Palaeolithic sites beyond the archaeological deposits

Abstract

Research on Palaeolithic foraging societies has tended to focus on the archaeological deposits formed by the everyday activity of the groups being studied. In contrast, the location and characteristics of the sites containing those deposits have hardly been studied systematically through the application of particular methodologies. However, these sites, whatever activity might have been carried out in them, are also parto f the archaeological record, since they were chosen by the hunter groups, and this choice cannot be ignored. In this sense, a particular methodology can be applied to study site locational characteristics and obtain relevant information about the groups’ settlement patterns, while an anthropological interpretation of the results Will enable an understanting of hunter-gatherer society dynamics. In this paper, we show the possibilities of the application of this kind of approach, focusing on a concrete región, the Nalón river basis (Northern Iberia).