Birds from sima del elefante, atapuerca, spain: Palaeoecological implications in the oldest human bearing levels of the iberian peninsula

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Early Pleistocene sites has a particular interest as it sheds light on how the arriving of the first Europeans occurred, as well as on the nature of the relation between these humans and the ecosystems. Bird remains are useful tools for this purpose, because they are commonly represented in the assemblages and most taxa still exist, allowing a direct comparison between past and extant birds associations. Here we analyse the bird remains from the Early Pleistocene levels of the Sima del Elefante site (1.1 to 1.5 million years old). Almost 10.000 remains belonging to at least 26 different taxa have been included. The assemblage is dominated by corvids and has a mixed origin, with cave-dwelling taxa dying in the cave and other taxa being accumulated by predators. The Sima del Elefante avian assemblage provides the oldest record of several taxa in the Iberian Peninsula (Haliaeetus albicilla, Corvus pliocaenus). Besides, here we report the oldest evidence of Imperial Eagle in the Iberian Peninsula, prior to the separation of the oriental and Iberian populations. The assemblage composition suggests that open environmental conditions were dominant, with minor presence of woodlands and water bodies, which is congruent with some previous approaches by other proxies. The first humans occupying the Iberian Peninsula inhabited under Mediterranean climate conditions, which gradually deteriorated, as reflected by the avian turnover recorded at the middle Pleistocene Atapuerca assemblages. © 2021 Universita degli Studi di Milano. All rights reserved

First data of Neandertal bird and carnivore exploitation in the Cantabrian Region (Axlor; Barandiaran excavations; Dima, Biscay, Northern Iberian Peninsula)

Neandertals were top predators who basically relied on middle-to large-sized ungulates for dietary purposes, but there is growing evidence that supports their consumption of plants, leporids, tortoises, marine resources, carnivores and birds. The Iberian Peninsula has provided the most abundant record of bird exploitation for meat in Europe, starting in the Middle Pleistocene. However, the bird and carnivore exploitation record was hitherto limited to the Mediterranean area of the Iberian Peninsula. Here we present the first evidence of bird and carnivore exploitation by Neandertals in the Cantabrian region. We have found cut-marks in two golden eagles, one raven, one Wolf and one lynx remain from the Mousterian levels of Axlor. The obtaining of meat was likely the primary purpose of the cut-marks on the golden eagle and lynx remains. Corvids, raptors, felids and canids in Axlor could have likely acted as commensals of the Neandertals, scavenging upon the carcasses left behind by these hunter-gatherers. This could have brought them closer to Neandertal groups who could have preyed upon them. These new results provide additional information on their dietary scope and indicate a more complex interaction between Neandertals and their environment

Los Batanes (Biescas, Spain), a roost site for horseshoe bats in the Pyrenees during the late Pleistocene

Los Batanes C4 is a cave-site in the Spanish Pyrenees, the minimum sediment calendar age was determined to be 15, 234 ± 223 cal BP by radiocarbon dating. The cave opens on the northern bank of an eastern tributary of the River Gállego, at an altitude of 1025 m. The small vertebrates recorded are mainly bats, in order of abundance Rhinolophus euryale, R. ferrumequinum, Myotis sp. and Miniopterus schreibersii. The association suggests that at the time of the accumulation the climate was reasonably similar to the current climate; we situate it within a period of local retreat of the ice-cover in the Gállego Valley during the Lateglacial. This is the highest record of these species of Rhinolophus in the Iberian Quaternary, showing that the R. euryale altitudinal range was similar to its extant range during the favourable periods of the Lateglacial. This could indicate that this taxon was relatively quick in spreading into higher regions whenever climate conditions allowed it

La asociación faunística de Barranco del Hocino 1, un nuevo yacimiento de vertebrados del Barremiense (Cretácico Inferior) de Teruel.

