RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Is it possible to identify temporal differences among combustion features in Middle Palaeolithic palimpsests? The archaeomagnetic evidence: A case study from level O at the Abric Romaní rock-shelter (Capellades, Spain)
A1 Carrancho Alonso, Ángel
A1 Villalaín Santamaria, Juan José
A1 Vallverdú, Josep
A1 Carbonell, Eudald
K1 Archaeomagnetism
K1 Diachrony
K1 Hearth
K1 Middle Palaeolithic
K1 Neanderthals
K1 Secular variation
K1 Physics
K1 Paleontology
K1 Física
K1 Paleontología
AB Archaeomagnetic dating is probably one of the most known applications of magnetic methods toarchaeology but there are others still underutilized and of particular interest to Palaeolithic archaeology.Here, we report a novel application of archaeomagnetism as a technique to determine temporal diachroniesamong combustion features from the same surface within palaeolithic palimpsests. Theapproach is based on the subtle directional changes of the Earth's magnetic field through time (secularvariation, SV) and on the ability of burned materials to record such variations under certain conditions.Three Middle Palaeolithic hearths from level O (ca. 55 ka BP) at the Abric Romaní rock-shelter (NE Spain),were archaeomagnetically investigated. The studied surface (black homogeneous carbonaceous facies),recorded the magnetic enhancement produced by fire with a tenfold increase in concentrationdependentmagnetic parameters in the uppermost centimetre with respect to its unburned or deepercounterparts. Pseudo-single domain (PSD) Ti-low titanomagnetite was identified as the main remanencecarrier. The irreversibility of thermomagnetic curves suggests that these samples did not undergoenough high temperatures as to record a full thermoremanence (TRM). Additionally, the occasionaloccurrence of maghaemitized magnetite is interpreted as an indication of a thermochemical remanentmagnetization (TCRM), making these samples unsuitable for absolute palaeointensity determinations.Two well-defined (a95 < 5 ) and statistically indistinguishable archaeomagnetic directions were obtainedwith their mean directions within their respective confidences circles at the 95% level. The lack ofdirectional changes and the similarity in the magnetic properties suggest that these hearths recordedsimultaneously or closely confined in time the Earth's magnetic field direction at the time of cooling.These results agree well with archaeological evidence which indicates a synchronic occupation of thisactivity area. The possibility of determining temporal differences among combustion features in prehistoricsites arises as a promising tool in palimpsest dissection studies and may help to reconstructoccupation patterns of prehistoric groups. The practical limits of the method are discussed as well as itspotential to identify post-depositional mechanical alteration processes.
PB Elsevier
SN 1040-6182
YR 2016
FD 2016-09
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10259/4593
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10259/4593
LA eng
NO Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, (MINECO) andEuropean Regional Development Fund (projects CGL2012-38481and CGL2012-32149)
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 23-nov-2024