Neanderthal mobility over very long distances: the case of El Castillo cave (northern Spain) and the ‘Vasconian’ Mousterian

Abstract

This study explores the mobility and raw material circulation of Neanderthals at the El Castillo cave, located in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, with a particular focus on flint. The levels analyzed (XXab–XXf1.1) date between 45 and 70 ka BP, corresponding to the Mousterian period and, in some cases, to the Vasconian facies. Most of the flint varieties are of local origin (<10–30 km), but six additional sources have been identified, both regionally (30–120 km) and tracer (120–250 km), as well as a variety that would fall under the supertracer range (>250 km). These findings provide insights into patterns of lithic resource acquisition. Based on these data, together with the technotypological data and the quantitative representation of the different varieties of raw materials, it is proposed that the territory of these Neanderthals was larger than expected. Beyond their home range, they may have had an even larger ‘social territory,’ covering more than 600 km in length, from the Oviedo basin (Piedramuelle flint) to the Adour River (Tercis flint), including the Upper Ebro Basin (Treviño flint). Furthermore, this broad geographical region and the dates from the levels at El Castillo align with the spatial distribution of the Mousterian with cleavers or the Vasconian. The technotypological analysis of these assemblages suggests that the Vasconian may be more closely related to a broad view of the group and the sharing of ideas, rather than representing a strictly defined technological tradition.