Identifying activity areas in a neanderthal hunting camp (the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter, Spain) via spatial analysis

Spatial analysis has been much used to examine the distribution of archaeological remains at Pleistocene sites. However, little is known about the distribution patterns at sites identified as hunting camps, i.e., places occupied over multiple short periods for the capture of animals later transported to a base camp. The present work examines a Neanderthal hunting camp (the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter in Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) to determine whether different activities were undertaken in different areas of the site. A spatial pattern was detected with a main cluster of materials (lithic tools, faunal remains, and coprolites) clearly related to the presence of nearby hearths—the backbone of the utilised space. This main cluster appears to have been related to collaborative and repetitive activities undertaken by the hunting parties that used the site. Spatial analysis also detected a small, isolated area perhaps related to carcasses processing at some point in time and another slightly altered by water.
CRUE-CSIC
Junta de Castilla y León
European Social Funds
Reale Foundation
Fundación Atapuerca
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
Comunidad de Madrid
Museo Arqueológico Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid
Canal de Isabel II-Gestión
Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología
Fac. de Ciencias Geológicas
TRUE
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