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Highlights: • This study proposes the practical utility of an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience for the dissemination and study of Palaeolithic Rock Art. • Thanks to a series of multidisciplinary studies, a virtual reconstruction of the archaeological context of an area with rock art has been achieved. • The Palaeolithic lighting systems documented in Atxurra cave have been virtually recreated, allowing real-time interaction through VR. Abstract: The Upper Palaeolithic period (ca. 45000 - 12000 BP) was the time when figurative art chiefly produced by Homo sapiens emerged and developed. The Upper Palaeolithic rock art entails a multisensory experience that goes beyond depicted images observation: it includes aspects related to the cognitive development of human mind, the spatial dimensions, the type of rock surface, artificial lighting, and challenges of navigating the underground environment. Traditionally, the study of Palaeolithic art in caves has focused on paintings and illustrated subjects' graphic analysis. However, a recent shift in methodological focus has favoured a comprehensive and interdisciplinary study of rock art. This new perspective has allowed the investigation of surrounding elements that significantly influence the art and its interpretation. Combining this with new digital technologies, it is now possible to reconstruct Palaeolithic artistic creation and contemplation environments with precision, offering researchers an immersive and interactive experience through virtual reality (VR). The two documented Palaeolithic lighting systems in the sector J “Ledge of the Horses” have been virtually recreated. The lighting simulation parameters are based on those obtained from an anthracological study of the charcoal remains found in the cave and the subsequent experimental program. The study included analysing both three-dimensional (3D) models of the cave, obtained through photogrammetry and laser scanning, and the lighting systems in the graphics engine ©Unreal Engine 5; this allowed the researchers to create an interactive VR environment that faithfully reflects the current state of scientific knowledge about the cavity. Using VR is a substantial methodological advancement, regarding both knowledge transmission and the creation of more robust and coherent archaeological interpretations through sensory perception and historical empathy. This approach has been applied to the main decorated sector of the Atxurra Cave (Basque Country, Spain), a space containing dozens of engraved and painted representations, and surface archaeological material, subjected to a comprehensive multidisciplinary study.

En 1960, el hallazgo de un bifaz de cuarcita en la excavación de Santimamiñe planteó la posibilidad de que hubiera habido ocupaciones achelenses en la cueva. Sin embargo, esta cuestión no ha sido valorada en las intervenciones arqueológicas posteriores ni considerada en las síntesis sobre el primer poblamiento de Bizkaia. La localización de ésta y otras piezas de aspecto arcaico en los almacenes del Arkeologi Museoa, unido a la publicación en línea de los diarios de campo de Barandiarán, nos ha permitido valorar la posibilidad de que hubiera existido una ocupación del Paleolítico Inferior en la cueva de Santimamiñe. ABSTRACT: In 1960, the discovery of a quartzite biface in the excavation of Santimamiñe raised the possibility that there had been Acheulean occupations preserved in the cave; however, this question has not been assessed in subsequent archaeological interventions or considered in the syntheses on the first human settlement of Bizkaia. We have carefully reviewed the available documentation about the discovery and the context of this biface, in the newspapers and in the field notes recorded by J.M. Barandiarán during the excavation of Santimamiñe. Thanks to these data, we have been able to demonstrate the existence of ancient deposits preserved next to the S wall of the cave vestibule, in which J.M. Barandiarán located the biface and two choppers, nowadays preserved in the Arkeologia Museoa’s storerooms. The technological and morphological characteristics of the biface, similar to those of the Galería site at Atapuerca, suggest an Acheulean attribution. This attribution would fit the chronological range proposed for the formation of speleothem episodes in the passage between the vestibule and the “Salón area (ca 300,000 and 100,000 BP). All this would imply the existence of an episode of occupation during the Acheulean at Santimamiñe, of which there may still be evidence.

