SESSION 6 - Characterising lithic sources
First archaeopetrological approximation of the provenance of the Neolithic axes and other artifacts from the Can Sadurní Cave (Begues, Baix Llobregat)

Can Sadurní cave, located in Begues (Baix Llobregat, Spain), is an archaeological site that features a wide stratigraphic sequence ranging from the last hunter-gatherer societies at the beginning of the Holocene to the Bronze Age, a fact that has led to the recovery of a large number of different raw materials of different natures. The stratigraphy of the site covers approximately 11,000 years but in this study we will focus on the Early and Middle Neolithic. In this presentation, we present the initial archaeopetrological characterization study and initial hypotheses about the origin of raw materials used for the manufacture of axes, which are the second type of macrolithic tool abundantly recovered at the site. We will also discuss a set of “lighters”. The different steps of the mineralogical analysis, macroscopic and microscopic, will provide a range of complementary data to perform a detailed characterization of the analyzed raw material and their potential catchment areas.