Quartzite

In general, quartz and most of non-flint rocks have not been extensively studied from a functional point of view. Very frequently the definitions of micro-features connected with flint surfaces have been used to describe those encountered on non-flint tools. This circumstance has repeatedly posed serious meth-odological problems for evaluating the accuracy of functional results when analysing use-wear on quartz and quartzite implements. This is due to the intrinsic divergences in morphology and distribution of use-wear with regard to the different lithic raw materials. Even though important efforts to systematise use-wear features on quartz have been done almost since the beginning of the discipline, there continues to be confusion and lack of standardisation regarding terminology in this aspect. In this paper, we try to contribute to new insights in this research by means of selecting examples from an extensive experimental programme involving different raw materials: from rock crystal (the purest form of quartz found in nature) to vein quartz and quartzite, with the latter two materials extensively used for knapping throughout Prehistory and still poorly understood in terms of microwear. For data recording, we preferentially used sequential experiments and resorted to both Optical Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy. We focused our interest on describing the main groups of wear features. The results obtained allowed us to assess the different mechanical behaviours under the stressors induced by tool-use from a group of raw materials with the same chemical composition but very different in structure. Furthermore, we propose the revision of some terms commonly employed when documenting micro-wear on quartz and similar rocks, as well as recurring concepts coming from materials and geological sciences (e.g. tribology, quartz exoscopy...).

Archaeologists lack a protocol for systematically attributing quartzite artifacts to particular geologic sources of the material. This paper, in an effort to begin to remedy that situation, reports the preliminary results of a petrographic study of quartzite samples from the Upper Gunnison Basin (UGB), Colorado. In that region, the overwhelming predominance of quartzite (often > 90 per cent) at most archaeological sites has hampered efforts to ascertain with any certainty the mobility strategies of Paleoamerican (and later) residents. In this study, qualitative and quantitative characterization of texture and grain composition of 50 UGB quartzite specimens led to the identification of six statistically distinct groups of samples. The groups are not arbitrary divisions of the data set; rather, they are meaningful from geologic, geospatial, chronological, and human-behavioral perspectives.

The development of raw material characterisation in Palaeolithic Archaeology in the last fifty years has widened our knowledge about the societies who inhabited Europe in the past. The characterisation of raw material, specially flint, has allowed defining the mobility of stones and people, selective processes to obtain specific varieties and proto-mining or mining activities. It also enables the researchers to a better understand knapping or use properties of specific raw materials. Quartzite was the second most-often used lithic raw material in Europe in the Palaeolithic. However, this rock has not been characterized fully from the geo-archaeological point of view.
The main aim of this presentation is present partial results of my recently defended PhD, focussed in the understanding of acquisition, distribution and management mechanisms implemented by Middle-Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region (Asturias and Cantabria communities, NW Spain) to exploit quartzite. To do so, we are going to present the data of two middle-Palaeolithic archaeological sites: El Habario and El Arteu. We also present through a comprehensive way, the quartzite distribution in the area: The Deva, Cares and Güeña valleys.  Finally, and due to the scarcity of previous research on the properties of this raw material, we also present the characteristics of these quartzites from a geo-archaeological point of view.
The methodology used for this research combines three different approaches: microscopic, macroscopic and regional scales. The first one is based on petrographic, geochemical and binocular characterisation. The second, is the macroscopic approach and it is founded on the analysis of lithic assemblages based on technological, typological, petrological and metric criteria. The same macroscopic approach is used to characterise the potential raw material acquisition areas through the geological survey of the geological strata and deposits where quartzites are present. Finally, the regional scale is based on the geographic, geologic and archaeological analysis of landscape, mainly using Geographic Information Systems.
The application of this comprehensive methodology to a narrow area, the Deva, Cares and Güeña valleys, allow us to understand quartzite from geological and archaeological perspectives.
On one hand, we surveyed the source area of the sediment which formed the “archaeological quartzites”, their transformations due to sedimentary and metamorphic forces, and the mineralogy of these rocks according to the different geological environments where quartzites were formed. The understanding of all these phenomena allows us to classify quartzite into seven petrogenetic types and varieties, according to grain size and mineralogy. We also describe the geological strata where quartzite is present, characterising both their arrangement and its dispersion based on the types and varieties defined.
On the other hand, we inferred the acquisition, management, and mobility patterns of Prehistoric societies in the Deva, Cares and Güeña valleys during the Middle Palaeolithic based on the analysis of the lithic assemblages from the archaeological sites of El Habario and El Arteu. This allowed us to understand the different strategies of landscape management of such a heterogeneous and mountainous area as the central Cantabrian Region is.
The exploitation of quartzites in the sites of El Habario and El Arteu allow us to understand the dialectical territorial management of this mountainous area through the combination of selective processes and mobility mechanisms in lower and middle altitudes. These perspectives let us to understand this mountainous region not as a barrier but as an environmental-mosaic managed and optimised by Middle Palaeolithic societies. In addition, the recognition of the quartzite types using non-destructive methods in both complete assemblages through comprehensive analysis, lets us to understand preferential catchment and management of specific quartzites and different behaviours. Among others, a) adaptable mobility patterns and selection of specific types of quartzites; b) Complex management of lithic mass based on stock creation; or c) tool-kit maintenance on certain quartzite types and the dismissal of others.

