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[EN] La Esparragosa is a Neolithic site located in the Bay of Cádiz. Its corresponds to a settlement with silos. It was excavated a few years ago by our team. We present an analysis of the lithic industry from this site of the IV th millennium B.C. We provide data on the documented siliceous raw materials, verifying the variety of flint and its possible origins. The technological study is carried out within the framework of the Analytical Logical System (SLA) and with Laplace’s classification. An important laminar registry is verified, with retouched tools of predominance of the abrupt mode. In the typologies, domestic tools and those linked to various productive activities are well represented. The functional analysis tests the link of artifacts associated with agricultural activities, but also with projectile functions and, above all, highlights the use of knives for the work and processing of fish., [ES] La Esparragosa es un yacimiento neolítico situado en la bahía de Cádiz. Corresponde a un poblado con campos de silos. Excavado hace unos años por nuestro equipo, presentamos un análisis de la industria lítica tallada del poblado del IV milenio a.C. Aportamos datos de las materias primas silíceas documentadas, comprobando la variedad de sílex y sus posibles procedencias. El estudio tecnológico se realiza con el Sistema Lógico Analítico (SLA) y con la clasificación de Laplace. Se comprueba un importante registro laminar, con utillajes retocados de predominio del modo abrupto. En tipología están bien representados los utillajes domésticos y los vinculados con diversas actividades productivas. El análisis funcional prueba la relación de artefactos asociados a actividades agrícolas, pero también con funciones de proyectiles y sobre todo destaca el uso de cuchillos para el trabajo y procesamiento del pescado.

Although new to our discipline, the archaeology of high mountain areas is steadily growing, generating empirical studies and procedures that often define it. Aside from the diversity of research teams and programs, certain aspects tend to recur. One is a certain interest in long-term sequences. Another is a wide spatial perspective, extending far beyond the limits of the settlement. This interest in the territory or landscape, which is sometimes the real object of study, results in changes in the methodological design of the research. In this paper we intend to bring together almost 20 years of experience of the High Mountain Archaeology Group (GAAM) of the UAB and CSIC to present a brief theoretical reflection on an area that we believe is central to our discipline. Archaeology as a social science deals with a collective human existence that occurs both in time and space. For various reasons, archaeology in high moun-tain areas has been especially open to incorporating methodological elements to deal with space as a social instance too. Perhaps the time has come to begin to evaluate the strengths of these proposals and to try to identify those issues that deserve more attention. In the final part of the article, we use an empirical example to briefly illustrate the relevance of the theoretical reflec-tion proposed., [ES] Aunque reciente en nuestra disciplina, la arqueología de las zonas de alta montaña poco a poco va consolidándose, generando corpus empíricos y procedimientos que en muchas ocasiones constituyen sus señas de identidad. Por encima de la diversidad de equipos y programas de investigación, algunos aspectos tienden a presentarse de forma recurrente. Uno es un cierto interés por las secuencias de larga duración. Otro lo constituye la mirada hacia un espacio amplio, que va mucho más allá del asentamiento. Este interés por el territorio o el paisaje, que en ocasiones se prefigura como un verdadero objeto de estudio, conlleva cambios en el diseño metodológico de la investigación. En este trabajo pretendemos recoger los ya casi 20 años de experiencia del Grupo de Arqueología de la Alta Montaña (GAAM) de la UAB y el CSIC para presentar una breve reflexión teórica sobre un aspecto que, a nuestro entender, es central en nuestra disciplina. La arqueología, en cuanto ciencia social, aborda una existencia humana colectiva que ocurre tanto en el tiempo como en el espacio. Por diversos motivos, la arqueolo-gía en áreas de alta montaña ha sido especialmente proclive a incorporar elementos metodológi-cos para tratar con el espacio también como instancia social. Quizás está llegando el momento para empezar a evaluar los puntos fuertes de estas propuestas y tratar de identificar aquellas cuestiones que merecen mayor atención. En la parte final del artículo ilustramos, con un caso empírico, la pertinencia de la reflexión teórica planteada.

