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Since the implementation of herding in the Neolithic period, specialized areas for livestock activities have emerged in the Western Mediterranean region, such as some caves and shelters, which were systematically used for the stabling of herds. By definition, this type of sites has a great potential for the study of the beginning of livestock practices and offer high-resolution information on the exploitation and management of herds. Different disciplines analyze these activities through the analysis of faunal, archaeobotanical or sedimentological remains from these sites. In this paper, we offer a state of the art on the contribution to the study of early husbandry practices of zooarchaeological studies of faunal assemblages from sheepfold caves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In southern France, the analysis of fossil dung layers from caves and shelters occupied by the first Neolithic farmers has provided a wealth of information about the lives of shepherds and their flocks, and thus on pastoral systems. Since the early 1980s, the development of sedimentological, archaeozoological and archaeobotanical studies has made possible to collect a large amount of data. More recently, the implementation of a whole range of innovative approaches allows a more detailed approach to pastoralism. This paper proposes a synthetic approach of 40 years of bioarchaeological analysis on Neolithic sheepfold caves (grottes-bergeries). Their interpretation focuses on understanding the early agropastoral system: pastoral use of wild and cultivated plant resources (fodder, litter, care and health of livestock), mobility systems, seasonality, practices and appropriation of territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we described fossils from six mammal taxa (Coendou magnus Cuvier, 1823; Nothrotherium maquinense (Lund, 1839); Tamandua tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1758); Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821); Didelphis sp.; and Dicotyles tajacu (Linnaeus, 1758)) found in Toca da Barriguda cave (Campo Formoso, Bahia, Brazil). To better understand the isotopic paleoecology of these taxa, AMS radiocarbon dating and carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses were performed. The radiocarbon ages indicate the occurrence of Condou magnus at 33,171–33,765 Cal yr BP, Tamandua tetradactyla at 43,944–44,496 Cal yr BP, Leopardus wiedii at 45,475–46,157 Cal yr BP, and Didelphis sp. at ∼50,227 cal yr BP. Of these taxa, five were carnivorous/omnivorous, only Coendou magnus was herbivorous and lived in low-density forest and arboreal savanna habitats (δ 13C = −12.8‰ to −8.4‰; p i C 3 = 80–90%) during the late Pleistocene. An increase in a dry climate in the region between 50 cal kyr BP (δ 18O = 27.1‰) and 27 cal kyr BP (δ 18O = 34.0‰) was suggested based on the oxygen isotopic values found in the mammalian bone fossils, which presents similarity and good correlation with the oxygen isotopic values recorded in stalagmites from two caves in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents the first results from the Aguilón P5 (Zaragoza) cave site on the northern slope of the Iberian System (NE Iberia). The fieldwork carried out since 2010 on several archaeological layers containing remnants of human occupations has revealed lithic remains, processed faunal bones and charred plant remains from combustion events. Due to the lithic tool assemblage and radiocarbon dating (>50.0–41.9 kyr BP), the attribution of this human occupation to the Mousterian techno-complex is clear, contemporary with other important Late Mousterian sites in the Ebro Basin (NE Iberia) and Mediterranean region. Preliminary results concerning stratigraphic, chronometric, techno-tipological and palaeoenvironmental data from the last human occupations of the cave (archaeological layers "cnc", "mcp" and "e") are provided in this paper. To contextualize the Neanderthal occupation of the Aguilón P5 cave, a timeline of Middle Paleolithic in the Iberian System is proposed. A total of 45 dates from 19 stratigraphic units (including speleothems) are available from 10 sites. Chronometric dating series allow us to establish the temporary framework of Mousterian industries in the Iberian System coinciding with the abrupt climate changes related to Heinrich Events which characterize MIS 3. In summary, this paper provides new chronometric and archaeological information about Neanderthal settlement and subsistence in an under-investigated region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than a half-century of research, the Philippine Paleolithic toolmaking has shown the persistence of the small-based flake tools. The bulk of the evidence comes from the excavation in caves and rock shelters. This paper presents the discovered open-sites in northern Mindanao that have large stone artifacts such as choppers and picks. These tools were produced with direct percussion on hard hammer initiated by wedge-flaking. Locally available cobble-sized materials were reduced with very low intensity led to the provisioning of the various tool forms. They are equipped with multiple functional edges trimmed as convex pointed and straight, intended for the heavy-duty tasks. The assemblage bears a striking resemblance to the core tools found in the Cagayan Valley Open Sites and to the well-known Paleolithic sites throughout Island Southeast Asia. This paper examines and describes the production sequences of the large stone tools as well as behavioral patterns in the reduction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coímbre cave (Peñamellera Alta, Asturias) is an Upper Palaeolithic site in Northern Spain, spanning an occupation sequence from the Gravettian to the Magdalenian periods. The upper layers -layer I and II-, corresponding to the Upper Magdalenian, register the highest intensity of human activity. In this paper, we analyse raw material functionality at the site through the study of cut-marks found on bone remains. At Coímbre, we have documented mainly quartzite, followed by flint; other raw materials are found in very low frequencies. There are several types of local quartzite that appear mainly as flaking debitage and stone tools such as burins and scrappers. On the other hand, flint is mainly knapped to elaborate blades and bladelets, as well as specialised implements, such as different types of side scrappers. Retouched flakes on flint are relatively more abundant than those made on quartzite. In this paper we employ the use of photogrammetry, geometric morphometrics and statistics to analyse the cut-marks from the Upper Magdalenian assemblage of Coímbre cave. Our aim is to determine the lithic raw material preferentially used for carcass processing at the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The dominance of red deer in Magdalenian records in Cantabrian Spain is a well-studied issue. Given the great accumulations of this species in those deposits, researchers have offered diverse interpretations of the phenomenon, related to ecology, orography or ethology. However, fewer papers carry out comparative intra-site analysis, which is able to document the existence of changes or continuities in the subsistence strategies at an archaeological site. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the archaeozoological analysis of Levels F and G in El Cierro cave (Asturias, Spain), both of them dated during Greenland Stadial 2, in the Lower Magdalenian (15,460 ± 75 and 15,580 ± 75 BP, respectively). Similar percentages of mammals have been documented in the two levels, as well as the same meat and fat consumption and processing strategies. Thus, this paper intends to determine how much energy red deer supplied to the diet of the humans that inhabited El Cierro, in comparison with other hunted and consumed fauna during the Lower Magdalenian. This study highlights the continuity of exploitation patterns of faunal resources in El Cierro cave during the Lower Magdalenian. This continuity is specifically seen in red deer, since the geographic characteristics of the Sella Valley, the abundance of the biotype, and the economic profitability of this species made it the main resource of animal origin for the hunter-gatherers at that site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on new findings from Middle Paleolithic Geula Cave, Israel, located in the northern part of Mt. Carmel. The cave, consists of several small chambers that are remnants of a larger cave system, initially excavated between 1958 and 1964. The occupation at the cave was ascribed