Off-print ofJournal of lberian Archaeology

Volume 4 - 2002

Published byADECAP

Rua Aníbal Cunha, 39 - 3' - Sala 74050 Porto - Portugal

EARLY UPPER PALAEOLIIHIC IN THE LABEKO KOBAARCHEOLOGICAL SITE (BASAUE COUNTRY)

by

A. Afr¡zobologo*+, J. Allunox, P. Afeso*, M. Elorzo*, M. Gofcío+,M. J. lriorlex+, K. Moriezkurreno*, J. A. Mu¡iko*, E. Pemón*,

A. Toniño+, A. Uriz* & L. V¡ero*

Abstract: The archeological site of Labeko Koba (Cave) is located in the southwestem comer of the

Province of Guipúzcoa (Basque Country). It is in a highly anthropothized landscape within the upper

valley of the Deva River. The site was excavated between September of 1987 and December of 1988'

Labeko Koba is one ofthe úain Earty Upper Paleotithic sites to have been excavated in the Cantabrian

region of northern Iberia in recent decades, with a very interesting archa€ological sequence:

Chatelperronian (Lower IX levet), Protoaurignacian (vII level) and Old Aurignacian (Vl' V and IV

levels). Following the excavation, an interdisciplinary analytical team was organized and its results

have recently been published as a monograPh: "Labeko Koba (Pafs Vasco). Hienas y Humanos en los

Albores del Paleolltico Superioi' (Munibe: Antropologia-Arkeologia, vol 52, 2000), €dited by A.

Arrizabalaga and J. Altuna.

K€y-\yords: Paleolithic; Iberia; industries.

Resuúo: O sltio arqueológico de Labeko Koba (Gruta) situa-se no canto sudoeste da Província de

Guipúzcoa (País Basco). I¡clui-se numa paisagem altamente antropizada, no alto vale do rio Deva' O

sítio foi escavado entre Setembro de 1987 e Dezembro de l9EE Labeko Koba é um dos mais impor-

tantes sltios, escavados em décadas recentes, pefencentes ao Paleolítico Superior inicial da regiáo

cantábrica, no Norte da Península lbéIica, coú uma sequCncia arqueológica muito interessante:

Castelteronense (nível IX Inferior), Proto_aurinhacense (níveMl) e Aurinhacense an¡igo (nlveis vI,

V e IV). Após a escavaqáo, foi criada uma equipa de estudo interdisciplinar e os seus resultados fo¡ampublicaalos numa monografla: "Labeko Koba (País Basco) Hienas y Humanos en los Albores del

Paleolítico Supe¡ior" (Munibe: Antropologia-Arkeologia, vol 52, 2000)' dirigida Por A. Anizabalaga

e J. Altuna.

Palavras-chave: Paleolíticoi Península lbédca; indústrias.

* Dpto. Prehistoria. Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi. Elkano bidea, 31. Zonoaga Gaina. 20014

Donostia - San Sebastián.t Area de Prehistoria. Universidad del País vasco. Facultad de Filología y Geografía-Historia.

Tomás y valiente /9. 01006 Vitoria - Gasteiz

& A. Arrizabalaga, J. ALtuna, P. Areso, M. Elorza, M. García, M. J. lriarte,K. Marizzkurrena, J. A. Mujika, E. Peñán, A. Tarriño, A. Uriz & L. Viera

Given the continuing inte¡est in and controversy about the Middle-Upper Paleolithictralsition and the nature of human adaptations during the initial Upper Paleolithic inEurope (e.9., the article by d'E¡rico et al. [CA 39: S1-S44] and comments thereon byMellars, Otte and Straus [CA 40: 341-355] and reply by Zilháo and d'Enico [CA 40: 355--3641), the extensive, modern-quality €xcavation, ¡adiometric dating and analysis of a sitecontaining a sequence of Chatelperronian and Au¡ignacian occupations is of greatsignificance to pal€oanthropology. Such sites are mrc and Labeko Koba is indeed only thethird site in the classic Cantab an region to produce a sequence of this kind, The othe¡ twoa¡e El Pendo and Cueva Morín, the latter having been the more recendy excavated - butin the late l9ó0s. Labeko Koba also helps to fill a geographic gap in our knowledge ofhuman settlement during the period between around 35,000-30,000 BP in the region betweenthe two above-mentioned sites (both in the Spanish Province of Cantabria) and the sites ofIsturitz and Gatzarria in the French Basque Country.