Abstract Atxurra cave has a decorated assemblage composed of more than a hundred engraved animal depictions. All of them are located in deep parts of the cave and most of them are hidden in raised areas, away from the main path. The main sector is the “Ledge of the Horses”, located at 330 m from the entrance of the cave. It is a space of 12 m long and 1.5 m wide, elevated 4 m above the cave floor. This area includes almost fifty engraved and painted animals accompanied by a dozen flint tools, three fireplaces, and around one hundred charcoal fragments from torches. This extraordinary archaeological record allows us to value the complexity of the artistic production inside the caves during the Upper Palaeolithic. Our study has confirmed that there is planning prior to artistic production, both in terms of the iconographic aspects (themes, techniques, formats), its location (visibility, capacity), and the lighting systems. Furthermore, the data indicates the panel was decorated to be seen by third parties from different positions and was expressly illuminated for this purpose. This evidence supports the role of rock art as a visual communication system in Upper Palaeolithic societies.

En el transcurso de una intervención arqueológica en el solar nº 6 de la calle Artekale 6 de la villa de Plentzia (Bizkaia) se localizó un conjunto lítico sobre el sustrato rocoso y bajo un depósito de arcillas de 40 cm de espesor. En este trabajo se describe este conjunto de núcleos y lascas, y se propone una atribución del conjunto al Paleolítico Medio, probablemente reciente. Además, se discute el papel de estos breves asentamientos en las estrategias de asentamiento de los Neandertales en esta región. ABSTRACT: In the course of an archaeological intervention in the site of Artekale Street 6 in the town of Plentzia (Bizkaia), a lithic assemblage was found on the bedrock below 40 cm of clayey sediment. This paper describes the assemblage of cores and flakes, and proposes an attribution to the Middle Palaeolithic, probably recent. In addition, the role of these short-term occupations in regional Neanderthal settlement strategies is discussed.

El arte parietal paleolítico de la cueva de Aitzbitarte V se descubre en 2015, en el marco de las labores de prospección desarrolladas en la última década en el oriente cantábrico. Hemos documentado una decena de grabados situados en tres sectores profundos de la cavidad y compuestos por representaciones de bisontes y líneas. Las características formales de los primeros son específicas del arte gravetiense en el caso de los sectores A, C y D, y del Magdaleniense en el sector B. En ambos casos las convenciones gráficas presentan paralelos continentales, con el S/SO francés en el primer caso, y con los conjuntos pirenaicos en el segundo. De esta manera, en la cueva de Aitzbitarte V se identifican dos fases decorativas correspondientes a dos periodos distantes en el tiempo, siendo el primer caso de recurrencia gráfica reconocido en la Región Cantábrica oriental.

Multiple factors have been proposed to explain the disappearance of Neandertals between ca. 50 and 40 kyr BP. Central to these discussions has been the identification of new techno-cultural complexes that overlap with the period of Neandertal demise in Europe. One such complex is the Châtelperronian, which extends from the Paris Basin to the Northern Iberian Peninsula between 43,760-39,220 BP. In this study we present the first open-air Châtelperronian site in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, Aranbaltza II. The technological features of its stone tool assemblage show no links with previous Middle Paleolithic technology in the region, and chronological modeling reveals a gap between the latest Middle Paleolithic and the Châtelperronian in this area. We interpret this as evidence of local Neandertal extinction and replacement by other Neandertal groups coming from southern France, illustrating how local extinction episodes could have played a role in the process of disappearance of Neandertals.

Se presenta el hallazgo de un bifaz de basalto en Lastarri, cerca del yacimiento de Aranbaltza. Se analizan sus características morfo-tecnológicas en relación con los bifaces atribidos al Paleolítico Inferior y Medio en el área cantábrica del País Vasco y se concluye que probablemente este bifaz está relacionado con las ocupaciones del Paleolítico Medio de Aranbaltza (120-55.000 años). ABSTRACT: We present the discovery of a basalt handaxe made in Lastarri, close to the site of Aranbaltza. Also, we analyze its morpho-technological features in comparison with other bifaces attributed to the Lower and Middle Paleolithic in the cantabrian area of the Basque Country. We conclude that, probably, this handaxe is related to the Middle Paleolithic occupations of Aranbaltza (120-55.000 years).

