The Magdalenian sequence at Coimbre cave (Asturias, Northern Iberian Peninsula): Adaptive strategies of hunter-gatherer groups in montane environments

摘要

The cave of Coimbre contains an important archaeological deposit divided into two different zones, of which most of the excavations carried out to date have taken place in Zone B. Coimbre B displays a full and very interesting Magdalenian sequence (with Lower, Middle and Upper Magdalenian levels), in addition to a Gravettian layer. The excavations were performed from 2008 to 2012. The hunter-gatherers who lived in Coimbre in the Upper Palaeolithic made use of several adaptation strategies allowing them to exploit all the abiotic and animal resources the environment afforded them. In this way, the faunal assemblage includes remains of ibex and chamois, associated with the mountains and crags in the immediate surroundings of the site, and also red deer, roe deer, aurochs and horses, indicating the exploitation of the animal resources living in the Besnes valley, at the foot of Sierra del Cuera.