There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological ...information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least well-known of the peninsular Neolithic sequence, and at present there is no specific synthesis on this topic at the peninsular scale. In 2017, an exceptional funerary context was discovered at Dehesilla Cave (Sierra de Cádiz, Southern Iberian Peninsula), providing radiocarbon dates which place it at the beginning of this little-known Middle Neolithic period, specifically between ca. 4800-4550 cal BC. Locus 2 is a deposition constituted by two adult human skulls and the skeleton of a very young sheep/goat, associated with stone structures and a hearth, and a number of pots, stone and bone tools and charred plant remains. The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to present the new archaeological context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of data provided by interdisciplinary methods. The dataset is diverse in nature: stratigraphic, osteological, isotopic, zoological, artifactual, botanical and radiocarbon results are presented together. Secondly, to place this finding within the general context of the contemporaneous sites known in the Iberian Peninsula through a systematic review of the available evidence. This enables not only the formulation of explanations of the singular new context, but also to infer the possible ritual funerary behaviours and practices in the 5.sup.th millennium cal BC in the Iberian Peninsula.
Palaeontological sites can be a significant sample of the palaeocommunity to which they belonged, or represent effects of animal consumption. A general methodological study has been designed to ...contrast the pre-depositional characteristics of any anthropological or natural thanatocenosis and taphocoenosis/oryctocoenosis. A biostratinomic study of the carcass association scattered throughout Doñana Biological Reserve (Huelva, Spain) was performed to determine whether there are general patterns that can be applied to the taphonomic study of archaeological/palaeontological sites. All these results have shown that palaeobiological interpretations need biostratinomical studies to interpret the past, and this work has presented the analyses of an organic deposit in a natural ecosystem. The differences with other ecosystems located in different latitudes remain to be determined in order to define a general model to explain the formation of bone assemblages. The main objective of this paper is to apply the biostratinomic results of the Doñana Biological Reserve (DBR), an example of a Mediterranean ecosystem, in the interpretation of Venta Micena, a paleontological Early Pleistocene site located inOrce (Granada, Spain).
ABSTRACT
The genus Equus was represented on the Iberian Peninsula by four species during the late Quaternary: the wild, now extinct, E. ferus (wild horse) and E. hydruntinus (European wild ass) and ...the extant, domestic E. caballus (horse) and E. asinus (donkey). The distribution and timing of the extinctions of the wild species and arrival of the domestic species is important to understand the changing environment and cultures through this dynamic period in one of the three southern Pleistocene glacial refugia in Europe. Here we collected data from all zooarchaeological studies that meet basic completeness criteria from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age (45–3.2 ka bp) and analysed the equine data in light of other large mammals at the same sites in order to document the species turnover and distributions through this culturally and ecologically dynamic period. The vast majority of Palaeolithic Equus were confidently identified as E. ferus, and by the Bronze age as E. caballus, with much uncertainty in between. Over time the larger equids (horses) were much more common than the smaller equids (asses). Equids were not common, but they were distributed across the southern Iberian peninsula through the Chalcolithic, and then appear to have become restricted to the drier eastern region in the Bronze Age. These analyses indicate that both E. ferus and E. hydruntinus went extinct by the end of the Pleistocene/Palaeolithic in Andalucia. Not all communities maintained equal numbers of equids, and their distribution changed with the changing climate through time, most notably between the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age when confidence in species identification and local density of horses increase, but the distribution is restricted to the drier eastern region.
Paleontological heritage of Andalusia is one of the cultural and natural wealth most neglected of the universities and Spanish government. After years of efforts by some paleontologists decided that ...the new communication techniques can help you understand the value of this heritage in the knowledge of our environment and our species. The fossil history has always been well received and understood by society, we cannot say the government, and in this situation a group of paleontologists have decided to present a project to disseminate this heritage through new techniques and virtual informative new approaches. Six flagg-fossil will be the subject of study and dissemination techniques in an upcoming virtual IAPH project to introduce the natural and cultural history of Andalusia for more than 500 million years ago until today.
In order to interpret fossil and sub-fossil associations of vertebrates, it is important to understand how carcasses degrade in nature. Here we describe the process of bone loss from of 32 carcasses ...from eight species of terrestrial mammals over two to 63 months in two Mediterranean ecosystems in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The carcasses ranged in mass from 5 kg to over 450 kg. These data allow the quantitative description of the dynamics of degradation in three time phases defined by changes in the rate of bone loss as measured by the Skeletal Conservation Index (SCI). The SCI values estimated for each phase of degradation is considered the fossil potentiality of the carcass. In the first phase, very few bones were lost, followed by a phase of high bone loss driven by scavengers. The rate of bone loss reduced greatly again in the final phase, which was driven primarily by abiotic, environmental factors. The largest carcasses spend a longer time in each phase, and also had a higher SCI at the end of Phase II. The smallest carcasses experienced a much higher variance in degradation, had significantly lower SCI, and many of the smallest carcasses were consumed completely in a short period of time. Differences between localities were observed regarding SCI values. Presence or absence of tree coverage in the place where the carcass was located also had a significant effect on SCI. These data highlight the importance of considering the contemporaneous scavengers when interpreting animals from paleontological contexts. These data also explain the bias observed in many ancient sites whereby larger animals are over represented.
