Petrographic analysis of raw materials from Lespezi-Lutărie: implications for Upper Palaeolithic sites from the Middle and Lower Bistriţa Valley

Abstract

This study presents the petrographic analysis of lithic raw materials from level IV of Lespezi-Lutărie site (Upper Palaeolithic, Lower Bistriţa Valley, Bacău County, Romania), resulting in the identification of 16 varieties related to different rock types : sandstones (quartzarenites, calcarenite), black shale, bedded cherts (Early Oligocene menilite and detritalrich spiculite chert), peloidal cherts, Eocene and Cretaceous nodular cherts. Part of the varieties identified reflect the availability, abundance, accessibility and variability of raw materials in the surrounding area (Tarcău and Vrancea nappes), while the ones brought in from other regions represent imported materials related to cultural relations and geographically available circulation routes between Gravettian communities from the Bistriţa, Prut and Danube valleys. The use of both coarser (sandstones) and fine-grained lithologies (shale, cherts), from poorly silicified (sandstones, shale) to strongly and very strongly silicified (cherts from chalk) reflects acquisition patterns guided by specific needs and uses of tools. External macroscopic features indicate secondary sources (alluvial deposits, riverbeds) for all varieties determined.