Abstract: The sites of La Viña and Llonin have an important archaeological sequence corresponding to Marine IsotopeStage 3: Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian periods. La Viña is a complex rock shelter with continuousoccupations, being some (basically the Mousterian and the Aurignacian in contact levels) altered by post-de-positional processes as a consequence of the irregular bedrock morphology and the type of processes involved.The cave of Llonin mainly consists of occasional human/carnivores occupations during the Mousterian and theGravettian. The current multidisciplinary research has allowed us to obtain and match several preliminary data:site formation processes, fauna and stable isotopes, vegetation, radiocarbon dating, shell ornaments, lithic rawmaterials and technology, offering an interesting field of study of two relatively distant ecological niches: openriver valley (La Viña) and mountainous (Llonin).During the Mousterian, the faunal composition of La Viña is scarce but dominated by red deer and followedby chamois, while large mammals are absent. At the Aurignacian, red deer and chamois are also representedwithin a larger assemblage, together with a low representation of other taxa such as horse, bovines, Spanish ibexand roe deer. Conversely, in Llonin chamois and Spanish ibex dominate during the Mousterian, followed by reddeer. Carnivores are few in La Viña they are represented by bear, fox and wolf; while in Llonin they are largerand other species are included, mainly leopard and hyena with a main role in the formation of the faunalassemblages and alternating their occupation of the cave with the Neandertals. On the other hand, the ungulatesfrom La Viña are anthropogenically modified not only during the Mousterian but also the Aurignacian andGravettian in contrast to Llonin, were these modifications are lower than those generated by the carnivores.Firewood and micromammals analysis show an open landscape, dominated by heliophilous, pioneeringspecies characteristic of the montane biogeographical belt.Sorbus, birch and Scots pine are especially importantas well as a shurbland mainly dominated by leguminous. The environment seems to be more arid and open inMousterian levels, more forested and humid during the Aurignacian and cold, namely climatic recrudescence, in the Gravettian. Shells are only present in the Aurignacian and the Gravettian of La Viña with other purposes thanstrictly bromatological.Local quartzite is the main raw material in both sites during MIS3. However, during the Aurignacian and theGravettian, flint is broadly incorporated for blade and bladelet production. In this regard, local, semilocal andforeign flints are carried to the sites, mainly Piloña and Flysch flints. The preliminary assessment of inter-stratigraphical contamination betweenthe Aurignacianand the Gravettian in the long sequence of La Viña showsno lithic refits, and therefore no interstratigraphic contamination, in agreement with the previous techno-ty-pological studies. The radiocarbon dating fits into the current chronological framework of the Cantabrian region.

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