Palaeoecological implications of Neanderthal occupation at Unit Xb of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Spain) during MIS 3 using small mammals proxy

Fagoaga, Ana; Ruiz-Sánchez, Francisco J.; Laplana, César; Blain, Hugues‐Alexandre; Marquina, Rafael; Marin-Monfort, María Dolores; Galván, Bertila

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.10.024

Cited by 25 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The upper unit, Xa, is approximately 10 cm thick, is more sandy and lighter colored (brownish yellow) and unit Xb, around 10 to 14 cm thick, is more clayey and darker (brown). A recent microfaunal study proposes that unit Xb represents a more humid climate than today [83], further supported by anthracological data [71].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 80%

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Insights into the timing, intensity and natural setting of Neanderthal occupation from the geoarchaeological study of combustion structures: A micromorphological and biomarker investigation of El Salt, unit Xb, Alcoy, Spain

et al. 2019

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Middle Paleolithic lithic and faunal assemblages throughout Eurasia reflect short-term Neanderthal occupations, which suggest high group mobility. However, the timing of these short-term occupations, a key factor to assess group mobility and territorial range, remains unresolved. Anthropogenic combustion structures are prominent in the Middle Paleolithic record and conceal information on the timing and intensity and natural setting of their associated human occupations. This paper examines a concentration of eleven combustion structures from unit Xb of El Salt, a Middle Paleolithic site in Spain through a geoarchaeological approach, in search of temporal, human impact and paleoenvironmental indicators to assess the timing, intensity and natural setting of the associated human occupations. The study was conducted using micromorphology, lipid biomarker analysis and compound specific isotope analysis. Results show in situ hearths built on different diachronic topsoils rich in herbivore excrements and angiosperm plant residues with rare anthropogenic remains. These data are suggestive of low impact, short-term human occupations separated by relatively long periods of time, with possible indicators of seasonality. Results also show an absence of conifer biomarkers in the mentioned topsoils and presence of conifer charcoal among the fuel residues (ash), indicating that fire wood was brought to the site from elsewhere. A microscopic and molecular approach in the study of combustion structures allows us to narrow down the timescale of archaeological analysis and contributes valuable information towards an understanding of Neanderthal group mobility and settlement patterns.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Research on this site is ongoing since 1986 by a team of Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain and involves mainly microstratigraphic and multidisciplinary site formation studies and archaeological palimpsest dissection research [24,28,47,71–73,80,83–90].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the timing, intensity and natural setting of Neanderthal occupation from the geoarchaeological study of combustion structures: A micromorphological and biomarker investigation of El Salt, unit Xb, Alcoy, Spain

et al. 2019

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“…The maintenance and, usually predominance, of the forest biotope, together with wetter and cooler conditions, is a trend recurrently observed in MIS 3 Iberian archaeo-palaeontological sites. This is also supported by small-vertebrate compositions, especially for the Mediterranean area (Ferna 'ndez-García et al, 2016;Lo 'pez-García et al, 2014), as it is recorded in Gorham cave (Blain et al, 2013;Lo 'pez-García et al, 2011b), El Salt (Fagoaga et al, 2018;Marquina et al, 2017), Cova del Coll Verdaguer (Daura et al, 2017), Texioneres cave (Lo 'pez-García et al, 2012b) or Cova del Gegant (Lo 'pez-García et al, 2012c). Small-mammal assemblages from these sites include Mediterranean species (M. (T.) duodecimcostatus or I. cabrerae) and typical woodland species (A. sylvaticus and E. quercinus), independently of stadial-interstadial cycles.…”

Section: • the Abric Romaní Sequence Inside Iberian Environmental Trendmentioning

confidence: 70%

Combined palaeoecological methods using small-mammal assemblages to decipher environmental context of a long-term Neanderthal settlement in northeastern Iberia

Fernández-García

López-García

Royer

et al. 2020

Quaternary Science Reviews

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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

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“…The top of Unit V, is 50 cm-thick, truncated, massive sandy silt with heterogeneous gravel in the top 20 cm. Preliminary results from a smallmammal study showed a reduction in species diversity in Unit V compared with all of the underlying units (Fagoaga et al, 2018(Fagoaga et al, , 2019.…”

Section: Site Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…1). Since 1986, El Salt has been studied systematically from an interdisciplinary perspective, focusing on the highresolution studies of Neanderthal behaviour (Mallol et al, 2013;Galván et al, 2014;Garralda et al, 2014;Sistiaga et al, 2014;Rodríguez-Cintas & Cabanes, 2015;Machado & Pérez, 2016;Molina, 2016;Vidal-Matutano, 2016;Pérez et al, 2017;Marquina-Blasco et al, 2017;Fagoaga et al, 2018;Vidal-Matutano et al, 2018;Leierer et al, 2019). , and small vertebrates, average chronometric dates and Heinrich Events (modified from Galván et al, 2014).…”

Section: Site Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small vertebrates from a Holocene gravelly deposit at El Salt (Alcoi, Alicante)

Fagoaga

Marquina-Blasco

Gracia-Monferrer³

et al. 2021

Spanish J. Palaeontol.

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The small-vertebrates' assemblage recovered comes from Units I to IV from El Salt site (Alcoi, Spain). The sample is composed by nearly 310 remains, and includes one toad (Epidalea calamita), two lizards (Lacertidae indet. and Chalcides cf. bedriagai), two snakes (Coronella cf. girondica and cf. Coronella sp.), two insectivores (Crocidura sp. and Sorex sp.), one lagomorph (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and seven rodent taxa (Arvicola sapidus, Microtus sp., M. arvalis, M. cabrerae, M. duodecimcostatus, Apodemus sylvaticus, and Eliomys quercinus). All the species described in the present work are consistent with a Late Pleistocene-Holocene RESUMEN El conjunto de pequeños vertebrados recuperado procede de las Unidades I a IV del yacimiento de El Salt. Esta muestra se compone de casi 310 restos e incluye un sapo (Epidalea calamita), dos lagartos (Lacertidae indet. y Chalcides cf. bedriagai), dos serpientes (Coronella cf. girondica y cf. Coronella sp.), dos insectívoros (Crocidura sp. y Sorex sp.), un lagomorfo (Oryctolagus cuniculus) y siete taxones de roedores (Arvicola sapidus, Microtus sp., M. arvalis, M. cabrerae, M. duodecimcostatus, Apodemus sylvaticus y Eliomys quercinus). Todas las especies descritas en el presente trabajo son consistentes con una cronología del Pleistoceno

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Palaeoecological implications of Neanderthal occupation at Unit Xb of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Spain) during MIS 3 using small mammals proxy

Cited by 25 publications

References 43 publications

Insights into the timing, intensity and natural setting of Neanderthal occupation from the geoarchaeological study of combustion structures: A micromorphological and biomarker investigation of El Salt, unit Xb, Alcoy, Spain

Insights into the timing, intensity and natural setting of Neanderthal occupation from the geoarchaeological study of combustion structures: A micromorphological and biomarker investigation of El Salt, unit Xb, Alcoy, Spain

Combined palaeoecological methods using small-mammal assemblages to decipher environmental context of a long-term Neanderthal settlement in northeastern Iberia

Small vertebrates from a Holocene gravelly deposit at El Salt (Alcoi, Alicante)

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