Irantzu Elorrieta-Baigorri | University of the Basque Country, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (original) (raw)
Papers by Irantzu Elorrieta-Baigorri
Archaeologia Polona, 60, 2022
This paper presents the current state of research on the Early Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrat... more This paper presents the current state of research on the Early Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrate (Treviño, Burgos) in the north of Spain. This site is part of the Prehistoric Flint Mining Complex of Treviño. The geological features of the territory made it a suitable place for the exploitation of the Treviño flint since Paleolithic times, especially during the Neolithic. Recent research at the site has revealed interesting findings, such as antler and dolerite mining equipment and different flint tools, among other recoveries. Radiocarbon dates indicate an Early Neolithic activity which makes Pozarrate one of the few flint procurement sites in the Iberian Peninsula from this period. Moreover, a considerable number of elements link Pozarrate to the Early European Neolithic flint mining phenomenon.
The present work shows how the linguistic communication competence is acquired in the Social Scie... more The present work shows how the linguistic communication competence is acquired in the Social Sciences in 1 st of Secondary. The reading comprehension level of the Spanish students is not the expected, as the PISA document confirms it, and a revision is needed. For this task, firstly, the educational resources and the employed methodologies in the class for the linguistic development are examined, in order to detect any aspect that could be improved. The Social Science subject and specifically the History are connected with the linguistic communication competence, and consequently encouragement is required. The educational resources and activities associated with this competence are many: the reading of texts and especially of the handbook, map commentaries, and the Information and Communications Technology which offers many possibilities. Afterward are analyzed the resources employed in a concrete group of a school in the Basque Country through the answering of the questionnaire given to the teaching staff, where is evaluated the level of the linguistic competence. In general, the perception of the oral and writing comprehension and expression degree is adequate; but there are features to be improved. Finally, an improvement plan for the first course of Secondary is proposed, where reading about History themes is the main objective together with a major use of ICT resources.
Open Archaeology
In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of P... more In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrate, currently under archaeological works. We want to put forward an update about the sedimentary fillings of one of the crescent-shaped dump quarries (6000–5600 BP). It is located at the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Treviño, northern Spain). In this region, Tertiary carbonated terrains which host important silicifications called Treviño flint (Tarriño, A. (2006). El sílex en la cuenca vasco-cantábrica y Pirineo Navarro. Caracterización y su aprovechamiento en la Prehistoria. Monografía 21, Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura) are outcropped. The procurement of these silicifications by prehistoric populations was motivated by the good quality of this raw material for knapping. Currently, it constitutes one of the few Neolithic known flint mines of the Iberian Peninsula, understood as places of exploitation of flint with landscape modificati...
ICArEHB ; Universidade do Algarve ; CSIC, 2016
Quaternary International, 2016
El sinclinal terciario surpirenaico de Miranda-Treviño posee carbonatos lacustres-palustres blanq... more El sinclinal terciario surpirenaico de Miranda-Treviño posee carbonatos lacustres-palustres blanquecinos donde aparecen silicificaciones. Las capas afloran con una disposición homoclinal suave hacia el NW. Sus laderas presentan pendientes algo menores también hacia el NW. Esta disposición geomorfológica motiva que los estratos silicificados, que presentan encajantes poco consolidados puedan ser extraídos fácilmente. En ocasiones las labores mineras aparecen asociadas a escombreras donde se han ido acumulando los detritus. Diversas prospecciones arqueológicas en los años 50 se detectaron abundantes restos líticos, centenares de percutores y varias decenas de mazas de ofita, etc. Investigaciones recientes indican que la difusión de los sílex de Treviño durante la Prehistoria se ha realizado a yacimientos arqueológicos situados a varios centenares de kilómetros, tanto del Pleistoceno como del Holoceno. Con la actuación arqueológica llevada a cabo se confirma la existencia de una escombrera neolítica con una cronología comprendida entre 6000-5600 BP (sin calibrar), donde se constata un número elevado de restos líticos asociados a la extracción y primera manipulación del sílex, y de herramientas propias de cantería. Convirtiendo al yacimiento
57th Annual Meeting in Heidenheim, 7-11 April 2015. Erlangen: Hugo Obermaier-Gesellschaft fur Erf... more 57th Annual Meeting in Heidenheim, 7-11 April 2015. Erlangen: Hugo Obermaier-Gesellschaft fur Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit e. V. = Hugo Obermaier Society for Quaternary Research and Archaeology of the Stone Age, 2015
Quaternary International, 2015
Currently, investigations about siliceous resources exploited during prehistoric times in the Can... more Currently, investigations about siliceous resources exploited during prehistoric times in the Cantabrian Mountain and Western Pyrenees are still scarce and, generally, they did not employ methods which go deeply into the provenance characteristics. A review of the studies of lithic resource exploitation offered by historiography indicates that the theme has been examined in a generalized way in most cases. A model with a clear difference between the Eastern and Western territory of the Cantabrian Coast was created: an area with flint and an area without flint. This model needs to be qualified, because in recent years siliceous outcrops have been discovered in zones of the Western Cantabrian Mountains (Asturias). Information from the investigations in the Cantabrian Mountains, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, and Western Pyrenees indicates diverse patterns. There is a preference for lithic raw material found near the occupations, together with the inclusion of exotic or distant flints, always of good quality, to a greater or lesser extent, according to the chronological periods and the geographical location.