The archeological site of Labeko Koba (Cave) was located in the southwestem cornerof the Province of GuiprÍzcoa (in the coastal sector of the spanish Basque Country). It isin a highly anthropothized landscape within the upper valley of the Deva River, practicallyin the urban a¡ea of the town of Arasate. Like the whole te¡ritory of Guipúzcoa, th€ siteis at the area of conve¡gence of the Cantabrian, Aquitanian and Pyrenean environments atthe corner of the Gulf of Gascony. The site was excavated between September of 1987 andDecembe¡ of 1988, unde¡ exceptional conditions which can be characterized as those of"programmed salvage archeology" rather than as an emergency rescue. The standardfieldwork methodology used in modem Paleolithic excavations th¡oughout Franco-Cantabdawas adapted here in some respects, in order to be able to completely excavate the culturaldeposit before its dest¡uction by the construction of a by-pass road around Arrasate, whilemaintaining the normal cont¡ols us€d in an excavation of this kind of site. In fact, thechronometric dates, the fully analyzed faunal assemblage, the paleoenvironmental studies,and the important assemblages of lithic and osseous artifacts all allow fo¡ solid inter-pretations of the human occupations of the Labeko Koba site. In this regard, it is safe tosay that Labeko Koba is now one of the main Early Upper Paleolithic sites to have beenexcavated in the Cantabrian rcgion of northern Spain in recent decades.

Following the excavation, an interdisciplinary analytical team was organized. Itsresults have recently been published as a monograph: "Labeko Koba (País Vasco). Hienasy Humanos en los Albores del Paleolítico Superior" (Munibe: Ant¡opologia-Arkeologiavol. 52, 2000), edited by A.Anizabalaga and J. Altuna. This volume includes tho¡oughnatural science descriptions and analyses of regional geology (L. Vie¡a), the cave's sedi-mentary infilling (P. Areso & A. Uriz), archeobotany (M.J. Iriarte) and archeozoology oflarge mammals (J. Altuna & K. Ma¡iezku¡rena), birds (M. Elorza) and micromammals (E.Pemán). Archeological studies include those of the lithic industries (4. Anizabalaga), thebone tools (J.A. Mujika), lithic mw material sources (A. Tarriño), and an engraved pebble(M. Garcia & A. Arrizabalaga).

Postdepositional conditions had altered much of the archeological residues in thecase. Most of the site's surface had lost the protection of the original rock overhang, suchthat ¡emains deposited in that area have been intensively weathered and eroded by Éin andother natural elements. These processes of alteration especially affected the bones andlikewise the osseous industry, as well as the pollen. Even lithic artifacts have been weatheredin the exDosed areas of the site. For this reason there are some serious limitations on the

Early Upper Palaeolithic in the labeko KobaarcheoLogical site (Basque Country)

tr)

interpretation of the site - more seve¡e in fact than any limitations caused by the salvagenature of the excavation -. A particularly symptomatic fact is that most of the maindifferences that were observed within the deposit are of a horizontal nature (i.e., differencesbetween the areas inside and outside the present dripline of the cave), rathe¡ than of avertical nature. The diffe¡ences among stata a¡e ¡ather attenuated, especially in the areaoutside the p¡otection of the small remaining overhang at the cave mouth. It is importantto note that the available ch¡onometric dates a¡e sometimes on samples that have been rainwashed within the deposit. As a result, we have had to disregard those dates ülat arenotably incoherent with the stratignphic sequence.