The consideration of quartzite as a secondary raw material has relegated in-depth research of this raw material in favour of other rocks such as flint or obsidian. The latter two are the most researched raw materials because of the information derived from their study: long-distance transport of rocks and mobility of people. In contrast, information obtained from research into a wide range of rocks defined as quartzite generally supported near-site procurement areas mainly related to secondary river deposits. This has influenced the poverty of research on the second most-often used raw material during the Palaeolithic. To overcome this narrow perspective, it is necessary to put quartzite in the centre of the debate as a raw material, using an inductive proposal based on geoarchaeological methodologies.
This issue is approached by the application of a multi-scalar methodology that combines thin section analysis, stereomicroscope observation, and X-ray Fluorescence compositional analysis of the quartzite from Level-XXII-R at El Esquilleu. Potential areas where quartzite could be procured, especially river beaches, are also characterised here. The results show complex mechanisms of quartzite acquisition based on intensive and selective searching, not only in proximate river deposits, but also in more distant fluvial deposits and conglomerate formations. Finally, in combination with techno-typological criteria, complex mechanisms of exploitation are proposed. These depended on each quartzite type, which promoted not only lithological but also technological variability. All these data open new perspectives for the characterisation of the second best represented raw material in Europe, as well as for understanding acquisition mechanisms in fluvial deposits and conglomerate formations.

The development of raw material characterisation in Palaeolithic Archaeology in the last fifty years has widened our knowledge about the societies that inhabited Europe in the past. The characterisation of raw material, specially flint, has allowed defining the mobility of stones and people, selective processes to obtain specific varieties and proto-mining or mining activities. It also enables the researcher to better understand knapping or use properties of specific raw materials. The analysis of quartzite, the second most frequently used lithic raw material in the Palaeolithic, has developed in the recent years, offering us new information about past societies and environment. This contribution intends to follow with the characterisation of quartzite in the mountainous region of Picos de Europa, with the aim of understanding better the procurement strategies of this material during the Middle Palaeolithic. To this end, we present the comprehensive characterisation of massive outcrops, conglomerates, and river deposits, the three main types of environments where quartzite could be caught. The exploitation of quartzites in the sites of El Habario and El Arteu allow us to understand the dialectical territorial management of this mountainous area through the combination of selective processes and mobility mechanisms in lower and middle altitudes. These perspectives let us to understand this mountainous region not as a barrier but as an environmental-mosaic managed and optimised by Middle Palaeolithic societies. The methodology used for this research combines Geographic Information Systems, geo-archaeological fieldwork, macroscopic description of material, binocular characterisation, petrography, and X-Ray Fluorescence. Abstract book ISBN 978-80-907270-3-8 (European Association of Archaeologists) 978-84-9168-140-3 (Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona, vol. 1) 978-84-9168-143-4 (Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona, vol. 2)

Quartzite was the second most-often used lithic raw material in Europe in the Palaeolithic. However, this rock has not been characterized fully from the geo-archaeological point of view. This study characterizes, defines and determines types of quartzite in northern Spain through a methodology that integrates petrography, digital image processing and X-ray fluorescence. As a methodological foundation for the characterization of the material, it aims to open the possibility of discovering mechanisms of mobility, selection and management of quartzite by prehistoric societies. The types determined, based on the petrogenesis of the material, enable a better understanding of the archaeological sites of El Arteu and El Habario in the context of northern Spain in the Middle Palaeolithic.

Several isolated studies have tried to understand quartzite from an archaeological perspective by applying two different meth-odological approaches. The first one is based on non-destructive characterisation, aiming to understand human procurement and management of quartzite, without solid geoarchaeological criteria. The second characterised the material from archaeological sites using only petrographic or geochemical perspectives of a limited sample. Currently, both perspectives are unconnected, creating a methodological gap that needs to be solved to study the procurement and management of quartzite in greater depth. The present study, mainly methodological, will explore the gap between petrographic analysis and non-destructive characterisation. Doing so, we could fill this vacuum of information and generate a solid geoarchaeological basis to characterise not only a sample but complete assemblages. To this end, we analyse the lithic assemblages at El Arteu and El Habario, two Middle-Palaeolithic sites in the Cantabrian Region, northern Spain. We summarise the main results derived from petrographic analysis, but especially we will focus on non-destructive criteria to characterise the lithic surfaces of archaeological quartzite using stereoscope micros-copy. This process allows us to understand the complete assemblage but also, through technological characterisation, understand the management of different quartzite petrogenetic types in both sites.