Lisa M. Fontes

Paleolithic archaeologists have a longstanding interest in temporal change in prehistoric human behavior, and have often identified changes between archaeological periods based on sampling limitations. This analysis focuses on the Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian period in El Mirón cave, where archaeologists have been able to subdivide the ~ 33 cm thick Level 17 palimpsest into 13 comparable units that provide insight into human behavioral change within an archaeological period. The authors focus on lithic raw material provisioning as a window into changing human-landscape relationships. The Level 17 sublevel lithic assemblages testify that hunter-gatherers decreased their use of presumably local (based on El Mirón project surveys) mudstones and quartzites in favor of regional flint resources. Additionally, portions of exotic flints from southern France and the Ebro Basin increase over the course of the Lower Magdalenian, possibly indicating gradually intensifying social contacts. Microstratigraphic units provide insight into dynamic " Magdalenian " landscapes and how lithic provisioning related to hunter-gatherers' territories, site catchments, regional mobility, and social relationships.

Transitional moments in prehistory are of broad interest in archaeology. Immediately following the Last Glacial Maximum, two technological shifts occurred in SW Europe: in France, at ~18,000 uncal. BP, an industry characterized by large Solutrean projectiles was replaced by the well-defined Badegoulian industry; a thousand years later in Vasco-Cantabrian Spain, Solutrean technologies were gradually replaced by Magdalenian antler point (sagaie) and lithic inset composite weapons. The Solutrean– Magdalenian transition remains ill-defined in Vasco-Cantabria, where very few ‘‘transitional” assemblages dating to the c. 17–16,000 uncal. BP interval have been identified, leaving questions as to how the changes occurred and what kinds of relationships existed between French and Spanish groups during this period. Urtiaga cave (Guipúzcoa) Level F (17,050±140 uncal. BP) contributes a new Initial Magdalenian archaeological sample to the discussion of Last Glacial behavioral change during a techno- logical transition. This paper synthesizes the results of a detailed lithic analysis with findings from previous studies of fauna and osseous industry from Urtiaga Level F. Then, the analysis explores Initial Magdalenian organizational behaviors through a series of lithic procurement/mobility models that show dynamic land use in eastern Vasco-Cantabria. Finally, Urtiaga Level F was compared to four other Initial Magdalenian occupations in the region, demonstrating that lithic maintenance—in manufacture, use, and rejuvenation—was a significant factor in how Initial Magdalenian groups organized their landscape-level behavioral strategies. The archaeological assemblages from Urtiaga cave are important contributions to archaeological questions surrounding the Solutrean–Magdalenian transition, providing further evidence for in situ technological change in Vasco-Cantabria. Additionally, the economic analyses discussed in this paper provide new attributes that archaeologists can use to identify Initial Magdalenian sites on the land- scape. This study develops a methodological procedure that is broadly applicable to archaeological studies related to prehistoric cultural transitions and to those studies that apply data from collections recovered during the early 20th century to modern interpretive frameworks.

Analyzing technological patterns and source provenance of stone tools, Jones, Beck, Jones, and Hughes (2003) argue that Paleoarchaic groups of the central Great Basin moved within an extensive home range, perhaps reaching 400 km in its longest dimension. The Eastern Conveyance Zone, as they refer to this territory, was aligned with the predominantly north—south trending mountains and valleys of the province. To evaluate this model of mobility, artifacts were collected from the southern part of the Eastern Conveyance Zone for geochemical characterizations. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of 183 obsidian and fine-grained volcanic artifacts identified 12 known rock sources, all from the southern and central sections of the zone. No northern sources are represented among artifacts studied. Revisions of the Eastern Conveyance Zone model are considered in light of these results.

