The “Asturian” and its neighbours in the twenty-first century : Recent perspectives on the Mesolithic of northern Spain

  1. Jesús Tapia
  2. Pablo Arias 1
  3. María J. Iriarte Chiapusso 2
  4. Ángel Fano 3
  5. Mercedes Pérez Bartolomé 4
  6. Esteban Álvarez Fernández 5
  7. Miriam Cubas
  1. 1 Universidad de Cantabria
    info

    Universidad de Cantabria

    Santander, España

    ROR https://ror.org/046ffzj20

  2. 2 Universidad País Vasco
  3. 3 Universidad de La Rioja
    info

    Universidad de La Rioja

    Logroño, España

    ROR https://ror.org/0553yr311

  4. 4 Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
    info

    Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02msb5n36

  5. 5 Universidad de Salamanca
    info

    Universidad de Salamanca

    Salamanca, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02f40zc51

Book:
Foraging assemblages

Publisher: Serbian Archaeological Society

ISBN: 978-86-80094-14-4

Year of publication: 2021

Pages: 281-288

Type: Book chapter

Sustainable development goals

Abstract

For one hundred years the Asturian has been the main reference point for the Mesolithic of northern Spainat both national and international levels. However, from the very beginning of research, some Basquecounterparts to the eastern Asturian shell middens were added to the list and were very soon studied by T.de Aranzadi, J. M. de Barandiaran, and E. de Eguren. This research history resulted in a dual research tradition,with a poor definition of the Cantabria Mesolithic, which acted as a firebreak between the two areas. In recentyears, a significant amount of research has been carried out in this region. Therefore, it has become possibleto compare the Mesolithic in different areas of Cantabrian Spain and to address the issue of the degree ofcontinuity. Can we speak of a northern Spanish Mesolithic; or should we rather define several discrete areas? This paper presents the results of field and laboratory investigations conducted over the last five years, andprovides an updated view on the last hunter-gatherers in this part of the Iberian Peninsula.