Του Γιώργου Λεκάκη
Έως τώρα ελέγετο ότι ολόκληρη
η Ιβηρική ενδοχώρα ΔΕΝ κατοικείτο από σύγχρονους ανθρώπους / Homo Sapiens, και
μάλιστα ότι την «απέφυγαν» λόγω οικολογικών παραγόντων (μέχρι την υποχώρηση του
Last Glacial Maximum). Πρόσφατη έρευνα έδειξε ότι οι κυνηγοί-τροφοσυλλέκτες
μπήκαν στο εσωτερικό της Ιβηρικής τουλάχιστον κατά τη διάρκεια της περιόδου Solutrean.
Αλλά ο αρχαιολογικός χώρος
της Peña Capón (στην Guadalajara της Ισπανίας έδειξε ότι φιλοξένησε την αρχαιότερη
σύγχρονη ανθρώπινη παρουσία που έχει καταγραφεί μέχρι σήμερα στην κεντρική
Ιβηρία, πριν από περίπου 26.000 χρόνια…
ΠΗΓΗ: M. Alcaraz-Castaño, J. J.
Alcolea-González, M. de Andrés-Herrero, S. Castillo-Jiménez, F. Cuartero, G.
Cuenca-Bescós, M. Kehl, J. A. López-Sáez, L. Luque, S. Pérez-Díaz, R. Piqué, M.
Ruiz-Alonso, G.-C. Weniger & J. Yravedra «First modern human settlement recorded in the Iberian hinterland occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions», στο Scientific
Reports, vol. 11, αρ: 15161 (2021, 26.7.2021.
ΑΡΧΕΙΟΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ, 27.7.2021.
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| (A) Geomorphological map of the study area showing the position of Peña Capon at the foot of a dolomite cretaceous relief, and the distribution of the Quaternary deposits located in the area. (B) General view of the site from above. |
As the south-westernmost region of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula stands
as a key area for understanding the process of modern human dispersal into
Eurasia. However, the precise timing, ecological setting and cultural context
of this process remains controversial concerning its spatiotemporal
distribution within the different regions of the peninsula. While traditional models
assumed that the whole Iberian hinterland was avoided by modern humans due to
ecological factors until the retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum, recent
research has demonstrated that hunter-gatherers entered the Iberian interior at
least during Solutrean times. We provide a multi-proxy geoarchaeological,
chronometric and paleoecological study on human–environment interactions based
on the key site of Peña Capón (Guadalajara, Spain). Results show
– (1) that this
site hosts the oldest modern human presence recorded to date in central Iberia,
associated to pre-Solutrean cultural traditions around 26,000 years ago, and
– (2) that this presence occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh
environmental conditions. These findings demonstrate that this area of the
Iberian hinterland was recurrently occupied regardless of climate and
environmental variability, thus challenging the widely accepted hypothesis that
ecological risk hampered the human settlement of the Iberian interior highlands
since the first arrival of modern humans to Southwest Europe.
