Axlor is a prehistoric

archeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

in the village of Dima in

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

in the Autonomous Basque Community of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, dating from the

Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...

Mousterian The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an Industry (archaeology), archaeological industry of Lithic technology, stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and with the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and We ...

period.

Excavation

The shelter is the mouth of an old

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

that has been filled up with clay from the Indusi

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

. The

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Jose Miguel Barandiaran (; 31December 188921December 1991), known as and ("Father Barandiaran"), was a Basque anthropologist, ethnographer, and priest. Early life He was born in 1889 as the youngest of nine children to Francisco Antonio Barandiaran and María Anto ...

discovered the site and directed the first excavations from 1967 until 1974. The results of these works were published in 1980 by Barandiaran in ''Obras Completas, T. XVIII''. Barandiaran noted the presence of 9 different layers at the site, 5 of which contained Mousterian lithic artifacts. Jose Maria Basabe studied 5 teeth from a young

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

found on the site. Jesus Altuna identified faunal remains from the site, while later on, A. Baldeón studied the

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

s. Renewed excavations at Axlor took place from 2000 to 2009, under the direction of J. González Urquijo and J. Ibañez Estévez. The new excavations continue to focus on the lithic and faunal assemblages, as well as human remains, but new approaches have also been incorporated into the project: micro-faunal fossil remains (essentially, rodents), the geological context of the " Indusi karst", the

geological formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...

of different layers of rock,

palynology Palynology is the study of microorganisms and microscopic fragments of mega-organisms that are composed of acid-resistant organic material and occur in sediments, sedimentary rocks, and even some metasedimentary rocks. Palynomorphs are the mic ...

(the study of

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

), and

carpology Carpology is a discipline of botany devoted to the study of seeds and fruits. The German inventor Joseph Gaertner, an 18th-century doctor and botanist, dedicated his life to the study of natural history. He considered its inventor. When the discip ...

(the study of other plant remains), among other disciplines.

The site

Axlor has a sequence of

levels, representing the later stages of the

in the Pyrenees region. The most recent levels at Axlor are dated to approximately 42,000 years before present (using C14 radiocarbon analysis). Axlor is one of few securely-dated late Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Basque region. The Neanderthals from Axlor had long-range strategies to deal with their environment, which they changed over time – thus allowing a sort of "history" to be pieced together by

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. Those investigations are changing the idea of Neanderthal being a "brute" or an "archaic hominid". The Neanderthals of Axlor made stone tools using flint from distant places (between 30 and 60 kilometers from the site). Also, each different stone-class was worked with different techniques, using those systems more appropriated to its size, density, grain and hardness. The producing techniques are quite complicated (Levallois, micro-Levallois, Quina, etc.). Those strategies of flint-working and stone-working are not repeated along the time sequence. They change between layers, probably adapted to different ethnic traditions and to the needs of the Neanderthals and the environmental constraints. Some spear-tips found in Axlor have traces of use, and they were probably used as projectiles. The Neanderthals from Axlor were really good hunters, and they killed adult

bovid The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member o ...

s and other dangerous animals. Their long-range strategies extended to the management of hunting resources, butchery, and use of animal resources.

References

Rios, J.; González, J. E. e Ibañez, J. J. (2003): La excavación en Axlor. Las formas de vida de los últimos neandertales. BOLETÍN Nº5 SEDECK. Pg. 62–83
* González Urquijo, J.; Ibáñez Estévez, J. J.; Rios Garaizar, J. Bourguignon, L.; Castaños Ugarte, P. et Tarriño Vinagre, A. (2005): Excavaciones recientes en Axlor. Movilidad y planificación de actividades en grupos de neandertales. En: Montes, R. y Lasheras, J. A.: Actas de la Reunión científica: Neandertales Cantábricos. Estado de la cuestión. Monografías del Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira nº 20., pg. 527–539. {{Navbox prehistoric caves 1967 archaeological discoveries Neanderthal sites Mousterian Paleolithic sites Buildings and structures in Biscay Prehistoric sites in Spain Caves of the Basque Country (autonomous community)