Igor Gutiérrez-Zugasti
Biographic Data
| ID | 80231 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Igor Gutiérrez-Zugasti |
| GIVEN NAMES | Igor |
| FAMILY NAME | Gutiérrez-Zugasti |
| SIGNATURE | GUTIÉRREZ-ZUGASTI I |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universidad de Cantabria |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7041-532X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 41 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 400 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 41 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 13 |
Vegetation and plant resource exploitation during the 8.2 ka event
El Mazo rock shelter (Asturias, northern Iberia) contains a Mesolithic shell-midden with a high chronological resolution, which offers great possibilities as an empirical scenario to develop palaeoenvironmental research. This study aims to approach vegetation dynamics and the exploitation of plant resources during the Early Holocene in the Cantabrian region and to assess the regional effects of the 8.2 ka cal BP abrupt climate change event. The r…
Western European Micro-Blade Technology in “Pre-Clovis” Times
Bladelets (micro-blades) were key artifacts in the technologies of many Upper Paleolithic cultures in the Old World, among them the Magdalenian (∼21–14 ka) in Western Europe. Contemporary with claimed late pre-Clovis sites in the Americas, it succeeded the Solutrean technocomplex (∼25–21 ka) characterized by large foliate, concave-base, shouldered, and tanged lithic projectile points. Magdalenian bladelets were often inserted as replaceable eleme…
Where the Shells Come From? A New Methodology for Establishing Collection Areas Applied to Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Shell Middens From Northern Iberia
Shellfishing was a common activity among prehistoric hunter-gatherers living in coastal areas in Iberia. Interpreting shellfish collection strategies is crucial to understand the lifeways of these coastal hunter-gatherers. Among collection strategies, the estimation of collection areas is essential for interpretation of mobility and subsistence strategies. In this paper we present a new methodological procedure to identify mollusc collection area…
Changes in lithic raw material and technological management during the Mesolithic
This study investigates the lithic industry at the Mesolithic shell midden site of El Mazo (Andrín, Asturias), on the Asturian coastline in Northern Iberia, focusing on resource management, production strategies, and mobility patterns of the last hunter-gatherer-fishers. El Mazo provides a unique opportunity to examine lithic resource use across the Early-Middle Holocene transition, with a particular emphasis on the dynamic of the 8.2 ka climate …
Marine resource exploitation and human settlement patterns during the Neolithic in SW Europe
In recent decades, investigations in the southern Iberian Peninsula have increased our understanding of the socio-economic impact of the spread of the Neolithic in southwestern Europe, including changes in marine resources exploitation. Nevertheless, considerable uncertainty still exists around the seasonality of such subsistence systems and the putative role of marine fish and shellfish to the evolving agro-pastoral economies. Earlier studies on…
Seasonal exploitation of intertidal resources at El Mazo (N Iberia) reveals optimized human subsistence strategies during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe
Over the last few decades, research has significantly enhanced our understanding of the role played by shellfish in human subsistence during the Mesolithic period along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Instrumental to this advance has been the analysis of stable oxygen isotope measurements (δ 18 O) from mollusc shells, which offers valuable insights into the seasonality of shellfish exploitation. The δ 18 O values serve as reliable indicators of pas…
Virtual sampling
Living in the shore
Recent research on human exploitation of molluscs, echinoderms and crustaceans during the Mesolithic in the Cantabrian region (northern Iberia) has shown significant variability in the intensity of the use of coastal resources by the last hunter-fisher-gatherers throughout the ~ 4000-year expanse of the Mesolithic (10,700 - 6,700 cal BP). Previous studies have proposed hypotheses related to demographic changes to explain intensification events. I…
Mobility and the use of littoral resources in the Late Mesolithic of Northern Spain
Littoral resources have been consumed by humans since at least the Middle Palaeolithic. Examples of the use of molluscs have been documented along the shores of Europe during that period but it was not until many millennia later that European hunter-fisher-gatherer societies exploited those resources intensively-see the case of Nerja cave during the Younger Dryas. This economic activity caused the accumulation of shells at archaeological sites du…
Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age and Additional Magdalenian Radiocarbon Dates for El Mirón Cave (Ramales De La Victoria, Cantabria, Spain). Date List Vii
