La Cuevona de Avín (Avín, Asturias, North Spain): A new Late Pleistocene site in the lower valley of the River Güeña

The archaeological investigations carried out in the last twenty years in the Lower Valley of the River Güeña (Asturias, central part of northern Spain) have documented different prehistoric sites, particularly with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations. This paper presents the first results of the archaeological excavation carried out in the cave of La Cuevona de Avín. From the systematic study of the biotic and abiotic remains, a total of three occupation phases (Phases 1 to 3) have been determined, dated in the Late Pleistocene. The lithic studies indicate the use of local raw materials (mainly quartzite), but also regional ones (different types of flint) in the whole sequence. Retouched implements are typologically representative only during the Upper Magdalenian (Phase II) and use-wear analysis indicates the manufacture and use of artefacts in situ during this phase. Archaeozoological studies reveal continuity in subsistence strategies throughout the sequence, noting specialization in red deer hunting during the Azilian (Phase I), and more diversified prey in the older phases of the sequence. © 2022 The Author(s

Taphonomic Criteria for Identifying Iberian Lynx Dens in Quaternary Deposits

For decades, taphonomists have dedicated their efforts to assessing the nature of the massive leporid accumulations recovered at archaeological sites in the northwestern Mediterranean region. Their interest lying in the fact that the European rabbit constituted a critical part of human subsistence during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. However, rabbits are also a key prey in the food webs of Mediterranean ecosystems and the base of the diet for several specialist predators, including the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). For this reason, the origin of rabbit accumulations in northwestern Mediterranean sites has proved a veritable conundrum. Here, we present the zooarchaeological and taphonomic study of more than 3000 faunal and 140 coprolite remains recovered in layer IIIa of Cova del Gegant (Catalonia, Spain). Our analysis indicates that this layer served primarily as a den for the Iberian lynx. The lynxes modified and accumulated rabbit remains and also died at the site creating an accumulation dominated by the two taxa. However, other agents and processes, including human, intervened in the final configuration of the assemblage. Our study contributes to characterizing the Iberian lynx fossil accumulation differentiating between the faunal assemblages accumulated by lynxes and hominins

New insights in Neanderthal palaeoecology using stable oxygen isotopes preserved in small mammals as palaeoclimatic tracers in Teixoneres Cave (Moià, northeastern Iberia).

25 pagesInternational audienceThe northeastern region of Iberia constitutes a natural pass-area for arriving populations into the peninsula and becomes a key area to understand Neanderthal resilience to changing environmental conditions experienced during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 60–30 ka). Short-term but repeated occupations by Neanderthal groups occurred in Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona) in alternation with large and small carnivores during MIS3. Abundant small-mammal remains accumulated in units III and II of this fossiliferous deposit, providing local climatic and environmental information. This work focuses on the taphonomic history of small-mammal faunas, which a is clue to validate previous palaeoecological interpretations. As was observed with leporids and bird remains, raptors are considered the major source of small-mammal remains. The most likely accumulator is an opportunistic predator, the eagle owl, with very rare inputs by mammalian carnivores. In parallel, high-resolution palaeoclimatic data are provided through oxygen isotope analyses (δ 18 O) of rodent teeth from four subunits (IIIb to IIa), which are compared with independent methods of palaeotemperature estimations. According to air temperatures estimated from δ 18 O rodent teeth, cooler conditions than present day (− 1.6/ − 0.5 °C) are recorded along the sequence, but homogenous (< 1 °C). Complementary methods also explain higher rainfall than present day (+ 44/ + 682 mm). Only slight changes between units III and II show climatic instability, which could be related to palimpsests of stadial-interstadial events. Climatic stable conditions are reported from coeval isotopic and palaeodiet analyses from northeastern Iberia in agreement with the palynological records that underline how the Mediterranean area could have sustained rich ecosystems that assured the Neanderthal subsistence during the abrupt climatic pulsations of the Late Glacial

Neanderthals in a highly diverse, Mediterranean-Eurosiberian forest ecotone: the Pleistocene pollen record of Teixoneres Cave, Northeastern Spain

A palynological study of the archaeological layers from the Neanderthal site of Teixoneres Cave, located in Northeastern Spain, is presented. Vegetation dynamics for the MIS 7-MIS 2 period are described, revealing the long-term resilience of mixed oak-pine forests throughout cold phases and a high diversity of woody taxa, including conifers, mesophytes, Mediterranean, and xerothermics. Unexpected features of the Teixoneres sequence include the relative abundances of evergreen Quercus, deciduous Quercus + suber and Juniperus, the continuous occurrences of Corylus, Castanea, Betula, Fraxinus, Buxus, Olea, Populus, and Salix, and the presence of Abies, Taxus, Cedrus, Acer, Alnus, Celtis, Juglans, Fagus, Ulmus, Calicotome, Ceratonia, Cistus, Ephedra fragilis, Myrtus, Pistacia, Phillyrea, Rhamnus and Viburnum. To our knowledge, the existence of a forest refugium during the coldest and most arid stages of the upper Pleistocene has not previously been documented across this region. The high values of oak pollen during depositional episodes III, II and I of Teixoneres do not have an equivalent in any pollen sequence of the northern Iberian Peninsula during the MIS 4-MIS 2 interval. Our palynological analyses reveals a specific forest environment within the Mediterranean-Eurosiberian ecotone for the human occupation of Teixoneres Cave. These forested environments would have undoubtedly required highly adaptive subsistence strategies and expertise to ensure the long-term survival of Neanderthal groups in the region.Juan Ochando, José S. Carrión, Ruth Blasco, Florent Rivals, Anna Rufà, Martina Demuro, Lee J. Arnold, Gabriela Amorós, Manuel Munuera, Santiago Fernández, Jordi Rosel

Examining Neanderthal and carnivore occupations of Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona, Spain) using archaeostratigraphic and intra-site spatial analysis

Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona, Spain) is a reference site for Middle Palaeolithic studies of the Iberian Peninsula. The cave preserves an extensive stratigraphic sequence made up of eight units, which is presented in depth in this work. The main goal of this study is to undertake an initial spatial examination of Unit III, formed during Marine Isotope Stage 3, with the aim of understanding spatial organization and past activities developed by Neanderthals and carnivores (bears, hyenas and smaller carnivores). The total sample analysed includes 38,244 archaeological items and 5888 limestone blocks. The application of GIS tools allows us to clearly distinguish three geologically-defined stratigraphic subunits. Unit III has been previously interpreted as a palimpsest resulting from alternating occupation of the cave by human groups and carnivores. The distribution study shows that faunal specimens, lithic artefacts, hearths and charcoal fragments are significantly concentrated at the entrance of the cave where, it is inferred, hominins carried out different activities, while carnivores preferred the sheltered zones in the inner areas of the cave. The results obtained reveal a spatial pattern characterized by fire use related zones, and show that the site was occupied by Neanderthals in a similar and consistent way throughout the ˃ 7000 years range covered by the analysed subunits. This spatial pattern is interpreted as resulting from repeated short-term human occupations.Leandro Zilio, Heidi Hammond, Theodoros Karampaglidis, Laura Sánchez-Romero, Ruth Blasco, Florent Rivals ... et al

Radiocarbon

AbstractDuring the Middle Paleolithic period, carnivores and hominids periodically occupied the same areas at different times and each predator generated significant palimpsests, rendering difficult their archaeological interpretation. Teixoneres Cave, a carnivore den site, located in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, demonstrates that it is possible to overcome these problems by using a careful strategy in selecting samples for radiocarbon dating, in order to produce an accurate chronology of the site in question and certainly attest the human occupation