Middle Palaeolithic

Stratigraphic Unit 13 of Oscurusciuto Rockshelter (Ginosa, Taranto, Southern Italy) is a short Mousterian palimpsest representing the first stable occupation of the site soon after the deposition of a thick layer of tephra (Mt. Epomeo Green Tuff -Ischia datable around 55 kya BP). Different activities were identified by integrating the study of lithic finds, faunal remains, and the microarchaeology of combustion features. Additionally, geo-statistical analysis of these data has been carried out using a specifically designed geodatabase within a GIS platform. Our results produced an articulated picture of this Neanderthal site as a tripartite ___location made of spatially segregated and integrated activity areas. A hearths' alignment (parallel to the rockshelter wall) divides the settled area into an inner and outer part. The inner part, between the hearths and the shelter wall, displays an abrupt rarefaction of the anthropic finds and was interpreted as a possible sleeping/ resting area. In the outer part, several multipurpose activity areas have been identified, mostly associated with the combustion features. The Northern sector of the settlement appears devoted particularly to lithic production (to a lesser degree, activities related with lithic tools use and faunal processing took place). In the Southern sector the main activities carried out represent more intensive production and use of lithic tools and the butchering and consumption of animal resources. Additionally, in this sector evidence of space maintenance behaviour (cleaning up of working areas and refuse dumping) has been attested.

The Oscurusciuto rock shelter, located in the ravine of Ginosa (Taranto), is one of the key sites for the study of Neanderthal groups in Southern Italy. The rich stratigraphic sequence of the site, which is ascribable entirely to the Middle Palaeolithic, is rich in anthropic remains and combustion structures, attesting occupation by Neanderthals during MIS 3. This paper is focused on the study of Stratigraphic Unit (SU) 13, made up of a compact sandy sediment mixed with pyroclastic sediment derived from the underlying tephra level (SU 14). The latter has been identified as Monte Epomeo green tuff (dated Ar/Ar 55 ± 2 ka). The first stable human occupation of the shelter after tephra deposition is represented by unit 13. Our aim here is that of separating the Stratigraphic Unit into its main components so as to obtain a high temporal resolution on the activities which took place in this SU, and to reconstruct the individual events which formed the palimpsest. In order to fulfil these objectives, a multidisciplinary approach was needed through which data could be integrated from the microstratigraphy of the hearths; from the technological study of the lithic industries; from the individuation of the Raw Material Units (RMUs); from refitting and cojoining and from spatial analysis (GIS science/tool). The integration of these analytical methods reveals that SU 13 of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter was the product of a series of events ascribable to a short time span. This layer was formed by sediment aggradation and cementation (e.g., brecciation) processes. Human activities contributed to the sediment build up with the introduction of wood ash, lithic raw materials and bones. The results show the importance of using integrated research methods in order to identify short anthropic events within a palimpsest.

The materials of most of the archaeological sites of the Eastern Pamirs are known from lifting samples. One of them is the Kurteke rock shelter, that was discovered in 1960 by V.A. Ranov. At that time at the site there were distinguished two cultural layers dated to the Neolithic-Eneolithic and Eneolithic-Bronze period. This site is also interesting because on the walls of the rock shelter , directly above the cultural layers there are rock paintings of anthropomorphic and geometric figures. Modern data have shown that the first layer associated with the settlement of the site belongs to the final Pleistocene (older than 13 thousand years ago). In the course of the new stage of the study, palynological and carpological analysis of the soil, the study of undetectable faunal remains using the ZooMS method, and the documentation of rock carvings of the site were carried out. A comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the Kurteke materials showed that the stone industry presented here i...

In this paper we investigate the seasonality of site occupation at Amud Cave (Israel). This site presents a long sedimentary sequence featuring two main late Middle Paleolithic occupation phases (70-55 Ka BP) rich in anthropogenic remains, and displaying very high densities of lithic artifacts, faunal remains and evidence of combustion. The abundance of these features appears high relative to the thickness of the sequence, thus raising the question of the duration and frequency of site occupation(s). We aim here to unravel this issue implementing a multiproxy approach to the dental fraction of the faunal assemblage. Combining teeth replacement and wear patterns coupled with micro-and mesowear analyses, we provide insights into the seasonality of occupation and hunting strategies at the site. We found that hunting activities at Amud Cave were conducted mainly in the course of the winter months with possible expansion into the late fall and early spring. This result is consistent with regional and local climate reconstructions and resources procurement locations evidenced in previous works. Assuming a fast depositional rate, we suggest that the sequence results from frequent seasonal returns to the site, forming a palimpsest of short-term occupations. This scenario is compatible with settlements and mobility patterns inferred for the late Middle Paleolithic in the Southern Levant.

The dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa has been extensively researched across several disciplines. Here we review the evidence for spatial and temporal variability in lithic (stone tool) technologies relative to the predictions of two major hypotheses: 1) that a single successful dispersal occurred 60e50 thousand years ago (ka), marked by a trail of geometric/microlithic technologies, and 2) that multiple dispersals occurred, beginning much earlier (probably in Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 5), associated with Middle Palaeolithic technology in its early phase. Our results show that Late Pleistocene geometric/ microlithic technologies exhibit significant temporal and regional differences between each other. These differences suggest independent, convergent origins for these technologies, which are likely to have been repeatedly re-invented. In contrast, we identify similarities between East African lithic technologies from MIS 8 onwards and Middle Palaeolithic assemblages as far east as India by MIS 5. That this constellation of technological features e particularly an emphasis on centripetal Levallois reduction reflecting interchangeable preferential and recurrent methods, along with particular retouched forms such as points e transcends ecologies and raw material types suggests that it is unlikely to entirely reflect technological convergence (analogy). Our results indicate an early onset of multiple dispersals out of Africa. The hypothesis of an early onset to successful dispersal is entirely consistent with the possibility of further subsequent (post-MIS 5) dispersals out of Africa. Testing such hypotheses through quantified comparative lithic studies and interdisciplinary research is therefore likely to significantly advance understanding of the earliest H. sapiens dispersals.

Located at the crossroads between Africa and Eurasia, Arabia occupies a pivotal position for human migration and dispersal during the Late Pleistocene. Deducing the timing of humid and arid phases is critical to understanding when the Rub' al-Khali desert acted as a barrier to human movement and settlement. Recent geological mapping in the northern part of the Rub' al-Khali has enabled the Quaternary history of the region to be put into a regional stratigraphical framework. In addition to the active dunes, two significant palaeodune sequences have been identified. Dating of key sections has enabled a chronology of dune accretion and stabilisation to be determined. In addition, previously published optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates have been put in their proper stratigraphical context, from which a record of Late Pleistocene dune activity can be constructed. The results indicate the record of dune activity in the northern Rub' al-Khali is preservation limited and is synchronous with humid events driven by the incursion of the Indian Ocean monsoon.

The Arabian Peninsula is situated at an important crossroads for the movement of Pleistocene human populations out of, and into, Africa. Although the timings, routes and frequencies of such dispersals have not yet been confirmed by genetic, fossil or archaeological evidence, expansion into Arabia would have been facilitated by humid periods driven by incursions of monsoon rainfall, potentially from both Indian Ocean and African monsoon systems. Here we synthesise terrestrial and marine core palaeoclimatic data in order to establish the spatial and temporal variability of humid periods in Arabia between late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 and 3. Incursions of monsoon rainfall occurred during periods of insolation maxima at ca. 200-190, 170, 155, 130-120, 105-95, 85-75 and 60-55 ka, providing multiple 'windows' of favourable climatic conditions that could have facilitated demographic expansion through Arabia. Strong summer monsoons are generally associated with mid-high latitude interglacials, however, enhanced monsoon convection also brought rainfall into Arabia during global glacial phases, possibly due to a strengthened winter monsoon and a greater influence of southern hemispheric temperature changes. Key periods for dispersal into northern regions of Arabia correspond with the synchronous intensification of both eastern Mediterranean and monsoon rainfall systems at insolation maxima during MIS 7 and MIS 5, which may have facilitated demographic connectivity between the Levant and the Arabian interior. Environmental conditions throughout southern and southeast regions were also favourable to expansion during these times, although strong monsoons in these regions during MIS 6 and MIS 3 suggest further opportunities for demographic expansion and exchange. Terrestrial and marine evidence show that during early MIS 3 (ca. 60-50 ka), a strengthened monsoon led to the activation of interior drainage systems and increased productivity in coastal zones, indicating that favourable environmental conditions existed along both coastal and interior routes at that time.

The Göllü Dağ complex is located in Cappadocia, in Central Anatolia. This volcanic massif, about 12 km wide with a maximum elevation of 2143 m, was first occupied in the Lower Paleolithic. The earliest archaeological levels of Kaletepe Deresi 3 have yielded the remains of an Acheulean occupation, the only one excavated in Anatolia so far (Slimak et al. 2008). Several find spots with Lower Paleolithic assemblages were identified during the Göllü Dağ survey (Balkan-Atlı et al. 2008-2009, this paper). Early cultural remains found both at ...

La Güelga cave is located at the bottom of a mountain valley in the Eastern part of Asturias (Northern Spain), 186 m above sea level and 15 km far away from the coast. It currently comprises a group of caves that were occupied during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods (MP and UP respectively). In recent years, we have studied the levels of La Güelga cave eD Zone-proposing a sequence for the MP/UP transition: Mousterian-Aurignacian-Châtelperronian, which we review in this paper after a detailed analysis of the chronostratigraphy. We also provide new radiocarbon dates for the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Châtelperronian levels. Finally, the geoarchaeology, taphonomy, archaeological data, and chronology suggest that the interstratification -initially identified on the basis of stratigraphic observations during excavation-cannot be maintained. In any case, the stratigraphy of the internal D Zone of La Güelga cave is one of the most interesting from the Cantabrian region for analyzing the last phases of the Mousterian and the rise of the Aurignacian in the North of the Peninsula.

Chercheurs et acteurs de terrain : archéologues, historiens, anthro­pologues, géologues, architectes, spéléologues, glaciologues, botanistes, se sont associés pour mettre en évidence l’évolution du rapport des Hommes à la montagne sous le prisme des changements climatiques, politiques ou sociétaux.

Entre 2018 et 2021, le Département de la Haute‑Savoie a engagé, piloté et financé un programme collectif de recherche sur des écosystèmes montagnards de son territoire. Les alpages des Glières, de Sales à Sixt-Fer‑à‑Cheval et du Salève ont constitué les trois cas étudiés pour mieux comprendre les usages et gestions de ces espaces par l’Homme.
Fruit de cette étude pluridisciplinaire mêlant sciences humaines et environnementales, cet ouvrage permet de documenter la ­connaissance sur l’occupation humaine de la montagne. Il représente une première approche aboutie de l’archéologie de la montagne médiévale en Haute‑Savoie.

