[ENG] FROM PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS TO STEREOMICROSCOPIC CHARACTERISATION: A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH

Authors: Alejandro Prieto, Iñaki Yusta and Alvaro Arrizabalaga

Our researchers Alejandro Prieto and Alvaro Arrizabalaga has published together with Iñaki Yusta new and interesting results in Archaeological and Anthropological Research. They propose a new step in the characterisation and classification of quartzites in archaeological deposits. As a result, they have new insight on everyday life of the Middle Palaeolithic inhabitants of Picos de Europa through the understanding of raw material management strategies.

The present study, mainly methodological, explores the gap between petrographic analysis and non-destructive characterisation of archaeological quartzites. Doing so, we could fill this vacuum of information and generate a solid geoarchaeological basis to characterise not only a sample but complete assemblages. To this end, we analyse the lithic assemblages at El Arteu and El Habario, two Middle-Palaeolithic sites in the Cantabrian Region, northern Spain. We summarise the main results derived from petrographic analysis, but especially we will focus on non-destructive criteria to characterise the lithic surfaces of archaeological quartzite using stereoscope microscopy. This process allows us to understand the complete assemblage but also, through technological characterisation, understand the management of different quartzite petrogenetic types in both sites. The perspectives and conclusion reached open a window on everyday life of the Middle Palaeolithic inhabitants of Picos de Europa.

Reference:

Prieto, A., Yusta, I. & Arrizabalaga, A. "From petrographic analysis to stereomicroscopic characterisation: a geoarchaeological approach to identify quartzite artefacts in the Cantabrian Region". Archaeol Anthropol Sci 12, 32 (2020) doi:10.1007/s12520-019-00981-7