There are now 101 radiocarbon dates from the long Paleolithic and post-Paleolithic culture-stratigraphic sequence in El Mirón Cave, Cantabrian Spain. Here we report on two dates on bone from two different humans whose remains were found in disturbed surface sediments in the cave vestibule rear and that confirm the existence of burials in addition to previously reported residential occupations in the vestibule front pertaining to the Chalcolithic …
Coastal and Inland subsistence strategies during the Gravettian in the Cantabrian Region (northern Iberian Peninsula)
The Gravettian site of Fuente del Salín Cave is located in the northern Iberian Peninsula (Cantabrian Region, Spain). In 2016, excavations conducted at the site yielded numerous faunal remains, including mammals and fish. Researchers also recovered molluscs remains during the 1990, 1991, and 2000 campaigns. This study presents the results of the archaeozoological and taphonomical analyses of the large mammals and fish remains recovered during the…
Ceramic productions and human interactions during the Early Bronze Age in northern Iberia
The Early Bronze Age ceramic collection found into the caves of La Llana and El Toral III in Asturias (Spain) presents common decoration such as that found in the centre of Cantabrian Spain from the same period, which resembles others found in the Ebro Valley and Atlantic Europe. Therefore, the main objective of this study it is to identify the raw material origin and understand the pottery production process during the Early Bronze Age in the Ca…
The role of shellfish in human subsistence during the Mesolithic of Atlantic Europe
Environment and subsistence strategies at La Viña rock shelter and Llonin cave (Asturias, Spain) during MIS3
Oxygen and carbon stable isotopes of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 shells as environmental and provenance proxies
Mollusc shell stable isotopes are commonly used to reconstruct past environmental conditions. However, despite being abundant components of natural and anthropogenic fossil accumulations, the geochemical composition of mussel shells ( Mytilus spp.) has rarely received attention in palaeoenvironmental studies. This study tests the suitability of oxygen isotopes (δ 18 O s ) of Mytilus galloprovincialis as palaeothermometer. For 1 year, mussels and …
Birds of prey and humans in prehistoric Europe
Stable oxygen isotope analysis of Phorcus lineatus (da Costa, 1778) as a proxy for foraging seasonality during the Mesolithic in northern Iberia
The Mesolithic period in the Cantabrian region, a coastal area located in northern Spain, is characterised by a marked increase in the human use of coastal resources in comparison with previous periods, resulting in the formation of so-called "shell middens". Archaeological investigations have provided insights into the formation processes of these shell middens, as well as long-term changes in human exploitation of different marine resources and…
Mesolithic dwelling structures
Shells and Humans
Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains…
A chrono-cultural reassessment of the levels VI–XIV from El Cuco rock-shelter
Time for the tide. New perspectives on hunter–fisher–gatherer exploitation of intertidal resources in Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean regions
Collection and consumption of echinoderms and crustaceans at the Mesolithic shell midden site of El Mazo (northern Iberia)
Painting Altamira Cave? Shell tools for ochre-processing in the Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia
Early use of marine resources by Middle/Upper Pleistocene human societies
Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect in Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Coastal Waters off Northern Iberia
Radiocarbon dating of closely associated marine mollusk shells and terrestrial material (mammal bones or charred wood) collected from archaeological contexts in northern Atlantic Iberian coastal areas is used to quantify the marine 14 C reservoir effect (ΔR) for the coastal waters off the Cantabrian coast of northern Iberia. For the first time, ΔR values were reliably determined for these coastal waters and, also for the first time, a ΔR was calc…
Shell midden research in Atlantic Europe
A chrono-cultural reassessment of the levels VI–XIV from El Cuco rock-shelter
Environment and subsistence strategies at La Viña rock shelter and Llonin cave (Asturias, Spain) during MIS3
Shell Technology, Rock Art, and the Role of Marine Resources during the Upper Paleolithic
During the Upper Paleolithic, marine resources have traditionally been considered to be low-efficiency resources. However, in recent years, new data have emerged to demonstrate that their importance for human utilization was probably greater than previously thought. The assessment of their value has generally been from the perspective of their nutritional or ornamental value, not from the technological potential that these resources might have. A…
The Use of Mollusc Shells as Tools by Coastal Human Groups
