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In this paper, we deal with the locational analysis of the Cova Eirós site (Triacastela, Lugo), occupied from the Middle Palaeolithic to the present. From GIS and statistics, we intend to approach those environmental factors that define its importance as a place of occupation over time and on a recurring basis. Once we have analysed the variables that characterize the site’s patterns of use, we have verified that Cova Eirós is an important, prominent and strategic point. The place is very close to the potential transit routes and has great visibility. It is also protected and set on a steep slope. Moreover, the site has hunting resources and raw materials sources nearby. So it is a settlement that presents ideal living conditions for hunter-gatherer groups.

El análisis arqueométrico de un hacha de color verde recuperada en los años 20 del pasado siglo en el entorno de Monte Aberto-Elviña (A Coruña), que probablemente habría formado parte del ajuar de uno de los tres túmulos que componían la necrópolis homónima, ha permitido determinar que se trata de un hacha tipo Durrington “goutte d’eau”, fabricada en jadeíta de origen alpino proveniente posiblemente de las formaciones existentes en San Front (Cuneo, Piamonte). Esta circunstancia la convierte –tras el hacha de Vilapedre (Lugo)– en la segunda pieza de procedencia alpina documentada en territorio gallego. En este artículo se intenta determinar el origen arqueológico del hacha de Monte Aberto-Elviña con la mayor exactitud posible, al tiempo que se ofrecen los resultados del análisis arqueométrico y se reflexiona sobre el cómo y el cuándo esta pieza habría llegado al Noroeste Ibérico.

Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA. The work was funded by the Courel Mountains UGGp., The management of a UNESCO Global Geopark (UGGp) requires a vast wealth of miscellaneous scientific knowledge that can be successfully organised using a Geographical Information System (GIS). This paper presents a pragmatic GIS database to assist in the suitable governance of the Courel Mountains UGGp (2017) in Northwest Spain. The database is structured in 66 coverages compiled from public sources and previous works or produced through traditional mapping (combining fieldwork and photointerpretation) and GIS tools. The acquired data was later homogenised and validated by a multidisciplinary team and archived in independent coverages. Forty thematic maps illustrate the broad range of cartographic information included in the GIS database. Among them, 25 basic maps provide an overview of the UGGp and 15 new maps focus on crosscutting and technical issues. All maps illustrate the huge potential of GIS to create new resources combining coverages and adapting the legend according to their purpose and audience. The database facilitates the suitable publishing of consistent outputs (e.g., brochures, books, panels, webpages, web serves), as well as the elaboration of technical data to assist the park management. The database furnishes information on the design of education actions, touristic routes, activities and Geopark facilities. The GIS database is also a supportive tool for scientific research and provides the necessary knowledge to conduct geoconservation actions based on land use, geological hazards and the occurrence of natural and cultural heritages. Altogether, the GIS database constitutes a powerful instrument for policy-making, facilitating the identification and evaluation of alternative strategy plans., Universidad de Granada/CBUA, Courel Mountains UGGp

Iberia, a natural cul-de-sac peninsula, plays a major role in the study of the Neanderthals demise and its eventual relationship with the spread of Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in Europe. The site of Cova Eirós (Galicia, Spain), located in NW Iberia, contains Middle and Upper Palaeolithic levels, based on the cultural remains recovered at the site. No human remains directly associated with those levels were discovered yet. The available radiocarbon dates from the levels 2 (c. 35 ka calBP, Early Upper Paleolithic) and 3 (c. 41 ka cal BP, Late Middle Paleolithic), point to a late survival of Neanderthal groups in North Iberia and to a relative quick arrival of the AMH, c. 35-36 ka calBP, with respect to other territories of the Iberian Peninsula. The archaeological record shows clear differences between the Middle and the Upper Palaeolithic occupations, regarding raw-material acquisition, lithic technology and subsistence strategies. The location of Cova Eirós in the westernmost margin of the Cantabrian Rim and in the Atlantic Façade, makes this site a key place to understand the spread of the first AMH and the progressive demise of Neanderthal populations.

