New radiocarbon dating from Cubera rockshelter in the Upper Asón basin (Arredondo, Cantabria)

Abstract

Since the Late Pleistocene, and especially during the first millennia of the Holocene, there seems to be an occupation of high, inland areas along the entireCantabrian Region, probably related to the end of glacial conditions and the resulting climatic amelioration. In the case of the upper basin of the Asón river, in eastern Cantabria, there are some signs that may indicate human presence from the Early Holocene, but the evidence is still too fragmentary. Since its discovery in the 50s of the XX^th century, the Cubera rockshelter has been considered one of these evidences because the site was at first attributed to the Azilian and/or the Mesolithic considering the scarce finds recovered. Aiming to concrete the chronology of the deposit, we decided to review the archaeological materials deposited at the Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria, as well as dating the shellmidden level adhered to the rockshelter’s wall which encompasses the upper part of the deposit. This dating allows placing the end of human occupation at Cubera during the Mesolithic. However, the limited data available makes impossible to analyse the role played by the site on Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene hunter-gatherers’ land use and settlement patterns in the Upper Asón.