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Funerary usage of Galeria da Cisterna (Almonda) and Gruta do Caldeirão began at the onset of the Neolithic and continued until Early Medieval times. At Cisterna, the thin Holocene deposit was unstratified; at Caldeirão, the stratigraphic sequence underwent post-depositional disturbance. Using radiocarbon dating, typological considerations, spatial distribution patterns, and physical anthropological data, these palimpsests can be disentangled to a significant extent. At both sites, the earliest depositions fall in the c. 5250–5500 cal BC interval and are associated with large numbers of beads. Wares extensively decorated with shell and comb impressions are likely to belong in this phase. Another style of decoration – shell impressions forming bands below the rim and garlands between prehension knobs – probably dates to a slightly later time. Burial continued at both sites through the c. 5000–5250 cal BC time range, but which decorative styles were then in fashion remains difficult to ascertain; it is likely that the irregular arrangements of shell impressions seen in some Cisterna vessels are among them. At Caldeirão, non-Cardial impressed and incised wares date to c. 4500–5000 cal BC, while undecorated wares are associated with human bone samples demonstrating two different periods of burial during the c. 3500–4000 cal BC interval. Most if not all of the nine Cardial individuals directly dated at the two sites died coevally with the more recent of the Mesolithic interments found in the shell-midden sites of the Tagus estuary.

In the lower Rhône Valley, many sites are attributed to the Early Neolithic and dated between 5600 and 4800 cal. BC. According to their ceramic production, they are associated with two cultural facies: the Cardial and the Epicardial. The relation between these two entities is still under debate (chronological, cultural or functional distinctions?). However, little is known about the lithic production of the region since the chipped stone industries are rarely evoked in the socioeconomic and cultural understanding of these first agropastoral societies. The objective of this paper is to propose a regional synthesis regarding Early Neolithic lithic industries, based on typo-technological studies of several assemblages in the Rhône Valley: The Montclus rockshelter (layers 5 to 2), the Baume de Ronze rockshelter, Le Taï and the Aigle cave. These sites are considered to be the key sites for understanding the Cardial/Epicardial complex in this area, but their lithic assemblages have never been thoroughly studied. Special attention will be given to the factors of variability or, on the contrary, to the permanence in the “schema opératoire”and we will propose explanations related to geological, functional, chronological and cultural constraints. We will also focus on lithic blade production made from honey flint and the spacialisation of “chaine opératoire” which could highlight circulation of this raw material and specialised distribution network. Finally, this synthesis is based on a renewed corpus of radiocarbon dates in order to understand this evolutionary dynamic as finely as possible.

The study of ceramic decorative styles allows one to evaluate the appearance, dispersion and consolidation of the Neolithic in the Iberian peninsula. Font del Ros (Berga, Barcelona) is a site located at the foot of the eastern Pre-Pyrenees. Preliminary information is available indicating the presence of a partially preserved habitat structure associated with ceramics with cardial decoration and 25 silos, also containing early Neolithic pottery. Five C14 AMS dates supported this attribution. These important inferences have had little impact on the debate on the emergence of the Neolithic in the northeast of the peninsula have had little impact. Although the conservation of the ceramic ensemble is not optimal, the cardial and printed-incised styles are recurrent in the decorated pottery. These indicators trace connections with the developments detected on the Mediterranean coast and the central Pre-Pyrenees (Lleida and Huesca), areas more than 100 km away from Font del Ros. This circumstance allows us to examine possible interactions with these geocultural areas and others north of the Pyrenees. New dates on shortlived samples place the Font del Ros assemblage between 5380-5060 cal BC. These stylistic and chronometric indicators contribute to the debate on the processes related to the appearance and consolidation of the early Neolithic in the northeast of the Iberian peninsula., El estudio de los estilos decorativos cerámicos permite evaluar la aparición, dispersión y consolidación del Neolítico en la península ibérica. Font del Ros (Berga, Barcelona) es un enclave localizado al pie del Prepirineo oriental. Las informaciones preliminares allí obtenidas indican la presencia de una estructura de hábitat parcialmente preservada asociada con cerámicas con decoración cardial y 25 fosas, conteniendo otras que también remiten a la esfera del Neolítico Antiguo. Cinco fechas C14 AMS avalaban esta atribución. Estas inferencias relevantes que incentivaban el debate sobre la irrupción del Neolítico en el nordeste peninsular han tenido escasa repercusión. La conservación del conjunto cerámico no es óptima pero los estilos cardial e impreso-inciso son recurrentes en los restos decorados. Estos indicadores trazan conexiones con los desarrollos que se detectan en el litoral mediterráneo y el Prepirineo central (Lleida y Huesca), de los que Font del Ros dista más de 100 km. Esta circunstancia permite examinar posibles interacciones con estas áreas geoculturales, y otras adyacentes transpirenaicas. Nuevas fechas sobre muestras de vida corta posicionan el conjunto entre 5420-5070 cal BC. Estos indicadores estilísticos y cronométricos inciden en el debate sobre el proceso relacionado con la aparición y consolidación del Neolítico Antiguo en el nordeste de la península ibérica.

