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This paper presents a study of a pecked pebble from the Middle Paleolithic recovered more than 30 years ago in Axlor rockshelter in the Spanish Basque Country. At the time of the discovery, the piece was described as being deliberately modified, but since then it has been either ignored or described only as problematic evidence of Neanderthal symbolic behavior. In this work, we provide a new description and additional documentation of the piece, and we discuss its anthropic nature and the possibility that its meaning can be related to the small but credible record of graphic behavior known for early hominin groups prior to the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. The linear design theme of the Axlor piece is similar to that of other items made by European Neanderthals. These artifacts confirm the capability of pre-Homo sapiens sapiens humans to create and use portable "art." This tradition is evidence of the emergence of "behavioral modernity" among late Neanderthals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the stratigraphic sequence of El Palomar Rockshelter, paying special attention to the levels associated with the Gravettian. The preliminary techno-typological study of the lithic collections of these Early Upper Paleolithic levels reveals a large number of splintered pieces that have previously been linked to two different activities--bipolar flintknapping and the use of intermediate tools (wedges) for working hard materials such as bone, wood, and antler. An experiment was carried out to determine the different characteristics resulting from each process, with special emphasis on macroscopic traces. All the main bipolar knapping features identified in this experimental program were also present in the splintered pieces from El Palomar, thus providing proof that the use of the bipolar knapping method was routine during this period. The implications of the use of this knapping method in El Palomar are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]