Local Materials, Global Ideas: The Lithic and Symbolic Record from NW Iberia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The NW of the Iberian Peninsula is defined by the scarcity of flint and the predominance of acid soils that prevent the preservation of organic remains. These are the main handicaps affecting Paleolithic research. The lithic assemblages of the Galician Upper Paleolithic sites are defined by the hegemonic use of local and immediate resources, especially quartz. Only at the Valverde site has flint coming from the Cantabrian coast been identified. Based solely on the materiality of the lithic records from the NW Iberia, a process of economic and cultural regionalization could be alluded to, with little relation to the dynamics observed on the Cantabrian coast. However, in the last decade, in the sites where portable or rock art has been found, this interpretation has clearly changed. The scarce examples of portable art show clear parallels with the Cantabrian coast and the western Pyrenees. In contrast, the rock art from Cova Eirós finds its stylistic and technical affinities with open-air stations, and sites from inland Iberia. Consequently, interpretations of the economic and cultural spheres of the UP groups are strongly conditioned by the quality of the archaeological record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39187.0