Sous la direction d’Anne‑Marie Granet-Abisset et Christophe Guffond, avec la participation de Denis Laissus.
Contribuent également à l'ouvrage : C. Abry, D. Abry‑Deffayet, N. Abry, J. Affolter, C. Batigne, O. Bellanger, N. Bériou, L. Bouffard, N. Carrier, L. Ceci, P. Chiquet, S. Coutterand, C. Delhon, J. Desideri, É. Doyen, K. Dulias, J. Élie, D. Étienne, K. Gernigon, C. Giguet‑Covex, K. James‑Walsh, A. Julien, G. Legrand, O. Lempereur, E. Malet, S. Mahfoudi, H. Maurin, A. Mélo, E. Messager, F. Mouthon, R. Napoléoni, S. Paradis‑Grenouillet, O. Pasquet, I. Pozzi, Q. Pourrier, P. Prunier, P.‑J. Rey, H. Richard, M. Rivoira, Y. Robin, S. Roussel, P. Ruffaldi, J.‑M. Treffort, É. Varrel, O. Veissière.

Entre Boucher de Perthes, qui projette les haches antédiluviennes d’Abbeville dans un passé sans date, et Bordes, qui dissèque avec la pré- cision d’un anatomiste les couches du Paléolithique ancien et moyen, les préhistoriens n’ont cessé de vouloir donner une matérialité aux témoi- gnages les plus anciens. Se représenter l’épaisseur temporelle entre les industries extraites des gisements est à ce point difficile que les cher- cheurs privilégieront longtemps la constitution d’une histoire des progrès humains, sans se préoccuper des millénaires qu’il a fallu à l’homme pour sortir de son état de « sauvagerie ».

Newly discovered archaeological sites in the Uribe Kosta region of northern Spain are illuminating the establishment of late prehistoric coastal farming settlements and specialised tool-production activities. The modification of settlement patterns and habitats in permanent open-air villages is traditionally linked to the Neolithic expansion in Central Europe and the Mediterranean. Archaeological research allows for the identification and study of these sites in order to understand the socioeconomic and cultural development of the earliest farmer communities. A dearth of archaeological evidence, however, hampers our interpretation of the Neolithisation of some regions, such as northern Spain. Here, research has been traditionally focused on archaeological contexts associated with caves and megalithic structures, with some limited references to Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age open-air sites (e.g.

Twenty-one species of extinct, large, late Pleistocene mammals have been identified from sand and gravel pits in terrace and valley-fill deposits of the Lower Nueces River of South Texas. A log from the alluvial valley-fill unit that produced most of the fossils has been 14 C dated at 13,230 ± 110 YBP. The distal end of a mammoth tusk from this unit exhibits modifications that may not be the result of natural processes and may have been altered by contemporaneous humans. The 185 mm long tusk tip is rounded on the distal end, suggesting possible use as burnisher-billet. The tusk segment also has a curved, rounded, and polished groove 3 cm wide and 1 cm deep transverse to the long axis. The groove may have resulted from being used as a thong stretcher, hide softener, or shaft straightener. Alternatively, the groove may be a natural feature, formed by the stripping of leaves from twigs, an activity noted in living elephants. Sections of a limb bone have marks that may have been caused by butchering activities.

The oldest process chart or flowchart in the world, the Mezhyrich Map, shows critical junctures in the mammoth economy and verifies the smokehouse hypothesis. The Mezhyrich Map is faintly scratched in ivory and drawn for better visual appearance with bold lines. Different drawings can be found; the original is difficult to see.  The stylized mammoth at the very bottom depicted with apparently straight tusks has a wood or bone plank or dock connecting with the riverbank. With the water flowing from left to right, as shown by the chevrons, the wood or bone plank or dock is secured to the riverbank with a large "L" attaching twice to the plank or dock. One long member or rope connects the tail end of the mammoth with the shore. The lines within the stylized mammoth at the bottom of the chart are most likely incisions made for purposes of butchery, which were probably made on the top of the carcass. The displayed length of the mammoth, incision marks, two lines for tusks, and perhaps one line for a trunk support its identity. The parallel angled lines at the bottom, including chevrons above the stylized mammoth, represent the river. Other discernible objects are reflected in the Mezhylich Map, which confirms the smokehouse hypothesis and the mammoth economy set forth in The Mammoth Economy by John Dewar Gleissner.

Between the settlements dating from the Middle Palaeolithic in Romania, a special place is held by the Mousterian from the Carpathian caves which provided lithic industries made of a great diversity of local rocks: flint, chaille, chert, jasper, radiolarite, quartz, quartzite, quartzolite, andesite, basalt, diorite etc. So far, all the specialized studies highlight the use of rocks other than flint, chaille or chert as a form of substitution of the high-quality raw materials missing in a certain area. As the use of certain types of rocks provides particular technological and typological features to the material culture from the Carpathian caves, we shall attempt to understand to what extent the Mousterian dwellers of the Carpathian caves chose, for debitage, certain categories of rocks with different mechanical properties and petrographic characteristics. The types of rocks analysed in this article come from the following Mousterian settlements: Bordul Mare Cave from Ohaba Ponor, Cu...

