Lithic technological adaptation within the Gravettian of the Iberian Atlantic region: Results from two case studies

The origins and expansion of Gravettian industries in Western Europe have recently been considered a cultural mosaic phenomena marked by regional technological facies. Probably associated with climatic oscillations, the development of these facies is likely related to sociocultural patterns and human adaptations to different ecological niches. Thereby, changes of subsistence strategies and mobility patterns are also reflected by technological and typological adaptations and innovations within the lithic assemblages. With the Iberian Peninsula being an important ecological niche for studying these phenomena, we conducted a comparative analysis of two occupations to test human ecological and lithic technological adaptations during the early Gravettian in Iberia: Cueto de la Mina on the northern Iberian Atlantic coast and Vale Boi on the western Portuguese Atlantic coast. Results show that these occupations exhibit major technological differences, but also strong similarities in the case of typological innovation/adaptation, possibly related to local resource accessibility (e.g. high-quality raw material). Based on these observations, the study provides further information concerning possible connections throughout the Iberian Atlantic coastline during an early Gravettian timeframe.