scholarly journals The Radiocarbon Chronology of El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain): New Dates for the Initial Magdalenian Occupations

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Guy Straus ◽  
Manuel R González Morales
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Pollen Zone ◽  
Lithic Artifact ◽  
Outer Vestibule ◽  
Cantabrian Region ◽  
Technological Transition ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology ◽  
Excavation Area

Three additional radiocarbon assays were run on samples from 3 levels lying below the classic (±15,500 BP) Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian horizon in the outer vestibule excavation area of El Mirón Cave in the Cantabrian Cordillera of northern Spain. Although the central tendencies of the new dates are out of stratigraphic order, they are consonant with the post-Solutrean, Initial Magdalenian period both in El Mirón and in the Cantabrian region, indicating a technological transition in preferred weaponry from foliate and shouldered points to microliths and antler sagaies between about 17,000–16,000 BP (uncalibrated), during the early part of the Oldest Dryas pollen zone. Now with 65 14C dates, El Mirón is one of the most thoroughly dated prehistoric sites in western Europe. The until-now poorly dated, but very distinctive Initial Cantabrian Magdalenian lithic artifact assemblages are briefly summarized.

scholarly journals Unearthing Neanderthal population history using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from cave sediments

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. eabf1667
Author(s):  
Benjamin Vernot ◽  
Elena I. Zavala ◽  
Asier Gómez-Olivencia ◽  
Zenobia Jacobs ◽  
Viviane Slon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Population History ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Population Replacement ◽  
Cave Sediments ◽  
History Of

Bones and teeth are important sources of Pleistocene hominin DNA, but are rarely recovered at archaeological sites. Mitochondrial DNA has been retrieved from cave sediments, but provides limited value for studying population relationships. We therefore developed methods for the enrichment and analysis of nuclear DNA from sediments, and applied them to cave deposits in western Europe and southern Siberia dated to between approximately 200,000 and 50,000 years ago. We detect a population replacement in northern Spain approximately 100,000 years ago, accompanied by a turnover of mitochondrial DNA. We also identify two radiation events in Neanderthal history during the early part of the Late Pleistocene. Our work lays the ground for studying the population history of ancient hominins from trace amounts of nuclear DNA in sediments.

scholarly journals Direct dating reveals the early history of opium poppy in western Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Salavert ◽  
Antoine Zazzo ◽  
Lucie Martin ◽  
Ferran Antolín ◽  
Caroline Gauthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Western Alps ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Opium Poppy ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Macrobotanical Remains ◽  
History Of ◽  
Temperate Europe ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology ◽  
Botanical Remains

AbstractThis paper aims to define the first chrono-cultural framework on the domestication and early diffusion of the opium poppy using small-sized botanical remains from archaeological sites, opening the way to directly date minute short-lived botanical samples. We produced the initial set of radiocarbon dates directly from the opium poppy remains of eleven Neolithic sites (5900–3500 cal BCE) in the central and western Mediterranean, northwestern temperate Europe, and the western Alps. When possible, we also dated the macrobotanical remains originating from the same sediment sample. In total, 22 samples were taken into account, including 12 dates directly obtained from opium poppy remains. The radiocarbon chronology ranges from 5622 to 4050 cal BCE. The results show that opium poppy is present from at least the middle of the sixth millennium in the Mediterranean, where it possibly grew naturally and was cultivated by pioneer Neolithic communities. Its dispersal outside of its native area was early, being found west of the Rhine in 5300–5200 cal BCE. It was introduced to the western Alps around 5000–4800 cal BCE, becoming widespread from the second half of the fifth millennium. This research evidences different rhythms in the introduction of opium poppy in western Europe.

A coupled multi-proxy and process modelling approach for extraction of quantitative terrestrial ecosystem information from speleothems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Lechleitner ◽  
Christopher C. Day ◽  
Oliver Kost ◽  
Micah Wilhelm ◽  
Negar Haghipour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Regional Temperature ◽  
Global Carbon

<p>Terrestrial ecosystems are intimately linked with the global climate system, but their response to ongoing and future anthropogenic climate change remains poorly understood. Reconstructing the response of terrestrial ecosystem processes over past periods of rapid and substantial climate change can serve as a tool to better constrain the sensitivity in the ecosystem-climate response.</p><p>In this talk, we will present a new reconstruction of soil respiration in the temperate region of Western Europe based on speleothem carbon isotopes (δ<sup>13</sup>C). Soil respiration remains poorly constrained over past climatic transitions, but is critical for understanding the global carbon cycle and its response to ongoing anthropogenic warming. Our study builds upon two decades of speleothem research in Western Europe, which has shown clear correlation between δ<sup>13</sup>C and regional temperature reconstructions during the last glacial and the deglaciation, with exceptional regional coherency in timing, amplitude, and absolute δ<sup>13</sup>C variation. By combining innovative multi-proxy geochemical analysis (δ<sup>13</sup>C, Ca isotopes, and radiocarbon) on three speleothems from Northern Spain, and quantitative forward modelling of processes in soil, karst, and cave, we show how deglacial variability in speleothem δ<sup>13</sup>C is best explained by increasing soil respiration. Our study is the first to quantify and remove the effects of prior calcite precipitation (PCP, using Ca isotopes) and bedrock dissolution (open vs closed system, using the radiocarbon reservoir effect) from the speleothem δ<sup>13</sup>C signal to derive changes in respired δ<sup>13</sup>C over time. Our approach allows us to estimate the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q<sub>10</sub>), which is higher than current measurements, suggesting that part of the speleothem signal may be related to a change in the composition of the soil respired δ<sup>13</sup>C. This is likely related to changing substrate through increasing contribution from vegetation biomass with the onset of the Holocene.</p><p>These results highlight the exciting possibilities speleothems offer as a coupled archive for quantitative proxy-based reconstructions of climate and ecosystem conditions.</p>