Ancient human-made earthworks such as mounds, middens, levees, raised or terraced fields, enclosures and forts are omnipresent in many areas across the globe. They may offer rich and important information on past societies. However, harvesting such data is significantly hampered by the general lack of robust earthwork chronologies. Dating earthworks is notoriously difficult due to a variety of factors, including a scarcity of closely datable archaeological finds, the frequent absence of suitable and relevant material for radiocarbon dating, and lacking or ambiguous historical sources. Luminescence dating may provide a solution for these problems because it enables direct dating of sediment, a ubiquitous and relevant material in earthwork construction. In this paper we focus on ringforts: circular or semi-circular defensive structures surrounded by earthen banks and ditches, which originated in the first millennium CE and appear to reflect major transformations in early historical societies. We present the results of a detailed luminescence study of a ringfort underlying the modern town centre of Den Burg, on the Wadden Isle of Texel in the Netherlands. We dated samples from different sedimentary contexts (bank and ditch infills) using both quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and feldspar single-grain post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR). We analyze the results in the context of age interpretations based on other proxy data (radiocarbon dates, archaeological finds, historical evidence). This yields a new, robust dating chronology that changes the biography of the ringfort. The initial construction dates between 730 and 840 CE, making Den Burg the oldest known ringfort in the Low Countries. We reflect on the best practices for luminescence dating of earthworks and on archaeological implications for other ringforts in the Netherlands and beyond.

The discovery of an Aurignacian lithic assemblage along the northern coast of the Island of Lemnos in the northeastern Aegean Sea has opened new perspectives on the study of the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic in this region. The site is located some 93 m from the present seashore. It was discovered in the summer of 2020, ca. 2 km west of the Pournias Bay. The lithics were exposed in a well-defined oval concentration, ca. 25 × 10 m wide, buried by a Holocene sand dune. They were uncovered following sand removal by a bulldozer for the construction of a parking lot. The knapped stones are made almost exclusively from hydrothermal siliceous rocks, a raw material available on the island. Raman spectroscopy and optical observations confirmed that this raw material is chalcedony. The surfaces of most artefacts are weathered due to deposition in an environment rich in marine salt, which does not preserve any organic material suitable for radiocarbon dating. The knapped stone assemblage consists of diagnostic artefacts, among which are different types of carinated end scrapers, cores, and a few bladelets. The discovery of an Aurignacian site plays an important role in the study of the Paleolithic peopling of Lemnos and the Northeast Aegean in general, a period that was previously known only through Epipaleolithic sites discovered and excavated mainly along the eastern coast of the island.

Klasies River main site (KRM) is a prominent Middle Stone Age (MSA) site located on the southern Cape coast in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. This contribution discusses the animal remains from the DC member in Cave 1B not reported on before. These animals fall within MSA II (Mossel Bay) techno-complex that, at KRM, dates from before 110 to 78ka. Despite heavy fragmentation, the fauna from this period shows a variety of taxa, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and molluscs. The most common taxa in the sample include indeterminate medium and small mammals, tortoises, indeterminate small birds, Cape fur seals, and indeterminate Bovid I and II's. The presence of several stacked hearths, shellfish, lithics and burnt and butchered bones all suggest that humans were the main agent of accumulation of the fauna. This is further supported by low values for the carnivore-ungulate ratio, the carnivore richness-and the leopard index, which measures the probabilities of brown hyena, leopard and human accumulations. However, the presence of chew marks presumably caused by carnivores suggests brown hyenas or leopards accumulated, or had access to some fauna. Assuming that humans accumulated most fauna, there is evidence of a summer occupation at KRM during the MSA II. People were exploiting a variety of environments during the MSA II, including coastal dunes, grasslands, savanna woodlands and closed, bush environments. During the MSA II at KRM, people focused on hunting ungulates.

During 70s and 80s, two intensive studies on the Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers' settlement pattern con- ducted by Michael Rosenberg in the Marvdasht and Jiro Ikeda is in Arsanjan, led to the identification of a large number of sites. The results of these studies give a relatively clear picture of the Palaeolithic period in the Southern Zagros Mountains. Although these researches stopped due to the political up- rising, new research's conducted by the Iranian scholars after the Islamic Revolution and led to a better understanding of the Palaeolithic period in the region. Nevertheless, the results of the Rosenberg's and Ikeda's studies are still important in most respects. In the present study, by the spatial analysis of the sites, the authors propose a new framework for the Middle, Upper and Epipalaeolithic sites. Based on the data provided by Rosenberg and Ikeda, as well as the data from the new findings in the study area, we used GIS (Geographic Information System) software to extract more results from the Palaeolithic studies in the Arsanjan and Marvdasht plains. In total, 262 sites including 45 Middle Palaeolithic, 23 Upper Palaeolithic and 194 Epipalaeolithic sites have been studied and using GIS software and 61 maps on th edistribution of these sites were pre- pared. The analysis shows that the easy accessibilty to and the direction of the opening of the sites are important factors for the selection of the site. These factors were more important than the slope and the distance to the raw material resources for hunter-gatherer populations. Another important issue is the accessibility to the water resources, mostly in case of long-term and seasonal than for short-term settlements. However, the use of caves and rockshelters changed during different periods. During Mid- dle and Upper Palaeolithic, the distribution of the sites does not show a specific pattern, while during Epipalaeolithic, the distribution of the sites was formed around a base camp. This new data shows a novel approach in the study of settlement pattern and landscape studies in the Southern Zagros.

