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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

Abstract: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.Keywords: Neolithic; mines; raw materials; flint; mineral resources; prehistory; Treviño; Western Pyrenees Resumen:El complejo prehistórico minero de sílex de Treviño se sitúa en la Sierra de Araico-Cucho (Berantevilla, Alava -Condado de Treviño, Burgos), en materiales lacustres-palustres del Cenozoico (Aquitaniense, Mioceno) en el Sinclinal Surpirenaico de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica. Se trata de una unidad constituida por un conjunto de niveles carbonatados con presencia de abundantes silicificaciones nodulares y estratiformes. Habitualmente se identifican labores mineras de extracción como escombreras o zanjas sutilmente visibles y asociadas a materiales arqueológicos. Se ha llevado a cabo una excavación arqueológica en una estructura minera potencial (escombrera o pozo) que fue detectada por LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) en el collado de Pozarrate cerca de los pueblos de Grandival y Araico (Treviño, Burgos). En este trabajo presentamos los resultados de los dos últimos años de excavación. Se ha confirmado la existencia de una escombrera neolítica de unos 5000 AC años de antigüedad. Se ha alcanzado el nivel de base con sílex nodular y las impresiones de los nódulos explotados han sido identificados. También se...

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 modifications. Some instruments related to prehistoric quarry works have been recovered, such as picks, maces, and hammers made of flint, dolerite, and deer antler. Studies on Pozarrate material remains have been conducted in an interdisciplinary way, in order to have a better understanding of the prehistoric mining processes. Several methodologies are being used in the study of the lithic industries, including flint characterization, procurement, typological, typometrical, technological, and functional approaches. We have obtained the initial data about extraction, selection, management, and use processes of the flint and dolerite assemblages. Deer antler remains have recently undergone a restoration process and preliminary data have been offered. Moreover, an experimental approach has been applied to clarify specific archaeological issues and technical solutions for quarrying using dolerite maces.

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.