Artefacts made from mammoth ribs are common in Gravettian contexts in the Swabian Jura of southern Germany. The death of the Indian elephant cow Molly at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart presented a rare opportunity to conduct experimental archaeological studies aimed at reconstructing the manufacturing processes of such tools. These experiments were carried out during the workshop “Processing of Proboscidean Ribs as Raw Material for Tools,” held at the Museum für Urgeschichte und Eiszeitkunst (URMU). The primary objective was to process elephant ribs in order to gain insights into the chaîne opératoire involved in the production of smoothers and points, and to compare the experimental results with archaeological evidence derived from faunal remains and mammoth rib artefacts recovered from Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle caves. The analysis of the workshop identified three principal stages in the production sequence: (1) the manufacture of a rib blank, (2) the longitudinal splitting of the blank, and (3) the shaping of smoothers or points. While certain technological traits and manufacturing traces produced during the experimental workshop could be identified in the archaeological assemblage, others were not evident. This reciprocal process of experimentation and archaeological analysis proved to be a crucial step in the investigation of the discarded rib material from Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle.
The habitual and controlled use of fire among Neanderthal groups, together with the residential use of caves and rock shelters, represents a major turning point in the emergence of Paleolithic camp bases. In Middle Paleolithic sites, the interrelation between shelter geomorphology, fire-use locations and activity areas has been interpreted as evidence of spatial organization. Hearths are, therefore, valuable for investigating site structure. The Abric Romaní offers an exceptional case study due to the preservation and extensive excavation strategy of numerous combustion structures across several archaeological units. This study analyses fire-use spatial organization in units Nb, Oa, Ob, P, Qa and R (ca. 60–54 ka) to explore how Neanderthals structured their living spaces. Using spatial statistical methods (i.e., covariate analysis, spatial modelling, and mark analysis), we evaluate the influence of distance from the back wall on fire-use location and distribution. We then isolate this effect to examine micro-scale patterns and compare the morphological and functional characteristics of combustion structures between wall-adjacent and wall-distanced sectors and across the archaeological sequence. Our findings show a relationship between fire-use locations and the back wall, defining preferential zones for fire placement. Fire use reflects a structured spatial zoning, separating combustion structures in sleeping and resting areas from those in communal activity areas. The morphology of combustion structures remained stable across units, while fire use varied flexibly within a stable spatial framework. Overall, these findings suggest that late Neanderthal occupations at Abric Romaní exhibited structured spatial cultural patterns comparable to those documented in modern hunter-gatherer campsites.
Large-scale studies have helped to establish evolutionary timelines for technocomplexes; however, they do not always reflect the diversity of cultural dynamics across Europe. In this study, we present a Bayesian chronology for the eastern and southeastern areas of the Iberian Mediterranean Region (IMR), which forms the south-western terrotory of the European Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic facies. Research in the IMR has recovered a wide range of archaeological remains, producing a series of radiocarbon dates associated with different technological complexes. We compiled all radiocarbon dates from the Solutrean to the Mesolithic and subjected them to rigorous analysis. ChronoModel software was used to construct hierarchical Bayesian chronological models in order to investigate the particular features of the cultural sequence of hunter-gatherer groups and their presence in the IMR. This study provides a basis for clarifying the chronology of the technocomplexes in both areas between 26 and 7 cal. kBP, as well as the potential chronology of the region as a whole. Combining the results with global palaeoclimatic data has revealed variations in human activity that may be associated with the climatic fluctuations that characterised the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene. These observations indicate the potential value of future small-scale demographic investigations in the region.
This work aims to investigate the formation processes of the charcoal assemblage from level Ra at Abric Romaní, a well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic rock shelter in north-eastern Spain that was occupied by Neanderthals. To this end, we adopted an anthracological approach that combines both taxonomic and taphonomic observations. Spatial patterns and potential formation processes were explored through spatial analysis using Kernel Density Estimation and the Moran’s index across the excavated layer. These analyses were performed using the Cartesian coordinates of the archaeological charcoal fragments recovered in the level and included their taxonomic identification and documented taphonomic modifications. The correlations between alterations were also tested to identify possible interactions among the phenomena that affected the charcoal fragments. Finally, we integrated these findings with data from other previously studied archaeological levels in the archaeological sequence. Our findings, contextualized at the beginning of MIS 3, indicate a dominance of Pinus sylvestris, indicating the continuity of well-established mountain pine forests at elevations below their current boundary. Our taphonomic observations suggest low to moderate postdepositional processes affecting specific areas of the rock shelter, mainly related to small waterflows. After controlling for different taphonomic processes, differences in charcoal fragment distributions between the northern and southern sectors suggest distinct human activities, which are interpreted as signs of differences in use and potentially representing waste-management events. The results suggest the potential of integrating spatial studies of archaeological charcoal fragments in order to gain valuable insights into hearth-related assemblage formation.
This study presents the first micro-wear analysis of stone tools made from volcanic rocks from the Olduvai Bed II FC East (FCE) and FC West (FCW) sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, dated to approximately 1.6–1.5 Ma. These sites form part of a key stratigraphic interval documenting major technological and biological transitions during the early Pleistocene. The analysed sample comprises 46 well-preserved artefacts selected from a larger assemblage of volcanic rocks. The methodological approach adopted in this study relied primarily on scanning electron microscope (SEM). Despite the age of the assemblage and the challenges posed by raw material variability, micro-wear was identified on several pieces, providing direct evidence of tool use. The distribution and morphology of traces indicate that most tools were employed in longitudinal motions and cutting actions, likely associated with butchery. A smaller subset of artefacts exhibits wear patterns consistent with scraping of medium-to-hard contact materials.
