Following the last Neanderthals: Mammal tracks in Late Pleistocene coastal dunes of Gibraltar (S Iberian Peninsula)

Muñiz, Fernando Salmón; Puro, Luis Miguel Cáceres; Carvalho, Carlos Neto de; Belo, João; Finlayson, Clive; Finlayson, Geraldine; Finlayson, Stewart; Izquierdo, Tatiana; Abad, Manuel; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco Jose; Sugisaki, Saiko; Gómez, Paula; Muñoz, Francisco Ruíz

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.01.013

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…To conclude, the hominin tracks discovered at Le Rozel represent the largest ichnological assemblage attributed to archaic hominins and, in particular, to Neandertals, by yielding more than 95% of all of the footprints attributed to this taxon (29)(30)(31)(32). They also represent the only Neandertal handprints with the hand stencils discovered in Maltravieso (59).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Duveau

Bérillon

Verna

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Footprints represent a unique snapshot of hominin life. They provide information on the size and composition of groups that differs from osteological and archeological remains, whose contemporaneity is difficult to establish. We report here on the discovery of 257 footprints dated to 80,000 y from the Paleolithic site at Le Rozel (Normandy, France), which represent the largest known Neandertal ichnological assemblage to date. We investigate the size and composition of a track-maker group from this large set by developing a morphometric method based on experimental footprints. Our analyses indicate that the footprints were made by a small group comprising different age classes, from early childhood to adult, with a majority of children. The Le Rozel footprints thus provide direct evidence for the size and composition of a Neandertal social group.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Duveau

Bérillon

Verna

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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show abstract

“…In addition, we measured the maximum width of the forefoot, along a mediolateral axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The lengths and widths of the footprints from Le Rozel were compared to those of the other footprints attributed to Neandertals using published data: two of the four footprints from Theopetra Cave (Manolis et al 2000), the most complete footprint from Vârtop Cave (Onac et al 2005) and the potential footprint from Catalan Bay (Muñiz et al 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, a potential human footprint was discovered in the dune complex of Catalan Bay at Gibraltar. OSL dating of the aeolian unit where the footprint was made provided an age of 28,000 years (Muñiz et al 2019). This footprint is described as poorly preserved.…”

Section: The Neandertal Footprint Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This footprint is described as poorly preserved. It is 17 cm long and was made by an individual whose height is estimated between 106 and 126 cm and who was descending a slope (Muñiz et al 2019). No archaeological or palaeoanthropological remains are associated with this footprint.…”

Section: The Neandertal Footprint Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No archaeological or palaeoanthropological remains are associated with this footprint. Moreover, its morphology does not allow to discard Homo sapiens as the possible trackmaker (Muñiz et al 2019). Therefore, the taxonomic attribution to a Neandertal individual is only based on the discovery a few kilometres away of archaeological material that would indicate that Neandertal groups may have lived in the region until 28,000 years BP (Finlayson et al 2006).…”

Section: The Neandertal Footprint Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Tracks of Neandertals: The Ichnological Assemblage from Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Duveau

Bérillon

Verna

2021

Reading Prehistoric Human Tracks

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Hominin tracks represent a unique window into moments in the life of extinct individuals. They can provide biological and locomotor data that are not accessible from skeletal remains. However, these tracks are relatively scarce in the fossil record, particularly those attributed to Neandertals. They are also most often devoid of associated archaeological material, which limits their interpretation. The Palaeolithic site of Le Rozel (Normandy, France) located in a dune complex formed during the Upper Pleistocene has yielded between 2012 and 2017 several hundred tracks (257 hominin footprints, 8 handprints as well as 6 animal tracks). This ichnological assemblage is distributed within five stratigraphic subunits dated to 80,000 years. These subunits are rich in archaeological material that attests to brief occupations by Neandertal groups and provides information about the activities that they carried out. The ichnological assemblage discovered at Le Rozel is the largest attributed to Neandertals to date and more generally the most important for hominin taxa other than Homo sapiens. The particularly large number of footprints can provide major information for our understanding of the Palaeolithic occupations at Le Rozel and for our knowledge of the composition of Neandertal groups.

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Fossil footprints and what they mean for hominin paleobiology

Hatala

Roach

Behrensmeyer

2022

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Hominin footprints have not traditionally played prominent roles in paleoanthropological studies, aside from the famous 3.66 Ma footprints discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania in the late 1970s. This contrasts with the importance of trace fossils (ichnology) in the broader field of paleontology. Lack of attention to hominin footprints can probably be explained by perceptions that these are exceptionally rare and “curiosities” rather than sources of data that yield insights on par with skeletal fossils or artifacts. In recent years, however, discoveries of hominin footprints have surged in frequency, shining important new light on anatomy, locomotion, behaviors, and environments from a wide variety of times and places. Here, we discuss why these data are often overlooked and consider whether they are as “rare” as previously assumed. We review new ways footprint data are being used to address questions about hominin paleobiology, and we outline key opportunities for future research in hominin ichnology.

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Following the last Neanderthals: Mammal tracks in Late Pleistocene coastal dunes of Gibraltar (S Iberian Peninsula)

Cited by 21 publications

References 45 publications

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

On the Tracks of Neandertals: The Ichnological Assemblage from Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Fossil footprints and what they mean for hominin paleobiology

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