Journal of Lithic Studies, 2014
The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla... more The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava-Condado de Treviño, Burgos), inside the lacustrine-palustrine Cenozoic (Aquitanian, Miocene) materials of the South-Pyrenean syncline of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. It is a landscape unit constituted by a set of carbonated layers with abundant nodular and stratiform silicifications. The extraction mining works (often referred to as 'tailing') are usually identified as dumps or trenches, subtly visible and associated with archaeological materials. An archaeological excavation was carried out in one potential mining structure (dump or pit) that was detected by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the mountain pass of "Pozarrate" near the villages of Grandival and Araico (Treviño, Burgos). In this work we present the results of the excavation of the last two years. The existence of a Neolithic mining dump (the tailings) with a chronology ca. 5000 cal. BC was confirmed. The base rock level with nodular flint was reached and the impressions of the exploited nodules have been identified. As well, the extraction front which reaches about 4.0-5.0 metres in height was delimited. Thousands of lithic remains associated with the extraction and the initial processing (shaping) of flint were collected, as along with mining tools. We have found and described three types of mining structures: trenches, linear dumps and crescent-shaped (or "half-moon-shaped") dumps. This site is one of the few prehistoric flint mines dated in the Iberian Peninsula. Recent investigations in the Cantabrian Mountains and Western Pyrenees indicate that the circulation and use of Treviño flint during Prehistory reached many Holocene and Pleistocene archaeological sites, located hundreds of kilometres away from the outcrops.
Journal of Anthropological Research, 2014
Although it may seem paradoxical, the mobility patterns of nomadic Paleolithic hunter-gatherer gr... more Although it may seem paradoxical, the mobility patterns of nomadic Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups are usually discerned based on the study of a single, static site. By statistically analysing patterns of lithic procurement at the Gravettian camp of Ametzagaina (Basque Country), we attempt to interpret how different raw material types infl uenced mobility and technological preferences. In order to overcome the static view created by analyzing a single site, this study provides new methodological keys with which to approach this question. Because this site is located very near a critical corridor between France and the Iberian Peninsula at the western end of the Pyrenees, it contains lithic materials from both sides of the mountain chain. It is argued that these materials were used differently according to their original source location and their physical characteristics (e.g., quality, size, shape). This information is compared with data from other Gravettian sites across the same region and on both sides of the Western Pyrenees. T , catchment areas, and management of lithic raw materials can contribute greatly to an understanding of the mobility strategies of Paleolithic groups. Although many lithic resources may have been exchanged from group to group (Whallon 2006), such an important resource must, in most JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH
The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla... more The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava- Condado de Treviño, Burgos), inside the lacustrine-palustrine Cenozoic (Aquitanian, Miocene) materials of the South-Pyrenean syncline of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. It is a landscape unit constituted by a set of carbonated layers with abundant nodular and stratiform silicifications. The extraction mining works (often referred to as ‘tailing’) are usually identified as dumps or trenches, subtly visible and associated with archaeological materials. An archaeological excavation was carried out in one potential mining structure (dump or pit) that was detected by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the mountain pass of “Pozarrate ” near the villages of Grandival and Araico (Treviño, Burgos). In this work we present the results of the excavation of the last two years. The existence of a Neolithic mining dump (the tailings) with a chronology ca. 5000 cal. BC was confirmed. The base...
