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Sala N, Alcaraz-Castaño M, Arriolabengoa M, Martínez-Pillado V, Pantoja-Pérez A, Rodríguez-Hidalgo A, Téllez E, Cubas M, Castillo S, Arnold LJ, Demuro M, Duval M, Arteaga-Brieba A, Llamazares J, Ochando J, Cuenca-Bescós G, Marín-Arroyo AB, Seijo MM, Luque L, Alonso-Llamazares C, Arlegi M, Rodríguez-Almagro M, Calvo-Simal C, Izquierdo B, Cuartero F, Torres-Iglesias L, Agudo-Pérez L, Arribas A, Carrión JS, Magri D, Zhao JX, Pablos A. Nobody's land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eado3807. [PMID: 38924409 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado3807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region "nobody's land" during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nohemi Sala
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Alcaraz-Castaño
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Martin Arriolabengoa
- Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
| | - Virginia Martínez-Pillado
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Pantoja-Pérez
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Arqueología-Mérida (CSIC-Junta de Extremadura), Mérida, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Edgar Téllez
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Miriam Cubas
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Samuel Castillo
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Lee J Arnold
- School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Environment Institute, and Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Martina Demuro
- School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Environment Institute, and Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Palaeoscience Laboratories, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Andion Arteaga-Brieba
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Javier Llamazares
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Juan Ochando
- Department of Plant Biology (Botany Area), Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Gloria Cuenca-Bescós
- Aragosaurus-IUCA-Departamento Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Ana B Marín-Arroyo
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Durante la Prehistoria), Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - María Martín Seijo
- Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (INCIPIT), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Luis Luque
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Carmen Alonso-Llamazares
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Ecología, Parasitología, Edafología y Química Agrícola, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Mikel Arlegi
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
| | | | - Cecilia Calvo-Simal
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | | | - Felipe Cuartero
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Leire Torres-Iglesias
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Durante la Prehistoria), Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Lucía Agudo-Pérez
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Durante la Prehistoria), Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Alfonso Arribas
- Estación Paleontológica Valle del río Fardes, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - José S Carrión
- Department of Plant Biology (Botany Area), Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Donatella Magri
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - J-X Zhao
- Radiogenic Isotope Facility, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Adrián Pablos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
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2
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Aragoncillo-del Río J, Alcolea-González JJ, Luque L, Castillo-Jiménez S, Jiménez-Gisbert G, López-Sáez JA, Maíllo-Fernández JM, Ruiz-Alonso M, Triguero I, Yravedra J, Alcaraz-Castaño M. Human occupations of upland and cold environments in inland Spain during the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1: The new Magdalenian sequence of Charco Verde II. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291516. [PMID: 37792682 PMCID: PMC10550185 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The settlement of cold and arid environments by Pleistocene hunter-gatherers has been a heated topic in Paleolithic Archaeology and the Quaternary Sciences for years. In the Iberian Peninsula, a key area for studying human adaptations to such environments is composed by the large interior and upland regions of the northern and southern plateaus (Mesetas) and bordering areas. As, traditionally, these regions have been relatively under-investigated compared to the ecologically more favored coastal areas of the peninsula, our knowledge of the human settlement of the whole Iberian hinterland remains scarce for the Last Glacial. In this paper we present the discovery and first geoarcheological, paleoenvironmental and chronometric evidence obtained at Charco Verde II, a new site close to the southwestern foothills of the Iberian system range (Guadalajara province, Spain), bearing a sequence of Magdalenian human occupations starting at least at 20.8-21.4 ka cal BP during the Last Glacial Maximum, and covering Greenland Stadial 2 until ∼15.1-16.6 ka cal BP, including Heinrich stadial 1. As this site is located in an upland region which today faces one of the harshest climates in Iberia, such occupation sequence, occurred during some of the coldest and most arid phases of the Last Glacial, has relevant implications for our understanding of human-environment-climate interactions and population dynamics in Iberia and Western Europe. These findings support the hypothesis that the Iberian hinterland was not avoided by Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers due to ecological constraints, but it hosted a complex and relatively dense settlement at least in some areas, even during cold periods. This suggest, one more time, that the historical scarcity of Upper Paleolithic sites in inland Iberia is, to a significant extent, an artifact of research bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Aragoncillo-del Río
- Molina-Alto Tajo UNESCO Global Geopark, Molina de Aragón, Guadalajara, Spain
- Escuela Internacional de Doctorado de la UNED (EIDUNED), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Luis Luque
- Area of Prehistory (Department of History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Samuel Castillo-Jiménez
