Bone industry management in the Upper Paleolithic occupations at El Cierro Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain)..

Abstract

[EN] Although the production of artifacts from hard animal materials is considered an essential activity in subsistence strategies during the Upper Palaeolithic of SW Europe, the study of the bone industry of the El Cierro sequence shows an unequal proportion in the number of remains and in the complexity of the operational chains put into practice throughout the different periods. This study shows a turning point from the Lower Magdalenian, a period in which a clear increase is observed both in the number of elements and in the technical procedures carried out within the site. However, neither during the Lower Magdalenian nor during previous periods are there any planned operations aimed at the regular acquisition of bone raw materials, which leads us to reflect on the strategic nature of this technology throughout the Upper Palaeolithic sequence