Hornos de la Peña (Northern Iberia): New excavations, chronological and subsistence data of the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition

  1. Alicia Sanz-Royo
  2. Ana B. Marín-Arroyo
  3. Olivia Rivero
  4. Joseba Rios-Garaizar
Aldizkaria:
Archaeofauna: International Journal of archaeozoology

ISSN: 1132-6891

Argitalpen urtea: 2023

Zenbakia: 32

Orrialdeak: 124-143

Mota: Artikulua

DOI: 10.15366/ARCHAEOFAUNA2023.32.1.008 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openSarbide irekia editor

Beste argitalpen batzuk: Archaeofauna: International Journal of archaeozoology

Laburpena

The study of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition is one of the topics of more interest in the field of human evolution, where the differences in the subsistence strategies carried out by Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans have generated numerous de-bates during recent years. Hornos de la Peña cave (Cantabria, Northern Iberia), excavated during 1909-1910, contains archaeological levels attributed to this transition, which have provided se- veral publications about the human groups that occupied the cave. However, the stratigraphic sequence proposed by Obermaier at the beginning of the 20th century has been questioned due, among others, to the lack of reliable dating. From 2016 to the present, new excavation works are being carried out to review the integrity of the stratigraphic sequence and its chronology and to analyze the new faunal remains. In this article, we present the first radiocarbon dates performed on the levels attributed to the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, as well as the archaeozoo-logical and taphonomic results of the macrofauna recovered. Our results have revealed the com-plexity of the stratigraphic sequence, confirming that the previous stratigraphy proposed by Obermaier must be reconsidered. For that reason, although the activity of human groups inside the cave has been proved due to the presence of different anthropogenic modifications (mainly in horses, red deer and large bovids), it is not possible to construct hypotheses about their sub-sistence strategies. In summary, this new study has made it possible to reassess the stratigraphic sequence and provide new data on the chronology and the activities carried out by the human groups that occupied the cavity. In addition, this work highlights the importance of reviewing and dating levels from ancient excavations without reliable dating.

