Cave 338: High-Altitude Prehistoric Occupation and Mineral Use in the Pyrenees

Cave 338 is a high-altitude prehistoric site at 2,235 meters in the eastern Pyrenees, excavated between 2021 and 2023. The dataset documents recurrent human occupation from at least the early 5th millennium cal BC to the late 1st millennium cal BC, evidenced by combustion features, faunal remains, ceramics, and processed green mineral fragments. Carlos Tornero published this record on figshare under a CC-BY-4.0 license.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the chronology of high-altitude occupation based on radiocarbon-dated discrete phases.
• Studying prehistoric subsistence and activity patterns based on described faunal remains and combustion features.
• Investigating early copper mineral exploitation based on the assemblage of green mineral fragments, likely malachite.
• Modeling seasonal mobility systems based on evidence suggesting the cave was a repeatedly occupied logistical site.

Strengths

• The site is the highest-altitude prehistoric cave with sustained occupation documented in the Pyrenees at 2,235 meters.
• The archaeological sequence is described as exceptional and well-stratified, covering a long temporal range from the early 5th to late 1st millennium cal BC.
• The record includes diverse evidence such as combustion features, faunal remains, ceramics, and an extraordinary assemblage of processed mineral fragments.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for quantitative analysis.
• The dataset is very small at 12.1 KB, indicating limited scope and likely a summary table rather than raw excavation data.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Carlos Tornero.

Collection Method

Archaeological excavation conducted between 2021 and 2023.

Time Range

From at least the early 5th millennium cal BC to the late 1st millennium cal BC.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 04:14:04; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern Pyrenees (Queralbs, Girona, NE Iberian Peninsula).