[EN] This paper aims to shed light on the process of excavation and analysis of lithic materials from limestone contexts such as those in the southern Pyrenees. The knowledge acquired from excavation of Coro Trasito (Tella-Sin, Huesca) enables us to distinguish between clasts and natural fragments of the cave itself, a series of limestone flakes and fragments that show traces of having been used as working tools. This group represents 33.3% of the lithic remains recovered at the site, with a percentage similar to that of flint (33.1%). This count does not include the limestone cobbles that have been recorded at other Early Neolithic sites in the central Pyrenees. The absence of this record in other sites does not allow comparisons to be made regarding the technological development of the Neolithic groups that inhabited this territory., [ES] Con este trabajo queremos llamar la atención sobre el proceso de excavación y análisis de materiales líticos provenientes de contextos calizos, como son los correspondientes a la vertiente sur de los Pirineos. La experiencia adquirida durante la excavación de Coro Trasito (Tella-Sin, Huesca) nos ha permitido distinguir entre los clastos y los fragmentos naturales de la propia cueva, una serie de lascas y fragmentos de caliza que presentan rastros de haber sido utilizados como instrumentos de trabajo. Este conjunto supone el 33,3% de los restos líticos recuperados en el sitio, porcentaje similar al del sílex (un 33,1%). En este conteo no se contemplan los cantos en caliza, que sí se han registrado en otros sitios del Neolítico antiguo del Pirineo central. La ausencia de este registro en otros yacimientos no permite realizar comparaciones en cuanto al desarrollo tecnológico de los grupos neolíticos que habitaron ese territorio. [CAT] Amb aquest treball volem cridar l’atenció sobre el procés d’excavació i anàlisi de materials lítics provinents de contextos calcaris, com són els corresponents al vessant sud dels Pirineus. L’experiència adquirida durant l’excavació de Coro Trasito (Tella-Sin, Osca) ens ha permès distingir entre els clastos i els fragments naturals de la mateixa cova, una sèrie d’ascles i fragments de calcària que presenten rastres d’haver estat utilitzats com a instruments de treball. Aquest conjunt representa el 33,3% de les restes lítiques recuperades en el lloc, percentatge similar al del sílex (un 33,1%). En aquest comptatge no es consideren els còdols de calcària, que sí que s’han registrat en altres llocs del Neolític antic del Pirineu central. L’absència d’aquest registre en altres jaciments no permet fer comparacions quant al desenvolupament tecnològic dels grups neolítics que van habitar aquest territori.

[EN] Archaeological investigations of the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene human occupation of the nearly 3 million square kilometres that make up the vast and diverse landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula are hampered by a series of shortcomings.Some of the problems when trying to reconstruct human occupation and behaviour based on material culture are imposed by the state of preservation of archaeological finds. The shift from dry to wet and back to dry conditions at the end of the Holocene climate optimum has obliterated all prehistoric organic remains, leaving archaeologists with nothing but dust and rocks. In order to reconstruct how humans have adapted to these, at times, challenging environments, archaeologists have turned to the most durable of human cultural expressions: Lithics. While technology and typology are used to classify lithic artefacts, traceology, i.e., the study of tool use, provides insights into the kinetics of stone tools as well as tasks accomplished and materials transformed with the help of these. This article reports on traceological data from the prehistory of Arabia from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Late Palaeolithic and the Neolithic.We address shifting technological and functional paradigms and discuss the limitations of their interpretation, mostly imposed by taphonomic alterations on the lithic assemblages., [FR] Les recherches archéologiques portant sur l’occupation humaine au cours du Pléistocène final et de l’Holocène des près de trois millions de kilomètres carrés que constituent les paysages divers de la péninsule Arabique sont entravées par une série de lacunes. Lorsqu’on essaie de reconstituer l’occupation et le comportement humains, certains des problèmes majeurs sont induits par les oscillations environnementales qui ont marqué les paysages régionaux au cours des trente derniers millénaires. Les variations entre phases arides et humides, puis dernièrement le retour à l’aridité à la fin de l’optimum climatique de l’Holocène ont pratiquement effacé tous les vestiges organiques préhistoriques, ne laissant aux archéologues que poussière et pierres. Afin de reconstituer la façon dont les humains se sont adaptés à ces environnements parfois difficiles, les archéologues se sont tournés vers l’une des expressions culturelles humaines les plus durables: les industries lithiques. Alors que la technologie et la typologie offrent quelques informations sur la façon dont les outils ont été fabriqués et comment les classer, la tracéologie, l’étude de l’utilisation des outils, fournit des informations sur la cinétique des outils en pierre, les tâches accomplies et les matériaux transformés. Cet article se concentre sur les données tracéologiques de la Préhistoire de l’Arabie, du Paléolithique supérieur, au Paléolithique récent et au Néolithique. Nous aborderons les changements de paradigmes technologiques et fonctionnels et discuterons des limites de l’approche, principalement imposées par les altérations taphonomiques sévères sur les assemblages lithiques.