Homenaje a Georges Laplace, realizado en Vitoria-Gasteiz el 13, 14 y 15 de noviembre de 2012. Edi... more Homenaje a Georges Laplace, realizado en Vitoria-Gasteiz el 13, 14 y 15 de noviembre de 2012. Edicion a cargo de Aitor Calvo, Aitor Sanchez, Maite Garcia-Rojas y Monica Alonso-Eguiluz.
En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del estudio de la procedencia de las materias primas ... more En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del estudio de la procedencia de las materias primas liticas explotadas en yacimientos arqueologicos localizados en el Pirineo Occidental y con cronologias encuadradas en el Paleolitico Superior. Continuando con los trabajos iniciados en este territorio se profundiza en la gestion de los recursos siliceos desde los puntos de vista petrologico y arqueologico.Para la realizacion de esta investigacion se propone una metodologia basada en la union de dos disciplinas, la petrologia y la Tipologia Analitica establecida por G. Laplace, para el analisis de la industria litica. El aspecto petrologico emplea los metodos propios de esta ciencia para la determinacion de las rocas siliceas y ejerce de eje vertebrador. La informacion petrologica obtenida se compara con datos de afloramientos de silex susceptibles de haber sido explotados durante la Prehistoria, de modo que puedan reconocerse las fuentes de aprovisionamiento para la confeccion de la indu...
The existence of thick sedimentary series in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the Western Pyrenees... more The existence of thick sedimentary series in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the Western Pyrenees helps the outcropping of many and vary geological formations with important silicifications. The study of their different types and their host rocks allows knowing which the disponibility of this important mineral resource was in Prehistoric times. The petrological characterization also allows identifying the geological origin of the lithic remains from the archaeological sites. It has been possible to differentiate 5 Groups of flint depending on the formation environment, 14 Classes if the geological age is considered and more than 20 Types or geological formations. According to the ways rocks are used in prehistoric sites, in turn, they can be classified into: Not used, Local, Regional, Tracer and Super-Tracer flints. Since Neolithic periods a new type of flint appears: the Evaporitico del Ebro (Super-Tracer), with outcrops and workshops outside the geological environment under this s...
Archaeologia Polona, 60, 2022
This paper presents the current state of research on the Early Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrat... more This paper presents the current state of research on the Early Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrate (Treviño, Burgos) in the north of Spain. This site is part of the Prehistoric Flint Mining Complex of Treviño. The geological features of the territory made it a suitable place for the exploitation of the Treviño flint since Paleolithic times, especially during the Neolithic. Recent research at the site has revealed interesting findings, such as antler and dolerite mining equipment and different flint tools, among other recoveries. Radiocarbon dates indicate an Early Neolithic activity which makes Pozarrate one of the few flint procurement sites in the Iberian Peninsula from this period. Moreover, a considerable number of elements link Pozarrate to the Early European Neolithic flint mining phenomenon.
The present work shows how the linguistic communication competence is acquired in the Social Scie... more The present work shows how the linguistic communication competence is acquired in the Social Sciences in 1 st of Secondary. The reading comprehension level of the Spanish students is not the expected, as the PISA document confirms it, and a revision is needed. For this task, firstly, the educational resources and the employed methodologies in the class for the linguistic development are examined, in order to detect any aspect that could be improved. The Social Science subject and specifically the History are connected with the linguistic communication competence, and consequently encouragement is required. The educational resources and activities associated with this competence are many: the reading of texts and especially of the handbook, map commentaries, and the Information and Communications Technology which offers many possibilities. Afterward are analyzed the resources employed in a concrete group of a school in the Basque Country through the answering of the questionnaire given to the teaching staff, where is evaluated the level of the linguistic competence. In general, the perception of the oral and writing comprehension and expression degree is adequate; but there are features to be improved. Finally, an improvement plan for the first course of Secondary is proposed, where reading about History themes is the main objective together with a major use of ICT resources.
