Insights into the economic organization of the first agro-pastoral communities of the NE of the Iberian Peninsula: A traceological analysis of the Cueva de Chaves flaked stone assemblage

Abstract

Cueva de Chaves represents a paradigm of a fully Neolithic ex-novo occupation. However, despite its importance within the chrono-cultural framework of the Iberian Prehistory, there is a lack of empirical evidences about the site's economic organization. While the herding of domesticated animals has been well-documented, agricultural and crafting activities have not been fully characterized. In this paper, we advance a socioeconomic interpretation of the flaked stone assemblage to identify the production processes in which lithic tools were involved. The results of the traceological analysis indicate that both animal and vegetal resources were exploited; food and craft production activities, which could not otherwise have emerged from the archaeological record, have been recognized. A mixed farming economy was practised at Cueva de Chaves, the ‘functional spectrum’ of which can be compared to the one of other open-air stable settlements of the western Mediterranean.