[EN] The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary results obtained from the techno-morphological analysis of lithic materials recovered of the lithic materials recovered in 6 sites of the Catalan Western plains, which have been related to the Ancient Neolithic. There is a lack of lithic reduction studies based on that zone, which makes this work become the first in extensive study carried out. Such a work is achieved thanks to the analysis of the lithic material following a concrete methodology, within a well-defined theoretical framework, which then leads to a profound documentation through morphotechnical and metric variables. The analysis of the lithic material allows to explain the technological strategies involved in the site under study and the existence of different trajectories of production of the raw materials present in the archaeological record. This same analysis aims to characterize the lithic technology of the place and approach the lithic productions of the Catalan Western plain, [ES] El presente trabajo tiene por objeto exponer los resultados preliminares obtenidos a partir del análisis tecno-morfológico de los materiales líticos recuperados en 6 yacimientos de la llanura occidental catalana, que han sido relacionados con el Neolítico Antiguo. La zona carece de estudios sobre el lítico tallado, siendo este trabajo el primer estudio in extenso realizado. Esta labor se lleva a cabo a partir del análisis del material lítico siguiendo una metodología concreta, dentro de un marco teórico bien definido, empleando una documentación exhaustiva a través de variables morfotécnicas y métricas. El análisis del material lítico permite explicitar las estrategias tecnológicas involucradas en el sitio bajo estudio y deslindar la existencia de diferentes trayectorias de producción de las materias primas presentes en el registro arqueológico. Con él se pretende caracterizar la tecnología lítica del lugar y aproximarse a las producciones líticas de la llanura occidental catalana.

San Quirce is an open-air archaeological site situated on a fluvial terrace in the Duero basin (Palencia, northern Iberia). This paper presents new and consistent chronologies obtained for the sedimentary sequence using post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IR) dating of K-feldspars and single-grain thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) dating of quartz. The new dating results indicate that the sequence is older than ~200.000 years and place San Quirce Level III within marine isotope stages (MIS) 8 and 7, between 274 ± 13 ka and 238 ± 13 ka. The main lithic assemblage at San Quirce comes from Level III. The predominant tool types found in this level are hammerstones, manuports and flakes, with a small proportion of cores and a significant presence of denticulates. Adaptation to local environmental conditions resulted in distinctive cultural habits, which were embedded in the cultural tradition of hominins occupying the site during the final third of the Middle Pleistocene. San Quirce preserves a simple cultural tradition that was employed by local hominins to engage in a diverse array of activities, and highlights the cultural diversity that appears to have been a characteristic feature of the Lower to Middle Palaeolithic transition 300-200 ka.