International audience; The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by archaeologists as evidence of prehistoric long-distance contacts along the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain. This artefact - as other “Tumiac type” axes (long polished blades, generally butt-perforated) - would have been produced in Brittany during the Neolithic (5th millennium BCE) using jadeitite as raw material, a green-coloured rock for which there are sources in the western Italian Alps. In this paper, we have traced the possible archaeological origin of this artefact back by examining the personal files of one of its first owners, Santiago de la Iglesia. Furthermore, we have conducted a mineralogical (X-Ray Diffraction, XRD) and an elemental analysis (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Detection, SEM-EDX) of both the Vilapedre axe and geological samples from several places at the Alps where prehistoric quarrying of greenstones has been reported. The aims were physicochemically characterizing the axe to provide information about its possible geological source. During our analyses, we have found significant compositional similarities between the Vilapedre axe and one of the geological samples coming from the Alps (Alp06). The results are therefore consistent with the alleged Alpine origin of this artefact. The presence of this axe in Northwest Spain, together with other evidence, such as the presence of objects of Iberian origin in Breton monuments, strongly suggests the existence of contacts between both regions of the Atlantic façade during the Neolithic onwards in which seafaring would undoubtedly have played an important role.

The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe., The transition to agriculture brought major changes to human populations in Europe during the Neolithic period. Here, Cubas and colleagues analyse lipid residues from Neolithic pottery from along the Atlantic coast of Europe to trace the spread of dairy production and shifts in diet.

Level TE9c of the Sima del Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) is one of the oldest sites with evidence of human occupation in western Europe. We began excavating level TE9c in 2003, and the work there continues today. The studies of the archaeology, palaeontology and geology from this locality have provided an indispensable dataset with which to capture a picture in the scenario of the origin of humans in Europe. Based on these data, we raise and discuss several topics, such as the possible origin of the lineage of the first hominins that inhabited western Europe; their capacity to have active hunting or scavenging abilities; whether their subsistence strategies were successful; and what the environment and habitats where these hominin groups settled was like. The aim of this paper is to present the results and discussions obtained from the research team and to establish the primary features of early human occupations in southwestern Europe. Tentatively, we may conclude, based on the events recorded at TE9c, that the first humans were in the Iberian peninsula at around 1.2 Ma they used the caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca as shelters probably during their hunting activities; the cavities were surrounded by Mediterranean forest, rivers and water ponds, and varied habitats as suggested by the rich and diverse assemblage of fossils of vertebrates (fish, amphibians and reptiles, birds, large and small mammals); where humans possibly caught what they found in the surroundings., This research project was supported by MINECO projects (CGL2012-38434-C03-03, CGL2012-38434-C03-02, CGL2012-38434-C03-01, HAR 2012-032548/HIST, HAR2013-41197-P) and AGAUR project (2014SGR-899, 2014-SGR 901).

This paper expands upon the preliminary refit analysis of the NW area of unit TD10.1 at Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) (Lopez-Ortega et al., 2011). The refit study described here has been conducted on the quartz and quartzite assemblage recovered from unit TD10.1, consisting of a total of 4302 artefacts (709 quartz and 3593 quartzite pieces). Following the previously established methodological protocol, we found additional elements associated with already known connections as well as new refits in quartz and quartzite. The association between refits and raw material units (RMUs) has allowed us to distinguish specific concentrations and spatial clusters that could correspond to singular knapping events, and to identify the movements of pieces within the same raw material unit outside of their clusters, which could point to the use of these artefacts. These results, together with the presence of artefacts of every phase of the chaine operatoire, point to developed knapping activities carried in the settlement and the areas where they took place. A new interdisciplinary study will identify the role played by intentionally moved pieces.

