Lithic territories during the Late Middle Palaeolithic in the central and western Pyrenees: New data from the Noisetier (Hautes-Pyrenees, France), Gatzarria (Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France) and Abauntz (Navarre, Spain) caves

Over the past few years, research on the Late Middle Palaeolithic in the Pyrenees has been reinvigorated by excavations carried out at the Noisetier Cave (Fre?chet-Aure, Hautes-Pyre?ne?es, France). Lithic assemblages produced using local raw materials were documented at this site, with some extra-local imported flints completing the picture. Samples gathered from various alluvial formations on the mountainside were compared with archaeological materials, allowing us to conclude that toolmakers were highly selective in their choice of local raw materials, ultimately reflecting their intimate knowledge of locally available resources. Petrographic analysis of flints allowed us to determine that these Middle Palaeolithic populations were familiar with and/or frequented a large territory. Further west in the Pyrenean mountain range, studies are currently underway at Gatzarria Cave (Ossas-Suhare, Pyre?ne?es-Atlantiques, France), which allow us to envisage novel trans-Pyrenean travel routes, while research on the surroundings of Abauntz Cave (Arraitz-Orkin, Navarre, Spain) has contributed to our knowledge of the exploitable flint sources in the northern Iberian Peninsula.

Automated summary

Recent archaeological research in the Pyrenees has shown that toolmakers in the Late Middle Palaeolithic were highly selective in their use of local raw materials, reflecting their intimate knowledge of available resources. Studies in other areas of the mountains are also expected to reveal new travel routes and exploitable flint sources in northern Iberian Peninsula.