Chert from the Vegamián Formation: A new raw-material supply source in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) during prehistory

Alonso, Diego Herrero; Tarriño-Vinagre, Antonio; Neira-Campos, Ana; Fuertes-Prieto, Natividad

doi:10.2218/jls.v3i2.1449

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…The characterisation of new outcrops in other areas than the eastern part of the Cantabrian Region started after that milestone. Today, more than 30 types of flints are characterised and (Duarte et al 2016;Elorrieta 2016: 63-94;Fuertes-Prieto et al 2016;Herrero-Alonso 2018:177-380;Herrero-Alonso et al 2016;2020;Rissetto 2009: 83-144, App. A and App.…”

Section: New Geoarchaeological Methods New Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithic raw material in the Cantabrian region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record

Prieto

Arrizabalaga

Yusta

2021

JLS

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The increase, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of research attending to the geological nature of rocks found in archaeological contexts is changing our perspectives about social and economic territories articulated by Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region. Practically the only raw material researched in a solid geoarchaeological approach in this area is flint. This paper addresses how the near absence of in-depth geoarchaeological research into raw materials other than flint is modifying our perception of the procurement and management mechanism of raw material in the Cantabrian Region during the Palaeolithic. To consider this matter in depth, we present the bibliographic and quantitative analysis of 30 representative archaeological sites from the Cantabrian Region whose assemblages were described lithologically using basic and primary categories. The state of play depicts a geographic distribution of raw material in the Cantabrian Region where quartzite is associated with the western sector and flint with the east. Interconnected with this axis, there is a chronological tendency that promotes standardisation in the use of flint by Palaeolithic societies following a chronological order, from the older to the more recent periods. This information, and its contextualisation with the new perspectives resulting from the application of the geoarchaeological proposal used to understand flint procurement, allows us to understand the general tendencies of raw material distribution of the region. Especially, we can detect how the absence of geoarchaeological methodologies of other raw materials than flint has modified the perception of the economic and social dynamics articulated around raw material by Palaeolithic people. This bias does not only affect the geographical and chronological axes, emphasising information from the regions and periods where flint is represented, but also promotes the over-interpretation of long-distance procurement, therefore, building up narratives exclusively based on human mobility. This situation has generated an incomplete and unbalanced picture of the procurement and management strategies followed by Palaeolithic societies because quartzite, the second most-often used lithic raw material, and other raw materials have only been studied using geoarchaeological methods within the last few years. This research finally points to the continuation of in-depth research of quartzite and other raw materials as the next steps to re-interpret the current paradigms about procurement and management of raw material by Palaeolithic societies, and, therefore, modify our perspectives of social and economic territories. The research presented here addresses this situation and proposes the in-depth research of quartzite as the next step to re-interpret the current paradigms about procurement and management of raw material by Palaeolithic societies, and, therefore, modify our perspectives of social and economic territories. To do so, we have proposed a general raw material framework in the Cantabrian Region based on the 30 most representative sites whose assemblages were described lithologically using basic and primary categories. The state of the art depicted a geographic distribution of raw material in the Cantabrian Region where quartzite is associated with the western sector and flint with the east. Interconnected with this axis, there is a chronological tendency that promotes standardisation in the use of flint by Palaeolithic societies following a chronological order, from the older to the more recent periods. This information, and its contextualisation with the new perspectives resulting from the application of the geoarchaeological proposal used to understand flint procurement, allows us to understand the bias derived by the absence of geoarchaeological methodologies of other raw materials than flint. These biases are not only related with the geographical and chronological axes, emphasising information from the regions and periods where flint is represented, but also with the overinterpretation of long-distance procurement, therefore, promoting narratives exclusively based on human mobility.

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Section: New Geoarchaeological Methods New Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithic raw material in the Cantabrian region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record

Prieto

Arrizabalaga

Yusta

2021

JLS

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“…One of the achievements of this project is the differentiation of the a priori homogenous macroscopic "black chert" raw material into several groups, all of them associated with geological formations from the Cantabrian Mountains. The use of the methodology explained in this work has permitted to identify specific features of each group, as is the case of Vegamián and Escalada cherts (Fuertes-Prieto et al 2016;Herrero-Alonso et al 2016). Moreover, the thirteen formations with black chert and radiolarite, as well as other MCCQ groups, have been defined in the PhD of one of us (D.H.) (Herrero-Alonso 2018).…”

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Figure 2). Samples belonging to this collection have been published in several papers such as those from Vegamián Formation (Herrero-Alonso et al 2016), Escalada Formation (Fuertes- and Mucientes locality (Fuertes- Prieto et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

LegioLit: Knappable material lithotheque in the Prehistory Laboratory at the University of León, Spain

Alonso

Fuertes-Prieto

Fernández‐Martínez

et al. 2018

JLS

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This work introduces a comparative collection located in the Prehistory Laboratory at the University of León (Spain) specialised in knappable raw materials, mainly comprising radiolarite and black chert (micro-crypto crystalline quartz), from the western Cantabrian Mountains (north of Iberian Peninsula). A standardised protocol of sample collection and data organisation was developed, which includes the use of several methodologies. First, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for referencing lithic sources. Second, direct observation of the sample for the macroscopic characterization, both de visu and stereomicroscope. Third, petrographic microscopy for a description of main petrological, and palaeontological features, complemented with the identification of the different minerals that make up the samples by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Forth, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and Thermogravimetry – Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG-DSC) for geochemical and thermal features of the samples. Finally, the results of these analyses were entered in a database. All this information is contributing towards the creation of a physical reference collection specialised in local Palaeozoic formations (mostly from Devonian to Carboniferous) that outcrop in the western Cantabrian Mountains, a region whose potential resource base was previously not very well known. This collection would allow to compare archaeological lithic remains from different sites inside and outside the Cantabrian Mountains.

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Black chert and radiolarite: knappable lithic raw materials in the prehistory of the Cantabrian Mountains (North Spain)

Alonso

Tarriño-Vinagre

Fernández‐Martínez

et al. 2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Chert from the Vegamián Formation: A new raw-material supply source in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) during prehistory

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Lithic raw material in the Cantabrian region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record

Lithic raw material in the Cantabrian region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record

LegioLit: Knappable material lithotheque in the Prehistory Laboratory at the University of León, Spain

Black chert and radiolarite: knappable lithic raw materials in the prehistory of the Cantabrian Mountains (North Spain)

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