New stratigraphically constrained palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for the first human settlement in Western Europe: The Early Pleistocene herpetofaunal assemblages from Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (Granada, SE Spain)

Unravelling Hominin Activities in the Zooarchaeological Assemblage of Barranco León (Orce, Granada, Spain)

“…Moreover the presence among herpetofauna of a treefrog (Hyla sp.) suggest that the body of water would have been surrounded by abundant marshy vegetation (Blain et al, 2011;Sánchez-Bandera et al, 2020). Either way, the processes that contributed to the formation of both subsets of the BL D1 faunal assemblage palimpsest described in the present study led to low weathering patterns.…”

“…These co-occurring assemblages are both characterised by a low incidence of weathering alterations, which implies two possible interpretations: (1) that only a short timespan had elapsed between the first natural accumulation and the traces of hominin behaviour at the site recorded in the primary-position deposit, suggesting rapid burial; (2) that bones were on a relatively humid substrate, with vegetation providing shelter from subaerial exposure, particularly sun radiation, and sudden changes in temperature and humidity, thus delaying bone weathering trends (Andrews and Whybrow, 2005;Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews, 2016). This second interpretation is not implausible, given how the BL palaeoenvironmental data suggests a humid and wooded biotope (Sánchez-Bandera et al, 2020;Saarinen et al, 2021). Moreover the presence among herpetofauna of a treefrog (Hyla sp.)…”

“…While the assessment of these site formation processes is well discussed in the taphonomic literature, particularly regarding palimpsest formation due to waterborne inputs (Voorhies, 1969(Voorhies, , 1970Behrensmeyer, 1982;Fiorillo, 1988;Aslan and Behrensmeyer, 1996;Ziegler and van Huet 2021); discriminating between these two scenarios is still difficult, particularly since weathering patterns at Barranco León may offer little additional insights regarding the temporality of accumulation. This is because of the aforementioned pattern that favourable climatic conditions, such as those documented at the site (Sánchez-Bandera et al, 2020), may delay the weathering trends of exposed bones (Andrews and Whybrow, 2005;Fernández-Jalvo and Andrews, 2016).…”

“…Agustí et al, 2010;Blain et al, 2011;Sánchez-Bandera et al 2020;Saarinen et al 2021). Recent herpetofaunal studies (Sánchez-Bandera et al, 2020) show a tendency towards more arid conditions from BL-D1 to level E. The BL-D1 and BL-D2 depositional events took place in the context of a humid and wooded biotope.…”

“…Palaeoecological analyses based on microfauna and tooth wear patterns indicate a predominance of Mediterranean woodland and open environments in the basin during much of the Early Pleistocene (e.g. Agustí et al, 2010;Blain et al, 2011;Sánchez-Bandera et al 2020;Saarinen et al 2021). Recent herpetofaunal studies (Sánchez-Bandera et al, 2020) show a tendency towards more arid conditions from BL-D1 to level E. The BL-D1 and BL-D2 depositional events took place in the context of a humid and wooded biotope.…”