Early Upper Palaeolithic personal ornaments from Foradada cave (Xàbia, Alacant, Eastern Iberia)

Abstract

Personal ornamentation constitutes an essential proxy for addressing symbolic behaviour and technological complexity in Early Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer groups, encompassing raw material collection, environmental understanding, technological capacities, use, and discard. As a primary representative element for modern humans arriving in Europe, particularly on the Iberian Peninsula, personal ornaments are crucial for investigating their technological knowledge and non‑utilitarian practices. Functional analysis of these assemblages is therefore vital, yet such studies remain relatively scarce. We present a comprehensive analysis of the personal ornaments from Foradada cave which has been subdivided in three different assemblages –Early Upper Palaeolithic, mixed Upper Palaeolithic and Holocene– according to stratigraphic and contextual criteria. The study of thirty-five finished ornaments, alongside elements related to technical failures and raw material accumulation, reveals a broad selection of materials, ranging from terrestrial mammal teeth to marine and freshwater mollusc shells. A combined technological and traceological approach was essential for characterising their manufacture, use, and discard. Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy analysis has identified evidence of colour modification technology, marking one of its earliest documented uses during the Early Upper Palaeolithic in the Iberian Peninsula. Additionally, comparison with nearby regional ornamental assemblages demonstrates clear similarities between them, potentially pointing to shared social networks and ethno‑cultural identities. Consequently, we argue that the Foradada assemblage is a significant collection of personal ornaments on the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. Finally, we assess the potential value of integrating techno‑functional and spectroscopic methods in personal ornament analysis as a way to add evidence on hunter-gatherer procurement strategies and their relationship with the environment.