El yacimiento de Galería es uno los rellenos cársticos pleistocenos situados en la Trinchera del ... more El yacimiento de Galería es uno los rellenos cársticos pleistocenos situados en la Trinchera del Ferrocarril de la Sierra de Atapuerca. El relleno sedimentario se divide en seis unidades estratigráficas (GI a GVI). La base de la sucesión estratigráfica corresponde al Pleistoceno Inferior y es estéril. Las unidades fosilíferas con evidencias de ocupación humana (GIT y GITT) son de la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno Medio. Las especies de mamíferos permanecen evolutivamente estables; solo se observan cambios menores en los roedores Iberomys breccensis, Microtus aff. arvalis y Arvicola sp. No obstante, se detectan variaciones en las frecuencias de micro- y macrovertebrados y en las comunidades de aves. La subunidad Glla se interpreta como formada durante una fase cálida.
The “Sima del Elefante” (TE site) (Atapuerca, Spain) is a major cave infill with a stratigraphic ... more The “Sima del Elefante” (TE site) (Atapuerca, Spain) is a major cave infill with a stratigraphic succession 25 m thick and 15 m wide, wealthy in animal bones and evidences of human occupation at different Pleistocene ages. TE site is under systematic excavation since 1996, and the inferior and superior levels are being dug up independently. The exposed section has been divided into 21 lito-stratigraphic units defined by major unconformities. Concerning the cave history, at least three main infill phases have been identified. The lower phase (TE8-TE14) is dated to Early Pleistocene (between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago) on the basis of inverse paleomagnetics and belonging to the later Early Pleistocene on the basis of biochronology. The TE lower phase is providing a rich faunal assemblage, and shows evidence of human occupation. A set of stone tools of flint, and possibly, calcareous, is being found at these levels. Hence, the lower part of the TE section documents early presence of...
Estado de las excavaciones y estudios realizados en La Cova de Dalt del Tossal de la Font (Castel... more Estado de las excavaciones y estudios realizados en La Cova de Dalt del Tossal de la Font (Castellón)
In a borhole at Veliko Selo near Belgrade in the Miocene lacustrine sediments Slanci, which are l... more In a borhole at Veliko Selo near Belgrade in the Miocene lacustrine sediments Slanci, which are locally known as the Slanacka Serija, a mammal tooth was found. The age of these deposits is under discussion. The fossil is here described and attributed with a query to the primitive antelope Eotragus clavatus (GERVAIS, 1850), which is suggestive of a Early Serravallian ("upper Badenian") or Early Middle Miocene age for these deposits, whereas an Aquitalian or Eggenburgian ("Egerian" or "Eggenburgian") (Early Miocene) age can be ruled out.
The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology... more The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2-1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other At...
El yacimiento de Galería es uno los rellenos cársticos pleistocenos situados en la Trinchera del ... more El yacimiento de Galería es uno los rellenos cársticos pleistocenos situados en la Trinchera del Ferrocarril de la Sierra de Atapuerca. El relleno sedimentario se divide en seis unidades estratigráficas (GI a GVI). La base de la sucesión estratigráfica corresponde al Pleistoceno Inferior y es estéril. Las unidades fosilíferas con evidencias de ocupación humana (GIT y GITT) son de la segunda mitad del Pleistoceno Medio. Las especies de mamíferos permanecen evolutivamente estables; solo se observan cambios menores en los roedores Iberomys breccensis, Microtus aff. arvalis y Arvicola sp. No obstante, se detectan variaciones en las frecuencias de micro- y macrovertebrados y en las comunidades de aves. La subunidad Glla se interpreta como formada durante una fase cálida.
The “Sima del Elefante” (TE site) (Atapuerca, Spain) is a major cave infill with a stratigraphic ... more The “Sima del Elefante” (TE site) (Atapuerca, Spain) is a major cave infill with a stratigraphic succession 25 m thick and 15 m wide, wealthy in animal bones and evidences of human occupation at different Pleistocene ages. TE site is under systematic excavation since 1996, and the inferior and superior levels are being dug up independently. The exposed section has been divided into 21 lito-stratigraphic units defined by major unconformities. Concerning the cave history, at least three main infill phases have been identified. The lower phase (TE8-TE14) is dated to Early Pleistocene (between 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago) on the basis of inverse paleomagnetics and belonging to the later Early Pleistocene on the basis of biochronology. The TE lower phase is providing a rich faunal assemblage, and shows evidence of human occupation. A set of stone tools of flint, and possibly, calcareous, is being found at these levels. Hence, the lower part of the TE section documents early presence of...
Estado de las excavaciones y estudios realizados en La Cova de Dalt del Tossal de la Font (Castel... more Estado de las excavaciones y estudios realizados en La Cova de Dalt del Tossal de la Font (Castellón)
In a borhole at Veliko Selo near Belgrade in the Miocene lacustrine sediments Slanci, which are l... more In a borhole at Veliko Selo near Belgrade in the Miocene lacustrine sediments Slanci, which are locally known as the Slanacka Serija, a mammal tooth was found. The age of these deposits is under discussion. The fossil is here described and attributed with a query to the primitive antelope Eotragus clavatus (GERVAIS, 1850), which is suggestive of a Early Serravallian ("upper Badenian") or Early Middle Miocene age for these deposits, whereas an Aquitalian or Eggenburgian ("Egerian" or "Eggenburgian") (Early Miocene) age can be ruled out.
The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology... more The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2-1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other At...
The current archaeological data on early hominin subsistence activities in Africa are derived chi... more The current archaeological data on early hominin subsistence activities in Africa are derived chiefly from Sub-Saharan Plio-Pleistocene sites. The recent studies at El-Kherba (Ain Hanech) in northeastern Algeria expand the geographic range of evidence of hominin subsistence patterns to include the earliest known archaeological sites documented in North Africa. Dated to 1.78 million years ago (Ma), excavations from El-Kherba yielded an Oldowan industry associated with a savanna-like fauna contained in floodplain deposits. The faunal assemblage is dominated by large and medium-sized animals (mainly adults), especially equids, which are represented by at least 11 individuals. The mammalian archaeofauna preserves numerous cut-marked and hammerstone-percussed bones. Made of primarily limestone and flint, the stone assemblage consists of core forms, débitage, and retouched pieces. Evidence of usewear traces is found on several of the flint artifacts, indicating meat processing by early hominins. Overall, our subsistence analysis indicates that early hominins were largely responsible for bone modification at the site, which is also corroborated by other relevant taphonomic evidence. Moreover, at 1.78 Ma, the cutmarked bones recovered from El-Kherba represent the earliest known evidence for ancestral hominin butchery activities and large animal foraging capabilities in northern Africa.
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