Loading...
3 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- No direct evidence for the presence of Nubian Levallois technology and its association with Neanderthals at Shukbah CavePublication . Hallinan, Emily; Barzilai, Omry; Bicho, Nuno; Cascalheira, João; Demidenko, Yuri; Goder-Goldberger, Mae; Hovers, Erella; Marks, Anthony; Oron, Maya; Rose, JeffreyBlinkhorn et al.present a reanalysis of fossil and lithic material from Garrod’s 1928 excavation at Shukbah Cave, identifying the presence of Nubian Levallois cores and points in direct association with a Neanderthal molar. Te authors argue that this demonstrates the Nubian reduction strategy forms a part of the wider Middle Palaeolithic lithic repertoire, therefore its role as a cultural marker for Homo sapiens population movements is invalid. We raise the following four major concerns: (1) we question the assumptions made by the authors about the integrity and homogeneity of the Layer D assemblage and (2) the implications of this for the association of the Neanderthal tooth with any specifc component of the assemblage, (3) we challenge the authors’ attribution of lithic material to Nubian Levallois technology according to its strict defnition, and (4) we argue that the comparative data presented derive from a biased sample of sites. Tese points critically undermine the article’s conclusion that Shukbah’s Neanderthals made Nubian cores and thus the argument that Neanderthals might have made Nubian technology elsewhere is unsubstantiated.
- Neanderthal palaeoecology in the late Middle Palaeolithic of western Iberia: a stable isotope analysis of ungulate teeth from Lapa do Picareiro (Portugal)Publication . Carvalho, Milena; Jones, Emily Lena; Ellis, M. Grace; Cascalheira, João; Bicho, Nuno; Meiggs, David; Benedetti, Michael; Friedl, Lukas; Haws, JonathanAdaptation to Late Pleistocene climate change is an oft‐cited potential contributor to Neanderthal disappearance in Eurasia. Accordingly, research on Neanderthal behaviour – including subsistence strategies, mobility, lithic technology, raw material procurement and demography – often focuses on linking changes observable in the archaeological record to specific phases of climate and environmental change. However, these correspondences are often tenuous because palaeoclimatic and archaeological records are rarely available on the same scale. In Iberia, a critical location for understanding the demise of Neanderthals, some research indicates that Neanderthal populations were unable to recover from environmental degradations known as Heinrich Events, while other studies suggest that enclaves of Neanderthal populations survived for several millennia longer in refugial zones. Here, we present a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction study using analysis of δ13C and δ18O of herbivore tooth enamel recovered from two Mousterian deposits at Lapa do Picareiro, a site located in Portuguese Estremadura. We then use these data, combined with other site‐based palaeoenvironmental indicators, to assess whether central Portugal acted as a refugium during periods of unfavourable climate, and to test whether Neanderthals in Portuguese Estremadura reorganised their mobility strategies after severe climate episodes.
- 40,000 years later: what we know about the presence of Neanderthals in Portuguese territory and their extinctionPublication . Cardoso, João Luis; Cascalheira, JoãoBrief presentation of the theme addressing the history of investigations carried out in Portugal about the presence of Neanderthals, the sites with anhtropological and archaeological record and their antiquity. Considering their close resemblance with our own species and long‑term success across Eurasia, Neanderthals ought to have had all it takes to persist. However, sometime between c. 45,000 and 30,000 years ago, Neanderthals ultimately disappear from the archaeological record, being replaced by modern humans. This cultural and biological replacement process is considered one of the most significant turning points in human evolutionary history. In recent years, knowledge of the processes involved in the disappearance of the Neanderthals and the successful expansion of our species across Eurasia has substantially increased. Still, the spatiotemporal variability of the presumed mechanisms behind Neanderthals’ demise – climate change, fragile demography, inter‑species competition – makes evaluating the replacement at a continental scale very challenging. The Iberian Peninsula, due to its cul‑de‑sac position and the role of its southern regions as one of the last refugia for the Neanderthals, represents an ideal natural setting for testing models of cultural and demographic trajectories leading to the final disappearance of those populations. Focusing on the Iberian archaeological record, in this paper we address the current state of the art and future directions regarding the study of the latest Neanderthals on earth.