Kaldar Cave is a key archaeological site that provides evidence of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iran. Excavations at the site in 2014–2015 led to the discovery of cultural remains generally associated with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and evidence of a probable Neanderthal-made industry in the basal layers. Attempts have been made to establish a chronology for the site. These include four thermoluminescence (TL) dates for Layer 4, ranging from 23,100 ± 3300 to 29,400 ± 2300 BP, and three AMS radiocarbon dates from charcoal samples belonging to the lower part of the same layer, yielding ages of 38,650–36,750 cal BP, 44,200–42,350 cal BP, and 54,400–46,050 cal BP (all at the 95.4% confidence level). Kaldar Cave is the first well-stratified Late Palaeolithic locality to be excavated in the Zagros which is one of the earliest sites with cultural materials attributed to early AMHs in western Asia. It also offers an opportunity to study the technological differences between the Mousterian and the first Upper Palaeolithic lithic technologies as well as the human behaviour in the region. In this study, we present a detailed description of the newly excavated stratigraphy, quantified results from the lithic assemblages, preliminary faunal remains analyses, geochronologic data, taphonomic aspects, and an interpretation of the regional paleoenvironment.

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Small mammals, especially rodents, constitute valuable proxies for continental Quaternary environments at a regional and local scale. Recent studies have demonstrated the relation between the stable oxygen isotope composition of the biogenic phosphate from rodent teeth (d 18 Op), and the oxygen isotope composition of meteoric waters (d 18 O mw), which is related to air temperatures at mid and high latitudes. This work explores the d 18 Op of rodent tooth enamel (from Murinae and Arvicolinae subfamilies) to investigate the palaeoenvironmental conditions in northeastern Iberia during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; ca. 60-30 ka). Fourteen new d 18 Op analyses from modern samples in conjunction with forty-six d 18 Op analyses previously published are used to decipher the isotope record of present-day rodent teeth in this region. Two main factors should be considered in Iberian palaeoenvironmental reconstructions: the singular nature of Iberian

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Iberian Middle Palaeolithic sites with long-term occupations and allow these human groups to incorporate this region for millennia in their migration routes. Table 2 Number of remains (NR) and minimum number of individuals (MNI) as a percentage of the total for the small-mammal assemblage in Abric Romaní sequence. The extended information of species ocurrence can be found in Appendix B. Recount Crocidura russula Sorex gr. araneuscoronatus Sorex minutus Neomys gr. fodiensanomalus Talpa europaea Soricidae indet. Myotis sp. Myotis gr. myotis-blythii Miniopterus cf. schereibersii Plecotus gr. auritusaustriacus Pipistrellus sp. Pipistrellus pipistrellus Nyctalus lasiopterus Chiroptera indet. Arvicola sapidus Microtus arvalis Microtus agrestis Iberomys cabrerae Chionomys nivalis M. (Terricola) duodecimcostatus M. (Terricola) gerbei Apodemus sylvaticus Eliomys quercinus Sciurus vulgaris Rodentia indet. Taxonomically indet. Total