La inserción o depósito de objetos en las grietas, repisas y orificios de las cuevas decoradas durante el Paleolítico Superior es un fenómeno que solo ha sido objeto de investigación en los últimos años, especialmente en yacimientos situados en la vertiente norte de los Pirineos. Una prospección exhaustiva en la cueva de La Pasiega b, Puente Viesgo, Cantabria, nos ha permitido documentar evidencias similares que suman un total de 31 objetos –29 huesos y 2 sílex– en el sector más cercano a la antigua boca colmatada. El muestreo y datación de uno de los huesos nos ha permitido obtener una fecha de radiocarbono ultrafiltrada que se sitúa en el Magdaleniense Medio, en consonancia con una de las fases de decoración de la cavidad. La presencia de objetos hincados, preferentemente huesos, en áreas de hábitat de los yacimientos y compartiendo espacio con paredes decoradas es una constante que se repite en otros yacimientos como Isturitz o Gargas. No existe en la actualidad una explicación de carácter funcional para dichas evidencias, por lo que se propone una finalidad simbólica para las mismas.

El yacimiento de la cueva de Abittaga, excavado por J.M. Barandiarán entre 1964 y 1965, contiene una secuencia arqueológica con ocupaciones del Magdaleniense Superior y de la Prehistoria Reciente. Este yacimiento apenas ha participado en los debates de la prehistoria vasca de los últimos 40 años, fundamentalmente porque el yacimiento había sido estudiado de manera parcial y porque la información estratigráfica resultaba confusa. En este trabajo presentamos la revisión la colección arqueológica de Abittaga (industria lítica, ósea, cerámica, macrofauna y restos humanos). Se presentan además nuevas dataciones para las ocupaciones magdalenienses (nivel VII), y las de la Prehistoria Reciente (niveles I-III), y los resultados de la intervención arqueológica realizada en 2016. Estos resultados proporcionan una visión actualizada de un yacimiento usado con fines sepulcrales en la Edad del Bronce y como campamento ocasional, dentro de una amplia red de emplazamientos en la cuenca del Lea, durante el Magdaleniense Superior. _____________________________________________ ABSTRACT The archaeological site of Abittaga cave, excavated by J.M. Barandiarán between 1964 and 1965, has yielded a stratigraphic sequence with Late Magdalenian and Recent Prehistory occupations. For several reasons, this site has barely contributed to the debates about the Basque Prehistory during the last 40 years, debates such as the subsistence strategies and cultural transformations of the last hunter gatherers in the region, or the use of caves by the first farmer communities. This can probably be explained not only by the absence of a complete comprehensive analysis of the site and the archaeological materials, but also because some of the information provided by J.M. Barandiarán about the site, specially about its stratigraphy, was rather confusing. In this work we present the systematic revision of the archaeo-palaeontological collection, and we offer new data about the lithic tools, bone industry, pottery, and faunal and human remains. The analysis of the documentation of the site recorded by J.M. Barandiarán and J.M. Apellániz complemented with the results of the excavation made in 2016 at the site, suggest that the archaeological deposits excavated by J.M. Barandiarán probably correspond with deposits in primary position preserved only by the right wall of the entrance hall of the cave. The analysis of the pottery assemblage suggests different uses of the cave between the III and the I millennium cal BC. The presence of a single human individual buried in levels I-III, directly dated between 1895-1689 cal BC, indicates a funerary use of the cave during the Bronze Age. Levels IV-VI are really poor in archaeological materials and thus very difficult to interpret. Level VII presents the bulk of the archaeological material and it has been dated between 14321-14051 cal BP. In this level, the lithic assemblage is well preserved, with different refitting series. Almost all the lithic artifacts have been knapped using Flysch flint, but there are examples of flint varieties coming from more than 50 km of distance. We have recognized an in situ bladelet production obtained from carinated burins and small blocks, and the production of larger blades outside the cave, that were subsequently carried to Abittaga. The retouched toolkit is composed basically by burins, partially retouched blades and backed bladelets, with a remarkable absence of endscrapers. On the other hand, the bone industry is rich and varied, with bone points, single-row barbed harpoons, and rods. This lithic and bone industry is similar to other coeval sites in the same region such as Santa Catalina or Atxurra. The Late Magdalenian occupation of Abittaga cave is interpreted as a short-term occupation which was part of a wider settlement network that existed at that time in the Lea basin.

