Geomorphology and prehistoric flint mining evidence in the Sierra de Araico (Basque-Cantabrian basin), Burgos-Alava, Spain

Abstract

The limestones of the Sierra de Araico (Condado de Treviño, Spain), located in the Miranda-Treviño syncline (Basque-Cantabrian basin, Pyrenean Range), show silicificated nodules (flint) which have been exploited by means of non-complicated mining works (trenches and shallow pits), from Pleistocene through to Holocene and historical times. The flint had wide geographical distribution and involved archaeological sites located across several tens of km. In this work we present a geomorphological map of this region, mapping structural landforms marked by the limestones with flint and surficial deposits containing eroded flints related to the Ayuda and Rojo valleys. This map was produced using LiDAR data which was used to map the mining trenches where lithic evidence—hundreds of hammer-stones, maces and cores -were found.