El yacimiento de “Barranco del Hocino 1” es nueva localidad de vertebrados fósiles hallada en la Formación Blesa (Barremiense) cerca de la población de Estercuel (Teruel, España). Una campaña de trabajo de campo ha permitido la recuperación de un centenar de restos óseos y dientes correspondientes a dinosaurios ornitópodos, tireóforos y terópodos, junto a restos de crocodilomorfos, peces óseos, quelonios, además de coprolitos y cáscaras de huevo. Este nuevo yacimiento representa una contribución significativa sobre la diversidad de vertebrados en el Barremiense inferior de Teruel y la formación de yacimientos de vertebrados en la Subcuenca de Oliete. Here we present “Barranco del Hocino 1”, a new vertebrate locality from the Blesa Formation (Barremian), near the town of Estercuel (Teruel, Spain). One campaign of fieldwork has enabled us to recover one hundred of osteological remains. They include ornithopod, thyreophoran and theropod dinosaur postcranial remains and isolated teeth, as well as those of crocodylomorphs, chelonians and osteichthyes. Coprolites and eggshell fragments are also present. This new vertebrate fossil site represents a significate contribution on the vertebrate diversity in the lower Barremian of Teruel and the formation of vertebrate sites in Oliete Sub-Basin

The Koskobilo (Olazti, Navarre, Northern Iberian Peninsula) paleontological collection: New insights for the Middle and Late Pleistocene in Western Pyrenees

The destroyed site(s) of Koskobilo (Olazti, Navarre, Northern Iberian Peninsula) have yielded unique archaeo-paleontological evidence in the Western Pyrenees region. The quarry uncovered a karstic site with faunal remains in 1940, and fossils were recovered both in situ and from the quarry dump. Ten years later, while the quarry was still working, a new visit to the dump yielded a large lithic assemblage and additional fossil remains with a different taphonomic pattern, which has been interpreted as the remains coming from a different site or zone within the same karst system. Here we re-study the paleontological evidence and provide new dating on a speleothem covering a Stephanorhinus hemitoechus tooth, which has yielded a minimum date of c. 220 ka for part of the assemblage. In total, the fossil assemblage comprises 38 mammal and six avian taxa and three fish remains. The faunal evidence indicates that in 1940 a mix of taxa from both the Middle and Upper Pleistocene were recovered, and it is difficult to assign most of them to a concrete period. However, based on biochronological criteria some of the identified taxa (e.g., Ursus thibetanus, Ursus cf. deningeri, Cuon cf. priscus, Macaca sylvanus, cf. Megaceroides) could be roughly contemporaneous with the dated rhino tooth, which would provide a new window to the Middle Pleistocene of the region, with deposits from MIS 7d and/or older. Despite the difficulties in studying this collection, recovered without stratigraphic context and in a salvage operation, Koskobilo has yielded an important paleontological assemblage which helps to understand the paleoecology of the Middle Pleistocene human occupations in the Western Pyrenees

New data on the Quaternary of Navarre: the paleontological collection from Koskobilo (Olazti/Olazagutía)

Libro de resúmenes disponible para su descarga gratuita en el enlace: http://www.aranzadi.eus/catalogo/xv-reunion-nacional-cuaternario-libro-de-resumenesThe archaeopaleontological collection from Koskobilo is composed of hundreds of fossil and thousands of lithic remains, mostly recovered during the middle part of the 20th century. Here we present the complete paleontological study of the collection, which includes 36 mammal taxa, 6 avian taxa and a small fish vertebral collection. Additionally we have performed direct dating of a speleothem crust covering one of the rhinoceros teeth, which provides a minimum of 219 ka for part of the collection, the rest being from the Upper Pleistocene, mixed with some Holocene/recent elements. The paleontological collection from Koskobilo is one of the most important in the Western Pyrenees due to the scarcity of the local Middle Pleistocene fossil record and the rarity of some of the taxa represented, such as Ursus thibetanus, Macaca sylvanus and cf. Megaceroides.La presente investigación ha contado con el apoyo del grupo de investigación IT1044-16 de Eusko Jaurlaritza-Gobierno Vasco, del Grupo PPG17/05 de la Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea y del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (proyecto PGC2018-093925-B-C33)