The renewal of the archaeological record, mainly through the discovery of unpublished sites, provides information that sometimes qualifies or even reformulates previous approaches. One of the latter cases is represented by the three new decorated caves found in 2015 in Aitzbitarte Hill. Their exhaustive study shows the presence of engraved animals, mainly bison, with formal characteristics unknown so far in the Palaeolithic art of the northern Iberian Peninsula. However, parallels are located in caves in southern France such as Gargas, Cussac, Roucadour or Cosquer. All of them share very specific graphic conventions that correspond to human occupations assigned basically to the Gravettian cultural complex. The new discovery implies the need to reformulate the iconographic exchange networks currently accepted, as well as their correspondence with other elements of the material culture at the same sites. Thus, we have carried out a multiproxy approach based in statistical analysis. The updated data reveals a greater complexity in artistic expression during the Gravettian that had not been considered so far, and also challenges the traditional isolation that had been granted to Cantabrian symbolic expressions during pre-Magdalenian times.

El yacimiento de la cueva de Atxurra fue excavado entre 1934 y 1935 por J.M. Barandiarán Ayerbe. Las condiciones de la excavación, la tardía publicación de los resultados y los avatares sufridos por los materiales arqueológicos recuperados han condicionado el análisis y la interpretación del yacimiento y de su secuencia estratigráfica. Recientemente el yacimiento ha sido objeto de una revisión arqueológica que ha propiciado una nueva lectura de la secuencia. A la luz de estas nuevas informaciones proponemos una revisión integral de la excavación de la década de 1930. Se discute, a partir del estudio de la industria lítica, ósea, cerámica y de los restos de macrofauna la pertinencia de la división estratigráfica propuesta por I. Barandiarán Maestu en los años 1960. Como resultado se propone la existencia de una ocupación Gravetiense en la base de la secuencia, la ausencia de Solutrense, la presencia de Magdaleniense Inferior, de Magdaleniense Superior, la ausencia de Aziliense y la presencia de Neolítico-Calcolítico. ____________________________________________ The cave of Atxurra was excavated by J.M. Barandiarán Ayerbe between 1934 and 1935. The circumstances of the excavation, and the vicissitudes suffered with the archaeological remains biased the analysis and interpretation of the site and its stratigraphic sequence. Recently, the site has been revisited, and a new interpretation of the archaeological sequence is proposed here with an integral review of the 1930´s excavation. Considering the new data obtained from the lithic, bone tool, ceramic and macromammal assemblages, the validity on the cultural sequence defended by I. Barandiarán Maestu in the 1960´s is discussed. As a result, the existence of a Gravettian occupation in the base of the sequence, the absence of Solutrean, the presence of Lower Magdalenian and Upper Magdalenian, the absence of Azilian and the presence of Neolithic-Calcolithic occupations at the cave are proposed.

The Middle Paleolithic assemblage from Ventalaperra level III, excavated in 1931 by Aranzadi and Barandiarán, was initially interpreted as being Aurignacian, and then as a Late Middle Paleolithic assemblage. Recent excavations at the site undertaken by Ruiz Idarraga and d'Errico have confirmed the Middle Paleolithic attribution, and have additionally produced data on subsistence strategies and environmental conditions. The results obtained from the technological analysis made on level III’s assemblage suggest that its characteristics fit with an Early Middle Paleolithic attribution. The extensive use of local raw materials, the absence of ramified productions, and the use of centripetal (Levallois and Discoid) and SSDA flaking systems, link this assemblage with sites like Arlanpe and Lezetxiki VI which have been dated to the end of the Middle Pleistocene, or nearby sites such as Abrigo Rojo, still under study. This reveals a behavioral pattern for Early Middle Paleolithic populations in the eastern Cantabrian Region characterized by an extensive use of the landscape, high mobility, short occupations and a high dependence on local resources to assure subsistence and technological provisioning.

