Neanderthal Spatial Patterns and Occupation Dynamics: A Focus on the Central Region in Mediterranean Iberia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the study of some Middle Palaeolithic assemblages from Mediterranean Iberia to examine Neanderthal occupation patterns and territory management strategies, paying special attention to raw material procurement and technological behaviours, zooarchaeological data and microspatial patterning. The site occupation types are variable, and some of the results may have more importance than is immediately apparent, but there does not seem to be a single cultural, functional, temporal or environmental explanation. Rather, the wide variability in the technical behaviours observed can be explained with reference to the particular requirements of the populations in each specific region. The results obtained allow us to interrogate the data and, drawing comparisons with the southwest European context, establish an initial approach to Neanderthal subsistence strategies and mobility in a region so far little known in this regard.

Los Aljezares archaeological site (Alicante, Spain) and the MIS 6/5 open‐air settlement in the Iberian Peninsula

“…In First of all, it is interesting to highlight the low density of the lithic elements recovered from the different sites in relation to the square metres excavated. Unlike the caves and shelters in which we have most of the record and in which the densities are much higher (Eixea et al, 2020), forming in many cases, following the proposal established by Bailey (2007), true cumulative palimpsests, the open-air sites allow us to delve into the temporal resolution issues with greater clarity due to their low densities. This temporal dimension is fundamental to approach some structural features used to characterise residential occupations: occupation length, special activity areas and disposal areas (Vaquero et al, 2012).…”

“…Historically, open-air Palaeolithic archaeology in the Iberian Peninsula has been linked to sites found in well-developed fluvial terrace systems or to sites found in the vicinity of lithic raw material outcrops, even with the exception of some renowned sites, such as Torralba and Ambrona located in an endorheic pond (Santonja et al, 2005a(Santonja et al, ,b, 2016Santonja and Pérez-González, 2006). This has limited the extension of open-air Palaeolithic archaeology in some areas of the Iberian Peninsula, where there are no well-developed fluvial systems, such as those found in the Cantabrian region or the Mediterranean facade (Arrizabalaga et al, 2015;Eixea et al, 2020). This-along with the various problems of openair archaeology such as the difficulties in dating, the poorer preservation of archaeological remains, the huge extension of sites or the weakness of sites against the different public works (quarries, roads, housebuilding, etc.…”

Geoarchaeological and microstratigraphic view of a Neanderthal settlement at Rambla de Ahíllas in Iberian Range: Abrigo de la Quebrada (Chelva, Valencia, Spain)

“…1000–2000 m amsl) in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. Both areas contain Neanderthal occupations (Figure 1a) ranging from MIS 9‐8 to MIS 3 (Eixea, Chacón, et al, 2020; Mazo & Alcolea, 2020).…”

“…The central Iberian Mediterranean region is an area rich in Middle Palaeolithic sites that are unevenly distributed throughout the territory but tend to be concentrated in the south of the province of Valencia and the north of the province of Alicante. They are linked to different natural corridors: in the north, the Baix Maestrat and the Millars; in the center, the Turia, Magro, and Canal de Navarrés corridors; and in the south, the Vall d'Albaida, Vinalopó, and Vega Baja corridors (Eixea, Chacón, et al, 2020). It is in the latter corridor where most of the sites are concentrated, among which the Cova del Bolomor (Fernández‐Peris, 2007), Cova Beneito (Doménech, 2005), Cova Negra (Eixea, Oltra, et al, 2020), Abric del Pastor (Connolly et al, 2019), and El Salt (Galván et al, 2014) stand out for their archaeological records.…”

Applying the UDA-ODA discrimination technique to a herpetological association: the case of the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt (Alcoi, Spain)

“…The Central Spanish Mediterranean coastal region has yielded numerous Middle Palaeolithic sites (Eixea et al 2020). Among them, El Salt site (Alcoi, Spain) is a key locality for studying the disappearance of Neanderthals in the region.…”