At Cova Eirós, we discovered 13 panels with paintings and engravings that stylistically point to the final moments of the Upper Paleolithic. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy were used to identify charcoal as black pigment. Although contamination from medieval fires inside the cave complicates the dating of these pictographs, analyses of unpainted rock backgrounds allowed calculation corrections for contaminated samples. We used plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to directly radiocarbon (14C) date two charcoal paintings—confirming that the images are more than 9000 yr old. As these paintings superimpose engravings, these14C dates also provide a minimum age for an engraving at Cova Eirós that is stylistically Final Magdalenian/Epipaleolithic. This is the first known evidence of Paleolithic cave art in Galicia of NW Iberia.

The Atapuerca localities present evidence of a long series of hominin occupations from the Early Pleistocene onward and are a key site for understanding the continuity and discontinuity of Western European technological and settlement dynamics. The TD10 unit from Gran Dolina is located in the upper part of the sequence and divided into four lithostratigraphic subunits (TD10.4 to TD10.1, from bottom to top) dated between ca. 450 ka and ca. 250 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 11 to Marine Isotope Stage 8). The technological analysis of the lithic assemblages belonging to the TD10.1 sequence aims to determine the trends among its archeological levels and check its relation to late Middle Pleistocene technological evolution and site functionality. Archeostratigraphic studies have identified several occupation events within its approximately 1.5 m of thickness, whose artifact densities and occupational models differ. However, no remarkable technical differences have been observed among them. Lithic assemblages from those events show more evolved features than other Atapuerca Mode 2 assemblages. These changes are reflected in the selective raw material management strategies; more hierarchized and predetermined reduction methods; and the progressive decrease of large cutting tools in the lithic assemblages with respect to flake tools, the latter defined by a greater typological diversification. These technological changes did not lead to a clear break with respect to previous technological models and were accompanied by other sporadic but significant changes in subsistence and behavioral strategies (bone tools and retouchers; lithic recycling, and so on), which were consolidated during the Middle Paleolithic. Hence, the archeological record from the TD10.1 subunit of Gran Dolina reflects a local stratigraphic transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 technocomplexes, paralleling that observed in other sites in southwestern Europe., Fieldwork and researchat Atapuerca are funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University (MICINN-FEDER PGC2018-093925-B-C32, PGC2018-093925-B-C31), the Junta de Castilla y León, and the Fundación Atapuerca. Research is also supported by the AGAUR (SGR 2017-1040) and the URV (2019PFR-URV-91) projects. P.G.-M. and A.B. are beneficiaries of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant (Horizon 2020 program, agreement no. 748316 and 702584). A.R.-H. is the beneficiary of a postdoctoral scholarship from the MICIIN, Subprograma Juan de la Cierva (IJC-037447-I).

The discovery of a partially preserved vessel in the course of the excavations carried out in Cova Eirós brings forth new data on the material culture of the regional Neolithic.The pot, both in its bottle-like shape and decoration (shell impressed), recalls strongly the cardial ware, so characteristic of the archaeological record in the Early Neolithic groups of South Iberia.We discuss the circumstances of the finding and the closest parallels to be found among the pottery collections from South Portugal.As a result, we suggest that the vessel found at Cova Eirós would date back to the end of the 6th Millennium BC., El hallazgo de un vaso cerámico parcialmente conservado en el curso de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en Cova Eirós permite aportar nuevos datos sobre la cultura material del Neolítico regional. El recipiente, tanto por su forma de botella como por su decoración (impresión de concha), recuerda claramente a la cerámica cardial, tan característica del registro arqueológico entre los primeros grupos neolíticos del sur de la península ibérica. Se abordan las circunstancias del hallazgo y los paralelos más cercanos, que se encuentran entre las colecciones cerámicas del sur de Portugal. A modo de conclusión, sugerimos que la pieza analizada se remonta probablemente al final del VI milenio a. C.

