Search

The archaeological site of Checua is located at the north end of the Sabana de Bogotá, Northern South America. New archaeological research at the site has revealed significant evidence of well-preserved hunters and gatherers' funerary contexts which date back to 7580-5052 BP (cal 2σ). Former studies reported 33 human interments, and a recent excavation at the site revealed 24 additional individuals distributed in 18 ritual burials. In this occasion, a taphonomy-focused archaeothanatological protocol was implemented to determine the nature of the burials and to inquire into post-mortem manipulations of the bodies. This analysis revealed unknown funerary practices among hunters and gatherers in the region, such as occasional wrappings of the corpses before their disposal, unconventional rearrangements of the bodies in secondary burials, as well as intentional and well-planned post-depositional manipulations in primary inhumations. In this paper we select a sample of 10 individuals to illustrate the results of this analysis, and we highlight the relevance of archaeothanatology to obtain high-resolution data of mortuary practices. Here we focus on the process of ritualization by exploring the ways in which the living dealt with the dead by means of diverse treatments of human bodies and posthumous arrangements of graves. We argue that the study of these funerary practices opens up a wider range of possibilities to discuss how the living faced the experience of remembrance as they commemorated death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an application of geophysical surveying methods to Mesolithic sites in Portugal. Magnetic gradiometry maps have been produced at the sites of Vale de Romeiras and Poças de São Bento. At the latter, three excavation seasons have provided information to test the results of the survey. It is concluded that these techniques can be considered efficient tools for the delimitation of the sites and for the identification of Mesolithic and Neolithic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cave of Coímbre contains an important archaeological deposit divided into two different zones, of which most of the excavations carried out to date have taken place in Zone B. Coímbre B displays a full and very interesting Magdalenian sequence (with Lower, Middle and Upper Magdalenian levels), in addition to a Gravettian layer. The excavations were performed from 2008 to 2012. The hunter–gatherers who lived in Coímbre in the Upper Palaeolithic made use of several adaptation strategies allowing them to exploit all the abiotic and animal resources the environment afforded them. In this way, the faunal assemblage includes remains of ibex and chamois, associated with the mountains and crags in the immediate surroundings of the site, and also red deer, roe deer, aurochs and horses, indicating the exploitation of the animal resources living in the Besnes valley, at the foot of Sierra del Cuera. When the faunal remains in the Magdalenian levels, and those in the Gravettian layer, are analysed in greater detail, significant differences indicate a differential use of the terrain. Thus, in the Gravettian, the preferential hunting of aurochs and red deer suggests the valleys in the vicinity were exploited while steeper and more mountainous areas were visited less. In contrast, in the Magdalenian, the most common faunal remains belong to ibex, which was the most hunted species. Together with ibex, chamois is also very common, whereas bovids are found in very small numbers in the Magdalenian levels. These patterns reflect a change in the hunting behaviour of the occupants of the cave, in which the hunting of valley resources was transformed into a more intensive use of animals in more rugged areas, such as ibex and chamois. This paper presents the preliminary results of the study of Magdalenian occupations in Coímbre, following the excavations in Zone B, one of the most important places of Magdalenian human activities in Western Cantabria (northern Iberia). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithic resources at the Central Plateau of Santa Cruz (Argentina) are abundant, ubiquitous and of very good quality for knapping. They have been exploited by hunter–gatherer societies since the latest Pleistocene until the Late Holocene. The study of their distribution, availability, and ways of exploitation at the quarries, together with the information stemming from the archaeological sites, enable the understanding of the first stages of tool production and consumption. In this paper, two quarries from La María Archaeological Locality (Cantera de Sílex de CDM and Cantera Bosque Petrificado) are studied and compared. Their geomorphologic location is described. The lithological characteristics of the outcrops, the size of the stones, and the variability of raw materials available at them are also addressed. The accessibility and visibility of the quarries are analyzed. The way raw materials were exploited at the sources is evaluated taking into consideration their relationship with the local and regional structure of lithic resources. The information generated for the quarries is complemented and compared with the local trends identified for the habitation sites. This enabled the formulation of a general model about the first stages of production. Although the quarries have different types of raw materials (flint and silicified wood), results show that similar technological strategies were implemented in them. These are in agreement with the general trend at the local and regional levels. Both sources are easily accessible from the surrounding landscape. They are visible from nearby areas. Probably, they were exploited mainly from nearby sites. At the quarries, the first stages of tool production were performed: core decortication and preparation and the production of blanks. The acquisition of raw material involved the selection of good quality nodules and boulders and the production of polyhedral cores knapped in multiple directions. These cores could be transported to the habitation sites or could be discarded in situ while still presenting active platforms. On the other hand, differences in some procurement practices might be related to decisions and variations linked to the particular characteristics of the resources in both outcrops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]