An approach for understanding site location preferences on Pas River Basin during Late Magdalenian. Landscape analysis of Las Monedas cave

Abstract

Research on Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies has traditionally been based on the analysis of archaeological remains resulting from daily activities. However, the selection of a site and its functionality expresses a set of social paradigms from these human groups. The development of specific methodologies and especially a theoretical framework have enabled research on the locations of sites understood as an important dimension of archaeological research. The aim of this paper is to examine the location variables that characterize the settlement of Middle Pas Basin. Las Monedas cave contains an important Paleolithic graphic ensemble dating from the Recent Magdalenian. The lack of a stratigraphic sequence leads us to believe that its occupation could be related with Recent Magdalenian levels from El Castillo cave. By means of settlement pattern analysis we explain the relations between these sites and the others from Monte Castillo.