Abrigo de la Quebrada

About

The Abrigo de la Quebrada is an archaeological site in the municipality of Chelva, in the Spanish Province of Valencia, ca. 65 km northwest of the city of Valencia. It shows evidence of frequent occupation by Neanderthals.

Location and description: The site is on the left bank of a small ravine, the Barranco de Ahillas; it is a rock shelter between 2 and 9 meters deep, and 38 meters long, facing the northwest. Because of the lack of direct sunshine and its exposure, the site was occupied only from June to October, according to Phytoliths and other evidence, including the reuse and resharpening of stone tools. The area is bordered by two rivers, the Rio Tuejar and the Turia, and two mountain formations, the Sierra de Javalambre (part of the Sistema Ibérico) and the Serra d’Utiel. The site's location, at the entrance of a valley with a dead end, allowed for hunting and trapping large herbivores. The river that (intermittently) runs through the canyon opens onto a plain, and thus the site accessed three different biotopes: the riverside, the mountains, and a plain, so many different kinds of prey could be hunted. The deposit is around 3 meters thick, and is divided into eight units...