Therc is evidence of initial visits to the cave by various species which would com-pete for its occupation throughout the sites history - namely various carnivores, especiallyhyenas, and humans -. Before the excavated cave mouth had begun to fill up with sediments,the¡e existed at its rear a shaft which provided access to the lowe¡ ka¡stic system of LabekoKoba. In 1973 and in 1987 th¡ee lots of materials - mainly archeozoological - we¡ecollected in the upper deposit of this shaft and at the base of the detital cone; these werelabelled globally "Sima 1973" and then "Der¡ubio Superior 1987" for the upper cone and"Der¡ubio Infe¡io¡ 1987" for the lowe¡ cone, respectively. The presence of a Chatelpefionpoint among the materials from the shaft, a burin spall ftom the upper cone deposit whichrefits to a bu¡in from lower Level IX, and the associations of fauna found among thesedeposits lead us to suspect chronological identity between them and Level IX in theexcavation at the front of the cave. It is probable, therefore, that these materials whichlacked specific st¡atigmphic context corespond to the first visirs to rhe cave by hyenas,cave be¡¡rs and humaris. The camivores used the shaft of Labeko Koba as a den.

The occasional human presence is, howeve¡, harder to explain, although it may havebeen motivated for the opportunities to scavenge meat, m¿¡rrow, hide, hom or bone fromca¡casses left in the cave by camivores, which were the main taphonomic agents at thebeginning of the formation of the deposit. The presence of abundant remains of hyena andcave bear in th€ shaft could be explained by the difficulty of climbing back up the coneafter dropping prey carcass parts down the shaft and going after them to feed. Thus someof the camivo¡es died in the inne¡ cave. Among their prey were especially ho¡se and reddeer, species which would be mo¡e secondary in impo¡tance in those late¡ levels in whichhumans we¡e the principal agents of faunal accumulation.

Sedimentation of the site per se began when the shaft became pa¡tially blocked bythe debris cone as it filled the lower gallery. We suppose that for some time the shaftcontinued to be activated episodically as a karstic sump, because of the similarity betweenthe paleontological materials of lowe¡ Level IX and those of the Uppe¡ Cone. In contrast,there is not a single Dufou bladelet among the cone materials, although these aftifacts areabundant in LeveMl, a fact which leads us to deduce that the final closing of the shaftoccured during the time of formation of either upper Level IX or archeologically sterileLevel VI[. It is possible that the shaft sump had been remporarily but completely closedbefore the deposition of Level IX, but was later ¡eactivated occasionally until its finalobstruction. In any case, what seems certain is that only materials from lower and upperLevel IX and perhaps LeveMII had been washed into rhe shaft.

The first stages in the infilling of Labeko Koba, which made up p¡acfically half thetotal a¡cheological deposit of the site, conespond to Irvel IX (in some squa¡es about twometers thick). This horizon does not seem to have had an anthopic odgin and most of the

66 A. Arrizabalaga, J. Altuna, P. Areso, M. Elorza, M. Garcta, M, J. Iriar¡e,K. Marieakuüena, J. A. Mujika, E, Peñán, A. Tarriño, A. Uríz & L. viera

matedals recove¡ed f¡om it are faunal remains accumulated by hyenas (of which there arealso abundant bones, as well as coprolites and tooth ma¡ks on many of the bones ingenenl) and othe¡ carnivores. As was t¡ue among the archeological materials from thelower galledes, the human presence seems to have been limited to spo¡adic visits to thecave to scavenge raw matedals or food. During these visits they occasionally left behinda few aftifacts, generally of an expedient nature, with hardly any evidence of in situknapping. The anifacts are mainly large, unr€touched blanks or retouched tools probablyused for cutting.

The distribution of archeological remains within Level IX, as well as some minorsedimentological differences, led us from the very time of excavation to distinguishe twosublevels sepa¡ated by a fragmented stalagmitic layer. Lower Level IX, dated to34,215L1265 BP (Ua-3324), has been att¡ibuted to the Chatelperronian, fundamentally onthe basis of a small lithic artifact assemblage that included three Chat€lpenon points. Thereis also a very deteriorated bone point fragment. It is noteworthy that, although small, thelithic assemblage from this sublevel already displays some charactedstics typical of theUpper Paleolithic, such as its high percentage ofblades. In addition, the lithic raw materialsused are the same ones that are obse¡ved throughout the remailder of the sequence in later(Aurignacian) Uppe¡ Paleotithic times at Labeko Koba, The sources used ftom the verybeginning of the occupation were those of the Siena de Urbasa (Navarra) and the Treviñosyncline (Alava) to the south and the coastal Flysch to the north.

