The stone raw materials in Pirulejo (Priego de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain).The example of level 5

Abstract

In this work we present a revision about the stone raw materials used by the hunter-gatherer societies in the cave of Pirulejo, focused above all for the manufacturing of lithic industries and in particular the ones documented in the P5 level that corresponds to a Late Glacial chronology. This work will be composed by the following methodological steps: 1. Prospecting and sampling siliceous formation. 2. Macroscopic and petrographic analysis of the geological sample and archaeological material. 3. Comparation of the petrographic analysis between the archaeological and geological set, being able to assign the archaeological samples to the siliceous outcrops, and describe the mobility and siliceous sources catchment areas. Results. The absence of information about the siliceous outcrops in the peninsular Southwest lead us to present a petrographic characterization, as well as the location and extention of the main siliceous outcrops in this area. Once the closest outcrops to the site were characterized, and characterized petrographically, we can assign the 70% of the archaeological material to local siliceous formations. However, the macroscopic characteristics show that this exploitation of formations exceed the local areal (20 km), due to the local formations contain a diaclased flint that also make impossible a conchoidal fracture, therefore this flint is not suitable for knapping activities. Thus, we propose other areas sources that exceed the 20 kilometers from the site and which are still in a preliminary phase to determine these areas sources. Another line of study that we present is the way of exploitation of these flint, according to the Chaine Operatoire of the lithic knapping represented on the site. The absence of cortical flakes and the presence of flakes Jano, leads us to propose a first hypothesis, in which these hunter-gatherers groups carried out the grinding tasks and a first preparation of cores outside the site, developing in this area of the site works related to the production, use, restoration and amortization. The general characteristics of the industry would be defined by small size blades production and large number of microblade industry. Likewise, we find in this level other lithologies used as support for developing proper graphics in palaeolithic mobiliary art, as well as passive elements (hammerstones, anvils, etc.) that are also into the process of characterization study.