In European archaeology, the malacological remains recovered in archaeological contexts have traditionally been considered almost exclusively as food waste. In other cases, this view has been broadened in order to study these remains as an expression of aspects of the social organization of the human groups, based on the use of perforated shells as objects of personal ornamentation. However, the study of these natural resources as raw materials f…
Painting Altamira Cave? Shell tools for ochre-processing in the Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia
Early use of marine resources by Middle/Upper Pleistocene human societies
The Use of Echinoids and Crustaceans as Food During the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition in Northern Spain
Until now, little attention has been paid to the detailed analysis of certain kinds of marine resources found in archaeological deposits, particularly in shell middens. The importance of these resources, including sea urchins, goose barnacles and crabs, in the prehistoric diet should be assessed from a rigorous and reliable data corpus. With this goal in mind, remains of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816), Pollicipes pollicipes (Leach, 1817) a…
Shell Fragmentation as a Tool for Quantification and Identification of Taphonomic Processes in Archaeomalacological Analysis
This paper presents a quantification method for archaeological molluscs using fragmentation categories. By employing the data from nine prehistoric sites (13 000 to 5000 bp; 15 700 to 5700 cal bp) in Cantabrian Spain (northern Spain), it has been shown that traditional methods, based on one or two anatomical elements, systematically produce a loss in the minimum number of individuals (MNI) that is sometimes significant. This paper also proposes u…
Stable oxygen isotope analysis of Phorcus lineatus (da Costa, 1778) as a proxy for foraging seasonality during the Mesolithic in northern Iberia
The Mesolithic period in the Cantabrian region, a coastal area located in northern Spain, is characterised by a marked increase in the human use of coastal resources in comparison with previous periods, resulting in the formation of so-called "shell middens". Archaeological investigations have provided insights into the formation processes of these shell middens, as well as long-term changes in human exploitation of different marine resources and…
Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect in Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Coastal Waters off Northern Iberia
Radiocarbon dating of closely associated marine mollusk shells and terrestrial material (mammal bones or charred wood) collected from archaeological contexts in northern Atlantic Iberian coastal areas is used to quantify the marine 14 C reservoir effect (ΔR) for the coastal waters off the Cantabrian coast of northern Iberia. For the first time, ΔR values were reliably determined for these coastal waters and, also for the first time, a ΔR was calc…
Symbolism among the last hunter–fisher–gatherers in northern Iberia
Use-wear analysis
The role of shellfish in human subsistence during the Mesolithic of Atlantic Europe
The Aminochronology of Man‐induced Shell Middens in Caves in Northern Spain
Here, we provide the first report on the ages of 54 archaeological levels in 38 caves in northern Spain by means of the aspartic acid d / l ratio measurements in Patella shells, with good results. For this purpose, we developed an age calculation algorithm that allows the numerical dating of deposits from other archaeological localities in the area and nearby regions. We conclude that the sample size—that is, the number of shells analysed within …
Determination of sea surface temperatures using oxygen isotope ratios from Phorcus lineatus (Da Costa, 1778) in northern Spain
Changes in oxygen isotope ratios from shell carbonates are mainly dependent on sea surface temperature, which enables the estimation of temperatures during periods of shell growth and helps to determine the season of the year when the mollusk died. The marine topshell Phorcus lineatus (Da Costa, 1778) is commonly found in Holocene archaeological deposits of Atlantic Europe and is one of the most abundant subsistence resources utilized during the …
Seasonal exploitation of intertidal resources at El Mazo (N Iberia) reveals optimized human subsistence strategies during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe
Over the last few decades, research has significantly enhanced our understanding of the role played by shellfish in human subsistence during the Mesolithic period along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Instrumental to this advance has been the analysis of stable oxygen isotope measurements (δ 18 O) from mollusc shells, which offers valuable insights into the seasonality of shellfish exploitation. The δ 18 O values serve as reliable indicators of pas…
Living in the shore
Recent research on human exploitation of molluscs, echinoderms and crustaceans during the Mesolithic in the Cantabrian region (northern Iberia) has shown significant variability in the intensity of the use of coastal resources by the last hunter-fisher-gatherers throughout the ~ 4000-year expanse of the Mesolithic (10,700 - 6,700 cal BP). Previous studies have proposed hypotheses related to demographic changes to explain intensification events. I…
