Homínidos y hienas en el Calvero de la Higuera (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) durante el Pleistoceno superior. Resultados preliminares.

Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

El registro paleontológico y arqueológico de los yacimientos de la Trinchera del Ferrocarril en la Sierra de Atapuerca

El registro paleontológico y arqueológico de los yacimientos de la Trinchera del Ferrocarril representa periodos clave en la evolución biológica y cultural de Homo y en la historia faunística, ambiental y climática de Europa. La parte inferior de la secuencia de Sima del Elefante (TE8-14) tiene una antigüedad proximo a 1 millón de años, y ha proporcionado indicaciones de presencia humana en forma de industria lítica y marcas de corte. Este tiempo señala el principio de una serie de cambios climáticos, ambientales y faunísticos fundamentales. La parte inferior de la secuencia de Gran Dolina (TDW4-TD8inf) se sitúa en la transición del Pleistoceno Inferior a Medio, y permite una caracterización muy precisa de los cambios faunísticos y ambientales alrededor de este límite. El nivel TD6 ha proporcionado una colección abundante de restos de Homo antecessor. El registro arqueológico, incluyendo industria del Modo 1, marcas de corte etc., permite la rara oportunidad de estudiar el comportamiento humano durante este periodo. Galería (TG) y la parte superior de la secuencia de Gran Dolina (TD10-11) pertenecen a la parte central del Pleistoceno Medio y tienen un registro paleontológico y arqueológico abundante, incluyendo restos de Homo heidelbergensis e industria de Modo 2 y Modo 3. [ABSTRACT] The paleontological and archaeological record of the localities of the Trinchera del Ferrocarril represents key periods in the biological and cultural evolution of man, as well as in faunal, environmental and climatic history of Europe. The lower part of the sequence of Sima del Elefante (TE8-14) is around 1 Ma old and yielded indications of the presence of humans in the form of lithic industry and cutmarks. This time marks the onset of a series of fundamental climatic, environmental and faunal changes. The lower part of the Gran Dolina sequence (TDW4-TD8inf) straddles the Early - Middle Pleistocene limit, and its macro and micro fauna permits a very precise characterisation of the faunal and environmental events around this transition. Level TD6 yielded an abundant collection of remains of Homo antecessor. The archaeological record, including Mode 1 industry, cutmarks etc., provides a rare opportunity to study human behavior of this period. Galería (TG) and the upper part of the Gran Dolina sequence (TD10-11) belong to the central part of the Middle Pleistocene and have an abundant palaeontological and archaeological record, including remains of Homo heidelbergensis and Mode 2 and 3 industry

Level TE9c of Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): A comprehensive approach

Level TE9c of the Sima del Elefante site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) is one of the oldest sites with evidence of human occupation in western Europe. We began excavating level TE9c in 2003, and the work there continues today. The studies of the archaeology, palaeontology and geology from this locality have provided an indispensable dataset with which to capture a picture in the scenario of the origin of humans in Europe. Based on these data, we raise and discuss several topics, such as the possible origin of the lineage of the first hominins that inhabited western Europe; their capacity to have active hunting or scavenging abilities; whether their subsistence strategies were successful; and what the environment and habitats where these hominin groups settled was like. The aim of this paper is to present the results and discussions obtained from the research team and to establish the primary features of early human occupations in southwestern Europe. Tentatively, we may conclude, based on the events recorded at TE9c, that the first humans were in the Iberian peninsula at around 1.2 Ma they used the caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca as shelters probably during their hunting activities; the cavities were surrounded by Mediterranean forest, rivers and water ponds, and varied habitats as suggested by the rich and diverse assemblage of fossils of vertebrates (fish, amphibians and reptiles, birds, large and small mammals); where humans possibly caught what they found in the surroundings

Aproximación tafonómica al Abrigo de Navalmaíllo: el uso de fragmentos diafisarios de animales de talla grande como retocadores óseos

