Haber Uriarte, María

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Haber Uriarte, María

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Haber Uriarte, María

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Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Prehistoria, Arqueología, HistoríaAntigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas

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Open Access
Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar: a Dated Late Early Pleistocene Palaeolithic Site in Southeastern Spain
(Springer, 2020-10-06) Walker, Michael J.; Haber Uriarte, María; López Jiménez, Antonio; López Martínez, Mariano; Martín Lerma, Ignacio; Van der Made, Jan; Duval, Mathieu R.; Grün, Rainer; Walker, Michael J.; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas; Haber Uriarte, María; López Martínez, Mariano; Walker, Michael J.; Facultad de Letras
Systematic excavation and multidisciplinary research undertaken over three decades have deepened our understanding of the early Palaeolithic archaeology at Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia, Spain). New results from biochronology and combined ESR and U-series dating corroborate previous magnetostratigraphy, placing the entire excavated sequence between the Jaramillo sub-chron and the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (i.e. ca. 990–772 thousand years ago (ka)); palaeontological and palynological findings reflect temperate environmental conditions. A bifacially flaked limestone hand axe was excavated 1 m below the top of the Pleistocene sequence. The Equus cf. altidens tooth that provided the ESR estimate was excavated 1 m below the hand axe. Throughout its 5-m-deep sedimentary sequence, small nodules, fragments and struck flakes make up the bulk of the Palaeolithic assemblage. Stratigraphical analysis points to undisturbed continuous sedimentary deposition above a layer of ashy sediment, encountered 4.5 m below the top of the Pleistocene sequence, which contained thermally altered bone and heat-shattered chert cores and flakes. Cueva Negra is among the earliest European sites with firm evidence of combustion.
Open Access
Understanding the microbial biogeography of ancient human dentitions to guide study design and interpretation
(Oxford University Press, 2022-03-03) Fagernäs, Zandra; Salazar-García, Domingo C.; Haber Uriarte, María; Lomba Maurandi, Joaquín; Avilés Fernández, Azucena; Henry, Amanda G.; Ozga, Andrew T.; Velsko, Irina M.; Warinner, Christina; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas
The oral cavity is a heterogeneous environment, varying in factors such as pH, oxygen levels, and salivary flow. These factors affect the microbial community composition and distribution of species in dental plaque, but it is not known how well these patterns are reflected in archaeological dental calculus. In most archaeological studies, a single sample of dental calculus is studied per individual and is assumed to represent the entire oral cavity. However, it is not known if this sampling strategy introduces biases into studies of the ancient oral microbiome. Here, we present the results of a shotgun metagenomic study of a dense sampling of dental calculus from four Chalcolithic individuals from the southeast Iberian peninsula (ca. 4500–5000 BP). Interindividual differences in microbial composition are found to be much larger than intraindividual differences, indicating that a single sample can indeed represent an individual in most cases. However, there are minor spatial patterns in species distribution within the oral cavity that should be taken into account when designing a study or interpreting results. Finally, we show that plant DNA identified in the samples is likely of postmortem origin, demonstrating the importance of including environmental controls or additional lines of biomolecular evidence in dietary interpretations.
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Holes in the head. Double cranial surgery on an individual from the Chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino (SE Spain)
(Elsevier, 2023-09-15) Díaz-Navarro, Sonia; Haber Uriarte, María; García-González, Rebeca; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas; Facultad de Letras
Objective: This article analyses new prehistoric evidence of trepanation from a collective burial site in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Materials: The trepanned individual was documented in the Chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino, where 1348 individuals (30.7 % non-adults and 69.3 % adults) were deposited in two contiguous funerary phases, making it a reference site for the knowledge of Recent Prehistoric populations. Methods: The individual has been sexed using traditional anthropological methods and ancient DNA. C14 dating has also been obtained. The lesion has been analysed macroscopically and microscopically using SEM. Results: The skull under study belongs to an adult female deposited in the second burial phase (2566–2239 years cal BCE). It exhibits in the anterior region of the right temporal fossa two contiguous and partially overlapping holes that correspond to two trepanations performed using the scraping technique. Conclusions: It is a double cranial trepanation with signs of bone remodelling suggesting survival from surgery. No pathological signs were identified potentially associated with the intervention. Significance: This is the second case of surgical interventions in the geographical area of study and one of the few evidences of this practice in women during prehistoric times. Limitations: So far only the articulated skeletons from this burial have been thoroughly analysed. Suggestions for further research: Further intensive review of skull collection is advised to learn more about these surgical interventions in Copper Age and to go deeper into the causes that motivated their execution.
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Emphasising the community: demographic composition of an exceptional tomb—the Chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino, Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia
(Springer Nature, 2023-08-29) Díaz‑Navarro, Sonia; Haber Uriarte, María; Tejedor‑Rodríguez, Cristina; Lomba Maurandi, Joaquín; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas; Facultad de Letras