- Area of Prehistory (Department of History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Guillermo Jiménez-Gisbert
- Area of Prehistory (Department of History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | | | - José-Manuel Maíllo-Fernández
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mónica Ruiz-Alonso
- Environmental Archeology Research Group, Institute of History, CCHS CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ignacio Triguero
- Area of Prehistory (Department of History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - José Yravedra
- Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Alcaraz-Castaño
- Area of Prehistory (Department of History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
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3
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Jones EL, Carvalho M. Ecospaces of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition: The archaeofaunal record of the Iberian Peninsula. J Hum Evol 2023; 177:103331. [PMID: 36871458 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
The rich archaeofaunal record of Iberia provides a means of exploring potential differences between Neanderthal and anatomically modern human interactions with the environment. In this article, we present an analysis of Iberian archaeofaunas dating between 60 and 30 ka to explore if, how, and why the faunal ecospaces of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans differed. We test for impacts of chronology (as a proxy for Neanderthal and anatomically modern human exploitation) and environmental regionalization (using bioclimatic regions) on archaeofaunal composition, using a combination of cluster (unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages) and nonmetric multidimensional scaling. Our chronological analysis finds no significant compositional difference between Neanderthal and anatomically modern mammalian faunal assemblages; however, bioclimatic regionalization is stronger in anatomically modern human-affiliated assemblages than in Neanderthal ones, a finding that may indicate a difference in site occupation duration or foraging mobility between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Lena Jones
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Postal Address, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Latin American and Iberian Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
| | - Milena Carvalho
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Postal Address, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, FCHS - Universidade Do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
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4
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Baquedano E, Arsuaga JL, Pérez-González A, Laplana C, Márquez B, Huguet R, Gómez-Soler S, Villaescusa L, Galindo-Pellicena MÁ, Rodríguez L, García-González R, Ortega MC, Martín-Perea DM, Ortega AI, Hernández-Vivanco L, Ruiz-Liso G, Gómez-Hernanz J, Alonso-Martín JI, Abrunhosa A, Moclán A, Casado AI, Vegara-Riquelme M, Álvarez-Fernández A, Domínguez-García ÁC, Álvarez-Lao DJ, García N, Sevilla P, Blain HA, Ruiz-Zapata B, Gil-García MJ, Álvarez-Vena A, Sanz T, Quam R, Higham T. A symbolic Neanderthal accumulation of large herbivore crania. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:342-352. [PMID: 36702939 PMCID: PMC10038806 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01503-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
This work examines the possible behaviour of Neanderthal groups at the Cueva Des-Cubierta (central Spain) via the analysis of the latter's archaeological assemblage. Alongside evidence of Mousterian lithic industry, Level 3 of the cave infill was found to contain an assemblage of mammalian bone remains dominated by the crania of large ungulates, some associated with small hearths. The scarcity of post-cranial elements, teeth, mandibles and maxillae, along with evidence of anthropogenic modification of the crania (cut and percussion marks), indicates that the carcasses of the corresponding animals were initially processed outside the cave, and the crania were later brought inside. A second round of processing then took place, possibly related to the removal of the brain. The continued presence of crania throughout Level 3 indicates that this behaviour was recurrent during this level's formation. This behaviour seems to have no subsistence-related purpose but to be more symbolic in its intent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Baquedano
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Juan L Arsuaga
- Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- UCM-ISCIII Research Centre for Human Evolution and Behaviour, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alfredo Pérez-González
- Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - César Laplana
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Belén Márquez
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Rosa Huguet
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragona, Spain
- Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, University Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
- Unit associated with CSIC, Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Gómez-Soler
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Department of Geology, Geography and Environment, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Lucía Villaescusa
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Department of Geology, Geography and Environment, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - M Ángeles Galindo-Pellicena
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- University of Alcalá General Foundation, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Laura Rodríguez
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University Isabel I, Burgos, Spain
- Laboratory of Human Evolution, Faculty of Humanities and Communication, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - Rebeca García-González
- Laboratory of Human Evolution, Faculty of Humanities and Communication, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - M-Cruz Ortega
- UCM-ISCIII Research Centre for Human Evolution and Behaviour, Madrid, Spain
| | - David M Martín-Perea
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Palaeobiology Department, National Natural Sciences Museum-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana I Ortega
