El Mirón Cave, Cantabrian Spain : The Site and Its Holocene Archaeological Record

Though known as a site since 1903, El Mirón Cave in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Spain remained unexcavated until a team from the universities of New Mexico and Cantabria began ongoing excavations in 1996. This large, deeply stratified cave allowed the team to apply cutting-edge techniques of excavation, recording, and multidisciplinary analysis in the meticulous study of a site that has become a new reference sequence for the classic Cantabrian region. The excavations uncovered the long history of human occupation of the cave, extending from the end of the Middle Paleolithic, through the Upper Paleolithic, up to the modern era. This volume comprehensively describes the background information on the setting, the site, the chronology, and the sedimentology. It then focuses on the biological and archaeological records of the Holocene levels pertaining to Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age. Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians will be drawn to this study and its extensive findings, dated by some seventy-five radiocarbon assays. Preamble : la Cueva del Mirón : a grand cave site in the Cantabrian cordillera of northern Spain / Lawrence Guy Straus The excavation of El Mirón Cave / Lawrence Guy Straus The Río Asón drainage in eastern Cantabria / Lawrence Guy Straus El Mirón Cave / Lawrence Guy Straus Stratigraphy of El Mirón Cave (1996-2007) / Lawrence Guy Straus and Manuel R. González Morales Sedimentology of El Mirón Cave / William R. Farrand El Mirón Cave radiocarbon dates / Lawrence Guy Straus and Manuel R. González Morales Preliminary archaeomagnetic and rock-magnetic results from the Holocene fire lenses in El Mirón Cave / Ángel Carrancho and Juan José Villalaín The vegetational contexts of El Mirón Cave throughout the early to middle Holocene : contributions from the palynological study / María José Iriarte Chiapusso Analysis of phytoliths from Holocene levels of El Mirón Cave / Débora Zurro Neolithic, chalcolithic, and Bronze Age plant remains from El Mirón Cave : evidence on the first farming communities in the Cantabrian region / Leonor Peña-Chocarro. Holocene wood charcoal from El Mirón Cave : vegetation and wood use / Lydia Zapata Holocene biostratigraphy and climatic change in Cantabria : the micromammalian faunas of El Mirón Cave / Gloria Cuenca Bescós and Juan Carlos García Pimienta Bird remains from the post-Azilian levels of El Mirón Cave / Mikelo Elorza The Holocene herpetofauna of El Mirón Cave / Borja Sanchiz, Jorge M. Lobo, and Salvador Bailon Taphonomic study of the large and medium mammals from the post-Paleolithic occupations in El Mirón Cave / Manuel Pérez Ripoll and María Dolores López Gila Macromammalian remains from the Holocene levels of El Mirón cave / Jesús Altuna and Koro Mariezkurrena Descriptions of the post-paleolithic pit and hearth features of El Mirón Cave / Lawrence Guy Straus and Manuel R. González Morales The post-Paleolithic stone industries of El Mirón Cave / Lawrence Guy Straus, Manuel R. González Morales, and John D. Rissetto The ceramics of El Mirón Cave : production, morphology, and discard / Cristina Vega Maeso Conclusions : preliminary overview and focus on the post-Paleolithic occupations of El Mirón Cave / Lawrence Guy Straus and Manuel R. González Morales. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Figures, Color Plates, and Tables Acknowledgments Preamble: La Cueva del Mirón: A Grand Cave Site in the Cantabrian Cordillera of Northern Spain 1: The Excavation of El Mirón Cave 2: The Río Asón Drainage in Eastern Cantabria 3: El Mirón Cave 4: Stratigraphy of El Mirón Cave (1996–2007) 5: Sedimentology of El Mirón Cave 6: El Mirón Cave Radiocarbon Dates 7: Preliminary Archaeomagnetic and Rock-Magnetic Results from the Holocene Fire Lenses in El Mirón Cave 8: The Vegetational Contexts of El Mirón Cave throughout the Early to Middle Holocene: Contributions from the Palynological Study 9: Analysis of Phytoliths from Holocene Levels of El Mirón Cave 10: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age Plant Remains from El Mirón Cave: Evidence on the First Farming Communities in the Cantabrian Region 11: Holocene Wood Charcoal from El Mirón Cave: Vegetation and Wood Use COLOR PLATES 12: Holocene Biostratigraphy and Climatic Change in Cantabria: The Micromammalian Faunas of El Mirón Cave 13: Bird Remains from the Post-Azilian Levels of El Mirón Cave 14: The Holocene Herpetofauna of El Mirón Cave 15: Taphonomic Study of the Large and Medium Mammals from the Post-Paleolithic Occupations in El Mirón Cave 16: Macromammalian Remains from the Holocene Levels of El Mirón Cave 17: Descriptions of the Post-Paleolithic Pit and Hearth Features of El Mirón Cave 18: The Post-Paleolithic Stone Industries of El Mirón Cave 19: The Ceramics of El Mirón Cave: Production, Morphology, and Discard 20: Conclusions: Preliminary Overview and Focus on the Post-Paleolithic Occupations of El Mirón Cave Contributors

Though known as a site since 1903, El Mirón Cave in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Spain remained unexcavated until a team from the universities of New Mexico and Cantabria began ongoing excavations in 1996. This large, deeply stratified cave allowed the team to apply cutting-edge techniques of excavation, recording, and multidisciplinary analysis in the meticulous study of a site that has become a new reference sequence for the classic Cantabrian region. The excavations uncovered the long history of human occupation of the cave, extending from the end of the Middle Paleolithic, through the Upper Paleolithic, up to the modern era. This volume comprehensively describes the background information on the setting, the site, the chronology, and the sedimentology. It then focuses on the biological and archaeological records of the Holocene levels pertaining to Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age.

Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians will be drawn to this study and its extensive findings, dated by some seventy-five radiocarbon assays.

Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians will be drawn to this study of El Mirón Cave and its extensive findings, dated by some seventy-five radiocarbon assays