Open Archaeology
In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of P... more In this work, we present the preliminary data we have obtained in the Neolithic flint quarry of Pozarrate, currently under archaeological works. We want to put forward an update about the sedimentary fillings of one of the crescent-shaped dump quarries (6000–5600 BP). It is located at the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Treviño, northern Spain). In this region, Tertiary carbonated terrains which host important silicifications called Treviño flint (Tarriño, A. (2006). El sílex en la cuenca vasco-cantábrica y Pirineo Navarro. Caracterización y su aprovechamiento en la Prehistoria. Monografía 21, Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura) are outcropped. The procurement of these silicifications by prehistoric populations was motivated by the good quality of this raw material for knapping. Currently, it constitutes one of the few Neolithic known flint mines of the Iberian Peninsula, understood as places of exploitation of flint with landscape modificati...
ICArEHB ; Universidade do Algarve ; CSIC, 2016
Quaternary International, 2016
El sinclinal terciario surpirenaico de Miranda-Treviño posee carbonatos lacustres-palustres blanq... more El sinclinal terciario surpirenaico de Miranda-Treviño posee carbonatos lacustres-palustres blanquecinos donde aparecen silicificaciones. Las capas afloran con una disposición homoclinal suave hacia el NW. Sus laderas presentan pendientes algo menores también hacia el NW. Esta disposición geomorfológica motiva que los estratos silicificados, que presentan encajantes poco consolidados puedan ser extraídos fácilmente. En ocasiones las labores mineras aparecen asociadas a escombreras donde se han ido acumulando los detritus. Diversas prospecciones arqueológicas en los años 50 se detectaron abundantes restos líticos, centenares de percutores y varias decenas de mazas de ofita, etc. Investigaciones recientes indican que la difusión de los sílex de Treviño durante la Prehistoria se ha realizado a yacimientos arqueológicos situados a varios centenares de kilómetros, tanto del Pleistoceno como del Holoceno. Con la actuación arqueológica llevada a cabo se confirma la existencia de una escombrera neolítica con una cronología comprendida entre 6000-5600 BP (sin calibrar), donde se constata un número elevado de restos líticos asociados a la extracción y primera manipulación del sílex, y de herramientas propias de cantería. Convirtiendo al yacimiento
57th Annual Meeting in Heidenheim, 7-11 April 2015. Erlangen: Hugo Obermaier-Gesellschaft fur Erf... more 57th Annual Meeting in Heidenheim, 7-11 April 2015. Erlangen: Hugo Obermaier-Gesellschaft fur Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit e. V. = Hugo Obermaier Society for Quaternary Research and Archaeology of the Stone Age, 2015
Quaternary International, 2015
Currently, investigations about siliceous resources exploited during prehistoric times in the Can... more Currently, investigations about siliceous resources exploited during prehistoric times in the Cantabrian Mountain and Western Pyrenees are still scarce and, generally, they did not employ methods which go deeply into the provenance characteristics. A review of the studies of lithic resource exploitation offered by historiography indicates that the theme has been examined in a generalized way in most cases. A model with a clear difference between the Eastern and Western territory of the Cantabrian Coast was created: an area with flint and an area without flint. This model needs to be qualified, because in recent years siliceous outcrops have been discovered in zones of the Western Cantabrian Mountains (Asturias). Information from the investigations in the Cantabrian Mountains, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, and Western Pyrenees indicates diverse patterns. There is a preference for lithic raw material found near the occupations, together with the inclusion of exotic or distant flints, always of good quality, to a greater or lesser extent, according to the chronological periods and the geographical location.
