Two sites of the Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic of Iberia, dated to as early as approximately 50,000 years ago, yielded perforated and pigment-stained marine shells. At Cueva de los Aviones, three umbo-perforated valves of Acanthocardia and Glycymeris were found alongside lumps of yellow and red colorants, and residues preserved inside a Spondylus shell consist of a red lepidocrocite base mixed with ground, dark red-to-black fragments of hematite and pyrite. A perforated Pecten shell, painted on its external, white side with an orange mix of goethite and hematite, was abandoned after breakage at Cueva Antón, 60 km inland. Comparable early modern human-associated material from Africa and the Near East is widely accepted as evidence for body ornamentation, implying behavioral modernity. The Iberian finds show that European Neandertals were no different from coeval Africans in this regard, countering genetic/cognitive explanations for the emergence of symbolism and strengthening demographic/social ones.

The results of the analyses of elemental composition of red and black pigments of Levantine rock art from La Saltadora rock shelters (Valltorta gorge, Castellón, Spain) are presented in this paper. Nondestructive analyses were carried out using a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer developed for in situ analysis. The results revealed the strong presence of calcium in all the analyzed locations due to the contribution of the underlying calcareous bedrock and the overlying crust. Iron is the main element detected in red pigments and manganese in black pigments. Iron and calcium ratios have been found indicative of the degree of preservation of the pictorial layer. Trace elements detected in the pigment composition confirm the use of different raw materials. Therefore, this work illustrates the potential of the portable EDXRF spectrometers for in situ analysis of rock art paintings.

a b s t r a c tSpanish Levantine Rock Art is a unique pictorial expression within the prehistoric European context. Located in shelters in the inland regions of the Iberian Mediterranean basin, this art form, which must be necessarily studied in the frame of the process of neolithization of this territory, still lacks direct dating, and therefore its authorship is still open to debate.In this paper we present the first characterization of black pigments used in the Cova Remigia shelters in the Valltorta-Gassulla area (Castell on, Spain) by means of EDXRF spectrometry combined with SEM-EDS and Raman spectroscopy. Our aim is both to identify the raw material used for the preparation of black pigments and to make a first approach to the cultural choices involved in its use.The results are relevant for several reasons. Firstly, carbon-based black pigments have been identified for the first time in northern regions of Levantine rock art. Secondly, the recurrent use of black pigments in Cova Remigia questions the assumption of its restricted use in Spanish Levantine art. Thirdly, posterior repainting and graphic re-appropriation of black figures have been observed in Cova Remigia, giving rise to the combination of two colours, black and red, fact that is extremely rare in this rock art tradition. Finally, the identification of organic matter in the black pigments opens the possibility of radiocarbon dating.

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