35,000 years of recurrent visits inside Nerja cave (Andalusia, Spain) based on analyses of charcoals and soot micro‑layers - HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Communication dans un congrès Année : 2023

35,000 years of recurrent visits inside Nerja cave (Andalusia, Spain) based on analyses of charcoals and soot micro‑layers

Résumé

How many occupation phases were there in Nerja Cave, over how many thousands of years was it visited and what was the frequency of occupation? To answer these questions, we analyzed the combustion residues related to lighting (charcoal found on the ground and soot micro-layers trapped in speleothems) found in the interior galleries of Nerja cave in an interdisciplinary study. In our presentation, we will present and discuss the absolute dating of the prehistoric underground activity and the identification of different phases of visits to the deep parts of the cave. The charcoal analysis includes anthracological analysis and SEM-EDX. Soot analysis includes light microscopy, Raman micro-spectroscopy and TEM-EDX, as well as micro-counting of soot micro-layers. 14C dating of 53 charcoals identified 12 phases of prehistoric visits to the cave between 41,218 and 3299 cal. BP, extending the origin of human occupation of this iconic cave by 10,000 years. Interdisciplinary analysis of soot micro-layers allowed us to zoom in with high precision on the last three phases identified by Bayesian analysis (8003-2998 cal. BP.), demonstrating that these phases contain at least 64 distinct incursions, with an average of one visit every 35 years for the Neolithic period. In addition to the temporal aspect of our study, the spatial analysis showed that not all areas of the cave were used at the same periods, shedding light on differential uses of the space according to phases, and the repetition of visits to specific areas of the cave's lower galleries. The investigations on the traces of combustion in Nerja Cave have thus allowed us to diachronically approach the anthropogenic use of fire for light, but also to reveal behavioral dynamics regarding the temporality and spatiality of visits.
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halshs-04380606, version 1 (08-01-2024)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-04380606 , version 1

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María-Ángeles Medina Alcaide, Ségolène Vandevelde, Anita Quiles, Edwige Pons-Branchu, Iñaki Intxaurbe, et al.. 35,000 years of recurrent visits inside Nerja cave (Andalusia, Spain) based on analyses of charcoals and soot micro‑layers. XXe Congrès Mondial UISPP : Interdisciplinarité en Archéologie. S17-1 Multi-faceted Pyroarchaeology: insights on temporality, environmental and cultural proxies (Dir. Vandevelde, Stahlschmidt, Mallol, Miller), UISPP, Sep 2023, TimiŞoara, Romania. ⟨halshs-04380606⟩
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Dernière date de mise à jour le 28/04/2024
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