Birds of prey and humans in prehistoric Europe
Shells and Humans
Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains…
Utilización de instrumentos de concha durante el Mesolítico y Neolítico inicial en contextos litorales de la región cantábrica
Uno de los debates más extendidos en la historiografía sobre el Mesolítico y el Neolítico inicial en la región cantábrica es el de la escasez de tecnologías “tradicionales” en la mayor parte de los contextos existentes, especialmente en aquellos con grandes acumulaciones de conchas. Actualmente, varias de las hipótesis propuestas atribuyen este fenómeno a diferencias en la organización espacial de los asentamientos, al aumento en la utilización d…
Early Holocene land snail exploitation in northern spain
The question of the anthropic or natural origin of land snail deposits within the archaeological record is the subject of debate all over the world. In the Cantabrian region of northern Spain land snail middens are routinely identified in the early Holocene archaeological record. La Fragua Cave (Cantabria, Spain), which contains an early Holocene layer dated to 9600±140 BP (10,932±196 cal BP), offers the opportunity to address this debate through…
Marine resource exploitation and human settlement patterns during the Neolithic in SW Europe
In recent decades, investigations in the southern Iberian Peninsula have increased our understanding of the socio-economic impact of the spread of the Neolithic in southwestern Europe, including changes in marine resources exploitation. Nevertheless, considerable uncertainty still exists around the seasonality of such subsistence systems and the putative role of marine fish and shellfish to the evolving agro-pastoral economies. Earlier studies on…
Virtual sampling
Coastal and Inland subsistence strategies during the Gravettian in the Cantabrian Region (northern Iberian Peninsula)
The Gravettian site of Fuente del Salín Cave is located in the northern Iberian Peninsula (Cantabrian Region, Spain). In 2016, excavations conducted at the site yielded numerous faunal remains, including mammals and fish. Researchers also recovered molluscs remains during the 1990, 1991, and 2000 campaigns. This study presents the results of the archaeozoological and taphonomical analyses of the large mammals and fish remains recovered during the…
The Aminochronology of Man‐induced Shell Middens in Caves in Northern Spain
Here, we provide the first report on the ages of 54 archaeological levels in 38 caves in northern Spain by means of the aspartic acid d / l ratio measurements in Patella shells, with good results. For this purpose, we developed an age calculation algorithm that allows the numerical dating of deposits from other archaeological localities in the area and nearby regions. We conclude that the sample size—that is, the number of shells analysed within …
Utilización de instrumentos de concha durante el Mesolítico y Neolítico inicial en contextos litorales de la región cantábrica
Uno de los debates más extendidos en la historiografía sobre el Mesolítico y el Neolítico inicial en la región cantábrica es el de la escasez de tecnologías “tradicionales” en la mayor parte de los contextos existentes, especialmente en aquellos con grandes acumulaciones de conchas. Actualmente, varias de las hipótesis propuestas atribuyen este fenómeno a diferencias en la organización espacial de los asentamientos, al aumento en la utilización d…
Changes in Molluscan Exploitation Patterns During the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene in Eastern Cantabria (Northern Spain)
Coastal resource intensification across the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in Northern Spain
Early Holocene land snail exploitation in northern spain
The question of the anthropic or natural origin of land snail deposits within the archaeological record is the subject of debate all over the world. In the Cantabrian region of northern Spain land snail middens are routinely identified in the early Holocene archaeological record. La Fragua Cave (Cantabria, Spain), which contains an early Holocene layer dated to 9600±140 BP (10,932±196 cal BP), offers the opportunity to address this debate through…
The Use of Echinoids and Crustaceans as Food During the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition in Northern Spain
Until now, little attention has been paid to the detailed analysis of certain kinds of marine resources found in archaeological deposits, particularly in shell middens. The importance of these resources, including sea urchins, goose barnacles and crabs, in the prehistoric diet should be assessed from a rigorous and reliable data corpus. With this goal in mind, remains of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816), Pollicipes pollicipes (Leach, 1817) a…
Shell midden research in Atlantic Europe
Shell Fragmentation as a Tool for Quantification and Identification of Taphonomic Processes in Archaeomalacological Analysis
