RT Journal Article
T1 Neanderthal mobility over very long distances: the case of El Castillo cave (northern Spain) and the ‘Vasconian’ Mousterian
A1 Herrero Alonso, Diego
A1 Maíllo Fernández, José Manuel
A1 Abellán Beltrán, Natalia
A1 Moral, Macarena
A1 González Molina, Irene
A1 Solano Megías, Irene
A1 Luzón Ruiz, Sofía
A1 Marín, Juan
A1 Álvarez Vena, Adrián
A1 Martín Perea, David Manuel
AB 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.
PB Elsevier
SN 0047-2484
YR 2025
FD 2025-08
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/127324
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/127324
LA eng
NO Herrero-Alonso, D., Maíllo-Fernández, J.-M., Abellán-Beltrán, N., Moral, M., González-Molina, I., Solano-Megías, I., Luzón-Ruiz, S., Marín, J., Álvarez-Vena, A., Martín-Perea, D., Neira, A., Bernaldo De Quirós, F., & Tarriño, A. (2025). Neanderthal mobility over very long distances: The case of El Castillo cave (Northern spain) and the ‘Vasconian’ Mousterian. Journal of Human Evolution, 205, 103715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103715
NO Xunta de Galicia
NO UNED
NO Gobierno de Cantabria
NO Ayntamiento de Puente Viesgo
DS Docta Complutense
RD 22 mar 2026