Se analizan tecno-tipológicamente las industrias líticas, mayoritariamente elaborada sobre cuarcitas, del yacimiento paleolítico al aire libre de Tarazona III (2.479 piezas líticas), formando parte de la Secuencia Paleolítica del Guadalquivir, que abarca el final del Pleistoceno Medio e inicios del Pleistoceno Superior (129 ka y <104 ka). Se identifican las cadenas operativas del yacimiento, desde la selección de materias primas hasta la fabricación de los útiles con percutor duro. Son cadenas dirigidas especialmente a la obtención de pequeñas lascas (<5 cm), lo que refuerza la selección del tamaño del canto rodado, con patrones de reducción de núcleos elementales, buena representación de los centrípetos y baja presencia del levallois. La serie de N3 es muy equilibrada y completa; y relativamente completas las de N1 y N2 lo que sugiere, o bien la preconfiguración de las cadenas operativa en otros lugares cercanos y el transporte de los productos de talla al yacimiento; o, en N1, el desplazamiento hidro-geomorfológico de las piezas de dimensiones más reducidas. La proporción útiles lasca/lasca es del 24% (N2) y 34,7% (N3), esto es, en los niveles posteriores a 104 ka BP. Esta proporción junto a la baja variabilidad de los tipos sobre lasca, la exigua o nula presencia de macroútiles, define la industria de Tarazona III, como uno de los yacimientos representativos del Paleolítico Medio Antiguo (PMA) del Valle del Guadalquivir.

The Spanish Merino is the most significant sheep breed globally due to its economic and cultural importance in human history. It has also had a substantial influence on the development of other Merino and Merino-derived breeds. Historical sources indicate that crossbreeding to produce finer, higher-quality wool was already taking place in the south of the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman era. This evidence suggests that individuals with a racial pattern very similar to that of the modern Merino may have already existed on the peninsula. The presence of the skeletal remains of these animals at various human settlements dated to the late fourth and third millennia BC could provide insights into the genomics of these ancestral sheep. This study analyses ancient DNA extracted from nine skeletal remains from three archaeological sites in Southern Iberia, dated to the third millennium BC. The samples were sequenced and aligned with the ovine genome. The genetic distances observed among the samples indicate a closer relationship between several animals from the Marinaleda (Seville) and Grañena Baja (Jaén) sites. The study of the slaughter/death age profiles identified at La Minilla (La Rambla, Córdoba) suggests an approach centred on meat exploitation, while the data from Marinaleda (Seville) and Grañena Baja (Jaén) indicate the potential exploitation of secondary resources. A review of the composition of these small ruminant herds could provide insights into the type of secondary resource exploitation that may have been prioritised. Our aim is to investigate the presence of distinct production systems, differentiating between those aimed primarily at meat use and those focused on secondary products. This is the first approach to exploring the genetic evidence for sheep livestock related to its productive use during this period and in this geographical area.

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.