Cova Bonica has yielded one of the few assemblages of Cardial Neolithic records of directly dated human remains (c. 5470 and 5220 years cal. BC – unmodelled) in the Iberian Peninsula and has provided the first complete genome of an Iberian farmer. A minimum of seven individuals and six age clusters have been ascribed on the basis of the disarticulated human bones. A large number of archaeological artifacts have likewise been identified in the same layer, preserved in a small number of remnants in different areas of the cave. This study presents the results of a multi-proxy archaeological analysis of the spatial distribution, human remains, small and large mammals, palaeobotanical remains, lithics, ceramics and radiocarbon dating, with the aim of reconstructing the cave's history and the context of the layer containing the human remains. The results suggest the cave was used for at least two distinct purposes: one related to its use for funerary practices, as documented by a small group of artifacts (ornamental objects, ceramics, tools), charcoal and small mammals; the other related to its use as a sheep pen as indicated by reworked fumier, the results of a zooarchaeological study and an ovicaprine palaeodemographic profile. The paper concludes that the funerary and ritualistic practices of the Cardial Neolithic in SW Europe are difficult to reconstruct because human remains are often scattered in archaeological layers where other human activities may also have been conducted. For this reason, artifacts associated with human remains do not constitute a solid foundation on which to reconstruct funerary practices. Indeed, only a multi-proxy analysis of the archaeological material is capable of evaluating different geological and/or archaeological processes and their associated activities., The results presented here represent the research outcomes of the following projects: El Plistocè superior a la costa central catalana: paleoambients i ocupacions neandertals (2014/100639- Servei d'Arqueologia i Paleontologia) and Els canvis climàtics durant el plistocè superior a la costa central catalana i l'impacte en les poblacions neandertals i humans anatòmicament moderns, supported by projects 2017SGR-00011, HAR2017-86509, HAR2016-75201-P and CGL2015-65387-C3-2-P (MINECO/FEDER). J. Daura was supported by a Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC-2015-17667) and M. Sanz by a Juan de la Cierva contract (IJCI-2017-33908). Fieldwork was also sponsored by the Ajuntament de Vallirana. We thank the Museu de Gavà (Spain) for permission to date the human remains number 19a/b (Gavà-1 Mandible 1982) and 20a/b (Gavà-2 Mandible 1978).

International audience; De nombreux travaux des années 1970 à 1990 tentèrent d'exhumer des vestiges mésolithiques au sein des premiers habitats du Néolithique, pour développer une sorte de troisième voie propre à l'Europe atlantique. Les études de technologie lithique menées ensuite devaient à l'inverse jeter un cru éclairage sur la rupture technologique béante entre systèmes mésolithiques et néolithiques. Cette forme de néolithisation, en rupture technique générale à l'exception du domaine des armes, est qualifiée ici de « Modèle Général de Néolithisation » (MGN). Les recherches doivent désormais se concentrer sur les interactions entre ces composantes techno-culturelles. Mais la faible intensité des recherches sur le Mésolithique induit des biais très importants. Une révision des dates disponibles montre un second Mésolithique bien daté entre 6200 et 5500 avant notre ère, puis un ensemble néolithique solide entre 5000 et 4700, mais les sites mésolithiques datés de la fin du 6 ème millénaire restent hélas dans l'ombre. La suite de l'enquête montre que les sociétés du Mésolithique ne montrent pas de préparation particulière à la néolithisation, du moins sur le littoral de Bretagne, zone la mieux documentée pour cette période dans l'Ouest. Pour les industries lithiques, il y a une opposition radicale des normes des outillages lithiques du Téviecien, du VSG et du NACA, à toutes les étapes de production. Les flèches tranchantes apparaissent en grand nombre au Mésolithique ; à retouches abruptes, elles sont dominantes voire exclusives dans le Téviecien de faciès Beg-er-Vil bien daté des deux derniers siècles du 7 ème millénaire avant notre ère ; à retouches rasantes, elles sont à la fois du second Mésolithique et du Néolithique ancien au sud-ouest de la Loire. Les transferts techniques s'observent désormais exclusivement du Mésolithique vers le Néolithique. Des travaux récents au nord de Poitiers dans la vallée du Clain, illustrent de manière intéressante les questionnements autour des flèches de Montclus.