Mediante el análisis de los patrones tecnológicos y de la procedencia de las herramientas de piedra, Jones y otros (2003) sostienen que los grupos Paleoarcaicos de la Gran Cuenca Central se movieron en un amplio radio que podría haber llegado a alcanzar un máximo de 400 Kms. La Zona Este de Transmisión, como se refieren a este territorio, estaba alineada con las montañas y valles de la provincia orientada predominantemente en dirección norte-sur. Para evaluar este modelo de movilidad, se recogieron artefactos de la parte sur de la Zona Este de Transmisión para proceder a su caracterización geo-química. La fluorescencia espectométrica de los rayos X de 183 obsidianas y artefactos volcánicos de grano fino, identificó 12 fuentes de rocas conocidas, todas de las secciones centro y sur de la zona. Entre los artefactos estudiados, no hay representada ninguna fuente del norte. A la luz de estos resultados, parece oportuno considerar hacer observaciones de la Zona de Trabajo Este.

This symposium honors Lawrence Guy Straus’s four decades of research in Paleolithic archaeology and 20 years’ service as the editor of the Journal of Anthropological Research. Straus is best known for his long-term research in the Vasco-Cantabrian Upper Paleolithic, though his 40-year career has seen projects in Belgium, Portugal, and France as well as Spain. His research syntheses have advanced the understanding of long-term behavioral change in Paleolithic societies and influenced two generations of Paleolithic archaeologists. In this session we invite fellow archaeologists to reflect upon the intellectual and personal influence Lawrence’s work has had on our lives and research.  The invited papers presented in this session trace Lawrence’s long career and highlight his contributions to Paleolithic research and researchers.

This presentation discusses caves on three analytic scales—landscapes, locations, and levels—using case studies from the Magdalenian period in Vasco-Cantabrian Spain. Landscapes are considered using an example of Lower Magdalenian inter-site mobility among Altamira, El Mirón, El Rascaño, and El Juyo caves. These sites demonstrate how caves were regionally integrated in hunter-gatherer settlement patterns, yet also contextualize the roles of single caves within past behavioral systems. Individual cave locations provided prehistoric groups unique economic opportunities (site-catchment zones) and distinct material characteristics in their natural formations and spatial structures (e.g. chimneys, stalagmites, etc.). Vasco-Cantabrian Magdalenian groups utilized these natural features as they created cultural features—parietal art at Altamira, activity areas at Urtiaga, etc.—in cave spaces. Finally, caves offer scientists the opportunity to examine long-term behavioral change in archaeological levels. For example, at sites like El Mirón cave, a Lower Magdalenian palimpsest, archaeologists can examine temporal behavioral variation, including technological development, shifting activity zones, and changing resource use (comestibles, toolstones, etc.). Together, these interlocking scales—levels, locations, and landscapes—provide holistic perspectives about human behavior at Upper Paleolithic cave sites. However, this approach is applicable beyond the unique Vasco-Cantabrian Paleolithic case study. Scalar analysis contextualizes landscape-level human behavior, providing archaeologists a means to integrate marginal sites—caves, quarries, etc.—into regional cultural patterns and broadly examine prehistoric lifeways.

Archaeologists have longstanding interest in how mobility related to other aspects of hunter-gatherer lifeways, including site occupation span, divisions of labor, aggregation, resource use, and lithic technological organization. However, it is difficult for archaeologists to reconstruct movement due to restrictions created by time-averaged behavioral patterns, which often mask the actions of single individuals and/or groups. This presentation explores hunter-gatherer movement during the Lower Magdalenian period (c. 16-14,000 uncal. BP) in Vasco-Cantabrian Spain. Numerous regional archaeological studies have informed durable hypotheses about forager behaviors (species pursued, occupation seasonality, etc.) and inter-site relationships during this interval; archaeologists believe that a distinct regional band distinguishable by emblematic portable art created Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian settlements. This analysis integrates lithic raw material samples from four significant Cantabrian palimpsests: Altamira, El Juyo, El Rascaño, and El Mirón. The results demonstrate: (1) Lower Magdalenian territory sizes, which were established through geologic source attributions; (2) inter-site relationships, as shown through raw material reduction; and (3) how groups maintained their lithic toolkits as they traversed the Vasco-Cantabrian region. Through raw materials sourcing and inter-site analysis, it is possible to assess prehistoric hunter-gatherer behaviors on smaller scales that contribute to anthropological understanding of what factors—aggregation, trade, and other ideological, social, and economic circumstances—drive human movement.