The Incidence of Potential Insolation on Settlement Dynamics and Site Location Preferences: A Case Study From the Cantabrian Late Palaeolithic

This paper proposes a specific methodology for calculating the potential insolation received by a set of Late Palaeolithic (Upper Magdalenian and Azilian) sites in western Cantabria (northern Iberia). The goal of this study is to test whether insolation is linked to the mobility strategies of foraging communities, and if insolation is a conditioning factor when choosing settlement areas or the season in which they are occupied. The potential insolation at the sites is then compared to the available archaeological evidence in order to test if a correspondence exists between the sites' season of occupation and the insolation they each receive during the year.This research is part of Ph.D. funded by a Predoctoral Fellowship from the University of Cantabria, and was supported by the Cantabria International Institute for Prehistoric Research (IIIPC) and the “Creación de un GIS integral para la Prehistoria de la Cuenca del Asón y la Costa Oriental de Cantabria (HUM2006-13729)” research project, directed by M. González-Morales

Protein diagenesis in "Patella" shells: Implications for amino acid racemisation dating

Abstract: The inter- and intra-crystalline fractions of Patella vulgata limpets recovered from archaeological sites in Northern Spain (covering Neolithic, Mesolithic, Magdalenian, Solutrean, and Aurignacian periods) were examined for amino acid composition and racemisation over time. The calcitic apex and rim areas of the shells were found to probably be composed of similar proteins, as the D/L values and amino acids were comparable and varied in the same way with increasing age; however, the mineral structures present in these areas differed. The aragonitic intermediate part of the shell showed a distinctly different amino acid composition and mineral structure. The main protein leaching from the inter-crystalline fraction occurred within the first 6000 yr after the death of the organism. In contrast, the intra-crystalline fraction d comprised of a different protein composition than the inter-crystalline fraction d appeared to behave as a closed system for at least 34 ka, as reflected by the lack of a significant decrease in the amino acid content; however, changes in the amino acid percentages occurred during this period. The concentration of aspartic acid remained almost constant with age both in inter- and intra-crystalline proteins, and its contribution to the total amino acid content increased with age at the expense of other amino acids such as glutamic acid, serine, glycine and alanine. Temperature is thought to play a key role in the amino acid racemisation of P. vulgata and could explain why in the localities belonging to the Gravettian and Solutrean period, which formed during relatively cold conditions, D/L values were similar to those detected in shells from sites formed during the Magdalenian.This paper was made possible by funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation projects: HAR2010-22115-C02-01 “La respuesta humana al cambio climático global en una zona litoral: el caso del tránsito al Holoceno en la costa cantábrica (10000-5000 cal BC)”, and HAR2010-22115-C02-02 “Aplicación del análisis de sustancias orgánicas e inorgánicas a la reconstrucción paleoambiental, cronológica y tafonómica de yacimientos arqueológicos del Norte de España”

Shells and humans: molluscs and other coastal resources from the earliest human occupations at the Mesolithic shell midden of El Mazo (Asturias, Northern Spain)

Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains (molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms) from stratigraphic units 114 and 115 (dated to the early Mesolithic c. 9 kys cal BP) at El Mazo cave (Asturias, northern Spain) were studied in order to establish resource exploitation patterns and environmental conditions. Species representation showed that limpets, top shells and sea urchins were preferentially exploited. One-millimetre mesh screens were crucial in establishing an accurate minimum number of individuals for sea urchins and to determine their importance in exploitation patterns. Environmental conditions deduced from shell assemblages indicated that temperate conditions prevailed at the time of the occupation and the morphology of the coastline was similar to today (rocky exposed shores). Information recovered relating to species representation, collection areas and shell biometry reflected some evidence of intensification (reduced shell size, collection in lower areas of exposed shores, no size selection in some units and species) in the exploitation of coastal resources through time. However, the results suggested the existence of changes in collection strategies and resource management, and periods of intense shell collection may have alternated with times of shell stock recovery throughout the Mesolithic.This research was performed as part of the project “The human response to the global climatic change in a littoral zone: the case of the transition to the Holocene in the Cantabrian coast (10,000–5000 cal BC) (HAR2010-22115-C02-01)” funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. AGE was funded by the University of Cantabria through a predoctoral grant and IGZ was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through a Juan de la Cierva grant. We also would like to thank the University of Cantabria and the IIIPC for providing support, David Cuenca-Solana, Alejandro García Moreno and Lucia Agudo Pérez for their help. We also thank Jennifer Jones for correcting the English. Comments from two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the paper