L’abri de La Font-aux-Pigeons (Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, Bouches‑du‑Rhône), dans le massif littoral de la Nerthe (273 m), a été occupé entre ca 6450 et 4700 ans cal BCE, par les chasseurs-cueilleurs du Castelnovien et les agriculteurs du Cardial et du « Postcardial ». Au Mésolithique, la perduration d’une ambiance végétale steppique (genévriers, filaires et/ou nerprun alaterne) semble liée à des vents et une sécheresse plus marqués qu’ailleurs dans le Midi. À partir du Cardial, des formations à pin d’Alep et des garrigues dominées par les filaires et/ou le nerprun alaterne évoquent un paysage végétal pré‑forestier. La déclinaison du réchauffement climatique postglaciaire dans un contexte local particulièrement sec peut expliquer la prédominance du pin d’Alep à partir du Cardial. En outre, le substrat et la pente semblent bloquer la dynamique de végétation à un stade pré‑forestier à pin d’Alep. Au cours de l’optimum climatique atlantique cette dynamique de paysages est originale par rapport au reste du Midi de la France où les forêts à chênes caducifoliés dominent. Au cours du Cardial et surtout au début du Postcardial, une modeste pression anthropique pourrait être à l’origine du maintien des garrigues aux côtés des pinèdes. En documentant le couvert végétal avant le plein développement des activités agro-pastorales, cette étude anthracologique permet de mieux comprendre le statut du pin d’Alep dans la dynamique de végétation dans cette zone où les contraintes naturelles sont particulièrement importantes et les perturbations anthropiques anciennes. Les pinèdes constituent ici le stade le plus forestier de la succession végétale, et probablement le climax local. Cette étude souligne le caractère singulier de l’environnement littoral de Provence occidentale au cours de l’Holocène ancien et moyen ; proche des refuges glaciaires, il se distingue par une installation précoce de taxons thermophiles et se trouve soumis à des contraintes naturelles importantes avant même que l’impact anthropique ne se fasse pleinement ressentir. La Font-aux-Pigeons (Châteauneuf-les-Martigues,Bouches-du-Rhône, France) is a rock shelter that was mainly occupied between ca 6450 and 4700 years cal BCE, by the hunters-gatherers of the last Mesolithic, the Castelnovian, and the agro-pastoralists of the Cardial Neolithic and the “Postcardial”. This rock shelter is located in the Nerthe range (273 m a.s.l.), between the Mediterranean and the Berre pound. During the Castelnovian, the abundance of juniper and phillyrea or buckthorn indicates a steppe. The perduration of this vegetation later than in the other regions of southern France may be linked to the local conditions which were characterised by winds and droughts. From the Cardial, the vegetal landscape is mainly composed of pine pre-forests (probably Aleppo pine) and shrublands dominated by phillyrea or buckthorn. The combination of the postglacial climatic warming and of local dry conditions may have induced the predominance of Aleppo pine since the Cardial. Furthermore, the substratum and the slopes seems to hinder the vegetal dynamic which remains at a pre-forested stage with Aleppo pine. During the occupation of the site, which correspond to the Atlantic climatic optimum, this vegetal dynamic is unique since, at a macroregional scale, the vegetal landscape is mainly composed of deciduous oak forests. Moreover, during the Cardial occupations and the first part of the Postcardial, a modest anthropogenic pressure may lead to the maintenance of the phillyrea or buckthorn scrubland next to the pine formations. By documenting the vegetation before the rise of agro-pastoralist activities, this analysis enables to understand whetherpine formations are intermediate or climacic in the local dynamic, in an area characterised by winds, drought and long-standing anthropogenic perturbations. The results highlight that pine vegetation represents the more forested phase in the vegetal succession and probably the local climax. They reveal the originality of the coastal environment in Western Provence during the early and middle Holocene, where the development of thermophilous taxa occurs early, due to the proximity of glacial refuges and where the edaphic and climatic constraints appear to be harsh even before the rise of anthropogenic impact.

Apresentam-se os dados obtidos no primeiro ano das escavações arqueológicas realizadas na Lapa da Bugalheira (Almonda, Torres Novas) ao abrigo do projecto de investigação ARQEVO. Esta intervenção permitiu reconhecer uma ocupação enquadrada no Neolítico Antigo, com um conjunto artefactual típico da primeira etapa da diacronia neolítica: cerâmica impressa cardial, “boquique”, geométricos e elementos de adorno. Datações absolutas sobre Ovis e restos humanos confirmam a cronologia. Esta ocupação encontra paralelos em sítios coevos do Maciço Calcário Estremenho (MCE), entre os quais se destaca a Galeria da Cisterna (sistema cársico do Almonda)., We present the results of the first year of the field work carried out at Lapa da Bugalheira (Almonda, Torres Novas) by the ARQEVO research project. We have identified an Early Neolithic occupation featuring a characteristic artefact assemblage with impressed wares (both cardial and “boquique”), geometric microliths and ornaments. The age of the assemblage has been corroborated by the radiocarbon dating of sheep and human bone samples. Comparable, coeval occupation contexts exist in the Central Limestone Massif of Estremadura, paramount among which is the Galeria da Cisterna’s (Almonda karst system).