Reconstructing the biological profile of a skeletal sample is essential for defining a particular demographic group or classifying isolated remains. These results allow us to complete the population pyramid of a settlement, analyse mortality trends and relate individuals of a particular sex or age-at-death category to possible funerary rituals, lifestyles and/or states of health and disease. In this work, we carry out a paleodemographic analysis of a singular tomb: the chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino, Murcia, SE Spain. The tomb hosted 1348 individuals (30.7% non-adults and 69.3% adults) over two contiguous funerary phases, spanning a large part of the third millennium BC, which makes it a reference site for knowledge of the Recent Prehistoric populations. For this purpose, we estimated different paleodemographic parameters (life tables, mortality rates and sex ratios) and compared them to model life tables of preindustrial populations and data from other contemporary peninsular series to evaluate possible demographic anomalies. The results suggest that Camino del Molino was home to individuals of all ages and sex. However, there is a clear under-representation of newborns and nursing/breastfeeding infants and an over-representation of 5–15-year-old individuals. These findings could indicate potential issues related to diet/weaning, disease and early inclusion in the economic activities of the group.
Open Access
New insight into prehistoric craft specialisation. Tooth-tool use in the Chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino, Murcia, SE Spain
(Elsevier, 2023-06-09) Díaz-Navarro, Sonia; García-González, Rebeca; Cirotto, Nico; Haber Uriarte, María; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas; Díaz-Navarro, Sonia; Facultad de Letras
The study of non-alimentary tooth wear is an excellent tool to identify the development of specific activities and thus, to delve deeper into the social organisation and complexity of past populations. This paper analyses extra-masticatory wear in the dentition of a sample of 102 articulated skeletons from Camino del Molino, a unique collective tomb that housed 1,348 individuals throughout two contiguous phases spanning much of the 3rd millennium BC. After preliminary macroscopic observation of the dental sample, 8 individuals with cultural dental wear were identified and 5 of them were analysed with SEM. In all cases, the maxillary anterior dentition displays evidence that can be defined as occlusal and interproximal grooves consisting of fine, parallel striations, as well as labial notches and chipping of the enamel. The results suggest that 8 individuals, mostly women, used their dentition in craft tasks, such as in the processing of fibres for textile production, hence representing the earliest evidence of craft specialisation in the Iberian Peninsula and potential proof of a possible sex-based division of labour in a Chalcolithic community.
Open Access
The Beaker Phenomenon and the Genomic transformation of Nortwest Europe
(Nature Research, 2017-05-09) Olalde, Iñigo ... et al.; Haber Uriarte, María; Haber Uriarte, María; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas
Bell Beaker pottery spread across western and central Europe beginning around 2750 BCE before disappearing between 2200–1800 BCE. The mechanism of its expansion is a topic of long-standing debate, with support for both cultural diffusion and human migration. We present new genome-wide ancient DNA data from 170 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 100 Beaker-associated individuals. In contrast to the Corded Ware Complex, which has previously been identified as arriving in central Europe following migration from the east, we observe limited genetic affinity between Iberian and central European Beaker Complex-associated individuals, and thus exclude migration as a significant mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, human migration did have an important role in the further dissemination of the Beaker Complex, which we document most clearly in Britain using data from 80 newly reported individuals dating to 3900–1200 BCE. British Neolithic farmers were genetically similar to contemporary populations in continental Europe and in particular to Neolithic Iberians, suggesting that a portion of the farmer ancestry in Britain came from the Mediterranean rather than the Danubian route of farming expansion. Beginning with the Beaker period, and continuing through the Bronze Age, all British individuals harboured high proportions of Steppe ancestry and were genetically closely related to Beaker-associated individuals from the Lower Rhine area. We use these observations to show that the spread of the Beaker Complex to Britain was mediated by migration from the continent that replaced >90% of Britain’s Neolithic gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the process that brought Steppe ancestry into central and northern Europe 400 years earlier.
Open Access
Hyaenas and early humans in the latest Early Pleistocene of South-Western Europe
(Nature Portfolio, 2021-12-15) Linares‑Matás, Gonzalo J. ; Fernández Ruiz, Norman; Haber Uriarte, María; López Martínez, Mariano; Walker, Michael J.; Walker, Michael J.; Prehistoria, Arqueología, Historia Antigua, Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas; M.J. Walker; Facultad de Letras
Throughout the Pleistocene, early humans and carnivores frequented caves and large rock-shelters, usually generating bone accumulations. The well-preserved late Early Pleistocene sedimentary sequence at Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (CNERQ) has provided substantial evidence concerning the behavioural and adaptive skills of early humans in Western Europe, such as butchery practices, lithic technology or tending fire, whilst also bearing witness to the bone-altering activities of carnivores. Recent fieldwork has allowed the re-examination of the spatial and taphonomical nature of the macrofaunal assemblage from the upper layers of Complex 2. These layers are somewhat different from most of the underlying sequence, in showing quite a high representation of cranial and post-cranial bones of large mammals, including several Megaloceros carthaginiensis antlers. The presence of Crocuta sp. at Cueva Negra represents one of the earliest instances of this genus in Western Eurasia. Identification of several juvenile Crocuta sp. remains alongside coprolites and bones with carnivore damage, indicates sporadical hyaenid denning activity. Furthermore, the presence of bones with percussion and cut-marks near to several hammerstones suggests a clear albeit limited anthropogenic input. We interpret the available taphonomical and spatial evidence from these layers as reflecting a multi-patterned palimpsest, likely representing the non-simultaneous and short-lived co-existence of hyaenas, humans, and other small carnivores in the Cueva Negra palaeolandscape during the final phase of sedimentation preserved at the site