Fra il 22 giugno ed il 6 agosto 2007 sono stati praticati nel cortile inferiore dello stabile compreso tra le vie G. Lanza, Cavour e Sforza, due saggi di scavo (II-III) nell’ambito delle opere preliminari rientranti nel progetto di riqualificazione dell’immobile stesso, di recente acquistato dalla società via Cavour Srl, nata da una partecipazione fra FIMIT Sgr Spa ed il gruppo Doughty Hanson & Co.
Le indagini hanno interessato anche il cortile superiore dell’immobile (periodo 19/04-26/06/2007).
L’attuale campagna di scavi fa seguito ad una serie di accertamenti archeologici preliminari mediante carotaggio sviluppati tra giugno e luglio 2006, che ha dettato le prime indicazioni di carattere generale utili alla dislocazione ed al “pilotaggio” dei saggi a cielo aperto.
Le indagini sono scaturite dalla necessità di acquisire elementi cognitivi indispensabili per una corretta valutazione del rischio archeologico che il progetto comporta, soprattutto nella parte in cui prevede la realizzazione d’interventi nel sottosuolo, nella fattispecie afferenti all’ipotesi di un parcheggio pertinenziale inizialmente previsto in gran parte nei volumi del cortile superiore e solo in parte in quelli del cortile inferiore.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

The main research direction of the Damjili archaeological expedition organized by the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, together with the archaeological expedition of the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Museum, in the summer of 2018 was to obtain information about the socio-economic life of hunter-gatherers in the Middle Kura basin during the pre-Neolithic periods (Mesolithic and Paleolithic).

Stone points are one of the key features used to define the African Middle Stone Age (MSA). Regional patterns in their shape and size through time have been thought to reflect inter-group interactions and networks of populations and are used to define cultural phases within the MSA. However, eastern Africa does not have distinctive and widely applied chrono-stratigraphic point variants that divide its MSA record, which is often described as being highly variable. This paper presents a metric and geometric morphometric analysis of eastern African MSA points and evaluates potential drivers of variation in them in relation to null models of isolation by distance, time and environment. Approximately half of the shape variance in our sample can be explained by spatial, temporal and environmental differences, as well as by size, indicating a degree of demographic continuity through sustained cultural transmission. A portion of the remaining variance likely represents stylistic differences between assemblages, which are often the subject of interest in archaeological studies. The highly variable nature of the eastern African MSA may reflect the region's refugial positioning within the continent, with point technology a flexible adaptive system that was dynamically employed across Africa ARTICLE HISTORY

André Leroi-Gourhan is undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed figures of twentieth century anthropology and archaeology.
In France, his intellectual importance rivals that of Claude Lévi-Strauss, yet Leroi-Gourhan’s major contributions are almost entirely unknown in the Anglophone world. This collection seeks to change that. This selection highlights some of his chief influences, such as elaborating a theory
of technology, which argues that material culture focuses on the object in use and how use is a dynamic feature that has specific consequences for human evolution and human society.
With serious ramifications for our understanding of material culture,
putting Leroi-Gourhan’s thinking about technology into English will have an
immediate and transformative impact on material culture studies.

Edited and introduced by Nathan Schlanger
Translated by Nils F. Schott
Published by Bard Graduate Center, New York City / HAU Books
(Distributed by the University of Chicago Press).

Předkládaný příspěvek v teoretické rovině rozebírá eventuální možnosti způsobu přepravy nákladu
v mladém paleolitu (gravettienu, magdalénienu) a s tím spojenou případnou existenci (znalost
používání) saní. S využitím etnologických pozorování a dále studií týkajících se pozdně pleistocenních
a raně holocenních nálezů pocházejících z arktických oblastí autorka popisuje charakter
případných nálezů, které by se saněmi mohly souviset, a možnosti jejich rozlišení. V daném kontextu
upozorňuje na tři konkrétní nálezy nejasné funkce pocházející z moravského gravettienu, které
by teoreticky mohly být součástmi postroje spřežení saní, a srovnává je s analogickými předměty
uloženými v zahraničních etnologických sbírkách. Aspekt využívání spřežení v mladém paleolitu
by mohl být zajímavý i v diskuzích týkajících se prvních domestikovaných vlků (psů) v gravettienu,
případně v otázce existence ochočených sobů. Z archeologického hlediska jsou v tomto kontextu
zajímavé nálezy vyobrazení koňských hlav s náznaky ohlávek

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, ranging from around 57,000 to 29,000 years ago, is a period of significant archaeological interest due to notable transitions in lithic technology and hominin populations. In Europe, this time saw the replacement of Middle Palaeolithic (MP) technologies associated with Neanderthals by Upper Palaeolithic (UP) technologies linked to anatomically modern humans (AMHs). This technological shift is conventionally attributed to a demographic turnover; however, the timing of this transition varied regionally. The presence of Neanderthals and AMHs in the Levant, western Europe, and elsewhere over extended periods complicates the narrative, suggesting asynchronous and regionally diverse associations of hominin species and lithic technologies. This study shifts the attention to potential technological and cultural transmissions among MP-and UP-making groups, emphasizing the roles of social and exchange networks. Recent data from the obsidian-rich Armenian Highlands enable us to consider the mobility and land use of these groups without the added complication of toolstone with different knapping qualities, so patterns more clearly reflect mobility patterns, land use strategies, and potential social connections of foraging groups. These results suggest that, while MP-making groups in MIS 3 had overlapping territories, the UP-making groups at Aghitu-3 had smaller movements on the landscape. In contrast, MIS 2 sites with UP lithic assemblages have resource territories that apparently overlapped much like those of the MIS 3 MP sites. The findings hint at the possibility that differing mobility and land use during MIS 3 might have contributed to the coexistence of distinct lithic technologies, potentially through social transmission rather than a direct replacement of hominin populations.