Environmental infomation fo¡ lower Level IX comes f¡om seve¡al pollen andsedimentological samples, as well as f¡om the ecology of the animal species brought intothe cave by carnivores. These sources coi[cide to a great degree and suggest attdbution tothe Würm Inte$tadial, possibly the Les Cottés oscillation, for this humid and relativelytemperate phase at the beginning of the stratigraphic deposition. The sedimentologicalanalyses indicate a high degree of humidity at a time which, if there were cold episodes,we¡e not intense. The pollen analyses, conducted on samples ftom outside the main column,attest the appearaDce of mesothe¡mophile taxa (such as chesnut). Among the large mammals,red deer is very dominant (657¿ of the identiñable remains), with fewer hyena remains thanin the upper cone deposit. The spectmm has a more temperate appeamnce than the upperzone of Level IX. As is true in the rest of the stratigraphy, the micromammals testify toÉther temperate conditions in this level, while the avifauna really p¡ovides no significantclimatic information.

The upper zone of Level IX makes up the major part of the hodzon, but is virtuallylacking in artifacts (except for five flint flakes). With rcservations (and perhaps making useof its wide margin of error), we can accept as suggestive the radioca¡bon date f¡om thisunit: 29,750t740 BP (Ua-3325). From the cultu¡al standpoint, it is difficult to attribute thissublevel which is sandwiched between üe Chatelperonian of lower Level IX and theProtoaurignacian of Level VII, which it actually separates more clearly than discontinuousLevel VIII. However, the environmental indications f¡om lowe¡ IX suggest that it wasformed unde¡ the pleniglacial conditions of würm III. In fact, the indicators prcvided bysedimentology, palynology and archeozoology all point to cold conditions. The sedimen-tology also points to humidity, but low energy flow, which diminished at the top of thehorizon. Steppic vegetation under a cold climate is indicated by the pollen spect¡a for thewhole level, which a¡e dominated by Poaceae (grasses) and which also continuously includeEphedra. Among the ungulates, there are fewer red deer and a major presence of mammoth

EarlJ Upper Palaeolithic in the labeko Kobaarcheologí.al site (Basque Country)

67

and woolly rhino in this part of the sÍatigraphy,Level VüI, which exists in the form of several diffuse lenses within the cave, is

archeologically sterile. In many places LeveMl lies directly atop Level IX with anevident lacuna between the two deposits. Precisely because of its discontinuous nature,VIII was not identified in the sampling columns! so information on the paleoenvi¡onmentis lacking.

As for LeveMl, it marks a clear break with respect to the underlying levels. Forthe fiIst time in the Labeko Koba sequence, humans were major protagonists in the cave,competing significantly now with the carnivores (which, in this level, were fundamentallybeam) for the use of this small sheltered space. Although the available ¡ecord does notpermit discernment of the occupational rhythm, it seems apparerit that there was altemationbetween fairly stable human use of the cave th¡ough time with use as a den by bears. Infact, the lithic industry seems to indicate that this level was the only one at Labeko Kobato contain a complete ¡epresentation of the operational chain, with all stages of the procu-rement, ¡eduction, use and disca¡d sequence for stone tools.

Level VII has one radioca¡bon date, which, if judged to be valid, would place thishorizon at 31,455t915 BP (Ua-3321). This makes sense in l ight of the typologicalcharacteristics of the artifacts from this level. In pa¡ticular, the composition of the lithicindustry is clea¡ly attributable to the P¡otoaurignacian - notably the facies thereof whichis rich in semi-abruptly retouched bladelets (frequendy including Dufour bladelets) -. Theflint sources used a¡e substantially the same as in IX (as is tlue throughout the wholesequence), although there is an inc¡ease in the use of the southem sources rclative to thoseof the northem Flysch, which a¡e ¡ow represented more sporadically. Nonetheless, thephysical proximity of the sources and human knowledge thereof do not seem to presupposecomplete accessibility, since the exploitation of raw matedals throughout the wholesequence is of such an extent as to hint at a serious shortage of lithic ¡esources.