Los retocadores óseos son considerados como parte de la industria ósea de los grupos humanos pleistocenos. Normalmente se caracterizan por ser fragmentos de diáfisis de ungulados empleados para retocar el filo de una herramienta lítica. Estos objetos son relativamente abundantes en contextos del Paleolítico Medio, aunque hay una amplia variabilidad según los diferentes yacimientos. En este trabajo presentamos dos nuevas evidencias de retocadores óseos identificados en el nivel F-D del yacimiento del Paleolítico Medio del Abrigo de Navalmaíllo (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, España), localizado en la parte central de la Península Ibérica. Este yacimiento forma parte del conjunto de yacimientos del Calvero de la Higuera y ha sido caracterizado como un campamento de caza neandertal. Los retocadores encontrados en el Abrigo de Navalmaíllo se caracterizan por ser fragmentos diafisarios de bovino que además presentan un gran tamaño en comparación con otros especímenes recuperados en yacimientos del periodo. El análisis de los retocadores óseos ha permitido concluir que fueron empleados para retocar herramientas líticas de una materia prima diferente al cuarzo (probablemente sílex). Esto tiene gran interés debido a que el cuarzo es la principal materia prima del yacimiento. Los retocadores analizados aportan una información arqueológica muy interesante sobre las actividades desarrolladas en el yacimiento, sirviendo para incrementar el conocimiento relativo a sus actividades de subsistencia y el tipo de ocupaciones llevadas a cabo en el Abrigo de Navalmaíllo por los grupos humanos.Bone retouchers are considered as a part of the osseous industry of the Pleistocene hominin groups. They are usually identified as mid-shaft fragments of ungulate limb bones used to retouch the edge of a lithic tool. These tools are relatively abundant in Middle Paleolithic contexts, although there is wide variability between different archaeological sites. In this work we present two new cases of bone retouchers identified in the level F of the Middle Paleolithic site of the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain), located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. This site is one of the different Middle Paleolithic sites of the Calvero de la Higuera archaeological complex and it has been characterized as a Neanderthal hunting camp. The bone retouchers found in the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter are characterized by being diaphyseal fragments of bovine metatarsals. They are significatively large in comparison with other bone retouchers from Middle Paleolithic contexts. The analysis of the bone retouchers allows to conclude that they were used to retouch lithic tools of a raw material that was not quartz (probably chert). This is of great interest because quartz is the main raw material in this archaeological site. The bone retouchers from Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter provide interesting archaeological information about the Neanderthal activities carried out on the site. This information serves us to increase the knowledge regarding subsistence activities and the occupation patterns developed by Neanderthals groups in the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter.Junta de Castilla y LeónFondo Social EuropeoMCIU/AEI/ FEDER, UEMICINN-FEDERComunidad de MadridGrupo MahouCanal de Isabel II-GestiónDepto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Identifying the bone-breaker at the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) using machine learning algorithms

In recent years, reports on bone breakage at archaeological sites have become more common in the taphonomic literature. The present work tests a recently published method, based on the use of machine learning algorithms for analysing the processes involved in bone breakage, to identify the agent that broke the bones of medium-sized animals at the Mousterian Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid). This is the first time this method has been used in an archaeological setting. The results show that these bones were mostly broken by anthropic action, while some were slightly ravaged by carnivores, probably hyaenas. These findings agree very well with published interpretations of the site, and show the method used to be useful in taphonomic studies of archaeological materials with poorly preserved cortical surfaces

Neanderthales en el Valle del Lozoya: los yacimientos Paleolíticos del Calvero de la Higuera (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid)

Se presenta el estudio de un conjunto de yacimientos del Pleistoceno superior situados en un complejo kárstico en el valle alto del Lozoya (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid). El abrigo de Navalmaíllo conserva restos de industria lítica, hogares, y fauna altamente antropizada, común en lugares de habitación. La cueva de la Buena Pinta, se utilizó preferentemente como cubil de hienas, aunque la presencia esporádica de industria lítica de entidad, como núcleos y percutores, apunta a una cierta actividad humana. La cueva del Camino y el abrigo del Ocelado funcionaron como cubiles de hiena. Por último, la cueva Des-cubierta, presenta evidentes indicios de actividad humana pero aún se encuentra en una fase preliminar de estudio. [ABSTRACT] We present here a study of some upper Pleistocene archaeological sites from central Spain. They are located at a karstic complex at de high Lozoya valley (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid). Navalmaíllo Shelter preserves lithics, hearths and highly anthropically altered fauna, which are common at camp sites. Buena Pinta Cave was mainly used as hyaena den, but intermittent presence of humans is also revealed by the sporadic occurrence of lithics like cores and hammerstones. Both Camino Cave and Ocelado Shelter functioned as hyena dens. Finally, Des-cubierta cave presents evident signs of human activity but is still at a preliminary stage of study

