A revised, Last Interglacial chronology for the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal)

Based on previous radiocarbon and U-series (Diffusion/Adsorption) dating of bone samples, the Middle Palaeolithic has been thought to persist at Gruta da Oliveira until ∼37 thousand years (ka) ago. New U-series ages for stratigraphically constraining speleothems, coupled with new luminescence ages f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Angelucci, D.E (Author), Arnold, L.J (Author), Demuro, M. (Author), Hoffmann, D.L (Author), Pike, A.W.G (Author), Zilhão, J. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
LEADER 03177nam a2200637Ia 4500
001 10.1016-j.quascirev.2021.106885
008 220427s2021 CNT 000 0 und d
020 |a 02773791 (ISSN) 
245 1 0 |a A revised, Last Interglacial chronology for the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal) 
260 0 |b Elsevier Ltd  |c 2021 
856 |z View Fulltext in Publisher  |u https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106885 
520 3 |a Based on previous radiocarbon and U-series (Diffusion/Adsorption) dating of bone samples, the Middle Palaeolithic has been thought to persist at Gruta da Oliveira until ∼37 thousand years (ka) ago. New U-series ages for stratigraphically constraining speleothems, coupled with new luminescence ages for sediment infill, show that the site's ∼6 m-thick archaeological stratigraphy dates entirely within a <30 ka interval spanning substages 5a-5b of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. Significant technological change is observed across the sequence, akin to that seen in the Upper Palaeolithic over similar timescales. Flake-cleavers and bifaces, normatively definitional of the Vasconian facies, are restricted to a short interval correlated with Greenland Stadial (GS) 22, 85.1–87.6 ka ago. In cave and rock-shelter sites of southern and western Iberia, intact archaeological deposits securely dated to the ∼37–42 ka interval remain elusive. Geological dynamics (e.g., erosion, sedimentation hiatuses, palimpsest formation) and human adaptive responses to climate-driven environmental change (e.g., abandonment of now forest-covered low- and mid-altitude karst areas, concentration of settlement in alluvial plains and coastal settings) are possible explanations for this pattern. © 2021 The Authors 
650 0 4 |a archaeology 
650 0 4 |a Arctic 
650 0 4 |a Climate change 
650 0 4 |a environmental change 
650 0 4 |a Galium aparine 
650 0 4 |a Greenland 
650 0 4 |a Iberian Peninsula 
650 0 4 |a karst 
650 0 4 |a Last Interglacial 
650 0 4 |a Luminescence 
650 0 4 |a marine isotope stage 
650 0 4 |a Middle Palaeolithic 
650 0 4 |a Middle paleolithic 
650 0 4 |a Neandertal 
650 0 4 |a Neandertals 
650 0 4 |a Optically stimulated luminescence dating 
650 0 4 |a Optically stimulated luminescence dating 
650 0 4 |a Palaeogeography 
650 0 4 |a paleoenvironment 
650 0 4 |a Paleogeography 
650 0 4 |a Paleolithic 
650 0 4 |a Pleistocene 
650 0 4 |a Pleistocene 
650 0 4 |a Portugal 
650 0 4 |a Radiocarbon 
650 0 4 |a Radiocarbon 
650 0 4 |a radiocarbon dating 
650 0 4 |a speleothem 
650 0 4 |a Speleothem 
650 0 4 |a Speleothems 
650 0 4 |a Stratigraphy 
650 0 4 |a U-series 
650 0 4 |a U-series 
650 0 4 |a Vasconian 
650 0 4 |a Vasconian 
650 0 4 |a Western Europe 
650 0 4 |a Western Europe 
700 1 |a Angelucci, D.E.  |e author 
700 1 |a Arnold, L.J.  |e author 
700 1 |a Demuro, M.  |e author 
700 1 |a Hoffmann, D.L.  |e author 
700 1 |a Pike, A.W.G.  |e author 
700 1 |a Zilhão, J.  |e author 
773 |t Quaternary Science Reviews