Inferring the territoriality of Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer’s groups settled at Cueva del Gato 2 (Épila, Zaragoza)

In recent decades, the development of diferent analytical procedures applied to the study of archaeological lithic remains has allowed us to approach the territoriality of past societies. The application of geochemical tools has improved the study of lithic raw materials, allowing direct connections...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sánchez de la Torre, Marta, Jiménez Ruiz, Luis, Gratuze, Bernard, Duarte, Elsa, Blasco, María Fernanda, Rodanés, José María
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/220428
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/220428
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Paleolític superior
Extracció (Química)
Geoquímica
Sílex
Mobilitat social
Ebre (Espanya : Curs d'aigua)
Upper Paleolithic
Extraction (Chemistry)
Geochemistry
Flint
Social mobility
Ebro River (Spain)
Descripción
Sumario:In recent decades, the development of diferent analytical procedures applied to the study of archaeological lithic remains has allowed us to approach the territoriality of past societies. The application of geochemical tools has improved the study of lithic raw materials, allowing direct connections between archaeological samples and specifc geological formations. In a similar way, the incorporation of GIS tools to the study of past mobility and territoriality has allowed to defne which could have been the most probable routes used by past groups to stock up on rocks. In this paper, we present the results obtained after the geochemical study by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) of lithic cherts found at Upper Palaeolithic human occupations at Cueva del Gato 2 (Épila, Zaragoza, Spain) as well as the least cost path routes obtained after GIS analyses. The Cueva del Gato 2 archaeological site is a large cave placed in the frst foothills of the Iberian System, close to the Middle Ebro Basin, in Eastern Iberia. The archaeological work has revealed a long sequence of occupation with archaeological levels from the Bronze Age, the Ancient Neolithic and the Upper Palaeolithic. In this paper, we have focused on the study of level II, which has been dated in the range 21,000–23,000 cal BP. Results have demonstrated that past human groups from the Last Glacial Maximum knew and frequented the Sierra de Lanaja – Montes de Castejón lacustrine chert sources, outcropping in the Middle Ebro Basin.