Los cazadores recolectores del este de Sudamérica ajustaron, durante el Holoceno, sus conductas territoriales a las fluctuaciones climáticas y ambientales. Estas sociedades implementaron una estrategia económica con unatecnología caracterizada por puntas de proyectil en piedra tallada. Estos cazadores fueron responsables de innovacionestécnicas y variabilidad en las formas y dimensiones de las puntas. Dichos cambios fueron estimulados por el menor tamaño de lafauna del Holoceno, la caza en ambientes anegadizos, la disponibilidad de materias primas y la experimentación de nuevas técnicas de propulsión. El sistema técnico buscó resolver los problemas planteados por la movilidad a través del reciclaje de puntas dañadas. Se analizaron 25 puntas de proyectil provenientes del este de Uruguay. Se relevaron aspectos tecno-tipológicos; se empleó lupa binocular (5× a 72×) y microscopio metalográfico (50× a 400×). Los análisis traceológicos, con base experimental, dan cuenta de fracturas en el ápice y confirman que se trata de puntas empleadas en armas arrojadizas. Los rastros registrados y algunos residuos sugieren que estas puntas fueron enastiladas y transportadas en un carcaj. Las observaciones realizadas parecen confirmar que parte de los ejemplares estudiados corresponden a puntas de flecha usadas con arco, una innovación de gran impacto en las tierras bajas.

Research on the Neolithic has until recently considered the Pyrenees as a secondary player in the process of introducing agricultural and livestock life forms as opposed to the pre- and coastal mountain ranges and the central depression. The work carried out in recent years in these territories, with a review of old collections, preventive excavations and new research projects, leads to a much more detailed and complex picture of the neolithic process of preconceived. In this sense, the work carried out in the high Pyrenees provides data from an incipient Neolithic since the second third of the sixth millennium BC at altitudes close to 2,000 meters, which opens a perspective of great interest unheard of a few years ago. On the other hand, consolidated projects such as the one developed at the Draga site make it possible to propose regional sequences for the eastern Pre-Pyrenees due to the introduction of the Neolithic., [FR] Jusqu'à une date relativement récente, les recherches sur le Néolithique considéraient les Pyrénées comme un acteur secondaire dans le processus d'introduction des formes de vie agricole et d'élevage par opposition aux massifs montagneux pré et côtiers et à la dépression centrale. Les travaux menés ces dernières années dans ces territoires, avec un examen des collections anciennes, des fouilles préventives et de nouveaux projects de recherche, conduisent à une image beaucoup plus détaillée et complexe du processus néolithique de conception préconçue. En ce sens, els travaux menés dans les hautes Pyrénées fournissent des données d'un Néolithique naissant depuis le deuxième tiers du sixième millénaire avant notre ère à des altitudes proches de 2000 mètres, ce qui ouvre une perspective d'un grand intérêt inouï il y a quelques années. En revanche, des projets consolidés comme celui développé sur le site de Draga permettent de proposer un séquençage régional pour les Pré-Pyrénées orientales du fait de l'introduction du Néolithique.

La Esparragosa es un yacimiento neolítico situado en la bahía de Cádiz. Corresponde a un poblado con campos de silos. Excavado hace unos años por nuestro equipo de la Universidad de Cádiz, presentamos en este trabajo un análisis de la industria lítica tallada del poblado del IVo milenio a.n.e. Aportamos unos datos de las materias primas silíceas documentadas, comprobando la variedad de sílex y sus posibles procedencias. El estudio tecnológico se realiza en el marco del Sistema Lógico Analítico (SLA) y con la clasificación de Laplace. Se comprueba un importante registro laminar, con utillajes retocados de predominio del modo abrupto. En tipología están bien representados los utillajes domésticos y los vinculados con diversas actividades productivas. El análisis funcional prueba el vínculo de artefactos asociados a actividades agrícolas, pero también con funciones de proyectiles y sobre todo destaca el uso de cuchillos para el trabajo y procesamiento del pescado., [EN] La Esparragosa is a Neolithic site located in the Bay of Cádiz. Its corresponds to a settlement with silos. It was excavated a few years ago by our team from the University of Cádiz. We present in this work an analysis of the lithic industry from this site of the IV th millennium B.C. We provide data on the documented siliceous raw materials, verifying the variety of flint and its possible origins. The technological study is carried out within the framework of the Analytical Logical System (SLA) and with Laplace’s classification. An important laminar registry is verified, with retouched tools of predominance of the abrupt mode. In the typologies, domestic tools and those linked to various productive activities are well represented. The functional analysis tests the link of artifacts associa- ted with agricultural activities, but also with projectile functions and, above all, highlights the use of knives for the work and processing of fish.

