Abstract
A multidisciplinary research carried out on the Solutrean points of El Buxu cave is presented in this paper. The technological and functional analysis of this small but diverse assemblage of lithic points has established that all the pieces had been intentionally discarded on site; one of them broke up while being used, the others were left behind as they did not reach optimal functionality due to manufacturing mistakes. Traces of some kind of glue were identified on the tang dorsal face of the shouldered point that had been used (Layer 2). In order to avoid damage to these valuable samples Raman and IR microscopies, two non-destructive techniques, have been applied for the analyses. A collection of natural adhesives possibly used to join the lithic points to the shaft have also been studied by these techniques. The use of a mixture of resin and wax for this purpose is suggested. Haematite, Fe2O3, impregnate the residues of this adhesive. α- Quartz, α-SiO2, is the principal component of the rock from which these lithic pieces have been made. This is the first evidence of remains of adhesive in this type of Solutrean point. We believe that the unusability of all Solutrean points from El Buxu is related to the territory exploitation strategies of the hunter-gatherer groups during the LGM.
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