Late Middle Palaeolithic Assemblages with Flake Cleavers in the Western

JQI5999_proof ■ 10 February 2016 ■ 1/18 Quaternary International xxx (2016) 1e18 55 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect 56 57 Quaternary International 58 59 60 journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint 61 62 63 64 65 1 Late Middle Palaeolithic assemblages with flake cleavers in the 66 2 67 3 western Pyrenees: The Vasconian reconsidered 68 4 69 5 Q7 Marianne Deschamps 70 6 71 UMR 5608 TRACES, Maison de la recherche, 5 allee Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France 7 72 8 73 9 article info abstract 74 10 75 11 76 Article history: The analysis of several lithic assemblages with flake cleavers and bifaces from sites attributed to MIS 5 12 Available online xxx and 3 in the western Pyrenees provides the basis for a new chronological and typo-technological 77 13 characterisation of the region's late Middle Palaeolithic record. Previously assigned to the Vasconian 78 14 Keywords: based strictly on typological criteria, a certain degree of variability evident between the analysed as- 79 15 Late Middle Palaeolithic semblages likely indicates different occupation types. However, broad typo-technological traits reflecting 80 16 Neanderthal behaviour a common regional tradition can be identified and are discussed against the backdrop of the regional 81 Technoeconomic variability 17 diversity and cultural geography of late Middle Palaeolithic industries dated to around 50 ka BP. This 82 Vasconian ‘ ’ fi 18 Regionality regionalisation of lithic techno-complexes may also have important rami cations for the socio- 83 19 economic organisation and demographic dynamics of late Middle Palaeolithic human groups. 84 © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. 20 85 21 86 22 87 23 88 24 89 25 90 1. Introduction Consequently, the term ‘Vasconian’ was largely abandoned and the 26 91 different industries containing flake cleavers subsequently reas- 27 92 Despite the Western European Middle Palaeolithic portraying signed to other broad Middle Palaeolithic facies, namely the 28 93 substantial technological diversity, certain techno-complexes in Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA) or the Typical Mousterian 29 94 this expansive region were quickly isolated and defined, with (Freeman, 1994). 30 95 others remaining the subject of debate. This is particularly the case In this respect, both flake cleavers and bifaces from MIS 5 con- 31 96 32 with assemblages containing bifaces or flake cleavers in the west- texts were interpreted as the sporadic persistence of the Iberian 97 33 ern Pyrenees and on the northern slopes of the Cantabrian cordil- Acheulean (Jorda Cerda, 1977; Rodríguez Asensio, 1983; Rodríguez 98 lera. The first Middle Palaeolithic industries were documented in Asensio and Arrizabalaga, 2004; Alvarez-Alonso, 2014), with the 34 99 this region at the end of the 19th century, most notably at the presence of these heavy duty tools in MIS 3 contexts suggesting 35 100 Spanish site of El Pendo (Sanguino Gonzalez and Montes Barquin, their continued use throughout the Middle Palaeolithic. While MIS 36 101 2001). Despite numerous excavations during the first few decades 3 examples are noted in the literature (Freeman, 1966, 1969e70; 37 102 of the 20th century (Vega del Sella, 1921; Obermaier, 1924, 1925), Cabrera, 1983, 1984) and described in some detail (see particu- 38 103 the existence of a regional Middle Palaeolithic facies, the Vasconian, larly the work of Benito del Rey, 1972e73, 1976; 1979, 1981) more 39 104 was proposed only as early as the 1950s based essentially on focused attention has been paid to flake cleavers from MIS 5 con- 40 105 typological criteria (Bordes, 1953). Defined primarily by the pres- texts (Rodríguez Asensio, 1983; Montes, 2003). These tool forms in 41 106 ence of flake cleavers, these assemblages contain high numbers of late Middle Palaeolithic assemblages were sometimes considered 42 107 scrapers (close to the limit of Bordes' Charentian index) and den- variants of typical MTA bifaces, whose particular form likely re- 43 108 ticulates associated with Levallois debitage (Bordes, 1953). The flected limitations imposed by poor-quality Pyrenean raw materials 44 109 coherence of this entity was, however, quickly questioned. In fact, (Chauchat, 1986; Freeman, 1994). Ultimately, these industries were 45 110 the substantial typological variability of these assemblages perceived as the expression of a cultural mosaic set apart from the 46 111 appeared to some beyond what should be expected of a well- MTA industries of the northern Aquitaine Basin. However, it re- 47 112 defined cultural entity (Freeman, 1966, 1969e70; Jorda Cerda, mains unclear whether differences between these assemblages 48 113 1977; Cabrera, 1983, 1984; Rodríguez Asensio, 1983). reflect deterministic factors, such as raw material availability, or the 49 114 existence of a regional MIS 3 techno-complex distinct from the 50 115 MTA. 51 116 E-mail address: [email protected]. 52 117 53 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.01.043 118 54 1040-6182/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. 