This article presents the results of the techno-typological and use-wear analyses and contextualization of the Nahal Hemar knives from PPNB Kharaysin. The assemblage is the third largest of this enigmatic and rare tool type in the southern Levant and presents several interesting peculiarities. Almost all the knives were found in two concentrations very close to a funerary area, to which they seem to be related. Some of the knives are the longest ones found to date in the Near East and, interestingly, some could be retted. Use-wear analysis concludes that Nahal Hemar knives from Kharaysin were basically used for cutting soft animal tissue and, less frequently, scraping bones (human bodies?). The results suggest the two concentrations of knives were caches of artefacts of particular signifcance, possibly ritual and associated with the mortuary practices that took place next to where they were found. Thus, would establish, for the first time after Nahal Hemar Cave, a connection between Nahal Hemar knives and the mortuary practices of PPNB communities in the southern Levant.

En los últimos años la investigación arqueológica en áreas de montaña y de alta montaña del Pirineo ha permitido ampliar considerablemente las evidencias de la ocupación humana prehistórica en estos espacios. En este sentido, en apenas 15 años se ha producido un marcado incremento de las evidencias de un poblamiento de la cordillera durante los primeros siglos del Neolítico, tanto por el número de yacimientos conocidos como por el estudio extensivo de algunos de ellos. En este trabajo presentamos un nuevo yacimiento con diversas ocupaciones del Neolítico antiguo: Artiga Viturián. Consiste en una cueva que se localiza en la vertiente sur de la sierra de Tucas, a escasos 1000 m de distancia lineal de Coro Trasito y a 1440 m de altitud en la que, hasta este momento, se ha realizado un sondeo en la sala adyacente a la entrada, que ha proporcionado diversos estratos con materiales arqueológicos que tienen una cronología similar a las fechas de Coro Trasito.

The development of the economic activities inherent to the establishment of Neolithic farming activities entails an increasing technical specialization. This is often visible through the exploitation of specific resources, the development of suitable techniques for the manufacture of consumption goods as well as new ways of using and consuming them. We briefly present the main features of the technical productions carried out by the first Neolithic populations in the northeast of Iberia, trying to characterize the technical knowledge spent on all of them and making their signs of specialization clear., [FR] Le développement des activités économiques inhérent à l’implantation des activités agricoles et d’élevage du Néolithique entraîne une spécialisation technique croissante. Cela se traduit souvent par l’exploitation de ressources spécifiques, le développement de techniques appropriées pour la fabrication de biens de consommation, et de nouvelles façons de les utiliser et de les consommer. Nous présentons brièvement les principales caractéristiques des productions techniques réalisées par les premières populations néolithiques du nord-est de la péninsule ibérique, en essayant de caractériser les connaissances techniques dépensées dans chacune d’elles et en mettant en évidence leurs indications de spécialisation.

The introduction and spread of the Neolithic “way of life” in Europe was a process that took several millennia, followed by different rhythms and displayed singularities in each geographic area. It was therefore a very complex phenomenon that, despite highly significant advances in research in recent decades, is yet to be fully understood. To deepen our understanding of the very early stages of the introduction of herding and agriculture throughout the Old Continent, the 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic of Europe wasorganisedinBarcelonaon6–8November2019.Theconferencewasagreatsuccesswithmore than 200 participants, creating a stimulating arena to discuss and debate, exclusively, the transition to the Neolithic in Europe. This special issue brings together 52 of the contributions presented in Barcelona, offering an interesting overview of the current state of research across Europe, from the Anatolia to the Algarve, highlighting the geographical, chronological and socioeconomic diversity of the transformation processes involved in the Neolithisation of Europe and providing useful starting points for future research.

La comunicación que presentamos a las VII Jornadas de Investigación del Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido hace referencia a uno de los aspectos del Patrimonio Cultural del Parque Nacional más desconocido hasta este momento. Se trata de una parte del potencial arqueológico que existe en este espacio protegido, que no deja de sorprendernos por su importancia, diversidad y por la antigüedad de los hallazgos.

