Search Results (2)

Teledyne Chirp III high-resolution seismic data were acquired over a three-year period at a water depth of 6.0–9.0 m, with a clear concentration of acoustic “haystack” features, in the dredged Svanemøllen Harbor, Copenhagen. The recordings show haystacks related to preserved shallow basins and rivers in the paleo-coastal setting. Eleven short vibrocores were retrieved below these pronounced haystacks and a sandy interval, underlain by clayey till and overlain by harbor mud, which represent the basin configuration. Two cores contained four pieces of knapped flint in the sandy interval (statistical density of around 230 pieces per square meter), while the remaining cores did not reach the desired depth. Finite Element (FE) modeling revealed that the small pieces of knapped flint were resonant and that the acoustic impedance of the flint was high. The Svanemøllen Harbor site is a hitherto unknown buried Stone Age site, and this is the first time ever that an unknown submerged, buried Stone Age site has been acoustically detected (using Teledyne Chirp III), verified by means of coring and modeled using FE modeling. The Innomar and Geopulse data acquired at the site did not register any haystacks. Due to the global sea level rise after the Last Glacial Maximum, a significant part of the world’s submerged Stone Age sites must be expected to be buried in seafloor sediments. Full article

This research addresses the geomorphological connectivity existing amid the piedmont’s karstic fillings (Sierra de Esparteros) and the Guadaíra and Guadalquivir Rivers’ alluvial terraces (SW of Spain), spotted with vestiges of human activities (Middle Palaeolithic). This study includes the analysis of 20 geoarchaeological sites and 28 lithic assemblages, with a total of 13,233 lithic pieces. Techno-typological and use–wear (SEM) analyses were conducted on these artifacts. Depending on the raw materials and the provenance of these lithic industries, two groups of assemblages were identified: one made of quartzite from the north, and another made of flint from the south. Two main geochronological periods were established (OSL and U/Th): (1) a short duration (MIS6/MIS5) and (2) a long duration (MIS5/MIS3). Techno-typological analysis showed three sorts of activities: (a) the provision and distribution of raw materials, (b) knapping, and (c) other activities that imply the use of a lithic workshop (LW), along with the settlement characteristics of habitual or recurrent (HS), temporary (TS), and indeterminate (IN). This geoarchaeological connectivity is called the “hominid alluvial corridor” (HAC). The underlined features are the geomorphological units, the continuum alluvial series, the raw material of the lithic industries as an indicator of provenance and transportation throughout the alluvial system, and the use–wear analysis of the tool-kit to interpret the functionality of the pieces. Full article