Erreferentzia bibliografikoak

  • Alcalde Del Río, H. 1906: Las pinturas y grabados de las cavernas prehistóricas de la provincia de Santander. Altamira – Covalanas – Hornos de la Peña – Castillo. Blanchard y Arce, Santander.
  • Alcalde Del Río, H.; Breuil, H.; & Sierra, L. 1911: Les Cavernes de la Région Cantabrique. Chêne, Mónaco.
  • Azorit Casas, C. 2011: Guía para la determinación de la edad del ciervo ibérico (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) a través de su dentición: revisión metodológica y técnicas de elección. Anales de la Real Academia de Ciencias Veterinarias de Andalucía Oriental 24: 235-264.
  • Barandiarán, I. 1973: Arte mueble del Paleolítico Cantábrico. Zaragoza.
  • Barone, R. 1976: Anatomie Comparée des Mammifères Domestiques. Tome I: Atlas y texto. Ostéologie. Vigot Fréres, París.
  • Behrensmeyer, A.K. 1978: Taphonomic and ecologic information from bone weathering. Paleobiology 4(2): 150-162.
  • Bernaldo De Quirós, F. 1982: Los inicios del Paleolítico superior cantábrico. Ministerio de Cultura, Dirección General de Bellas Artes y Archivos, Madrid.
  • Binford, L.R. 1981: Bones, ancient men and modern myths. Academic Press, New York.
  • Blumenschine, R.J.; Marean, C.W. & Capaldo, S.D. 1996: Blind tests of interanalyst correspondence and accuracy in the identification of cut marks, percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks on bone surfaces. Journal of Archaeological Science 23: 493-507.
  • Bowman, S.G.E.; Ambers, J.C. & Leese, M.N. 1990: Re-evaluation of British Museum radiocarbon dates issued between 1980 and 1984. Radiocarbon 32: 59-79.
  • Breuil, H. & Obermaier, H. 1912: Les premiers travaux de l’Institut de Paleontologie humaine. L’Anthropologie t. XXIII.
  • Bronk Ramsey, C.; Higham, T.F.G.; Bowles, A. & Hedges, R. 2004: Radiocarbon 46: 155-163. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200039473
  • Bunn, H.T. 1986: Patterns of skeletal representation and hominid subsistence activities at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and Koobi Fora, Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution 15: 673-690.
  • Burleigh, R.; Ambers, J. & Matthews, K. 1982: British Museum natural radiocarbon measuments XV. Radiocarbon 24(3): 262-290. doi: 10.1017/S0033822200005154 ButzeR, K.W. 1981: Cave sediments, Upper Pleistocene stratigraphy and Mousterian facies in Cantabrian Spain. Journal of Archaeological Science 8(2): 133– 183.
  • Cáceres, I. 2002: Tafonomía de yacimientos antrópicos en karst. Complejo Galerçia (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), Vanguard cave (Gibraltar) y Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona). Tesis doctoral. Tarragona.
  • Capaldo, S.D. & Blumenschine, R.J. 1994: A quantitative diagnosis of notches made by hammerstone percussion and carnivore gnawing on bovid long bones. American Antiquity 59: 724-748.
  • Carrión, E. 2002: Variabilidad técnica en el Musteriense de Cantabria. Tesis doctoral. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid.
  • Clark, G.A.; Lindly, J. 1989a: The case of continuity: Observations of the biocultural transition in Europe and western Asia. In: Mellars, P. & Stringer, C. (eds.): The human revolution: behavioural and biological perspectives on the origins of modern humans: 626- 676. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
  • Clark, G.A.; Lindly, J. 1989b: Modern humans origins in the Levant and Western Asia. The fossil and archaeological evidence. American Anthropology 91: 962-985.
  • Corchón, Ma. S. 1986: El arte mueble paleolítico cantábrico; contexto y análisis interno. Centro de Investigación y Museo de Altamira, Monografías 16. Madrid.
  • Couturier, M.A.J. 1962: Le bouquetin des Alpes: Capra aegagrus ibex ibex. L., Part 1. ed. Impr. Allier.
  • Cukrowska, E.M.; Mccarthy, T.S.; Pole, S.; Backwell, L. & Steininger, C. 2005: The chemical removal of manganese dioxide coatings from fossil bones from the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. South African Journal of Science 101: 101-103.
  • Domínguez-Rodrigo, M. & Piqueras, A. 2003: The use of tooth pits to identify carnivore taxa in tooth-marked archeofaunas and their relevance to reconstruct hominid carcass processing behaviours. Journal of Archaeological Science 30: 1385-1391.
