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A new Lower Pleistocene archeological site in Europe (Vallparadis, Barcelona, Spain).
- Source :
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 2010 Mar 30; Vol. 107 (13), pp. 5762-7. Date of Electronic Publication: 2010 Mar 15. - Publication Year :
- 2010
-
Abstract
- Here we report the discovery of a new late Lower Pleistocene site named Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain) that produced a rich archeological and paleontological sequence dated from the upper boundary of the Jaramillo subchron to the early Middle Pleistocene. This deposit contained a main archeological layer with numerous artifacts and a rich macromammalian assemblage, some of which bore cut marks, that could indicate that hominins had access to carcasses. Paleomagnetic analysis, electron spin resonance-uranium series (ESR-US), and the biostratigraphic chronological position of the macro- and micromammal and lithic assemblages of this layer reinforce the proposal that hominins inhabited Europe during the Lower Pleistocene. The archeological sequence provides key information on the successful adaptation of European hominins that preceded the well-known fossil population from Atapuerca and succeeded the finds from Orce basin. Hence, this discovery enables us to close a major chronological gap in the early prehistory of Iberia. According to the information in this paper and the available data from these other sites, we propose that Mediterranean Western Europe was repeatedly and perhaps continuously occupied during the late Matuyama chron.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Archaeology
History, Ancient
Humans
Mammals
Paleontology
Spain
Fossils
Hominidae
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1091-6490
- Volume :
- 107
- Issue :
- 13
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20231433
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0913856107