to Middle Paleolithic modern humans. In 2016, a salvage excavation was conducted in areas of the cave that were not previously explored. Analyses of the new excavation revealed a consistency in lithic technology throughout the new excavation areas, with an emphasis on Levallois production using mainly bidirectional and centripetal core preparation modes. The faunal study identified intensive hyena and porcupine activities in small chambers, probably at the back part of the cave, while fractured bones in association with flint artifacts were found at what appears as the living area in the cave. Luminescence ages indicated that Geula Cave was occupied as early as 175 ka, but that the major occupation was from 120 to 100 ka. The major occupation at Geula chronologically overlaps with the Skhul and Qafzeh Caves thus reinforcing the notion that Homo sapiens dominated the southern Levant during early MIS 5. This study demonstrates the importance of reinvestigating and reevaluating past excavated prehistoric sites and their contents to enhance our understanding of the regional, cultural and biological history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wonderwerk Cave, in South Africa, is an exceptional site that has yielded a large collection of small mammal fossils in a stratigraphic sequence reaching back ca. 2 million years. Taphonomic studies undertaken to date, show that Tytonidae (likely Tyto alba) was the dominant predator during the Earlier Stone Age. They produced masses of pellets that formed a dense carpet-like surface that covered the cave floor at intervals throughout the sequence. This paper compares the taphonomic signatures of five different Earlier Stone Age small mammal assemblages from Wonderwerk Cave, including assemblages not studied before, as well as a modern pellet assemblage collected from inside the cave. These samples were examined using taphonomic signatures, bone density and spatial distribution which confirm that the main predator in all periods of cave occupation were members of the Family Tytonidae, most likely Barn owls. The Wonderwerk small mammals have enabled us to clarify site formation processes and confirm that there was no transport or mixing of fossils, neither spatially (re-sedimentation) nor chronologically (reworking). This has confirmed the integrity of the stratigraphic sequence in the cave, reinforcing interpretations of palaeoecology, and elucidating intensity of occupation by hominins versus predators, and the behaviour of the predators vis a vis their prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first insight into the interpretation of the wood charcoal from the Holocene layers of Wonderwerk Cave. Situated in the Northern Cape Province in the arid interior of South Africa, the site provides a unique and valuable chronological record of past environmental fluctuations and responding human behavioural adaptations spanning the last two million years. The Holocene strata have been dated to cover the last 12.5 ka cal BP years, but exclude the last 100 years because of contamination. A sizeable amount of charcoal was recovered from these strata and remnants have been identified, described and the species composition amongst the strata compared. Most identified species are those that tolerate hot, dry conditions, signalling an arid trend during the Holocene. Comparison with present day species distributions suggests an eastwards shift in modern vegetation. The charcoal data also indicate that during the mid Holocene there was a wetter period from 6.2 to 4.5 ka cal BP, coinciding with stratum 4a. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg mountains in the west of KwaZulu-Natal have been home to people for over 25ka years. The primary occupation has, however, been within the last 3ka. Settled primarily by hunter-gatherers, there appears to have been a possible ephemeral pastoralist presence around 2ka and an increasing agriculturist presence during the last 1ka. This paper outlines these occupations, focusing primarily on the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, where most archaeological research has taken place. The emphasis is on the rock shelter excavations at Diamond 1, Driel Shelter, Clarke's Shelter, Collingham Shelter, Good Hope Shelter 1 and Mhlwazini Cave, complemented by reference to open-air and rock shelter surface scatters and rock paintings. Data about the subsistence and material cultural of all these occupants is synthesised to show that the people of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, but primarily the hunters-gatherers, had a varied diet complemented by rich material cultural assemblages. The Discussion considers, (i), the notion of hunter-gatherer seasonality concluding that the mountains could have been occupied on an all-year basis and, (ii), the possible presence of pastoralists in and adjacent the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg around 2ka years ago, which might have involved the practice of feasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on Later Stone Age (LSA) San rock art in southern Africa has unveiled some of the paint recipes the artists employed. However, these discoveries still need to be linked to human activities in or near the rock shelters where the paintings were made. In this paper, we report characterization and dating results from the catchment of the Metolong Dam, Phuthiatsana Valley, Lesotho. A total of 92 rock painting samples, six grindstones with traces of colouring materials from an excavated context, and 17 potential raw colouring materials were studied. We identified three previously unreported ingredients used by the artists: manganese oxides, calcined bones, and soot. Grindstones are stained with the same raw materials that the painters used. We propose that one of them may have served to prepare the red pigment used to make a human figure and a bichrome eland at Ha Makotoko, but direct links remain difficult to establish with certainty. The potential colouring materials in the valley are red clays, white clays (kaolinite and illite-or-montmorillonite), and gypsum, three compounds used as paints by the artists. Tests conducted to verify their suitability for paintings show these materials may have been ground, but settling (after pre-grinding) offers a quicker and easier way to obtain a fine powder as observed in the paints. Finally, 12 AMS dates provide an initial framework for studying the changing use of paint recipes in the Phuthiatsana Valley over time. Charcoal appears to have been employed over a period of at least 3000 years and carbon black for at least 2000 years, with soot seemingly used only before 2000 cal. BP. This study is currently the largest characterization and dating study of LSA rock art in southern Africa and shows the potential that such combined investigations offer for linking excavated and parietal components of the region's hunter-gatherer archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multiple Mesolithic cave sites have been recognised in Europe, the use of such sites by Early Holocene hunter gatherers was extremely scarce north of the Carpathians. Single Mesolithic artefacts have been found thus far only in six cave sites in Poland. The rich Early Mesolithic assemblage found in Bramka Rockshelter in southern Poland seems to be quite extraordinary in such a context. The site was excavated over 50 years ago, but the results have never been published or analysed beyond a short mention of child burial found in the Mesolithic context. The paper presents new radiocarbon dates obtained for the Mesolithic occupation and the child burial, showing the Early Holocene chronology of the Komornician assemblage and the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age chronology of the burial. The assemblage's techno-typological analysis allowed us to identify six human occupation phases at the site, with the most intensive phase connected to the Mesolithic. Comparative analyses of other Mesolithic assemblages from the region, together with an extremely high percentage of debitage found in the Bramka Rockshelter assemblage, allow us to discuss the possibility of identifying the site as a knapping workshop located in the vicinity of Jurassic flint outcrops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North China is known as a region where cultural traditions do not change throughout the Pleistocene, while it is a region of interest for its association with several demographic events in Paleolithic age. In order to clarify the reason why the lithic industry mainly composed of quartz continued over a long period of time, it