The establishment of the first agro-pastoral societies in Southern France seems to be marked by significant cultural polymorphism as well as variability in establishment strategies. The Early Neolithic of the South Mediterranean is generally divided into three distinct entities, the Impressa, the Cardial and the Epicardial, mainly defined on the basis of ceramic production. The Cardial sphere, the subject of this article, corresponds to a stage of important territorial expansion of human groups, dated between 5600 and 4800 BC cal. Historically, this vast chronocultural entity has been understood and divided into several facies, Cardial and Epicardial, on the basis of ceramic data. The objective of this paper is to propose a new data synthesis regarding the evolution of the cardial complex in the lower Rhone Valley. It is based on lithic industry, generally less mobilised than ceramic data for chronocultural syntheses. This work is a part of a PhD thesis defended in 2019 (Defranould, 2019). A study area centred on the lower Rhone Valley provides an ideal window to examine the variability of lithic production in the cardial sphere. It covers the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Ardèche, Vaucluse and Drôme (fig. 1). For this region, documentation concerning ceramic, chronometric and to a lesser extent lithic data is abundant. This framework allows us to discuss in detail the techno-economic variability of lithic production over time. A total of eight lithic assemblages were directly studied : Montclus rockshelter layer 5, layer 4, layer 3, layer 2 (Montclus, Gard) ; Ronze rockshelter, sets 1 and 2 (Orgnac-l'Aven, Ardèche) ; Taï (Remoulins, Gard) and Aigle cave (Méjannes-le-Clap, Gard). They can be compared with other published series : Font-des-Pigeons rockshelter (Chateauneuf-lès-Martigues, Bouches du Rhône, Binder et al., 2017 ; Binder, 1987), Mas de Vignoles X (Nîmes, Gard ; Perrin et al., 2014), Roussillonne (Nîmes, Gard ; ibid.), Mas Neuf (Nîmes, Gard ; ibid.), Baratin (Courthézon, Vaucluse ; Binder, 1998, Gassin and Binder, 2004, Sénépart, 2009), Petites Bâties (Lamotte-du-Rhône, Vaucluse ; Binder et al., 2002, Binder, 1998) and Oullins rockshelter (Le Garn, Gard ; Binder, 1998 ; Roudil, 1987). Together, they constitute our study corpus. The article first presents the chronocultural context of the different assemblages of the corpus (assemblages directly studied or published), their chronological arrangement and their attribution to ceramic facies (part 2 ; fig. 2). Then, the study presents important features of lithic productions of different collections : techno-economical aspects, restitution of different ‘ chaînes opératoires’, aims of ‘ débitages’, etc. In spite of the geological constraints that induce minor differences in raw material acquisition strategies, the same ‘ schéma opératoire’ is identified on all sites. It combines a rather expedient flake’s production by direct hard percussion on the local resources (tertiary chert and quartz) with a more elaborate laminar production obtained by indirect percussion, mainly on good cretaceous chert (fig. 11). Finally the paper points at the fact that, despite the permanence of this ‘ schéma opératoire’ throughout the chronological sequence, several techno-economic and, to a lesser extent, typological variations can be identified (table 12). Thus, several elements allow us to introduce a chronological gradient in the variability of the assemblages : the emergence of a circulation network of blades in Cretaceous blond chert, the increase in the size of laminar supports and arrowhead, and possibly the decrease in flat retouches on the arrowhead over time. The caesura observed are not the same as those identified through ceramic data. Unlike to ceramic data, there is not one way of producing or retouching lithic tools that is specific to Cardial and another that would be specific to Epicardial. This reaffirms an important kinship between these two entities. In the end, this study sheds new light to discuss the geographical organisation of Cardial and Epicardial societies, in particular based on the hypothesis of a good quality chert blade circulation network around 5200 BC cal., L’implantation des premières sociétés agropastorales dans le sud de la France semble marquée par un important polymorphisme culturel et une variabilité des stratégies d’implantation. La sphère cardiale correspond à une étape d’importante expansion territoriale des groupes humains, datée entre 5600 et 4800 avant notre ère. Historiquement, cette vaste entité chronoculturelle a été appréhendée et divisée en plusieurs faciès, Cardial et Épicardial, sur la base des données céramiques. Cette étude propose d’étudier ce complexe par un autre pan de la culture matérielle, celui de la confection des outillages en pierre taillée. Pour cela, une zone d’étude centrée sur la basse vallée du Rhône constitue une fenêtre idéale pour aborder la variabilité des productions lithiques de la sphère cardiale. Le coeur de l’étude se base sur l’analyse de huit assemblages de pierres taillées du Gard et de l’Ardèche, mais également sur une documentation abondante et renouvelée, qui concerne les données céramiques, chronométriques et dans une moindre mesure des industries lithiques. Ce cadre permet de discuter finement de la variabilité techno-économique des productions lithiques au cours du temps. L’article pose dans un premier temps le contexte chronoculturel des différentes séries du corpus (assemblages directement étudiés ou publiés) et leur attribution à des faciès céramique. L’étude présente ensuite quelques éléments permettant la restitution des schémas opératoires des différents assemblages. Ceux-ci associent une production plutôt expédiente d’éclats débités à la percussion directe dure à une chaîne opératoire laminaire plus aboutie, obtenue par percussion indirecte. Malgré la pérennité de ce schéma opératoire tout au long de la séquence chronologique, plusieurs variations techno-économiques, et dans une moindre mesure typologiques, peuvent être mises en évidence. Les césures observées ne sont pas les mêmes que celles identifiées par les données céramiques. Ces résultats permettent alors de discuter de l’organisation géographique des sociétés cardiales et épicardiales, en particulier à partir de l’hypothèse d’une mise en place d’un réseau de circulation de lames en silex de bonne qualité aux alentours de 5200 cal. BC., Defranould Elsa. Variabilité des productions lithiques de la basse vallée du Rhône au Néolithique ancien. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 117, n°4, 2020. pp. 583-617.

