8.2 ka BP paleoclimatic event and the Ebro Valley Mesolithic groups: Preliminary data from Artusia rock shelter (Unzué, Navarra, Spain)

This paper presents the results of the first excavation campaign of the Artusia rock shelter in Unzué, Navarre, Spain. Chronocultural and archaeobiological analyses revealed five different occupation phases (Artusia I–V) within the regional Mesolithic timeline, specifically in the Mesolithic of Notches and Denticulates (Artusia I and II) and the Geometric Mesolithic (Artusia III, IV, and V). In addition, the study of the sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental evolution in the entire record helped to clearly define several climatic events which developed around 6550 cal BC–8500 cal BP and 6250 cal BC–8200 cal BP. Here, we present a description of these events and their (pre)historical interpretation with the aim of recognizing how they influenced the Mesolithic hunter–gatherer groups living in the Ebro Basin of the Iberian Peninsula.projects “Los Caminos del Neolítico” -HAR2009- 09027- and “Los Caminos del Neolítico II” -(HAR2013-46800-P)- under directed by Dr. Manuel Rojo Guerra, granted by the Subdirectorate General for Research Projects/General Directorate of Research and Management of the National Plan for R and D and Innovation/Secretary of State for Research of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, and co-financed by the Government of Navarre. All analytical work and radiocarbon dating were carried out within the project “Origins and spread of agriculture in the western Mediterranean region” -ERC-2008-AdG 230561-, coordinated by Dr. Leonor Pe~na Chocarro and financed by the European Research Council