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This book presents an interdisciplinary study of the El Mirador cave located on the Atapuerca karstic system, one of the longest Pleistocene and Holocene archaeopaleontological deposits in Iberia. This book presents the results including new unpublished and published data to discuss different aspects related to the prehistoric herders and farmers that occupied this territory.
Divided into four parts, the book covers site presentation and the paleoenvironmental reconstruction covering a chronological span between 7060±40 - 3040±40 yrs. The history of the excavation and the excavation methodology is detailed in this part including new unpublished recording techniques using 3D scanning and photogrammetry and a very meticulous sampling strategy. The book presents the formation processes of the deposit which are key to understanding the successive occupations of the caves regarding its use as sheepfold cave as well as human remains that are part of different funerary contexts in the cave. In the last section, the book covers material culture found in the cave including lithic tools and pottery. This interdisciplinary work is of interest to scholars in anthracology (the analysis and identification of charcoal), zooarchaeology, paleoanthropology, lithic technology, and experimental archaeology.
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Introduction (Ethel Allue, Patricia Martin, Josep M. Verges)
Part I: The site and its palaeoenvironment
Chapter 2. El Mirador cave: biogeographical setting and site description (Josep M. Verges, Marta Fontanals, Manuel Vaquero, Josep Zaragoza, Diego E. Angelucci, Sergio Moral, Artur Cebria, Juan Ignacio Morales, Anna Rodriguez, Patricia Martin, Ethel Allue)
Chapter 3. Vegetation and climate at El Mirador cave: exploring the beginning of cultural landscapes (Isabel Exposito, Ethel Allue, Francesc Burjachs)
Chapter 4. Small vertebrate accumulations from El Mirador cave: a climate and ecological analysis (Sandra Banuls-Cardona, Josep F. Bisbal-Chinesta)
Part II: Formation processes
Chapter 5. The fumier sequences of El Mirador: an approach to fire as a sociocultural practice and taphonomic agent (Aitor Burguet-Coca, Hector del Valle, Isabel Exposito, Angela Herrejon Lagunilla, Dan Cabanes, Erika Buitkute, Isabel Caceres, Angel Carrancho, Juan J. Villalain)
Chapter 6. On the suitability of prehistoric anthropogenic burnt sediments (fumiers) for archaeomagnetic studies at El Mirador cave (Angela Herrejon-Lagunilla, Angel Carrancho, Juan J. Villalain)
Part III: Humans and funerary practices
Chapter 7. Funerary practices at El Mirador cave (Josep M. Verges)
Chapter 8. Life and death in El Mirador cave. Anthropological and palaeopathological analysis of a collective burial (Javier Iglesias-Bexiga, Marta Yustos, Francisco Etxeberria Gabilondo)
Chapter 9. Dental and oral pathologies at El Mirador cave (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) (Marina Lozano, Beatriz Gamarra, Raquel Hernando, Dolors Ceperuelo)
Chapter 10. Characterization of the processing of human bodies in the case of cannibalism at El Mirador cave (Francesc Marginedas, Palmira Saladie, Antonio Rodriguez-Hidalgo, Miguel Angel Moreno-Ibanez)
Chapter 11. Genomic analysis of the individuals from El Mirador cave (Inigo Olalde, Carles Lalueza-Fox, David Reich)
Part IV: Subsistence activities and landscape management
Chapter 12. Husbandry and wild animal exploitation. Characteristics and evolution from a multidisciplinary perspective (Patricia Martin, Isabel Exposito, Aitor Burguet-Coca, Jaime Lira, Angel Blanco-Lapaz, Carlos Tornero)
Chapter 13. Lipid biomarkers as a tool for the identification of herder activities in El Mirador cave (Asier Vallejo, Jaime Gea, Laura Masso, Blanca Navarro, Ane Gorostizu-Orkaiztegi, Josep M. Verges, Alicia Sanchez-Ortega, Maria Carmen Sampedro, Erika Ribechini, Ramon J. Barrio)
Chapter 14. Forest management and agriculture practices at El Mirador cave (Nit Cano-Cano, Aitor Burguet-Coca, Itxaso Euba, Isabel Exposito, Ethel Allue)
Chapter 15. Human diet at El Mirador cave (Raquel Hernando, Nit Cano-Cano, Patricia Martin, M. Cemre UEstunkaya, Ethel Allue, Marina Lozano)
PART V: Material culture
Chapter 16. Early neolithic pottery at El Mirador cave (F. Xavier Oms, Roser Marsal, Maria Yubero, Xavier Rubio-Campillo)
Chapter 17. The lithic technology from El Mirador cave: a diachronic study of the stone tools (Miquel Guardiola, Eduy Urbina)
PART VI: Discussion
Chapter 18. El Mirador cave herders and farmers (Patricia Martin, Ethel Allue, Josep M. Verges)
Index
Dr Ethel Allué has been a researcher at IPHES-CERCA since 2005. She is an expert on charcoal with a main focus on the study of past environments and wood uses, especially fuel. She has worked in different areas of the world, mostly located in the northern hemisphere, the Mediterranean and temperate areas in contexts from the early Pleistocene to historical times. She is associated lecturer on Prehistory at the History degree at the University Rovira i Virgili.
Dr Patricia Martín is a postdoctoral researcher "Maria de Maeztu" at IPHES-CERCA. Her research focuses on the study of early husbandry practices in the Mediterranean region and of the symbolism of domestic animals in funerary contexts. She uses zooarchaeology, taphonomy and isotope datasets to investigate animal exploitation and human interaction. He participates in different research projects, among which is that of the excavations in the Sierra de Atapuerca.
Dr Josep Maria Vergès has been a researcher at IPHES-CERCA since 2005. He is an expert in lithic technology, use-wear analyses and experimental archaeology. He has experience working on archaeological contexts from different periods from the early Pleistocene to historical times. His long-lasting experience in archaeological fieldwork has allowed him to direct a number of excavations among which El Mirador cave. He is an associate lecturer in the Experimental Archaeology and Microscopy courses from the Quaternary and Archaeology Master Degree at the University Rovira i Virgili.
