Cores, Core-scrapers, and Bladelet Production during the Lower Magdalenian Occupations of El Mirón Cave, Cantabrian Spain

Abstract

Among the defining characteristics of the Cantabrian (Spain) Lower Magdalenian (19.2–17.5 cal kya), along with portable art works, are so-called “nucleiform endscrapers.” These small cores often display one or more regularized edges that could indicate a secondary function as scrapers. Although this has been demonstrated microscopically to be the case at some sites, it is generally not true in a large sample from Level 17, a massive Lower Magdalenian horizon in El Mirón Cave on the edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera. This study synthesizes lithic typology, technology, and microwear analysis of the Level 17 lithic sample. The results indicate that understanding the absolute versus relative abundance of core endscrapers is important to classifications of Lower Magdalenian lithic assemblages, particularly in terms of inter-site tool comparisons, understanding the relative abundance of tools in relation to debitage products, and the key role of bladelet production.

Keywords:

• Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian (Spain)
• El Mirón Cave
• Bladelets/bladelet cores
• Nucleiform endscrapers
• Microwear analysis

Additional information

Funding

The El Mirón Prehistoric Project, co-directed by Straus and González Morales since 1996, has been authorized and partially funded by the Gobierno de Cantabria, with additional grants from the National Science Foundation, Fundación M. Botín, National Geographic Society, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, University of New Mexico, Fund for Stone Age Research (J. and R. Auel, principal donors), and material support from the IIIPC Universidad de Cantabria and Town of Ramales de la Victoria. Fontes’ research was funded by: the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (#1318485), the University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute PhD fellowship, and an American Association for University Women American Dissertation fellowship. R. Domingo is a Ramón y Cajal researcher (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, #RyC2013-12613). This work was supported by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.