Was fire use a cultural trait of the Gravettian? New micro-archaeological data from Fuente del Salín cave (Val de San Vicente, Cantabria)

Abstract

Micro-archaeological data from sites located in central and eastern Europe show that, in comparison with other Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, Gravettian foragers used fire more intensively and for a wider range of purposes. In these regions, this shift in pyrotechnology overlaps with the onset of periglacial conditions and comparable micro-archaeological datasets from milder regions, such as Cantabria, remain scarce. As result, it is difficult to conclude whether these fire behaviors were cultural traits of the Gravettian tradition, or whether they reflect adaptations to regional environments. To further investigate these hypotheses, we studied the sequence preserved at the cave of Fuente del Salín, in Cantabria, where previous excavations unearthed potential fire residues of Gravettian age. Using micromorphology, µ-X-ray fluorescence, and Scanning Electron Microscopy we reconstructed multiple phases of human visits to the site. Our results show that, during the main Gravettian occupation, foragers made intensive use of fire, as indicated by abundant heated bones and seashells, charcoals, amorphous char, fat-derived char, and in situ remains of stacked open hearts as well as burnt grass beddings. The intensive burning, systematic reuse of combustion features, and multiple purposes of the fires at Fuente del Salín are comparable with Gravettian sites from central and eastern Europe, indicating that these fire-use traits were not related with periglacial environments but with lifeway aspects and traditions of Gravettian hunter-gatherers.