Cova Eiros is emerging as a reference site in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula for the study of the development of the last Neanderthal populations and the first populations of Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in MIS 3. Cova Eiros is an archaeological site (with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic levels) located in Cancelo, Triacastela (Lugo, northwestern Iberian Peninsula), which has been systematically excavated from 2008 onwards. The small-vertebrate assemblage analysed came from the archaeo-palaeontological field seasons that took place from 2009 to 2014. At least 18 small-vertebrate taxa have been identified: 1 frog ( Rana temporaria ), 1 snake ( Vipera sp.), 4 insectivores ( Sorex minutus , Sorex sp., Talpa cf. occidentalis and Erinaceus europaeus ), 4 chiropters ( Myotis myotis/blythii , cf. Miniopterus sp., Myotis sp. and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ) and 8 rodents ( Apodemus sylvaticus , Arvicola amphibius , Arvicola sapidus , Chionomys nivalis , Microtus (Terricola) lusitanicus , Microtus agrestis , Microtus arvalis and Microtus oeconomus ). Using the Habitat Weighting method to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment, we reconstruct a landscape for MIS 3 characterized by open woodland formations. The Mutual Ecogeographic Range (MER) method and the Bioclimatic Model (BM) used for the palaeoclimatic reconstruction show lower temperatures and higher precipitation than at present in the region. Our results from Cova Eiros are compared with the data obtained from several other sites in the Iberian Peninsula; it can be said that Neanderthals and AMH were well adapted to the territory that they occupied, as well as to the surrounding environment and the climatic conditions prevalent in the unstable context of MIS 3 in the Iberian Peninsula.

In Western Europe, Acheulean cultural evidence is well attested by ca. 0.5 Ma. However, recent work has proven that it was present earlier; at the end of the Early Pleistocene. The timing and mode of the Western European Acheulean needs still to be investigated, and this knowledge appears to be strongly dependent upon data from sites with sufficiently well preserved archeo-stratigraphical sequences and/or geophysical conditions that guarantee reliable dating. The karstic deposits from the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) represent one such case. They contain exceptionally long and continuous archeo-paleontological deposits that have yielded hominins, stone tools and faunal remains from a period covering the late Early Pleistocene up to the Holocene. Previous work has allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of technology on a local scale, from the late Early to the Middle Pleistocene, and to situate the appearance of the Acheulean more or less simultaneously in the sites of Galeria, Gran Dolina-TD10 and the Sima de los Huesos, at around 0.5 Ma, after a hiatus of archeological evidence of approximately 300 Ka. These Acheulean assemblages appear in association with hominin fossils that have recently been identified as early members of the Neandertal lineage. Delving further into the description of the Acheulean from Atapuerca, we have recently focused on the technological features that we consider to be of particular evolutionary significance and attempted to identify them in other European key sites of comparable chronologies. Indeed, we identified some internal evolutionary trends, which led us to propose that there was a local transition at Atapuerca from the Acheulean to the early Middle Paleolithic techno-complexes. However, the chronological setting resulting from the intensive dating programs carried out in the Galeria and Sima de los Huesos sites, and especially, the correlation of these dates with the ones available from Gran Dolina-TD10, confronts us with some apparent paradoxes underlining the need to reconsider the technological interpretation of the lithic technical record from Atapuerca. While great efforts are being made in dating and analysis at many European Middle Pleistocene sites, as well as in establishing correlations with which to build consistent regional sequences, single, long, continuous, and accurately excavated (i.e. over a large surface area) archeological successions remain crucial to properly interpret the appearance and evolution of the Acheulean throughout Europe. We further stress the importance of taking into account conditioning factors such as, raw material availability, environmental constraints and site function issues.