Cochineal dyes constitute paradigmatic organic compounds that guide in the elucidation of historic cultural and economical exchanges. This study combines liquid chromatography and high-resolution ...tandem mass spectrometry to assess the degradation products of the organic dyes of American cochineal collected from the cargo of a 16th century sunken wreck. The identification of biological materials of historical and archeological origin is often challenging due to molecular degradation. In this scenario, the mapping of the chemical routes underlying the fate of the organic and biochemical compounds employed as taxonomic biomarkers becomes of crucial importance. This work shows that, under harsh environmental conditions, the original carminic and (flavo)kermesic acid structures of cochineal dyes are prone to chemical transformation, typically losing the carboxylic acid and glucoside groups. The anthraquinone core is preserved in the majority of degradation products identified in this study, with eventual side chains reminiscent of a partial degradation of the glucoside moiety. The comparison of these observations with the analysis of modern cochineal samples allows us to lay out an updated chart of dye compounds and degradation products which should constitute a seminal benchmark for future biomolecular analysis of historic and archeological dye materials.
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•An updated chart of dyes in American cochineal is reported from high resolution mass spectrometry/liquid chromatography.•Application in archeological materials is illustrated for cochineal collected from a 16th century shipping cargo.•Degradation products from aging of the cochineal dyes are characterized and postulated as potential biomarkers.
There is the tendency to assume that endangered species have been both genetically and demographically healthier in the past, so that any genetic erosion observed today was caused by their recent ...decline. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) suffered a dramatic and continuous decline during the 20th century, and now shows extremely low genome- and species-wide genetic diversity among other signs of genomic erosion. We analyze ancient (N = 10), historical (N = 245), and contemporary (N = 172) samples with microsatellite and mitogenome data to reconstruct the species' demography and investigate patterns of genetic variation across space and time. Iberian lynx populations transitioned from low but significantly higher genetic diversity than today and shallow geographical differentiation millennia ago, through a structured metapopulation with varying levels of diversity during the last centuries, to two extremely genetically depauperate and differentiated remnant populations by 2002. The historical subpopulations show varying extents of genetic drift in relation to their recent size and time in isolation, but these do not predict whether the populations persisted or went finally extinct. In conclusion, current genetic patterns were mainly shaped by genetic drift, supporting the current admixture of the two genetic pools and calling for a comprehensive genetic management of the ongoing conservation program. This study illustrates how a retrospective analysis of demographic and genetic patterns of endangered species can shed light onto their evolutionary history and this, in turn, can inform conservation actions.
This paper presents the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data of the 6th to 4th millennia cal BC sequence recently documented at Dehesilla Cave, and puts forward an interdisciplinary approach ...to the significant ecological patterns from this key archaeological site in the Southern Iberian Peninsula throughout the entire Neolithic period.
indicate an ecological scenario characterised mainly by oak and wild olive forests, and human populations with agricultural practices and herds of mainly sheep and goats. However, this general panorama must have undergone several remarkable fluctuations.
The first Neolithic populations of Dehesilla Cave, dated around the mid-6th millennium cal BC and linked to the Mediterranean impressa pottery complex, do not yet display evidences of agriculture, while all of the subsequent Early Neolithic levels indicate a model of small-scale populations with a mixed economy but still with a greater component of livestock.
The second quarter of the 5th millennium cal BC shows a marked accentuation of the monoculture of naked wheats, which could have been related to the transition from an intensive to an extensive farming system. This may have entailed a selective pressure on the environment, leading to a large deforestation spanning the second half of the 5th millennium cal BC and the constitution of relatively open thermo-Mediterranean forests with a physiognomy similar to that of the dehesa.
These ecological patterns are discussed within a review of the current state of the art of the use of plant and animal resources by the Neolithic human populations in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
•A multidisciplinary archaeobotanical and archaeozoological approach is carried out.•A key Neolithic site in the Southern Iberian Peninsula is excavated and examined.•The first local Neolithic populations show evidence of livestock without agriculture.•A monoculture based on naked wheats was successful during 4800-4500 cal BC.•Human pressure on ecosystems led to the spread of open thermo-Mediterranean forests.
Paleontological heritage of Andalusia is one of the cultural and natural wealth most neglected of the universities and Spanish government. After years of efforts by
some paleontologists decided that ...the new communication techniques can help you understand the value of this heritage in the knowledge of our environment and our
species. The fossil history has always been well received and understood by society, we cannot say the government, and in this situation a group of paleontologists
have decided to present a project to disseminate this heritage through new techniques and virtual informative new approaches. Six flagg-fossil will be the subject of
study and dissemination techniques in an upcoming virtual IAPH project to introduce the natural and cultural history of Andalusia for more than 500 million
years ago until today.
El patrimonio paleontológico de Andalucía es una de las riquezas culturales y naturales más olvidada de las universidades y las administraciones españolas.
Después de años de esfuerzos de algunos paleontológos decidimos que las nuevas técnicas de difusión pueden ayudar a entender el valor de este patrimonio en el
conocimiento de nuestro entorno y de nuestra especie. La historia de los fósiles siempre ha sido bien acogida y entendida por la sociedad, lo que no podemos decir de
las administraciones públicas, y ante esta situación un grupo de paleontólogos hemos decidido presentar un proyecto que difundirá este patrimonio a través de nuevas
técnicas virtuales y nuevos enfoques divulgativos. Seis fósiles bandera serán motivo de estudio y divulgación con técnicas virtuales en un próximo proyecto del IAPH
que presentará la historia natural y cultural de Andalucía desde hace más de 500 millones de años hasta nuestros días.
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