Abrigo de la Quebrada facts for kids
The Abrigo de la Quebrada is an important archaeological site in Chelva, a town in Spain. It's about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the city of Valencia. This site shows that Neanderthals lived there often a very long time ago.
Where is the site?
The site is a rock shelter located on the left side of a small valley called Barranco de Ahillas. A rock shelter is like a shallow cave formed by an overhanging rock. This one is between 2 and 9 meters (6.5 to 30 feet) deep and 38 meters (125 feet) long. It faces northwest.
Because it didn't get much direct sunlight and was exposed to the weather, people only lived here from June to October. Scientists figured this out by studying tiny plant remains called Phytoliths. They also looked at how stone tools were used and sharpened again and again.
The area around the site has two rivers, the Rio Tuejar and the Turia. There are also two mountain ranges nearby: the Sierra de Javalambre and the Serra d’Utiel. The site is at the entrance of a valley that ends in a dead end. This was a great spot for hunting and trapping large plant-eating animals. The river that sometimes flows through the valley opens onto a flat plain. This meant the Neanderthals could access three different types of environments: the riverside, the mountains, and the plain. This allowed them to hunt many different kinds of animals.
The ground at the site is about 3 meters (10 feet) thick. Archaeologists have divided it into eight layers. The very top layer was disturbed because the shelter was used to keep sheep more recently. All but one layer (layer number 6) show signs that humans lived there. Scientists used a special method called accelerator mass spectrometry to find the age of charcoal pieces. One piece from layer 3 was 40,500 years old. Two pieces from layer 4 were even older, at 43,930 and 50,800 years old.
Neanderthals at the site
Many Flint tools were found at the Abrigo de la Quebrada. These tools show that Neanderthal groups traveled a lot in this area. The Neanderthals lived in layer 4 often and intensely, but only for short periods each time.
Most of the flint they used came from nearby places like Domeño. However, some flint came from over 100 kilometers (60 miles) away! They made their tools using a special method called the Levallois technique. This was a clever way to shape stone into sharp tools.
Scientists found bones from many different animals at the site. These included large animals like red deer, ibex (a type of wild goat), and horses. They also found bones from small birds and tortoises. The Neanderthals ate the meat and marrow (the soft tissue inside bones) from these animals.
Gallery
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Abrigo de la Quebrada para niños
- List of Neanderthal sites
