Premium
From cave geomorphology to Palaeolithic human behaviour: speleogenesis, palaeoenvironmental changes and archaeological insight in the Atxurra‐Armiña cave (northern Iberian Peninsula)
Author(s) -
Arriolabengoa Martin,
Intxaurbe Inaki,
MedinaAlcaide Mª Ángeles,
Rivero Olivia,
RiosGaraizar Joseba,
LÍbano Inaki,
Bilbao Peru,
Aranburu Arantza,
Cheng Hai,
Edwards Richard Lawrence,
Garate Diego
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/jqs.3225
Subject(s) - cave , geology , stadial , peninsula , paleontology , pleistocene , interglacial , glacial period , archaeology , context (archaeology) , geomorphology , geography
ABSTRACT A detailed geomorphological study was performed in the Atxurra‐Armiña cave system (northern Iberian Peninsula) to decode landscape evolution, palaeoenvironmental changes and human use of a cave within an Inner Archaeological Context. The results show an average incision rate of the river of <0.083 mm a –1 for at least the last 419 ka, with interruptions due to sedimentary inputs. Moreover, allostratigraphic units comprising fluviokarstic deposits at the base and flowstone formation at the top have been shown to be climatically controlled, formed either during glacial–interglacial cycles or during interstadial cycles. Finally, when the cave was used by humans in the Late Magdalenian, the lower entrance was closed, and they must therefore have entered the cave through the upper entrance. To reach the sectors selected to decorate the panels, they probably travelled from the upper cave level, as the current crawlway was wider than today, according to our U/Th dating. Once these visitors reached the panels, the floor in the main gallery would have been around 15 cm lower than at present. However, the morphology of the conduit was similar; this has significant implications for understanding and interpreting the human use of the cave during the Palaeolithic.