A characterisation of the earliest pottery productions in Neolithic Portugal (6th millennium BC) was published in the pages of this journal a few years ago. However, three aspects have been receiving further attention by current research and are discussed here: 1) the relation between Cardial and Boquique-decorated potteries, in which the former are clearly more ancient i f a critical evaluation of the available chrono-stratigraphic evidence is carried out; 2) new finds of so-called "symbolic pottery", which includes abundant evidence for anthropomorphic and zoomorphic depictions along with more scarce examples of plant and solar representations; and 3) petrographic and chemical analyses of ceramics and clays, both pointing to the conclusion that Cardial and corded pots were being transported through long-distance, maritime travels. Some sites currently under analyses may provide in the near future new insights into those research topics. Uma caracterização das primeiras cerâmicas neolíticas de Portugal (VI milénio a.C.) foi há poucos anos publicada nas páginas desta mesma revista. No entanto, a investigação mais recente tem vindo a dar atenção a três aspetos, que são discutidos aqui: 1) a relação entre cerâmica cardial e boquique, em que a primeira se pode considerar mais antiga se se atender a uma avaliação crítica da evidência cronoestratigráfica disponível; 2) os novos achados da chamada “cerâmica simbólica”, que incluem abundante evidência de representações antropomórficas e zoomórficas a par de exemplos, mais escassos, de plantas e representações solares; e 3) as análises petrográficas e químicas de cerâmica e argilas, que apontam para a conclusão segundo a qual peças cardiais e com cordões eram transportadas a longa distância por via marítima. Alguns sítios atualmente em estudo poderão proporcionar novos conhecimentos sobre estes temas num futuro próximo. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