En este trabajo realizamos el estudio de nuevos materiales arqueo-paleontológicos recuperados en las dos escombreras de la cantera de Koskobilo (Olazti, Nafarroa) y proporcionamos nuevos datos sobre las colecciones recuperadas durante el s. XX en esta localidad. En este trabajo consideramos probable que los restos arqueo-paleontológicos de Koskobilo provengan de, al menos, dos cavidades, o de dos depósitos independientes dentro de la misma cavidad. En la colección paleontológica, destacamos la identificación de cuón, macaco, oso negro asiático y ciervo gigante. La presencia de oso negro asiático y de hipopótamo indican depósitos del Pleistoceno Medio. Además, en base a la industria lítica, queda firmemente constatada la presencia de poblaciones humanas desde el Paleolítico Medio Antiguo y durante varias fases del Paleolítico Superior, pudiéndose destacar en Koskobilo la presencia de un taller de piezas foliáceas solutrense, el único registrado hasta el momento en el área cantábrica.

Methodological advances in dating the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition provide a better understanding of the replacement of local Neanderthal populations by Anatomically Modern Humans. Today we know that this replacement was not a single, pan-European event, but rather it took place at different times in different regions. Thus, local conditions could have played a role. Iberia represents a significant macro-region to study this process. Northern Atlantic Spain contains evidence of both Mousterian and Early Upper Paleolithic occupations, although most of them are not properly dated, thus hindering the chances of an adequate interpretation. Here we present 46 new radiocarbon dates conducted using ultrafiltration pre-treatment method of anthropogenically manipulated bones from 13 sites in the Cantabrian region containing Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels, of which 30 are considered relevant. These dates, alongside previously reported ones, were integrated into a Bayesian age model to reconstruct an absolute timescale for the transitional period. According to it, the Mousterian disappeared in the region by 47.9-45.1ka cal BP, while the Châtelperronian lasted between 42.6k and 41.5ka cal BP. The Mousterian and Châtelperronian did not overlap, indicating that the latter might be either intrusive or an offshoot of the Mousterian. The new chronology also suggests that the Aurignacian appears between 43.3-40.5ka cal BP overlapping with the Châtelperronian, and ended around 34.6-33.1ka cal BP, after the Gravettian had already been established in the region. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals and AMH co-existed

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194708.].

Aranbaltza is an archaeological complex formed by at least three open-air sites. Between 2014 and 2015 a test excavation carried out in Aranbaltza III revealed the presence of a sand and clay sedimentary sequence formed in floodplain environments, within which six sedimentary units have been identified. This sequence was formed between 137-50 ka, and includes several archaeological horizons, attesting to the long-term presence of Neanderthal communities in this area. One of these horizons, corresponding with Unit 4, yielded two wooden tools. One of these tools is a beveled pointed tool that was shaped through a complex operational sequence involving branch shaping, bark peeling, twig removal, shaping, polishing, thermal exposition and chopping. A use-wear analysis of the tool shows it to have traces related with digging soil so it has been interpreted as representing a digging stick. This is the first time such a tool has been identified in a European Late Middle Palaeolithic context; it also represents one of the first well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic wooden tool found in southern Europe. This artefact represents one of the few examples available of wooden tool preservation for the European Palaeolithic, allowing us to further explore the role wooden technologies played in Neanderthal communities.

The lithic record, together with archaeozoological remains, makes up the most abundant assemblages at European Palaeolithic sites. During many decades in the twentieth century, the classical typological analysis (the Bordesian paradigm) has been used to articulate the sequencing of the different cultural and chronostratigraphic units. At the same time, since the 1960s an alternative methodology known as Analytical Typology, proposed by Georges Laplace, has been available. The sophistication of the statistical procedures used by Analytical Typology is the reason given by many prehistorians for avoiding this approach, in the same way that the limitations in the quantification of the results ended up discrediting Bordes and Sonneville-Bordes’ method. As a first paradox, the same reasoning (in the opposite direction) rules out both methodologies. In addition, by ignoring the typological approach, we give new life to technological analysis, where qualitative information is provisionally prioritised over quantitative data. If we aim to describe the process of transition or change, then, as we have said on various occasions, the reading of the lithic record should be holistic, and cover typometrical features, the raw materials, technology, function and certainly typological traits. The alleged difficulties about the description of the different variables, their quantification and statistical analysis have been solved for some time in Laplace’s methodological proposal. Ignorance of this methodology cannot be given as an excuse, fifty years after it was first formulated.