is necessary to accumulate information on lithic assemblage and human behavior. This paper adds an example of culture and behavior around 40 ka and discusses the adaptability of quartz small flake-tool industry. As reported here, three lithic assemblages of the Shuilian Cave Site in Hebei Province were dated to 43 ka cal BP, 34 ka cal BP, and the intermediate age based on the result of our radiocarbon dating. Except for small number of artifacts made of siliceous rock, the majority in all three assemblages are corresponds to the traditional small flake-tool industry in northern China. In the upper assemblage of the site, it was restored that vein quartz procured around the site was consumed systematically using bipolar percussion in combination with direct percussion. The technology employed at the site is adapted to the vein quartz as resources in the vicinity, giving a hint as to why less variable lithic industry continued throughout some demographic epoch in northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teshik-Tash Cave, excavated in 1938 and 1939, is a key archaeological site for our understanding of the Middle Paleolithic population dynamics of Central Asia. Its privileged status is due to the discovery of well-preserved Neanderthal skeletal remains in association with rich lithic artifacts. However, despite repeated studies of the skeletal remains, the lithic industry has not received sufficient re-analysis with up-to-date information since its first publication more than a half century ago. The present paper reports our first results based on the collection stored at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. We show that a combination of hierarchical and nonhierarchical core reduction strategies, the former of which includes a particular type of Levallois technology, characterizes the Teshik-Tash industry. Typologically, the common manufacturing of side scrapers, associated with a small number of heavy-duty tools, are diagnostic. It is also notable that triangular points often common in the Middle Paleolithic of Southwest Asia are rare. This industry is regarded as an important Neanderthal cultural tradition of West Central Asia, whose precise spatio-temporal placement needs to be determined through comparisons with other assemblages from controlled excavations. In the meantime, its disparity from the Sibiryachikha Mousterian industry left by the Neanderthals of East Central Asia is incontestable. This finding helps us understand the complicated origin and development of Neanderthal groups in Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of firewood use and management by human groups in the Ongamira valley, Córdoba, Argentina (dated between c. 5700-950 BP). In order to understand firewood gathering practices at different periods in the Late Holocene, samples from 63 combustion events recorded in 9 rockshelters were analysed. From the anthracological analysis (14,976 fragments) 19 woody taxa, and 4 botanically indeterminate taxa, were identified belonging to Chaco Serrano forest vegetation. The identification of abundant small flat fireplaces suggests short-lived activities repeated over time. A detailed analysis of the samples (types of fire pits, alterations during combustion and taphonomic processes) permits inferring firewood gathering in the local vegetation around the sites, as well as some taxa belonging to different environmental settings. Archaeological evidence indicates that groups were mobile, with the establishment of a network of places in the landscape where different activities were carried out (tool production, food consumption and pottery manufacture) with fire making as a central activity. People in the past constantly used different places in the valley, focusing many of their activities in rockshelters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the Sibudu Cave habitat that is dated to the late Pleistocene using archaeological wood charcoal, in order to reconstruct the environment and the activity of the people who interacted with the landscape. Standard anthracology procedures were applied in this qualitative study to analyse charcoal remains from the cave. A representative subset of charcoal remains was subsampled from a larger assemblage and environmental data, as well as evidence of wood use, are interpreted from 72 charcoal types that include 42 types that we identified taxonomically. We highlight that the environment at Sibudu supported a multi-layered Forest with Savanna vegetation based on the presence of many important taxa of these vegetation communities. The wood of the identified taxa has much rot fungi and was also burrowed by pests; however, it is not possible to infer at this stage if the fungi seen here were pathogenic. The presence of fungi is indicative of an environmental setting with high humidity and warm temperatures, such as is optimal for these types of fungi to flourish. Climatic conditions interpreted here agree with previous interpretations that were made from other environmental proxies. These conditions were only intense enough to disturb the microhabitat at Sibudu and did not change the vegetation near the cave. Also noted during the analysis, is that burning wood logs that were infected with brown rot consistently from c.73 to 72 ka probably produced very warm fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the newly established radiocarbon dates of the Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP) settlement in Gvardjilas Klde in the Imereti region in Georgia. The analysed samples were collected by Stefan Krukowski in 1916 during his fieldwork in the cave. Krukowski identified two separate UP cultural horizons. The older one was connected with what he called layer 10, and the younger one - with layer 11. The obtained radiocarbon dates confirm the results obtained by Krukowski. The older settlement phase can be dated to 19.7–18.8 ky cal. BP, while the younger one to 15.8–14.7 ky cal. BP. The end of human occupation can be linked to the beginning of the Holocene. Interestingly, the presented probability density models show that Gvardjilas Klde was occupied interchangeably with other sites in the region. There is no other site in the Imereti region with chronology similar to any of the settlement phases in Gvardjilas Klde. The only chronologically corresponding sites are Mezmaiskaya Cave and Badynoko Rockshelter in the Northern Caucasus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Acheulo–Yabrudian Cultural Complex (AYCC) of the late Lower Paleolithic Levant consists of three major industries, one of which is the blade-dominated Amudian. This paper provides an in-depth comparison of the Amudian blade industry from three major AYCC sites in the Levant – Qesem Cave, Tabun Cave and Yabrud Rockshelter I. The results demonstrate high inter-site similarity in Amudian blade technology and in product (blades) characteristics – i.e., a regional, clearly defined Amudian blade production technology. Nevertheless, differences in particular technological choices along the reduction sequences of blade production between the sites represent minute sub-regional technological variability within the Amudian. The evidence presented in this paper, together with many other innovative behavioral patterns seen in the AYCC, especially as reflected at Qesem Cave, may mark the end of a Lower Paleolithic Acheulian way of life that lasted over a million years in the Levant, and the beginning of a new era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the results of a preliminary study of flint items densities in different areas and different parts of the stratigrapahic column of Qesem Cave. Qesem Cave is a karst chamber cave with a ∼10 m stratigraphic sequence assigned to the Acheulo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex (AYCC) of the late Lower Paleolithic in the Levant dated to 420–200 ka. We first show the range of lithic densities in studied assemblages in the cave emphasizing significant differences in both the total number of lithic items per volume unit and/or for selected artifact categories within these assemblages. The results are used to suggest differential intensity of lithic-related activities in the cave and variability in synchronic (different areas of the cave within a similar stratigraphic level) distribution aspects of lithic categories of selected assemblages. We briefly note on the diachronic (assemblages belonging to different parts of the stratigraphic sequence) aspect of lithic densities in the discussion, yet this aspect is not is not central in this paper. A comparison of densities to frequency compositions of selected techno-typological categories in the same assemblages/areas further emphasizes the importance of using more than one quantitative measure as a descriptor of lithic assemblages and the interpretative potential of the interplay between the two measures. In some analyzed aspects the differences between the two measures in the same assemblage are quite significant, enabling interpretation of activity areas and specific human behaviors. Eventually, further research testing lithic densities against and/or incorporating them with other sets of density (and frequency) data from the same areas (e.g., faunal remains), or relating these densities to natural (such as a rock shelf) or human made features (such as a fireplace), may offer an elaborate and valuable landscape for reconstructing human behavior at the cave. