Using Species Distribution Modeling to contextualize Lower Magdalenian social networks visible through portable art stylistic similarities in the Cantabrian region (Spain) Claudine Gravel-Miguel School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA article info Article history: Available online xxx Keywords: Cantabrian region Lower Magdalenian Social networks Portable art objects Species Distribution Modeling GIS abstract This research argues for a refocus of the study of prehistoric social networks that involves contextualizing the inter-site links that are often interpreted as indicators of inter-site social interactions. It focuses on the social networks created during the Lower Magdalenian of the Cantabrian region (Spain), and visible through similarities of portable art representations. It uses Species Distribution Modeling and Maximum Classification Likelihood on faunal presence data to reconstruct prehistoric biomes, and contextualize the networks reconstructed through the art analysis. It demonstrates the potential of mapping the recreated networks onto the reconstructed biomes and of identifying the linked sites' foraging and minimal band territories to distinguish between local mobility movement and inter-group social alliances. The results show that, during the Lower Magdalenian, the majority of movements seen through artistic similarities probably represent the seasonal mobility of one or two hunter-gatherer groups, and that only a few inter- site links represent social networks used to exchange mates and gather information. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction 1.1. Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian The Magdalenian (c. 20e14 cal ka BP) follows the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and is characterized by an overall increase in temperature with high frequency and high amplitude climate variation (McCabe et al., 1998; Ahn, 2012). Through its temporal range and geographical distribution, the Magdalenian remained a coherent culture (Aura et al., 2012; Otte, 2012), as groups of hunter- gatherers aggregated into temperate refugia during the LGM (Jochim, 1987; Clark et al., 1996) only to re-colonize high-altitude and high-latitude regions during the following Interstadial (Clottes, 1989; Schwendler, 2004; Langlais et al., 2009; Miller, 2012; Straus et al., 2012). Research on the Magdalenian of France and Spain have demonstrated the existence of local and long-distance social contacts within and between these regions through the study of marine shell distribution (e.g., Taborin, 1993;  Alvarez-Fern andez, 2002, 2006, 2009), raw material sourcing (e.g., Fullola et al., 2008; P etillon, 2008; Corch on Rodríguez et al., 2009), and art style similarities (e.g., Sieveking, 1978; Bahn, 1982; Buisson et al., 1996; Fritz et al., 2007; Sauvet et al., 2008; Rivero and Sauvet, 2014). Ethnography shows that modern hunter-gatherers tend to create inter-group alliances as insurance against resource failure during times of climate change and resource insecurities (Wobst, 1974, 1977; Wiessner, 1982; Kelly, 1995, 2013; Whallon, 2006). The use of this specific type of social network has been suggested for the Mesolithic (Whallon, 2006), but remains to be studied for the Magdalenian. This article presents preliminary results from a research aimed to contextualize Magdalenian social networks, and here focuses on Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian (c. 20e17.5 cal ka BP) social net- works visible through portable art similarities. The main point of this article is not to reconstruct the entire social networks of the Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian, but rather to recreate their social, geographical, and environmental contexts to better classify and interpret them. As ethnographic studies show that stylized non- utilitarian objects are often exchanged to create and maintain E-mail address: cgravelm@asu.edu. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.029 1040-6182/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. Quaternary International xxx (2015) 1e12 Please cite this article in press as: Gravel-Miguel, C., Using Species Distribution Modeling to contextualize Lower Magdalenian social networks visible through portable art stylistic similarities in the Cantabrian region (Spain), Quaternary International (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.quaint.2015.08.029