- National Research Centre for Human Evolution (FA-CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Fundación Atapuerca, Ibeas de Juarros, Burgos, Spain
| | - Lucía Hernández-Vivanco
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, Madrid, Spain
- Department History and Philosophy, Area of Prehistory, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | | | - Juan Gómez-Hernanz
- Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | | | - Ana Abrunhosa
- National Research Centre for Human Evolution (FA-CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Abel Moclán
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, Madrid, Spain
- National Research Centre for Human Evolution (FA-CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - Ana I Casado
- Physical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Institute of Geosciences (IGEO, UCM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Marina Vegara-Riquelme
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, Madrid, Spain
- Department History and Philosophy, Area of Prehistory, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Ana Álvarez-Fernández
- Laboratory of Human Evolution, Faculty of Humanities and Communication, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - Ángel C Domínguez-García
- Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Nuria García
- Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- UCM-ISCIII Research Centre for Human Evolution and Behaviour, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Sevilla
- Department of Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Hugues-Alexandre Blain
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragona, Spain
- Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, University Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Blanca Ruiz-Zapata
- Department of Geology, Geography and Environment, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - M José Gil-García
- Department of Geology, Geography and Environment, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | | | | | - Rolf Quam
- UCM-ISCIII Research Centre for Human Evolution and Behaviour, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
- Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Tom Higham
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Forschungsverbund, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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5
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Vidal-Cordasco M, Ocio D, Hickler T, Marín-Arroyo AB. Ecosystem productivity affected the spatiotemporal disappearance of Neanderthals in Iberia. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1644-1657. [PMID: 36175541 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01861-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
What role did fluctuations play in biomass availability for secondary consumers in the disappearance of Neanderthals and the survival of modern humans? To answer this, we quantify the effects of stadial and interstadial conditions on ecosystem productivity and human spatiotemporal distribution patterns during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition (50,000-30,000 calibrated years before the present) in Iberia. First, we used summed probability distribution, optimal linear estimation and Bayesian age modelling to reconstruct an updated timescale for the transition. Next, we executed a generalized dynamic vegetation model to estimate the net primary productivity. Finally, we developed a macroecological model validated with present-day observations to calculate herbivore abundance. The results indicate that, in the Eurosiberian region, the disappearance of Neanderthal groups was contemporaneous with a significant decrease in the available biomass for secondary consumers, and the arrival of the first Homo sapiens populations coincided with an increase in herbivore carrying capacity. During stadials, the Mediterranean region had the most stable conditions and the highest biomass of medium and medium-large herbivores. These outcomes support an ecological cause for the hiatus between the Mousterian and Aurignacian technocomplexes in Northern Iberia and the longer persistence of Neanderthals in southern latitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Vidal-Cordasco
- Grupo I+D+i EvoAdapta (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Económicas y Ecológicas durante la Prehistoria), Departamento Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
| | - D Ocio
- Mott MacDonald, Cambridge, UK
| | - T Hickler
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Department of Physical Geography, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - A B Marín-Arroyo
- Grupo I+D+i EvoAdapta (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Económicas y Ecológicas durante la Prehistoria), Departamento Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
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6
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Neanderthal Fossils, Mobile Toolkit and a Hyena Den: The Archaeological Assemblage of Lateral Gallery 1 in Cova Del Gegant (NE Iberian Peninsula). QUATERNARY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/quat5010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Lateral Gallery 1 (GL1) in Cova del Gegant is a Middle Palaeolithic assemblage yielding diagnostic Neanderthal remains, together with Mousterian tools and faunal remains. It is a good archive for evaluating the environmental conditions of the coastal areas during MIS 4 and MIS 3 in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, and also the Neanderthals’ behaviour and mobility. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of all of the data available from GL1, such as lithics, human remains, fauna and chronostratigraphic details. The biotic ecofacts studied point to the development of a coastal plain in front of the cave and indicate that local conditions likely favoured a large variety of ecosystems characterised by open environments and woodland-edge taxa, and favoured repeated visits by humans during the Middle Palaeolithic. The evidence suggests that the gallery was mainly used by carnivores, such as hyenas, and also by Neanderthals as a brief stopping place, in view of the presence of transported and abandoned ergonomic lithic artifacts and/or the placement of bodies (or parts of bodies). The regional context suggests high human mobility and emphasises the variability of Neanderthal behaviour.