  • Driesch, A. von den 1976: A Guide to the measurement of animal bones from archaeological sites. Peabody Museum Bulletin. Harvard University, Cambridge MA.
  • Fernández-Jalvo, Y. & Andrews, P. 2003: Experimental effects of water abrasion on bone fragments. Journal of Taphonomy 1: 147-163.
  • Fernández-Jalvo, Y. & Andrews, P. 2016: Atlas of Taphonomic Identifications. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht.
  • Freeman, L.G. 1966: The nature of Mousterian facies in Cantabrian Spain. American Anthropologist 68: 230- 237.
  • Freeman, L.G. 1969-1970: El Musteriense cantábrico: nuevas perspectivas. Ampurias 31-32: 55-69.
  • Freeman, L.G. 1973: The significance of mammalians faunas from Palaeolithic occupations in Cantabrian Spain. American Antiquity 38: 13-44.
  • Galán, B.; Rodríguez, M.; De Juana, S. & Domínguez-Rodrigo, M. 2009: A new experimental study on percussion marks and notches and their bearing on the interpretation of hammerstone-broken faunal assemblages. Journal of Archaeologial Science 36: 776-784.
  • Geiger, M.; Gendron, K.; Willmitzer, F. & Sánchez-Villagra, M.R. 2016: Unaltered sequence of dental, skeletal, and sexual maturity in domestic dogs compared to the wolf. Zoological Letters 2: 1-8. doi:10.1186/s40851-016-0055-2.
  • Gipson, P.S.; Ballard, W.B.; Nowak, R.M. & Mech, L.D. 2000: Accuracy and precision of estimating age of gray wolves by tooth wear. The Journal of Wildlife Management 64: 752. doi:10.2307/3802745.
  • González Sainz, C. 2000: Representaciones arcaicas de bisonte en la región cantábrica. SPAL 9: 257-277.
  • Grayson, D.K. 1984: Quantitative Zooarchaeology: Topics in the Analysis of Archaeological Faunas. Academic Press, Orlando.
  • Habermehl, K.H. 1992: Die Altersbeurteilung beim weiblichen Steinwild (Capra ibex ibex L.) anhand der Skelettentwicklung. Anatomía, Histología, Embriología. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series C 21: 193-198.
  • Harris, S. 1978: Age determination in the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes), an evaluation of technique efficiency as applied to a sample of suburban foxes. Journal of Zoology 184: 91-117.
  • Higham, T.; Jacobi, R. & Bronk Ramsey, C. 2006: AMS radiocarbon dating of ancient bone using ultrafiltration. Radiocarbon 48: 179-195. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200066388
  • Hill, C.A. 1982: Origin of black deposits in caves. National Speleological Society Bulletin 44: 15-19.
  • Hoffecker, J.F. & Glechron, N. 2000: Mousterian hunting in the Northwestern Caucasus and the ecology of the Neanderthals. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 10: 368-378.
  • Klein, R.G. & Cruz-Uribe, K. 1984: The Analysis of animal bones from archaeological sites. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  • Luret, M.; Burke, A.; Bernaldo De Quirós, F. & Besse, M. 2020: El Castillo cave (Cantabria, Spain): Archeozoological comparison between the Mousterian occupation level (unit 20) and the “Aurignacien de transition de type El Castillo” (unit 18). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 3. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102339
  • Lyman, R.L. 1994: Vertebrate Taphonomy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Lyman, R.L. 2008: Quantitative Paleozoology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. mARiezkuRRenA gASteARenA, K. 1983: Contribución al conocimiento del desarrollo de la dentición y el esqueleto poscraneal de Cervus elaphus. Munibe Antropologia – Arkeologia: 149-202.
  • Marín-Arroyo, A.B.; Landete Ruiz, M.D.; Vidal Bernabeu, G.; Seva Roman, R.; González Morales, M.R. & Straus, L.G. 2008: Archaeological implications of human-derived manganese coatings: a study of blackened bones in El Mirón Cave, Cantabrian Spain. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 801-813. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.06.007
  • Marín-Arroyo, A.B.; Rios-Garaizar, J.; Straus, L.G.; Jones, J.; De La Rasilla, M.; González Morales, M.R.; Richards, M.; Altuna, J.; Mariezkurrena, K. & Ocio, D. 2018: Chronological reassessment of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and Early Upper Paleolithic cultures in Cantabrian Spain. PlosOne 13: 1–20.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200066388
  • Montes Barquín, R. & Muñoz Fernández, E. 1995: La Cueva de Hornos de la Peña, Tárriba-San Felices de Buelna, Cantabria. Memorias 1993-1995 de la A. C.D.P.S.: 63-66.