In recent years, new archaeological research has highlighted relatively early neolithisation in different areas of the axial Pyrenees. Sites like Coro Trasito, Cueva Lóbrica, Els Trocs and Cova del Sardo show a consolidated presence of human communities with farming and animal husbandry and a fully Neolithic material culture at the end of the sixth millennium and the beginning of the fifth millennium cal BC. The arrival of this new way of life involved a change in former settlement patterns, with the abandonment of sites in high areas, over 2200 m a.s.l., which had been occupied in the Mesolithic. In turn, human settlement focused on lower mountain areas, between 1400 and 1800 m a.s.l. Renewed settlement around and over the current timberline would take place during the second half of the Neolithic, at the end of the third millennium cal BC. For this period, palaeoecological data suggest a clear expansion of pastures linked to anthropogenic factors. The paper presents an analysis of the dynamic construction of social territories through the modelling of a simulation of changing settlement patterns and uses of the space.

The Camel Site is in the north of Saudi Arabia in the province of al-Jawf. It is characterised by three decaying sandstone hillocks with life-sized 3D engravings (or reliefs) of camels and equids likely carved during later prehistory. A survey in the central area of the site identified clusters of flakes and other flintknapping remains in the lower areas between the sandstone spurs and larger silcrete tools directly underneath the animal depictions. Some of these tools presented abraded edges, possibly from prolonged contact with the soft and abrasive sandstone that constitutes the rock spurs where the animals were carved. Experiments were performed to test this hypothesis and have a reference collection for further traceological analysis. The chaine opératoire of the experimental engraving tools, from raw material procurement, tool manufacture and use, reuse and discard, was conducted with locally available materials comparable to the archaeological specimens. Specific experimental variables, including how the force was applied, in what direction the movement took place and the orientation of the stone tool during the experiment, were also recorded. Macro- and microscopic analyses of the experimental collection and a sample of archaeological artefacts seem to show that the ancient tools found on the surface were probably used to make the camelid and equid reliefs at the site.

The introduction and spread of the Neolithic "way of life"in Europe was a process that took several millennia, followed by different rhythms and displayed singularities in each geographic area. It was therefore a very complex phenomenon that, despite highly significant advances in research in recent decades, is yet to be fully understood. To deepen our understanding of the very early stages of the introduction of herding and agriculture throughout the Old Continent, the 1st Conference on the Early Neolithic of Europe was organised in Barcelona on 6-8 November 2019. The conference was a great success with more than 200 participants, creating a stimulating arena to discuss and debate, exclusively, the transition to the Neolithic in Europe. This special issue brings together 52 of the contributions presented in Barcelona, offering an interesting overview of the current state of research across Europe, from the Anatolia to the Algarve, highlighting the geographical, chronological and socioeconomic diversity of the transformation processes involved in the Neolithisation of Europe and providing useful starting points for future research.

Nous présentons dans ce travail, un panorama synthétique des occupations humaines du Nord du Maroc, en mettant l’accent sur l’association des données anthropologiques et des données culturelles, ceci dans un cadre chronologique compris entre le Paléolithique Moyen (MSA) et le Paléolithique Supérieur. Nous présentons aussi les projets développés, durant ces 15 dernières années, et les résultats les plus intéressants que nous avons obtenus. Pour conclure, nous proposons quelques réflexions sur l’évaluation culturelle et historique des enregistrements archéologiques de la région de Tétouan dans les périodes du Paléolithique Moyen et Supérieur., In this work, we present a synthetic panorama of the human occupations of northern Morocco, with an emphasis on the association of anthropological with cultural records, within the framework of the Middle Palaeolithic (MSA) and the Upper Palaeolithic. We also present the projects developed over the past 15 years and the most interesting results we have obtained. And we conclude bay providing some reflections on the cultural and historical evaluation of the archaeological records from the Tetouan region in the Middle and the Upper Palaeolithic phases.