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of specific techno-typological lithic categories within the assemblages studied as seen in densities augmented by available functional data (derived from use-wear analysis) enable another perspective on the subdivision of activity areas in some parts of the sequence. One synchronic example of our preliminary results which we present relates to generally contemporaneous assemblages adjacent to a constructed fireplace in the center of the cave in the upper part of the lower stratigraphic sequence dated to ca. 300 ka. Both blade-dominated Amudian and Quina (and demi Quina) scrapers dominated Yabrudian assemblages are involved, indicating spatially differentiated, functionally related differences around the fireplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, physical and chemical analyses have been widely applied to the study of rock art contexts, particularly to examine the composition of rock art paintings and for direct radiometric dating. Different sampling and analytical methods have been applied to rock art from different parts of the world. However, in Africa these analyses are still at an embryonic stage. The results are often problematic in terms of reliability, mainly as concerns the chronology. This is due to a wide range of fossil and active biodegradation processes affecting rock surfaces and pigments; such processes are still widely underestimated. This paper aims to discuss the state of the art of the physical and chemical analyses undertaken on African rock art contexts, and the urgent need to establish protocols and best practices for sampling and analysis. The preliminary results of a new project in southern Ethiopia are presented here as an example of an integrated study of a rock art context, combining Archaeology and Earth Sciences. Preliminary field observations and SEM-EDS analyses, run on samples from two rock shelters in the Borana area, reveal the presence of a complex set of physical, chemical, and biological weathering processes with manifold effects on the rock art evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palaeolithic rock engravings that are located along the Nalón river basin in Northern Spain (central area of Asturias) have been studied from various perspectives (morphology, depth, style, manual range), but no use-wear studies on the stone tools used to produce such engravings have ever been undertaken. This paper aims to explore a new approach to this type of incisions based on use-wear analysis of experimental lithic tools used to engrave limestone blocks and slabs. Our results show that the use-wear traces generated by engraving limestone are well-developed and can be defined with specific criteria. The principal objective of this study was to provide the first experimental reference collection of use-wear resulting from engraving limestone using flint and quartzite experimental tools to compare with the traces that appear on tools in the archaeological record in contexts with parietal and portable art and, more specifically, to add a new approach to the multidisciplinary study of the La Viña rock shelter. • Experimental collection of use-wear resulting from engraving limestone. • Description of macro and micro traces and residues involving in the stone working. • Combination of SEM and OM to analyse use-wear traces in quartzite and flint tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its discovery in the 1980s, Nahal Hemar Cave has been interpreted as a cult site where ceremonies were performed, as indicated by the extremely selected and highly symbolic repertoire of objects found in the cave (e.g., stone masks, modelled skulls, bone figurines, etc.). The finds, dated to the 8th millennium cal. BC and assigned to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period, also consisted of other artefacts often found in contemporaneous sites, such as flint tools or stone beads. In this paper, the status and use of the unique lithic assemblage found in the cave is assessed through a comprehensive approach integrating techno-typological and use-wear analyses and, secondly, contextualized within current lithic research and in the broader context of the Middle/Late PPNB in the southern Levant. The study resolves some of the major questions concerning the production, use and meaning of the flint tools, also bringing some light to the ritual, spiritual or unconventional activities associated with the use of the cave. It concludes that the flint assemblage found in the cave was the result of a series of episodes of deposition of objects over a relatively lengthy period of time, that a varied group of social agents was involved in the production of the said tools and, finally, that the tool producers, and likely, the cave users, were farmers from the agricultural villages in the Mediterranean woodland region. In addition, use-wear analysis indicates that the flint tools found at the cave had a previous history of use before being abandoned/deposited in the cave and some of them may have participated in the ritual activities. Finally, we propose that, in the particular case of the Nahal Hemar knives, they could be related to the processing/dismembering of human bodies, a hypothesis further supported by the remains of 23 individuals (mostly cranial) found in the cave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the changes in taxonomic diversity and demography of faunal assemblages hunted by the human inhabitants of the Tham Lod and Ban Rai rockshelters in the Pang Mapha highlands of northwestern Thailand during the Late Pleistocene (MIS 2-1) to Terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene. Evidence from these excavated sites indicates that environmental changes influenced animal dispersal from high latitudes to the highland region of Pang Mapha. During the Late Pleistocene the taxonomic diversity was dominated by Cervidae and Testudines, with other faunal remains representing Himalayan goral, Suidae and Bovidae. A ternary analysis of the Suidae indicates a mixed pattern, mostly represented by Juveniles-Prime-Old (JPO), with the Prime dominating (Bovinae and Caprinae). By the Terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene, Cercopithecidae had become dominant and the Himalayan goral absent, and presumably extinct. According to the changes in taxonomic diversity and the paleodemographic data obtained from the Pang Mapha faunal assemblages, we have increased our understanding of paleoenvironments and subsistence strategies during the Late-Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rock shelter of Oued Bousmane, located in the eastern Algerian highlands, presents a stratigraphic sequence of the Middle Stone Age. The site, which was discovered in 2006, produced a significant number of lithic artefacts that are primarily made of local flint. The aim of the paper is to present the results of a techno-economic study of the Mode 3 lithic industry. The analysis focused on the procurement of raw materials, the technology, and the cultural attribution of the assemblages. The analysis revealed a preferential management of raw material and several reduction methods including Levallois, discoid, and laminar. The typological composition clearly distinguished it from the classical Aterian as defined at Oued Djebbana. This finding reinforced the idea of inter-site variability in the Middle Stone Age industries of Eastern Algeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new archaeological material and first dates on Upper Pleistocene layers at the site of La Crouzade cave (Gruissan, Aude, France). The site was first excavated by T. and P. Héléna at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the excavations were recently completed during three years (2016–2018) of systematic