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Flint reveals changes in human mobility in the southern Pyrenees during the Upper Paleolithic

Phys · · 502 words · By Spanish National Research Centre

Researchers analyzed over 3,000 lithic artifacts from the Cova Gran de Santa Linya site to understand Upper Paleolithic human mobility and tool production in the southern Pyrenees. The study identifies shifts in chert procurement and the presence of long-distance materials, suggesting changes in social networks and technological organization over time.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-flint-reveals-human-mobility-southern.html

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Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

10 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 4
verified Verified By Reference 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info
“Analysis of more than 3,000 lithic artifacts from the Cova Gran de Santa Linya site (Les Avellanes-Santa Linya, Lleida) shows that anatomically modern human communities occupying the southern Pyrenees during the Upper Paleolithic used flint (chert) exclusively for tool production.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While web results confirm Cova Gran de Santa Linya is an Upper Paleolithic site with human remains and lithic assemblages, none of the provided evidence confirms the specific claim that 3,000 artifacts were analyzed or that flint/chert was used exclusively.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “Prehistoric remains of modern humans in the Iberian Peninsula are very scarce. The study of Linya will let us learn more about what the hunter-gatherers of the northeast of the Peninsula were like, a…
https://www.cenieh.es/en/press/news/upper-paleolithic-human-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Palaeolithic Toolkit by ©AncientCraft. In an attempt to avoid this becoming a multi-volume book series on Palaeolithic tool technology, I explore some of the iconic tools from the Old Stone Age.
https://www.ancientcraft.co.uk/post/4-iconic-palaeolithic-to…
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web search NEUTRAL — Work at Cova Gran de Santa Linya can contribute to this discussion. Cova Gran contains a sequence with several late Middle Palaeolithic levels overlain by three early Upper Palaeolithic levels.
https://www.academia.edu/1332132/The_role_of_flakes_in_the_e…
verified
“The findings, published in the journal Quaternary International, indicate that raw-material selection was closely linked to technological changes, mobility organization and the ways in which these groups interacted with the landscape.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence contains generic search results for ResearchGate, unrelated Wikipedia entries, and a different study on the Meseta. There is no evidence confirming a publication in Quaternary International regarding raw-material selection at Cova Gran.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article records new taxa of fossil mammals of every kind that have been described during the year 2025, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of mammals that…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_paleomammalogy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mar del Plata is a city of the Atlantic Coast, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. Th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_del_Plata
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Roca dels Bous (Catalan: "Bull's Rock") is an archaeological site located in Sant Llorenç de Montgai, in the Catalan Pyrenees, Spain. Since 1988 the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the UCL Inst…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roca_dels_Bous_(archaeological…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“The research, led by the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), the Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with CENIEH and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence mentions UAB in the context of a study on fire/cooking and a different study on the Meseta, but does not confirm the specific leadership of IPHES, ICArEHB, and UB for a study on Cova Gran.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — New research conducted by scientists at the University of York and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona reveals for the first time that Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire for cooking, but had …
https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2016/research/ea…
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web search NEUTRAL — Knowledge about the first settlements of Homo sapiens in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic has been significantly advanced with the publication in the jou…
https://www.classicult.it/en/the-first-modern-humans-of-the-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The fossil date ranges from 1.1 million years to 1.4 million years old. After detailed study, researchers announced that the facial bones were not that of Homo antecessor, but of a different hominin.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/1-4-million-year-old-homini…
verified
“The team analyzed cores and retouched tools from 19 archaeological levels at Cova Gran, dated to between approximately 39,000 and 13,500 years ago”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Evidence mentions Cova Gran dates (e.g., 20,000-15,000 years ago or 47.2-45.2 ka), but none of the sources confirm the specific detail of '19 archaeological levels' or the date range of 39,000 to 13,500 years ago.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages were played from 3 February to 12 March 2026. A total of 19 teams competed in the qualifying stages to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage of t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Copa_Libertadores_qualify…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Keiber Alberto Lamadrid Briceño (born 18 November 2003) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays as a left midfielder or left winger for Premier League club West Ham United, on loan from Deportivo La Guai…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiber_Lamadrid
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Xàtiva, also known as Játiva, is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xàtiva
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“The study distinguishes two main groups of chert recurrently exploited throughout the sequence: evaporitic varieties (formed in hypersaline sedimentary environments), widely distributed across the Pre-Pyrenean region, and lacustrine varieties (formed in lacustrine sedimentary environments), present in several areas of the Ebro Basin”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence discusses chert types (evaporitic and marine) in the context of Las Lezas and Monegros, but does not link these specific findings to the study at Cova Gran de Santa Linya.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Folk classification divides chert into three textural categories. Granular microquartz is the component of chert consisting of roughly equidimensional quartz grains, ranging in size from a fractio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chert
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web search NEUTRAL — The implications derived from the different contribution of local and exogenous raw materials are exposed in the final section of our work.The most frequent chert is the Evaporitic of Ebro variety (48…
https://www.academia.edu/83965535/The_marine_chert_from_Las_…
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web search NEUTRAL — Cortex is the boundary between the host rock and chert, and covers like a crust all the siliceous mass in contact with the rock where it was formed. Its mere macroscopic characterization can help to l…
https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/61516/files/texto_completo.p…
verified
“the researchers document a progressive shift towards the predominant use of lacustrine chert from the Last Glacial Maximum onward, around 25,000 years ago.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided consists of dictionary definitions for 'predominant' and an unrelated paleomammalogy list. No evidence supports the shift to lacustrine chert at Cova Gran around 25,000 years ago.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This paleomammology list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2021, as well as notes other significant paleomammology discoveries and events which occurred during 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_in_paleomammalogy
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web search NEUTRAL — May 13, 2026 · dominant, predominant, paramount, preponderant mean superior to all others in influence or importance. dominant applies to something that is uppermost because ruling or controlling.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predominant
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web search NEUTRAL — PREDOMINANT definition: 1. more noticeable or important, or larger in number, than others: 2. more noticeable or…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/predomin…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
“This change coincided with a reorganization of lithic technology geared towards the production of small-sized artifacts such as scrapers, truncations and projectile implements.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided consists of search results for 'Shift' browser, 'SHiFT' video games, and grammatical definitions of 'The'. There is no archaeological evidence provided to support this claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and minor islands. Bot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“One of the study's most significant findings is the identification of marine-origin chert from areas located more than 100 km from the site, including regions on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees and possibly south-western France.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided consists of search results for the United States Marine Corps. There is no evidence regarding marine-origin chert at the Cova Gran site.
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web search NEUTRAL — The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the naval infantry service branch of the United States Armed Forces. The service is respo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps
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web search NEUTRAL — Search by location and activity, find training videos, news stories and more.
https://www.marines.mil/
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web search NEUTRAL — Founded in 1775, the Marines are an elite fighting force with the courage to engage in every battle—and the will to win. Learn more about how to join the Marine Corps.
https://www.marines.com/
help
“The identification of long-distance chert coincides with the coldest phases documented at the site”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching.
help
“Javier Sánchez-Martínez et al, Variations in human ecodynamics in the southern Pyrenees: chert procurement and use at Cova Gran de Santa Linya during the Upper Paleolithic, Quaternary International (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2026.110312”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching to confirm the existence of this specific paper or DOI.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.