Axlor
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Axlor is a prehistoric archeological site in the village of Dima, Vizcaya, Spain, in the Basque Country. It dates from the Middle Paleolithic or Mousterian period.
The site is a rock shelter, in a mountain area filled with "karstic" systems and caves. Actually, Axlor is the mouth of an old cave, thus has been filled up with clay from the "Indusi karst". J. M. de Barandiarán discovered the site, and he directed the excavation from 1967 until 1974. The results of those works were published 1n 1980 (J. M. de Barandiarán: "Obras Completas, T. XVIII"). This basque scholar studied the stratigraphy or sequence from the site. That is, the different "layers" or "levels" and their cronological relations and ovelaying. Barandiarán noted the existence of 9 different "levels". 5 of those levels contained Mousterian lithic artifacts. J. Basabe studied 5 teeth from a young Neandertal man, found in the site. J. Altuna made the classification of the faunal remains from Axlor. Some years later, A. Baldeón studied the lithic tools from the site.
The shelter has been re-excavated since year 2000 (the excavations are going on in 2007, they'll end about 2009). J. González Urquijo y J. Ibañez Estévez are the directors of this new project. The team it cames from many different branches of the science. They are studying the lithic assemblages and faunal (and human) remains, as in the old excavation. But other themes are incorporated to the analysis: micro-faunal fossil remains (rodents basically), geological context of "Indusi karst", geological formation of the differente "levels", palynology (study of pollen) and carpology (other plant remains), etc.
Axlor has a sequence of Middle Paleolithic levels. The recent ones are dated around 42,000 years before present (using C14 radiocarbon analysis). The older layers can not be dated using C14, because it only works for 50.000 years before present or younger materials. The archeological levels are rich in fauna and lithic tools. The studies being carried show a better and more complete image of Neanderthal world.
The neanderthals from Axlor had many long-range strategies to deal with their environment. And they changed those strategies along the time, along the secuence, meaning they had a real "history" (before the writing, of course) that we can read in the archeological "document".Those investigations are changing the idea of Neanderthal being a "brute" or an "archaic hominid". Neanderthals from Axlor made stone tools using flint from distant places (between 30 and 60 kilometers from site). Also, each different stone-class was worked with different techniques, using those systems more appropriated to its size, density, grain and hardness. And the producing techniques are quite complicated (Levallois, micro-Levallois, Quina, etc). All those strategies working around the flint and other stones are not repeated along the secuence. They change in the differente layers, probably adapted to different etnic traditions and -of course- to the needs of the neandertals and the environment constrains.
Some spear-tips found in Axlor have traces of use, and they were probably used as projectiles. The Neanderthals from Axlor were really good hunters, and they killed adult bovids and other dangerous animals. They long-range strategies extended to the managing of hunting resources and the butchery and use of animal resources.
[edit] References
- González Urquijo, J. ; Ibáñez Estévez, J. J.; Rios Garaizar, J. Bourguignon, L.; Castaños Ugarte, P. et Tarriño Vinagre, A. (2005): Excavaciones recientes en Axlor. Movilidad y planificación de actividades en grupos de neandertales. En: Montes, R. y Lasheras, J. A.: Actas de la Reunión científica: Neandertales Cantábricos. Estado de la cuestión. Monografías del Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira nº 20., pg. 527-539.