Journal of Lithic Studies, 2014
The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla... more The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava-Condado de Treviño, Burgos), inside the lacustrine-palustrine Cenozoic (Aquitanian, Miocene) materials of the South-Pyrenean syncline of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. It is a landscape unit constituted by a set of carbonated layers with abundant nodular and stratiform silicifications. The extraction mining works (often referred to as 'tailing') are usually identified as dumps or trenches, subtly visible and associated with archaeological materials. An archaeological excavation was carried out in one potential mining structure (dump or pit) that was detected by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the mountain pass of "Pozarrate" near the villages of Grandival and Araico (Treviño, Burgos). In this work we present the results of the excavation of the last two years. The existence of a Neolithic mining dump (the tailings) with a chronology ca. 5000 cal. BC was confirmed. The base rock level with nodular flint was reached and the impressions of the exploited nodules have been identified. As well, the extraction front which reaches about 4.0-5.0 metres in height was delimited. Thousands of lithic remains associated with the extraction and the initial processing (shaping) of flint were collected, as along with mining tools. We have found and described three types of mining structures: trenches, linear dumps and crescent-shaped (or "half-moon-shaped") dumps. This site is one of the few prehistoric flint mines dated in the Iberian Peninsula. Recent investigations in the Cantabrian Mountains and Western Pyrenees indicate that the circulation and use of Treviño flint during Prehistory reached many Holocene and Pleistocene archaeological sites, located hundreds of kilometres away from the outcrops.
Journal of Anthropological Research, 2014
Although it may seem paradoxical, the mobility patterns of nomadic Paleolithic hunter-gatherer gr... more Although it may seem paradoxical, the mobility patterns of nomadic Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups are usually discerned based on the study of a single, static site. By statistically analysing patterns of lithic procurement at the Gravettian camp of Ametzagaina (Basque Country), we attempt to interpret how different raw material types infl uenced mobility and technological preferences. In order to overcome the static view created by analyzing a single site, this study provides new methodological keys with which to approach this question. Because this site is located very near a critical corridor between France and the Iberian Peninsula at the western end of the Pyrenees, it contains lithic materials from both sides of the mountain chain. It is argued that these materials were used differently according to their original source location and their physical characteristics (e.g., quality, size, shape). This information is compared with data from other Gravettian sites across the same region and on both sides of the Western Pyrenees. T , catchment areas, and management of lithic raw materials can contribute greatly to an understanding of the mobility strategies of Paleolithic groups. Although many lithic resources may have been exchanged from group to group (Whallon 2006), such an important resource must, in most JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH
The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla... more The prehistoric Treviño flint mine complex is located in the Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava- Condado de Treviño, Burgos), inside the lacustrine-palustrine Cenozoic (Aquitanian, Miocene) materials of the South-Pyrenean syncline of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. It is a landscape unit constituted by a set of carbonated layers with abundant nodular and stratiform silicifications. The extraction mining works (often referred to as ‘tailing’) are usually identified as dumps or trenches, subtly visible and associated with archaeological materials. An archaeological excavation was carried out in one potential mining structure (dump or pit) that was detected by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the mountain pass of “Pozarrate ” near the villages of Grandival and Araico (Treviño, Burgos). In this work we present the results of the excavation of the last two years. The existence of a Neolithic mining dump (the tailings) with a chronology ca. 5000 cal. BC was confirmed. The base...
Homenaje a Georges Laplace, realizado en Vitoria-Gasteiz el 13, 14 y 15 de noviembre de 2012. Edi... more Homenaje a Georges Laplace, realizado en Vitoria-Gasteiz el 13, 14 y 15 de noviembre de 2012. Edicion a cargo de Aitor Calvo, Aitor Sanchez, Maite Garcia-Rojas y Monica Alonso-Eguiluz.
En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del estudio de la procedencia de las materias primas ... more En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del estudio de la procedencia de las materias primas liticas explotadas en yacimientos arqueologicos localizados en el Pirineo Occidental y con cronologias encuadradas en el Paleolitico Superior. Continuando con los trabajos iniciados en este territorio se profundiza en la gestion de los recursos siliceos desde los puntos de vista petrologico y arqueologico.Para la realizacion de esta investigacion se propone una metodologia basada en la union de dos disciplinas, la petrologia y la Tipologia Analitica establecida por G. Laplace, para el analisis de la industria litica. El aspecto petrologico emplea los metodos propios de esta ciencia para la determinacion de las rocas siliceas y ejerce de eje vertebrador. La informacion petrologica obtenida se compara con datos de afloramientos de silex susceptibles de haber sido explotados durante la Prehistoria, de modo que puedan reconocerse las fuentes de aprovisionamiento para la confeccion de la indu...