The territory of north-eastern Poland is experiencing a veritable archaeological renaissance through many research initiatives. In 2017, using the LiDAR method, 26 settlement sites located in the Podlasie Lowland were discovered. These sites have a similar form of construction and together they represent a compact settlement system. The main aim of this studies is to present the preliminary results of geoarchaeological studies of the Jatwieź Duża site as an example of this kind of settlement. This form is built by two distinct moats (circle shape) separated by earth embankment and a central flat area with a diameter of about 60 m. It is located on the Pleistocene clays, fluvioglacial sands and gravels. In the course of archaeological excavations, ten archeological resource objects with 79 parts of pottery and 83 flint artifacts were discovered. Technological and stylistic analysis of the pottery has shown that these artifacts belong to Urnfield culture communities from the Surash Gr...

The article is about archaeological excavations in the Damjili Cave done since 2016. This article consists of the topic dealing with the investigations of the source of the Neolithic culture in the region through modern scientific achievements i.e. considered to be the main purpose of the recent investigation in the cave which was registered and excavated in the 50s of the XX century. Compared to the excavations in the 50s of the last century, the recent archaeological investigations yielded with the chronological discovery of medieval, bronze, chalcolithic, neolithic, mesolithic, and middle paleolithic periods. It should be mentioned that, in the territory of Azerbaijan, it was the second time a complete mesolithic layer had been determined in the Damjili Cave (the first was Gobustan). This issue is the main fact in the clarification of the origin of the neolithic culture in the region. Finally, the discovery of a complete mesolithic layer in the Damjili Cave shows the neolithic culture had mainly been developed through this mesolithic culture. Further archaeological investigations will provide us with much more results.

The Iberian Peninsula plays a central role in the current debates on the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition and the Neanderthal extinction. This is largely due to the chronological data which some authors have suggested show a clear divide between Northern Iberia, where the Upper Palaeolithic appeared as early as 36.5 ka 14 C BP, and Southern Iberia, where the Middle Palaeolithic survived until ca. 32e30 ka 14 C BP or later. The best example of this view is the Ebro Frontier hypothesis. However, there are chronological data in both Northern and Southern Iberia that do not fit this pattern, and some of the evidence supporting the Ebro Frontier hypothesis has been questioned in recent years. This paper focuses on the chronology of the final Middle Palaeolithic of Northern Iberia, where several assemblages have been found to post-date the first Upper Palaeolithic in the region, and be of a similar age to the final Neanderthal occupations of the south. In order to improve the chronological framework of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic boundary in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, a radiocarbon dating program is focused on sites from both the Cantabrian and Mediterranean regions. The first results of this program are presented in this paper. New radiocarbon dates have been measured by two laboratories using a range of pre-treatment methodologies. These do not support a late Middle Palaeolithic in Northern Iberia.

Esquilleu cave (Cantabria, northern Spain) presents 30 Mousterian archaeological layers covering virtually the complete MIS 3 both in chronology and environmental. A number of environmental analyses (faunal, pollen, charcoal) allow the study of the different strategies for the procurement and management of resources available near the site and indicate the Neanderthals' wide adaptability to the changing environment typical of this period. This paper also discusses the possibility of using bones as fuel either as a palliative for a presumed lack of wood resources in the environment or as a mere pattern of human behaviour.

Only a handful of examples speak for Middle and Upper Paleolithic adaptations to mid-latitude highlands. Mountainous southwest Asia, consisting of the southern Caucasus (including the Armenian Plateau) and the Zagros and Alborz ranges, is arguably the richest, featuring numerous Late Pleistocene (ca. 130-12 ka) archaeological records. The region's long zooarchaeological research history and especially the data gathered during the last two decades are now sufficient to support a study of Neanderthal and modern human subsistence and mobility patterns. In this paper, I present a synthesis of the available zooarchaeological data from the southern Caucasus and the Zagros/Alborz. Using abundance indices of animal groups and taphonomic variables, I test the null hypothesis that humans hunted the available game proportionally to its abundance on the landscape. To this end, the natural abundance baselines were extrapolated from bioclimatic variables and nonhumangenerated Pleistocene faunas. Taphonomic and taxonomic patterns that pertain to site-occupation intensity were evaluated against a pertinent external reference, the well-studied zooarchaeological record of the southern Levant, representing a warmer and more habitable region. The null hypothesis was only partially confirmed, enabling the identification of prey choice patterns, hunting specialization, and diversification. While acknowledging the region's archaeological variability, the study showed that the Middle and Upper Paleolithic habitations in the southern Caucasus and Zagros/Alborz were primarily ephemeral, attesting to low site habitation intensity and little, if any, population growth. It seems that all groups inhabiting the region could afford to practice highly selective game procurement strategies, exploiting vast territories and occupying many short-term camps, some strategically positioned to intercept migrating game. Both Middle and Upper Paleolithic populations consisted of small and highly mobile groups that sporadically inhabited the rugged landscape; they lived under harsh climatic conditions well under the environmental carrying capacity. This scenario contributes to viewing mountainous southwest Asia as a geographic cul-de-sac during the Pleistocene; it demonstrates that regardless of their biological and cultural backgrounds, human groups adopted similar behaviors in accordance with the regions' natural conditions.

