Coastal Settlement in the Late Pleistocene of the Bay of Biscay (North Iberia): The Cases of Langatxo and Iruroin Caves

Abstract

[EN] The Iruroin and Langatxo caves are located in the Bay of Biscay, a region with a high concentration of prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic. In this study, we present the results from the review of marine remains and bone industry artifacts from both caves, which were excavated in the 1990s but remain unpublished. Given the proximity of these sites to the sea, significant exploitation of marine resources was assumed during the Magdalenian occupations. However, the study of the marine remains from Langatxo shows that coastal resources were not exploited during the Magdalenian, but rather in later periods. Analysis of the bone industry from both sites, along with AMS dating and ZooMS identifications, contributes to a better understanding of the economic behaviour of coastal human groups during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene in the region.