Intergroup cannibalism in the European Early Pleistocene: The range expansion and imbalance of power hypotheses

In this paper, we compare cannibalism in chimpanzees, modern humans, and in archaeological cases with cannibalism inferred from evidence from the Early Pleistocene assemblage of level TD6 of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). The cannibalism documented in level TD6 mainly involves the consumption of infants and other immature individuals. The human induced modifications on Homo antecessor and deer remains suggest that butchering processes were similar for both taxa, and the remains were discarded on the living floor in the same way. This finding implies that a group of hominins that used the Gran Dolina cave periodically hunted and consumed individuals from another group. However, the age distribution of the cannibalized hominins in the TD6 assemblage is not consistent with that from other cases of exo-cannibalism by human/hominin groups. Instead, it is similar to the age profiles seen in cannibalism associated with intergroup aggression in chimpanzees. For this reason, we use an analogy with chimpanzees to propose that the TD6 hominins mounted low-risk attacks on members of other groups to defend access to resources within their own territories and to try and expand their territories at the expense of neighboring groups

Intra-site spatial approaches based on taphonomic analyses to characterize assemblage formation at Pleistocene sites: a case study from Buena Pinta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain)

Buena Pinta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) has been interpreted as a hyena den with sporadic occupations of Homo neanderthalensis in the western part of the site (level 23). In order to identify the different formation processes in this area of the site, spatial analyses have been carried out with GIS and spatial statistics based on the taphonomic analysis of the faunal remains. Based on the vertical and sectional analyses of the assemblage, it has been possible to determine that level 23 actually corresponds to three archaeological levels with well-differentiated characteristics: a lower level with few faunal remains and fossil-diagenetic alterations related to humid environments associated with clays; an intermediate level with a high percentage of remains with water-related modifications and evidences of transport; and an upper level delimited mainly thanks to by a paraconformity evidenced by the concentration of weathered remains in this area and a significant reduction in remains with water-related alterations above. The results obtained show the necessity to redefine field layers and the usefulness of integrating taphonomic data and spatial studies.Ministerio de UniversidadesEuropean Union “NextGenerationEU/PRTR”Comunidad de MadridEuropean Social FundAgencia Estatal de Investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y UniversidadesMAPRGrupo MahouCanal de Isabel II-GestiónCRUE-CSICDepto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

A neanderthal hunting camp in the central system of the Iberian Peninsula: A zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Spain)

The interior of the Iberian Peninsula has few Middle Palaeolithic sites, especially when compared to other areas of the Mediterranean Basin and the northern Spanish region. Few in number too are the zooarchaeological and taphonomic studies that throw light on the relationships between Neanderthal groups, their environment, and the use they made of it. The present work examines, both zooarchaeologically and taphonomically, the faunal remains of levels F and D of the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) - the largest collection of such remains ever studied from the Iberian interior. The results allow this site to be interpreted as a Neanderthal hunting camp where occupations were short-term. Neanderthal people were the main agents that accumulated the site's faunal remains - largely those of large bovids and to a lesser extent medium-sized cervids. The activity of carnivores was also identified, but these animals mostly left behind the remains of small prey or fed upon carcasses abandoned at the camp by human hunters

Dragged, lagged, or undisturbed: reassessing the autochthony of the hominin-bearing assemblages at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Spain)

The TD6 unit of the Gran Dolina contains an assemblage of the Early Pleistocene, interpreted firstly as a home base. More recently has been proposed a transported origin of the remains according to the sedimentology. Following this model, the remains should be dragged or lagged in a predictable pattern related to their weight, density, shape, and size. Conversely, the debris generated in an undisturbed residential camp should retain spatial relations of codependence caused by the depositional process, not related to inherent variables of materials. To check if the remains were recovered in their original depositional place (aggregated) or are the product of transportation (segregated or random spatial relation), we have evaluated different variables: the spatial arrangement between osteological and lithic tools; the integrity of the bones and their structural characters (shape and tissue composition); postdepositional modifications; and the specimen size distribution. The combined results indicate that the layers that conform the TD6.2 subunit were undisturbed, while TD6.1 was affected by postdepositional processes, probably water flows, resulting in a lagged assemblage. In conclusion, TD6.2 is best interpreted as a well-preserved home base and should play a key role in studies of the behavior of the first European populations