GIS-based methodology for Palaeolithic site location preferences analysis. A case study from Late Palaeolithic Cantabria (Northern Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

Factors involved in the selection of a settlement location are key issues in the understanding of hunteregatherer subsistence strategies and social organization. Site location preferences are the result of a complex decision-making process, in which both economic and cultural needs are involved. This paper presents a specific methodology for site location analysis, based on the definition and calculation of a series of variables. This methodology, applied to Late Palaeolithic sites from the Cantabrian coast, enables an objective comparison between archaeological sites, and consequently the analysis of settlement patterns of Palaeolithic societies.