Study protocol of effectiveness of a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention in the evolution of non-speficic sub-acute low back pain in the working population : cluster randomised trial

Background: Non-specific low back pain is a common cause for consultation with the general practitioner, generating increased health and social costs. This study will analyse the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary intervention to reduce disability, severity of pain, anxiety and depression, to improve quality of life and to reduce the incidence of chronic low back pain in the working population with non-specific low back pain, compared to usual clinical care. Methods/Design: A Cluster randomised clinical trial will be conducted in 38 Primary Health Care Centres located in Barcelona, Spain and its surrounding areas. The centres are randomly allocated to the multidisciplinary intervention or to usual clinical care. Patients between 18 and 65 years old (n = 932; 466 per arm) and with a diagnostic of a non-specific sub-acute low back pain are included. Patients in the intervention group are receiving the recommendations of clinical practice guidelines, in addition to a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention consisting of group educational sessions lasting a total of 10 hours. The main outcome is change in the score in the Roland Morris disability questionnaire at three months after onset of pain. Other outcomes are severity of pain, quality of life, duration of current non-specific low back pain episode, work sick leave and duration, Fear Avoidance Beliefs and Goldberg Questionnaires. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Analysis will be by intention to treat. The intervention effect will be assessed through the standard error of measurement and the effect-size. Responsiveness of each scale will be evaluated by standardised response mean and receiver-operating characteristic method. Recovery according to the patient will be used as an external criterion. A multilevel regression will be performed on repeated measures. The time until the current episode of low back pain takes to subside will be analysed by Cox regression. Discussion: We hope to provide evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention in avoiding the chronification of low back pain, and to reduce the duration of non-specific low back pain episodes. If the intervention is effective, it could be applied to Primary Health Care Centres

Environment and subsistence strategies at La Viña rock shelter and Llonin cave (Asturias, Spain) during MIS3

The sites of La Viña and Llonin have an important archaeological sequence corresponding to Marine Isotope Stage 3: Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian periods. La Viña is a complex rock shelter with continuous occupations, being some (basically the Mousterian and the Aurignacian in contact levels) altered by post-depositional 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 the Gravettian. 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 raw materials and technology, offering an interesting field of study of two relatively distant ecological niches: open river valley (La Viña) and mountainous (Llonin). During the Mousterian, the faunal composition of La Viña is scarce but dominated by red deer and followed by chamois, while large mammals are absent. At the Aurignacian, red deer and chamois are also represented within a larger assemblage, together with a low representation of other taxa such as horse, bovines, Spanish ibex and roe deer. Conversely, in Llonin chamois and Spanish ibex dominate during the Mousterian, followed by red deer. Carnivores are few in La Viña they are represented by bear, fox and wolf; while in Llonin they are larger and other species are included, mainly leopard and hyena with a main role in the formation of the faunal assemblages and alternating their occupation of the cave with the Neandertals. On the other hand, the ungulates from La Viña are anthropogenically modified not only during the Mousterian but also the Aurignacian and Gravettian 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, pioneering species characteristic of the montane biogeographical belt. Sorbus, birch and Scots pine are especially important as well as a shurbland mainly dominated by leguminous. The environment seems to be more arid and open in Mousterian 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 than strictly bromatological. Local quartzite is the main raw material in both sites during MIS3. However, during the Aurignacian and the Gravettian, flint is broadly incorporated for blade and bladelet production. In this regard, local, semilocal and foreign flints are carried to the sites, mainly Piloña and Flysch flints. The preliminary assessment of inter-stratigraphical contamination between the Aurignacian and the Gravettian in the long sequence of La Viña shows no lithic refits, and therefore no interstratigraphic contamination, in agreement with the previous techno-typological studies. The radiocarbon dating fits into the current chronological framework of the Cantabrian region.This work has been funded under Project HAR2014-59183-P by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad