Tools
CEICS, Campus of International excellence southern catalonia Coordinated by URV · Rovira i Virgili University
Subcampus: Heritage & Culture
News
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10-05-2011
Stone tools found at La Boella may lead to a better understanding of the first human populations one million years ago
Stone tools made primarily of flint and measuring 5 to 10 centimetres in length as well as animal remains – above all hippopotamus, ursidae, cervidae and horse teeth – were among the principal finds revealed in the first days of the excavation campaign at the Forn and Mina sites in La Boella (La Canonja, Tarragona) under the direction of Josep Vallverdú Poch, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES). Eudald Carbonell underscored the possible social, political, cultural and financial repercussions of the research project. The project is part of Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia (CEICS).
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05-04-2011
Researcher Herbert Klein, Department of History and Art History Chair of Excellence visits the URV
Researcher Herbert Klein, a professor of history at Stanford University and expert in American history will be in Tarragona as a visiting professor in the History Department of Rovira i Virgili University (URV) this April as part of the Chairs of Excellence program. His work focuses primarily on American and, specifically, United States history and the demographic history of Europe and Spain.
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28-03-2011
Three technical gestures may have allowed hominins to make the first stone tools 2.5 million years ago
All these conclusions come from a research developed by the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. This study is entitled "What novice knappers have to learn to become expert stone toolmakers" and it has been developed by Núria Geribàs, Marina Mosquera and Josep Maria Vergès.The study shows three technical gestures are crucial in learning to stone knap: the percussion support, the position of the blank and the angle of percussion.
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10-03-2011
Scientists discover that 1.5 million years ago, hyenas were exclusively scavengers
The extinct giant hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris was twice the size of the spotted hyenas of today, had stronger teeth than their modern counterparts, and ate only carrion. These animals must have constituted a serious source of competition for early humans. These are the findings of a study conducted at the paleontological site of Venta Micena in Orce (Granada). The project was led by Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), as well as others, and the study has been published in the prestigious journal Quaternary International.
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03-03-2011
Fossil horse teeth, a key to understanding Darwinian natural selection and climate change
Fossil horse teeth provide important clues into natural selection and climate change according to a study published in the journal Science, in which Florent Rivals, an ICREA researcher at the IPHES, participated. Tooth wear patterns suggest that evolutionary changes in dental morphology occurred after changes in diet. The molars of 6,500 fossil horses have been analyzed, which account for 222 different populations and more than 70 extinct horse species.
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16-02-2011
Five internationally renowned experts join the IPHES scientific committee
Five internationally renowned experts in the field of human palaeoecology have joined the scientific committee of the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) located in Tarragona. The committee serves as an advisory body for research and development at the centre and helps to guide its activities.
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25-01-2011
A new species of water rat discovered at Atapuerca – dating to 1.2 million years ago, it is the oldest species of water rat known
The fossil remains were found in the archaeological site of Sima del Elefante, where remains of the earliest Europeans were also found. The ancient water rat is very similar in size to a modern water rat, measuring 18 to 22 cm from the snout to the end of the body, with a tail of 10 to 14 cm, and weighing 155 to 300 grams. These are the physical characteristics of Arvícola jacobeus, a new species of water rat that was identified by members of the "Atapuerca Research Team" (EIA). The find was recently made public in the journal Acta Paleontológica Polonia. One of the authors of the article was Jordi Agustí, a researcher for the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and head of the research department at that centre.
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27-11-2010
Documentation of new Neolithic tomb in Mont-Ral provides critical information for identifying funerary rites
A group of archaeologists from the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) recently excavated the Galls Carboners cave in Mont-Ral (Alt Camp) in order to gather first-hand information on funerary rites of societies from the late Neolithic period.
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02-11-2010
ICAC presents the most exhaustive study of the archaeological landscape of Roman Tarraco to date
The Ager Tarraconensis Project of the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology, ICAC, is one of the largest studies done to date on the subject. The project was directed by Marta Prevosti and Josep Guitart and 43 researchers worked to uncover data that has led to a greater understanding of the region of Tarraco in antiquity.
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ICAC researchers design virtual laboratories to facilitate the documentation of discoveries
This tool will be extremely useful to researchers, students and archaeological professionals who need to consult typological or archaeometric documentation quickly and efficiently.
Website Information
CEICS Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia
Phone +34 977 29 70 11 • C. de l'Escorxador, s/n 43003 Tarragona • info(ELIMINAR)@ceics.eu
© CEICS Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia 2010
Financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education at the 2009 call for proposals.