  • Obermaier, H. 1925: El hombre fósil. Comisión de Investigaciones Paleontológicas y Prehistóricas, Madrid.
  • Ontañón, R. 2009: Cueva de Hornos de la Peña. En: Ontañón, R. (scientific editor): Cuevas con arte en Cantabria: 227-231. Diario Montañés/Gobierno de Cantabria, Santander.
  • Pales, L. & García, M.A. 1981: Atlas ostéologique pour servir à l’identification des mammifères du Quaternaire. París.
  • Patou-Mathis, M. 2000: Neanderthal subsistence behaviours in Europe. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 10: 379-395.
  • Pflieger, R.H.P. 1982: Le chamois, son identification et sa vie. Grand Gibier.
  • Potts, R. & Shipman, P. 1981: Cutmarks made by stone tools on bones from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Nature 291: 577-580. doi:10.1038/291577a0.
  • Rios-Garaizar, J.; De La Peña, P. & Maillo-Fernández, J.M. 2013: El final del Auriñaciense y el comienzo del Gravetiense en la región cantábrica: una visión tecno-ti- pológica. En: de las Heras, C.; Lasheras, J.A.; Arrizabalaga, A.; De la Rasilla, M. (eds.): Pensando El Gravetiense: Nuevos datos para la región cantábrica en su contexto peninsular y pirenaico: 369-382. Monografías del Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira 23. Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Madrid.
  • Rios-Garaizar, J.; Maillo-Fernández, J.M.; Marín-Arroyo, A.B.; Sánchez Carro, M.A.; Salazar, S.; Medina-Alcaide, M.A.; San Emeterio, A.; Martínez De Pinillos, L.; Garate, D. & Rivero, O. 2020: Revisiting Hornos de la Peña 100 years after. Journal of Archaeological Science Reports 31.
  • Rivero, O. 2010: La movilidad de los grupos humanos del Magdaleniense Cantábrico y Pirenaico: Una visión a través del arte. Tesis doctoral. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca.
  • Rivero, O. & Garate, D. 2013: Arte parietal paleolítico en la cueva de Hornos de la Peña (Cantabria): Nuevos datos sobre su conjunto exterior. Zephyrus LXXII: 59-72.
  • Rivero, O.; Salazar, S.; Mateo-Pellitero, A.M.; García Bustos, P.; Garate, D. & Rios-Garaizar, J. 2021: To be or not to be: reassessing the origins of portable art in the Cantabrian Region (Northern Spain). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 14: 18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01488-w SAlA, M.T.N. 2012: Tafonomía de yacimientos kársticas de carnívoros en el Pleistoceno. Tesis Doctoral. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid.
  • Sala, N.; Arsuaga, J.L.; Martínez, I. & Gracia-Téllez, A. 2015: Breakage patterns in Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain) hominin sample. Journal of Archaeological Science 55: 113-121.
  • Sanz-Royo, A.; Sanz, M. & Daura, J. 2020: Upper Pleistocene equids from Terrasses de la riera dels Canyars (NE Iberian Peninsula): The presence of Equus ferus and Equus hydruntinus based on dental criteria and their implications for palaeontological identification and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Quaternary International 566-567: 78-90.
  • Schmid, E. 1972: Atlas of animal bones for prehistorians, Archaeologists and Quaternary Geologists. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
  • Shahack-Gross, R.; BAR-Yosef, O. & Weiner, S. 1997: Black-coloured bones in Hayonim Cave, Israel: Differentiating between burning and oxide staining. Journal of Archaeological Science 24: 439-446. doi:10.1006/jasc.1996.0128.
  • Shipman, P. & Rose, J. 1983: Early hominid hunting, butchering, and carcass-processing behaviors: Approaches to the fossil record. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2: 57-98. doi:10.1016/0278-4165(83)90008-9.
  • Silver, I.A. 1980: La determinación de la edad en los animales domésticos. En: Brothwell, D.R. & Higgs, E. (eds.): Ciencia en arqueología: 290-301. Fondo Económica, Madrid.
  • Soto Barreiro, M.J. 2003: Cronología radiométrica, ecología y clima del paleolítico cantábrico. Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Madrid.
  • Stiner, M. 1998: Mortality analysis of Pleistocene bears and its paleoanthropological relevance. Journal of Human Evolution 34: 303-326.
  • Stiner, M.C.; Kuhn S.L.; Weiner S. & BAR-Yosef, O. 1995: Differential burning, recrystallization and fragmentation of archaeological bone. Journal of Archaeological Science 22: 223-237.
