^ANALECTA
PRAEHISTORICA
/ LEIDENSIA
ANALECTA
PRAEHISTORICA
LEIDENSIA
PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF P R E H I S T O R Y
Wil Roebroeks
FROM FIND SCATTERS TO EARLY HOMINID BEHAVIOUR:
A STUDY OF MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC RIVERSIDE SETTLEMENTS
AT MAASTRICHT-BELVÉDÈRE (THE NETHERLANDS)
This paper originally appeared as a Ph. D. Thesis Leiden University, 2 february 1989; with minor alterations. ® copyright 1989 by the Institute of Prehistory, Leiden
The investigations were supported in part by the Foundation for Archaeological Research, which is subsidized by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). A NWO grant also suppor-ted the publication of this volume.
contents
1 Historical introduction and background 1
2 The geology of the Belvédère pit and its wider geographical setting 9 2.1 Introduction 9
2.2 The wider geological setting 9
2.3 The Middle and Late Pleistocene deposits at Maastricht-Belvédère 13 2.3.1 Introduction 13
2.3.2 Lithology and lithostratigraphy 13 2.3.3 Palaeosols 16
2.3.4 Climatic and palaeoenvironmental indicators 19 2.3.5 Dating evidence 20
2.3.6 Stratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental synthesis 22
3 Finds from Unit III 25
4 Finds and sites discovered in Unit IV-C-I 27
4.1 Introduction 27
4.2 SiteC 27
4.2.1 Introduction 27 4.2.2 Stratigraphy 28 4.2.3 The finds 29
4.2.4 The refitting programme 40
4.2.5 Natural site-formation processes 59
4.2.6 Spatial analysis 61 4.2.7 Interpretation 64 4.3 Site G 65 4.3.1 Introduction 65 4.3.2 Stratigraphy 69 4.3.3 The finds 69 4.3.4 Interpretation 72 4.4 Site B 76 4.4.1 Introduction 76 4.4.2 Stratigraphy 76 4.4.3 The finds 78 4.4.4 Interpretation 78
5. Finds and sites discovered in Unit IV-C-III 7'
5.1 Introduction 79
5.2 Site F 79
5.2.1 Introduction 79 5.2.2 Stratigraphy 79
5.2.3 The finds 82
5.2.5
Interpretation 57
5.3
SiteA 88
5.3.1
Introduction 88
5.3.2
Stratigraphy 88
5.3.3
The finds and their interpretation 89
5.4
Site D 91
5.5
Site K 91
6
The finds discovered in Unit V 97
6.1
Introduction 97
6.2
Site B 97
6.3
Other Unit V finds 97
6.4
Interpretation 98
7 Finds and sites discovered in Unit VI and a stray find of a 'Micoquian'
handa-xe 99 7.1 Introduction 99 7.2 Site J 99 7.2.1 Introduction 99 7.2.2 Research methods 99 7.2.3 Stratigraphy 100 7.2.4 Site J finds 102
7.2.5 Provisional interpretation of the lithic assemblage 103 7.2.6 Future research 705
7.3 Site E 106 7.3.1 Introduction 706 7.3.2 Stratigraphy 706 7.3.3 The finds 707
7.3.4 Horizontal and vertical distribution of the finds 705
7.3.5 The relation between the flint artefacts and the faunal material 108
7.3.6 Environment and climate during the formation of the Site E assemblage 777 7.3.7 The age of the Site E assemblage 772
7.4 A 'Micoquian' handaxe from the Belvédère pit 772 7.5 Interpretation of the Unit VI finds 775
8. Palaeoenvironmental and dating evidence for the Unit IV-C sites: an evalua-tion 777
8.1 Introduction 777
8.2 Environment and climate during the formation of the Unit IV-C archaeological assemblages 777
8.2.1 The sedimentological evidence 777 8.2.2 The moUuscan evidence 777 8.2.3 The vertebrate evidence 720 8.2.4 The palaeobotanical evidence 722 8.2.5 Discussion 722
8.3 Unit IV-C: the dating evidence 722 8.3.1 Relative dating evidence 722 8.3.2 Absolute dating evidence 729 8.3.3 Discussion 726
8.4 The chronological background: an evaluation 000 8.4.1 Introduction 727
9 The Belvédère 'data': implications for the interpretation of hominid beha-viour in the Middle Palaeolithic 133
9.1 Introduction 133
9.2 The Unit IV-C sites: an evaluation 133
9.3 Transport of lithic materials and Palaeolithic interassemblage variability 136 9.4 Hunters, scavengers and background faunas 139
9.5 The Unit IV-C sites in the northern European context 144
9.6 Early Middle Pleistocene sites and the pseudo-artefact problem 148
appendix I
A functional analysis of the Belvédère flints A. van Gijn 151
appendix II
Spatial analysis, a note P. van de Velde 159
appendix III
The Identification of haematite as the colouring agent in red ochre from the Middle Palaeolithic Site C at Maastricht-Belvédère, TTie Netherlands, by means of x-ray diffraction analysis C S . Arps 163
appendix IV