LeveMl yielded several finds (a cobble with engraved lines, a small ball of amber,and several examples of decoration on bones) which attest to the fact that, at least sinceProtoaurignacian, the human g¡oups had a symbolic unive¡se simila¡ to that which existedduring the rest of the Upper Paleolithic. Given of the rare occu¡rence of such types of findsin the beginning phases of the Cantab¡ian Upper Paleolithic, the deco¡ative objects atLabeko Koba in fact may be among the oldest well-dated manifestations of pofable art oromament in the northem Iberian Peninsula.

From the paleoenvironmental standpoint, interp¡etation of LeveMl is not clearcut, inthat üere is some variance among the proxy indicato¡s. The sedimentology simply suggestsintensified cold in this level vis á vis the underlying deposit. The pollen record indicatesmaintenance or even iricrcase in cold at the base of lrvel VII relative to upper Level IX, witha reduction in humidity. However in the upper zone of vII, the pollen evidence shows anotable climatic amelioration, with a far more temperate, humid vegetational spectrum, f¡omwhich steppe taxa have disappeared. Finally, the faunal analysis discemed a significantchange among the ungulates in this level, probably at least in great part due to the increasedimportance of human agency. In terms of the paleoenvironment, although the analysis wasnot formally done by sudivisions within LeveMl, one does note a dominance of woolyrhino at the base of the horizon, while roe dee¡ and boar are mainly found in its upper zone,observations which clearly tend to support the palynological interpretation of cold, dry,steppic conditions followed by morc temperate, humid, wooded ones.

68 A. Arrizabalaea, J. Altuna, P. Areso, M. Elorza, M. Garcla, M. J. Iriarte,K. Mariezkurrena, J. A. Muiika, E. Pemán, A. Tarriño, A. IJriz & L. Viera

Levels VII and V are sepa¡ated by a archeologically very poor LeveM, whichnonetheless seems to be culturally (i.e., technologically) more similar to V than to VII.Although the lithic industry is unimportarit, the osseous industry is distinguished byincluding a split-base poi¡t, a type that identifies this occupation as belonging to the earlyAurignacian. This level is charactedzed by a large quantity of rocks and small blocks,ofte[ cemented together as a consequence of a reactivation of the karst that filst dissolvedand then reprecipitated calcium carbonates from the limestone blocks themselves, It ispossible that this brecciated mass contains the products of the last phase of the majorcollapse of the overhang of the cave mouth.

Maintenance or even increase in humidity is evidenced by both sedimentology andpalynology in LeveM, although there is less agreement between the two methods in termsof the tempe¡atue regime du¡ing the time of deposition of this stratum. While sedimentologysuggests a reprieve from the cold of LeveMl, the pollen spectrum seems to attest to anincrease in cold, concluding at the top of the stratum with a fully stadial landscape. Thefaunal analysis doesn't cont¡ibute much environmental information, although it does showa continued decline in the role of camivores (now smaller species) as accumulators in thecave, as the role of human hunting grew co¡respondingly. In this regard, the large inc¡easein bovines (followed by deer and horses) in this level would become the recurring normfor the rest of the sequence. Among the bovines of Level VI, only au¡ochs (but not bison)could be positively identified, while in the remaining levels both genem werc definitelyreprcsented. Excluding the camivores from the faunal assemblage, there would s€em tohave been a virtual specialization in the hunting of bovines, while species preferring steep,rocky slopes are nearly absent among the game. It is probable that the bovines were huntedin the adjacent valley floo¡ of the A¡amaio Rive¡, at whose opposite end is located the cavesite of Lezetxiki. It is striking to observe the complete absence of ibex at a site (LabekoKoba) in an area where steep, rocky habitats are so ubiquitous. This is a situation verydifferent than that of Late Upper Paleolithic (especially Magdalenian) sites located insimilar mo[tane environments both in the Basque Country and in the rest of the Cantabrianregion, as well as in the Pyrenees, where ibex was very often the dominant game species,

Chrono-cultural attribution of Level V is also secure, given the existence of afiothe¡split- base bone point (this one nearly complete) in the stratum. The¡e are also fragments offlat-section bone points which could also penain to this same temporally diagnostic type. Thelithic assemblage also points in the same direction, with simila¡ities to early Aurignacianassemblages at other sites in the Cantabrian region (e.g., Cueva Moín, Cueva del Polvo¡ín),The¡e is one date for Level V which we believe to be acceptable: 30,6151820 BP (Ua-3322).

