Insertion of objects in the walls of Pasiega b cave (Puente Viesgo, Cantabria)

The interest for documenting the insertion or deposit of objects in the crevices, shelves and orifices of the decorated caves throughout the Upper Palaeolithic is quite recent and this phenomenon has almost only been documented in the Northern Pyrenean sites. During an exhaustive survey, we have identified similar evidence in the cave of La Pasiega b, Puente Viesgo, Cantabria with 31 objects –29 bones and 2 flints–in the closest sector to the old blocked entrance. The sampling and dating of one of the bones has allowed us to obtain an ultrafiltered radiocarbon date corresponding to the Middle Magdalenian, in accordance with one of the decoration phases in this sector. The presence of hinked objects, preferably bones, in areas of habitat, sharing space with decorated walls, is a constant that is repeated in other sites such as Isturitz or Gargas. There is currently no functional explanation for such evidence, so a symbolic purpose for them is proposed.