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7
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Alcaraz-Castaño M, Alcolea-González JJ, de Andrés-Herrero M, Castillo-Jiménez S, Cuartero F, Cuenca-Bescós G, Kehl M, López-Sáez JA, Luque L, Pérez-Díaz S, Piqué R, Ruiz-Alonso M, Weniger GC, Yravedra J. First modern human settlement recorded in the Iberian hinterland occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15161. [PMID: 34312431 PMCID: PMC8313528 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94408-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
As the south-westernmost region of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula stands as a key area for understanding the process of modern human dispersal into Eurasia. However, the precise timing, ecological setting and cultural context of this process remains controversial concerning its spatiotemporal distribution within the different regions of the peninsula. While traditional models assumed that the whole Iberian hinterland was avoided by modern humans due to ecological factors until the retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum, recent research has demonstrated that hunter-gatherers entered the Iberian interior at least during Solutrean times. We provide a multi-proxy geoarchaeological, chronometric and paleoecological study on human–environment interactions based on the key site of Peña Capón (Guadalajara, Spain). Results show (1) that this site hosts the oldest modern human presence recorded to date in central Iberia, associated to pre-Solutrean cultural traditions around 26,000 years ago, and (2) that this presence occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions. These findings demonstrate that this area of the Iberian hinterland was recurrently occupied regardless of climate and environmental variability, thus challenging the widely accepted hypothesis that ecological risk hampered the human settlement of the Iberian interior highlands since the first arrival of modern humans to Southwest Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - G Cuenca-Bescós
- Aragosaurus-IUCA, Department of Geosciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - M Kehl
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - J A López-Sáez
- Environmental Archeology Research Group, Institute of History, CCHS CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - L Luque
- Prehistory Area, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - S Pérez-Díaz
- Department of Geography, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - R Piqué
- Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Ruiz-Alonso
- Environmental Archeology Research Group, Institute of History, CCHS CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - J Yravedra
- Department of Prehistory, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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8
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Abstract
We report the remarkable discovery of an early Aurignacian occupation, ∼5,000 years older than any Upper Paleolithic site in westernmost Eurasia. The archaeological and radiocarbon data provide definitive evidence that modern humans were in western Iberia at a time when, if present at all, Neanderthal populations would have been extremely sparse. This discovery has important ramifications for our understanding of the process of modern human dispersal and replacement of Neanderthal populations. The results support a very rapid, unimpeded dispersal of modern humans across western Eurasia and support the notion that climate and environmental change played a significant role in this process. Documenting the first appearance of modern humans in a given region is key to understanding the dispersal process and the replacement or assimilation of indigenous human populations such as the Neanderthals. The Iberian Peninsula was the last refuge of Neanderthal populations as modern humans advanced across Eurasia. Here we present evidence of an early Aurignacian occupation at Lapa do Picareiro in central Portugal. Diagnostic artifacts were found in a sealed stratigraphic layer dated 41.1 to 38.1 ka cal BP, documenting a modern human presence on the western margin of Iberia ∼5,000 years earlier than previously known. The data indicate a rapid modern human dispersal across southern Europe, reaching the westernmost edge where Neanderthals were thought to persist. The results support the notion of a mosaic process of modern human dispersal and replacement of indigenous Neanderthal populations.
