jueves, 28 de julio de 2011

The Mesolithic Occupation at Bouldnor Cliff and the Submerged Prehistoric Landscapes of the Solent

Book: The Mesolithic Occupation at Bouldnor Cliff and the Submerged Prehistoric Landscapes of the Solent (CBA Research Report)
Author: Garry Momber, David Tomalin, Rob Scaife, Julie Satchell, Jan Gillespie
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Council for British Archaeology (June 30, 2011)

At the start of the Mesolithic period, some 8000 years ago, sea levels in the North Sea and the English Channel were some 30 to 40m lower than those of today – Britain was a peninsula of northern Europe.

Over the past few decades work by the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology has slowly been unearthing a buried archaeological landscape in the Western Solent. Each year, as a result of erosion and rescue excavation, the site at Bouldnor Cliff, 11m below water off the north coast of the Isle of Wight, produces new finds including worked wood, hearths, flint tools, food remains, twisted plant fibres and an enigmatic assemblage of timbers dating to c8100 BP. The material demonstrates technological abilities some 2000 years ahead of those seen on sites in mainland Britain.

This report records the events that led to the discovery of this internationally important site, the methods used to recover the material, and the detailed assessment of the archaeological artefacts. It also explores the processes that have preserved and exposed the landscape and the potential of the wider submerged palaeo-environmental resource to aid our understanding of this period.

It is clear from this and other recent projects that it is in our coastal waters that we should be looking for information on the story of human dispersal and adaptation to sea-level change in north-west Europe at the end of the last Ice Age.

Key Points:
1. Landmark excavation of a submerged Mesolithic site
2. Description of earliest worked wood found in UK
3. Details of excavation and recovery techniques designed specifically for this site
4. Listing and discussion of radiocarbon dates
5. Detailed analysis of artefacts and environmental remains

miércoles, 27 de julio de 2011

Carving found in Gower cave could be oldest rock art

An archaeologist believes a wall carving in a south Wales cave could be Britain's oldest example of rock art.

The faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer in the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago.

The archaeologist who found the carving on the Gower peninsula, Dr George Nash, called it "very, very exciting."

Experts are working to verify the discovery, although its exact location is being kept secret for now.

Dr Nash, a part-time academic for Bristol University, made the discovery while at the caves in September 2010.

He told BBC Wales: "It was a strange moment of being in the right place at the right time with the right kit.

"For 20-odd years I have been taking students to this cave and talking about what was going on there.

"They went back to their cars and the bus and I decided to have a little snoop around in the cave as I've never had the chance to do it before.

"Within a couple of minutes I was scrubbing at the back of a very strange and awkward recess and there a very faint image bounced in front of me - I couldn't believe my eyes."

He said that although the characteristics of the reindeer drawing match many found in northern Europe around 4,000-5,000 years later, the discovery of flint tools in the cave in the 1950s could hold the key to the carving's true date... Bbc.co.uk

Artículo republicado en castellano: 03-08-11. Hallan el grabado de un reno en una cueva de Gales de hace unos 14.000 años

Related news: 28-07-11. Dating tests confirm age of prehistoric carving.
The date of the flowstone that covers the head of the reindeer is 12,572 +/- 659 years Before Present, and the rock-art below may be much earlier. It is now confirmed that the carved reindeer is one of Britain's earliest examples of engraved figurative rock art... Stone Pages

martes, 26 de julio de 2011

Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture


Book: Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture
Ron Pinhasi (Editor), Jay T. Stock (Editor)
Hardcover: 500 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 12, 2011)

Product Description
A holistic and comprehensive account of the nature of the transition from hunting to farming in prehistory. It addresses for the first time the main bioarchaeological aspects such as changes in mobility, behaviour, diet and population dynamics.
This book is of major interest to the relevant audience since it offers for the first time a global perspective on the bioarchaeology of the transition to agriculture. It includes contributions from world-class researchers, with a particular emphasis on advances in methods (e.g. ancient DNA of pathogens, stable isotope analysis, etc.)...

lunes, 25 de julio de 2011

Secrets of an Ancient Skull


High-resolution CT scans of the Malapa male's skull reveal brain features never seen before in a hominin so ancient.
Reconstruction by Paul Tafferou, courtesy of The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Lee R. Berger, and the University of the Witwatersrand.

Related news: Part Ape, Part Human. National Geographic Magazine August 2011. / Traducción (vía Terrae Antiqvae)

Entrada relacionada: 24-05-10. Australopithecus sediba (media reveal)
A. Sediba en el Archivo del noticiario

sábado, 23 de julio de 2011

40e anniversaire de la découverte du crâne de l’Homme de Tautavel

Les Professeurs Henry de Lumley et Eudald Carbonell devant les restes fossiles d'Arago XXI pour les 40 ans de la découverte de "l'Homme de Tautavel". Fuente: CERPT

Saber más del Hombre de Tautavel:
Chasseur de la Préhistoire. L'Homme de Tautavel il y a 450 000 ans. (español)
http://www.tautavel.culture.gouv.fr/
Musée de Tautavel – Centre Européen de la Préhistoire
http://www.450000ans.com/
Tautavel en el Archivo del noticiario
Entrada relacionada (vídeo): 15-08-10. El más viejo de los catalanes era caníbal

viernes, 22 de julio de 2011

Villena presenta un nuevo yacimiento arqueológico del 6.000 a.C.

El alcalde, Francisco Javier Esquembre, la directora del Museo Arqueológico, Laura Hernández, y los arqueólogos Marco Aurelio Esquembre y Javier Fernández, de la empresa ARPA Patrimonio, han presentado oficialmente el hallazgo de un nuevo yacimiento en el paraje La Corona.

Foto: El equipo de arqueólogos trabajando en el yacimiento

El alcalde ha informado sobre dichas excavaciones, realizadas desde el año 2008 una vez que se detectaran restos en 2006 en el yacimiento de La Corona, lo que corrobora cómo “nuestro término municipal ha sido un enclave importante a través de los años” y que también sirve para “resaltar la importancia de nuestra ciudad en la historia, incluso en el panorama internacional actual, con motivo de los hallazgos arqueológicos en Villena”.

Foto: El enterramiento se conserva a la perfección

Gracias al AVE
Según Laura Hernández, en 2006 y de acuerdo con una campaña de prospección arqueológica realizada en el valle de Villena, se descubre el lugar donde se encuentra el yacimiento de La Corona, perteneciente al periodo mesolítico reciente, que data del 6.000 a. C. “Los resultados de estas investigaciones se han dado a conocer en revistas especializadas y divulgativas como la revista Villena... Elperiodicodevillena.com

Foto: El segundo enterramiento descubierto

Nota de prensa relacionada: 22-07-11. Vuelve el cadáver prehistórico

Textos completos reproducidos en la edición 22-07-11 del Archivo del noticiario.