119 Please cite this article in press as: Deschamps, M., Late Middle Palaeolithic assemblages with flake cleavers in the western Pyrenees: The Vasconian reconsidered, Quaternary International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.01.043 JQI5999_proof ■ 10 February 2016 ■ 2/18 2 M. Deschamps / Quaternary International xxx (2016) 1e18 1 Recently, early Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 5) assemblages con- 1993, 1994; Van Peer, 1992; Peresani, 2003). The identification of 66 2 taining flake cleavers and bifaces have been extensively revised, variability in both Discoid chaînes operatoires and production ob- 67 3 particularly with a view to better identify late Acheulean occupa- jectives at numerous sites has, however, shed light on clear dif- 68 4 tions in the Cantabrian region and the emergence of the early ferences with Levallois industries, leading to a larger discussion 69 5 Middle Palaeolithic (Montes, 2003; Djema, 2008; Lazuen, 2012; concerning the technological variability of the Discoid method(s) 70 6 Alvarez-Alonso, 2012, 2014; Santonja et al., in press). Late Middle and their definition. Although still lacking a general consensus, it 71 7 Paleolithic assemblages (MIS 3) with flake cleavers have been is clear that the traditional criteria (Boeda,€ 1993) differentiating 72 8 identified in the Basque country and Cantabrian and Asturian re- Levallois and Discoid concepts are insufficient, and only a tech- 73 9 gions of Spain, as at the El Castillo, level 20 (Cabrera, 1984; Bernald nological analysis of debitage products and associated cores per- 74 10 de Quiros et al., 2010), Amalda, level VII (Baldeon, 1990; Ríos- mits a reliable identification of production objectives (Mourre, 75 11 Garaizar, 2012), La Vina,~ level XIII-base (Fortea, 1998; Santamaria, 2003a). While the ‘classic’ Discoid method is oriented towards 76 12 2012). An important synthesis of all known Middle Palaeolithic the serial production of pseudo-Levallois points (Boeda, 1993; 77 13 cave deposits and open-air sites in the Cantabrian Region (Carrion, Bourguignon and Turq, 2003; Bourguignon et al., 2011), a cen- 78 14 2003; Carrion et al., 2008) revealed sites containing flake cleavers tripetal conception has also been identified that produces more 79 15 and bifaces to be distributed across the region during MIS 5 and 3 quadrangular flakes from what can at times be hierarcherised 80 16 based on relative and absolute chronology. However, the chrono- surfaces (Mourre, 2003; Pasty, 2003). Here the Discoid method 81 17 logical position of most sites remains difficult to establish with any sensu stricto, which is geared around the production of pseudo- 82 18 Q1 certainty (Fig. 1). Levallois points, is distinguished from a sensu lato method that 83 19 Here we present an analysis of material from six either new or produces more centripetal products (see Mourre, 2003a for more 84 20 recently reassessed late Middle Palaeolithic sites with bifaces and details). 85 21 flake cleavers in southwestern France, focusing attention on their The techno-economic and morphometric variability of flake 86 22 typo-technological variability. Do, for example, flake cleavers found cleavers was also assessed using a sample of 449 examples from ten 87 23 in assemblages with particular recurrent characteristics reflect a Middle Palaeolithic sites. Flake cleavers from sites without direct 88 24 techno-complex whose differential expression is connected to the dates were equally included to have a largest sample. Variance 89 25 nature of the occupation? These new results are compared with analyses (ANOVA) of length to width ratios for the four main 90 26 other sites from Cantabria and Asturias in a broader regional samples (n > 20) was used to establish whether significant differ- 91 27 perspective in order to reconsider the coherence of a Vasconian ences exist between assemblages. The Mousterian sample was also 92 28 techno-complex during the MIS 3. In addition to addressing the compared to an Acheulean dataset (after data available in Benito 93 29 issues outlined above, this more refined vision of flake cleaver in- del Rey, 1983; Mourre, 2003b) in order to test for diachronic dif- 94 30 dustries has important repercussions for our understanding and ferences in flake cleaver morphology. 95 31 interpretation of late Middle Palaeolithic technological variability. 96 32 2.2. Studied assemblages 97 33 2. Material and methods 98 34 For the present study, late Middle Palaeolithic levels from four 99 35 2.1. Techno-economic approach open air sites, level 40 of Le Chemin de Jupiter (Bayonne, France); 100 36 level PM1 of Le Prisse (Bayonne, France); level 4 of Le Baste (Bay- 101 37 As post-depositional processes, particularly in cave and rock onne, France) and UPS 3 of Latrote (Landes, France) and two cave 102 38 shelter contexts, have been shown to considerably affect archaeo- sites, level Askf1 from Olha II (Cambo-les Bains, France) and a 103 39 logical assemblages (Lenoble and Bordes, 2001; Lenoble, 2003), the subsample of Cjr level of Gatzarria (Ossas-Suhare, France), were 104 40 typo-technological integrity of each lithic assemblage was first studied.

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