Paleolítico Medio del Guadalquivir: las industrias de pequeñas lascas del yacimiento de Tarazona III (Sevilla, España)

Techno-typologically lithic industries from the open-air Palaeolithic site of Tarazona III (2479 lithic pieces), from the last Middle Pleistocene and beginnings of the Upper Pleistocene (129 ka and <104 ka), mostly elaborated on quarzites, are studied as part of the Guadalquivir Palaeolithic Sequence. The operational chains of this archaeological site are identified, from the raw material selection to tool fabrication with hard hammer. They are chains specially directed to obtain small flakes (<5 cm) what strengthens size selection of the pebbles, with patterns of reduction of elemental cores, a good centripetal rep-resentation and poor Levallois presence. The N3 series is highly balanced and complete; and relatively complete the N1 and N2 which suggest either a preconfiguration of the operational chains in other nearby locations and the transport of knapping production towards the archaeological site; or, in the N1, the hydro-geomorphologic shifting of the smallest pieces. The tools flake/flake ratio is 24% (N2) and 34.7% (N3), that is, in its most recent levels following at 104 ka BP. This proportion along with a low variability of types on flakes, an exiguous or null presence of large tools, define the industry of Tarazona III, one of the most representative archaeological sites from the Ancient Middle Palaeolithic (AMP) in the Guadalquivir valley