From this perspective, the region bordering the eastern Adriatic and Ionian seas, with its diverse geographic, climatic, and ecological characteristics-including coastal plains, rolling hills, and mountain ranges reaching elevations of 2,600-2,700 m a.s.l.-deserves consideration as an area that has witnessed significant population movements since the Middle Pleistocene. Its rugged terrain, intersected by major SE-NW orientated fluvial valleys connecting the southernmost part of the Balkans with the Adriatic region, may have provided refugia for temperate species and favoured Pleistocene zoogeographic diversity from the earliest times (Palombo & Mussi, 2006). However, given the scarcity of Middle Palaeolithic sites in this region, our current understanding of Neanderthal occupations, locations, territories, and adaptations to environmental and ecological diversity remains limited. It is expected that Neanderthals adapted to this geographic diversity through varying mobility strategies and technological traditions, resulting in a cultural mosaic featured by a mix of expedient and curated technologies, shifts between continuity and disruption in different productions

History of the study of the Paleolithic Age in Azerbaijan dates back to the discovery of the cave Damjyly. The cave was discovered by Zamyatnin and M.M.Husseinov in 1953 and it was the first Paleolithic monument on the territory of Azerbaijan. In 1956-1957, in the cave were carried out archaeological excavations, which started a planned systematic research of the Stone Age. During the excavations several thousand artifacts referring to the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Middle Ages were obtained. However, since the layers were disturbed it did not allow revealing the stratigraphy, which was reflected on the significance of the monument, in solution of a number of issues, including the periodization of the Stone Age. In particular, belonging of a number of artifacts to the Mesolithic or Neolithic period remains a debatable question so far, and this is very important, the key question in the context of identifying the origination and development of the earliest farming communities in the South Caucasus. The main task of the joint Azerbaijani-Japanese expedition in the grotto Damjili was an attempt to answer this question as well. Existing facts about the Neolithic settlements in the territory of Azerbaijan testify to the local roots of this form of farming, in spite of the contacts taking place with the earliest agricultural societies of the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East. The main result of the expedition in 2016 was to identify not disturbed stratified cultural layers in the grotto Damjyly, with very distinct sequence of cultures: Middle Paleolithic, sterile layer, Mesolithic/Neolithic Age and the Middle Ages.

In the recent prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula, in particular on the Portuguese Beira
Alta, the variety of lithic elements associated with agricultural and subsistence manual
work is typologically and functionally remarkable. This region corresponds to an area
characterized by a local lithic industry, marked by the preferential use of raw material
with easy access and hoarder. Among the lithic tools identified, small carved elements
can be distinguished - the denticulates - which constituted the edge of the body of an
agricultural work instrument, the sickle. In this context, the site of Corcheiros is an
exceptional place due to the abundance of tools that are denticulated. Just during
archaeological prospection, there were identify over twenty flakes denticulated made
with quartzite.

This article addresses the major demographic and adaptive factors that appear to have triggered the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) transition in Eastern Europe. The factors under study were first identified in case studies from Crimea and Kostenki (Bataille 2013; 2016), but continued investigations show that they are closely connected with some quite specific, indeed fundamental, adaptive mechanisms. Actual investigations of the Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura brought to light characteristic techno-typological peculiarities. These regional signals further indicate that models of a unilineal, unidirectional dispersal of the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) is not adequate to explain the heterogeneity of the Aurignacian in different regions. These investigations support studies that contradict the view that the Western European Aquitanian model is appropriate for the whole continent. In combination, these factors and mechanisms provide a new conceptual framework for understanding the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition.

En collaboration avec l’Université de Bourgogne, la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme de Dijon et le laboratoire ARTEHIS (UMR 6298), ce cycle de conférences – initié par David Bardey (Post-doctorant, Université de Namur) et Rudi Beaulant (ATER, Université de Besançon) – a pour but de valoriser et diffuser les travaux de jeunes chercheures et chercheurs sur l’histoire, l’archéologie et l’histoire de l’art de la Bourgogne. Il s’agit de présenter et mettre en avant les sources d’archives à partir desquelles travaille le jeune chercheur, ainsi que la manière dont il élabore le raisonnement scientifique lui permettant d’aboutir aux résultats de ses investigations. L’objectif est aussi de montrer l’articulation, en fonction des sujets, entre les sources conservées aux Archives départementales de la Côte-d’Or et les différents dépôts municipaux, tant archives que bibliothèque. Enfin, ces interventions offriront l’opportunité au public de prendre connaissance des dynamiques actuelles de la recherche sur la Bourgogne, notamment en lui permettant d’accéder, durant les séances, aux originaux des documents utilisés par les différents intervenants. Ce cycle montre la vitalité de la recherche en Bourgogne, et il la met à la disposition de tous au coeur de la ville de Dijon.

En collaboration avec l’Université de Bourgogne-Europe, la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme de Dijon et le laboratoire ARTEHIS (UMR 6298), ce cycle de conférences – initié par David Bardey (Post-doctorant, Université de Namur) et Rudi Beaulant (ATER, Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, Besançon) – a pour but de valoriser et diffuser les travaux de jeunes chercheures et chercheurs sur l’histoire, l’archéologie et l’histoire de l’art de la Bourgogne. Il s’agit de présenter et mettre en avant les sources d’archives à partir desquelles travaille le jeune chercheur, ainsi que la manière dont il élabore le raisonnement scientifique lui permettant d’aboutir aux résultats de ses investigations. L’objectif est aussi de montrer l’articulation, en fonction des sujets, entre les sources conservées aux Archives départementales de la Côte-d’Or et les différents dépôts municipaux, tant archives que bibliothèque. Enfin, ces interventions offriront l’opportunité au public de prendre connaissance des dynamiques actuelles de la recherche sur la Bourgogne, notamment en lui permettant d’accéder, durant les séances, aux originaux des documents utilisés par les différents intervenants. Ce cycle montre la vitalité de la recherche en Bourgogne, et il la met à la disposition de tous au coeur de la ville de Dijon.

