Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

MUNIBE(Suplemento/Gehigarria) - nº nº 3100 58-68 000-000 DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIÁN 2010 2003 D.L. ISSN SS-1055-2010
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Magdalenian marine shells from El Horno Cave
(Ramales, Cantabria, Spain) in the regional context
La fauna malacológica marina del yacimiento magdaleniense
de El Horno en su contexto cantábrico
KEY WORDS: Magdalenian, Cantabrian Spain, malacological record, shell beads.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Magdaleniense, Región Cantábrica, registro malacológico, objetos de adorno-colgantes sobre concha.
GAKO-HITZAK: Magdaleniarra, Kantaurialdea, malakologia-erregistroa, maskorrez egindako apaingarriak-zintzilikariak.
Miguel Ángel FANO (1) , Esteban ÁLVAREZ-FERNÁNDEZ (2)
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to present the available information about the intensity and way in which the Magdalenian groups at El Horno Cave
exploited the malacological resources provided by the Bay of Biscay. The location of the site, in the upper Asón Valley and a long way from the
coast, gives a specific weight to the malacological record within the analysis of the population dynamics of the societies being studied. In the
case of El Horno, hardly any evidence has been found that the malacological resources were used as food, but in contrast, they were used to
make personal ornaments. Other late-final Magdalenian sites in the interior of Cantabrian Spain, like the deposits in the Asón Valley, have yielded
small numbers of molluscs with and without bromatological value. However, most of the malacological material was equally transformed into
objects of adornment.
RESUMEN
El artículo tiene por objeto presentar la información disponible acerca de la intensidad y el modo en el que los grupos magdalenienses de El
Horno explotaron los recursos malacológicos proporcionados por el Mar Cantábrico. La localización del asentamiento, en la parte alta del valle del
río Asón y alejado del litoral, proporciona un peso específico al registro malacológico a la hora de analizar la dinámica del poblamiento de las sociedades
estudiadas. En el caso de El Horno, apenas existen evidencias de un aprovechamiento alimenticio de los recursos malacológicos, pero sí
en cambio de su transformación en objetos de adorno personal. Al igual que ocurre en la cuenca del Asón, otros yacimientos interiores de la región
cantábrica con ocupaciones del final del Magdaleniense han proporcionado escasos moluscos con y sin interés bromatológico. Ese material malacológico
también fue transformado, en su mayor parte, en objetos de adorno-colgantes.
LABURPENA
El Hornoko magdaleniar taldeek Bizkaiko golkoak emandako malakologia-errekurtsoak ustiatzeko intentsitateari eta moduari buruzko informazioa
ematea da komunikazioaren helburua. Kokalekua Ason ibaiaren goiko aldean zegoen, itsasertzetik urrun, eta horrek ikertutako gizarteen populatzearen
dinamika aztertzean pisu espezifiko handia ematen dio malakologia-erregistroari. El Hornoren kasuan, ez dago ia malakologia-baliabideak
jateko erabiltzen zituztenaren ebidentziarik, baina bai apaingarriak egiteko erabili izanaren ebidentziak. Ason ibaiaren arroan gertatzen den
moduan, Magdaleniarraren amaierako kantaurialdeko barrualdeko beste aztarnategi batzuetan ere, interes bromatologiko handiagoko edo txikiagoko
molusku gutxi agertu dira. Malakologia-material hori ere transformatua izan zen; batik bat, apaingarriak eta zintzilikariak egiteko.
1. INTRODUCTION
In general, a Palaeolithic settlement begins to
make sense and can be interpreted correctly in its
regional context. Without doubt, the mobility of hunter-gather
groups makes it difficult to understand a
site in isolation, and consequently studies at a regional
scale become especially pertinent (cf. Price and
Peterkin 2000, Boyle 2000).
In the particular case of Cantabrian Spain, various
studies have reflected the question of territories and
mobility of societies in the late Palaeolithic (see recent
reviews by González Sainz and González Urquijo
2007, Terradas et al. 2007), but the references for their
reflections have been the traditional analytical units
(middle and late Magdalenian…) and, apart from the
occasional exception (Menéndez et al. 2005), the
Cantabrian corridor as a whole. At the same time, contributions
have been made about different kinds of
contacts with societies in more or less distant areas,
such as the Pyrenees or southwest France (see,
among others, Fritz et al. 2007, Corchón et al. 2009).
As a result, high-quality information is beginning
to come available about the circulation of materials
(1)
Department of History, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain (mfano@fil.deusto.es).
(2)
Department of Prehistory, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain (epanik@usal.es).