The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The 'Clisurean' finds from Climente II cave, Iron Gates, Romania

The 'Clisurean' finds from Climente II cave, Iron Gates, Romania
The 'Clisurean' finds from Climente II cave, Iron Gates, Romania
Climente II cave, Iron Gates, Romania was excavated in 1968–9. Human remains were recovered from contexts identified as ‘Clisurean’ (Final Epigravettian), along with ca 6000 chipped stone artifacts, bone tools including awls, arrowheads and a fragment of a harpoon, and shell and animal tooth ornaments. This article presents a re-evaluation of the archaeological finds from Climente II. Osteological analysis of the human remains confirms at least three individuals: a robust, young adult male aged between 18 and 28 years, a second (older) adult, and a neonate. Single-entity 14C dating of human bone and humanly modified animal bones suggests the Clisurean occupation occurred during the Bølling–Allerød warm period. Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analyses highlight the importance of fish in human diet at Climente II. Comparison of the Climente II archaeological inventory with that from later, fisher-hunter-gatherer settlements in the Iron Gates indicates continuity of mortuary ritual, lithic tradition and subsistence practices from the Lateglacial into the Early Holocene.
Climente II, Iron Gates, Clisurean, Final Epigravettian, Burial, Paleodiet
1040-6182
303-314
Bonsall, Clive
008190b8-b592-40f1-bdeb-8b473045bdf4
Boroneant, Adina
bd2ac5ae-6aa9-40bc-9bbd-c531a9c28316
Evatt, Anna
3e8d4fc9-fc3b-4b02-be16-0753f57dc555
Soficaru, Andrei
2fbb819e-7c20-47dc-8fdb-c60ca26c4623
Nica, Cristina
62bf8d56-1682-42cb-82cf-4272b1ef427c
Bartosiewicz, Laszlo
548c7829-9f3a-4918-b993-738e4eaaa136
Cook, Gordon Thomas
2b22b8ab-d824-447c-8535-cbf02f97fd98
Higham, Thomas F. G.
a249c4fa-9c84-44be-975f-2267e922451f
Pickard, Catriona
3d6e48c8-71e8-419d-a1c6-942c7e27460b
Bonsall, Clive
008190b8-b592-40f1-bdeb-8b473045bdf4
Boroneant, Adina
bd2ac5ae-6aa9-40bc-9bbd-c531a9c28316
Evatt, Anna
3e8d4fc9-fc3b-4b02-be16-0753f57dc555
Soficaru, Andrei
2fbb819e-7c20-47dc-8fdb-c60ca26c4623
Nica, Cristina
62bf8d56-1682-42cb-82cf-4272b1ef427c
Bartosiewicz, Laszlo
548c7829-9f3a-4918-b993-738e4eaaa136
Cook, Gordon Thomas
2b22b8ab-d824-447c-8535-cbf02f97fd98
Higham, Thomas F. G.
a249c4fa-9c84-44be-975f-2267e922451f
Pickard, Catriona
3d6e48c8-71e8-419d-a1c6-942c7e27460b

Bonsall, Clive, Boroneant, Adina, Evatt, Anna, Soficaru, Andrei, Nica, Cristina, Bartosiewicz, Laszlo, Cook, Gordon Thomas, Higham, Thomas F. G. and Pickard, Catriona (2016) The 'Clisurean' finds from Climente II cave, Iron Gates, Romania. Quaternary International, 423, 303-314. (doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.017).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Climente II cave, Iron Gates, Romania was excavated in 1968–9. Human remains were recovered from contexts identified as ‘Clisurean’ (Final Epigravettian), along with ca 6000 chipped stone artifacts, bone tools including awls, arrowheads and a fragment of a harpoon, and shell and animal tooth ornaments. This article presents a re-evaluation of the archaeological finds from Climente II. Osteological analysis of the human remains confirms at least three individuals: a robust, young adult male aged between 18 and 28 years, a second (older) adult, and a neonate. Single-entity 14C dating of human bone and humanly modified animal bones suggests the Clisurean occupation occurred during the Bølling–Allerød warm period. Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analyses highlight the importance of fish in human diet at Climente II. Comparison of the Climente II archaeological inventory with that from later, fisher-hunter-gatherer settlements in the Iron Gates indicates continuity of mortuary ritual, lithic tradition and subsistence practices from the Lateglacial into the Early Holocene.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 22 January 2016
Published date: 22 November 2016
Keywords: Climente II, Iron Gates, Clisurean, Final Epigravettian, Burial, Paleodiet

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 435526
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/435526
ISSN: 1040-6182
PURE UUID: 67b155fd-4260-41d7-bbaf-821c9a1ad3fc
ORCID for Andrei Soficaru: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8658-6695

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Nov 2019 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:54

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Clive Bonsall
Author: Adina Boroneant
Author: Anna Evatt
Author: Andrei Soficaru ORCID iD
Author: Cristina Nica
Author: Laszlo Bartosiewicz
Author: Gordon Thomas Cook
Author: Thomas F. G. Higham
Author: Catriona Pickard

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×