Virtual trip to the Abric Romani site and its lithic procurement areas

This paper introduces the virtual field trip organised on the occasion of the 13th International Symposium on Knappable Materials in Tarragona from 4th to 6th October 2021, showing the Abric Romani site (Northeastern Iberian Peninsula) and the chert procurement areas located within a 30 km radius.The Abric Romani section consists of a general presentation of the Middle Palaeolithic site, including a brief description of its 50 m stratigraphic sequence, where more than 20 archaeological levels have been identified dating from 110 to 39 ka BP, and some of the main traits of the archaeological assemblages have been recovered. This was followed by an introduction of the siliceous outcrops of the Panadella cherts approximately 24 km from the Abric Romani; the Sant Marti de Tous chert outcrops 16 km away and the Valldeperes and Ca l'Alemany chert outcrops at distances of 24 and 25 km, respectively. In all cases, the geological formations, as well as the main chert macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, are described.This paper yields the most relevant aspects of a field trip that had to be recorded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but which brought us back together and facilitated the presentation of the main source areas frequented by the Neanderthal groups of this referential site.

Automated summary

This paper presents a virtual field trip organized for the 13th International Symposium on Knappable Materials, showcasing the Abric Romani site and nearby chert procurement areas. It provides a comprehensive overview of the site's Middle Paleolithic stratigraphic sequence and archaeological assemblages, as well as descriptions of the geological formations and characteristics of the chert outcrops. Despite being recorded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this virtual field trip successfully brought researchers together and highlighted the main source areas frequented by Neanderthal groups at the reference site.