This paper presents a quantification method for archaeological molluscs using fragmentation categories. By employing the data from nine prehistoric sites (13 000 to 5000 bp; 15 700 to 5700 cal bp) in Cantabrian Spain (northern Spain), it has been shown that traditional methods, based on one or two anatomical elements, systematically produce a loss in the minimum number of individuals (MNI) that is sometimes significant. This paper also proposes u…
The Use of Mollusc Shells as Tools by Coastal Human Groups
In European archaeology, the malacological remains recovered in archaeological contexts have traditionally been considered almost exclusively as food waste. In other cases, this view has been broadened in order to study these remains as an expression of aspects of the social organization of the human groups, based on the use of perforated shells as objects of personal ornamentation. However, the study of these natural resources as raw materials f…
Late-glacial to Holocene transition in northern Spain deduced from land-snail shelly accumulations
Shells of the helicid Cepaea nemoralis were studied using taphonomic, isotopic and morphometric measurements to estimate late glacial–Holocene (~ 12.1–6.3 cal ka BP) environmental conditions in northern Spain. Higher taphonomic alteration among Holocene shells suggests lower sedimentation rates or higher shell-destruction rates than during glacial conditions. Shells preserved the aragonitic composition despite differing degree of skeleton damage.…
The role of shellfish in hunter–gatherer societies during the Early Upper Palaeolithic
Shell Technology, Rock Art, and the Role of Marine Resources during the Upper Paleolithic
During the Upper Paleolithic, marine resources have traditionally been considered to be low-efficiency resources. However, in recent years, new data have emerged to demonstrate that their importance for human utilization was probably greater than previously thought. The assessment of their value has generally been from the perspective of their nutritional or ornamental value, not from the technological potential that these resources might have. A…
Ornaments from the Magdalenian burial area in El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, northern Spain). Were they grave goods
Determination of sea surface temperatures using oxygen isotope ratios from Phorcus lineatus (Da Costa, 1778) in northern Spain
Changes in oxygen isotope ratios from shell carbonates are mainly dependent on sea surface temperature, which enables the estimation of temperatures during periods of shell growth and helps to determine the season of the year when the mollusk died. The marine topshell Phorcus lineatus (Da Costa, 1778) is commonly found in Holocene archaeological deposits of Atlantic Europe and is one of the most abundant subsistence resources utilized during the …
Symbolism among the last hunter–fisher–gatherers in northern Iberia
Use-wear analysis
Time for the tide. New perspectives on hunter–fisher–gatherer exploitation of intertidal resources in Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean regions
Collection and consumption of echinoderms and crustaceans at the Mesolithic shell midden site of El Mazo (northern Iberia)
Painting Altamira Cave? Shell tools for ochre-processing in the Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia
Early use of marine resources by Middle/Upper Pleistocene human societies
Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect in Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Coastal Waters off Northern Iberia
Radiocarbon dating of closely associated marine mollusk shells and terrestrial material (mammal bones or charred wood) collected from archaeological contexts in northern Atlantic Iberian coastal areas is used to quantify the marine 14 C reservoir effect (ΔR) for the coastal waters off the Cantabrian coast of northern Iberia. For the first time, ΔR values were reliably determined for these coastal waters and, also for the first time, a ΔR was calc…
Shells and Humans
Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains…
A chrono-cultural reassessment of the levels VI–XIV from El Cuco rock-shelter
Mesolithic dwelling structures
Oxygen and carbon stable isotopes of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 shells as environmental and provenance proxies
Mollusc shell stable isotopes are commonly used to reconstruct past environmental conditions. However, despite being abundant components of natural and anthropogenic fossil accumulations, the geochemical composition of mussel shells ( Mytilus spp.) has rarely received attention in palaeoenvironmental studies. This study tests the suitability of oxygen isotopes (δ 18 O s ) of Mytilus galloprovincialis as palaeothermometer. For 1 year, mussels and …
Geography (37 works) · Archaeology (35 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (31 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (30 works) · Geology (21 works) · Biology (19 works) · Mesolithic (19 works) · Cave (17 works) · Ecology (17 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (15 works)