First Neanderthal settlements in northern Iberia: The Acheulean and the emergence of Mousterian technology in the Cantabrian region David Álvarez-Alonso Dep. Prehistoria y Arqueología, UNED/Centro Asociado de Asturias, Avda. Jardín Botánico 1345 (Calle interior), 33203 Gijón, Spain article info Article history: Available online 26 December 2012 abstract This paper presents the results of the analysis carried out on different assemblages and stratigraphic contexts dated before MIS 4 in Cantabrian Region (in the northern of the Iberian Peninsula). Despite the reduced corpus available, it was possible to establish the existence of Mousterian settlements throughout the Cantabrian region at the end of the Middle Pleistocene, particularly during interstadial MIS 5e and MIS 6. Whereas the evidence for the Lower Palaeolithic is limited to a few sites such as Louselas, Cabo Busto or Irikaitz, which contain characteristic Acheulean tools, the Cantabrian coast was densely populated by Neanderthal settlements during the MIS 5e Climatic Optimum. This settlement pattern seems to include open air sites, together with uninterrupted habitat in caves from MIS 6 to the end of the Mousterian period in the region. This paper shows the results and conclusions of techno-typological, geoarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Final Middle Pleistocene and Upper Pleistocene assemblages and settlements in the Cantabrian Region. The results of this analysis established some differences between two kinds of settlements in the area: Acheulean assemblages and sites; and the first Middle Palaeolithic evidence in the final Middle Pleistocene and in MIS 5e. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction This paper analyses the chronocultural context of the Acheulean and Early Middle Palaeolithic in the northern area of the Iberian Peninsula (Cantabrian region), from the exposition of the main sites, their geological and chronostratigraphic contexts, and the lithic industries which characterized the first known human occupations for the area. This settlement is relatively recent, at least from available data and compared to nearby areas (Duero Basin or Aquitania). Furthermore, documented and excavated sites are scarce, diverse, with small lithic assemblages, and with consider- ably different geomorphologic conditions. This situation hinders a synthetic analysis, as well as the extrapolation of definite features which could define the period. Occupations both prior to and contemporary to MIS 5 constitute a group of lithic series and assemblages commonly included under the term ‘Cantabrian Ancient Palaeolithic’. This term, in the Can- tabrian area, is utilized to designate the settlements prior to MIS 4, to distinguish between limited open air Acheulean assemblages and the abundant Early Middle Palaeolithic assemblages (both open air and karst sites) (Rodríguez-Asensio, 1996, 2000; Álvarez- Alonso, 2010a,b, 2011 , 2012; Rodríguez-Asensio and Arrizabalaga, 2004). The continuity between the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic industries in Europe is a serious problem in the Cantabrian Palae- olithic research, because there are very few stratigraphical contexts and lithic assemblages to analyze the phases before MIS 4. Under this situation, the term “Ancient Palaeolithic” has been a solution utilized to refer to some period of time where it is not possible to clarify the cultural classification of very poor and small lithic assemblages. However, this paper presents the possibility that differences can be used to distinguish between Acheulean and Early Middle Palaeolithic in the Cantabrian region (Fig. 1). The aim is to detail the different phases of this initial settlement (under the generic consideration of “Ancient Palaeolithic”), pre- senting the evidence to distinguish Acheulean occupations at the end of the Middle Pleistocene, although limited, and reporting several taphonomic problems in appropriate characterization of this horizon in the Cantabrian region. On the other hand, this paper describes the representative record of a horizon different from both the Acheulean at the end of the Middle Pleistocene, and the classical Mousterian which is recorded in the area during the later MIS 4 and MIS 3. This new horizon (not defined previously in this area) will be designated Early Middle Palaeolithic (or Early Mousterian with macro tools), and represents the evidence for the first technological and cultural changes noted in the area from a previous and rather E-mail address: dalvarez@gijon.uned.es. Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.12.023 Quaternary International 326-327 (2014) 288e306