Arlanpe Cave site, situated in a strategic halfway between the Cantabrian coast and the Alavese Plateau, yielded a Solutrean level (level II) dated at the end of this period, between 21047 and 19909 cal BP. The lithic industry displays some unique characteristics, among which the most striking are the use of poor quality local raw materials (silicified mudstone), the transport of flint from distant locations situated at the North (Flysch) and South (Treviño) of the site, the abundance of backed bladelets and the scarcity of typical Solutrean points. The bone industry is poor, having recovered both domestic and hunting tools. The ornaments are scarce and no standardized. The faunal assemblage is mainly composed by rocky environment animals as Capra pyrenaica or Rupicapra pyrenaica whose bones have been heavily processed. The characteristics of the occupation suggest that Arlanpe served as a complex hunting camp where not only tasks related with hunting but also some domestic activities were carried out. The results of the archaeological analysis of Arlanpe level II allows us to assess the nature of the processes of change that happened to human groups at the end of Solutrean and propose explanatory hypothesis for it.

The Levallois products –blanks and cores– from levels II and III of Abrigo de la Quebrada are analyzed. Among the ensemble of blanks, those of small size reach significant percentages. We focus on their characteristics, including the extent to which they were modified by retouch, and on their use wear, at both the micro and macro levels of observation. Where size is concerned, explanations such as tool biography –gradual reduction by successive retouch until discard–, differential export of the larger blanks, or raw-material scarcity are considered and rejected. The alternatives remaining are the task-specific deliberate production of such small blanks and the relationship between raw-material reduction and site function.

This article proposes a materialistic approach for a better understanding of Neanderthal economical organization and society. The basis of this approach is the integral lithic analysis, including raw material, technology and use wear analyses. We present here the application of this approach to the Mousterian lithic assemblage of the level VII of Amalda Cave (Basque Country, Spain). The results of this study show a combined strategy of lithic provisioning, which includes the importation of already made flint tools, the in situ production of flint micro flakes and the collection of local raw materials to obtain broad tools. This strategy is devoted to provide a complete toolkit for an occupation in which domestic and logistic activities are carried out. This strategy and its correlates in subsistence and territory management implicates the integration of different solutions, extensive landscape use and long term planning, suggesting that Neanderthal societies displayed a quite complex behavior.

In 2013 a new open air rock art site was discovered in the place called La Salud in the city of Salamanca. In 2014 we carried out an intensive survey to have a better knowledge. As a result, in three decorated sectors were distinguished containing in total four animal representations –two horses, a cervico-dorsal line and a possible goat– and several non figurative motives composed by crossed lines. Different preservation issues affecting the site, such as landslide and erosion, have probably hampered the conservation of more representations all along the valley. Despite the low number of figures, the technical and the formal procedures used in for these representations link directly La Salud site with other open air rock-art sites as Siega Verde and Foz Côa. This extents considerably the territory of these kind of representations revealing the necessity of more intense work to investigate the Upper Paleolithic habitat in the Meseta.

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de la revisión de los materiales arqueológicos procedentes de la excavación realizada en 1973 en la Cueva del Niño (Aýna, Albacete) correspondientes a ocupaciones del Paleolítico Medio. Esta revisión se realizó fundamentalmente mediante el análisis tecnológico de la industria lítica, el estudio arqueozoológico y tafonómico de los restos de macromamíferos y el análisis de los restos carpológicos. Además, se presentan las dataciones obtenidas para los niveles revisados. Estas dataciones sitúan la ocupación de la cavidad a finales del MIS3. A pesar del reducido número de restos arqueológicos disponibles, la información resultante permite situar el yacimiento de la Cueva del Niño en el contexto del final del Paleolítico Medio del sureste de la Península Ibérica, y aportar nuevos datos a la problemática de la desaparición de las últimas poblaciones neandertales.