标题:Utilización de instrumentos de concha durante el Mesolítico y Neolítico inicial en contextos litorales de la región cantábrica: programa experimental para el análisis de huellas de uso en materiales malacológicos
出版社:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
摘要:One of the most common debates surrounding the Mesolithic and early Neolithic periods in northern Spain focuses on the scarcity of lithic and osseous technologies identified in large shell midden contexts. Currently, several hypotheses have been proposed that attribute this phenomenon to differences in site spatial organization, increases in perishable material use, or changes in subsistence strategies. However, recently shell tools have been identified in the early Neolithic levels at Santimamiñe cave located in the Basque Country of northern Spain. These artifacts are the first evidence of shell tools to be identified in Northern Spain in an early Neolithic shell midden context. This paper proposes the hypothesis that shell tools were being used in subsistence activities. To test this hypothesis, the authors developed an experimental programme using different types of mollusc shells to examine evidence of functional use on wood, dry/fresh animal skin and non-woody plants. The experimental results were then used to examine the patterns of use on the seven shell tools from Santimamiñe. The results of the comparisons indicate that the seven shell tools have similar use patterns as the experimental shells. This evidence supports the proposed hypothesis that shell tools may have been used frequently in shell midden contexts during the Mesolithic and early Neolithic for the working of wood, plants or animal skin.
关键词:Functional analysis;Shell tools;Archaeomalacology;Hunter-gatherers;Cantabrian region;Análisis funcional;Instrumentos de concha;Arqueología experimental;Arqueomalacología;Cazadores- recolectores;Región cantábrica