Neanderthal mobility in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: the patterns of chert exploitation at the Abric Romaní rock-shelter

Summary

Understanding the changes in the technological organization of prehistoric hunter-gatherers is important to research into hominin foraging activities. During the Middle Paleolithic, the coexistence or the replacement between Levallois and discoid technologies has frequently been recorded, but there is still no clear understanding of the reasons for their alternating and fragmented use in the archaeological record. This paper aims to contribute with new data to the current debate, by exploring the chert assemblages from levels O and M of the Abric Romaní rock-shelter. The technological analysis reveals a change in the flake production from Levallois in level O to discoid in level M. This modification in Neanderthals technical behavior is accompanied by the use of different axes of mobility, a reduction in the foraging radius and a more careful management of raw materials. A cross comparison with other archaeological evidences indicates a similar pattern in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula during the late Middle Paleolithic.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage