The site of Santa Catalina contains a succession of occupations dated approximately between 12650 and 10250 cal BP. The inhabitants exploited a wide range of marine and terrestrial animal resources. The lithic tool production was oriented especially towards obtaining bladelets, which were turned into several types of backed tools. The study of these backed elements has succeeded in determining that these were generally used as projectile elements. The projectile types are quite homogeneous in their morphology but vary considerably in their size. The points were placed in an axial position at the tip of the shafts and were probably accompanied by lateral barbs made from small backed bladelets. The projectiles were managed very strictly as these lithic elements were not used for any other tasks. This management clearly contrasts with the situation in the Magdalenian levels at the same site but is similar to the pattern observed at other Azilian occupations in Europe.

Peer reviewed