Aproximación tafonómica al Abrigo de Navalmaíllo: el uso de fragmentos diafisarios de animales de talla grande como retocadores óseos

Abstract

Bone retouchers are considered as a part of the osseous industry of the Pleistocene hominin groups. They
are usually identified as mid-shaft fragments of ungulate limb bones used to retouch the edge of a lithic tool. These tools
are relatively abundant in Middle Paleolithic contexts, although there is wide variability between different archaeological
sites.
In this work we present two new cases of bone retouchers identified in the level F of the Middle Paleolithic site of the
Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain), located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. This
site is one of the different Middle Paleolithic sites of the Calvero de la Higuera archaeological complex and it has been
characterized as a Neanderthal hunting camp.
The bone retouchers found in the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter are characterized by being diaphyseal fragments of bovine
metatarsals. They are significatively large in comparison with other bone retouchers from Middle Paleolithic contexts.
The analysis of the bone retouchers allows to conclude that they were used to retouch lithic tools of a raw material that
was not quartz (probably chert). This is of great interest because quartz is the main raw material in this archaeological
site.
The bone retouchers from Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter provide interesting archaeological information about the Neanderthal
activities carried out on the site. This information serves us to increase the knowledge regarding subsistence activities
and the occupation patterns developed by Neanderthals groups in the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter.