Evolution of procurement and management strategies of lithic raw materials in the Mesolithic of Atxoste (Alava, Spain)

Abstract

The rockshelter of Atxoste (Alava, Spain) offers a complete stratigraphical sequence for the analysis of the evolution of the lithic industry in the Mesolithic period, recognising the different industrial phases defined for the Ebro valley: the microblade industries of the beginning of the Holocene, the notches' and denticulates' industries and the geometrics' assemblages. This allows us to analyse the changes and continuities that take place in the production and management of lithic assemblages in different industrial stages. In this sense, we present the first results on the procurement strategies of lithic raw materials. In the predominant use of flint we have recognised the use of the main varieties of the Basque-Cantabrian basin in each industrial phase. However, there are differences in the types of flint employed in each industrial tradition, showing the different procurement strategies among them. These changes are put forward as possible modifications in the mobility of these groups through the territory with the Chapter Five 62 transformations taking place in the production systems of the lithic industry.