Abstracts European Society for the study of Human Evolution September 2020 1 Comparing lithic raw material procurement strategies during MIS5 to MIS3: the cases of Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter, Buena Pinta Cave and Des-Cubierta Cave (Madrid, Spain) Ana Abrunhosa1;2, Belén Márquez2, Enrique Baquedano2;3, Alfredo Pérez-González4, Juan Luis Arsuaga5;6 1 - ICArEHB - Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour. Faculdade das Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal · 2 - MAR - Museo Arqueológico Regional, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain · 3 - I.D.E.A. Institute of Evolution in Africa, Madrid, Spain · 4 - El Hombre y el Medio, Madrid, Spain · 5 - Centro Universidad Complutense de Madrid-Instituto de Salud Carlos III de Investigación sobre la Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain · 6 - Paleontology Departement, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Lithic raw materials procurement strategies depend on a series of factors such as e.g., resource availability, accessibility, and orogra- phy. This paper presents the results of the lithic raw material study of the Mousterian assemblages from Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter, Buena Pinta Cave and Des-Cubierta Cave sites located in Calvero de la Higuera, a karst hill situated in Pinilla del Valle, in the Lozoya River Valley in the Guadarrama Mountain range (Madrid, Spain). The diversity of occupation contexts in the same geo- logical environment allows for a comparison of resource management and environment occupation strategies between MIS5 and MIS3. Two of the features that highlight the archaeological sites of Calvero de la Higuera from the Iberian pattern of Neanderthal occupation and that motivated their study are their central geographical location and the intensive use of quartz and low chert proportions. A combination of three methodologies involving fieldwork and laboratory analysis were developed to determine the modes of acquisition and management of lithic resources: i) Geological surveys were carried out to take rock samples to map re- sources, determine and characterize the availability of resources and compare them with archaeological samples. Survey data was recorded using a mobile application designed for the project. ii) Laboratory analyses for macroscopic rock type determination, petrography and SEM / EDX for provenance study by comparing archaeological with geological specimens. iii) Two Experimen- tal Archaeology projects were developed to test the mechanical behaviour of quartz during knapping and abrasion wear. Abrasion experimentation was done in comparison with quartzite and flint samples, the two most used raw materials in Iberian Prehistory. The data gathered allowed for a first approach to the economic analysis of resource exploitation and use in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula by Neanderthal groups. It was concluded that Neanderthals in Calvero de la Higuera sites exploited mainly igneous and metamorphic local rocks. In some levels, there is the presence of exogenous raw materials from as far as 75 km in a straight line. Despite the difficulties in controlling the quartz knapping process, the acquisition and intensive use of quartz represents a practi- cal choice for its abundance in the surroundings, but also the effectiveness of its edges. Results show their ability of technological adaptation to the exploration and use of raw materials with different characteristics. Comparing the relationship between local and exogenous raw materials present at level F of Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter and level 23 of Cueva de la Buena Pinta, it was found that different resource exploitation strategies correspond to distinct climatic periods (MIS5a and MIS 4 respectively) and ways of occupying the landscape. Different strategies may reflect differentiated access to resources and/or changes in mobility strategies motivated by environmental changes. This research was conducted with the support of a doctoral grant (SFRH/BD/110511/2015) funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT - Portuguese Science Foundation) anda dissertation fieldwork grant funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for the Project “Raw Material Procurement Strategies from Pinilla del Valle’s Neanderthals”, both awarded to Ana Abrunhosa. We thank Professor Nuno Bicho for co-advising Ana Abrunhosa on her PhD and the support of the Pinilla del Valle Team. 2 An Interdisciplinary Micro-Contextual Laboratory Excavation of Fire Residues from Pech de l’Azé IV (Dordogne, France) Vera Aldeias1, Dan Cabanes2, Ángel Carrancho Alonso3, Giulia Gallo4, Paul Goldberg5, Susann Heinrich6, Li Li7, Carolina Mallol8, Shannon P. McPherron6, Deborah Olszewski9, Dennis Sandgathe10, Mareike Stahlschmidt6, Teresa E. Steele4;6 1 - ICArEHB - Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal · 2 - Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Department of Anthropology. Center for Human Evolutionary Studies (CHES). Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) · 3 - Area of Prehistory, Department of History, Geography and Communication. University of Burgos, Spain · 4 - Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis · 5 - CAS - SEALS, University of Wollongong, Australia · 6 - Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, Germany · 7 - Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany · 8 - AMBI lab, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain · 9 - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA · 10 - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. There is currently renewed debate over the role of fire in Neandertal adaptations. One dataset that features in this debate comes from the Middle Paleolithic site of Pech de l’Azé IV [1, 2]. While there is variability of fire use throughout the sequence, at its base there is a thick, blackened deposit with numerous combustion features (Layer 8). However, while these features are clearly visible in section, they proved quite difficult to excavate during the 2000-2003 field seasons employing field methodologies that havebe- come standard in Paleolithic archaeology [3]. Now, we are re-excavating this layer to better understand variability in Neandertal fire features. For this, we have adopted a microcontextual approach to characterize combustion zones in terms of their surficial features and subsurface attributes, which reflect alterations of sediment and objects within the 3D volume affected by the heat.A plethora of techniques are currently available for archaeological research to target what is often called the invisible record. Our mi- crocontextual approach integrates a variety of these, including geology (microstratigraphy, micromorphology, organic petrology), palaeomagnetics, zooarchaeology, chemistry (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy), anthracology, lithic analysis, and phytoliths. Traditionally, samples for each of these techniques are collected separately according to technique-specific protocols. Here, we have developed a methodology to integrate and standardize high-resolution, high-saturation sample collection through 100% recovery of sediments using highly controlled laboratory excavations. This way, all researchers are essentially using the same ‘contextualized micro samples’,so results from each method are directly comparable. Our procedure is to remove blocks of sediment (70 cm long x 10 cm wide and encompassing the entire thickness of layer 8) while maintaining their integrity and their position relative to the site grid. The blocks are then excavated in the laboratory using a purpose-built cyclone vacuum system to collect all sediments into 50 ml glass vials that are immediately refrigerated. We use several excavation stations simultaneously, each with a Microscribe 3D digitizer to provenience finds and sediments relative to the original Pech de l’Azé IV grid system. This standardization enables multiple subsamples to be taken for different types of analysis from the same vial representing any particular micro-context. In addition, every third sediment block is used exclusively for micromorphology and geomagnetic analysis. These blocks are impregnated with resin and serve as a microstratigraphic “road- map” for the excavation of the surrounding blocks. Toensure accurate integration of field and lab coordinate systems, we developed programs and workflows for collecting and visualizing the data, including real time projection of excavated points and objects on to a structure from motion 3D models and into augmented reality visualizations of the site. Our preliminary results show that this microcontextual excavation methodology is operational and it vastly improves the pre- cision and efficiency of our ability to extract and observe microstratigraphic data. In this poster, we illustrate the workflow: from block removal, laboratory excavation, subsampling procedure, and 3D integration of data. The laboratory excavations under con- trolled lighting reveal subtle changes in the deposits that were not recognizable in the field. It became clear that Layer 8 is composed of several microstrata that vary both laterally and vertically. Ongoing analyses provide data on combustion feature attributes, in- cluding the distribution of temperatures achieved, depth of heat penetration, presence/absence of organic residues, and the type of fuel used. Research at Pech de L’Azé IV is funded through the project “The application of High Resolution Excavation in