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This article presents details of the recent discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Cova Dones, Valencia. The preliminary results reveal a rich graphic assemblage with features that are unusual for Mediterranean Upper Palaeolithic art and were previously unknown for the Pleistocene in the eastern Iberian coast. Key words: Mediterranean, Pleistocene, rock art, engraving/painting techniques, stylistic analysis, Introduction Traditionally, the distribution of Pleistocene cave art has centred on the Franco-Cantabrian region with a 'periphery' including areas of southern Spain and Italy. More than 70 per cent ofknown [...]

Šandalja II has been a reference site for numerous decades for the definition and study of the Eastern Adriatic Upper Palaeolithic and corresponding techno-complexes. This is due both to its extensive material record, and the purported presence of some otherwise elusive techno-complexes in the area, such as the Aurignacian and the Early Epigravettian. In this paper, we present two new series of C14-AMS dates (from layers H, E, C/d and A/d) to assess the validity of its archaeological sequence, together with previously obtained radiocarbon dates, both AMS and conventional. The results show, unambiguously, the lack of reliability of the stratigraphy defined for the site during the excavation. A simple chronometric deconstruction reveals, at the very least, that the assemblages from Šandalja II can no longer be considered and used as an example of the diachronic evolution within the Aurignacian and Epigravettian of the Eastern Adriatic, thus calling for a further reevaluation of features defined for the Adriatic Upper Palaeolithic on the basis on the assemblages from Šandalja II. Hence Šandalja II joins an increasing list of so-called reference sites which must not be considered as "referential" anymore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock art is key for understanding European Palaeolithic societies. Long thought to have been restricted to South-west Europe, recent discoveries on the Balkan Peninsula have expanded significantly the geographic distribution of Upper Palaeolithic figurative rock art, calling into question the idea of its limited distribution. This article presents the first example of figurative cave art discovered in the Balkan region, at Romualdova Pecina ('Romuald's Cave') in Croatia, discussing its chronology and relevance in the context of recent research in Pleistocene art. Keywords: Balkan Peninsula, Upper Palaeolithic, Pleistocene, cave art, symbolism, Introduction The emergence of Palaeolithic art and symbolism has long been considered as among the earliest expressions of cognitive behaviour and a major milestone in human evolution (Mellars 1989; Mithen [...]

The number of scientific articles published each year is on the rise, but the current system, which is dominated by a few for-profit publishers, has become prohibitively expensive for many institutions. This model of publishing is increasingly being criticized for its serious flaws. The deposit of preprints in open archives is a solution for the rapid dissemination of research. However, the quality of these preprints must be ensured. This is where Peer Community In (PCI) comes in, by organizing communities of researchers to assess the quality of the work deposited in open archives. In 2020, a PCI dedicated to Archaeology was established, with over 100 archaeologists acting as recommenders. These recommenders handle the submitted preprints as associate editors would in traditional journals, but at the end of the process, they write a recommendation text, and the entire editorial process is published with it. So far, PCI Archaeology has received 45 submissions, mostly pertaining to Prehistoric periods, and from authors located in different regions of the world. This open process has been widely accepted by reviewers, but there is still a need to promote the use of preprints in the community of archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In a recent paper by Ochoa and García-Díez (2013) the available evidences for a chronology of western Pyrenean Paleolithic cave art are critically analyzed and discussed, and an alternative chronological organization is proposed on the basis of stylistic comparison. In this paper we discuss the critics made to the immediate context dating proposals in Altxerri B, Askondo and Etxeberri by giving the detailed information that has been recently published (Garate and Rios-Garaizar, 2012; Garate et al., 2012; González-Sainz et al., 2013). We also discuss the validity of the stylistic comparisons proposed by Ochoa and García-Díez (2013) for the Gravettian and the Magdalenian art. Finally we discuss the problems for establishing a reliable chronological framework for Paleolithic rock art in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]