[EN] The study of the Neolithic in the Levant of the Iberian Peninsula has a long research trajectory, being well known in some river valleys such as Serpis or Clariano. The excavation of a large number of cave and open-air deposits has made this area an outstanding reference on a peninsular scale and in the western Mediterranean. However, other nearby river basins such as the Vinalopó basin have not yet had sufficient sequential bases for their characterization. The first proposals, established from the material remains found in various open-air sites and in caves, had led to consider that the process of neolithization would begin at the end of the sixth millennium cal BC, almost half a century after the presence of agricultural communities along the Serpis river. The process of Neolithic implantation in the Vinalopó had to be explained, therefore, as a result of the population expansion from the Serpis. However, new excavations and studies come to expand the range of possible explanations. Regarding the archaeological evidence documented during the excavations at Cova dels Calderons (La Romana, Alicante), we present new data, especially sedimentological, paleobotanical, archeozoological and new absolute dates. These allow us to reflect on the neolithization process of the territories in the Southern Valencian region, specifically in the Vinalopó river basin. These data make possible to formulate a new hypothesis which considers that the presence of Neolithic groups in that territory would occur much earlier than it was considered to date. This hypothesis leads us to two new possible scenarios: either the arrival of the first Neolithic groups to the northern areas of Alicante occurred in earlier times, or the origin of the first Neolithic populations in the southern areas of Alicante is not what it has been thought to date –northern basins such as the Serpis river one–. Considering this, the southern route to access these areas seems the most possible option., [ES] El estudio del Neolítico en el Levante de la península Ibérica cuenta con una larga trayectoria investigadora, siendo bien conocido en algunos valles como el Serpis o el Clariano. La excavación de un buen número de yacimientos en cueva y al aire libre ha posibilitado que esta zona sea un referente destacado a escala peninsular y del Mediterráneo occidental. Sin embargo, otras cuencas fluviales muy cercanas como la del río Vinalopó no han contado hasta el momento con suficientes bases secuenciales para su caracterización. Las primeras propuestas, establecidas a partir de los restos materiales hallados en diversos yacimientos al aire libre y en cueva, habían llevado a considerar que el proceso de neolitización se iniciaría a finales del VI milenio cal BC, casi medio siglo después de la presencia de comunidades agrícolas a lo largo del río Serpis. El proceso de implantación neolítica en el Vinalopó debía explicarse, por tanto, como resultado de la expansión poblacional desde el Serpis. Sin embargo, nuevas excavaciones y estudios vienen a ampliar el abanico de posibles explicaciones. Así, a propósito de las evidencias arqueológicas documentadas en la excavación de la Cova dels Calderons (La Romana, Alicante), se exponen nuevos datos sobre la ocupación neolítica, en especial sedimentológicos, paleobotánicos, arqueozoológicos y nuevas dataciones absolutas, que permiten reflexionar sobre el proceso de neolitización de las tierras meridionales valencianas y, más en concreto, de la cuenca del río Vinalopó. Ello permite configurar una nueva hipótesis que viene a considerar que la presencia de grupos neolíticos en dicho territorio es más antigua que lo planteado hasta la fecha. Esta hipótesis, a su vez, lleva a inferir dos nuevos escenarios posibles: o bien, que el momento de llegada de los primeros grupos neolíticos a las tierras del norte de Alicante fue más antiguo de lo propuesto, o bien que la procedencia planteada para las primeras poblaciones neolíticas del sur de Alicante no sea la hasta ahora considerada –origen en cuencas más septentrionales como la del Serpis–, siendo la vía sur la más probable., [EU]Iberiar penintsulako Levante aldean Neolitikoaren azterketak ibilbide luzea du ikerketari dagokionez, eta oso ezagunak dira haran batzuk, hala nola Serpis edo Clariano. Leizean eta aire zabalean aztarnategi kopuru handia induskatu direnez, eremu hori erreferente nabarmena da penintsula mailan eta mendebaldeko Mediterraneoan. Hala ere, oso gertu dauden beste ibai-arro batzuetan, Vinalopó ibaian, esaterako, ez dira orain arte karakterizatu ahal izateko nahikoa oinarri sekuentzial bildu. Aire zabalean eta leizean dauden aztarnategi ugaritan topatutako hondakin material ugaritatik abiatuta egindako lehen proposamenen arabera, uste izan da neolitizazio-prozesua cal BC VI milurte amaieran hasiko zela, Serpis ibaian zehar nekazaritzako komunitateen presentzia baino ia mende erdi geroago. Vinalopóko ezarpen neolitikoaren prozesua, beraz, Serpisetik populazioa zabaldu izanaren ondorioa dela uste da. Baina egindako indusketa eta azterketa berriek azalpen posibleak ugaritu dituzte. Hala, Cova dels Calderons-eko (La Romana, Alacant) indusketan dokumentatutako ebidentzia arkeologikoak direla eta, okupazio neolitikoaren inguruan datu eta datazio absolutu berriak agertu dira, bereziki sedimentologikoak, paleobotanikoak eta arkeozoologikoak. Horrek guztiak Valentziako hegoaldeko lurretako, eta zehatzago, Vinalopó ibai-arroko neolitizazio-prozesuari buruz hausnartzea ahalbidetzen du. Hala, hipotesi berri bat eragin du: lurralde horretan talde neolitikoen presentzia izan zitekeen orain arte planteatutako data baino lehenagotik. Hipotesi horrek, era berean, bi egoera posible berri dakartza: alde batetik, lehen talde neolitikoak Alacant iparraldera proposatutako data baino lehen iritsi izana, edo beste alde batetik, Alacant hegoaldeko lehen populazio neolitikoetarako planteatutako jatorria ez izatea orain arte kontuan hartutakoa (iparralderago dauden lekuetatik etorri izana, adibidez Serpisetik), eta hegoaldeko bidea izatea probableena.

Objectives The Early Neolithic involved an important social and economic shift that can be tested not only with the material culture, but also through biomolecular approaches. The Iberian Peninsula presents few Early Neolithic sites where fauna and humans can be analyzed together from an isotopic perspective. Here we present an isotopic study on the site of Cueva de Chaves as an example for understanding the dietary and economical changes that took place during Early Neolithic in Iberia. Material and methods Here we apply carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to bone collagen from 4 humans and 64 faunal samples from 14 different species. The large dataset belongs to the same unique chrono-cultural context secured by 20 radiocarbon dates. Three direct new radiocarbon dates were carried out on the human remains analyzed. Results Faunal isotope values show no significant differences between wild and domestic herbivores, although the latter have more homogeneous values. Domestic pigs, potentially considered omnivorous, also show signatures of a herbivore diet. Human isotopic results show a diet mainly based on terrestrial C3 resources and possibly high meat consumption. The only individual found buried with a special funerary treatment presents a slightly different protein intake, when taking into account the long contemporaneous baseline analyzed. Discussion Similar values between wild and domestic species could be the result of common feeding resources and/or grazing on the same parts of the landscape. The herbivore diet seen amongst domestic pigs rules out feeding on household leftovers. High meat consumption by humans would support the hypothesis of the existence of a specialized animal husbandry management community in which agriculture was not intensively developed. Our results suggest that the development of agricultural practices and animal husbandry were not necessarily associated together in the early stages of the Western Mediterranean Neolithic.

Excavations at Cova Bonica (Barcelona, Spain) have revealed 98 human remains, grouped into five age clusters and corresponding to a minimum of six non-articulated individuals. The remains are clearly associated with Cardial pottery, lithic artifacts, and ornaments suggesting an Early Neolithic horizon. The radiocarbon dating of three human individuals provides a reliable attribution to this period, with a range between ca. 5470 and 5220 cal b.c., identifying it as one of the few assemblages of human remains directly dated from this period. These remains correspond to a rare collective human inhumation and join a growing body of samples from the Cardial Neolithic, which is providing some of the important sites for the study of population movement and the spread of Neolithization along the western Mediterranean coast.

