[ENG] LIGHTING THE DARKNESS OF THE CAVES WITH PALEOLITHIC ART: AN INTEGRAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY VIS

TESIS DOCTORAL

Autora: Mª Ángeles Medina Alcaide

In this doctoral thesis the study of cavities with Paleolithic Art is approached from the analysis of the Inner Archaeological Context (I.A.C.), specifically, through the interdisciplinary analysis of the remains of prehistoric lighting, especially of woodfuel residues (charcoals). Five Spanish caves are the sites studied in this work, Nerja (Málaga), Atxurra (Bizkaia), Morgota (Bizkaia), Hornos de la Peña (Cantabria) and Covaciella (Asturias). The applied methodology includes the surveying and integral cataloguing of the remains of the I.A.C., the archaeological-spatial study of them by means of G.I.S., the anthracological identification of the charcoals, from the taxonomic, taphonomic and dendrological aspects; the characterization of the different phases of prehistoric use and occupation of the internal zones of these deposits by means of the C14-AMS dating of the charcoals and the management of radiocarbon results with Bayesian statistics (software © Oxcal 4.3); together with other complementary analytics (VMP, LIBS, δC13, μ-Raman Spectroscopy, SEM-EDX, TEM-EDX, microsedimentology, phytoliths, etc.), especially of a physical-chemical nature, for optimal identification and study of the remains of combustion of the endokarstic context. Also, the methodology includes an Experimental Archaeology section where we present quantitative results on the light characteristics of prehistoric lighting systems. All in all, this study has allowed us to advance in the knowledge of the activities developed by the prehistoric groups in the underground environment, beyond the work directly linked to the execution of Paleolithic Art, and especially about the different pyrotechnic solutions used by these groups in the underground environment (wooden torches, lamps - fixed and mobile - and lighting fires). In addition, the main conclusions confirm that the prehistoric anthropization of the endokarst is heterogeneous and multifunctional, that it has an important cross-cultural nature and that responds to generally planned actions, such as those related to the selection and provision of certain woody fuels or the location of the systems of light in the cave.

Directores: Álvaro Arrizabalaga (UPV/EHU) (con anterioridad Lydia Zapata) y José L. Sanchidrián (UCO).

Tribunal: Javier Fernández Eraso (UPV/EHU, Presidente), Yolanda Carrión (Universidad de Valencia, Secretaria) y Catherine Ferrier (Université de Bourdeax, miembro internacional)