Archaeological Lithotheques of Siliceous Rocks in Spain: First Diagnosis of the Lithotheque Thematic Network

Abstract

The use of lithotheques, libraries or collections of rocks is relatively recent in archaeological research in Spain. These collections have mostly been formed through isolated initiatives in different institutions, without any scientific strategy to guide their development and growth. The perspective in the last few years has changed substantially as these infrastructures are now regarded as a scientific resource of great interest and potential in research on the mobility of human groups, their contacts, interactions, and subsistence strategies throughout prehistory. However, owing to their territorial scale, the collections had not developed joint initiatives to share data on integrated digital platforms that may be consulted in accordance with a policy of open science. This article presents the first results of a thematic network that aims to solve these deficiencies in Spain. Its first action has been to gather information from thirteen lithotheques of siliceous rocks. The results allow a first diagnosis of their potential and shortcomings, as an initial step towards the development of more extensive future collaborative strategies.