The¡e is some paleoenvircnmental evidence fo¡ Level V, despite the fact that thepalynology is based on isolated samples and not a continuous series. The sedimentologyindicates very cold conditions, as do the few pollen samples, which also suggest a drop inhumidity. The mac¡ofaunal assemblage once again includes mammoth, testifying to adeterioration in the climate. ln terms of paleoeconomic indicaton, this level shows an evengreater specialization in the hunting of bovines, followed by small numbe¡s of ho¡ses, redd€e¡ and a few other ungulates.

Level Ms harder to date. There are no acceptable absolute dates, so ou¡ main argumeot¡elies on simila¡ities with Level V in te¡ms ofpaleoenvi¡onments, sediments, afifact industriesand other human behavioral evidence. In most of the statistical compa¡isons of lithic artifactassemblages, these two levels tended to cluster together. The modal stucture of the two

Eorl! Upper Palaeolithic in the l,obeko Kobaarcheological sile ( B¿rsque Country¡

69

assernblages is very similar, despite the fact that semi-abrupt fetouch, still p¡esent in lrvel

V, almost completely disappears in Level IV. It is also easy to attribute this facies of the ea¡ly

Aurignacian with rcference to other relatively nearby parallel cases (e.g., Gatzarria in the

French Basque Country or Cueva Moín near Santande¡). The osseous industy, however,

does not provide diagnostic chrono-cultural evidence. All in all, we consider Level Iv to

pertain to an advanced phase of the early Aurignacian. We should make it clear that we are

not refening to an "evolved Au¡ignacian" in the Frcnch nomenclature, which in contrast has

a numbe¡ of characteristics that clearly differentiate it fiom the early Aurignacian. In general,

Level IV is closest to Irvel V in terms of its cha¡acte¡ization.The sedimentological analysis detects a lessening in the cold during the formation of

Level IV. Unfortunately there are few other environmental indicators, as the pollen g¡ains

are highly co¡roded and üe faunal ¡emains are the same as in I-evel V' with a greatprcdominance of bovines, followed by ho¡se and ¡ed deer.

Residues of the final human occupations of the Labeko Koba site were found in

Level III, at which point the cave was practically filled to the ceiling. There arc no dates

for this stratum; nor are therc culturally diagnostic materials. In fact, the artifacts are very

scarce. Thus the only possible chronological argument that we can make is the apparent

continuity (i,e., lack of hiatus) between Levels IV and III, both in terms of the stratig¡aphyand in other respects (i.e., similarity in the faunas, scarcity but coherency of artifacts,

sedimentological evidence for continuation of the tempe¡ate conditions that begal in Level

IV). All of these facts and the apparent absence of any majof depositional hiatus between

the beginning and end of the process of cave infilling might be taken to suggest that Level

III was not far in time f¡om the early Aurignacian to which we attribute Levels V and IV.

This cave simply would not have been available to provide human shelter dudng mid- or

late Upper Paleolithic times and its deposit would not have been disturbed but for human

activity in the late 20th century,Translated bJ Lawrence G. Strous

Deparrrnent of AnthropologYUniversitl of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

REFERENCES

ARRIZABALAGA, A. & ALTUNA, J. (di¡s.) (20OO),l'abeko Koba (Arrasate, País Vasco).Hienas y humanos en los albores del Paleolítico superíor, Munibe (Anttopología-

Arkeologia) 52.BERNALDO DE QUIRÓS, F. (1982), Los inícíos del Paleolítico süperior contóbico,

