This model can broaden our understanding of the diversity of technical behaviours that appear from the beginning of LGM-b to the end of MIS 2 in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula.Įl període de transició entre el Plistocè i l’Holocè està caracteritzat per una sèrie de canvis a nivell paleoambiental que afectaren a l’organització social i a les estratègies de subsistència de les poblacions humanes. This study aims to suggest a reference model with which to characterise Magdalenian cores in technological terms. The data collected are supported by statistical analysis and reveal significant differences at the diachronic level and among the lithic assemblages. Five knapping modalities were identified through the study of reduction sequences and the analysis of technical attributes, which highlights the technical diversity of lithic production systems. The knapping strategies suggest two types of lithic exploitation: one on nodules using semi-circumferential methods and the other on thick flakes using burin-core methods. This paper presents a technological and morphometric analysis of cores from the Magdalenian sequence of the Cova Gran de Santa Linya (SE Pyrenees), which ranges from 23 to 16 k cal BP. By examining reduction phases, cognitive and operational aspects of the management of lithic resources can be explored, and the technical behaviours of human groups reconstructed. This research constitutes the first reduction approach for the European Early Pleistocene assemblages that will lead to a referential framework for other European Early Pleistocene sites.Ĭore reduction provides insight into the technical actions involved in knapping sequences, one of the central elements in technological analysis. In conclusion, Homo antecessor toolmakers would have been situational knappers whose technological behaviour would be highly adaptive. Altogether, the continuity between knapping strategies through reduction denotes constant adaptation to raw material constraints as well as particular knapping conditions, rather than specific compartmentalised mental schemes. This could reflect a solid understanding of raw material qualities and a certain degree of planning. Our results suggest differential raw material management in terms of reduction intensity, according to the characteristics of each lithology. We use the Volumetric Reconstruction Method (VRM) to estimate the original volume of the blanks and quantify the reduction intensity of each core individually to characterise the reduction distribution patterns using Weibull probability distribution functions. Gran Dolina TD6.2 is a unique and extremely significant archaeological context, as it represents the oldest multi-layered unit of domestic hominin occupations in the Early Pleistocene of Europe. In this paper, we approach the technological behaviours exhibited by Lower Palaeolithic hominins from the subunit TD6.2 of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Burgos) by including the perspective of reduction intensity studies on the analysis of technological variability. In Europe, the earliest technological record is represented by the scarce and scattered Mode 1 technologies, often deriving from occasional occupations or restricted activity areas yielding unrepresentative assemblages. However, the variability of lithic assemblages cannot be correctly interpreted without understanding site occupational models and function and considering that individual tools represent specific discard moments in a continuous reduction process. Thus, technological variability has been the centrepiece on this debate. The ability of early hominins to overcome the constraints imposed by the characteristics of raw materials used for stone tool production is a key topic on the discussion about the evolution of hominin cognitive capabilities and technical behaviours.
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