Crossing the Pyrenees during the Late Glacial Maximum. The use of geochemistry to trace past human mobility

Abstract

Chert was one of the most used lithic raw materials by Palaeolithic groups to make their tools. Their characterisation is essential for determining their provenance and inferring mobility patterns and lithic procurement strategies. The Pyrenees -a mountain range traditionally viewed as a natural boundary between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the continental Europe- are the location of a number of Palaeolithic human occupations dating to the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM). One example is the open-air site of Montlleó (Prats i Sansor, Catalonia, Spain), located at more than 1000 m asl, whose excavation has demonstrated that the ice retreat in this area was earlier than believed and humans took advantage of this new environment as evidenced by the variety of raw materials in the community’s lithic assemblage. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) and laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are applied to a representative sample of chert tools from Montlleó as well as six geological formations from different areas of the Pyrenean region. The aim was to identify potential raw material sources using major, minor and trace elements. Results suggest that the Pyrenees were not a barrier to human mobility at that time.