The time between Palaeolithic hearths

Area of Science:

• Archaeology
• Geochronology
• Paleoanthropology

Background:

• Reconstructing Palaeolithic timescales is challenging due to dating limitations, sedimentary disturbances, and palimpsest effects.
• Understanding hunter-gatherer camp duration and frequency is crucial for social and environmental interaction studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a high-resolution timescale for Middle Palaeolithic human activity.
• To quantitatively estimate the temporal framework of human occupation events.

Main Methods:

• Utilized archaeomagnetic and archaeostratigraphic analyses to determine time differences between hearths.
• Applied statistical methods to establish a probability range for the occupation period.

Main Results:

• Six Middle Palaeolithic hearths from El Salt Unit X (Spain) were analyzed.
• The hearths indicate a minimum occupation span of 200-240 years with 99% probability.
• Decade- and century-long intervals were identified between hearth occupations.

Conclusions:

• Achieved a quantitative temporal estimate for Palaeolithic human occupation events, approaching a human lifespan scale.
• This high-resolution dating advances Palaeolithic archaeology, enabling the study of human behavior across generational timescales.
• The findings bridge the gap between geological timescales and the generational changes relevant to human societies.