the presence of Cervus elaphus acoronatus and Equus ferus ssp. The fauna assemblage, apart from these two taxa, is characterized by the presence of Ursus sp., Elephas sp., Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, Bos primigenius e cf. Megacerinae, which denote a warm temperate dry climate. Paleontological remains are characterized by the presence of intentional fractures produced by human ac...
que reflejan la depredación selectiva. La fauna se puede correlacionar con las asociaciones fauní... more que reflejan la depredación selectiva. La fauna se puede correlacionar con las asociaciones faunísticas de Europa de finales del Pleistoceno Medio a principios del Pleistoceno Superior. El conjunto lítico de la cueva del Ángel parece encajar dentro de la diversidad regional de una bien desarrollada industria no-Levallois del Achelense Final. Una estimación preliminar de la edad 230Th/234U, la revisión del conjunto lítico y la evidencia de la fauna, favorecen el posicionamiento cronológico del sitio en un período que va desde el final del Pleistoceno Medio a principios del Pleistoceno Superior (MIS 11 -MIS 5). 3DODEUDV del Ángel, Cuaternario, Pleistoceno Medio, Achelense, Bison, carnicería, hogar. 7+(+817(56 $EVWUDFW The Angel Cave archaeological site is an open-air sedimentary sequence, resultant of a collapsed cave and part of a karst complex. The faunal assemblage dominated by horses, large bovids and cervids has been subjected to intense anthropic actions reflecting selective pre...
CentreEuropé sdeTautavel endeRecherch s Préhistorique e AuditoriumduPalaisdesCongrès. Lundi23auve... more CentreEuropé sdeTautavel endeRecherch s Préhistorique e AuditoriumduPalaisdesCongrès. Lundi23auvendredi27juin2014
ABSTRACT Late Pleistocene deposits of Tournal Cave, southwestern France, provided several human o... more ABSTRACT Late Pleistocene deposits of Tournal Cave, southwestern France, provided several human occupations attributed to Mousterian, Aurignacian, and Magdalenian cultures. Some human remains (Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens) were identified in each unit. This study presents a detailed temporal reconstruction of habitats surrounding the cave, using various proxies based on rich large mammal assemblages and related to biological activities. The levels correlated to MIS 3 and MIS 2 are characterized by alternating carnivore, Neanderthal, and Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) occupations. Faunal exploitation was mainly oriented towards Equus caballus and Rangifer tarandus, with a significant increase in the latter prey from the last Aurignacian level onwards. The results exhibit geographic and temporal variations of reindeer and horse body size. Reindeer can be used as a suitable ecological marker, as rapid changes are correlated to environmental turnover, whereas the horse presents a different pattern and is an accurate chronological estimator. The palaeoecological results indicate a major climate change between the two Aurignacian levels. The Mousterian and the first Aurignacian levels, documenting the Middle to Late Palaeolithic transition, show high indices of specific richness and diversity of large mammals in relation with a periglacial moderate cold and wet climate. The region developed a mixed landscape and displayed a non-analogue fauna with E. caballus, R. tarandus, Cervus elaphus, Megaloceros giganteus, Bison priscus, Bos primigenius, Capra caucasica praepyrenaica, Sus scrofa and Coelodonta antiquitatis for the ungulates and Ursus spelaeus, Ursus arctos, Crocuta crocuta spelaea, Panthera leo spelaea, Panthera pardus, Lynx spelaeus, Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes for the carnivores. The breakdown occurring in the last Aurignacian level is characterized by a change in ecological settings, with a colder and drier climate and opening of the landscape, involving shifts in seasonality, plant phenology, reindeer body size and animal population densities. This impacted habitat fragmentation and geographic distribution of populations, implying various selective pressures that were reflected in human meat procurement and dispersal events. At Tournal Cave, the late Middle/early Late Palaeolithic transition is not directly marked by significant differences in terms of faunal exploitation, due to local climate and site function, but the major environmental shift recorded is delayed. The results indicate that abrupt climate oscillations during MIS 3 contributed to the decline of Neanderthal populations, notably because of habitat fragmentation. AMHs could have generated additional stresses.
El sitio arqueológico de la cueva del Ángel es una secuencia sedimentaria al aire libre, resultan... more El sitio arqueológico de la cueva del Ángel es una secuencia sedimentaria al aire libre, resultante del derrumbe de una cueva y parte de un complejo kárstico. La asociación faunística, dominada por équidos, grandes bóvidos y cérvidos, ha sido objeto de intensas acciones antrópicas que reflejan la depredación selectiva. La fauna se puede correlacionar con las asociaciones faunísticas de Europa de finales del Pleistoceno Medio a principios del Pleistoceno Superior. El conjunto lítico de la cueva del Ángel parece encajar dentro de la diversidad regional de una bien desarrollada industria no-Levallois del Achelense Final. Una estimación preliminar de la edad 230Th/234U, la revisión del conjunto lítico y la evidencia de la fauna, favorecen el posicionamiento cronológico del sitio en un período que va desde el final del Pleistoceno Medio a principios del Pleistoceno Superior (MIS 11 - MIS 5).
The Cueva del Angel archaeological site is an open-air sedimentary sequence, resulting of a collapsed cave and part of a karst complex. The faunal assemblage dominated by horses, large bovids and cervids has been subjected to intense anthropic actions reflecting selective predation. The fauna may be correlated with European faunal associations of the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. The Cueva del Angel lithic assemblage appears to fit within the regional diversity of a well developed non-Levallois final Acheulean industry. A preliminary 230Th/234U age estimate, the review of the lithic assemblage and faunal evidence would favour a chronological positioning of the site in a period stretching from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene (MIS 11 - MIS 5).
Uploads
Books
Papers
The Cueva del Angel archaeological site is an open-air sedimentary sequence, resulting of a collapsed cave and part of a karst complex. The faunal assemblage dominated by horses, large bovids and cervids has been subjected to intense anthropic actions reflecting selective predation. The fauna may be correlated with European faunal associations of the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. The Cueva del Angel lithic assemblage appears to fit within the regional diversity of a well developed non-Levallois final Acheulean industry. A preliminary 230Th/234U age estimate, the review of the lithic assemblage and faunal evidence would favour a chronological positioning of the site in a period stretching from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene (MIS 11 - MIS 5).