Asturian culture

The Asturian culture is an Epipalaeolithic or Mesolithic archaeological culture identified by a single form of artefact: the Asturian pick-axe, and found only in coastal locations of Iberia,[1] especially in Eastern Asturias and Western Cantabria. It is believed that the Asturian tool was used for seafood gathering, and the sites where they are found are associated with very large shell-middens (concheros in Spanish), which can fill caves to the ceiling.[2]

In other respects the culture is similar to the preceding Azilian of the area, which also extended further to the east along the coast. Whether there is an overlap in dating between Azilian and Asturian sites has been much discussed. Two concheros begin at 9280±440 BP, whereas Azilian dates come to an end after about 9500 BP.[3] End dates for concheros include 7000 and 6500 BP.[4]

  1. ^ Gonzalez Morales et al, 69
  2. ^ Straus, Lawrence Guy, in Bailey and Spikins, 317
  3. ^ Gonzalez Morales et al, 64-65, 69. These are Level 3.3 in Cueva de Mazaculos and El Perro 1.3
  4. ^ Gonzalez Morales et al, 65, 70