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9
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Breyl M. Triangulating Neanderthal cognition: A tale of not seeing the forest for the trees. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2020; 12:e1545. [PMID: 32918796 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The inference of Neanderthal cognition, including their cultural and linguistic capabilities, has persisted as a fiercely debated research topic for decades. This lack of consensus is substantially based on inherent uncertainties in reconstructing prehistory out of indirect evidence as well as other methodological limitations. Further factors include systemic difficulties within interdisciplinary discourse, data artifacts, historic research biases, and the sheer scope of the relevant research. Given the degrees of freedom in interpretation ensuing from these complications, any attempt to find approximate answers to the yet unsettled pertinent discourse may not rest on single studies, but instead a careful and comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis of findings. Triangulating Neanderthals' cognition by considering the plethora of data, diverse perspectives and aforementioned complexities present within the literature constitutes the currently most reliable pathway to tentative conclusions. While some uncertainties remain, such an approach paints the picture of an extensive shared humanity between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Linguistics > Evolution of Language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Breyl
- Germanistik, Komparatistik, Nordistik, Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
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10
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Weniger GC, de Andrés-Herrero M, Bolin V, Kehl M, Otto T, Potì A, Tafelmaier Y. Late Glacial rapid climate change and human response in the Westernmost Mediterranean (Iberia and Morocco). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225049. [PMID: 31800577 PMCID: PMC6892482 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper investigates the correlation between climate, environment and human land use in the Westernmost Mediterranean on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar during the Late Glacial. Using a multi-proxy approach on a sample of 300 sites from the Solutrean and Magdalenian of the Iberian Peninsula and from the Iberomaurusian in Morocco, we find evidence for significant changes in settlement patterns and site density after the Last Glacial Maximum. In Southern Iberia, during Heinrich Stadial 1, hyperarid zones expanded drastically from the south-eastern coast to the West through the Interior. This aridification process heavily affected Magdalenian settlement in the South and caused a strong decline of hunter-gatherer population. Southern Iberia during Heinrich Stadial 1 turned out to be a high-risk environment when compared to Northern Iberia. At the same time, the Late Iberomaurusian of Morocco, although considered to be situated in a high-risk environment as well, experiences an increase of sites and expansion of settlement area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerd-Christian Weniger
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Viviane Bolin
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Martin Kehl
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Taylor Otto
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Alessandro Potì
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Yvonne Tafelmaier
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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11
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Pablos A, Gómez-Olivencia A, Arsuaga JL. A Neandertal foot phalanx from the Galería de las Estatuas site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168:222-228. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrián Pablos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana-CENIEH; Burgos Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos; Madrid Spain
| | - Asier Gómez-Olivencia
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos; Madrid Spain
- Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología; Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU). Barrio Sarriena s/n; Leioa Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science; Spain
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos; Madrid Spain
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12
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Climate deteriorations and Neanderthal demise in interior Iberia. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7048. [PMID: 29728579 PMCID: PMC5935692 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25343-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Time and circumstances for the disappearance of Neanderthals and its relationship with the advent of Modern Humans are not yet sufficiently resolved, especially in case of the Iberian Peninsula. Reconstructing palaeoenvironmental conditions during the last glacial period is crucial to clarifying whether climate deteriorations or competition and contacts with Modern Humans played the pivotal role in driving Neanderthals to extinction. A high-resolution loess record from the Upper Tagus Basin in central Spain demonstrates that the Neanderthal abandonment of inner Iberian territories 42 kyr ago coincided with the evolvement of hostile environmental conditions, while archaeological evidence testifies that this desertion took place regardless of modern humans’ activities. According to stratigraphic findings and stable isotope analyses, this period corresponded to the driest environmental conditions of the last glacial apart from an even drier period linked to Heinrich Stadial 3. Our results show that during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 2 climate deteriorations in interior Iberia temporally coincided with northern hemisphere cold periods (Heinrich stadials). Solely during the middle MIS 3, in a period surrounding 42 kyr ago, this relation seems not straightforward, which may demonstrate the complexity of terrestrial climate conditions during glacial periods.
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