Was it an axe or an adze? A cranial trauma case study from the Late Neolithic - Chalcolithic site of Cova Foradada (Calafell, Spain).

OBJECTIVE: To reconstruct the etiology of a perimortem injury observed on a Neolithic - Chalcolithic cranium (5060 - 4400 yrs cal. BP). MATERIALS: A cranium of an old adult male individual belonging to a collective burial from Cova Foradada site (Calafell, Tarragona, Spain). METHODS: The cranium was analyzed macroscopically and microscopically using micro-CT scan. RESULTS: The fracture on the right parietal bone presents characteristics of perimortem trauma. The morphology of the point of impact allows for the interpretation of this fracture as a result of impact by an object with a straight and sharp edge. In addition, the same cranium presents two healed antemortem injuries. CONCLUSIONS: The object that most likely caused the cranial fracture was a stone adze. The blow occurred from behind the individual, possibly by a right-handed attacker. SIGNIFICANCE: The potential to link cranial fractures with specific tools increases our understanding of interpersonal violence during the Neolithic. LIMITATIONS: It is not possible to infer if this cranial injury was related to a large-scale intergroup confrontation or an intragroup violent event. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: To investigate additional similar sites in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula to better characterize the fracture pattern caused by stone axes and adzes as well as other objects used as weapons during the Neolithic - Chalcolithic ages.

The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition occupations from Cova Foradada (Calafell, NE Iberia).

The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe covers the last millennia of Neanderthal life together with the appearance and expansion of Modern Human populations. Culturally, it is defined by the Late Middle Paleolithic succession, and by Early Upper Paleolithic complexes like the Châtelperronian (southwestern Europe), the Protoaurignacian, and the Early Aurignacian. Up to now, the southern boundary for the transition has been established as being situated between France and Iberia, in the Cantabrian façade and Pyrenees. According to this, the central and southern territories of Iberia are claimed to have been the refuge of the last Neanderthals for some additional millennia after they were replaced by anatomically Modern Humans on the rest of the continent. In this paper, we present the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition sequence from Cova Foradada (Tarragona), a cave on the Catalan Mediterranean coastline. Archaeological research has documented a stratigraphic sequence containing a succession of very short-term occupations pertaining to the Châtelperronian, Early Aurignacian, and Gravettian. Cova Foradada therefore represents the southernmost Châtelperronian-Early Aurignacian sequence ever documented in Europe, significantly enlarging the territorial distribution of both cultures and providing an important geographical and chronological reference for understanding Neanderthal disappearance and the complete expansion of anatomically Modern Humans.

The gigapixel image concept for graphic SEM documentation. Applications in archeological use-wear studies.

In this paper, we propose a specific procedure to create gigapixel-like images from SEM (scanning electron microscope) micrographs. This methodology allows intensive SEM observations to be made for those disciplines that require of large surfaces to be analyzed at different scales once the SEM sessions have been completed (e.g., stone tools use-wear studies). This is also a very useful resource for academic purposes or as a support for collaborative studies, thus reducing the number of live observation sessions and the associated expense.