[EN]: Valdavara 3 is a new early late Pleistocene paleontological and archeological cave site in northwestern Iberia. Over 1400 fossils have been collected, representing about 40 species. The fauna is of interglacial aspect and is in accordance with the OSL dates from the fossiliferous layer, which indicate an age of 103–113 ka. The great taxonomical diversity indicates a varied landscape. A small collection of lithic artifacts was found associated with the fossils, demostrating presence of humans and suggesting short non-residential visits to the cave. The fossiliferous site was predominantly formed by natural processes. Many fossil localities have short or biased faunal lists, but the fossil fauna recovered from Valdavara 3 is remarkably diverse and may reflect the fauna which once lived there., [FR]: Valdavara 3 est un nouveau site paléontologique et archéologique du début du Pléistocène supérieur dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Ibérie. Plus de 1400 fossiles ont été collectés, représentant environ 40 espèces. La faune est d’aspect interglaciaire et correspond aux dates OSL de la couche fossilifère, qui indiquent un âge de 103–113 ka. La grande diversité taxonomique caractérise un paysage varié. Une petite collection d’artéfacts lithiques a été trouvée, associée aux fossiles témoignant de la présence humaine, et suggère de courtes visites non résidentielles à la grotte. Le site fossilifère a été principalement formé par des processus naturels. Nombre de localités fossilifères ont des listes fauniques courtes ou biaisées, mais la faune fossile retrouvée à Valdavara 3 est remarquablement diverse, et peut refléter celle qui y vivait autrefois., This work was supported by the Xunta de Galicia, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grant numbers CGL2016-80000-P/BTE, HAR2013–48784-C3-1-P and HAR2016-76760-C3-1-P) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (grant numbers SGR2009-324, SGR2014-900 and SGR2017-836). Archeological excavations at Valdavara 3 were carried out thanks to the financial support of the Xunta de Galicia, Concello de Becerreá and Canteiras do Penedo SA (CANPESA). JvdM received support from and contributes to project CGL20l5 65387-C3-3-P. M. F.-G. is beneficiary of a PhD scholarship founded under the Erasmus Mundus Programme – International Doctorate in Quaternary and Prehistory. J.M.L.-G. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RyC-2016-193860) with financial sponsorship of Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper presents the lithic assemblages documented at Sima del Elefante (TE) and their importance in the context of the Early and Middle Pleistocene human occupation of Europe. We also study changes in human behaviour within the context of the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Sierra de Atapuerca. This site has characteristics that are of great value for the study of human evolution. The lower levels of TE (Units TE7-TE14) are an essential reference for understanding the early stages of the colonization of Europe. The TE9c level has provided stone tools (Mode 1), faunal remains, and human fossils dated to 1.22Ma (millions of years ago). Moreover, this is one of the few European sites with a stratigraphic sequence that includes remains of human occupations predating the Jaramillo subchron (Early Pleistocene) and from the Late Middle Pleistocene (Units TE18-TE19). Despite this, the presence of archaeologically sterile units (TE15-17) prevents us from establishing a continuous relationship between the Early and Middle Pleistocene human settlements and, consequently, between their technological and behavioural differences. We can, however compare the technological and palaeoeconomic strategies adopted by different species of hominins during two key phases of the occupation of Europe., This research project was supported by MINECO CGL2012-38434-C03-03 and MINECO HAR 2012-032548/HIST, and AGAUR project 2014SGR-899.

