The Middle Paleolithic site of Cuesta de la Bajada (Teruel, Spain): a perspective on the Acheulean and Middle Paleolithic technocomplexes in Europe

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.06.003
• Publication Date: 2014-07-16T09:25:25Z
• Authors: Manuel Santonja; Alfredo Pérez-Gon...; Manuel Domínguez-...; Joaquín Panera; Susana Rubio-Jara; Carmen Sesé; Enrique Soto; Lee James Arnold; Mathieu Duval; Martina Demuro; José E. Ortiz; Trinidad de Torres; Norbert Mercier; Rebeca Barba; José Yravedra
• Keywords: Tafonomía; Ancient Middle Paleolithic; Middle Pleistocene; Paleolítico Medio antiguo; [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory; Pleistoceno Medio; Geochronology; Dataciones numéricas; Península Ibérica; 01 natural sciences; Paléolithique moyen en Espagne; Numerical dating; Lithic technology; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences; Biostratigraphy; Geology; Paleolítico Medio Antiguo; 15. Life on land; Biostratigrafía; Geochemistry; Archaeology; Achelense; Taphonomy; Acheulean; Iberian Peninsula; Industria lítica

Peer reviewed<br/>Here we present a pluridisciplinary study of Cuesta de la Bajada site (Teruel, Spain). Our findings show that the site contains an early Middle Paleolithic assemblage similar to other European early Middle Paleolithic industries, allowing us to evaluate the coexistence of this industrial tradition with the Acheulean technocomplex in southwest Europe. The process of lithic production at Cuesta de la Bajada represents a technology focused on debitage, the application of technical concepts such as ramified production sequences, and the recycling of flakes via the resharpening of tools and exhausted cores. This site was formed around a pond not far from a river and contains remains of large macrofauna other than equids and cervids. Taphonomic analysis highlights the abundance of cut marks on bones, and supports the hypothesis of selective hunting by hominids. The numerical ages derived from the combination of ESR, OSL and AAR dating methods indicate that the archaeological site was very likely formed around the MIS 8-MIS 9. The appearance of Middle Paleolithic industries in Europe could represents the autochthonous development of a technocomplex distinctly different from the Acheulean, characterized by chaînes operatoires of debitage and a progressive increase of Levallois technology and retouched tools. These results suggest that there is a clear coexistence of assemblages with Acheulean and Middle Paleolithic industries during the last third of the Middle Pleistocene at least in the Iberian Peninsula<br/>