Rock Shelter

Abstract: In this paper, we examine the strategies used by early Mesolithic people as they moved into the karstic uplands of north-eastern Istria, Croatia. These strategies are inferred from detailed analyses of the lithic and faunal assemblages from SÏ ebrn, a small upland rock-shelter occupied for a relatively short period of time in the early Holocene. We conclude that SÏ ebrn's lithic assem-blages are in technology and typology relatively homogeneous and can be treated as a single unit (related to the Sauveterrian and Epigravettian, sensu lato). The faunal remains, in contrast, reveal a dynamic situation of temporal changes in the scope and focus of activities on site. Drawing on several lines of evidence from the lithic and faunal assemblages, we suggest that the initial use of the site was intermittent and people who pursued a generalized subsistence strategy visited it. With the passage of time and as people learned about upland environments, they turned to a specialized...

Die Ergebnisse einer 2014 durchgeführten Lehrgrabung in zwei Abris
am Fusse eines Geländesporns unterhalb der Burgruine von Arconciel
geben interessante Einblicke in die Nutzung dieser speziellen Siedlungslage durch den Menschen in der späten Bronzezeit und im
Mittelalter.

"For a long time Republic of Macedonia was Terra blanca in the field of rock art and prehistoric rock painting. That is, until the dicovery of Cocev Kamen, a rock from a volcanic origin consisting of caves and rock-shelters. It is believed that Cocev Kamen had been used as a temple from prehistoric times (Neolithic/Bronze age), throughout Roman times, up until the Middle Ages, due to the surrounding archaeological sites and the abundance od pottery fragments, as well as the flint tools.

There are visible interventions on the stone surface everywhere, in the form of stairs, pools, thrones, and one big cave was completly rearanged, with a large part of its wall ripped off to make a fenced platform looking at the nearby hill, which contains big stones looking like megaliths. Considering the sacred purposes of the site combined also with these megaliths, it is also believed that Cocev Kamen had been used as a prehistoric observatory. This topic instigated a big debate in Macedonian archaeology through the media, but none of the opinons made have been confrmed yet with a scientific paper.

Some of the rock shelters are decorated with red figurative rock art. The comparison with caves in Bulgaria, but esspecially with some rock paintings in Italy (such as Porto Badisco), indicates that these rock paintings belong to prehistory.

The article about Cocev Kamen introduce this site to Macedonian archaeology. Especially interesting is the lithic material (the chipped one), but also the rock art can be a subject of further analysis, considering the fact that this topic is completely absent in the Macedonian science."

Inland notches, are elongated concave-shape indentations that develop on the carbonate rocky cliffs of mountainous zones, down to the desert fringe. These rock shelters form as a result of the interaction between specific petrologic characteristics and climatic controls, emphasizing the importance of environment upon rock decay. Inland notches are shaped due to slight differences (1–15%) in the porosity of the visor and cavity bed: the cavity bed is more porous, so more likely to erode by exfoliation and dissolution. Thus, the cavity bed retreats at a faster rate compared to the slower subaerial dissolution of the visor bed, until a critical point is reached where the visor collapses. In Israel, inland notches inhabit the same lithostratigraphic units as do large caves. The vast majority (71%) of inland notches are formed in hard, dense, and crystalline limestone deposited throughout the Turonian age. Another 27% are cut into the dolomitic sequence of the upper Albian and lower Cenomanian. The rest (2%) are dispersed in the various formations of the Cenomanian and Eocene eras. Notches are most common in semi-arid and in Mediterranean climates but mainly in areas with annual rainfall of between 400 mm and 850 mm. In more humid areas (> 900 mm/yr) notches are negligible or completely absent, due to the rapid rate of chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks. In the desert fringe (200–300 mm/yr), mechanical decay is accelerated and notches exhibit disintegration processes, visor collapse, and rock falls. In the desert area (< 200 mm/yr), salt decay replaces the chemical decay characteristic of inland notches, encouraging tafoni formation. In addition, notches form through fluvial activity or on account of greater petrophysical differences between consecutive beds; i.e. elongated cavities may form in soft rocks, shaded by harder visors or crusts.

First hypothesized as a shelter at the SPA Annual meeting in Bethlehem in 2015, this south-facing overhang in a mountain ridge valley rests just 200m south of the Council Rocks archaeoastronomy site (36LU0306).  An ongoing series of STP’s and research at the site have since uncovered the lithics necessary to qualify for recognition. In August of 2019 the State Historic Preservation Office officially recognized and assigned Alpenglow its own site number of 36LU0349.

The Alpenglow Rockshelter is situated beneath a bedrock ridge spanning the north side of a small valley running perpendicular to the mountain slope.  At the apex of the valley is a vernal pool, and several hundred meters to either side of that pool are permanent freshwater springs.  The rockshelter was first noticed in 2008 after discovery of the nearby Council Rocks site.

The full rockshelter wall extends for over 100m along the valley border.  Only the first 50m at the western end have an exposed opening, which gradually disappears beneath the sediment toward the east.  At the highest end the opening is 0.5m high and extends 2m back from the face of the bedrock.  The bedrock “ceiling” is approximately 1.5m thick.  All bedrock in the area slopes 15 degrees toward the north.  Beginning at the western end and continuing for approximately 4m is a half meter high stone wall constructed between the 1930’s and 1950’s based on anecdotal testimony from local resident and adjacent land-owner David Fedak.  The wall begins at the end of the rockshelter and curves outward to about 1m before paralleling the rockshelter face.

Council Rocks - A Recently Discovered Stonehenge-like Ceremonial Complex and Rockshelter in Northeastern Pennsylvania
At least 4000 years ago, in what is now Pennsylvania, an unidentified culture constructed a large ceremonial site using four twenty-ton megalithic boulders to observe and celebrate the sunrises and sunsets at each of the four main seasons.  These boulders show ample evidence of ancient stonework and careful placement.  The Council Rocks site is recognized and officially registered by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission since 2011. 
Within a kilometer of the main site on a small, unnamed mountain are food preparation areas, freshwater springs, and Alpenglow - a nearby rockshelter.  The surface at the rockshelter site has only been scratched, and in August of 2019 finds at the site officially added Alpenglow Rockshelter to the PHMC registry.  Come discover these sites that may shift our knowledge of the Late Archaic in the Northeastern US. 
This presentation will focus on the ongoing investigation of the Council Rocks archaeoastronomy site, with a peek at some additional features on this magical, mystical mountain.

English: Man's innate expression towards art is manifested by rock paintings. For early humans there were rock shelters. On prehistoric shelter sites, humans marked paintings as their natural expression. Paintings made in rock were called rock paintings. Known prehistoric paintings were discovered by Mercilona di Setuala in a cave called Altamira,

HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Au milieu des flots, l'abri-sous-roche de Roc'h Santeg Leton (Santec, Finistère). Une fouille d'urgence d'occupations du Paléolithique moyen à l'âge du Fer en stratigraphie