On présente les étapes des travaux de terrain et de révision des collections anciennes qui ont presidé au développement des recherches conduites depuis 1980 dans le cadre de la coopération archéologique franco-marocaine en matière de Préhistoire récente (Epipaléolithique, Néolithique, Campaniforme et débuts de l’Age du Bronze). La révision des cadres stratigraphiques, l’obtention de nouvelles datations numériques, la sériation de nombreuses séries céramiques et la révision des cadres stratigraphiques ont conduit à une évolution des concepts fondant le passage aux économies de production et la succession des groupes culturels responsables des étapes successives du Néolithique marocain entre le VIIIe et la fin du IIIe millénaires avant notre ère. Le constat d’une lacune sédimentaire affectant les sites du Maroc septentrional au début de l’Holocène a conduit à mettre en evidence des témoins du Néolithique ancien dans l’aire péri-sharienne, sur les hauts plateaux atlasiques. We present the fieldwork steps and the revisiting studies of former collected assemblages which formed the core of our research since 1980 within the framework of France-Morocco co-operative programs in recent Prehistory (Epipalaeolithic, Neolithic, Bell-beakers and beginning of Bronze Age). The revision of the stratigraphical frames along with new absolute datings and classification of numerous ceramic assemblages have allowed an evolution of concepts about the transition to production economies and about the successive cultural groups responsible for the different stages of the moroccan Neolithic between the VIIIth and the end of the IIIrd millenium BC. A sedimentary hiatus evidenced in Northern Morocco sites did not allowed the preservation of Ancient Neolithic but its presence has been documented on the peri-saharian high plateaus of Atlas.

A propósito de los restos materiales recuperados en actividades clandestinas efectuadas en las décadas finales del siglo XX en la Cova del Calderons (La Romana, Alicante), se presentan las características de dicho yacimiento, haciendo especial hincapié en la ocupación neolítica. El análisis de la información que sobre el neolítico está disponible para la cuenca del río Vinalopó ha permitido ahondar en el desarrollo de una hipótesis sobre el proceso de implantación de las primeras comunidades agropecuarias en dicho territorio. En dicha hipótesis se expone cómo se pudo llevar a cabo la ocupación humana de este espacio, estableciendo que su origen se debe relacionar con un proceso de crecimiento, consolidación y expansión demográfica de grupos neolíticos por procesos de segmentación gestados desde otras cuencas próximas como las de los ríos Serpis y Clariano. With the starting point of the archaeological remains recovered during the clandestine activities carried out there in the final decades of the twentieth century, we present the main features of the site of Cova dels Calderons (La Romana, Alicante). We emphasize the characteristics of the Neolithic occupation. The analysis of the available information about the Neolithic in the Vinalopó river basin, allowed us to develop a hypothesis about the settlement process of the first farming communities in this territory. This hypothesis approaches how the colonization of this area could have been carried out, establishing that its origin must be related to a process of demographic growth, consolidation and expansion through segmentation processes initiated from other river basins nearby, as the Serpis and Clariano one.

Cueva de la Pileta es uno de los enclaves clásicos en la historiografía de la Prehistoria del sur de Iberia, sobre todo por las representaciones de arte rupestre. No obstante, el yacimiento también dispone de una amplia secuencia estratigráfica del Cuaternario reciente (p. ej., 7 m de potencia en la sala de los Murciélagos) que apenas ha recibido atención bibliográfica. Este trabajo se centra en la historiografía de los trabajos en el yacimiento y en el estudio de los materiales neolíticos. La colección cerámica y sus paralelos técnicos y estilísticos en el contexto del Mediterráneo y sur ibérico permiten integrar La Pileta dentro del primer Neolítico en Andalucía con una edad encuadrada en la segunda mitad del 8º milenio cal BP. Cave of La Pileta is a key site in southern Iberia prehistoric historiography. It’s mainly known for its rock art paintings, but the archaeological site also has a wide stratigraphic sequence of Recent Quaternary period (e.g. 7 meters in ‘Murciélagos’ Room) that has scarcely been studied. This paper focuses on historiographical analysis of worked areas and Neolithic materials. Ceramics and its stylistic and technical parallels in the Mediterranean and southern Iberian context allow us to classify Pileta in the first Neolithic period of Andalusia, second half of 8th millenium cal BP.

