The role of small flake tools in the technological variability of Cantabrian Region Middle Paleolithic

Abstract

The relevance of small tool production during the Middle Paleolithic in the Cantabrian Region has been highlighted in the last years grace to several publications (Cuartero et al. 2015, Lazuén and González-Urquijo 2015, Rios-Garaizar et al. 2015). In these works the small tool production has been described as a planned method to provide tools for high mobility populations or groups inhabiting areas poor in good quality raw-materials (Rios-Garaizar et al. 2015), it has been also pointed out the use of this kind of tools in precision activities (Rios-Garaizar 2010). However, in a recent experimental work this link has been questioned, suggesting a more complex explanation for these industries (Bilbao Malavé 2017). Also, in some sites more opportunistic small flake productions have been identified (for example in Amalda level VII or in El Cuco level X), and interestingly small flake production also played a role in the technology of groups inhabiting areas close to raw material sources (for example in Aranbaltza I). It is also interesting to note that such productions are not relevant in Early Middle Paleolithic assemblages (Rios-Garaizar 2017), suggesting that in this region they are a typical product of Late Middle Paleolithic. In this presentation we want to explore the reality of small flake production in Cantabrian Middle Paleolithic to see differences between small flake production systems, to ascertain the different roles played by these small tools in the different assemblages, and to see if this variability can be interpreted in terms of chronology, site function, general technological features, etc. To do so we are going to present updated technological, functional and experimental data.