Lower Cambrian acritarchs from northern Spain: the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary and biostratigraphic implications

1992 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodoro Palacios ◽  
Gonzalo Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Lower Cambrian ◽  
East European Platform ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Eastern Siberia ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
East European ◽  
Cantabrian Region ◽  
Biostratigraphic Correlation ◽  
Cambrian Trilobite

AbstractAcritarchs are reported from basal Cambrian rock units inthe Cantabrian region of northern Spain that are known to contain archaeocyathan and trilobite faunas. Biostratigraphic correlation of the Iberian sequences with other regions has been hampered by the strong provincialism of these faunas. However, this report of evidently cosmopolitan acritarch taxaestablishes the time equivalence of early Cambrian trilobite faunas from Iberia, Baltoscandia and the East European Platform (EEP). Our data suggest that the detrital deposition of the Lower Cambrian Herreria Formation embraces at least three (and possibly four) Lower Cambrian acritarch zones previously identified in the EEP, eastern Siberia, Baltoscandia, Scotland, Greenland, Svalbard and western North America. The early Cambrian transgression in northern Spain was probably initiated in Talsy times (Schmidtiellus mickwitzi trilobite Zone in Baltoscandia and the EEP), in part corresponding to the Dokidocyathus regularis archaeocyathian Zone of the Middle Tommotian in Siberia.

Effect of sward height and its clover vertical distribution on the performance of cashmere goats grazing perennial ryegrass/white clover swards during the autumn

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 ◽  
pp. 172-172
Author(s):  
M. del Pozo ◽  
K. Osoro
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Sward Height ◽  
Cashmere Goats ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Clover Pasture

Previous trials performed in temperate sown swards from New Zealand (Clark et al, 1982), from UK (del Pozo and Wright, 1995) and from Spain (Osoro and Martinez, 1995) showed improvements of sward clover contents on grass/clover pastures grazed by goats during the early part of the grazing season. However, this phenomenon might not occur to the same extent during autumn due to clover's poorer competitiviness with ryegrass. Additionally, Merchant and Riach (1994) showed that cashmere goats required pastures with mean sward heights to be above 6 cm to achieve aceptable levels of performance but were not able to considerate the implications of the sward legume content on their liveweight changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three contrasting sward height regimes and their associated relative changes in the vertical distribution of the sward clover proportion on the performance of cashmere goats grazing during the autumn season a lowland perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture located in Northern Spain.

scholarly journals Re-evaluating the Neolithic: The Impact and the Consolidation of Farming Practices in the Cantabrian Region (Northern Spain)

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Cubas ◽  
Jesús Altuna ◽  
Esteban Álvarez-Fernández ◽  
Angel Armendariz ◽  
Miguel Ángel Fano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Farming Practices ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Cantabrian Region ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Erratum to: Re-evaluating the Neolithic: The Impact and the Consolidation of Farming Practices in the Cantabrian Region (Northern Spain)

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-216
Author(s):  
Miriam Cubas ◽  
Jesús Altuna ◽  
Esteban Álvarez-Fernández ◽  
Angel Armendariz ◽  
Miguel Ángel Fano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Farming Practices ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Cantabrian Region ◽  
The Impact

Stratigraphy, Pollen Analysis, and Paleoclimatic Interpretation of Pulbeena Swamp, Northwestern Tasmania

1982 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Colhoun ◽  
G. van de Geer ◽  
W. G. Mook
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Major Phase ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Pollen Zone ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
Glacial Stage ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractSedimentary, palynologic, and 14C analysis of 480 cm of freshwater marl and swamp-peat deposits, formed under the influence of fluctuating artesian springs, provides a paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic record of approximately 65,000 yr for northwestern Tasmania.The Holocene (Pollen Zone 1, 11,000-0 yr B.P.) climate was warm and moist, and forest vegetation was dominant throughout the area. During the later part of the last glacial stage (Pollen Zone 2, 35,000–11,000 yr B.P.) the climate was generally drier, and grassy open environments were widespread. The driest part of this period occurred between 25,000 to 11,000 yr B.P., when temperatures in western Tasmania were markedly reduced during the last major phase of glaciation. Prior to 35,000 yr B.P. (Pollen Zones 3–9) a long “interstadial complex” dating to the middle of the last glacial stage is recognized. During this period the climate was generally moist, and forest and scrub communities were more important than during the later part of the last glacial stage, except during Pollen Zone 5 when high Gramineae plus Compositae values suggest drier conditions. High Gramineae and Compositae values also occur in Pollen Zone 10 at the base of the diagram. They suggest that a phase of drier and cooler climatic conditions occurred during the early part of the last glacial stage.

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