campaigns. We obtained dates from Middle Palaeolithic layers using two methods: AMS 14C dates were obtained from bone and charcoal, and combined ESR-U series dating was undertaken on horse teeth. Together, these methods allowed us to date this Mousterian sequence to 49,776–44805 cal BP for the deepest level (layer C8) and from 42,000 ± 3000 years BP for the top (layer C6). The Upper Palaeolithic layers are preserved only as patches in the actual excavation area, but a date was obtained from a piece of charcoal collected from a small hearth preserved in the first layer (C5) above Middle Palaeolithic deposits, which indicates an age similar to that of a modern human maxillary previously analysed and re-dated here from 36,014 to 34402 cal BP, confirming its stratigraphic attribution. The Middle Palaeolithic lithics at the site were first described as para-Charentian cultural facies following typological analyses. The revision of the earlier collection supplemented with the new material, using a technological approach, allow to identify two layers dominated by Levallois production followed by discoid production (Layers C8 and C6) surrounding an original assemblage (layer C7), characterised by a dominant Levallois production completed by three secondary production systems of equal importance, including discoid, SSDA and a Quina-like production. The faunal spectrum predominantly comprises an assemblage of Pleistocene large mammals, and biochronological studies corroborate the dates obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition of large mammal fauna from the Imanay Cave in the Southern Urals (53°02' N, 56°26' E) is described in the present study. The paper aims to provide an preliminary description of the large mammal remains from the Imanay Cave in order to establish their taxonomic status, geological age and to detect the factors that led to accumulation of the bone remains in the cave. An analysis of species composition of vertebrate fauna, archaeological finds and radiocarbon dates has shown that accumulation of fossils in the Imanay Cave spanned the whole period of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Remains of the small cave bear (Ursus " savini ") and cave lion (Panthera ex gr. fossilis-spelaea) are prevalent in the Pleistocene groups: 9414 (93%) and 536 (5%) bone specimens, respectively. The cave is the only site in the world where mass bone assemblages of two large terrestrial Carnivora species - small cave bear and cave lion – were found simultaneously. The composition of the skeletal samples for both species was described and the age and sex distributions were determined. Though Mousterian stone tools were found in the cave, no trace of the hunt of the bears and lions by humans was detected. The period during which the accumulation of the fossils took place can be broadly determined as the first half of the Late Pleistocene (MIS5–3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent anthropological and archaeological studies have established the significance of the Altai Mountains prehistoric sites, which illustrate complex peopling events. In this paper, we use the chaîne opératoire techno-economic approach to describe the reduction sequences from layers 5 and 3 of Ust'-Kanskaya cave, Gorny Altai, Russia. The Levallois concept is attested in both layers by the presence of cores, flakes, points and blades. However, the majority of the products do not correspond to the cores, which implies a shift at some point of the reduction sequence. Shorter reduction sequences that do not demand such a high degree of predetermination have also been identified. The two layers display similar technological features and can both be associated with the Levalloiso-Mousterian variant of the Altai Middle Palaeolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of 21st century, a new stage began in investigations of the Central Asian Palaeolithic. The main concern is to re-study the key regional sites, applying modern excavation techniques and up-to-date laboratory methods (including chronometric dating) in order to clarify the rationale and chronology of the local cultural sequences. This research allowed some crucial corrections about the chronological and cultural interpretations of the lithic industries in western Central Asia. This paper presents the first results obtained during our reexcavation of Sel'Ungur cave – usually assumed to be one of the earliest Paleolithic sites in Central Asia, described in the late 1980s as belonging to the early Acheulian technocomplex. Sel'Ungur cave is among the most important pre-Upper Palaeolithic site for our understanding of the Pleistocene inhabitants of Central Asia, as did not only yield rich lithic collections found stratified context but also numerous fossil faunal and even some hominin remains. Re-started at 2014, the new excavations at the site have provided enough evidence to refuse an Acheulian interpretation of site's assemblages. Based on detailed technological and typological analyses of the new lithic collection we argue that Sel'Ungurian complex fits better into the early stage of the regional Middle Paleolithic cultural variability. The previously available U-series date of around 126 ka (albeit without a reliable stratigraphic and spatial context), the new TL date 112 ± 19 ka establishing the lower limit, paleontological analyses of newly obtained material as well as the re-examination of the available information on macro- and microfaunal remains excavated in the earlier excavations, as well as the re-study of the anthropological finds support this assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a study of the fossil microfauna from the Logovo Gieny Cave, northwestern Altai, Russia. The microfauna, with 30 identified species comes from six layers of the upper unit of the cave's central hall that was excavated in summer 2008. Selected for the morphotype analyses, three species, Alticola strelzowi , Lasiopodomys (Stenocranius) gregalis and Microtus oeconomus , showed that their parameters (Layer 6-2) correspond with those found in the Late Pleistocene site of Altai region. New data did not demonstrate any abrupt successions of the mammal communities and contained similar species in all the layers indicative of the steppe environments. However, the faunal assemblages revealed different climatic conditions, which, combined with previously known radiocarbon dates, were aligned with the GS3 (MIS 2) and GS 6–7 (MIS 3) phases of the Greenland ice-core records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microliths and microlithic industries are central to definitions of the Later Stone Age technologies. It is generally accepted that microliths are associated with a change to more complex hunting technologies and strategies. However, because there is evidence of microlith production in Middle Stone Age contexts, there are debates regarding the significance of the presence of microliths within an assemblage. This paper aims to analyse the microlithic component of Middle and Later Stone Age assemblages in the eastern Ethiopia region, by means of lithic assemblages from two major cave sites, Porc-Epic and Goda Buticha. This paper presents a short review of the different meanings of the term “microlith” and of the diversity of microlith-bearing assemblages in the Middle and Later Stone Age in sub-Saharan Africa. An analysis of the microliths is presented using a methodology which helps to distinguish intentionally produced versus accidentally produced microliths, from Porc-Epic and Goda Buticha assemblages. The results of this study indicate that no intentional microliths are present in Porc-Epic assemblages, in contrast with those recovered in the Goda Buticha assemblages. Interestingly, very few microliths are present in the Pleistocene Middle Stone Age levels; they are more numerous (but not overwhelmingly) in the Holocene Later Stone Age levels of these sites. These results contribute to the discussion of the role of microliths in the Middle and in the Later Stone Age in this particular region of eastern Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the results of a technological analysis carried out for the first time on nine lithic assemblages belonging to three Iberomaurusian sites in Algeria (Tamar Hat rockshelter, Rassel cave and Columnata open-air site). The purpose of this paper is to identify the technical system adopted for the production of lithic artifacts in each of the studied assemblages in order to search for similarities and discrepancies in the technical behaviours between coastal and inland Iberomaurusian populations. This