Micromorphological study of Balma de la Griera (Calafell, Tarragona): Sedimentary analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Abstract

This is a micromorphological preliminary study of the sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental sequence of the archaeological site of the Balma de la Griera (Calafell, Tarragona). The chronological sequence comprises a part of the Upper Pleistocene represented by level III, dated to 21.255 B.P., and culturally atributable to the Gravettian, and the early Holocene, represented by level II and ascribed to the Epipalaeolithic. At the moment cannot find a contact between two levels. Two sedimentary dynamics are observed, the first represented a process of low intensity runoff in a cold and slightly humid environment which originated level III. Level II was formed later by mid-energy runoff processes with fall blocks and a considerable increase in pebbles. The environment seems to have been humid and decreasing progressively cold.