International audience; Quartz is one of the main lithic resources employed along the Pleistocene for the manufacturing of tools. The abundance in all kind of environments leads to its frequent presence in archaeological sites. In spite of its suitability for knapping, the scarcity of specific researches on quartz industries has led to a view of this raw material as a second-rate resource, only used when flint was not available in the surroundings. Quite in opposition to this prejudice, the familiarity with the petrological and mechanical properties of the different varieties of quartz has led the Middle/Upper Pleistocene groups to a rational and differential exploitation of the available resources. There is a distinct selection of the varieties attending to the purposes of the exploitation and configuration. The patterns of exploitation of the cores are very standardized, based on longitudinal extractions and documenting the bipolar flaking technique. Moreover, when the raw material is of good quality, more sophisticated reduction methods such as the discoidal or the Levallois may be employed. On the other hand, for the purposes of configuration a clearly differential management of the raw material is attested: thus quartz is used for the small products (denticulates, side-scrapers, notches), while other stones (quartzite, porphyry and others) are devoted to the manufacturing of those tools demanding a more complex control of the elaboration (bifaces, cleavers, etc.). Either acting as the main lithic resource or as a complement to other raw materials, we can observe through the technological analysis of these lithic collections the great conceptual complexity depending on the needs to be fulfilled. Raw material quality allowing, the state-of-the-art technology of knapping can be applied to the quartz and, therefore, we should not understand its use as a consequence of environmental constrictions but rather as a result of the variability of the procurement strategies and management of lithic resources among the prehistoric communities.; Le quartz est l’une des principales ressources lithiques utilisées pendant le Pléistocène pour la fabrication de l’outillage préhistorique. Son abondance dans tous types de milieu explique que ce soit l’une des matières premières les plus représentées dans les différents sites archéologiques. Malgré son abondance et son aptitude pour la taille, la rareté des études spécifiques fait que cette matière première est considérée comme une ressource secondaire et de mauvaise qualité, utilisée uniquement dans les cas où la disponibilité en silex aux alentours présente une carence. L’étude de trois séries lithiques d’Europe méridionale permet de montrer le haut degré de complexité technique et conceptuelle qui régit la gestion de cette ressource. La connaissance des caractéristiques pétrologiques et mécaniques des différentes variétés du quartz au Pléistocène moyen et supérieur se traduit par une gestion rationnée et différentielle des ressources. Il existe une sélection évidente de ses variétés selon les objectifs d’exploitation et de configuration. Les schémas d’exploitation des matrices sont très homogènes, basés sur des enlèvements longitudinaux, et l’on constate également l’usage de la technique bipolaire. Quand la matière première est de bonne qualité, des méthodes d’exploitation complexes, telles que la méthode discoïde ou la méthode Levallois, peuvent être appliquées. En revanche, pour la configuration, il existe une meilleure gestion différentielle des matières premières, le quartz étant alors réservé aux petits objets et le reste des matières premières étant alors plutôt utilisé pour l’élaboration d’outils qui requièrent une plus grande complexité ainsi qu’un meilleur contrôle dans la configuration (bifaces, hachereaux). Le quartz agissant alors comme principale ressource technique ou comme complément à d’autres matières premières, une grande complexité conceptuelle est observée dans la gestion selon les objectifs et les besoins recherchés. Quant la qualité de la matière première le permet, les innovations technologiques peuvent être appliquées à ce type de matériau. Nous ne devons pas comprendre l’usage du quartz comme un échantillon des contraintes environnementales mais le mettre en rapport avec la variabilité des stratégies d’approvisionnement et de gestion des ressources lithiques des communautés préhistoriques.

The geomorphological and geoarchaeological study made on the Paleolithic sites of Monforte de Lemosbasin (Lugo, Galicia), along with the available OSL datings, allowed us to correlate the Pleistocenedeposits found in the basin with erosion phases previously detected in the glacial and coastal sequencesof NW Iberia as well as in other Galician Paleolithic sites. Some of these phases may be attributed toHeinrich events. In this sense, the colluvial layers identified at Monforte de Lemos show the key roleplayed by morphogenetic processes in the configuration of the continental deposits during the H4 eventat the site of As Lamas and, probably, by H6 at the site of O Regueiral. These sites can be regarded asgood examples of the role played by erosion phases on site formation and post-depositional processes inNW Iberia archaeological sites. El estudio geomorfológico y geoarqueológico de los yacimientos Paleolíticos de la depresión de Monfortede Lemos (Lugo, Galicia), así como las dataciones OSL nos permiten correlacionar los depósitos coluvialesPleistocenos de la cuenca terciaria con los procesos erosivos identificados en depósitos glaciares y costerosdel NW de la península Ibérica, así como en otros yacimientos gallegos del Paleolítico. Algunas de estasfases pueden relacionarse con los episodios Heinrich. En este sentido, los niveles coluviales de Monfortede Lemos nos muestran la alta incidencia de los procesos morfogenéticos en los depósitos continentalesdurante el H4, en el caso del yacimiento de As Lamas y, probablemente, del H6, en el yacimiento de ORegueiral. Son una muestra del papel desempeñado por los episodios erosivos en la formación de losyacimientos y efectos post-deposicionales identificados en los yacimientos arqueológicos del NW Peninsular.