The existence of thick sedimentary series in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the Western Pyrenees... more The existence of thick sedimentary series in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the Western Pyrenees helps the outcropping of many and vary geological formations with important silicifications. The study of their different types and their host rocks allows knowing which the disponibility of this important mineral resource was in Prehistoric times. The petrological characterization also allows identifying the geological origin of the lithic remains from the archaeological sites. It has been possible to differentiate 5 Groups of flint depending on the formation environment, 14 Classes if the geological age is considered and more than 20 Types or geological formations. According to the ways rocks are used in prehistoric sites, in turn, they can be classified into: Not used, Local, Regional, Tracer and Super-Tracer flints. Since Neolithic periods a new type of flint appears: the Evaporitico del Ebro (Super-Tracer), with outcrops and workshops outside the geological environment under this s...
by Ramon Obeso, Alvaro Arrizabalaga, Mikelo Elorza, Álvaro Moreno-Jiménez, Pablo Lopez Cisneros, Dan Cabanes, Sonia Gabriel, Marcos García-Diez, Irantzu Elorrieta-Baigorri, David Álvarez-Alonso, Antonio Tarriño Vinagre, Rafael Domingo Martínez, Paloma Uzquiano Ollero, Jesus Tapia, Aitor Calvo, Jesús F. Jordá, and María de Andrés Herrero
57th Annual Meeting in Heidenheim: 15-16. ISBN.978-3-933474-97-1, 2015
Authors:D. Álvarez-Alonso, J. Yravedra, A. Arrizabalaga, J. F. Jordá, E. Álvarez-Fernández, M. de... more Authors:D. Álvarez-Alonso, J. Yravedra, A. Arrizabalaga, J. F. Jordá, E. Álvarez-Fernández, M. de Andrés-Herrero, M. Elorza, S. Gabriel, García-Díez, D. Garrido, M. M. J. Iriarte, J. Rojo, C. Sesé, P. Uzquiano, T. Aparicio, M. Arriolabengoa, A. Calvo, P. Carral, R. Domingo, I. Elorrieta, V. Estaca, O. Fuente, M. García, E. García, E. Iriarte Avilés, P. López, M. Meléndez, J. Tapia, A. Tarriño, G. J. Trancho, A. M. Valles, M de Andrés-Chain, D. Ballesteros, D. Cabanes, A. Moreno, D. Rodrigo & R. Obeso
Coímbre cave (142 meters asl) is located on the southwestern slope of Mount Pendendo (529 m), in the small valley of Besnes river, tributary of Cares river, in a medium-higher mountain are in the central-western Cantabria –northern Iberian Peninsula- (Álvarez-Alonso et al., 2009; 2013b). The landscape in the surroundings of the cave –situated in an interior valley but near to the current coast in a low altitude- can be described as a mountainous environment where valleys, small hills and steep mountains with high slopes are integrated, which confer a relative variety of ecosystems to this area. Coímbre contains an important archaeological site divided in two different areas. B Area, is the farthest from the entrance, and is the place where took place the excavations carried out to date, between 2008 and 2012 (Álvarez-Alonso et al., 2009, 2011, 2013a, 2013b).
Coímbre B shows a complete and very interesting Magdalenian sequence (with Lower, Middle and Upper Magdalenian levels), and a gravettian level, that converts this cave in one of the biggest habitat areas in western Cantabria. Its rich set of bone industries, mobiliar art and ornaments, provide key information that shows the connections between this area, the Pyrenees and the south-west of Aquitaine.
Moreover, Coímbre cave presents an interesting set of Magdalenian engravings, locatedin different places of the cavity, both in open and accessible areas, and in narrower and inaccessible places, which clearly define two different symbolic spaces. All this artistic expressions belong to the Magdalenian, and it is possible to establish a division between a set of engravings framed in the first stages of this period (the most abundant and remote); and a more limited set of engravings, in which stand out a block with a engraving of a bison with a deep trace of more than one meter long, that belongs to the recent Magdalenian.
This work presents the preliminary results of the analysis of Magdalenian occupations in Coímbre, after the end of the excavations in B Area, and the study of its rock art, shaping this site as one of the most important places of Magdalenian human activities in western Cantabria.
![Research paper thumbnail of Seis décadas de Tipología Analítica. Actas en homenaje a Georges Laplace [Six décennies de Typologie Analytique. Actes en hommage à Georges Laplace]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/36869766/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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