Characterization and supply of raw materials in the Neanderthal groups of Prado Vargas Cave (Cornejo, Burgos, Spain)

Abstract

A systematic archaeological field survey has been undertaken in the area around Prado Vargas Cave (Cornejo, Burgos, Spain), which shows evidence of human occupation in the Middle Paleolithic. The aim of the study is to locate outcrops of raw materials which could have been used for the fabrication of tools by these Neanderthal groups. An archeological field survey of 46.6 km2 in 94 different locations was undertaken, in which flint and other materials of archaeological and ethnographic interest were recovered. Different analytic techniques were employed (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy [FTIR], X-Ray Diffraction [XRD], and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry [ICP-MS]) with the aim of typifying the lithic materials found in ten selected samples of flint on primary position in limestone and ten samples selected from flint on secondary position in clay. We have also undertaken the analysis of nine samples of archaeological flakes derived from the cave excavations. The flint samples were typified and the results of the data from the FTIR, XRD and ICP-MS were interpreted taking into account the similarity between samples of natural and archaeological origin, and the localization of possible areas of gathering of the lithic resources.