Researchers from IPHES-CERCA take part in an international workshop on the technological behaviour of hominins in Eurasia
Researchers from IPHES-CERCA participated in the international workshop “Technological behaviours of Hominins over Eurasia?”, held on 19 and 20 November 2025 at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris. This scientific meeting was held within the framework of the European ERC LAT Europe project, coordinated by Dr Marie-Hélène Moncel, and brought together international specialists to discuss technological strategies and behavioural dynamics of hominins across the Eurasian continent.
Dr Andreu Ollé, researcher at IPHES-CERCA, was part of the workshop’s organising committee, strengthening the centre’s active presence in leading scientific initiatives linked to major European research projects.
IPHES-CERCA was also represented by Dr Marina Mosquera, Director of IPHES-CERCA and lecturer at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), and Dr Deborah Barsky, researcher at the centre and lecturer at URV, who contributed to the scientific debate by sharing their expertise on technological behaviour and early human occupations.
This workshop served as a key platform for knowledge exchange and the discussion of new perspectives on the technological evolution of hominins, reaffirming IPHES-CERCA’s role as a benchmark institution in paleoanthropological and archaeological research at an international scale.
IPHES-CERCA participation
1.- Deborah Barsky, Alèxia Serrano Ramos, Amèlia Bargalló, Sophie Grégoire, Stefania Titton, Jose Solano, Juan Manuel Jiménez Arenas
The stone toolkits from Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Andalusia, Spain): Behavior and material culture of the first hominins in western Europe
Summary:
This study analyses the lithic assemblages from the Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 sites, two of the earliest records of human presence in Western Europe (1.4 and 1.2 Ma). Multidisciplinary data reveal paleolacustrine environments rich in resources and faunal diversity, where early hominins carried out in situ activities, as evidenced by cut marks on bones, faunal associations and the presence of a human molar. These hominins used heavy limestone tools and small flint flakes to access, process and consume resources, demonstrating early technological strategies and cognitive abilities within a changing Mediterranean context.
2.- Marina Mosquera, Adrián Arroyo, Andión Arteaga-Brieba, Lena Asryan, Amèlia Bargalló, Eudald Carbonell, Juan Luis Fernández-Marchena, Paula García-Medrano, Diego Lombao, Arturo de Lombera-Hermida, Marcos Terradillos, Xosé Pedro Rodríguez-Álvarez, Andreu Ollé
What can Atapuerca inform us about the Pleistocene technological diachrony in Western Europe?
Summary:
This study provides a diachronic overview of the technological evolution of hominins through the exceptional sequence of the Sierra de Atapuerca, spanning from 1.4 million years ago to the end of the Pleistocene. It documents a complex trajectory from opportunistic and poorly organised Mode 1 technologies to the development of the Acheulean and the subsequent appearance of Mode 3 technologies. Particular relevance is given to level TD6.2 of Gran Dolina, where a European Developed Mode 1 associated with Homo antecessor is identified, marking a turning point in knapping organisation and the use of retouched tools. The record highlights that technological evolution does not follow a linear pattern but rather reflects a combination of cultural, environmental and functional changes.
3.- Andreu Ollé, Diego Lombao, Lena Asryan, Paula García-Medrano, Adrián Arroyo, Juan Luis Fernández-Marchena, Görkem C. Yeşilova, Palmira Saladié, Josep Vallverdú
Barranc de la Boella (Tarragona, Spain): Progress in the knowledge of the appearance of the Acheulean in Western Europe
Summary:
This contribution deepens our understanding of the earliest stages of the Acheulean in Western Europe through the Barranc de la Boella site, where ongoing research has significantly expanded the lithic and faunal record. Large-format tools produced through simple but efficient knapping sequences are documented, indicating an early Acheulean technological threshold that remains distinct from the more standardised assemblages of the Middle Pleistocene. The data reveal more complex raw material management and suggest that these behaviours reflect population dispersal processes rather than direct local evolution from Mode 1 technologies.
4.- Paula García-Medrano, Gadi Herzlinger, Pierre Antoine, Jackie Despriée, Palmira Saladié, Josep Vallverdú, Andreu Ollé, Marie-Hélène Moncel
The Acheulean Rise in Europe: Decoding Clues from Barranc de la Boella (Spain), Notarchirico (Italy), La Noira and Moulin Quignon (France)
Summary:
This comparative study explores the emergence of the Acheulean in Europe prior to the MIS 16 glaciation, based on material from several sites in southern and central Europe. The analysis demonstrates that technological traditions do not follow a linear evolutionary model but instead reflect the coexistence of diverse strategies shaped by environmental, geological and functional factors. It examines bifacial shaping techniques and morphometric characteristics of large tools, highlighting cultural diversity under the general concept of the “Acheulean techno-complex” and addressing the debate between local innovation and the arrival of new populations.