Monografías del Centro de investigación y Museo de Altamin, 8, Madrid.BERNALDO DE QUIRÓS, F. (coor.) (1994), El cuadro geocronológíco del Paleolítico

superior inicíal, Monografías del Cent¡o de Investigación y Museo de Altamira, 13,

Madrid.CABRERA, V. (1984), El yacimiento de Ia Cueva de " El Castillo" (Puente Víesgo, Santan-

der), Biblioteca Praehistorica Hispana XXII, Madrid.D'ERRICO, F, et alií (1998), "Neandertal Acculturation in western Europe?. A Critical

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GONZALEZ ECHEGARAY, J. (ed.) (1980), El yacímiento de la cueva de "El Pendo"

70 A. Arrizabalaga, J. Altuna, P. Areso, M. Elorza, M. García, M. J. Iriane,K. Mariezkurrena, J. A, Mujika, E. Peñán, A. Tarrtño, A. Uriz & L. Vierc

( occavaciones I 953- 1957 ), Biblioteca Pmehistorica HisDana XVIi. Madrid.GONZÁLEZ ECHEGARAY, J. & Freeman, L.c. (eds.) (1971), Cueva Morín. Excavaciones

1966-1968, Patronaro de las Cuevas Prehistó¡icas de la P¡ovincia de Santander VI.Santander.

GONZÁLEZ ECHEGARAY, J. & FREEMAN, L.c. (eds.) (t9.73\, Cueva Morín- Etcava-ciones 1969, Patronato de las Cuevas Prchistóricas de la P¡ovincia de Santander X,Santander.

LA?LACE, G. (196ó), Recherches sur l'oríEíne et l'évolutíon des complexes leptolithiques,Mélanges d'Archéologie et d'Ilistoirc de I'Ecole Frangaise de Rome Supl.4, pa¡is,

MELLARS, P.; OTTE, M. & STRAUS, L.C. (1999), "Thc NearideÍhal problem Conti-N)ed", Cüñent Anthropology 40:. 341-364.

MONTES, R. & SANGUINO, J. (diis.) (200!), ta cueva de EI pendo. Actuac¡ones Arqueo-lógícas 1994-2000, cobiemo de Cantabria, Safltander.

SÁENZ DE BURUAGA, A. (1991), El paleotítíco superior de la cueva de catzorria(Zuberoa, País Vasco), Veleia (Anejos se¡ies maior), 6, U.P.V., Bilbao.

STRAUS, L.G. & HELLER, C. (1988), "Expto¡arions of the Twilighr Zone: The EarlyUppe¡ Paleolirhic of Vasco-Cantabrian Spain and Gascony", en Hoffecker, J.F. &Wolf, C,A. (eds.), The Early Upper Paleolíthi Evídence from Europe and the NearEas t : 9'7 - 134, Oxfotd,.

ZILHÁO, J. & D'ERRICO, F. (1999), 'The Ch¡onology and Taphonomy of the EartiestAudgnacian and Its Implicaúons for the Understa[ding of Neanderthal Extinction",Joumal of World Prehístory 13:. l-68.

Early Upper Palaeolithic in the labeko Kobaarcheological site ( Basque Coúntry)

Fig. 1 - Labeko Koba site in the western pyrenean region.

7 l

-250

A. Arrizabalaga, J. Altuna, P. Arcso, M. Elorza, M. Garcla, M. J. Iria e,K. Mariezkurrena, J. A. Mujika, E. Pemán, A. Taftiño, A. Ilri|, & L Viera

?'^'¿-'L + 6 - é s .¡ " - - Eo tx {s^

Fig, 2 - Stratigraphy of Labeko Koba.

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Eaü Apper Pal¿eol¡thic i the Lnbeko Kobaarcheological site (Basque Country)

e /?>z'Fig. 3 - Lithic tools f¡om Lower Level IX (CastelpeÍonian).

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74 A. ArriTabalaga, J. Altuna, P. Areso, M. Eloea, M. García, M. J. Iñarte,K, Mariezkuüena, J. A. Mujika, E, Pemón, A. Tarriño, A. Uriz & L. Viera

ffil l o/ 1t tf ¡ l oW 2

6

Fig. 4 - Bone implements f¡om Level IV (Early Aurignacian).