requires recognition of the reduction core strategies and transformation of the produced blanks, as well as research into debitage methods and techniques employed. In all three sites, local raw materials were preferred and the lithic production was primarily geared towards obtaining relatively standardized lamellar blanks with different debitage schemes. In lower occupations at Tamar Hat, the bladelets were mainly produced by implementing a single and complex chaîne opératoire of lamellar production which integrated variable blanks according to numerous and different schemes. The dominant scheme was an elaborate debitage oriented to the production of short and narrow bladelet blanks from reduced prismatic and sub-pyramidal cores, while by-products were exploited as bladelet cores to produce micro-bladelets and burin spalls. A change in the core reduction strategies appeared in the upper occupations of Tamar Hat where elongated bladelets were produced according to a common simple debitage widespread in the latest occupations. The implementation of a single chaîne opératoire is preserved in the lower layer of Rassel, although with a less elaborate roughing out processing, as for the upper occupations of Tamar Hat. In contrast, at Columnata three independent chaînes opératoires were implemented to produce robust blanks, which represents a stark contrast with previous methods known in the other sites. The technological analysis has provided strong arguments for a different know-how in technical behaviours between Iberomaurusian populations living in coastal rockshelters and those in hinterlands open-air sites. Thus, the different geographical areas seem to cover variable economic entities which would suggest a new adaptation of the same populations to different ecological niches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper compares two zooarchaeological sub-samples, each of which comes from a different area (North chamber and South chamber) of Maripe Cave Site (Santa Cruz, Argentina). In previous papers, each chamber was interpreted as a particular microenvironment based on their specific environmental and geoarchaeological features. In both areas, hunting–gatherer society occupations were recorded since the Pleistocene–Holocene transition to late Holocene. This paper investigated and discussed the different agents and processes involved in the formation of each assemblage, with the aim of assessing the taphonomic variability between the two areas and discussing their integrity. Bone specimens of Lama guanicoe (guanaco), the most common species on the site, were analyzed. The bone surfaces of specimens were studied by naked eye observations and binocular magnifying to 10×, which allowed recognition of different patterns of modification. The representation of guanaco anatomical units was also discussed at each chamber according to economic utility and BMD values. The results indicate that while there was involvement of different natural agents and processes acted differently in each sector, the main accumulating agent in both sets was human. Differences between both chambers are observed in the representation of anatomical units, in processing marks, in the conservation of specimens, and in the number and intensity performed by each natural agents and process in each sector. Each chamber indicates a different taphonomic history: the North Chamber records greater conservation and archaeological integrity, while the South Chamber shows a more complex taphonomy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a synthesis of the Magdalenian in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, with special attention to the lithic and bone/antler assemblages, rock art, economy and radiocarbon dates. The data obtained in Cendres cave, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula, permit articulation of the discussion about the Lower, Middle and Upper Magdalenian in this region. Furthermore, the paper discusses the end of the Magdalenian sequence with the Epimagdalenian industries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the Deseado Massif there are many stratified archaeological sites located in caves and rockshelters. The cultural sequences, proposed in the past century, include an occupational hiatus and cultural changes that were developed on the basis of large tools from archaeological sites, without debitage analysis. The aim of this paper is to review the current debate on lithic technology and human occupations of this area during the Mid-Holocene, integrating new data, as well as the latest environmental interpretations. The contribution of new information from blade and bifacial technologies is central to discussion of the models proposed by other authors. The new baseline information generated in the last decade, allow original interpretations. The evidence of coexistence between blade and bifacial technologies during the Mid-Holocene constitutes the main contribution of this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sopeña is a Palaeolithic rock shelter with a pristine, horizontal and deep stratigraphic sequence. It was used almost continuously by human beings during all of the last glacial cycle, from at least 60,000 years ago till some 20,000 years ago. Sopeña yielded well stratified deposits corresponding to the Mousterian, Early Upper Palaeolithic and Gravettian. Several accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates for Sopeña have been published in various papers and those dates were seen by some scholars as contradictory. Here, we aim to set straight the record on the known dates for the Neanderthal- Homo sapiens boundary in Sopeña, by showing how these dates are consistent both with sample vertical depth in the strata and cultural adscription. The Sopeña sequence of AMS 14C dates suggests a scenario of a long Neanderthal local survival followed by a very quick replacement by modern humans, all around 35.5 ky BP. Despite the stratigraphic and cultural consistency of these dates, all made by laboratories with long years of experience and carried out within the last 12 years, the suggested scenario is significantly more recent than what has been proposed as a consensus by recent publications (Maroto et al., 2012, Higham et al., 2014) that rely increasingly on ultrafiltration techniques for the extraction of collagen prior to its AMS 14C dating. To better delimit the chronology of the disappearance of the Mousterian in Sopeña, we obtained new dates by both ultrafiltered (UF) and non-ultrafiltered (non-UF) AMS 14C methods on fresh samples from the same levels, locations and depths. The interpretation of the new dates and their reliability is not without issues. Overall, both non-UF and UF dates support an earlier sequence of events by some millennia than that earlier proposed, with a survival of the Mousterian arguably up to c. 40 ky BP which is still a few millennia later than c. 47 ky BP currently proposed for the region (Higham et al., 2014), and the earliest arrival of modern humans around 38 ky BP, matching the proposal for this region of Iberia by Maroto et al. (2012). We do value as more parsimonious, the older chronological scenario for Neanderthal disappearance and the arrival of modern humans in Sopeña as presented here. Although, some issues put forward by the new dates, both non-UF and UF, seem difficult to interpret and do not put away the alternative scenario of a quick replacement as suggested by the earlier set of non-UF AMS dates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unique features uncovered at the Gunang cave in Danyang county, South Korea, suggests the living conditions of modern humans era, way back in the late Late Pleistocene period. Examples of these suggestions include the morphology of modern human bones, archaeological and faunal assemblages, and the signs of animals that were hunted nearby. Mammalian bone remnants mainly originated from the cervid, and human bone remains were dated between 40,900 and 44,900cal-yrBP. This paper focuses on the first metatarsal (MT1) and widely held belief that the MT1 from the Gunang cave is one of the oldest remnants of the modern human bones found in South Korea. As such, the species Homo sapiens , scattered around the Gunang cave in Danyang county, are associated with those from the Suyanggae Locality 6, as the typical modern human of South Korea, since about 43,000 yrBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A century ago, in the excavation of El Penicial Cave in Asturias (North Spain), Count Vega del Sella documented the first materials known to belong to the Asturian culture. That