The Middle Pleistocene site of Ambrona (Soria, Spain) is a major reference for European Acheulean studies. The origin of the lithic and fauna accumulations at this site was first thought to be anthropogenic, but later studies showed that it was mainly natural. The first person to conduct excavations at the Ambrona site was the Marquis of Cerralbo, in 1914; other research groups followed in more recent times (the Howell & Freeman team and the Santonja & Pérez-González team). The digs yielded a great amount of information, but until now it had never been unified. In this paper, we compile all the available published and unpublished excavation documentation from the 1960s to the present. We use these maps and sections to present our spatial study of the LSM (Lower Stratigraphic Member) at the Ambrona site, combining stratigraphic criteria with GIS density and orientation analysis. This study enabled us to define the main concentrations of the LSM, providing an initial contribution to an assessment of their accumulation processes. Most of the concentrations preserved in the ancient shore area of the site display marked orientation patterns which coincide with the direction of the main water flows into the Ambrona wetland. However, random orientation patterns were observed in the central part of the site (Alpha concentration); they may be mostly preserved without undergoing transport processes, as previous taphonomic studies also confirm.

the Level Vii of Amalda i cave (Gipuzkoa, Spain) represents one of the latest Middle palaeolithic occupations in the cantabrian Region. it is characterized by the presence of Middle palaeolithic lithic industry and animal remains, with clear evidences of anthropic and carnivore manipulation. At this site, the neanderthal presence has been questioned in relation to the role of carnivores in the accumulation of large, medium-sized and small mammals. it has also been proposed that the neanderthal occupation could have consisted of short-term occupations, where different activities took place in a structured space within the cave. However, all hypotheses lacked any integrative analysis of the site formation processes. With the aim of understanding these processes, a combination of spatial techniques, based on GiS and inferential statistics (density analysis, hotspots tools and palaeotopographic reconstruction), along with the taphonomic study of identifiable and non-identifiable macromammals remains, were employed. this study has revealed distinct use of the cave space by neanderthals and carnivores. the major concentrations of lithics and medium-size mammal remains were clearly accumulated by humans at the cave entrance, while the small-size mammals were gathered by carnivores in an inner zone. the activities of the neanderthals seem to be distinctly structured, suggesting a parallel exploitation of resources.

Surface morphometry comprises a relevant set of techniques that provide objective tools to identify, map, and understand use wear patterns in stone tools. Thus far, these techniques have been applied mainly to 2D or 2.5D data, but their application to 3D 360º data is promising and still underdeveloped. Here, we apply new 3D techniques to calculate morphometric variables and to analyse surficial features and changes in pounding stone tools used for baobab processing among Hadza foragers of Tanzania. Baobab pounding stones were collected after use by Hadza foragers for processing the plant food and then 3D point clouds were acquired from laser scanners and SfM photogrammetry. Morphometry was conducted directly on 3D point clouds to avoid time-consuming and surface modifications related to more complex 3D data, such as meshing. Several morphometric variables were computed for the complete pieces (360º sphere) providing fast and accurate data to identify the detailed morphometric features of the artefacts. Additionally, stone surface changes due to baobab processing were measured by comparing the stone surface before and after use, thus enabling calculation of spatial abrasion patterns. Data were interpreted using multivariate exploratory statistical analysis. Differences in the effect of processing on surface morphology are likely explained by variations in raw source material and use. Results suggest that the traces produced by baobab processing on stone tools should be detectable in the archaeological record.

Multiple factors have been proposed to explain the disappearance of Neandertals between ca. 50 and 40 kyr BP. Central to these discussions has been the identification of new techno-cultural complexes that overlap with the period of Neandertal demise in Europe. One such complex is the Châtelperronian, which extends from the Paris Basin to the Northern Iberian Peninsula between 43,760–39,220 BP. In this study we present the first open-air Châtelperronian site in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, Aranbaltza II. The technological features of its stone tool assemblage show no links with previous Middle Paleolithic technology in the region, and chronological modeling reveals a gap between the latest Middle Paleolithic and the Châtelperronian in this area. We interpret this as evidence of local Neandertal extinction and replacement by other Neandertal groups coming from southern France, illustrating how local extinction episodes could have played a role in the process of disappearance of Neandertals.