Up to the mountain and down to the river: a raw material approach to the Neanderthal flint assemblage of stratigraphic unit VIII of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Iberia)
Alejandro Mayor  1, 2@  , F. Javier Molina  1@  , Cristo M. Hernández  1, 3@  , Bertila Galván  1, 4@  , Carolina Mallol  1, 4, 5@  
1 : Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Cazadoras-Recolectoras Paleolíticas; Departamento de Geografía e Historia; Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna (Guajara campus, San Cristóbal de la Laguna – 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain)
2 : Àrea de Prehistòria; Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia, Història Antiga, Filologia Llatina i Filologia Grega; Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat d'Alacant (Sant Vicent del Raspeig campus, Sant Vicent del Raspeig – 03690 Alacant, Spain)
3 : Área de Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales; Departamento de Didácticas Específicas; Facultad de Educación, Universidad de La Laguna (Edificio Central campus, San Cristóbal de la Laguna – 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain)
4 : Área de Prehistoria; Departamento de Geografía e Historia; Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna (Guajara campus, San Cristóbal de la Laguna – 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain)
5 : Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarker Laboratory; Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Universidad de La Laguna (Anchieta campus, San Cristóbal de la Laguna – 38206 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain)

Flint is the most predominant type of raw material used by Neanderthals for producing stone tools. It is also susceptible to physicochemical changes conditioned by the environment within which it is located. Hence, flint sourcing based not only on primary outcrops but also on secondary deposits may be a particularly suitable proxy of hunter-gatherer group mobility. Here, we present preliminary data from a study aimed at sourcing a Neanderthal flint assemblage from stratigraphic unit VIII of El Salt (Alcoi, Alacant, eastern Iberia) using siliceous raw material analysis. We interpret different provisioning environments based on geogenic features and, especially, postgenetic alterations, which are informative of primary, subprimary and secondary sources of distinct flint types. Then, we propose hypothetical catchment areas in which those environments could have existed in the region during the period represented by the Neanderthal occupations. Preliminary results point to short-distance catchment strategies and preference for fluvial and low-altitude deposits. Comparisons with chronologically contemporaneous and more recent stratigraphic units (i.e. IVb of El Pastor (Alcoi, Alacant, eastern Iberia) and Xa of El Salt, respectively) are made in order to reflect on the variability of Neanderthal regional resourcing dynamics through time.


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