The goal of this paper is to make known the first results of the excavations in Valdavara Cave (Becerreá, Lugo), paying special attention to the radiometric dating that places this cave among the few Galician sites with Upper Palaeolithic dates. During the excavation carried out in 2007, two archaeological locations were documented in the same karstic system (Valdavara 1 and Valdavara 2). The test pit initiated in Valdavara 1 allowed us to identify so far two stratigraphic units: an upper unit corresponding to Recent Prehistory and a lower unit (level 4) that yielded the Upper Palaeolithic dates. An assemblage of human remains from the Bronze Age was found in Valdavara 2., El objetivo de este artículo es dar a conocer los primeros resultados de las excavaciones en la cueva de Valdavara (Becerreá, Lugo), prestando especial atención a las dataciones radiométricas que la sitúan entre los pocos yacimientos gallegos que han arrojado fechas correspondientes al Paleolítico Superior. La excavación realizada en el año 2007 permitió documentar dos localizaciones arqueológicas en el marco del mismo sistema cárstico (Valdavara 1 y Valdavara 2). El sondeo iniciado en Valdavara 1 ha permitido identificar hasta el momento dos conjuntos estratigráficos: un conjunto superior correspondiente a la Prehistoria reciente y un conjunto inferior (nivel 4) en el que se han obtenido las fechas del Paleolítico Superior final. En Valdavara 2 se encontró un conjunto de restos humanos de la Edad del Bronce.

El yacimiento de Valverde se emplaza en una ladera del Monte de Valverde, en las proximidades de una de las entradas naturales a la Depresión de Monforte de Lemos (Lugo, Galicia, España).Tras el hallazgo de industria lítica en superficie, se realizaron varios sondeos y prospecciones durante las campañas 2007-2009, recuperando más de 2400 artefactos. El conjunto lítico se caracteriza por la presencia de cadenas operativas expeditivas sobre cuarzos y cuarcitas de mediana calidad. Por otro lado, la producción de láminas y laminillas se centra en el cristal de roca y la cuarcita de grano fino, esta última procedente de afloramientos localizados a 8 km al SW. Aunque escasos, el uso de sílex foráneo también está documentado. En base a las cadenas operativas identificadas en el yacimiento y, principalmente, la presencia de foliáceos, se propone una adscripción Solutrense para el conjunto. De este modo, Valverde se convierte en la primera evidencia de poblamiento de grupos de cazadores recolectores durante el Último Máximo Glacial (LGM) en el interior del NO de la Península Ibérica.The archaeological site of Valverde is placed on a slope of the Valverde Mount, near one of the entrances into the basin of Monforte de Lemos (Lugo, Galicia, Spain). After the finding of a lithic scatter a survey was carried out in 2007-2009, yielding more than 2400 implements. The lithic assemblage is characterized by the presence of expedient “chaines operatoires” made on quartz and medium-quality quartzite. On the other hand, blade and microblade blanks are produced on rock crystal and fine-grained quartzite, the latter from outcrops located 8 km to the SW. Although scarce, the use of allochthonous flint is also attested. Based on the reduction sequences identified at the site, and namely, on the presence of broken leaf points, a Solutrean adscription for this assemblage is proposed, therefore becoming the first evidence of LGM settlement in the inner part of NW Iberia.