@article{10902/31907,
year = {2023},
month = {4},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10902/31907},
abstract = {Charcoal and micro-layers of soot trapped in speleothems from the inner galleries of Nerja Cave were analysed through an interdisciplinary study. The absolute dating of the prehistoric subterranean activity of the cave and the identification of different phases of visits to the deep parts are presented and discussed. The charcoal analysis includes anthracological analysis and SEM?EDX. The soot analysis includes optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and TEM?EDX, and the microcounting of soot microlayers. The 14C dating of 53 charcoals identified 12 phases of prehistoric visits to the cave between 41,218 and 3299 cal. BP, putting back the origin of human occupation of this emblematic cave by 10,000 years. The interdisciplinary analysis of the soot microlayers allowed us to perform a high-precision zoom on the last three visitation 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. Spatial analysis showed that not all areas of the cave were used in the same periods, highlighting the repetition of visits to certain specific sectors of the Lower Galleries of the cave. Lastly, the anthracological data indicate a cross-cultural and unique use of Pinus tp. sylvestris-nigra wood for lighting activities over an extended period between the Gravettian and Upper Magdalenian.},
organization = {This work is part of M. Medina’s postdoctoral research project funded by the FYSSEN FOUNDATION (2021-2022). This research is also part of the “Proyecto General de Investigación aplicada a la conservación de Cueva de Nerja” authorised by the Junta de Andalucía and financed by the Fundación de Servicios Cueva de Nerja. This paper is also part of the following projects: a) A-Light project (PI M.Medina) (2022-2024), within the framework of HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01 (project number 101066376), funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) onlyand do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or REA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This research also are benefited from the scientific framework of the University of Bordeaux’s IdEx “Investments for the Future” program/GPR “Human Past”; b) Datations croisées uranium-thorium, uranium-protactinium et carbone-14 de carbonates secondaires en grottes: recherche de critères de validation des échantillons et des âges : Application à l’art pariétal led by H. Valladas and funded by ANR (France) (Grant Number ANR-18-CE27- 0004, ApART project); c) PID2019-107262GB-100 “Before art: social investment in symbolic expressions during the Upper Palaeolithic in the Iberian Peninsula” (PI Diego Garate) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities); d) PID2021-125166OB-I00, “ARTMINDHUMAN: creación y percepción en los humanos anatómicamente modernos: análisis de las capacidades biológicas, cognitivas y sociales ligadas a la producción del Arte Paleolítico” funded by MCIN/AEI (Spain) e) PID2021-126937NB-I00 (PALEOCROSS), funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”; f) I. Intxaurbe’s PhD research is funded by the grant PIF 19/196 (2019) at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). We also thank the radiocarbon team of the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (CNRS/CEA/UVSQ/ Univ. Paris Saclay) as well the as the LMC14 staff (Laboratoire de Mesure du Carbone-14), ARTEMIS national facility, LSCE UMR 8212, for the results obtained with the Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy method.},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
publisher = {Scientific Reports, 2023, 13, 5901},
title = {35,000 years of recurrent visits inside Nerja cave (Andalusia, Spain) based on charcoals and soot micro-layers analyses},
author = {Medina Alcaide, Mª Ángeles and Vandevelde, Ségolène and Quiles, Anita and Pons-Branchu, Edwige and Intxaurbe Alberdi, Iñaki and Sanchidrián, José Luis and Valladas, Hélène and Deldicque, Damien and Ferrier, Catherine and Rodríguez, Eva and Garate Maidagan, Diego},
}