Raw Materials and Lithic Production During the Early Magdalenian in Cantabrian Spain: Cova Rosa (Ribadesella, Asturias)

Abstract

The lithic assemblage studied here comes from Cova Rosa, one of the main Upper Palaeolithic sites in Asturias (northern Spain). The remains were found in Layer B5, which was excavated by F. Jordá Cerdá and A. Gómez Fuentes in 1978 and are associated with an osseous assemblage and archaeozoological remains. This occupation has been dated by radiocarbon to about 16,400 BP (ca. 19.8–19.6 ka cal BP), corresponding to Archaic/Lower Magdalenian. The present study combines the determination of the raw materials and the identification of the production systems to achieve an understanding of the management of lithic resources by hunter-gatherer groups in the Late Pleistocene. The sourcing of mostly local materials (mainly Piloña flint), the wide variety of rock types of diverse provenances (up to 10 types), and the presence of well-represented lithological tracers (Flysch, Chalosse) turn Cova Rosa into an important case for studying different lithic raw material procurement models. The predominance of microlaminar production and the variability in the exploitation strategies used to obtain backed tools, as well as the poor standardisation of flake production, follow the dynamics observed in other occupations of similar chronology in a wide geographical area that includes Cantabrian Spain and south-west France.