Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Trento, Trento, Italy.
UNIARQ, Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 11;18(10):e0292075. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292075. eCollection 2023.
Gruta da Oliveira features a c. 13 m-thick infilling that includes a c. 6.5 m-thick archaeological deposit (the "Middle Palaeolithic sequence" complex), which Bayesian modelling of available dating results places in MIS 5a (layers 7-14) and MIS 5b (layers 15-25), c. 71,000-93,000 years ago. The accumulation primarily consists of sediment washed in from the slope through gravitational processes and surface dynamics. The coarse fraction derives from weathering of the cave's limestone bedrock. Tectonic activity and structural instability caused the erosional retreat of the scarp face, explaining the large, roof-collapsed rock masses found through the stratification. The changes in deposition and diagenesis observed across the archaeological sequence are minor and primarily controlled by local factors and the impact of humans and other biological agents. Pulses of stadial accumulation-reflected in the composition of the assemblages of hunted ungulates, mostly open-country and rocky terrain taxa (rhino, horse, ibex)-alternate with interstadial hiatuses-during which carbonate crusts and flowstone formed. Humans were active at the cave throughout, but occupation was intermittent, which allowed for limited usage by carnivores when people visited less frequently. During the accumulation of layers 15-25 (c. 85,000-93,000 years ago), the carnivore guild was dominated by wolf and lion, while brown bear and lynx predominate in layers 7-14 (c. 71,000-78,000 years ago). In the excavated areas, conditions for residential use were optimal during the accumulation of layers 20-22 (c. 90,000-92,000 years ago) and 14 (c. 76,000-78,000 years ago), which yielded dense, hearth-focused scatters of stone tools and burnt bones. The latter are ubiquitous, adding to the growing body of evidence that Middle Palaeolithic Neandertals used fire in regular, consistent manner. The patterns of site usage revealed at Gruta da Oliveira are no different from those observed 50,000 years later in comparable early Upper Palaeolithic and Solutrean cave sites of central Portugal.
奥利韦拉洞拥有约 13 米厚的填充物，其中包括约 6.5 米厚的考古沉积物（“中石器时代序列”复合体）。贝叶斯模型对现有测年结果的分析表明，该沉积物的年代为 MIS 5a（7-14 层）和 MIS 5b（15-25 层），约在 7.1 万至 9.3 万年前。堆积物主要由通过重力过程和地表动力冲刷到斜坡上的沉积物组成。粗粒物质来自洞穴石灰岩基岩的风化。构造活动和结构不稳定性导致陡崖面的侵蚀后退，解释了在分层中发现的大型、屋顶坍塌的岩体。在整个考古序列中观察到的沉积和成岩变化很小，主要受局部因素和人类及其他生物因素的影响。在中石器时代的沉积物中交替出现了冰川期堆积和间冰期中断，这在被猎食的有蹄类动物的组合中得到了反映，主要是开阔地和多岩石地形的分类（犀牛、马、野山羊），而在这些组合中，碳酸盐壳和流纹石形成。人类在整个洞穴中都很活跃，但居住是间歇性的，当人类较少光顾时，允许肉食动物有限地使用。在堆积层 15-25 层（约 8.5 万至 9.3 万年前）期间，食肉动物群主要由狼和狮子主导，而棕熊和猞猁则在堆积层 7-14 层（约 7.1 万至 7.8 万年前）中占主导地位。在已挖掘的区域中，在堆积层 20-22 层（约 9 万至 9.2 万年前）和 14 层（约 7.6 万至 7.8 万年前）期间，居住使用条件最佳，这些层中产生了密集的、以火塘为中心的石器和烧焦骨头的散布物。后者无处不在，这增加了越来越多的证据，证明中石器时代的尼安德特人经常、一致地使用火。在奥利韦拉洞发现的遗址使用模式与 5 万年后在葡萄牙中部类似的早期上旧石器时代和索尔图恩洞穴遗址中观察到的模式没有区别。