was the name for the new culture proposed by H. Obermaier in his book El Hombre Fósil (1916). Due to this German prehistorian's publications and those of authors like M. C. Burkitt, the Asturian soon became well-known internationally. This situation was especially noticeable after the 1970s, and has continued until the present time. After a hundred years of studies from different theoretical viewpoints and debates in different forums, this paper presents a critical reflection on what is known and not known about this classic European Mesolithic culture, characterised by the massive presence of shell-middens. Cultural-history and processual approaches have guided research on the Asturian. This determines the nature of our knowledge about this culture, localised in the central part of the southern coast of the Bay of Biscay. After a long debate on the Asturian chronology, doubts do not exist now regarding its post-Azilian age. However, the question of the relationship between the Asturian and Neolithic remains unresolved. The hypothesis of the continuity of the Asturian shell-middens after the sixth millennium cal BC is, for the moment, the best way to fill the information gap covering the period of 5000-4300 cal BC. Research in recent years has provided more information about the economy of these hunter-gatherer societies. However, key aspects, such as the use of wild plants are still little understood. The latest finds of lithic hunting weapons and shells used as tools open new perspectives for the study of Asturian technology. The role played by the shell-middens in their cultural context is still one of the key issues in Asturian research. Recent excavations have confirmed that there were occupations inside the middens, which at other times were mere accumulations of waste. Open-air settlements outside the caves also existed. Further research is required to understand how both realities, the middens and the nearby open-air sites, interacted. Although archaeological evidence linked to symbolic behaviour is scarce, the symbolic thought of the Asturian groups is seen in their mortuary sites, whose noticeable increase is probably related to the stable/recurrent use of the sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Late Glacial–Early Holocene transition Southern Iberia has an extensive record of Palaeolithic coastal sites, wich have been preserved due thanks to the morphology of the continental shelf. This is was a period with rapid palaeoclimatic oscillations and changes in sea level. However, the sites show an apparent continuity in technology and subsistence trends, although human groups made increasingly intense use of marine resources. In this paper we will focus on the study of Mediterranean seal remains from the Vestíbulo hall of Cueva de Nerja (Málaga, Spain), unit NV4, dated 12,990–11,360 cal. BP. The presence of these bones at the site are interpreted as direct exploitation of seals by humans, who processed different parts of the animal like the flesh, blubber and skin. These data allow us to assess the changing role of marine mammals in the regional Palaeolithic economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Traditionally, the Iberian Peninsula has been considered to be a "land of rabbits", a notion reinforced through the frequent appearance of these animals throughout the Palaeolithic on Mediterranean sites. However, the Cantabrian coast has shown a different pattern, with rabbits being scarce or exceptional at most Northern peninsular sites, with only a few evidences of exploitation. Nevertheless, lagomorphs represent around 10% of the bone assemblage at the Upper Magdalenian levels of Coímbre Cave (Peñamellera Alta, Asturias). In this paper, we conduct a taphonomical analysis of the rabbit assemblage from Coímbre Cave. We note that bones have been exposed to several taphonomical processes, including carnivore tooth marks, chemical alterations on teeth caused by raptor digestion, and the presence of cut-marks on some bone surfaces. Therefore, we argue that the rabbit assemblage at Coímbre is the result of a complex taphonomical history, with evidence for both anthropogenic activity and the actions of other biological agents. This new evidence retrieved from Coímbre Cave further highlights its exceptionality within other Cantabrian sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Taphonomic studies have experienced a considerable development in the Cantabrian region during the last few years. These studies have demonstrated that Magdalenian hunter-gatherers had a significant role in the formation of the bone assemblages documented at archaeological sites. Nonetheless, the question of how these communities exploited animal resources has not been analysed in sufficient detail. In this paper, we explore how the Magdalenian communities that inhabited Coímbre Cave (Asturias, Northern Spain), exploited hunted resources. Our aim is to determine whether or not there were any specific behavioral trends in terms of disarticulation patterns and bone defleshing. In our analysis, we put forward a new methodology which would let researchers assess the nature of meat consumption strategies. Lastly, we demonstrate that Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities at Coímbre show a considerable degree of animal processing systematization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the Libyan Desert, the Gilf el-Kebir and Jebel el-'Uweināt are two large rock formations located in the extreme South-West of Egypt, at the edge of the Libyan and Sudanese borders. A hundred and twenty kilometers from each other, they are surrounded by plains and sandy formations, punctuated by a few smaller massifs. Although they are of different ages and geological formations, the two great massifs both offered interesting and complementary refuges for prehistoric groups who used rock shelters, cliffs and boulders for engraving and painting. The existence of a multitude of styles and techniques allow to detect striking parallels between the rock art record of the two regions, providing a dynamic view of the regionalization of rock art and of how these territories were conceived and occupied by semi-nomadic groups during the Holocene optimum period (8000–3500 BCE). Paintings from the Gilf el-Kebir show very close stylistic affinities with representations identified in the Jebel el-'Uweināt. But the fact that they remain a minority in the overall rock art record from both areas tends to evidence that, contrary to what has been hypothesized before, migrations between the Gilf el-Kebir and the Jebel el-'Uweināt were not systematic. This paper also highlights a possible increase in the contacts and migrations between the two massifs after the adoption of pastoralist lifestyles. The repartition of rock art and the evolution through times of the parallels offers interesting insights into land use strategies of both hunter-gatherers and herd keepers in such contrasted environments, and into what can be called symbolic territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Vindija cave is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Europe, containing a large sample of Neandertal skeletal remains associated with both a distinctive lithic industry and a rich faunal assemblage. Results of detailed faunal analyses from layers G3 and G1 are presented in this paper together with a taphonomic analysis of the hominin remains from these layers. Various agents of modification on the hominin and faunal samples were identified based on the presence of different marks on the bones. The data obtained from these analyses are used, together with assessment of the associated lithic industry, for a reconstruction of Neandertal behaviour in layers G3 and G1. The results of these analyses are critical for understanding the subsistence strategies of the Vindija Neandertals and for a comparison of their behaviour between different occupational levels. The picture of Neandertals as highly effective predators who occasionally defleshed human bones, possibly with the purpose of cannibalism, is reinforced by the results of this study. The Vindija Neandertals practiced broad exploitation of local lithic resources and modified their raw material acquisition strategy at the end of the Middle Paleolithic. Taken together, these results provide further support for the diversity of Neandertal behaviour in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Traditionally, studies of Palaeolithic cave art have largely ignored or directly overlooked the red marks of anthropogenic origin that do not belong to figurative categories, in spite of their