  • Straus, L.G. 1976: Análisis de la fauna arqueológico del norte de la Península Ibérica. Munibe 28: 277-285.
  • Straus, L.G 1977: Of deerslayers and mountain men: Palaeolithic faunal exploitation in Cantabrian Spain. In: Binford, L. (ed.): For theory building in Archaeology: 41-78. Academic Press, New York.
  • Straus, L.G 1983: El Solutrense Vasco-cantábrico. Una nueva perspectiva. Centro de Investigación y Museo de Altamira. Monografías10. Santander.
  • Straus, L.G 1992: Iberia before the Iberians. The Stone Age Prehistory of Cantabrian Spain. University of New México Press, Albuquerque. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01488-w
  • Talamo, S. & Richards, M. 2011: A comparison of bone pretreatment methods for AMS dating of samples >30,000 BP. Radiocarbon 53(3): 443-449.
  • Tejero, J.M.; Cacho, C. & Bernaldo De Quirós, F. 2008: Arte mueble en el auriñaciense cantábrico. Nuevas aportaciones a la contextualización del frontal grabado de la cueva de Hornos de la Peña (San Felices de Buelna, Cantabria). Trabajos de Prehistoria 65: 115-123. doi: https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2008.v65.i1.138. tomé, c. & vigne, J.D. 2003: Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) age at death estimates: New methods and modern reference data for tooth eruption and wear, and for epiphyseal fusion. Archaeofauna 12: 157-173.
  • Ucko, P.J. 1987: Débuts illusoires dans l’étude de la tradition artistique. Préhistoire Ariegeoise 42: 15-81.
  • Ucko, P.J. 1989: La subjetividad y el estudio del arte parietal paleolítico. Cien años después de Sautuola: 283-358. Santander.
  • Utrilla, P. 1981: El Magdaleniense Inferior y Medio en la costa cantábrica. Monografias del Centro de Investigación y Museo de Altamira 4. Ministerio de Cultura, Dirección General de Bellas Artes, Archivos y Bibliotecas, Santander.
  • Varela, S. & Rodríguez, J. 2004: Carnívoros ibéricos. Atlas osteológico. Madrid.
  • Vettese, D.; Daujeard, C.; Blasco, R.; Boreal, A.; Caceres, I. & Moncel, M.H. 2017: Neandertal long bone breakage process: standardized or random patterns? The example of Abri du Maras (southeastern France, MIS 3). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 13: 151-163.
  • Vettese, D.; Blasco, R.; Cáceres, I.; Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S.; Moncel, M.H.; Thun Hohenstein, U. & Daujeard, C. 2020: Towards an understanding of hominin marrow extraction strategies: a proposal for a percussion mark terminology. Archaeological and Anthropological Science 12: 48.
  • Villa, P. & Mahieu, È. 1991: Breakage patterns of human long bones. Journal of Human Evolution 21: 27-48.
  • Weinstock, J. 2009: Epiphyseal fusion in brown bears: a population study of grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribilis) from Montana and Wyoming. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 19: 416-423.
  • Wood, R.; Bernaldo De Quirós, F.; Maillo-Fernández, J.M.; Tejero, J.M.; Neira, A. & Higham, T. 2018: El Castillo (Cantabria, northern Iberia) and the Transitional Aurignacian: Using radiocarbon dating to assess site taphonomy. Quaternary International 474: 56-70. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.03.005 yRAvedRA, J. 2010: Zooarqueología y tafonomía del yacimiento de Hornos de la Peña (San Felices de Buelna, Cantabria). Complutum 21: 69–86.
  • Yravedra, J.; Gómez-Castanedo, A.; Aramendi-Picado, J.; Montes-Barquin, R. & Sanguino-González, J. 2016: Neanderthal and Homo sapiens subsistence strategies in the Cantabrian region of northern Spain. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 8: 779-803.
  • Higham, T.; Douka, K.; Wood, R.; Ramsey, C.B.; Brock, F.; Basell, L.; Camps, M.; Arrizabalaga, A.; Bae- Na, J.; Barroso-Ruiz, C.; Bergman, C.; Boitard, C.; Boscato, P.; Caparros, M.; Conard, N.J.; Drai- Ly, C.; Froment, A.; Galvan, B.; Gambassini, P.; García-Moreno, A.; Grimaldi, S.; Haesaerts, P.; Holt, B.; Iriarte-Chiapusso, M.J.; Jelinek, A.; Jordá Pardo, J.F.; Maillo-Fernández, J.M.; Marom, A.; Maroto, J.; Menéndez, M.; Metz, L.; Morin, E.; Mo- Roni, A.; Negrino, F.; Panagopoulou, E.; Peresani, M.; Pirson, S.; La Rasilla, M. De; Riel-Salvatore, J.; Ronchitelli, A.; Santamaria, D.; Semal, P.; Slimak, L.; Soler, J.; Soler, N.; Villaluenga, A. 2014: The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance. Nature 512: 306-309. doi:10.1038/nature13621.
Datuen iturria: Dialnet