Long-distance networks within and beyond Inland Iberia during the Solutrean. Procurement strategies and transport of cherts exploited at Peña Capón

Abstract

Mobility strategies and social networking among Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, including raw material procurement strategies, are key topics in Palaeolithic archaeology. The Solutrean of southwest Europe (􀗽25000-20000 calibrated years BP) is an outstanding case for studying human mobility and social networks within harsh environmental conditions, given its coincidence with the Last Glacial Maximum. However, little is known about these topics in the inland territories of the Iberian Peninsula, where research efforts have been traditionally sparse. Although it was assumed that humans avoided the Iberian hinterland during the coldest periods of the Last Glacial due to its relatively high altitude, harsh environments and climate variability, recent research has demonstrated that some interior regions were recurrently settled. Thus, investigating mobility patterns and networks connecting these regions with other areas, both within inland Iberian and beyond, is essential for understanding population dynamics and human-environment-climate interactions in southwest Europe during the LGM. We present results on chert sourcing and mobility patterns of human groups occupying the Peña Capón rock shelter (central Spain) during the Solutrean, including routes potentially tracked for transporting or exchanging rocks. After a first macroscopic observation to define the main features of cherts, we conducted geochemical analyses to quantify their elemental chemical composition by means of Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This is an entirely non-destructive approach that allowed the preservation of archaeological remains. The statistical treatment of data has allowed connecting different archaeological chert types with a specific geological source. Then, we used GIS tools to establish the least cost routes potentially connecting the archaeological site with the chert sources. Results show that cherts exploited at Peña Capón come from a wide variety of regions, including areas well beyond inland Iberia. This demonstrates the existence of long-distance contacts during the LGM, regardless of potential mountain and ecological barriers.