importance in quantitative terms in this type of art. This paper highlights their importance for better understanding the significance of the cave remains commonly classified as "rock or cave art." To this end, we analysed these marks directly in a number of caves (Etxeberri -Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France-, Lumentxa -Bizkaia, Spain-, Morrón -Jaén, Spain- and Nerja -Málaga, Spain-). This allowed us to differentiate between intentional and other incidental or involuntary red marks. Furthermore, depending on the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of these marks, as well as information provided by archaeological and ethnographic findings, we related them to the body painting of their authors. Therefore, an identifiable part of the red marks so common in Palaeolithic cave art (and which could therefore not be considered as art sensu stricto) seems to be produced involuntarily. This could be related with the customs of the Palaeolithic groups attested by the archaeological record, as the frequentation of the innermost areas in the caves or as the decoration their bodies with ochre-based paint. Highlights • We considered all the wall remains in the caves as a whole, including non-figurative red marks. • We surveyed and recorded all these kinds of remains in four caves dating from the Upper Palaeolithic. • We concluded that some marks have a involuntary origin, associated the dragging of bodies against the surfaces where these marks were located. • We suggest that some of the red marks inside the caves could be caused by the body paint used by Palaeolithic people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispersal of modern humans into central Europe, owing to the presence of numerous cave sites in the region that contain stratigraphic sequences spanning the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, despite the relatively complete sequences contained within these caves, previous studies hypothesize that phases of erosion have influenced the preservation of Upper Paleolithic deposits, particularly those dating to the Gravettian. Furthermore, these same studies suggest that during the Late Glacial and Holocene, colluvial sediments subsequently covered these unconformities. In this paper we present a dataset that helps us evaluate how geomorphological processes active at the regional scale around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have impacted the preservation of the archaeological record within the cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys. To this end we applied and integrated a variety of methods, including geophysical prospection, coring, micromorphology, Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and radiocarbon dating. Our results show that alternating phases of soil formation, hillside denudation, river valley incision and floodplain aggradation have been the major processes active in Lone and Ach valleys throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. These processes impacted the formation histories of the caves in the two valleys, thereby significantly influencing how we interpret the archaeological record of the region. In particular our data support the hypothesis arguing for the erosion of Gravettian-aged deposits (which are dated between 29.000 and 27.000 14 C BP) from the caves of Bockstein, Hohle Fels and possibly Hohlenstein-Stadel. Shortly after this erosive phase, increased depositional rates of loess nearly free of gravel and reworked soils marked in both the Ach and Lone valleys a shift towards colder and drier conditions corresponding with the LGM. Deteriorating climate likely forced Gravettian groups to abandon the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian recolonization of the region took place in a cool interstadial (13.500–12.500 14 C BP) that was followed by a period of climate deterioration with minor phases of erosion in the caves and bedrock denudation. Towards the beginning of the Holocene the accumulation of frost debris ( Bergkies ) at the cave entrances marked the cessation of erosion within the caves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 –D 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines complex archaeological records from excavations of sandstone rockshelters with paleobotanical investigations in the adjacent wetlands of Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Several pollen diagramms from nearby peatbogs are used to document the paleoenvironmental development from the Late Glacial to the Middle Holocene. In addition, two recently excavated key archaeological sections were selected to document human behavioral responses to the climatic development: Kostelní rokle, and Smolný kámen. This region remained mostly unsettled during the Upper Paleolithic (Magdalenian or Epigravettian) so that the Late Paleolithic colonization after the LGM appears to be a major behavioral adaptation. The Early and Middle Mesolithic foragers developed this pattern to be optimally adapted to the versatile landscape of sandstone plateaus and canyons during the Holocene. The aim was to exploit its changing vegetational, aquatic and terrestric faunal resources, until the Late Mesolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The earliest pottery in East Asia, as is found in several cave sites in southern China, emerges in Upper Paleolithic contexts dating from the Last Glacial Maximum, ∼20 Ka cal BP. The making of simple pottery vessels in Late Pleistocene East Asia also has been noted in eastern Siberia and Japan but not yet in the Central Plains of China. This paper summarizes the better-reported evidence for early pottery sites across the vast region of China south of the Yangtze River, providing details on two dating projects conducted in the cave sites of Xianrendong (Jiangxi Province) and Yuchanyan (Hunan Province). The excavated contexts in these two caves and a few others clearly indicate that this early pottery was the creation of hunter-gatherers who hunted available game and foraged a variety of plant foods. The nature of the cave occupations is ephemeral, and where the published animal and plant remains allow, we suggest that there were repeated, seasonal occupations. In sum, there is no basis yet to suggest that the making of early pottery in South China marked sedentary or plant-cultivating communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural features such as mortars, basins, and slicks on rock outcrops, boulders, and cave floors have been identified in many parts of the world. They clearly evidence the long history of human use of landscape features; at the same time, they are under-investigated and not well incorporated into archaeological interpretation. Indeed, even accurate documentation of such features is rare, if presented at all. Advances in digital techniques offer archaeologists new tools to address the situation. We recently piloted a new methodological protocol for the efficient and precise documentation of cultural landscape features at two sites in San Diego County, California. In this paper, we describe techniques for the creation of a high-resolution model of each site, of specific rock outcrops or boulders within each site, and of individual cultural features by using Structure from Motion photogrammetry. We present examples of various analyses that are possible once the 3D models are constructed, on intra- and inter-site levels. Our use-wear studies of 159 features and of a curated handstone collection provide new insights into past use of shallow and deep features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two hominin teeth and an abundance of faunal remains were recovered from Panlong Cave in Guangdong Province, southern China in 1987. The site has remained largely unknown to the prehistoric community mainly for the lack of reliable chronological constraints. This paper reports high-precision mass spectrometric U-series dating of eight calcite samples from the extant cross-section. Based on the dates on the overlying flowstone layers, the hominin teeth should be definitely older than 292 ± 10 ka. Furthermore, as indicated by the U-series ages on the secondary calcite formations the fossiliferous deposits should be older than 441 ± 18 ka. These dates support the paleontological inference that Panlong Cave may predate the nearby Maba hominin site. The hominin specimens from the site may thus represent an early member of the Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna and one of the oldest non- erectus Middle Pleistocene hominin fossils in southern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]