I have been guessing, from the available evidence, for years, that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens shared culture/burial/religion and that it likely happened between 120,000 and 100,000 years ago.

As seen in my 2016 blog post, Did Neanderthals teach us “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism? “)” 120,000 Years Ago?

Now new research states, “First burials: evidence of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens sharing culture 110,000 years ago.“

“A recent discovery in Tinshemet Cave, central Israel, is changing the way we look at early human interactions. Archaeologists have found human burials from the Middle Paleolithic period, and they revealed that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens not only lived in the same region but also shared aspects of daily life, technology, and funerary practices. The findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, challenge previous assumptions and show that human connections played a key role in cultural and technological evolution.”

“The south Levantine mid-Middle Palaeolithic (mid-MP; ~130,000–80,000 years ago) is remarkable for its exceptional evidence of human morphological variability, with contemporaneous fossils of Homo sapiens and Neanderthal-like hominins. Yet, it remains unclear whether these hominins adhered to discrete behavioral sets or whether regional-scale intergroup interactions could have homogenized mid-MP behavior. Here, researchers report on our discoveries at Tinshemet Cave, Israel. The site yielded articulated Homo remains in association with rich assemblages of ochre, fauna, and stone tools dated to ~100,000 years ago. Viewed from the perspective of other key regional sites of this period, our findings indicate consolidation of a uniform behavioral set in the Levantine mid-MP, consisting of similar lithic technology, increased reliance on large-game hunting, and a range of socially elaborated behaviors, comprising intentional human burial and the use of ochre in burial contexts. Researchers suggest that the development of this behavioral uniformity is due to intensified inter-population interactions and admixture between Homo groups ~130,000–80,000 years ago.”

With its 17 carvings, a bear bone from the Dziadowa Skała cave in Poland
represents complex explanations of the Moon phases (> 120 ka). It contains
three proposals, which refered to the pair Full Moon - New Moon (for xample,
no comparison possible and so on). Among others, a proposition from Vaufrey (France) was cited, perhaps the oldest testimony of „three equivalent pairs“ of the Moon in Europe. In their contribution from 2021, the authors A. Rufà / V. Laroulandie dated it to the period 243.000-191.000 BC. An aurochs bone from Nesher Ramla (Israel) adapted the Polish concept. Furthermore, we discuss two interesting finds from the Crimea, Zaskalnaya VI and Kiik-Koba, both about 40 ka old. And finally, we check all fourth pairs of Neanderthals for equivalence in order to gain a deeper understanding of their mental cognition ability.

Mit seinen 17 Ritzungen zählt ein Bärenknochen aus der Dziadowa Skała Höhle in Polen zu den Vertretern komplexer Darlegungen von Mondphasen (> 120 ka). Es wurden dort insgesamt drei Erklärungsmodelle aufgeboten, die sich auf das Paar Vollmond-Neumond bezogen (z.B. kein Vergleich möglich usw.). U.a. wurde der Entwurf aus Vaufrey (Frankreich) zitiert, dem vielleicht ältesten Zeugnis von "drei Äquivalenzpaaren" des Mondes in Europa. In ihrem Beitrag von 2021 datierten die Autorinnen A. Rufà / V. Laroulandie ihn in den Zeitraum von 243.000 bis 191.000 Jahren v.h. Ein Auerochsenknochen aus Nesher Ramla (Israel) adaptierte den polnischen Vorschlag. Außerdem werden zwei interessante Funde von der Krim besprochen, aus Zaskalnaya VI und Kiik-Koba, die um 40 ka entstanden sind. Zum Schluss werden alle vierten Paare der Neandertalerfunde auf Äquivalenz überprüft, um ein vertieftes Verständnis von deren mentaler Kognitionsfähigkeit zu erlangen.

L’analisi tecnologica proposta da E. Boeda e divenuta nel corso degli ultimi 30 anni un utile strumento per la interpretazione dei manufatti litici. Gli autori, attraverso una revisione critica e completa della letteratura italiana esistente sull’argomento, suggeriscono che la variabilita tecnologica osservata nel tempo e nello spazio deve essere interpretata grazie ad una prospettiva storica al fine di valorizzare l’adattamento umano alle condizioni ambientali.

As known, artefacts made from wood are very rarely encountered in prehistoric deposits due to the low durability of this material. Emergency excavations in the spring of 2012 at Poggetti Vecchi, Central Italy, brought to light an open-air, stratified Palaeolithic site of an overall area of around 160 m 2 . The finds are radiometrically dated to the late Middle Pleistocene. The site is therefore of particular interest, not only because it offers snapshots of the local environment at a time when early Neanderthals occupied the area but also in view of the recovery of wooden tools. The presence of a burnt film on some of the artefacts has led us to conjecture that, in addition to stone tools, fire was also used in the manufacture of the sticks, as documented in ethnography and hypothesised for prehistoric digging sticks. An experimental study was carried out to reconstruct the operational chain of this kind of tool. This study demonstrates that the use of fire was functional to the manufacture of the sticks featuring this morphology. The working of a very hard wood like Buxus is painstaking and requires a complex operational chain, from the selection of the particular wood to its working employing stone tools and fire, with a significant investment of time and effort.