Aproximación al estudio arqueopetrológico de la industria lítica procedente del abrigo de La Roureda (Vilafranca, Els Ports, Castelló, País Valencià) [Archaeopetrological study of the lithic industry from “La Roureda” rockshelter]
Abstract
Archaeopetrological study of the lithic industry from “La Roureda” rockshelter (Vilafranca, Els Ports, Castellón, Valencian Country)
Roureda’s (La Roureda) rockshelter is an Epimagdalenian site located in Vilafranca (northern Valencian Country) in the east of the Iberian Peninsula.
The site was discovered by Dr. F. Arasa in the late 1970s. More recently, two vertical trenches were dug at this site to determine the sequence of occupations over time: a 2 m2 trench on the rock shelter floor and a 1 m2 trench on the eroded area under the platform. The excavation of the 2 m2 in the rock shelter outlined an Early Epimagdalenian level dated to 11350 ± 50 BP (13373-13122 cal. BP).
One of the main features in this site is the abundant lithic industry recovered (4639 pieces), all of it made exclusively from chert. In recent years, the typology and technology of these materials has been studied but this is the first archaeopetrological study, not only for this site but for this region of Iberia.
Among the stone tools, backed bladelets are the most significant typological group, followed by the truncated bladelets and the group of notched-denticulates. End-scrapers and pieces with retouched edges are also important. The remaining groups represent less than 3%.
The archaeopetrological study has been divided into two parts. Firstly, a macroscopic approach (petrographic and micropalaeontologic) was developed for all the retouched tools (286), the production blanks (2459) and cores (20). It should be note that during the excavations, 4639 elements were recovered, but about 45% of these being debris.
Secondly, geological surveys were developed, which allowed for the identification of several outcrops with cherts within a 100 km area around the site. Several samples of those cherts were microscopically compared to some of the archaeological lithic samples.
The results of these analyses allow for the identification of the presence of 4 different varieties of chert, with a primarily brackish or lacustrine origin. Two of them (Types A & B) corresponding to a palustrine environment formation, one (Type D) related to a marine environment formation, and finally, one (Type C) being undefined.
Two of these varieties, the most abundant in the site (Types A and B) may be related to several outcrops located both in a local and regional distance. Meanwhile, Types C and D are much less abundant.
The nearest varieties of chert to the site (Types A & B), which are of high quality for knapping and relatively homogenous, were the most common in the Epimagdalenian level. These types showed all stages of the “Chaine Opératoire Lithique” (C.O.L.) within the site. Nevertheless, a distinction can be observed between them. While Type A was used mainly for projectiles and in a lesser way for domestic tools, Type B was mainly used in the opposite way (mainly having been used for domestic tools). The explanation will likely be related to the homogeneity of their textural differences.
On the other hand, neither Type C nor Type D showed the complete sequence of the C.O.L. The first was probably introduced into the site mainly as knapped blades or bladelets, while Type D, the lowest in quality, was mainly used for domestic purposes. It was not possible to locate the outcrop of type C. Nevertheless, the outcrops of Type D are relatively abundant and in spite of its quality for knapping, this chert was frequently used. Outcrops of this type of chert can be found throughout the region.
The aim of this project in the near future is to enlarge this study to other Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites and develop a deeper knowledge of the siliceous outcrops used by hunter-gatherer populations in this region. This is a project of great relevance, not only for understanding the economy of raw materials at the Roureda rockshelter, but also for knowing the possibilities of chert trade in northern Valencian Country.
