The continental record of Marine Isotope Stage 11 (Middle Pleistocene) on the Iberian Peninsula characterized by herpetofaunal assemblages

Abstract

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 in Iberia is documented at three main Acheulean archaeological sites: Gran Dolina (Burgos, Atapuerca), Aridos-1 (Madrid) and Ambrona (Soria). As the amphibians and reptiles recovered as fossils from these sites are not extinct and their ecology can be directly studied, mutual climatic range and habitat weighting methods have been applied to the herpetofaunal assemblages to estimate climatic and environmental parameters during MIS 11. Compared with today, mean annual temperature varies from þ2.7 to þ0.3˚C and mean annual precipitation varies from þ311.7 to þ74.4 mm, suggesting, in accordance with the numerical dates for each locality, a progressive decrease in temperature and rainfall from the fully interglacial conditions of MIS 11c to the end of MIS 11. The presence of woodland areas is also well substantiated throughout the duration of MIS 11, at least during the interglacial and interstadial periods.

Middle Pleistocene human occupation in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula during cold climate conditions: Zooarchaeology and taphonomy of ETB-H02 site in the Manzanares valley (Madrid, Spain)

“…However, the number of Middle Pleistocene sites in which a significant difference of the mean annual temperature (MAT) with regard to current temperatures could be stated is very low. A harsher climate has been suggested for the Middle Stratigraphic Complex de Ambrona (MIS 11, Santonja and P erez-Gonz alez, 2005), 1140 m a.s.l., than for the Lower Stratigraphic Complex (Santonja et al, 2014b), for which a similar MAT to the current one has been estimated (Blain et al, 2015). In Cuesta de la Bajada (MIS 9/8, Santonja et al, 2014a), 920 m a.s.l., it has been described a MAT 2.5 C lower than currently, and its addition to MIS 9b or late MIS 8 has been proposed (Blain et al, 2017b).…”

Fossils from Quaternary fluvial archives: Sources of biostratigraphical, biogeographical and palaeoclimatic evidence

“…Elsewhere in the Middle Tajo, large mammal assemblages have been recovered in association with stone tools from the 40 m terrace at Toledo; these include Mammuthus trogontherii, Equus caballus, Hippopotamus amphibius, Megaloceros savini, Eliomys quercinus, Allocricetus bursae, Microtus brecciensis and Apodemus sylvaticus, all characteristic of the Middle Pleistocene (Sesé et al, 2000). Palaeoclimatic studies from this region include reconstructions based on herpetofaunal assemblages from three Spanish localities dated to MIS 11, including the fluvial deposits at Áridos-1, in the valley of the River Jarama SE of Madrid, and the fluvio-lacustrine sequence at Ambrona (Blain et al, 2015). These herpetofaunal assemblages include numerous taxa of high environmental and climatic sensitivity, which can be used as valuable indicators of palaeoclimate, through the application of MCR analyses (e.g.…”

The Middle to Late Pleistocene herpetofaunal assemblages from the Jarama and Manzanares valleys (Madrid, central Spain): An ecological synthesis

“…Aridos-1 (Blain et al, 2014(Blain et al, , 2015, Valdocarros II (Blain et al, 2012b), Estanque de Tormentas de Butarque H-02 (Blain et al, 2017) and HAT and PRERESA (Blain et al, 2013). All these publications used the same standardized systematical nomenclature and methodologies thus making easier the comparison between the different sites.…”