Cueva del Ángel (Lucena, Córdoba): sampling of lithics surface preservation for the application of functional analysis

Abstract

This paper presents a study about the preservation state of the lithics surface from Cueva del Ángel (Lucena, Córdoba). Post-depositional alterations affect the analysis of the traces of use since they can be hid, covered or destroyed, especially in the case of old-chronology materials as it happens in this site (the end of the Middle Pleistocene and the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene). These alterations and their presence in the different stratigraphic units have been analysed on this study. The distribution of raw materials along the different strata has been evaluated, since the preservation of the traces of use depends on them. This study allows an approach to the materials’ preservation which will contribute to evaluate the potential of a Functional Analysis at the site.