References
Arasa Tuliesa., F. 2011, Roques dels Ports, Col·lecció del Grup de Recerca Científica Terres de l’Ebre Vol. 4, Grup de recerca científica Terres de l’Ebre, Tortosa, 312 p. (en catalán; in Catalan) (“Stones of Els Ports”)
Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME) 2000, Mapa Geológico de España, Escala 1:50000, serie MAGNA, Segunda Serie, Primera edición, Madrid, Hojas: sheets 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 567, 568, 569, 570, 571, 590, 591, 592, 593, 594, 613, 614, 615, 616, & 617. (in Spanish) (“Geological Map of Spain”)
Luedtke, B. E. 1992, An archaeologist’s guide to chert and flint, Archaeological Research Tools, Vol. 7, Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, 156 p. (en inglés; in English) (“Guía del sílex para arqueólogos”)
Mangado, J. 2004, L’arqueopetrologia del sílex, una clau per al coneixement paleoeconòmic i social de les poblacions prehistòriques, Societat Catalana d’Arqueologia, Barcelona, 116 p. (en catalán; in Catalan) (“The archaeopetrology of flint, a key for the palaeconomic and social knowledge of prehistoric populations”)
Mangado, J. 2005, La caracterización y el aprovisionamiento de los recursos líticos en la Prehistoria de Cataluña. Las materias primas silíceas del Paleolítico Superior final y Epipaleolítico. British Archaeological Reports. International Series Vol. 1420, Archaeopress, Oxford, 205 p. (in Spanish) (“The characterisation and procurement of lithic resources in the Prehistory of Catalonia. Siliceous lithic raw materials from the final Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic”)
Masson, A. 1979, Recherches sur la provenance des silex préhistoriques. Méthode d’étude, Études Préhistoriques, 15: 29-40. (en francés; in French) (“Research on the origin of prehistoric flint. Method of study”)
Mauger, M. 1984, L'apport des microfossiles dans l'identification des silex. Exemple du Magdalénien de l'Ile-de-France, Bulletin Société Préhistorique Française, 81(7): 216-220. (en francés; in French) (“The contribution of microfossils in the identification of flint. Example from the Magdalenian of the Ile-de-France”) URL: http://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1984_num_81_7_8636
Parcerisas, J. 2006, Una propuesta de análisis multicriterio en el estudio del aprovisionamiento de los recursos líticos. En Sociedades prehistóricas, recursos abióticos y territorio (Martínez, G., Morgado, A. & Afonso, J.A. Eds.), Fundación Ibn al-jatib de Estudios de Cooperación Cultural, Loja (Granada): p. 33-44. (in Spanish) (“A proposed multi-criteria analysis in the study of procurement of lithic resources”)
Roman, D. 2010, El jaciment epimagdalenià de la Balma de la Roureda (Vilafranca, Els Ports, País Valencià), Pyrenae 41(2): 7-28. (en catalán; in Catalan) (“The Epimagdalenian site of la Roureda Rockshelter (Vilafranca, els Ports, Valencian Country)”) URL: http://www.raco.cat/index.php/Pyrenae/article/view/219642
Román, D. 2011a, El poblament del final del Plistocè en les comarques del nord del País Valencià a partir de l'estudi tecno-tipològic de la indústria lítica. Tesi doctoral, Departament de Prehistòria i Arqueologia, Universitat de València, València, 628 p. (en catalán; in Catalan) ("The societies of the late Pleistocene in the northern Valencian Country from the techno-typological study of the lithic industry") URL: http://www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/39089
Román, D. 2011b, La producción lítica en el abrigo de La Roureda (Vilafranca, Els Ports, Castellón). Saguntum-PLAV, 43: 21-31. (in Spanish) (“Lithic production at La Roureda rockshelter (Vilafranca, Els Ports, Castelló))” doi:10.7203/SAGVNTVM.43.331
Rey, M. 2013, Aproximación al estudio arqueopetrológico de la litoteca de la cuenca de la Charente (Francia), Tesis de Máster, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, 161 p. (in Spanish) (“Archaeopetrological approach to the Charente’s basin lithotheque”)
Riba, O. 1997, Diccionari de Geologia, Enciclopèdia Catalana, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona, 407 p. (in Spanish) (“Geology Dictionary”)
This is an Open Access journal. All material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence, unless otherwise stated.
Please read our Open Access, Copyright and Permissions policies for more information.
