Use-wear analysis applied in a dissected palimpsest at the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt (eastern Iberia): working with lithic tools in a narrow timescale

Use-wear analyses are very useful to increase knowledge about the economic and subsistence dynamics carried out by Neanderthals. In general terms, functional results traditionally came from the analysis of tools belonging to stratigraphic units whose timescale refers to geological time. This is due to the fact that many Neanderthal sites are palimpsests of reiterated occupations over time, which must be dissected to approach us to human timescale. In the stratigraphic unit xa of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Iberia), high temporal resolution archaeostratigraphic studies have been carried out. Diachronic material assemblages have been identified, allowing us to analyse more precisely the variability of Neanderthal behaviour over time. Amongst these assemblages, three have been selected (i.e. 5.3.1, 5.3.2 and 5.3.3) in order to analyse the lithic material functionality. The results obtained bring out the performance of different tasks within each analytical framework: woodworking in 5.3.1, woodworking and animal processing in 5.3.2, and butchering activity in 5.3.3. These results reflect the existence of a series of diachronic tasks carried out in overlapping activity areas. In this way, this work evidences flint use variability in a specific area of the site across time that could have been recognised only by means of high temporal resolution analytical frameworks.

Automated summary

Use-wear analyses are valuable for understanding the economic and subsistence behaviors of Neanderthals. By analyzing tools from stratigraphic units with a geological timescale, functional information can be obtained. The El Salt site in eastern Iberia has undergone high temporal resolution archaeostratigraphic studies, revealing diachronic material assemblages that allow for a more precise analysis of Neanderthal behavior over time. Results indicate the performance of different tasks, such as woodworking, animal processing, and butchering, in overlapping activity areas. This study highlights the importance of high temporal resolution analytical frameworks in recognizing flint use variability across time.