Just two questions. Where and why?: reconstruction of Neanderthal occupational patterns in the mis 3
- Autores: Marta Modolo
- Directores de la Tesis: Jordi Rosell Ardèvol (dir. tes.), Ursula Thun Hohenstein (codir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Rovira i Virgili ( España ) en 2017
- Idioma: inglés
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Manuel Vaquero Rodríguez (presid.), Ruth Blasco López (secret.), Marco Peresani (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado Erasmus Mundus en Cuaternario y Prehistoria por la Universidad Rovira i Virgili; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle(Francia); Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro(Portugal) y Università degli Studi di Ferrara(Italia)
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: hdl.handle.net TDX
- Resumen
The problematic addressed in this doctoral thesis concerns the identification of Neanderthals subsistence patterns in two Mediterranean sites: Abric Romaní (Capellades, Spain) and Riparo Tagliente (Verona, Italy). In Palaeolithic studies is very important as well as necessary, to shed light on the organisation of the living floors of the archaeological sites. The main difficulty lies in the paucity of evidences that makes difficult the comprehension of the daily life in prehistoric times. The comparison with ethnographical models has facilitated the understandings of some aspects of the sites organizations. According to the interpretation of eminent scholars, several important aspects allow us to distinguish between home-base sites, camps with specialized activities and bivouacs. Generally, the variations between these models are interpreted as seasonal displacements, or changes in group structure that are related to the variability and availability of the local resources. The interpretations of the Mousterian settlement dynamics have used these patterns, based on the observations of current hunter-gatherers populations.
To help clarify these aspects, a methodology that combine zooarchaeology, taphonomy, bone refits, and spatial analysis have been carried out. Refitting data are still under-developed, when compared to the potential of the results that can be achieved. They provide the means to reconstruct social, behavioural and economic aspects of Palaeolithic societies. On a spatial scale they can be used to measure the degree of horizontal and vertical dispersal and to assess the natural or anthropic disturbance on the site.
In this way the project focused on the analysis of faunal remains recovered in level I (46 Kyrs by means of U/Th ages) and sublevel Ja (47.1 ± 2.1 ka BP by 14C AMS) of Abric Romaní and in level 37 of Riparo Tagliente (60-30 Kyrs for the whole sequence of levels from 39 to 31). The identification of settlement patterns, the detection and differentiation of the activity areas, the cognition-space ability of human groups and the recognition of any development in subsistence strategies was the main goal. Moreover the study aims to detect if there are some important variations or not in the organization of human occupations between the two sites, and if the differences are correlated to seasonal aspects, or to diverse cultural traditions.
The sites involved in this project were selected for the rich archaeological records, for the high degree of anthropisation and also for them strategic location that allow to highlight important aspects about territorial mobility and food procurement. Abric Romaní is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula, dated to the beginning of Late Pleistocene. It includes a series of Middle Palaeolithic layers and one of the oldest Aurignacian presence in Europe. The strategic passage in which is located, between inland and coastal regions, serves as a crossroads within the inner regions, plains, mountains and coast.
Riparo Tagliente situated 250 m. a.s.l. in the Lessini Mounts, is considered the type-site of the Mousterian culture in the Veneto region. The whole stratigraphic series dated to the late Pleistocene, is divided into two main units, separated by an erosion surface: the Mousterian deposits and the Aurignacian layer. During these two cycles of human occupation, the site was interested by repeated re-occupations.
Summarizing in short the collected data we can note different situations. In the Abric Romaní site, two different occupational models have been identified. In level I, the type of occupation takes place for a short time, around hearths, which are small and represent domestic activities. Mainly short connections have been documented as the refits are local and located in the same hearths. From this perspective these events seem to correspond to single and isolated areas, which have no connections or temporal relationship between them. This phenomenon could suggest repeated use of the rockshelter, related to this kind of event. Size of group would be small, attending the reduced surface of the occupied areas and the presence of single hearths. However long distance refits, documented among horses run out the possibility that at least one occupational event of higher intensity occurred at Level I. According to the refitting data, the faunal assemblage of sublevel Ja seem to be the result of a mixture of short-term human occupations, carried out by several groups at different times and long-term occupations, with events of higher intensity. This large groups occupations have been documented through synchronic relationships between activity areas and toss zones. The central sector of the site is the most exploited, as it represent the most flat area, protected by large blocks and therefore more suitable for settlement. The presence of this evidence and a large number of hearths distributed throughout the occupied area suggests that sublevel Ja played the role of “central camp” (being the product of various occupations of prolonged intensity) but also as place for short visits, maybe reiterated in time. Periods of inhabitability would have allowed the intrusion of carnivores who take advantage of the abandoned remains of man. This data is confirmed in other levels of the mousterian sequence. Different is the situation of Riparo Tagliente, where we do not have the travertine dynamic of Abric Romaní. This has led to the identification of more palimpsests, that consequently have reduced the amount of refits. The well-structured accumulations, identified within the excavation area indicates an intense activity and probably the choice of certain areas of shelter. The connections between the identified refits are on short and long distance, but the absence of combustion structures does not allow us to define connections between them. Certainly, the high percentage of burnt remains can give us an indication of the high level of occupation within these squares. However, this evidence does not indicate for certain that hominids were the only agents that caused the dispersal of the finds. The strong incidence of postdepositional agents and dens of small animals affected in more than one occasion the remains after human leaving. Therefore we can not say that all the remains are in situ. We stress the action of water, often attested in the refits obtained.
The result of this project is the presentation of a PhD dissertation as a compilation of papers with impact factor. The resulting data could be used as a reference to investigate the occupational patterns of Neanderthals, thanks to the interaction of multidisciplinary approaches.
