Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

The personal ornaments made from molluscs of the Middle-Late Magdalenian site at La Peña de Estebanvela (Segovia, Spain)
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4. In the final stage the body whorl fractures completely,
before fusing with the perforation. The result is
always the exposure of the columella (Fig. 9. 4).
Because of the poor condition of the shells’
surfaces and the wearing down of the perforations,
in many cases we have not been able to determine
the perforation techniques. However, in some
cases we identified some points of impact inside
the ring of the peristome near the siphonal canal,
possibly to prepare the size of the perforations.
The suspension of all the Cyclopes created the
same wear pattern: abrasion towards the ring of
the peristome with rounding that follows its natural
arc, erasure of the internal lip denticles of the external
lip of the aperture (Fig.9. 4), levelling of the convexity,
and perforation edges with traumatic fractures
in the direction of the shell base. Thus, we
suggest that Cyclopes was suspended, not sewn.
The different degrees of wear are also interesting.
In the complete specimens the ribs begin to
lose their edges in the most convex surfaces (Fig.
10.1) and can form a facet in the convexity
(Bonnardin 2003: 99-114). In the fragments that did
not conserve the perforations, we found this kind of
wear almost perforating the shell (Fig. 10.4).
The fourth specie represented is a freshwater
one (Fechter & Falkner 1993) – in fact, the only
freshwater type. Of 6 specimens of Theodoxus fluviatilis,
2 are perforated by rotation, 1 has a manufacture
fracture of the perforation, and finally three
complete specimens without perforations we interpreted
as a stock of raw material.
Figure 10. Trivia with different degrees of wear. 1, Trivia arctica, from level III,
the ribs begin to lose their edges in the convex surfaces. 2, Trivia pulex, from
level II, technique of rotation together with pressure. 3, Trivia arctica, from
level II. 4, Trivia arctica, from level III, the wear can form a facet in the convexity
and almost perforate the shell.
Figure 9. Cyclope neritea wiht different wear stages. 1, from level II, perforation
rounded towards the ring of the peristome. 2, from level I, rectangular
perforation with limited wear. 3, from level III, perforation begins to fracture in
the opposite direction to the ring of the peristome. 4, from level III, body whorl
fractures completely, exposure of the columella, erasure of the internal lip
denticles of the aperture, levelling of the convexity.
The second specie is Trivia arctica (Fig.
10.1,3,4); we have 8 specimens. Only 4 are complete
and conserve the perforations. The rest conserve
part of the broken perforations (Fig. 10.3) or
are fragments.
The third specie is Trivia pulex, represented by
two specimens, one biperforated (Fig. 10.2) and
other with only one perforation opposite to the
siphonal canal.
All the Trivia are biperforated (except the Trivia
pulex mentioned) and the location of the perforations
is the same for all of them. We identified the
technique of rotation together with pressure in one
case (Fig.10.2) and we can observe the profile of
the cross-section of the perforating tool.
The next specie is Littorina obtusata. We have
two specimens with the perforation broken by use
(Fig 11.1, 2). The perforations of the Littorina obtusata
are of a considerable size. The technique
used is internal pressure or indirect percussion.
We also have one specimen of Nassarius reticulatus
perforated by internal pressure and with
signs of suspension (Fig. 11.3).
Finally, there is a doubtful marine gastropod
(maybe Columbella rustica or Nucella lapillus) perforated
by multidirectional abrasion (Fig. 11.4).
This specimen has its outer lip abraded, so that,
part of the body whorl has disappeared and the
aperture and the siphonal canal did not conserve
its original morphology.
The three atrophied red deer canines have
been perforated by the same technique, bipolar
rotation. The perforations are made in the medial
part of the root; with biconical morphology and circular
striae left by the tool used to make them. The
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián