First Neanderthal settlements in northern Iberia: The Acheulean and the emergence of Mousterian technology in the Cantabrian region

This paper presents the results of the analysis carried out on different assemblages and stratigraphic contexts dated before MIS 4 in Cantabrian Region (in the northern of the Iberian Peninsula). Despite the reduced corpus available, it was possible to establish the existence of Mousterian settlements throughout the Cantabrian region at the end of the Middle Pleistocene, particularly during interstadial MIS 5e and MIS 6. Whereas the evidence for the Lower Palaeolithic is limited to a few sites such as Louselas, Cabo Busto or Irikaitz, which contain characteristic Acheulean tools, the Cantabrian coast was densely populated by Neanderthal settlements during the MIS 5e Climatic Optimum. This settlement pattern seems to include open air sites, together with uninterrupted habitat in caves from MIS 6 to the end of the Mousterian period in the region.This paper shows the results and conclusions of techno-typological, geoarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Final Middle Pleistocene and Upper Pleistocene assemblages and settlements in the Cantabrian Region. The results of this analysis established some differences between two kinds of settlements in the area: Acheulean assemblages and sites; and the first Middle Palaeolithic evidence in the final Middle Pleistocene and in MIS 5e.