A propósito de los restos materiales recuperados en actividades clandestinas efectuadas en las décadas finales del siglo XX en la Cova del Calderons (La Romana, Alicante), se presentan las características de dicho yacimiento, haciendo especial hincapié en la ocupación neolítica. El análisis de la información que sobre el neolítico está disponible para la cuenca del río Vinalopó ha permitido ahondar en el desarrollo de una hipótesis sobre el proceso de implantación de las primeras comunidades agropecuarias en dicho territorio. En dicha hipótesis se expone cómo se pudo llevar a cabo la ocupación humana de este espacio, estableciendo que su origen se debe relacionar con un proceso de crecimiento, consolidación y expansión demográfica de grupos neolíticos por procesos de segmentación gestados desde otras cuencas próximas como las de los ríos Serpis y Clariano. With the starting point of the archaeological remains recovered during the clandestine activities carried out there in the final decades of the twentieth century, we present the main features of the site of Cova dels Calderons (La Romana, Alicante). We emphasize the characteristics of the Neolithic occupation. The analysis of the available information about the Neolithic in the Vinalopó river basin, allowed us to develop a hypothesis about the settlement process of the first farming communities in this territory. This hypothesis approaches how the colonization of this area could have been carried out, establishing that its origin must be related to a process of demographic growth, consolidation and expansion through segmentation processes initiated from other river basins nearby, as the Serpis and Clariano one.

Reviewing the pottery corpus from the Early Neolithic of the Basque-Riojan region, an evolution in style can be observed: afirst phase with undecorated and incised ceramics, followed one with impressed ceramics and a last phase in which the most significant techniques are cardial and boquique. Radiocarbon dating results date the earliest phase at the end of the eighth millennium BP, the second One at the middle of the seventh and the last phase by the last third of this millennium. These data force us to reopen the discussion about the role of pottery and "neolithic contexts"., Presentando el corpus cerámico del Neolítico antiguo de la región vasco-riojana se observa una evolución estilística: una primera fase de cerámicas lisas o incisas, un momento con decoraciones impresas y una última donde se combinan, como técnicas más significativas, el cardial y el boquique. Los resultados radiocronológicos, que deben discutirse, nos retrotraen a finales del VIII milenio B.P. para el primer episodio, a mediados del VII para el segundo yal último tercio del mismo para el tercero. Los datos obligan a reabrir el debate sobre el papel de la cerámica y los "contextos neolíticos".

Until a few years ago North-West Africa was ignored in our hypothesis on the neolithization of Western Mediterranean. Moreover, the few excavations focused exclusively on the test of stratigraphies in order to obtain chronological sequences. Recently developed archaeological projects allowed the inclusion of this region in the scientific debate on the origin and evolution of its Neolithic, on the contacts with the Iberian Peninsula through the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as on the documentation of ways of live, habitation structures, and economic strategies. The open area excavation of Zafrín, in the Chafarinas Isles e an archipelago located a short distance from the North African coast e and the full analysis of its lithic industry (technology, typology and use-wear), here presented, represents a novelty on the Neolithic research in North Africa. This in turn will permit us to approach subsistence strategies and the way of life developed by the Neolithic communities of the region

Se presenta un avance del registro cerámico de los niveles neolíticos antiguos de la Cova d'En Pardo (niveles VIII y VIII inferior), prestando especial atención a aquellos recipientes con estilos cerámicos que remiten a contextos mediterráneos y que permiten rastrear el origen cultural de las primeras comunidades campesinas de las comarcas centro-meridionales valencianas.

This article follows two publications highlighting the role of the bone industry in the relations between the Danube cultures in the Paris Basin—the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) and the Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (end of VIth/beginning of Vth mill. BC)—and the Mediterranean cultures—Cardial/Epicardial (VIth mill. upto the beginning of the Vth mill. BC). The novelties detected within this industry in upper Alsace and the Paris Basin as compared with the familiar LBK industry in the region between Bad-Wurtemberg and the Paris Basin had then been interpreted as resulting from a cultural syncretism with the Cardial tradition (Cardial or Epicardial) originating in the Mediterranean (Sidéra 2008, 2010).

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The study of the Linear Pottery (Rubané) and Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (VSG) bone industry highlights a highly dynamic period, during which two episodes of innovations follow one another in time, resulting in the formation of, first, the Rubané récent du Bassin parisien (RRBP) and, second, of the VSG. In the RRBP, there is a massive influx of elements belonging to the Cadial material culture, which which graft themselves on the traditional Rubané base. The elements endure in the VSG, and are supplemented by new elements, whose origin is yet unidentified. The Rubané final du Bassin parisien (RFBP) seems to stand as an intermediate chronological episode, during which the novelties introduced in the RRBP develop. It is argued here these Paris Basin bone material cultures formed as the result of a continuous evolution of the Rubané, due to a diversity of social interaction between groups., L'étude de l'industrie osseuse du Rubané et du Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (VSG) fait ressortir deux épisodes d'innovations, qui se succèdent dans le temps pour former le Rubané récent du Bassin parisien (RRBP) puis le VSG. Dans le RRBP, des éléments de la culture matérielle cardiale arrivent en masse pour se mélanger au substrat traditionnel Rubané. Ces éléments se pérennisent dans le VSG, où s'ajoutent de nouveaux éléments d'origine non identifiée. Le Rubané final du Bassin parisien (RFBP) apparaît comme un épisode chronologique intermédiaire où se développent les nouveautés introduites dans le RRBP. Il est possible de montrer ici que les formations successives de ces cultures matérielles osseuses du Bassin parisien reposent sur une évolution constante du fond Rubané, due à la pluralité des interactions sociales entre groupes.